First Episode of New TV Show to Include Easton

By Christina Georgiou



Ashley Russo, far left, was seen with the film crew for Fire Rock Productions
interviewing Easton Mayor Sal Panto and Frank Facchiano of the Lehigh
Valley Chamber of Commerce for the upcoming new local television program
"The PEAK" on Thursday afternoon.

The crew for “The PEAK,” a new television show, was seen in Downtown Easton on Bank Street yesterday afternoon, filming footage for its first upcoming episode.

The show's host, Ashley Russo, was interviewing Mayor Sal Panto and Frank Facchiano, executive vice-president of member relations and operations for the Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, for a segment featuring the city.

The new show is dedicated exclusively to the Lehigh Valley and is being produced by Fire Rock Productions in conjunction with the St. Luke's Health Network, who helped develop the concept, said Tina Hasselbusch, director of marketing for the production agency.

According to the show's website, “The PEAK is the region’s first thirty-minute newsmagazine show dedicated to the interesting people, places, and things that make the Lehigh Valley a wonderful place to live and work. Tune in each week as we explore the latest medical news, healthy recipes, ways to stay fit, financial wellness, giving back through volunteering, and more!”

“The PEAK” is set to air on Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on WFMZ Channel 69 following the evening news, beginning on Sept. 30, Hasselbusch said.

Want to keep up with what The PEAK is up to on Facebook? Click here.

Updated: Friday, Sept. 7 at 2:40 p.m. to add Facebook contact information.

Weekend Guide, September 7 to 9

Easton's most comprehensive guide to what's happening over the weekend, in the city and beyond. Published every Friday!

Friday, September 7

Holy Cross Society Festival: 6 to 10 p.m. 224 Cedarville Road, Williams Township.  For the full schedule of events, visit www.holycrosssociety.com/2012_Celebration.html

Friday Night Dancing on the Odds: Country two-step lesson, 7 to 8 p.m. Dancing, 8 to 10 p.m. $10 per person, benefits Third Street Alliance. 41 North Third St. 610-258-6271 or www.thirdstreetalliance.org

Live at Riverside - The Large Flowerheads: 7:30 p.m. A fun and funky trip back to the 60s.  Presented by the Easton Main Street Initiative.  Riverside Park Amphitheatre, Riverside Park, Larry Holmes Drive, just north of the free bridge. 610-330-9942 or www.EastonMainStreet.org

Laurie Vosberg and 519 South: 8 p.m. The Riegelsville Inn, 12 Delaware Road, Riegelsville. 610-749-0100 or www.riegelsvilleinn.com

Karaoke with Nort: 9 p.m. Rip Van Winkle's Pub, 3700 Nicholas St., Palmer Township. 610-258-8873

ReaLion: 10 p.m. Porters' Pub, 700 Northampton St. 610-250-6561 or www.porterspubeaston.com

Marshall Railroad Band: 10 p.m. Age restricted show, no minors. Pearly Baker's Alehouse, 11 Centre Square. 610-253-9949 or www.pearlybakers.net

Saturday, September 8

Yankee Peddler Day: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pancake Breakfast will be served 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. A lunch of German sausage sandwiches with sauerkraut, potato salad, hot dogs, chips, soda and more will be served after breakfast. Proceeds go to Open Arms Senior Connection. Arndt's Lutheran Church, 1851 Arndt Road, Forks Township. www.arndtslutheran.org

Mary Meuser Memorial Library 37th Annual Book Fair: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hard and softcover used books, vendors, display of antique cars by the Lehigh Valley Region Antique Auto Club of America, bake sale. 1803 Northampton St., Wilson Borough. 610-258-3040 or www.meuserlib.org

Pocono Greyhound Adoption Meet and Greet: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sam's Club, Receiving Appointments, 3796 Easton-Nazareth Highway, Easton (Lower Nazareth). 570-856-0377 or www.poconogreyhound.com

Easton Municipal Band concert: 2 p.m. Riverside Park Amphitheatre, Riverside Park, Larry Holmes Drive, just north of the free bridge. www.eastonband.com

Martha Salemme – Watercolors and Drawings Opening Reception: 2 to 4 p.m. A long time resident of Williams Township, and active member of Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society, Martha Salemme (1912-2004) painted and exhibited her art locally.  Her husband Antonio was well known for his sculptures. Sponsored by the Antonio Salemme Foundation. Show runs through Sept. 30. Sigal Museum, 342 Northampton St. 610-253-1222 or www.sigalmuseum.org

