HYPE RLO CAL
D ONE DI FFER ENTLY
FISHTOWN + KENSINGTON + NORTHERN LIBERTIES + PORT RICHMOND + BRIDESBURG
THIS
WEEK FEBRUARY 22, 2017 VOL. 14 NO. 08
AWARDING AN INNOVATOR Nora Lichtash, Executive Director of the Women’s Community Revitalization Project, has been recognized for service to community. 8
BACK TO BASICS Gravy Studio & Gallery will feature artists who are using historic photographic processes. 9
CLEAN PLATE Recipe for Pork Wontons with Chili Broth. 11
BALDSPOT Spirit's own weekly games and comics. 11
L
ast week, the Philadelphia Distilling Company (PDC) opened the doors to their new Fishtown distillery and became the newest piece in the continuously expanding entertainment district surrounding the former Ajax Iron Works building. “There’s kind of a whole entertainment district that has emerged over the past two years, in Fishtown, but in a new part of Fishtown that hasn’t been used in 50 or 60 years,” Andrew Auweerda, owner and distiller at PDC, said. The new facility is next to the Fillmore and Revolutions and across from Punch Line Philly along Allen Street. The new building will be the new home base for all their products. According to Auweerda, the distillery has made a large-scale expansion
to their operation. “We’ve tripled the size of our distillery and production facility,” Auweerda said. In addition to a larger production facility, the PDC also added a 2,500-square-foot cocktail bar where visitors can enjoy some featured cocktails, all while gazing at the giant tanks through a giant window. “Over the shoulder of the bartender is a massive two and a half story high window,” Auweerda said. PDC was founded in 2005 and, according to Auweerda, they were one of the first companies to open a distillery in Pennsylvania in a very long time. “We started the first distillery in PA since Prohibition,” Auweerda said. Continued on Page 4.
ACCU-REGGIE Seven day forecast for the Riverwards. 3
COMMUNITY CALENDAR Local events, meetings and more. 12-13
HOT OFF THE
PRESS
P
arking can be difficult in Fishtown. With the influx of new residents comes an influx of new cars — sometimes multiple cars per person — and every car needs a spot to park. Many new area developments do not feature garages or additional parking spaces. The only option is the street. How often do you find yourself in an endless loop around the same three or four blocks, praying for a spot to open up? Wouldn’t it be nice if there were some sort of bureaucratic system in place, one that would ensure you always have a place to park? “Residential Permit Parking was designed for residential areas that are
located near a business district or bus depot where you would find a lot of vehicles that are not registered to the area looking for parking,” said Martin O’Rourke, a spokesperson for the PPA. Fishtown, with its bustling business corridors on both Frankford and East Girard, certainly fits this description. The idea behind permit parking is that for a small fee you can better ensure a parking spot on your block. In some cases the idea and the practice are reconciled and better parking is enjoyed by the residents of a block Continued on Page 6.
Page 2
The Spirit of the Riverwards – February 22, 2017
THE
local lens BY THOM NICKELS
T
he year is 1797 and somewhere on Spruce Street in a tiny rented room sits an ailing 75-year-old man. The roomer has a nurse who comes to visit him during the day because his condition is not good. Outside his window the man can hear the bustling sounds of the New Republic, although it’s impossible to know if the robust voices he hears in the streets offer him any consolation. Who is this roomer who lives like an abandoned castaway? Is he a debauched derelict who wasted his life in intoxicating pleasures at the expense of career and family? Or is he someone on the receiving end of karma, as so many people alive today like to say about people who seem to bring about their own demise? The nurse who cares for the man knows his history. No doubt she spends plenty of time listening to his stories and offering her condolences whenever appropriate. “Why did a city you did so much for turn its back on you? Why is Philadelphia ignoring one of its greatest sons?” I can hear her asking. Imagine the deplorable confinement of living in a rented room in the house of the widow of one of your former business partners. Such is the case with our penniless roomer. He is completely dependent on the financial kindness (read: charity) of the Carpenters’ Company. Only God knows that when he turns 76 he will be dead, and that the Carpenters’ Company will pay all his funeral expenses. Just like a pauper. Day in and day out, the nurse listens as roomer Thomas Nevell recounts his life as an architect. He tells her how he designed one of Philadelphia’s greatest mansions, Mount Pleasant, a house that so impressed John Adams that when he visited Mount Pleasant in 1775, he said it was “the most elegant seat in Pennsylvania.” With its classical design, brick quoins and exquisite interior woodwork, Mount Pleasant was designed by Nevell for Scottish sea captain John Macpherson (1726-1792) who lost one arm during his high seas buccaneer days. The house has since become one of Philadelphia’s most famous historic homes. In connection with that, the house’s main claim to fame was that in 1779, Benedict Arnold purchased it as a wedding gift for his new wife, Peggy Shippen. Shippen was the daughter of one of Nevell’s former clients. She was a beautiful woman despite her mercurial and manipulative personality. Mr. and Mrs. Arnold never actually lived in Mount Pleasant because Benedict was appointed to a military post at West Point immediately after the purchase. Assisted living nurses generally like to get life stories, so it’s likely that our nurse got Nevell to talk about his childhood. “Tell me how you became one of Philadelphia’s most famous personalities,” she undoubtedly said. Nevell tells her that he was born in 1721. An only child, he was orphaned at age nine. Then he recounts the story of how he was sent off to foster families until he was finally apprenticed to architect Edward Whooley. This stroke of good fortune had him by Whooley’s side during the latter’s 20-year project designing and building the Pennsylvania State House, the largest building in Colonial America at that time. Nevell tells her that he grew up to become a fairly wellknown architect and carpenter. Success was his in 1781 when he was awarded the contract to design and construct a new roof and steeple for Independence Hall. The plum job put him on the list of 18th century people to watch. Life was good for the little orphan who was also creating gun carriages and coffins for clients while his reputation as “an ingenious house carpenter” grew. At this time Nevell had no money issues. He lived in a simple yet formidable house at 4th and Pine Streets. Nevell explains how he rose to the top of his profession and that he made enough money to become the second largest donor for the building of Carpenters’ Hall. He mentions the year 1771 when he founded the nation’s first architectural school. He relates how with his business partner, John Lort, he built a two-story wooden classroom behind his 4th Street house. An ad for the school appeared in the Pennsylvania Gazette, the biggest newspaper in the colonies:
