The Great Allentown Fair

The Morning Call website is hosting an archive of Fair Pictures from over the years. Being a fan both of fair pictures and black and white photography, looking at the 111 photos presented was a treat.

The photo shown above, which I will get back to, reminded me of one of my unique fair experiences. In previous posts, I have discussed that both my father and myself had stands at the fair. While my father learned that you couldn't sell hotdogs near Yocco's, I learned that drunks leaving the beer garden loved to buy printed T-shirts.

But today's post has to with George Kistler, long time City Clerk during the 1950's and 60's. George loved the fair, and loved sharing his fascination with a large group of people. I was fortunate enough to be invited several times. The routine was always the same; Dinner at a local stand on the eastern side of the fairgrounds, followed by the wrestling show. I remember photographing Andre The Giant.

The Morning Call fair picture above is none other than Jim "Super Fly" Snuka, who was recently back in Allentown, for a most regrettable reason.

reprinted from August 30, 2018

Allentown's Lottery Ticket

Mike Moore, Allentown city spokesman, announced that Allentown was suing big pharma for the opioid crisis. Allentown joins about 200 other cities in purchasing this lottery ticket. I have mixed feelings about the current suits against pharma regarding opioids. Although I realize that many abusers have overdosed, at what point do these suits discourage drugs companies from new research? The drugs were developed for people needing relief for severe pain. While some doctors may make the drugs too available for patients, the leap to Allentown suing is opportunistic. However, these suits are a popular notion with the left, making the man pay, and retribution against capitalist greed.

What concerns me more as a local commentator is that Allentown still has a city spokesman. Pawlowski expanded the fifth floor of city hall's staff significantly. He created the Managing Director position, in spite of Allentown previously deciding to stay with a strong mayor, instead of a manager. After Pawlowski was elected, we ended up with both positions anyway. Considering we now have both a mayor and manager, do we really need another designated spokesman?

Is Allentown so large that such a position is still necessary, or did Pawlowski train city council so well, that nothing is no longer questioned?

shown above 1962 postcard of new city hall

Hootchy Nights At The Allentown Fair

Morning Call columnist Bill White had a piece earlier in the week where he lamented that  Bobo the dunking clown was no longer at the fair. Although that's about as funky as it got for Bill in his era,  we older Allentonians remember much hotter nights at the fairgrounds. Up to the late sixties the fair had girly shows. I'm going back to the era of Gooding's Million Dollar Midway and Benny's Bingo. I'm going back to three midways packed between the Farmer's Market and Chew Street. I'm going back to when the fair only started after Labor Day.

I mentioned in one of my previous fair posts that Fred Schoenk and I made and sold printed t-shirts at the fairs during high School. At the Kutztown Fair we were hired by the burlesque show owner to letter a new banner for his show tent...as high school boys we would have paid him for the experience.

reprinted from September of 2018

photocredit:molovinsky...Black rock and roll review with strippers, 1969 Allentown Fair

A Republican Primary

Readers of this blog, on the web version, know that I have a campaign logo for Bill Weld on the sidebar. However, they may not know who Bill Weld is. Weld is challenging Donald Trump, and hopes to be on the Republican primary ballot. I believe that his effort was greatly enhanced this past weekend when Joe Walsh also announced his candidacy.

Although I doubt that Trump would participate, perhaps a network will sponsor a debate between Weld and Walsh. A debate might give the notion of a Republican coup some traction. Although the two men are quite different, both bring experience and reason to the table. Both men articulate how Republicans are dissatisfied with Trump's demeanor, but the question of course would be if there is enough political courage to dump an incumbent.

Hopefully, only one of the challengers will end up on the primary ballot, because two them on the ballot would split the Republican dissatisfaction to Trump's advantage.

A Different Past For The Baby Boomers

Little Lehigh Manor was built for the returning GIs after the War. It was a self contained development of several hundred brick twin houses, nestled between Lehigh Parkway and Lehigh Street. It had its own elementary school, and nearby grocery stores. Although this development may have been more idyllic than some older areas in Allentown, it shared its best feature with the rest of the city... It was a neighborhood. I hear these same memories from people in my generation who grew up on the East Side, across the river in the Ward, or center city at 9th and Chew. Great mentoring occurred at the Boys and Girls Clubs, and another dozen organizations devoted to the community's youth. Although there were economic differences and poverty, they seemed to have less of an effect on quality of life and opportunity than now. Perhaps it was the massive number of children from the Baby Boom that created a communal sense of caring among the parents and organizations, but something special seems missing today.

reprinted from January of 2013

picture dates from around 1949. An enterprising photographer brought a pony around the neighborhood as an alluring prop.

The Mighty Atom

Years ago, at the Allentown Fair, as one would push through a sea of carney delusion, tucked back by the 4H animals, was an island of reality. There, in an old battered truck, an ancient Jewish strongman performed incredible feats of strength, to sell only homemade kosher soap. Standing on a platform on the rear of his truck, flanked by photographs from his performing youth, he would bent horse shoes and bite through nails. Many years earlier, my mother as a little girl in Bethlehem, saw him pull a truck uphill with his hair. Even as an old man, like a reincarnation of Samson, his grey hair was still long.
In the summers of 1964 and 1965, myself and a friend,(Fred Schoenk, retired Allentown art teacher) made and sold printed tee-shirts at the fair. We had the honor to know Joseph Greenstein(The Mighty Atom) and his wife. For those interested, there are various articles on the Mighty Atom and even at least one book. Enjoy the fair!

reprinted every year since 2007