The Brown and White spoke with community members in a stroll around the neighborhood.
Lisa Connelly is an employee at the SteelStacks Visitor Center. She works there part time after retiring three years ago. (Nahjiah Miller/BW Staff)
Lisa Connelly, employee at the Visitor Center at SteelStacks
Q: How did you get your start at the Visitor Center at SteelStacks?
Lisa Connelly: When I retired about three years ago, and as everything was kind of opening back up after the pandemic, I just decided I wanted to be involved with (the Visitor Center). It was like a little part time retirement gig. And I do like what they do. I like all the music, musical events that they put on or do sometimes here. And (I) work over at Banana Factory part time, and it’s a fun place to work.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about the area?
LC: I love all the different festivals and events that go on. I think that’s one of the really cool things about this area. You’re not just living in a place that’s pretty good, (where)there’s not much to do; you can do all these different festivals, see all this music, still be close to nature, do a lot of hiking and then things are so close to New York.
Q: Do you think that Bethlehem has preserved its most important pieces of history?
LC: I think they’ve done a really nice job of honoring the integrity of the area, but still revitalizing what otherwise would just be kind of wasted. And it’s pretty, if you come to one of the concerts of the MusikFest, we see (the SteelStacks) all lit up. It is really pretty.
Q: If you could vacation anywhere, where would you choose and why?
LC: My favorite vacation spot is St. John, Virgin Islands. I just love St. John. It’s beautiful, just very gorgeous beaches.
Nancy and Dennis Russell sit in front of the Steel Stacks. The Russels are visiting their grandson, a Lehigh student, from California. (Nahjiah Miller/BW Staff)
Nancy and Dennis Russell, visiting grandparents of a Lehigh University graduating senior
Q: How do you prefer to spend your Sunday morning?
Nancy Russell: On the ideal Sunday morning, we would find a church and then walk around, have some breakfast or brunch, and then come to find something historical.
Q: If you could vacation anywhere, where would you go and why?
NR: San Francisco is the perfect place for an everyday staycation.
Roomates Rohit Thakare and Samarth Pathak walk along the Greenway. Both live on the South Side and graduated from Lehigh in 2018. (Nahjiah Miller/BW Staff)
Roommates Rohit Thakare and Samarth Pathak, both graduated from Lehigh in 2018 and live on the Southside
Q: What are some fun outdoor things you’re looking forward to starting to do in Bethlehem?
Samarth Pathak: Just sit outside the breweries, go to a friend’s place, being outside.
Q: If you could vacation anywhere, where would you choose and why?
Rohit Thakare: I guess Hawaii? I don’t know, because I wanted to but it’s too far away out of the team timezone, and way too pricey, and way too risky.
SP: I would definitely go, I would say, to Puerto Rico.
Q: What’s one of your favorite things about yourself and why?
SP: I think I socialize a lot and I think people like being around me. I think the ability to be able to talk to people, to hang out.
TJ Barron and Brandi Reardon walk along the Greenway on April 24. Barron is a professor at Moravian University and a project manager at PPL and and Reardon is a software consultant. (Nahjiah Miller/BW Staff)
TJ Barron and Brandi Reardon, Moravian University professor and software consultant
Q: What does your ideal Sunday morning look like?
TJ Barron: Sitting on our boat drinking coffee.
Q: What are some fun outdoor things that you’re looking forward to doing in Bethlehem?
TB: Well, right now, we’re going downtown. We just wanted to see what’s going on over there.
Q: If you could vacation anywhere. Where would you go and why?
Brandi Reardon: I’m looking forward to going overseas after this whole COVID thing has kind of died down a little bit. I think it may be easier, right? — without all the tests and stuff like that. I had friends that went away and then they tested to come back, and then you get stuck there for like a week or two.
Q: What’s one of your favorite things about yourself?
TB: I’m very handy, I can fix about anything.
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