Influences and Priorities In South Whitehall

As an advocate for history and the traditional park systems in the Lehigh Valley, I was struck by the irony of South Whitehall's new noise ordinance. A resident on N. 30th, which adjoins the Village West Shopping Center, convinced the township to pass an ordinance because of noise associated with the shopping center's dumpsters.  There are only six houses on those two blocks.

For over a year, Leroy Schmidt spend every weekend at Wehr's Dam, collecting signatures to preserve the dam, over 6,000 of them.  Of equal importance, and legally significant, the voter's chose by referendum to preserve the dam. However, the dam was not included in the township's historic overlay district. The current commissioners have made no public declaration that the dam will be preserved. On the contrary, they knowingly allowed the Wildlands Conservancy to challenge the dam's structural integrity with the state.

These actions and inactions concerning the dam constitute a conspiracy against the voters of South Whitehall. This conspiracy was designed by the Wildlands Conservancy, aided by the cooperating Commissioners, and enabled by The Morning Call, which refuses to publish about the situation.

It's outrageous that one influential person can get an ordinance passed which benefits virtually nobody, while the wishes of the majority of township residents about the dam are being ignored.

photocredit: Tami Quigley

Duck Farm And Hotel

At the beginning of the last century, Allentonians could take a day trip out to Griesemerville and spend the day at the Duck Farm and Hotel. The trolley, operated by Reading Traction Company, actually went through the Duck Farm building. That same trolley would continue west and go through or under the Dorney Park roller coaster. Today, Griesemerville is known as Union Terrace, or more precisely, Joseph S. Daddona Lake and Terrace.

The Hotel portion still exists as an apartment house. Heading west, cross the Reading Road stone arch bridge, built in 1824, and the former hotel is the first building on your right.

Note the bridge in the lower left of the above news clipping. This blog is proud to have played a part in preserving the bridge, and my hope is that the County of Lehigh will formally recognize the bridge's historic value, and secure it's future. Collectors of Lehigh Valley historic memorabilia can still find Duck Farm postcards.

news clipping courtesy of Danny Ruth 

reprinted from July of 2013, February of 2019

When Mack Was Allentown

I grew up around the corner from Mack's famous 5C plant, on the corner of Lehigh and S. 12th Streets. In the early 1950's, the brightly colored truck tractors would cover the lot next to the old assembly plant. All day long, a new tractor would leave for delivery somewhere, with two more piggy back on the coupling hitches. Over the years I have written a lot of posts about Mack, especially how their workers would use the Fountain Park WPA steps, walking to their jobs on S. 10th Street. Mack made all their own truck parts there, except the tires. Built Like A Mack Truck, was a result of the local craftsmanship.

In Saturday's Morning Call article about Mack investing in the Macungie plant, the vice president is quoted as saying that Mack was here to stay. By Saturday evening, that vice president was no longer with the company, according to WFMZ. I remember when the larger share of production was moved to South Carolina in 1987. Shortly before that plant closed in 2002, they handed out sunglasses to symbolize their bright future there. I remember when the World Headquarters on Mack Boulevard moved to North Carolina. I don't know about Mack's long term future in the valley, but I do know that the ties that bind have long since been broken.

Jack Mack, one of Mack Truck's founding brothers, was killed in an auto accident in 1924. He is buried in Fairview Cemetery on Lehigh Street.

reprinted from 2016

Morning Call's Breach Of Integrity

On February 13, 2015, the Pa. Dept. of Environment Protection informed South Whitehall Township that the Wildlands Conservancy has brought information to their attention concerning the condition of Wehr's Dam.

In the letter they confirm that it is a low hazard(C-4) dam, meaning that it poses no risk to private property or lives,  and, as such, a permit is not normally required for continued operation.

However,  after discussions with the Wildlands Conservancy, they (DEP) have become extremely concerned about the dam. They then ask for the township to hire an engineer  and submit plans to remediate the issues raised by the Wildlands Conservancy. They then state that such work will now require federal approval.  The letter goes on to state that the work can be avoided by either breaching or removing the dam.

