Prince Of The Gypsies

According to my mother, a Gypsy prince died near Allentown in the late 1960's, she knew about such things. She was born in Galgo, Hungary, an area of Transylvania, now part of Romania, near present day Gilgau. In Galgo, the Jews and Gypsies lived on the edge of town. In the early 1920's, my grandparents, along with their Gypsy neighbors, came to Bethlehem to work at the Steel. On weekends, to make extra money, my grandparents would open their house and show Hungarian movies. None of their relatives, Jew or Gypsy, save one cousin, survived the nazi's; even the cemeteries were desecrated. As you can see from the document above, my grandfather earned his citizenship the hard way.

Trump's Delusions Continue

Trump claims that the Republicans lost because he wasn't on the ballot. In reality, they lost because he was on the voter's mind.  Those red hats may still be able to fill an auditorium, but apparently they can't fill a stadium. Even the $5k bribe wasn't enough.

But Trump's grasp on delusion and reality are real issues. He stated on Tuesday that the Iran War will unfold at his whim. I don't know what constraints can be placed on him, but constraints are certainly in order.

He thinks that his power of veto will hold sway over Congress. I think that what can hold sway over Trump is his need for monuments. Perhaps if he behaves himself, they'll allow him to build his arch or a small pyramid.

The Cost Of Buffoonery

I saw a short clip of Bill Reilly last week wondering why Trump did the diesel fuel deal with Putin? Bill until then had been an unquestioning cool-aid drinker. Fortunately for Bill, he wasn't up for re-election, he was just trying to not look like a fool for whatever audience he has left.

For Republican incumbents, the cost has been pricey. Ryan Mackenzie got beat by the most unqualified congressional candidate in my memory. All Mackenzie needed to do was speak up a few times, but he didn't have it in him.  Hopefully, for the sake of the country, these lame ducks will go out with some dignity, and speak up even if it's too late to save their careers.

I fully expect the politically surviving Republicans to now exert themselves. Trump's directives keep becoming more detrimental to the country.

William Allen High School

I have a diploma from William Allen, just not a class. I had some attitude issues, and was frequently asked to stay away and think about them. As it turns out, I was about a year younger than my original classmates, and eventually was given the coveted document at the end of summer school, the following year. My original classmates didn't know what happened to me, and the latter ones didn't know where I came from. The delayed development did prepare me to eventually become a blogger.

Move ahead some sixty years, and the progressive school board decided that it wanted administrators who look like the students. They have progressed to the point where they now have administrators who act like the students.

Today is election day, and students of this blog know that I have in recent months mentioned candidates in selected races. It is certainly a consequential election, especially in the U.S. Congress.

Allentown Memories

From low income sections of center city, to expensive suburbs, Allentown and the Lehigh Valley is becoming home to more and more newcomers. I'm afraid the time will soon come when local memorabilia will have little appeal. Fortunately, for those interested, some impressive collections still exist.  David Bausch, former County Executor and authority on Automobile Art, is also a expert on things Allentown. Then there are the many small collections, home of the hidden treasures. Above is an early aerial photograph of the Allentown Fair. Those interested in the recent commotion concerning the 19TH Street Theater District may find the upper right of the photograph interesting. There is no theater, there are no houses on Saint George Street and most of the buildings seem to to garages and automobile in nature (don't tell Auto-Zone). This gem is probably from the late teens or early 20's, and comes from the Thomas Reed Collection. Thomas is aka Z1pyro, long time expert shooter for Zambelli Firework Company. He retired several years ago, and we who appreciate fireworks, notice his departure.

reprinted from July of 2008

ADDENDUM:Allentown recently lost David Bausch. For those of us interested in local history and politics, he was the dean. While his annual Christmas party brought the past and present together, his breakfast clubs were a more contemporary, daily event.

