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Tag: debbie klak
90th Anniversary of the Dedication of the Frankford War Memorial
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.
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Before it Was Veteran’s Day
Frankford War Memorial
What is Armistice Day? November 11 was originally designated as Armistice Day in memory of the armistice that ended the hostilities of World War I in 1918. They thought it would be the war to end all war but it turned out to be a prelude to Wold War 2. On November 11, 1922 Frankford dedicated its memorial to those who served in the Great War. That memorial stands up at Frankford Stadium at Large and Wakeling Streets. It is a fitting monument designed by renowned architect Paul Philippe Cret.
I became interested in the memorial last year on one of my trips around looking for pictures. So I began documenting it, taking pictures and doing some research with Debbie Klak at the Historical Society of Frankford. There are 8 bronze tablets listing all those who served and died. I started looking and I found my next door neighbor up there. He told me he had been in the war. It was nice to see him remembered that way, I know he would have been proud to point it out if he was here. Surely by now most of those who are listed have passed away.
There was one thing that I thought was needed and that was a list of the names of the men and women who are named on those bronze tablets, so we compiled the data and are making it public today. There are 2,381 names, among them 29 women. 28 fatalities are listed. There people all were from Frankford, Northwood, East Frankford, Frankford Valley etc. You can browse the pdf here. You may find someone you recognize.
In 1954, Armistice Day was renamed Veteran’s day in honor of all the veterans who have served in all the wars.
Howard Barnes We Miss You
It was a busy day yesterday and I thought about passing up the Historical Society of Frankford meeting but decided to go anyway and see what was on the agenda. I knew there would be a video of Howard Barnes who was the former curator of the society. He lived on Penn Street only a block from us and I have his autographed book so I thought I had heard it all. The video ran over an hour but it was fascinating to hear this guy go on about the history of Frankford which he clearly had spent a long time researching.
Jim Young made his first appearance as the incoming President of the society since the departure of Paul Andell in June. Jim spoke about some of the initiatives that the society will be taking on in the future. Volunteers are always welcome and much needed. I noted some new members sign up last night which is really the most valuable resource of this organization.
Before I left I met with Debbie Klak who has been following a discussion on the Gazette about the Overington mansion. She dug up some clippings from the scrap books that the society has in its collection. As time goes on those scrap books are golden with their treasure trove of information. Posted below are some pictures of the meeting and also those clippings that may further illuminate the fate of the Overington mansion. Click on any of the pictures for a more detailed view.
Debbie and John Klak Honored
Debbie and John Klak were honored by the National DAR.
Frankford’s Flag House Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, installed its 2010-2013 officers and honored two local recipients of NSDAR Community Service Awards at its 107th Anniversary Luncheon Saturday.
Read the entire story here at NEastPhilly.com.
