Category: Meetings and Events

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Pasta Builds the Community

St. Joachim’s is having a pasta dinner this Sunday.  There are a lot of church socials and dinners and such all through out the year.  If you think about it, the churches in Frankford are one of the few organizations that get people together on a regular basis.  There was a time when every neighborhood had its clubs and groups and you would be hard pressed to find someone who was not involved in one or another.  Now its different, people join Facebook instead.  When you get a chance to help out one of our local organizations, you are also helping out your community.

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UnLitter Us Please

So how did this all come about?  A while ago the Frankford CDC and the Frankford Business and Professional Association both decided to work on the litter issue in Frankford.  The time had come to take a shot at improving the situation here.  By a stroke of serendipity, the city of Philadelphia awoke from its slumber and decided it was time to do the same thing citywide.  So UnLitter Us Frankford is the first in a citywide effort to work on this problem.

It took a lot to drag me out of the house and down to Frankford and Pratt today for the UnLitter Us rally.  I support the idea but the rain was still dripping and the sun wasn’t out and I didn’t feel like taking the video equipment down there etc.  But I decided to go because I knew I would live to regret it if I didn’t.  I was pleasantly surprised by a congenial crowd milling about chowing down on Mark Gilbert’s Thriftway  hot dogs. It was  a stroke of genius to schedule this event on the first of the month thereby ensuring a large crowd of happy shoppers passing by.

The mural arts people had a decorated trash truck down there and I can relate to that.  Its beauty rivaled the trucks I saw traveling through the Khyber pass back in 1968 during the vacation that Lyndon Johnson sent me on.  No surface is left undecorated as if it would be an insult to the gods of art to see a patch of plain unadorned paint.  It was a site to behold.

SEPTA had a big green bus which was a big green diesel electric hybrid bus.  Neat idea combining the two technologies.

The speechifying commenced with introductions by Tracy O’Drain of the CDC.  Tony Payton spoke and Jason Dawkins spoke on behalf of Councilwoman Sanchez who was downtown on official business.  Denise McVeigh of the recycle bank, Diane Richardson and Mark Gilbert of the Frankford Business and Professional Association also addressed the crowd.

Now I admit that I am ignorant of this spoken word art idea.  My experience with it has been those idiots who are always riding around in their little cars playing their radios so loud that it shakes your bones a car length away.  I was expecting that experience today and much to my delight it turned out otherwise.

Greg Corbin performed “The City Has a Heartbeat“.  Carlo Campbell did his “Reconsider” and Whitney Peyton presented “Broken Bottles“.  I get it now.  Thanks.

The event is to be followed up by a Frankford wide cleanup on Saturday October 2nd.

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Coming Up in Frankford

  • Grand Army of the Republic Museum Open House
    When – Sun, October 3, 12pm – 5pm
    Where – 4278 Griscom Street, Philadelphia, PA 19124 (map)
    Description – Presentation at 1:30 PM: “Civil War Spies and Guerillas” Dr Sid Copel
  • Friends of Overington Park
    When – Tue, October 5, 7pm – 8pm
    Where – CORA Neuman Center at 1000 Orthodox Street (map)
    Description – Come out and discuss our park and what we an do to make it a safe and pleasant place for everyone.
  • Frankford Civic Association Meeting
    When – Thu, October 7, 7pm – 8pm
    Where – 2nd floor conference room, Aria Health, 4900 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19124 (map)
  • Pasta Dinner
    When – Sun, October 10, 12pm – 4pm
    Where – St. Joachim Roman Catholic Church 1527 Church Street Philadelphia, PA 19124 (map)
    Description – St. Joachim’s is having a Pasta Dinner on Sunday, October 10 from 12PM to 4PM. Dinners include: Pasta, meatballs or sausage, salad, rolls & butter, desserts and coffee, tea or iced tea. All this for $10 for adults, $6 for children 6-12 and free for children 5 and under. Take out is also available!
  • Historical Society of Frankford program
    When – Tue, October 12, 7:30pm – 9:00pm
    Where – 1507 Orthodox St., Philadelphia, PA 19124 (map)
    Description – BREWERIES of FRANKFORD, KENSINGTON & BRIDESBURG Rich Wagner Master Brewers Association of the Americas www.pabreweryhistorians.tripod.com PHILADELPHIA BREWING COMPANY OKTOBERFEST LIBATIONS Raise one up for these three industrial River Wards, where breweries quenched the thirst of thousands of workers and shipped beer throughout the world. Schmidt’s and Gretz were two of the last breweries to close, while those of John Fritsch and John Grauch in Frankford never made it past prohibition. Rich Wagner has been studying the history of this area’s brewing industry and has researched brewing from colonial times to today’s craft brewing industry.
  • Frankford Community Garden Maintenance Meetup
    When – Thu, October 14, 6pm – 8pm
    Where – Corner of Oxford Ave. and Foulkrod St. (map)
    Description – Gather together with your friends and neighbors to maintain and improve this garden spot in Frankford.
  • Northeast Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
    When – Sun, October 17, 1pm – 2pm
    Where – Holy Family University – 9801 Frankford Avenue (map)
    Description – NORTHEAST HALL of FAME Holy Family University – 9801 Frankford Avenue Inductees: Benjamin Rush, Robert Purvis, Butch Ballard, Sister Mary Scullion, Special People in the NE (SPIN) Tickets $25.00 available from Holy Family University.
  • Northwood Civic Association Meeting
    When – Tue, October 19, 7pm – 8pm
    Where – St. James Lutheran Church, at Castor Avenue and Pratt Street. (map)
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UnLitter Us Frankford Rally

The Frankford community will hold an UnLitter Us Frankford outdoor rally and celebrate the Northeast neighborhood’s recognition as one of the first and largest Litter Free Zones in Philadelphia . A large crowd of Frankford residents and business and community leaders will join together outside the Holiday Thriftway- an UnLitter Us Business Ambassador and community hub – for eco-friendly activities and to learn about how to keep Frankford, and all of Philadelphia, clean, safe and beautiful.

The three-hour outdoor rally will feature music, food and refreshments and a new SEPTA hybrid bus. City, state and business leaders will gather together to make remarks and congratulate the Frankford community on their commitment to creating a clean neighborhood and Litter Free Zone recognition. Speakers will also discuss the economic and safety benefits of a litter-free community. Event attendees will have an opportunity to sign-up for the City’s Philadelphia Recycling Rewards and UnLitter Us programs.

UnLitter Us Frankford will provide a number of visual and interview opportunities. The rally is being held in conjunction with a Frankford community cleanup, which will take place the following day on Saturday, October 2.

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Old Baldy Is Home To Grand Army Of The Republic Museum

Old Baldy was finally at home and on view yesterday at the Grand Army of the Republic museum on Griscom Street.  The Inquirer did a nice job of covering the story.  You can read it here.

Thanks to Joe Menkevich for the tip on the slide show below.  The GAR Museum is another one of Frankford’s treasures.