In the 1960s, downtown Easton, Pennsylvania was ravaged by urban renewal projects that dismantled a thriving multiethnic neighborhood. This book tells the story of that neighborhood, where Maronite Catholic immigrants from the Mount Lebanon area of contemporary Lebanon, Italian, Greek, German, Russian and Irish immigrants and African-Americans lived, worked, and played side-by-side for decades.
Then, in 1963, came redevelopment. A swath of the city was demolished; its people relocated. With little input from the citizens, the very fabric of the neighborhood was shredded.
In this poignant book, life in Easton, Pennsylvania before and after redevelopment is told by those who lived through it. Lafayette College students enrolled in a collaborative anthropology course gathered oral testimonies regarding the quality of neighborly relationships from the 1930s through the mid-1960s, trying to understand the lost neighborhood through former residents' eyes.
The result is rich in the voices of Eastonians who recount entertaining stories about door-to-door merchants, sneaking into movie theatres, and magical childhoods that played out across the city. This small slice of history reveals insights into the larger issues of living together while relying on families, friends and traditions, and, sadly, what happens when these threads unravel.
About the Project
Director Andrea L. Smith teaches in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Lafayette College. Her research concerns collective memory and forgetting with a focus on memories of the displaced. This book was prepared by students in her field based course, A&S 244.
Any proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the Easton Public Library.
