APRIL – MAY 2020
These are some of our top stories during a time when our Facebook
page was down.
APRIL 29
Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community joins the family and
friends of Dixie Dugan White to mourn her passing and to celebrate her activist
legacy. White passed away last recently.
White was a pioneering activist for feminist and LGBT
causes. She was an activist with LeHiHo in the 1970s and then became the
director of the AIDS Services Center of the Lehigh Valley in the early days of
the HIV epidemic. Photo:
In September 2011, Dixie Dugan White received the “Best Overall Backyard
Habitat” award from Bethlehem’s Environmental Advisory Committee. At the time,
White owned a home on the south side of Bethlehem and had created a backyard
garden that provided food, a place that attracted wildlife, and quiet space she
called her own “peaceful little heaven.” Press photo by Dana Grubb
Graphic commentary by Ed Courrier
MAY 6
Before March of this year, when was the last time
any of us had to concern ourselves with how and where we would be able to
purchase a mask, aside from Halloween season? Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE) was usually easily obtainable for those in the medical field and
surgical-style masks were available for bulk purchase through a number of
retailers, both online and in person. Photo: Ruth Dennison at her sewing
machine in her home. She compares the efforts of her 2,000 volunteer sewers to
that of Bethlehem Steel’s manufacturing during World War II, when it operated
as the nation’s top military contractor.
By Chris Haring
For more than 30 years, Project Hope of Easton has provided a
winter holiday dinner for some 600 persons in need in the Lehigh Valley. This
spring, the 501(c)(3) charity is expanding its efforts to feed the hungry in
the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Project
Hope is helping provide food to families with children now unable to access
lunches through the Easton and Wilson schools that closed last month. The new program provides weekly pizzas and
meals to those with vouchers that are given out at local shelters and food
pantries Photo: Project Hope Board of
Directors Co-chair Judy Walker inspects boxes of gifts to be given out at the
nonprofit’s last year’s annual Christmas dinner and party for needy
families. She is now overseeing a new
project to feed school children and their families during the COVID-19
pandemic.
By Carole Gorney
MAY 13
The week of May 4
through 8 is traditionally celebrated at Teacher Appreciation Week, and
although challenged by the ongoing pandemic and associated restrictions, the
administrators, parents, students, and community partners of BASD showed their
gratitude in many ways.
Photo: Two Fountain
Hill ES siblings share a handmade poster thanking their teachers. The tiger
represents beloved mascot Fountain Hill Phil.
By Theresa O’Brien
Realtors are out of work right now due to
the governor’s order. Under the order, realtors are not considered essential
workers. Some may find this strange, as shelter is definitely considered a
necessity. Realtor Lucy Lennon of
Morganelli Properties shares her experiences during the panemic. “It’s hard
to say from year to year how a market differs – coronavirus or not –
because of market conditions,” she says. “This year started off much busier
than last. In March alone I had over a half dozen closings and a handful of
rentals. Then the governor shut us down and it all came to a stop. Now we are
all at a standstill. Photo: “We don’t just ‘show’ houses,”
says Realtor Lucy Lennon. “We guide you through probably one of the biggest
purchases you will ever make.”
By
Lani Goins
MAY
20
President Donald Trump
made his first visit to the Lehigh Valley as president May 14 to tour the Owens
& Minor Inc. medical supply distribution center, 7437 Industrial Blvd.,
Upper Macungie Township. During a live-stream video on the White House Web
page, Trump discussed increasing the Strategic National Stockpile, coronavirus
testing and state reopening plans. Speaking against a backdrop of boxes
of protective gowns, Trump addressed an audience of several dozen employees
wearing neon-colored T-shirts, sitting at least 6 feet apart and wearing masks.
Trump did not wear a mask. Photo Air Force One lifts off from ABE International
Airport at the end of a presidential visit to the Lehigh Valley.
By Sarit Laschinsky Photo
by Scott Nagy
Tall trees, radiant
flowers, pleasant music – the scene at Bethlehem’s Rose Garden is one to take
in and enjoy. As you stroll through the peaceful grounds, there are a variety
of interesting memorials and monuments to observe. One such monument stands to honor the young
men and women of Bethlehem’s West Side who served in World War II. You can find
it along Eighth Avenue facing Nitschmann MS. The movement to erect this
particular memorial was started by the West Side Republican Club and the work
was carried out by the Bethlehem West Side Plaque Committee, chaired by Frank
A. Bilheimer.
By Jason Rehm
MAY 27
You see it on television – small businesses closing their doors
due to the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the nation. But it only happens in those
other places, not your own neighborhood and not to someone who has become a
friend to the community. This friend, Dave Soska, owner of Allentown Bethlehem
Goose, formerly Allentown Goose, was one of the first to say “yes” when a gift
certificate was needed for a community fundraiser. Yet when his business needed
assistance due to COVID-19, help did not arrive. Soska decided to close his
business the first week of April. Photo: The Allentown/Bethlehem Goose, 2501
Willow Park Road, Bethlehem, has closed permanently due to COVID-19.
By Deb Galbraith
While Willow Haven Farm and its farm store are located in New
Tripoli, they have an ordering program that delivers in the Lehigh Valley, and
also offer a farm share program, called a CSA, which delivers to pick-up
locations in Bethlehem and elsewhere. Tessa
DeMaster and her husband Reuben run the farm along with their children. The
farm share program grew substantially this year, in part by plan, and in part
by circumstances. Photo: Tessa and her husband Reuben own Willow Haven
Farm, 7686 Herber Road, New Tripoli, and run it with their family. The farm has
been in Tessa’s family for generations.
By Lani Goins
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