It is difficult to sell the notion of God when times are bright and hopeful. People are extremely doubtful and question the validity of something which cannot be seen, felt or acknowledged. On the other hand, a good salesperson can pitch a deal for a car supported on the very fact that you can take a car for a ride, smell the new car smell, listen to all the bells and whistles and there are even times when the car literally sells itself.

God, on the other hand, is a mystery. So, a tragedy like Sandy Hook occurs and the message is, “Come to God and He will heal your aches and pains, especially the ones that strangle your heart strings and diminish any place for hope.” “Why?” Is the response that is bantered back and forth from every possible angle. Why would anyone believe in a God that allows such a traumatic event to occur? Why didn’t God enlighten someone to prevent this from happening? continue reading »

What could be worse than a TV news station reporting a shooting in Nicetown happened in Mayfair?

How ’bout rewriting the headline and the story to pretend the error never happened? continue reading »

Pennypack on the Delaware. Photo/Pennypackpark.org

There are lots of pretty places in the park, and everybody has their favorite.

Among the top of many people’s list is Pennypack on the Delaware, just south of Rhawn Street and State Road.  It could be argued that it’s not as trashy as other parts of the park. Granted, it’s also not as accessible on foot, therefore, lacking the beer party ambiance of the wooded areas. It also helps (doesn’t help depending upon how you look at it) that it lies behind Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility.

Nevertheless, 30 of your friends and neighbors (92 volunteer hours) managed to divest the area of 42 bags of trash and one of the longest lists of “other stuff” we’ve had in quite some time. The list included four different descriptions of flip flops and more than 10 different descriptions of balls.  The areas denuded of trash include the access road entrance to the POD, along the fence behind CFCF (still more fun to be on the park side of that fence), and along the river from the mouth of the Pennypack to the meadow at the end of the access road. continue reading »

Friends of Pennypack Park volunteers targeted Holmehust Avenue in Winchester Park as one of the hotspots for the Earth Day clean-up. File photo/Shannon McDonald

If you didn’t get out with us on April 28, then you didn’t get a snazzy Earth Day button with this year’s bird, the Osprey, faithfully drawn by Friends of Pennypack Park member Roland Williams.

You also missed hanging out with your fantastic 45 friends and neighbors (123.5 hours) and CLIP. The volunteers picked up 44 bags of trash and CLIP got 56 bags of curb-hugging trash (the stuff organic and non-organic that seems to settle in the street against curbs).

Working together on Lexington Avenue from Solly to Rhawn including curbs, street, and dirt path; on Lexington Avenue from Rhawn to Ryan, that dirt path and into Little City; the entrances to the park from Holmehurst; and the upper and lower parking lots at Little City, Pennypack Park now looks a lot better than before our Earth Day crew came out and did battle with that most devastating of insects – the litter bug. continue reading »

St. Hubert's grad Rachael Fleming (L) with sisters Rebecca, a junior; and Elizabeth (R), a freshman.

Jan.6 2012, the moment I had dreaded since I had first heard the rumors, was here. The phone rang and hearing the message brought tears to my eyes. The high school that I had graduated from three years prior and the one that my sisters now go to was going to close.

The Blue Ribbon commission had recommended Saint Hubert Catholic High School for Girls for closure, along with West Catholic, Conwell-Egan, and Bonner-Prendie. I know how upsetting it was to hear that my school was going to close, and I could only imagine how the families involved in the other schools were feeling. It was heartbreaking to see the looks on the students’ faces and know that they had to think about where they would want to go to school next year. Juniors – like my sister – who were supposed to be looking at colleges, had to start looking at other high schools.
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Vets at the Delaware Valley Veterans Home enjoy a barbecue thrown by the 8th PDAC. Photo courtesy of the 8th PDAC.

Last Saturday, the 8th Police District Advisory Council visited the Delaware Valley Veterans Home on Southampton Road to honor the vets’ service to our country by providing them with a barbecue.

PDAC Chairman Harry Sonntag thanked the vets for their service saying, “Your service to our country and every citizen who lives in it will never be forgotten. We hope that this small token of appreciation by our members and volunteers from the community reminds you all that there are many people who love you, respect you and appreciate the sacrifices you have made for us.” continue reading »

A minivan sustained front-end damage in a crash with the Route 59 SEPTA bus. Photo by Simon Skymba.

Reader Simon Skymba shared some photos with us from yesterday afternoons crash at Tyson and Castor Avenues involving the Route 59 SEPTA bus and a minivan. continue reading »

About a dozen protesters gathered Sunday outside St. Thomas Syro Malabar Catholic Church Sunday to oppose a zoning variance. Photo by Maureen Greene.

St. Thomas Syro Malabar Catholic Church at 608 Welsh Rd. has requested a zoning variance to allow them to rent their building to Tacony Academy Charter School for no less than two years.  There would be 150 kindergarten and first grade students housed there.  Since the School District does not bus kindergarteners, this would cause extreme traffic delays on a dangerous and congested stretch of Welsh Road.

Congregants packed a Greater Bustleton Civic League meeting to force the vote in their favor.  The Pastor admitted that they were looking for money for the mortgage and had only the hope of a flashing yellow light to potentially slow down traffic as any attempt to address the extreme safety concerns of the neighbors, some of whom have had relatives and friends injured or killed along that stretch of road.  The need for left hand turns into the narrow and nearly hidden driveway will create a major hazard. continue reading »

Champ had a big week. He recently graduated PetSmart’s dog school, and he’s looking pretty happy about it. Here’s hoping his diploma is edible.

If you can’t get enough pets, be sure to check out our Pet of the Week series. You can send us your own birthday, wedding and pet announcements and photos to info AT neastphilly DOT com.

-Photo submitted by Seth Kaplan

Bruce Conner helps lead a meeting of the Northeast Philadelphia History Network last March, when the group split from the Historical Society of Frankford.

Bruce Conner passed away last week following a car accident late last month. In the passage below, his friend and fellow historian, Jack McCarthy, remembers Bruce.

The Northeast Philadelphia history community suffered a major loss with the recent death of local historian Bruce Conner. Bruce had been in a coma following an auto accident in late February and died on March 9th. The accident occurred as he was driving home from one of the many local history meetings he regularly attended.

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