RIVERFRONT PARK, Pa. — When riding the Lehigh River boarding south Bethlehem, the SteelStacks tower above.
Passing history that moves you forward. A ride where passing history moves you forward. Part of the three-day Lehigh River Sojourn, now in its 30th year.
Don Harris has made every Sojourn day. He flew up from his home in Florida to not miss this one.
“It’s emotional for you?” 69 News reporter Bo Koltnow asked.
“Absolutely,” he said, while choking up.
“Why?” Koltnow asked.
“You get an attachment to the river, to the people,” he responded.
The Sojourn was started 30 years ago by Chris Kocher of Wildlands Conservancy to bring attention to the Lehigh.
It’s grown from a few paddlers to thousands over the years.
This includes, now-guide, Kristina Gomez, a 20-plus-year sojourn vet.
“Biggest difference you noticed from last year to the first year, you did it in 2004?” Koltnow asked.
“We’re getting people who are just coming out and exploring the river, which is so exciting that we’re getting to introduce the river to more and more people,” she said.
“30 years ago, when we saw on the river, we knew, we knew them, because it was only us that were out here,” Kocher added.
Three decades of change with an above and below the surface impact. This, as Kocher stresses, the Lehigh is cleaner now than any point pre-Industrial Revolution.
“The sojourn was a big part of making sure that people understood this was a destination and a natural resource and a place that they could come for recreation and respite,” Kocher said.
From river awareness to stewardship.