Meanwhile, back at the township,  no defense by either public works or the commissioners is made on behalf of the dam. Furthermore,  the Wildands Conservancy is put in charge of the multi-$million dollar Greenway project.

In addition to the township,  the letter indicates that copies were sent to Chris Kocher and Abigail Pattishall of the Wildlands Conservancy.

Terri Morgan,  President of the SWT Commissioners,  has been in league with Abigail Pattishall for this entire disgrace.

I have documented this information about Wehr's Dam to the Morning Call now for several years.  They refuse to print the story about this conspiracy.  While the dam is structurally sound, what is undermined and breached is the integrity of the Morning Call and its editor.

photocredit: Wehr's Dam by Y-Tree

The Fairview Cemetery Situation

In 1997, I began looking for the grave of a young Jewish woman who died in 1918.  In the course of that search I became interested in the small old Jewish section of Fairview Cemetery on Lehigh Street.

In the late 1800's and early 1900's, Fairview was the most prestigious cemetery in Allentown.  Among those buried there included General Harry Trexler,  John Leh and Jack Mack.  The sprawling cemetery overlooks center city, and contains numerous obelisks and other impressive grave markers. Several unique mausoleums were built, including one for Max Hess senior. Allentown's most successful families purchased large plots, which were separated by low railings.  As the decades pasted,  the available plots were sold.

As time passed a new cemetery, Grandview, was developed northwest of town, along Walbert Avenue. Fairview fell out of favor among the elite.  Move ahead a few decades, and supposedly, the director of the then Fairview Cemetery Association embezzled funds.  Currently, the association consists of a funeral director and his immediate family.  Back in 1997, this new director claimed that the poor ground maintenance resulted from lack of funds. The low railings between the family plots were removed to make mowing easier and cheaper.

I was able to cast a little publicity of the situation. Although it took another decade, in 2008, the Morning Call did a story on the cemetery.  Move ahead yet another decade, Tyler Fatzinger became interested, and now there is a dedicated facebook page. The paper did another story in 2019.

In the best of situations, Fairview would become a park of serenity, like the cemeteries in Paris. In the worst of situations, it will become totally abandoned and overgrown. Chances are the status quo will continue... a for profit operator and a periodic series of concerned citizens.

Bill White's Selective Memory

Fellow blogger Bernie O'Hare and I don't talk much, but when we do, we usually wonder who is the bigger bastard? Bernie is often accused of having favorite people who can do no harm, nobody accuses me of that. What brings on today's rant is Bill White's column yesterday.

White gets nostalgic for the closing Morning Call offices at 6th and Linden. He recalls the pride when the reporters covered the trial of former mayor Pawlowski so efficiently. That's funny, because I recall the decade of Pawlowski's corruption which they silently missed.  Bill also doesn't mention their windfall from the NIZ. The Morning Call building was included in the district, although across the street, and now is the property of the NIZ baron J.B. Reilly.

I appreciate the local articles, and the job done by the reporters, but I'm too much of a bastard to let White get away with whitewashing the paper. They have repressed news of numerous shenanigans by local sacred cows they have chosen to protect.

Pictured above is Wehr's Dam.  There is an active conspiracy in motion to circumvent the citizen's referendum to keep the dam, and demolish it anyway, to accommodate the Wildlands Conservancy.  Although I provided proof to the Morning Call that the Wildlands is communicating back channel with the State to that end,  Morning Call editor Mike Miorelli refuses to print the story.  However, Mike did hire Bill back to write his puff column.

