Member Parties
Our Spring Mauch Chunk Historical Society Members Party featured a ride on the Jim Thorpe Trolley.
The trolley takes people on a narrated and entertaining tour past the highlights of town, including the train station, Jim Thorpe’s grave, Glen Onoko in the Lehigh Gorge State Park, the Old Jail, the Opera House, and Mauch Chunk Lake.
It was a great day for a ride, and everyone had a great time.
Our November party was inside, at St Mark’s and St John’s Episcopal Church in Jim Thorpe. The church has been in continuous operation since it was built, in 1867. Its listed on the National Register of Historic Places and as a National Landmark, and it is spectacular.
It was funded by 6 millionaire coal barons who were
members there, led by Asa Packer, and after he died, by his daughter, Mary Packer Cummings.
The church is decorated with Tiffany stained glass windows, a gold cross on the altar, English tile work, and beautiful paintings, bronzes and carvings.
Photos and editor: Cleo Fogal
Printer/publisher: Milan Printing, 1012 North Street, Jim Thorpe, PA
The Packers funded a second building in 1881which housed the Sunday School, a chapel, and church offices. In 1912
Mary Packer Cummings funded a renovation project which connected the 2 buildings. It included one of the first elevators in the country. Cummings stipulated that the elevator must be big enough to fit a coffin and 6 pallbearers, and that she should be the first person to ride in it. Sadly she died during the renovations and she took the first ride in the elevator in her coffin.
Mary Packer Cummings clearly loved St Marks, so much so that her ghost has been spotted near the elevator, in the back of the sanctuary, and in the windows overlooking Race Street.
When the Jim Thorpe Area Music Series (JTAMS), started, there were 3 partners, Dan Hugos, Vince DeGiosio, and Christy McGorry. The 3 of them shared the work of booking, promoting, and operating the Opera House. Medical issues forced both Dan and Christy to retire, leaving Vince the sole proprietor.
Then Ella Thierer showed up. Ella was a 2021 graduate of Emmaus High School with a passion for music and live performances. She emailed Vince to see if he’d be willing to take on an intern. Vince said yes, and for a while Ella came to shows and just observed how the lighting and sound boards worked.
Ella was a quick study, and is now a full time JTAMS employee, responsible for running the lighting for shows, as well as JTAMS Facebook and Instagram accounts, and their email promotions. She was able to get college credit for the work she does at the Opera House, and now holds an Associate Degree from Lehigh County Community College in Sound and Music Production.
Ella says she’s discovered a love for graphic design while working on the Opera House social media, and is currently doing a redesign of the Historical Society’s web page to make it easier to find and navigate.
Ella loves the variety of things she’s tasked with. She says she’s always learning something and is never bored. She’s currently moving into the process of booking shows. She’d like to feature more independent artists in the future, and wants to encourage the burlesque shows.
When Ella’s not busy at the Opera House she is a wheeler dealer of 60s and 70s vintage clothing. She sells online, using Etsy as a platform, and also sells at the Dreisbach House in downtown Jim Thorpe.
Ella is 21 years old and not sure where she wants
to end up, but is happy right now learning the ropes of live entertainment, and helping to make people happy through music.
Fall Foliage 2024
The people in charge of Jim Thorpe’s Fall Foliage Festival say it’s a work in progress, but they think it went pretty well this year.
Jim Thorpe Police Chief Joe Schatz says there were monthly meetings between the police department, the borough, Jim Thorpe Fire Departments, Emergency Medical Services, Carbon County, the Pocono Mountains Vacation Bureau, and the Jim Thorpe Tourism Agency to make sure the event went smoothly.
A bunch of small changes went into the festival as a result of the meetings.
The Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau didn’t advertise the festival heavily, and had information available on their website about where the parking lots were and which of them still had space.
The JTTA warned people on their website and Facebook page to allow extra time for parking if they had tours planned, and also featured current information about the status of all the parking lots.
Two extra parking lots were added, one at the Little League Ball field in east Jim Thorpe, another at Pocono Whitewater, where people could park and ride a shuttle bus to town that dropped them off near the bridge.
Emergency Medical Services were equipped with with E bikes to help them get through the crowds and respond to issues more quickly.
Police were able to push pedestrians to crosswalks instead of jaywalking, which made the traffic move more smoothly.
