REHOBOTH BEACH – Adorned with a smile bigger than the largest waves that ever crashed onto the sandy Rehoboth Beach, Al Fasnacht was often spotted helping the youngest of beach-goers on and off what might have been his favorite ride at Funland – the motorcycles in kiddie row.
It’s a memory that countless visitors will now hold dear as the Boardwalk staple heads into its 64th year without Fasnacht who died on March 23 at the age of 96 years old.
Born in Pennsylvania in 1928, he started his working career as an accountant, but later co-founded Funland in 1962 with family and quickly became an institution to the Boardwalk and statewide community.
“He’s a legend and he always will be,” Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Carol Everhart told the Delaware Business Times. “I don’t know anybody he wouldn’t help. There’s some things you can’t replace. . . It’s just a tremendous loss.”
Everhart said the number one question her chamber gets from visitors is, “Is Funland Open?”
The good news for Delawareans and visitors is that yes, Funland will continue to stay open during the summer season and will open as always on the Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend, according to Fasnacht’s great-nephew Ian Curry. Curry is the fourth-generation of the family business and the games manager at the park.
“It will definitely keep going. He’s also quoted as saying ‘Funland didn’t need him, he needed Funland,’ and I think that’s kind of true in a way, but also it doesn’t tell the full story. His fingerprints are all over Funland,” Curry said.
“At the very least, he set an example for all of us to follow and, not just for us to follow, but the expectations have been set for the customers,” he added. “They come here year after year, generation after generation. There’s a lot of history there and a lot of generations that have come to expect that.”
Curry added that along with continually building the family empire on the main strip of Rehoboth Beach’s boardwalk, loving its employees and community was of top importance for Fasnacht.
He said Fasnacht would say the “secret sauce” behind Funland is “love.” Although Curry would change that himself to “care,” because that is exactly what his great-uncle always did for the employees, visitors and community members and fellow business owners, right down to picking up trash along the Boardwalk.
“The employees are usually in a moment of transition whether it was between high school and college or college and the workforce,” he added. “We use it as an opportunity to help people get to where they want to go.”
In fact, one of those Scottish-born employees went on to marry Curry after having met at what could undoubtedly be to many the most memorable spot on the Boardwalk – Funland.
“The community aspect of Rehoboth Beach was also important to him, certainly like Nicola’s Pizza being built alongside each other and supporting each other when Rehoboth was a little bit smaller and quaint. Building that community is something that I know our generation looks at and is kind of envious of. That was really important to him and the family,” Curry said. “And being mindful of working with young people. It’s a tense job and there’s some give and take.”
Fasnacht wasn’t one to stop working his passions at the end of the day, either, according to Curry. He was also very active in his church and, as an Eagle Scout, supported local scouting efforts for decades.
During his own schooling years, he was also quite the wrestler and ended up in several hall of fames after volunteering as a coach for Lebanon Valley College and officiating 468 PIAA/NCAA matches and 76 tournaments, eight of which were NCAA Championships.
“The youth side of things was always really important to him throughout wrestling, scouts and Funland,” Curry said. “He was big on setting an example. His message was always you’re not working for us, you’re working with us. You’re a part of the family for the summer when you join Funland. That was always a clear thing that he said.”
