Lehigh Landing...

While visiting Bucky Boyle Park this summer, I happened to continue walking past the park. I walked towards the America on Wheels museum and through an urban wasteland of the graying ghosts that were last filled with the work of business years ago. This area has been the subject of proposed renovations for years and the most recent being the erection of a minor-league hockey arena. There has not been much news related to that possible construction in some time and it certainly has caused me to wonder if it is ever going to happen.




This wasteland is located between Bucky Boyle and Canal Park. Canal Park is on the other side of the river but is easily visible, especially across the lookout at the museum. On the opposite side of the Hamilton Street Bridge is an open section of rock and grass that is not considered a city park but could, in this writer’s opinion, be easily incorporated into Canal Park with a footbridge and ultimately connected through greenways all the way to Fountain Park. Forgive me readers, every once in awhile my eyes get a little dewy and I am blind in the sight of possibility. It doesn’t take long for the blinks of reality in this city to clear them up. All around this wasteland, in the absence of humanity the presence of pioneer species indicates just how long this area has been abandoned.


On a summer afternoon, the humid quiet seemed startling considering I was in downtown and it was mid-day. It felt as if no one was there, that no one had ever been there and that the disintegrating buildings were simply always that way. This area was always silent save a car engine, a distant yell or siren. If we were to give the Lehigh Landing noise again, what noise should it be given?


Should it be a hockey arena and upscale development? Should it be a more expansive area of environmentally fit park land with educational opportunities and maybe even a café!, or some other small locally owned businesses. Who knows? Right now in December of 2009 it looks like the silence will last for a while longer and every second that silence continues is a second where another possibility, another new chance is left to go lost.

Bottom Line: Use it Allentown. Use it well. The city needs it and there is a lot of possibility there.

A Remember Update

Over the next few weeks I intend to post some stories and pictures from summer adventures that have yet to make it onto Remember. I had to skip a lot of stuff because of the never ending Cedar Beach conversation. That conversation seems as if it may continue through the last month of 2009 and long into the new months of 2010…

Today, I wanted to offer you readers the chance to ask any questions or make any statements in a roll call type of post. There have been some hot button conversations on Remember lately and I invite any reader with a valid and relative post to the topics discussed on here to make any sort of comment you want. I would also love to hear your suggestions for where you would like to see this blog go in 2010. I have some plans to visit some National Parks but I want to get a slew of Pennsylvania State Parks covered on here this year and I want to document the expanding trail systems developing on the Eastern part of our state.

I must mention here as well that I have been avoiding having to use comment moderation on this blog because I want to encourage conversation about conservation and preservation in an open fashion. There have been a sad number of spam comments of late and if they continue I will be forced to use comment moderation.

With the long cold just set to begin, I believe the winter to be an excellent time for reflection on the situations in our parks and some things that need doing inside them that have yet to be done or even proposed. This week, I will be posting about park volunteer forces across America that serve as examples of the projects that should get moving here in Allentown. I will also use this winter to attempt to drum up more support for the environmental rescue that Jordan Park, Trout Creek Parkway and Canal Park are desperately in need of.

I hope you all had a Great Thanksgiving, and thanks for reading.

Happy Thanksgiving Links

On this particular holiday, I want to thank all of you who read, comment and regularly check out my blog. This thing continues to be an adventure and as always, I am excited about where Remember is heading.

I hope you all have a nice holiday.

I'll be back Friday morning with a couple of new posts to get you through Black Friday and the turkey hangovers that linger into the weekend.

Eat well.

Happy Thanksgiving.
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From what I can tell, this site is still developing, but it is an amazing resource and the more that is added to it, the better. It is an online database of trails in Pennsylvania.

Check it out:
ExplorePaTrails.com

The video below is about Pennsylvania's D+L Trails. It is from Green Life Pennsylvania, a website chock full of outdoor activity and other "green" stories. Check out the bird tagging video as well and the Lehigh Gap Nature Center video.

I had the chance to meet Greg Huber at the Old fairgrounds clean up and he got the chance to write a great column about it. Greg is the new Allentown parks columnist for the Examiner in Philadelphia. Check out his column below:

Sharp Contrast
No good deed goes unpunished

This is a great list I found on The DCNR website. It identifies the state parks in Pennsylvania that are "must see". I was surprised to find that there are many National preservation areas here in PA. Next summer I intend to get out to alot of these places, given that PA just won a National award for best State Parks. That is, if they aren't closed...

