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A new sewage system was installed by drilling a well like hole 200 feet down to connect with the old workings of an abandoned mine. Three new shelter houses were being built. They were of old English design. The shelter house, near the beach, was located where the concession stand had originally been, and room was provided, at one end, for a new concession stand.

Other improvements included a new boat dock 110 ft. long and 8ft. wide, located on the east lakefront. The terrace, at the bathhouse was bricked, and a new comfort station was built near the bathhouse. Cages and pens, to accommodate the park zoo, were under construction. In addition, five large cooking ovens had been placed around the park, and a new concrete water break had been constructed at the beach.

On Saturday, April 6, 1935, the park officially opened for the season. It was becoming very popular for family reunions, church picnics and as a special meeting place for the many clubs and organizations in the area.

With the coming of warmer weather, the CCC vacated the group camp and moved into tents for the summer. 4-H children from 10 nearby counties soon occupied the group camp.

On Sunday, June 9th, tragedy struck Shakamak State Park, when a 19 year old CCC boy. Theodore Grzbacz drowned in the lake. The CCC had their own bathing beach, located on the north finger of the lake, near the state highway, and were not allowed to swim at the public beach. However, Grzbacz, and two companions, decided to swim from the north finger of the lake to the shelter house, and then go to the public beach, a distance of 150 yards. One of the boys decided not to attempt the swim, at the last moment, so Grzbacz, and a companion named Flowers, plunged into the water.

The two boys were within 15 yards, of their destination, when Grzbacz began having trouble. The other boy attempted to help him, but was nearly drowned himself, as Grzbacz pulled him under. Flowers managed to free himself, and get to shore, where he ran to the lifeguards, at the beach, for help.

Ira Williams and Jack Poe, of Jasonville, were the guards on duty. When Flowers related to them what had happened, they quickly followed him back to the place where Grzbacz had gone under, and dove in, hoping to find him, and revive him on the shore.

Although both Williams and Poe made heroic efforts to locate the boy, their search was in vain.

After the lifeguards had search for 30 minutes or more, boats equipped with grab hooks were brought up. Dragging commenced at 3:40 p.m.

The dragging continued until it was too dark to see, at which time some of the men drove into Jasonville, and brought back Bill Griffith, the local electrician, who erected a light over the area where the dragging was being conducted.

Finally at 9:30 p.m., Sunday night, O.S. Gorby, of Coalmont, who was regarded as an expert with grab hooks, located the body in 25 ft. of water, in a section of the lake filled with logs and other debris, that had been left when the lake was cleared.

To the best of my knowledge, this was the first drowning at Shakamak Lake, but sadly enough, certainly not the last.

Shakamak rose to national prominence, in July of 1935, as the first of many national swim meets were held there on Saturday and Sunday, July 27th and 28th. This was the Mid-States A.A.U. Meet, which featured swimmers from six states competing in the events.

Invitations were sent to 4100 Athletic Clubs and University Swimming Teams, and in spite of the blistering sun, which beat down unmercifully on the aquatic stars, one new world record was set as well as several new A.A.U. marks.

The local men on the committee, which prepared for the meet, were Charles Letsinger, Frank Hastings, Sam Goodman and Pete Fields. The medals for the winners, of the various events, were nearly all donated by local merchants.

New attendance records were set, for Shakamak, as more than 10,000 people came to witness this two-day event. The Longshore Athletic Club of Chicago won the lion’s share of the major awards.

Shakamak Beach in the 1930s

On Tuesday, July 30, 1935, Shakamak was once again the sight of a large event, for this part of the country, as the Governor of Indiana, Paul V, McNutt, flanked by a score of Indiana State Policemen, addressed a large gathering of Democratic party workers, and state employees, at the park. In his speech that night Governor McNutt defended the heavy expenditures, of the New Deal, under the Roosevelt administration.

In the latter half of the 1930’s, Shakamak State Park continued to be improved, although the changes were more gradual than during the first half of the decade.

Work on the new lake continued as a WPA project. The CCC boys were now working on the foot and bridle trails.

The brick walk extending from the shelter house, near the beach, to the terraced bathhouse, was laid in 1936. Also, that same year, Martin R. Goshorn, custodian established a new five-acre camping area, south of the bathhouse. The camping area featured private rock entrances to each of the forty campsites. A modern comfort station was under construction at this time, as well as a double circle drive to gain access to these sights.

The parking area, near the beach, was greatly expanded this year to accommodate the growing number of visitors. In addition the park now boasted of 15 miles of bridle trails for horsemen.

The Mid-States A.A.U. Championship Swim Meet continued to be the most popular attraction to the park. At this time only 5 states were participating in the event. These included Indiana and it’s four adjoining states.

The 1936 contest saw Don Rudig, of Huntington, Indiana, set a new world’s record, in the national junior men’s 400-meter free style event. This feat attracted national attention.

The Honorary Officials at this 1937 event evidenced the growing popularity of the Shakamak Swim Meet this year. These included M. Clifford Townsend, Governor of Indiana; Virgil M. Simmons, Commissioner of Conservation; Myron L. Rees, Director of State Parks, and Lands; Sam Beecher, Mayor of Terre Haute; J. A. Robinson, Mayor of Sullivan; E. V, Bull, Mayor of Linton; Levi Louderbock, Mayor of Brazil and W. H. Slough, Mayor of Jasonville.

With the huge crowds attending the swim meet this year, and the steadily growing attendance each weekend the park was beginning to extend it’s resources to the limit. Many people, who would have liked to have spent a few days here, were being turned away, because of a lack of hotel accommodations in the area.

Park and State officials began to discuss a need for a hotel at Shakamak State Park. This need was further evidenced, in 1938, when the paid admissions, for the season, climber to 80,000. This did not include children, under 12 years of age, which were admitted free. The plans for a hotel, to be constructed in the park were finalized, and the funds for the project were approved in 1940.

By 1940, many extensive projects had been approved for the park, and several of them were well underway. The beach was being more than doubled in size, and a concrete retaining wall was built to hold back the hilly banks. The lake was lowered from its depth of 22 ft., in the deepest part, to 11 ft., to allow the construction of two large piers. These piers were built exactly 50 meters apart, and were so designed to conform to National A.A.U. regulations. In preparation for the swim meets, ropes with wooden ats attached were installed to provide swimming lanes for the participants. The piers were constructed of concrete and steel with wooden floors. On the larger of the two piers, a diving tower was constructed, and two regulation springboards were installed, over the deep water.

Pier under construction 1940

Dedication of the championship course and diving tower during the 1942 meet.

1940's Shakamak Map