A Contested Race In South Whitehall

Come November 7th, the Lehigh County once again features many UNcontested races.  The political apathy of this area is truly remarkable;  It's a good thing that in addition to politics, I blog about local history.   Even the mayors race in Bethlehem is uncontested, as is that city's council race.  However, there are a few contested races, one of which is for South Whitehall Commissioner.

Mark Pinsley's campaign emphasizes that he is running to add a Democrat to the all Republican board of commissioners.  Both his opponents are Republican incumbents.  and voters are to pick two of the three candidates.  As an advocate who fought long and hard to save Wehr's Dam, I support Mr. Pinsley as someone who wasn't involved in the conspiracy to demolish the dam.  No one was more shocked when the referendum To Save The Dam passed, than the commissioners.  That ballot question was a disingenuous attempt by them to do away with the dam, with no political consequence to themselves. Before they connived  the referendum, they had ignored eight thousand signatures to save the historic structure.  Since the referendum passed,  the township has fallen silent, with not one word about the dam.

South Whitehall needs some new blood on its board.  With me, it's not an issue of Democrat or Republican,  but being responsive instead of arrogant.  I will cast only one  hyper-vote for commissioner, and it will be for Mark Pinsley.

photo: Wehr's Dam by K Mary Hess

Justified Killings In Allentown's Dodge City

Earlier in the week it was announced that a shooting death in August was justified, and that no charges would be filed.  A stabbing yesterday is being evaluated to see if it was justified.  I have no knowledge or interest in these particular cases,  but what grabs my attention is the number of potential predators downtown with lethal weapons.

In the old TV series Gunsmoke, all the cowboys carried a gun, and if the other person drew first, the shooting was deemed self-defense.  The marshall,  Matt Dillon would often comment that eventually civilization would come to the west, and men wouldn't have to carry guns.  I suppose in some ways civilization must have left downtown Allentown.

Signs Of The Times In Allentown

The other day I posted that Ray O'Connell was helping John Ingram's manager install a sign on Tilghman Street. Actually, Ingram's manager, Ed White, is doing quite well without any help. Scott Armstrong sarcastically noted on Facebook that the Phoebe Home must be supporting Ingrams, because his signs go down the 19th Street Hill. Likewise, apparently Sunoco Gasoline Corporation and The Lakes Apartments must be on board with his campaign, as his signs line Cedar Crest Blvd.

It's not the first time a candidate has been loose with sign placement, but it may be the most flagrant.  I must confess that as a blogger who concerns himself with local politics, among other topics,  I find this sign controversy funny.  Now,  if someone injected me with truth serum,  I might even admit that I find the signs themselves amusing.

Hurricane Maria And Pawlowski

As I reported before,  Pawlowski has been courting the minority voters, especially the large Puerto Rican community.  He does very well with them;  While some may be uniformed about his legal dilemma,  others simply don't care.  A sizable group of these constituents winter on the island,  and spend the spring and summer here in town. Maria has been a disaster and heartbreak for Puerto Rico, but for Pawlowski, that storm has a rainbow.  With the damage on the island,  many will stay here and/or return in time for the election.

I believe that Pawlowski will win the Puerto Rican vote in a landslide.  Although, Hispanics now comprise about half the population,  his opponent(s) are still viable because the Hispanic voter turnout has been historically low.  They support Pawlowski,  but if he can get them to the polls remains to be seen.

A CyberVisit To Allentown

The responses and comments to the political posts are usually within a day or two. The historical posts have a much longer shelf life. People using search engines find something of their youth often years after I wrote the post. I still occasionally get a comment from someone who worked at a Mohican Market, often somewhere in upstate New York. Yesterday, a former post on the 6th Ward received such a comment.

 Hello molovinsky, I found your blog today. I was born in the 6th ward in 1933. My grandfather, who died very young, long before I was born, was Emanuelle Markowitz and was, I believe, the first religious head of Aguda Achim. His wife was Ida Markowitz. We lived at 234 and then 244 Hamilton St. and went to Harrison Morton grade school before departing permanently to New York City. Arnold Fein (brother is Barry)

 My grandparents lived on Second Street in around 1900, and belonged to the Agudas Achim congregation. After Arnold and I exchanged a couple comments, I invited him to send me a note about Allentown via email.

