Local Government TV

▼

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Updated: Bethlehem Tp Acquires Painting of Son of Bethlehem's First Mayor

Bethlehem Township Commissioners were presented with a portrait of Archibald Johnston, Jr. at their November 20 meeting. Malissa Davis made the presentation on behalf of Cameron A. Smith, an 18 year-old man who serves on Catasauqua's Planning Commission. Davis and Smith met while both were attending a Citizen Academy at the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission. He was unable to attend in person because he had a meeting in Catty.

The painting is of Archibald Johnston, Jr., son of Bethlehem's first Mayor.

Smith purchased the painting on Craigslist for $45 from Ed Sherwood. After listening to Davis talk about Johnston and Housenick Park, he was inspired to donate the portrait. He noted that he is researching Desiderius George Dery, who at one time owned the world's largest silk manufacturer. "[P]eople have donated so many wonderful Dery related items to me and I felt it was my turn to reciprocate," he said.

Archibald Johnston was Bethlehem's first Mayor. He may have been its best. He became Mayor in 1918, when the United States was reeling from the deadly Spanish flu. That pandemic that may have killed as many as 100 million people worldwide.

His City, which had both a strict quarantine and a makeshift hospital at the Steel Company, suffered only about 100 casualties. Philadelphia, which failed to plan for or react to this calamity, dumped close to 13,000 bodies outside police stations and in trench graves.

Johnston, an engineer, believed in planning.

His mansion and surrounding grounds were devised to Bethlehem Township by his granddaughter, Janet Housenick, along with a $2 million fund for maintenance.

In addition to the gift, Smith is asking Commissioners to do "whatever they can to restore the Johnston Mansion. It really is a tremendous asset and an untouched example of gilded age mansions"

Updated 9:15 pm: In my original version of this story, I erroneously reported that the portrait is of Archibald Johnston. I apologize for my error.
at

2 comments:

  1. AnonymousNovember 21, 2017 at 12:21 PM

    It has been written, Mr Johnston drove different routes to work everyday so he could experience the roads and suggest maintenance if needed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. John ZapfNovember 21, 2017 at 4:16 PM

    Bernie, I'm reluctant to burst any bubbles for the township, but that portrait is not Bethlehem's first mayor, Archibald Johnston. It's actually his son, Archibald Borhek Johnston, who died in 1980.

    ReplyDelete

You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.