Better Park Days

A Guest Post
My walks with my dog along the creek in Cedar Creek Park between Ott and Cedar Crest Blvd. have been some of the best times of my life. I have met many nice people and dogs in the past twelve years. I have seen and spoke with many people picnicking, reading a book, or just relaxing to the gurgling of the water while laying on a blanket along this beautiful creek. None of my dogs through the years, nor I, have ever had any ticks in this park until recently. All of this is gone now, along with many friends who will no longer come here because of the decision to "save" this creek (the clearest, cleanest in the area) by allowing weeds to grow along it, outwards of 20-30 feet or more. Please tell mayor Pawlowski and the park department to end this nonsense. No one at the park agrees with or likes the weeds, but say that there is nothing anyone can do about it. General Trexler intended for this land to be enjoyed by people, their children and pets, not to deny access to the creek. Please people speak up and demand that these weeds be cut. It will not take long for the ticks, mosquitos, snakes and vermin and the deadly diseases they carry, lyme disease, west nile virus, etc. to spread out from the park to the homes and neighborhood surrounding it. No one would tolerate their neighbors to have weeds growing next door to them. Please do not allow the city to destroy the beauty of this park any longer.
Tony Martin

The WPA and other park defenders will meet this coming Tuesday evening at 7:00p.m. in the lower level of The Allentown Library 

photo of park in 2008, when the creek was still accessible

Weitzel's World

The homepage of the Playworld Systems website features a picture of Allentown's Cedar Park Destination Playground. A close examination of the picture reveals that it shows less equipment than what Allentown actually installed. Weitzel shoved so much equipment into that playground that it exceeded the company's recommendations and best practices. An artist was employed to airbrush Weitzel's excesses out of the picture. Cross Ott Street, follow the yellow brick road and you come upon the LifeTrail senior exercise stations, which cost  $10,000 apiece. These stations are also produced by Playworld. Playworld, centered in Lewisburg Pennsylvania, also installed the new playground equipment at Franklin Park. Did I mention that Weitzel came to Allentown from Lewisburg?  They say that there's a framed picture of Weitzel on the boss's desk at Playworld.

No View Zone

Recently, a former park user contacted me through a Morning Call reporter. For many years he took great joy in taking his dog to Cedar Park, where he could play in the stream. That tradition ended last year, when both he and his dog couldn't access the creek without getting ticks. For those who haven't been to the parks in a few years, let me explain. We now have No Mow Zones and riparian buffers. The uncut brush is supposed to prevent herbicides from the surrounding neighborhoods from entering the water. In Allentown's case, the zones and buffers are just for show, because our storm sewer pipes empty directly in the streams, bypassing the buffers. Why would our former park director deny the public both view and access to the water? He teamed up with Abigail Pattishall from the Wildlands Conservancy, another grantmeister, to take advantage of a current grant buzz word, riparian. They're even allowing the six feet between the reflection pool and the creek to grow up. In addition to ticks, the thick underbrush encourages snakes. Did I tell you that Abigail is a trained herpetologist, specializing in water snakes? The water is now only seen from three bridges which cross the creek. Traditionally, the stream banks were stabilized by willow trees. I would like to see both new willow trees and children return to the stream banks in our beautiful parks. The Allentown WPA Association will meet on Tuesday August 14, at 7:00 p.m. in the lower level of the Allentown library. If you also have concerns about the park system, please join us.

Get On Board

I had a chance encounter with a supporter and associate of the mayor, an influential man, accomplished by any measure. He asked me why I have to be so negative? He said that I should get on board with the arena, it's going to happen anyway. I suggested that perhaps some dissent is healthy for a community. Sure of his position, rather than consider my point, he proceeded that Allentown needed to be revitalized. Although I might agree with that, I don't see the arena doing it. Yesterday, in a Morning Call article about the arena, a hockey fan from down the line can't wait for the arena to open. Although that portends well for the arena owner, the Brooks Company, will this fan be spending money in town? Will he patronize a restaurant outside of the arena, either before or after the game? As our conversation proceeded, I learned that the gentleman was unfamiliar with this blog, and based his assessment of my negativity on a letter or two to the editor. I suppose that if he ever ventured here he would have saved his breath. I have not identified the mayor's associate, nor will I host comments speculating on his identity. My point is that although the administration faced no opposition from city council, or from the press editorially, they even resent a lone voice or two asking a few questions.

