The Patio Podcast

The Patio Podcast is a wistful exploration of my hometown's enduring attachment to Hess’s Department Store. In candid conversations with residents, historians, collectors, former shoppers and employees, The Patio hopes to shed light on Allentown, Pennsylvania’s multigenerational interest in one single place.

Does nostalgia this visceral unite a city, or hold it back? How has Max Hess Jr.’s marketing genius endured? What happened to his famous chandeliers? And how good was all that whipped cream pie, really? The Patio Podcast is a new collection of Hess’s memories, meant for the here and now!

The Patio Podcast's original music: Theme created and produced by Dave Meyers with Vocals by Sam Cummings

Contributors

Host

Kate J. Kareha

Kate is a Lehigh Valley native, digital artist, thrifter, collector and lifelong creative. She has lived in three PA cities, including Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Since returning to Allentown in 2014, the constant mention of Hess's always stood.

Kate heard an untold story about the chandeliers in 2016, around the time she began collecting Hess’s boxes. After buyer a huge haul from a stranger in a parking lot, the question rang in her head, “Why do I care about these things so much?”

Soon, her curiosity grew too big to ignore. Why does she care about a place she barely remembers? How does Hess’s still have a hold on the hearts of her hometown?

The Patio Podcast was created to follow Kate's curiosity, preserve this beloved department store's history, and to provide access to the Hess Brother's legacy for a new and broader online audience.