Hello. I am so happy to come across this video. I have been to beer world many times in the early 90s with my grandparents. My grandfather grew up with Billy & i have been on every square inch of that property. He did build it for his friends who grew up with nothing in Philly to have a place to come & bring their families. It was like a resort to us. The pool with the logo at the bottom was at his house on the property. That island was accessible by a bridge that you could jump off of into the lake. That movie, Blades, we screened in a movie room with Billy & a bunch of people. There were 2 large barns on the property too. He had 3 ranch houses built on the driveway into the lodge for his 2 aunts & 1 uncle & the horses were their’s. I could write a book about this place.
Wow that's such a an awesome park . I live an few houses away from the bay side entrance. I'm in that park sometimes as much as 3 times a day now with my family. We walk , ride bikes and now even do a slow standup Scooter thru to see what's going on any given moment with other visitors . Now it's home to all kinds of animals including families of coyotes. Matter of fact I was just there this morning 😊😊
I remember going to Beer World when I was young. I went to the arcade and the pool. I still remember the very high diving board and the stuffed 2 headed animals in the lodge.
I grew up in the Villas and after I graduated in '82 went to work for Hewitt Plumbing. I remember going there to do a job once. Funny, my wife and I were just talking about Beer World the other night!
I lived in Bayside Village and I used to hike, hunt and ride bikes all through there. Flammer bought it and fenced it all off. Glad to see it won't be built on now.
Billy would take his beer dist there once a year, there were 2 pools, one for the private house which had the beer logo on the bottom, the larger pool by the cafeteria you could get breakfast, lunch and dinner. He would pick us up by bus in the morning and bring us back at night. He had baseball fields and even a fire truck for the kids, all for free! You could even go sailing there! Sad that it turned into this.
I totally get how it's sad for you to see this way but for me it's now a beautiful quiet park in the middle of our neighborhood living only 5 houses away from the fence We're there all the time
I did the lighting and decor at a few parties at Ponderosa lodge before it closed. It was in rough shape at that time, the building's furniture and curtains were badly out of date and there was an aroma of mold about the place.
I grew up on the place. My grandfather Anthony Funari and his good Friend Joseph Forina used to be the golf pros. My family still has photos of what the place one used to be. Very fond memories there.
Some of where you see what looks like arrows on the old paths going to nowhere used to be other cart paths that they subtracted when converted it into the preserve. Before they started the conversation. People had made holes in the fence and I used to ride my bike back there in it’s abandoned state with ALL the buildings still there. There’s also a spot near the newer dock where you can still see the remnants of the steps that used to lead to the Schmidt’s pool.
The white markers are most likely distance markers. White normally signifies 150 yards to the center of the green. Typically courses have the markers in the ground or as stakes, but sometime you’ll see them marked on the cart path as well. But the dots are too close together. I’d venture to guess the lines were the distance markers and not the white dots.
If you look hard enough, you can still see remnants of some tee boxes and sand traps. I think the dots on the paths are more recent trail markers put there by the state. There are also red and blue dots along some paths. The steel building there was the old golf cart storage and maintenance building, now used by the State for their wildlife management. The old lodge building you mentioned used to be a popular spot for a lot of the area high school proms.
I was thinking the same. I see dead trees and a coat. To be fair though, this is a mini-documentary. However, in general, He seems to film everything months in advance. However it can result in the upload happening when the topic is not as relevant. Not his fault, I’m sure he’s a busy guy, hard to balance this and all the other socials.
Tall Pines is gone? I remember my parents meeting my Aunts & Uncles there when we visited my grandparents in Wenonah. For some reason,I thought that it had become the Eagles Nest!
@@betsyturner8351, it did become the Eagles Nest, but that closed years ago. It is slowly being reclaimed by nature. It is a bird watcher's paradise now.
Great video. Brings back a lot of memories. Played that course and it was very tight with a lot of trees. It was a beautiful piece of land back in the day.
