When he reached the highest point, it had to be nearly a hundred rungs to the top.  He scanned the mob below as though to pick out a favorite spectator.  He then raised his hands and lifted himself from the platform.

His body soared for a second that seemed to last for an hour.  Then, with one quick movement, he darted into the pool, like a gull in search of food.

Spectators stood patiently, waiting to see if Woods had survived, stretching their toes to push their heads higher.  Some waited with their eyes covered in fear.

Spreading like a wave, the applause surrounded the pool as Woods’ head poked from the water. 

Only in a magical place like Big Shoal Amusement Park could this have occurred.

A Jewel In Bond County          

It is growing increasingly difficult to tell now, but at one time, the area surrounding Nuby's Steakhouse near Pocahontas, was one of Bond county's most popular attractions. 

The park consisted of a picnic area, a gymnasium, a merry-go-round, and a swimming pool.  Only the gymnasium and part of the concrete base of the swimming pool have endured the decades since it was in heavy use. 

The park's incredible history began as a restaurant and gasoline business.

In 1920, Durwood Rea was the owner of a parcel of land located adjacent to the National Trail Highway in Old Ripley Township. 

In February of that year, he granted a contract for the state to begin expansion of the highway.  Realizing that this would increase traffic past his home, Rea constructed a restaurant and filling station adjacent to the property and the business boomed. 

During this time, he and his wife Mary allowed boarders to take up residence on their land.

One man,  a boarder by the name of James Fenton, befriended the family.  But Rea was a jealous man and believed Fenton and his wife were having an affair. 

On May 19, 1923 he attempted to murder his wife, and then turned the gun on himself.  Three days later, Mary passed away from complications of the shooting. 

At that point, with the Rea children too young to continue the business, the land was deeded to Margaret Greathouse and her family.  The Greathouse family members were also boarders on the Rea property during this time and had a familiarity with the area. 

When the Greathouses purchased the property, they intended to expand the filling station into more of an attraction for visitors. They decided to expand into an amusement park. 

In the spring of 1924, the first part of the Greathouse family's dream was realized. 

Margaret's son was a basketball coach at Pocahontas High School and his team needed a place to play.  So, in the spring of 1924, a gymnasium was constructed to house basketball games as well as dances.  When the Greathouses purchased the property, they intended to expand the filling station into more of an attraction for visitors. They decided to expand into an amusement park. 

In the spring of 1924, the first part of the Greathouse family's dream was realized. 

Margaret's son was a basketball coach at Pocahontas High School and his team needed a place to play.  So, in the spring of 1924, a gymnasium was constructed to house basketball games as well as dances.  And until 1935, the Pocahontas school used the gym for games when it built a new one adjacent to the school.

 Melvin "Jake" Stewart, a long time Pocahontas resident, played basketball in the gym while he was on the Pocahontas High School team in 1933.  "We beat Greenville that year," he said of his team's efforts.

By the time Gerald Jenner was old enough to play in the games, the Pocahontas team had already moved to its new gym, but he enjoyed attending the games at Big Shoal Park.  "Basketball wasn't as popular as it is now, but those of us that were there really had a good time," he stated.

A New Addition

In the spring of 1925, the Greathouses dream moved further towards fruition.  They expanded the park to include a swimming pool and a merry-go-round.  Quickly, the amusement park became known as a place where families could enjoy a picnic.

"It was fantastic," stated  Jenner.  Although he couldn't afford to participate, Jenner remembers  watching the people swim in the crystal clear waters of the pool before the Nuby family took over the property.  "The water was clear and you could see the bottom, it was just unbelievable," he said. 

The annual exhibition of swimming and diving was an incredibly popular event at the park.  Prize winning divers like Woods from the St. Louis area performed from the platform nearly 50 feet above the pool.  "I couldn't believe people could jump from that high and not break their backs," said Jenner.

The bottom fell out of the pool literally before the property was sold and it wasn't in use by the time John Nuby purchased it in August of 1929.  The remains of the pool are covered with brush and a bit of concrete and the outline marks existence.

But soon after its purchase, the park became known for different reasons including dances and roller skating. 

A New Era

John Nuby's son, Gerald took over the operation in 1947 and it soon took off.  Gerald specialized in making the restaurant succeed, putting in 15 and 16 hour days normally. 

"On Saturday nights we had people waiting outside the door to dine," Nuby said.  "We were quite busy at times."

On dance nights, usually Wednesdays and Saturdays, Nuby's restaurant would shut its doors but still served drinks for those in the dance hall.

Bob Gaffner of Greenville remembers playing in a band that performed in the gym on Wednesday and Saturday nights.

"It was a beer garden sort of atmosphere," Gaffner stated.  "We never had a problem with anybody getting too rowdy at the dances where we performed." 

A few families were started due to evenings at the gymnasium.  "Hazel Hendrickson invited my mother, who lived in Woburn at the time, to come to the dance place," stated Allen Geries.  "And that is where she met my dad."

In addition to being a dance hall, the gym was also a skating rink from the time the Greathouse's owned it until Nuby's era of ownership.

"I was quite the skater," Nuby recalled, "or at least I thought so."  He worked at the rink putting on people's skates and helping fix skates as well.

The music stopped playing in the 1960's and the gym was used less and less.  Up until recently, the gym had been used for hockey and also as a horseshoe pit, but because of the deteriorating condition of the roof and the floor, the building's only current use is for storage. 

Missing Pieces

Nothing remains of the merry-go-round that once lived on the premises except a small concrete pad the carousel operated. Finding proof of its existence is hard as pictures of the ride are scarce if any exist at all.

The Greathouse Family

Jenner and his brothers would walk two and a half miles to the park from their home in Pocahontas, but it was worth every step.  "Just listening to the carousel was a treat," he said. 

The carousel was operated by a tractor and played music even if nobody was riding it, but Nuby removed the carousel some time ago and turned that area into a parking lot for the restaurant. 

The current owners of Nuby's Steakhouse, Rick and Connie Richardson, have decorated the walls of the restaurant with pictures of the area's history and spent a considerable amount of time researching it as well, but they are missing pictures of one piece of the history.

NOTE:  If you have a picture of the Merry-Go-Round or other pictures of Big Shoal Amusement Park, you may send them to Bill Walker at the Greenville Advocate.