One of my best childhood memories was going to visit my grandfather, who owned the Nay Aug Amusement Park in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Nay Aug Amusement Park was a small amusement park within the Nay Aug Park grounds. It was run by two brothers, Karl and Ralph Strohl, who received the park from their father. Karl’s wife Ruth and Ralph’s wife Sara (for whom my oldest child is named) both used to work in the back ticket booth on busy days. The amusements included toy tanks in a circle (later switched to cars and motorcycles), caterpillar, bumper cars, helicopters, cars on a track, merry-go-round, boats in a small pond, and a small whip. One of the park’s highlights was the small wooden roller coaster, the Comet Coaster (also known as Comet, Jr.). There was a miniature Lackawanna train which went around the roller coaster. There were also several “adult rides”: the Trabant, the Scrambler, and the Tilt-A-Whirl.
There was an arcade that housed the bumper cars, pinball machines, and some vending. It was previously a dance hall during the 1930s and 1940s where big bands came to play. The park was closed in the 1990s, and its site is now green space. If you know where to look, you can still see some of the painted railing from the park in some of the brush.
I’ve run across a number of people over time who have been to the park. If anyone has any photos of the park, I would love to have copies. You can send the photos via the contact page.
Posing with Zebra: Mark Wasserman, Mindy Levene, Amy Wasserman, Neal Levene, and Karl Strohl pose with zebra at Nay Aug Amusement Park, Scranton, Pennsylvania (circa 1976)
Toy Tanks: This ride went through at least three versions. Here is pictured toy tanks that used to go around in circles. Around the time of the Vietnam War, this ride became fire engines and colored cars, and in the early eighties, it was these motor cycles and buggies with these buzzers that you would hear all afternoon. Photo: from family photos.
The Caterpillar, Photo Credit: Lane by Lane on Flickr
The Dodgems (Bumber Cars). Not exactly what the cars were like at Nay Aug, but close. Photo Credit: knoebels.com
Helicoptors. Main photo: from family photos – back of park with helicopter ride. Inset photo: kiltedlibrarian on Flickr
Old Fashioned Cars: My cousin Amy Wasserman on one of the Old Fashioned Cars that used to go around on a track at the back of the park. This picture ran in the Scranton Times on July 7, 1976. Photo: from family photos.
The Merry-Go-Round at Nay Aug Amusement Park. There was always loud patriotic music playing. Photo: family photos
Boats: Little Boats that went in circles. For some reason, more fights between kids and their parents happened here than any other ride. Photo: from family photos.
The Whip, Photo Credit: Hoffman on Flickr
Roller Coaster – The Comet Jr.: You can see the roller coaster coming around behind the train. Photo: from family photos.
Lakawana Train: The train went around the roller coaster tracks. This was the only ride that I was never allowed to operate. My older cousin, Mark, for some reason was allowed to do so. I was very jealous. Photo: from family photos.
The Trabant, Photo Credit: G Barret on Flickr
The Scrambler, Photo Credit: manganelli.org
The Tilt-A-Whirl, Photo Credit: Kittie55 on Flickr
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{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
Nay Aug Park Amusement was the "Starbucks" of our day……in the 50's, we mothers would gather to have coffee and safely observe our children on the rides. Your grandfather and his family was always a most welcome sight……he indulged us with his stories of the 'old days' and we reveled in his engaging personality.
The entire Nay Aug Park was a playground for the young and the old.
In 1960, my late husband, Joel Mitchell Alperin, and I and about 6 other dedicated persons went further and restored the Zoological Society which was the catalyst for re-opening the Zoo more formally and hired a Zookeeper. The most memorable Zookeeper was George Lowry who still resides in Scranton. He would be a fine resource for your search.
One of my distinct pleasures while residing in Scranton and being active with the Zoological Society was that Toni the elephant was named for me. Her real name was Totie but Mayor Gene Peters and Public Works Director Pettinato chose to give me the honor and I wear it proudly. I still have the pin, a big red heart, "KEEP TONI HERE" when it was necessary to transport her elsewhere.
Ah what wonderful memories. Good luck with your efforts.
Neal, thanks so much for putting this up! I hope you have more. Like everyone else in Scranton, I have precious memories of growing up in this corner of the park. I also had the pleasure of working for Karl and Ralph from '76 to '78 actually operating all these rides, doing maintenance, and setting out and tearing them down in the spring and fall. Some of the best times of my life. It was nothing to start at 9 a.m. and work until 9:30 p.m. sometimes when things were good. No complaints because I thought it was the best job in the world! I still have a few mementos of my time there, a few pics I think, some old pay stubs (handwritten of course by Mrs. S!!!) and my prize possession: the hand-painted wooden sign that hung ouside the ticket booth proclaiming "Nickel Day". I definitely need to send you a pic of that! I'll try to email yo through this site soon. Thanks again!
Fran
Thank you for sharing. I have so many memories from the rides at Nay Aug. It was a wonderful place to go as a child.
Thank you for doing this, Neal. Such a big part of so many people's lives!!
thanks for posting these photos. my grandparents would bring us on the weekends, pack a picnic lunch (and dinner) and ride the rides and play in the arcade. it still holds great memories for me!
Thank you Neal for this site! Its wonderful, I so enjoyed looking at the pictures today, brought back wonderful memories!
I couldnt get past the captcha on the contact page, tried three times. All I wanted to say was Thanks for posting your photos of Nay-Aug. I have three pix of my brother Ed and me at Nay-Aug. These were Polaroid color shots taken probably in 1967. You can find them at : http://alieonix.com/NayAug
Such wonderful memories of all the rides which I loved — except the roller coaster. I hated it. Too rickety for me.
