Betty Reynolds

Betty "Granny" Reynolds

In the past year I have been in contact with several former employees of Rock Springs Park. Many of them were teenagers when they worked in the park and now have families and in some cases even grandchildren of their own. It has been great fun for me to share their photographs with them. One of my favorite moments was meeting Betsy Urie, an East Liverpool High School graduate and cheerleader who worked in the park in 1968. In my eyes, Betsy is a Rock Springs Park celebrity and beauty!


Betsy Urie in Rock Springs Park. (Courtesy of Rich Brookes.)

Sadly, though, I have also had the unfortunate occasion to discover that some of the older park employees have passed away. Whenever possible I try to contact the families and let them know I have images of their mom, dad, grandmother, or grandfather posing or working in the park.

Such was the case with Betty Reynolds. Known as “Granny” to her grand and great-grandchildren, Betty passed away on April 23, 2011. She worked at Rock Springs Park following graduation from high school, and later at Allison's Restaurant in Chester. She retired from Metsch Refractories in 1993, after 26 years of employment there.

I first saw Betty in the photograph above taken by Clarence Durbin of Chester. Betty poses on the stone fountain which was located in the lawn between the Carousel and Virginia Gardens. (Courtesy of Rich Brookes.)


Betty Reynolds is well remembered, as she is pictured above, working the Lunch Stand at Rock Springs Park. Betsy Urie noted, “She worked the Lunch Stand…Very nice lady…Always friendly and smiling.” (Courtesy of Rich Brookes.)

Betty, with a shy twinkle in her eye, smiles for Clarence Durbin’s camera on the brick path between the Souvenir Stand and the Cotton Candy Stand. (Courtesy of Rich Brookes.)

It is obvious from the recollections of family and friends that Betty Reynolds was a kind and gentle woman. Her colleagues refer to her with descriptors like “lovely” and “very sweet”, and, although she worked hard for many years on the job “first and foremost” her family points out “she was a mother who was caring, giving and loving to all.”

I only wish I had the chance to get to know Betty and to ask her all about her time at our beloved Rock Springs Park.

Special Thanks to Betty’s Grandson, Gordon Adams, and his mother, Juanita.