“Whereas I have been requested by sundry persons, anxious to improve themselves in the art of architecture, to undertake the teaching so necessary a mystery as the carpenters’ business, I will take upon me to instruct a small number of youth or others...” He tells the nurse his life changed in 1773 when the British imposed heavy taxes on tea. In the city of Boston, the tea tax created the Boston Tea Party during which colonists dumped boxes of imported English tea into the bay. Philadelphia’s reaction to the new taxes was not so dramatic but it was significant enough to get him to walk away from architecture and devote himself to the Revolution. He describes how he closed his architectural night school and was soon under contract from the Continental Army and Navy to make gun carriages. He describes how he was put in charge of constructing underwater river defenses, called chevaux-de-frise, and how within a year’s time he went from being a private to a lieutenant colonel of the Philadelphia Artillery Battalion. I can imagine Nevell’s nurse fidgeting in her chair and drumming up the courage to ask the ailing architect about the Imperial-style arch he designed that spanned 6th and Market Streets. The arch was an exercise in Roman Empire pomposity, built to celebrate the end of the Revolutionary War and the formation of the United States of America. The grand arch enticed none other than Charles Wilson Peale to decorate it after covering the whole thing in canvass and then to illuminate the whole thing in candlelight. As Carl G. Karsch writes on History.org, “A spectacular result was predictable. Fire turned the arch into a blazing torch, igniting fireworks including rockets in an explosive grand finale to the Revolution.” But an even more daring question from the nurse is how our hero architect met the Black Widow Spider, or Mrs. Weed, a woman who had a house at Front and Arch Streets where she lived with her teenage son, George. Who knows what Nevell was thinking when he gave his heart and married Mrs. Weed, widowed three times, and then allowed his new wife to keep the terms that left her house in trust for George when he turned 21, despite the fact that Nevell had already paid all the taxes on the property.
THOM NICKELS IS A PHILADELPHIA BASED AUTHOR, JOURNALIST, POET, FILM CRITIC & FEATURE WRITER FOR SPIRIT NEWS.
Love may be blind, but when it leads one into poverty and personal disarray it becomes the kind of love that should be shelved like aged lima beans. When Mrs. Nevell (nee Weed) died in 1790, the full brunt of Nevell’s mistake came back to haunt him because George opted to live alone, meaning that Nevell had to find another place to live. Misfortune struck again when the city of Philadelphia failed to renew Nevell’s contract as a “street regulator.” “Mrs. Weed’s very name should have been a warning to you!” I can hear the kindly nurse saying to Nevell, now asleep in his chair, his mind at rest but the frown on his face indicating that the poison from the Poison Widow had thoroughly done its job. •
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The Spirit of the Riverwards – February 22, 2017
S E V E N D AY F O R E C A S T F O R T H E R I V E R WA R D S
accu-reggie TWITTER: @ACCUREGGIE • FACEBOOK: ACCU-REGGIE
W
hat the heck! You call this winter?! This is a joke and a disgrace to anything associated with winter. Yeah, that’s how I really feel. This week will be nothing short of what we saw last week; crazy warmth for the first half and then cooler for the second half. The weekend is when the transition to cooler weather will occur. While we will probably see more snow before winter is officially over in March, the chances of a good storm are quickly fading away. Is this warmth because of Global Warming? Well, kind of. While it’s hard to paint discrete events at the result of global warming, the macro warming trends are pretty clear.
What do I mean? The average temperature in February is warmer in Philadelphia than it was, say, 100 years ago. So while 70-degree warmth in February is nothing new, the warmth is more warm now and the cold is less cold. When averaged out this bumps the average temperature up for a given time period. Example: If we had the same pattern 100 years ago, the temperature would’ve still been warm, but maybe only to 68 on Sunday. Since the earth is warmer now, the temperature will make it to 70. In short, it’s not the fact that it got warm, but that it got warmer when it got warm. Wednesday and Thursday are warm, spring-like days. Temps will be in the 60s and near 70 in some places.
Friday is the warmest day of the week as temperatures scream past 70. We could see an early-morning sprinkle in places. Saturday starts off very warm before thunderstorms arrive in the afternoon. Things could get windy and cold! Sunday is a chilly day as seasonal temperatures return. It will feel much colder because we are used to extreme winter warmth. We could see some light snow and rain on Monday, followed up by a bigger storm on Tuesday that would start as snow and ice before changing to rain. Yes, winter is going to make a comeback! •
FINANTA
1428 East Susquehanna Avenue Philadelphia, PENNSYLVANIA 19125 TELEPHONE: 215.423.6246 EDITORAL INQUIRIES: NEWS@SPIRITNEWS.ORG ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: ADS@SPIRITNEWS.ORG OFFICE HOURS: MONDAY–FRIDAY, 9AM–5PM MATTHEW ALBASI
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MANAGING EDITOR
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GRAPHIC DESIGNER
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SOCIAL MEDIA
WEATHERMAN
THOM NICKELS
sharon isabel curly
LOCAL LENS COLUMNIST
SPIRIT ASTROLOGY
GREGORY LABOLD
CHAD DRAVK
BALD SPOT COMICS
LITTLE FISH COMICS
BOB STEWART
PTAH GABRIE
CONTRIBUTOR
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ANDREW MARK CORKERY
JACK GRAUER
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MICHAEL HANISCO
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thomas beck
JORDYN CORDNER
EDITORIAL INTERN
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No reproduction or use of the material herein may be made without permission. The Spirit of the Riverwards Newspaper will assume no obligation (other than cancellation of charges for the actual space occupied) for accidental errors in advertisements, but will be glad to furnish a signed letter to the buying public.
