Mr. Schock deeded trusteeship of the park originally to the Donegal (then Mount Joy) School District, who in later years, before effectively abandoning it in 1997, regarded it largely as a financial resource and authorized some rather crude clear-cut logging. (Incidentally, one of the last such efforts rendered the large clearing immediately to the east of the tower.) This was seen as a sign of egregious mismanagement and amongst other things then PA Sen. David ‘Chip’ Brightbill sought from the District Lebanon County taxes owing from the sale of the timber. This precipitated a change in management.
In 1998 a different administration, one that fulfilled the terms in the deed of being a nearby school district or local government authority, took control. The joint trustees are the Lebanon County Commissioners and the Sico Foundation (primarily an educational scholarship fund established, like Governor Dick, by Sico’s founder, Mr. Schock). The Sico Foundation has historically because of this association been a mainstay of support for the park. Each of the organizations have three representatives on the board:
Sico
- Frank Eichler – long time Foundation administrator, once employee of Mr. Schock
- Dave Eichler – Frank’s son and de facto Park Ranger
- John Weidman
Lebanon County
- Tom Harlan – a lawyer and Mt. Gretna Heights resident
- Chuck Allwein – from Mt. Gretna’s ‘Jigger Shop’
- Ray Bender – board chairman
The board meets ordinarily at about 7 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at ‘Possum Lodge’, the supposed educational center building, at the southernmost part of the park off Pinch Road, but this can change with little or no warning. The meetings can be quite informative and are a means of expressing concerns to the board, once one has come to terms with the unusual and arbitrary strictures on public comment. They accept mail as:
Clarence Schock Memorial Park at Governor Dick
PO Box 161, Mt. Gretna, PA 17064The ‘street address’ is:
3283 Pinch Rd., Mt. Gretna, PA 17064
Directions to the meetings
From ‘downtown’ Mount Gretna (which may be reached on Rte. 117 from Rte. 72), take Pinch Road south for approximately 1.5 miles. The ‘Possum Lodge’ entrance is on the left, almost directly opposite the Governor Nicolas Biddle Trail parking lot on the State gamelands.
Shiver outside for three-quarters-of-an-hour until they deign to let you in to their meeting (it’s happened).
Their parent organizations are:
Lebanon County Commissioners
Room 207, Municipal Building
400 S. 8th. St.
Lebanon, PA 17042Sico Foundation
P.O. Box 302
Mount Joy, PA 17552
| Postscript: The text of this section is borrowed from an abandoned Friends of Governor Dick website from 2002; minor formatting and editing has been added. We would love to know who penned these words, if you recognize them, please use the contact form to reach out. |