Building or no building, business and censorship as usual at The Morning Call.

photocredit:Gregg Obst

Misguided To Mt. Sinai In Fairview

In 2000, when I was looking for the burial place of a Jewish woman who died in 1918,  I ended up searching the Jewish orphan cemeteries. An orphan cemetery is one that is no longer actively maintained by a congregation, usually because the congregation no longer exists. Mt. Sinai was begun by an association of early Allentown Jews in 1875.  Eventually, the group established a synagogue, which in turn started its own cemetery in 1928 on Walbert Avenue.  After that time mostly only spouses of earlier burials were interred in Mt. Sinai.  The last such funeral had occurred in 1976.

I was intrigued by the new Levine marker, near the front of the Mt. Sinai section.  A few years later I took it upon myself to locate any remaining family members.  Joseph was 103 when he passed away, so when I met his son at a local diner for coffee,  he himself was an elderly man.  Years earlier the family had moved from Brooklyn to the Pennsylvania countryside.  When Joseph's wife died in 2000, he contacted Boyko's Funeral Home in Macungie.  When he asked Boyko about a Jewish cemetery, Boyko guided, or misguided him to one that he owned in Fairview.  Boyko did not mention that the cemetery was no longer affiliated with a congregation, or that there hadn't been a Jewish funeral there in twenty four years. Six years later Joseph joined his wife at Mt. Sinai.

A few years ago Boyko also buried another Jew, a hispanic man, in Mt. Sinai.  These burials are assuredly taking place in plots that long ago belonged to other families. However,  at this point in time I don't think that anybody will know or care. Several years ago I asked a local woman about a very prominent marker at Mt Sinai with her family name. She told me that her parents and grandparents are buried in the Walbert Avenue cemetery, but she recalled that her great-grandfather was buried somewhere else.  She didn't know about Mt. Sinai at Fairview, nor was she ever there. When Jews visit a cemetery they leave a pebble on the gravestone.  There are no visitors to Mt. Sinai.

Revive Fairview Cemetery

About twelve years ago, I began searching for the grave of a young Jewish woman, who died around 1900. Among several Jewish cemeteries no longer in use, I searched Mt. Sinai, a small section of the sprawling Fairview Cemetery on Lehigh Street, just west of the 8th Street Bridge. The cemetery is the history of Allentown's past, including the graves of Harry Trexler, John Leh, and Jack Mack. As one proceeded deeper into the cemetery, away from sight on Lehigh Street, conditions worsened. As is the case with many old cemeteries, fees paid for perpetual care, 100 years ago, were long gone. Complicating the situation, the current private operator wasn't particularly assessable. In addition to extended family members upset about conditions, the situation was compounded by his refusal, with few exceptions, to allow private upkeep. My early posts on the situation drew response and phone calls from people with no interest in local political blogs; They were just exasperated relatives, with a family member buried long ago at Fairview. After beginning a series of posts, and letters to the editor, I prevailed upon The Morning Call to write a story one year later. The Call's story appeared on August 11, 2008. Within two weeks, the cemetery operator agreed to a public meeting I had organized at a local church. Arrangements were made between the operator and several parties. As with several of Allentown's older cemeteries, the issue of maintenance would be ongoing.

The current operator of Fairview, in addition to operating an on-site crematorium, is actively having new burials in the cemetery. It appears as if some of these new burials might be on old large family plots, which haven't been used or even visited in decades. In other cases, they appear to be along the internal roadways, which were previously not considered proper burial places.

Because of my longtime blogging on Fairview, periodically I would be contacted by someone with a family member buried at the cemetery. They were always frustrated by conditions at the cemetery, and asked where or to whom they could turn.  The photo shown above was taken by a frustrated family member. It occurred to me that a facebook group page could be a common meeting ground for such families.  Recently, after I started the Allentown Chronicles facebook group, local resident Tyler Fatzinger demonstrated strong concern for conditions at Fairview. I suggested that he moderate a new group dedicated to the cemetery. He agreed, and started Revive Fairview Cemetery.

reprinted from previous years

UPDATE AUGUST 26, 2020: Tyler Fatzinger has turned out to be a tireless advocate for Fairview, volunteering his free time working and clearing at the cemetery.