Honeymoon 1959

Charlie and Carol Conrad honeymoon 1959
Honeymoon at Paradise Valley Lodge in Mt. Pocono, PA

My parents would have been married 55 years today. I have recently begun to scan old photographs and came across the photo above which is now my favorite photograph of them. So young, so happy, so corny. Bonus for the weird stuffed squirrel near the ceiling.

Like many young newlyweds in the 1950’s in the Philadelphia area, they honeymooned in the Poconos, specifically at the Paradise Valley Lodge which appeared to cater to the honeymoon crowd.

Honeymoon certificate from the Paradise Valley Lodge
Honeymoon certificate from the Paradise Valley Lodge, 1959. Click for full size.

 They received a certificate (right), signed by the proprietors, to commemorate the occasion.

And, in case the newlyweds ran out of things to do, the lodge offered hay rides:

Honeymoon hayride, 1959
Charlie & Carol Conrad (upper left), 1959. Click for full size.

My parents also sampled the nightlife of Mt. Pocono. Here they are at the High Point Inn:

Charlie & Carol at the High Point Inn
Charlie & Carol at the High Point Inn (right), 1959

As far as I can find, the Paradise Valley Lodge no longer exists. The High Point Inn burned down in 1968 and I found out in an obituary for the former owner that the nightclub had animal acts, including lions, bears, horses and dogs. My parents never mentioned that.

7 comments

  1. We were Married May 30, 1958, and stayed at Paradise Valley Had a great time. My husband passed away Dec. 27, 2016. Miss him so much
    Mrs. Peter Southway

  2. We were married December 5, 1959. My husband Passed away August 15, 2002, We had a great time. Don’t remember much lately but do remember this: Paul and Mae Azure were the owners, had a Bassett Hound who stayed in our cottage a few times and the beautiful old spring. Snowed the first morning and deer tracks were on the porch. Of course we were not prepared for snow. We won a set of caricatures which I still have. Wonderful memories.

  3. We were married in march 1957. My wife passed in Dec 2013. I still have the honeymoon book we were given. We had a great time with many great people. Gene McConnon Sr.

  4. Jack and I were married August 27, 1961 and honeymooned at Paradise Valley Lodge. We stayed in the Cider Mill. A couple we met there were also named Jack and Charlene and we kept in touch for years. We still talk of our wonderful memories. Charlene Hammond

  5. My husband and I were married 2/6/60 and stayed at Paradise Valley Lodge. Your photos triggered many memories as we have photos of the same backgrounds. I was just looking at my album the other day with my daughter so it all came rushing back. It will be 60 years next year, but doesn’t seem that long. High Point Inn, the hayride, ice skating, family style meals. We, too, made friends we are still in touch with.
    Marie Vano

  6. Hi
    Thanks, we were there in March 1957 and we were super pleased. Although our hayride was only 5 couples. The week cost 176.00 dollars, including tax room and board.. truly impressive against today’s rates. The owners Paul and May Asure were fantastic.

    A great memory.

Leave a Reply to Marie VanoCancel reply

%d bloggers like this: