The Great Allentown Fair

The Morning Call website is hosting an archive of Fair Pictures from over the years. Being a fan both of fair pictures and black and white photography, looking at the 111 photos presented was a treat.

The photo shown above, which I will get back to, reminded me of one of my unique fair experiences. In previous posts, I have discussed that both my father and myself had stands at the fair. While my father learned that you couldn't sell hotdogs near Yocco's, I learned that drunks leaving the beer garden loved to buy printed T-shirts.

But today's post has to with George Kistler, long time City Clerk during the 1950's and 60's. George loved the fair, and loved sharing his fascination with a large group of people. I was fortunate enough to be invited several times. The routine was always the same; Dinner at a local stand on the eastern side of the fairgrounds, followed by the wrestling show. I remember photographing Andre The Giant.

The Morning Call fair picture above is none other than Jim "Super Fly" Snuka, who was recently back in Allentown, for a most regrettable reason.

reprinted from September of 2016

Race For Dent's Seat

The facebook sponsored promo describes Susan Wild as a community leader.  I happen to be bi-municipal...  I work in Allentown,  but currently live in South Whitehall.  I have been a student of media and politics in both communities for many years.  Although Ms. Wild ran unsuccessfully for county commissioner in 2013,  and was appointed solicitor in Allentown,  I have no memory of her being a community leader,  whatever that means.

As a media and political junkie,  this upcoming fight for Charlie Dent's seat should be worth the price of buttered popcorn.  As a registered independent,  I will get shortchanged in mailers.  I did however already receive a targeted mailer to independents from Nothstein.

Readers looking to divine an endorsement from this post should know that I haven't yet even decided for whom I'm voting, much less endorsing.

Bill White's Apology Column

Bill White's recent column was about the apologies he would like to have seen from Ed Pawlowski and the Pennsylvania Catholic Dioceses.  This column is about the apology I would like to read from Bill White.

Dear readers,  As you know I have the bully pulpit here in the valley,  but squander it mostly on serial repeats, such as what I eat every year at Musikfest.  I have been very fortunate that the paper has been essentially for sale for over a decade,  and the new editor didn't know how tired these columns really are,  and the interim editors are just glad that they still have a job.  But I must mostly apologize for my silence on local issues.

I know that the articles promoting Reilly's Strata apartments are more hype than reality.  My office is across the street from a building supposedly full, but I seldom see anybody who remotely resembles a millennial on the street.  I seldom see a light on, come dusk. I know that the paper has an agenda to protect the local sacred cows and I play along.  When I praised Wally Ely recently,  I knew that we never printed his heartfelt op-ed opposing the weed walls in the parks. I know that we don't report that South Whitehall isn't honoring the voter's referendum in regard to Wehr's Dam. More recently, I will remain silent about what we did to Marty Nothstein.   I'd like to say that I'll do better, but I won't.  There's a new editor coming on board,  and he will think that my columns this winter on Christmas lights are a breath of fresh cold winter air.  

Bill White

Shown above is another year of chocolate cake tasting for Bill at the fair.  However, in fairness to him, he is my low-hanging fruit when it comes to criticizing the Morning Call.  Apparently, Terry Rang,  interim editor once again,  was involved in the decision to go ahead with the Marty Nothstein story/smear.  I would think that The Morning Call is in a position where they could really be an independent voice for truth in the valley.  Back in the day when Allentown was ruled by the Park&Shop Oligarchy, of which the publisher was part, the paper was dependent on those local merchants for  advertising.  They are now just a vehicle to distribute flyers for national chains. I suppose old editorial doctrines die hard. I'm sure that when the new editors arrive from out of town, they are wined and dined by the valley's sacred cows.

