Category Archives: Coopersburg PA

Holiday Season 1978

Memories from past letters of mine. Also commentary now on those memories. We are now into the fall of 1978. The cold and cough season is upon us but nothing serious. I receive the official notification that I am now a Professional Engineer in PA, a goal that I worked on for a year. I was proud of this achievement. I was also proud of getting the truck ready for use as a tow vehicle. I now realized that I included much about Margery. I make what amends that I can here. Continue reading

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Summer’s End 1978

Marge and I in 1978 were a middle age suburban Pennsylvania couple with two growing children. This post is about summer ending, a week at the beach, minutae of everyday life, hobbies, memories of the past and comments on them in the present. Join us. Continue reading

Posted in 1970-1980, Allentown, Coopersburg PA, memoir, Pennsylvania, Relationships, Summer vacations | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Vacation Over

Summer is over now. Marge and the girls have come back from their long visit in the Tampa, Florida area. We did go to the Jersey shore for a week and discovered a very small, very loud Florida frog in the trailer. Marge located him and took him outside and he is now on his own. Some car problems with our 1970 Ford station wagon, house and home projects; the miscellany of life in suburbia. I am looking forward to some business trips and school for the girls will soon begin. Continue reading

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July 1978

Summer vacation time in PA. Trips for me, mostly business related. I had a speaking engagement in Chicago and made a side trip to Dearborn, home of many museums and similar places of interest. I took a trip at Memorial day to Tampa to spend a few days there with a friend and so some sailing in the Gulf. That was a lot of fun. I went to Poughkeepsie, NY to visit a counterpart at Central Hudson Power. Marge and I both went to Williamsburgh, VA as I was going to a trade show of electric utility vehicles. Marge did some shopping and sightseeing. We left the girls at home and had a very nice time together. Pleasure with business, a good combination. I had a new eye exam and also a detailed hearing exam. Some minor problems but nothing serious. I took up the jogging craze and find it is a good way to unwind after a day at the office and get in good physical shape. I took the exam for a Professional Engineering license 20 years after graduation. It was exhausting but I believe I did OK. Future summer plans involve going to Virginia Beach with another couple for a vacation which we are all looking forward to. Continue reading

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Winter 1978

Unusual, for us, stormy weather in January and February of 1978. This did cause some difficulty for me getting to work in Allentown due to drifting. Home repairs and improvement included putting a new relay in the furnace. That was easy. A harder task was getting up on the roof chipping ice from the flashings and repair interior water damage to the floor in place. Marge and I went to a local dinner theater a few times and also to a local production of “A Dolls House” Very pleasant. Marge’s sister Pat, fiance Adam, and her children Kathleen and Scott paid us a visit. Ingrid and I went to dinner on her birthday and to the movie “Close Encouners” Continue reading

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January 1978

Marge and I work together on some home improvements in our kitchen. We also joined the church choir; another activity we both enjoy and pleasant together. I went to two utility conferences speaking at one of them. We were plagued by ice storms in the fall but managed to cope with the power outages. Indoor camping one might say. My Mom visited us from her home in Plattsburgh NY which we all enjoyed. The fall season visits us with the flu, though not too seriously. We look forward to the coming year including a trip to Georgia during Easter vacation time. Continue reading

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September 1977

Trailer traveling from PA to FL. To the Tampa FL area in July. (NO A/C on the trailer…THINK about that!!) It was my wife Marge’s wish to take some spoken Spanish classes with some people she knew. We both learned some about the life experiences each of us had. Very Good. Very positive. So if you want to go on the road, please join us here. Continue reading

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June 1977

A family memoir of summer life including travel, learning, children and Marge driving the car and trailer down south. Continue reading

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May 1977

The sunny South, land of Tara and “Gone with the Wind”. Also, Live Oaks and Spanish moss. Our annual Spring vacation where we went to get a head start on spring in PA. The Civil War, aka War of Northern Aggression, started here. View a Park Service video of Fort Sumter history. Join us. Continue reading

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March 1977

Another family memoir, this time in March, 1977. Our vacation plans for a trip South. A sick pet and an orthodontist for Ingrid. Join us. Continue reading

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February 1977

Our family life in Eastern Pa in early 1977. Our children, our day to day lives over 40 years ago. Continue reading

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Marriage Encounter

Marriage Encounter, an ongoing Catholic program for couples to enhance their relationship through improved dialog. This is our experience. Continue reading

Posted in 1970-1980, Allentown, Binghamton, Coopersburg PA, Marital difficulties, Pennsylvania, Relationships | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Dec – Jan 1976

Christmas 1976, early snow, auto troubles, auto repair course, Marriage Encounter enrollment Continue reading

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My Stay In the E. R.

A hospital ER, not a place I want to go, but must. ER found nothing wrong with me, but my drugs are a toxic cocktail. I might wake up dead!! Continue reading

Posted in Coopersburg PA, Hospital, ER, drugs, Vegas 2010 -? | 8 Comments

The falling leaves-1976

Fall, camping, children, cars, electronics, fishing, audiology, teaching films courses, Sacramento Continue reading

Posted in 1970-1980, Binghamton, Coopersburg PA, Summer vacations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Summer Solstice Soliloquies

family life in 1976, photos, Dad’s death,Lake Placid, summer vacations, ham radio, ages and stages Continue reading

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ides and calends of March ’76

March ’76, onion snow, friends,photos, Virginia, PP&L, digging clay,Mustangs,home Continue reading

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November News – 1975

Allentown November, very proper British clothes, car wreck, our music interests, ending in Thanksgiving. Continue reading

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September Song -1975

Do you remember this oldie, the “September Song?” Read more: Frank Sinatra – September Song Lyrics | MetroLyrics second stanza goes like this: “September, November And these few precious days I’ll spend with you These precious days I’ll spend with … Continue reading

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May the 4th (of July 75) be with you!

