protesting against the Palisades Amusement Park pool's segregation policy; some protesters held signs that stated "Protest Jim Crow". On July 13, 1947, Melba Valle, a 22-year-old African-American woman, tried to use a pool admission ticket from a Caucasian friend, but was not allowed to enter the pool. Valle was then "'forcibly dragged and ejected' from the Park", as described in several newspapers; as a result, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) started protesting at the Palisades Amusement Park entrance. Even though police detained 11 CORE members, the group stated that they would protest at the park entrance on Sundays, and would only stop their protests when the pool started allowing African Americans. The protesters handed out the following flyer in 1947, which is now on exhibit in the Fort Lee Museum. The policy was dropped by the 1950s. "Palisades Park" song and boom in popularity In 1962, Chuck Barris composed and Freddy Cannon recorded a song about the park entitled "Palisades Park". The song was an up-tempo rock and roll tune initiated by a distinctive organ part. The song also incorporated amusement park sound effects. "Palisades Park" received nationwide radioplay and increased the park's fame even more. The "Palisades Park" song generated a surge of park visitors. There was a hole in the fence behind the amusement park's music stage, which was used by local children to sneak into the park without paying admission. Although the Rosenthal brothers knew about the hole, they did not repair it. Unlike many modern amusement parks that require visitors to buy an all inclusive pass before entering the grounds, Palisades Amusement Park also charged individual fees for each ride and attraction inside the park. Irving Rosenthal, who loved children even though he had none of his own, allowed this "secret" entrance to remain and instructed security personnel to ignore anyone sneaking through it. He felt that children, who had little money to start with, would be more willing to spend their limited funds inside the park if they got in for free. Irving Rosenthal also printed free-admission offers on matchbooks and in other media. He owned an advertising company that put up billboards known as "three sheeters" all over New York City. Parking was free for the same reasons. However, as the park began attracting bigger and bigger crowds in later years, the on-site parking lot became less and less adequate, often rapidly filling