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The Patio Podcast
The Patio Podcast is a wistful exploration of my hometown's enduring attachment to Hess’s Department Store. In candid conversations with residents, historians, collectors, former shoppers and employees, The Patio hopes to shed light on Allentown, Pennsylvania’s multigenerational interest in one single place.
Does nostalgia this visceral unite a city, or hold it back? How has Max Hess Jr.’s marketing genius endured? What happened to his famous chandeliers? And how good was all that whipped cream pie, really? The Patio Podcast is a new collection of Hess’s memories, meant for the here and now!
The Patio Podcast's original music: Theme created and produced by Dave Meyers with Vocals by Sam Cummings
The Patio Podcast
Episode 6: Frank Whelan, Inside Max's Candy Store
THIS IS THE GUY!!! Frank Whelan is a historian, author and educator. He is the author of WFMZ.com's weekly History's Headlines feature. To be clear, there would be no Patio Podcast if I did not first get Frank’s blessing back in the winter of 2022.
Frank Whelan was a feature writer with the Morning Call newspaper in Allentown from 1981 to 2006 where he wrote over 2000 articles. He was the historian in residence, and director of community outreach and special projects at the Lehigh County Historical Society from 2006 to 2009.
Whelan has written five books on Lehigh Valley history. He is the co-author with Kurt D. Zwikl of "Hess's Department Store." The book, currently in its fourth printing, is a part of Arcadia Press's Images of America series– which is the book that caused a Hess’s-frenzy, as he discusses here with The Patio Podcast. No one knows more than Frank, so sit back and get ready to geek-out on some Hess's History!
Books by Frank A. Whelan:
- Hess's Department Store
- Looking Back: A Pictorial View of the Lehigh Valley and Surrounding Counties, 1850 to 1920
- Harry C. Trexler: His Life and Legacy
Learn more from Frank and other insiders in PBS 39's documentary, Hess's: Hollywood on Hamilton Street.
The Patio's original music: Theme created and produced by Dave Meyers, with Vocals by Sam Cummings.
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Visit our website www.hesspatiopodcast.com