The small bathhouse that existed at that time was becoming inadequate to accommodate the great influx of swimmers.  Plans were formulated to build a much larger one just north of it.  The new building was to be joined to the existing one, which would be converted to restrooms.
New Bathhouse
The parking space, near the beach, which had been enlarged several times, was once again found to be inadequate.  The CCC made plans to further enlarge it, and for the construction of 2 miles of curbing to divide it.

In the spring, of 1941 the big question on everyone’s mind was would the lake fill back up in time for that year’s swim meet.  It turned out to be a very dry spring, and the lake’s water level didn’t recover enough, so the swim meet had to be moved to Indianapolis.

Everything was back to normal, by the next year, and all planned projects were nearly completed.  Shakamak State Park suffered a great loss on Wednesday, June 25, 1942.  Martin R. Goshorn suffered a heart attack, while walking on the beach of his beloved Shakamak Lake, and passed away a short time later, at his home in the park.  He was 73 years old and had been park custodian for 8 years.

On August 22, 1942, the new bathhouse was formally dedicated.  This was also the first day of the eighth annual swim meet.  Many dignitaries, from around the state were on hand, for the event, as well as several celebrities.  Probably the most popular of the latter were Sammy Lee, the national diving champion, and his runner-up M. Anderson.  Both young men were from Ohio State University.

That the Shakamak Swim Meet had grown, since its beginning eight years prior was evidenced by the number of states that had joined the original five.  1942 was the first year the National Women’s Platform Event was staged here.  Miss Margaret Reinhold, of Lakeland, Florida, won the crown in this event.  There were also several national junior men and women’s events.

Construction of the Shakamak State Park Hotel was begun, but work was stopped, and the project abandoned.  According to some accounts, the problem was a shortage of building materials, during World War II.  Others claim there was a labor dispute.  I have found no mention, of the matter, in the newspapers of the time.

Freeman ‘Beanie’ West was promoted to Park Custodian after the death of Martin R. Goshorn.  Mr. West was soon busy completing many projects that had been begun under his predecessor. 

Shakamak rose to its greatest popularity during these early years of World War II.  A paid attendance of 5000 was not uncommon.

Those of us who remember those years will recall waiting in line for hours to be admitted to the park on a busy Sunday.   Cars would be lined up from the gatehouse to where the entrance drive splits before it reaches the highway.  At that point, the cars would break into two lines, one extending to the highway and then around Shakamak curve towards Jasonville, and the other towards Coalmont.

With no home air conditioning and no television, people flocked to the park for an opportunity to cool off at the beach, or find entertainment in the great outdoors.  Many residents, from the surrounding area, moved to the park for the summer to escape the heat in town.

The 9th annual Shakamak swim meet, which was also the 3rd National A.A.U. Swim Meet, was held at the park August 27-29, 1943.  Miss Ann Curtis, of Crystal Plunge Pool, located in San Francisco, California, was crowned queen of the water carnival.  She captured the most points in the Women'’ National Swimming Championship, to earn this honor.

Miller Anderson won the Men’s National Diving Championship, which had been won the previous year (1942), by his good friend Sammy Lee.  Sammy Lee was now in the Army Air Corps, and unable to attend.

This would be the last swim meet held, at the park until 1946, because of the worsening conditions of World War II.  As the war wore on people were called upon more and more to make sacrifices in their daily lives.  Gasoline, along with many other items was either rationed or not available at all.  Staging a national event, which drew people from all over the country, was out of the question in these difficult times.

While the Great Depression of the 1930’s, had proved a great boon to Shakamak State Park, because of the government public works projects created there, the opposite was true of the war years.  A scarcity of all types of materials made it a very difficult task to simply keep things in repair.

The eventual deterioration, of the park, was a matter of great concern to the Jasonville Industrial Bureau, as well as many interested citizens of this area.  No real solution, to the problem, was found until the war ended, however.

On May 30, 1945, Freeman “Beanie” West resigned as park custodian, to accept a position with Standard Oil.  He had been an employee, at the park, for twelve years.

With the end of World War II, on August, 15, 1945, life in the United States began to return to normalcy, although as one war veteran told me,” a way of life was gone forever.” But life does go on, and in August of 1946, the National A.A.U. Swim Meet resumed at the park.

In this day, and age, the swim meets would have, beyond a doubt, drawn National television coverage. As it was, in these days before television, they were quite thoroughly covered, by the news media of the time.  Newsreel cameramen, sports writers and announcers, were all on hand each year to cover this National Event.

The great women’s national champion Ann Curtis, duplicating her outstanding performance of 1943, once more reigned supreme in the three day meet.  Miss Curtis led her Crystal Plunge swimming team to the 1946 Women’s National A.A.U. outdoor swimming and diving Championship over highly rated Multnomah Club of Portland, Oregon.

The Shakamak State Park Hotel was once again in the news, in 1946.  A grant of $8,900.00 was made, for the engineers to select a suitable sight and draw up plans for the structure.  The estimated cost, of the proposed three-story hotel, would be between $300,000 and $500,000.  Part of the money was to come from the Federal Works Agency and the rest from the State Building Fund.

Mayor William Slough, of Jasonville, later announced that he had received a telegram from Congressman Gerald Landis, stating that Federal Funds had been set aside for the project.

Walter Shouse, Custodian of Shakamak State Park, gave a talk at the Jasonville Industrial Bureau, in which he discussed the probable location of the hotel.  He said the hotel would comprise about one hundred and twenty-two rooms.

After this the local newspapers never mention the hotel again.  Once again it has vanished, and once again without a trace.  Perhaps some future historian will be able to locate a reason, but I have found none.

Mrs. Lela Cooprider, of Clay City, was appointed Custodian of Shakamak State Park in 1949.  She was the sixth person to hold this position.

In April of that year, Mrs. Cooprider announced the addition of 50 new rowboats to the park’s fleet of rentals.  She also announced the paving of the roadway into the camping grounds and the addition of several new campsites in the areaway.

The annual Shakamak Swim Meet continued it’s popularity, attracting swimming enthusiasts from all over the nation.  Its fame had become so great that it was being called not only “The Home of the Nationals”, but was also being referred to as “The Training Ground of the Olympics”.  At this time the Indiana Department of Conservation and the Jasonville Industrial Bureau was jointly sponsoring the meets.  Conrad Davis, a local area man and Shakamak lifeguard, served as beach manager for these events, in the late 1940s.

Tom Ketchem, a former Shakamak lifeguard and well-known Jasonville insurance man, was the beach concessionaire at this time. The beach house offered a fine dining room, a restaurant and fully equipped dressing rooms. The dressing rooms were fully equipped with showers and provided facilities for securing your clothes and valuables, while you were swimming. In addition it provided bathing suit rentals, as well as beach equipment, such as surfboards and other flotation devices. Any nice Sunday, during the summer, would find these facilities overflowing with people. It was usual for the restaurant to use a ton of ice in the soft drinks sold there each Sunday.

State Road 48, between Jasonville and Worthington, was a gravel road until 1949 when it was blacktopped. This improvement gave people good access, to this area, from State road 67.

One of the more popular attractions, at Shakamak, was Andy the buffalo. He, along with his mother, was among the first animals brought to the park for the wildlife exhibit. During his lifetime there he was probably the first, and perhaps the only of his kind, seen by the thousands of children who visited him. Many were saddened by his death in December of 1949. He passed away quietly at the age of 23 years.
Andy and his mother 1930’s