Weird Nazareth

Stuff I Found on the Ground: Vampire Blood

2011-12-31T19:34:00.000-05:00

Found this near corner of West Center and Wood Streets, Nazareth, Pa.*

*I've decided to make this site a little more dynamic by posting more frequent little blurbs (that we usually reserved for the Facebook group or Twitter) in addition to larger blog articles. This is sort-of a new year's resolution.

Christmas Spirits in Bethlehem

2011-12-05T19:54:00.003-05:00

Check out Ghost Hunters on SyFy (that's the Sci-Fi channel to those of us over 30) Wednesday Dec. 7th at 9pm when they'll feature the Sun Inn and perhaps some other local haunts. Here's a clip from their internet site:

Hauntings of Whitefield House

2011-10-24T19:38:00.007-04:00

As a lead-up to Halloween, the Express-Times included an article teasing ghost stories of The Whitefield House in Nazareth.

The spookiest tale comes from Kelly Givens, business manager at the Whitefield House, who is the only person to have actually seen a ghost.
Givens said that about two years ago she was alone at the house during the afternoon and walked up the stairs into the museum and passed a woman who she initially thought was a visitor. Then she realized the woman was dressed as a Moravian nurse of the period from when the children were at the nursery.

The Whitefield House Museum, 214 East Center St., is open to the public 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday through Saturday. The cost is $5 for adults and $3 for students and children to visit. For information, call 610-759-5070.

Kazoo Parade 2011

2011-07-04T15:28:00.002-04:00

The Nazareth Kazoo Parade was held this morning to celebrate Independence Day.

A highlight of this year's event was the grand marshal Abbe Graber, of Saugerties, N.Y. Graber, a professional kazoo player and kazoo craftsman, was invited to the borough by the Nazareth Area Chamber of Commerce to serve as grand marshal of the parade.

Anyhoo, here is a video of the parade rounding the corner onto Main Street.

Mysterious Twine Plagues Nazareth

2011-07-02T19:34:00.004-04:00

As the Morning Call reports (read here) areas of the borough have become entwined in an unexplainable tangle of thread. Sandy Remaly noticed the string over her home near Chestnut Street. She claims that the string stretches almost 8 blocks including the area all the way over near council chambers.

I had to see this for myself and swung by there on my morning bike ride. At this point the string is gathered around a clothesline pole and stretches up to a nearby tree. But it seems to stop there. I examined the string myself and can tell you it is probably not of this planet. No human could have produced a string that light and strong. Although, it could be a new type of guitar string developed by Martin Guitars. One of the many strong storms we've had lately may have blown it out of one of their huge smoke stacks and over the borough. What do you think the string is? Check out the video and comment below:

2011 Nazareth Adult Soapbox Derby

2011-05-14T12:01:00.006-04:00

The 4th annual Nazareth Adult Soapbox Derby took place Saturday May 7, 2011 on West Prospect Street. It was a really great day. There were over 40 cars from at least 4 states battling it out for top cart. A steady rain at around 2:30 pm cleared out most spectators but the race continued uninterrupted. Here is a slideshow of pictures from the day:

You can review race results and check out more pics at the official site: Click Here

Be sure to join the Facebook Group.

Read about the official 2011 WeirdNazareth.com car HERE.

Check out my live Tweets from the event HERE.

Mushroom Man Tasered

2011-04-25T21:14:00.005-04:00

Some mushrooms make you big, some make you shoot fireballs. The green ones even give you a 1UP. Apparently some also make you naked. As the Morning Call and Express Times report: A naked Upper Nazareth man on a bad hallucinogenic mushroom trip is accused of assaulting a police officer and an emergency medical worker who had come to help Sunday after he threw himself down the stairs of a home in Palmer Township.

"It started as a medical call," said Palmer detective Sgt. Timothy Ruoff. "It went bad from there."

Garrison L. Goodman, 31, of Upper Nazareth Township had taken "magic mushrooms" at 1202 Dunkle St. when he attempted to "dive or fly" down the steps from the second to the first floor, Ruoff said. Although Goodman was eating the mushrooms, Ruoff said, a bottle of mushroom juice was also recovered from the house. Goodman was visiting a friend at the time.

Brian Flavelle of Suburban Emergency Medical Services arrived about 1:25 a.m. to assist Goodman, who was suffering from a cut to his head and broken collarbone, Ruoff said.

Goodman was naked in the front yard and attacked Flavelle, Ruoff said, punching him several times in the head.

When Wilson policeman Marc Crisafulli also arrived, he was punched a number of times in the head by Goodman as well, Ruoff said.

The melee ended when Crisafulli shocked Goodman with a Taser and arrested him, Ruoff said.

Goodman was treated for his injuries at Easton Hospital, then arraigned by District Judge David Tidd and sent to Northampton County Prison under $50,000 bail.

Goodman faces charges that include aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment and possession of a controlled substance.

2011 Nazareth Adult Soapbox Derby Registration OPEN!

2011-03-09T20:09:00.005-05:00

Click Here for Registration Page

Nazareth Historical Treasures

2011-03-09T19:54:00.004-05:00

The Express Times has a new feature called Historical Treasures that spotlights local artifacts found in local museums. It appears every Sunday in the Connect section of the The Express-Times. There are several cool Nazareth landmarks that have been highlighted thus far, the most recent being the Indian Tower. Here are links to the Nazareth pieces:

2010 Pumpkin Carving Contest Bust

2011-01-05T21:02:00.005-05:00

The 2010 WeirdNazareth Pumpkin Carving Contest was a bummer. We only got two or three legitimate entries. I say "legitimate" entries because in my two years of running an online pumpkin contest I have noticed that there are internet pumpkin trolls. Internet pumpkin trolls are people, who are usually quite talented at carving, that troll the internet for various and random contests to enter their pumpkins in.

That said, we did get two entries from actual WeirdNazareth readers, Nicole Burns' Scooby Doo pumpkin and Jeff Gum's flying dog-thing pumpkin are shown below. Thanks to both of you for your pumpkin entries! Nice job.

2010 Nazareth Halloween Parade

2010-10-18T21:06:00.003-04:00

2010 Results:

BEST APPERARING INDIVIDUAL:

1ST, “LITTLE BOO PEEP” JoAnne Vanatta From Nazareth

2nd, “PRINCESS BELLE” Sarah Banko From Bushkill Township

3rd, “WITCH and BLACK CAT” Nicole and Brianna Snyder From Nazareth

MOST COMMICAL:

1ST, HOMESTEAD KENNELS From Nazareth

2nd, “HAWIAN LUAU” Center for Animals Health and Welfare From Easton

BEST APPEARING SMALL GROUP:

1ST, “PIRATE SHIP” MacINTRYE FAMILY From Easton

2ND, NAZARETH HIGH SCHOOL DANCE TEAM

3RD, KIDS CO-OP From Bethlehem

4th, “SUPER HEROS” Freiss family From Lower Nazareth

BEST APPEARING LARGE GROUP:

1ST, NAZARETH YMCA DANCE TEAM

2ND, LEHIGH VALLEY A.A.R.C. CAR CLUB

3RD, JEANIE CARDINALS SCHOOL of DANCE From Nazareth

BOY SCOUTS:

1ST, BOY SCOUT TROOP 74 From Nazareth

2ND, CUB PACK 78 From Nazareth

3RD, CUB PACK 88 From Nazareth

GIRL SCOUTS:

1ST, NAZARETH AREA GIRL SCOUTS

BEST APPEARING FLOATS:

1ST, PARKETTES from ALLENTOWN

2ND, JENNINGS TRANSPORTATION from NAZARETH

3RD, NAZARETH MIDDLE SCHOOL BEST BUDDIES

4TH, LABAR TOWING from NAZARETH

CHEERLEADERS:

1ST, UPPER NAZARETH CLIPPERS

2ND, LOWER NAZARETH WILDCATS

SPECIAL JUDGES AWARD:

“DYNAMIC DUO” Brian and Conner Rehn from Nazareth

2010 Pumpkin Carving Contest

2010-09-25T09:25:00.004-04:00

How would you like to win a super terrific WeirdNazareth.com T-shirt? I know, I know. Stop jumping up and down and listen for a minute. We are having another pumpkin carving contest and it is really easy to enter. You’re probably already carving a pumpkin for Halloween, right? Well all you have to do is take a photograph of it and send it to us and if it’s good enough you might win a T-shirt. Why are you jumping around again? The WeirdNazareth.com T-shirt is made of real fabric and has a spiffy silk-screened logo on the front. Each WeirdNazareth.com T-shirt is hand printed by our founder in his basement.

Information and Rules:

How to Enter:
To enter, take a photo of your pumpkin and e-mail it to us at weirdnazareth@hotmail.com. You can send us the photo itself as an attachment or a link to the photo on a photo-hosting site (Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa, etc.) We would prefer a link, but whatever works for you works for us. When you e-mail us, please tell us your name (at least your first and last intial; privacy will be respected) and the town that you live in. If you want to tell us a little about your pumpkin we would love to hear it. If you're feeling saucy, you can cronical it for the Maker Diaries.

The Weird Nazareth staff and our families will sort through all the entries and determine 4 finalists. The 4 finalists will then be posted on weirdnazareth.com and our readers will vote for the best pumpkin. After the contest is over, we will fawn over the winner and post a slide show of all the losers' entries.

Deadline for entry is midnight, Oct. 31, 2010.

Rules:
1) Your photo must be of a real pumpkin or some sort of pumpkin-like vegetable.
2) You do not have to be a Nazareth resident to enter the contest. You can be from anywhere in the whole world. Even Easton.
3) You must be of legal pumpkin carving age to enter.
4) By submitting a photo for the contest you are allowing us to use the photo to post on our sites, on our Facebook page, etc.
5) If you become a finalist, we will post your name (first name only) and town. We won’t post your last name if you don’t want us to.
6) Your pumpkin does not have to be carved, per se. It can be painted or sculpted or whatever. Basically, although we’re calling it a pumpkin “carving” contest it’s really a “creative pumpkin” contest.
7) No cheating. At weirdnazareth.com we’re fairly computer savvy. If you try to use a photo you found from a Google images search we’ll probably be able to tell.
8) You can submit as many pumpkins as you want. So you can create some really interesting in-family squabbles if you wanted.
9) If needed, you can submit multiple photos of the same pumpkin (different angles, etc.)
10) The rules above are very loose. Feel free to bend them.

Prizes:

The ultimate, grand prize, first place winner will get a WeirdNazareth.com T-shirt that is printed on whatever color shirt you want (assuming that the color has already been invented and exists at Target). It can be whatever size you need. In other words, I won’t be printing the shirt until we find out who won.

What are you waiting for?

Kazoo Parade 2010

2010-07-03T14:38:00.004-04:00

July 3rd marked the return of the Nazareth Kazoo Parade to celebrate Independence Day. As you may remember, last year's kazoo event was a concert rather than a parade. Well, all is right in the world again for those that like their kazoos with a little locomotion.

A highlight of this year's event was the grand marshal Kate Miccuci, a former Nazareth resident that has made a bit of a name for herself in the comedy biz. Kate lead the parade and tickled the crowd's silly bone with a song about Nazareth.

I've seen Kate on Youtube before. Apparently, Youtube removes a few pounds because I was expecting to see a petite little thing in person. In reality, Kate is quite an imposing figure. She's a hulking six and a half feet tall and, in my estimation, nearly 300 pounds. It was quite startling.

