JOURNEY TO THE CLOSEST THING TO UTOPIA, COPLAY. CHAPTER ONE.

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June 17, 1955, my wife Ann and I signed on the dotted line and became mortgage holding, tax paying residents of the Borough of Coplay. June 17, 2010 will mark the 55th Anniversary of becoming a part of what we considered the "Closest Thing To Utopia, Coplay". March of 1955 was very similar weatherwise to this year, fairly warm. I was working at Triangle Conduit & Cable Co. in South Brunswick, N.J. at that time and as usual, we came back to Pennsylvania to spend the weekend at Ann's parents home in Lansford. My folks lived in Summit Hill. While browsing thru the Sunday Morning Call, Ann spotted an ad for Mann Homes, $10,090.00, in Coplay. The only thing we knew about Coplay was that Curt Simmons had pitched for Coplay American Legion Post 426. Ann asked if we could stop there on the way back to Jersey on Monday. I was on steady midnight shift, Monday thru Friday. We found the development and after depositing $20.00, we picked out a lot, even though we had no prospects of employment and current job location was 75 miles away. Back to my job where I was employed as A Reel Inspector in the wire mill. I was located at the rear of the building, near a large garage door, which remained open all night because of the pleasant weather. I heard a flight of geese quacking on their way North, so I stepped outside and sat on a stack of bags for a short break. It was just about daybreak and after I stood up, I glanced at the bag I was sitting on "Coplay Cement Co., Coplay, PA. (Zip Codes did not originate until 1964) Was this a Good Omen of what lies ahead? In April, we deposited an additional $80.00 when we picked out the colors of the home, inside and out. The day we signed on the home, we received a 4 and 1/2 percent G.I. Loan and the $100.00 deposit was returned to us. It was unthinkable that we could move into a new home without a down payment. I was laid off on Friday the 17th because of an annual inventory at the plant in Jersey. We moved in over the Weekend and on Monday morning I set out to change my home address on applications I had submitted in Allentown and vicinity. Went to Mack first, but on the way to Western Electric, I remembered an old Summit Hiller who had a gas station on Hanover Ave, across from the Coca Cola Company. I was advised by the attendant that George B. was working at Bethlehem Steel. The gas station was just side money. I drove to Bethlehem Steel, filled out an application and was interviewed. 20 people were hired that day and I was offered a 3 month job as an inspector in the Beam Yard. Talked it over with Ann and my Dad who came down from Summit Hill to visit. I accepted the offer and started employment on July 5, 1955. The 3 months turned into 5 Years and 3 weeks until I was laid off at the end of July 1960. My tenure included a strike of 119 day duration and another very short one. This was the start of the Dickman Family Odyssey in Coplay, the closest thing to Utopia. I will stop for now and attempt to Post the first chapter. I am hoping that folks will access our Blog and relate their experiences during their lifetime. We welcome communications, but will not tolerate vulgarities or obscenities. We will follow up on this journey at a future date. God Bless!!!!