Summer Jobs in Lehigh Valley: Past Meets Present
Innovative teens today launch their own side gigs tailored to their skills, often earning far beyond pocket money. A May 2025 Forbes article emphasizes how these young entrepreneurs turn downtime into opportunity. Yet, securing summer work in the Lehigh Valley during the early 1970s demanded the same grit, strong work ethic, and readiness to trade leisure for cash.
A Chance Encounter Leads to Work
In February 1972, friends skipped school for breakfast at the former Howard Johnson’s near Airport Road and Route 22, then called The Thruway. Across the street, a ‘Summer Hiring’ sign caught their eye at SteelStone, a company producing concrete stone facades for new homes, now part of the Airport Shopping Center. They applied on the spot and started immediately, stripping stones from molds and boxing them. Meeting quotas allowed early departures, though feigned illnesses provided occasional escapes.
Such repetitive tasks built discipline, much like today’s gigs foster lifelong habits, as the Forbes piece notes: ‘Unlike previous generations, today’s young people can craft side jobs perfectly aligned with their skills and interests.’
Diverse Roles Shape Early Careers
Job options ranged from newspaper delivery and lawn mowing to parking attendant at Seventh and Hamilton (now PPL Center site), landscaping, roofing, construction, gas station work, and dishwashing. Each role offered unique lessons amid conveniences like modern apps expanding access to similar prospects.
Memories from Elliott’s Diner
Siblings in one local family balanced college athletics with shifts at the iconic Elliott’s Diner on Sixth and Linden in Allentown. The younger sister, who worked there longest, shared vivid recollections of 1970s downtown life, including vanished landmarks like Zollinger’s, Leh’s, and Hess’s department stores.
She described colorful regulars: Stanley living in his car, Doc Weaver insisting on fork-sliced English muffins for extra butter, a woman in a white poodle skirt with fur fringe, Allentown Jets basketball players, cook Charlie, and streetwalker Goldie. One standout tale involved their father picking her up on Linden Street, only for a prostitute to climb in and refuse to leave, sparking laughter on the drive home.
‘I learned a lot at the diner,’ she reflected. ‘How to waitress, how to talk to people, and just that there were people way different than the middle-class folks we grew up with.’
Timeless Advice for Young Workers
As opportunities evolve, the core message endures: grab any job to build skills and character. Youthful drive promises ongoing cultural, economic, and community gains in the Lehigh Valley.