Anyhoo, here is a video of the parade coming down Main Street and a video of Kate's goofy song about Nazareth.

Matchstick Taj Mahal Finished!

2010-06-20T21:04:00.004-04:00

As the Express Times reported last week, puzzle enthusiast & Nazareth local Raymond Neuner completed a replica of the Taj Mahal made of matchsticks. If this has you excited then I'm about to blow your mind...the replica is available for public viewing during Martins on Main (Aug. 8) at KNBT. So clear your calendar.

Fun Facts about the Taj Mahal:

It was completed around 1653 and took about 22 years. Ray's replica took about 2400 hours over three winters.
Over 1000 elephants were used to move materials to the construction area. No elephants were used during construction of Ray's replica.
The total cost is estimated at 32 million rupees. According the the Internet, Ray's replica kit cost about 80 bucks.
The Taj Mahal attracts 2.5-4 million tourists each year. Ray's replica has just recently been put on display so data is not yet available.

Remembering the Washington St. Ghost Owl

2010-05-15T19:06:00.013-04:00

Way back in 2007 I posted a picture of the Ghost Owl of Washington Street after I sumbled upon it while out for a walk. It was the first thing I ever posted on this site and it is the reason this site exists. Sadly, the Owl has been destroyed. It's sad, tattered remains are still attached to the branches. What was once a proud symbol of Nazareth weirdness is now a broken shard of plastic. Goodbye, old friend.

I close my eyes, only for a moment, and the moment's gone
All my dreams, pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind.
Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do, crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see

Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind

Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away, and all your money won't another minute buy.

Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind
Dust in the wind, everything is dust in the wind.

2010 Nazareth Adult Soapbox Derby

2010-05-02T19:30:00.003-04:00

If you're anything like me, when you hear the phrase "adult soapbox derby" certain things come to mind. But in reality the annual Nazareth Adult Soapbox Derby is simply a soapbox derby where only those over the age of 18 can race. Doesn't have anything to do with ball gags or leather chaps. So if you're looking for that kind of thing move along.

Yesterday, the annual soapbox derby was held on the W. Prospect Street hill. There were almost 40 cars ranging from converted snow blowers to highly engineered racing machines to wooden jalopies. This year featured neo-celebrity Tyler Grady of Star Search fame and a police radar device that displayed the car's speed. It was a great day. The slideshow below is from a Flickr group dedicated to the event. So it features some of my own photos and other's as well. Also, there are links below to all of the applicable sites devoted to the Nazareth Adult Soap Boax Racing Association

Facebook Group: HERE
Building the WeirdNazareth.com Klown Kar: HERE
Official Website: HERE
Article in Express Times (Lehigh Valley Live): HERE
Photo Gallery from ET/LVL: HERE
2009 Derby: HERE
2008 Derby: HERE

Public drunkenness, underage drinking, and disorderly conduct

2010-04-09T20:57:00.002-04:00

The Morning call has a charming police blotter article about a Nazareth man having a fun time with Nazareth Borough police yesterday. You can read it here. After being picked up for some suspicious activity he
broke a window with his head and smeared his blood on the holding cell’s glass, door, three walls, toilet and floor. Later, according to the article, he licked his blood off the broken window, saying, “I need blood. I want blood. I want your blood.” Good times.

arson, arson endangering property, causing catastrophe, risking catastrophe, recklessly endangering another person, disorderly conduct...

2010-03-22T20:12:00.004-04:00

The Morning Call has a police blotter article about a Nazareth woman who tried to break her way back into her apartment after a domestic dispute. Maybe not a terribly unusual premise. However, the method of entry is. According to the article she used long stick matches to melt the window screen to attempt to gain entry causing fire damage to the apartment. Brilliant!

You read all about Nazareth's best and brightest under the topic "crime and punishment."

Obscura Day in Bucks County

2010-03-07T18:36:00.006-05:00

If you're interested in something weird to do this March you can take a drive down to Bucks County to celebrate Obscura Day with a rock concert at Ringing Rocks park. What's Obscura Day, you ask? Why, Obscura Day is only the 17th best day of the year. March 20th is designated as an international celebration of wondrous, curious, and esoteric places or "Obscura Day."

One of the official Obscura Day events is a concert created by banging on the rocks at Ringing Rocks Park in Bucks County. And anyone can participate. As Obscura Day's website describes:
March 20, 2010 1PM: Bring hammers, mallets, bats, and other percussive instruments for this gathering at the mysterious Ringing Rocks Park in eastern Pennsylvania, where the stones have a most curious property: they ring out musical tones when struck. The exact mechanism by which these rocks ring remains a mystery, though it may have to with the freeze-thaw cycle that helped created the boulder field in the first place. The unusual property has been observed at only a few other locations in the US. Join us on Obscura Day to collectively rock out in this most curious of rock parks. Obscura Day Ringing Rocks Concert website: Click Here

Although WeirdNazareth.com won't be hosting an official Obscura Day event we are going to create a WeirdNazareth map that you can follow on Obscura Day or any day of the year. It will allow you to enjoy the impending Spring weather and some of the stuff we've posted here in-person. Dust off your GPS's and check back in a little bit for your official Spring 2010 WeirdNazareth.com map!

2010 Soapbox Derby Registration Now Open

2010-03-03T18:54:00.004-05:00

Registration is is now open for the 3rd annual adult soapbox derby. Hop over to point-o-eight.com for the registration form so that you can register your own home made monstrosity. Be sure to check our Maker Diaries site in the near future because I'll be blogging about the creation of WeirdNazareth's 2010 car (if you're interested in doing the same, email me at weirdnazareth@hotmail.com). To get you in the spirit, here are pics from:

2008's inaugural race

my 2008 car

2009's race

Bath's Guitar Zero

2010-02-10T12:12:00.004-05:00

Not since Kendra Hoffman's 2009 pretzel coaster attempt has the Bath area been so abuzz about one of its native sons. Aaron Nikles of Bath made a valiant attempt at breaking a Guitar Hero world record at Wilkes College but came up short. Read the story here. Witnesses say he collapsed from exhaustion during the bridge of Radar Love and his avatar was booed off the virtual stage. On the positive side, $100 dollars were raised for the American Cancer Society and he unlocked the leopard-print stretch pants after beating his own high score on Slow Ride.

Kazoo Petition

2010-01-28T19:41:00.003-05:00

As the Morning Call reports, Nazareth native and actress Kate Micucci was on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night and told the world a little bit about our little town of Nazareth. Maybe not the world, but the 15 people that watch Jimmy now know that we have an annual July 4th kazoo-related event in town. Since you didn't see it, click here.

The kazoo event is a few years old but last year it wasn't a parade; It was a concert. And as l'il Kate Micucci said on Jimmy's show, it was a bit of a bummer. She even said she'd write the mayor. I know that'll never happen. So I decided to create a petition to bring back the parade format. People need the exercise.

You can sign the petition here: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/kazoo/petition.html

You know you want to.

We need your help...

2010-01-27T19:45:00.005-05:00

We are seeking information, tales, photos, legends, rumors, anecdotes, and details about the "rock room" at Nazareth High School. Please send us what you know. E-mail at weirdnazareth@hotmail.com

I didn't go to NAHS so I don't know anything about it. But I'll bet you do!

Nazo State of Mind

2009-12-17T18:52:00.004-05:00

Local radio DJ Jarret Brown is droppin' it like it's hot in this dope rap about Nazareth. You'll think this track is ill even if you ain't from south of Prospect...

Click Here to Listen

Stuff We Found on the Ground in 2009

2009-11-28T20:47:00.000-05:00

This site is evidence of all the interesting stuff that I see while venturing around town. But some of the more interesting stuff is located all the way down on the ground where many people ignore. An unhealthy combination of low self esteem and bad posture allow me to focus on what other people may miss. I don't care about the obvious. Cigarette butts are a dime-a-dozen. The best stuff makes one wonder about the story behind it and how it ended up where it did.

As a year-end treat, here is a compilation of all the great stuff that I found on the ground in the Nazareth area. Throughout the year I put these up on our Facebook page as I find them. But I wanted to share them with everyone. I don't intend this to be some deep anti-littering campaign. In fact, most of this stuff I don't even pick up. I usually just snap a photo and keep walking.

Some of our loyal WeirdNazareth.com readers have even taken part in the fun and e-mailed us some of the stuff they found. So keep us in mind as you survey the ground from now on. For 2010 I hope to have a lot of reader submissions included in the Stuff I Found on the Ground 2010 edition. Anything you find on the ground that is weird, odd, interesting, or unusual can be e-mailed to weirdnazareth@hotmail.com

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

"What I Eat:" July 7, 2009.
I found this newspaper clipping on the ground W.Center near S.Green St. (Nazareth). It is taped to an index card. It says "What I Eat: Everyday I eat an apple, yogurt, cottage cheese, wheat germ, egg whites, walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, Go Lean, mixed veggies and romaine."

"Crow:" found on W. Center St. (Nazareth) on July 9, 2009

"Baby bottle:" found 7/13/09 on Broad St. (Nazareth) kinda near Rio's but on the other side of the street. It's been there for a few weeks now...

"Set List:" found at the circle (Nazareth) on August 2, 2009. It was written on the back of some sort of housing lease agreement.

"Squirrel:" found on West Center St. (Nazareth) on July 11, 2009

"Squirrel, a different one:" found near the corner of New and East Center Streets (Nazareth) on August 23, 2009

"Penny and Lens Cloth:" found on Whitefield Street (Nazareth) on August 24, 2009. I moved the penny a little closer to the cloth but I wish I had left it alone.

"Yellow shoes:" found on West Center Street (Nazareth) near Memorial Square park on Sept. 2, 2009.

"Hand:" found on E. Chestnut Street (Nazareth) on Labor Day, Sept. 7, 2009.

"Magnum:" A Reader Submission...This was found by weird Nicole on Sept. 9, 2009 on a ledge at Nazareth Furniture (Main & Belvidere Sts.) Thanks, Nicole!

"Ball:" Found on Sept.18, 2009 on W. Center St. (Nazareth) near corner of S. Green Street. It says "PB Celebrating 100 Years on it. It is a Titleist.

"Tweezers:" Found Sept. 17, 2009 on Mauch Chunck St. near 5-points intersection (Nazareth).
"Flip Book:" A great find. Found near Nazareth Area High School on Sept. 20, 2009. It appears to be some sort of "rocket ship" flying into a "black hole." This lends itself to the first ever 'Stuff I Found on the Ground" Video. (see below)

"Wrapped Pickle:" Found on South Liberty Street (Nazareth) on Sept. 20, 2009. It is wrapped in a napkin and is almost completely dried out.

"Friendship Bracelet:" Found on Victory Lane (Nazareth) on Sept. 20, 2009 near NAHS.

"Tied Sock:" Although technically not ON the ground, this was found Oct. 3, 2009 at Memorial Square Park on W. Center Street.

"Sign:" It was extremely windy and this foam sign blew onto our sidewalk. Apparently, there is an insane asylum somewhere in the area. Found Oct 7, 2009 on S. Church St. (Nazareth)

Alien Invasion over Nazareth and the Cloud Cover-Up

2009-11-13T18:00:00.000-05:00

View over Kraemer's Textiles on the morning of October 22

They came without warning. In a sky blanketed with small puffy clouds, holes appeared, huge holes with feathery clouds inside them. It looked as if enormous flying saucers had descended to the ground somewhere nearby, piercing the cloud cover and leaving straggling remnants where the clouds had been.

