Frankford Community Blog | Local News, Events, Community Resources
From Daguerreotypes to Digital
Saturday April 26, 2014 2 – 4 PM
Historical Society of Frankford
1507 Orthodox St.
An introductory workshop to show you how to handle, store and display your images – Receive samples of conservation materials
Cost: $15.00 for members – $20.00 for non-members
Space is limited. Please RSVP
Susan Couvreur email couvreur@verizon.net
phone 215 288 6697
Light refreshment served after.
Originally published on www.destinationfrankford.com
The Philadelphia Wooden Boat Factory (PWBF) is one of the oldest tenants at the Globe Dye Works, on Worth Street at Kinsey. While the word “factory” brings to mind a mass production facility, in fact this is an educational program for high school students. 
Founded in 1996, Philadelphia Wooden Boat Factory provides hands-on maritime-based educational programs. Using an experiential learning approach grounded in Frankford’s historic connection to the river, PWBF’s programs are engaging youth to learn about themselves and prepare for the future. The organization’s boatbuilding and on-water programs blend physical strength and endurance with problem solving and academic enrichment, and help students develop the resiliency and tenacity to succeed in the transition to adulthood.
Geoffrey McKonly founded the organization in 1996 because few developmental opportunities existed for underperforming and economically disadvantaged youth. He saw a need for a program that could provide youth with meaningful activities that would be central to academic achievement, and also address the needs of students that are often not met at home or in school. When students are working with their hands and learning woodworking and a variety of maritime skills, they are engaged in dynamic activities that blend physical strength and endurance with problem solving and academic enrichment that leads to success and personal growth.
Brett Hart, the organization’s Executive Director grew up in Frankford, on Hawthorne Street not far from the Globe. He is a Tall Ship Captain and wooden boat builder with eight years experience working with at-risk youth from Philadelphia. Prior to joining PWBF, Brett was employed by the Los Angeles Maritime Institute going to sea with teenage students from East Los Angeles. He was the Captain and Director of Maritime Education for Philadelphia City Sail on board their 75′ Schooner North Wind, traveling for extended periods with Philadelphia teenagers.
Also on the team are Victoria Guidi, Program Director and Andrew Cintron, Program Assistant.
At present, there are 48 students enrolled in two programs. The programs are at capacity drawing participants from all over the city. Students participate in one of the two programs: the Community Row Riverguides program or the Boat Build & Sail program.
Community Row participants are given the opportunity to learn about the local watershed and to explore the quiet stretch of the northern Delaware River using the PWBF fleet of rowing vessels. Riverguides empowers students to become teachers and environmental advocates, and to organize riparian zone restoration projects. Riverguides work with the science staff to build and deliver interactive, hands-on lesson plans for the Community Row Program. Riverguides work within to restore local ecosystems and rebuild riparian zones along the fragile northern Delaware River, at present focused on Lardners Point park at the foot of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge.
Boat Build and Sail is a year-round (after-school and summer) program that offers students the opportunity to participate in project based learning in the fields of wooden boat building and competitive sailboat racing. The program is equal parts competitive one design racing and traditional wooden boat building apprenticeship. Students begin with the building of the organization’s “Factory One-Design”, and stay on to campaign the boat with their teammates from the on-water facility at the Frankford Arsenal boat Ramp.
Learning to build and sail a boat is both fun and challenging. Each semester students begin by examining the project’s driving question: “What are the things I will learn during the building and sailing of a wooden boat that will help me in other aspects of my life?” In the months that follow, as students continue the process of re-defining their answer to this question, they develop a toolkit of 21st century skills that will be invaluable as they make the transition into post-secondary education.
The PWBF will be participating in Factory on Focus at Philadelphia Museum of Art on May 21st. The students will be on hand to display the Factory One Design craft that they built last year (color purple) which was designed by the well known small boat designer Antonio Dias. It will be on display in the grand hall at the museum. A true work of Art.
Christine Rojek is the artist who won the competition to install a piece of sculpture at Womrath Park.
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE FRANKFORD COMMUNITY
Dear Frankford Residents:
It was a pleasure to meet so many of you at the community meeting and presentation of the Womrath Park Gateway Sculpture proposals on January 27 th at the Second Baptist Church. Your input, openness to new ideas , and your enthusiasm for the artist’s process of design was encouraging and heartwarming.
My proposal, entitled Confluence, is a cluster of three sculptures that celebrates the evolution of Frankford. My ideas sprung from the two primary reasons that Frankford exists: Frankford Avenue and Frankford Creek. The trail, or road, lead a steady stream of people through the area and the creek created a flow of energy and opportunity . The fast moving water provided the source of industry followed by the birth of the community. The creek was the reason the people stayed.
