Shelby Miller, 19, of Middlefield, left, and best friend Brenna King, 20, of Parkman, tube across Mosquito Lake Staff file photo / R. Michael Semple

What’s your suggestion?

If you could change the name of Mosquito Lake State Park, what would you call it? Send your suggestions and why, with your name and town or township of residence, to Features Editor Burton Cole at bcole@tribtoday.com or mail them to Burton Cole, Features Editor, Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator, 240 Franklin St. SE, Warren, Ohio 44483.

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Heading off for a picnic and beach time at a park named Mosquito gives a person pause.

But state Rep. Michael Loychik’s suggestion to rename Mosquito Lake State Park as Donald J. Trump State Park created an uproar.

The Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator want to know — IF the park in Bazetta and Mecca ever was renamed, what would you call it? What name would best reflect the flavor, history and beauty of the area?

Send your thoughts to bcole@tribtoday.com and we’ll report back in two weeks what area residents would do with a park named Mosquito.

BY ANY OTHER NAME

Loychik, R-Bazetta, wrote in his March 12 proposal, “The legislation is meant to honor the commitment that our 45th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump, bestowed upon the great people of Trumbull County.”

In a counter-petition, Antonette Scharsu of Hubbard suggested Harriet Taylor Upton State Park. Upton, of Warren, was a key figure nationally in securing women’s right to vote and in 1920, was the first woman elected vice chairman of the executive committee of the Republican National Committee. But Scharsu said she’d be just as happy to keep the name Mosquito.

Larry Sherer of Cortland wrote in a letter to the editor, “Years ago there was an unsuccessful attempt to change the name of Mosquito Creek to McKinley (after Niles native William McKinley, the 25th president of the United States), and even then, local preferences won out.”

Barbara Gilkes of Granville wrote: “I would like to suggest renaming Mosquito Lake to Idora State Park. Many people have fond memories of Idora Park. It was such a key part of the Youngstown and Mahoning Valley for decades.”

THE BUZZ ON MOSQUITO

In 1795, the Connecticut Land Company offered for sale a 17,247-acre tract of land named Bazetta Township. The first settlers arrived in the Bazetta wilderness in 1805. Deer, turkey, rabbit, squirrel, bears and wolves were plentiful.

Legend has it that the creek area was fantastic for hunting but festooned with mosquitoes, which gave the waterway its name.

And a creek named Mosquito was prone to flooding.

The reservoir was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1938 and the lake was completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in April 1944. The manmade reservoir is the second-largest inland lake in Ohio. The Board on Geographic Names Decisions officially changed the name from Mosquito Creek Reservoir to Mosquito Creek Lake in 1971.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources states that the lake has more than 7,000 acres of water surface area and the surrounding parkland covers 2,483 acres of woodlands and marshes. Recreation includes a 600-foot swimming beach, more than 10 miles of hiking and cross-country skiing trails, more than 230 camping sites, picnic areas, boating, summer and ice fishing, snowmobiling, hunting and a disc golf course.

“The name has withstood the test of time — Mosquito Creek Lake was formed by damming Mosquito Creek back in 1944. Since then, Mosquito Lake State Park has become one of Ohio’s best state parks, best fishing lakes, and has one of Ohio’s most important wildlife refuges,” the ODNR stated in opposing a name change.

bcole@tribtoday.com