Then and Now: The Story of the Bethlehem Airport

It’s a bright and lazy day in Hellertown. A warm April hum flows from the traffic traveling down I-78 and Cherry Lane. Though the sounds of truck horns and cars speeding through the intersection are common ones to local residents, there was a time when a more familiar sound was the drone of plane wings floating over the fields by Main Street. Home to a modest hangar and landing strip, the Bethlehem Airport anchored the northern edge of Hellertown.

The Bethlehem Airport, a project proposed and funded by the City of Bethlehem, sat on the strip of land now occupied by Waffle House and exit 67. The 78 acres of deep fields between Cherry Lane and Crest Avenue were owned by the Bethlehem Realty Company, which was a subset of Bethlehem Steel. In 1928, the City of Bethlehem purchased the land from Bethlehem Realty for $500 an acre; a cost which would translate to roughly $9,350 in today’s money. Construction for a hangar began immediately and cost the city $39,187. The airport itself was built later, and a dedication and opening ceremony planned for the following autumn.

At the time of the airport’s dedication in October 1929, the population of Hellertown was slightly under 4,000—about 2,300 fewer residents than live in the borough today. Main Street, formerly a dirt road, had only been paved a few years earlier, and the trolley system or an individual’s own two feet were the easiest ways to traverse the area. Construction of the airport likely caused a hullabaloo and much excitement, which explains the thousands of spectators who turned out for the airport’s opening ceremony. The ceremony boasted plane races, landing contests and parachute jumps. Among the onlookers was the pilot Amelia Earhart, who would become famous for being the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Earhart, who clearly enjoyed her time with the lovely people of Hellertown, would stop by the airport several more times in 1929.

The airport hangar was soon rented by a local aviation group named the Saucon Valley Skyways, which was managed by 24-year-old Stanley Keck. Nicknamed “Krazy Keck,” Stan was the son of flour mill owner George Keck and a brilliant local flyer who was tutored by the airport’s managing pilot, Jessie Jones. Legend has it that the intrepid Stan once successfully flew his plane under the Hill-to-Hill bridge. After many years of flying in the Lehigh Valley, Stan eventually traveled to Detroit to fly full-time.

Despite the adventures and joy provided by the Bethlehem airport, the Great Depression created funding issues and the city had to sell the land back to Bethlehem Realty in 1934. The Skyways were ordered to abandon the hangar, which was also bought back by Bethlehem Realty in 1941, and became storage space for Bethlehem.

But the airport’s presence did not end completely once the land was sold. Jerry’s Airport Inn, a bar and restaurant owned by former Hellertown police officer Jerry Donnelly, stood in the fields across from the airport. The Inn was a favorite for many workers at Bethlehem Steel, who would stop by for 20 cent beers after their evening shifts. The Airport Inn flourished until Jerry closed shop in the late ’80s to become a realtor in the area.

Though the airport no longer stands, it is alive and well in the memories of local residents. Next time you take exit 67 to Hellertown, remember Krazy Keck, the Skyways, Jerry Donnelly and everyone who made their mark on the skies above Saucon Valley.

Helen Behe is an MFA candidate at DeSales University, where she is studying through the program’s poetry track for a degree in creative writing and publishing. Aside from her studies, Helen enjoys gardening, boxing and rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles. She is a resident of Bethlehem. Read more of Helen’s Then & Now series here.