Tim Fitzpatrick and his wife, Diane Laney Fitzpatrick, are shown near their home in the Milton Commons condominiums in Lake Milton.

LAKE MILTON — Tim Fitzpatrick was Youngstown City Hall reporter in the 1980s when the city had to cope with brutal economic hardships caused by the collapse of the steel industry.

He had a closeup view of the steps the city took to reduce its expenses. One was getting out from under the cost of owning Lake Milton, which was created in 1913 to provide water that served Youngstown’s steel industry.

By 1985, the dam needed to be replaced at a huge cost. After then-Mayor Pat Ungaro threatened to let out the water in the lake, state officials stepped in, took over the lake, replaced the dam and created Lake Milton State Park.

Fitzpatrick, who grew up in Canfield, said he spent time at Lake Milton when he was growing up. His family owned a cottage on the lake, and they enjoyed boating.

Tim and his wife, Diane Laney Fitzpatrick, a writer who also worked as a Vindicator and a Tribune Chronicle reporter, moved around the country after Tim left The Vindicator to work three decades in corporate communications for major companies. Their last stop was in San Francisco.

MEMORIES

But when Tim retired in 2018, the couple moved back to Ohio, buying a home in Shaker Heights, and then looked for a home on the lake. Lake Milton was a good fit.

Not only is it close to relatives back home, but it brings back memories of his youth and was reasonably priced — at least by San Francisco standards, Tim said.

They bought their 1,700-square-foot condominium in Lake Milton Commons for $225,000 last fall.

“It was 20 years old, so we spent $40,000 on some upgrades. And I think it’s still very competitive pricewise,” he said. “One of the things I always do is compare the price per square foot. After improving it by $40,000 (to $265,000), it costs $156 per square foot. That is very competitive for a place that has water access,” he said.

When he was city hall reporter, “there was no clarity on what (Youngstown) was going to do,” he said regarding he lake. “That is why people would remember historically pretty small cottages at the lake. After the stability of the state and the people owning the properties, it gave people confidence to invest more,” he said.

Diane, who grew up in Hubbard, caught her first fish at Lake Milton with her grandfather and brother near the Mahoning Avenue bridge. One of the first dates she and Tim had involved a walk along the Lake Milton docks late at night.

And their first vacation as a couple was at the Fitzpatrick cottage.

“What was meaningful for me is to retire back here,” Diane said. “We lived in San Francisco. We lived all over the country in all of these big cities and we retire to Cleveland, Ohio,” she said with a laugh.

“But having Lake Milton so close was big part of that. It was really meaningful to me to go back to the place where Tim grew up, always on boats. There were so many memories, so it’s kind of cool for us to come to a place like this and have a place out here.”

There are other memories of the lake.

“In my family, it’s very nostalgic,” Tim said. “My father died of a heart attack on the dock over at Craig Beach we had. Lake Milton was always near and dear in shape or form.”

COMING HOME

When the couple told their extended family that they were getting a place at the lake, “I think they were more excited than we were,” Diane said. “Nieces and nephews who are now parents. They remember as kids, we always were at the lake, all summer. Every birthday celebration, everything where the family got together, we got together out here. They are so excited that they can maybe do that with their kids.”

Tim added, “If a kid was given a choice of where you wanted your birthday party, it would be ‘at the lake.'” The couple has children of their own in Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Seattle.

“They were super excited,” Diane said. “And I think that is the thing that will get them back here more than anything else.”

erunyan@vindy.com