Charlie's Chatter

This evening I made reservations to go to the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania in mid-September, primarily for the 50th reunion of my 1957 high school graduating class.  This was, (and still is), Allentown Central Catholic High School.   I have never went to any of my high school class reunions.  This one should be especially interesting.   With just over 300 graduates, I’ve been told that so far nearly 100 have committed to attend.  Since 1957 I have only seen four of my 1957 classmates, and only one of them was in recent memory.

I found the following information below in a “post” to some kind of forum.  It claims to have been written in December of 2006:

The north side of Bethlehem is more “upscale”, with higher rents and less crime. The south side of Bethlehem has alot of crime. The south side is in closer proximity to Lehigh University and therefore has the college party-type atmosphere associated with it, i.e. drinking parties, noise, late-night stuff. Be prepared that the local police will deal with the immediate situation but can provide no long-term relief, as the college brings in great revenue for the city. Fountain Hill used to be lovely, but in same league as south Bethlehem. If you are a Latino you will probably feel very much at home in South Bethlehem. If you are used to crime, noise and loud music, and siesta-style living, then South Bethlehem is probably for you. South Bethlehem has some great spots to check out. There is a fabulous Mexican (?) restaurant on S. Main (?) (2 blocks from Lehigh Campus. On the same street there is the Funhouse and River City Cafe (???).  In the opposite direction is the Tally-Ho – this is a must! The food is great. The atmosphere is great. Not fine-dining, but…just check it out!  Musicfest is held in Bethlehem in August and is a must to go to! Great music, food, crafts, fun for kids. Downtown Bethlehem has some neat shops and good food, etc.  Bottom-line is:  don’t walk through South Bethlehem at night, and don’t drive through unless you have to.  Bethlehem Township is also more upscale and would be good to check out.

Today, finally, I received in the mail the matchbook cover that I had ordered weeks ago via eBay.  Originally I had been sent the wrong one, but now I have the correct one, and it is in fairly good condition.  It looks just like the photo I put on one of my web pages.  Yep, it is a matchbook cover for my paternal grandfather’s “hotel” on 213 E. 3rd St., in S. Bethlehem, PA.  Given this matchbook cover, one would think that my grandfather’s place was possibly a house of ill repute – booze and women.  Of course I know that it was primarily a restaurant, with a bar in the very front.  I do not know if it was ever used as a real hotel – a place where one could rent a room for the night.