In this new series, I will be speaking to Mr. Harold Smith, a well-known, highly respected local resident who is president of the Northampton Historical Society and historian of the Zion Stone Church. He is a former employee of Miller's Department Store in Northampton, Kotsch's Market in Fullerton and member of numerous community organizations.

Mr. Smith is extremely proud of his Pennsylvania "Dutch" German heritage. The Pennsylvania Dutch were some of the early immigrants to "Penn's Woods." Many came from the Palatinate area of Germany.

They came to Colonial America for economic, political and religious reasons. Most of them knew and loved good land and good soil. They laid the foundation for agriculture in the Commonwealth – the family farm – which has slowly been passing into oblivion.

Their major settlements were in Northampton, Lehigh, Berks, Lebanon, Lancaster and York counties. They brought a rich language, culture and traditions to their new homeland.

Harold's family genealogy in America can be traced back to Heinrick Kohl who surved in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. His great-grandparents, Tobias and Harriet Schmidt (name changed to Smith), moved to Bethlehem in the late 1880s. There Tobias worked as a teamster moving goods with his horse and wagon. He would serve on the building committee which constructed a new union church in Howertown.

Harold's grandfather, James Smith, would move to Northampton and gain employment with the Atlas Portland Cement Company when the plant was the largest Portland cement facility in the world. There was a dire need for employees, the company even sent agents to Europe to entice workers to leave their homes to become cement workers.

Harold's father, Clarence Smith, born in 1901, would start his working years with the Northampton and Bath Railroad. Incorporated in 1902, the single track railroad would cover a distance of 8.5 miles with stops at Weaversville Lerch's, Jacksonville and Bath.

The railroad would carry thousands of tons of cement and raw materials when cement was "king" in our area.

Harold's parents were married in a parsonage by The Rev. Koch who was pastor of both St. John's in Howertown and Zion Stone Church in Kreidersville. In those days many weddings were held in parsonages because many couples just could not afford big weddings.

Harold was born in March 11, 1927. He was delivered in his parents home by a legendary physician Dr. Charles R. Fox whose office was at 1016 Main St. in Northampton. Dr. Fox would later open an office on Washington Avenue. The bill included $20 for home confinement and $4.50 for three house visits for a total of $24.50. A dollar went a bit farther in 1927.

Dr. Fox's brother William was a well known physician who served Coplay for years.

The Fox brothers came from a rural Berks County farm and started their educational journey at Kutztown Normal School, today Kutztown University. Harold's sister Dorothea was born in 1928 also under the watchful eye of Dr. Fox.

The Golden Twenties ended with the advent of the Great Depression. The economy came to a standstill, and millions of workers joined the unemployment lines. One cold morning Mr. Smith reported to his job at the N & B and was given the shocking news that he and 33 of his coworkers were laid off. The railroad traffic was almost non-existent. No one was purchasing cement. The local plants were lucky to work three or four months a year.

There was no unemployment insurance. The Smith's as most Americans were facing the greatest depression in history. Harold recalls, "Times were tough. Father was off for four years but FDR's New Deal offered some help when the W.P.A. (Works Progress Administration) was organized.

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In two weeks, the WPA. will give us some part-time employment. Bring your shovel!