Fairgrounds Farmers Market

If you grew up in or near Allentown, chances are that you been to the Farmers Market. The market has been in operation since 1953, all year except during Fair Week.  

While those visiting downtown Allentown will recognize very little from the past, the Farmers Market is frozen in time. Some of the purveyors have been there for near 60 years. 

When I was a boy, my father operated a meat concession at the market for a year or so. He gave it up because he recognized so many of the customers from his market on Union Street, and realized that he had  doubled his overhead to serve the same clients.

For those of us who find change not always for the best, the Market remains a comfort.

Weigh In On 1948

1948 was a good year for Allentown and the Lehigh Valley. Mack Trucks, Lehigh Structural Steel, General Electric and almost all factories were going full steam. President Truman stopped by to give a speech. The Allentown Cardinals played the first game in their new ballpark, Breadon Field. The baby boom was going full tilt:



The school district unveiled Lehigh Parkway and Midway Manor Elementary Schools and the new professional style football stadium. Donald Hock was Mayor, and although the last beer was being brewed on Lawrence Street at Daeufer Brewery, the Paddock joined many new restaurants opening that year. Photo's from Dorney Park in 1948.

reprinted from July 2009

Endless Excuses For Allentown Schools

State Representative Josh Seigel and his fellow elected peers think that students shouldn't be expected to learn in old school buildings. Apparently the students at Oxford and Harvard didn't get Josh's message, and are still studying. 

Our local team of elected state reps joined superintendent Birks in blaming state funding for Allentown's lack of educational performance.  In recent years we were told the problem was that the top administrators were too white. It appears that since white is no longer the issue, it's now the lack of green.

Maybe Josh, Mike, Peter and Nick have to prioritize their pandering.  Pennsylvania has plenty of money,  and if they really think that's the school district's reason for failure, maybe a few less connected developers need less subsidizes. Maybe the state could do with a few less commissions, and their plum no-show job appointments. 

As one gets older and reads the same nonsense year after year, decade after decade, I wonder how our elected officials keep a straight face when making such proclamations.

shown above Massachusetts Hall, Harvard University, built 1720

Cruising Down Hamilton

On Sunday I visited downtown Allentown's Cruiser Car Show.  Councilperson Cynthia Mota told me we have to give more attention to the good things like this show.  I certainly understand her point of view, especially preaching to a naysayer such as myself. However, I wish she was with me on the ride down Tilghman Street. Someone made a U-turn right on Tilghman, at 9th Street.  On 9th itself, I encountered no less than two double parkers in one block.

A merchant on Hamilton told me that the show harks back to the era when these cars were new, and kids would cruise the Hamilton/Linden Street circuit. Although for him it was hearsay, for me it was a real memory, I'm that old.

I agree with Cynthia and the merchant that the show is a good thing.  Allentown needs more of them.

Although our staff photographer chose to feature only one vehicle, the show stretched for blocks and contained hundreds of classic cars.

Trolley To Dorney Park

When the Allentown-Kutztown Traction (Trolley) Company purchased Dorney Park in 1901, trolley companies were buying or building amusement parks all across the country. Perhaps the most famous was Coney Island. Usually located between two cities serviced by the company, it was a plan to increase weekend rider-ship. Passengers could spend a day at the park, swimming, picnicking, and partaking of the rides and amusements. Through merger, the trolley would become the Allentown-Reading Traction Company, whose line began just south of Hamilton, on 7th Street. The line went west on Walnut Street, and then followed the Cedar Creek to the park. The roller coaster was built over the tracks in 1923, the year that the Allentown-Reading sold the park to the Plarr family.  Trolley service would continue to 1934.

Jim Layland contributed to this post.

reprinted from 2013

The Train Of Dorney Park

By Wally Ely

In 1934, times were tough — in the Lehigh Valley and throughout the United States. The Great Depression was rampant. Unemployment kept willing and able workers out of jobs, with some in food lines or soup kitchens. Dorney Park was just hanging on, waiting for better days. There was no way the park could afford anything new to keep interest in the amusements alive. Nobody could afford to come to the park in 1934, especially not to spend any money. Bob Plarr, park president, was not accustomed to sitting back, waiting and hoping for things to improve. Plarr had an acquaintance, Miles Erbor, from the nearby village of Wescosville. Erbor, known as Mike, ran a machine shop in his garage. Erbor floated his bright idea for a new ride at Dorney past Plarr, and he loved it! Erbor's thought was to build a miniature version of the national train sensation of the day, the Burlington Zephyr. He could do it economically, with many used parts he had on hand.... The new Zephyr traveled the route an old steam engine-powered open-air train had traveled around the west end of the park. The Zephyr Jr. started near the main crossing of Dorney Park road, which divided the park; it continued along Cedar Creek parallel to the Water Skooter boat ride and then passed the swimming pool and rumbled through a short storage building, which served as a tunnel. At the far end, the route approached the boating lake and began to circle back. On the return trip it passed the picnic groves, more Water Skooters, and finally the rocket ship ride and the old mill. A final turn across the bridge near the French fry stand brought the ride back to the beginning. The announcement of the new ride at Dorney Park was welcomed by the community; there weren't many positive announcements in those days. The public responded. Crowds appeared at the park to buy the nickel tickets for a Zephyr Jr. train ride. The nickels added up, and a new, steady cash flow helped pay the bills and enabled Dorney Park to ride out the Depression.....

The above is excerpted from a column written by the late Wally Ely, which appeared in The Morning Call on May 5, 2013. The photo has been added.  Ely was a history,  train buff and author, who had written a book on Dorney Park.

Yesterday's Ideas Today

I never paid much attention to Lamont McClure.  I know my Northampton County based blogger associate waxes fondly about him, but Bernie always likes the County Executive, going back to John Stoffa.  

An article in Lehigh Valley Live informs me that Lamont is enthusiastic about exploring the possibility of Northampton County providing a fiber optic network. Someone should inform him that those signals will be needing receivers.  After he distributes laptops,  those on the run will need smart phones. 

The survey was conducted by both internet and mail. Three quarters of the responses were online.  That alone should tell Lamont something, but he missed that point.

Outside of Northampton County, Elon Musk is putting up hundreds of satellites a week to build his Starlink internet service. That reception will not require wire and poles everywhere, nor have enormous infrastructure cost. Something for Charlie, I mean Lamont, to think about.

More Stimulus Money Than Need

I'm flabbergasted at how much Covid/Stimulus money is still floating around at all levels of government, and how it is being spent. Wishlist projects are being funded, either directly or indirectly, because of the surplus funds. 

Lehigh and Northampton executives jointly announced that they're purchasing 40 air monitor stations to be spread out across Lehigh Valley.  When I grew up during our postwar boom, I could see dozens of smokestacks emitting 24/7.  Some old stacks remain, but they are just idle monuments to our industrial past. Even our smoke now is imported, currently from Canadian forest fires.

Those concerned with air quality can go to the weather gimmick on the right sidebar of this blog's web version.  Simply click on the current temperature, and the app will open with details, including air quality. Excuse my blog promotion, an app is also on your cell phone. The data come from the monitors at LVIA, which is close enough for any practical purpose.

photo pilfered from O'Hare's Ramblings