Page 4
The Spirit of the Riverwards – February 22, 2017
Continued from Page 1. Since then, their flagship spirit, Bluecoat American Dry Gin, has won best gin at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Meanwhile, Vieux Carre, their version of Absinthe, has won several gold awards itself. The PDC also distributes to 42 states and maintains friendly relationships with many of the local Riverwards businesses serving their spirits. According to Auweerda, several years ago, the laws regarding retail sale at distilleries were changed in Pennsylvania. The revision allowed distilleries to be able to sell their products on site and to operate a cocktail bar on the premises. The PDC’s old facility in Northeast Philadelphia didn’t have a front of house, so giving the public a place to purchase and sample their spirits on site was a major factor when deciding where to move the operation. “It basically took me this long to find the right location and build a distillery,” Auweerda said. “A big part of what we’re trying to do is get people to see our production facility and enjoy our spirits right where we make them.” Auweerda also sees the bar as a place to test small batches of new spirits. “The distillers have to have a passion for something — they certainly do for whiskey — and that will be coming down the line,” Auweerda said. “This cocktail bar is a great room for us to make up a batch or two and see our work revealed.” Spirit News was invited to check out the new facility on Thursday, February 16th. We took a tour of the facility with co-owner and distiller Aaron Selya. According to Selya, an average batch of Bluecoat takes 11 hours to make and produces 1,300 bottles. The Bluecoat Gin comes out at a boozy 158-proof. It’s then blended with purified water to get it to a comfortable 94-proof. That purified water is also local. “It all starts as city tap water,” Selya said, adding that the PDC is about a month away from having Fishtown-produced Bluecoat on the shelves. Selya says the new production gear will allow them to make new spirits. “All the new toys — the new still, all the wooden fermenters, the mash tun — are all for whiskey production for the future,” Aaron Selya said. “We haven’t settled on a style yet, but we’ve done a lot of test distillations. As a company, it’s sort of a toss-up between bourbon, rye and malt whiskey.” Selya says the distillers are paying attention to creating a sustainable product. “Everyone wants to see all the whiskey in Pennsylvania made with grain grown in Pennsylvania,” Selya said. As you step into the Philadelphia Distilling Company’s cocktail bar, the room opens up to a warm space with windows to the outside and a massive window looking onto the enormous tanks where all the Bluecoat is made. The tall ceilings make the 2,500-square-foot bar seem small, but the couches and barrel tables make plenty of space to post up and enjoy one of their delicious cocktails. We sampled a few of the cocktails. The PDC’s take on the classic gin drink Gimlet uses Bluecoat and freshly squeezed lemon. It’s simple and very refreshing. Another good cocktail we sampled was the Library Co., which features Blue-
Inside the new Philadelphia Distilling Company cocktail bar.
The Penn’s Woods cocktail was our favorite drink of the night./All photos by Ptah Gabrie
Bartender Stephanie Atkins shakes up a cocktail.
coat Barrel Finished Gin. This cocktail uses bitter aperitif, balsamic, house rouge and orange. The taste was unique and reminded me of an Old Fashioned. The barrel-aged gin really shines through and you can taste the wood in the cocktail. Our favorite cocktail was called Penn’s Woods. This cocktail uses regular Bluecoat and artfully mixes in dill, basil, coriander, lemon and club soda. The drink is green, and a sprig of dill is carefully attached to the rim of the glass with a tiny brown clothespin, giving the appearance of foliage on top of your drink. The herbs all come together in the cocktail and your nose catches a hit of the dill each time you take a sip. According to Auweerda, the PDC also wants to offer space to non-profit events on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays as a way to give back to organizations in the community. He hopes to have one to two events per week. Auweerda sees Fishtown as the best place for the distillery to be. “Fishtown is a real up-and-coming fun neighborhood with a maker community,” Auweerda said. “It was pretty exciting to be part of revitalizing an area of Philadelphia super close to Old City, the Liberty Bell and the historic parts, but far away enough so we can have our distillery and also be in a neighborhood.” •
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The Spirit of the Riverwards – February 22, 2017
WRITTEN BY THOMAS BECK
Serial Fiction “WHAT IT MEANS TO HURT” -
D
epressed and uncertain, Zachary Thomas wandered the city streets with no destination or purpose. He found himself outside Johnny Brenda’s at the intersection of Frankford and Girard after about five miles of walking. He had never been inside before, though he often drove past it on his way to work. Feeling no longer to be in possession of his faculties, Zachary yielded to the force pulling him into the bar. He sat down at the bar and ordered a beer. Everything smelled of reality. The dim lighting made him feel better and worse at the same time. A low murmur travelled through the bar, punctuated intermittently by an enthusiastic exclamation or an obnoxious guffaw. Zachary turned around on his stool and looked at the people sitting at the tables on the other side of the room. They all looked to be about his age, so happy, so glad to be out and about in the presence of one another. Zachary wanted them to leave. He turned back around on his stool and faced the bartender and the wall of alcohol behind her. Several hours passed, people came and went, and Zachary Thomas continued to drink. He didn’t speak to anyone except the bartender, though their conversations consisted of little more than his affirmative responses to her asking him if he wanted another beer. A middle-aged man at the other end of the bar took notice of Zachary. He walked over to Zachary and sat down on the stool immediately to his right. “Looks like something’s on your mind,” the middle-aged man said. “Everything okay?”