Over Washington Park--note the way the cloud streaks downward and toward the left

There were several of these holes. The largest seemed to be almost right over Nazareth and there were others to the north and west.

Recently similar clouds have been seen over Moscow and in Romania, and as you can see here, some people thought they were seeing an alien invasion. Certain UFO enthusiasts still say that the scientific explanation is a cover-up!

This photo by Scott Werkheiser shows that I wasn't the only one to notice the odd formations.

But for those of you who are blinded by science, here is what they are. They're called fallstreak holes or hole punch clouds, and they happen in water vapor clouds that are supercooled. When one bit of vapor crystallizes, the ones around it do, too, and the effect continues outward from that center in every direction, leaving a visible hole in the water vapor clouds, a hole that has a mass of ice crystals that are heavier and therefore sinking slowly, creating that feathery effect.

While it isn't really rare, this is an unusual atmospheric phenomenon, and we were lucky to observe it. You can see a variety of Fallstreak holes on the website of the Cloud Appreciation Society, here.

So it appears that no space ships landed in the greater Nazareth area on October 22, and we should be safe for now. But be sure to let us know if one of your family members starts acting strangely. If there really was an invasion, they may have been abducted and replaced by an exact double who secretly records your lives for alien reality TV. We're told that humanity provides much of the rest of the universe's comic relief.

Your 2009 Pumpkin Champion

2009-11-09T19:00:00.002-05:00

With 86% of the precincts reported we can now declare a winner of the 2009 WeirdNazareth.com Pumpkin Carving Contest. Congratulations to Tracey Bellocchio of Nazareth, Pa.

Tracey's spider pumpkin was carried by a strong local turnout of young white chiroptophobes and minority arachnologists. The economy didn't hurt either. Exit polling showed that the predominant topic on voters' minds was the volatile global price of curcurbita futures.

Voter turnout was excellent with over 300 votes! The breakdown of the four finalists was as follows:

Tracey Bellocchio's Spider Pumpkin: 44%; Ben Does/Chris Polles' Pumpkins Partied Too Hard: 37%; Barry Huston's Three Pumpkin Set 15%; The Duffy Family's Bloody Bat 3%.

Congratulations to all the finalists and excellent job to all the enties. You can see a pic of all the entries in the slideshow below.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Vote Now for your Favorite Pumpkin!

2009-11-01T18:00:00.002-05:00

The deadline for submissions to the pumpkin carving contest has passed. Thanks to everyone that submitted an entry. The voting is now open. Remember, you are choosing the pumpkin that will represent you for an entire year. Please take this seriously. Put the partisan nonsense behind you and do the right thing. CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Welcome, welcome. Step into the booth. You can close the curtain behind you by
pulling that big lever. No, that one...the big one. Put your weight into it.
Good. Now, just choose your favorite pumpkin by clicking the little button and
clicking submit. Good. No, you have to pull the lever back the other way in
order to register your vote and open the curtain. Have you ever voted before?
No, you don't have to worry about chads this year. It's all electronic. OK,
good. You're all done. Have a nice day. Please, you're holding up the line.
Please keep moving.

Should the reigning winner become unable to serve for any reason (e.g. assassination, rotting, etc.) the second place pumpkin will step in. Polls close Nov. 9.

Nazareth Halloween Parade (2009)

2009-10-31T19:08:00.007-04:00

The Halloween parade was today and was great. It started to rain just before we got to see the 3rd division. We had to get the baby home so we missed the end. Here are photos I took from my perch on the YMCA steps:

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Old Car at Jacobsburg

2009-10-21T08:00:00.003-04:00

Here is a fairly well-known Jacobsburg oddity that we haven't been able to find a lot of back story on. Not too far from the creek, in the Eastern most part of the park, there is a very old decaying automobile in the middle of the woods. I first discovered this in the early '90's when I first started coming to the park and haven't seen it since. So I decided to take a trip over there to snap some photos.

I surprised myself by finding the car so quickly after all these years. It's not difficult to find. In fact, on a sunny day you can see it from the main trail (Blue blazed; Henry's Woods Trail; just past the bridge) because the sun reflects off of the chrome bumper. It has decomposed quite a bit since I remember and has become covered in etchings from various visitors over the years. I didn't notice any that were older than the late '90's but it may be that the older ones have rusted over.

I wanted to try and get some clues as to the kind of vehicle it is, how long its been there, and how it got there. There was a marking on the engine block that said "Firing Order 18736542." From the little I know about cars I knew that this only told me it is an 8 cylinder (it had eight digits) and told me noting about the model or age. On the front bumper, there was a hand painted code that read "N4046.614W07517.189." At first I thought this may be something like the magic numbers in the TV show LOST. But after I stared at it long enough I realized that these might be coordinates. After a quick Google search I confirmed that Jacobsburg park is located at N4046 and that these are the waypoints for the vehicle and that geocachers may be using this as a stash point. Based on what I had gathered I found nothing to suggest the model or year of the car. Best guess is 1950's or early 1960's model.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

As far as how it got there, it clearly made its way down the embankment from the main trail area and smashed into a tree. The front bumper is bent around the tree. I saw no clear path from the main trail to the resting spot; it was littered with old growth trees. Also, the forest floor was pretty deep around the wheels. This suggests that the car has been there quite a long time. I might guess 30 or 40 years...maybe 50.

It's a pretty interesting juxtaposition of nature and machine to see a car in the middle of the woods. So if you have the means go check it out. Surely, there is someone reading this that has more information about this automobile and what its story is. So drop us a line at weirdnazareth@hotmail.com

Scarecrows at Center Square

2009-10-14T08:00:00.001-04:00

Autumn is in the air. And that means that it is time for some of the local Girl Scouts to make one final attempt to rid Nazareth circle of those annoying crows before Winter. This year's group of scarecrows are particularly creative...Scuba Sue, Hippy Chick, and even a public-service-message regarding the H1N1 virus. They're all really good.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

As I was taking some of the pictures I noticed a group of girls and their group leader engrossed in a discussion about the bet place in the circle to put their scarecrow. Everyone had an opinion: it should face a stop sign, it should be near the mail boxes, it should face the church... It was interesting to see the amount of thought that the girls put into not only the design of the scarecrow, but the placement of the scarecrow within the circle.

Hey, don't forget to snap a photo of your Jack-o-lantern and e-mail it to us for our Contest!

Spooky Trees of Nazareth: The Horror!

2009-10-06T21:06:00.016-04:00

October has arrived and with it the scarecows, pumpkins and skeletal decorations that bring the fun of the Halloween season into our fair town. Not only the children but many adults enjoy going around to have a look at what their clever or funny neighbors have come up with this time.

Lately, however, we at Weird Nazareth have noticed some outdoor alterations whose nature seems uncertain. Beautifully growing trees around town have been hacked into grotesque and mutilated trunks with stunted branches allowed to protrude here and there, bereft of leaves that might soon have glowed with autumn color.

We can only assume that their owners or pruners are creating a new kind of Halloween art--the Horror Tree, in imitation of the dead and rotting trees we often see in horror films or Halloween art, often with ravens or vultures perched on what remains of their branches!

Or perhaps it's some kind of art fad, in which people express their existential angst through the form of the trees on their properties, giving voice to their horror at life's vicissitudes, deforming the trees as they feel their lives have been deformed beyond their control, as if Edvard Munch had pruned trees instead of painting The Scream.

Whatever the cause, we hope everyone will take time to observe these creations, for people have sacrificed their magnificent trees, rebelling against all rules of good pruning, in order to present you with these stunted and twisted roosts for the darker birds of the town.
[vultures in these photos added for effect]

Gracedale Hauntings Part 2: The Red Headed Nurse

2009-09-28T17:00:00.002-04:00

Last week we posted a story Scott Moro told us about some strange goings-on at Gracedale. Here is another of Scott's tales...

Part 2: The Red Headed Nurse

Scott: During the summer of ’93, in the North West 2 wing, the regular staff I worked with was in and out on vacation, so there were times when new or substitute nurses and aides were working the same shifts as me. There were one or two regulars, along with me and one or two subs...People I didn’t know. As I was making my bed-time rounds, I saw a red-headed nurse pass me and go into a linen supply closet. There was definitely nothing out of the ordinary about this. Many times residents wanted another blanket or socks for their feet. What was unusual was the fact that the red-headed nurse was wearing one of those “old – fashioned,” white nurse’s hats. I didn’t think anything of it and continued to make my rounds throughout the floor.

When I got back to the nurse’s station, I asked Linda, the RN on the floor, and one of the regulars, “Who’s the new nurse?” She looked at me, kind of strangely and said, “which one,” thinking I’d meant one of the substitute aides. I repeated my question, this time saying, “The red-headed one, ya know, the one with the old-fashioned hat?” This time, instead of a look at me, she turned to another regular, another nurse named Linda, and they kind of smirked at one another.

Thinking I’d missed out on the inside joke, I said, “What? What’s so funny?”

Both Lindas looked at me and said, “So, you’ve seen her.”

At this point, I was getting pissed and replied that “yeah, I’d seen her, so what.” She works there, just like us. I wanted to know what her name was so I could say hello and introduce myself. The red-headed nurse did seem a bit odd, especially with her style of dress, but it didn’t seem out of the ordinary.

Well, as it turns out, the red-headed nurse that disappeared into the linen closet was not a new Gracedale employee. In fact, she was hired nearly than 40 years before. She was one of the original nurses to work the floor in the 1950’s...and had passed away quite a few years before I saw her. Her spirit “hangs around” the North West 2 wing and what I’d encountered was a ghost!

Pumpkin Carving Contest

2009-09-22T17:18:00.001-04:00

How would you like to win a super terrific WeirdNazareth.com T-shirt? I know, I know. Stop jumping up and down and listen for a minute. We are having a pumpkin carving contest and it is really easy to enter. You’re probably already carving a pumpkin for Halloween, right? Well all you have to do is take a photograph of it and send it to us and if it’s good enough you might win a T-shirt. Why are you jumping around again? The WeirdNazareth.com T-shirt is made of real fabric and has a spiffy silk-screened logo on the front. Each WeirdNazareth.com T-shirt is hand printed by our founder in his basement.

Information and Rules:

How to Enter:
To enter, take a photo of your pumpkin and e-mail it to us at weirdnazareth@hotmail.com. You can send us the photo itself as an attachment or a link to the photo on a photo-hosting site (Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa, etc.) We would prefer a link, but whatever works for you works for us. When you e-mail us, please tell us your name (at least your first and last intial; privacy will be respected) and the town that you live in. If you want to tell us a little about your pumpkin we would love to hear it. If you're feeling saucy, you can cronical it for the Maker Diaries.

The Weird Nazareth staff and our families will sort through all the entries and determine 4 finalists. The 4 finalists will then be posted on weirdnazareth.com and our readers will vote for the best pumpkin. After the contest is over, we will fawn over the winner and post a slide show of all the losers' entries.

Rules:
1) Your photo must be of a real pumpkin or some sort of pumpkin-like vegetable.
2) You do not have to be a Nazareth resident to enter the contest. You can be from anywhere in the whole world. Even Easton.
3) You must be of legal pumpkin carving age to enter.
4) By submitting a photo for the contest you are allowing us to use the photo to post on our sites, on our Facebook page, etc.
5) If you become a finalist, we will post your name (first name only) and town. We won’t post your last name if you don’t want us to.
6) Your pumpkin does not have to be carved, per se. It can be painted or sculpted or whatever. Basically, although we’re calling it a pumpkin “carving” contest it’s really a “creative pumpkin” contest.
7) No cheating. At weirdnazareth.com we’re fairly computer savvy. If you try to use a photo you found from a Google images search we’ll probably be able to tell.
8) You can submit as many pumpkins as you want. So you can create some really interesting in-family squabbles if you wanted.
9) If needed, you can submit multiple photos of the same pumpkin (different angles, etc.)
10) The rules above are very loose. Feel free to bend them.