Great video my friend. Thx for the educational video of our neighborhood park. Im at this park sometimes as many as 2 or 3 times a day bc I only live a couple blocks away from the bay side entrance. I was just there this morning 😅 My family is constantly in this park walking , riding bikes and now standup Scooters do see mire of it quicker through out the day But ... We have to be careful at night bc at times its packed with coyotes running through hunting down prey . I have a video on CZcams sitting in the Ponderlodge lot with the coyotes howling like crazy on it
Good old Schmidt's beer at second & Girard Avenue in Philly. Piels beer was made a few blocks from Schmidt's brewery. Somehow the last owner who got convicted of mislabelling beer kegs bad to be connected and paid people off to replace Teamsters union truck drivers. Great they made it into a nature center.
Hi Joey, I’m always fascinated by subjects like this. I also often wonder what happened to motels from the 60’s-70’s which are no longer existing. Places we used to stay with our family like The Chalet, Casa Nova, etc., and what they’ve become or were they knocked down? My best wishes to you and your wife and thinking of her family in Ukraine, hoping that they are safe! ❤Pat
I was friends with a guy who worked at Schmidt's. We would drop him off at work and use his car and then go pick him up at the end of his shift. Also had a friend whose father was the brew master. And of course I remember Schmidt's Mystery Hour on TV. I think it was called that. Give us directions on how to find the old golf course in the Villas.
The white dot could mean 150yrds away from the flag/hole... maybe the white line could be 100yrds away from the flag/hole, but usually a red dot would be 100yrds. idk, maybe back then it was a white line... or the white line would be where the White Tee Box would be.
Who do we go to to tell everyone that that the Custom World business that has ZERO phones, ZERO website, ZERO managers, and nothing to accredit them scams people??? They stole 92$ from me after telling me a shirt was 45$. Who do we report them to?
@@thisislife839 no problem. I wish I could do more for you. There are some good places up there for shirts but I never trust those 'custom' shirt places. Besides that I hope you had a good time
Yep good old crazy neighborhood called Fishtown. Did some electrical work down there from 2nd & Fairmount to medical center at 5th & Girard and a block from Schmidt's. When they dumped think it was used up hops in the afternoon the neighborhood would smell twice as bad as usual.
@@WildwoodVideoArchive oh I thought it’s that cold in wildwood I’m up in bucks county only a hour 45 minutes away and said it’s not that cold outside my house and he’s wearing a coat last week people were on the beach for opening day lol I’ll be down there in a few weeks always spend time down there during the summer
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The white dots are markers for walking trails telling how far you walked. There are also other colors for different distances
Hello. I am so happy to come across this video. I have been to beer world many times in the early 90s with my grandparents. My grandfather grew up with Billy & i have been on every square inch of that property. He did build it for his friends who grew up with nothing in Philly to have a place to come & bring their families. It was like a resort to us. The pool with the logo at the bottom was at his house on the property. That island was accessible by a bridge that you could jump off of into the lake. That movie, Blades, we screened in a movie room with Billy & a bunch of people. There were 2 large barns on the property too. He had 3 ranch houses built on the driveway into the lodge for his 2 aunts & 1 uncle & the horses were their’s. I could write a book about this place.
Wow that's such a an awesome park . I live an few houses away from the bay side entrance.
I'm in that park sometimes as much as 3 times a day now with my family. We walk , ride bikes and now even do a slow standup Scooter thru to see what's going on any given moment with other visitors .
Now it's home to all kinds of animals including families of coyotes.
Matter of fact I was just there this morning 😊😊
Years before BeerWorld much of this area was a gravel pit. I often rode my mini bike and go kart there with my friends.
that's pretty neat. I had no idea. Google Earth didn't too clear on photos pre 1975
I remember going to Beer World when I was young. I went to the arcade and the pool. I still remember the very high diving board and the stuffed 2 headed animals in the lodge.
Billy stuffed all of his animals, I remember stuffed stuff all around the cafeteria
I grew up in the Villas and after I graduated in '82 went to work for Hewitt Plumbing. I remember going there to do a job once. Funny, my wife and I were just talking about Beer World the other night!
