Frankford War Memorial

What is Armistice Day?  November 11 was originally designated as Armistice Day in memory of the armistice that ended the hostilities of World War I in 1918.  They thought it would be the war to end all war but it turned out to be a prelude to Wold War 2.  On November 11, 1922 Frankford dedicated its memorial to those who served in the Great War.   That memorial stands up at Frankford Stadium at Large and Wakeling Streets.  It is a fitting monument designed by renowned architect Paul Philippe Cret.

I became interested in the memorial last year on one of my trips around looking for pictures.  So I began documenting it, taking pictures and doing some research with Debbie Klak at the Historical Society of Frankford.  There are 8 bronze tablets listing all those who served and died.  I started looking and I found my next door neighbor up there.  He told me he had been in the war.  It was nice to see him remembered that way, I know he would have been proud to point it out if he was here.  Surely by now most of those who are listed have passed away.

There was one thing that I thought was needed and that was a list of the names of the men and women who are named on those bronze tablets, so we compiled the data and are making it public today.  There are 2,381 names, among them 29 women.  28 fatalities are listed. There people all were from Frankford, Northwood, East Frankford, Frankford Valley etc.  You can browse the pdf here.  You may find someone you recognize.

In 1954, Armistice Day was renamed Veteran’s day in honor of all the veterans who have served in all the wars.

It was a busy day yesterday and I thought about passing up the Historical Society of Frankford meeting but decided to go anyway and see what was on the agenda.  I knew there would be a video of Howard Barnes who was the former curator of the society.  He lived on Penn Street only a block from us and I have his autographed book so I thought I had heard it all.  The video ran over an hour but it was fascinating to hear this guy go on about the history of Frankford which he clearly had spent a long time researching.

Jim Young made his first appearance as the incoming President of the society since the departure of Paul Andell in June.  Jim spoke about some of the initiatives that the society will be taking on in the future.  Volunteers are always welcome and much needed.  I noted some new members sign up last night which is really the most valuable resource of this organization.

Before I left I met with Debbie Klak who has been following a discussion on the Gazette about the Overington mansion.  She dug up some clippings from the scrap books that the society has in its collection.  As time goes on those scrap books are golden with their treasure trove of information.  Posted below are some pictures of the meeting and also those clippings that may further illuminate the fate of the Overington mansion.  Click on any of the pictures for a more detailed view.

Debbie and John Klak were honored by the National DAR.

Frankford’s Flag House Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, installed its 2010-2013 officers and honored two local recipients of NSDAR Community Service Awards at its 107th Anniversary Luncheon Saturday.

Read the entire story here at NEastPhilly.com.

It was reported by NEastPhilly.com that Jack McCarthy will resign as Archivist from the Historical Society of Frankford within a month. 

We have also heard that Debbie Klak former President of the Historical Society of Frankford will once again take a seat on the board.  More information on these changes may be available at the next meeting of the society on Tuesday April 13th at 7:30 p.m.

We’re very pleased to give a shot at a (hopefully) recurring feature on the FG.  I dunno what we’re gonna call it yet, but pretty much I asked Debbie Klak, former president of and current member of the Historical Society of Frankford, to help us make it rain history.  And I mean MAKE IT RAIN.  So I’m gonna head over to the society every once in a while and we’re gonna compile some nuggets of Frankford’s loooooonnng history.  I’m not even gonna bother trying pull a cohesive narrative together.  We’re just gonna give this a try in a stream of consciousness kinda way.  I was over there today and spent a couple hours with her and and came away with way too much to type.  As of right now, we’re gonna try to concentrate on tying history into the buildings that are still standing and how Frankford fit into the growing nation.

So with that in mind, here’s the first thing I gotsta show yous.

This model boat was built by Frankford’s own Captain John Allen.  The only slice of Captain Allen I could find on the net was an FU he threw a general courtesy of The New York Times but check out the note card that comes along with the boat:

Catch that “General Lafayette” bit?  That’s THE Lafayette, the Marquis De Lafayette.  His Wikipedia page is so bad ass it has sub sections.  This dude spear headed the Franco-American alliance during the Revolutionary War.  A quick copy/paste from Wikipedia yeilds:

In the American Revolution, Lafayette served in the Continental Army under George Washington. Wounded during the Battle of Brandywine, he still managed to organize a successful retreat. He served with distinction in the Battle of Rhode Island. In the middle of the war, he returned to France to negotiate an increased French commitment. On his return, he blocked troops led by Cornwallis at Yorktown while the armies of Washington and Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, prepared for battle against the British.

That dude was a serious baller.  His parade through Frankford was part of his final tour of these new United States that he took during his last visit to our country where he received a hero’s welcome by the people.  According to Wikipedia’s timelines he arrived in Staten Island on the August 15th and ended up in Wilmington DE on the 6th of October so I’m guessing he passed through here on his way.  This boat is 185 years old.  That’s pretty cool.

[link] Historical Society Of Frankford