Frankford Community Blog | Local News, Events, Community Resources
The surprises of a Christmas stocking are the perfect analogy for the fruits of historical research. Retired archivist and history librarian Gail McCormick shares memories of Christmas past discovered in her research on Frankford’s Swedenborgian Church and families – many of whom are founding members of The Historical Society of Frankford.
A great presentation with high quality production values.
The War Memorial at Wakeling and Large Streets honors those who served in World War I. It was dedicated on November 11, 1922 during the same week as the opening of the new Frankford El. November 11th was at that time called Armistice Day in honor of the ending of hostilities of WWI. It was later renamed Veterans Day.
The memorial lists the names of the 2,382 men and women who were from Frankford and served in the military during the war. There were 28 fatalities in the list. We have spent quite a bit of time working on documenting the history of the memorial and how it came to be there. So that there names might not be forgotten, we created an index of the names from the images of the brass panels. You can see it here. Maybe you will find someone you recognize.
Below is a video of some of the history of the memorial that we produced with the help of Debbie Klak and the Historical Society of Frankford.
There will be a ceremony to mark it’s 100th birthday on November 10th. See the flyer below for more details.
Link to video here
The regularly scheduled program of the Historical Society of Frankford for October 11, 2022 will feature a review of the history of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the Court’s contemporary work, and the role of state supreme courts generally in our federalist system, This program commemorates the tricentennial of the Supreme Court that occurred on May 22, 2022. The speakers are attorney Chip Becker of Kline & Specter, P.C. and Debbie Gross, Executive Director of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts.
The meeting is open to the public at the Society building at 1507 Orthodox Street at 7:30 PM. In addition it will be live streamed on their Facebook page and available on YouTube live.
The program of the Historical Society of Frankford for September 13, 2022, will be presented by Alex Palma, Assistant Curator at the Carpenters Company of Philadelphia. The topic is “The History of the Carpenters Company and the Built Environment in Philadelphia.” The Carpenters Company, founded in 1770, is itself one of the most historic sites in the City. It’s members shaped the local built environment, including in Frankford, and also helped to shape the development of skilled trades locally.
The meeting is open to the public at the Society building at 1507 Orthodox Street at 7:30 PM. In addition it will be live streamed on their Facebook page and available on YouTube live.
I am certain there are other Frankford men who died on D Day but these 2 come to mind. Both attended Frankford High School.
Ralph Daniel Fischer, Jr.
Ralph was born on February 25, 1921 in Philadelphia. When he registered for the draft in 1942, he was living with his family at 1701 Kohl Street and working at Max Willi Pfau in Langhorne. He enlisted in the Army on September 14, 1942. Corporal Fischer was one of the HQ Company, 3rd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division who parachuted into France on June 6, 1944. He was killed in action at 22 years old. His body was brought home in 1949 and was interred in Ivy Hill Cemetery.
George Lee Meadows, Jr.
George was born in Macon, George on August 14, 1920. By 1930, his family was living at 4243 Rhawn Street in Philadelphia. He enlisted in the Army on March 1, 1940 and rose to the rank of Tech Sergeant when he shipped out to Europe on January 18, 1944. He was in Company A, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division when he was killed in action on Utah Beach on June 6, 1944. He was 23 years old. His body was brought home and interred in Arlington Nation Cemetery.
Rest in peace.
