A dance with a U.S. President’s daughter.

A journey around the world.

These are just a few of the things former Lehighton resident Franklin Frable experienced during his lifetime.

On Friday, members of MapleShade Meadows in Nesquehoning, The Care Team Hospice and family friends gathered to honor the World War II veteran who is still as sharp as a tack and brightens up a room with his contagious smile when he rolls in.

During the brief service in honor of Frable, members of his care team serenaded and prayed for him before presenting him with an American flag pin and certificate for his dedication to the United States during his time in the service.

A tearful Frable was thankful he could enjoy the moment with close family friends.

“I couldn’t ask for better neighbors,” he said of those in attendance.

Frable served in the U.S. Army after being drafted during World War II at the age of 18.

“I went from the East Coast to the West Coast and to the atomic bomb,” he said, noting that he trained in California before being sent overseas. “I got to see the world.”

Close friend Jake Hoffner, who has been documenting Frable’s war stories for several years, said that Frable was in Leyte in the Philippines loading a warship when America dropped the atomic bombs in August 1945.

When Frable made it back stateside, he was taken to Walter Reed Memorial Hospital in Washington D.C. for an injury and was later called to a meeting by President Harry S. Truman.

“He went to visit President Truman, sat around a table with different officials from different administrations,” Hoffner said. “After that, he danced with Truman’s daughter and said it was a wonderful night.”

Hoffner said that through Frable’s stories, he has learned a lot of wartime, and how life used to be.

“I learned about growing up since the ‘50s in Lehighton and the small tight-knit communities and I value these stories because it talks about the differences that I take for granted now and what they did then for fun,” the 27-year-old said, noting that he met Frable when he was 3 months old. “I’ve grown up with him. I never knew my grandfathers but he’s basically been like my grandfather.”

Born in Parryville and later moving to Lehighton, where he lived until coming to MapleShade in June, Frable made a life for himself after the military.

He married Betty, who served the Lehighton community for decades as a borough secretary. His sister also founded LaRose’s Skating Rink.

Life in Lehighton was simple and Frable took on many roles throughout his adult life, from performing as a clown to serving as a traveling pretzel and peanut salesman. He also was a beekeeper, worked at the New Jersey Zinc Company and Bethlehem Steel, was a milkman, and got to experience the ice cutting at Ice Dam in Parryville.

While he and Betty had no children, the couple kept in close contact with their family and made lifelong friends with neighbors and the Lehighton community. The couple loved to travel, but his favorite vacation destination has always been Cape May, New Jersey.

He also was known in the auction circle, taking Hoffner with him to various auctions, pointing out what he thought they should bid on.

“Everyone knew who he was (at the auctions),” Hoffner said. “But through his life, he always wanted the best for his friends and family.”