In this multi-column series, Susan Kovach Nemith Hinkle continues sharing memoirs of her mother, Ethel Kovach Nemith, who recalls the joys of her youth and the pride in residing in the “Concrete Borough” in the 1930s.

We continue the memoirs of Ethel Kovach Nemith, youngest child of immigrants Andrew and Zuzanna Kovach of Czechoslovakia:

Since I was the youngest child and all my siblings were grown and married, my mother would take me along wherever she went.

I went to a lot of funerals and wakes with her. Death was a part of life - a natural life event.

We did a lot of visiting. Mom’s Slovak friend was married to a Syrian, Mr. Assad. All the Slovak ladies would gather at his store on Newport Avenue to socialize. The women sat on a long bench to talk.

They all had their “credit cards” with them. This was a small memo book. If we got an ice cream cone or any other item, Mr. Assad would mark it in the little book for payment later.

There was a wooden bar across from where the women sat. I was lifted up and allowed to sit on the bar. On the floor was a spittoon which, from my vantage point, looked full of dirt. Another of my seats was a round flour can I could climb up on by myself.

My eldest sister married and lived across the street. Her husband operated Mushko’s grocery store in the old Jail House building on 16th Street. This building still stands.

He had a small radio in the back of the store. My nieces that were my age and I would get interested in programs that were 15 minutes long. One program was “Easy Aces.” We would have to come back each evening to hear the next 15-minute segment of the show.

On summer evenings, my eldest married sister would take us on a drive out to another of my married siblings who lived on a farm in Meyersville. The car was a blue roadster with a rumble seat. My nieces and I would climb into the rumble seat while Mom sat up front with my sister.

I spent a lot of summers on the farm. This farm was located a very short distance from Twin Lakes, which was known back then as the “mine holes” where we went swimming. The farm had previously been owned by John Simcoe, who ran the Northampton Dairy.

The “farmers,” as we called my sister’s family, also had nieces and nephews my age. I was their aunt but felt more like their cousin. The farmers’ kids and I would walk to Shankweilers outdoor movie. It was a long walk, but we persevered, anxious to see a movie. Shankweilers still shows drive-in movies and is one of the oldest outdoor movie theaters in existence.

On the farm was an outhouse and on the door was printed “QUARRY OFFICE.” Sikie Mikylychak, father of the “farmers,” brought this unneeded building from the Atlas Cement mill where he worked. It had been the quarry office. Whenever we had to use it, we said we were going to the quarry office.

My brother married and moved to Egypt, next to what was the original Egypt Star Bakery. He worked for the bakery his whole life, making deliveries of their freshly baked goods. A favorite of the Kovach family to this day is the Egypt Star Bakery seeded rye bread. It was the only bread Pop would eat after Mom passed away.

Another sister married a man who worked for J.J. Kleppinger’s slaughterhouse on Main Street in Northampton. This is now the site of the karate school, near the Roxy Theater. My brother-in-law wanted to show us his job. He put heavy coats on us and took us into the freezer to see all the hanging sides of beef and pork.

When my sister and brother-in-law were married, a group of his friends came to the back door, banging with pots and pans to celebrate their wedding night. It was called a “bull band.”

Madeline, who was in previous articles, is the one I remember most of all my siblings. She was closest to my age. She would take me to Allentown by trolley. We would go into McCrory’s 5 & 10 store near Hess Brothers. We would get a hot dog for 5 cents and a soda for 5 cents. It was costly at the time.

After Madeline met her husband-to-be who lived in New York City, she would take me along to visit. Unknowingly, I was sent along by Mom to be a chaperone at 12 years of age. We would go by train on the “excursion,” which cost $1 round trip. In the summer, the train windows would be opened as air conditioning.

Going to New York City at age 12 was quite an experience in 1938 - the tall buildings, riding the subway and elevators, seeing Radio City Music Hall. Radio City was spectacular and quite an experience for a 12-year-old who had previously never gone further than Allentown. I also got to visit the 1939 World’s Fair, which was something wonderful to see.

Small-town life in Northampton was never really small. We had great industry in the cement mills, which brought industrious immigrants from all over middle Europe. Schools and churches were built. Groceries, bakeries, clothing stores, a theater, restaurants, a brewery, a dairy - all grew to support the growing number of cement workers and their families.

These immigrants grew their families, who became educated and prospered. Their descendants, like the Kovach family descendants, have gone forth to all parts of the U.S. and even other countries, taking with them the strong work ethic and faith shown them by their immigrant forebears.

Some Slovak trivia here: The word “robot” comes from the Slovak word “robota,” which means “to work.” And, this our immigrant ancestors certainly did!

This prayer, said by Andrew at all family meals, is preserved by his descendants. It was always spoken in Slovak:

Bless this table, Lord,

This food is given to us from Thee.

For this we praise Thee,

And always we give Thee hearty thanks. Amen.

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Good appetite to all who partake!

Ethel passed away in March of 2010 at the age of 84.

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In two weeks, we move to the Nemith family of Penn Allen, who worked for Penn Dixie.