ALLENTOWN SPEAK OUT

ALLENTOWN SPEAK OUT
FORUM FOR THE PUBLIC

SAT. MAY30 1:00pm
at the historic
FAITH BAPTIST CHURCH
219 N. 12th ST.
moderated by
Michael Molovinsky
topics including, but not limited to:
parks, bicentennial and lanta, crime, parking authority
candidate campaigning will be restricted

LANTA Mugs City

LANTA, with the consent of our city government, is preparing to once again mug the citizens of Allentown by tearing down Bicentennial Park. Yesterday, the son's of the current stadium's founder, Earl F. Hunsicker, pleaded with the Lanta Board to spare the iconic ballfield. I doubt if they knew that among those unsympathetic eyes staring back was Peter Schweyer, Allentown City Councilman and establishment up and comer. I doubt if the Hunsicker son's know that less than two years ago the same board threw the Hamilton Street merchants under the bus to justify their new terminal. Although Dan Hartzell, The Morning Call's Road Warrior, wrote a story today, the Hunsickers should not expect much more coverage. Hartzell is dependent upon the transportation czars, both Lanta and Penndot, for material for his column, and he doesn't bite their hand. Perhaps the Hunsickers will get some late lip service from Tony Phillips. When Tony finally submits his contribution list, it will reveal most of the support came from the Hamilton Street merchants, although Tony wasn't there when it counted to help them. Lanta essentially wants the field to build a garage for hybrid buses, how green of them!

Bicentennial Park is virtually the history of baseball in Allentown. First opened in 1939 as Fairview Field, it was home to the minor league team of the Boston Braves; The Allentown Dukes played there through 1948, when Breadon Field was built in Whitehall, site now of the Lehigh Valley Mall. Over the years thousands of Allentown kids had the yearly thrill of playing "Under The Lights". In addition to hosting the Allentown Ambassadors, it currently serves women's fast pitch softball.

In addition to the outrage in our park system, I will be adding the ballfield as a topic in my upcoming SPEAK OUT ALLENTOWN MEETING. If there is someone else I forgot to offend, please let me know...

A Magician's Choice

A magician gives the viewer the allusion of choice, when really controlling what card is chosen. Next week is the primary election, when we voters think we are making a choice. In many of the races the candidates are cross filed with both parties, mattering little if you vote for them or not. Locally, there is only a couple contested races, where there are more candidates than slots; namely democrats for Allentown City Council and District Justice for Magisterial District 31-1-03. I'm supporting several candidates via this posting, however, because of my current residency and registration, they cannot receive my vote.
There are seven contestants for four City Council seats; only Lou Hershman stands out as a maverick, every Mayor deserves at least one thorn in the side. The most qualified person contending for District Justice is clearly attorney Marc Kranson, although being a lawyer is not a requirement, it's more bang for the taxpayer's buck.

David Zimmerman, running for a four year term on the school board, knows only too well the realities of Allentown School District, living across the street from William Allen for many years. My last recommendation for a thankless job goes to Joanne Jackson, for a two year term on the board. Her opponent is cross filed, meaning you must choose Joanne to have a choice in November. In a time and galaxy far away, Joanne and I worked together with pre-school children. She is a dedicated educator.

Politics, Allentown Style

Last week I was watching channel WFMZ-TV69, a segment about primary mayoral candidates. First was Edwin Pawlowski, then Dic......the screen went blank, both sound and video for a few seconds.... pon. Well, as it turns out, Dic Pon did better last week than Dick Nepon did this week. Unfortunately there was no video glitch this time, and Nepon had to explain a discrepancy in his resume. This posting is not about that discrepancy, but about how Allentown chews up and spits out political aspirations. First and obvious is that the incumbent has a bully platform. Witness Pawlowski's press conference yesterday about "Friends of the Parks" program. Excuse my ego, but somehow I can't help but think my blog recently helped precipitate that event, especially when "Mikie Will Say It" ended with the phrase "friends of the Park". How much coverage will the skeleton crew at The Morning Call be able to provide a minor candidate with press conferences this coming summer and fall? Another controversy has been the Call's position of making endorsements, a policy I never agreed with, nor benefited from. Even we here in the blogosphere play hardball; witness the Stoffa/McHale photo portrayals at a leading blog.



WELCOME TO THE FUNHOUSE, WELCOME TO ALLENTOWN

Drag Races and Such at Dorney

Dorney Park is celebrating it's 125th Anniversary, as noted by The Morning Call and Remember*, by blogger Andrew Kleiner. A landmark that old, has provided memories for five generations. As a teenager in the 1960's, friday nights at Castle Rock, a dance hall from the twenties, were literally a Freddy Cannon moment. Park admission was free, and there were many attractions which no longer exist, most victim to fire. In addition to the dance hall, there was also a roller skating ring and a stock car race track. The picture above was part of a large neon sign on Hamilton Blvd., on the northwest corner with Cedar Crest Blvd.

