In this continuing series, I'm down in the hamlet of Darktown, Hokendauqua, Whitehall Township, visiting with Mr. and Mrs. Michael Bednar. Mike is a well known authority on Lehigh Valley Railroad history. We are following the saga of his father, Joseph, who served in the Navy Seabees during World War II.

After serving in the Pacific, facing the Japanese on the Island of Okinawa and welcoming the end of World War II, the young veteran would return to his home in Darktown. He boarded a train at Baltimore, switching to a Reading Co. train in Harrisburg.

"My mother was told my father would arrive in Allentown at the Lehigh Valley Station in Allentown," he recalled. "She boarded a trolley in front of St. Andrew's Church in North Catasauqua and met my father with tears of joy and a warm embrace. One of the boys of Darktown had returned home."

His return reminds one of a Norman Rockwell painting – coming home on a Lehigh Valley trolley, not in a fancy limousine. It was back to their apartment in the old Thomas Iron Company tavern in Darktown. The year was 1945.

"The Darktown Fire Company was thriving. There was pent-up joy to release. It was a meeting place to have a good time and attempt to forget some of the ordeals of war," Mike said. "There were dances, dollar nights, food, shuffle board."

The hall hours were 11 a.m. to whenever.

"My father was hired as a bartender," Mike said. "He may have earned $30 a week. They were open seven days a week."

In 1948, Frank Lukish of Penn Roofing hired Joe as a roofer.

"The money was great, $50 a week," Mike said. "Roofing was booming, many roofs needed replacement after the war."

It had been almost impossible to get the material during the war, because rationing was the rule during the war.

"Unfortunately, my father fell off a roof, smashed his knee and was in the hospital for two months," Mike said. "He recovered but would have trouble most of his life as one leg would be shorter than the other. He was off work for one year."

I asked about physicians. Who treated most of the Darktown residents?

"Dr. James Heller and Dr. Newhard, Coplay and Hokendauqua men, were reliable, caring, old-fashioned doctors," Mike said. "They had offices and also made home visitations. Dr. Heller's office was always filled, first come first seen. He kept records in his head – he was brilliant – no bills, no receipts. If you couldn't pay, Doc would say, 'See you next time.'"

His automobile was a trusty Packard.

"These men were more than physicians, they were neighbors," Mike said. "Dr. Newhard could be seen down at the Darktown Fire Company, playing cards with the boys."

After a year recovering from his knee injury, Mr. Bednar was hired as the head groundskeeper at Breadon Field.

Do you remember Breadon Field, the present home of the Lehigh Valley Mall? It was the home to the Allentown Cardinals, a farm team of St. Louis. The owner was Don Dix.

Mike recalls, "I think my dad was earning less than at Penn Roofing, but we had a fringe benefit – I could see some of the games. My cousin Ron 'Pumpkin' Miller, a Lehigh Valley baseball icon, worked there with Gary Lavine. This would help lay the foundation for Pumpkin's love of baseball which has been a lifetime journey."

This writer and Mike recall when Whitehall High School star and Philadelphia pitcher Curt Simmons pitched at Breadon, he was recovering from an injury at the time. People flocked to the field to see him. Automobiles were parked on the grassy strips of Route 22 before the highway was updated, they walked up to the field. We all remembered the lean left-hander from Whitehall and Egypt Athletic Association. What a memory!

I was happy to see the Egypt folks honored Curt last year.

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In two weeks we'll be working at the Fuller Company in Catasauqua.

Don't forget your lunch kettle!