Our History Discarded

One of General Trexler's first land donations to the City of Allentown was some acreage along the Little Lehigh. He wanted to make sure that the quality of the water supply for the city was protected. The above photograph shows one of first things built in Lehigh Parkway. Please note that the retaining walls on the park entrance road have not yet been built. On the previous post Anon 8:49 PM asks;
Has the City showed you the complete inventory and locations of all the WPA sites?
Not to sound too presumptuous, but I believe the current Administration is learning about the WPA sites from this blog, starting with Stairway To Shame. (Stairway To Shame compiled from two posts written in Sept. 2008) The photo shows the spring pond and ornamental bridge. Although water still comes from the spring pipe, residents today would have a hard time locating this image, although it's in a very prominent place.







The spring pond has been allowed to become overgrown, but the stones lining the pond are for the most part still there, buried under a few inches of dirt and tall grass.

Likewise the bridge is intact, but obscured by high grass. Now, I'm not a fan of the low mowing, high mowing and riparian buffer zones. Giving the advocates of those programs the benefit of the doubt, there can be no justification, whatsoever, for letting our historic treasures be overgrown and buried. The spring pond and bridge is right next to the parking lot in Robin Hood, the City now calls it Hole Number One of the Disc Golf Course. Hopefully the City will have enough consideration for General Trexler to weedwack the bridge, so that a father and his children can have a moment like the one shown at the top of this post.

Save A Treasure

Yesterday I had an amazing experience, following the footsteps of Andrew Kleiner, I decided to research the WPA items at the Lehigh Valley Historical Society; like Andrew, I found that particular documentation lacking. But, from out of nowhere, an elderly lady handed me a photo from her pocketbook; a picture of the Boat Landing she had taken with a Kodak Brownie camera in the early 1940's. She had the picture with her because she had shown it to several friends who also lamented the loss of our icons.












Today I went to the park to photograph the remaining element of that structure, the steps, to write a post I intended to title "Lost Treasures". Despite my fear of ticks and other organic matter, I proceeded down the steps and pushed the bushes aside. There to my surprise, I found that the retaining walls were mostly still there.

Emboldened by this discovery, I went over to the other side of the creek and worked my way through the riparian buffer; there to my utter amazement I saw that the curved creek walls of the landing have withstood the years of time. Despite decades of neglect by our Park Department, I believe that a half dozen people equipped with a few clippers could unveil a lost treasure. There is a few large trees which have grown on the landing, and there are missing stones, but most of it still exists, waiting only for a few urban archaeologists with an appreciation of what once adorned this park. Will you join me in this act of civil unvandalizing and help restore this gift from our past?

Figment Of My Imagination

Dear Mayor Pawlowski,
Forgive me for saying this, but I'm very disappointed in the changes made to my town. After my wife passed away, I moved to the senior high-rise at 8th and Union St. I can see the old Mack Transmission Plant from my window, I worked there for 40 years. I understand now it's a indoor go-cart track, I find that a bitter pill. Actually pills are why I'm writing. I used to walk to the Rite-Aid on Hamilton Street. With that closing, I don't think I can walk out 7th St. to the old Sears. Forgive me Mayor, that's before your time in Allentown. The other Rite-Aid used to be Levines Fabrics, they bought it from Sears. The Army Navy store was across the parking lot. Anyway, back to my problem. Now I can't even catch the bus on Hamilton anymore to go visit my daughter in Catty. What have you done to me? My neighbor, a nice widow, tells me you gave that Mexican Restaurant lots of our money and they don't even pay their bills? Never ate there, what were you thinking? Anyway, sorry to bother you, I know you're a busy man, but I don't know where I will get my medicine from, and I'm upset. Sorry.

PhotoCredit: molovinsky

REPRINTED FROM JULY 27, 2008

ADDENDUM: Due to problems with the building on 7th Street, Rite-Aid has relocated back to its old building on Hamilton Street. They had moved to 7th Street because after the bus transfer stops were taken off of Hamilton Street. and moved to the Lanta Treatment Center, their volume decreased 40%. Although that Mexican Restaurant, Manana's closed, we're now going to be subsidizing two new restaurants on the same corner.

Simon Fearless Against Bomber

The 1941 June edition of Ring Magazine featured the Abe Simon vs Joe Louis fight in March. Editor-writer Nat Fleischer was in awe of Simon's courage against the unbeatable Brown Bomber. Fleischer wrote "They (fans) saw Abe Simon give the Bomber the greatest battle he has had since he won the crown..." Although Simon Lost by TKO in the 13th, this image of Simon grinning at Louis while taking the 8 count in round 7, is one of my favorite photographs of that fight.

REPRINTED FROM APRIL 14, 2008

The General Gently Weeps

General Trexler died in an automobile accident in 1933; had he lived a few more years and seen the completed WPA Projects throughout Allentown's Parks, it would have made him very happy. How he would feel about the go-kart track at Cedar Park is another question.

The Administration does not refer to these macadam paths as a go-kart course or an event midway, but rather as paths to facilitate multi-generational activities. Fortunately in the past, the Trexler Trust would have never tolerated the park being destroyed in this fashion, much less be paying for it.

Unfortunately the current Trustee's are minions of the Administration, which wants a recreational theme-park with a little nature in it. Contrast the $hundreds of thousands$ to be spent on this blacktop, with not one dollar allocated for the iconic WPA stonework.*


Currently the walls and structures in Lehigh Parkway are probably the most seen and used WPA structures.

However, without a doubt, the constructions in Fountain Park are both the most monumental and historically important.

The massive stairway rises off of Martin Luther King Drive and climbs up to Union Street.








The construction continues on the other side of Union Street with a colossal retaining wall which is several blocks long.








Contained in this wall is a tunnel leading to another mammoth stairwell which climbs up to Spring Garden Street.



These steps were used over the years by thousands of Mack Truck workers going to the factory on S. 10th Street, and thousands of kids going into the park to play.


*The Park Department is seeking bids to repair the WPA stonework. At this time no money has been budgeted for this purpose, but the go-kart track is fully funded.

Several photographs are courtesy of Andrew Kleiner.

