Hurricane Diane, 1955

Hurricane Diane hit the Lehigh Valley in August of 1955. Living in Little Lehigh Manor, I remember huddling in the house, while the metal garbage cans of the era flew around the neighborhood. My father, whose meat market was on Union Street by the Lehigh River, worked throughout the night. Fortunately for him, his market had an second floor backup cooler, and a small freight elevator. While the retail business district on Hamilton Street is elevated enough to be unaffected from flooding, center city Easton was devastated by the Delaware. The next morning was rather surreal for a nine year old boy. A large willow tree on the corner of Lehigh Parkway South and Catalina Ave. was lying on its side. Although the Little Lehigh receded quickly, the park road and basin had been flooded. Diane remains a record in flooding and damage. Let us hope it remains that way.

photo from August 1955. Lehigh River rising by former A&B Meats. The row of houses shown were demolished to make way for a new bridge approach several years later.

reprinted from August of 2011

OLD ALLENTOWN AND CULTURE WARS

Old Allentown has been involved in two culture wars. First when it began, Emma Tropiano and others were opposed to the gentrification of the neighborhood. After it got established, I felt that the district was too large for its own good, spreading out like minded people too far. The District runs from 7th to 12th, Linden to Liberty.

With the changes in Allentown, especially concerning cultural norms about litter and noise, living center city can be challenging. Affordability is the. new hot button issue, and gentrification is becoming a dirtier term. Even Reilly's NIZ gave a nod to affordability at the former Morning Call parcel

I suspect that those still invested in the District will have to assume a Fort Apache attitude, not only in regard to neighbors, but with the progressive city administration.

Tag Teaming The Pope

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal thought that the spat between Trump and Leo didn't hurt the Republicans too bad, that such disagreements were expected now and then. I disagree with the article's conclusion, but with Vance then jumping in, perhaps the author would also disagree.

In a more tempered administration, perhaps the VP would have gone out of his way to be the good cop. But there is no moderation in Trump's White House. The Trump apologists will comment that they're just more honest than I'm used to, but in reality, the Office of Diplomacy must have been in the torn down East Wing.

So you offend 20% of the population. You break alliances going back to WW2. You take a chainsaw to government services, and schedule cage matches at the White House. All that's fine if you care more about winning than quality of everyone's life. However, as some commenters tell me, Trump isn't running again. My question for them is will MAGA come out for 2028?

ADDENDUM: There were assorted opinions about how Trump would behave at the Correspondents' Dinner. Although it was abruptly interrupted, we're grateful that there were no casualties. How the incident will affect the rescheduled dinner remains to be seen. Trump doesn't seem to be treating the press any more reverently since the dinner, telling a 60 Minute host that she is a disgrace.

Taking Tuerk To Task

Between my issues with Trump, and my weariness of having patrolled Allentown for decades, Mayor Tuerk has mostly escaped my scrutiny. Understand that when the FBI came to Allentown about Pawlowski, this blogger wasn't surprised, I had been on his case for years. Likewise, I have become conditioned to the litter and noise now part of Allentown's fabric.

There is NOTHING that Tuerk could have learned in a conference in Madrid, Spain that justified his trip. Junket should refer to a milk based dessert, not a trip. Truth be told, there are too many potholes and loud dirt bikes that need tamping down here in Allentown.

While speaking Spanish helped Tuerk get elected, learning Pennsylvania Dutch might help him clean up the city. He should spend Saturday mornings at the Fairground Farmers Market, and ask the patrons what they would like to see improved in their neighborhoods.

Nagy Novelty Company

In Downtown Allentown's commercial years, stores extended 3 blocks out from Hamilton Street. The only remaining remnant of that era is the parking meters, which apparently haven't noticed that the stores have been gone now for over 30 years.

On 8th Street, also a couple blocks off Hamilton, was the Nagy Novelty Company. The dictionary defines novelty as a small, often cheap, cleverly made article, usually for amusement. The Nagys' had thousands of them, floor to ceiling. There were little jokes and gags, sometimes risque, passed around parties in the 40's and 50's. When you pulled " Miss Lola, The Snappy Bubble Dancer" leg's out, your finger got snapped. 

The Nagys', an ancient father, son and dog, stayed open till around 1980. I was never sure which one was the son. To me, as an aficionado of the old and curious, the store was a shrine. Items which they sold for a few cents, now sell on ebay for many dollars. They manufactured their own greeting cards. Shown here is the front and inside of an embossed card probably dating back to the 1920's.

Reprinted from Dec. 23, 2008

Hamilton Street's Golden Era

By the early 1950's, our major department stores were operated by the second generation owners. Max Hess Jr. become a merchandizer of national reputation. His store windows presented displays as sophisticated as any major city. One holiday novelty exists to this day, Pip The Mouse, and can be seen at Zion Church. The fourth floor toy department had eye popping, life sized, automated stuffed animals from Germany. Needless to say, Santa Claus was on duty at Hess's.

Families had their favorite department store. While my mother patronized Hess's, others were loyal to Leh's and Zollingers. Although I'm sure that their Christmas displays were also top notch, I have no personal memories. While we now charge citizens to drive through a park with lights, downtowns used to compete with attractive displays. Allentown was famous for the Bell Lights on our iconic light posts, which would rock back and forth, as if ringing. Although times have changed, this blog will remind those few who remember.

reprinted from December of 2012