Allentown's Pending Cold Winter

2018 promises to be a cold winter in Allentown. The city is being governed by a mayor facing over fifty charges of corruption. He was elected by plurality in a three way election, mostly by Allentown's newer Hispanic population. If he is forced to resign because of a plea or conviction, Ray O'Connell expects to be selected mayor by city council.

The photograph shown above is from 1958. It was taken in Little Lehigh Manor, the 1940's era housing development located above Lehigh Parkway's south ridge. I had the pleasure of growing up in that neighborhood. In yesterday's post the hill favored by the kids of that neighborhood was featured. Other popular sledding hills in Allentown were behind Cedar Crest College, and Ott Street, between Livingston and Greenleaf Streets. Years ago a bridge crossed the creek by the park office at 30th and Parkway Blvd., with a parking area for sledders by the Cedar Crest hill.  The Ott Street hill was closed to cars by the city, as an accommodation for sledders.

None of these hills are now accessible to a kid with a sled. The current mayor has no memory of those times, and might be too preoccupied to care much about sledding this winter.

photo courtesy of S. Williams.

A Park Protestor From The Past

`Green' Curtain Blocks Sledding And The View
January 09, 1992|The Morning Call
To the Editor:

Hold your sleds girls and boys! Others, too, on the alert! With the planting of a dense cluster of 60 evergreen trees and the erection of a "No Sledding" sign, creating a veritable iron curtain, the park and watershed people have once again undertaken their repetitive effort of the past 45 years to eliminate a most popular sledding slope in Lehigh Parkway. The motive -- crass self-interest in defiance of public good. The effect -- an impassable barrier and concealment of a magnificent vista of "one of the finest valleys in Eastern Pennsylvania."

Children and adults from the 400 homes with longtime and easy access to the slope and others arriving in cars have enjoyed sledding here after school and into the night and throughout the day and night on weekends. Yet sledding is but one of the attractions of this enduring slope. In summer children and teachers from Lehigh Parkway Elementary School have enjoyed a walk down the slope and into the park for a break from book and blackboard. Birders, joggers, hikers and others on a leisurely stroll engrossed in their particular interest have found the slope irresistible.

For a host of others, this opening into the park after a long stretch of woods presents a charming vista and urge to descend. Interest is immediately evoked by the sight of a mid-19th century log house  and a historic wagon trail leading past the site of a lime kiln to tillable lands of earlier times.

The view takes in an expanse of meadowlands, now groomed, to the Little Lehigh River and up the western slope to Lehigh Parkway North. Indeed, a pleasant view to be esteemed and preserved for generations to come. It was distressing on New Year's Day to see a family and their guests intent upon a walk down the slope suddenly stop in amazement and shock as the closure became evident.

The cost in dollars through the years of the park peoples' fixation on destroying the Parkway slope must be staggering indeed without dwelling on other deliberate depletions. Typically, the placement of the 1991 "No Sledding" sign employed a team of four men with three vehicles -- a backhoe, a panel truck, and a super cab pickup truck, the latter furnishing radio music.

BERT A. LUCKENBACH
ALLENTOWN

Burt Luckenbach was a park activist, who wrote this letter in 1992. Few remember sledding on that hill above the Log & Stone house, but I do. The open hill was located at the end of Lehigh Parkway South, near the intersection with Coronado Street. The Wagon Trail has been blocked off for years by several large fallen trees. I never had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Luckenbach, but like to think that he would approve of my efforts regarding the parks.

reprinted from January of 2015

Blogging, The Last Watchtower

Anybody who buys The Morning Call on a Monday knows what slim pickings are. The paper is produced on Friday, with a one man weekend crew, to cover the police blotter. There's hardly enough paper to cover the bottom of a bird cage. That leaves the news junkies forced to read the likes of me.

 I'm fascinated with how much Allentown has changed within the last 50 years, and find the railroads  a good metaphor. In my youth the city was serviced by several rail branch lines with dozens of sidings, supplying many industries with raw materials to produce products distributed all over the country. Those industries fostered a large middle class, and a high standard of living. We were the truck capital of the world, we were home to the first transistors, and a retail legend. The tower shown above in 1963, and the gas tank in the background, were on Union Street. Although they are both now gone, this blogger will continue to combine history, news and commentary for those of us who still remember a different era.

reprinted from November of 2013

Molovinsky Christmas Tour

Yesterday I posted about Bill White's recommended Christmas Light tours.  I hope that caravans of  new SUV's are taking White's tours, because he publishes his recommendations every year.  Bill, after all these years,  has his job down almost on autopilot;  Christmas light tours,  Eating his way through Musikfest,  Cake contest at fair, Grammar columns,  Hall of Shame, Worst sentence writer. etc., etc.