$100 a Week

In 1935, a Jewish boy earning $35 a week carrying 300 pound blocks of ice, was offered three times more to fight; win, lose or draw. For one hundred dollars a week, Jock Whitney, British aristocrat and sportsman, owned Abe Simon. Abe won his first 14 fights, 12 by knockout. On his climb to fight Louis in 1941 he would knock out 27 opponents, including Jersey Joe Walcott.

REPRINTED FROM APRIL 3, 2008

Cedar Fair Midway

Unfortunately this post isn't about the Cedar Fair which owns Dorney Park, it's about the City of Allentown and Cedar Creek Park. Citizens who attended the City Council Park Meeting on Aug. 13th were told that the park plan was a living, breathing work in progress. As shown in the diagram below, that progress has resulted in a new circuit path in the Rose Garden side of the Park, which can serve no use other than a midway loop for special events. The new additional path is below or south of the stream and has two cross paths which bisect the open space even more. I have seen go-kart tracks with more open space. Seeking an explanation for this unnecessary path beyond use as a midway, the Park Director said I would have to ask his landscape consultant. Ironically in 2005, the Trexler Trust hired the prestigious firm of Gannett Fleming to study the Allentown Park System. Their conclusion on page 30 of a 143 page report:

The City’s reputation for hosting major regional events is unparalleled, However, too many of the activities are placed in the same limited locations within the City. This exerts excessive impacts on a few parks and their adjacent neighborhoods.... Lessen the impact of holding several major events at Cedar Creek Park

Cedar Creek Park, as we know it, is essentially being destroyed by Pawlowski and Weitzel. I don't blame them, they have no ties to the area or knowledge of parks. The dereliction of duty by the Trexler Trust is unforgivable. The plan clearly violates the
conclusions reached in the very study they sponsored. Stewardship of the park system is their primary mandate; Shame on them. Shame on Friends of the Allentown Parks. Shame on the Environmental Advisory Council. Shame on the Rose Garden Neighborhood Association. Enjoy your Go-Kart track, I remember when it was a nationally recognized park.

The Monster's Bounty

The Parking Authority, beside the prison, is the only growth industry in Allentown. Donny Cunningham, who is a little Eddie Rendell in training pants, wants some of the monster's loot. The Authority writes over 100,000 tickets a year, mostly to low income center city residents and hapless shoppers trying to patronize Hamilton Street. Although most pay at gestapo headquarters, and the rest get burped in district court, constables chase down the remaining 25%. Constables are mostly paid out of costs put on the defendant's bill. Don Bureaucrat Cunningham inserted a clause in his new budget to hire more County Deputies to collect this $1.7 million dollars, earning about $360k in fee's. In an article in today's Morning Call by Robert Orsenstein, Constable Association President Thomas Impink is quoted about the irony of some governments privatizing functions to save money, while Lehigh County seeks to take over something already privatized. Cunningham will hire five new Deputies, although Constables pay their own insurance and support staff. Although those opposed to this scheme will have to make their feelings known very quickly to County Commissioners, there is an opportunity today to confront The Monster itself.

Craig Friebolin asks all citizens of common sense and fairness to join him today at 4:00 pm as he confronts the Parking Authority at its Board Meeting, 10th and Hamilton Streets.

The Blogger

We here in the Valley are blessed to have the THE BLOGGER EXTRAORDINAIRE to both inform and conform us. Tirelessly attending one meeting after another, five nights a week at the midnight hour he bestows praise upon the deserving and criticism upon the weak. Bending the truth like putty, faster than a speeding Lanta Bus, all opposing comments are dismissed as non sequiturs, personal attacks and off topic.......to be continued

OPEN MIKE

This posting is intended to provide an opportunity to comment on any topic, or on an earlier posting.

Getting Carpentered

There are many politico's who would rather not hear Paul Carpenter's voice on the other end of the phone. A few told me in the past they hoped not to be "Carpentered", meaning they didn't know if they would end up being flattered or battered until they got the morning paper. Carpenter has been kind towards me; He defended me against a NAACP official who implied my 2005 Platform contention that Allentown has become a poverty magnet was racist. My efforts to have the WPA stone structures put on the park department repair agenda were accomplished by the publicity his article generated. Today, Tony Phillips benefited from his perspective. Carpenter believes Tony's right to privacy was abused. His point of view is not much different than O'Hares, but Carpenter doesn't defend Tony by personally bashing those who feel differently. Although the news staff at The Morning Call has been reduced to a skeleton crew, thankfully, both Bill White and Paul Carpenter have been retained; That is, unless I end up in White's Hall of Fame, or get Carpentered.

Parking Authority Preys On Poor

Although the shopping district in Allentown has shrunk down to only Hamilton and 7th Streets, the meter district remains as it did during the heydays of the 1950's. The meters extend from Walnut to Chew, from 5th to 10th, well over 1000 meters in 20 sq. blocks. Parking meters extend out to 10th and Chew Sts, three full blocks beyond the closest store.* These meters are a defacto penalty for the residents, mostly tenants. In essence, it is a back door tax on Allentown's poorest citizens. The apologists claim the tenants can purchase a resident meter pass, however their friends and visitors cannot. To add insult to injury, in 2005, to help finance a new parking deck for the arts district, the Parking Authority doubled the meter rate and fines. Testimony to City Council permitting the rate increase indicated it was favored by the merchants. At that time I documented to the Council that in fact the merchants were not informed, much less in favor. The vote was 5 to 2, with Hershman and Hoover dissenting
* I used the above copy on my posting of October 3, 2007. In the past several weeks the Parking Authority finally removed the meters in the 900 block of Chew St, 50 years beyond their legitimate need.

There's a new thorn in the side of the Parking Authority, his name is Craig Friebolin, and here's his message


Come One, Come All! To what may just be the greatest show on earth! The Wednesday September 23, 2009 - Allentown Parking Authority Board Meeting at 4pm! I'll be there (with a few others) to amaze and astound you! It will be a board meeting like none you've witnessed before! Chock-full of News Worthy information the general public WANTS TO KNOW! While it may not be the Jerry Springer Show; Tempers will Flare and that always makes for entertaining news, right?

