In this continuing series, we are remembering the Penn-Dixie Cement Company in Bath, when the three-plant complex was one of the largest companies in the Lehigh Valley. Today, I recall my visit to Penn Street in Bath. This street ends at the face of one of the old Penn Dixie quarries.

Residing next to the quarry was the residence of the Maureka family, all former Penn Dixie employees. Years ago, I visited with Mr. George Maureka, whose son George was a longtime Northampton Borough employee and one of my finest students at Northampton High School. George has generously presented may artifacts to the Atlas Cement Company Memorial Museum.

His parents resided in a Penn Dixie company home. The late George Maureka Sr. recalled how Penn Dixie bags were washed and dyed by the women and were used for dish towels, bed sheets and clothing. He remembered how Penn Dixie employees dug up their yards during the Great Depression to plant potatoes, beans, celery and any other vegetable you can imagine.

Penn Street was not only home to cement workers, but there were stables with hogs, rabbits and chickens. The neighbors were excellent butchers.

There was plenty of canning and food to eat, even during the Depression. I asked George Sr. about Christmas.

He replied, “There weren’t any gifts. You were happy with a good Christmas supper.”

George started working as a plumber at age 15. He earned $8 a week. George “Pipe Wrench” Maureka would later take his skills to the neighboring Penn Dixie plant. During World War II, George would serve with the 714th Armored Battalion and fight under Gen. George Patton on the fields of Europe. George always remembered the general and his two pearl-handled revolvers.

George recalled, “When I returned home, I wanted to resume my plumbing career, but my father wanted me to work at Penn Dixie like the rest of the family. So, I started there, cleaning fly ash out of the flues for $1.30 an hour. It was great money in those days. I liked working at Penn Dixie. I was treated very well.”

George was especially high in his praise of Mr. Raymond Houser, plant chemist, whose memories were in previous columns. George listed dozens of coworkers so rapidly you thought they were sitting in the room with us.

In 1946, Penn Dixie sold their company homes to employees. Mr. Maureka purchased his one-story home for $1,000. Two-story homes sold for $1,500.

The home was amazing and the construction sturdy. The cellar contained large concrete peers, and concrete beams supported the main floor. The original home had a flat roof, but George replaced it with a traditional one. Years of hard work altered the appearance of the home.

A heating contractor looked at the home and was frightened away by the mass of concrete. To install a central heating system, an air compressor was used to drill holes through the floor and walls. It was a dusty and noisy affair.

Unfortunately, because of competition, Penn Dixie closed and passed into history. George spent his last years at the plant maintaining the building referred to as “The Whitehouse.”

As I left George’s home, he and I walked to the end of Penn Street. In a few steps, we were at the fence of the old Penn Dixie quarry. Peering into the water, one can only visualize all the activity that took place on the site.

With each year, the memories of the plant fade into the past, but the company homes remain a vivid reminder of a time when the company was a vital segment in many families’ lives.

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In two weeks, we will visit the old Penn Dixie office. Bring along your pencil.