The Morning Call from Allentown, Pennsylvania • 3

SECOND SUNDAY CALL-CHRONICLE Allentown, Pa, December 15, 1957 Tage 17 Shopping I 'p -TV'; 1 hi III I I Mi Jap X'W' v'' '1 A 1 Allentown Record Set Christmas Sales Yesterday Top Ail-Time Highs Jammed store jingling cash registers and heavy traffic on roads leading to Allentown yesterday added up to what most merchants conceded was: The biggest day of the biggest week of the biggest Christmas shopping season in the city's history. Although they base the 'biggest season" on anticipated business of the one and one-half weeks remaining of the Yule shopping season, they noted that for many stores there was no question of yesterday being the biggest day thus far this season. "It far exceeded the Big Friday the day after Thanksgiving hen stores were open from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.," reported a breathless representative of one of the larger stores. "Biggest day of the year, "biggest day of the year," reported others time after time.

Public transportation facilities were taxed, with buses jammed and trains doing a good business bringing in shoppers from the coal region communities. Many motoring shoppers found new convenience getting to town in use of turnpike extensions end bypasses. customers from as far south as the Philadelphia suburban area and well on into New Jersey were noted among those who signed sales slips yesterday. (lifts, Candy in Demand Toys were top sellers again with small appliances, clothing, records, hi-fi units and household items being popular with the gift-buying public. Candy sales swept upward, with "peak in such sales expected during the next week.

Sale of other small items, such as perfume, handkerchiefs and neckties are expected to enjoy a boom as well. The buying was not confined to the larger stores or even to merchants of hard goods. Jewelry stores were again well patronized. Shops dealing in women's wear or specializing in such things as shoes were well filled during the day, forecasting a well-dressed as well as happy Yuletide. Early Birds Early birds were ordering their holiday dinners of turkeys ZS, Christmas IsComin' yrwta'XOfrMrtWKKtiwwwwai iwn ii 1 wwa UNDAUNTED AT 17 Clarence T.

Kern, of 1936 Greenleaf Allentown, is the man under the mountain of mail. And lie Is well aware of what will happen during the coming week because it is his 17th Christmas as a clerk in the postoffice. Clarence reported he was ready for anything the mails could bring. (Call-Chronicle photo oy KOCKmaKer.j VV Boy, Man Victims BEAUTIFUL BUT DANGEROUS Frozen cascades along the western approach to the Jim Thorpe bridge are attracting the interest of passing motorists, but they also present a serious highway hazard. The icy condition is one of nature's annual formations.

Men of the State Highways Department are seen chopping portions of the ice from the apron of the highway. Yuletide Mail Volume Swells Signs of the times were evident at the Allentown post office yesterday. It was estimated last night that ten times the normal amount of Saturday mail passed through the building when work was finally completed on the mountainous stacks at midnight. Badly Hurt Accidents 2 In Two persons were seriously injured last night In traffic accidents that marred a relatively quiet day on Lehigh Valley highways. Frank P.

Mlynek 24, of 127 Furnace Allentown, was listed in serious condition early this morning at Allentown Hospital. Easfonfo Get 130 Additional Parking Spaces New parking space for approximately 130 cars will be made available in downtown Easton about Feb. 1. TVmnlitinn of the old Easton Theater building and the former Montgomery Ward Store on b. 3rd street is under way to pro-Tide the space.

Razing of the two structures be gan somewhat earlier than anticipated immediately after Harold S. Esken Amusement Enterprises, New York City, the theater tenant, vacated a little more than a week ago. The old Montgomery-Ward building had been vacant for some time. Seek Other Sites Negotiations are now under way for additional downtown parking sites, J. Douglas Fackenthaler, Picture on Page 26 attorney for Easton Parking As sociates, told The fcunaay cau-Chronicle.

The EPA invited the Kinney firm to do what it could to solve the city's parking problem. At the moment the problem apparently is headed toward a swift snlntinn. "We have high expectations that there will be sufficient space for downtown parking within a vear." Fackenthaler said. The Kinney Corp. has a 21-year lease on the S.

3rd street site. romnlition of the buildings will male available approximately 22.000 sauare feet sufficient for 90 cars on the ground level of the existing buildings. An addi-iAit in nr 50 cart will be housed in the 12,000 square feet at the basement level. Originally an EPA spokesman announced the parking lot would be ready for use by June of 1958. a 4Hir.mnnth iumo on the original date i expected to be highly gratifying to shoppers, io wuom the space wm oe luigcijr UN UNITED STEEL WORKERS OF America.

