You know you're from the Lehigh Valley if... (Philadelphia, Allentown: mortgage, houses)

[CHIP72]

I've been thinking for awhile it would be fun to have a thread mentioning items that clearly show you are originally from the Lehigh Valley or have been a long-time resident. Here are some of my "you know you are from the Lehigh Valley if...":

*Your favorite soda brand or company isn't Coca-Cola or Pepsi, it's A-Treat

*Going to Yocco's is a semi-regular occurance...

*...That is unless you prefer Potts' and get into arguments with Yocco's fans

*You know exactly what intersection in the region people are referring to when they say "near the Kopper Penny"

*You know what used to be on the site of Wildwater Kingdom at Dorney Park

*You know what Dorney Park and Nazareth used to have in common

*You remember when there was a public road that ran through the middle of Dorney Park and you had to look before crossing the road

*You have used PA 309 to go to Philadelphia or the northern Philly suburbs to avoid paying the Turnpike tolls

*You have used the Easton-Phillipsburg free bridge on Northampton Street to avoid paying the bridge tolls on US 22

*You miss at least 2 of the following 4 stores - Hess's, Leh's, Orr's, and/or Laneco

*You think Wal-Mart stole the combined grocery store/department store concept from Laneco

*You think it is normal to be able to get 3 sets of network channels on TV

*You know exactly where Toones' used to be located and where Play It Again Records is located

*You scoff at the idea that Harvard-Yale is a bigger or more important rivalry among I-AA/FCS schools than Lafayette-Lehigh (or Lehigh-Lafayette if you prefer)

*You have either attended or want to attend a Lehigh-Lafayette football game at least once in your life

*You know Lafayette-Lehigh isn't the only big, local, college football rivalry in the Lehigh Valley

*You think the state high school football playoffs should never preempt Thanksgiving Day rivalry games

*You think the idea of vacationing in the Poconos to escape the summer heat is strange

*Your family goes to the Jersey shore for weeklong summer vacations

*You are either related to or personally know/knew someone who worked at Bethlehem Steel

*You are either related to or personally know/knew someone who worked at a cement mill

*You are either related to or personally know/knew someone who worked at Mack Trucks

*You don't think there is anything strange about seeing orange and black street signs in Northampton

*You don't think it's strange that high schools have nicknames like Konkrete Kids, Slaters, Canaries, Zephyrs, or Stateliners

*You know in what town Jayne Mansfield is buried

*You mark your calendars a year in advance when the dates for the Allentown Fair and Musikfest are announced

*You still call Lehigh Valley International Airport "ABE Airport"

*You know the back way coming from the north to Goodman Stadium and Stabler Arena

*You've visited the Liberty Bell shrine in Allentown

*You've cursed at the traffic signal setup for the square in Easton at 3rd and Market Streets

*You've heard stories about Hurricane Diane numerous times

*You've gone to New Jersey solely to buy gas because it is cheaper there and/or they pump it for you

*You know that Wilson High School is closer to Easton than Easton High School is

*You or someone you know went on a tour of the Stroh's brewery near Trexlertown

*You know there is another way to get on the Turnpike besides US 22

*You've turned around at Eberhart Road to go south on MacArthur Road

*You've used back entrances to get to the Lehigh Valley Mall and/or Whitehall Mall

*You do NOT think of the Middle East when people are talking about Bethlehem, Nazareth, Egypt, or Emmaus

*You know the locker room humor joke about the 3 most popular streets in Allentown

*You've gotten a little nervous driving north on PA 248 through Lehigh Gap between Walnutport and Palmerton

*You still refer to or think of the ski area north of Danielsville as Little Gap

*You call business parks "industrial parks"

*You've driven too fast through Cemetary Curve in Easton and had to hit the brakes

*You call Bethlehem Catholic High School "Becahi", saying it BECK-ah

*When you hear "Queen City", you automatically think of an airport

*You think wrestling is a major high school sport

*You know what towns are in "the Slate Belt"

*You've used Trans-Bridge Bus Lines to go to Newark Airport, Manhattan, and/or a sports event in Philadelphia

*You still think the Mets' over-the-air games should be on Channel 9 and the Yankees' over-the-air games should be on Channel 11

*You think of Mario Andretti and Larry Holmes as the local sports legends

*You think everything north of the Blue Mountain is the boonies (though you sometimes still go to Carbon or Monroe Counties anyway)

*You think everything east of Phillipsburg is foreign territory

*You like to make fun of New Jersey on a semi-regular basis

Feel free to add your own listings!

[loose cannon]

I refuse to embrace these items.

[CHIP72]

Most of the items listed have nothing to do with stereotypes.

[JohnZ963]

A lot of this is more like "you know you're from the Lehigh Valley and 45+ years old." Still funny though.

[loose cannon]

If I have to, I'll give in and make my own. I fondly recall Pro Wrestling when I pass by Agricultural Hall. I fondly recall the glory days when I pass by the now closed down Cannons. I could give a darn about Yoccos or Potts! I do not drink soda!

[CHIP72]

Originally Posted by JohnZ963

A lot of this is more like "you know you're from the Lehigh Valley and 45+ years old." Still funny though.

I'm 36!!!

[loose cannon]

You pass by the West Catasaqua Playground and fondly remember the great Punk shows and the crazy keg parties that happened there in the 80's. You pass the Home Depot on Mcarthur Rd and remember when it was the George Washington Motor Lodge with the pool and hot tub that you and your friends trespassed in for many years.

[reznix]

The things that are gone only live on in our memories. I'm 37 and lived here all my life, other than college.

-Movie theaters at the Whitehall mall, Lehigh Valley mall, Trexlertown and the Eric in Allentown.

-You remember when MacArther road was pretty much the Whitehall mall and the Lehigh Valley mall. Everything else was fields.

-When 22 and MacArther wasn't gridlocked

-The fun old bridge in Treichlers during a rain storm

-Quarter midgets in Kuhnsville

-The Kuhnsville drive-in

-the Boulevard drive-in in Allentown

-When trexler park was the place to learn how to drive

-Feeding the deer at Dorney park

-Tickets at Dorney Park for the rides.

-When going to Trexlertown felt like the boonies with one mall that had an indoor minature golf course.

-When Darktown had cool underpasses.

-The excitement when Northampton decided to change their street signs.

-When Dorneyville didn't have the one-way split road.

-When Fogelsville was a village and not a warehouse center.

-When Macungie didn't have any traffic lights.

-When Cedar Crest Boulevard around Target had a LOT less traffic lights.

-When Lower Mac and Upper Mac were farmland.

-When school taxes weren't half your mortgage and houses weren't ten times your yearly income.


boy, this list gets pretty long pretty quick!

[KidArizona]

I miss those East Coast diners sometimes. Do they still have a lot? I remember Rainbow Diner, City Vu, Sunrise. Breakfast 24/7. Reasonable prices

[reznix]

Originally Posted by KidArizona

I miss those East Coast diners sometimes. Do they still have a lot? I remember Rainbow Diner, City Vu, Sunrise. Breakfast 24/7. Reasonable prices

Quite a few of the area diners have closed or remodeled into fancier restaurants. That said, there are still plenty left to eat at. Everytime I stop at one it's for the breakfast, eggs at 3:00 PM, why not?