An Antique Blogger

I wasn't always a blogger, getting here I wore a few different hats. One hat was as an antique dealer. Many mayors ago, I had a small shop on 7th Street. That little building has long since been demolished. Another retail venture involved photography and a darkroom on 8th Street.

A large antique venue has relocated to the former Parkway Bowling in the rear lower section of the Parkway Shopping Center. A visit this past weekend found Weil's Doghouse Antiques packed with 185 antique dealers. However, their parking lot flea market has yet to take root.

Although very sparse last weekend, the parking lot flea market will host another odd fellow this Friday morning for a couple hours. I'll be at an outside parking lot table between 8:00 and 10:00 AM, with a few vintage camera accessories from the 1940's and 50's.

Shown above is the back and front cover of my booklet available at Amazon Bookstore. It contains 36 selected blog posts about growing up in Allentown during the 1950's.

The Monstrosity Lives On

In 2013 developer Bruce Loch got permission to build a pencil tower at 9th&Walnut. In 2023 he sold the small parcel and essentially the permission to a new developer. That developer is now trying to keep the permission in force and marketable.

I think that it's fair to say that the marketplace is not clamoring for this building. While pencil buildings have been built in Manhattan because of extremely high real estate prices and very limited space, here in Allentown it would be ridiculous.

I remember some of Bruce Loch and John Troxell real estate development in Allentown. During the Joe Daddona era, small city owned intersection triangles, mostly in the Hamilton Park area, were acquired. Hardship lot size variances were then used to build on the parcels. In NYC these pencil buildings have been plagued by wind and sway issues. Leave it to Allentown to entertain this nonsense.

  MY MEMORIES OF ALLENTOWN IN THE 1950'S & 1960'S AT AMAZON

NATURE, ART AND TRASH IN ALLENTOWN PARKS

One of my seven hundred pet peeves is signage in the parks. Back in 2013, when I was trying to save the miniature dam by the Robin Hood Bridge in Lehigh Parkway, the then park director said he'll demolish the dam, but they could put up a sign with picture of what it looked like.

Signs have become fashionable now in our park system. Years ago we maintained the parks as designed, and the beauty spoke for itself. The beauty is still there, but now it has to struggle against stupid policies. 

The small trash can shown above is the only one on the end of the park near the Rose Garden ponds. Very often by Sunday afternoon it is overflowing. While common sense would suggest that more trash containers are in order, I no longer expect common sense. I can only hope that the park department hires a consultant to make that recommendation.

MY MEMORIES OF ALLENTOWN IN 1950'S & 1960'S AT AMAZON

MacTrumpzie's Gambit

If Mackenzie rode Trump's tails into Congress, he may well be riding the same tails out. With gasoline over $4.30 a gallon, that pickup with the flag may be waving it less. While Trump's narcissism may be stoked by renaming things after himself, the pickup driver doesn't share the pride.

I think the clock is running  out on Mackenzie speaking up and out. The local Latino vote will be a wildcard. Although they may trend Democratic, both Mackenzie and Brooks are transparent fakers when courting that demographic. How energized either party can get the Latinos for this election is questionable.

I'm offended by the amount of money going into the race. The Republicans are counting on Trump doing a lot of campaigning for them. Trump says that voters should make believe that he's on the ballot. That might not be the incentive he thinks.

CLICK HERE FOR MY BABY BOOMER MEMORIES OF ALLENTOWN AT AMAZON BOOKSTORE... 36 SELECTED POSTS FROM THIS BLOG

Hootchy Nights At The Allentown Fair

Morning Call columnist Bill White had a piece earlier in the week where he lamented that  Bobo the dunking clown was no longer at the fair. Although that's about as funky as it got for Bill in his era,  we older Allentonians remember much hotter nights at the fairgrounds. Up to the late sixties the fair had girly shows. I'm going back to the era of Gooding's Million Dollar Midway and Benny's Bingo. I'm going back to three midways packed between the Farmer's Market and Chew Street. I'm going back to when the fair only started after Labor Day.

I mentioned in one of my previous fair posts that Fred Schoenk and I made and sold printed t-shirts at the fairs during high School. At the Kutztown Fair we were hired by the burlesque show owner to letter a new banner for his show tent...as high school boys we would have paid him for the experience.

reprinted from September of 2018

photocredit:molovinsky...Black rock and roll review with strippers, 1969 Allentown Fair 

CLICK HERE FOR MY BABY BOOMER MEMORIES OF ALLENTOWN AT AMAZON BOOKSTORE... 36 SELECTED POSTS FROM THIS BLOG

The Mighty Atom

Years ago at the Allentown Fair, as one would push through a sea of carney delusion, tucked back by the 4H animals was an island of reality. There, in an old battered truck, an ancient Jewish strongman performed incredible feats of strength, to sell only homemade kosher soap. Standing on a platform on the rear of his truck, flanked by photographs from his performing youth, he would bent horse shoes and bite through nails. Many years earlier, my mother as a little girl in Bethlehem, saw him pull a truck with his hair. Even as an old man, like a reincarnation of Samson, his grey hair was still long.

In the summers of 1964 and 1965, myself and a friend,(Fred Schoenk, retired Allentown art teacher) made and sold printed tee-shirts at the fair. We had the honor to know Joseph Greenstein(The Mighty Atom) and his wife. For those interested, there are various articles on the Mighty Atom and even at least one book. Enjoy the fair!

reprinted annually since 2007

CLICK HERE FOR MY BABY BOOMER MEMORIES OF ALLENTOWN AT AMAZON BOOKSTORE....    36 SELECTED POSTS FROM THIS BLOG

The Great Allentown Fair

The Morning Call website is hosting an archive of Fair Pictures from over the years. Being a fan both of fair pictures and black and white photography, looking at the 111 photos presented was a treat.

The photo shown above, which I will get back to, reminded me of one of my unique fair experiences. In previous posts, I have discussed that both my father and myself had stands at the fair. While my father learned that you couldn't sell hotdogs near Yocco's, I learned that drunks leaving the beer garden loved to buy printed T-shirts.

But today's post has to with George Kistler, long time City Clerk during the 1950's and 60's. George loved the fair, and loved sharing his fascination with a large group of people. I was fortunate enough to be invited several times. The routine was always the same; Dinner at a local stand on the eastern side of the fairgrounds, followed by the wrestling show. I remember photographing Andre The Giant.

The Morning Call fair picture above is none other than Jim "Super Fly" Snuka, who was recently back in Allentown, for a most regrettable reason.

reprinted from September of 2016 

CLICK HERE FOR MY BABY BOOMER MEMORIES OF ALLENTOWN AT AMAZON BOOKSTORE....     36 SELECTED POSTS FROM THIS BLOG