Could the old nickel-a-week campaign that helped bring Jim Thorpe’s body to Carbon County and rename the united East Mauch Chunk and Mauch Chunk after him be coming back?

Jim Thorpe Borough Councilman Robert Schaninger said last week he thinks the 1950s fundraising idea should be resurrected to address blighted properties around town.

“We have a huge blight problem,” Schaninger told his fellow council members during a workshop meeting. “If we put containers in stores and had special offerings in church, just like they did when Jim Thorpe’s body came here and they changed the name of the town, I think we could really make an impact.”

One of Thorpe’s biggest eyesores sits at 204 Center Ave., for which council had obtained grant funding to tear down the deteriorating vacant home. Since the home is only one-half of a duplex, however, restoration of the remaining side, 206 Center Ave., pushed the price tag above what Jim Thorpe could afford, borough officials said.

Barry Isett and Associates, the borough’s engineering firm, estimated the cost of remediation to the 206 Center Ave., owned by Judy Williams, at a minimum of $55,000. The work includes construction of a masonry foundation wall, relocation of the main electrical panel, installation of temporary shoring and other checklist items.

The cost led Thorpe in September to reallocate grant funds earmarked for the demolition of 204 Center Ave. for use on other blighted properties throughout the municipality.

“That house (204 Center Ave.) should have been taken down a long time ago,” Schaninger said. “We don’t have the money to fix the other half up so let’s see if we can put a few bottles in stores, put a label on the outside and get some donations. It may sound like a bizarre idea, but it’s not all that bizarre.”

Schaninger pointed out the success of the grassroots effort started by then Mauch Chunk Times News editor Joe Boyle, who asked local residents to contribute a nickel each week to attract new businesses to the area. Thorpe’s widow, Patricia, heard about the idea and the money was used to help build a mausoleum and bury his body in the town.

“If people could raise thousands of dollars in 1953 when Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk were broke, we could surely do something like that now for blight,” Schaninger said. “The downtown is thriving and that’s a blessing, but I think we could do a little more to capitalize off that and help the people who live here.”

Schaninger said he planned to talk to representatives from the Jim Thorpe Tourism Agency about getting the idea off the ground.