Home, Sweet, Home
By: Eric Schmidt
A BRIEF HISTORY OF WHERE YOU WILL BE RESIDING FOR THE NEXT 4 PLUS YEARS
I made my first trip to Lehigh as a high school junior. I was traveling with my parents and we arrived on campus from the road that goes over the mountain. It’s the way that the website encourages, probably to prevent parents and potential students from getting lost on some scary street in South Bethlehem, and because it’s a nice view. Although, I can remember thinking that it didn’t look very nice to me at the time. My first glimpse of Bethlehem was of the old dilapidated steel mill. I remember thinking that it looked like a dump and that it made the town look like a dump. I couldn’t imagine why anyone would be drawn to an environment of post-industrial waste. That was my first impression of the place.
Judging from my own ignorance I had as a first-year, I assume many of you freshman have no real idea of what kind of town Bethlehem is, or where it’s been and where it’s going. I’m certain many of you have heard stories from friends and relatives who have gone here, but to truly understand a place is to live there. Rising and sleeping every day and night in the same locale gives one a sense of home that many at Lehigh soon come to appreciate and feel for themselves. There’s plenty to know, see, and visit in this city of the Lehigh Valley.
Bethlehem was first settled by the Moravians in the 17th Century. Their presence is evident on the north side of town where the old Moravian village still stands. Our co-collegiates at Moravian College live and work in many of the buildings that first formed the small German community here. The buildings exude an old world charm and many are marked with plagues from various historical societies explaining how they are over 300 years old and served as houses and inns to a number of historical figures, including George Washington. The area is quite charming and there is often a great deal happening on Main Street in front of the Hotel Bethlehem- everything from farmer’s markets to parades. Celtic Fest, a Celtic culture celebration held every spring near the Sand Island Park, is always a good time. There are some fine restaurants in that area as well, like the Brew Works, that are great for visiting parents to take their hard working scholars to for a well-deserved dinner. The north side is great even for just a Sunday afternoon stroll, if you’re not too bogged down with work.
Getting there is simple enough, as all you need to do is walk across the Fahy Memorial Bridge. The bridge was named for Officer Fahy who was killed in the line of duty in 1969. Before that, the bridge was known colloquially as the penny bridge because there was a nickel toll to drive across it and a penny to walk it. That would make jogging across it today quite a complicated affair for a number of Lehigh’s very active students. Many of these students run on the tow bath, which can be accessed directly from the bridge. Our campus straddles only a small portion of this extensive trail network. It goes 5 miles to Allentown and passes Easton in the opposite direction after 9 miles- fine milestones for ambitious students to reach by foot or bike. It is known as the tow path because in the 19th Century the Lehigh River was a coaling artery for the region. Coal barges were towed by donkeys alongside the river where Lehigh students today run.
Although many attractions and nicer neighborhoods of Bethlehem may be on the North Side of town, our very own South side has some points of interest as well. The famous Bethlehem Star that now stands on the hill above school was installed in 1939 at the cost of $5,000. It gave the ‘Christmas City’ its truly emblematic symbol of Yule time charm. The star was actually not lit from 1941 to 1945 for fear that it would make the important steel producing center an easily recognizable target for German bombers. The hike to the star is tough but the view is quite rewarding. Campus and star aside, the other major attraction is the Sands Casino, which will hopefully complete the hotel portion soon, and the old steel mill. Bethlehem Steel was the defining corporation of the Lehigh Valley for most of its existence. Every local’s father, uncle and grandfather at some point labored in the steel mill. The first of the behemoth blast furnaces was built in 1861 and they have dominated the skyline ever since. The factory at the foothill of Old South Mountain built America’s fleets through several conflicts and provided the steel for landmark projects such as the Golden Gate Bridge. The company produced steel and iron in the Lehigh Valley for about 140 years before foreign competition and downsizing forced the firm into bankruptcy. The Bethlehem Steel site ceased manufacturing processes in 1995.
The influence of Bethlehem Steel is still felt on campus in odd ways. Legend has it that the reason Lehigh’s classes usually start ten minutes after the hour is because of the tradition back in the day for many students to take on part-time shifts at the Steel Mill to help pay their way through school. They would need the ten minutes to get back to campus after their shifts ended on the hour. Our campus’s odd three part setup that wraps over the mountain is also attributable to Bethlehem Steel. Our famous alumnus, Lee Iacocca, the creator of the Ford Mustang and the Chrysler minivan, raised the funds to purchase Mountaintop, or Iacocca, Campus. The land used to be owned by Bethlehem Steel and was used as the site for an R&D laboratory. Apparently, this arrangement also included an exchange of properties. We gave Bethlehem Steel the land we had where Goodman Campus now is for Mountaintop. When Bethlehem Steel went under we got Goodman back- a fine example of clever maneuvering worthy of any Lehigh business student.
Bethlehem is a place that has a venerable past and hopefully a bright future. Many great minds have been taught here at Lehigh. Along with Lee Iacocca, who is often credited with saving Chrysler after a successful career at Ford, we are also the proud alma mater of Harold Mohler, former CEO of Hershey Foods and benefactor of Mohler Lab, U.S Congressman Charlie Dent, and Pulitzer Prize winner Joe Morgenstern. And who could forget Jesse Reno, the inventor of the escalator.
Lehigh University is truly a place that students thrive in and become deeply attached too. The Lehigh Valley will hopefully be your home for the next four years and I implore you to enjoy it for all its rich history and tradition. There is much to enjoy and see here in this little town of Bethlehem. Explore and become accustomed to the surrounding areas. Those who say they don’t like the town at all have probably never taken the time to really look around. Take advantage of what it holds for you. The little anecdotes and stories of our campus and city are certainly interesting but perhaps you will find something in Bethlehem that will come to have a special individual significance for you. You’ll never know if you don’t start looking. v