Twenty Must See Pennsylvania Parks

This website offers loads of information about conservation programs in the state of Pennsylvania. If you have any lingering questions about native versus non-native plants and why the issue is so important, this site will answer them.
Check it Out:
Conserve Pennsylvania

A fantastic blog to check out, PA Environmental Daily is an awesome resource for environmental news in Pennsylvania. I check out this site every day. Check this blog out, it rules.

PA Environmental Daily

I think those sites should keep you interested on Thanksgiving.

At the bottom of a Canal

Allow me to begin with the now emptied canal; there exists an opportunity here that should not be allowed to get passed by. Inside the nearly dry canal, there is visible trash. Now, with the water gone, I think it is an amazing chance for a group of volunteers to get in there and clean it out before the water comes back. I would love to get this project underway myself. It certainly needs to be done but it is going to take some manpower. Here, I must congratulate Judith Ross. Ms. Ross has taken it upon herself on the Bethlehem side of the Canal to rescue the wildlife put in peril by the absent water of the canal. You are doing a great job Ms. Ross, thank you.

In all the visits I have made to Canal Park, I have never not found significant piles of dumped trash in the undergrowth. During a visit a few years ago, a picture was taken of me standing on the boat launch. Upon further observation, a dead cat was clearly visible in the water next to me. Standing on the boat launch and looking across the river yesterday, I saw this:



When I turned around, I saw this:


It is a damn shame that the Parks department has suffered the staff cuts it has. The maintenance job they do is difficult and tiresome. Our parks system is huge. It is increasingly apparent to this observer that the maligned volunteer projects of late need to increase tenfold.

On Sunday in Canal Park, the parking lot was full of huge stones which I assume are part of the breach repair:

There is no other park in the city of Allentown that is as naturally powerful than Canal Park. Steeped in history, the park now serves as a window to the state of Allentown and her parks today. Much more than that breach requires repair in Canal Park. I hope someone recognizes it soon.

The Hidden Threat in our Parks

At a city council meeting this summer, Dr. Abigail Pattishall addressed the assembled body and spoke about the benefits of Riparian Buffer restoration. She gave a thoughtful and well executed presentation but even her sage words of science could not snuff the flames of worry that some on the council had. I particularly remember Councilman Guridy being concerned about snakes. Everyone seemed to be worried about a coming plague of angry snakes bent on warfare against us in the parks.

However, knowing now that the snakes are a non issue and the battle over the plans still goes on although slightly muted, there is a growing threat in our parks that everyone needs to be made aware of.

I first caught sight of the fearsome species in Trexler Park last spring. I managed to take a quick picture before fleeing from the fearsome sight. The creature is called The Feral Bucky.

The Feral Bucky appears randomly throughout our park system and without warning. If you see deer, in their midst, you may see a Feral Bucky using the deer for cover. He goes unseen, unnoticed, silent, waiting. Here, as I journeyed through the thick vegetation of summer at Trexler Park, I was trapped as The Feral Bucky approached through the cattails.

Perhaps the most frightening aspect of the Feral Bucky’s behavior is the seeming fearlessness the species has of us. In what was a traumatizing moment for her and now after months of solitary confinement and therapy, local blogger Katie Bee has survived her encounter. You can see in this picture the ability of The Feral Bucky to mimic human behavior and blend in as if it were a human chameleon at the Lehigh Valley Zoo.

Alone on the waters of Muhlenberg Lake, The Feral Bucky landed in my paddle boat and startled, I quickly snapped a picture before The Bucky disappeared. His look of seriousness is that of a ruthless creature bent on my destruction. I was lucky to have survived.

During a disc golf game at The Parkway, the appearance of The Feral Bucky on the tenth hole quickly ended our game and sent us running to the tree line for protection.

I was lucky to have snuck up on a Feral Bucky once while I walked in Cedar Creek. I quickly dove out of the water and The Bucky never noticed me.

Perhaps the most terrifying encounter with The Feral Bucky occurred nearly 1500 feet above ground on the bare rock peak of Bake Oven Knob. In typical Bucky fashion, it appeared from nowhere and alighted itself on the rocks below me. I managed to frighten him off by throwing vegetables; and after tossing a Strunk and White off the cliff, the Bucky was lured away.

I warn you fair citizens of Allentown to fear The Feral Bucky. Do not attempt to hunt the creature for his mane of hair provides him with an impervious shield to all weapons but a steady job.

BEWARE THE FERAL BUCKY!

(Dedicated to my brother with love, for taking many a journey with me)


And don't worry readers, I'll be back with the serious stuff tomorrow with a look at conditions in Canal Park. I'll be posting about a trip to the trail of much dispute later in the week and I'll be taking another look at Jordan Park. There may even be time for another piece on Cedar Beach. Those paved pathways... ugh.

