Career
In 1902,he moved to Bethlehem,Pennsylvania,where he continued to work as a carpenter. [2] : 11–17 In 1905 he both married Gertrude E. Heller and started his self-employment. [2] : 11–17 After some years of handyman-type work and running a small planing mill,his business grew into a general contracting firm. [2] : 11–17
His firm remained successful for years afterward and established him with a comfortable standard of living;although he was not a millionaire and his Church Dutch moral standards did not include idolizing wealth, [2] : 18–29 he built for himself and his family a large house on Webster Street with fine masonry and carpentry, [2] : 18 and he was well-off in the 1920s. [2] : 30–31 He served as the director of the Bethlehem National Bank from 1915 to 1928,and in 1929 (before the crash) he was its principal stockholder. [2] : 30–31 He was also the director of the Lehigh Valley Cold Storage Company from 1910 to 1928. McQuade and Orpe list various companies of which he was president or a director in the 1920s. [2] : 30–31 He belonged to various business and service organizations and clubs. [2] : 30–31
He retired from his construction business in 1929 after a quarter-century of self-employment working on more than 600 buildings,including both residential and commercial structures. [2] : 14 He was long a trustee of his church,the First Moravian Church, [2] : 21 part of the Moravian Church in North America.
Pfeifle was elected to the Bethlehem city council,serving from 1916 to 1928. [2] : 30–31 During his time as councilman the city went through first World War I and then the Roaring Twenties,which hit the city especially hard socially. During the 1920s,the south side of Bethlehem grew notorious for its increasing criminal elements, [2] : 30–49 developing a reputation as a weekend retreat for New Yorkers to commit vices such as drinking,gambling and prostitution. [2] : 30–49 On November 12,1927,officer Charles Fenton was shot and killed attempting to apprehend a robbery suspect from one of the south side's 35 brothels. His death sparked massive outcry for the city government to step in and restore law and order. [3]
Mayor of Bethlehem
Amid suggestions from friends and allies,Pfeifle decided to run for mayor in 1929 on a campaign of eliminating crime and corruption within the city. [2] : 30–49 Once he took office (in 1930),he immediately set himself on shaking the city's perception as a weekend retreat for New Yorkers to commit vices such as drinking,gambling and prostitution. [2] : 30–49 In collaboration with the Secret Service,mayor Pfeifle launched a series of raids within six months of taking office that shut down the brothels and destroyed every known moonshine still. [4] [5]
Pfeifle led the city through the Great Depression, [1] during which he personally traveled to Washington D.C. to petition the government for more Works Progress Administration jobs. Such work led to the construction of the Illicks Mill Park. He also personally mortgaged all his belongings in order to cover the withdrawals of Bethlehem citizens. [5] He led the city during World War II,when Bethlehem Steel and countless other manufacturing firms contributed to the war effort.
As mayor,Pfeifle was known for a noticeable accent of Pennsylvania Dutch language in his English. [5] His interest in boxing led to installing a boxing ring in the mayoral office for his personal use. [5]
In 1939,Mayor Pfeifle erected a 60-ft lit-up star on South Mountain during the Christmas season,reinforcing the city's nickname as the "Christmas City". [1]