Holy Cross Society Festival: 5 to 9:30 p.m. 224 Cedarville Road, Williams Township.  For the full schedule of events, visit www.holycrosssociety.com/2012_Celebration.html

Tenor John Carelli: 6 to 9 p.m. Bella Luna, 3417 Sullivan Trail, Forks Township. 610-253-7458

School of Rock Tribute to Dave Grohl: 7 p.m. The School of Rock  Performance Group pays homage to one of the most prolific rock musicians of the current day, Dave Grohl. Tickets $10 per person at the door. Third Street Alliance, 41 North Third St. www.easton.schoolofrock.com/events

Texas Hold'em: 7 and 9 p.m. Free. La Pazza Bar, 1251 Ferry St. 610-515-0888 or www.lapazza.com

The Back Door Band: 8 p.m. The Riegelsville Inn, 12 Delaware Road, Riegelsville. 610-749-0100 or www.riegelsvilleinn.com

Selectronics: 10 p.m. Porters' Pub, 700 Northampton St. 610-250-6561 or www.porterspubeaston.com

Scott Harrington: 10 p.m. Pearly Baker's Alehouse, 11 Centre Square 610-253-9949 or www.pearlybakers.net

Sunday, September 9

Braden Airport Fly In: Breakfast (8 to 11 a.m.), lunch, live entertainment, R.C. Aircraft Flying demonstrations, Keystone Region MG Car Club, antiques, military, homebuilt, contemporary, sky rides, Blue Mountain Antique Engine Association Old Time Gas Motors. Free admission. 3800 Sullivan Trail, Forks Township. 610-258-0473

Mary Meuser Memorial Library 37th Annual Book Fair: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hard and softcover used books, vendors, display of antique cars by the Lehigh Valley Region Antique Auto Club of America, bake sale. 1803 Northampton St., Wilson Borough. 610-258-3040 or www.meuserlib.org

Northampton County Miracle League Dedication and Opening Day: 12:30 p.m. Charles Chrin Community Center, 4100 Green Pond Road, Palmer Township. Call 484-347-8331 for more information.

Holy Cross Society Festival: 2 to 9 p.m. 224 Cedarville Road, Williams Township.  For the full schedule of events, visit www.holycrosssociety.com/2012_Celebration.html

School of Rock Tribute to Dave Grohl: 3 p.m. The School of Rock  Performance Group pays homage to one of the most prolific rock musicians of the current day, Dave Grohl. Tickets $10 per person at the door. Third Street Alliance, 41 North Third St. www.easton.schoolofrock.com/events

Stitches In Time Exhibit Opening Reception: 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Quilts selections from the permanent collection of the Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society. Sigal Museum, 342 Northampton St. 610-253-1222 or www.sigalmuseum.org

Save the Date!

Olivet United Presbyterian Church's Scottish Rites Communion service will be held on Sunday, Sept. 16. Pipers play outside at 9:45 a.m. weather permitting, worship service is at 10 a.m. Roll call of the clans, and a reception follows outside with pipers at the end of the Service. 1151 Northampton St. 610-258-7990 or www.olivetupc.org

Are you planning an event? Did we miss something? Let us know! Email us.

Upcoming Sales to Offer Books On-the-Cheap

Used book sales in both Easton and Wilson Borough are planned for the month of September. Both sales promise a large selection to choose from, with books starting at just 25 to 50 cents.

The Mary Meuser Memorial Library Book Fair is set to take place this weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 8 and 9, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the library, located at 1803 Northampton St.

The Easton Branch of the American Association of University Women will be collecting used books, DVDs, CDs and tapes for it's upcoming annual book fair on those days as well, from 1 to 4 p.m., as well as next weekend, on Sept. 15 and 16, also from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Eddyside Pool House, Route 611 and East Lafayette Street, at the northern edge of the Easton city limits, where the upcoming sale is set to take place.

There are also a number of collection barrels at various community locations where the public may donate materials to the AAUW event.

The Easton AAUW book sale is set to run from Thursday, Sept. 20 through Sunday, Sept. 23 and Thursday, Sept. 27 through Saturday, Sept. 29.

A dealers' and collectors' preview period, for a $10 fee, is set for Thursday, Sept. 20 from 8 to 10 a.m.

Otherwise, admission to the AAUW sale is free, and the fair will run  from 1 to 5 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays, and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 27.

For more information about the Meuser Library Book Fair, visit www.meuserlib.org or call 610-258-3040.

For more information about how to donate or for more information on the AAUW sale, please call 610-504-5861.

