Our mission: To protect the natural environment, ecological diversity, and historical heritage of Clarence Schock Memorial Park at Governor Dick through sound ecological forest stewardship, and responsive, representative leadership.
Brief Park History
In 1936, Clarence Schock made his woodland property above Mount Gretna (now known as Governor Dick) available for the enjoyment of the public. He then deeded the property in the form of a park to The School District of the Borough of Mount Joy in 1953, saying in the deed that transferred ownership of the property that it “shall be maintained and preserved forever as forest and woodland.”
In 1980 Donegal School District, (formerly Mount Joy) made the decision to begin forest harvests and funds from the harvests was put into a fund intended to be used to upgrade the school building. Additionally, some timber was used for school shop projects.
Management of the park was transferred to Lebanon County (the county in which the park sits) in 1996. By 1999, a proposal was presented to make large changes at the park, adding the environmental center, a proposed cell phone tower, and additional timber harvesting. By 2002, residents were concerned enough about the changes to form the first Friends group. Public pushback influenced the scaling back of the scope of proposed projects, but timber harvests continued.
Today
Two decades later, Friends continue to want Clarence and Evetta Schock wanted, a well-maintained and healthy forest where folks can recreate and enjoy the beauty of the land there. While the Friends and the Board both state that the health of the park is the goal—there have been differences in how each group defines “health” and what needs to be done to maintain the forest. The Friends of Governor Dick favor ecological forestry management, which considers more than future timbering options. We also factor in healthy regeneration that will prolong the life of the forest as a whole.
2023 was a big year for the Friends of Governor Dick, among all of the activities, see what we’ve been up to, we became a 501(c)3 charitable organization, formed a board of directors, and elected our first set of officers.
For decades, residents of the area surrounding Governor Dick and visitors of the park from near and far have spoken for the trees of Governor Dick, our hope is to encourage the Trustees to make sound ecologically-based decisions that will improve Clarence Schock Memorial Park at Governor Dick. We also work with the park’s operation staff to support the park in other ways by supporting programming and encouraging volunteering at their monthly Volunteer Day. (Hint, Hint! Second Saturday, 9 am!)