It seemed like it was a good place. Too bad they couldn't keep the club house open
I lived in Bayside Village and I used to hike, hunt and ride bikes all through there. Flammer bought it and fenced it all off. Glad to see it won't be built on now.
Billy would take his beer dist there once a year, there were 2 pools, one for the private house which had the beer logo on the bottom, the larger pool by the cafeteria you could get breakfast, lunch and dinner. He would pick us up by bus in the morning and bring us back at night. He had baseball fields and even a fire truck for the kids, all for free! You could even go sailing there! Sad that it turned into this.
I totally get how it's sad for you to see this way but for me it's now a beautiful quiet park in the middle of our neighborhood
living only 5 houses away from the fence We're there all the time
I did the lighting and decor at a few parties at Ponderosa lodge before it closed. It was in rough shape at that time, the building's furniture and curtains were badly out of date and there was an aroma of mold about the place.
Ponder lodge
I grew up on the place. My grandfather Anthony Funari and his good Friend Joseph Forina used to be the golf pros. My family still has photos of what the place one used to be. Very fond memories there.
I once worked there in the summer of 92 as a prep cook for the main house. Interesting to see how this property changed.
I wish I saw it back then bc I only live a few houses from the property now since 2015
Some of where you see what looks like arrows on the old paths going to nowhere used to be other cart paths that they subtracted when converted it into the preserve. Before they started the conversation. People had made holes in the fence and I used to ride my bike back there in it’s abandoned state with ALL the buildings still there. There’s also a spot near the newer dock where you can still see the remnants of the steps that used to lead to the Schmidt’s pool.
The white markers are most likely distance markers. White normally signifies 150 yards to the center of the green. Typically courses have the markers in the ground or as stakes, but sometime you’ll see them marked on the cart path as well. But the dots are too close together. I’d venture to guess the lines were the distance markers and not the white dots.
So interesting. Thanks for sharing.
I'm surprised the county didn't turn it back into a golf course. That looked like a pretty nice golf course back in the day.
Awesome video! Fantastic job on doing this Joey. This was really interesting and fun to watch. Love ya brother and tell the wife I said hello 👋
This place literally was my back yard growing up on bybrooke dr. We used to sneak in all the time and hunt for golf balls to sell. Good times!
If you look hard enough, you can still see remnants of some tee boxes and sand traps. I think the dots on the paths are more recent trail markers put there by the state. There are also red and blue dots along some paths. The steel building there was the old golf cart storage and maintenance building, now used by the State for their wildlife management. The old lodge building you mentioned used to be a popular spot for a lot of the area high school proms.
I'm guessing you filmed this months ago. They did this same thing to the old Tall Pines golf course just outside of Wenonah.
I was thinking the same. I see dead trees and a coat. To be fair though, this is a mini-documentary. However, in general, He seems to film everything months in advance. However it can result in the upload happening when the topic is not as relevant. Not his fault, I’m sure he’s a busy guy, hard to balance this and all the other socials.
ahah yes, I filmed this in April. I moved on April 24th and I had to put this video on hold.
hahah thank you!
Tall Pines is gone? I remember my parents meeting my Aunts & Uncles there when we visited my grandparents in Wenonah. For some reason,I thought that it had become the Eagles Nest!
@@betsyturner8351, it did become the Eagles Nest, but that closed years ago. It is slowly being reclaimed by nature. It is a bird watcher's paradise now.
Great video. Brings back a lot of memories. Played that course and it was very tight with a lot of trees. It was a beautiful piece of land back in the day.
People said it was a hard one to play? Do you agree?
Fairly difficult. Trees everywhere and not the widest fairways. One hole had a huge tree in the middle of the fairway.
Great video my friend.
Thx for the educational video of our neighborhood park.
Im at this park sometimes as many as 2 or 3 times a day bc I only live a couple blocks away from the bay side entrance. I was just there this morning 😅
My family is constantly in this park walking , riding bikes and now standup Scooters do see mire of it quicker through out the day
But ... We have to be careful at night bc at times its packed with coyotes running through hunting down prey .
