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An Event You Don’t Want to Miss!

What’s the hottest ticket in town? No, it’s not along the Avenue of the Arts! It’s the ticket for tonight’s presentation at the Historical Society of Frankford, 1507 Orthodox St. See you there! The most fun for $5 you can have anywhere!!!!

HSF September 2014 program half page

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Preserving the Legacy of Frankford

historical societyYesterday, Plan Philly posted a great piece on Frankford and the issue of the preservation of  our historical heritage.  This includes not only the records, documents and artifacts but also buildings and structures.  The article went on to talk about how the Historical Society of Frankford is meeting this challenge during these tough economic times.

The article was very complimentary in terms of what is being done by the Historical Society and talked about our rich historical past.  Follow the link and give it a look.

PlanPhilly.com is a project of PennPraxis, the clinical arm of the School of Design of the University of Pennsylvania. Praxis, in partnership with the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Center for School Study Councils designed and produced the award-winning 2003 Penn’s Landing Forums and the 2005 Franklin Conference on School Design. In 2005 and 2006, Praxis partnered with the Philadelphia Daily News on Slots and the City, a series that investigated the potential physical implications of casinos on the City of Philadelphia.

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The Frankford Synagogue

When I was the Stearne school a few weeks ago for career day, I was chatting with Terry Weck, the math coordinator, about Frankford history.  She grew up in the neighborhood and had lots of memories of things that aren’t there anymore.

adath-zionOne building that is still here is the former Synagogue on the 4300 block of Paul Street.  It was called Adath Zion and was built to serve the numerous Jewish merchants who had businesses along Frankford Avenue.  You can preview the book “The Jewish Community Under the Frankford El” By Allen Meyers and Carl Nathans on Google here.  The synagogue  moved up to Pennway Street in 1956.

Interesting note on how people come and go in a neighborhood.  The city is always reshaping itself.

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Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War and Philadelphia

It was a full house at the Historical Society of Frankford on Tuesday night as Dr. Anthony Waskie, an Assistant Professor at Temple University, lectured on the subject.  His insights into the times and personalities was unique and especially relevant to Frankford and Philadelphia.

Also on display is an exhibit commemorating the bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln in 1809.  The exhibit draws on the Society’s extensive collection of Lincoln related books, photographs, original documents, and artifacts to tell in brief the story of the rail splitter from Illinois.  Thanks to the HSF for assembling this exhibit.  It will be available to view for the next few months whenever the Society is open.

waskie-goodDr. Waskie has written and lectured widely on the Civil War and is very active in Civil War history, research and preservation. He is a specialist on the life and career of Gen. George G. Meade whom he portrays in a “first person” style living-history performance. Active with the Philadelphia Consortium for Civil War History, he is part of the group seeking to promote the Civil War History of the city; and the foundation of the new Civil War & Underground Railroad Museum of Philadelphia, for which he serves on the Advisory Board. He is a charter member of the Philadelphia Civil War History Consortium. He was elected to membership in the Union League of Philadelphia in 2003. He is an active participant and founding member in the “Civil War & Emancipation Studies program” at Temple University, a part of CHAT (Center for the Humanities at Temple ).

Coming up in June at the HSF is a the Antiques Appraisal Fair on June 7th and a program on Historical Flags and Banners on June 9th.