Local LGBT Community Leaders to Perform In "8: The Play"

The one-night-only Lehigh Valley premier of Dustin Lance Black's "8: The Play" will feature local LGBT community leaders Liz Bradbury, executive director of the Pennsylvania Diversity Network, and Adrian Shanker, president of Equality Pennsylvania, performing in the staged reading.

The performance is set for this Saturday, Sept. 8 at 8 p.m. at the Civic Theatre in Allentown.

The play chronicles the federal court trials to overturn California's Proposition 8, which passed in 2008 as a voter referendum to ban already-legal same-sex marriages in California.  The play was created in part to present actual testimony and the historic case summation to the public to show why lower courts have consistently found Proposition 8 to be unconstitutional.

Shanker, who works for a privately-owned publishing firm located in Easton, and Bradbury both advocated for the allowance of same-sex partner benefits for City of Easton employees, a measure which was approved by city council in 2011.

The performance is also a fundraiser for the Pennsylvania Diversity Network. Tickets are available for $20 online at www.civictheatre.com , or call 610-432-8943.

Tickets to Easton Jazz Festival, Martin Zippel Award Presentation Available

The Boys & Girls Club of Easton will present the Annual Martin Zippel Award to The Kiwanis Club of Easton and the Easton Kiwanis Foundation on Friday, September 14 at 5:30 p.m., at Lafayette College's Williams Center for the Arts, at 730 High St., in recognition of the Kiwanis’ outstanding service to Easton’s youth.

Tickets are available to the public for the awards ceremony and include a seat at the Easton Jazz Festival, which follows at 8 p.m.

This year  marks the 26th anniversary of the Easton Jazz Festival with the main performance by Stefon Harris and the 90 Miles Project.  The Jazz Festival is the Club’s primary fundraising event

The 2012 Martin Zippel Award will be presented to Barbara Kowitz, president-elect of the Kiwanis Club of Easton, and Roger Conners II, president of the Easton Kiwanis Foundation.

The award was established by Boys & Girls Club Executive Director Dean Young in 1996 in honor of Martin Zippel, a club Past-President and member of the Board of Directors to recognize Zippel’s outstanding leadership, dedication and financial support of the Club since its opening in 1974.

“The Kiwanis Club has been a stalwart leader in this community serving local youth through diverse campaigns and projects" Young said in a recent press release. "The organization has provided consistent financial support to the Boys & Girls Club through some difficult times, and we are grateful especially for their support of our relocation back to the Southside Clubhouse."

Tickets for the 2012 Martin Zippel Award and Easton Jazz Festival are $20 per person and are available from the Boys & Girls Club of Easton. 

Call Dean Young at 484-239-2075 or email stars@fast.net for more information about the event.

For more information about the Boys & Girls Club of Easton, visit www.eastonpabgc.org

For more information about the Kiwanis Club of Easton and the Easton Kiwanis Foundaion, visit www.eastonpakiwanis.org

Ravenwood: A West Ward Tale of Love and Labor

By Christina Georgiou


Ravenwood, as it is today, off the corner of Ferry and
Walnut streets in Easton's West Ward, is the result
 of a lot of labor...and love.

If you're familiar with the Easton's West Ward, you've probably noticed “Ravenwood”, that rather stately townhouse the oozes yesteryear charm just off the corner of Ferry and Walnut streets, in what was once one of the city's poshest neighborhoods.

And, if you're not a life long city resident, it's easy to believe that this beautiful home has always been this way. However, that is not so.

While originally built in Easton's late 19^th century heyday, Ravenwood's amazing old world charm and beauty is actually more of a survivor's tale, and the building's story in the past 30 years reminiscent of that of a phoenix rising from the ashes after near destruction.

For nearly destroyed it was. In the early 1980s, Easton was still reeling from the effects of the federal “urban renewal” projects that swept America following World War II, reaching culmination in the 1960s and '70s.

The concentrated federal pressure to declare city neighborhoods “blighted”, even thriving ones like Easton's Downtown commercial district, drove much of the urban middle- and upper-class out to suburban developments, leaving the surrounding neighborhoods to suffer from severe economic and social decline.




Earl Ball in front of Ravenwood, in the mid 1980s.
Faux brick tar paper covered the exterior clapboard,
windows were missing glass, the electrical and plumbing
systems needed complete replacement, and rooms
were strewn with trash when architect
Timothy Hare purchased the property. Below, the house
is shown as it continues to undergo renovation,
more than a year later.

