Re-earning My Certificate

Several years ago Allentown Friends Of The Parks presented me with a certificate for my advocacy for the WPA Structures in the park system. A year later, I re-earned the certificate by attempting to defend the WPA Robin Hood Dam. This week I will again re-earn it by explaining to the Park and Recreation Committee that funds have been allocated for WPA restoration, but never used for that purpose. In reality, I will be talking to a proverbial stone wall. The Committee was comprised of Cynthia Mota, Joe Davis and Peter Schweyer, but Schweyer has resigned Council. Mota and Davis allowed the Wildlands to remove the scenic WPA Dam on the recommendation of Park Director John Mikowychok, who had only been in Allentown for six weeks at the time. Neither Mota or Mikowychok had ever seen the dam before. Mikowychok has since resigned, and has been temporarily replaced by Vicky Kistler, from the Health Department. Mikowychok had replaced John Weitzel as Park Director. Weitzel had secured funds to repair/fortify the leaning wall along the Lehigh Parkway entrance road, but the funds were never spent for that purpose. Mikowychok had secured funds for the repair of the steps leading down to Fountain Park. This week when the Park and Recreation Committee meet to discuss the upcoming budget, I will be there re-earning my certificate once again.

The Night Of Broken Glass

In 1938,  on the nights of November 9 and 10, the Nazis whipped up anti-Jewish riots in a pogrom now known  as Kristallnacht.


During these two nights,    synagogues were set on fire and  thousands of Jewish shop windows were broken.



Ninety one Jews were killed.  30,000 were arrested and taken to camps, a harbinger of the Holocaust.

reprinted from previous years

Boxing Eggs

When I was a little boy, I would work at my father's meat market, boxing eggs. The job was pretty straightforward. I would take eggs from a big box, and put them in small boxes with folding lids, each of which held a dozen. If I did a whole crate without breaking an egg, I did a good job. The real adventure was the drive to the shop. We lived just off Lehigh Street, and would take it all the way to Union Street. The many landmarks are now gone forever, only remaining in my camera of the past. Shown above in 1952, is the portion of Lehigh Street near the Acorn Hotel, which is not visible in the photograph. Before reaching the Acorn, you drove under The Reading Railroad bridge overpass, which recently has been dismantled and removed. That line served the Mack Plant on S. 10th Street. Just beyond the area pictured, the Quarry Barber railroad spur also crossed Lehigh Street, at the bridge over the Little Lehigh Creek. That line also crossed S. 10th, and served Traylor Engineering, now known as the closed Allentown Metal Works. Just last week Mitt Romney was there, to rebuke Obama's former visit to the site. Mayor Pawlowski is now rebuking Romney, but none of them really know anything about it's past. A half block away, on overgrown steps built by Roosevelt's WPA, a thousand men would climb home everyday, after working at Mack and Traylor. Freight trains, on parallel tracks, from two different railroads, were needed to supply those industrial giants.

After my father rounded the second curve on Lehigh Street, we would head up the steep Lehigh Street hill. It was packed with houses and people. At the top of the hill, we would turn right on to Union Street. Going down Union Street, Grammes Metal was built on the next big curve. Grammes made a large assortment of finished decorative metal products. Beyond Grammes were numerous railroad crossings. The Lehigh Valley Railroad tracks crossed Union, as did the Jersey Central and several spurs, near Basin Street. It was not unusual to wait twenty-five minutes for the endless freight trains to pass. A two plus story tower gave the railroad men view and control of the busy crossing. A few more blocks and we were at the meat market, in time for me to break some eggs.

reprinted from August 2012

Photos of Lehigh Valley

Photos of Lehigh Valley showcases work by K Mary Hess, an extraordinarily gifted landscape photographer.

Molovinsky Back On Watch

Between working to save Wehr's Dam, and trying to be the first independent in Harrisburg for 85 years, downtown Allentown has been spared my scrutiny for months. Although the paint hasn't completely dried on the arena district, the first cracks are beginning to appear. While the godfathers Reilly and Topper need a wheelbarrow for their profits, PPl has announced layoffs. Topper's Lehigh Gas, propped up by the unprecedented use of Pennsylvania's cigarette tax, created windfall profits for it's new parent company. The glut of new restaurants, subsidized by their landlord's NIZ, known formally as our state taxes, will become even slower as less workers lunch on Hamilton Street. Add the NIZ new employees, subtract the 300 PPL workers to be laid off, and we're probably in negative territory. Thank goodness that the taxpayers of Slatington and Danielsville are indirectly footing the bill. Thank goodness for local truth seekers that I'm back on duty.

The Death Of Democracy In The Lehigh Valley

This death report might be somewhat exaggerated, because I'm not sure that democracy was ever alive in the Lehigh Valley. Out of eleven state house races, six of the candidates were unopposed. By now all my readers probably know that I failed in my attempt to be the first independent or third party candidate in the state house since the 1930's. Someone once told me that if an independent does nothings, he still gets 3% of the vote in a three way race, but if he does everything, he only gets 5%. Last night, according to news sources, I got 9%. Ms. Harhart received 60% and the Democrat got 30%. On my campaign facebook page, Mr. Molovinsky Goes To Harrisburg, I tried to pump up the residents of Northampton and Slatington by asserting that they have the moxie to vote for an independent, apparently they didn't. However, in fairness to my fellow citizens of the 183rd, I must confess that I only managed to man 4 districts with poll workers. Here in lies  another advantage of the party machines. The Democrat, with no qualifications what-so-ever, manned the district with party faithful and received 30% of the vote. Although they will celebrate Tom Wolf's victory, that willingness to blindly support any D candidate on the local level (same for R's) is most unimpressive. It makes me proud to be an independent.

Molovinsky Moxie Time

Everyone must know, no matter how partisan they may be, that Harrisburg is broken. If you, or a friend, live north of Route 22, chances are that you're in the 183rd District. My candidacy is an opportunity to tell the Republicans and Democrats that you expect more out of your legislators. I will bring an unprecedented tenacity to the state house, without any consideration for party agendas or being re-elected. Help me be your message. Get your friends to the poll, and vote Molovinsky- Independent.