The alley between 4728 and the building next door (4732-34 Griscom) which is owned by the city was also cleaned.  The pictures below show what was done.  Now the challenge will be to keep it that way. We’re hoping some concerned residents will come to the PSA1 meeting on Tuesday May 22nd to talk to the police about the problems they are having on the block.

Related posts:

1. Reader Submission Results In Old Photo Of Awesome Castle On Griscom Street
2. Shooting on Griscom Street
3. Cause You’re The Main Line And I’m Griscom Street

I love pushing the idea that Frankford has [any] potential.  And since I take the El to work, I’m always eager to draw comparisons to the neighborhoods I pass by every day, especially Kensington, which I think has many favorable comparisons to Frankford.

Naked Philadelphia has a blog post about the Quaker City Dye Works down in Kensington located at Oxford and Front Streets soon to be re-purposed as light industry and residential development.  It has an eerie resemblance to our own Globe Dye Works, both in name and future.

Things can grow under the El.  Things are growing under the El now.  And they’re 15 minutes away from us.

Related posts:

1. Endangered City Exhibit Coming to The Globe Dye Works
2. The Globe Dye Works
3. Culture Alert: Artist Tom Judd This Friday At The Dye Works

• We need to set a schedule for our summer garden visits
• We have to get City Garden Contest information.  Who wants to be in the Contest?   Who wants to be a Judge?
• Pick a trip to go on!
• Report on our very successful Plant Sale (Sandra is bringing irises for all who want them)

If you have not joined yet, it is never too late! You can join anytime. The membership form and description of what we do are linked here and here.

Hope to see you at the meeting.

Related posts:

1. Frankford Garden Club Update
2. Frankford Garden Club
3. Frankford Garden Club Update

“We are excited to work with the Exploring organization to offer this valuable program to the public,” said Marc Peralta, chief operating officer at the Pennsylvania SPCA.  “This program will complement our vibrant adult volunteer program, and is a great way for students to learn about different careers in animal welfare while performing valuable volunteer work at the Pennsylvania SPCA.”

Young people ages 16-20 are invited to attend an open house of the new Animal Welfare Post 1867 (350 E. Erie Avenue, Philadelphia) on Wednesday, May 23 from 4 to 6 p.m.   Teens under the age of 18 should attend with their parent or guardian.  Following the open house, participants will take part in a six-week educational series from 4 to 6 p.m. every other Wednesday through August 8 (except July 4). Each session will feature a different topic in animal welfare and introduce participants to various careers including animal care attendant, veterinary medicine, humane law enforcement and animal training among others.  Following the educational session each week, students will have an hour of hands-on volunteering activity working alongside the staff of the Pennsylvania SPCA.

Exploring is a hands-on shadowing program for teens operated through the Learning for Life program of the Cradle of Liberty Council Boy Scouts of America. Some of Philadelphia’s most visible businesses volunteer their efforts and knowledge and invite students to come to their offices behind the scenes and learn the details of pursuing an education and career in their specialty fields.  Exploring is open to all interested students in Philadelphia, Montgomery and Delaware counties.

Space is limited.  To learn more about the Animal Welfare Explorers Post 1867, contact Tiffany Minicozzi, Exploring & Learning for Life Executive, at 484-654-9223 or via E-mail at tminicozzi@colbsa.org or visit the Web site www.careerexploring.org.

###

About the Pennsylvania SPCA:

Since 1867, the Pennsylvania SPCA, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization headquartered at 350 East Erie Avenue, Philadelphia, has been dedicated to preventing animal cruelty and rescuing animals from abuse and neglect. The Pennsylvania SPCA’s lifesaving programs for animals include a low-cost veterinary clinic, low-cost spay and neuter services, pet adoption facilities, and the Pennsylvania SPCA Humane Law Enforcement Department. For more information about adopting, donating or volunteering, please call 215.426.6300 or visit www.pspca.org.

