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Ridley Creek Celebrates 40th Anniversary as a State Park
Ridley Creek became a state park 40 years ago, in 1972. This milestone was celebrated by the Friends of Ridley Creek State Park at a gala event and open house at the Mansion on Sunday, October 21st from 1 pm to 4 pm. Over 100 people came by.
There were tours of the Mansion and Hidden Valley horse stables, a historical display of photos and articles, interesting stories about the history of the park and Mansion from tour guide, Kay Ferrari, and park resident Tish Mayo, ranger talks, 40th anniversary mementos, refreshments, and a special anniversary cake.
Information tables and displays from groups that are active in the park included the Colonial Plantation, which led a project of making corn husk dolls; the Craft Guild; and two fishing groups: Delco Anglers, and Delco Manning Chapter #320 of Trout Unlimited, which gave fly tying demonstrations and displayed a model of the fly fishing section of Ridley Creek. The Chester-Ridley-Crum Watershed Association sponsored a nature slide show presented by Tom Reeves, a horticulturalist and experienced nature guide. In addition, Tish Mayo, “artist-in-residence,” displayed some of her paintings and photographs of the park.
Another event was the 40-mile Hiking Challenge. Hikers who registered for this pledged to do 40+ miles in the park over a period of 10 weeks, from August 12 until October 21. Nine hikers achieved 40 miles or more, and special prizes were awarded to them along with Certificates of Achievement. George Blohm, who hiked 119.2 miles, commented, “While I appreciate a prize, I do this for one prize - my health - and RCSP has been ‘the place’ that has helped me achieve better health.”
Echoing that thought, 146-mile achiever Varinder Mohan commented, “I do not consider this an exceptional accomplishment because this is my physical fitness regimen and not a challenge.” He added, “I would like to say that Ridley Creek State Park is a huge resource to the communities surrounding the park. It offers beautiful vistas and a serene environment that lets people of all ages unwind and relax in a natural setting, and for a number of us, a place to improve the fitness level. Efforts put forth by the Friends of Ridley in preserving this resource are remarkable.”
We thank our contributing merchants who graciously donated the prizes. Be sure to patronize them:
Also, we congratulate these hikers for entering the Ridley Creek State Park 40-mile Challenge and achieving the listed miles!
| Varinder Mohan | 146 miles |
| George Blohm | 119.2 miles |
| Tim Higgins | 75.5 miles |
| Dina Cianci | 50 miles |
| Richard Patterson | 49 miles |
| Thomas Caldwell | 47.2 miles |
| Linda Pellegrino | 40 miles |
| Leslie Stack | 40 miles |
| Stephanie Spence | 40 miles |