ELYSBURG — Richard “Dick” Knoebel, the longtime president and co-owner who helped transform his family’s Elysburg amusement park into one of the most admired traditional parks in the country, has died.
Knoebels Amusement Resort announced Thursday that its president emeritus passed away July 16 at the age of 87. The Knoebel family described the park not simply as Dick Knoebel’s life’s work, but as his home.
“The Knoebel Family is heartbroken to share the passing of Richard ‘Dick’ Knoebel, President Emeritus of Knoebels Amusement Resort,” the park said in its announcement. “Knoebels was more than Dick’s life’s work. It was home.”
Knoebel grew up at the park, raised his own family there and spent his life protecting the traditions that made Knoebels distinctive. At the same time, he encouraged the engineering, experimentation and steady improvement that allowed the family-owned resort to grow without losing its character.
The park said anyone who worked with Knoebel understood that walking through Knoebels with him was rarely a casual stroll. He noticed details, stopped to speak with employees, checked the progress of projects and frequently returned with another list of things that needed attention.
“He expected a lot because he cared so deeply, and no one ever expected more from Dick than himself,” the family said.
For generations of local families, Dick Knoebel was a familiar presence moving through the park rather than an executive hidden inside an office. Employees and longtime visitors often saw him checking rides, examining equipment, watching park operations or simply talking with the people who made Knoebels run.
The family said few things made him happier than hearing the music of the park’s carousel organs and seeing Knoebels filled with families. He took particular satisfaction in knowing that children, parents and grandparents were making memories in the same place where earlier generations had spent their summer days.
“He loved the team who made those days possible, and he never stopped thinking about how Knoebels could be made better for the generations still to come,” the family said.
A Third-Generation Knoebels Leader
Born in 1939, Knoebel was a third-generation member of the family behind the park that began as Knoebels Grove.
His grandfather, Henry Hartman Knoebel, opened the property to visitors in 1926 as a wooded picnic grove and swimming destination. Over the following century, the attraction grew into a nationally recognized amusement resort while remaining under family ownership.
Dick Knoebel’s childhood was intertwined with the park and its operations. He grew up learning not only how rides and attractions worked, but also how families experienced the park and why hospitality, cleanliness, affordability and personal service mattered.
He became an Eagle Scout in 1953 and later attended Lehigh University. He graduated in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering geophysics, an education that complemented his natural mechanical curiosity and would prove valuable throughout his career.
Knoebel joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1962 and trained as an aircraft maintenance officer. He served in the United States and Japan, ultimately reaching the rank of captain.
His military service strengthened the technical, organizational and leadership abilities he later brought back to the family business. He returned to civilian life with an engineer’s understanding of machinery and a Marine officer’s expectation that work should be done carefully and correctly.
Knoebel married Barbara Cook in 1968. Barbara Knoebel became an important part of the family business in her own right, overseeing the park’s extensive catering operations until her death in 2009.
The couple raised two sons, Rick and Brian, who continued the family’s involvement in Knoebels. Brian Knoebel succeeded his father as park president when Dick transitioned to the role of president emeritus in 2025.
Decades Of Leadership And Growth
Dick Knoebel became president of H.H. Knoebel Sons Incorporated in 1988, beginning a period of leadership that lasted nearly four decades.
During that time, Knoebels expanded its attractions, strengthened its national reputation and welcomed more than one million visitors during many operating seasons. Despite that growth, the park retained the free-admission, pay-as-you-go structure that made it accessible to families who might not spend an entire day riding.
Visitors continued to enter without paying an admission charge, enjoy the shaded grounds, bring their own food or purchase meals inside the park and decide individually how much they wanted to spend. That unusual model became one of the defining parts of the Knoebels experience.
Under Knoebel’s leadership, the park continued to balance growth with tradition. New rides were added, infrastructure was improved and modern safety standards were embraced, but the family resisted pressure to make Knoebels resemble every other large amusement park.
