I just wanted to inform you of a special Lehigh Valley appearance anniversary coming up soon.  On May 31, 1959 a very talented young Patsy Cline appeared close to where I live at Playland Park (between Coopersburg and Hellertown, PA).  At the time, this 26 year old rising star was just beginning to start the peak of her career when she performed here locally 50 years ago.  I am both a big Patsy Cline fan and also a collector of Coopersburg PA memorabilia.  On MySpace, view “My Pics” and select “Vintage Coopersburg” to see, a poster that I possess of her appearance in the area.  (My poster is currently framed and hangs on display with pride in my home!)

The reason for my communication with you is two-fold.  One, I doubt if there are very many people in the area who are aware that she appeared here and think the Anniversary should somehow be brought to light.  Second, I would be really curious to find out if anyone around here actually was at her show (they would have to be age 60+) and their recollections of that evening?  I did hear from one lady whose parents went to the show but was told by them she was not allowed to go because she was only 11 years old at the time!   I also heard of a 79 year old lady (who was 29 at the time) who wanted to go but had just given birth to her 3rd child two weeks earlier and was at home with her infant and other two kids then.

The remaining ruins of Playland Park are still there, just off of Peppermint Road and I do remember swimming there in their pool in the mid-70’s, but even that closed up shortly afterwards.  Every time I had an opportunity to drive by there, I used to go real slow and try to imagine where the stage was and pretend I can hear her singing.

Well, through the right connections, I actually got the name of the former owner of Playland Park and spoke to him on the phone and then had the pleasure to meet with him in person shortly afterwards!  He shared MANY stories with me about the park he owned and also about Patsy's appearance there.  I will soon be updating this info on this site along with several photos of what remains of the ruins of the park which was once the hot spot of the Lehigh Valley!

In conclusion, I am not sure if anyone other than me knew about any of this, cares about it, or feel it’s not worth pursing, but wanted to bring it to everyone’s attention.  Nevertheless, I will continue to do my part to raise awareness of this milestone and would appreciate any help from the MySpace community members too.

Cheers,

Joe

www.goodtimespianomusic.com

PS:  For anyone interested, I am entertaining at the Center Valley Tavern on 5/30 and will have the poster there on display that evening for all to see and enjoy along with some photos of the remains of the park where Patsy entertained!