Sign Of The Times

Scott Armstrong, former Allentown School Board member is upset that Phoebe Harris, a current board member, is circulating the above poster on her facebook page.  The discussion and poster were created by a student at Dieruff High.

What the student, and perhaps even Ms. Harris, don't seem to realize is how the police came to be in the schools.  The high schools did use their own security people prior to police, but it was insufficient to quell escalating violence.  There were even a couple of incidents when adults came into classrooms and attacked students.

Talk of signs of the times...Although the country just suffered $billions of dollars in damage from riots and looting,  a sheriff was arrested in California for damaging a paper BLM sign.  Although that sheriff was arrested,  over a hundred people were shot in Chicago last weekend, including children.

Those children in Chicago and our children in Allentown schools deserve to be protected. If there are overreactions from the BLM movement which compromise that protection,  it will not be progress, but a step backwards.

Dancing On Eggshells In Allentown

If you want to picnic in an Allentown park, you need to reserve the table and pay the fee. If you wanted to demonstrate, you needed a permit and to post a bond. However, for the recent protest in the fragile Rose Garden, no permit or fee was enforced.

This weekend on social media, a downtown woman complained of fireworks tormenting her dog and keeping her children awake. However, she made it clear that she wouldn't clean up an exploded garbage bag across the street, or involve the police.  In the more livable areas of Allentown,  cleaning up litter and notifying the police is exactly what the neighborhood groups do.

Fortunately, this weekend's Defund The Police march in Allentown probably won't gain too much traction with city council,  two members themselves were former policemen.  However, a couple of months ago city council did throw the fairgrounds' neighborhood under the bus, by passing a noise exemption ordinance for the Maingate Nightclub.  Let us hope that they have the resolve not to throw the whole city away.

The World Of Mirth

Allentown at one time had two very productive railroad branch lines; The West End, and the Barber Quarry. The Barber Quarry, for the most part, ran along the Little Lehigh Creek. It serviced the Mack Truck plants on South 10th, and continued west until it turned north along Union Terrace, ending at Wenz's tombstone at 20th and Hamilton Streets. The West End, for the most part, ran along Sumner Avenue, turning south and looping past 17th and Liberty Streets.

The Allentown Economic and Development Corporation has received a $1.8 million grant, toward a $4 million dollar project, to restore a portion of the Barber Quarry branch to service it's industrial building on South 10th Street. This building housed Traylor Engineering, which was a giant back in the day. Recently it housed a fabricator who President Obama visited on his Allentown photo opportunity mission. The business has since closed, but let's not have that reality stand in the way of grants. Last summer, I fought against Allentown's Trail Network Plan, which catered to the spandex cyclist crowd. The new trail was to be built on the Barber Quarry track line. Not only didn't the AEDC oppose the plan, it's director was an advocate. Now they will be funded to develop that which they wanted to destroy. Where do I begin in Allentown's World of Mirth?

The wonderful photograph above shows the World of Mirth train at 17th and Liberty. World of Mirth was the midway operator at the Allentown Fair during the 40's and 50's. In the background is Trexler Lumber Yard, which burnt down in the early 1970's. The B'nai B'rith Apartment houses now occupy the location.
photograph from the collection of Mark Rabenold

UPDATE: The Barber Quarry branch was not the primary railroad access to the Mack plants on South 10th Street. The branch only provided service to Mack Plant #2 on South 10th and Mack Plant #1 on 7th and Mill Streets which both closed for manufacturing in 1924 in favor of Mack #3,3A,4 and 4A on South 10th. These were served by the Reading Railroad Mack Branch. There was a switchback that connected the Barber Quarry to the Reading west of Traylor Engineering and Manufacturing Co. Yet, that was built by the Reading to serve Traylor and did not provide access for the LVRR to Mack #3,3A, 4 and 4A.