Anyway, I recommend that nobody take my light tour,  it's in the hood in center city Allentown. Actually, the block shown has had its share of crime in recent years. The alley is narrow,  so there is no passing another car.  The double parkers get very annoyed if you beep your horn.  Best to stick with White's tours out in suburbia, with the inflated decorations that are flaccid during the day.  Personally,  I prefer the center city house decorations.  There is something so much more inspiring about decorating a low income house, many of which are rentals.  It makes me feel better and more hopeful about downtown.

Bill White's Christmas Lights

I was never on Bill White's Christmas Lights tour, but all I could think of was Chevy Chase, putting together the plug in his Christmas Lampoon Movie. I imagined that in Bill's mind, the more the better, aesthetics aside. Yesterday the newspaper showed photographs of some of the houses; Yep, I was right. Now, I understand the appeal of wattage, especially for children. As a child, my father would drive us by a house on Union Street, just beyond Union Terrace. It was a ranch house with easy access to the roof. This man did the whole shebang; roof outline in lights, Santa sled and reindeer on roof, and lots of lawn ornaments. As the gentleman and his display aged, less would appear each year. Fortunately for children, Santa, although no spring chicken and fat, never gets too old to deliver.

Blogger's Note: Christmas lights are enjoyed by people of all ages and faiths. Bill White and his crew have spent many hours locating those houses which best give what he calls the gift of WOW. Pictures and directions for the light tour can be found on The Morning Call Website.

reprinted from December of 2010

The Trains Of Allentown

As a blogger, at the moment, I need a rest from those bureaucracies which I find so exasperating, and perhaps visa versa. I suppose it would be a good time to stop and reminisce some more about trains, both model and real. Shown above was the real deal when the 0 gauge was king. Before I go too far, let me state that growing up I never had a train. For a few years I had a friend whose father, looking back, was rather obsessed with the hobby. He had the transformer shown. It was 275 watts, and could operate four trains and an assortment of accessories. For many years, Bloch's Hobby Store, in the 400 block of 7th Street, was a model train expert. Trains were also sold at Pollard's Firestone Tire Store, also on 7th Street.

I've presented a number of Barber Quarry branch line photographs in previous posts. The one below shows the siding at the former Traylor Engineering Plant on S. 10th Street, now owned by the AEDC. About 20 years ago the track was removed for the entire  length of the former rail line.
  photogragh by Mark Rabenold, 1987

reprinted from April of 2013

Christmas Time In Allentown

The other day Kenneth Heffentrager announced that he was interested in being appointed to the Redevelopment Authority. Ken has a dilemma; Such appointments are made by the mayor, and Ken is a grass roots street level organizer. Pawlowski historically has appointed certified yes men to his boards. It is for that reason that often one person will serve on several boards in Allentown. Although Ken is a founding member of the Allentown Tenant Association, he has also been somewhat of a thorn in Pawlowski's side, advocating for more housing inspectors. Although he is completely qualified for the position he seeks, this blog post isn't really about him.

Ken made his pitch for appointment on facebook. One of the readers wished him well, but then commented that she did not want to concern herself with such matters during the Christmas season. Politicians count on such reactions. Add in those that concentrate on Thanksgiving, Easter and their summer vocation, and you can end up electing an indicted mayor.  Another reader, who herself was appointed by Pawlowski to another commission, wondered if Ken would be able to function objectively,  considering his past tensions with the mayor.  I think that citizens should wonder if someone who is an avid supporter of Pawlowski could function fairly in such a position?

While my interest in local politics isn't reduced by holidays, the recent election results were very discouraging. Perhaps that is why this blog has been concentrating on its other component, local history. On that note,  I have used this old A-Treat Seasons Greetings as today's illustration. The A-Treat Company, after closing several years ago,  has been purchased and restarted by the Jaindl family.

The Butchers Of Allentown

Those coming here today looking for a story about sloppy civic leadership will be disappointed. This post is literally about butchers, more specifically, some butchers at Allentown Meat Packing Company. A few days ago, while at the Fairground's Farmers Market, I learned that Bobby had passed away. Bobby was the "kid" who worked at my father's meat market on Union Street. Bobby grew up in an orphanage, a hardship which my father respected. One meat cutter that I knew nothing about was Lamont, other than he lived at the WestEnd Hotel. He was a bear of a man, who could carry a beef quarter from the cooler with no effort. I never saw Lamont in the market portion of the shop, he always remained in the back, either in the large cooler or the adjoining cutting room. While my father insisted that people working on the counter change their meat coat and apron several times during the day, no such rule was imposed upon Lamont. Although he would look over the trays of meat before being taken out to the display cases, he never spoke. Last time I spoke to Bobby, he told me that he appreciated that my father had taught him a trade, which he used throughout his life.

reprinted from June of 2015