Traffic in the heights in Jim Thorpe was made one way up on Hill Road, and one way on both Center and South Avenues, which did so much to help with congestion that people are talking about asking Penn Dot, which owns those roads, to make that change permanent.
JTTA President James Dougher says that after parking, toilet facilities are the next biggest issue in Fall Foliage. The JTTA and the PMVB positioned porta potties all over town, and had them serviced 4 times a week, but there were still issues with keeping them clean, toilet paper availability, smell, and people’s general reluctance to use them.
The borough asked that the official festival be shortened from all four weekends in October to the first three, in order to be able to hold Trunk or Treat at Sam Miller Field in the heights, and to have space for the Halloween Parade on the east side.
Police Chief Schatz says the biggest issue he wants to work on for next year is to make it easier for residents of Jim Thorpe’s east side to be able to park during fall foliage.
What is Happening at Flagstaff?
Tom Romanchik is an airplane mechanic whose family has put him in charge of getting Flagstaff back together. He’s a life long Jim Thorpe resident who has good memories of spending time at Flagstaff. He’s
taking his time, and looking for long term solutions.
There are 3 phases to their renovation. First, to develop a plan, next to make necessary repairs to the small building, which was most recently used as a restaurant, so the public can enjoy the overlook and park, and last, to fix up the ballroom.
The plans are in place. Next Romanchik plans to develop a picnic area and playground, using the restroom facilities in the small building. Instead of reopening the restaurant he’d like to engage a couple of food trucks If all goes well, those areas could be open to the public by summer of 2025.
The third phase of the rebuild will be the ballroom. The building needs a new deck and lots of interior upgrades. Romanchik thinks the property has potential as a concert or a wedding venue. Part of the rebuilding process will be finding a partner to manage day to day operations. He put a ballpark reopening date for the ballroom at 2028.
Insurance on the property is a headache for the family. Romanchik has the area fenced off, and asks the public not to try to go around the fences. He understands the public’s interest in the property. When he has it put back together properly there will be public access.
The site was originally occupied by the Broadway Hotel, which burned down in 1893, at a time when
Mauch Chunk had a thousand hotel rooms. Mauch Chunk was a stop on the tourist train to Niagara Falls. People loved the Switch Back Railroad, the Falls at Glen Onoko, and the fact that the summer weather here was cooler than New York and Philadelphia.
The contract for construction was signed on July 31 of 1893, with a completion date of April 1, 1894. The cost for the project was 40 thousand dollars, with a 5 dollar penalty for every day the project was delayed.
The completed Y boasted a swimming pool in the basement, a gymnasium, an auditorium, 2 bowling lanes, a sauna, and a billiards room. There were locker rooms for men and women, Annual dues were $4.
The game of basketball was invented at a YMCA in Massachusetts in 1891. The Mauch Chunk Y offered basketball when it opened, in 1894.
When the YMCA closed the building was briefly used for storage, and was then purchased by Duke Blaugh, one of the current hotel owners. He rented space to various borough offices, including the police department. There was a secure evidence room in the basement.
Blaugh took on Tom Chapman as a partner when he decided to make the building into a hotel. He and Chapman had played various sports together for years. They spent
3 and a half years gutting the place and putting it back together, doing the vast majority of the renovation work themselves. In 2022 a woman named Kate Troxell was going to her daughters’ dance recital at the Opera House and she parked in the hotel lot. She talked to Blaugh about his plans for the hotel, and eventually talked herself into a job as the hotel’s general manager.
They did a soft opening in early October 2023 to give their staff a chance to practice running the place, then had their opening for paying guests on October 28th of 2023.
The hotel is decorated throughout with scenes around Jim Thorpe, and is clearly a labor of love for everyone involved with it.
Gandalf Murphy and the Grand Slambovian Circus of Dreams
Joziah Longo is a deeply spiritual man who believes that the spirits of his father, John Lennon and David Bowie help him write the lyrics to his songs.
Longo was born in Philadephia where his father and grandfather played music in bars in rough neighborhoods. His grandfather hung a guitar over his crib. His father told him not to learn to read music because
that would take the magic out of it. When Longo was 12 he was playing Bob Dylan music on street corners.