More Parlor Tricks by O'Hare

The blog dispute occurring between Bernie O'Hare and myself will certainly not be one of the posts which I repeat in a year or so, it's somewhat embarrassing. However, it is necessary for me to use this venue to set the record straight; Bernie now declares not only was my post of last week on Tony Phillips mean spirited, but I'm dancing on Phillip's grave. Over at O'Hare's blog we go back and forth; me explaining how Bernie double talks and him double talking, until we reached the banned in Boston stage; Bernie announced he will delete my replies, so here's the rest of the debate;

Bernie O'Hare said...
LVCI,

In Pennsylvania, assault includes the battery. In Pa., a person is guilty of assault if he attempts to cause or intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another. Even if there is mutual consent, it is an assault.

Police filed no charges. I do not have the police report. From everything I've read, I'm unable to conclude that Tony was guilty of assault. It seems more like self-defense, pushing someone away who launches an assault herself.

Bernie O'Hare said...
LVCI, There is nothing in Jarrett's account that leads me to conclude there was an assault. If someone attacks you and you push the person away, that is NOT an assault. That's why Tony was never charged. Bethlehem police, and many of our local police departments, take allegations of domestic abuse quite seriously.

2:13 PM


Here is what Jarrett Renshaw actually wrote in The Morning Call Sept. 16th

During the investigation, Lopez repeatedly insisted that she was not interested in filing charges and that she just wanted Phillips to pay her medical bills, the police report states.
Police talked to Phillips and he claimed Lopez was physically aggressive with him and she pushed him and then he pushed her to the floor, according to the police report.
Bethlehem Detective Mark DiLuzio said Tuesday the incident is listed on the police report as a simple assault. He said no arrest was ever made.
"We are reopening the investigation because the victim said all she wanted was Phillips to pay her medical records, which he never did." Diluzio said.*

It is not my purpose to print the above news report to rehash this incident between Phillips and the woman, but to show the hypocrisy of O'Hare, who routinely presents distortions as facts rather than concede an error on his part, and accuses anybody who points this out of attacking him.

The biggest damage to Tony in the blogosphere wasn't from my blog, it was from O'Hare. His absurd distortions and contradictions ended up keeping the topic on the front burner all week.

* The Morning Call reported this morning that the Phillips will not face simple assault charges because the statute of limitations has expired.

New Graveside Tears

In August of 08, after about a year of blogging on conditions at Fairview, The Morning Call ran the story shown above. I did manage to organize a small meeting between the cemetery operators and the public later that fall. Yesterday I received the following comment, submitted to a posting from that period.

Patti from California has left a new comment on your post "New Graveside Tears":

My family is buried at Fairview and 2 weeks ago I visited and was appalled at the horrible conditions and total lack of maintenance throughout the cemetery. I have been trying to reach Loretta or David most of the summer and was told they had taken an extended trip out of the country. (business must be good) They seem to be back now - but still no way to actually talk to them.

My mother is 97 - plans to be buried there with her parents and my Dad. I could cry at the thought ....

I googled Fairview and was led to your blog. Loretta told me in May I could get our plot maintained if I invested in their endowment for $1000. After seeing the total lack of care there, I feel like I would be throwing the money away. What do other people think or do about this appalling condition?

I feel sorry for this family, Fairview may have been a well maintained place when the father was buried there many years ago. I believe the cemetery is in better condition than it was two years ago, but that's not saying very much. I will occasionally revisit this topic, to at least continue a small noise on behalf of these families.

O'Hare's Bag of Tricks

This morning when I read The Morning Call, I knew Bernie O'Hare
would be blaming everybody but Tony Phillips. Bernie keeps pulling the same tricks out of the bag. He gets away with it by pummeling the commentators who disagree, and intimating the other bloggers. Bernie is the Pope of the local blogosphere; nobody has more readers or produces more posts.

I wrote a post titled 'Stupid Is As Stupid Does', although I did question Tony's intelligence in the last line, the post itself makes a case that Tony acted stupidly, people in his camp had said the same thing, and I suspect Tony would concede as much. In the comment section I later elaborated that I don't think that Tony is stupid, but certainly did a stupid act.

Bernie so often refer to snarks, so often refers to ad hominem attacks. UNLESS THEY SERVE HIS PURPOSE. In his last three posts about Tony, here are some of the things he said about me; mean spirited, likes to kick people when their down, silly, made a stupid claim, holier than thou...

Bernie's usual reply to such criticism is that the comment is a non sequitur or off topic. In his bash anyone in his way defense of Tony, he made a distraction out of the difference between a "setup" and a "conspiracy". He justified this semantic word-game because a reporter from the Express Times pointed it out. Two days later when I commented that a columnist from The Morning Call used the "setup" expression, he mockingly asked if I thought this person was an authority?
Bernie, he's no authority, but neither are you.

In Bernie's post today he chides two other bloggers beside myself, and ends by raising the race card.

As a new guest poster on Lehigh Valley Poliblog, I considered placing this post there; but just yesterday they made peace with Bernie after a year of discord, and I don't want to upset their apple cart. Most bloggers would rather take a few shots from the Pope than challenge him, not me, I had enough.

Tony Phillips was contrite and publicly apologized. It would have been nice if Bernie let him have that dignity.

The Final Crack

Tony Phillip's candidacy suffered another crack today; The Morning Call revealed that the infamous internet chat was really with a former mistress posing as a fresh item. Although Tony tried to do some damage control, even blogger Bernie O'Hare won't be able to put him back together again. Last week Bernie took off the gloves defending Tony, accusing critics and myself of being mean spirited and worse; also not properly distinguishing between the terms "setup" and "conspiracy"!

After the previous articles Tony was already toxic. At a recently held Republican Rally he was neither present nor mentioned. There are those who feel that personal life, especially sexual, is private and should have no bearing on public officials; Tony has given them a full plate.

