The Trexler Greenhouse

The former greenhouse at the current Trexler Park was the pride of Harry and Mary Trexler. The General was very specific in his will about its future;

I, Harry C. Trexler declare this to be my last Will and Testament: ......into the Treasury of the City of Allentown, for the perpetual maintenance of said Park, (Trexler) as well as the Greenhouse thereon located. This bequest shall include all the plants and other contents of said Greenhouse (1929)

Although nobody in charge of Allentown remembers, the greenhouse was a thing of wonder... Full of banana trees and other tropical plants, it was a true escape from winter for all visitors. The park director at the time touted all the money in maintenance to be saved if it was demolished. A couple years later the same director replanted the creek banks by the intersection of Cedar Crest Blvd. and Cetronia Rd.. That planting cost $750,000. I recall the price, because Longwood Gardens built a new greenhouse for that same amount, we had just lost our greenhouse, and only had a new creek weedwall to show in its place.  

Several years ago Allentown Park Department cut down all those plantings, and we now have nothing to show for our loss of the greenhouse. Even back then, I was an advocate for the traditional park system. Current visitors to Trexler Park don't notice that the weed wall has been cut down, and certainly don't know that they lost a beautiful greenhouse in the backstory.

reprinted from 2014. Postcard of Trexler duckpond from the glory days of the Allentown Park System

ATTENTION: Any local candidate for the November 2021 election is welcome to forward a short position piece for publication.

Allentown Archeology

When it comes to the history of industrial Allentown, the railroad buffs are among the current experts. Our heavy manufacturing base moved it's materials on the tracks of several railroads. The Front Street area was crisscrossed with tracks and sidings. The West End Branch ran along Sumner Avenue, crossed Tilghman Street, looped around 17th Street and ended near 12th and Liberty. The Barber Quarry Branch ran along the Little Lehigh until it then followed Cedar Creek. It crossed Hamilton Street near the current Hamilton Family Restaurant and ended at what is now the Park Department Building. The rail buffs are current day archeologists, looking for remnants of those glory days. Shown above is a portion of the Barber Quarry pier and track. This is at the bottom of Lehigh Street hill, near the former bank call center, near the former Acorn Hotel, in a former city still called Allentown.

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The Train of Lehigh
Parkway
The World of Mirth
Lehigh Valley Railroad Piers
Depot at Overlook Park

ADDENDUM: This remnant of the previous railroad bridge is part of the Wire Mill Bridge over the Little Lehigh 

reprinted from 2011 

ADDENDUM: Any local candidate for the November 2021 election is welcome to forward a short position piece for publication.

Only The Best For Public Housing

For an Allentown historian with an interest in photography, the photo above is as good as it gets; Eleanor Roosevelt visiting Hanover Acres, Allentown's new public housing project in 1942.  Paul Carpenter has a column where he brooded about public housing recipients complaining that they can't smoke, while living on our dime. I'll do him one better. They're now griping about it in new housing, Overlook Park. Hanover Acres and the newer project, Riverview Terrace, were both torn down several years ago to construct new townhouses. It's supposedly a mixed income project, with homes both for sale, and Section 8 rentals.

Over the years Hanover Acres became a "terrible" place to live, a crime-ridden eyesore. Overlook Park, the $88 million development that's sprung up in its place, however, is "beautiful." Daniel R. Farrell, executive director of the Allentown Housing Authority, described turning Hanover Acres into Overlook Park as "an amazing transformation."The development features 269 rental apartments and room for 53 single-family homes.

It was built by Pennrose Properties, which specializes in politically correct and politically connected housing for profit. They have done well in Allentown with Mayor Ed. Not long before Hanover and Riverview were demolished, they were completely remodeled, with high end kitchen cabinets and counters. Shown below is yours truly, in Little Lehigh Manor, built in 1944. Those brick houses of the same vintage are still new enough for home buyers today. Most of Allentown's existing row houses were built between 1895 and 1930. If Carpenter is upset about smoking, he should drive over to Overlook Park and see what they're now smoking in.

reprinted from July of 2012

Depot At Overlook Park

Old timers have noticed that the contractor's building on Hanover Avenue transformed into a community center for Overlook Park. But only the oldest, or train buffs, realized that the building was the freight depot and office for the Lehigh & New England Railroad. Lehigh & New England was formed in 1895, primarily as a coal carrier. The line ran from Allentown to Maybrook, New York.

In 1904 it was acquired by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. The line ceased operation in 1961. Among it's infrastructure were impressive bridges across both the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers, both of which were dismantled. Ironic that a remnant of our industrial era is being utilized by the successor of a public housing project.

reprinted from February of 2011

Mike Schlossberg For Himself

In an exchange this weekend on facebook, Mike Schlossberg revealed that he is opposed to the most sought after reforms in the State House. He said these are things that he doesn't want to do.  He is against term limits, or reducing the statehouse size, and would happily fight against such reforms.

In December of 2015 he was caught ghost voting, which is reaching over and casting the vote of someone not present. The missing representative confirmed that Schlossberg did not have his permission.

Schlossberg typifies the worse problems in Pennsylvania state government...Career politicians focused on their pensions, not value for the taxpayers. Consequently, we have one the highest income tax rates, one of the highest gasoline tax rates, and one of the largest state houses.

Quick To Cast Judgement

Allentown's upcoming squad of political hopefuls is very quick to cast judgement. When a school board member cited systemic racism in defending a salary, and I used the word reparations in a blog title,  I found myself on the wrong end of their bullhorn. Never mind that the blog premise was overpaying for unknown results, they were eager to brand someone. 

Joining the fray was none other than vote seeker state rep Mike Schlossberg.  He took the opportunity to comment that just because a person has a blog doesn’t mean they have an opinion with any value.  I think the same can be said about of the opinions stated by some state representatives. 

While there certainly isn't anything wrong with people in positions of leadership looking like the majority of citizens they serve, such as with new police chief Charles Roca, making that the criterion can be very limiting. In regards to the school district, the school board was obsessed with the superintendent "looking" like the students, as if the students ever knew who the super was anyway.

Allentown To Pay Dearly For New Superintendent

Allentown School District has stepped up dearly by giving the new school superintendent a salary($230,000) beyond the average taxpayer's dreams. It is  probably beyond the new superintendent's dreams also, because it exceeds what his superiors were earning back in Ohio. 

School board member Phoebe Harris defended the salary because of the years of systemic racism. She believes that we are paying up for the best. Mr. Stanford may turn out to be the best, but needless to say that should be determined by performance and longevity, not proclamation. Sorry to report that the board's decision was unanimous.

On the bright side, for both reason and taxes, former school board member Bob Smith Jr., (who is running again for his old position), criticized the starting salary as ridiculous. 

ADDENDUM: This morning, when this post was placed on an Allentown issues group, it created quite a controversy. An Allentown activist declared that the title was a slap to the face of every black person in Allentown. The premise of the post was that the new unproven superintendent was being paid or overpaid an incredibly high salary. The genesis of the early morning quippy title was the school director citing systemic racism in the discussion defending the salary. I hope that black readers take the title as unintentionally insensitive,  as opposed to an intended slap. 

UPDATE 3:46: State Rep Mikey Schlossberg decided to join the fray and accuse me of racism. I can only hope that if he writes such a resolution, that he only votes on it once. In the back and forth, he didn't acknowledge my comments about his ghost voting.

UPDATE 9/25/21: I modified the post title to end the distraction from the salary issue.  If the new super works out, how much will they have to pay him at the contract renewal? How much will it cost for parity in the administration office?

Phoebe Harris shown above in 2017