June 28
Our Lady of
Fatima, Russells Point, Ohio, USA
In 1957, phone company executive George B. Quatman bought the Stardust Ballroom across the channel from Sandy Beach Amusement Park, the "Million-Dollar Playground" on Indian Lake in southern Ohio. Hoping to create a wholesome alternative to the sometimes rowdy attractions of Sandy Beach and the strip joint run by its owner Pappy Wilgus, Quatman renamed his property San Juan Resort, banned alcohol, rock & roll, and casual dress there, and donated all its proceeds to charity. He installed life-size statues of the Last Supper in addition to a carousel and a steel roller-coaster to rival the old wooden one of Sandy Beach. On July 4, 1961, some 500 youths rioted at Sandy Beach. The Independence Day riot became an annual event, contributing to the park's demise. Shortly before his death in 1964, Mr. Quatman installed a 19-foot statue of Our Lady of Fatima near the channel, on an even higher rotating pedestal surrounded by colorful dancing waters synched to music. The statue was dedicated June 28, 1964, and the surrounding shrine on August 30. In 1967, a new owner bought both San Juan Resort and Sandy Beach Park to create Indian Lake Playland, which closed in 1975. The Fatima statue and the channel bridge, now a floorless arch, are all that remain of the old amusement park. The Quatman family maintains the statue, now stationary and silent, facing the lake, from which it is best seen. St. Mary of the Woods Catholic Church conducts an annual outdoor mass there on the Feast of the Assumption, August 15. In 2014, this event commemorated the shrine's 50th anniversary.
Information from "George B. Quatman," quatmanfamily.com/index.html, and other sources. Photo by Susan Fox, Catholic Telegraph, www.catholiccincinnati.org.
Also celebrated this day:
 | Commemoration of the First Church for the Virgin Mary in the City of Philippi, Coptic Church |
| Al-Adra (The Virgin), Muharraq Monastery, al-Qusia, Assiut, Egypt. Annual pilgrimage celebrates ancient church's dedication. |
| Madonna di Sant'Agnese, Rome, Italy. Venerated fresco moved to new church façade, 1653. |
| Matka Boża Różanostocka, Rózanystok, Dabrowa Bialostocka, Podlaskie, Poland. Icon crowned, 1981. |
| Matka Boża Tęskniąca, Warsaw, Poland, Powsin district (Longing Mother of God). Painting crowned, 1998. |
| Our Lady of the Hudson, Port Ewen, New York, USA. Statue dedicated, 1952. |