Illustration by Luke Cloran
PA R T 1
“Actually, no,” Zachary said, absentmindedly tapping his fingers against his glass of beer. “I just got divorced. We signed the papers today. It’s over.” Saying it aloud for the first time provided him no relief, but he appreciated the man’s concern. “Thank you for asking,” he added. “Of course,” he said. “I really am sorry to hear that, though. It stings, doesn’t it? I’ve been there myself. Three times, as a matter of fact. Just keep your head up and fight through it.” Zachary raised his glass of beer to the man and slightly bowed his head. “You’re a good guy,” he said. He took a sip of his beer. “Oh, sorry, I’m Rick, by the way.” “Nice to meet you, Rick. I’m Zachary.” A silence fell over the two men. Rick turned on his stool to watch the baseball game on the TV at the far end of the room. Meanwhile, Zachary thought about Jane and her long brown hair and her perfect teeth and her dimples and her coin collection and her penchant for yogurt and all the other things that made her who she was. Jane was no longer his. “This has not been a pleasant life,” Zachary said. Unsure whether or not it was he Zachary was speaking to, Rick turned back around on his stool and looked at the young man. “Are you talking to me?” he asked. “I guess I am,” Zachary slurred. “I don’t know. Maybe. I’m sorry, man. I’m just depressed as hell. I feel like the Fates are conspiring against me, you know? They just want me to be miserable all the time, because that’s what I always am:
miserable. You have no idea. Nobody does.” “How old are you?” “I’m twenty-three, why?” Rick chuckled, clapping his companion on the shoulder. “Zachary, you’re barely out of the womb. I know you think what you’re going through now is worse than anything that’s ever happened to anyone ever in the course of human history, but it isn’t. It’s just not. You’ve been pricked, that’s all. Just a little jab. Let’s get together again in thirty, thirty-five years, and then you and I can have a real conversation about what it means to hurt.” •
Stay tuned for the next part of “What It Means to Hurt” in next week’s issue of the Spirit.
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The Spirit of the Riverwards – February 22, 2017
Continued from Page 1. that subscribes to this system. However, in many other cases, the practice of permit parking has created a set of circumstances which create only frustration and misery for those affected. This article will examine some common problems with permit parking and, hopefully, offer some solutions. How does one establish permit parking on one’s block? As with permits for most things, a simple yet bureaucratic process is required. First, one must contact the PPA and request a petition. This petition requires the signatures of 60 percent of your block, a strange and specific percentage requiring you to multiply the number of occupied houses (owned or rented) on your block by 0.6. If there are 10 houses on your block, you need six signatures. To prevent you from just getting your six roommates/children/spouses to sign, each of these signatures must come from a different household on your block. Once you have your signatures, you forward the petition to your city councilmember and then they will send the whole thing back to the PPA, along with a letter of support. An official outline of this whole process as well as other FAQs is available at: http://www.philapark.org/2014/05/ residential-parking-in-philadelphia-a-primer-on-permits/. Once this all goes through you now have the privilege of paying $35 per year to park your car on your street. Anyone without a permit who parks on this block can do so for no more than two hours before being ticketed. The PPA can also issue day passes for your mom, your children, your contractor or any other long-term guest. That is about the extent of the benefits of permit parking. Now let’s take a look at the problems. Let’s say you get exactly six signatures from your block of 10 houses and your petition was approved. The four people who chose not to sign now live on a block where they cannot park their cars for more than two hours unless they choose to fork over $35. This could make a person frustrated, especially since they voted against it in the first place, especially since you need a reverse petition process to overturn it. “People sign the petition thinking it guarantees them a parking spot — it does not,” said Maggie O’Brien, president of the civic group Fishtown Action (FACT). So these people who can no longer park on their own block or own too many cars (permits get increasingly more expensive for each additional registered car) take their vehicles and park them on a non-permit street. This is where
the real mess starts. Donna Tomlinson is a lifelong Fishtown resident affected by the displacement of cars from permit-only blocks. “They will leave their cars in front of our homes for weeks on end,” she said. “Years ago, you had to move your car every 24 hours. Now that does not apply so you are stuck with some jerk’s car in front of your house for weeks.” Tomlinson says her daughter regularly experiences similar problems with people leaving their work trucks out in front of her house for days on end. She describes permit parking as a lose-lose situation and feels there is no solution. O’Rourke at the PPA encouraged residents with problems related to permit parking to call the radio room at 215-6839775. “I have actually heard of people who lived on non-permit
blocks getting petitions to make their block permit parking simply because of all of the cars that are left on the street by people from other blocks,” said Maggie O’Brien. This course of action might clear up your own block (if you feel like shelling out the money), but in the end it only disregards the larger problem. It seems there are no clear-cut solutions to the problems that stem from permit parking. O’Brien recalled a meeting of Fishtown Action during which they had representatives from the PPA in attendance. “It was standing-room only,” she said. Perhaps that is the path toward a resolution: a more direct and public communication between the PPA and the communities it serves. The PPA can be reached at: http://www.philapark.org/contact/ or at 1-888-591-3636. •
/All photos by Patrick Clark
Did you know that Spirit News has it’s own radio show? Tune into Spirit News Radio every Wednesday night on WPPM - FM 106.5 from 6-6:30PM. We discuss local news, arts and entertainment pertaining to the various neighborhoods we cover across Philadelphia. Can’t tune in live? You can download our radio show each week in podcast form on iTunes, SoundCloud and Google Play. Thanks for tuning in!
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WRITTEN BY FRANK STEPNOWSKI
DOWNSIZED – Part II
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Page 7
The Spirit of the Riverwards – February 22, 2017
FISHTOWN NATIVE TELLS HIS INTERESTING ODYSSEY WITH GASTRIC SLEEVE SURGERY
A
fter my dangerously close call on the mountain, I started getting very tired all the time, and my concentration was noticeably slipping. Then the daily bloody noses started. Fortunately, my - wife came into the gym and I was caught red-faced with more than 500 lbs. on my back and a very bloody shirt. Another blood pressure check and Dawn (who I should point out is Dr. Dawn) started making appointments, and I was going to go to them, period. I had already seen orthopedics (one’s knees and shoulders get angry when one weighs 290 lbs. and runs 5Ks and obstacle races), but this was a whole new level. I was told that I had “severe exercise-induced hypertension,” sleep apnea, etc. The subject of gastric surgery came up, to which I responded, “That’s for obese people who are in really bad shape!” I was told: “You are, technically, obese, and you are going to drop dead working out if you continue on your current path.” I protested. I was told to shut up, and more appointments were made: I saw general pulmonary and cardiac doctors, nutrition specialists and a partridge in a pear tree. Radiology told me that I had a pretty bad hernia and that my gallbladder was going to have to come out too. Surprise! I had an extensive battery of tests and meetings, even had a psych consult, which I passed, barely. I have to hand it to the staff at Cooper Bariatrics: they were thorough, and everyone was very nice. All that was left now was the actual consent – and that’s when the fear hit me.
