Gerald Ensley: When Tallahassee enjoyed water skiing – on Lake Ella

(This column was first published in the Tallahassee Democrat on May 25, 2011.)

Hundreds of people walk and ride bikes around Lake Ella each day — a journey that is a mere six-tenths of a mile. It's a pleasant bit of nature in the middle of Tallahassee, albeit just yards from a major highway and home to dozens of ducks.

So, some might find it hard to believe Lake Ella was once home to water ski shows. The shows were held on the Fourth of July, as skiers challenged the tiny confines of the lake to treat spectators to barefoot skiing, kite-skiing, backward skiing, five-person pyramids and other examples of skiing derring do.

"It was the only time they allowed boats on Lake Ella," recalled Carlton Ingram, a retired state official who grew up near the lake. "It was quite an exciting event."

Tallahassee's modern-day Fourth of July celebrations began at Lake Ella in 1957, when the Jaycees began sponsoring an annual event. The celebrations included arts and crafts shows, children's fishing contests, speeches, bell ringing, food booths and, of course, fireworks.

In 1958, the Jaycees added water-skiing to the slate of activities. The shows were held for four years, 1958 through 1961. They were discontinued when the Fourth of July celebration moved to the Leon County Fairgrounds from 1962 through 1965. In 1966, the Fourth of July celebration returned to Lake Ella, and a water ski show was held that year. But the water ski show ended after that, perhaps because road construction in 1968 led to the lake's being retrofitted as a stormwater pond. And in 1984, the Fourth of July celebrations moved to Tom Brown Park.

Some spectators, such as retired Tallahassee parks and recreation director David Chapman, who was in elementary school at the time, thought, "It was the Cypress Gardens team that put on the shows."

The shows were staged by the Tallahassee Water Ski Club, which was made up mostly of local teenagers. But one of the stars was the late Devon Brown, who spent four summers as a professional skier at Cypress Gardens. Also participating was his younger brother, Gene Brown, who would go on to ski professionally at the Chicago International Trade Exposition in 1961.

The Browns were joined by other crackerjack local skiers, such as now-retired lighting contractor Skeeter McGowan and the late District Court of Appeals Judge Klein Wigginton. Other participants included Doug Cook, Shirley Merritt, Linda Atkinson and Marilyn Barineau (who would later become Mrs. Gene Brown). The boats were driven by Ben Thornal and Dick Winchester.

"Looking back, it's hard to believe (we skied on Lake Ella)," said Gene Brown, a Tallahassee attorney perhaps best known as one of the developers of St. George Island in the 1970s and 1980s. "It was wall-to-wall (spectators) around the lake; it was interesting."

Skiing in Lake Ella was treacherous. Though still a natural pond then, it was shallow and filled with bottles, cans and other debris. Devon Brown cut his foot barefoot skiing when he hit a pipe. Klein Wigginton ran into concrete post near the shore. Skiers had to navigate electric wires when riding the kite.

The skiing was also challenging because of the small area: Lake Ella is only 7 acres. It was tough for boats to maintain skiing speeds while constantly turning within the small space. Local housepainter Sid Cooper used to watch the ski shows on Lake Ella as a boy — and was amazed the skiers pulled it off.

"You know how when you're little, things seem bigger?" Cooper said. "But even then, the lake seemed small."

The tight quarters contributed to the biggest mishap in the show's brief history. In 1961, the skiers performed their major set piece: Circling the lake with a five-person pyramid of three men skiing, with two women standing on their shoulders.

But while attempting to make a sharp turn, the boat lost speed and the line to the five skiers went slack, causing Marilyn Brown to tumble off the pyramid in front of the three men, who ran over her. Though she wasn't hurt, it was a scary moment.

"I didn't have the presence of mind to fall backward (away from the skiers)," Marilyn Brown said. "It's a wonder I wasn't decapitated."

Such shows could not be held now. In 1986, an isthmus was built from the southern shore of Lake Ella to a one-time small island in the lake. A gazebo was added, and the isthmus is now one of the favorite gathering places for Lake Ella sunbathers and strollers.

But it juts out enough to stop a boat from speeding around the perimeter of Lake Ella.

"The lake was barely big enough then (to ski)," said Gene Brown. "It would be impossible now with that peninsula."

Which puts a crimp in any encores.

Gerald Ensley was a reporter and columnist for the Tallahassee Democrat from 1980 until his retirement in 2015. He died in 2018 following a stroke. The Tallahassee Democrat is publishing columns capturing Tallahassee’s history from Ensley’s vast archives each Sunday through 2024 in the Opinion section as part of theTLH 200: Gerald Ensley Memorial Bicentennial Project.

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