THE CENTRAL FEATURE
My goal as an artist is to create one clear icon for Frankford surrounded by a “timeline of images ” that celebrate the evolution of this neighborhood from open land to a diverse community. The large central feature will be a dynamic “Rushing Water Form” as the symbol of the creek and of life. The sculpted water shapes will flow around a brightly colored waterwheel that represents industry, tenacity, and the potential for new growth.
PANELS SURROUNDING THE CENTRAL FEATURE
Clustered around the central f eature (Rushing Water with Waterwheel) will be two decorative panels . Together , they will define an area to gather, stroll , and learn. The panel located to the South ( History Panel ) will describe the open landscape, early architecture , and events from Frankford’s past . The panel on the North ( Community Panel ) will describe more recent memories, current events , and urban architecture.
COMMUNITY INPUT
As part of my research for this sculpture, I’d like to invite you to share your memories and impressions of Frankford with me. I plan to interpret y our stories and special images into a large drawing , or graphic design. This design will then be cut into metal to form the decorative panels described above. Below are some of the questions you might consider:
1. How has the natural landscape changed along the road?
2. How has the natural landscape changed along the creek?
3. How was the creek used for recreation in the past and how is it used today?
4. What do you know about the beginning of industry in Frankford? Did any family members work in the mills?
5. What stories have you been told about the construction of the elevated train and how it changed Frankford? What do you remember about your first ride?
6. What stories or images of historic Frankford are most intriguing to you?
7. What is your favorite piece of architecture from early Frankford? Does this structure still exist?
8. What is your favorite storefront or piece of architecture from contemporary Frankford?
9. What parts of the neighborhood do you feel define Frankford today?
Thank you, Christine Rojek
Follow this link for more information and a way to leave your comments and suggestions.
Out of the 100 artists who submitted qualifications for the Call for Artists, five finalists were selected by a jury of project administrators, arts professionals, and representatives of the Frankford community. At a community meeting on January 27th, Christine Rojek, Robert Roesch, Pete Beeman, Jim Galucci and Jake Beckman unveiled their proposals.
Each artist gave a presentation that covered the details of the proposal including materials, lighting, color, durability, size and placement in the park. They were all well thought out and incorporated many of the important concepts about Frankford.
On February 18th The Destination Frankford Selection Panel, with input from the Frankford community at the public meeting, announced that it had chosen Christine Rojek as the winner of the Womrath Park Sculpture Competition. The Chicago based artist brings with her a long record of achievement and widespread recognition that includes the creation of multiple interactive environments that appeal to wide audiences.
You can read the rest of the details on the Destination Frankford web site. See the video below as Christine Rojek talks about her proposal.
One sunny afternoon in October of 2012, I first met Jennifer Mohr at Overington Park surrounded by children at the Fall Festival. She was there volunteering with the Friends of Overington Park. She sat at a table full of handcrafted jewelry and other things for sale. That kind of piqued my curiosity. I was surprised that this relatively young girl was out selling her own creations.
A graduate of Frankford Friends School and the Charter School for Architecture and Design (CHAD), she has been making and designing things almost her entire life. CHAD seems like the perfect choice for someone who is creative. It’s located on 7th street between Market and Chestnut in downtown Philadelphia.
Although she is now a Frankford resident, she actually grew up all over the northeast but mainly lived in Mayfair. She spent a lot of time in Frankford with her aunt Lorraine. When she was looking for a place to live, Frankford came to mind because of the convenience for travel and also because she is comfortable here. She says it’s not the best neighborhood yet but it certainly has a lot of potential and is affordable. She doesn’t have a car yet, so the Frankford Transpiration Center is a great asset since you can get to almost any part of the city very easily. She works full time in Northern Liberties.
On any first Friday of the month, you are likely to find her down around 2nd and Market Street between 5 and 9 PM. The Old City Arts Association has been sponsoring First Friday in Old City since 1991. Although the sidewalk vendors are not an official part of the event, they are not discouraged either. The streets are filled with vendors selling everything and anything to the strollers who come out to tour the numerous art galleries.
It’s a perfect marketplace for her creations which are mainly silver jewelry, decorated boxes and crocheted items like hats and bags. She is looking to get into candle making which is a very marketable line of business although it does require some new equipment.
She has also marketed her pieces at other vendors markets around the city and is in considering marketing on Etsy. That is a marketplace for creative people from all around the world to sell their own hand crafted goods.
Jennifer is another example of the many creative residents in Frankford. We’ve previously highlighted Nasifah Lewis and Flossy Stanowski who both built successful small businesses here.
She has aspirations to open a craft/coffee shop at some point in the future. She is off to a good start, so that does not seem at all out of reach and we hope that the Frankford Avenue business corridor will be ready for it when she decides to take the plunge.