Holy crap. This is really going to happen. They’re going to take 80 percent of my stomach out forever. I knew they were going to remove most of the ghrelin hormone that made me perpetually hungry, but that hormone was still in me and working very well at the time, so when I was told how I would have to eat for the rest of my life, I started having reservations. I love food, lots of it. How would I function without it? How would I continue to build muscle? How would I get through Christmas? I started a liquid diet 10 days prior to surgery. 10 days. I thought, I’m going to kill someone. But I actually felt energetic, calm, and not nearly as ravenous as I thought I’d be. This just might work, I started telling myself. The night before the surgery, fear gave way to my resolution, and I went over all the reasons why I was doing this, the most obvious being that death wasn’t conducive to my long-term health goals. I tried to sleep. December 14th, 7AM. I lay on a table in a hospital gown. Everyone kept telling me, “We’re going to take good care of you.” I woke up three and a half hours later. I was in and out of consciousness for most of the afternoon. It took monumental effort to drink a tiny cup of water. What had I done? The catheter and drain came out, the wires came off. I felt semi-human again. I told everyone I would be out of the hospital the next day, and I was. I pushed it, and I paid for it, but I needed to keep those little personal promises to alleviate the doubts that were plaguing me. I kept setting little goals (walk three miles every day, get in my protein re-
quirements, etc.) and hitting them to get me through my “buyer’s remorse.” But I felt tired. I wasn’t able to eat as everyone around me overindulged during the holidays, and I had dropped 30 pounds in a month (not good for a guy that prided himself on being big). I was very close to telling my wife that I thought I had made a mistake. Then everything changed. My blood pressure, previously 190/100 on two meds, was now 120/70 with no meds. I was sleeping restfully through the night. My energy was through the roof. I started eating, and savoring, food again. My already active libido got turbocharged. I felt great. I started working out again; slowly, carefully, but the strength started coming back. I heard the jokes, of course. “What’s up, little guy? Have you seen Step?” And I laughed. Only in my world is 6’3”, 240 lbs. “little.” I have new lessons to teach my children now, about humility and longevity. I’ve learned that the nutritional content of everything is available online, that eating healthier is easier than I thought, and that the reasons I needed to be big were all in my mind. Most importantly, I appreciate the things that were almost taken from me, and that is more than enough for this semi-big guy. It only took one voluntary surgery to facilitate a lifetime of living on my terms, without the restrictions that a medical event would have imposed upon me. Now, then, that mountain and I have some unfinished business. •
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Page 8
The Spirit of the Riverwards – February 22, 2017
W R I T T E N B Y S H E A LY N K I L R O Y
Awarding an Innovator N O R A L I C H TA S H R E C E I V E S AWA R D R E C O G N I Z I N G 3 0 Y E A R S F O R H E L P I N G C O M M U N I T I E S
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ora Lichtash has spent the past 30 years in the Women’s Community Revitalization Project (WCRP) offering her leadership to communities in need. While Lichtash has always embraced her leadership qualities, others are formally recognizing it. On January 26, 2017, Lichtash received the first place award for Social Innovator in Community Development at the Philadelphia Social Innovations Journal Awards. As one of the WCRP’s founding members and its current executive director, Lichtash was honored for her devotion to providing resources and housing to the less fortunate in the communities of Philadelphia. The WCRP was the first and only women-led non-profit organization devoted to community development when founded in 1986. Since its inception, the WCRP has invested $90 million in communities, which has included developing affordable housing throughout North Philadelphia. Spirit News highlighted the WCRP’s 30th anniversary in an article in October 2016. The Philadelphia Social Innovations Journal Awards is hosted by the volunteer-driven Philadelphia Social Innovations Journal. The awards “honor the region’s most passionate social innovators” and those in the Greater Philadelphia area “working for a more inclusive, equitable and thriving region of innovation and opportunity for all of its residents.” The awards were split up into five categories: board/trustee, social mobility, technology/journalism, empathy, and arts and culture. More than 300 nominations were received and over 3,500 Philadelphians casted their votes to select the winners. Despite her years of service, this was one of the first awards Lichtash has received that highlights her individually. “It was great for my own leadership and great to showcase the work the organization is doing,” Lichtash said. “Critically important to me, one of many, has been the issue of affordable housing and to be able to speak about those issues and those women [of the WCRP.]” The ceremony’s theme was “Make New Friends, But Keep the Old” in order to symbolize the shift in the millennial leadership that is “pushing all of us to redefine the social
Nora Lichtash (right) stands with Richard Harris (left) and PA State Rep. John Taylor (center) during the Grace Townhomes groundbreaking event./Megan Matuzak sector and a shift as both nonprofits and for-profits move toward social enterprise and impact.” Charlyn Griffith of Sanctuary Wholistic Arts and Luis Mora, president of FINANTA, were also nominated for the Social Innovator Community Development Award. Griffith came in as the second place finalist. Rick Sauer of the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations and Kimberly Allen of Wells Fargo presented the award to Lichtash. The awards couldn’t be more timely, according to Lichtash. The WCRP just leased out 36 units and received over 700 applicants for those homes. With the city in good standing and a budget proposal for the next fiscal year coming up,
Lichtash claims it’s the perfect time to encourage elected officials to provide more resources to low-income communities. “The city is thriving. It is great to give awards and receive awards, but we have the responsibility to push policy for people who need affordable housing,” Lichtash said. “We have a chance.” Awards aside, Lichtash wants voters and citizens to keep in mind that issue recognition and change can be made through action. “People are desperate for housing now,” Lichtash said. “For me, the award is about the issue I work with and representing the people who voted [who care about the issue.]” •
W R I T T E N B Y S H E A LY N K I L R O Y
Interfering Inspection
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PHILADELPHIA PHOTO ARTS CENTER HOLDS EXHIBIT TO EXAMINE ART AND PERCEPTION
rt has many intersecting layers and the same can be said about life. Opening March 9th, the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center (PPAC) will host an art exhibit entitled Interference that will explore both the layers of art and life. Held in the PPAC gallery (1400 N. American St.), the exhibit will feature artists Andre Bradley and Paul Anthony Smith whose art explores their experiences as black men. Bradley, a Philadelphia native, derives his work from personal experience. Bradley’s Dark Archives series explores his own childhood from the perspective of a black man in booklet form. The work includes both writing and photographs from Bradley’s family archives. Dark Archives will be reimagined for Interference in an effort to visually communicate signs of being handled, loved and damaged over the years — just like the person in the photos has been. Paul Anthony Smith, based in Brooklyn with roots in Jamaica, adds layers to his own photographs, whether it’s putting the images in a collage or using brushes in Photoshop. Through his artistic process, Smith thinks about society’s own layers. “Laws put people in a gray area… laws that the average person doesn’t understand,” Smith said. “Nothing is upfront.” Smith’s works symbolize the dichotomy of the interior and the exterior, the inclusive and the exclusive, and who is on what side of the fence. He draws a lot of influence from life in the Caribbean and other personal experiences. “Most of the work I do is autobiographical but speaks on
larger topics,” Smith said. “I wanted a pairing [of artists] that helps us see, understand, think or feel about all of the work at a level we wouldn’t otherwise have done,” curator Nathaniel Stein said in a press release. “They are both talking about social and personal dimensions of the relationship between hiding and revealing, and about the ways photographs do both at once.” Debuting at Interference, Smith’s Only in America draws inspiration from Mike Tyson. In this piece, Smith questions the definition of freedom and the American Dream. Smith applies his analysis of freedom locally.