Prizes:

The 4 finalists will all get a WeirdNazareth.com T-shirt that is printed on whatever color shirt you want (assuming that the color has already been invented and exists at Target). It can be whatever size you need. In other words, I won’t be printing the shirts until we find out who won.

The ultimate, grand prize, first-place winner will also get a one-of-a-kind WeirdNazareth.com Pumpkin Carving Winner trophy that will look awesome in your cubicle at work next to your Dwight Schrute bobble-head doll.

What are you waiting for?

Gracedale Haunting Part 1: Myrtle's TV

2009-09-19T07:00:00.001-04:00

We’ve heard about some strange goings-on in the buildings at Gracedale, Northampton County’s nursing home. A few months ago we got to hear about Scott Moro’s personal experiences while working at Gracedale during college in the early 1990’s.

Between 1991 and 1993, Scott was going to college at Moravian and working at Gracedale to earn some gas and spending money. His job was a “Special Services Helper”, which basically meant he fed the residents who could not feed themselves and transport residents throughout Gracedale. While the first few weeks Scott spent his time wherever needed he eventually got assigned to the North West 2 wing which is in the oldest part of the building.

Scott liked the nurses and nurse’s aides he worked & as he got to know each one better they began to share stories with him, many of which dealt with strange occurrences: strange noises, shadow-like figures, mysteriously misplaced or moving objects. So for the start of the Halloween season we thought it was time to share some of them on WeirdNazareth.com.

Part 1: Mytle’s Television

Scott Moro: One night, just after Christmas in ’91, I was doing the normal feeding and moving of residents. It was well after dinner and getting to be bed time. Bed time at Gracedale was very quiet. TV’s were off, radios off. It was as silent as silent could be. Well, I tucked in an elderly woman named Myrtle. She was a rather large woman, as were most on the floor and had little to no mobility. The head of her bed was propped like normal, which made it more comfortable for her. As I finished with Myrtle, I made my way down the rest of the hall, following the same tucking routine. Upon making my way back towards the nurse’s station so I could gather my things to go home, I heard a TV playing. Shocked, as this was extremely abnormal, I looked to see where it was coming from. It was coming from Myrtle’s room.

Confused, I walked in to see if Myrtle was awake and needed anything. She was sound asleep, as was her roommate, who was across the room and who did NOT have a TV. This was obviously a strange occurrence for a number of reasons: 1.) Myrtle could NOT move on her own, she needed someone to reach the remote control or a book or anything. 2.) The table where the remote was located was tucked against the wall, about 5 feet BEHIND Myrtle’s bed!

I switched off the TV and left the room, figuring I either didn’t turn off the TV completely the last time I was in the room or someone in a nearby room had used their remote and somehow the signal worked on Myrtle’s TV too. It’s not abnormal for garage door remote, TV remotes or other electronic devices to have this ability, so I didn’t think anything of it...EXCEPT that for the next three nights, at exactly the same time, in the exact same room, the same thing happened!

After the 3rd night, I shared the experience with my friends at the nurse’s station. They shook their heads and one of the aides, Eva, told a story about how she experienced something similar a few years back. They had electricians come in to check the wiring. Myrtle’s family was notified that maybe her TV was on the fritz and they may need to purchase another one.

A year went by, and I continued to do my job on North West 2 wing, without incident. No other TV issues, not from Myrtle’s room, not from any other room. We just laughed and shook it off as a weird electrical thing. Right after Christmas in ’92, however, on the same dates in late December...what happened in Myrtle’s room in ’91, happened again! This time, Eva was with me! We just stared at each other and then bolted back to the nurse’s station to share our experience. The others were amazed!

The women tried to see if there was something with the room, or a former resident who stayed there. Nothing. It was amazingly strange...and cool. Again we thought that there was something with the TV. We played with wires, cables, plugs and outlets. Nothing. Someone commented that maybe another resident’s remote was causing the trouble, just as I’d thought a year before. So we searched each room, only to realize, no other residents in Myrtle’s wing had a TV!!! She was one of the wealthier residents, who had a larger room and a cable hook-up. Other residents had TV’s on that floor, but nowhere near this room and none with a mega-powerful remote control.

To this day, I have no idea what happened, how it happened, or why it happened, but the women I worked with and I are convinced, it was paranormal.

Swine Flu Crosses Kingdom Lines

2009-09-10T19:20:00.004-04:00

Apparently, the "swine flu" virus is no longer just a problem for those of us in kingdom Anamalia; it has crossed into kingdom Plantae. And Nazareth is ground zero. This tree was spotted in Black Rock woods. It clearly has been infected because its ground roots look just like a pig's head.

Hot Air Balloon Landing @ NAHS

2009-09-07T19:12:00.004-04:00

As I was walking around town this evening I noticed a balloon in the air. As I got closer to the high school the balloon began to descend and eventually landed in the parking lot. It drew a large crowd from the nearby neighborhood and the kids were especially excited.

If you are interested in knowing how a hot air balloon works click here.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

More on Newburg Inn Hauntings and the CLPS

2009-08-31T19:37:00.008-04:00

I'd like to start off by apologizing for the glut of "ghost" posts on WeirdNazareth.com lately. I realize not everyone is a fan. But that's just how the ball is bouncing right now. Anyway, as we, and the Express Times, posted earlier this month, a local paranormal investigation team, the City Lights Paranormal Investigation Society, surveyed the Newburg Inn. Now they've posted the result on their website here.

According to their summary they checked electromagnetic fields, temperature, and made audio recordings. Their conclusion is "Yes, the Newburg Inn is HAUNTED!!!"

I am just now discovering this group and their website. Their website is well organized and includes photos, text, upcoming events, and best of all, audio clips. Some of the investigation photos are a little disappointing as I find them too small and too dark to really see anything. But overall, it is a great site and worth checking out.

On their upcoming events schedule they have two events that Nazareth area folks may be interested in. First is an open discussion at the aforementioned Newburg Inn on Sept. 20 from 4-6pm. The second is a meet & greet at the Nazareth Library on Sept. 22 from 6-7:45pm.

We're excited to see what the CLPS has in store. And we hope they are able to cover some more Nazareth area locales. Please check out their site.

More Apparitions at Creekside Estates?

2009-08-30T18:01:00.004-04:00

Brian P. continues his extended exposure photography in Upper Nazareth. He sees a "face" in one photo while it seems missing in another photo of the same area. What do you think? Comment below.

The Ghost of Monocacy Creek

2009-08-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

We received a message from Brian P. of Upper Nazareth who noticed an apparition in an extended exposure photo he took. The photo was taken around midnight at Creekside Estates about a year ago. Brian says:

I took this one at about midnight just playing around with my camera (i have a Cannon Rebel XT). I did some research on how Nazareth used to be called Welagamika and was an indian settlement for thousands of years. I believe in the spiritual realm [& I'm] into nature. I took this picture behind my house. I kept it on my computer for about a year now, and decided I should do something with it. I love the WeirdNazareth website and find it interesting. The apparition is in the center of the picture. I believe this is a native female or some sort of spirit. I only cropped [the photo] and did nothing else to it. [The photo] appears to be lighter than midnight because it is a 30 second exposure. I would never think how I would see the ghost of the Monocacy Creek!

Thanks a bunch for the photos and information, Brian. Keep them coming.

Do you see the Ghost of the Monocacy Creek? Click the photo below to see it highlighted.

NEW! Weird Nazareth T-Shirt on Maker Diaries

2009-08-21T20:56:00.001-04:00

It’s time for arts and crafts. If you hop over to the Maker Diaries you can find out how to make a Weird Nazareth T-shirt. We will be having some contests in the near future and these shirts will be part of the prizes. So stay tuned. It is pretty easy to make a swell silk-screened shirt with a little more than household objects and junk lying around. In fact, you’ll never have to leave the comfort of Nazareth in order to do this. The tools and materials list has everything that you need. You can buy silk screening supplies at online art supply places. Or you can try "doing it the ghetto way" (as they say south of Prospect Street) with items that you probably already have lying around the house. The big exception would be the photo emulsion kit, which can be obtained from an online art supply place or on eBay. It is not too expensive and it is an absolute must if you want to get a nice detailed design on your shirt.

Note: The instructable will show you how to make a Weirdnazareth.com shirt. If you wanted to make a News Over Coffee shirt or a Cockeyed.com shirt you are wasting your time here.

The basic principle here is that you're going to coat a mesh screen with some photosensitive goo, apply an opaque template, and expose the screen under light. The light will harden the exposed areas and leave the areas under the template soft and water soluble. Once the water-soluble stuff is washed away there will be what amounts to a very detailed stencil that you can use to print on paper, fabric, whatever.

So grab your smock and CLICK HERE to get started.

WeirdNazareth presents: MAKER DIARIES !

2009-08-09T20:00:00.001-04:00

There really aren't enough blogs and websites on the internet. So we thought we'd create a new one. In the interest of highlighting the creative, mechanical, and industrial types in the Lehigh Valley we have created a branch of WeirdNazareth.com called Maker Diaries. On the Maker Diaries you'll (hopefully) find all kinds of how-to's, DIY projects, and photos of projects that people in the area, and beyond, have created. These may be things like, snowmen, art pieces, remodeling & home improvement projects, soapbox derby cars, novel methods of doing everyday tasks... basically anything.

Maker Diaries site is located HERE.

The site is intended to be interactive and reader driven. So if you have something that you'd be interested in showcasing please send us an e-mail. It can be as mundane as a step-by-step for sharpening lawn mower blades or as grandiose as making an ice sculpture. There are no rules. We want to see what you made and hear about how you did it.

We've posted a few of our own to get things started. But we want you to start sending us your ideas and projects.

What we're looking for:

1) Photos are key. At minimum, we want to see photos of your finished project. But we'd also like to see in-process photos and pictures that you've used for inspiration.

2) A little narrative would be nice. We're not expecting a 1500 word step-by-step how-to article (although that would be awesome if you have it). But we'd like to get an idea of how you completed your project, why you did it, what reaction you've got from it, etc.

3) No subject is too trivial. Lots of people don't know how to do simple, common things that you may take for granted. So why not transfer some knowledge. If you can help other people complete a task or attempt something they wouldn't normally attempt then it's a good thing.

Ghosts of the Dryland--Newburg Inn

2009-08-06T16:05:00.009-04:00

Monday's Express-Times reported that the City Lights Paranormal Center, headed by Joe Ianetta, visited the Newburg Inn to investigate ghost sightings that have been reported there over the years. A quote from the article:

"The history of the inn includes a grim chapter of the capture of one Indian who was then hung among the rafters in that attic.
Apparently to some, he still hangs around in the bar as a shape and a source of high paranormal activity. Iannetta says he believes the hanged man is haunting the place of his unjust death to assert his innocence."

Not only are other ghosts mentioned ("a black man who greets people at the front door, another small man, a woman" . . . "and a former owner of the inn named Newt"), but also a doll that moves and an unplugged phone that rings! You can see the full article by Tony Nauroth here.

