I personally always thought the one between the new and old that still has the barely visible "Nazareth Cement" was emblematic of our past. It was gritty, but obviously worn and dated, not reflecting who we are now.
Personal feelings aside, the point is well taken. I looked online and on a local map and it was tough for me to tell if the buildings were in Nazareth or Lower Nazareth, or both.
Here is the note:
The Essroc buildings (plant #1) along 248 east of Broad appear totally dilapidated. The overall appearance is run-down with holes in the roof. They appear to be out of service for years. Do you know of any local ordinance that requires companies to maintain their properties? Anyone new to the area must drive past these buildings and think the area is in a total economic depression.
I know Essroc has invested in maintenance and upgrade of sections of their plant. And that they do donate to the community. But the other buildings look abandon and are an eye-sore. I would think that Essroc would want a better corporate appearance.
I have to agree they don't look great, especially in light of the new construction and conveyor belt, which is really a great achievement. So what do you think? Does it reflect poorly on the community? On Essroc? Is it a hazard? Should they be raised? What if any, ordinances exist to require action to be taken? Can they be converted into anything of value?
16 comments:
The referred to handout is now available on the disrict web page.
Speaking of Essroc buildings, I coincidentally found this on pennlive.com Nazareth forum. My kids always ask me why they don't just tear those buildings down. They are UGLY.
Top 5 ways you know you are in Nazareth ...
1) You drive past the lovely cement factories and around the wonderful sinkholes they have created.
2) You go to a youth sporting event and people light up a cigarette. And no one dares ask them to put it out.
3) Every other leader in the community is named "Keller".
4) High School and MS dismissal looks like a meeting of the trench coat mafia and the X games.
5) No one would ever hold a door for you nor would they thank you if you held one for them.
Colonial Hospitality at its best!
I think what you've found and re-posted here is what is wrong with most forums on-line. There is nothing contructive to it and it smacks of stereotypes that speak more of the writer than whom the writer writes about.
The cement industry in Nazareth is like the steel was in Bethlehem, except that the cement companies are still going. Many people who have lived here have either worked at the plants or have lived in a family supported by someone who did.
Moreover, many of the non-german families who live here, immigrated to this county and found work at the plants or came over exclusively to work at the plants. The employment they offered made the American Dream possible for countless thousands.
Could they clean them up? Probably. Would we like them to? Yes. Will it take some time to get that conversation going? Absolutely. It is a cost with no ROI.
Given how drastically the landscape has been altered immediately surrounding the quaries by putting sub-division after sub-division in, you can't completely blame the cement companies for the sinkholes. The developers and people purchasing them are equal partners. People move here unaware of the industry, not knowing what a quary or a sink hole is, and purchase land adjacent to one. The blame goes both ways here.
To the best of my knowledge, while we may know smoking is bad for us, it is not banned outdoors. I can't leave my office building (in a township corporate center) without running a gauntlet of smokers who huddle near the door. Smoking is not specific to Nazareth and it crosses all ethnic and socio-economic boundaries.
There is Mayor Keller and then Don and his wife. Offhand, I don't know of any others and since they are all elected officials (one from the school district and the other in upper Nazareth) you can hardly fault the borough residents exclusively.
These are the children of the residents of the entire school district. A very affluent area (average home sale is around $350,000) where apparently the parents don't care how their children dress.
I've never experienced hostility when walking in Nazareth only indifference from people in cars who don't consider pedestrian rights. The shop and business owners are very nice and friendly. They often go out of their way to be nice to my kids saying hi and asking them questions. I've often held doors for others, and they for me. When walking in town we often wave and say hi to people we pass or who are sitting on their porch or the benches along the way. Then again, if you don't go out and engage the community it is easy to not notice this.
I would guess from the comments (and not knowing when it was posted) that this is a disgruntled parent from Upper Nazareth Township with children in MS and HS who hasn't walked in the downtown or visited its shops, but instead prefers driving through town in a car and visiting malls or racing the kids from one activity to another without ever taking the time to appreciate what they have and where they live.
