What’s in a name?
If Mike Iacocca’s name sounds familiar, perhaps it’s because you know the hot dog shop his grandfather started in 1922. Or you may have heard of one of his cousins, the father of the Ford Mustang and CEO of Chrysler. If you live at Jenner’s Pond, you’re likely to know Mike Iacocca as one of the guys in the woodshop who likes to fix things for people. Or the guy who volunteers with Project CURE.
All in the family business
Although he grew up in the Lehigh Valley, Mike was born in Buffalo, New York, at the tail end of World War II. His father was still in the service, and his mother was Canadian. She came to Buffalo so Mike would be born on U.S. soil.
“I have great memories of growing up in Allentown, playing basketball on the local courts and swimming in the community pool,” Mike says.
At 12, he started working in the family business. His grandfather Theodore opened Yocco’s in Allentown. The name came from the way the Pennsylvania Dutch living in the area pronounced the Italian surname. Although the original Allentown shop closed in 2016, the family still runs the business, which has six other locations in the Lehigh Valley. Mike worked at Yocco’s through college.
A varied career
Mike attended what was then Kutztown State College (now Kutztown University), where he met his wife, Joan. They’ve been married 53 years. During that time, they raised a family and now have seven grandchildren.
Mike taught geography in the Colonial School District in Plymouth-Whitemarsh. He later worked in municipal government. He worked in the planning department in South Whitehall Township, in Lehigh County, and served as Township Manager for Richland Township in upper Bucks County and Upper Gwynedd Township in Montgomery County. He also was Operations Manager for Sal Lapio Homes, a leading homebuilder in Bucks, Montgomery and Lehigh counties. Now that Mike’s retired, he helps babysit the grandchildren.
Loving life at Jenner’s Pond
Mike and Joan moved to Jenner’s Pond in 2017.
“Everyone is nice here, and they’ve done a great job during COVID,” Mike says.
He still enjoys bird watching and hikes, and spends time working in the woodshop. He also volunteers with Project CURE, a non-profit that distributes donated medical supplies to underserved communities around the world. The Colorado-based organization has several distribution centers, including one inside a Dansko shoe company warehouse in West Grove.
With so much on his plate, it seems like Mike is taking his own advice for aging well: “Don’t think about aging. Keep doing what you can. Smile and enjoy each day.”
So the next time you hear the name “Mike Iacocca,” smile and say “hello!”