More Weeding, Less Talking

From the archives, July 31,2007
Allentown has a few icons, such as the PPL Tower, the 8th Street and Tilghman Street Bridges. In Europe many bridges date from the middle ages, there are even Roman bridges still in use. It seems here in Allentown we cannot even keep an 80 year old bridge together. Earlier this year County Executive Cunningham and Mayor Pawlowski had a press conference under the Tilghman Street Bridge, while on the top weeds and saplings were growing out of the road bed. The bushes and weeds are still there, on both bridges, eroding away magnificent irreplaceable structures. Lets hope these great silver tongued planners stop waiting for penn-dot, and get around to buying a bottle of weed begone.
UPDATE: When I was a kid I grew up in Lehigh Parkway South, this was a development of twin homes built for the returning GI's, the streets were named for planes built during the war; Liberator, Catalina, and Coronado.(Queen City Airport was a WW2 plane factory). Getting into the rest of Allentown was a bit inconvenient. To go downtown(Hamilton St. was the Shopping Mecca of Lehigh Valley) you would have to go over the 8th Street Bridge. To get to the east side you would go down the Lehigh Street hill, up to Union and then over the river. Getting to points west required going over the stone arch bridge near Regency Towers. Construction of the 15th Street bridge finally connected the south side with the rest of Allentown. The metal deck, which was annoying from day one, was supposed to be temporary. So here we are, fifty some years later, being told the bridge is ready to be replaced. Is there anyone in authority who remembers how difficult it was to navigate Allentown before the bridge? So now the decaying 8th Street Bridge will absorb the traffic during construction of the new 15th Street Bridge? Allentown meanwhile defers simple maintenance, like rail painting, because of promises from Harrisburg? We truly are slow learners.

UPDATE: Lipstick on a pig; Allentown now has hung banners on the 15th St. bridge lightposts, distracting drivers attention somewhat away from the rusting rails.

UPDATE: Sept. 15, 2009. The railings on the 15th St. Bridge have been painted. The Linden Street Bridge, an iconic stone arch bridge over the Jordan Creek and Historic Rail lines has been torn down. No repairs have been done to either the 8th Street or Tilghman Street Bridges. Both the silver tongues are insured of re-election. We're still slow learners.

REPRINT OF POST FROM JULY 31, 2007

Saints and Sinners

This blog has a little tabloid in it; I'm not above using a racy photograph or catchy titles. There is an interesting story in today's Morning Call* about the Rev. William Kuntze, who refused to compromise his principles over an offered contribution from the Sands Casino. Rev. Kuntze directed the New Bethany Ministry, which administers to the area needy in Bethlehem. Kuntze feels that the last thing the area poor need is to lose their money in a casino, and was an opponent of the casino project. Seems that the Casino offered to donate $7,500 to New Bethany, and that the board President wanted to accept the money, hence Kuntze's resignation.

Las Vegas is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States; as such they have school boards, churches and all normal facets of community life dependent upon the revenue stream from the casino industry. Surfing the net for a photograph for this blog, I even came across the Vegas Hookers for Jesus(not photo used). In submitting his resignation Rev. Kuntze said "In my view, our hands should remain clean."

I'm personally not against gambling (I don't gamble), nor do I think Las Vegas is sinful, but I do admire the Rev. Kuntze for his refusal to rationalize compromises to his integrity.

* http://www.mcall.com/news/all-a1_4newbeth.7019290sep12,0,7465212.story

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

This past May I conducted my fifth in a series of town hall meetings which I call Allentown Speak Out. This one concentrated on the parks and Bicentennial Field. With 30 plus people in attendance, I asked Tony Phillips what he could do for us; he replied that we should organize and make our feelings known to City Council. I told him that we are the public, he represents us, and that he should take the ball. As he stood blankly by, Michael Donovan said he would prepare a resolution. Six weeks ago he told over 70 people who attended his Park Committee Meeting, in the Council Chamber, that they should organize and make their feelings known to City Council.

Tony has made page 1 in both The Morning Call and the local blogosphere for two days in roll now. He never made the front page before, actually he has hardly made the paper at all, always promising to start his campaign in another week. Some pundits think the real issue is that he was set up; I felt it was his judgement. Today I learned that the famous conversation took place on his own campaign facebook page; now I think the issue is his intelligence.

Tough Crowd

Lately I've been thinking a lot about my mother's cousin Abe Simon. After knocking out Jersey Joe Walcott he got a shot at Louis and the title in March of 41. Louis knocked him down in the first round and Abe took the 8 count grinning. He battled Louis for the next 12 rounds. All boxing fans know he didn't win, but he did earn another shot at the title. Its not easy for a conservative to be on the Lehigh Valley Blogosphere, I'll grin and bare it and hopefully make a point or two about really improving Allentown.

REPRINTED FROM JUNE,19, 2007

King of the Gypsies

According to my mother, a Gypsy king was buried in Allentown in around 1960, she knew about such things. She was born in Galgo, Hungary, an area of Transylvania, now part of Romania, near present day Gilgau. In Galgo, the Jews and Gypsies lived on the edge of town. In the early 20's, my grandparents, along with their Gypsy neighbors, came to Bethlehem to work at the Steel. On weekends, to make extra money, my grandparents would open their house and show Hungarian movies. None of their relatives, Jew or Gypsy, save one cousin, survived the nazi's; even the cemeteries were desecrated. As you can see from the document above, my grandfather earned his citizenship the hard way.

REPRINTED FROM DEC. 23, 2007

Relics Of Our Past

One of the surviving relics of our industrial past is the right of way of former railroad spur lines. Allentown literally had hundreds of factories serviced by dozens of spur routes and rail sidings. The area between Second and Front Streets was crisscrossed with dozens of spur lines. Even the west end had service. A line ran behind the current site of B'nai B'rith Apartments, across 17 th St. and up along side of the dry-cleaners. The B'nai B'rith was the site of the former Trexler Lumber Yard, which burned to the ground in a spectacular fire in the mid 70's; The heat from the fire could be felt in West Park. The rails and ties are gone, long ago sold to scrap yards. In many cases the space occupied by the right of ways can still be seen to the knowing eye. They appear as alleys which were never paved. Here and there a surviving loading dock provides another clue. Show in this photo from 1939 are the Mack Truck factories on S. 10th Street, now part of the Bridgeworks Complex. Here the components for Mack Trucks were manufactured. The parts were then trucked to the Assembly Plant (5C) located on S. 12 Street, right off of Lehigh Street. "Built Like A Mack Truck" became a figure of speech across America. It was a prouder time than the lyrics from Billy Joe; little did we know that things could get worse.