Ianetta took more than 60 hours of video at the inn and as of the time of the article, planned to review it. The manager of the Newburg Inn, Lou Basta, seems to take it all in stride, but Nauroth writes, "As for that disconnected phone that rings, Basta says, 'I don't answer it.' "

Have any of our readers seen ghosts at the Newburg Inn? Anywhere else? Tell us about it. Maybe those specters just want to be mentioned on the internet!

History note: Newburg was part of the area called the Dryland because of a dearth of creeks and springs between the present Brodhead Road and Nazareth.

Magic? Of Quartz!

2009-08-03T19:48:00.009-04:00

crystals in a quartz stone found northwest of town

Many Nazareth people know at least the name Black Rock for the woods at the end of the Borough Park. Some have probably noticed the black rock it was named for, both under the stream and along Black Rock Road. Fewer will know that at one time people intended to grind the black rock--slate--into powder and start an industry there producing black mineral pigment.

But only people who are really paying attention notice that as you walk further back into the woods, the black rock stops and various-sized white rocks become more common. From the back half of Black Rock and on up the hill to the Indian Tower and Levis Road, white quartz is the predominant kind of loose stone, from medium-sized boulders to small pebbles, and in a small percentage of that quartz, there are tiny clear crystals, crystals of Nazareth quartz.

Silicon, the main element in quartz, is the second most common element on earth and some think it has spiritual qualities. Metaphysical practitioners say they use quartz for everything from protection and healing to energy storage and prediction. It is the most essential of all healing stones and no crystal healer would be without it. For believers in such things, these are powerful stones.

Even for the more mundane of us, quartz has a curious property. Try striking two pieces together in the dark and you will see what look like sparks. They're not sparks. The stone itself lights up as a result of the piezoelectric effect. Some Native Americans made rattles of very thin skin and pebbles of quartz inside so that when they shook them at night, the rattles lit up!

The Lenape people who preceded us on this land would have noticed the white and black rock so near the source of the Schoeneck. Quartz was significant to them. If it was of high quality, they made blades and weapons from it. They also used it to mark places and incorporated it into their ceremonial stone constructions. That, and the many springs, along with the cave, would probably have made Black Rock a very special, even sacred place for them.

Even technology of the 21st century needs and reveres natural quartz. The silicon chips in nearly all computers originate from pure quartz mined in North Carolina, near a little town called Spruce Pine [see BBC article here]. Quartz's special properties have put Spruce Pine "at the heart of a global billion dollar industry." It's a different kind of magic and a different kind of sacred, but those white stones scattered along the High Street extension still carry that silicon mystique into the internet era.

quartz stones on a path outside Nazareth

Colbert Report vs. Library vs. Tatamy Kid: Cage Match

2009-08-03T19:30:00.008-04:00

Monday night, The Colbert Report had an update on their original Nazareth Library/Tatamy kid expose`. The video is posted below. Meanwhile, the Nazareth Memorial Library board president issued a memo (dated July 2009) to defend their position, clarify some 'facts,' and plug some George Orwell books.

In the interest of full disclosure, both members of the Weird Nazareth staff have library cards at the Nazareth library and find the Colbert Report videos humorous. Oh, yes, yes, and we both live within the Nazareth school district... nice try.

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Dominic Philip's Book Habit

http://www.colbertnation.com/

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Tasers

Slurpees and Hot Dogs

2009-07-31T20:44:00.007-04:00

A naked upper nazareth man was taken in by police and will be charged with simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, aggravated assault on a police officer, criminal mischief, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. According to the LehighValleyLive.com article the man was causing quite a scene at the 7-Eleven on 191 near East Lawn.
According to the article, when police arrived, the man yelled, "Let's go coppers," jumped up on the hood of the police cruiser and kicked the windshield. After ignoring police commands to get on the ground and control himself. He was shocked with a Taser when he charged at a police officer. The man was completely naked at the time.

Here are some "fun facts" as they are listed on 7-Eleven, Inc.'s website:

July 11 (7/11) is the official birthday of the 7-Eleven® convenience store chain.

A typical 7-Eleven store in the United States has between 2,400 and 3,000 square feet, and carries about 2,500 different items

7-Eleven stores sell almost 26 million gallons of fountain drinks a year – enough to fill 65 Olympic-size swimming pools.

Blueberry is at the top of the hill as the best-selling muffin in 7-Eleven stores across the country. And customers #1 pick for a donut is glazed.

The most Slurpee® beverages are sold in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in Canada, followed by Detroit, Michigan. But the #1 Slurpee store in the world is located in Kennewick, Wash.

7-Eleven was the first convenience store to sell pre-paid phone cards.

Tatamy Kid Nailed by Colbert

2009-07-28T20:45:00.006-04:00

Monday's The Colbert Report featured a riveting expose` on the Tatamy boy who got his Nazareth Library card revoked after having his photo appear in a local newspaper. Fear public library system.

Interesting tidbit: just learned the interior shots of the "Nazareth" library were filmed in a New Jersey library.

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Nailed 'Em - Library Crime

http://www.colbertnation.com/

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Tasers

"Let me tell you something, funny boy... You know that little stamp? The one that says Nazareth Memorial Library? Well, that may not mean anything to you, but that means a lot to me. One whole helluva lot. Sure, go ahead, laugh if you want to. I've seen your type before -- flashy, making the scene, flaunting convention. Yeah, I know what you're thinking... Why's this guy making such a big stink about old library books? Let me give you a hint, junior. Maybe we can live without libraries, people like you and me.... Maybe. Sure, we're too old to change the world. What about that kid, sitting down, opening a book right now in a branch of the local library and finding pictures of pee-pees and wee-wees in The Cat in the Hat and The Five Chinese Brothers. Doesn't he deserve better? Look, if you think this is about overdue fines and missing books, you'd better think again. This is about that kid's right to read a book without getting his mind warped. Or maybe that turns you on, Seinfeld... Maybe that's how you get your kicks... You and your goodtime buddies... I've got a flash for you, joy boy. Partytime is over."

An Interview with author Scott Morro

2009-07-24T07:00:00.005-04:00

In 2006, local author Scott Morro took a little local history, a dash of The Goonies, and a bit of Back to the Future and blended it all together into a clever young adults book called The Cross Over. In the book, our beloved Indian Tower becomes a time machine, shooting a group of kids back to Nazareth 1746 where they befriend a young Whitefield House resident and try to get back home. We caught up with Scott and he humored us with an e-mail interview and shared some cool pictures of The Tower.

Weird Nazareth: What inspired you to choose Nazareth, and in particular the Indian Tower, as the setting for this book?

Scott Morro: Well, Nazareth is a hotbed of paranormal activity, so it made perfect sense to… Actually, I grew up in Nazareth [on Spring Street] near Pep’s Place and Santo’s Market. I went to Nazareth High School and lived there my whole life until I got married and moved to Bethlehem. The Indian Tower is a place my friends and I used to visit as kids. We’d climb the tower and watch the races [at the Nazareth Speedway] with binoculars. You could only see 3 turns, but it was free and we liked it. Plus, I always thought the place was creepy [&] cool. Just something about it, ya know… The idea for the book came about when my family and I were visiting the Holy Family cemetery on Father’s Day a few years back. My youngest son, Ryan, who was 4 at the time, pointed up to the tower from the cemetery and said, “What’s that, daddy?” He and my oldest son sprinted for the tower and we began to look around. I explained what it was and some of the history I knew. My family got back in the car, but I stayed and began taking a closer look at the tower, the monument and the plaques nearby. The idea for the book formed as I was standing there. I went to the library and did some research and I spent time at the Whitefield House reading and researching as well. A former curator there, Mark Turdo, photo-copied a diary written by a girl who stayed at the [Whitefiled House] during the time period I was going to write about and that was a big help. After reading the diary and going over my notes, I sat with my laptop and wrote. About 7 weeks later I was finished with the initial draft. Then it was on to edit and make some changes before sending it off to my publisher.

WN: It seems you had been aware of the existence of time travel for some time. Why did it take you so long to reveal it to the world?

SM: Drunken stupor from too many cans of Guinness…Abducted by aliens at Potts Doggie Shop on Broad Street…I seriously don’t know. I’ve used time travel in two other young adult novels, one out now (What’s Brewing in Boston) and one currently being shopped to publishers (The Moravian Enigma). [What’s Brewing in Boston] takes two brothers back in time to assist with the Boston Tea Party, while [The Moravian Enigma] is a scavenger hunt/National Treasure/DaVinci Code type book set in Nazareth and Bethlehem, where the main character and his best friend search for treasure buried by George Washington during the American Revolution. How’d ya like the shameless plug for my other stuff??? I love the idea of time travel and would love to experience it myself. As much as I’m a sports freak (Go Yankees), I love history too. There’s something cool about how you can weave fact and fiction and, in essence, take that journey just like your characters have in the books.

WN: If the Indian Tower were still a functioning time machine, where and when would you travel to, given the chance?

SM: Wow…good question! Do I have to choose just one place? I’d go back to New York and Nazareth of the 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s to see Yankees greats of the past play and to see what life was like for my parents and grandparents. I’d travel to Baltimore of the 1830’s and 1840’s so I could meet Edgar Allan Poe, one of my favorite writers. Maybe we could hook up and write a creepy time travel story together…I’d go to Iowa and do that “Field of Dreams” corn-thing and see where the ball-players go…I’d go to Ford’s Theater and sit in the crowd with Abe Lincoln the night he was shot. Maybe stop John Wilkes Booth if I was feeling brave enough…Too many more to mention…

WN: Our readers are interested in the unusual and quirky side of the Nazareth. Having grown up there, what are some of the odd things that you remember about the town?

SM: I remember hearing about ghosts and creepy shit going on at Black Rock near the pool. I remember hearing scary stories about ghosts at Gracedale…AND I actually experienced some “stuff” while I worked there a few years when I was going to college. I also remember hearing about a murder of two kids, twins I think, in the 1950’s. I’ve actually started to do research for a book on that event. Other than that, not much…But I’d loved to hear what you and your readers have to share…

WN: Are you doing any writing right now?

SM: Aside from the answers to these questions, ya mean??? I’m working on three projects at the moment: I’m working on a young adult book about bullying in a middle school. Originally it was titled ECLIPSE, but since that Stephanie Meyer chick, ya know, the one who wrote the TWILIGHT series, stole that title already, I re-named it RAY OF SUNSHINE, based on a character’s nickname. I’m working on another [young adult] novel about a young man who goes off to Iraq and writes letters back and forth with a cousin of his here in America. There’s still LOTS to do with that one. My wife’s been after me to do an A to Z book about Nazareth and, as I said above, I’m really interested in doing an adult book about the murder of those twins…I mean adult as in “for adults,” not with porn and that type of “adult.” So far, though, the internet has been a bust when it comes to unearthing info on the case. I think I’m headed back to the library and to search micro film. I think it took place in the 1950’s and the kids were named Schaffer or Shafer…something like that. I believe they were abducted near Mitchell Avenue, by high school and their bodies were found in Black Rock. Again, I could have my facts jumbled, but I remember it being a bid deal. My dad, who works at the Post Office, brought it up to me recently and talked about it as a book idea. I loved it! I just need to get the research stared and start writing. Who knows, maybe I’ll solve the thing and CSI: Nazareth will be born…

WN: Thanks, Scott!

Scott’s author website is http://www.publishedauthors.net/scottmorro/index.html. You can see photos, read samples of his books, and find lots of information. He says he is available for school visits and lectures and says you can e-mail him at morro23@rcn.com

You can buy Scott’s books at Amazon.com or check the “links” section of his website. You can also check the Nazareth Memorial Library.