Allentown, The SEIU, and Fox News

Last week The Morning Call ran a story concerning local SEIU president Nick Balzano and his apparent interest in an Eagle Scout project done at Kimmet’s Lock. Mr. Balzano was allegedly troubled by this project. It would seem to him that it may be the kind of project that Union workers could have done and bee paid to do. I would imagine that Mr. Balzano thought this volunteer effort violated terms of the Union contract with the city of Allentown.

The story made the rounds across the local mostly conservative blogosphere. It’s a polarizing story that adds a little local heat to a long running conflict between conservatives and unions. The difference here is that Mr. Balzano and his issue with this volunteer project is uniquely rooted in a particular problem with layoffs, volunteer projects and the city of Allentown.

Given that the SEIU has suffered the greatest amount of layoffs here in Allentown, I understand why such a volunteer project would be troubling to Mr. Balzano had it been sponsored or encouraged by the City of Allentown. It was not however and the story should have ended there. It has not. As a matter of fact, this morning I found the story on foxnews.com which is disturbing because god only knows what those hucksters will use this story to legitimize or spin.

The bottom line here is that there is an issue in Allentown that is unfortunately, difficult to solve. There should be an active volunteer park stewardship in this city. Any city that isn’t Allentown, that would have the amount of park land we do, would have such a stewardship. I guarantee it. People want to be a part of things like this and I know first hand how difficult it is to attempt volunteer work in our parks because of the fear of violating the Union contract.

This story never should have made it to faux news. There really isn’t a story here to begin with which is why I hesitated before writing about it. The SEIU is not going to go after this kid. In truth, we do not even know in what context Mr. Balzano made his now infamous comments. Bottom line, this is a non issue and the actual issue here is the need for the City to work with the Union to figure out a compromise that will allow greater volunteer efforts in our parks. It is a glaring issue in my opinion and one that needs to be addressed.

For the record, these volunteer projects should exist, not because the City shouldn’t pay people to do the work. They should exist because as I have documented just two weeks ago, these kinds of projects reinforce and help build community ties and identity. These projects allow a deeper connection to develop between citizens and their parks. They allow people to quite literally become part of a park or playground.

I wish Mr. Balzano luck. It would seem only a matter of time before this story reaches the nonsensical hands of jester Glenn Beck or one of the other ideologues parading around on that channel.

In the meantime, I hope a compromise can exist soon to end future conflicts over volunteer activities. Until then, things are pretty much going to continue like this:


Warning, opinion below.

Glenn Beck is a moron, for the record.

Don't miss today's other post:
Indian Summer

UPDATE

The aformentioned moron, Glenn Beck, has already commented about this on his crazy time hour TV show. No surprise but his coverage was misinformed and inane.

Indian Summer

These are the days when birds come back,
A very few, a bird or two,
To take a backward look.
These are the days when skies put on
The old, old sophistries of June, -
A blue and gold mistake.
Oh, fraud that cannot cheat the bee,
Almost thy plausibility
Induces my belief,
Till ranks of seeds their witness bear,
And softly through the altered air
Hurries a timid leaf!
Oh, sacrament of summer days,
Oh, last communion in the haze,
Permit a child to join,
Thy sacred emblems to partake,
Thy consecrated bread to break,
Taste thine immortal wine!

- Indian Summer-Emily Dickinson

Indian Summer is defined simply as a meteorological phenomena that occurs following the first frost. A strong southern or southwestern wind pattern establishes itself and in turn pumps unseasonably warm across an area, resulting in humid and nearly summerlike weather long after summer itself has passed.

Over the last few weeks in the Lehigh Valley we have had a couple little Indian Summers and they certainly did not go by unnoticed. The parks were full of people taking in what I heard repeatedly referred to as “the last nice day of the year”.

I have made no secret of my distaste for hot weather. I loathe it. I do however enjoy Indian Summer if only for the weirdness that occurs on account of it. Amongst barren trees and in silent forests sits heat, and it is entirely confusing to all of the senses. You expect to see leaves. You expect to hear the call of birds and the buzz of insects. You expect to smell the sweetness of blooming flowers.

You do however feel the warmth as if June had returned. You see no leaves. You hear no noise in the underbrush. You smell the sickeningly sweet smell of decay as the rot of summer speeds into decomposition across the forest floor.

The pictures in the post were taken during what I assume will be our last taste of Indian Summer, of St. Martin’s Summer, of Babye Leto, of Gypsy Summer or whatever else you may happen to call it. If this truly is the last stand of a fallen season I bid it the kindest farewell. I certainly had a wonderful summer entangled in nature. Bring on the Winter! I swear I can almost hear the old man’s cane tapping at the front door.