By Sara Hodon Traditional schools cover the basics – reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic – but charter schools go one step further. Charter schools offer more focused, intensive curriculum in areas that traditional districts do not, or logistically cannot, provide. Students at charter schools still follow a curriculum similar to that of a traditional school, but also receive ... »
By Sara Vigneri I thought that once my kids were old enough to feed and bathe themselves, my job as a mom would get exponentially easier. What I didn’t anticipate was sleepaway camp. Last spring, my almost thirteen year-old daughter decided that she needed to check ‘sleepaway camp’ off her bucket list. Being a supportive mom I thought, sure, why not? I gritted my teeth as ... »
By J.F. Pirro Nancy Amici and Jodi Curtis, Coopersburg neighbors, were in their first class—Basic Herbs—at the second-year Sustainability School. Curtis heard about its monthly hands-on back-to-nature classes and workshops through her sister, a neighbor of Teresa Kirk, one of the school’s co-founders. Amici followed Curtis’ lead. “I’m surprised my sister kept it a secret f... »
By Carole Gorney When Lehigh alumnus Bruce Haines, ’67, learned during one of his frequent return trips to the Lehigh Valley that the Hotel Bethlehem was closing, he did what any self respecting Lehigh alum would do. He bought the hotel. Well, actually, with a little help from his friends and some investors. That was 1999, and a year later the hotel reopened as a Radisson... »
By Kathleen Shannon September is Farmer’s Market Month and if you’re not yet taking advantage of all the fabulous Lehigh Valley grown produce that’s available, now’s the time to get out and buy some. Local produce has so many advantages over store-bought products – the taste is better, it’s fresher, it supports the local economy, it’s good for the environment – and i... »
By Angela Bristow Maireann croí éadrom I bhfad. If you understand that Irish saying without the translation, “a light heart lives longest,” then you may be following your light heart to the 25th Annual Celtic Classic Highland Games & Festival September 28-30, in Historic Bethlehem. According to Jayne Ann Recker, Executive Director, Celtic Cultural Alliance, the organiz... »
By Kathryn Finegan Clark The first day of school looms large in a child’s life – hyper-discussed, anticipated and sometimes feared by the little one. Sending a child off to school is one of the toughest – albeit joyous – happenings in a mother’s life. A lump the size of a small pumpkin lodged in my throat the first time I watched our daughter climb aboard the big yellow sc... »
By J.F. Pirro Jim Schaffer had some of the best seats in baseball over his 35-year professional baseball career as a catcher, coach and manager. These days, he’s often a fixture in a white plastic lawn chair down the right-field foul line at Limeport Stadium—and still in one of baseball’s best seats, at least in the Lehigh Valley. While Shaffer traveled the country during ... »
By Mary Beth Schwartz “I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” These inspirational words of India’s Mahatma Gandhi characterize the life of the late Donald Schneck, a loved and respected business and ... »
By Ruth Heil As I sat in the Rose Garden last summer at Cedar Creek Parkway in Allentown, I thought I heard a little bird call, “Did you hear? Did you hear? Allentown loves us. It’s clear.” Maybe my imagination had gotten away from me, but the reality was Allentown had been officially named a Bird Town, and that was certainly something to sing about. The designation came f... »
