Soupy Island Gets Support

One of the goals of the West Deptford Junior Women’s Club’s Conservation Department was to support Sanitarium Playgrounds, a local state-owned park with a rich, fascinating history, located at the end of Red Bank Avenue in West Deptford Township, and a favorite among locals.

Sanitarium Playground is known to locals as “Soupy Island,” a name which did not come about by accident.

The Sanitarium Association was founded in 1877 on an island in the Delaware River near the Ben Franklin Bridge by amusement park owner John F. Smith and other philanthropists, including many doctors of the time.

In 1886, the Sanitarium Association had to move their facility due to the widening, or dredging, of the Delaware River, eliminating the current island. The new location, where the property sits today in West Deptford Township, included a new hospital created to treat area children with the then-current threat of tuberculosis. The idea was to give sick city children in Philadelphia a taste of some clean, country air to aid in their recuperation, and what goes better with the treatment of illness than soup? Sanitarium Association doctors felt that this was a better environment from which to recover was preferable to a cold and bereft hospital. Soup by the gallons were ladled daily to the children shipped over the river by ferry.

As the twentieth century brought with it new vaccinations, medicine, and treatment, the need for the fresh air TB treatment waned, but the comfortable, family-oriented atmosphere did not detract parents and their children from wanting to come to what was now collectively known as Soupy (the Island being a throwback to the original, eliminated island in the river). Healthy children were still fed soup, milk, and crackers, and during the Great Depression, this free service was a sanctuary for several thousand Delaware Valley families.

During the Second World War, Soupy Island served as a military base, used as surveillance of New York Shipbuilding Company, located directly across the river. There were anti-aircraft missiles housed here to aid in the protection of the shipyard from outside attacks, and the ferry service next to the Soupy Island property, The League Island Ferry, transported workers and military personnel to and fro the naval yard.

While children stopped being ferried over the river in the 1970’s, they never stopped coming: now, they are bused from the city and surrounding Southern New Jersey communities.

Recreation amenities became a popular amenity at Soupy, and the steam carousel that stopped working during the 1930’s was replaced by a Joseph Ferrari carousel from New York; the Ferrari carousel is still operating to this day on Soupy Island. The grounds contain the original slide that was built in 1907, with kids continuing the tradition of bringing wax paper to aid in going down the slide for a faster ride. Other amenities include two swimming pools, various playgrounds, a soccer field, and a basketball court that was donated by Campbell’s soup in 2008. Bathroom facilities, covered picnic areas, and the original soup kitchen handing out the tradition of soup, milk, and graham crackers still stand - and still serve the iconic meals.

The park is free, with funds coming from a now-century-plus-old trust; however, as generations of children grow and have families of their own, the love of Soupy Island never goes away, and the park is difficult to fund with regards to the traffic that comes through each season. Popular opinions are that Sanitarium Playgrounds is owned or fully funded by Campbell’s Soup, which is untrue; Campbell’s has been generous in its donations regarding soup and beverage, but there is a tremendous amount of upkeep necessary.

The caretakers are third-generation, and committed to community service: they annually host the local school district’s end-of-year picnics, allow the local Girl Scout Council Camporee to stay a weekend in May for their yearly campout, allow free use of the pools for lifeguard training courses, and much, much more.

This year, the budget is showing strain in pool upkeep. Three thousand dollars’ worth of pool chemicals and paint are needed to get through the season, and it is the wish of the WDJWC to help them meet that goal. They have given so much in the last century and a quarter, and have such a place in the hearts of area families, it is imperative that we do not allow this local relic to show any effects of neglect or antipathy.

Local business partners with a strong community connection, Johnson Matthey and Solvay Polymers, have both given generously to the fund, but two thirds of the aquatic costs for the 2015 season is still outstanding.

Many of our residents grew up attending functions at Soupy, and continue the traditions with their own children. Soupy Island enriches our community, state, and region, and we hope that generations to come are still able to enjoy such simple pleasures.

Anyone interested in donating to Sanitarium Playgrounds should email Presidents@WDJuniorWomensClub.com of call 856-217-3556.