The Price Of Hyperbole

On Tuesday night Donald Trump couldn't switch gears out of his rally mode into a more adult theater. Considering that Kamala Harris was charged with immigration, and that it had gone out of control, all Trump needed to do was mention the basics, and forget about cats and dogs.

Considering that there is a large army of pro-lifers, all Trump needed to do was mention that states now have the authority, and that people are free to choose their state of residence. 

But who knows what lurks in Trump's mind and what propelled him to forget what venue he was at. 

Robert Kennedy Jr. thinks that the poor performance cost Trump with the undecided independents. I would agree that he gained no votes at the debate, but I question how many undecided remained before the debate. Taylor Swift's endorsement that evening only added to Harris's quiver. 

At the very best, Trump had a very expensive night.

Art NOT In The Park

On Saturday September 14, is the annual Art In The Park show in West Park. Great artists will be showing great art, but not all great local artists will be there. Among those great artists not showing is Fred Schoenk. 

Fred Schoenk has been producing art for over sixty years. While still at William Allen he was making jewelry for Cinruss Creations, and painting signs for Dorney Park. Returning to Allentown after graduating from Visual Arts in NYC, he taught art in our school system, sharing his skills and love of art with thousands of students. During that time he also operated a pottery studio, and did graphic arts and logos for many local businesses.

Fred is eccentric. The contact page on his website, Fred Schoenk-artist, doesn't work. The Facebook page he uses is private. Needless to say, he doesn't do computer art. His answering machine(610 7989115) as of now is still working. If you appreciate art and manage to make contact with him, and manage to get an invitation to his south side art factory, you're in for a very special treat.

Allentown's Orange Car

While the Orange Car, on Union St. near the Lehigh River, went out of business over twenty years ago, the building sat there vacant, fading away.  Although recently demolished, there's a story behind the slow demise.

When the Lehigh Valley Railroad went bankrupt in 1976, its rolling stock and track went to Conrail. However its other assets, such as real estate, were tied up in bankruptcy.  The Orange Car building was owned by LVRR.  Many years ago there was a small six track rail yard between the Orange Car and the meat packing business to its east.  Carloads of fresh citrus fruit would arrive weekly from Florida. After the rail service ended, the lessee continued operating the fruit stand for another twenty years. 

I labeled this post Allentown's Orange Car, because there was an identical looking sister store in Reading.  That location also had a major event in 1976,  a flood from which it never recovered. 

above reprinted from April of 2021 

Pennsylvania Squanders $Million On Bridge To Nowhere In Allentown

Drivers along Martin Luther King Blvd. have noticed a bridge built to nowhere across from the Parkette's parking lot. The large new cement bridge replaces an old small iron railroad trestle across the Little Lehigh, which served only the homeless for the last several decades. 

This is a story of grants and nonsense rising above incompetency to a level of blatant tax dollar waste.

Here is the story of this overbuilt bridge which leads to nowhere. Years ago the Barber Quarry railroad spur line was removed.  These tracks crossed S. 10th Street and proceed west to the old fertilizer plant, and then north past Union Terrace and eventually crossed Hamilton Street to serve the soda bottling plant on Linden Street. Its last working customer was the Wentz Memorial shop on Walnut Street. When the tracks were removed all the way back to 3th and Union Street area, the AEDC did not protest. After the AEDC came in control of the former Traylor Engineering building on S. 10th, they decided that if the tracks were reinstalled, it would make their vacant building more desirable to an industrial tenant. Of course in the real world reinstalling tracks costs a thousand times more than removing them for scrap iron. Also in the real world very few industries still exist which have need for a rail siding. Working for AEDC at this time was Matt Tuerk.

Meanwhile, the Allentown Park department, although neglecting existing assets such as the WPA structures and closing rather than repairing swimming pools, buys two unnecessary parcels before a former mayor begins his prison sentence. Biking enthusiast Matt Tuerk eventually becomes mayor when a grant finally comes down the pipeline, and we quietly get an overbuilt bridge to nowhere.

As a resident taxpayer I'm appalled at the misuse of public funds. I recall how Lehigh Parkway was bisected and degraded when the bridge there was replaced only by a pedestrian bridge. I recall how long it took to recently replace the bridge across the creek on Lehigh Street. I recall losing the Fountain Park pool because of the cost of a new filter. As a park advocate I have written volumes on the degraded park system supposedly because of the lack of funding. This bridge to nowhere is an insult to everybody.

ADDENDUM 8:00AM: The costly bridge, built with public money, will accommodate Serfass Construction & Development plans to construct a manufacturing facility on the old incinerator parcel, purchased from AEDC for $150K. Although I'm glad there is some purpose, I'm not delighted that our tax dollars are being used to enhance a private position. Pat Browne "engineered" the handout, and he's quite experienced with doing so for select beneficiaries.

Allentown WPA Report

I began advocating here on this blog to repair the landings on the Parkway's double stairwell back in 2010. That structure was the keystone of the Parkway's WPA projects in the mid 1930's. In 2020, when the Trexler Trust paid to have the vertical walls of that structure repointed, I spoke out. They had hired an expert to supervise the work. I went to the park and told the expert that repointing the vertical walls while ignoring the broken flagstone on the landings was akin to painting the walls of a house, but not repairing the leaking roof. The landings would start to sink and damage the stairs below. The mason indicated with a quiet nod that he agreed with me. I phoned the Trexler Trust with my concerns. I was briskly told that they do not seek public input. I have printed my plead to repair the landings almost every year.

I'm sorry to report that the landing have indeed started to concave, and the steps below them are starting to fall apart. While the vertical walls are tolerant of neglect, and could have gone many more years without repointing, the cost now to repair the landings and steps will be much steeper. 

The retaining wall on the Union Terrace stage is being repointed. While I'm glad to see something WPA getting attention, I wish the work schedule was more aligned with the needs of the structures.

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. 

reprinted from May 2011 

ADDENDUM SEPTEMBER 6, 2024:Although the houses shown in the photograph were over a hundred years old, the public housing project which replaced them has already itself been replaced.