The Day Gravity Died: 2012 Nazareth Adult Soapbox Derby

The 5th annual Nazareth Adult Soapbox Derby was held May 5, 2012 on the West Prospect Street hill. Lots of great cars came out including a rolling office cubicle, a functional arcade game machine, and a giant metal rooster from New England. This year, however, the event ended in controversy (technically there was also controversy last year, albeit only in my head, when the X-Wing Fighter car was two votes short in voting for “crowd pleaser” after all the fans left when it the rained, but I digress).

The Controversy:

During the final race, which determines the first, second, and third place winners, the Holy Family Club car driven by “Jason” appeared to block another car driven by “Rob.” The winner, “Jeff,” who was way out in front, caught most of the 2nd and 3rd place action on his rear-facing car-cam. This video shows the action.


In the video, it appears as though Jason in the Holy Family car (white) swerves to block Rob’s car (red) from passing several times. The red car’s right front wheel collides with the rear left side of the white car right before the finish line. Jeff’s car-cam mysteriously cuts out right before the collision.

Rob began yelling “that’s not racing! that’s not racing!” before entering the pit area. A visibly upset Rob pushed his car to its final pit area while gaggles of excited children played video games on the totally awesome Pac-Man car nearby. Rob continued his tirade to anyone that would listen. Jason disappeared almost immediately and did not collect his trophy

 On the NASBRA facebook fan page comments began on Saturday night about the legality of contact during soapbox derby races. Jeff’s car-cam video was posted (a very cool video, I might add). The back-and-forth on Facebook continued through Sunday. Sometime between Sunday evening (9:30PM) and Monday (9:52AM) all comments newer than 6:42AM May 5 were removed from the Facebook page wall. This included all comments regarding the controversy and all innocuous general posts from other fans. By 12:47PM May 7 the comments were restored.

Rob was very vocal on Facebook and his comments seem to suggest that the race organizers condone or even encouraged Jason’s behavior. He alleges that the Holy Family car was given a head start by a starter whose back was facing the drivers (Jeff’s Car-Cam Video shows the starter was facing the drivers). He also alleges that Mario Andretti, the checkered flag waver of the day, was so outraged by the final race he left immediately in disgust. He alleges that Jason was drunk during the race and the race organizers allowed a visibly drunk man to continue racing. Rob’s comments also suggest that he should be thanked for building such great competitive cars and “raising the bar” for the event.

I have seen no online rebuttal comments from Jason.

• Did the Holy Family Club car deliberately block Rob’s car?
• Was the driver too intoxicated to drive?
• Did Mario Andretti leave immediately after the final race despite appearing in photos with the winners?
• Does Rob deserve to be thanked just for participating?
• Did the Holy Family car get a head start? And did the race organizers facilitate a head start?
• Did the race organizers condone the Holy Family car’s behavior?
• Was Mario Andretti somehow in on the whole thing, perhaps giving the Holy Family car driver pointers on blocking techniques?
• Would the X-Wing Fighter car have won crowd-pleaser in 2011 if the crowd hadn’t dispersed when it rained, including the builder’s own wife and children?
• Would the X-Wing Fighter car builder’s wife and children have even voted for his car even though they knew how much work he put into it and how much attention to detail there was? I mean, the frigging R2-D2 spun around for crying out loud? How could that not win? Crowd seemed awfully pleased to me. Did anyone else’s car have spinning droids? umm...No. There weren’t any droids at all…it was just cars…regular boring cars. What planet am I on? It’s like everyone has completely lost it and I’m the only one with any taste.
• Is it a coincidence that Jeff’s video stops just before the collision?
• Is Rinker’s hair real?
• What was up with THIS GUY?
• Is THIS PHOTO doctored to exaggerate the crowd and support the poster's point about safety?
• Is it coincidence that the aggressive car's sponsor is an establishment that the race organizer's frequent?

The answer to most of these questions is “who cares.” It’s supposed to be a bunch of grown-ass men and women rolling down a hill on home-made contraptions. But the actions of some and reactions of others likely have ended our annual soapbox derby.

Kazoo Parade 2011

The Nazareth Kazoo Parade was held this morning to celebrate Independence Day.

