Published January 03. 2021 10:29AM
Driving past Moravian Village of Bethlehem on East Broad Street, passersby can now view one of Hess’s nostalgic holiday soldiers that graced entrances to the one-time department store chain that was based in Allentown. This soldier was donated by Linda Shafer, of Bath, whose late father Bertram was, and her mother Dolores still is, a resident of the Moravian Village community. It has been dubbed “Bertram” in her father’s memory.
Shafer purchased it after Hess’s closed in 1996, recalling fond memories of visiting Hess’s as a child, and she surprised her parents by having it assembled at their Bushkill Township home. The soldier was assembled each year for seven years at their residence until the Shafers moved into Moravian Village of Bethlehem.
Bertram has been assembled and placed at the Broad Street side of the healthcare center. Moravian Village director of development Stacey Scholl says it made sense to place it where it’s visible on a heavily traveled road. It will remain until spring according to Scholl, “to bring good cheer during the pandemic.’ Some minor touch-up will be done when it is taken down to ready it for the 2021 holiday season.
Scholl says the City of Allentown has 12 of the soldiers and they are used in Allentown’s Lights in the Parkway display.
Press photo by Dana Grubb This 21-foot tall holiday soldier is one of 62 that at one time graced the entrances to Hess's Department Stores throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. It was donated to Moravian Village by Linda Shafer, of Bath and has been named “Bertram” after her late father. Shafer stored it at her home until making the decision to donate it in memory of her father and in honor of her mother.
