The Bethlehem Gadfly

The Bethlehem Gadfly was a prolific blog all about our city of Bethlehem, PA from 2018-2021. The blog was run by retired Lehigh University Professor Ed Gallagher who was seeking to shed light on the many local issues which are not always covered by other media in the modern day.  Ed, in his character of "The Gadfly" attended every local meeting he could make it to, reporting on parking discussions, zoning decisions, budget debates, and much more. The focus was city politics, but he also covered local arts, culture, history, and fun stuff. He was a prodigious poster, adding articles several times a day every day over this nearly three year period. 

The blog had many local citizens and governmental leaders who were regularly readers. Many of these readers and leaders contributed guest posts, letters, and insightful comments in addition to Ed's thoughtful coverage. As such, The Bethlehem Gadfly painted a very detailed look at life in our city during this time.

National issues come in to play too of course. The years 2018-2021 were certainly not short on big news in America. Readers can see how one community responded to the beginning of the pandemic, the contentious presidential election, the death of George Floyd and resulting protests, the fight for climate action and much more. BAPL has archived all the posts (over 3,000!) here for posterity. 

You may browse all articles HERE or enter subjects in the search bar above. Questions? Email: info@bapl.org