If you are of a certain age, the mere mention of Boblo Island Amusement Park will bring back fond memories of summer afternoons spent in the middle of the Detroit River.

If you are of a certain age, the mere mention of Boblo Island Amusement Park will bring back fond memories of summer afternoons spent in the middle of the Detroit River. And what better time to recall those fun days and nights of our youth, just as many of us do, as each summer rolls around.

For almost 100 years the island was only accessible by steam-powered riverboats — the S.S. St. Claire (built in 1910) and the S.S. Columbia (built in 1902) — brought passengers from downtown Detroit to the island. Each boat could bring up to 2,500 hundred visitors at a time. Smaller ferries brought visitors from nearby Amherstburg and Gibraltar, Mich.

However to me, and many other residents of Chatham-Kent, the 80 minute boat ride down the Detroit River was the favourite mode of transportation. The boats sadly stopped running........

© Sarnia Observer