In 2007 John Travolta,dressed in drag, portrayed Hollywood's version of Hairspray, initially made by campy underground film maker John Waters, and shot at Dorney Park in 1988. Travolta's part was originally played by a less wholesome, real life female impersonator named Devine, who died shortly after the movie was released.

In my father's time, you could get the trolley at 8th and Hamilton and take it to Dorney Park. Through the 1980's, you could still drive on the road which went right through the middle of the park. Now, combined with a water park, Dorney has become a regional attraction. Busloads of children and families come from New York and elsewhere, but it will always remain a rite of passage for local youngsters.

* rememberkleiner.blogspot.com

Stairway To Shame

In the mid 1930's, Allentown, and especially it's park system, was endowed with magnificent stone edifices, courtesy of the WPA; Works Progress Administration. This was a New Deal program designed to provide employment during the aftermath of the depression. Stone masons from all over the country converged on this city and built structures which are unreplaceable. The walls and step structures in Lehigh Parkway, as the Union Terrace amphitheater, are legacies which must be protected. Pictured above is the grand stairway from Lawrence Street (Martin Luther King Drive) up to Union Street, built in 1936. The steps are in a state of disrepair. They lead to the great Union Street Retaining Wall, fifty feet high and two blocks long, which was completed in 1937. I call upon the Trexler Trust and Allentownians of memory, to insist these steps are re-pointed and preserved. The current Administration knows little of our past; save the things in Allentown that matter.

The City of Allentown is embarking upon a $3.8 million dollar capital plan to change the nature of our parks, funded in large part by the Trexler Trust. Although a number of fads will be accommodated, not one dollar is earmarked to preserve the existing WPA treasures. General Trexler envisioned the parks as a reserve for the passive enjoyment of nature. Among the new Disney-World type plans are a wedding pavilion in the Rose Garden, and the largest playground in eastern Pennsylvania to be built in Cedar Park. The trail through Cedar Creek Park will have lights installed, and the picnic area's will be expanded. Anybody driving past Cedar Beach on a Monday morning sees the trash generated currently by only a few picnic tables. How many more park workers will be required to deal with the consequences of these new plans? The playground is being billed as a "Destination Playground", who will pay to keep that clean? Allentown should build and monitor numerous playgrounds throughout center city, within walking distance for children and parents. The Trexler Trust and The City of Allentown have a responsibility to first repair and maintain these iconic stone edifices which are unique to Allentown.

photo info: the dedication stone is on the Union Street wall. The steps shown in the photo here go through a tunnel in the wall and climb up to Spring Garden Street. They are in total disrepair. This posting is a combination of two previous posts, which appeared on this blog last September.

Rape Of Park

The feature shown in the photo, from the Mack Truck Magazine of 1943, shows a beautiful stone masonry structure in Lehigh Parkway that was allowed to go to ruin. We kids of the Parkway called this the "boat landing". It is located near the end of the park near Regency Apartments. I use the present tense because remnants of this edifice still exist, buried under dirt and debris. Other attractions lost in that section of the park include the Spring Pond near the Robin Hood parking lot, and the bridge to the "Island", plus the mosaic inlaid benches which were on the island. ( Island halfway between parking lot and boat landing). I have no doubt that neither the Mayor or the Park Director knows that these centrepieces ever existed. While these are unreplaceable architectural treasures well worth restoring, we squander our heritage to buy a oversized playground out of a catalog.

Mikey Will Say It!

I received an anonymous letter concerning Lehigh Parkway. The writer's assumed that since I grew up by the park I have a special affinity for it, I do. They write, "Perhaps you consider looking into these issues and reporting on your blog." Their concerns are so unabrasive, by my standards, I will pass them along without making any verification. The Allentown Park System contains a number of houses, there are at least two in the Parkway and two in Trexler Park. The houses have been traditionally rented to people affiliated in one way or another with the City. The "writers" are concerned about the condition of the garage which adjoins the white stucco house near the hunters cabin off of 24th Street.* Their second concern, is the location of a new restroom facility. Apparently one is proposed to be built up the slope, above the parking lot often called Robin Hood.* This is over the first bridge on the right as one enters the park from 15th Street. The "writers" are concerned that users must walk the incline to use the facility. More problematic, it adjoins a wooded area and poses a "physical and safety risks to park goers." Many years ago there was a bathroom in this exact location. It was discarded because it seemed to foster predatory behavior. The "writers" suggest that the new facility be placed on level ground near the parking lot by the new pedestrian bridge and white barn.* Their final concern, and which might well be the reason for the letter, is that the new park "czar" seems closed to suggestions about the best location for the new bathroom . In the letter, they correctly claim that the decision about the bathroom structure will affect the park's future for decades. Perhaps the new director should take advantage of input from these knowledgeable friend's of the park.

* location, as I interpreted from letter