Mount Pocono Horse Show remembered

by Suzanne Fretz McCool

I want to clarify or correct some information on a picture that appeared on line or on Facebook a few weeks ago. Someone erroneously identified a picture of a horse show long ago as the “Mount Pocono Horse Show,” but it was, in fact, of an earlier horse show known as “The Pocono Mountains Horse Show,” which was one of the horse shows that took place in or near the village of Mount Pocono in the late 1930s or the early 1940s.

My parents, John and Viola Fretz, and a group of businessmen from the Mount Pocono area, brought the horse show back to our business, the Airport Inn, which today is known as Bailey’s. It’s on Route 611 in Mount Pocono. The show was held in the big field behind our hotel for three years – 1946, 1947 and 1948. Our show was known as the “Mount Pocono Horse Show.”

The largest of the three shows was the first one held in 1946. It was licensed by the American Horse Shows Association, Inc. It was actually part of the circuit which held shows in Devon, PA and at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

My dad, John P. Fretz, was president and R. L. Dengler was vice-president. Earl E. Heller was the secretarytreasurer, and Fred Garrison was the manager of our shows. The committee consisted of R. Leroy Dengler, Robert Trier, Jr., Dr. Robert Ergang, Phillip F. Tirrell, Edward C. Jenkins, Thomas Howlett, Clifford R. Gillam, and William Malleson, Jr.

The judges were J. Griffith Springfield of Philadelphia, Mrs. Frederick Van Lennep, of Newtown Square, and Christopher Wadsworth of Kenmore, NY.

The announcer was C. G. Moss of Harrisburg, and the ringmaster was Josiah Bougher of Eagleville. (This information is taken from the 1947 Mt. Pocono Horse Show bulletin). As I said the show was licensed by the American Horse Shows Association, Inc. Its address was 90 Broad Street, New York, NY. The executive secretary of the Association was Theodore Buell. Also the Horse Shows benefited the General Hospital of Monroe County.

My sisters, Linda and Paulette, and I were quite young when these horse shows took place; however, I can remember toddling around the field with our Aunt Audrey Grabowsky and watching people brushing their horses and braiding their tails and putting ribbons in their manes and tails. When the shows were over, we would walk around the empty fields picking up the pretty ribbons.

Also we had a horse name Penelope, but it wasn’t a show horse. Our horse stayed on a horse farm on the Sterling Road, which was owned by Art Besecker. It was up the road from Wagner’s Garage.

Although I was very

St. Luke’s Care Now offers fast, convenient care for minor illnesses and injuries when your primary care doctor can’t see you immediately.

• Minor illnesses and injuries including: the common cold, flu, sinus infections, sprains, strains, broken bones and more

• A St. Luke’s provider is always available.

• Walk-in Lab and X-ray services with a script from your primary care physician at this location

• Comprehensive Occupational Medicine services available for local employers young, I can remember when our grandstands were being built behind our hotel. Duke Keiper, a local builder and friend of my parents, oversaw the project. I remember the day they tested the lights in the grandstands, a memory that has somehow stuck with me.

Also I believe some folks flew into the shows as the Mount Pocono Airport Association was conveyed to the Pocono Mountains Airport Association on September 26, 1945. My dad and other local businessmen were members of the Airport Association. Prior to this, the airport was owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The Coolbaugh Historical Society has records on how the airport was conveyed to the association. Clancy Dennis covers this very well in his book, “Coolbaugh Township, PA, the First Two Hundred Years.” Now that’s a story for another day!

They Paved Paradise and Put Up …

by Seth Isenberg

A follow-up to my short opinion piece about the warehouse project in Mt. Pocono that trades a wooded greenspace for, well, a parking lot and huge building. I am hearing that the tree removal has changed the weather pattern from Five Points almost to the Ray Price dealerships. It was most noticeable after the snows of a few weeks ago (big drifts), but now the wind howls through.

I’d like to hear more from locals about this.

It’s a wonder that the developer could not retain enough trees for beauty, and a wind break. Planting them now won’t be enough for years…