Eldred Parks and Recreation Overview
Eldred Township is exceptionally fortunate to have an array of open spaces and other public properties which bring beauty to the Township and have the potential to offer its residents a wide variety of recreational opportunities.
The Township is working to develop the potential of these properties. That includes trails through the woods, open green fields, a town square to serve as a gathering place, a playground with space for outdoor sports games, and a railroad trail that may ultimately connect with trails through Carbon County and beyond.
The pride of the Township is Walter Mock Memorial Park, 75 acres of farm and woodlands purchased in 2007 with the help of grants and through the generosity of Mrs. Jacqueline Mock, for whose father-in-law the Park is named. A section of Mock Park Field Map – Parks and Recreation, Eldred Township of Monroe County, PA has been developed as a picnic area off Fiddletown Road and is now open to the public. A path from it leads to a beautiful spot along Princess Run where fishing is permitted in season. For those looking for a longer walk, a trailhead at the end of Wes Flo Court opens onto a woodland path, which takes you to additional paths around and through Mock Field. On a clear spring or fall day, some have said that you can see the Delaware Water Gap from Mock Field. Ultimately, Mock Park will offer a wooded path passing four waterfalls and a historic farmhouse.
At the Community Center, the playground has been spruced up, and there is space for a pick-up soccer game. The Township has plans to add a walking trail near the playground, and additional trails may be added behind the Municipal Building.
The primary focus of development at this time, however, is the Village Square at Stone Arch Bridge. It’s to become both a special place for residents to meet and a signature piece for Kunkletown – one that showcases the Township’s natural beauty for people driving by. Picnic tables are already available there for those who wish to relax and enjoy a meal from the surrounding eateries, or take a break from a morning of fishing at the bridge.
Across the street from the Village Square is the original Town Post Office. The Township owns it, but it is leased to Eldred’s Historical Society, which is working to restore it. When done, the building will house the Society’s records and a small museum, showcasing local crafts. The location will also serve as an information center and be a worthy and attractive addition to the town center.
Another Township resource is the old rail trail, to which the Township acquired rights in 2000, and which extends from Chestnutridge Dr. west into Carbon County. The Township has joined with Lower Towamensing Township and Palmerton Borough to commission a study to determine the feasibility of redeveloping the trail and opening it to Little Gap and Palmerton and ultimately the Appalachian Trail.
Both the Board of Supervisors and the Parks and Recreation Committee hope you will enjoy the recreational opportunities the Township offers and encourage you to become involved as the Township improves and opens more of its properties to the public. There are several ways to do this. The Historical Society welcomes new members to help with the restoration of the post office and other projects; contact information for the Society is available from the Township Secretary. The Parks and Recreation Committee invites the public to attend its meetings and participate in its discussions. It meets in the Municipal Building at 7:00 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month. Please join us, and if you are not already familiar with the recreational resources now open to the public, please check them out.
Visit our Links and Information section for additional resources.
About Walter W. Mock, Sr.
Walter W. Mock, Sr., for whom the Park is named, was born in Allentown on March 19, 1893. He worked his way through Muhlenberg College, earning a Bachelor’s degree, and subsequently earned two advanced degrees from New York University. He developed a process for manufacturing ink for which he held patents and was a principal in a company that supplied ink to customers, including Triangle Publishing, owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
A resident of New Jersey, he purchased the Mock House in 1935 to have a second home in the area where both he and his wife had grown up. The house had minimal electricity, no central heating, and unfinished interior walls when he acquired it. He began the improvements making it the showcase it is today, improvements which were completed by his son, Walter, Jr., and daughter-in-law, Jacqueline Mock. Jacqueline Mock’s generosity made the Township’s acquisition of the Park possible.
Walter W. Mock Sr. died on March 10, 1955, by which time, through sales and acquisitions, his original ink manufacturing company had expanded to become IN-TAG. After his death, a colleague at that company wrote the attached letter to Walter Mock’s widow Marie and son Walter, known as Willis.
The letter below is a testament of his kindness as well as to his capabilities.March 1955
Dear Marie,
I can’t tell you how sorry I am that Walter is no more. I had a respect and admiration for Walter that I had for no other man.
He was kind; I never heard him speak ill of anyone, even when he might have been justified in doing so.
He was gentle; he never hurt a soul so far as I know. The way he carried Skippy in his arms on the old dog’s last trip to the farm was typical of him.
He was capable and resourceful. I believe that IN-TAG is where it is today because of him.
He was modest and unassuming. He never shoved people around to show how important he was. There are not many men like Walter. In a way, I feel he was representative of a fast disappearing type- A gentleman.
He was gracious and willing in his own inimitable way.
He never knew, I guess, how much I thought of him. We don’t usually assemble our thoughts about a person and express them until he is gone.
Anyway, I want you and Willis to know this. There are tears in my eyes as I say goodbye to the finest man I ever knew.
I hope that God, whom he trusted, will give you the courage to go on- to go on without the strength of his arm, the wisdom of his mind and the goodness of his heart.
Yours in the deepest sorrow,
WJL