Well, seems like we are getting a double header here. More snow on the way this week. Forecast is 6-12″ today (Monday) for Tuesday overnight through Wednesday. Looks like we are close to the 12-18 line so I’m guessing we are closer to the 12″. My call right now is 10-12 but then again, I’m the one who postpones movies for rain that doesn’t materialize.
Where will the additional snow go? If you have a chance today to do some snow management, get out there and clear what you can with the idea that twice as much is on the way. It’s easier to shovel when the base is not a rough coat of ice and chunk.
Gas the cars, top off the snowblowers, hit the supermarket as the kids will probably be off Wednesday and if we get the higher amount, possibly Thursday as well. Maybe get out there a couple times so you don’t have to lift 12″ of snow all at once and remember the more “Seasoned Citizens” on your block when you head out there.
BASD and the Bethlehem 222 Anti-Gang Task Force are hosting a workshop for parents, teachers and social workers to talk about children, gangs and warning signs of gang activity. Please come out to learn more.
Northeast Middle School - Monday March 15th. Doors open at 6:30 Program at 7pm
Nitschmann Middle School - Monday March 22nd. Doors open at 6:30 Program at 7pm.
Forecasts are calling for a cold and snowy winter this year. Normally, Bethlehem doesn’t have snow that sticks around all winter long but I think this year, we might see snow on our streets for quite a while. With that in mind, it pays to pay extra attention to how the shoveling and piling is done. Think about where the snow will go if we get another 6 inches in a week or two and another 6 after that and so on and so on.
Please take every opportunity when it’s soft enough to move around to push the snow on the street side of the cars into the curb area. Think about it, if you have a 5-6 ft pile of snow on the driver’s side of the car and a huge mound behind the car, it’s gonna be tough for a car traveling down the street to see your car pulling out at some point.
Snow not removed, will become packed down and with a few freeze/thaw cycles, a shiny coating of ice making walking difficult for all and treacherous for our school kids and seniors. Speaking of seniors, if you have some folks on your block that are more seasoned citizens, maybe everyone on the block can get together and clean up their cars, shovel their sidewalks and make sure they are ok when we get these winter storms.
On a bright note, with the new metered parking on the Broad Street Bridge and Route 378 Bridge on West Broad, it seems like the Parking Authority will have to do a good job keeping the sidewalks on those bridges clear of ice and snow. In past years, I’ve seen that stretch plowed over making it next to impossible for a pedestrian to walk into downtown across those bridges. Hopefully, this will mean it’s clean and dry pavement this year!
On my way in today I saw signs of life at the long dormant Groman’s Building. Groman’s used to be a bakery on 2nd Avenue. It was converted to about 15-20 apartments but ran into some roofing trouble I think and ended up having to be vacated. Looks like it is now in new hands. The plywood covering the windows has come off and hopefully that means renovations will begin. That’s a great Christmas present to the neighbors on that block!
The building had been hit with graffiti while it was vacant. It was cleaned but is back again. Hopefully the new owner will clean that up soon!
We had some friends/neighbors over on Saturday for some Christmas cheer and the new tradition in the past few years of lighting the luminaria. We do them for all the businesses on our street as they are not around after hours to do it but they chip in for the kits.
This year was very good weather for Luminaria Night. Not too cold, no real wind and dry pavement. After we finished with ours, we piled in a car and drove all around to see how it went around town. A realtor friend with us made an interesting comment. She said that if she were considering a neighborhood to buy a house for a young family, she would probably drive around on Luminaria Night to get an indication of which neighborhoods and which blocks had a sense of neighborhood and were engaged with one another. Blocks that were lit up suggested a warm and friendly place were a new neighbor would likely be greeted as a new friend. Blocks that were dark suggested less involvement in the goings on around the block.
Luminaria Night has been around for about 10 years now. It’s an easy way to spend a few minutes involved with those who choose to live where they live. I hear from lots of people from Bethlehem and beyond that drive around town to see all the beatiful bags aglow. Remember Luminaria Night again next year. Bethlehem shined on Saturday Night, good job Bethlehem.
I remember growing up, the annual get out the candles for the windows day right after Thanksgiving. My parents were very organized and all the boxes for the candles were labeled….Living Room SW corner etc. so the candles went up pretty easily. Every day after school before dinner, I would go around the house and plug all the candles in. Part of Christmas and getting ready for Santa’s visit.
The tradition of candles in the windows goes back to 1741 on Christmas Eve. That’s a long standing tradition! These lights guide and welcome family, friends and visitors to Bethlehem as we celebrate the Holiday Season.
Over the years, it seems there are less and less candles in the windows and more and more inflatable Frosty’s and waving motorized Santas. I kinda like the candles better. Maybe the tradition will come back when LED light bulbs for those candles come out and last for 20 years. Maybe it’s just that everyone ran out of those little bulbs.
I think the white candles in the windows is something that distinguishes Bethlehem from Anytown USA. You can go to any big box retailer and buy an inflatable this or motorized that but I’m still putting up my white candles! I have timers now so we don’t have to run around plugging them in. Kind of miss that though…part of the tradition.
One of the greatest things about Bethlehem is that it’s Bethlehem, not Anytown USA. What makes it that is locally owned businesses and business owners. Great people live and own businesses here in Bethlehem! Check out this video from the folks at SBN!
Hey, election is over. Now it’s time to harvest some garden gold. Head out in the car and grab a bunch of those political signs you see along the roads. Dump the actual sign part but hang on to the metal frames. They make great row cover supports for garden fabric or old sheets!!!
This row cover setup can:
Protect against frost damage
Keep the critters away from your lettuce
You will be doing the neighborhood a favor by collecting the signs that no longer have a use but often seem to stick around well past election day and gaining some garden gold for yourselves! If you are a green thumb you may still have some garden green going on well into November or it might help you get an earlier start in the spring.
Want to go all out? Check out Walls-o-Water. I used these to set tomato plants out on a day when it was snowing a few years back. You put the plant in the ground as normal, set the “wall-o-water up around the plant and fill the tubes with water. The water soaks up the sun and keeps the plant in it’s own mini-greenhouse. You could be just about ready to harvest tomatoes when your neighbors are getting theirs in the ground!!
We had 70+ tomato plants that year for a family of 2. Yes, I was not a popular guy at home that year. We canned up about 6 cases of tomato sauce though! Anyway, go get those signs and happy gardening!
Planning is underway for Season 3 of the Movies, Games & More project. Check the website for polls asking for feedback. If you are interested in volunteering for the Crew, call me at 610-997-5732. Call me also if you are interested in being a sponsor. We are adding some interesting new twists for Season 3 sponsors.
Come out to the Ice House on Sand Island on Tuesday November 10th at either 3pm or 6:30pm to get information on the new Zoning Ordinance with details relating to the City’s recently adopted Comprehensive Plan.
