16 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN But the vision sometimes keeps Connar awake at night. He worries the wind or some other force of nature will further erode the Engine House. As he shows a visitor around the site—something he does often and with enthusiasm—he points out a pile of stones that became unmoored and tumbled to the ground. He reflects on the plight of the Pumping Engine itself, demolished and sold for scrap, and how impor- tant it is to remember its significance as a mechanical engineering achievement and to save what’s left. But things are going well. Connar and Lehigh, facilitated by Erin Kintzer, Lehigh’s director of Real Estate Services, have forged a strong partnership with the aim of restoring the structure and creating a heritage park. There’s a deep connection between Lehigh and the local zinc mining story, helping to give the project momentum. Lehigh has received funding from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission’s Keystone Historic Preservation Grant program and a National Trust grant from the Louis J. Appell Jr. Preservation Fund for Central Pennsylvania to study the feasibility of repairing the building. The money—matching grants totaling $55,000—has been used to remove overgrown vegetation and generate construction drawings and architectural renderings. Lehigh commissioned Spillman Farmer Architects in Bethlehem and Omnes, an Easton landscape company, to create a plan for the site. At the end of 2022, Connar and Kintzer succeeded in their campaign to get a historical marker for the site from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission—one of only 36 awarded in the state that year and the first in Upper Saucon. Plans are for the marker to be erected on Old Bethlehem Pike in 2024 with some fanfare. Fundraising should begin in earnest then. “As a university, we are always trying to weigh our responsibilities and priorities for our students,” says Kintzer. “The educational mission is the university’s first priority. But being a community member and a steward of these unique resources is a responsibility and an opportunity that doesn’t come along every day, and that fits into the mission too.” Restoration Begins The story of the restoration of the Pumping Engine House begins in 2014, when Connar, who grew up on 13th Avenue in Bethlehem, retired after a 40-year career with Air Products. “I wasn’t ready to sit back and read a book. I wanted to do something that had a purpose, something that would have a lasting impact,” Connar says. At the time, he recalled his fascination with the seemingly abandoned structure he used to drive by with his mother in the family Studebaker in the mid-1950s. “I liked King Arthur and castles and knights and all of that stuff,” he says. “It looked a lot to me like a castle, and I was really curious about it. But life intervened and I eventually went off to school and got a job.” In 2016, Connar started to research the site. He was well suited to the task—his career required research skills for various initiatives, and he had a long-standing interest in history and an undergrad degree in anthropology. “I had a few details but not much had been written about the building and the engine that was in it,” says Connar. He gathered enough information to write a 20-page summary about the site’s historical significance. He learned that the site was owned by Lehigh as part of 755 acres gifted by the Stabler Foundation in 2012. Connar shared his findings with Kintzer, who helps manage the Stabler property, a mixed-use parcel bordered roughly by Interstate 78 and the picturesque slopes of South Mountain that now include such businesses as the Promenade Shops, Olympus, Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital and Penn State Lehigh Valley. She didn’t know anything about the structure. “I got a call from Mark, who said, ‘Hey, do you know what you have here?’ He got me out there, and I was like, ‘Wow, what am I looking at?’ You feel like you are seeing ancient ruins. … Mark really has been instrumental in educating me on the significance of the structure and the property and also understanding the full history of what happened on this site.” The two are now a powerhouse advocacy team. Connar says that with Lehigh and Kintzer, the project is the beneficiary of “an owner who is dedicated to inquiry.” With Connar, Kintzer says she is partnering with “an incredibly kind and generous person who’s extremely knowledgeable and passionate for the work he’s
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