About Exploring:

Exploring is a hands-on shadowing program for teens. Some of Philadelphia’s most visible businesses volunteer their efforts and knowledge and invite students to come to their offices behind the scenes and learn the details of pursuing an education and career in their specialty fields.  Exploring is open to all interested students in Philadelphia, Montgomery and Delaware counties. To learn more visit www.careerexploring.org.

Related posts:

1. Good Deal for Cat Lovers
2. TV Alert Sunday Morning
3. Teen Tech Week Program at Frankford Branch of the Free Library

We understand that many in our community aren’t able to check the Frankford Gazette on their computer every day.  To that end, while the entire news industry moves away from print, we’ve walked towards it.  By printing our internet posts and distributing them along Frankford Ave, we’ve increased our ability to attract our intended audience who might not be inclined to search the neighborhood news on the web.

And in general, it’s a painful fact that many of Frankford’s residents don’t even have computers.  A recent study shows that 55% of Philadelphia’s residents don’t have internet access at home, it’s probably even greater in an economically challenged neighborhood like Frankford.

To that end, when we came across Text Blast, developed by local civic hacker (and Frankford celebrity) Tim Wisniewski, we thought it would be an excellent opportunity to further put seats in the meetings.  It’s a free service that will let us send a notice to many subscribed users via text message.  Our current thoughts are to get a good subscription of cel phone numbers together and then blast them all with a single text message about a civic meeting, or town watch meetup, or park cleanup, etc.  This is definitely a work in progress, but I think this is going to really help get the word out about civic involvement.

So if you’re interested in receiving announcements about Frankford community events, text message the word ‘frankford’ to 215-987-5555.  You won’t get any reply, I’m hoping the developer can fix it so that in the future it will return a confirmation.  It is anonymous.   We will have your cel phone number but no more information than that.  If at some time in the future you want to turn the service off, you can just notify us by email.

You you prefer, you can also email me your phone number and I’ll add it manually.  My email is jim@frankfordgazette.com.

Text the word frankford

to

(215) 987 – 5555

for community news about Frankford.

Related posts:

1. You Can Text Donations for Haiti

Related posts:

1. Coming Up in Frankford 12/17 to 1/13/2012
2. Coming Up in Frankford 12/24 to 1/20/2012
3. Coming Up in Frankford 3/3 to 3/30/2012

Toasters

They were made of metal and were shaped like a pyramid with slots running up all four sides. You placed them on top of the gas stove and placed the slices of bread upright against the sides. As the heat reached up inside the toaster, it would blacken or if you were lucky, brown the side of the bread. You would then have to turn the slice over to get it done on both sides. Many a burnt finger was caused by this process.

Hangouts

We as teens, hung out at “Big Boys” drive-in on the Boulevard near Cottman Ave. They had the cutest waitresses with short skirts and sweaters as uniforms, complete  with “Bobby Socks”. Pull your car into one of the many parking spaces and have a girl come out and take your order. In just a little while, she would return with a tray  full of food and hook the tray on your car door. The milkshakes were the best! Even if you didn’t have any money for food, it was fun and the accepted thing to drive  very slowly through the parking lot (cruise) to see who was there that evening. It was also a great place to be seen with your date.

The Front Porch

The front porch was probably the most important part of keeping a neighborhood together; it was also a way to escape the heat. During the summer months, it was a  relief just to be able to get out of these hot houses. Each afternoon, people would wander out of their houses to enjoy the cool air. This was before air conditioning. Almost every house had it’s own front porch, complete with a decorative railing to protect you from going off the edge. Some were furnished with swings suspended  from the ceiling with chains, or gliders others had wicker furniture, complete with coffee tables and upholstered sofa and chairs. Toward late afternoon, many of the  folks would be sitting on their porches having iced tea and chatting with their neighbors. However, they were never too busy to stop and greet the people who were  coming home from work as they walked down the street. There were no strangers on my block. Moms and dads would use this vantage point to look out for each  others children who might be playing outside. If a skirmish might rise up, it was the unspoken duty of any grown-up within shouting distance to keep things under  control. The magic part of all this is that the kids had enough respect instilled in them to “Listen To Their Elders! When you walked home, many times you would say hello to as many as twenty neighbors and even catch up on the latest news. Some of the folks used to sit on their porches from early morning till dusk, reading the  paper, catching up on the sewing or even doing some of the preparation for that night’s dinner. Many times my grandmother and I would sit there and snap beans or  peel potatoes. As time went by, some of these porches were glass enclosed and they were called Sun Porches. This process made them useable during part of the  colder months as well as the summer. It was not unusual to come out of your house during a rainstorm and find one of your neighbors taking refuge on your porch.  (“Just till the rain lets up a bit.”) It was also a great place for the kids to stay out of the weather and it was large enough to accommodate the kids and their toys. A lit porch light was always a sign of “Welcome”, it was also an indication that you were in trouble for being late if you were a kid and just getting home! I‟ll wager that  many lasting romances began on these very porches Perhaps your parents began their courtship on one of them.