A highlight of this year's event was the grand marshal Abbe Graber, of Saugerties, N.Y. Graber, a professional kazoo player and kazoo craftsman, was invited to the borough by the Nazareth Area Chamber of Commerce to serve as grand marshal of the parade.

Anyhoo, here is a video of the parade rounding the corner onto Main Street.

2011 Nazareth Adult Soapbox Derby

The 4th annual Nazareth Adult Soapbox Derby took place Saturday May 7, 2011 on West Prospect Street. It was a really great day. There were over 40 cars from at least 4 states battling it out for top cart. A steady rain at around 2:30 pm cleared out most spectators but the race continued uninterrupted. Here is a slideshow of pictures from the day:

You can review race results and check out more pics at the official site: Click Here

Be sure to join the Facebook Group.

Read about the official 2011 WeirdNazareth.com car HERE.

Check out my live Tweets from the event HERE.

Mushroom Man Tasered

Some mushrooms make you big, some make you shoot fireballs. The green ones even give you a 1UP. Apparently some also make you naked. As the Morning Call and Express Times report: A naked Upper Nazareth man on a bad hallucinogenic mushroom trip is accused of assaulting a police officer and an emergency medical worker who had come to help Sunday after he threw himself down the stairs of a home in Palmer Township.

"It started as a medical call," said Palmer detective Sgt. Timothy Ruoff. "It went bad from there."

Garrison L. Goodman, 31, of Upper Nazareth Township had taken "magic mushrooms" at 1202 Dunkle St. when he attempted to "dive or fly" down the steps from the second to the first floor, Ruoff said. Although Goodman was eating the mushrooms, Ruoff said, a bottle of mushroom juice was also recovered from the house. Goodman was visiting a friend at the time.

Brian Flavelle of Suburban Emergency Medical Services arrived about 1:25 a.m. to assist Goodman, who was suffering from a cut to his head and broken collarbone, Ruoff said.

Goodman was naked in the front yard and attacked Flavelle, Ruoff said, punching him several times in the head.

When Wilson policeman Marc Crisafulli also arrived, he was punched a number of times in the head by Goodman as well, Ruoff said.

The melee ended when Crisafulli shocked Goodman with a Taser and arrested him, Ruoff said.

Goodman was treated for his injuries at Easton Hospital, then arraigned by District Judge David Tidd and sent to Northampton County Prison under $50,000 bail.

Goodman faces charges that include aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment and possession of a controlled substance.

Kazoo Parade 2010

July 3rd marked the return of the Nazareth Kazoo Parade to celebrate Independence Day. As you may remember, last year's kazoo event was a concert rather than a parade. Well, all is right in the world again for those that like their kazoos with a little locomotion.

A highlight of this year's event was the grand marshal Kate Miccuci, a former Nazareth resident that has made a bit of a name for herself in the comedy biz. Kate lead the parade and tickled the crowd's silly bone with a song about Nazareth.

I've seen Kate on Youtube before. Apparently, Youtube removes a few pounds because I was expecting to see a petite little thing in person. In reality, Kate is quite an imposing figure. She's a hulking six and a half feet tall and, in my estimation, nearly 300 pounds. It was quite startling.

Anyhoo, here is a video of the parade coming down Main Street and a video of Kate's goofy song about Nazareth.

Matchstick Taj Mahal Finished!

As the Express Times reported last week, puzzle enthusiast & Nazareth local Raymond Neuner completed a replica of the Taj Mahal made of matchsticks. If this has you excited then I'm about to blow your mind...the replica is available for public viewing during Martins on Main (Aug. 8) at KNBT. So clear your calendar.

Fun Facts about the Taj Mahal:

• It was completed around 1653 and took about 22 years. Ray's replica took about 2400 hours over three winters.
• Over 1000 elephants were used to move materials to the construction area. No elephants were used during construction of Ray's replica.
• The total cost is estimated at 32 million rupees. According the the Internet, Ray's replica kit cost about 80 bucks.
• The Taj Mahal attracts 2.5-4 million tourists each year. Ray's replica has just recently been put on display so data is not yet available.
  