  Yeah, Michael, I went back for a visit about 3 yrs. ago. All of lower Hamilton St,is part of a highway and the Jersey RR Station ,I was told, failed as a restaurant.The stores I remember on Hamilton between 2nd and 3rd were, Queenies Luncheonette, Bucky Boyle's Bar, Harry Gross Shoes,an A&P on the corner of 1st (Front?)and Hamilton, a "holy roller" storefront church, a travel agency with a large steamship model in the window,Taylors Plumbing Supply (now Weinstein's-I visited the place when I was there), a "Giant" supermarket on 5th and Hamilton across from the P.O., Francis the barber on the hill,the Colonial theatre,etc.Harrison Morton is still there and 2nd St.off Hamilton is still the same including the "A Treat" sign on the little store near HM, which I remember. Some friend's names from that time are: Stanley and Nancy Kulp (Culp?) who lived in an old wooden house next to the Lehigh Valley RR Freight terminal across from Taylor's. Michael Miller, Bobby Kressler, George Mevrides(sp?), Andrew Kent,Dickie Catalina(whom I'll never forget as the guy who came running out on Hamilton St. on 12/7/ shouting, "the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor"), the 4-5 Delaney kids,Dickie Gross who lived in a stone house on 2nd St.just off Hamilton where his father had his dental practice, Lucille Wiener, Phyllis Malatrott,Victoria Minner,Ronald DiLeo whose father was a Dr., (told me my first "off color" joke in the 1st grade while we were standing side by side at a HM urinal)), Marvin Karll, 2 HM footballers (who were not friends as such), Barney Garulla(sp?) and Albert Casium, whom I believe was Albanian.Other places were the slaughter house, Arbegast and Bastion (sp?). Couldn't miss that!, Riverfront Park, and a horse watering trough on the corner of Hamilton and Front(?)Lots of others. Something priceless about childhood, no matter where it's spent.

 Even in Allentown.

UPDATE: More memories from "Arnie" Fein
Also, my grand parents owned a store on 2nd St. around Tilghman, before I was born. My mother always remembered the few words she knew in Slavic because some of the customers spoke only "Slavisch".Another recollection was in 1943 when a lot of us went to the JerseyRR terminal to watch a train full of German POWs being transported west. Larry and Jimmy Whitman lived above the A&P on that picture you sent. Their name was anglicized from a Polish name their parents shortened.Harry and Jean Getz, friends of my mother, owned a small shoe store between 2nd and 3rd Sts.The name of the travel agency was, if I'm correct, something like Bortz. On Walnut St. around the corner from Weinstein's was the "Perkiomen Transfer Co." The local movie house was the Townie which I believe was in the 6th ward.Further up the hill were the Colonial, the Midway and the Transit.There was a trolley named the Liberty Bell which went from 8th St. to Philly and a trolley to Bethlehem along the "Bethlehem Minsi Trail". Other memories as they come from the distant past...

 photo supplied by Arnold Fein, showing him, brother and mother at Hamilton and the current American Parkway, next to the current Weinstein Supply Company.

reprinted from August of 2012

Allentown's Complicated Mayoral Election

I drove past Ray O'Connell's car wedged in between Ed White and John Ingram's vehicles off the  side of the road.  Although, I felt like an ambulance chaser,  I phoned Ray and asked what was going on.  Seems as if Ray had stopped to help Ingrams and his manage put a sign in hard ground.  That's what I call sportsmanship.

Ray's not concerned about Ingram's candidacy. Now, of course understand that it would be difficult for a write-in candidate to complain about an independent on the ballot.  Ray is miffed that Nat Hyman has been complaining about O'Connell as a spoiler, helping Pawlowski's chances of getting elected once again. He feels that Hyman should work on getting enough votes himself to win on November 7th,  rather than worrying about who is siphoning off what votes.  Of course, Ray is hoping that if Pawlowski is elected,  that he then resigns in a plea deal, and that Ray is appointed mayor by City Council.  Meanwhile,  for an independent,  Ingram is making a concerted effort,  with multiple billboards.

It is not a simple election to cover;  With all these candidates,  I'll have to assign more staff election night.

The Trump Speech

When I asked a liberal friend what she thought of the Trump speech to the UN, she replied, Well, he stayed on script. I suppose that is about all the credit a liberal in our current political environment can muster for Trump. On Facebook, I saw the usual anti-Trump cut and pastes. One said that he read a speech he didn't write or understand. Actually, Trump understood the speech completely. There was nothing in it that he hasn't said before.  Trump is no orator; He has less of a gift for the spoken word than any president in memory. Never the less,  he gave the exact speech needed on today's world stage. He bluntly stated that both Korea and Iran are roque regimes, threatening the world and their own people.  With which of these two countries would being subtle be more effective?

The Mad Men Of Allentown

Back in the day, the titans of Allentown would fill the five barberchairs of the Colonial Barbershop, 538 Hamilton Street. That was when the town had three department stores. That was when Wetherhold and Metzger had two shoe stores on Hamilton Street. That was when Harvey Farr would meet Donald Miller and John Leh at the Livingston Club for lunch, and discuss acquiring more lots for Park & Shop. By 1995 all that was gone, but Frank Gallucci, 82, would still give some old timers a trim. The Colonial Barbershop property, closed for many years, has been purchased by J.B. Reilly. It is my pleasure to present this previously unseen portrait of Gallucci, toward the end of his career.

photocredit:molovinsky

reprinted from January of 2015