Simon Fearless Against Bomber

The 1941 June edition of Ring Magazine featured the Abe Simon vs Joe Louis fight in March. Editor-writer Nat Fleischer was in awe of Simon's courage against the unbeatable Brown Bomber. Fleischer wrote "They (fans) saw Abe Simon give the Bomber the greatest battle he has had since he won the crown..." Although Simon Lost by TKO in the 13th, this image of Simon grinning at Louis while taking the 8 count in round 7, is one of my favorite photographs of that fight.

ROSE Colored Glasses

On monday evening the City of Allentown and the Chamber of Commerce will hold a joint meeting where merchants are encouraged to have their voice heard and help create a vision. In 2005, the City accepted The Parking Authority testimony, supported by the Chamber of Commerce, that the merchants approved doubling the meter rate. I conducted a survey and discovered the merchants neither approved or knew about the rate changes. This past fall, when 78 merchants petitioned Lanta not to remove the transfer stations away from Hamilton Street, they were supported neither by the City, nor the Chamber. Although this public gathering in a large meeting room promises a venue for input, the real decision makers can, and do, fit in one booth at the Brew Pub. This meeting is a public relations smorgasbord for the bureaucrats; it will be cited in future budget and grant applications under public input. One merchant, who has been on Hamilton Street for fifty years, spends his time handing out quarters and apologies to his customers about the meters. Another, there for 30 years, now works a second job because Lanta was encouraged to not serve Hamilton Street. Neither will be at the meeting, they were ignored when it really counted.

Blogger's disclaimer: I know the person organizing this meeting, she is a nice, sincere person. I believe she wasn't employed at the time the above wounds were inflicted upon the merchants and/or she is not within the sphere of influence; small booth at BrewPub

Blogger's clarification: It should be noted that in addition to the merchants opposed to the Lanta changes, 1187 signatures from bus riders were ignored.
It should be noted that this past week the Parking Authority, at the bequest of the city, ignored a petition from 120 Verizon workers opposed to the sale of the adjoining parking lot.
Although the merchants may be given input on some street festival, the big decisions will be made in the small booth.

BLOGGER'S OUTRAGE: The following comment, which I posted on the Morning Call Forum in response to an op-ed piece by Pastor Stevens about the vision meeting has been removed from mcall.

Pastor Stevens, in all due respect, I have reservations about the true degree of input most merchants and citizens really have, despite this type of meeting. i refer you to my blog, where i express a point of view based on my experience with the realities of allentown.... http://www.molovinskyonallentown.blogspot.com...

Monopoly Allentown Style

The Allentown Parking Authority, at the Mayor's bequest, is playing a high stakes game of Monopoly using the real money of citizens. Make no mistake, it's our money. If you received one of the hundred thousand plus parking tickets last year, or pay to park on a lot, or had a parking meter swallow your quarters, it's your money. The Authority has declared the North Lot "excessive" and is preparing to sell it for townhouses. This lot provides safe, convenient parking for the adjoining Verizon Building workers, and is three quarters occupied. The large "Germania" lot, on south 7th Street is virtually unused. Perhaps no lot in the Authority's inventory is more used and important than the "North" lot, yet in spite of a petition from Verizon workers, the Authority persists in selling it to a partner in the Mayor's vision. Although completed townhouses would indeed provide an impressive backdrop for the Mayor's re-election, let us not forget that Verizon has been providing over 200 jobs for decades and the true mission of the Parking Authority.

UPDATE: The Board of Directors passed the sale proposal with no discussion today by a 3 to 1 vote. Linda Rosenfeld, Malcolm Gross and Larry Hilliard voted for, Michael Donovan voted against. (Candida Svirzovsky was absent)

Parking Authority Mugs Woman

Sometime in the not too distant future, a woman Verizon worker will be mugged on Linden Street. She will be the victim of Mayor Pawlowski and The Allentown Parking Authority. At the last Authority Meeting two plans were discussed. One was to make Parking Authority Workers safer by purchasing a robotic tire marker, making it no longer necessary for officers to stand in the street and make calk marks. The second plan, rather than allow Verizon women to continue parking in safety next to their building, the lot will be sold for townhouses. Every night at 10:30, and every morning at 6:30, 70 women would have to walk almost two blocks to the next closest surface lot, the reward for working in downtown Allentown. John Zawarski actually claimed that in spite of this forced march in fear, they will be safer because of his new townhouses. Somehow this development will add stability to the entire downtown, making it more safe to walk two blocks than 100 feet. As I questioned the consequences of this townhouse scheme, Board member Larry Hilliard, kept demanding to know if I officially represented Verizon Corporation. Larry is Pawlowski's Finance Director, I question who he represents? Although a petition signed by over 100 workers opposed to the sale of the lot was submitted to the Authority, Verizon Corporation has not issued a formal statement on the issue. Although the Rite-Aid on Hamilton Street lost over 40% of their revenue from recent Lanta changes, they also will make no statement. It is the policy of most national corporations to not get involved in local politics. In a chain of emails, I instituted from a phone call, has come back to me; Tamara Weller, Authority Director, states that had Verizon Corporate contacted her, she would intervene on the sale proposal. Tamara, although you and Larry Hilliard have not heard from Corporate Headquarters, I can assure you they would rather have their employee's continue parking next door, rather than walking about late at night and early in the morning. As Mayor Pawlowski begins a series of public relations meetings about crime, lets not send these Verizon women out to get mugged.

