For as long as I can remember, I have loved amusement parks. Not only the thrill of the rides and attractions, but the design, layout and history too.
As a child, my grandfather would take me to the annual air show in Avoca. Although I enjoyed seeing the static and aerial displays, one of my favorite parts of the excursion was catching a glimpse of the remnants of Rocky Glen, where we would park before being shuttled to the airport.
In my senior year of high school, I began looking for information on Angela Park while working on a project about the history of Mountain Top. That led to the construction of my first website, which debuted on New Year's Day of 2000. The website quickly grew to include brief histories on other parks in the area, including Sans Souci and Rocky Glen.
For a short time, the site was known as Bill's Park Page: Past and Present which featured not only defunct parks, but also reviews of parks I visited. After removing the reviews, it was renamed NEPA Lost Parks, a name which better described the main focus of the website. It jumped around a few times to various hosts, until in late 2002 I decided to buy my own corner of the web.
On New Year's Day of 2003, NEPALostParks.com became the permanent home of my research into all of the amusement parks in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Since beginning the site in 2000, I have been researching the parks and making online updates in my spare time. What has made it to the web is a fraction of the total amount of information, images and artifacts I have obtained. I wish I had more time to devote to the work, and I try to update the site as often as I can. Between my job, work on the new site (PAontheGo.com), volunteer activities, an occasional social outing and a few hours of sleep, there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day to fit everything in.
People often ask me why I bother with this endeavor. It certainly isn't about the money, as I sink several hundred dollars a year into the hosting, domain renewal, and costs involved in research and acquisition of postcards and memorabilia. And it isn't about bringing back memories of the parks from my childhood, because I never visited any of them while they operated. In fact, I was born in 1982, which means all the parks except a few were already closed.
What keeps me going on this project is the enjoyment I have in doing the research, collecting the memorabilia, and hearing from visitors to the site whose childhood memories are brought back. Maybe it's a sense of nostalgia. Maybe it's a sense of tradition. Maybe it's because I love going to amusement parks today. Whatever the reason, the response I've had over the last few years has been great.
- Bill Androckitis Jr.