Many of our readers have marveled at the sight of the former Mary Immaculate Seminary on Cherryville Road, Northampton. Both the structure and landscape are local treasures. This writer was told that much of the land was owned by George Dery, the Catasauqua silk magnate. A number of former residents I had interviewed worked there when Mr. Dery farmed some of the fields.

In 1936, Vincentian Fathers broke ground for the seminary. The Cement News, a Northampton weekly newspaper, wrote this report May 29, 1936: “The seminary will be erected on the Palisades of the Lehigh River near the Riverside Lodge, four miles from Cherryville on Cherryville Road.”

More than 3,000 people, including a group of Vincentian Fathers and 250 Seminarians and students from Princeton, N.J., attended the ceremonies. Ground was broken by the Very Rev. Will Slattery and Rev. Kieran Morgan, D.D., both from Philadelphia. The cost of the seminary was $300,000 and would cover 400 acres. The speakers were Monsignor Leo Fink of Sacred Heart Church in Allentown and the Rev. Joseph Skelly of Germantown.

Another large building project during the era was the construction of the Northampton Post Office. The Treasury Department, through the director of procurement, announced the selection of the site for the new post office building in the borough. The northeast corner lot at 17th Street and Washington Avenue was selected from 16 sites. The government paid $8,500 for the post office location. Quite a price for a Depression year!

Many homes in town were sold at a fraction of the price during the 1930s. The new post office building was dedicated June 14, 1939. The post office replaced earlier post offices that were located at Siegfried, 15th and Washington avenues and at the historic Mount Vernon Inn.

In February 1936, the Northampton School Board decided to acquire ground for an athletic field. The board accepted an offer from the Smith family for open ground adjacent to the Wolf building, now Col. Siegfried Elementary School. The cost was $15,000. A bond was approved to cover the cost. The bond issued was for 1% interest.

A second step was to apply to the WPA — Works Progress Administration — to grade the track and secure an engineer. The WPA provided $11,400 and the school district $3,500 for the project. The project would provide work for 80 men. Wolf Field would replace Miller Field where Northampton High School played many exciting football games. When a new senior high school was constructed in 1961, Al Erdosy Stadium would become home to the Northampton Konkrete Kids.

A well-known building in Northampton was the Pennico gas station on the corner of West 21st Street, present site of the Yurconic Agency. The station offered faster starting, faster pickup and longer mileage from its new gasoline. A Pennico special offered gasoline at 7 gallons of gas for $1.05.

If you were interested in purchasing a beverage, Onuschaks Distributing Company, located at 1608 Newport Ave., might be the place to go. You could purchase a case of Tannhauser beer for $1.75, including delivery. Onuschaks was also known for its homemade birch beer sold in barrels. The birch beer sure tasted good on a hot summer day.

In two weeks, the governor of Pennsylvania will visit the cement borough.