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 passed, 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 on 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.
reprinted from August of 2020
UPDATE APRIL 26, 2021: After several years of tireless work, Tyler Fatzinger has been told by the cemetery operators to cease his mission of caring for the neglected areas of Fairview. In this election year, all candidates for mayor and city council are promising to bring change to Allentown. Let them begin with Fairview. I call upon these candidates to make the upgrade of Fairview Cemetery part of their platform. I call upon their supporters to lobby them on behalf of Fairview.
My uncle was buried in January of this year just as the snow storm was hitting the area. By the time the snow melted and they buried a bunch of victims of COVID, we don’t know exactly where my uncle is. They never marked the grave. You have any information as to what my family can do? They told us it was our responsibility to mark the grave, my family didn’t know these things. We figured they were the professionals and that when the tombstone was ready, they would tell us exactly where my uncle is.
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