What do spaghetti and rollercoasters have in common? A whole lot, as it turns out, at DelGrosso’s Amusement Park in Blair County, Pennsylvania. This family-run, Italian-themed amusement and water park marries the unlikely combination of pasta sauce and thrill rides for a winning combination that’s lasted nearly 80 years.
We spoke with Amy Mearkle, Director of Marketing and Advertising at DelGrosso’s Amusement Park, to learn all about the fun and fascinating culinary history of this central Pennsylvania gem.
Though the amusement park first opened in 1907, the DelGrosso family was not part of it until decades later. In 1943, young couple Mafalda and Ferdinand DelGrosso (“Murf” and “Fred”) were serving the best spaghetti in town at their little downtown Altoona eatery, DelGrosso’s Cafe. They used an old world-style sauce recipe passed down from Murf’s mother, Marianna Pulcino, who immigrated to Pennsylvania from Italy in 1911. It was a hit.
Fred DelGrosso with DelGrosso sauces
Fred began noticing that customers wanted to purchase extra sauce to bring home with them and recognized the opportunity for a sauce business. One day, en route to play baseball in his summer league, Fred saw a “for sale” sign in front of Bland’s Park, the local amusement park. “He stopped, he toured the facilities and he saw that there was this great kitchen area,” Mearkle says. “As the old saying goes, ‘on a handshake and a smile’ he purchased the park.”
Once Fred worked up the courage to tell Murf about his extraordinary purchase, the two moved the whole family (six kids and all) to live and work on the park grounds. Their little two-bedroom, one-bath home now serves as the park office.
Murf and Fred at the original kitchen
Fred and Murf worked tirelessly to produce batch after batch of DelGrosso’s sauce in their rustic commercial kitchen. Their son-in-law, meanwhile, oversaw the amusement park. The unlikely pair of businesses together flourished over the years, growing into something of a pasta sauce/park empire.
The DelGrossos kept the park’s original name until 2000, when a marketing snafu necessitated revision. “For a long time, the person in charge of marketing said, ‘We need to change the name,’” Mearkle explains. “Well, Fred and Mafalda were very humble people and they said, ‘No. It’s been Bland’s Park, the community knows it as Bland’s Park, and we don’t want to change it.’” Years went by, and the company eventually had the idea to advertise the amusement park on the sauce jar labels. Mearkle says, “When they did the first label mockups, they realized their delicious jar of spaghetti sauce had the word ‘bland’ on the side. It wasn’t going to go over too well.” With that, Bland’s officially became DelGrosso’s Amusement Park at the start of the 21st century.
The park is now a destination for families and thrill seekers, far and wide. It’s a powerful seasonal economic driver, like Hersheypark in Dauphin County, and Knoebels in Northumberland County, with 250,000 visitors every summer, 650 seasonal employees and visitors from 48 of the 50 states. “We’re missing Hawaii and North Dakota,” Mearkle notes.
The 30+ rides and attractions include classics, like tilt-a-whirl, kiddie rides, and the exciting Crazy Mouse steel rollercoaster. Families can enjoy a scenic train ride and the Yo-Yo with swirling, swing-style seats. The park’s centerpiece is a stunning antique Herschell-Spillman Carouselle, dating back to 1924 and not to be missed.
There’s also an Italian-themed water park to enjoy. Cool off at Laguna Splash, right across the street and accessible via an elevated pedestrian bridge. There’s a lazy river, wave pool, water slides and interactive tipping wine barrels. An All-Day Fun Pass gets you access to everything for $39 in June, July and August and $27 in May and September. Otherwise, you can buy individual ride tickets and pay as you go.
Food-wise, you’re in for a treat at DelGrosso’s Amusement Park. There are Spaghetti Wednesdays, a pasta house with pick-your-own noodles and sauce, and Sloppy Joes made with DelGrosso’s special sauce at Murf’s Kitchen, to name just a few highlights. Mearkle says, “When we ask our guests what they’re hungry for, there are two fan favorites. One is our pizza at Pappy Fred’s Pizzeria, made with hand rolled dough and DelGrosso sauce. The second is a regional favorite. A lot of picnics were held at the park when the DelGrossos first purchased it, so Murf came up with a potato salad recipe and it’s become a sought-after dish. On opening weekend, we’ll make over 500 pounds of potato salad and, for Memorial Day weekend, it will be well over 2,500 pounds.”
The secret sauce of the whole operation, so to speak, is Marianna Pulcino’s pasta sauce, the foundation for the entire enterprise. Today, DelGrosso Foods encompasses three lines: classic sauces, organic sauces and La Famiglia DelGrosso sauces. The classic sauces include 20 pasta sauces of different flavors including the original red sauce, creamy Alfredo, salsas and Sloppy Joe sauce. The organic line includes rustic marinara, roasted garlic and tomato basil pasta sauces and — coming soon — organic alfredo sauce. “They’re regional products,” says Mearkle. “You’re going to find them in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio and parts of Virginia.”
La Famiglia DelGrosso Sauces is the ultra-premium sauce line. “It’s named after each of our founding second generation,” says Mearkle. “The sons and daughters of Fred and Murf each have their own specialty sauce that are higher-end at a higher price point. They’re made with plum tomatoes from Italy and are a national product.”
DelGrosso Foods also produces private labels for more than half of the top 20 grocers in America. All told, “There are about 500,000 jars a day coming off our assembly lines,” Mearkle says.
As the business approaches its 80th anniversary in 2027, the DelGrosso family stays close, continuing the legacy of Fred and Murf. Their children and grandchildren own and operate the park and pasta sauce businesses, and the fourth and fifth generations are growing fast. “It’s a rite of passage that they have their first summer jobs at the park,” Mearkle says. And the community that first declared the DelGrosso’s spaghetti the best in town still patron their beloved local amusement park. Mearkle says, “Being here for 79 years, we’re now seeing the kids who grew up here coming back with their children and grandchildren.” After all, it has all the right ingredients.
5th generation family, Vivi and Leah, at Spaghetti Wednesday
Check out DelGrosso’s Amusement Park & Laguna Splash May through September at 4352 E. Pleasant Valley Blvd., PO Box 335, Tipton; (814) 684-3538. Stay up to date on its happenings — like the Italian Food Festival on September 20, and DelGhoulso’s Halloween events — on its Facebook and Instagram pages. Enjoy the many fabulous sauces of DelGrosso Foods through its retail locator and online shop and get family recipes, kitchen tips and more on Facebook and Instagram.
- Photos: DelGrosso Foods and DelGrossos's Amusement Park & Laguna Splash
