REMEMBERING AMUZU PARK Pitt County possessed only a few watering spots at the turn of the century and they were the sites of large gatherings, dances, picnics, and baseball games. In the early 1900s there was much said in the local newspaper about the absence in Greenville of a park, playground, or place of amusement in the area. By 1920, there was a movement to supply the need and provide a place for wholesome recreation and amusement. In April of 1920, W. P. Clarke, A. T. Tripp, and Claude D. Tunstall formed the Clarke-Tripp Amuzu Company to convert the Forbes Mill Pond, about three miles from downtown Greenville, into a pleasure resort. In May 1920, the Amuzu Park, with Claude Tunstall as manager, built a large dance pavilion, 38 x 60 ft. with the upper portion devoted to dancing and the underneath housing numerous bathrooms for men and women. They installed an dynamo electric plant to carry 125 electric lights, a deep artesian well and a water system with a 2000-gallon tank for showers. They built a 130 ft. pier with electric lights out into the pond and stocked the pond with goggle-eye and speckled perch. They also rented nine steel row boats for recreation. The bed of the mill pond was dragged and cleared of obstructions and a gravel bottom put in. Possessing a nice sand beach, the water depth went from 2 inches to 12 feet. They also had the grounds cleared of brush and nice gravel walks laid out all around in the trees, dotted with picnic tables. But in spite of all the planning and preparation, the park almost didnt become a reality. In April 1920, the company offered season tickets to see if public sentiment would make the park a success. The beginning season price was $10 per man (plus war tax) and $5 each for a woman (plus tax) and each child over six. Children under six were admitted free of charge. By May 8, 1920, they had sold only 11 tickets and the managers agreed that if by June 1 they had not sold enough tickets, they would refund all monies. Luckily, enough money was raised and the Park opened on Monday, May 31, 1920. When the Park opened, they advertised that it would be open from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. during the dull summer days and hot summer nights. The Edmonds five piece orchestra would play every Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights. A $2000 Wurlitzer player piano would furnish music each afternoon and Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights. The dance pavilion was built high and cool among the treetops, ideal for summertime dancing. It cost 10 cents to get into the Park, and to dance it cost men 50 cents on Orchestra night and 25 cents on other nights. Ladies were always free. To swim it was 25 cents for men and 10 cents for ladies and children, swimsuits could be rented for 25 cents extra. Mr. Ed Moye, with 8 years of military experience was in charge of the Park and was the life guard and swimming instructor. In June 1920, a bus service was started, leaving The Daily Reflector office on the half hour and leaving the Park on the hour, running between 12:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., with a fare of 25 cents each way. On June 16, the Park held its first square dance, the most popular of the dances held at the Park. The sets were called by Leon Tyson and Zeber Tripp. The fiddlers were Will Forbes and Ed Moore, members of the Ye Olde Fiddlers Band. With its popularity, Thursday nights became Square Dance night. It is remembered that Rosser Laughinghouse and Tom Heath also called sets, and other fiddlers included Buck Moore, Tom Stokes, and Levi Evans. Clogging was done between the sets by Ed Vail and Wyatt McGowan to the tunes Turkey in the Straw, Mississippi Sawyer, and Arkansas Traveler. In July, the Park started having Boxing and wrestling bouts every Tuesday night. The advertised No objectional features or slugging. Ladies Free, men 25 cents and boys 10 cents. Bath tickets entitle each one to a bath that night. The Amuzu Park had a successful first year and said they had had 46 picnic parties for church groups, Boy and Girl Scouts, business firms and reunions. The second year the park opened on April 29, 1921 and grew to be even more popular. Improvements at the Park included new swings, a slide and cables in the trees for rope climbing. A huge Water Carnival was held on Aug. 19th, which included diving, canoe races and track events. Prizes were gold medals and season tickets to the Park. The Park opened for its third year on May 1, 1922, but they began to have financial trouble. In May 1922, the Pitt County Chapter of the Red Cross Life Saving Corps began using the Amuzu Park as a base to teach area swim instructors. After the end of the season the partners dissolved their co-partnership and in order to satisfy the partners and creditors, the Amuzu Park was sold at public auction in Oct. 1922 to W. P. Clarke for $11, 300. The Park consisted of the grist mill, 12 acres in the mill pond and the 32 acres of woods land and park buildings. On March 30, 1923, the newly formed Greenville Country Club purchased the Amuzu Park land and a part of the Gorman tract adjoining, giving the organization about 106 acres, including the beautiful lake and a rolling piece of ground on the Gorman tract. The Greenville Country Club kept the old Forbes mill and lake until the mill dam was dynamited in 1927 and the pond drained. Roger Kammerer