‘Daughters on the Grass’ by Andre Bradley
“In Kensington, there are a lot of open lands and open lots,” Smith said. “[It’s capitalist] because the more it’s developed, everything becomes fenced away.” Smith hopes the art sparks conversation, community engagement and awareness. He hopes people walk away from the gallery not just seeing, but thinking as well. Smith claims it’s needed in this climate. “My work is on the borderline of being dark,” Smith said. “[But I have to] make work like that right now with our current political stance.” •
Interference opens with a reception and artist talk on March 9 from 6 - 8PM and will run until May 20.
The Spirit of the Riverwards – February 22, 2017
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W R I T T E N B Y S H E A LY N K I L R O Y
BACK TO BASICS
G R AV Y S T U D I O & G A L L E R Y W I L L F E A T U R E A R T I S T S W H O A R E U S I N G H I S T O R I C P H O T O G R A P H I C P R O C E S S E S
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oday’s artists and photographers have been using the latest technology to compose and display their work. From taking a picture on a digital camera or an iPhone 7, to wireless printing and posting on Instagram, art has taken the advantage of modern production processes. However, photographers are going back to pre-digital-era styles of creating images, and displaying them in Northern Liberties. The Halide Project (THP) is exhibiting Of Metal & Light, a showcase of three artists who are going back to the “elementary nature” of photography at the Gravy Studio & Gallery (910 N. 2nd St.) from March 3rd to the 26th. THP was created by Alexandra Orgera and Dale Rio in 2015 to support artists who use historical processes of making images. These artists don’t only press a button to snap a picture; THP artists use physical procedures, pay special attention to time and expend more traditional tasks to make photos. Of Metal & Light will focus on the chemical photo practices of artists Sage Lewis, Lucretia Moroni, and Lisa Elmaleh. Lewis’ work in her Paper Negative series is created through destruction. Combining sculpture and flat images, Lewis, who is currently based in Vermont, makes and then crushes 3D paper objects to capture its image with an 1890s black-and-white print process, the gelatin silver process. According to Lewis, one goal of her process is to undermine the structure and integrity of the sculptures. The result, Lewis hopes, will leave viewers asking, ‘What is this?’ as well as questioning the content of the image. “I would hope the viewers will be able to slow down and make connections with the pieces and have clues about the subject matter,” Lewis said. “[The work can be understood] with looking and investigating what’s pictured but not revealed… It’s mystery and disorientation.” Moroni has 30 years of experience with decorative arts — from painting murals to interiors to set designing for director Franco Zeffirelli. The Italy- and New York-based artist is experimenting with cyanotype and palladium prints made on traditional gold and platinum leaf. In her Everglades series, Elmaleh exhibits prints influenced from her history living in South Florida. Elmaleh uses the nineteenth century wet plate collodion process, one of the oldest photographic processes that is very dependent on the rendering of time and light. This method requires a dark room, and Elmaleh uses the back of her truck to get that part of the job done. THP will be offering free educational interactive events at the Gravy Studio & Gallery and throughout the city, including guided tours, a hands-on photography workshop, an informal group critique and a trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s study room. A small fee may be necessary for materials, and registration is required. All three of the artists’ works will be on display Wednesdays through Sundays from noon to 6PM, or by appointment throughout show’s run. The exhibition will open with a reception on First Friday, March 3rd from 6 - 9PM. An artist talk will be held that night at 7:30PM. Lewis notes how Of Metal & Light plays into THP’s focus on analog photography and its unpredictable nature. “One thing that makes the show unique and interesting is the tactical nature of these processes — the tactile way to make an image and photograph into artwork. It’s not erased, cleaned up, photoshopped, or sterilized,” Lewis said. “We’re trying to chew more and get messier in the hands-on process.” •
All images courtesy of The Halide Project
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The Spirit of the Riverwards – February 22, 2017
WRITTEN BY SPENCER HOMAN
Know Your History J.A. DOUGHERTY & SONS DISTILLERY
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n the Riverwards stands an old warehouse that was constructed during the Civil War, and has remained on Front Street ever since. This past summer, the Historical Commission in Philadelphia designated that old warehouse as a historic landmark. Even though the warehouse was not used for its original purpose since the first half of 1919, it still “exemplifies the cultural, political, economic, social, [and/or] historical heritage of the community.” John Alexander Dougherty was born in Northern Ireland on June 10th, 1788 to Jerrard Dougherty and Elizabeth Russell. He immigrated to the United States in 1814 and began working as a baker. According to Portnerbreweriana.com, “he eventually became involved in the trade in distilleries on Spruce and Shippen [now Bainbridge] Streets.” He started his own company is 1849, and he opened up his whiskey distilleries on Front Street during the 1850s. His business would continue to grow throughout the rest of the 19th century, and his whiskey would be considered some of Philadelphia’s finest. John Alexander married Eliza Porter Sherborne in 1819. Together they had several children: William Henry, Charles Ashton, John Alexander Jr., Mary and Anna Isabella. At the time of his death on October 21st, 1866, John and his wife lived at 1758 Frankford Avenue. The business was renamed J.A. Dougherty & Sons once his boys were old enough to help run the company. William Henry was the primary manager of the business after his father died. William lived at 1435 Girard Avenue and on North 11th Street with his wife, Harriet Shee. Aiding William, and then taking over after his death, were two of his brothers: John Jr. and