A.F.L.-C.1.U. "iv weei- th Month" Channel 6 Phila Today 4:15 p.m. Subject "Union Jdckie McKeever 7 Punks' Fail In Gas Station Holdup Attempt Two young men were being sought by state and local police early this morning after an un successful attempt to holdup i Kuhnsville service station opera tor. The young men, described as two nunks" bv the victim Josenh Guldner. 3901 Walnut St.

Allentown, fled from' the station after Guldner called their blulf Ordered Gas AnnnrMne to Guldner. the pair entered his station while he was serving two cars shortly after 1 a.nu They told him to finish hia rhnrps. and then DUt $1 worth of gas in their automobile. When Guldner walked into tne station after serving his customers nna of the men produced a gun and demanded the receipts from the cash register. Guldner refused, and the men, startled, told him: "We'll let you go this time, but the next time we'll shoot you." Chase aus When the pair nulled away from the station, a nearby service sta tion operator, George A.

Hass, trimnori into hla car and save chase. He followed them on the Tnruway to Easton but failed to catch them. Polio said one of the men was flhniit 5-ft. 8-in. tall.

140 pounds, blond hair, while the other was about fwn, 160 pounds, aam hair. They were said to be in their liaie leens. They drove a 4-door sedan, with loud muffler Fall Breaks Wrists Catherine Lerch. 47, 1129 Tweed was admitted to Sacred Heart Hospital with fractures of eQ ter SANTA VISITS CLUB Santa Claus was present to dis frihutA gifts last nicht to handi Continued on Pag 19, Column 3 Safecrackers Get $350 In Allentown Burglars netted at least $350 and two watches early yesterday when they cracked a safe at ter Living 1740 Allen Allentown. Entrance to the storm window and door store was gained by breaking a glass door pane on the southside of the building.

Hinge pins were removed from another door to gain entrance to the of' fice. 3 mnveA mm the manager's office to a ware 4 JEWS' He was injurea wnen nis car missed a curve on the Lehigh Parkway and crashed into a tree a quarter-mile east of Bog-ert's Bridge. Mlynek, an employe of Lehigh Structural Steel was on the operating table at the hospital for more than three hours while surgeons repaired ruptured intestines. Choir Boy Hurt A Montgomery County choir boy was thrown from his car on 3rd street, Perkasie, at 7 p.m. yesterday following a collision at 3rd and Walnut streets.

Samuel Paul DiFrancis, 13, of Oreland, is reported in satisfactory condition in Grand View Hospital, Sellersville, where he is being detained for observation and cuts of the left ear, head, and bruises of the body. DiFrancis's car was struck, according to Patrolman Russell Ulmer, by a car driven by Donald Moyer of Walnut street. Perkasie. DiFrancis drove through a stop sign Just before his car was struck broadside. Thrown From Car The boy's car was sent spinning about 30 feet up 3rd street before it struck a culvert oa the south side of 3rd.

There DiFrancis was thrown from the car against a concrete air pump at a gasoline service station. The car came to a stop on the north side. Clyde Murphy, 13, of Oreland. a passenger in the car was not injured. He told Ulmer that the two were going to a choir prev entation at the Baptist Church, 4th and Arch streets, Perkasie.

Murphy said the car was not working properly and DiFrancis did not want to stop at the intersection. Towmensing Crash Mrs. Joyce Green, 17, of Palmerton R. 1, was treated at Palmerton Hospital last night for cuts of the forehead. She was injured in a two-car crash in Towmensing Township.

Mrs. Green was a passenger in a car driven by her husband, Herbert W. Green, 22, that collided with a car driven by Wesley H. Young, 42, of 153 South Jim Thorpe. The accident happened, state Continued en Page 19, Column 1 At Long Last-Santa Reaches Perkasie Tols Santa Claus kept the faith yesterday, arriving in Perkasie after two cancelations because of weather.

But yesterday he arrived by airplane in a field at the outskirts of the town and then was head man In a motorcade through the heart of Perkasie. In the autocade were 10 members of the Penn Ridge High School cheering squad. After the half hour parade the motorcade arrived at the Tor-kasie Borough Parking lot where more than 700 children were lined up for 'two blocks awaiting the appearance. Small gifts were distributed to the children. Probe Likely In Bethlehem Man's Death A- rnrnner' inauest into the death of James P.

Higgins, 44, of 618 Buchanan Betwenem. ine victim of a "brain injury" re sulting from unknown causes, mav he reemested. Tripsins, a former union leader and cafe operator, died Friday night in St. Luke's iiospiiai, one week after his admittance, wun An nnfnnsv performed yester day listed -Jggins' ceain as me 7-ociilt nf brain iniurv. Dr.