Tree Love in Nazareth

2009-07-21T18:29:00.003-04:00

At WeirdNazareth.com we love trees. In fact, we have a whole section dedicated to Nazareth's weird trees. As the Express-Times reports, a woman was found heavily intoxicated, hugging a tree Friday night on Broad Street after having stumbled out of a nearby bar. Her husband, who was also intoxicated, was busy helping his wife by searching for her missing teeth in the middle of the road. The couple was charged with public drunkenness.

There was no word on whether or not the teeth were found or if they were smashed by a passing car. There was also no word on the status of the tree.

You can read the cleverly-titled Express Times article here: Woman vomits in street, hugs tree and falls over in Nazareth

Bath Woman Competes in Pretzel Contest and Loses

2009-07-17T18:33:00.004-04:00

She may have lost but she is a winner in our eyes. As the Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily reports, Kendra Hoffman of Bath was one of only 6 finalists in the Pretzel Coaster Build-off Contest at Busch Gardens (sponsored by Snyders of Hanover). On Wednesday she was in Virginia competing to build a replica of Apollo’s Chariot out of pretzels within the 3 hour time limit. She competed valiantly but did not win. Kendra, Weird Nazareth salutes you.

You can see a tiny little picture of the coaster that made her a finalist here: LINK

News Articles:

Lots of pretzels + a little glue = prize-winning roller coaster (Daily Press)

Bath Woman Falls Short in Pretzel Contest (Morning Call)

Bath Builder Shapes Pretzels into Winning Coaster (Morning Call)

Special Feature! LAWN ORNAMENT SAFARI

2009-07-12T09:43:00.007-04:00

Lawn ornaments are a great way to personalize your space. They say a lot about you. Some lawn ornaments are very literal in their message; they may say “welcome” or “I love gardening.” They can also be more subtle; a wooden boy-peeing-on-a-tree says the home owner is fun-loving or has bladder issues. A gazing ball says that the owner is likely introspective, spiritual, or is s sucker for those Lillian Vernon catalogs. To the left you can see one of my own lawn ornaments: a ceramic garden gnome with hairy legs. I don't really know what this says about me.

As a special Summer feature on Weird Nazareth we have created a virtual safari of local lawn ornaments*. We surveyed the entire borough’s front yards** to find the best selection of yard chotchkeys in town. Although there are some pretty impressive pockets here and there, the most concentrated and awe-inspiring gallery of front lawn ornaments occurs in the area blocked off by Forrest Dr., W. North St., High St., and North Green St. Those living in this area really know how to decorate a front yard.
So settle in, crank up the volume, and enjoy the video below.

*Bird baths don't count. Neither do flags or decorative stepping stones...
**Some people put their lawn ornaments on their front porch.

Thanks to: Nancy W., for letting me borrow photos without knowing what I would be using them for.

July 4th Kazoo Concert

2009-07-04T12:25:00.007-04:00

At least the kazoos were free again. The July 4th celebration at Memorial Park started off with a kazoo concert. In years past, this was a kazoo parade down Main St. However, as the Express Times reports it was changed to a stationary concert this year to respect the elderly, and otherwise uncoordinated, musicians.

The concert was largely in-tune and on-melody. From my count, I'd say there were about 125 kazoo blowers. Three patriotic tunes were kazooed: Yankee Doodle, This Land is Our Land, and You're a Grand Ole Flag. Although there were a few shouts from the audience of "Free Bird!" and "Tenth Avenue Freezeout!," crowd requests were ignored by the conductor. Here is a short video of the concert:

The Spirit in the Spring at Christian Spring

2009-06-29T13:49:00.018-04:00

Christian Spring, outside Nazareth near the intersection of Rte. 248 and Daniels Road, was one of the original outlier communities of Nazareth. In that time it was common for Moravian communities to have separate residences for single men (brethren) and single women (sisters), but Christian Spring, also known as Christiansbrunn, was the only community that consisted almost entirely of single brethren.

The spring was named after Christian Renatus von Zinzendorf, much-beloved son of Ludwig Graf von Zinzendorf, patron and leader of the Moravian Church or the Unitas Fratrum as they preferred to be known at the time. Christian, or Christel as some who loved him called him, was by all accounts a joyous and flamboyant character, whose holy celebrations and pageants delighted many at the Moravian community of Hernhaag in Germany. He was even thought by some to be the embodiment of the spirit of Jesus Christ. When he died at the very young age of 24, many of his closest associates came to live at Christian Spring.

So what's weird? Some of those old friends came to believe that their beloved Christel's spirit lived in the spring after his death. Among other things they pointed out how tame the trout were. The spring is said to remain to this day in the general area of the Christian Spring Hotel.

An old shed nearby

Today the community of Christian Spring is remembered by people interested in the history of gun-making in America, and also by another male demographic, so much so that an intentional community modeled on Christian Spring, the Hermitage (whose original members call themselves Johannes and Christian Zinzendorf) exists in Schuylkill County.

If the spring were cleared and marked and opened to tourists, local people might be surprised to find how many people would come from far and wide to visit the spirit of Christian Renatus and the single brothers, who are better known in some circles than they are in Nazareth.

A note: Along the Christian Spring Road (there are 3) that runs from the Christian Spring Hotel to Route 248, there is at least one white mulberry tree. This kind of mulberry was imported for silk production. There is a very good chance that that white mulberry is a direct descendant of the mulberries planted by the single brethren in the 1700's in an effort to start a silk industry, so the tree may be another piece of their legacy that has survived until today.

Big Klan Rally at Fair Grounds (1924)

2009-06-25T21:12:00.013-04:00

As the New York Times reported, a large rally was held in the borough in 1924. We were unable to find additional detail of the event beyond this short article. KKK membership peaked around this year with millions of members. Large meetings like this were common and Pennsylvania was one of the most active klan states.

.I have no knowledge or understanding of the political structure of Nazareth in the 1920's. But I have to ponder if permission from the borough government would have been needed to hold such a large gathering and what other support the borough gave.

Depending on which map you look at (e.g. from what year) the fair grounds are located in different places. Older maps show the fair grounds south of Prospect St., between Main and Broad Streets. However, I believe this rally was held further south, near the Speedway*.

If you have any additional information about this or can pinpoint more accurately where the gathering was held please leave a comment of e-mail us.

*Thanks to loyal Weird Nazareth reader Randall for clarifying the difference between the park and the fair grounds.

Note: the ferris wheel photo above is not actually from the Nazareth rally. However, it is representative of the types of events that were held during the klan's heyday.

The Skull in the Rocks at Jacobsburg

2009-06-18T08:48:00.002-04:00

A few miles from Nazareth, in Henry's Woods at the Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, this skull in the rocks can be seen if you stand in one certain spot in the Bushkill Creek. No one knows whether it is a natural formation or if it was carved out by people in the distant or recent past. The most curious thing about it is that from any other angle, the image isn't noticeable. There is also a small rectangular window in a wall-like stone on the same side of the creek

Note: the skull has been deteriorating. When we first saw it, the lower jaw was more complete than it is in this photo. This was taken several years ago and we have not been back to check whether deterioration has continued. [Photo by Earl Dundore]

How to get mentioned on Weird Nazareth...

2009-06-17T19:22:00.004-04:00

There are various ways to deliberately get yourself mentioned on Weird Nazareth. It just takes some creativity and gumption. For instance, you could:
1) Repaint your house to resemble an Essroc cement plant
2) Create a statue of Mario Andretti out of scrapple
3) Attempt to break any number of world records
4) Stage an elaborate Sasquatch-sighting hoax in Black Rock woods
5) Or you could do what Sam Sanchez did and break into someone's house, naked and drunk.

As J.D. Malone reports in the Express Times:

A borough man was awakened by noises Monday night to find a naked intruder in
his car and his house broken into. The homeowner was nice enough to give Mr. Sanchez a bed sheet to cover up with. Unfortunately, Mr. Sanchez got tangled in
the sheet and tripped before being caught by police.

If you have achieved any of the above, or anything else weird-worthy, we want to know about it. E-mail us at weirdnazareth@hotmail.com

Join us on Facebook and Twitter

2009-06-15T21:32:00.003-04:00

NEW: WEIRD NAZARETH FACEBOOK GROUP

Weird Nazareth's Profile

Pencil Tree

2009-06-13T20:24:00.006-04:00

There seems to be ample supply of weird trees in Nazareth. This tree near Cedar Street is carved to look like a pencil.

Thanks to: Loyal Weird Nazareth reader Ricky I. for the idea for this post

The Devil Chasers of Nazareth

2009-06-09T20:00:00.002-04:00

In 1908 there was a very bizarre murder committed in the borough. The victim was a small child, May Smith. The murderer was a borough resident, Robert Bachman, head of a religious cult. According to our research, the girl's life was taken, by trampling, as a human sacrifice during a ritual of Devil Chasing within a house in the borough.

The religious group, called "Church of God," often met in Nazareth to worship. On April 26-27 the Smith's, Henry and his wife, traveled from Borough of Alliance (now Northampton) to Nazareth to worship at Bachman's home. In the evening, the 5 year old girl had been put to bed but had become restless. Bachman interpreted the girl's behaviour as the work of a devil...possession...and decided to kill her to rid her body of the spirits. This was with the alleged consent of the girl's parents, both of whom were followers of Bachman.

Accounts of the ritual from passers-by indicate that it lasted through the night and involved chanting, singing, and shouting and eventually escalated to near destruction of the house itself. A neighbor discovered the crime as the parents attempted to load the body onto the horse-cart, presumably to travel back home. The Bachmans and Smiths were arrested and chanted and sang as they walked to their cells. Bachman's wife and the Smith couple were eventually freed. Bachman and Mr. Smith we noted as seeming quite mentally mad during their initial incarceration; often flailing about and chanting and praying in their cells.

We found the house were the events occurred. It is an innocent looking two-family home on the west end of town. The front porch has since been removed and many families have come and gone...surely many were completely unaware of what had transpired within over 100 years ago.

News Articles (1908):

The Child Was Sacrificed (source unknown)
Fanatic Kills Little Girl (NY Times)

Fanatic's Child Sacrificed (NY Times)

Slain Girl's Parents Free (NY Times)

Child is Sacrificed (Wash. Times) Below:

Thanks to:

Loyal Weird Nazareth reader Sharon C. for the idea & Moravian Historical Society for a bit of research help

Weird Nazareth Mentioned in News Paper

2009-06-08T23:59:00.000-04:00

Must be a slow news day. Our very own site was mentioned in the Morning Call today: LINK

Nazareth, the Knights Templar, and the Illuminati

2009-06-05T21:02:00.014-04:00

Among the many theories about who inherited the legacy and treasures of the Knights Templar, one group mentioned is the Hussites, who rebelled against the Catholic Church and in the wars that followed, carried banners bearing the symbol of the chalice or grail. They did extraordinarily well in battle, and [interestingly enough] built an extensive system of tunnels in their main town of Tabor in what is now the Czech Republic. Later, when the radical remainder were driven out into the forests, they lived in caves and tunnels, keeping alive their faith and traditions.

As time went on the group became known as the Bohemian Brethren, the Unitas Fratrum, and eventually, the Moravian Church. For many years outsiders saw them as a shadowy, mystic sect, a reputation increased by their view of the Holy Spirit as female, and other unorthodox beliefs and practices, some of which scandalized people of the 1700’s.