4th of July, vacation, trailer, new freezer, Ocean City, NJ, Birthday, home & trailer improvements Continue reading

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April Fools – 1975

Travel trailer vacation, Florida, Disney world, Weekie Watchie, St Augustine North Carolina,bad weather, home again Continue reading

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March 1975, Health, Teen Age, Music, Spring

March 1975 in Coopersburg, health, birthday, guitars, woodworking, films Continue reading

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Feb. 1975, Flu, Florida, Family, Guitar, Electronics, Furniture

Mid winter in PA, Flu, Florida, Trailer travel, Guitar, Electronics,Furniture Continue reading

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Jan 1975, national economy, holidays, travel plans, new and old hobbies

A new year is upon us.  Unfortunately it doesn’t seem  better than last year. For us as a family the situation appears OK. Nationally is a different matter. One month we hear of a tax surcharge, than a tax rebate. … Continue reading

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Mid Dec. ’74, New Home, Christmas, PP&L, Economy, Heathkit,

PROLOGUE: Louise visited PA in the fall and took some photos of the house we bought there in 1970.  She shared them with me, and I am including a gallery of those pictures, and early ones I have. The man and … Continue reading

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Nov. ’74 – Home Improvements, Music, Teeth Bands and Braces, PP&L

I started the month more or less anticipating my birthday.  Getting perilously close to 40, a few years to go. The living room is in pretty good shape at this time.  The new furniture arrived, and also a rug from … Continue reading

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April 1974

March surely did go out like a lion this year.  We had about an inch of snow on March 31, but it didn’t last long.  The snow flakes were big and wet, came down hard for a few hours and … Continue reading

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Marching Along – 1974

Spring is springing, a young man’s thoughts turn to Love, and a middle-aged man thinks about his trailer. March 74 certainly came in very lamb-like.  I was sick again in February with the flu, more severe in February than January. … Continue reading

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Another New Year – 1974

Here we are again, now in 1974.  I didn’t get around to writing until the end of the month for some unknown reason now, probably the Christmas rush, celebrations, etc.  One of our Christmas day rituals was turning the house … Continue reading

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Notes on November -1973

November ’73, I am now a year older, but still under the figure of 40, another decade in the odometer of life. And so far it has been a good life. For us, this was a month of trips.  The first gasoline crisis … Continue reading

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Remembering September – 1973

September…Fall will soon be on us, the heat and humidity of summer are over, school starts again and our lives follow the pattern of the seasons. The weather was warm at the beginning of the month but then the leaves … Continue reading

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Summer Time – 1973

The Date: August 15, 1973.  The Place: Coopersburg, PA.  August here is usually hot and muggy, this day being no exception.  Not like NY where we could get by with large window fans and we are so thankful this house … Continue reading

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Springtime For Frantzens – 1973

No, not Springtime For Hitler, that’s been done, but about me and my loved ones. I took a business trip to Oklahoma at the end of April.  A local vendor of construction equipment was having a show in Oklahoma City and I … Continue reading

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Great Expectations – Our First Trailer Trip

I am shameless in appropriating titles, though we did in fact have great expectations for our first trailer vacation.  The time was April 1973 just preceding Easter of that year. We made a trial trip to Lancaster PA to get an actual … Continue reading

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On The Road…In PA

Apologies to Jack Kerouac but I couldn’t resist. Marge and I have discussed buying a travel trailer.  Really, it was my idea but of course it was a joint decision to make.  I have no idea why, it just seemed … Continue reading

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PA 1972 – 1973

Back to the Pa. suburbs at Beverly Hills.  We did make a trip in December to spend time with Marge’s sister Pat and her family in Penn Yan, NY. The weather was cold for December, but reasonable for January though … Continue reading

Posted in 1970-1980, Coopersburg PA, Marital difficulties, Pennsylvania | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

WASP (Not the Insect)

The emotional rush of being in love and a couple, both figuratively and physically, ended about when the relationship texts proclaimed, that is, about 2 years after making our informal commitment to each other.  Sure enough, we responded to the ancient call … Continue reading

Posted in 1970-1980, Allentown, Coopersburg PA, Marital difficulties, Pennsylvania, Relationships | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

1970 – Pennsylvania

We have now moved down here and into the house on Beverley Hills.  It was heart-rending to leave Vestal as we had made several improvements to the house to personalize it into being our home.  Originally, we had planned on staying in … Continue reading

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Religon and Rocks

It is time to bring things up to date a bit.  In doing so I have to go back in time a bit. In 1960 we married and in 1970 had our 10th anniversary.  Both our parents had urged us to … Continue reading

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Cars And Carpentry

What has the post title got to do with Marge, Bob or us?  In a way, an automobile is a tool. Its main purpose is to give us personal mobility.  We don’t have to rely on foot power, real equine … Continue reading

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Where the Hell is our Well?

The Way-Back machine is dialed to the first of March 1970. The water pressure in the house dropped, then stopped. Why? The first thing I thought of was that a circuit breaker had tripped. I checked this and no luck. Our big … Continue reading

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