It is always very easy to knock something and spread stereotypes. It is much harder to step up to the plate and make changes. The person who made this post could immediately begin to fix the fifth item by being polite themselves - its contagious. Fourth item dress your own kids the way you'd like others to be. Three run for office. Two ask the person to move or not light up near you. One don't buy a home next to a quary in what was once a field making it more prone to sinkholes.
Needless to say, I prefer people who take action over those who sit back and complain, particularly those who do so from a position of ignorance.
The forum critique is both funny and has a lot of validity.
1) I never really noticed that the cement factories are ugly or that they create sinkholes in Nazareth. They do provide jobs.
2) People should not smoke at youth sporting events. That decision should be made and an announcement should be made prior to any game. That is a valid criticism if it is true.
3) Every other leader amy not be named Keller, but the writer has a point. Nazareth is a collection of good ol' boys who decide everything for the rest of us. And I might add they do it behind closed doors. Another valid criticism.
4) I wouldn't know about that one.
5) The ENTIRE Lehigh Valley is like that. People here tend to be cold and unfriendly until you get to know them. Visit the south. Visit the west. People are far more friendly. They're even more friendly in Philly and NYC. People in this area are still good and have hearts that are just as big as elsewhere, but we tend to be a bit more reserved with strangers.
I know that when ever someone from out of town visits us for the first time, the first words out of his or her mouth is a sarcastic comment about the cement factory on 248. I don't know how many times I have mentioned to my wife that these buildings are disgusting...the have trees growing out of the top of them for (g)od's sake! I realize that demolition costs money but it would be nice if they could just clean that area up. I completely agree that some of the structures give the town character, particularly the vestiges of the "Nazareth Cement" sign. A few years ago I shot some photos of that because I thought it looked cool.
Regarding the "hilarious" "top 5"list of the previous poster...one could easily change the town name to Bethlehem, Easton, Northampton, etc. and the list would still make sense. You are no David Letterman. Try making a valid comment and stay on topic next time.
You just proved O'Hara's point.
To the anaonymous posters at 8:12 and 8:56, I enjoyed the top 5. I thought they had some validity and contained constructive criticism, although others may have different views. I thought this list was actually on topic, more or less. But I apologize to the extent I drifted from sticking strictly to the Essroc buildings.
I am the originsl poster of the "copied" Top 5. I too found it humorous and spot on. Bernie interpreted #3 exactly as I did. Not that every other leader is truly named Keller, but instead that it is a reference to the gold old boy network in the town.
Unfortunately, Ross seems to be hyper sensitive to any negativity about his hometown. I am glad Bernie, for one, doesn't see things through "Blue colored glasses".
I find it humorous that in one paragraph Ross is critizing people for using stereotypes and then later he says that this is a disgruntled parent from Upper Nazareth Township with children in MS and HS who hasn't walked in the downtown or visited its shops, but instead prefers driving through town in a car and visiting malls or racing the kids from one activity to another without ever taking the time to appreciate what they have and where they live.
In a sense the buildings are at the heart of the discussion - what the town was and what people, especially those moving here want it to be.
Whenever you go somewhere you need to assimilate to an extent, but it would be hoped you'd also make a contribution. That is how communities grow.
The good ole boys network as Bernie refers to it, could also be referred to as the people who take time to contribute and give service to the community. Go to the meetings and you see alot of the same people. They get involved and you can too. That's a big part of the reason I started this site. The more people know, the more comfortable I would hope they'd become in participating.
Regarding friendliness, consider this. Today, in walking to school, I exchanged brief goodmornings with:
1. a guy who lives along the way who leaves for work often as we pass
2. a mother and child who drive in each day and are often getting in their car as we pass (the daughter is handicapped so they can't walk although the school isn't too far).
3. a pair of women who started walking last week in the opposite direction we do so we pass one another.
4. a young couple whose son started kindergarden this year and often cross Walnut when we do.
5. a mother and her daughter who we do know.
6. the crossing guard at the school.
7. a mother of one of my daughters classmates.
