Reviews for Island Album: Photographs and Memories of Long Beach Island

The average rating for Island Album: Photographs and Memories of Long Beach Island based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-10-04 00:00:00 Umberto Lanzafame Holiday World, part of the Images of America book series, was a thoroughly enjoyable read for me. This is really more of a picture book than a "book book," with photos taking up the majority of each page. But, there's plenty of text as well. You'll learn about the history of the park. How, you may wonder, did the town come to be named Santa Claus? Back in 1846, when the town was founded, it was named Santa Fe. Upon learning that there was already a Santa Fe, Indiana (I didn't know that), the town fathers brainstormed another name. It was winter time, and as the children outside ran around shouting about Santa Claus, the name became a reality. The Santa Claus post office was the town's first claim to fame. Many people mailed their cards there each Christmas so they could get the "Santa Claus" postmark. In 1946, Louis Koch opened up Santa Claus Land, America's first theme park. World War II had just ended. Jim Yellig was hired to play Santa Claus. You really can't learn about Holiday World without learning about the Koch (and Yellig) families. The Kochs' son Bill married "Santa" Jim Yellig's daughter Pat, and those two ran Holiday World for years. Jim died in 2001 (in the week following 9/11), but Pat continued on (she no longer works at the park, but is still going strong at 86). Bill and Pat had five children, and the park continues in the family. There is background there, with the oldest son who ran the park dying suddenly and young in his 40s, and then some drama among the remaining kids and in-laws. Another son died young as well, and currently the wife and family of the oldest son are in charge. This book was published in the early 2000s, before this had all happened, but I did some reading online to catch up to current news. I loved that this book reminded me of some parts of Holiday World/Santa Claus Land that I'd forgotten: there used to be booths with chickens or rabbits inside that would do a trick/"drive" a truck etc. while you watched. Fun memory! I also was reminded of the doll museum and Hall of Presidents -- I loved those and miss them each time I now walk by the area where they used to be. If you are a Holiday World fan as well, I think you'd enjoy this book.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-01-10 00:00:00 Constance Patellos I remember visiting "Santa Claus Land" when I was a young girl and it must have been at the tail end of its time being known by that name. Now Holiday World has been a part of my children's lives since they were born. Now they are all teenagers. We continue to visit this magical park at least once a season. The park is now home to three of the most highly rated roller coasters in the nation and it has, hands down, the most amazing and innovative water park anywhere. My family is a fan of waterparks in particular and we have traveled quite a bit to visit waterparks, indoor and outdoor and nothing beats a weekend spent at Splahin' Safari waterpark. This park is also the BEST bang for its buck when you get free Pepsi products, free sunscreen, free inner tubes, and free parking all day long. We'd rather visit Holiday World than Kings Island or Cedar Point. The water park is better even than those in Wisconsin Dells. This book was such a treat to read. You know why Holiday World is so fantastic? Because it is family owned and operated by the fantastic Koch family. This book shares little known facts about Santa Claus land and Holiday World and behind the scene moments with the Koch family. The book is extra poignant since a lot of it is told by Will Koch, Holiday World's president who passed away not very long ago. We just returned from the trip and one of the most amazing things we took in on this visit was a Halloween scene with scarecrows and the faces on them were those of the Koch family. We see Pat Koch on almost every visit. The book makes us feel even closer to her family. I think other park owners should read this book and study Holiday World so they can learn how running a phenomenal park is truly done.