Today, some conspiracy theorists claim that the Moravian Church has the Holy Grail and other precious or legendary treasures hidden away (Barony of the Rose . . . hmmmm ;-) ), and some imply they guard the bloodline of Jesus and Mary.

Above, the agnus dei, emblem of the Unitas Fratrum, or Moravian Church (note the cross in the halo)

Below, an example of a Templar cross. They also used the agnus dei as one of their symbols

The fact that their early settlements in North America had a high proportion of people of nobility, along with the church’s history of connection with Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry, has fed claims that the people of the church’s upper echelon are members of the Illuminati, a supposed secret society whose members run the world. Eerily, Gottlieb Demuth, an early resident of Nazareth (his grave at Schoeneck seen in the photo above) was an ancestor of former president George W. Bush.

Still, we don’t read too much into it. The Moravians we know seem like hard-working, upstanding individuals rather than international conspirators. Of course, if this reporter now disappears under suspicious circumstances, readers may want to reconsider!

Weird House in Upper Nazareth

2009-05-31T16:47:00.011-04:00

We found this interesting home in upper part of town. From the street, we saw many lawn ornaments arranged in a very deliberate and artistic fashion. Some were from Halloween, some from Christmas. The house itself has paintings (a cat in a window) and other items dressing it.

Parked in the driveway was a van adorned with various chotchkies (troll dolls, toys, reflectors, etc.). I've seen this van around town before and am pleased to know that its home is as eclectic as the van is.

Without speaking to the owners of the house we are unable to determine the back story around all of the objects and decorations. However it is safe to say that the house is a work of weird art.

If anyone has information about this house, the van, or knows the people who live there please e-mail us or post a comment below. We would love to know more about it.

Hopefully, to be continued...

Thanks to Weird Nazareth reader Jim W. for the idea for this post.

The Tunnel Question--???

2009-05-15T15:44:00.009-04:00

stairs from a basement on the west side of Main Street to a lower level

Are there tunnels in Nazareth? The Moravian Historical Society gives a tour called Tunnels and Other Tales: Walking Tours of Phantoms and Fables of Nazareth every October, so we wrote to them asking where to get a picture of one of the archways that were supposed by many to be tunnel entrances. We received this reply:

The Moravian Historical Society has done an extensive study of the "supposed tunnels" I can tell you that there are no, and were no tunnels in Nazareth. as far a picture goes, what you are thinking of are often arch chimney supports.

When we spoke with almost anyone else in town over a certain age, however, we heard a different story. One of our more demonstrative informants said, with much emphasis, "Tell the historical society this man wants to know why they're spreading misinformation!" Everyone said go look for yourself, so we did.

What we've found so far is intriguing. One credible person says he has been in the tunnels. Others have seen pictures of people standing in the tunnels and gave us names of people who know more. We were shown enough arches and doorways in basements to make us wonder. From the Dominion Mortgage building on the circle to Nazareth Furniture, the basements of many of the buildings along the east side of Main Street seem to have been linked by doors, at least, if not tunnels.

In the basement of Nazareth Furniture, there is a large arch form very low on the wall facing east, as if there may have been something below basement level. In the basement of a building on the west side of Main Street there is a door (See the top picture in this post) that opens to stairs to a narrow lower level room with an arched ceiling and cemented-in archways at either end. It felt very much like a section of a tunnel. (Unfortunately, the camera failed us down there--hmmm . . .)
We also saw one place where it looks as if a tunnel may cross Main Street.

The two pictures above are from two different basements. It's difficult to see here, but at the top left of the fill-in stones there is a crack behind which there is darkness, as if there is empty space.

People we spoke to gave us various stories, including that the tunnels start in the basement of the Manor House (Zinzendorf's mansion, sometimes called Nazareth Hall) and run down Main Street, then along or under Belvidere toward Whitefield House or old Nazareth south of Whitefield House. Some said the tunnels were built to provide safety from Indians, others said the Moravians hid Indians and other races in them, although why was not known.

Weird, huh? For now we would like to thank the Moravian Historical Society, Sue Dreydoppel, Doris Laurito, Bruce Beltz, Donald Koehler, Daniel Thierry, Seth Young, Jim Sakasits and one person who wished just to be known as Bill. I'll be gone for a couple of weeks, but will continue to pursue this. To be continued . . .

Adding the latest email from the Moravian Historical Society--see latest comment.

Bowling Balls at Center Square

2009-05-11T14:09:00.006-04:00

The center square at Center and Main Streets is an interesting place. Flanking each of the entrances are white cement posts with a black spherical cap. If you were to look closely, you would notice that the sphere is actually a bowling ball. According to the Moravian Historical Society these balls were taken from the Holy Family Club and mounted on each post. On some of the balls you can make out markings and finger holes. The ball in the photo to the left is a 16 lb ball marked with the words "Blue Eagle." Next time you walk through the square, pause a moment to take a look.

Thanks to Ross for the idea for this post.

A CD, a Video, and a Book--The Indian Tower Depicted

2009-05-08T06:15:00.006-04:00

The album Indian Tower, by Pearls and Brass

Not everyone knows that Nazareth's Josh Martin, Randy Huth and Joel Winter formed a musical group called Pearls and Brass that is known internationally among fans of metal music. The boys named their first album Indian Tower and tracks include The Tower and Black Rock Man.

Possibly most interesting to us are the interviews they have given. See one here: Death Becomes Them. In more than one interview, they muse upon the strange and supernatural feel of the Nazareth area.

They are not the only ones, and the Indian Tower is often the focus of that regard. Have a look at this video (it says it's Emmaus, but we all know that tower when we see it!), and of course there is the children's book The Cross Over, by Scott Morro, in which children sheltering from a storm in the Indian Tower find themselves back in time.

Many people seem to feel something there at the tower. Have you had an experience there or at Black Rock? Tell us your story and we'll add it to the chronicles of Weird Nazareth.

[A story on the tunnels or tunnel rumors is being prepared, hopefully for late next week, so stay tuned!]

Ghost of a Driver--the VIA Thrift Store in Nazareth

2009-05-04T19:23:00.007-04:00

We received this from reader Debra Borgo:

. . . about the ghost of the thrift store: I used to work there in 1996-1997 and at that time it was Good Shepherd. There would be lights going on and off, things would fall off the racks with no reason or rhyme. So me being the ever-asking 18 year old asked some of the old timers. Apparently there was a race car driver that was killed on the old track.... and his spirit still haunted the section where he passed. Now how true this is I have no clue just was told by more a one person who worked there and it did have a really spooky feeling.

She also sent a link to a page about the driver, Jackie McLaughlin, the driver who may never have left Nazareth. Thank you, Debra. Readers are encouraged to contribute!

P.S.: Not ghost-related, but did you know that there's a song on the album Sailing to Philadelphia by Mark Knopfler with the title Speedway at Nazareth?

2009 Nazareth Adult Soapbox Derby

2009-05-02T20:42:00.011-04:00

The second annual Nazareth Adult Soap Box Derby was held on Saturday on the Prospect Street hill. This has become a yearly gathering for some of Nazareth's weirdest. There were some familiar faces and cars from last year and a whole bunch of new victims. This year's event was highlighted by several in-race crashes (last year's only had one crash during practice). The weather was great, the hill was smooth, and the cars (some of them) were fast. Here is a slideshow and some shots from the event:

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Swastikas at the Library

2009-05-01T16:39:00.006-04:00

On the floor of what used to be the front portico of Nazareth's library, there are a number of symbols including several swastikas. However, it is important to note that the home that became the library was built long before the rise of Nazism and that these swastikas are left-facing instead of right-facing, unlike those used by Hitler. Before it became a symbol of that evil, the swastika was used by many world cultures (and still is, in many cases) to represent positive qualities and even sacredness. No doubt the owners meant it as a cosmopolitan gesture.

Nevertheless, it is probably good that this door into the library is no longer used, because the first reaction of many people upon seeing the symbols is shock. In the same vein, it is also probably good that the library abandoned the use of its old mascot, which had the well-meaning but unfortunate name of--Nazzy!

Black Rock Cave and the Blow-Downs

2009-04-30T06:23:00.007-04:00

Far back from the borough park, in the woods at Black Rock, there was once a cave or rock shelter. It had been used by the Indians (possibly for vision quests?). When Nazareth Borough Park was constructed, the cave was "filled in with rock in fear of a potential cave-in."* Some say that people who had played there in their youths realized that had been unsafe and filled it so that there children would not do as they did.

Whether part of the fill was garbage or if it was used as a dump after that is not clear, but the site is now frequented by people digging for old stuff (legally? We're not sure), and the walker can find bits of bottles and pottery here and there disturbed by diggers.

Rumors about the cave still fly , one being that it was a limestone cave that, if followed, came out at what is now Jacobsburg State Park. As far as we know, however, it was shallow and little more than a rock shelter.

Curiously, across the trail from the cave is a section of the wood where the trees appear to have been knocked down while young, yet continued to grow, resulting in a group of trees whose trunks lie along the ground and whose branches grow up like trunks. Several kinds of trees are included. If anyone knows the history of this blow-down phenomenon, please leave a comment or get in touch with us by email. It's all part of weird old Nazareth!
*from the Native Americans of Nazareth booklet, in the Nazareth Keepsakes series, 2001.

Speaking of Trees: Huge Beech Tree

2009-04-21T08:54:00.006-04:00

Until a few years ago, Nazareth boasted one of the largest-diameter beech trees on the eastern seaboard. Possibly one of a group of trees the Moravians transplanted to their cemetery from the woods, this enormous American Beech was estimated by a tree expert to be older than the town of Nazareth itself. Although it was mentioned in documents at the Moravian Historical Society, when the borough's tree commission took it down in the early 2000's, they failed to leave a stump for future generations to count the rings and wonder at the many changes this enormous living thing had watched over in the course of its years. This is a photograph of a photograph taken several years before its demise.

Blob Tree

2009-04-18T20:39:00.002-04:00

This tree is slowly taking over the corner of N. Green and W. Center streets...

Zinzendorf's Baronial Manor

2009-04-18T16:32:00.008-04:00

not a bad job when you consider there was no Home Depot!

The Barony of the Rose, as Nazareth is sometimes called, was not a pretty metaphor. At one time, this area was planned to be the only barony in the New World.

Many don't know the circumstances of the building of Zinzendorf Manor or Moravian Hall, half a block off the circle on Center Street. It was the first building in the section that came to be central Nazareth, erected in 1755-56 on land that had been primeval forest before construction began. It was a tremendous work for a small community living on what at that time was the frontier. When it was finished it was for a while the largest single-family private residence in the colonies and people came to Nazareth just to see it.

A building the Manor may have been modeled after

Why put all that work into it when life was so close to subsistence level? Count Zinzendorf, leader and benefactor of the Unitas Fratrum, later to be known as the Moravian Church, had been exiled from Saxony where his home was, because of the group's unusual ideas and living arrangements. This building, copy of one of his former homes, was to be his baronial manor, as approved by William Penn's descendants. Sadly for the Nazareth residents who worked so hard and loved him so much, Zinzendorf's exile from Saxony was repealed and he never again came to Nazareth or set eyes on the lordly manor built especially for him.

The structure eventually became a school for boys, known as Nazareth Hall and is now a multi-unit residence. We'll discuss Zinzendorf and his weird connections another day!

Tree with a Face

2009-04-18T16:09:00.007-04:00

Another Nazareth oddity is a sycamore tree along Broad Street near Center Street. It appears to have a face, especially when approached on the sidewalk from the Broad and Center Street intersection. It has been called the Buddha Tree but, depending on the light, it can look like something more sinister.

