Hoops and Trash

The A-Town Throw Down is a major basketball tournament at Cedar Beach, and a feather in Allentown's cap.  Step child of the former SportsFest, it brings together over 70 boys' and girls' teams in top quality competition. Although Throw Down doesn't refer to trash, unfortunately litter was everywhere Sunday morning. While the park department can be faulted for the overflowing trash by the apparently not enough containers, that doesn't explain the trash under the benches and bleachers, and on the parking lot and grass area used for extra parking. It doesn't explain the litter elsewhere in the park.

In addition to the athletic competition, the tournament is a learning event. Hopefully a few words about littering can be added to the curriculum next year.

A Midsummer Night's Dream on Hamilton Street

Early Saturday morning I bumped into a Hamilton Street merchant I know, there's not that many of them nowadays. He told me about the Blues, Brews & Barbeque*, and that he was hoping for a crowded Hamilton Street...He certainly got his wish.  If the crowd was fortified from a pent up demand from the pandemic, regardless, people were there in force.  People who enjoyed themselves are likely to return for the next event. 

The diverse, middle class crowd resembled Hamilton Street of yesteryears. While Allentown cannot sponsor a festival everyday,  I'm sure that J.B. Reilly had pleasant dreams Saturday night. 

While people are not used to me writing something positive about downtown and the NIZ, I'm more than happy to report on good days there.

*kudos to event coordinators Miriam Huertas and Betsy Kohl

photocredit:Jeff Barber

Molovinsky As The Dour Prophesier

When I ran as the third person in 2005's mayoral race, The Morning Call gave me almost no press.  In addition to not reporting on my most important press conference, they excluded me from their sponsored debate.  My platform back then was that Allentown was becoming a poverty magnet, which would in the coming years adversely effect the housing stock and school system.  Now, don't misunderstand,  I don't think that Allentown was ready to elect an independent in 2005.  But,  the city would have benefitted from hearing my platform.

Flash ahead 12 years, and the paper is now covering all 9 candidates running, and covering them extensively.  What has changed?  The main change is the current reporter assigned to the city beat, Emily Opilo... She is excellent.  Unfortunately, for me and the city,  in 2005 the reporter was about as biased as they come.  Not surprisingly, he ended up being Mike Fleck's last employee, working on the Pawlowski senate campaign, until the FBI came to town two years ago.  Bill White now continues the bias against me, and labels me dour.  Bill White, until this eleventh hour and year, enthusiastically supported Pawlowski... That alone is enough to make someone dour.  I accept that label as a badge of my independence.

We now have Pawlowski, after installing surveillance cameras downtown, wanting gunshot sound locators.  He didn't mention that we would be needing those things back in 2005.

reprinted from May of 2017

Two Butchers From Allentown's Past

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 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 West End 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 2014

advertisement shown above from December of 1949

Allentown Meat Packing Co.

My grandfather lived on the corner of Jordan and Chew, and butchered in a small barn behind the house. He would deliver by horse and wagon to his customers, corner markets. The house is still there, the barn, long gone. My father, and one of his brothers, acquired the H.H. Steinmetz packing house in 1943. Operating as Allentown Meat Packing, by 1950 they closed the slaughter house, and converted the front of the plant into a meat market open to the public. That continued to 1970, when it was leased to an operator who sold meat by freezer full packages. In 1975 the building was torn down, as part of a long term lease agreement with A&B, who wanted the space for parking. The photo was taken just prior to demolition. 

reprinted from previous years

The Butchers Of Allentown

photograph by Bob Wilt

A&B (Arbogast&Bastian), dominated the local meat packing industry for almost 100 years. At it's peak, they employed 700 people and could process 4,000 hogs a day. The huge plant was at the foot of Hamilton Street, at the Lehigh River. All that remains is their free standing office building, which has been incorporated into America on Wheels. Front and Hamilton was Allentown's meatpacking district. Within one block, two national Chicago meatpackers, Swift and Wilson, had distribution centers. Also in the area were several small independents, among them M. Feder and Allentown Meat Packing Company.

Allentown Meat Packing was owned by my father and uncle. The area was criss-crossed with tracks, owned by both LVRR and Jersey Central. All the plants had their own sidings. This is an era when commerce was measured in factories and production, not just relocated office workers.

Molovinsky On Allentown occasionally takes a break from the local political discourse to present local history.  My grandfather came to Allentown in 1891 and lived in the Ward on 2nd Street. By the time my father was born in 1917, they lived on the corner of Chew and Jordan Streets.

reprinted from previous years

Dead Artist Premium

This weekend I attended the show and auction of Greg Weaver artwork at the Penn State Campus in Center Valley. Although the show was very well done, I didn't stay long. Although the bidding was high, none of the money will benefit Greg or his wife, who have both passed away. Greg and I were friends in the 70's. He would frequent my photo shop, and I would enjoy his loft parties. Greg's loft moved from one low rent location to another over the years. It's fair to say that he made virtually nothing from the art that people were bidding against each other for this past Friday night. Those now benefiting from his mystique, an artist who went blind and continued producing art until he died young, hope to establish an alternative museum for local artists. I would like to see a permanent Weaver collection and designated room at the Allentown Art Museum. 

reprinted from December of 2014 

ADDENDUM JULY 26, 2021: Either this coming fall or spring, I will sponsor an art show for Jessica Lenard, at a gallery yet to be determined. She was a contemporary of Weaver, who was also producing art in Allentown during that era.

Morning Call's New Pet Pol

As somebody who has been trying to get a letter published in the Morning Call for five years, I was amused by a large picture of Mark Pinsley which accompanied his latest letter. Pinsley is a political opportunist, who runs for bigger offices, after just getting elected to a smaller one. Although no longer a South Whitehall Commissioner,  he still presides over their meetings, and was front and center at their recent new building ribbon cutting.

The reason that I was so amused is that the editor was recently touting the opinion page as a town square for various opinions. The reality is those opinions, for the most part, better conform with his, or there's no space at the page for you. This is Pinsley's second letter published within a month, and the paper even provided a link to the first one.

Pinsley just recently announced his newish political quest, state senator. With such an agenda, years ago the paper would have never run his oversized picture with his letter, which was actually just a campaign piece. 

With Ce-Ce tainted with bad judgement, Mark is now the new best in show.