Related posts:

1. Growing Up in Frankford Part 3
2. Growing Up in Frankford Part 5
3. Growing Up in Frankford Part 6

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Northwood Town Watch First Meeting

A weekend distribution of fliers throughout Northwood brought about 30 people to the initial organizational meeting of the Northwood Town Watch at St. James Lutheran Church at 6PM prior to the regular Civic meeting.  An hour was spent on discussion of the role of the Town Watch, discussion of the proposed bylaws and election of temporary officers.  A second organizational meeting is scheduled for Saturday, May 19th at 9 AM at the Knights of Columbus at 5323 Oxford Avenue.  Anyone who is interested in participating in Town Watch in any capacity is encouraged to attend.  Future Town Watch meeting will precede the Northwood Civic Association meetings.

At the Northwood Civic Association meeting,

the minutes of the last meeting were read.  A verbal treasurers reports was made. A member questioned whether the new Treasurer has audited the previous Treasurer’s records. No audit has been done and the member asked that future reports be printed and made public.  The Treasurer said that she would take that under advisement to the Board.

Frank Bennett VP and Joe Krause President of Northwood Civic

Members approved a motion  to fund start up costs of the newly formed Town Watch with $300 to cover the cost of printing fliers, etc.    Members questioned if the Town Watch will be funded in the future.  Vice President Bennett said that the Town Watch would fund itself.  This expenditure is to help get it off the ground.

A new member spoke about vandalism in the area of Kenwyn and Horrocks.  Young people are breaking windows.    A discussion followed about what is the most effective way to report this type of issue to the police.  Some recommend making it a roll call item and others say the best thing to do is to attend a PSA meeting and talk to the Lt. directly.  Town Watch members were present and will follow up on this issue.

Committees were formed to deal with Vacant Properties, Deed Restriction Issues and Zoning.  Volunteers for the committees met after the meeting to provide contact information to communicate at a later time.

James Clay, Democratic party candidate for State Representative in the 179th district spoke to the membership and answered questions.

James Clay

The next meeting of the Northwood Civic Association is scheduled for June 19 at 7 PM at St. James Lutheran Church.

Related posts:

1. Northwood Civic Explores Town Watch
2. NEast Philly Rides Along With West Frankford Town Watch
3. West Frankford Town Watch

Energy use at the new building will be reduced through the use of a highly insulated envelope, an efficient HVAC system, exhaust fans, operable windows, natural light, highly-insulated walls, and solar shades that block summer sun while bouncing winter sun more deeply into the rooms. A large north-facing skylight in the multipurpose room minimizes lighting costs. Rain barrels will keep rain water out of the city stormwater system and provide free water for classroom and ornamental gardens. All materials and carpet will are low VOC. Budget allowing, the exterior will be clad in reclaimed red cedar.

The school, which has been on its historic campus since 1833, expects to enroll over 130 students in grades PreK-8^th in the coming year. There are still some openings in grades 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7; the others have waiting lists.  For more information, www.frankfordfriendsschool.org

Related posts:

1. Frankford Friends to Launch Green Building Project
2. Frankford Friends School’s Open House Invites New Friends!
3. SRC Green Lights Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School