Lehigh Valley Railroad

The Lehigh Valley Railroad began as an carrier of anthracite coal in 1846. At it's peak, it stretched from the docks of New York harbor to Lake Erie. Although mostly a freight carrier serving the hearths of Bethlehem Steel, it operated a well known passenger line from New York City to Buffalo, The Black Diamond. As a child in the 1950's, I would sit in the car with my father waiting for the long freight trains to cross Union Street. A train watch tower stood over the busy crossing. By 1976, remnants of the railroad were absorbed by Conrail. Shown above, from the late 1930's, is the streamlined engine of the Black Diamond.

The Hubris of Northampton County

Bernie O'Hare is clearly now the Propaganda Minister for Northampton County. Long behind the scenes, he's now officially part of the lawsuit against the citizen's referendum regarding Gracedale. Considering that Angle was Council President when the decision to sell was made, and still is the dominator there, one need question his judgement with this suit. Should an elected representative be a joint signer with someone who portrays the taxpayers as goons and an unruly mob? The Election Commission, in rejecting the right of referendum in regard to Gracedale, was advised by the Solicitor, who in turn was tutored by the lawyer hired to facilitate the sale.* The citizens of Northampton deserve more respect.

above illustration used by Bernie O'Hare to represent the Save Gracedale Citizens

*At least one council person criticized Spadoni for having contact with Mark Stewart, of the Harrisburg law firm the county hired to help with the sale. Last week, Stewart sent Spadoni a memo explaining why the petition did not conform to the home rule charter.
Councilman Lamont McClure, a Democrat opposed to the sale, called the contact problematic.
"The Election Commission solicitor should provide the best possible advice to the Election Commission without the pollution of interpretation of law by the lawyer hired to sell Gracedale," McClure said Monday.
The Morning Call:January 26,2011 by Jenna Portnoy

Bernie Files Lawsuit

Channel 69 reports that Bernie and Ron Angle have filed a lawsuit to keep the Gracedale question off the ballot. Bernie says that the issue is budget related, and budget issues are prohibited from referendum by the Home Rule Charter. It wasn't a good day for the Save Gracedale Group. Additionally, the Election Board also ruled against allowing the ballot question. Presumedly the group will appeal the Election Board decision in court, and likewise defend against Bernie's suit. Bernie believes that the fate of Gracedale should rest with the current elected officials. What arrogance of Angle and Stoffa to presume that they are entitled to do away with a 100 year plus institution without a public vote. The photograph shows Bernie, pen in hand, scrutinizing the petition signatures.

UPDATE: MORNING CALL ARTICLE
                     BLOG POST BY BERNIE

Trouble with Mailman

For those of us with AOL Email, yesterday didn't exist. Besides not being able to log in to the mail site, two months of previous mail has vanished. Hope I didn't miss the prize announcement from the Publisher's Clearing House, or from you.

Downhill on Lehigh Street

During the early 1970's, Allentown demolished the entire neighborhood between Union and Lawrence Streets. It was, in a large part, home to the black community. How ironic that we destroyed the cohesion of a neighborhood, but renamed Lawrence Street after Martin Luther King. The only remnant of the neighborhood is the St. James A.M.E. Church. Going up the hill today we now have a vacant bank call center on the east, and the Housing Authority Project on the west. A whole neighborhood existed in from both sides of Lehigh Street, including black owned shops. The houses were old and humble, but people owned them, many for generations. Some blacks at the time wondered if the project was Urban Renewal or Negro Removal?

Former County Executive Favors Saving Gracedale

Jerry Seyfried, a former Northampton County Executive, favors the County retaining Gracedale, according to Bernie O'Hare.

I just got off the phone with Jerry Seyfried, who believes Gracedale should remain in County hands.

This revelation by Bernie, perhaps inadvertently, was made during the course of a back and forth comment exchange on his  blog(comment 49,1:36pm). Although Bernie states the numerous articles he has written on why to sell Gracedale are based on facts and research, he has never presented this informed, opposing opinion by Seyfried.