Also the western terminus was not wenz's on Hamliton Street. The branch crossed Hamilton and served several businesses including Yeager Fuel on North St Elmo, several silk mills and Pepsi Bottling at 2100 Linden Street. The bottling plant closed in 1963 which then became a city parks department building. The LVRR sold and removed the track north of Hamilton street in 1969. Accordingly, in 1970, the Wenz company became the western most shipper and receiver on the branch. update information from anonymous comment in November of 2010

Neighborhoods Or Nightclubs In Allentown?

It was disturbing to see an article in the Morning Call,  essentially hoping that all turns out well for the Maingate Nightclub, with its upcoming  suspension hearings with the LCB.  Likewise,  it was disturbing when city council voted for the special noise exemption ordinance to help the nightclub circumvent their continuing LCB violations.

City council never surveyed the surrounding residents for their opinion about the scheme to help out a private bar owner.  We know that they actually blamed the residents of the elderly high-rise for squealing about the club's noise to the liquor control board.  As someone who has been scrutinizing bad city council actions for decades,  the Maingate vote may take the cake for favoritism.

I noticed that when the current operator of the Ritz spoke of her closing, she mentioned the Maingate. Discussing slow business before the Covid-19 shutdown, she believes last summer’s shooting that injured the Maingate Nightclub owner and a security guard outside the nearby business was partly to blame.“I think it scared people,” 

City councilman Daryl Hendricks referred to the Maingate area as an entertainment district.  Perhaps if he lived there, and was concerned about his family's quality of life, and his property value, he would realize that it is first and foremost a neighborhood.

photo of residential street being sacrificed by city council

Poor Neighborhoods To Get More Dangerous

When police officers several years ago in Baltimore were castigated for hosting some rough patty wagon trips,  police enforcement, and ultimately protection, took a slowdown in that city.  I expect to see a stand down now around the entire country.

In this current climate of scrutiny by the public, and officials more concerned with their reelection than actual public safety,  a dangerous, thankless job is now becoming a losing proposition.  When coming home from the job requires quick responses,  and everybody is a judge with a surveillance camera,  why would a policeman want to jeopardize himself protecting your property or life?

How ironic is it that "Defund The Police" was a slogan heard at riots and lootings?  Some woke large city officials want to instead divert those funds to social programs.  An activist in Minnesota  said, "We're safer without armed, unaccountable patrols supported by the state hunting black people."

I don't think that they will be safer.  Matter of fact,  I think that life has gotten far  more dangerous in poor neighborhoods in the last couple of weeks.  There will be a few less complaints against the police,  but much less protection against the predators in those neighborhoods.

above photo and caption from CNN

Memories Before The New Dollar General

When people drive by the new Dollar General on Walbert Avenue, few will remember fondly the rather non-descript property that was there before. The previous clapboard house faced sideways, with the front yard extending toward what was later a vehicle storage yard for Supreme Auto Body.  Behind the new store there are houses, which now have been there for many years.

In 1949, Morning Call readers found out about an armed robbery at a private poker game on Walbert Avenue. At the end of the long yard mentioned above, was a separate rumpus room, where my uncle and his associates played cards. The holdup men burst in with shotguns and made off with over $5,000, some serious money back then.

For a boy growing up in a development in South Allentown, my aunt and uncle's property out on Walbert Avenue was almost country. Along the top of the yard, where those houses are now, was a riding ring. Connected to my uncle's rumpus room, were the paddocks. My aunt was my father's oldest sibling, and her children were over 20 years my senior. By the time of my memories as a small boy, both my cousins and the horses were no longer there.

My uncle owned and operated Arlen Vending, which placed pinball machines and jukeboxes throughout the valley. He belonged to the Clover Club, a men's card playing club next to Hotel Traylor.  I know that in this era,  he would be a regular at the casino in Bethlehem.

Shown above in lower left of photo is Arlen Vending, a basement storeroom at 443 Hamilton Street. At any one time he would have 5,000 records for sale from the jukeboxes.