1938 Fruit Festival in Ottawa County

In August of 1938, the second annual Fruit Festival was held to showcase the fruit crop of Ottawa County. Many of the festivities took place at Gem Beach, but the Fruit Festival parade was in downtown Port Clinton. Oak Harbor student Dorothy Rice was selected queen of the Fruit Festival. She can be seen with her court in the picture below.

A patriotic float featured a large star with the words “God Bless America.”

A crowd gathered around the Island House in downtown Port Clinton to view the parade.

The Island and Gypsum Fruit Company’s motto was “Always tops with the pick of the crops.”

An advertisement for the Fruit Festival appeared in the August 20, 1938 issue of the Sandusky Register.

Dominick Cua, War Veteran and Businessman

Dominick Cua was the son of Salvatore and Maria Cua, born in Italy in 1890. He served in the Quartermaster’s Corps during World War I. In the 1920s, he operated a billiards hall in downtown Sandusky. Below is a page from his patent for a cue holder that he invented.

Later Mr. Cua ran a lunch room on Fulton Street, and from the 1930s to the 1950s, he was the operator of a concession stand at Battery Park.

As a Veteran of World War I, he was active in the American Legion. This is a medal he wore at an American Legion Convention held in Detroit, Michigan in 1931:

By 1959, Dominick Cua and his family moved to Florida. He died in Broward County, Florida in 1974. He and his wife June were buried at Lauderdale Memorial Park in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.