Beating World's Smallest Horse

Last night I attended the fair. This morning's Morning Call has a feature called Midway Callaway. It's about making cotton candy while wearing rubber gloves, putting it into a plastic bag and selling it behind a glass window. Brian (Callaway), that's not cotton candy, that's not a food joint, it's not even a midway. What I saw last night, despite perfect weather, was a sparse crowd on a sterile strip with glass and formica food trucks.

The night I took the attached photo, in the early 70's, music blasted from the hoochy-koochy shows. Andre the Giant easily defeated his opponent and Willie Restum held court outside the Beer Garden. Generations of Allentonians would gather once a year for a community reunion. I hope somehow there's still more to the fair than my aging eyes can see, and that today's children can still make a tradition out of it's current incarnation.

photocredit: stage on midway outside Hoochy-Koochy Show, Allentown Fair, early 70's, by molovinsky

An Unauthorized Interview

There is a nice little authorized interview with Greg Weitzel, Director of Parks, on Andrew Kleiner's blog. (www.rememberkleiner.blogspot.com) Here is an unauthorized one, maybe even worse. This morning at the Rose Garden, after Weitzel generously afforded me some time, he asked if our conversation would be on my blog, I made a gesture indicating it would not. Although I meant my answer at the time, as I drove back to the bunker where this blog is created, his words kept repeating in my reluctant mind. I say reluctant, because it was my intention to decompress for a few days with my historic type postings on Allentown's better days. Upon reflection, I found Weitzel's words need some discussion; maybe sort of an unsolicited reality check for him and a flag for us.

Weitzel claimed that the Rose Garden neighbors are delighted with the improvements in the garden, and that their property value will increase because of it. He stated he can prove property values go up with improved parks, citing several studies. MR. WEITZEL, PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THE ALLENTOWN ROSE GARDEN WAS MAGNIFICENT, AND YOU COULD NEVER IMPROVE ON IT. It was my hope, and all of us who rallied to defend this gem of Allentown, that your plans didn't destroy the classic ambience that people have been coming to admire for 80 years. Please try to understand that any study or statistic you could cite does not apply to Allentown's Rose Garden, and it's surrounding beautiful neighborhood. It makes me very nervous that you cannot differentiate between the iconic Allentown Park System and the generalizations citied in your college textbook. Do yourself a favor, and don't tell the neighbors that you have improved their property values, you will only peeve them off.

The Mighty Atom

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 FROM AUG. 24, 2007

The King has Abdicated

In 1958 my father had a food stand at the fair. It took him about an hour to realize you can not sell hot dogs in the King's back yard; Yocco, the hot dog king. When Yocco's claimed last year they were not at the fair because their canvas ripped, I was skeptical. This year it's official, they have abdicated their spot. Tonight the fair was jammed. In Ag Hall the granges still compete in vegetable canning. A wiseguy still incites you to dunk him. The world's smallest horse hasn't grown. Maybe Yocco's is gone, but the fair is still much more like 1958 than any other aspect of Allentown.

REPRINTED FROM AUG.28, 2007

Conclusion Of Water Thieves

GUEST POST BY ROB HAMILL
-Percy Dougherty is the chairman of the Lehigh County Commisioners. He has a PHD in geology and hydrology, and knows the Little Lehigh Aquifer probably better than anyone. From conversations, he is appalled by the well drilling on the banks of the Little Lehigh, calling the location, the worst possible from a stream health point of view. He calls the stream monitors “unnecessary as the location of the new wells are designed to specifically drain the creek, so there wouldn’t be any creek to monitor”. LCA finds it cheaper to drill two huge wells next to the creek, than to drill less productive wells that won’t drain the creek. He is a big proponent of using as much of the plentiful Allentown water as possible and as little Lower Macungie well water as possible. My favorite quote of his is, “There is not a water shortage, only a distribution problem”. At this time, he doesn’t think he has enough votes on the board to rescind the LCA charter and roll the responsibilities int o a Lehigh County controlled public entity. This would allow the county to plan for smarter growth, and actually allow our planning and zoning boards to have a say in how each township is actually planned and developed as opposed to having developers write the rules on the hunched backs of their attorneys while waving lawsuit pink slips in the face of barely paid public servants. Lehigh County could also use the $26 million in unencumbered cash that LCA is holding in its coffers for projects that might actually benefit our community.
-Delaware River Basin Commission(DRBC) is the only overseer of LCA. Their hydrologist for this area confirmed to me that in the Little Lehigh Aquifer, “groundwater and surface water are closely related, there is not a big separation of the two due to the permeable nature of this Karst aquifer”. This statement confirms that all this bottled water is directly draining our creek. Since the DRBC is located in Trenton, the patronage job board could seemingly care less where the water comes from, even if the wells are directly under and draining the stream. They seemed to ignore legal precedence that the wells should do no environmental harm. During the Dec 10th well hearing and approval, they only cared about the quantity produced, probably because their main preoccupation is with the location of the salt water line on the lower Delaware River. Anyway, with the head l egal counsel for the DRBC recusing himself from any LCA business at the hearing due to a conflict of interest; the doorway for LCA to be a friend to the bottlers and an enemy of the residents became easier.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
There are ways of putting pressure on LCA to serve the citizens over the special interests. The most direct would be to put a referendum up for vote in Lehigh County to end the LCA entity and roll the responsibilities to the County, who would have some political responsibility. This would involve a signature campaign to get it on the ballot which would be an effort, but doable.
Contacts could be made to the Lehigh County Commissioners to take control of LCA. Percy Dougherty is the Chair, while Andy Roman could put this on committee discussion. The County has a multi-million dollar shortfall this year, so the $26 million in LCA coffers is a great incentive.
Don Cunningham could appoint some LCA board members that are not there to just get along but to guard against the type of leadership that got us into this mess in the first place. He should take some heat here, as he was directly involved in bringing in the bottlers with no way of supplying the water needed. Why he didn’t lean on LCA to buy Allentown water in the first place is beyond me.
The Delaware River Basin Commission board members should hear from citizens concerned about the water abuse taking place in Lehigh County. Congress oversees the DRBC, so contact could be made with Charlie Dent to find out how to put real teeth in actual laws that are not enforced by the DRBC.
Governor Rendell recently attended a Renew Lehigh Valley meeting with one of our Lower Macungie supervisors, Deana Zosky and expressed interest in the plight of our water issues. He could direct the Dept of Environmental Protection at the state level to actually enforce current law without the need for expensive citizen lawsuits against the always big pocketed special interests.
Finally, The LCA holds bi-monthly meetings that are open to citizen input. Tell your concerns, an d stand your ground. Encourage Mr Arndt to retire and be replaced with someone with common sense and a respect for our residents. This is our community. The power of a right idea, well presented, with determined follow through, can change our little slice of the world. LCA needs to come to grasp with this decade and century.


