I am up in the village of Laurys Station, speaking to resident Terry Reppert on life in Laurys. Most of my readers know Laurys is located in Lehigh County, bordered by the Lehigh River. In 2010, the census set the population at 1,243 residents.

“I attended the Ironton Elementary School and Parkland High School,” Mr. Reppert recalls. “Three of my favorite teachers were Ms. Peters, Ox Miller and John Ettinger.

“Mr. Ettinger, my basketball coach, was a perfect teacher. He could be serious and humorous.

“Our bus driver was Raymond Krause, who owned a store and the in-store post office. On our route to school, the bus would hit a bump in the road and we bounced like a ball in our seats, so each day, when we reached the bump, we all shouted, ‘Ray, speed it up.’ He did, and we had our daily thrill on the bus.”

“We played baseball in a lot owned by Dr. Troxell, who was in the emergency room at the Allentown Hospital. He treated many of our residents, and he did something that is rarely done today - he made house calls.

“One day a neighbor named Jack Hawk got stuck in front of our house in the snow, so my father took out some ashes to help him. This resulted in a lifetime friendship. One day he came to the house and said, ‘Let’s do something for the boys. Let’s get a ballfield for them.’ Thus was the founding of the Laurys Athletic Association.”

The ground for the field was donated by Joe Craig, who owned a farm.

In 1957 Mr. Reppert, Jack Hawk, Joe Craig and a number of interested residents formed the Laurys Fire Company. It is a testament to what concerned citizens can accomplish for the benefit of their neighbors. The newly formed fire company stored its truck in Ken Bilheimer’s garage until a building could be constructed. The company continues to provide fire protection for the village.

Laurys has changed with time.

The center of the village was Harry Young’s store and post office. When the railroad station closed behind the store, Harry would place the outgoing mail in a sack and set it on a steel stand with a hook. As the Lehigh Valley Railroad train passed Laurys, the mail was snatched from the standard. Eventually, a new post office opened on Rising Sun Road.

“The Laurys Grange, which served the farming community, is now a residence. It not only served our dwindling number of farmers but was also a scene for teenage dances and a temporary movie theater where 16mm films were shown to the youngsters,” Mr. Reppert said.

Another interesting business in Laurys was Eichler’s Wood Products, where Terry worked part time, making pallets. John Eichler’s brother, George, a World War I veteran, would later become the superintendent of schools for the Northampton School District.

While in high school, Terry worked as a dishwasher and bus boy at the Gourmet Inn. I’m sure some of my older readers ate a Sunday dinner at the popular inn.

“My mother was a waitress there for over 20 years, so she got me a job,” Terry says. “Some of the boys who worked there I knew before we moved from Northampton. There, in the kitchen with me, were Jan Billy, Mike and Jimmy Schneider.”

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We will be visiting the old Allen House - today Assantes - and the Gourmet Inn in two weeks. Please join me there!