Bath's Guitar Zero

Not since Kendra Hoffman's 2009 pretzel coaster attempt has the Bath area been so abuzz about one of its native sons. Aaron Nikles of Bath made a valiant attempt at breaking a Guitar Hero world record at Wilkes College but came up short. Read the story here. Witnesses say he collapsed from exhaustion during the bridge of Radar Love and his avatar was booed off the virtual stage. On the positive side, $100 dollars were raised for the American Cancer Society and he unlocked the leopard-print stretch pants after beating his own high score on Slow Ride.

An Interview with author Scott Morro

In 2006, local author Scott Morro took a little local history, a dash of The Goonies, and a bit of Back to the Future and blended it all together into a clever young adults book called The Cross Over. In the book, our beloved Indian Tower becomes a time machine, shooting a group of kids back to Nazareth 1746 where they befriend a young Whitefield House resident and try to get back home. We caught up with Scott and he humored us with an e-mail interview and shared some cool pictures of The Tower.




Weird Nazareth: What inspired you to choose Nazareth, and in particular the Indian Tower, as the setting for this book?

Scott Morro: Well, Nazareth is a hotbed of paranormal activity, so it made perfect sense to… Actually, I grew up in Nazareth [on Spring Street] near Pep’s Place and Santo’s Market. I went to Nazareth High School and lived there my whole life until I got married and moved to Bethlehem. The Indian Tower is a place my friends and I used to visit as kids. We’d climb the tower and watch the races [at the Nazareth Speedway] with binoculars. You could only see 3 turns, but it was free and we liked it. Plus, I always thought the place was creepy [&] cool. Just something about it, ya know… The idea for the book came about when my family and I were visiting the Holy Family cemetery on Father’s Day a few years back. My youngest son, Ryan, who was 4 at the time, pointed up to the tower from the cemetery and said, “What’s that, daddy?” He and my oldest son sprinted for the tower and we began to look around. I explained what it was and some of the history I knew. My family got back in the car, but I stayed and began taking a closer look at the tower, the monument and the plaques nearby. The idea for the book formed as I was standing there. I went to the library and did some research and I spent time at the Whitefield House reading and researching as well. A former curator there, Mark Turdo, photo-copied a diary written by a girl who stayed at the [Whitefiled House] during the time period I was going to write about and that was a big help. After reading the diary and going over my notes, I sat with my laptop and wrote. About 7 weeks later I was finished with the initial draft. Then it was on to edit and make some changes before sending it off to my publisher.

WN: It seems you had been aware of the existence of time travel for some time. Why did it take you so long to reveal it to the world?

SM: Drunken stupor from too many cans of Guinness…Abducted by aliens at Potts Doggie Shop on Broad Street…I seriously don’t know. I’ve used time travel in two other young adult novels, one out now (What’s Brewing in Boston) and one currently being shopped to publishers (The Moravian Enigma). [What’s Brewing in Boston] takes two brothers back in time to assist with the Boston Tea Party, while [The Moravian Enigma] is a scavenger hunt/National Treasure/DaVinci Code type book set in Nazareth and Bethlehem, where the main character and his best friend search for treasure buried by George Washington during the American Revolution. How’d ya like the shameless plug for my other stuff??? I love the idea of time travel and would love to experience it myself. As much as I’m a sports freak (Go Yankees), I love history too. There’s something cool about how you can weave fact and fiction and, in essence, take that journey just like your characters have in the books.

WN: If the Indian Tower were still a functioning time machine, where and when would you travel to, given the chance?

SM: Wow…good question! Do I have to choose just one place? I’d go back to New York and Nazareth of the 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s to see Yankees greats of the past play and to see what life was like for my parents and grandparents. I’d travel to Baltimore of the 1830’s and 1840’s so I could meet Edgar Allan Poe, one of my favorite writers. Maybe we could hook up and write a creepy time travel story together…I’d go to Iowa and do that “Field of Dreams” corn-thing and see where the ball-players go…I’d go to Ford’s Theater and sit in the crowd with Abe Lincoln the night he was shot. Maybe stop John Wilkes Booth if I was feeling brave enough…Too many more to mention…

WN: Our readers are interested in the unusual and quirky side of the Nazareth. Having grown up there, what are some of the odd things that you remember about the town?