  In 1984, when current owners Earl Ball, a minister, and Timothy Hare, a certified architect, came upon Ravenwood, it was in an utterly dismal state of genuine blight and disrepair. A friend had pointed out the property, up for sale for a low five-digit sum. But even at that price, and compared to the sky-high prices in New York City, the couple hesitated, rife with doubts about the work involved to make the property liveable.

“It was condemned,” Hare said. “So you couldn't get a mortgage or fire insurance for it.”



Earl Ball in the 1980s, removing
trash from Ravenwood's yard.

“Every room was filled with garbage,” Ball said.

“The yard was even worse,” Hare said. “There were just mountains of garbage and debris.”

The surrounding homes were not any  better off. Revitalization in Easton was barely in its infancy, and a row of nearby abandoned vacant homes was being auctioned off by the city for paltry four-digit sums under the “Old Homes” program of the time.

In the early 1980s, Ball and Hare were living in the Village in Manhattan but had met at Easton's first Heritage Day celebration in 1976. They fell in love at first sight, both agree, and they have been partners ever since—legally married in the several states that allow it, as well as in Canada.

Hare was also very familiar with Easton, having lived in the city in years prior and instrumental to saving the building that now houses the Quadrant Bookmart and Coffeehouse, along with securing the halt to the plan of bulldozing the rest of Downtown.

Living in New York was losing its appeal, but neither saw the suburbs as an ideal haven. So despite a number of reservations about the property, Hare took the plunge and bought it.


Tim Hare and Earl Ball, with Fluffy,
in the front parlor of Ravenwood,
talking about the work that has been
put into their antique
townhouse's restoration



Earl Ball shows off the woodwork on
the home's fireplace, in what was originally
the house's kitchen.

“We came in with snow shovels every weekend and shoveled it out,” Ball said. “I could see the potential though, even though there was no glass in the windows, and the wood was hatcheted.”

Getting to the point where they could even move in took a couple of years of steady hard labor, they said.

The plumbing and electrical wiring were not only outdated, but essentially destroyed from the many years of vacancy and neglect the property had suffered. So it all had to be replaced.

And, even when they finally moved in, the house was still a constantly ongoing project.


Earl Ball holds a photo, shown below,
of  how the room he's standing in
appeared , in the mid- to late
1980s before work on the house
was complete.

 Many rooms had pink walls over layers of wallpaper, and in others the plaster was badly damaged. The townhouse's original clapboard had been covered over with tar-paper with a faux-brick pattern at some point, which all had to be removed and the staple holes in the wood filled prior to the exterior being painted.

Ball spent countless hours and days, meticulously working room by room personnally to restore details in the wood trim that had been hacked and damaged and fixing damaged plaster work, as well as painting the exterior himself, twice now in the time the couple has lived there.



The process has taken many years to complete.

“I enjoy the process of restoring (old things) and bringing it back,” he said of what many would label tedious tasks.

A number of the house's details had been removed during its decline, such as doors, and had to be replaced, however. Not willing to compromise the house's historical details, Hare scoured curbsides near old house cleanouts both in Easton and in Harrisburg where he was working at the time, and brought home architectural details appropriate to the house to be incorporated into the restoration.



 It saved a lot of money, Hare said, and was also in keeping with the couple's goal of revitalization and renewal for the antique home.

Today, 28 years after Ball and Hare started its restoration, Ravenwood may well be more grand than it was when it was originally built. The two have additionally added an enchanting garden, and bought the adjacent vacant lot, which they have also improved by cultivating more garden space.

Having tracked down its history, Hare said the house was built for Easton blacksmith and carriage maker Eli Oberly and his family, and probably completed in 1871. Oberly, he added, was prosperous but not a very rich man.



The "servants' staircase"

 

The main staircase

“So while this was a big house, it wan't a fancy house,” Hare said.

Still, the house has a plainer, second staircase for servants' use leading to the second floor in addition to the grander staircase off the foyer, and while converting the third floor attic space into an open floor plan, there was evidence this space was used at one time for servants' quarters, an indication Oberly was probably doing fairly well.

The attic space also yielded some bits of history that were preserved despite the house's near fatal decline prior to its restoration and hint at previous owners' lives.

A trunk hidden away in the attic servants' quarters contained clothes, including an apron, a late 19^th century corset and bust enhancer.

A woolen cap, typically the type a workman or young boy would wear was also found by Ball in the walls, along with a stash of beer bottles from an old Easton brewery.

