590 MIGHTY MEMORY #478

PHOTO INDEX: THE ROCKY GLEN BANDSTAND.

LUNCH WITH BEN

WARM Day at Rocky Glen Park didn’t just happen. First off there had to be a central location. What better place than in the mid point of Wilkes Barre and Scranton. Rocky Glen Park was a natural. The late Al Kornish said the only way Rocky Glen owner Ben Sterling would meet was over lunch in the park president’s office. Kornish related that Sterling would take his desk, clear it and put a checkered table cloth across it. Sterling would then order lunch, which in the summer was amusement park fare and for a few hours the duo would discuss the world, the nation and what have you. Kornish related that in his very first meeting with Sterling, the amusement magnate said that the WARM Sales Manager should buy his book. Sterling solemnly said it was a type of biography entitled “What I Have Learned About the Amusement Business In Forty Years”. Kornish eagerly said he'd buy the book and Sterling said he’d send it to him. A few weeks later Kornish got a package COD (Cash On Delivery) for $14.95. When he opened it up, he saw Ben Sterling’s Book, “What I Learned About the Amusement Business In Forty Years”. When Kornish sat down to read the book, it turned out there were hundreds of blank pages following the title page.
This story is illustrative of how sales people, and yes sometimes General Managers used to interact with some clients. While the public saw the glitz and glamour of WARM Day, and the radio personaltites rubbed elbows with the stars, all of that would never have happened without the time, effort, bonding and comraderie cemented over a checkered table cloth. And of course, a little practical joke also had to be thrown into the equation. That never hurt either.