8. a fogels fuel employee stopped at a house on our return trip who happened to be getting out of his truck next to us as we passed.
Now that was a simple fifteen minute walk. If you find people are tough, mean, ornery or what-have-you, maybe you ought to smile and say hi - you might be surprised how friendly people really are. I didn't break any of these people out of their shells and I don't know their history. They could be new to the area or have lived here forever. The point is I was nice to them and they reciprocated or vice-versa.
If you walk around with a scowl, you'll get them back. Again, I think when people make broad statements like those in the list it is more reflective of the person writing than the ones they are writing about.
Looks like out comments crossed, let me clarify, I wasn't referring to you. I was referring to the person who created the list.
And I don't think I was stereotyping, I was taking the information provided to me. If you read the lines I don't think its a reach to say they have kids in MS and/or HS (hence the pickup comment) and that they live in Upper Nazareth (where sinkholes and elected kellers are plentiful). Now racing through town and getting the kids here and there, they do apparently go to sporting events or they wouldn't know about the smoke, so I'm stretching on the amount of activity and manner in which they transport, and yes the shopping was fully fabricated but Nazareth is the crossroads for the townships to cross through when getting from point a to point b so its a reasonable assumption. In the end I'll agree to disagree on the point of stereotyping.
Do I see Nazareth through blue-colored glasses, I'm not sure I'm color blind, but I do wear glasses so they could be.
The point simply, my experience with people in town conflicts with the negative portrayal of people as being unfriendly.
But again, I wasn't directing the comment at you for re-posting only at the one who originally created it. Sorry if I offended you and thanks for taking the time to comment and contribute.
And yes the run down plant building look bad. I think we can all agree on that.
Okay.
Regarding the smoking issue. It is VERY bad in this community. You do not see it at other organizations (except maybe Moore Twsp.). Pen Argyl, Palmer, Forks, Easton, and Bangor all seem to have enough common sense that you don't smoke in front of young athletes for a variety of reasons (second hand smoke, bad example, etc.)
Clipper Field is owned by NASD and rented back to the Clipper org for $1/year. In my mind, NASD policy banning no smoking applies here as well as the little league baseball games at Shafer School. The problem is that they don't even really enforce it at NASD football games. It isn;t rampant, but I see people smoking on the track (not the stands) while standing along the fence.
I could meet these people halfway and say go outside the fence at Clipper Field (parking lot) or up on the sidewalk at Shafer School. Just not in close proximity to the kids.
This is a good discussion, whether OT or not!
Getting back ON TOPIC, yes, something needs to be done about the Essroc building.
Tear it down, possibly. However, maybe a better option is to clean it up and convert it to condos a la the Bethlehem Riverport?
Instead of putting in another sprawling housing development, make it high density. The tax revenues would increase dramatically, an ugly building would be gone, and another parcel of open space would not be taken up by houses.
With Broad Street and Main Street just around the corner, pedistrian traffic would most likely go up and give a boom to local business there.
Some kind of retail would be great. The problem with any kind of high density housing is that every kid that comes into the district will cost about $7500 to the school district. Apartments, condos, etc, for families getting started pretty much means kids.
If we could have retail and office, even one of these simulated main streets that are popping up (I think that is what is being built at Lehigh Valley Mall) would as you say, boost the business district.
Also, on looking today it does look like the oldest of the building closest to the diner would have to in Nazareth as they are almost immediately south of the extention of Whitefield and New Street.
As Bernie said thanks to everyone for a good discussion.
On the Essroc buildings - I am the originator of the email to "News Over Coffee". I fully support maintaining Nazareth's heritage. A town is built on it's history. The cement industry is Nazareth's past and present and I appreciate that it provides many jobs. I support highlighting the past including people, companies and organizations that have contibuted to our community. At the same time, blight must be either remove or repaired. These dilapidated building do not shed light on our past. As people drive by, there is no recognition that these building are "historical". These are not the Whitefield house.
Mark C.
Thanks for the post. It's well stated and there's not a part I'd disagree with.
Also thanks for contributing the comment about something that is obviously on a lot of people's minds.
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