GUEST POST BY ROB HAMILL

NOTE BY ADMINISTRATOR: Rob Hamill has been waging practically a one man defense of the Little Lehigh. It's not easy to go against Cunningham, the County and Coca-Cola; we owe him our gratitude, michael molovinsky

ADDENDUM: This article was reprinted courtesy of THE LEHIGH VALLEY COMMENTATOR, a subscription based alternative paper covering national and local issues. inquiries to P.O. Box 596, Emmaus, Pa. 18049

Water Thieves In Our Community

GUEST POST BY ROB HAMILL, PART 1

In the Winter edition #5 of the L.V. commentator, we broke a story about Lehigh County Authority’s(LCA) plan to drain the Little Lehigh Creek for the benefit of the bottling plants in Fogelsville. The story outlined the very real harm in using wells located in the upper headwater aquifer of the Little Lehigh Creek for massive (4 million gallons per day) withdrawals to feed the water bottlers. This is in addition to the LCA force feeding water hookups since 1966 to every single developer of any sort in Lehigh County through legalized bullying and strong arm tactics.
We have had one of the wettest Junes on record, and LCA put us in a state of residential water emergency, because they refused to cut back the bottlers from taking an extra 3 million gallons per day over the last 2 years.
Think of a government body with no controlling authority and no political ramifications of any action no matter how outrageous and generally harmful to the residents- you have LCA in a nutshell. Here’s our follow up six months later.

THE PLAYERS
-Nestle, Coke, and Niagara are the beneficiaries of the water promised. They have set up bottling operations all over the country, and they are quite good at going through the loopholes for getting bottled water from communities. There is a local “commercial water advisory board” that could recommend the bottlers use less water, but because Mr Arndt appointed a representative from each of the bottlers and nobody else, there is little chance that they will give up any water “rights”. They feel it might be better if dust comes out of residential faucets than to cut back their usage. If you go to Wal Mart in Trexlertown, you can buy water bottles whose listed source is “Lehigh County Authority”, they advertise the bottles as “Great Value”. Maybe our residents could buy a few cases to water their plants without breaking this summer’s LCA water rationing law. Trout in the Little Lehigh might benefit from a bunch of water bottles thrown into the creek too, after all it would just be giving a little back from what is taken.
-Aurel Arndt, the long term head of LCA, promised this bottling plant water back before 2006. This was just before Mr Arndt asked Allentown to subsidize water to the bottlers at a substantial cost to the city. This was justifiably rejected by Allentown, so Mr Arndt stormed out saying~ “Fine, we drill wells then”. This left us residents and our natural resources at the wrong end of a hissy fit by a completely unreasonable LCA head. The benefit of using Allentown water is that there is so much of it, and it is by far the most environmentally friendly option, in that you are not using stream headwater water.
In a recent LMT meeting Mr Reiss asked Mr Arndt (1)who his boss was and (2)who owned the water under LMT? The telling answer was (1)the captive customers were his boss and (2)the commonwealth owns the water under our feet ~(AND I, Mr Arndt, SPEAK FOR THE COMMONWEALTH
Mr Arndt has a long history of pushing public water and sewer relentlessly with no regard for anything else other than the cheapest way to expand his empire. It is as if he sees no difference between the go go 1960’s and the overbuilt, overtaxed, burdened, community we have now. He sees nothing wrong with turning Lower Macungie from a sleepy rural community into the fastest growing municipality in the state because he connected all the developments with water and sewer, and forced the developers, through economics, to build high density developments. Last year, during an expansion of the sewer to western Lehigh County (to service the bottlers), LCA condemned 3 farms rather than using an existing right of way along a railroad track, because it was cheaper. When I publicly objected to this, a few days later, an LCA truck was 4-wheeling in my vernal pools next to the creek under the guise of “checking the sewer line”.
During a recent lot line adjustment that I did on my farm, LCA tried to force me to put another 1600 foot water line down the spine of my property, and in the process, remove a working century old cistern, destroy a standing and viable 250 year old barn, and remove a shed. Luckily the LMT planning commission realized the illegal and reprehensible LCA tactic and sided with me. I objected to the new wells at LMT this past winter along with objecting to the DRBC at the Dec 10th meeting, and a letter to the editor. What is unnerving is that there is no boss above Mr Arndt.
-Mr Cunningham sent his henchpeople to every Lower Macungie meeting on the well issue to give support to the well drilling. Ms Feinberg was quoted last winter as saying ~”We could throw some trout in the (seasonal drainage ditch) Little Lehigh” (when the wells have dried up one of the most prolific limestone trout streams in the state). When the LMT supervisors saw they couldn’t stop the wells, but only put in wellhead and stream protective measures; Mr Cunningham’s staff member, was seemingly overheard saying in a boisterous tone,~ “Well we bitchslapped the treehuggers good this time”. Mr Cunningham can appoint new people to the LCA board of directors, but his staff doesn’t give anyone interested in preserving a famous cold water trout hatchery any hope. I guess mechanized bottlers are more important than fly fisherman, the beautiful riparian ecosystem, Lehigh Parkway picnickers or City of Allentown drinking water users(after, of course, the Little Lehigh has completed its flow). Isn’t a free flowing Little Lehigh Creek the greatest natural gift we can leave our children? Why are we playing Russian Roulette with a potential devastating dry-up of the Little Lehigh? Why did Mr Cunningham back the bottlers over our citizens?

