A Changing Confluence

Future cartographers will locate the confluence of the Little Lehigh Creek and the Lehigh River as south, and slightly east of the current LCA sewage plant. Historians will know better. Up to forty years ago, nature joined the Little Lehigh with with western channel of the Lehigh, halfway down the side of Kline's Island. Around 1970, the City of Allentown decided to reclaim the river channel north of the confluence, ending Kline's status as an island. What is now the last section of the Little Lehigh, was previously the Lehigh. The map shown was produced in 1900. Also gone from current geography is the man made harbors, shown north of the Hamilton Street bridge. The new google map shows that the

former bridge to Kline's Island still stands, crossing the now reclaimed former west channel of the Lehigh River. Also visible is the footprint of Allentown's former gas tank.

Allentown's Syrians of The 6th Ward

When my grandfather first arrived in Allentown, he lived in the Ward, on 2nd. Street. It was around 1895 and the neighborhood was full of immigrants. Some groups came from the same area in the old country, most noticeably the Syrians, from the village of Amar. They were members of the Antiochian Orthodox Church, a Christian minority in a Muslim country. The congregation of St. George's Church on Catasauqua Ave., largely is descended from those immigrants. Well known names in Allentown, such as Atiyeh, Haddad, Hanna, Makoul, Koury and Joseph are among their members. They were among one of the first groups to organize, and those organizations still exist. The photo above was organized by the Syrian American Organization in 1944. Note that Jewish, on the left, is treated as a nationality.

click on photo to enlarge

UPDATE: This post is reprinted from March 2010, then titled The 6th Ward. An article in today's Morning Call describes the dilemma and concern the current conflict in Syria is causing the local Syrian community. I know from my Syrian friends that supposedly Assad's father's childhood nanny was Christian, and that Christians were protected under the Assads. It is not the purpose of this post to speculate on the current conflict in Syria, but to wish the relatives of our Syrian community safety.

Smell The Roses

Friends of the Allentown Parks will host an accessible tour of Allentown's famed Malcolm Gross Rose Garden, tomorrow morning, Saturday June 15, at 10:00a.m. Leading the tour will be none other than Paul Pozzi, caretaker of the garden. Take the time, smell the roses.

vintage postcard from Allentown's traditional park era

The Last Jews of Egypt

There are only a few dozen Jews still living in Egypt, all in either Cairo or Alexandria. The number of remaining synagogues outnumbers the remainder of Jews. Many of these synagogues are magnificent structures, and to the credit of the Egyptian government, they are protected and some are being restored. Prior to 1948, well over 80,000 Jews lived in the two cities. The current Ben Ezra in Cairo dates from 1892. The site, once a Coptic Church, became a synagogue in 882.. Tradition marks this as the spot where the prophet Jeremiah gathered the Jews in the 6th century after Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed the Jerusalem temple. The adjacent spring is supposed to mark the place where the pharaohs daughter found Moses in the reeds, and where Mary drew water to wash Jesus. It was here that the famous Philosopher Maimonides studied. Last century a collection of ancient manuscripts was discovered in the compound.

reprinted from June 2010

Morning Call Cross Dressers

Blogger Bernie O'Hare has joined Bill White's infamous Hall of Fame. Although O'Hare does protest, White believed that he secretly hoped for admission. O'Hare admitted that just the nomination alone jacked up his viewership. Although Bernie's inclusion will increase his readership, there's a reluctance on the part of hard and soft copy readers to cross back and forth. Occasionally, I bump into someone who tells me that they haven't seen a letter by me in the paper recently, and that they enjoy them. I thank them for that, then explain that I have a blog, and write a piece almost every day. Next time I see the person we have the same conversation, over and over again, they just won't cross over. While hardcopy readers dwindle, it's hard for the papers to make up the loss with their websites. The hardcopy readers are stubborn, and the web readers fickle. Meanwhile, congratulations to O'Hare and his Lehigh Valley Ramblings.

Slim Pickins In Blogosphere

I feel sorry for you blog readers, it's slim pickins out there! The only must read is by Bernie O'Hare, but then you must wade through his neuroses. Between his battles with other bloggers and commenters, and his political mancrushes, reading it is exhausting. Then there's George Wacker and his tabloid titillater; I've never gotten beyond the titles to visit that 8th grade locker room. LVCI relies on cyber mining. His post today on swimming pools was a push/pull survey by the former park director two years ago, trying to justify building a water park at Cedar Park. Although the concept has already been rejected by Council and the Administration, it's new stuff to that net surfer. We mustn't forget Chris Casey and Poliblog. He uses a complex algorithm to come up with wrong predictions. Then there's me....