Rlis- seH Rinker, deputy Lehigh County coroner, reported. Plans Conference Northamoton County Dist. Atty. Edward G. Ruyak, said last night he will confer Monday wun -api Michael J.

Fox. Bethlehem detec Mvp "to clear ud certain aspects of the case." Ruyak said he was not ready to divulge tne as pects. He 'added that he will recom mend that a coroner's inquest be held. The district attorney said he will "point out certain as pects of the case to ciayion u. r.

wprW Lehieh County coroner, which should warrant an inquest." It is up to Werley to determine whether an inquest is neeaea, Ruyak noted. Cause Not Determined Whether Hieffina suffered acci dental injuries or met with foul nlav has not yet oeen determined. He was first treated in tne Hospital during the early morning of Continued on Page 19, Column 1 Allentown State Hospital Addsl33Beds Allentown State Hospital's move to add 133 more beds to patient facilities is almost three-quarters completed, the hospital's director. Dr. H.

C. Fiedler, reported last evening. The additional room is Demg provided by evicting non-essen-Mai from livine auarters in state mental hospitals. All such persons have moved from tne Allentown State Hospital, and approximately 50 beds have been reassigned for patient use. The remainder await changes in ward plans and the like.

The reconversion program is expected to be completed by the beginning of March. Tn a statewide nroeress report issued yesterday by Welfare Sec retary Harry Shapiro, it was dis closed that the state program, when completed will add 1,384 beds for patients in 11 institutions. The Weather The weather for the Lehigh Val-lev as forecast at the U. S. Weath er Bureau at the A-B-E Airport for today is: Partly cloudy and a little milder with a high of 4o degrees.

Temperatures The U. S. Weather Bureau reported the following temperatures for Saturday: High Low Allentown 39 Atlantic City 46 Boston 43 Chicago 44 Cleveland 40 Denver 60 Miami 67 New York 43 Philadelphia 45 St. Louis 52 Tampa 69 Washington 54 25 35 30 35 35 33 62 31 29 38 37 FREE ICE SKATDiG AT LeVan's Old Mill Inn, Kutztowh house in the rear of the building. There the burglars used a a Bear Creek Dam Tunnel Put to Use A major construction phase of the Bear Creek Dam, near White Haven, has been completed.

This is a giant tunnel which has been placed in operation to di vert the waters of the Lehign kiv-er so that actual construction of th dam can be started. This is expected to begin next spring. The first water flowed through the tunnel at 11 a.m. Friday. At present, a skeleton force of about 25 construction workers and 15 engineers is employed on the project.

Flood Control Is Aim The dam, which is a federal flood control project, will lower flood levels in the Lehigh River basin. The dam will be located near the Carbon-Luzerne County line below the confluence of the Lehigh River and Bear Creek. It will be the largest earth-fill dam east of the Mississippi Riv er. The flood control project was conceived in 1936, but its progress through federal channels was slow. It was given budgetary ap proval in 1940 but because of World War II no tunas were appropriated.

Last year, Congress voted the Continued on Page 19, Column 2 PHIL'S BAR Q'D CHICKENS Open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. HE 4-1241 Broadway Star claw hammer and crowbar to break open the safe. 2 Minor Fires A faulty oil Durner causea a "We figure we had about 000 pieces of mail pass through the building yesterday," a post office employe said. Ordinarily, he pointed out, some 30,000 pieces of mail is the Saturday quota.

On weekdays it is about Big Rush to Come The big rush isn't on yet, the postal spokesman said, but it is coming. And, he pointed out, the general public can do a couple of things to help. First, get cards in the mail either today or Monday. 4'If people wait too long before dropping their cards we can get into a very difficult situation around the end of the week," he said. "It will help terrifically if everybody will cooperate with us on their mailings." The second aid to the postal people, he said, would be use pf the labels for out of town and local cards.

The labels immediately give the postal workers a long lift in sorting the cards for distribution and every moment will count during the coming week as the mails become heavier with each day. How to Use Labels "Remember one thing about the labels," the post office man said, "local labels apply to your own post office, wherever you may live. If you live in Allentown, use local labels only for the city and not for the suburbs. That goes equally as well for Bethlehem, Easton, or any city in which you live. If the card doesn't go to someone in your own city it shouldn't be grouped with those under the local label." Catasauqua's Jackie McKeever has won a starring role in big, new musical comedy due on Broadway soon.