PART 1 OF GUEST POST BY ROB HAMILL

Best By Test

Growing up in Little Lehigh Parkway, now called Little Lehigh Manor by the Realtors, the milkman was an early morning fixture. Almost every house had the insulated aluminum milkbox. The milk trucks were distinctive, and the drivers wore a uniform, indicative of their responsibility. Freeman's milk was the best by test, or so the slogan said. Their trucks were red and immaculate. The dairy building still stands, a quarter block north of 13th and Tilghman Streets. They competed with a giant, Lehigh Valley Co-Operative Farmers. That dairy, on the Allentown/Whitehall border, just north of the Sumner Avenue Bridge on 7th Street, even sported an ice cream parlor. Milk, up to the mid 50's, came in a bottle. The milkman would take the empties away when delivering your fresh order. In addition to white and chocolate, they produced strawberry milk in the summer. About once a week the milkman would knock on the door to settle up; times have changed.

Occasionally the bottle, and later the cartoons, would feature themes and advertisements. A picture of Hopalong Cassidy would entertain young boys as they poured milk into their Corn Flakes. Earlier, during the War, (Second World) bottles would encourage customers to do their part; buy a bond or scrap some metal for the war effort.

Greg Weaver Art Scene

For about ten years, mid 70's to 80's, Allentown was graced with a one man art machine. Greg Weaver studied at Carnegie Mellon and then returned to the Valley to become artist, promoter and inspiration to dozens of local artists. His large studios, which moved from one low rent location to another over the years, became hubs for innovation and social activity. He was very prolific with his work, and generous with his encouragement. A typical monthly bash involved perhaps a poster by Mark Beyer( now an internationally known underground comic) performance by a jazz group such as Gary Hassey,(Greg also had a band) and perhaps a new showing by a local artist, such as Barnaby Ruhe. The loft parties were always mobbed, by many of the same people who now attend the Museum social events. This art "scene" cost the taxpayers nothing, it was done by artists, and it was real. Greg suffered from diabetes, and eventually lost his sight. Although blind he continued to produce art and inspire people until his death. Several of his works are in the Allentown Museums' permanent collection and his memory is in the hearts' of his friends. The image here is from Mark Beyer, representing an invitation to a Weaver event.

A Trained Seal

Although the Wildlands Conservancy is supposedly concerned about the stream health of the Little Lehigh, I haven't heard anything from them about the County's plan to drill two wells next to the creek in Lower Macugnie. Residents of Western Lehigh County, while pumping out their basements from all the rain, are under a water usage restriction. As they watch their garden's rot from the excessive rainfall, they may well wonder what the heck is going on? According to Rob Hamill, writing in The Lehigh Valley Commentator*, the answer can be found in three words; Nestle, Coke and Niagara. These water bottling operations, encouraged to open by Don Cunningham in 2006, have the potential to suck the County dry. Although an agreement for excess water with The City of Allentown was reached, the County is still proceeding with the wells next to the headwaters of the creek. These two wells have the potential to radically lower the water level, threatening the trout population and downstream flow. Sarah Fulton reports in today's Morning Call that the County Commissioners, after granting permission to dig the wells, wants a monitoring program to protect the creek. Apparently Rob Hamill is doing as a citizen what the Wildland Conservancy should be doing as an organization, fighting for the health of the creek. The Conservancy, like a trained seal getting an occasional fish, (grants from the city and county) say such things are not their "focus".

The Lehigh Valley Commentator, P.O. Box 596, Emmaus,Pa. 18049

Park And Shop

Downtown Allentown boomed for about 100 years. During the prosperity years following World War II, the two car family emerged. Several business leaders of Allentown realized both the parking problem and the potential to enhance sales. Park and Shop was begun by Harvey Farr, Donald Miller and John Leh. The current small parking deck at 10th and Hamilton, above the Parking Authority Office, was the first deck in the country. To make the parking lots, shown in the postcard above, houses were purchased and torn down. Merchants would stamp the parking tickets, providing free or reduced cost parking. As the suburban shopping malls eventually eroded the commerce on Hamilton Street, both Hess Brothers and Lehs competed with the mall convenience by building their own connecting parking decks.

As the viability of the Park And Shop enterprise declined, The Allentown Parking Authority was conveniently formed, and it purchased the lots.

Although business hardly still exists on Hamilton Street, The Parking Authority, through demonic enforcement, has become a growth industry. Because of the converted apartments, and our one car per person society, parking remains an issue in center city. Unfortunately, the current Administration has prevailed upon The Parking Authority to sell several essential neighborhood lots to a contractor for new housing.

Although the gentlemen mentioned in this article profited from their influence, they always provided solutions for the betterment of the community. They seemed to belong to a bygone era.

Apology to Pawlowski and Weitzel

In the previous post I accuse Pawlowski and Weitzel of switching words, but building the same structure. A visit to the Garden reveals that they have indeed scaled back the plan and are building a curved stone trestle type construction in it's place. For the sake of pride, I would have liked to just apologize as an addendum on the previous post, but decency required more.

Administration Minces Words

The Boardwalk hucksters selling vegematic choppers would have been proud of Pawlowski and Weitzel last week. They convinced the citizens and media that they heard the people and modified the plans. Weitzel droned on for 45 minutes with his power point about the living document known as the Cedar Park Plan Phrase 1. Plans for the Wedding Arbor continue, there never was a Wedding Pavilion per se. They accomplished this bait and switch by limiting the public input to three minutes. In reply to my inquiry about the Arbor, after Weitzel paused for thirty seconds twice on my time, they gave the two dimensional front measurements illustrated by the drawing, and simply omitted the depth.

This evening City Council meets to approve grants for the restaurant in the Butz Building. Although the Council keeps repeating that there is nothing they can do about the park at this time, I think I know a way to bring Pawlowski back to the (restaurant) table about that (flexible living) park plan.

