POTTSTOWN PA – Forget rubber tires. Shelve those steel girders, and pass on PVC plastics. Despite the wide array of goods that Pottstown area industries make now or have made in the past, blogger Sue Repko thinks the borough’s manufacturing future can be found in fashion clothing infused with environmental edginess.
The place that produced the Golden Gate Bridge, Pottstown blogger Sue Repko believes, certainly can conquer the world of recycled fashions.
Repko, a native who writes the “Positively Pottstown” blog, on Sunday (Aug. 15, 2010) suggested the borough should actively market itself as a hub for green fashion design, a line of businesses that create clothing in whole or part from recycled materials.
It’s not the first time Repko has mentioned this idea. She referenced it back in June (2010) too, in a lengthier piece about visions for revitalizing Pottstown. She re-visited the theme this week after reading a New York Times article about growing interest among fashion empires in a zero-waste movement.
The former Firestone plant in Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township made tons of tires. Pottstown’s now-gone Bethlehem Steel factories supplied the framework for the Golden Gate Bridge, among other modern marvels. Occidental Chemical (which has similarly disappeared from Lower Pottsgrove) produced polyvinylchloride resins to make plastics.
Photo by Christopher Chan Via Flickr
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Hi, Joe – thanks for the feature! Just wanted to clarify your last sentence: “Those firms were less environmentally sensitive than green fashion is sure to be, she notes.” While the assertion may be true, I never did note that! Your last paragraph implies that my post was critical of the area’s industrial past and those employers, whom I never mentioned, thus giving the wrong impression. One of my grandfathers worked in the mines upstate and then for Bethlehem Steel; another for the Reading Railroad; a grandmother worked in a mill. They were living the American dream, as difficult as it was. That’s part of Pottstown’s heritage, I’m proud of it, and I think the town should embrace it with a modern twist.
I’d also like to reiterate that the green fashion idea is just one of several sustainable, green avenues the Borough could consider… along with still trying to attract more conventional manufacturing jobs, if the opportunities present themselves. Tim Phelps, Tri-County Area Chamber of Commerce President, recently had an opinion piece in The Mercury (Aug. 14) about the U.S. Air Force KC-X aerial refueling tanker project that Boeing is vying for. From my understanding of the piece & some other online reading, it seems that contract would be especially valuable to specific manufacturing hubs in Michigan, North Carolina and Johnstown, PA (perhaps other U.S. locales as well). The work in Johnstown is expected to result in jobs/orders for subcontractors in the manufacturing and supply sector here in the Pottstown area. That would be a good thing, too.
While I think Pottstown would do well to go all-out with a forward-thinking economic development and marketing plan built around sustainability and the arts, we have to keep in mind that jobs are jobs, and the area needs them… as long as they are not of a potentially hazardous or noxious nature. (I had to add that caveat because I came out against a “green” recycling plant/landfill proposal several weeks ago that I believe falls into that category.)
Best,
Sue
Positively!Pottstown
Sue, your point about the story’s “environmentally sensitive” sentence is understood. It was an interpretation and not your direct statement. Consequently, I have removed it in its entirety.
Your other points are well made. Thanks both for correcting and commenting!
Thanks for the edit, Joe :-)
Sue, I think you’re fantastic, and I like your ideas! My maternal grandfather, Albert L. Wertz, worked for Bethlehem Steel for many years too! (He helped to mill the steel which was used to construct the Golden Gate Bridge.) You’re absolutely right. It’s part of Pottstown’s heritage, and I’m glad you responded to Joe’s well intentioned (and written) article.
My Mom Mom Wertz didn’t drive, and so at the end of the week, she and her daughter (my Mother) would take a taxi to Royersford (they lived in Spring City), and they would take the train to Pottstown to meet my Pop Pop after work. They would go grocery shopping at the ACME, and then he would drive them home.
My Mother fondly remembers those trips (she’s now over 70), and she’s the one who’s gotten me interested all things “green.” I especially like your idea of embracing Pottstown’s heritage with a modern twist.
I was born and reared in Chester County, and I’ve lived in East Coventry (Pottstown, PA) since 1968. I too fondly remember a vibrant, bustling Pottstown . . . I bought my first duck decoy at Van Buskirk’s . . . I loved H.F. Smith & Son (stationery store — when I close my eyes and think of it, I can still smell that store . . . and it was far superior to any Staples or Office Max).
I remember Boyer’s Shoe Store at High and Penn Streets (Santa Claus set up shop every year in that alley), J.C. Penney, Bechtel’s, Ellis Mills, The New York Store, etc. I remember Pottstown in its heyday, and I long for those days.
I feel confident we can and will return Pottstown to its former glory. Please keep up the good work Sue, it’s people like you who are going to drive Pottstown’s Revitalization/Renaissance. And I stand ready to help you and Pottstown’s leaders in any way I can.
Hi, Michael – thank you so much for your enthusiastic response and for sharing your own stories. I really enjoy hearing other people’s memories of Pottstown. Don’t know if you’ve seen my personal website (suerepko.com), but I have a photo of the side of the Van Buskirk’s building in the header, along with a little story about my memories of the place.
I think it’s worth noting that your mother has gotten you interested in “all things green.” My mother, who’s in that same generation, has always been very frugal across the board, which is a key component of living “green.” Most people in the preceding generations lived green out of necessity. I think it’s another admirable aspect of Pottstown’s immigrant & blue-collar past, and something for the town to consider as a core principle in any revitalization effort. There are just so many creative things being done and made in the world under the green umbrella, so it doesn’t have to imply deprivation like it may have in the past. It just makes sense in a world with dwindling natural resources and greater competition for them.
I look forward to continuing the conversation and the efforts to turn things around, along with your support and that of other like-minded citizens!
Sue
Positively!Pottstown