Gene and Marion Perri
It was only a half century ago that teenaged Gene Perri sat on the stone wall on Leiper Street that surrounds Overington Park and first met Marion Ridge. He says he was cleaning his shoe which must have made quite an impression on Marion. They have now been married 47 years.
They thought it might be interesting to return to the place they first met on the 50th anniversary of that day. They had some concerns, having not been back to Frankford in quite a long time but they decided to go for it and walked into Overington Park on Saturday, September 28th.
They happened to come on one of the best days of the year for the Park. The Art Under the Trees event sponsored by the Friends of Overington Park brought out a great crowd of families and the weather was beautiful.
Their Frankford roots go back generations. Gene’s family had a candy store at Penn and Sellers. Marion’s grandfather owned one of the first Unity-Frankford grocery stores on Arrott Street. They now have two grown children, Dawn and Gene Jr. and four grandchildren; Jessica, Michael, Eric and Samantha.
It was good to have them back in the neighborhood. Anyone who recognizes them and would like to get back in touch, contact the Gazette and we’ll pass on your information.