Charles. Charles lived on the eastern side of 6th Street and John Jr. lived on North 10th Street. The business continued to excel after the death of John Alexander Sr. The bonded warehouse that was built in 1864 was enlarged in 1880. When the business began, it could only produce 750 gallons of rye whiskey in a wooden still. The capacity expanded to 3,000 barrels of whiskey when the historic warehouse was built. The nomination of this property can be found at phila. gov, and it describes that the business in 1860 “employed 15 men and had a total value of materials of $72,372 and of product $85,800.” By 1870, the company “employed 24 men” with a “total value of materials of $236,000 and of product $473,000.” Tax records from 1894 show that Dougherty’s distillery produced 215,219 gallons of rye whiskey. Eventually, the Dougherty sons passed away, and the business had to halt production at the start of the Prohibition. The buildings were sold off, and this nominated building was used as part of a coffee business for a period of time. In order to pay for the Civil War debt, the federal government raised taxes on distilled liquor. In order to adjust to this new tax, distilleries could store their product in a bonded warehouse. Dougherty & Sons held their whiskey in this bonded warehouse until it was ready to be sold. They would avoid paying the additional taxes on the whiskey until it was out of the bonded warehouse. The building on the 1100 block of Front Street is the last surviving piece of the J.A. Dougherty & Sons Whiskey business, “the largest rye whiskey distillery in Philadelphia prior to Prohibition.” Interesting aspects specific to the building also give credibility to its historic designation. Apart from its connection to the alcohol industry, its architecture “reflects the environment in an era characterized by a distinctive architectural style.” The Progressive Era demanded that higher standards would be implemented in the industrial workforce. One of these standards was fireproofing buildings. During the building’s enlargement, it replaced some all-wood areas with brick or “metal-lined models” that were intended to make the building safe from a fire. Industrial fires and other accidents were of great concern during this time period, and the Dougherty family made sure to follow the new standards as they come to prominence. One of the most famous industrial disasters was the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City a few decades later. Items with the Dougherty name on them hold great value today, such as crates, bottles, paperweights and whiskey
itself. These rare surviving relics of an old Philadelphia distillery are sold online for as much as several hundred dollars. A partial pint of Dougherty whiskey sold for $626 on whisky-onlineauctions.com in August 2013. Whiskey enthusiasts might need to spend more money on these items if they are in need of completing their collection. Money. cnn.com states that in 2010, “a 64-year-old scotch…went for $460,000 in New York,” proving that some alcohol is more valuable to purchase and sell rather than to consume. The Dougherty Bonded Warehouse was nominated for historic designation by Kensington Olde Richmond Hertiage, LLC and historian Oscar Beisert. According to the Philadelphia Free Press, at its June meeting, the Historical
Commission’s Committee on Historic Designation had received a near-record 20 nominations for properties to be added to the Historic Register, recommending that nearly all be forwarded to the full Commission. The Dougherty Bonded Warehouse was one of them. “The addition of these properties to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places ensures that any significant alterations proposed for these buildings first gain approval of the Philadelphia Historical Commission,” Patrick Grossi, advocacy director of the Preservation Alliance, told the Free Press, “and likewise that every effort be made to maintain and rehabilitate these properties so that they live on fully into the next century. Moreover, they establish an anchor for the neighborhoods in which they are located, a sense of place in an era where character and form are routinely under threat.” The old warehouse on Front Street is more valuable than its current status: blocked by the El and forgotten. It is a reminder of an immigrant’s success story and the impact that the Irish had on Philadelphia. The current owner of the building has plans of redeveloping the building for use as a residential property. Just as an old Otto Wolf brewery is used as Temple dormitories, and A.J. Reach’s baseball factory is now loft apartments, the Dougherty distillery may be the next reconditioned piece of history to accommodate the residents of the neighborhood. •
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The Spirit of the Riverwards – February 22, 2017
WRITTEN BY CASEY ANN BECK
clean plate PORK WONTONS WITH CHILI BROTH
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t’s always important to find time for self-care, and everyone has different ways of pampering themselves. Some like to relax in a hot bath while others prefer to unwind with a fast-paced run. Me? I like to go to the grocery store by myself. An hour of “me” time in the supermarket is my catharsis. Even though I always make sure to bring a list, I love browsing the shelves and checking out things I usually don’t need, like duck fat or oversized wheels of Camembert cheese. If I’m feeling really indulgent, I might even treat myself to such delicacies. I was pumped when a rare solo trip to the Acme presented itself last week, but when I drove into the parking lot I knew something was off. It was unusually packed, and mostly with construction vehicles. Inside, the store was a mess. Apparently, the Acme was operating while under renovation; I was hit with a wave of anxiety as I swerved my cart around forklifts and through aisles that were in disarray. An activity I usually find therapeutic was anything but. In all the commotion, and despite having my list, I forgot several items I needed for recipes. Still, there was no way I was going back to the store. These pork dumplings in a spicy chili broth called for green onions, which I substituted with shallots. In the end, everything worked out; a warm, delicious spoonful of dumplings and broth was healing enough to make me forget about my supermarket trip gone wrong.
