Ferenchak channels memories of 1969 North Catasauqua holiday into book<\/p>\n
A Catasauqua man has brought his childhood and hometown to life through his book. Ben Ferenchak\u2019s \u201cBenny: A Small-Town Christmas Story\u201d takes readers back to Christmas 1969, telling the story of a small-town Christmas in Catasauqua and North Catasauqua through the eyes of a fifth-grade Ferenchak.<\/p>\n
Ferenchak, who now lives in Catasauqua, grew up in North Catasauqua, went to school in the Catasauqua Area School District and considered his \u201cGramma\u2019s house in Catasauqua his second neighborhood,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I am not going to be around forever, and I thought this would be a good way to share my past for my family and others,\u201d Ferenchak said. \u201cI had a teacher who really liked the way I wrote. He told me I was gifted, and that helped inspire me to write a book.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the book, Ferenchak starts in 2019 and then flashes back to his 1969 holiday season. He talks about his teachers and friends in school, his parents and siblings and his experiences of that time in his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first edition I wrote, I changed the names of everything and everywhere,\u201d Ferenchak said, noting that he received advice to rewrite it and use the real places and names where possible. \u201cWhen I wrote it the second time, it made more sense and maybe felt more authentic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some names were changed, but overall, people enjoyed being a part of the book, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was fun remembering,\u201d Ferenchak said. \u201cSome of the characters, I called them to verify things, and we had a good time just catching up. My two sisters, who are in the book, both loved it. My younger sister \u2014 she remembers everything \u2014 she got a kick out of it. One teacher who was still around was honored to be in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
While some names were changed, the story is a true one, even talking about how Ferenchak wrote to both Neil Armstrong after his moon landing and that year\u2019s Indy 500 winner, Mario Andretti.<\/p>\n
The picture of Ferenchak reading Armstrong\u2019s letter now rests on the cover of his book.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the picture that was in the newspaper,\u201d Ferenchak explained of the book\u2019s cover photo.<\/p>\n
The book also references many experiences and places around the Catasauqua and North Catasauqua communities, such as the annual Thanksgiving Day football game with Northampton.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not the same today as it was back then, of course,\u201d Ferenchak said. \u201cI enjoyed growing up in North Catty. It was a great place to grow up, and it still is.\u201d<\/p>\n
When reading the book, one might almost feel something similar to when watching the holiday movie \u201cA Christmas Story,\u201d he acknowledged.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t mind if it would replace \u2018Christmas Story,\u2019\u201d Ferenchak said, smiling.<\/p>\n
Writing the book became a long-term project, working off and on for around 10 years to complete the novel, he said.<\/p>\n
Ferenchak said he joined a writing group that helped him work through the process, while he also had help from his family.<\/p>\n
In particular, having his son help him work on and publish the book was special, Ferenchak said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very special because he has two small kids and his time is very valuable,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Readers can purchase \u201cBenny: A Small-Town Christmas Story\u201d on Amazon by searching for the title of the book, Ferenchak said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you go on Amazon, every review is five stars,\u201d Ferenchak said. \u201cIt feels great to have that support from people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ferenchak added that anyone who sees him out in the community can also talk to him about purchasing a copy, and he is planning to sell it occasionally at community events.<\/p>\n
PRESS PHOTO BY CHARLIE BAUDERBen Ferenchak, of Catasauqua and formerly of North Catasauqua, shows a copy of his book \u201cBenny: A Small-Town Christmas Story,\u201d which details his recollections of the holiday in 1969.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ferenchak channels memories of 1969 North Catasauqua holiday into book A Catasauqua man has brought his childhood and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":282283,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120],"class_list":["post-282282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282282\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}