SM: I remember hearing about ghosts and creepy shit going on at Black Rock near the pool. I remember hearing scary stories about ghosts at Gracedale…AND I actually experienced some “stuff” while I worked there a few years when I was going to college. I also remember hearing about a murder of two kids, twins I think, in the 1950’s. I’ve actually started to do research for a book on that event. Other than that, not much…But I’d loved to hear what you and your readers have to share…

WN: Are you doing any writing right now?

SM: Aside from the answers to these questions, ya mean??? I’m working on three projects at the moment: I’m working on a young adult book about bullying in a middle school. Originally it was titled ECLIPSE, but since that Stephanie Meyer chick, ya know, the one who wrote the TWILIGHT series, stole that title already, I re-named it RAY OF SUNSHINE, based on a character’s nickname. I’m working on another [young adult] novel about a young man who goes off to Iraq and writes letters back and forth with a cousin of his here in America. There’s still LOTS to do with that one. My wife’s been after me to do an A to Z book about Nazareth and, as I said above, I’m really interested in doing an adult book about the murder of those twins…I mean adult as in “for adults,” not with porn and that type of “adult.” So far, though, the internet has been a bust when it comes to unearthing info on the case. I think I’m headed back to the library and to search micro film. I think it took place in the 1950’s and the kids were named Schaffer or Shafer…something like that. I believe they were abducted near Mitchell Avenue, by high school and their bodies were found in Black Rock. Again, I could have my facts jumbled, but I remember it being a bid deal. My dad, who works at the Post Office, brought it up to me recently and talked about it as a book idea. I loved it! I just need to get the research stared and start writing. Who knows, maybe I’ll solve the thing and CSI: Nazareth will be born…

WN: Thanks, Scott!

Scott’s author website is http://www.publishedauthors.net/scottmorro/index.html. You can see photos, read samples of his books, and find lots of information. He says he is available for school visits and lectures and says you can e-mail him at morro23@rcn.com

You can buy Scott’s books at Amazon.com or check the “links” section of his website. You can also check the Nazareth Memorial Library.

Bath Woman Competes in Pretzel Contest and Loses

She may have lost but she is a winner in our eyes. As the Williamsburg-Yorktown Daily reports, Kendra Hoffman of Bath was one of only 6 finalists in the Pretzel Coaster Build-off Contest at Busch Gardens (sponsored by Snyders of Hanover). On Wednesday she was in Virginia competing to build a replica of Apollo’s Chariot out of pretzels within the 3 hour time limit. She competed valiantly but did not win. Kendra, Weird Nazareth salutes you.

You can see a tiny little picture of the coaster that made her a finalist here: LINK

News Articles:

Lots of pretzels + a little glue = prize-winning roller coaster (Daily Press)

Bath Woman Falls Short in Pretzel Contest (Morning Call)

Bath Builder Shapes Pretzels into Winning Coaster (Morning Call)

Weird House in Upper Nazareth

We found this interesting home in upper part of town. From the street, we saw many lawn ornaments arranged in a very deliberate and artistic fashion. Some were from Halloween, some from Christmas. The house itself has paintings (a cat in a window) and other items dressing it.

Parked in the driveway was a van adorned with various chotchkies (troll dolls, toys, reflectors, etc.). I've seen this van around town before and am pleased to know that its home is as eclectic as the van is.

Without speaking to the owners of the house we are unable to determine the back story around all of the objects and decorations. However it is safe to say that the house is a work of weird art.

If anyone has information about this house, the van, or knows the people who live there please e-mail us or post a comment below. We would love to know more about it.

Hopefully, to be continued...

Thanks to Weird Nazareth reader Jim W. for the idea for this post.

2009 Nazareth Adult Soapbox Derby

The second annual Nazareth Adult Soap Box Derby was held on Saturday on the Prospect Street hill. This has become a yearly gathering for some of Nazareth's weirdest. There were some familiar faces and cars from last year and a whole bunch of new victims. This year's event was highlighted by several in-race crashes (last year's only had one crash during practice). The weather was great, the hill was smooth, and the cars (some of them) were fast. Here is a slideshow and some shots from the event:


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Nazareth Hot Dog Guy

You may have seen the hot dog guy at center square, at little league games, or community events selling his dogs. You can't miss him because of the weird hat.

He is Ray Arthur of Ray's Rocking Dogs, a business he started after abandoning his trucking job. When you get a chance, visit Ray and get a hot dog.