For those of mature years, favorite childhood memories are often bathed in the warm glow of summer. Local historian and author Evan Burian gives credit for wonderful childhood experiences to the coaches and staff who ran the East Penn School District’s Summer Playground Program. Baby Boomers who attended elementary school during the 1950s, Burian and his friends participated in the playground program with gusto.

For six weeks from the last week in June through the second week of August, Burian and his buddies engaged in multiple sports and activities on the grounds of Lincoln School. Other program sites in the borough included Washington School, Thaddeus Stevens School and Lions Field.

Macungie, Alburtis,Vera Cruz and East Texas schools also opened their playgrounds to children of elementary and junior high school age.

Emmaus High School’s head football coach and athletic director William “Luke” Lobb also served as summer playground director. He assigned a team consisting of a male teacher/coach and a female teacher to organize and oversee each site.

Initially, varsity line football coach and head basketball coach Ken Moyer ran the Lincoln School site. He eventually changed jobs and was replaced at the playground by Dick Shaak. Shaak coached the junior varsity football team and eventually became head basketball coach.

Other members of the high school coaching staff who managed the various playgrounds were Al Neff, Evan Richards and Dick Keim. From the junior high athletic program, Lobb recruited Jim Roth and Paul Kistler.

From noon to 4 p.m. children engaged in activities which included volleyball, croquet, quoits, ping pong, box hockey, shuffleboard, bean bag toss and arts and crafts. Lincoln’s playground was also in operation in the evening 6 to 9 p.m.

In addition, the individual playgrounds each fielded a boys softball team. The team uniform was simple: jeans, T-shirt, sneakers, baseball cap and personal baseball glove. Throughout the summer these teams played intra squad and playground versus playground games. Players mounted their bikes and pedaled to in-town games. However, when traveling to more distant locales, Macungie etc., the boys enjoyed the luxury of a taxi ride.

Softball teams were not the only group transported by taxis. Children wishing to swim could do so free of charge at Community Park. Two mornings a week, the pool opened from approximately 9 to 11 a.m. for playground program participants. Children in need of a ride met at their playgrounds and shared taxis to and from the park.

Each week ended on a high note; Fridays were theme days. Themes varied. Pet days, scavenger hunts and free throw contests were a few of the possibilities. Winners left for the weekend with bragging rights and candy bars.

Moyer expanded the playground program at Lincoln to include a Shirts and Skins Basketball League for high school age and older boys from Emmaus. Monday through Thursday evenings, Lincoln’s twin basketball courts hosted two double header games. Burian recalls the players chose NBA names for their teams and team rosters, league schedules and standings were posted and updated throughout the summer.

To keep the level of play even, Moyer limited the number of EHS varsity players to two per team. In an era when most teenagers were expected to take summer jobs in order to help support themselves, Moyer kept the uniform requirements basic; anyone owning gym shorts, sneakers and a T-shirt could play. The team chosen to be “skins” for the evening played minus their T-shirts. Some of the older boys served as officials and interested younger kids kept time and the score book.

But, when Burian discusses the playground program with others of his generation, the activity rated as the highlight of the summer was Monday Night Movies at Lincoln School.

In addition to his coaching and teaching responsibilities, Lobb directed the high school’s audio-visual aids program. On Monday nights, he set up a projector and speakers on the embankment behind the school. A screen was lowered from the school’s second story windows. The scene was set for a kids’ night out and they came in droves.

Burian said Lincolns’ macadam courts became “a sea of blankets” that spread from Pike to Mulberry Streets, the alleys that still flank Lincoln School. Chaperoned by members of Emmaus’s coaching staff, movie nights provided more than just free entertainment. They gave resident children a taste of freedom - and of responsibility. They walked to Lincoln at dusk and home again in the dark. Older boys and girls escorted their younger siblings. Good behavior was expected and Burian does not recall anyone’s failing to comply.

In mid-August the playground program came to a close as Lobb and his coaching staff prepared for football season. The final event for borough children was a track meet held in Emmaus High School’s football stadium. Event heats were divided by age group. Runners participated in the 100-yard dash, 220, 440 and half-mile races. Field contests included the softball throw, football throw and broad jump. First, second and third place winners received ribbons. Burian recounts, “Everybody enjoyed themselves - it was a big deal.”

Although the playground program continued into the 1960s, 1959 was the last summer for Monday Night Movies at Lincoln School. In 1960 construction began on the first of Lincoln’s additions eliminating a large portion of the viewing area. Eventually, the summer playground program was discontinued. However, Burian contends that the impact of the program on its Baby Boomer participants remains. He states they learned to work as teams and to compete with grace and that the coaches with whom they interacted became their mentors and role models. Sixty years ago these Baby Boomers had wonderful summers; today they have wonderful memories.

Editor’s Note: Evan Burian contributed to this article.