Knoebel helped preserve the park’s tree-covered setting, classic rides, picnic atmosphere, traditional food stands and personal connection with visitors. His leadership demonstrated that nostalgia did not have to mean stagnation and that innovation did not require abandoning the past.
His work helped make Knoebels the largest free-admission amusement park in the United States, according to the Pennsylvania Amusement Parks and Attractions Association. The association credits his hands-on leadership, technical knowledge and appreciation for classic rides with shaping the park’s unusual combination of nostalgia and innovation.
Saving The Phoenix
Perhaps no attraction better represents Dick Knoebel’s philosophy than the Phoenix roller coaster.
The coaster was originally built as the Rocket at Playland Park in San Antonio, Texas, in 1947. After the Texas park closed, Knoebel helped lead the ambitious effort to acquire the coaster, take it apart, transport it more than 1,700 miles and rebuild it in Elysburg.
The restored coaster opened at Knoebels as the Phoenix in 1985.
Moving an aging wooden roller coaster across the country was an enormous undertaking. It required engineering, patience and a willingness to see potential in an attraction others might have considered obsolete.
The decision proved to be one of the most successful preservation projects in amusement park history. The Phoenix became Knoebels’ signature roller coaster and has repeatedly been recognized by amusement park enthusiasts as one of the world’s finest wooden coasters.
Its success reflected Knoebel’s belief that a well-designed ride did not need computer screens, elaborate themes or record-breaking height to remain exciting. A classic attraction could thrive when it was carefully preserved, properly maintained and operated by people who understood what made it special.
Bringing Flying Turns Back To Life
Knoebel carried the same determination into the development of Flying Turns, a wooden bobsled-style roller coaster inspired by rides popular during the 1920s and 1930s.
No modern manufacturer offered a ready-made version of the historic attraction. Knoebels therefore had to research, design, build, test and refine much of the ride itself.
The project required more than seven years of engineering, experimentation and craftsmanship before Flying Turns opened in 2013. Its cars travel freely through a curved wooden trough rather than being attached to conventional roller coaster rails.
Many within the amusement industry doubted that such a ride could be successfully recreated while meeting modern safety requirements. Knoebel and the Knoebels team persisted through repeated redesigns and testing until the attraction was ready for the public.
The result was a one-of-a-kind ride found nowhere else in the world.
Flying Turns became another example of Knoebel’s willingness to invest considerable time and effort into preserving an experience that might otherwise have disappeared. Rather than merely displaying amusement history in a museum, Knoebels allowed visitors to climb aboard and experience it.
Preserving Classic Rides
Knoebel’s preservation work extended far beyond the Phoenix and Flying Turns.
He played significant roles in acquiring, restoring or improving rare and historically important attractions including the Flyer, Looper, Roto-Jets, Haunted Mansion and Rock-O-Plane. Those rides were preserved with their original character while being updated to meet contemporary operating and safety standards.
The Haunted Mansion became one of the country’s most respected traditional dark rides, combining handmade effects, physical props, sudden surprises and careful timing. Knoebels maintained the attraction as an old-fashioned ride-through experience while continually restoring and refining its scenes.
The park’s Grand Carousel also remained central to Knoebels’ identity. Its music, hand-carved horses and traditional brass-ring game helped connect modern visitors with an earlier era of American amusement parks.
Knoebel understood that individual attractions were not merely pieces of equipment. They carried stories, craftsmanship and memories that could disappear when an older park closed or a traditional ride was replaced.
His approach gave endangered rides new life rather than treating them as relics. In doing so, he helped make Knoebels a working collection of American amusement history.
A Leader Across The Amusement Industry
Knoebel’s influence stretched well beyond Elysburg.
He served as president of the Pennsylvania Amusement Parks and Attractions Association and held leadership responsibilities with the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. He also served as a director on the IAAPA board.
Those roles allowed him to advocate for family-owned parks, historical preservation, responsible operations and the broader amusement industry. He was respected by park owners, ride manufacturers, engineers, operators and enthusiasts throughout the country.
