About the Book

​A Crystal Beach resident since childhood, Gary Pooler takes readers behind the scenes of a world class amusement park, combining local history, sports journalism, true crime, and North American folklore to create a unique picture of the quirky Crystal Beach community, both in and “out of the park,” through its geographical and social history. Beginning in the 1800s and covering well over 100 years, these collected stories tell of the life and times in an amusement park resort community—a summer-long carnival, illegal prizefighting in the nearby sand hills, world class entertainers and athletes, featuring the likes of Jesse Owens, an eccentric traveling minstrel, vaudevillians settling in the village, police scandals, bootlegging, and even murder. Pooler chronicles the gradual decline and closure of the amusement park and the effect this had on the village, and illustrates the community’s triumphant renaissance in recent years.

Harrowing and nostalgic, Crystal Beach: Out of the Park is a rare and vital historical record and a spirited exploration of Crystal Beach in all of its various shades and stages.

About the Author
​Gary Pooler was born and raised in the Ridgeway-Crystal Beach area. A life-long Crystal Beach resident, he attended Ridgeway-Crystal Beach High School, Western University, and Brock University, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology.
His grandfatherCarl Pooler worked as a carpenter in the amusement park in the early days. As a young man, Gary worked at Crystal Beach Amusement Park as a brake operator, and later as a lifeguard on Crystal Beach. He also worked for the Bay Beach Corporation, and as a Social Services Caseworker responsible for the Crystal Beach area.
Gary is a retired Ontario Provincial Police officer. He has been a Detective Constable in Organized Crime Enforcement and in Casino Enforcement. He has also held the positions of Intelligence Liaison Officer with the federal government, high school supply teacher, and part-time instructor at Niagara College. 
Gary was a member of the Western Mustangs football team, and was drafted by the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League in 1980. He has also competed in the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon World Championship. In 2010, he was inducted into the Greater Fort Erie Sports Wall of Fame. ​
Gary lives in Ridgeway with his wife and three teenage sons. “Crystal Beach: Out of the Park” is his first book.

get your copy!

Crystal Beach: Out of the Park is available NOW on major online retailers!

reviews

Read the Book?
Leave a review on Amazon or directly in the contact section below!
​Your email address will not be displayed publicly.
  • "Crystal Beach Out of the Park  does an excellent job telling the history of the cherished amusement park that is long gone but certainly not forgotten.  Pooler provides the reader with the nostalgic sights, sounds and smells of the Crystal Beach of old, painting a vivid picture of just how special a place it was for so many people for so many years."      Tom Tarapacki (Buffalo Rising) 
​
  • "I finished Gary Edward Pooler’s awesome and amazing book. It was fascinating and great. I loved it.  It's my heritage. It's like being in the mind of my Great Grandfather. You wrote it as if he was actually there and I could feel his presence in the book."          Cheryl Fretz Carlyle   (John E. Rebstock's Great Granddaughter)
​​ ​
  • "I am so glad I bought the book. It is very well-written and has been hard to put down."    
​
  • "Great book, thanks! Having grown up there, left and come back - even if to just feel the sand in my toes - I never knew much of what you wrote... very informative! Makes one feel proud to be a beach bum from there! Thanks again.. highly recommended!!!"       
​
  • "Gary I bought this book and read it found it so interesting as to Crystal Beach. All the happenings that went on years ago. It was a very good read. Would recommend it to anyone that knows Crystal Beach. Thank You for the excellent read."​      
​
  • "A wounderful and informative read. Thank you. "               
​
  • "A great read , very well written."             ​
​
  • "Just finished Gary Pooler's book "Crystal Beach Out of the Park" and it was a very good and interesting read. Very well written for sure. I was clueless on quite a bit of Crystal Beach's history back in the glory years. Once I finally started reading it it was hard to put down. I suggest if you grew up there or had a cottage there, buy this book. Great job Gary."      
​
  • "Just finished reading Gary's book. Thanks for an excellent nostalgic insight to a huge part of this area. Enjoyed it very much! Thanks! "                    ​
  • "I have a copy directly from Gary!!  GREAT book, highly recommended!!"           
    ​

  • "I read the first 20 pages this morning. Awesome historical book."    



contact 905 357-8865 (call or text)

Crystal Beach Photos:

*Note*  The above is not an actual map of Crystal Beach. It is a plan map from the 1890s proposal for the northern extension of the Crystal Beach resort. The proposed name for this radial-spoke extension was Crystal Park. There was never a Park Lake. The athletic grounds were never at that location.