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 annually since 2007
As a teen, I had the pleasure of watching his show at the Allentown Fair. I think it was out the back of his box truck located a few feet south of Ag Hall, but not right up against the roadway running up into the fair. He usually had 25-30 people standing at the back of the truck.
ReplyDeleteI was too young to understand the whole thing, the stories he told and the wisdom he provided. The nail bending, etc. was more of a brief interlude. This was not a typical magic show, just a very old guy closing out a long career as best he could. Made me sad in a way.
Pretty good crowd for the Fair last night, although once the grandstand opened for the Heart concert it seemed like there weren’t many people there.
ReplyDeleteI hate that they eliminated the free preview night (which had always been Tuesday) and now start with paid admission (albeit half price) on Wednesday.
I also miss Bobo the clown on the dunk tank, and the AgHall exhibits seem to be dwindling each year.
That said, it’s still a fun time, even if a $5 gyro now costs $13.50.