Students might consider their neighbors those in adjacent dorm rooms. But, what about their neighborhood community members? Here’s a look at a few residents who share College Hill with Lafayette College.
Best friends Nicole Green and Jimmy Moyer are both from the Lehigh Valley.
“Everybody knows everybody,” Green said about the neighborhood. “We, all of us, know each other. We’ve lived here a long time. We all look out for each other.”
Green raises her grandchildren on College Hill. Her granddaughter attends Lafayette’s basketball day camp in the summer.
Green and Moyer said that, while living beside a college has some challenges, they “choose to live here.” They said parking can be difficult, but it improves noticeably in the summer.
“We’ve watched so many people come and go,” Green said about Lafayette students.
“So that’s kind of neat, seeing them grow up,” Moyer added.
Green also said that past alumni “always come back.”
Green and Moyer ran College Hill Cafe several years ago, when it was called Hill’s Kitchen. They described the food as “more traditional” then. They said downtown Easton has also changed during their time in the city.
“You can just go down and walk around,” Moyer said. “It’s a lot better. It was a little scary.”
Spouses David and Kim Kmetz also described themselves as “Lehigh Valley natives.” David Kmetz is currently the office manager for the College Hill Presbyterian Church. Kim Kmetz was the manager of the Main Street Initiative, an effort to revitalize downtown Easton, for 18 years and left the position last August. She now works at the Nurture Nature Center.
“I didn’t want to be that quarterback that stayed a season too long,” she said about why she left. “And I wasn’t ready to retire.”
“I really enjoy community work immensely, and I do it on my own time, too, like doing things like the Porchfest here in College Hill, the summer concert series, the egg hunt,” she continued.
The Kmetzs moved to Easton about 30 years ago when their three children were five years, one-and-a-half years and two months old. About 25 years ago, they moved up to College Hill. Their first grandchild was born recently.
“Easton’s a great place to be when you’re here and there’s more than just Wawa,” David Kmetz said.
“I’d just like it to stay — I hate to say — the way it is, like a vibrant place where there’s a mix of older residents like us and families that can raise their kids here,” he said about the future of College Hill.
Kim Kmetz said the relationship between Easton and Lafayette students has improved, partially because students are now able to frequent downtown and feel safe.
“I really want to engage — and other people in the community feel this way, too — we really want to get to know you,” Kim Kmetz said. “Easton’s your home away from home for four years. We want you to leave here with good memories.”