The King Abdicates

In 1958 my father had a food stand at the fair. It took him about an hour to realize you can not sell hot dogs in the King's back yard; Yocco, the hot dog king. When Yocco's claimed last year(2006) they were not at the fair because their canvas ripped, I was skeptical. This year it's official, they have abdicated their spot. Tonight the fair was jammed. In Ag Hall the granges still compete in vegetable canning. A wiseguy still incites you to dunk him. The world's smallest horse hasn't grown. Maybe Yocco's is gone, but the fair is still much more like 1958 than any other aspect of Allentown.

reprinted annually since 2007

As Allentown Turns

The big local news this week is The Great Allentown Fair, and that the prosecution recommends that former mayor Pawlowski be sentenced up to 15 years.

Being a local with some carney background, it occurs to me that a dunking booth at the fair this year, featuring none other than Pawlowski himself, would be a great success. It would also give him the opportunity to earn some money for his legal appeals and other expenses. I have not passed this advice along to the Mayor, here's why... In 2006, when Pawlowski started his first of four terms as mayor, he had a big open house at Symphony Hall. Although he invited 100 people to give input suggestions for Allentown, he didn't invite me, even though I also ran that year as an independent. 

There has been speculation that Cedar Beach Pool should have been moved farther away from the creek since it was being rebuilt anyway. Although the creek did spill over into the pool two storms in a row, historically, that is a rare occurrence.

Exploring Black History In Philadelphia

Several blocks south of molovinsky on allentown's Philadelphia office is an area* rich in history for the black community.  Although the more studious types might check out the renowned  African American Museum In Philadelphia,   I prefer walking about and asking questions.  I stopped in at the Philadelphia Tribune office, the first black paper in the nation, and printed continuously since 1884. I learned a little bit about the paper's history and got to talk to a staff member. Nearby was the home of the Jack and Jill Of America movement, started in 1938 by Marion Thomas. Its intention was to provide leadership training for the city's black professional and middle class children.  Among other churches and mosques serving the neighborhood, is the huge United House Of Prayer For All People,  a nationwide black Apostolic Pentecostal church.

While the historical roots of this black middle class neighborhood are deep,  the spreading gentrification from the Rittenhouse area is encroaching.  The facade of the Royal Theater,  the first black owned theater in Philadelphia, is being incorporated into a new residential and commercial project. While Lincoln's body was brought by train to this neighborhood after his assassination in 1865,  how many residents of the new expensive condo tower will be black?

* neighborhood surrounding area of 15th and South Street

photocredit: Facade of Royal Theater by Librarian1984

The Mighty Atom

Years ago, at the Allentown Fair, as one would push through a sea of carney delusion, tucked back by the 4H animals, was an island of reality. There, in an old battered truck, an ancient Jewish strongman performed incredible feats of strength, to sell only homemade kosher soap. Standing on a platform on the rear of his truck, flanked by photographs from his performing youth, he would bent horse shoes and bite through nails. Many years earlier, my mother as a little girl in Bethlehem, saw him pull a truck uphill with his hair. Even as an old man, like a reincarnation of Samson, his grey hair was still long.
In the summers of 1964 and 1965, myself and a friend,(Fred Schoenk, retired Allentown art teacher) made and sold printed tee-shirts at the fair. We had the honor to know Joseph Greenstein(The Mighty Atom) and his wife. For those interested, there are various articles on the Mighty Atom and even at least one book. Enjoy the fair!

reprinted every year since 2007

Pawlowski As A Legend

In his leniency plea Pawlowski claims that he is a legend among Allentown's less fortunate... there certainly is some truth to that statement.  He was essentially voted into his fourth term by the minority voters. who he courted extensively.  He visited their barbershops and hair salons, and attended their parties whenever invited.

I met with a black woman who was and remains a staunch supporter.  However,  I must say that she was also a supporter of Marion Barry in her previous community of Washington.  Pawlowski's legal issues and even his mistreatment of some others were of no concern to her.  Her single criterion was the access that Pawlowski was providing to people of color, including herself.

I should also note that Pawlowski won the recent election with much less than a majority of votes, because it was a three way race with a strong write-in candidate.  In conclusion, I will refrain from making a moral judgement on the black woman's criterion....  We all have our own special interests.