Longo moved to New York City as an adult and started a band with his wife, instrumentalist Tink Lloyd, in the 90s. The band was called “The Ancestors”. Their sound was described as “slamming”, which was high praise at the time. Longo adjusted slamming to Slambovian, which became the name for their permanent band, preceded by Gandalf Murphy. Gandalf was a powerful and positive wizard in The Hobbit book series.
Longo and Lloyd had 5 children, all of whom were born in the Hells Kitchen area of Manhattan. Major record labels tried to sign The Ancestors, but Longo didn’t want to give up their artistic freedom.
The family and the band moved to Sleepy Hollow New York, where they proceeded to make their own musical rules. Promoters liked their quirky name, so they started getting gigs. People liked their music, which Longo described as “classic rock that took a bit of acid”. “Longo continued writing their material. They started their own recording label, Storm King Records, and the jobs came rolling in.
They’ve performed at the Opera House for 20 years. They work small and large venues and festivals, doing a UK tour every few summers, and they were the first American band to be allowed into China in the early 2000s.
Longo takes pride in the fact that theirs is a dry tour. He feels the absence of drugs and alcohol allows them a better connection to their music. They go out for every performance intending to leave it all there on the stage.
Their attitudes and their musical abilities are a huge part of their success, but Longo is also a phenomenal lyricist. He says he has a circular style of writing, working on several songs at once, and honestly believes that when he’s stuck on a song he gets help from spirits like John Lennon, David Bowie, or his Dad.
Media was in a state of flux at the time, with technology getting smaller and more accessible for individuals, so they took a huge leap of faith, dissolved The Ancestors, and enrolled in Westchester Community College, where they studied computer graphic design and video production, eventually recruiting one of their instructors as the drummer in their new band, “Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams”, which they started in 1998.
Longo is 71. How many more years can he perform? He’s thinking 21. Ted Mack of the “Amateur Hour” was on TV till he was 93. Longo wants to see if he can match that.
For Longo and the rest of the Grand Slambovians, they play from the heart, and music is their mission.
Upcoming Shows at the Opera House
December 20 Rock This Town Orchestra
December 21 Tammy Pescatelli Comedian
December 27 -B Street Band ( (music of Bruce Springsteen)
December 31 Hunkajunk NYE Dance Party
January 20 Unforgettable Fire (music of U2)
January 11 Awaken (music of Yes)
January 17 The Rush Experience
January 18 Mama Mia (music of Abba)
January 25 Super Unknown (Legacy of Chris Cornell)
January 31 FJ (music of Foreigner and Journey)
See the complete list of upcoming shows at mcohjt.com
Membership Information
Join us online! mauch-chunk-historical-society.square.site
Members at the Bronze Level or higher will be considered VIP Members, and will get discounts at 19 Mauch Chunk Businesses, including 4 tickets on the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway, a $96 value!
You can reach us either by Facebook message to Mauch Chunk Historical Society, or by email to membersmchs@gmail.com.
The Mauch Chunk Historical Society is a 501c3 non profit organization. All memberships and donations are fully tax deductible.
Individual Discount on one ticket per show
Discount on two tickets per show
Discount on two tickets per show + VIP membership
Silver Discount on two tickets per show + VIP membership + Sweet Notes Concessions Discount
Gold Discount on two tickets per show + VIP membership + Sweet Notes Concessions Discount + Gazette dedication
Platinum Discount on two tickets per show + VIP membership + Sweet Notes Concessions Discount + Gazette dedication + Personal Seat Plaque
More membership perks are coming soon and will be announced on our Facebook Page: Mauch Chunk Historical Society.
Thanks to all our members, but special thanks to our
Silver Members: The Spillman, Breeze, Patton, Koch, Straub, and Vito Families
Gold Member: O’Neill Family
Platinum Members: Platusky, Fogal Families
Diamond Member: Jim Berger
Mauch Chunk Historical Society
Membership
(circle one)
Interested in volunteering at shows? Yes � No � CONTACT
Bob Yevak—President
Steve Hlavka—Vice President
Cleo Fogal—-Secretary
Trish Spillman—Treasurer
Credit Card #: ______________________ Expiration Date: ___/___
Address: Please make checks payable to: Mauch Chunk Historical Society
Please mail application to: PO Box 273, Jim Thorpe, Pa. 18229
Board Members
Helen Van Pelt
Kathleen Lear
Vince DeGiosio
Terry Opelia
Andrew Roberts
