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MARCH 25-31, 2021
Looking by Back Ed Pany Class of 1931 Week 1 of 5
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360+ COVID-19 vaccines Administered to Bath residents At first-of-its-kind clinic
Inside cover of 1931 yearbook drawn by Betty Seidel of the Senior Class. Photo courtesy of Larry Oberly.
Recently, Mr. Stanley and Beatrice Christoff gave my good friend Larry Oberly a Northampton High School Amptennian yearbook from 1931. This “so-called” writer was fascinated with the contents. Two graduates became well-known Lehigh Valley personalities. One had a connection with the president of the United States. Another gained fame on the gridiron. A number of years ago, I wrote a series on Betty Seidel. She resided in a historical building, a pre-Revolutionary hotel and later Ms. Seidel’s gift shop. Sadly, the sturdy Cherryville structure was demolished, destroyed to make way for a highway project. Betty graduated from Northampton High School in 1931. She was one of the art editors. Betty painted the inside and back covers of the Amptennian. The theme of the yearbook was Japanese literature. The school was visited in the fall of 1929 by the head of Normal Course North Japan College, Sendai, Japan, so the art theme of the book in Japanese literature is followed throughout the Amptennian. Our next column will reveal
to our readers a student who is well known for football but not his skill in art. He also was an art editor. Let’s continue with Ms. Seidel. Upon graduation, she spent one year in the art world in New York City, returning to Northampton to open an art and gift shop on Main Street. Her parents, Harry and Helen Seidel, owned the popular Cherryville Hotel. Betty’s Pennsylvania Dutch art graced the hotel walls. I hope our readers remember 1931. It was a difficult era. We were plunging into the Great Depression, and there was massive unemployment. When the hotel closed, she transformed the hotel into a gift shop. Her collection of art, prized first lady dolls and unique gifts attracted numerous celebrities, such as Tony Bennett, Burl Ives and others. The shop also had a brisk mail-order business. One bright winter afternoon, a representative from the administration of President Dwight Eisenhower visited the shop. He requested Ms. Seidel paint Continued on page 2
Top row left to right: Chris Hoysan, Councilman Frank Hesch, Jim and Pam Pasquariello. Second row: Bill Lamparter, Amanda Moyer, Pharmacist Jordan Borger, Rite Aid Pharmacy Manager Mandy Hoysan, Pharmacist Krisi Baird, Councilman Barry Fenstermaker, Borough Office Administrator Marena Rasmus. Seated: Borough Manager Brad Flynn, Borough Secretary Tanya Lamparter, Councilwoman Phyllis Andrews and Bath Mayor Fiorella Mirabito.
By KERI LINDENMUTH Late in the afternoon on Friday, March 5, Bath Mayor Fiorella Mirabito’s phone rang. On the line was friend and District Pharmacy Manager for Rite Aid Pharmacies, Mandy Hoysan, and her husband Chris. Hoysan delivered the news Mayor Mirabito had been waiting for: Hoysan had over 300 COVID-19 vaccine doses available for Bath residents and business owners if Mirabito was interested. “I jumped at the chance,” she says. The call came after Mirabito spent months contacting local healthcare experts, seeing if anyone had vaccine doses for a Bath Borough clinic. It was something she had been wanting to bring to residents for months, not just as mayor, but as one of the tens of millions of Americans who have fallen ill with the virus. “[Holding a clinic] was ex-
tremely important to me,” she says. “My entire family and I had Covid at the beginning of January and, to be honest, the emotional toll it has been taking on me has been overwhelming. So I wanted to do what I could for my residents and beyond if possible.” With only about a week to plan the clinic, which was to be held on March 13, there wasn’t much time. However, word spread quickly on Facebook, over the phone, and between neighbors. In two days, over 700 people called Mirabito to register. About 320 appointments were confirmed and a wait list was created for cancellations and no-shows. “[We were] able to call everyone on the wait list since we had enough for them as well,” she adds. At a time when access to the vaccine is of great concern, espeContinued on page 5
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Spring 2021
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