And, in the yard, bottle and pottery shards, along with the “prize” of finds—a belt shield from a Union soldier dating back to the Civil War.

Ball has carefully kept and preserved these and other artifacts he's found, labeling them along the way. They're part of the house and its history, he says. 

 

But while Ball and Hare happily live among the fruits of 28 years of patient, meticulous labor and still love the neighborhood, they both have recently retired and say it's nearing time to pass their historic home to the next generation.

“This house needs someone younger, a family, perhaps, to carry it forward into the future,” Hare said.

To that effect, an ad on the Manhattan Craigslist appeared last week, declaring their intention to sell to the right buyer. The adjacent garden lot they will keep for now, but intend to allow first-option rights to whoever purchases Ravenwood.

They intend to stay in Easton, they said too, adding that they're not sure where they will move, but it won't be College Hill.

“We like the diversity of this neighborhood,” they said. “So wherever it is, we're not giving that up.”

Ravenwood is only one of a near-countless number of unique, one-of-a-kind historic buildings in the City of Easton, and The Easton Eccentric would like to highlight more of them. Are you currently restoring one of the city's numerous architectural gems? Do you own a house or other building that you'd like to highlight? Or, perhaps there's a structure you feel deserves some attention so it can get the love it deserves to further the mission of revitalizing our city?

If so, please email us! Your suggestion could very well be next on our list!

This Week in Easton, September 3 to 6

"This Week in Easton" lists what's happening during the weekdays, from special events to who's playing to government meetings, all in one handy place. Not just in the City of Easton, but for the entire greater Easton area...Published every Monday!

Monday, September 3

Happy Labor Day!

Tuesday, September 4

Palmer Township Board of Supervisors meeting: 7 p.m. In the Palmer Library meeting room, at the Municipal Complex, 1 Weller Place (off of Newburg Road), Palmer Township.

Wednesday, September 5

Easton Planning Commission meeting: 6:30 p.m. Sixth floor, City Hall, 1 South Third St.

Texas Hold'em: 7 & 9 p.m. Free. La Pazza, 1251 Ferry St. 610-515-0888 or www.lapazza.com

Palmer Township Zoning Hearing Board meeting: 7:30 p.m. In the Palmer Library meeting room, at the Municipal Complex, 1 Weller Place (off of Newburg Road), Palmer Township.

Open Mic with Mike Harrington: 9:30 p.m. Porters' Pub, 700 Northampton St. 610-250-6561 or www.porterspubeaston.com

Thursday, September 6

Williams Township Landfill Advisory Committee meeting: 8 to 10 a.m. Williams Township Municipal Building, 655 Cider Press Road, Williams Township.

Lafayette College Birthday of Marquis de Lafayette Celebration: 4:15 p.m. Alan R. Hoffman, president of the American Friends of Lafayette, presents "Lafayette: A Symbol of Franco-American Friendship." Lafayette College, Skillman Library, campus quadrangle.  610-330-5148 or www.lafayette.edu

Northampton County Economic Development Committee meeting: 5 p.m. Third Floor, Room 3116/County Council Meeting Room, Northampton County Courthouse, 669 Washington St.

Northampton County Council meeting: 6:30 p.m. Third Floor, Room 3116/County Council Meeting Room, Northampton County Courthouse, 669 Washington St.

Forks Township Board of Supervisors work session: 7 p.m. Supervisors' chambers in the Forks Township Municipal Complex, 1606 Sullivan Trail, Forks Township.

Williams Township Fire Company Auxiliary meeting: 7 p.m. Both men and women are invited to join. Held the first Thursday of every month. A junior auxiliary for those 12 to 18 is also forming--those interested are asked to also attend this meeting. Fire House, 2500 Morgan Hill Road, Williams Township.

Bring (or wear) Your Own Vinyl night: 8 p.m. to midnight. DJs Ernie and/or Will. Black & Blue, 683 Walnut St. 610-438-3604 or www.blackandblueeaston.com

Karaoke: 8 p.m. to midnight. La Pazza, 1251 Ferry St. 610-515-0888 or www.lapazza.com

The Barrel House Brothers: 8 to 11 p.m. Cool Jazz from the '20s & '30s. Porters' Pub, 700 Northampton St. 610-250-6561 or www.porterspubeaston.com

Open Mic with Nick Levinos: 9:30 p.m. Pearly Bakers, 11 Centre Square. 610-253-9949 or www.pearlybakers.net

Is there a community or entertainment event you'd like to see here? Are you organizing something you'd like to have posted? Did we miss something? Email us!