I have a video on CZcams sitting in the Ponderlodge lot with the coyotes howling like crazy on it
Good old Schmidt's beer at second & Girard Avenue in Philly. Piels beer was made a few blocks from Schmidt's brewery. Somehow the last owner who got convicted of mislabelling beer kegs bad to be connected and paid people off to replace Teamsters union truck drivers. Great they made it into a nature center.
Awesome place to fish
Joey, pls do video on lost golf course behind Layfette street in Cape May. Closed around 1956? Emlen Pysick was a member. Thx
hey, I am having a hard time finding that on historical maps. Are you able to provide a bit more detail?
I played Ponderlodge 2x when o was young. Beautiful WMA now with the cart paths.
Ahhhh, Nature always finds a way. Glad things didn't work out for the golf course. ;0)
You and me both! This is such a great place to walk around
I wonder how many old golf balls are in those ponds, lol.
20+ years later, im sure they are mostly deep down
Hi Joey, I’m always fascinated by subjects like this. I also often wonder what happened to motels from the 60’s-70’s which are no longer existing. Places we used to stay with our family like The Chalet, Casa Nova, etc., and what they’ve become or were they knocked down? My best wishes to you and your wife and thinking of her family in Ukraine, hoping that they are safe! ❤Pat
Ironically certain times of the year you could call it Coyote county Park now .
They love running around back in there
haha you are right on that
Billy controlled "ALL" beer delivery in Philly courtesy of the Phila MOB.
oh I know, and decided to leave that part out haha
They should turn it into an rv park
I was friends with a guy who worked at Schmidt's. We would drop him off at work and use his car and then go pick him up at the end of his shift. Also had a friend whose father was the brew master.
And of course I remember Schmidt's Mystery Hour on TV.
I think it was called that. Give us directions on how to find the old golf course in the Villas.
Thanks very interesting so much lost stuff
so much lost stuff down here to explore!
Would be nice to get a metal detector out there and see what you could find!
Live 2 min from there. Got to go in all the buildings befor they got knocked down
Very interesting! :)
Schmidts was a good tasting regional beer. Too bad the story has a crooked ending.
The dots are yardage to hole
The white dot could mean 150yrds away from the flag/hole... maybe the white line could be 100yrds away from the flag/hole, but usually a red dot would be 100yrds. idk, maybe back then it was a white line... or the white line would be where the White Tee Box would be.
Interesting. Thank you for that info. I had no idea at all
Who do we go to to tell everyone that that the Custom World business that has ZERO phones, ZERO website, ZERO managers, and nothing to accredit them scams people??? They stole 92$ from me after telling me a shirt was 45$. Who do we report them to?
Honestly there isn’t anyone to reach out to. Those shirt stores are scams to begin with. It’s always best to just leave when they tell you that price
@@WildwoodVideoArchive that really hurt my credit card and I was okay with the 45$, but not with the 92. This is so frustrating
@@WildwoodVideoArchive thank you for answering kindly! I appreciate it
@@thisislife839 no problem. I wish I could do more for you. There are some good places up there for shirts but I never trust those 'custom' shirt places. Besides that I hope you had a good time
It’s June why are you wearing a coat it use to be at 2and and girard ave the beer company
I recorded this in April lol
Yep good old crazy neighborhood called Fishtown. Did some electrical work down there from 2nd & Fairmount to medical center at 5th & Girard and a block from Schmidt's. When they dumped think it was used up hops in the afternoon the neighborhood would smell twice as bad as usual.
@@garbo8962 up I was from fishtown Kensington and juniata park
@@WildwoodVideoArchive oh I thought it’s that cold in wildwood I’m up in bucks county only a hour 45 minutes away and said it’s not that cold outside my house and he’s wearing a coat last week people were on the beach for opening day lol I’ll be down there in a few weeks always spend time down there during the summer
Why do you talk so weird? Is that a CZcams thing or something?