It was an eventful year with some highs and a few lows. This is just a quick look back at what was happening in 2011.
We had some snow in January that brought trees and wires down.
In February the shooting death of Chris Spence caused the community to rally for the closure of the T&T bar. It was closed and remains closed to this day.
In March Lorenzo Della Valle marked the 50th anniversary of his barber shop on Frankford Avenue. He is a genuine gentleman. March also saw the start of the PhillyRising presence in Frankford. Some good things have been accomplished including the opening of the new computer lab last week.
In April the EPIC Stakeholders held a political forum for those running for political office in the upcoming elections. People in Frankford got a chance to meet the candidates and talk to them face to face. It was a great event. Also in April the parks came alive like never before. We had start of many more events from the Frankford Parks group and Friends of Overington Park and Deni than we have seen in years past.
In May Councilwoman Maria Quiñones-Sánchez defeated Danny Savage for the Democratic party nomination for the 7th District City Council seat.
In June The Frankford CDC sponsored the first in the series of Second Saturday Festivals and folks came back to Frankford Avenue. June also saw the renovation of the old house in Greenwood Cemetery completed.
In July a farmers market came to the Frankford Transportation Center. The first edition of the Frankford Gazette hit the streets as a collaboration between the Gazette, the Frankford CDC and the Special Services District. This was a PhillyRising initiative.
In August we had hurricane Irene and an earthquake. The quake was mostly a non event in Frankford but the storm brought a number of our beautiful old trees down. Also Mastery Smedley Charter School broke ground for a new addition and the wall of the former Central United Methodist Church at Orthodox and Griscom fell down. The Mural Arts Project began planning for its murals in Frankford.
In September Frankford Friends School broke ground for their new building.
In October we noted the passing of Edward (Butch) Ballard, renowned drummer and Frankford resident.
I estimate that I attended about 50 community meetings during the year. Our web site had 47,000 visits by 29,000 unique visitors.
The most popular page last year was related to the Mormons in Frankford. That was followed by our coverage of the death of Chris Spence and PhillyRising in Frankford.
