Ontelaunee Park

If you loved the Blue Ridge, and lived anywhere near Eastern Pennsylvania, then you certainly saw them in concert more than once at Ontelaunee Park. 

A glance at the concert schedules from 1971 and 1973 shows them performing there at least once a month during the summer. If you were there, you saw me there with my Nana and Pop-Pop, on or near the front row, taking pictures, or hanging out at the record stand getting autographs...

With my Nana heading to see the Blue Ridge (too dressed up for Ontelaunee though...)

My Pop-Pop with Fred Daniel at Ontelaunee

Fellow fan Carol Parker shared this: "I loved Ontelaunee. It was there that I saw Blue Ridge for the first time. I think I was about 10 years old. We'd see them as often as we could every summer. Then Blue Ridge in the summer was not enough. It was searching out where their next personal appearance was that I learned to read a map. Yup, those paper things we had to read before GPS became available. lol I remember one winter we drove from PA to NY to hear them sing. Yup, that is snow country. We "needed " to hear some Blue Ridge singing no matter what the weather report said. It was snowing so bad after the concert that we found a motel and spent the night. I will never forget the look on my teacher's face when I returned to school with a note that said "We were out of town and got snowed in". My mom wouldn't lie. That was when one had to bring a note to your teacher if you missed a day of school."

Of course, our memories aren't just limited to the Blue Ridge. It was here that we met and fell in love with Shorty Long & The Sante Fe Rangers,...

It was here that "Crazy Elmer" kissed me...lol. It was here that I met Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Bill Anderson... 

Kenny Gates says "We loved working at Ontelaunee Park, the people up there were wonderful. Long after I had left the group, I went by there on a trip to Pennsylvania and it was closed, a chain across the driveway and it was overgrown with weeds. It was very sad. Last year, I went by there again and now it is a beautiful city park. New Tripoli now has a wonderful place to go."

A brief history of the park is as follows:
The grand opening of Ontelaunee Park was held on Labor Day in 1929. William Miller, former owner of the New Tripoli Hotel, was the food and beverage manager. Everyone in New Tripoli was a part of the opening day -- either by attending or working in the park. Over the years, practically all the children in the New Tripoli area worked at the park. Everyone loved to operate the train, fire engine, and merry-go-round. Ontelaunee Park was an ideal spot for all ages, especially since everyone could afford an afternoon there. All the rides were five cents, as were the sodas and candy bars; and hot dogs and hamburgers were only ten cents. Patrons like to say it was "just a beautiful spot."

On Sunday mornings, people arrived very early in the day in order to reserve their favorite picnic site. There were lots of oak trees throughout the park that provided ample shade. Entertainment was held from 1 PM to 10 PM. Many people enjoyed the "cowboy" (country-western) and municipal brass bands. 

Homer Snyder owned and operated Ontelaunee Park with the help of his family, friends, and neighbors until 1966, when he retired and sold the park to Shorty Long, who ran a country-western bandstand. Sally Starr bought the park and then Big John, and then the era of Ontelaunee Park came to an end.

Other fans shared these memories: "Had so much fun at this park when Shorty and Dolly ran it and who can forget Elmer the Clown singing "Out behind the Barn!" So Funny!"

"We went to Ontelaunee Park in the early 70s after church and always had a picnic. I was in my early teens and usually didn't want to go but I always had a good time when I got there. It was something my dad loved to do and he deserved that simple pleasure as he worked so hard for our family six days a week. Of course, Shorty Long was a delightful, fun loving man and his band The Santa Fe Rangers consisted of straightman Clyde on the steel pedal guitar and Crazy Elmer with his funny stories and antics,Like when a camera flash would go he'd turn in that direction, flex, smile and say "Hello"."