How Centre County families are finding new ways to keep busy during summer of COVID-19

It’s tough to beat summers in Centre County. With beautiful weather, plenty of public parks and pools, and tons of sports leagues, people of all ages can usually find something they enjoy.

But this summer is different.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many changes, including the closures and cancellations of some Centre County summer staples and limitations on others. The closures have been especially difficult for parents who rely on summer programs and activities to occupy their kids.

Families who live in smaller towns outside of the Centre Region are left with even fewer options.

Angela Mundy of Centre Hall is a mom to three boys: Kaden, 12, Mason, 8, and Daxtin, 5. She says the COVID-19 shutdowns have made it challenging to keep her kids busy while they aren’t in school.

“I’m with them 24/7 because I’m not working right now, so trying to keep them entertained all day long is very complicated,” Mundy said. “If we’re inside or outside, I have to find something that can catch their attention for a couple of hours.”

Mundy usually takes her boys to local pools or nearby amusement parks like DelGrosso’s during the summer, but this year, that is not an option. Both DelGrosso’s and the closest nearby community pool, The Millheim Pool at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Park, opted not to reopen this season.

Instead, she has to be creative, coming up with alternative activities, like sidewalk chalk, arts and crafts, and playing sports in the yard to keep her kids happy and active. She also enjoys taking her sons to visit with family who live nearby.

Alyssa English of Phillipsburg knows the same struggle. After her sister’s death, she has been taking care of her three nieces: Olivia, 14, Maddie, 15, and Bailee, 16.

English lives in a rural area and says it’s been tough to find things for her teenage nieces to do during the summer. Summer jobs are also off the table because many local businesses are either closed or not hiring.

English says most of her nieces’ time is spent enjoying the company of friends and family who live on the same street. She is grateful for the neighborhood they live in, filled with kids around the same age, who became fast friends.

“It’s like how kids hang out in a movie,” English said. “They’re fighting one minute, then they’re not, then they’re best friends. I think of them like the kids from ‘The Sandlot.’”

Having kids around the same age is helpful when it comes to planning out summer activities, but that’s not the case for all parents. Heather Benjamin of Centre Hall has a daughter, Kat, who is going into high school, and a son, Joey, who is going into third grade. A typical summer for the Benjamin family includes family vacations, day camps for Joey, and sleep away camps for Kat, but COVID-19 has made those plans impossible.

“Now we have to fill those weeks because we still want them to have something to look forward to,” Benjamin said. “It’s like a smaller scale of things we used to do, for example, instead of going to the beach, we’ll go camping.”

Benjamin says her kids also help out at their family business, Benjamin’s Catering, to pass the time. She is thankful they are able to spend time together as a family, even in the context of work.

Still, while the COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult for her family and for her business, Benjamin sees a silver lining: more quality time with her family.

“We constantly count our blessings and know that we don’t have a single person sick,” she said. “We’re doing the best we can and that’s the best anyone can do at the moment.”

English agrees. She says even though this summer has been different from summers past, she is trying to see the positive in these trying times. She is thankful for more time spent with her nieces.

“Being able to spend the time together because we’re stuck at home, the girls have really opened up to me, each in their own way,” English said.

Mundy is also looking on the bright side. She works as a manager at a local hotel, but was furloughed when the pandemic began. Mundy says her phone is usually ringing off the hook with work calls, so having this time off has allowed her to focus her time and energy on her three sons.

“I see it as a blessing because I’ve never been able to put my all into my kids and not had work on my mind 24/7,” Mundy said. “Having these last three months of no work, I’ve been able to literally put my everything into my kids. It’s making it hard to remember that we do have to go back.”