ADDENDUM: In the Mayor's recent letter to the westenders, he now refers to the wedding structure as an arbor, however, the accompanying drawing taken from earlier promotional material labels the same structure as the wedding pavilion. Last week, although he told Council and the citizens the wedding pavilion was dropped, he merely changed the structure's title.
address for letter; http://www.allentownpa.gov/Portals/0/files/Parks_Recreation/cedar-creek-renovations/CC%20MASTER%20PLANV4w.pdf

Jerry and the Cookie Lady

I'd usually pull in around 6:30 a.m., Jerry had the coffee made and maybe a deputy sheriff or two had already arrived. Downtown is nice in the early morning, most of the unsavory characters are not early risers. Jerry had opened the coffee and cold sandwich shop in around 2004 in the 500 Block of Hamilton Street. By 7:30 several City Councilmen, a few cops, a couple of gadflies and other assorted early morning types would be pontificating on solutions for Allentown. It sure didn't hurt Allentown to have twenty or so gainfully employed people start their day on Hamilton Street. Jerry had started his shop the old fashion way, with his own money. Toward the end of 2005, to accommodate several customers, Jerry made a few eggs on a flat George Forman Grill. Come 2006, the new regime insisted on a code compliant grill, exhaust and fire suppression system, for a couple eggs; The necessary architectural drawings alone would cost thousands. Because his location in the building didn't lend itself to a feasible exhaust system, Jerry was forced to relocate. Again, totally with his own money, Jerry moved his shop up to the corner of 7th and Hamilton. I'll spare all the details, but he could have built a nuclear reactor with no more bureaucracy. Jerry will never recoup his investment (his life savings) because the city closed the building in 2008 because of violations on upper floors which were not in use. That abuse of power is chronicled on several posts on this blog.

Vicky, the cookie lady, opened her very small shop about the same time the city was forcing Jerry out of business. Her shop, Vicky's Sweet Spot, opened in a building operated by one developer who received multiple facade grants from the city. These locations are easily identifiable from the same appearance, stained wood fronts. Although Vicky's shop is only about 250 sq. ft., only sold coffee and cookies, she received a $10,000 restaurant grant from The City of Allentown. Her grant and other similar ones are chronicled on several posts on this blog and of course she was introduced on Allentown Good News. I patronized her shop several times. The last time, right before she closed the business earlier this year, I noticed she was making eggs on a small grill.

I shouldn't have to elaborate on the conclusions, but there are so many apologists in this city, let me spell it out. One man invests his life savings, works his butt off, and gets nothing but grief from City Hall. Another person gets set up for a free ride at taxpayer expense. Vicky's, even after first opening, kept irregular hours and was often closed. I doubt if the whole show; rent, equipment, etc. used up the 10 grand; maybe that's why she called it the Sweet Spot.

Silence of the Lanta

Hannibal Lecter has been offered parole on the condition he restrict his diet to Hamilton Street bus riders. Once a month he will be permitted an Asian merchant; on thanksgiving he may have a preselected blogger. Mr. Lector will be micro-chipped and given a new Hamilton Street loft apartment. He will be monitored by the new surveillance cameras. Mayor Pawlowski and Armand Greco will provide more details at a press conference early next week at the new Lanta Terminal.

Reprinted from Oct. 20, 2007

The Promised Playground

Creating a playground as a destination for children with special needs is an enormous responsibility. In different posts on this blog I have mentioned some of the issues. I had also privately contacted several members of City Council with these concerns in more detail. That debate is over, but there is one danger which by conscience I must discuss. The City is encouraging cycling on the paths and roads. Fast moving bicycles near that playground is not a good idea. Last night Weitzel mentioned that the path in Trexler Park is wider than the one to be paved in Cedar Park. Actually, Allentownians of memory know that the "path" in Trexler Park was a one way road. About 20 years ago there was a tragic collision between a bike and a walker. The path in Cedar Park will only be 6 to 8 ft. wide, yet it will include a bike lane; I'm afraid that's an accident waiting to happen. I know of no reason to pave the path other than to facilitate cycling. Praying that they won't propose widening the path, and knowing that current conservation guidelines recommend against paving, perhaps we can save the gavel and keep the path safe for walkers.

Now that I'm older, by 12 hours, let me be somewhat conciliatory toward City Council. Michael D'Amore headed the effort to use the park grants throughout the park system, instead of concentrating all the Tupperware in Cedar Park. Jeanette Eichenwald persisted on the citizen's right to speak at the previous Council Meeting. Michael Donovan publicly conceded that Council should have done better with the Park Plan and has introduced legislation for future guidelines.

Last night as I approached the podium, I considered introducing myself as Michael MisInformation. It's sad that Allentown has been reduced to labeling those of us who ask questions as obstacles to moving forward. Although a Councilperson or two thought the crowd was a positive sign of participation and democracy, over half in attendance had no familiarity what so ever with the issues. When Weitzel said the "improvements" will enhance pride in the park, and result in less litter and need for maintenance, there was audible laughter. Pawlowski may have thought it was a good night for them, I don't think it was.

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

Last night, outside the jammed City Council Chamber, I could hear the fat lady singing from her secret location. Upon arriving I had navigated my way past the protesters against segregation, discrimination and for inclusion. Being the opposition poster boy, their stares lowered my body temperature 3 degrees. Inside there were 70 critics of the plan, 25 supporters, and 100 shills summoned by Pawlowski. Included in the audience were at least two members of the Trexler Mistrust. Council started out by emphasizing that at this point in the game, there was nothing they could do about the plan proceeding. As the night progressed, it was revealed that each had received a ride in a golf cart with Park Director Weitzel, and a lollipop. Weitzel brought the playground plan with him from his previous job in Lewisburg, population 5,560. Seems that there were critics there also, but after completion, the two critics agreed with the three supporters that the playground and the new Dunking Donuts finally put the borough on the map.

As a veteran of City Council's pomposity and Pawlowski's condescending demeanor, I had no surprises. It's not hard to understand why the citizen advocates for the playground, mostly mothers of children with disabilities, fought so hard. It would be better for the city if the playground was much smaller, and didn't create expectations which are probably beyond our capacity to meet. It would be better for the city if this mayor and park director were more familiar with the park system and it's long time traditions. It would be better for the city if City Council wasn't a rubber stamp and the Trexler Trust didn't start fulfilling political agenda's.

Paulette Hunter, tireless advocate for the playground, held my place in the speaker's line when I left the chamber for a minute. Allentown will go on, it's just too bad that those who would question and/or oppose policy, are characterized as disseminating misinformation.