Esther Fricano of Storybook Land has died
By amusementtoday | May 15, 2015
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, New Jersey — Esther Fricano passed away peacefully on May 13, 2015 in the comfort of her home.
She was raised in Vineland, where she worked on the family farm with her parents and five siblings. She graduated from Vineland High School in 1940, one semester early, and near the top of her class. After graduation, she worked as a secretary and bookkeeper at Wene Chick Farm, based in Vineland.
Esther married John Fricano, Sr. in 1945. In 1955, she co-founded Storybook Land, in Egg Harbor Township, with her husband when their children were 2 and 6. They cleared the land and built some attractions with nursery rhymes themes. The two gradually expanded the park over the years, adding rides in the 1970s and expanding into more than 20 acres today. Esther handled the decorating and furnishing of the displays and buildings at Storybook Land. She would dress up as Mother Goose to greet the children, or be in the snack bar cooking lunch or scooping ice cream for the park patrons. She dedicated herself to the business and used her secretarial experience to handle all the office work associated with running an amusement park.
She loved dolls. Her collection included Shirley Temple, Barbie and even Kate Middleton. The business continues to be run hands-on by family members, and Fricano welcomed input from her children and grandchildren.
As an Italian grandmother, Fricano was known for her hospitality and for being an excellent cook and baker. Friends, family, neighbors, and employees could stop by her home anytime at all, where she would always offer a cup of tea and cook huge family-style meals. Whether it was morning or night, nobody left the house hungry.
Esther was predeceased by her husband of 63 years, John Sr., her parents John and Jennie DeMarco, and her five siblings: Lewis DeMarco, Rose Spada, Frank DeMarco, Joseph DeMarco, and Mildred Crescenzo.
She will always be remembered by her two children: JoAnne and John Jr., and the late Iris Fricano; grandchildren: Jessica and John III; nephews and nieces; and all of her friends and employees at Storybook Land.
