Many years ago, I worked with a guy whose son ran cross country for Wilson High School. He asked me why Northern Lehigh always had such great cross-country teams. I didn’t know how to answer him at the time. Now I think it may have been because Slatington is built on hills, and we develop strong leg muscles. Yeah, that’s probably not it. But Slatington is certainly built on hills.
Whether you are coming into Slatington from the north or the south, you are coming downhill into town. Main Street Hill goes the entire length of town, from the south. It is an old Native American route, Old Warrior’s Path. The north end of town, was Kuehner Hill, going up to the high school. When I was a kid in town, we always thought of that as the rich part of town. In actuality, it is mostly ranches and Cape Cods. But Slatington has never been a wealthy town, at least not since the slate boom days.
We like to give our hills names in Slatington. We have a famous hill, that is affectionately known as The Danny. Its real name is The Daniel Jones Hill, after an early slate pioneer. Its official name is Church Street, one of the few streets in Slatington without a church on it! Underneath the Danny is our infamous Bedbug Cave, home to underground slate quarries from back in the day.
Another famous hill in town is a bit ambiguous. I’m hoping some of my fellow Slatingtonians will put this ambiguity to rest. The south end of Walnut Street is known as either Hungary Hill (because it was a Hungarian settlement) or Hungry Hill (because poor people lived there). Help me out Slaters/Bulldogs!
Obviously, today’s post is one of my nostalgia themes. How I loved growing up in Slatington! I walked those hills throughout my childhood. I made the long walk up Main Street Hill every day in the summer to go to the pool. Until I learned to drive in late sophomore year, I walked up very steep Kuehner Hill to high school every school day. Yes, even through drifting snow and literally uphill both ways!
At this point in this post, I probably only have Slatington readers left! Let me close with one of my favorite hills. This one may only be remembered by the Dowell Street /North Street/ Willow Avenue gang of kids I grew up with. Sledding down Shooky’s Path on a snowy day and hoping you would make it all the way over the railroad tracks. I’m glad a grew up in a town with hills. I can’t even imagine a childhood in Kansas!
A Semi-retired Kind of Life 