A City Called Contradiction

Yesterday our elected officials and esteemed bureaucrats convened to lament the lack of affordable housing. Our County Executive, generously with our tax dollars, declared he would create a new position to promote this worthy goal. Lately, because of public sentiment linking crime and litter to inter-city apartments, developers have been referring to their proposed apartment projects as upscale, designed to attract young professionals. So, it seems our leaders have concluded we need expensive apartments and cheap houses. In reality, all schemes for affordable housing require a subsidy, just increasing the tax burden on existing homeowners. Considering the problems in our cities; crime, litter and lack of civility, we should actually strive to become more "unaffordable", but who wants to live in an desirable place, that's called a vacation.

$100 a Week

In 1935, a Jewish boy earning $35 a week carrying 300 pound blocks of ice, was offered three times more to fight; win, lose or draw. For one hundred dollars a week, Jock Whitney, British aristocrat and sportsman, owned Abe Simon. Abe won his first 14 fights, 12 by knockout. On his climb to fight Louis in 1941 he would knock out 27 opponents, including Jersey Joe Walcott.

A Failure Called Allentown

My last letter to the editor, (Morning Call) explained how Mayor Pawlowski's one hand didn't

know what the other hand was doing, thus the bunny hop for Allentown, instead of progress.
The letter, short to begin with, had several key sentences and its meaning deleted out, so now I blog. I don't know what Pawlowski's strong suit is, but it's not business (or housing). In the early fall, in a blotched attempt at improving the street scene, the bus riders where relocated to the former Morning Call parking lot, now known as the Lanta Terminal. The consequence is a virtual empty Hamilton Street with merchants suffering revenue reductions up to 40%. While the city on one hand offers grants, other starting food businesses are submitted to a bureaucracy exceeding hospital operating room standards.
What's probably most pathetic, is someone can push a hot dog cart up to the side of the Lanta Terminal Fiasco, and do more business than either someone put through the city hall inspection wringer or those receiving taxpayer funded grants.

CLICK ON PHOTO'S TO READ SIGNS

Allentown Memories

Guest Post By Dennis Pearson During the Steel strike of 1959 my dad took a job as a groundskeeper for the Allentown Red Sox. Those were the days when it rained, they were allowed to burn the field to dry it off.

My dad was allowed to bring my friends and myself to the park. Those were carefree days for me and we wondered around the park which was located where JC Penny now is located in the Lehigh Valley Mall.

Breadon Field was renamed Max Hess Stadium when he was allowed to take control of the park for $1. Memory fades as whether Max Hess himself sold the premises or his successors , but I boycotted JC Penny's for many years for locating its business where the park was.

One of the personalities that played at the park was Tracy Stallard who achieved some sort of notorious fame as the pitcher who served up Roger Maris' sixty first homer.

Another personality that played there was Curt Simmons, a native of Egypt PA, who in his later years pitched at Max Hess Stadium in a rehab assignment. The presence of Curt Simmons filled up the house.

Another personality that played there was myself. Playing for the East Side Rams City Midget team against the West End Youth Center in a pre-game exhibition game, I went one for two. My hit was a double,

I am indeed delighted that professional baseball is back in the Lehigh Valley and that it is located in East Allentown. As President of the East Allentown Rittersville Neighborhood Association I went before the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners approving the then ongoing efforts to bring baseball back.

I applied for the recent vacancy on the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners. It would have been very nice to have been appointed County Commissioner as baseball returned. Unfortunately that did not happen to my disappointment.

I trust that my advocacy for the return of baseball is not lost on the Commissioners and the Ironpigs themselves.

Dennis Pearson

GUEST POST; Dennis, a lifelong Allentownian played little league as a boy, and coached as an adult. I also remember Breadon field, but only as a spectator