With the release of 125 homing pigeons, the Slatington 125 celebration got off to a flying start amid hundreds of town residents and those who came "home" for the beginning of the eight-day celebration of the borough's incorporation.

There were many speeches and greetings by local and area dignitaries that included Lehigh County Sheriff Ron Neimeyer, Lehigh County Commissioner Sterling Raber and state Rep. Paul Semmel.Other participants included Mayor Tim Kern, master of ceremonies: District Justice Edward E. Hartman, executive chairman of Slatington 125; and the Rev. Russell Heintzelman, pastor of the St. John United Church of Christ, Slatington, who asked the invocation and pronounced the benediction.