Was That a Horse in Downtown Easton?
It sure was. It seems like the quake wasn't the only odd thing happening today.
On a day marked by an earthquake rattling people in Easton, here's another odd thing that happened:
I stopped by the National Building this afternoon to visit my friend (and occasional Patch contributor) Joe Frinzi when I looked out the window and saw a guy on a horse.
Horses aren't an uncommon sight in downtown Easton, thanks to the guided horse-and-buggy tours. But that wasn't the case here; this was a guy on horseback, emerging from Bank Street and riding up Northampton Street.
I grabbed my camera and started taking photos, following the rider as he turned onto Fourth Street and guided the horse into a parking lot near Fourth and Church.
That’s where I got the story: the rider, Curtis Rogers, of Allentown, was passing through Easton – by car, pulling a trailer with two horses – when he got a flat.
He stopped to see his friend Rodney Van Ness of Rod’s Auto, and while the flat was being fixed, Rogers let the horses out to stretch their legs. For Dodger, a small pony, that meant being led around the parking lot.
In the case of Lucky, the larger horse, Rogers mounted him and took him for a quick walk around Downtown. People gathered in the parking lot when he returned, including a parking enforcement officer, who radioed into the police to see if it was legal to ride a horse in the streets of Easton.
While waiting for an answer, Rogers said the sight of him on horseback in cities often causes people to call police.
" 'There's a man riding a horse on the street.' Police don't believe them," he said.
Eventually, the police radioed back and gave Rogers the green light, provided he obeyed all traffic laws, and, um, cleaned up after the horse.
Christina Georgiou
9:11 pm on Tuesday, August 23, 2011
That explains the calls on the scanner then. The police put this on low priority when the official Downtown horse and buggy driver called in about potential competition while the earthquake aftermath was still going on.
Noël Jones
10:29 pm on Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Good to know it's legal to ride horseback in Easton--an alternative if gas prices get too high!
another point of view
5:36 am on Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Can't avoid the idioms:
"Definitely, a one horse town"
"Get off your high horse"
"Straight from the horse's mouth"
"Horsing around, again"
Pamela Porter
5:45 am on Wednesday, August 24, 2011
I guess that sign at the free bridge that says "Horses Not Permitted On Bridge" came in handy after all! :D
Joe R. Frinzi
7:12 am on Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Between the hose and the earthquake, it certainly was a strange day in Easton on Tuesday. Surreal even.
Walt
8:37 am on Wednesday, August 24, 2011
I noticed the horses as I ran through downtown Easton early last night. They were both standing in the grass on 4th street right across from the Express building. I'm grateful for this article explaining why they were there.
Between this and the earthquake I thought the people with the white coats might be coming to take me away!
Dave Wolper
9:14 am on Wednesday, August 24, 2011
In the 1950s there was a vet at 14th & Lehigh who would ride his horse around the streets regularly. Don't recall him "picking up", either ...
L'inda ketrow
11:04 am on Thursday, August 25, 2011
I saw the man and the horse on 11th street. I was on my way home from work, and I thought maybe the earthquake made me see things, lol. I'm really thankful for this article, I thought those guys with the white coats may be stopping for me next!!!
Tom Coombe
11:31 am on Thursday, August 25, 2011
On 11th Street? Wow. They really got around. Unless it was a completely different guy on horseback.
Adrienne
10:49 pm on Thursday, August 25, 2011
An exciting day in Easton shall we say. Made a lot of folks day. Good thing.
Adrienne
10:50 pm on Thursday, August 25, 2011
correction: Made a lot of folks happy, and that's all that matters. The smiles on kids faces especially.