Allentown Memorabilia

The time and market for Allentown memorabilia has come and gone. With a changing population, and the graying of the older town folks, objects of our history are destined for the landfill. Even the local historic society concentrates on shows of general interest, such as Abraham Lincoln. In addition to having been a retail mecca, Allentown manufactured a large assortment of products. Allentown was stamped on tools, knifes, and metal products of all kinds, distributed nationwide. A local regional food product was the hard pretzel, a variation of the traditional German soft pretzel. Allentown had several pretzel companies. Miller's operated out of their factory at 732 Tilghman Street, between 1944 and 1978. In the coming months this blog will profile some of these Made In Allentown products, before litter and meaningless slogans became our legacy.

reprinted from July of 2013 

CLICK HERE for this baby boomer memory and 35 others in my booklet at the Amazon bookstore

The Corner Market

Although I doubt that there will ever be a show at the Historical Society, or brochures at the Visitors Bureau, perhaps nothing encapsulates the history of Allentown more than the corner grocery stores. Allentown proper, is mostly comprised of rowhouses built between 1870 and 1920, long before the era of automobiles and suburban supermarkets. Most of the corner markets were built as stores, and over the years many were converted into apartments. Up until the late 1940's, there may have been well over a hundred operating in Allentown. Some specialized in ethnic food. The bodega at 9th and Liberty was formally an Italian market. Live and fresh killed chickens were sold at 8th and Linden, currently H & R Block Tax Service. A kosher meat market is now a hair salon on 19th Street. The original era for these markets died with the advent of the supermarket. In the early 50's some corner stores attempted to "brand" themselves as a "chain", as shown in the Economy Store sign above. That market is at 4th and Turner, and has been continually operating since the turn of the last century. Ironically, as the social-economic level of center city has decreased, the corner stores have seen a revival. Most of these new merchants, many Hispanic and some Asian, know little of the former history of their stores, but like their predecessors, work long, hard hours.

ADDENDUM: The above post is reprinted from 2009.  The sign shown above has been removed or sold. When my parents were first married, they lived next door and would patronize the same store.  My grandparents lived nearby on the corner of Chew and Jordan Streets.

ADDENDUM 2: the Economy Stores sign shown, apparently came from an early A&P format in 1912 when they leased small stores. If this particular store was such an A&P, or just dressed later with a reused sign, I have yet to determine.

ADDENDUM APRIL 12, 2024: When I took the photo back in 2009, I was friendly with the long time owner, from having managed apartments in that neighborhood. Both she and the enamel sign are now long gone. When I told the current owner that members of my family have been coming into that same store for over a hundred years, he looked at me as if I was from another planet. There are very few long time store owners that I still know.

CLICK HERE for this baby boomer memory and 35 others in my booklet at the Amazon bookstore

Allentown's History Not Aging Well

A recent comment to this blog wondered how Pip The Mouse and the Liberty Bell Shrine were faring? Pip was the famous annual Christmas window display at the iconic Hess Brothers Department Store. The Liberty Bell was hidden in Allentown at the Zion Church during the Revolutionary War. 

Students of this blog know that the disregard for history is one of my many complaints about the NIZ. Beautiful mercantile architecture was destroyed to accommodate  the NIZ real estate scheme. Meanwhile, the art deco post office on 5th Street goes to unclaimed seed, and the Art Museum is going to abandon its important role on that street.

Zion Church gave their historic property to Gregory Edwards. Considering that his church on 9th Street has looked less than pristine since he has managed it, the future for Zion doesn't look promising. Those interested in Pip or the Liberty Bell will have to do research at the Historical Society, at least for as long as that lasts.

The Dinosaurs Of Sumner Ave

Up to the early 1950's, Allentown was heated by coal, and much of it came from Sumner Avenue. Sumner was a unique street, because it was served by the West End Branch of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. The spur route ran along Sumner, until it crossed Tilghman at 17th Street, and then looped back East along Liberty Street, ending at 12th. Coal trucks would elevate up, and the coal would be pushed down chutes into the basement coal bins, usually under the front porches of the row houses. Several times a day coal would need to be shoveled into the boiler or furnace. By the early 1970's, although most of the coal yards were closed for over a decade, the machines of that industry still stood on Sumner Avenue. Eventually, they took a short trip to one of the scrap yards, which are still on the same avenue, but not before I photographed them.

reprinted from 2011

photocredit:molovinsky

CLICK HERE for this baby boomer memory and 35 others in my booklet at the Amazon bookstore

Hamilton Street's Golden Era

By the early 1950's, our major department stores were operated by the second generation owners. Max Hess Jr. become a merchandizer of national reputation. His store windows presented displays as sophisticated as any major city. One holiday novelty exists to this day, Pip The Mouse, and can be seen at Zion Church. The fourth floor toy department had eye popping, life sized, automated stuffed animals from Germany. Needless to say, Santa Claus was on duty at Hess's.

