Hurricane Phoebe And The Allentown School Board

No one can accuse Phoebe Harris of holding back, sometimes she even uses a microphone. Such was the case over the weekend at a convention for her fellow Pa. school directors.  She commandeered the microphone and lambasted the organization because no black person ever received the award that is named in honor of a black person. 

Comments on social media have ranged from accusing her of reverse racism to calling for her resignation from the school board.  

I believe that the board has been somewhat preoccupied with race and diversity issues. Perhaps energies would be better spent concerned with improving the quality of education.

Fly Fishing With A Heavyweight Champ

 Allentown was a big textile producer before, during and after WW2. Among the biggest local manufacturers was Royal. Started by Lithuanian immigrant Morris Senderowitz in 1910, it employed over 400 workers in Allentown, and that many more in plants elsewhere. 

Morris was joined in the business by several brothers, including Joe, who lived on the Hassen Creek west of Guthsville.  When I was about 12 years old, I visited Joe's rural home and was introduced to Jack Sharkey, a former heavyweight champion from the 1930's.  Recently, while driving by the property, I wondered what a former champion was doing visiting an underwear maker outside of Allentown?

It turns out that both men were from Lithuania, and that Sharkey became a champion fly fisherman after hanging up the boxing gloves. Senderowitz was a sportsman, who volunteered use of his property to a nearby rod and gun club when it was starting up. 

Exactly what brought Sharkey to Senderowitz's farmette is somewhat speculative on my part. I try to produce snippets on this blog which are a blend of local history and personal experience.

National Recognition For Easton, Subpoena For Allentown

My father had two meat markets, one in Allentown and one in Easton. After I got my driver's license, I spent Saturdays and summers working in the Easton market. I would have lunch in the square, where there were several restaurants.  Although the businesses in the square have changed hands many times over the last century, the buildings and atmosphere has stayed the same. Easton was just designated a finalist in The Great American Main Street Awards for 2025. 

Meanwhile, someone returning to Allentown would be hard pressed to recongnize Hamilton Street from their youth. While almost all the buildings have been replaced, the crowds of shoppers are gone...actually all the shoppers are gone. So while Pennsylvania has pumped a $Billion dollars of diverted state taxes onto  Hamilton Street, Easton gets the award. 

If the return on investment mentioned above isn't ironic enough, factor in that all the new publicly financed buildings in Allentown are privately owned.  A former state senator devised the real estate scheme called the NIZ, and the buildings are owned by his childhood friend. That former senator is now Pennsylvania's Director of Revenue, and he refuses to release the NIZ facts and figures. A subpoena has been issued for that information through the efforts of state senator Jarrett Coleman.

Two Butchers From Allentown's Past

Those coming here today looking for a story about sloppy civic leadership will be disappointed. This post is literally about butchers, more specifically, some butchers at Allentown Packing Company. A few days ago, while at the Fairground's Farmers Market, I learned that Bobby had passed away. Bobby was the "kid" who worked at my father's meat market on Union Street. Bobby grew up in an orphanage, a hardship which my father respected.

One meat cutter that I knew nothing about was Lamont, other than he lived at the West End Hotel. He was a bear of a man, who could carry a beef quarter from the cooler with no effort. I never saw Lamont in the market portion of the shop, he always remained in the back, either in the large cooler or the adjoining cutting room. While my father insisted that people working on the counter change their meat coat and apron several times during the day, no such rule was imposed upon Lamont. Although he would look over the trays of meat before being taken out to the display cases, he never spoke.

Last time I spoke to Bobby, he told me that he appreciated that my father had taught him a trade, which he used throughout his life.

reprinted from 2014

advertisement shown above from December of 1949

Tuerk's 2025 Campaign Begins

Mayor Matt Tuerk kicked off his 2025 mayoral campaign with an announcement that there would be no tax increase for 2025. Considering his administration's plumpness and agenda, the reason can only be pure politics. It is intended to take the wind out of any potential adversary's campaign.

Tuerk is providing no details on how his fat ship runs with no increase. Will he be leaving vacant slots open? Some of the positions in Tuerk's administration I have no use for. It's no reflection on the person, just the position. As I have written before, if mayor for life Daddona didn't have the position in his administration, you don't need it. The news about declining crime rates is also nonsense. By my scorebook we need more policemen, but with no tax increase apparently that isn't in the cards.

Could Tuerk be planning on diverting Community Block Grant funds to the city's infrastructure, freeing up more for public safety?  I jest, Tuerk counts on those non-profits to hustle votes for him. I don't know what else Tuerk will be promising, but I do know that much of it will be in Spanish.

The Tracks Of Allentown

Up to the early 1950's, you pretty much drove over tracks wherever you went in Allentown. While the trolleys moved the people, the Lehigh Valley Railroad freight cars moved the materials in and out of our factories. Shown above, the Lehigh Valley Transit trolley moves across the former steel Hamilton Street Bridge. The huge UGI gas tank can be seen on Union Street. While the trolleys gave way to buses by 1953, the freight rail spurs would tarry on for two more decades. 

reprinted from January of 2011