In this continuing series, I'm down in Darktown, Hokendauqua, Whitehall Township, speaking to residents Mr. and Mrs. Michael Bednar about the hamlet and his family's history. Mike has authored 10 books on railroad history. In my last column Mike's father Joseph, a Seabee in World War II, returned home and confronted post-war challenges.

After working at Breadon Field, home of the Allentown Cardinals and now the site of the Lehigh Valley Mall, Joseph was hired by the Fuller Company in Catasauqua.

The landmark company, founded in 1866, was a major owner of the Lehigh Car, Wheel and Axle Works. A family of vision, the Fullers saw the need for new machinery in a blossoming cement industry. The family later owned Allentown Cement Company in Berks County, today's Lehigh-Heidelberg Cement Company. Their dust collectors and conveying systems equipped cement plants around the world. They had a plant and research operation in Catasauqua.

Mr. Bednar was employed as a research mechanic there from 1957 to 1979. He had a fruitful career at the local plant. In my questioning I uncovered a humorous incident. Mr. Joseph Bednar's co-workers were Charley Newhard, Paul Loch and this writer's neighbor, Felix Jurasits. Felix was a young Hungarian immigrant. He was befriended by the three men.

"My father and his friends worked a half day on Saturday, so they all crawled into his old Studebaker (yes it was an American automobile) and they drove up to the Kreidersville Hotel for a beverage," Mike relates. "After a 'few,' they drove down the hill toward Pennsville. Dad lost control of the car when it hit a hole in the shoulder of the road. The Studebaker became a bullet crashing through a barn."

No one was hurt, but the Studebaker was demolished. They picked the right barn to hit. It was owned by the late Harold Heberling, a respected Erie Insurance agent. When the state police arrived to investigate, the trooper asked Felix, "Where are you coming from?"

Felix replied, "the Kreidersville Hotel."

Looking at Felix, the trooper threw down his hat.

"You're too young to drink," he said. Felix was 20 years old.

The trooper regained his composure and drove the men home.

I later spoke to Felix about the men and incident.

"The men were nice to me, the first automobile I ever drove was Joe's Studebaker," he said. "One day we drove to Tamaqua for gasoline." I don't think you would do it today unless you received a free fill-up!

Joseph Bednar had many memories of the past, especially the Depression when the fatherless family of nine struggled. One story puts events in perspective.

"My father, brothers and Darktown boys were looking for work, so they hopped a Lehigh Valley train [for a free ride] to Perth Amboy, N.J.," Mike recalls. "They walked through the city but the reply was the same: No work today, we're not hiring."

Railroad bulls (security detectives hired by the railroad) foiled their unticketed return to Darktown, as they were unable to board any railroad cars. They walked, determined to return to Darktown, sleeping alongside the road. The boys were back home in two days, pretty good time!

The Bednars, as all Darktown families on the banks of the Lehigh River, keep a watchful eye on the river's water level. The blue-collar hamlet has experienced a number of devastating floods.

"The Lehigh can be pleasant and cruel," Mike says. "My father often spoke about the 1942 flood. Our only street was an appropriate name, Water Street. In 1942, the water came up fast. My parents had over three feet of water in the front room. Stakes were placed on the river bank to gauge the rise of water."

In 1955, Hurricane Diane, with all her fury, hit the area.

"It was August 8, 1955," Mike says. "I was celebrating my birthday. Once again the water rose and we had to evacuate."

I was sitting with the Bednars in their front room, I looked at the wall in the cozy, neat Darktown home, attempting to comprehend the hardships the residents faced over the years.

"The floods came, we all worked together and with determination the homes were saved," Mike says with a gleam in his eye. "In recent years, dam construction on the Lehigh has brought flood control to the river."

Mike's father Joseph, a World War II veteran, survived the floods, the Depression and war, a proud Darktown resident. He passed away in 2000.

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In two weeks, we will be working on the railroad with Mike.