CANFIELD, Ohio - Idora Park is long gone, but one couple in Canfield has made it their mission to preserve not only the history but the memories as well. It started with a museum and now also includes a book, "Lost Idora Park."

Jim and Toni Amey freely admit when they started collecting old Idora Park items they didn't have an end-goal in mind.

"We wanted to show the public, but I had no idea it would grow like this," said Jim.

At this point, thanks to the Idora Park Experience museum in Canfield, they're synonymous with the place.

"We'll be shopping somewhere, and somebody will come up and say 'Hey, you're the Idora Park folks,'" said Jim.

This weekend, the museum will open for the tenth time over the last six years, but this one almost never happened. The saving grace turned out to be a book, one they wrote themselves in just three and a half weeks called "Lost Idora Park."

"We only opened once last year, and a little known fact is, we almost never opened again. We got burned out and said, 'We're done,'" said Toni. "We went into the book, thinking it was the last thing we would do, that it was the closing of the story. But what happened in that three and a half weeks was, it made us realize it was only the beginning of the story."

While some of the old rides and signs in the museum bring back memories, inside the book are personal photos that have been shared or donated to the museum and the hundreds of personal stories that came with them.

"I think for us, the book became almost legitimizing what we're doing. It allowed us to step back and look at it and say it is bigger. There are stories here, we do need to tell these stories, and we're the only ones that can do this," said Toni. 

The whole process of writing the book has given them an entirely new perspective on the museum itself.

"In the last six months especially, as we've gotten more engaged again, doing more on social media, the floodgates have opened," said Toni. "People stop by our house, knock on the door and say, 'Are you the people? Because here's this stuff'."

"Just the other day we got 35 signs donated to us," said Jim. "Whacky Shack sign over here on the wall, that was just donated two days ago."

What you don't see with all the artifacts are the connections that are hidden inside everyone that walks through. That's the part Jim, and Toni get to witness first-hand.

"We've had people come in and say, 'My child has passed, but I took them to Idora, and those are my treasured memories, those are the things that keep me going,'" said Toni. "It makes you realize that while you didn't plan to be here, you're supposed to be here. And that comes with a responsibility to do something with it."

While the book is the latest chapter in that, this story is very much still being written.

They're already talking about a possible second book, while still trying to find a way to make this a more permanent museum.

It will be open this weekend, Friday through Sunday, from 12 pm-5 pm each day. The Idora Park Experience is located at 4450 S. Turner Road, in Canfield.

The book will be out in August, but it is available right now for pre-order on the Idora Park Experience website, where you can also find out more information about the museum itself and the mission to preserve a piece of Youngstown history.