Several years ago, I started a new local Facebook group titled Allentown Chronicles. My goal was for a group somewhat more historically oriented than the existing nostalgia groups, where members keep asking which shop had the best pizza or chili sauce. There's nothing wrong with nostalgia, and those groups are very popular, but there was no need for an additional one.
As administrator I have rejected countless people, from mostly the third world, who would like to sell the members a sweatshirt with Allentown printed on it. While this was burdensome, I preferred keeping the group public so that any current or former Allentonian had easy access. The ever changing Facebook is now changing the guidelines, and anybody can join a public group without approval.
On November 8th the group will become private. If you have been visiting the page but haven't yet joined, you may want to do so in the next few days.
Shown above was a father promoting the Easter Egg Hunt in Little Lehigh Manor in the 1950's. Allentown has changed a lot since then, and the group-- through posts and personal anecdotes-- tries to provide a place for these recollections.
photo courtesy of the Williams' family
above reprinted from November 5, 2021
ADDENDUM APRIL 6, 2026: The Chronicles has continued to grow, and is pushing toward 11k members. While my posts there still reflect my personal experiences, more posts by others are becoming Wikipedia based. I have relaxed the guidelines somewhat, but try and keep the group unique.
Here on Molovinsky, things have become somewhat more chaotic. My disillusionment with the Trump administration has alienated some of my readers. My unwillingness to continually beat up Tuerk has alienated some others. Allentown is a very different city than the one I grew up in. I still take the city, and especially the park department to task, but for 2020 standards, not those from 1955. And I still appreciate your readership.
“I still take the city, and especially the park department to task, but for 2020 standards, not those from 1955”
ReplyDeleteThe problem isn’t that you’re holding Tuerk to too high of a standard, it’s that nobody is holding anyone (especially Tuerk) to ANY standards in Allentown.
For the amount that Allentown taxpayers are paying, they should be demanding excellence. Right now, they’re not even getting basic competence.
Tuerk seems to believe he’s somehow qualified for higher office when he can’t even the simplest of municipal tasks.
Allentown needs politicians that don’t view their jobs in terms of what the job can do for their futures, but rather what they can do for the city’s. They don’t seem to be serving at any level of city government right now, and certainly not in the mayor’s office.
Maybe (a little) off topic, but what’s going on with the Covered Bridge in Allentown? It’s been deconstructed down to its frame since last year, and work is progressing at a snail’s pace (and that’s an insult to snails!).
ReplyDeleteI’m pretty sure the entire bridge was originally built faster than what the repairs are taking, and I’m beginning to worry what the finished product will look like (if any of us are alive when it’s done).
Taxpayers are certainly paying for the length of the project, and I can only imagine the graft and kickbacks that must have built into the final price on this one.
anon@6:08: People need to stand up and run for office, even as Republicans and independents. Although they most likely will not be elected, it gives them a platform to voice what should be. BUT, here in Allentown, people don't even sign their name to a blog comment!
ReplyDeleteanon@6:14: Needless to day the bridge should have received a coat of paint and new roof shingles years ago. That said, I'm not a fan of the current project. It still will not be used for cars, so it is way overkill and waste of resources. Allentown Parks has done a terrible job with its infrastructure. It lets it go to seed, just planning on expensive grant funded replacement.