Years ago, the Tyrone Athletic Park was a popular place for kids of all ages. There was something for everyone to enjoy. And enjoy it they did. Long, hot days brought droves of kids to the swimming pool to cool off, while the slightly older crowd found the golf course and tennis courts more challenging.
Fashions of the day included midi blouses; long skirts; boys in black, one-piece bathing suits; knickers; and Argyle socks. Ladies in long, white dresses and large hats often were seen throughout the park.
The Athletic Park came into being in the early 1900s. It was then that the Pennsylvania Railroad was a major factor in the life of Tyrone. Located in East Tyrone and developed by the PRR, the park consisted of a nine-hole golf course, a ballpark with a 2000-seat grandstand, a six-foot-deep swimming pool with a diving board, eight clay tennis courts, a running track, and a jumping pit. The park was beautifully landscaped with flowerbeds and several fishponds so that non-athletic people also could enjoy a walk in the park.
The PRR closed their freight yards in Tyrone in the late 1920s and with that, they withdrew their financial support to the park. Tyroners then stepped up to the plate and maintained the park until the young men of the town were called to service in World War II. Gradually the park deteriorated, however, and by 1948, the Tyrone Athletic Park went out of existence.
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