In 2014, Knoebel was inducted into the IAAPA Hall of Fame, one of the amusement industry’s highest honors. The recognition placed him among the innovators and leaders whose work permanently shaped the worldwide attractions business.
His other honors included Amusement Today’s Person of the Year in 2009, the Ray Ueberroth Preservation Award and recognition from the Pennsylvania State Showmen’s Association. He also received the Boy Scouts’ Distinguished Citizen Award.
During Knoebel’s years of leadership, the park earned numerous Golden Ticket Awards and other industry honors. The Phoenix, Grand Carousel, park food and the overall Knoebels experience repeatedly received national recognition.
Knoebel, however, remained known for focusing less on trophies than on the daily work required to earn them. His attention remained on whether rides were running properly, projects were advancing, employees had what they needed and guests were enjoying their day.
Service Beyond The Park
Knoebel’s community involvement reflected many of the same values he brought to the resort.
He supported scouting, Elysburg Presbyterian Church and numerous regional organizations and boards. He was also a 33rd-degree Scottish Rite Mason and supported the Masonic Children’s Village.
His connection to scouting began during his youth and continued throughout his life. The values of preparation, service, leadership and practical problem-solving remained visible in his professional and community work.
Knoebels also became one of the region’s most important employers and tourist destinations during his tenure. The park brought generations of summer employees into the workforce and drew visitors who supported other businesses throughout Northumberland, Columbia and Montour counties.
For many local teenagers, a job at Knoebels was their first experience with employment, responsibility and customer service. For many adults, the park became a lifelong workplace and a second family.
The Family Behind The Park
Although Knoebels grew into a major destination, it retained the feeling of a family business.
That identity came not only from its ownership, but from the visible involvement of the Knoebel family in everyday operations. Dick Knoebel remained part of that daily presence throughout his career.
He understood that the park’s reputation rested on thousands of small decisions made every day. A ride had to be maintained, a meal had to be prepared properly, a pathway had to be clean and a guest with a concern had to be heard.
His leadership could be demanding because the standard was personal. Knoebels carried his family’s name, and every visitor’s experience contributed to a reputation built over generations.
The family said it will miss his determination, his guidance and his familiar presence throughout the park. They also remembered his ability to find a way forward when projects became complicated or obstacles appeared.
“We will miss his determination, his guidance, his familiar presence in the park and the way he always found a path forward,” the family said.
A Legacy Entering Its Second Century
Dick Knoebel died during the year Knoebels is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
The timing gives added weight to a legacy already visible throughout the park. Knoebels entered its second century with many of the traditions he spent his life protecting still firmly in place.
The park remains family-owned, free to enter and filled with attractions that combine amusement history with modern operations. Visitors can still hear the carousel organs, ride the Phoenix, walk beneath mature trees, share food at picnic tables and introduce children to experiences remembered from their own childhoods.
That continuity did not happen accidentally. It resulted from decades of decisions about what should change, what should be improved and what should never be lost.
Knoebel’s legacy can be found in the Phoenix rising above the trees, in the wooden trough of Flying Turns, in the glow of the Haunted Mansion and in the music of the Grand Carousel. It is also present in the quieter details — the employee stopping to help a guest, the family sharing a picnic and the next generation learning how to care for the park.
His influence will continue through his sons, grandchildren, extended family and the generations of Knoebels employees who learned from his leadership.
Most of all, his legacy will continue through the families who return to Knoebels year after year.
They will hear the carousel organs he loved, walk the paths he inspected and ride the attractions he helped save. Many will never know the full story of the man whose work helped make those experiences possible, but they will benefit from his devotion to the park and its future.
Memorial Arrangements To Be Announced
The Knoebel family said memorial arrangements and information about ways to honor Dick Knoebel’s memory will be announced in the coming days.
The park is sharing additional information about his life and legacy on its website.
More information is available at Knoebels.com/news. The Pennsylvania Amusement Parks and Attractions website provided information helpful for this news coverage. https://www.paamusementparks.com › Hall of Fame