I tell my wife about Nay aug haveing rides , as a kid the church would have days that we would all go to Nay Aug , we would picnic at the pavillion across from where the rides where, that pavillion is still there. What wonderful memories I have of the park back then, I get very sad sometimes when I think of it. There really is nothing there anymore , its very depressing when I drive through the park today. Its like a ghost town. My wife is younger then me and does not remember it was also an amsement park . I was thrilled when I found your site with all the photos, what memories that brought back. Thanks for the memories, Rob
I love this park and really loved the Amusement Park. Everytime I smell hot dogs and fries I think of this plase, especially the bumper cars. I have some pics but will have to search for them. I was fortunate enough to grow up a few blocks from here and was a seriously frequent visitor. I had birthday parties as a youngster i nthe pavillion and spent countless hours roaming the nearby Roaring Brook from age 10 until the present. Thanks for sharing these photos. It's weird it's now just an empty space. I was sad when it was all torn down and I regret not having taken photos before it all went away.
I to have many childhood memories of the park. I was born in Scranton. We did not live there long but every summer we spent it with my Grandparents Vincent and Anna Castellano. Going to the park was awesome. Later I also brought my own children there. I will send pics of my family at the park!
Thanks for sharing! These are wonderful!
A question about the Lackawanna Train family photo: When was the photo taken? Any idea who’s driving the train? (Not clear from your comment whether it was your cousin Mark or that was a general comment about him.)
Thanks.
Just incredible. I was born in ‘81 so my memories of this area are limited, but I’ll never forget the helicopters as long as I live. I used to ride with my dad. They had a lever inside each copter that would raise or lower it once you got going. I think I was afraid of the Comet being only 4 or 5. I can’t picture what part of the park this was in at all, must have been up the hill from the zoo, right?
I can’t believe I just found this site! I have been thinking nonstop about the pink popcorn I used to get at the mini zoo when I was a little girl! I am absolutely dying to find out what company made it and try to track it down. I can’t remember much about it, but that it was light, airy, and slightly sweetened and tinted with a hint of pink. What a wonderful memory! The pictures of the rides were such a great walk down memory lane. I can remember specific experiences from each location in the park. To be young again!!
Wonderful site. I have been looking all over the web for a few years for pictures of the park. We lived in Scranton when I was very young and enjoyed this park very much. We lost all of our picture/home movie memories in a fire years later ~ so I was very excited to see these photos, Thanks
I worked at the Amusement Park from 1959 – 1964. My mother worked for Karl Strohl and the Strol’s were great people. I did drive the train and got in trouble for going too fast!! It had a V4 Wisconsin engine in it and was a very rare ride. The Comet was not “rickedy”…Tony saw to that. Of course if the operator failed to pull the brake it went right through the boarding area…I did that once!! Nay Aug is a part of just about everyone’s life that grew up in Scranton.
Neal, One of my cousins sent me this site. He and I are trying to put together the Greenberger family tree. I am the youngest of Jacob Greenberger’s grandchildren. I was born in Scranton, in 1945. We moved in the summer of 1951. I can still remember my father lifting me up on one of the horses, on the Merry-Go- Round, at Nay Aug Park. What fond memories. I took my husband there in the 1980’s and it was so sad. All I saw was the faint circle of the Merry-Go-Round. I don’t know why your ancestor, Edward Strohl, was listed as my grandfather’s brother-in-law, on the 1900 census. My grandmother’s maiden name was Jeannie Price. So, he couldn’t have been her brother. On this same census, the names of one of my aunts and one of my uncles was completely wrong. I don’t think they were that accurate in those days. I’ve read a lot about the turn of the century. Although, my grandfather did take in a lot of boarders. He liked to help people get settled in the “new country”. If I can answer any more questions for you, feel free to get in touch with me. Best of luck with your family tree!
I loved this park! The best childhood memories! My father would take all of the kids and spend hours at the park. I often think about those days and wish my children had the same opportunity as we did. I still love Nay Aug park. My children love it also but back in the day was the BEST!!!!!!!!!!
Thank- you for sharing your photos!
Anybody have photos or info of the black panther that was kept at the Nay Aug zoo? I would like to be able to get in touch with the zoo keeper if anyone knows his email address.
I am truly thrilled that someone has decided to memorialize the Nay Aug Park Amusement Park. I seem to have enjoyed the last of many dying pasttimes having been born in 1983. My parents used to take me here until the rides became so scarce and then finally were gone. It was a wonderful place. Old as it was, my pictures show the rides surprisingly well taken care of for visitors.
I still remember riding on the Lackawanna Train with my dad and have some photos of the train (back only), the whip, and the helicopters. I do remember the caterpillar, dodgems, and merry-go-round. By the time I was born and around 8 years old, the Comet Coaster was retired, just sitting there until finally I think it was removed. I can still remember the box covers that enveloped it and, as a child, I wondered why it wasn’t in use. Maybe kids see more than us adults.
Looking back, these rides were one-of-a-kind in a one-of-a-kind park. I hope that none of the rides ended up in the trash or abandoned because it would be wonderful to see them restored and in use somewhere, in an amusement park or the like.
Checking out this site brought back wonderful memories. Keep adding and thanks for the trip down memory lane!
WoW does this bring back some awsome memories do they still have rides there all I remember is all the fun we had as kids there memories are fun sometimes
Yes there are a few rides, but they are not located in the same area, the new rides are a feris wheel and a few kiddie rides that are next to the pool area, the pool area is kept up very nicely which includes a very nice slide and grass area to lay out next to the pool. There are still two pools; one for the kiddies, and the other for teenagers 4′0 and over.. The park is still very beautiful, but the memories from our childhood will always remain in my heart and in my mind of the amusement park at Nay Aug. I hope this answers your question.
Thanks for the memories! For those still living in the Scranton area, Schiffs and Gerrity’s sell the pink popcorn, enjoy!