Nazareth seems to have more than its share of unusual or peculiar trees, of which this is one of the most outstanding.

Wil. E. Coyote Forgoes Acme Corp. for Sears in Lower Nazareth

2008-12-08T20:05:00.006-05:00

From the Morning Call:

"Wildlife officers removed a coyote from the Sears Appliance & Hardware store in Lower Nazareth township this afternoon.The animal had been inside the main vestibule of the store located along Route 248.It was tranquilized and carried out of the store in a pet carrier by Northampton County Wildlife Conservation Officer Bradley Kreider and Deputy Officer Kevin Halbfoerster. A representative from the Pennsylvania Game Commission confirmed the animal was a coyote."

Photo: Harry Fisher/The Morning Call/December 8, 2008

2008 Nazareth Halloween Parade

2008-10-21T20:16:00.001-04:00

photos by MATT

Boomerang Hot Dogs?

2008-09-16T18:35:00.010-04:00

A weird story found in the Express-Times this morning:

An Easton man was cited on Sunday afternoon after he allegedly threw pieces of hot dogs at Wal-Mart customers, Colonial Regional police Officer Michael Kovach said.
Kovach was called to the Wal-Mart on Route 248 in Lower Nazareth Township about 4:15 p.m. for a report of a man who was intoxicated and throwing hot dogs, Kovach said.
When Kovach arrived he said he found Harvey Clymer, 35, of the first block of North Third Street, highly intoxicated inside the lobby of the store.
Clymer's blood-alcohol content was .39 percent when he took a preliminary breath test, Kovach said.
He said there was a fundraiser selling hot dogs outside the store and Clymer went inside to eat them.
Clymer was cited for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. He was taken to an area hospital for alcohol poisoning, Kovach said.
Story/article courtesy of The Express Times Michael Buck
Photo courtesy of Agmilmoe

This Ginko Tree Should Put Some Pants On

2008-08-24T09:41:00.006-04:00

Seen at the NW corner of West Center and South Church Streets.

Nazareth Hot Dog Guy

2008-08-19T18:41:00.004-04:00

You may have seen the hot dog guy at center square, at little league games, or community events selling his dogs. You can't miss him because of the weird hat.

He is Ray Arthur of Ray's Rocking Dogs, a business he started after abandoning his trucking job. When you get a chance, visit Ray and get a hot dog.

Smokestack Demolition

2008-08-11T20:11:00.004-04:00

200 ft. stacks at Nazareth 3 plant demolition

Nazareth Man Catches Really Big Fish

2008-08-05T12:51:00.004-04:00

Resident George Wambold caught a really big salmon. Here is the story from the Clarion of Peninsula, Alaska:

August 4, 2008
By Joseph Robertia Peninsula Clarion
For the second time this season, an angler has brought a Kenai River king salmon into the Alaska Department of Fish and Game as a potential trophy, and while this most recent fish fell just shy of the 75-pound minimum requirement, like the last one, it will still go on record as being the largest legal king caught all season.
"Before we came, we watched videos of people catching Kenai kings, and I thought holy mackerel those are big fish. I never thought I would get one that was even bigger," said George Wambold, 70, from Nazareth, Pa., who captured the mighty chinook Wednesday, two days before the king season closed.
Fish and Game recorded the monster fish, which was just beginning to blush, at 54 inches long, 32 inches in girth and weighing 72.75 pounds.
"It might have been a trophy had we brought it in immediately, but it sat in the boat for hours while everyone on board got a chance to catch their fish," said Arlene Sterner, 66, Wambold's friend and fellow Pennsylvanian.
The two had started their trip in the saltwater of Cook Inlet, and landed numerous halibut before even taking to the Kenai River.
"We went out of Deep Creek, and we all got our limit. I got the biggest fish at 57 pounds," Sterner said.
The two thought her bottom-dwelling, flatfish was going to be the behemoth of the trip, but Wambold's whopper surpassed it with several more pounds of ruby, red flesh for the eating.
"Our guide, Mike Hopley of Alaskan Adventures Charters, took us to the spot," Sterner said, referring to a popular hole on the lower Kenai known as Mud Island.
It ended up being a lucky location for just about everyone on board that day. Another client on the boat caught a 35-pounder almost as soon as they got there at 6:15 a.m., Wambold had his hawg by 10 a.m., and Sterner also caught a 30-pounder just after noon.
Wambold said he knew immediately his fish was going to be a big one.
"It was no small bump. The rod was in the rod holder when it just suddenly bent -- and I mean really bent -- straight down. I grabbed it up and felt a hard pull, then it started stripping out line upstream," he said.
"The 'ziiiiiiing' of his real was so exciting," Sterner said.
They said everyone in the boat, and on the water, went out of their way not to interfere with the battle.
"We all reeled up our lines, and as soon as the net went into the air, other boats started moving out of the way," Sterner said.
"It seemed like a lot of respect from the other guides on the water," Wambold said.
After roughly four long runs and 15 minutes of fighting, Wambold wore the king out enough to get it near the boat and into the net. They said they couldn't believe its size or that of all the people fishing, Wambold was the one to catch it.
"In the stretch we were fishing, there had to be 1,000 lines in that two-mile section, so it was just being in the right place at the right time that it hit his line," Sterner said.
Wambold said he's no stranger to outdoor adventure, but his previous piscatorial pursuits pail in comparison to his past week.
"Back home, we hunt, snowmobile and fish for bass, walleye and other salmon, but it's no comparison to fishing for Kenai kings," he said.
The two said they had been planning their trip to Alaska for a long time, and it was worth the wait and the distance they had to travel.
"We had been saying for years we wanted to come up and fish the Kenai River, which we had read about in books," Sterner said. "We drove 8,000 miles to get here, but it's been the trip of a lifetime."
Joseph Robertia can be reached at joseph.robertia@peninsulaclarion.com

Martins on Main Street

2008-08-02T23:00:00.003-04:00

The community of Nazareth celebrated the 175th anniversary of Martin Guitars in the downtown area today. It was a nice event. However this was the only weird thing I saw.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jay

July 4th: At least the kazoos we free.

2008-07-05T21:50:00.002-04:00

As posted by the Express Times:

Nazareth celebrates Independence Day with kazoo parade
July 5, 2008
Whether you sang a patriotic song Friday or heard
one performed, chances are it wasn't on a kazoo. Unless you were in Nazareth to
celebrate Independence Day. A group of 200 who paraded through the borough
proved America's melodies send the same message whether or not they have
harmony.
The crowd used free kazoos to toot songs such as "The Yellow Rose
of Texas," "Yankee Doodle" and "You're a Grand Old Flag." Their band director,
Todd Silvius, mastered the challenge of keeping the crowd in sync.
"Get ready for the big time," he yelled. "This is what we've been practicing 10 to 15
minutes for."

Express-Times Photos JIM MIDDLEKAUFF

Tepees at Black Rock Woods

2008-06-29T21:56:00.003-04:00

A borough resident built huts of bark and branches throughout the park. The authentic-looking bark-covered tepees started appearing, one by one, in Black Rock Woods at the Borough Park in early 2008. We found three tepees during our visit to the park.

Know the whole story of these tepees? Leave a comment below or e-mail us.

2008 Nazareth Adult Soap Box Derby

2008-05-03T16:10:00.003-04:00

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

The first, and hopefully annual, Nazareth Adult Soap Box Derby occurred on Saturday May 5, 2008. This was a very weird and fun event. There were a ton of interesting entries. Nazareth is home to many very talented craftspeople, mechanics, and creative types. If you missed it this year, look out for it in 2009.

Check out the official website HERE.

Indian Tower

2007-04-14T12:10:00.000-04:00

At the edge of the borough lies a weird treasue, The Indian Tower. This is the site of Nazareth’s first Moravian graveyard, called “God’s Acre” in use from 1744 to 1762. Wrongly thought to be a burial ground for the Indians from a nearby village, there are actually only 4 Indians buried here. Robert Haas created an American marble monument on site, dedicated by the Moravian Historical Society in 1867 at the same time the original pavilion was constructed. The monument was inscribed with the names of the 67 Moravians including 4 Indians, which are buried here.

Sadly, the Tower has been decimated with graffiti. If any credit can be given to the vandals, none of it is particularly vulgar. So there should be no worries when bringing children. But it is pathetic nonetheless.

While I was there snapping photos, I found a geo-caching package hidden, semi-cleverly I suppose, near the Tower. Geo-caching is a hobby where people hide packages at particular coordinates, post the coordinates on online message boards, and use satellite GPS systems to find the packages. The packages usually contain a logbook and pen and various trinkets that the geo-cache crowd exchange. The packages are supposed to be hidden in such a way that they are invisible to the naked eye and can only be found by dialing up the coordinates on a GPS unit. Average Joes’ like me shouldn’t be able to find them. However, I found the box, by accident, within two minutes of my visit. I looked in the box and returned it exactly where I found it although I positioned it so it would be less likely to be stumbled upon by another non-geo-cacher. In the package, I found a logbook that was extremely wet and unreadable and had, what appeared to be, dozens of entries. I also found some plastic army men, a toy dinosaur, a beverage cozy, a sticker, a small box of crayons, some dimes, and a bunch of other things. On a subsequent visit to the Tower, I brought a new notebook and a ziplock bag to keep it dry. This is the least I could do to apologize to the geo-caching gods for disturbing their territory.

The Ghost Owl of Washington Street

2007-04-07T12:03:00.001-04:00

Perched in a tree on the corner of Washington and Mauch Chunk Streets is a white plastic owl that just sits motionless and stares northwest.

The Weight

2007-04-01T19:31:00.000-04:00

"The Weight" is a song by the band 'The Band' and features references to the town of Nazareth. The song was released in 1968 on their Music from Big Pink album and while it was on the charts for 7 weeks it never eached higher than # 63. Rolling Stone Magazine named The Weight the 41st Greatest Song of All Time.

Why Nazareth? That's what's weird. These were folk musicians so obviously there is a connection to Martin Guitars. There also is the symbolism of biblical Nazareth. The answer is not clear.

Check out a sample of the song HERE.

Lyrics:

I pulled into Nazareth, I was feelin' about half past dead;
I just need some place where I can lay my head."
Hey, mister, can you tell me where a man might find a bed?"
He just grinned and shook my hand, and "No!", was all he said.

Chorus:
Take a load off Fannie, take a load for free;
Take a load off Fannie, And (and) (and) you can put the load right on me.

I picked up my bag, I went lookin' for a place to hide;
When I saw Carmen and the Devil walkin' side by side.
I said, "Hey, Carmen, come on, let's go downtown."
She said, "I gotta go, but m'friend can stick around."

(Chorus)

Go down, Miss Moses, there's nothin' you can say
It's just ol' Luke, and Luke's waitin' on the Judgement Day."
Well, Luke, my friend, what about young Anna Lee?"
He said, "Do me a favor, son, woncha stay an' keep Anna Lee company?"

(Chorus)

Crazy Chester followed me, and he caught me in the fog.
He said, "I will fix your rags, if you'll take Jack, my dog."
I said, "Wait a minute, Chester, you know I'm a peaceful man."
He said, "That's okay, boy, won't you feed him when you can."

(Chorus)

Catch a Cannonball, now, t'take me down the line
My bag is sinkin' low and I do believe it's time.
To get back to Miss Annie, you know she's the only one.
Who sent me here with her regards for everyone.

(Chorus)