Well, as far as I know, there never has been a Slatington Fair. But that could have been a good Simon and Garfunkel song title! Who knows where Scarborough is anyway?
No, we didn’t have a fair back in the sixties so we had to develop other ways to amuse ourselves. Remember, Slatington was, and still is, a town of about 4000 people. We are not Bethlehem with all of its fests. We are not Allentown with the Great Allentown Fair and Mayfair (at Cedar Crest College this year!).
The closest actual fair we could go to was the Lehighton Fair. It had rides and entertainment. But it is probably better known as the place to see “girly” shows long after other fairs had banned them. At least that is what I am told! I was a minor!
So, no fair. But we did have the Lions Club Carnival. It was located on Church Street (our street with no churches) between Arts Bar and the Neff House. I remember saving up pennies for weeks ahead of time just for the games of chance. And, of course, there was plenty of good food including Smitty’s French Fries. I lived within a block or two of the carnival, so I was there every night. Good times!
We also had church socials to look forward to. Yes, it was certainly a simpler time. Our church, St. John’s UCC, was famous for its peach festival. Since then I noticed that other UCC churches also have peach festivals. I am not sure what the connection is between the UCC and peaches. Maybe it was the founder’s favorite fruit! Ah, yes, not much beats a delicious, juicy peach. But I digress. My favorite part of the church socials/festivals was the inevitable cake walk. A group of people would line up and walk in a circle while music played. When the music stopped, depending on where you were standing, you would win a cake. The excitement! Be still my heart! I did once win a banana cake!
I think there was also a community picnic for the people that lived on Kuehner Hill. But that was the swanky part of town, and I was always a non-swanky. To this day, I wear my non-swankiness with pride!
I am not writing about the Walnutport Carnival. Not because it is not in Slatington, but more because it brings back horrible memories. It was at that carnival that I tried to impress a girl by eating ten ice cream and waffle sandwiches in a row! I succeeded in the goal of eating the sandwiches, but not in impressing the girl. Apparently she did not find throwing up in public an attractive quality. Go figure!
That’s enough fun memories for today. The sun is shining brightly in Schnecksville. Time to head outside.
A Semi-retired Kind of Life 