MARYVILLE — Knights of Columbus Council 6625 is bidding a sad goodbye to historic Buffalo Park at the end of this month. The Knights have owned and operated the park since 1975, holding meetings, bingo and fish fries there for decades.
The final fish will be fried on April 27 and the Knights will officially close the hall April 30, says Robert McAteer, one of the charter members of the Maryville council. After that council activities will be held at the Mother of Perpetual Help parish hall. Buffalo Park has been sold to a private developer, he says, adding that the new owners have not yet been announced.
"The park should have been on the National Register because of its service to numerous generations of supporters," McAteer says.
When it was first built in the early 20th century, Buffalo Park was a wooden dance floor near the trolley line, lit at night by kerosene lanterns as visitors arrived in horse-drawn surreys. It was appropriately named because of the herds of buffalo that roamed the area during the time when Kickapoo Indians (a sub-tribe of the Illini) hunted there.
"The history of Buffalo Park can be traced back to 1905 when Mr. Albert Rubetz Sr. of Maryville leased a small strip of land from the Joseph Zajicek family," McAteer says. "He cleared the land of timber, blackberry bushes and anything else that grew there."
The first dance floor and a lunch stand were built from logs that were felled by hand and hewn with hand tools. "In later years, a pavilion and other buildings were constructed to accommodate year-round activities," McAteer says.
"Outdoor picnics were popular in those days. Mom would prepare a lunch and Dad would drive the buggy or they would ride the trolley to the park for a Sunday outing," he says. "The kids would play games and the old pond probably provided a great swimming hole in the summer and ice skating in the winter. Music was either provided by family members or the many local bands that provided the entertainment for many years."
Despite its popularity, Buffalo Park has been closed a few times over the years — first during World War I and then again in 1952 when Zajicek died. The Knights bought Buffalo Park in the 1970s; they enclosed the hall and stocked the lake with fish. Fish fries were held every Friday. Many other events happened there, including wedding receptions, bingos, flea markets, turkey shoots and political rallies.
But as the decades have gone by, attendance at the fish fries and other events have been deteriorating, says McAteer. Even though Maryville is growing and has a population of about 7,400, the number of Knights is dwindling and members could no longer afford to keep Buffalo Park going.
"It was just one of those times when you could see the handwriting on the wall," says McAteer, noting that the future of fish fries and other events will be announced later. "Sales were down. We couldn't get the volunteers.
"We're an older group of Knights. I'm an octogenarian myself and I think we are all AARP members," he says. "To be honest, a lot of the older members are dying off and the younger folks are so busy with their kids and their jobs — it's sad but I understand it."