Monopoly Allentown Style

Earlier this year I reported how J.B. Reilly had plans to acquire the entire block on the south side of Hamilton Street. Two holdouts at this point have been both the jean and wicker stores on Hamilton Street, otherwise, his conquest has been on course. Recently, he closed on three buildings containing 16 units on S. 8th Street. I can tell you that neither the apartments, nor it's tenants, will give Mr. Reilly pride of ownership. What motivates him to become a reluctant landlord? Is this to be Four City Center? I don't think so, it will be challenging enough to rent his three other planned office buildings. We have been told that the NIZ was not specially designed for Mr. Reilly, and that other developers were welcome to apply. However, it's becoming apparent that they will have to buy their parcel from J.B..

A CyberVisit

The responses and comments to the political posts are usually within a day or two. The historical posts have a much longer shelf life. People using search engines find something of their youth often years after I wrote the post. I still occasionally get a comment from someone who worked at a Mohican Market, often somewhere in upstate New York. Yesterday, a former post on the 6th Ward received such a comment.

 Hello molovinsky, I found your blog today. I was born in the 6th ward in 1933. My grandfather, who died very young, long before I was born, was Emanuelle Markowitz and was, I believe, the first religious head of Aguda Achim. His wife was Ida Markowitz. We lived at 234 and then 244 Hamilton St. and went to Harrison Morton grade school before departing permanently to New York City. Arnold Fein (brother is Barry)

 My grandparents lived on Second Street in around 1900, and belonged to the Agudas Achim congregation. After Arnold and I exchanged a couple comments, I invited him to send me a note about Allentown via email.

  Yeah, Michael, I went back for a visit about 3 yrs. ago. All of lower Hamilton St,is part of a highway and the Jersey RR Station ,I was told, failed as a restaurant.The stores I remember on Hamilton between 2nd and 3rd were, Queenies Luncheonette, Bucky Boyle's Bar, Harry Gross Shoes,an A&P on the corner of 1st (Front?)and Hamilton, a "holy roller" storefront church, a travel agency with a large steamship model in the window,Taylors Plumbing Supply (now Weinstein's-I visited the place when I was there), a "Giant" supermarket on 5th and Hamilton across from the P.O., Francis the barber on the hill,the Colonial theatre,etc.Harrison Morton is still there and 2nd St.off Hamilton is still the same including the "A Treat" sign on the little store near HM, which I remember. Some friend's names from that time are: Stanley and Nancy Kulp (Culp?) who lived in an old wooden house next to the Lehigh Valley RR Freight terminal across from Taylor's. Michael Miller, Bobby Kressler, George Mevrides(sp?), Andrew Kent,Dickie Catalina(whom I'll never forget as the guy who came running out on Hamilton St. on 12/7/ shouting, "the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor"), the 4-5 Delaney kids,Dickie Gross who lived in a stone house on 2nd St.just off Hamilton where his father had his dental practice, Lucille Wiener, Phyllis Malatrott,Victoria Minner,Ronald DiLeo whose father was a Dr., (told me my first "off color" joke in the 1st grade while we were standing side by side at a HM urinal)), Marvin Karll, 2 HM footballers (who were not friends as such), Barney Garulla(sp?) and Albert Casium, whom I believe was Albanian.Other places were the slaughter house, Arbegast and Bastion (sp?). Couldn't miss that!, Riverfront Park, and a horse watering trough on the corner of Hamilton and Front(?)Lots of others. Something priceless about childhood, no matter where it's spent.

 Even in Allentown.

UPDATE: More memories from "Arnie" Fein
Also, my grand parents owned a store on 2nd St. around Tilghman, before I was born. My mother always remembered the few words she knew in Slavic because some of the customers spoke only "Slavisch".Another recollection was in 1943 when a lot of us went to the JerseyRR terminal to watch a train full of German POWs being transported west. Larry and Jimmy Whitman lived above the A&P on that picture you sent. Their name was anglicized from a Polish name their parents shortened.Harry and Jean Getz, friends of my mother, owned a small shoe store between 2nd and 3rd Sts.The name of the travel agency was, if I'm correct, something like Bortz. On Walnut St. around the corner from Weinstein's was the "Perkiomen Transfer Co." The local movie house was the Townie which I believe was in the 6th ward.Further up the hill were the Colonial, the Midway and the Transit.There was a trolley named the Liberty Bell which went from 8th St. to Philly and a trolley to Bethlehem along the "Bethlehem Minsi Trail". Other memories as they come from the distant past...

 photo supplied by Arnold Fein, showing him, brother and mother at Hamilton and the current American Parkway, next to the current Weinstein Supply Company.