Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn announced the appointment last week of George Calaba, former manager of Washington Crossing Historic Park, to oversee operation of the Delaware Canal State Park Complex in Bucks and Northampton counties.
“With his prior Washington Crossing assignment, George gained invaluable knowledge of the area’s historical, cultural and recreational values,” Dunn said. “To one of our most popular state park complexes, where attendance averages over 900,000 visitors a year, he brings wide-ranging skills and qualifications that can only enhance the visitor experience at Delaware Canal and Ralph Stover state parks.”
Among the state’s more diverse parks, Delaware Canal contains a 90-acre pond, many miles of river shoreline and 11 river islands. Also included in this state park complex is Ralph Stover State Park, along the Tohickon Creek in Bucks County.
The creek flows through the 45-acre park, providing scenic picnic areas and excellent viewing of white-water boating. The park’s nearby High Rocks section affords a scenic overlook of Tohickon Creek.
Calaba will oversee park grounds that include winding river banks and fertile farm fields; historic towns; adventurous recreation areas; and a scenic horseshoe bend along the Tohickon Creek.
Calaba said. “As a field manager with the Bureau of State Parks, the Delaware Canal has always been a ‘revered’ assignment, and I look forward to working with its strong partners in furthering the great work and service its visitors and stakeholders have come to expect.”
Calaba, 49, replaces Josh Swartey, who was assigned assistant regional manager for the bureau’s Region 4, based in Perkasie.
After working in Pittsburgh as a project manager, Calaba began his bureau career in 2000.
He has worked throughout Pennsylvania as a park manager at locations that included the bureau’s north central and western regional offices; Laurel Hill State Park Complex; Colonel Denning State Park Complex; Keystone and Nockamixon state parks.
A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Calaba currently serves as an instructor with the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet program.
A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor’s degree in geography, he attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania, receiving his master’s degree in geography and regional planning.
A native of Johnstown, Cambria County, Calaba resides in the Lehigh Valley area with his wife, Amy, and three children.