The petite, pretty and talented Jackie will be one of a great array of stars in "Oh Captain" which opens at the Alvin Theater on Feb. 4. Prominent advertising appearing In New York City papers lists her name fourth, as follows: "Tony Randall, Abbe Lane, Xavier Cugat and introducing Jacquelyn McKeever. "With Susan Johnson, Paul Valentine, Stanley Carlson." Ballerina to Appear The world famous Alexandra Danilova who has appeared in Allentown on several occasions with outstanding ballet troupes is listed as prima ballerina. "Oh, Captain" a musical comedy version of the motion picture hit, "The Captain's Paradise." The latter was an original screen play by Alec Cop-pel.

The production is being presented by Howard Merrill and the Theater Corporation of America with none other than the famous actor-director, Jose Ferrer, as producer and director. Not only is the entire produc- Ssssr Her condition 18 Usted as Coaldale Mine Work Picture Called Bright Work prospects at Coaldale Mining Co. are bright, according to a letter issued employes by John F. Marshall, executive vice president. In tne letter, the head of the firm expressed rearet over the annnnnrprl closinz of Panther Val ley Coal Co.

on Dec. 31 and asked the cooperation of all employes in maintaining a high rate of production at Coaldale. Tha letter, in the form of a Christmas message to the work ers, set the production target at 1,700 to 1,800 mine cars a day. Lost European Market Marshall reviewed the loss Of the European coal market which said was partly responsible for keeping area mines working steady time The latter part or last year and the early part of this year. His letter said in part.

"As I wrote last year at this time, the European oil shortage was corrected and after a very warm winter over there, the export market in our third year of business has practically disappeared. Everyone knows, that each year, more and more anthracite users are switching to oil and gas. This is returning coal dealers to the position of demanding cut prices Continued on Page 19, Column UNITED STEEL WORKERS OF America. A.F.L.-C.I.O. Tv Meet ing of the Month" Channel 6 Phila.

Subject Union Finances." Ad. comply with the District Attor ney's request. And spokesmen for both Boy and Girt Scouts told the District Attorney they would not break the law by selling Christmas trees An' entirely different interpretation was placed on sale of trees in Northampton County by District Attorney Edward Ruyak who said they could be sold without penalty. District Attorney McGinley announced yesterday he was pleased with the success of his drive to enforce the Blue Laws. So far 102 adults have been arrested in the county, with another nine in Northampton County.

Six of the Lehigh County offenders have pleaded guilty of violations and been fine4 $4, plus costs each. Continued on Page 19, Column 4 Trorelrannerl Dersons attending the an- Local Girl Hits Big Time 1 -1 inimi fThristmas Party of the tieth- lenem inangie wuu CHRISTMAS GIFTS Beautiful pastel fox collars, mink collars, lucite purses. C. M.Today 4:15 p.m I Albright, Jrurner, iii j-szi. ao.

Stores Dwindles Sales Eyed Today town, last night. Apparatus from the Franklin anq Keystone corn- names responded to an alarm sounded at 7:05 p.m. There was no damage, firemen said. kaiv -nj Tnomaictrin Cn-m Franklin firemen also 20th and Hamilton where a faulty sprinkler head set off an alarm at 4:22 p.m HOLIDAY NECKWEAR $1 UP LeGath Ties, 33 N. 10th.

Ad. Number of Open Sunday District Attorney Paul A. Mckinley, of Lehigh County, won't have as many places to visit today as he continues his drive against Sunday shopping for the second consecutive week. Reason is that a number of establishments which were open last Sunday won't be doing business today. Closings Announced Among the closings announced were: The Bargain Center, 1901 Lehigh Allentown.

The discount house, through counsel, at noon yesterday announced it would not be open today. A companion Bargain Center in Freemansburg, however, is expected to remain open. Previously the Anchor Building Supply Co. and the Coplay Discount Fair, both in Whitehall Township, announced no business would be conducted And later yesterday afternoon John J. Lewis, manager of the Fountain Hill Factory Outlet, called The Sunday Call-Chronicle and made a cryptic announcement "Due to conditions beyond our control the Fountain Hill Factory Outlet will be closed this Sunday," he said.

Bans Tree Sales Unlike last week whea Christmas tree sales were on the approved list, McGinley said the sellers today would bp liable to prosecution. The trees, he pointed out, are not "necessities" and therefore should not be sold. He appealed to charitable organizations to refrain from selling trees, even though their operations are exempt from Blue Law enforcement because proceeds are used for non-profit groups. Allentown's Junior Chamber of Commerce announced it will Ad. Continued en Page 19, Column 1 JACKIE McKEEVER.