A Hammer From 7th Street

The other day I noticed a ball peen hammer head for sale.  It was stamped 521 N 7  Allentown PA   Although I've seen machinist stamp their tools with their initials and even work ID numbers,  usually a stamping like this means that the hammer was made at 521, or at least sold there.  Allentown has a long tradition in iron, steel and hardware.  In the next block, C.F. Wolfertz, knife maker, was in business from 1862 to 1989.

Although I have yet to identify the hammer head,  521 has its own story.  Over the years many people lived in the apartments over the store. Although I won't mention people by name, there were births, deaths, accidents, robberies,  marriages and arrests.  Although the walls don't talk, the newspaper archives do.

Over the years many people worked in the storeroom, in many businesses.  In the mid 1940's, Clements Variety Store had about everything,  but I suspect the hammer is from before then. In 1958 a business called Niagara offered a good living to good salesman, but apparently you had to apply before learning what you sold.  I suppose not that many people applied, because the storeroom was for rent in 1959.  By 1961 Melody Organs gave the space a try.  However, by 1962 you could buy a whirlpool by Jacuzzi there. In 1963 a dry cleaner gave it a shot.  The 1960's must have been slow on 7th, because the space was again vacant in 1964.

In 1971 the building was offered for sale at $22,500.  Filmlab operated there throughout the decade and into the 80's, until they moved up to the corner on Liberty. Today that storeroom, at 445, is owned by Peter Lewnes,  current 7th Street Development Director.

Back at 521,  rough times were coming again. In 1991 Unique Treasures opened. Apparently, the merchandize wasn't unique enough, because by 1993 it was the People's Choice Store.  They were ahead of the times by about 25 years, and were dispensing marijuana, until the police thought better of it.  Years later, in 2012, a barber shop fronted for an after-hours club in the basement.

Peter Lewnes is doing a terrific job  managing the street. Over the decades I had many favorite eating spots on 7th Street.  I look forward to the continued development of the street,  and I will learn more about that hammer.

Protest At Fountain Park

Long time Readers of this blog know that I have been an advocate for the WPA structures for over a decade, with some modest results.  Recently, my research discovered an old newspaper article from 1935, which adds another dimension to my understanding of that period.

Lehigh Parkway, Union Terrace and Fountain Park are the WPA masterpieces in Allentown.  In Fountain Park, there is the stairway which leads up to Junction Street, and then continues through a tunnel in the massive wall on Junction Street,  up to Spring Garden Street.  After the steps were completed, hundreds of workers would use these stairs every day,  to go from their center city row houses to the Mack and Traylor factories on S. 10th Street.

On September 11th, 1935 there was a protest involving the 400 WPA workers assigned to the stairwell and wall construction.  The rally took place by the creek, and was led by the Lehigh County Unemployed League, Keystone Workers Association and the Citizens Welfare League.  Although there was no violence, tools were tossed into the creek.  The protest centered on the $55 monthly wage, and the 35 hour work week.

The concept of workers during the Depression being upset with conditions frankly never occurred to me.  I just assumed that they were grateful for the job, and whistled while they worked.  Next time I walk those steps,  my thoughts will be somewhat more informed.

reprinted from January of 2019

Pawlowski's Legacy In Allentown

For her Mother's Day facebook post this past weekend, local Democratic activist Phoebe Harris thanked Ed Pawlowski for his stewardship.

When Pawlowski ran for his infamous 4th term while indicted, I chronicled how he courted the minority vote, and cobbled together a victory. Ed seduced his new minions by appointing them to various commissions and boards. In many cases these people were newcomers to Allentown, with no institutional knowledge of the city. Of course that reality meant nothing to Pawlowski, whose focus was always his own success.

At the time, Ms. Harris and other new found supporters could rationalize that their mentor, although indicted, was innocent until proven guilty. Now however, 18 months after being found guilty on 47 counts of bribery, it's disheartening to see a community leader clueless about the message of integrity in government.

Besides for this blogger, Phoebe and other aspiring members of the local minority community have a pass from scrutiny. Political correctness, wokeness and the fear of the dreaded racist accusation, usually tamps down such evaluations.

A Wild Card For Lehigh Valley

Susan Wild joined 13 other Democratic congressional members in voting against the new $3 Trillion aid package.  Conventional analysis is that these house members are in somewhat conservative districts, and their support of such unbridled spending would hurt them come November. In the recent coverage of Trump's visit to the local mask company,  one couldn't help but notice all the Trump supporters.  Charlie Dent's longevity, in both Harrisburg and Washington,  had been strategically attributed to his reputation as a centrist.

As a registered independent, politically I'm naive about such maneuvers.  However, as a registered pessimist and blogger, I take very little at face value.

Face value in the Lehigh Valley means very little. Outside journalists look at all the construction downtown, and think that the area is prospering. Little do they realize that all the new buildings belong to one man, and that the new commercial tenants are simply poached from surrounding suburban office parks. Peter is being robbed to pay Paul, at taxpayer expense.

I've previously complimented Wild on her accessibility.  I could have phoned her for comment on this post, but the Morning Call published her reasons last week.  As an independent blogger,  I think that it was a call better not made.  Between now and November, I may well have a question more important to both me and the district.

A Kosher Block In Allentown

Up through the mid 1960's, you could buy kosher meat in Allentown's 6th Ward.  Over the years there were no less than four different kosher meat markets and two synagogues in the 600 block of 2nd Street.

The larger orange brick building on the right was Agudas Achim Synagogue (1893), which remained open until the mid 1990's.  It was established by the Russian Jewish immigrants to the city, including my family.

Across the street, now behind the wall of the former Grossman scrap metal yard, was an old meat market.  Over the years until 1965, that shop was operated by four different butchers, including my father's uncle, and then his cousin.

No other neighborhood encapsulates both the history and ethnic diversity of Allentown, even now, 150 years later.

Lesson At Dieruff

A Dieruff High School social studies teacher would not have to take his class very far for a lesson in Allentown's history. Although never elected, East Side activist Dennis Pearson has been complaining for thirty years that the East Side always get short changed in Public Works. Such was the case in the mid 1930's, during the WPA work in Allentown. Roosevelt's New Deal program built the elaborate walls in the south side's Lehigh Parkway. Central Allentown received the magnificent Lawrence Street stairwell. The culturally elite of west Allentown received the Union Terrace Amphitheater, envisioned for Shakespeare. Pearson's east side got a few scattered steps to nowhere. The steps remained, and thirty years later Allentown built Dieruff High School. With expansions and renovations, some of the steps now adjoin the school. Flash ahead to the summers of 2009 and 2010.




I lobbied Allentown City Council members to appropriate some of the $millions of dollars in Cedar Park plans to begin preserving the irreplaceable WPA structures, starting to crumble throughout our park system. East Side elected councilman, Michael D'Amore, assured me that he only signed off on the Administrations plan, with the stipulation that the steps in Irving Park-Dieruff area would be restored at the same time. The work in Cedar Park was completed last year, including $millions of dollars with of recreation equipment from catalogs. The deterioration of the steps around Dieruff continues. Now there's a lesson in government!
photos courtesy of Mark Thomas

reprinted from September of 2011 

UPDATE MAY 14, 2020: My campaign to save the WPA and other historical structures throughout our park system has been ongoing since 2009. Although I managed to get some funds designated for that purpose, they usually end up reassigned for some recreational use. While the intrinsic value of these park features appear irreplaceable to me, unfortunately, those who govern us don't share my sentiments.