Families had their favorite department store. While my mother patronized Hess's, others were loyal to Leh's and Zollingers. Although I'm sure that their Christmas displays were also top notch, I have no personal memories. While we now charge citizens to drive through a park with lights, downtowns used to compete with attractive displays. Allentown was famous for the Bell Lights on our iconic light posts, which would rock back and forth, as if ringing. Although times have changed, this blog will remind those few who remember.

reprinted from December of 2012

CLICK HERE for this baby boomer memory and 35 others in my paperback at the Amazon bookstore

The Little Bridge of Lehigh Parkway, Part 3

The little bridge is just off the parking lot by Robin Hood. When I started my blog, the small spring pond and raceway to the miniature bridge were completely overgrown. I prevailed upon the then separate Watershed Dept. to allow it to be cleaned up. Although the bridge is being currently kept cleared, the pond and raceway is again very overgrown.

The deviation away from our traditional park system began in 2006, when during Ed Pawlowski's first term, he hired a park director not familiar with Allentown, and its iconic park system. Worse for the traditional park system, was that several members of the Trexler Trust were part of Pawlowski's kitchen cabinet, and didn't assert themselves in regard to the parks.

Nothing has been more detrimental to our traditional park system than the park department cooperating with the Wildlands Conservancy, starting with a weed wall in Trout Park. The Conservancy has no interest in parks, but rather nature. Worse, the Trexler Trust is now funding this desecration. THEY SHOULD BE TAKEN TO COURT FOR VIOLATING TREXLER'S INTENTIONS. THE FEATURES NOW BEING IGNORED WERE COMMISSIONED BY TREXLER HIMSELF.

The Little Bridge Of Lehigh Parkway, Part 2

In yesterday's post, Part 1, I mentioned that Tyler Fatzinger would be co-administrator of WPA Of Allentown Facebook group. Tyler has lent considerable energy to the Fairview Cemetery situation, and now wants to also address the WPA neglect.

Likewise, Tom Banotai will be joining me as an administrator on Allentown Chronicles Facebook group. Tom has been an active moderator on the group for several months. He is a former city employee, and not bashful about opining on city issues.

So far this blog has no succession plan. If you know someone who remembers when Allentown was known for clean and quiet streets, and an iconic park system, let me know.

the photo in part 1 showed the miniature bridge before the cleanup, above I'm standing on the cleared bridge.

The Little Bridge Of Lehigh Parkway, Part 1

As a baby boomer who grew up above Lehigh Parkway, I remember when all the WPA structures were pristine. I remember when the park department valued them as the irreplaceable icons which they are. In 2007, when I started this blog, championing for their upkeep was one of my missions. 

Over those early years I managed to get the little bridge cleared a couple of times. I managed to get the spring pond cleared, and dug out the Boat Landing with some volunteers.

Although I started a Facebook group dedicated to the WPA, it has been on the back burner. I have invited Tyler Fatzinger to be co-administrator, I expect his youth and enthusiasm to ping the cause. He recently asked me which local agencies might help the effort. He will soon learn that if these groups had a proper appreciation of our traditional park system, our efforts would not be necessary.

I've assembled 36 of my posts about growing up in Allentown during the 1950's, and have made the paperback available at the Amazon Bookstore.

An American Physician In Japan

I had become acquainted with Edward Stim M.D. googling about blood pressure meds.  His Physician's Notebooks is an extensive tome on practically any issue of health concern. After a few questions, I got included on his private group email list.  While the Notebooks itself is very personal and forthright,  his emails were a diary of his life, and quite a life it was.

He spent the Korean War period stationed in Japan, where he would learn the culture and meet his future wife. After med school in his hometown of NYC, and then practicing in the city, he would return to Japan, where he stayed for the remainder of his life.  For years, well into his mid eighties, he worked as an on call physician for a travel/hotel service business in Yokohama.

In addition to his Physician's Notebooks, he also wrote erotic novels. He would return frequently to NYC,  where he would enjoy family and activities from his youth in Brooklyn.  He edited medical textbooks and opined on world events. 

He remained both a student and teacher until his passing in December of 2021.

Time Travel OnThe Molovinsky Blog

Years ago in 2010, I posted about a 1920 diary/journal I found in an old furniture drawer forty years earlier. There were no names mentioned, but some times and places. Lo and behold, a small town librarian from Maryland recognized who must have written the journal, and contacted me years later. I was happy to reunited the journal with the library. Its future is now beyond my control.

Recently, I posted the above photograph I took in Nashua, N.H. in about 1975, to a Facebook group located there. Lo and behold, one of the boys shown heard of the posting, and confirmed in the group that the photo is of him and his brother.

I know that over the years, some of my blog posts about Allentown had cause, if not effect. I take absolutely no credit for any change in Washington, and have been diagnosed with derangement syndrome.

Fairground Farmers Market

If you grew up in or near Allentown, chances are that you been to the Farmers Market. The market has been in operation since 1953, all year except during Fair Week.  

While those visiting downtown Allentown will recognize very little from the past, the Farmers Market is frozen in time. Some of the purveyors have been there for near 60 years. 

When I was a boy, my father operated a meat concession at the market for a year or so. He gave it up because he recognized so many of the customers from his market on Union Street, and realized that he had doubled his overhead to serve the same clients.

For those of us who find change not always for the best, the Market remains a comfort.

reprinted from August of 2023

CLICK HERE for this baby boomer memory and 35 others in my booklet at the Amazon bookstore

Trump Says The Darndest Things.

Back in the baby boomer days, Art Linkletter had a TV show, Kids Say The Darndest Things. I watched a Trump speech at a campaign rally in Syracuse, NY. Trump is very pleased with himself for campaigning for the midterms. Needless to say at these rallies, he's taking to the choir.

While talking to the choir at the rallies, he is doing more harm than good. Everybody at the rally is already voting Republican, that's a given. But his bigger nonsense statements are picked up by the fake news. When he states that an ocean should be named after him, who can take him or the candidate standing next to him seriously?

The appearance of sneers, insults and comments may be delayed for the next couple weeks, as I sell pumpkins and Indian corn at a local farm stand. 

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

Katie's Newsy Conference

Katie Zacharia is brand new to me, before yesterday, I never saw or heard her before. She spent over half the news conference praising Trump's supposed accomplishments, with no news whatsoever. Package it as you may, we are stealing Venezuela's oil. Likewise, we always had the right to military bases on Greenland.

She only did answer and almost provided information on two questions. Kimberly Guilfoyle was asked to resign (and has). For the $64,000 question, if we're still providing intelligence to Ukraine, she will have to get back to the reporter with the answer.

All and all, for the Trump administration, she is what we could expect... A very pretty face praising Trump.

Selling Ukraine Down The River

Trump was going to end the Ukraine/Russian war on his first day, instead he has sold Ukraine down the river. In order to secure cheaper diesel fuel for the midterms, he made a deal with Putin, then says that Zelensky should resign, because he called Trump out for the betrayal.

While an ocean or river* may not be named after Trump, he will be remembered. History will remember the $5K Trump bribe. History will remember his cabinet of sycophants, and the blue tidal wave of 2026.

There may be a delay printing the usual accusations of TDS against me. I began working long hours at a local pumpkin stand, so comments will be sporadically printed.

*Republicans can rename Denial River after Trump.

Executing The Election

First Hegseth brought us blowing up civilian speedboats, now a public execution. While the speedboat killings were illegal, and may have involved some who were not drug smugglers, the firing squad involves a guilty person, it's the livestream which is ghoulish.

Meanwhile, back at the White House, Trump tells us that he is again saving the Republican Party. Granted that my pundit degree is from a small junior college, but I don't follow his logic, or whatever he calls it.

Attendees at Trump's rallies are not in play for the midterms, it is the independents which will decide the election. I sincerely doubt that public executions float their boat. There is not enough time for Republican incumbents to put distance between themselves and the White House cowboys.