Pork Wontons in Spicy Chili Broth Adapted from Jeremy Pang Wontons 1 lb. ground pork 1 tablespoon shallot, miced 2 cloves grated garlic 1 teaspoon grated ginger 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon dry sherry 1 tablespoon sesame oil 2 teaspoons sugar ¼ teaspoon pepper 1 package of wonton wrappers (about 35 to 40) Broth 2 ½ tablespoos soy sauce 2 tablespoons chili oil 1 tablespoon brown sugar 2 tablespoons rice vinegar 3 teaspoons sesame oil 2 cups chicken broth In a large bowl, mix ground pork with the filling ingredients. Stir the mixture for 10 minutes until it feels heavy and sticky. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Wet the edge of wonton wrapper with water,
and add a teaspoon of filling. Fold in half to form a triangle and gently press the edges to push out air bubble and seal them. Wet the two tips of the triangle and fold over the middle part of the wonton. Steam the wontons over boiling water for about 10 minutes. (Alternatively, you can submerge them in boiling water for about 7 minutes.) Set cooked wontons aside in a large bowl. Prepare the broth by mixing all of the ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil and pour over the cooked wontons, in a large bowl. Serve hot and top with additional chili oil, if needed. •
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The Spirit of the Riverwards – February 22, 2017
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COMMUNITY
CALENDAR N E W S @ S P I R I T N E W S . O R G • 1 4 2 8 E . S U S Q U E H A N N A AV E • 2 1 5 . 4 2 3 . 6 2 4 6
me e tings Thursday, February 23, 7PM FRIENDS OF H.A. BROWN MONTHLY MEETING The Friends of H.A. Brown will hold their monthly meeting at Liberty Choice (1939 N. Front St.) For more information, contact info@ekna.org. Wednesday, March 1st, 8:45-10:15AM AND 5:30-6:30PM ADAIRE KINDERGARTEN 2017 REGISTRATION At this morning AND evening event, Friends of Adaire invite families who live in the Adaire catchment to enroll kids who'll be 5 by Sept. 1st in Kindergarten at Adaire starting on Sept. 12, 2017. The Adaire community will welcome you with light refreshments. Principal Anna Jenkins, parents with students in the school now (including Kindergarten parents and Home & School leaders), and Friends of Adaire will be on hand to answer questions and help parents fill out paperwork. Out-of-catchment families who completed voluntary transfer applications are welcome to attend as well, to meet fellow families and learn how to get involved. Bring COPIES of parent/guardian ID, 2 proofs of residence, the enrolling child's birth certificate, and -- ideally -- up-todate vaccination record and dental form. Most pediatricians have standardized forms accepted by the school, but if yours doesn't you can get a form from the school district (new this year). Medical/dental forms can be provided later but the ID and birth certificate are necessary to enroll the child. EKNA MONTHLY MEETINGS East Kensington Neighbors Association (EKNA) meets at 6:30PM on the third Monday of the month at Philadelphia Brewing Company (2440 Frankford Ave.) Topics will include: Committee Updates, including Zoning and Development; Committee Meeting Time. Not able to make our meeting in person but interested in joining via livestream? Email info@ekna.org for more information! FNA MONTHLY MEETINGS Fishtown Neighbors Association (FNA) meets at 7PM on the third Wednesday of each month at Fishtown Rec Center, 1202 East Montgomery Avenue. HCA MONTHLY MEETINGS Harrowgate Civic Association (HCA) usually meets at 6:30PM on the first Thursday of each month at Heitzman Recreation Center, 3631 Amber Street. However, this month's meeting is on ORCA MONTHLY MEETINGS Old Richmond Civic Association (ORCA) meets at 7:30PM on the fourth Tuesday of each month at Cione Rec Center, 2600 Aramingo Avenue. PROPAC MONTHLY MEETINGS Port Richmond on Patrol and Civic (PROPAC) meets at 7PM on the first Wednesday of each month at Columbia Social Club, 3529 Almond Street. Next meeting: February 1. SNBL MONTHLY MEETINGS Somerset Neighbors for Better Living (SNBL) meets at 6:30PM on the first Monday of each month. This month's meeting is on Monday, January 9. Meetings alternate between two locations. This month's meeting is at Rock Ministries, 2755 Kensington Avenue. The February 6 meeting is at Firm Hope Baptist Church, 2313 East Auburn Street. NKCDC OPEN OFFICE HOURS NKCDC is hosting open office hours in the 19134 zip code at two locations. They will be at the Firm Hope Baptist Church on Tulip and Auburn Streets every second Wednesday of the month from 4-7PM. They will assist you with signing up for benefits like SNAP, connecting to housing counselors for any housing needs, rent and property tax rebates, food referrals, health insurance and safety or quality of life issues in your community. For further information contact Tess at tdonie@NKCDC.org or
215-427-0350 x 139. AL-ANON AT HOLY NAME CHURCH HALL Meetings are held every Monday night from 7-8PM at Holy Name Church Hall at 701 Gaul Street. Anything shared at a meeting stays there and everyone is welcome to attend. AlAnon meetings are free, anonymous and confidential. NETWORKING MEETINGS Philadelphia Mastermind Group – Every Friday, 8-9:30AM, B2B Networking at Front Street Café (1253 N Front St.) HAPCO/DIG/GPAR – 2nd Thursday of the Month, 12:001:30PM. Lunch & Learn, real estate meetup at the Greater Philadelphia Association of realtors (341 North Delaware Avenue, Suite 200) DIG/HAPCO – 3rd Wednesday of the Month, 6:30-8:30PM. Philly Riverwards Sub-Group, Diversified Investors Groups meet up at Front Street Café (1253 N Front St.) For more information contact Joe Scorese 215-290-5108 or jscorese@firstrust.com.
events February 22, 6PM CREATE A SPICE BLEND This program is part of One Book One Philadelphia. Using the mathematical concept of ratios, explore ways to maximize flavor using spices and spice blends. Come ready to put your taste buds and culinary minds to the test. Participants will leave with their own spice blend to use at home! Thurs., February 23rd, 5:30-7:30PM FRIENDS OF ADAIRE FUNDRAISING HAPPY HOUR AT LLOYD Lloyd welcomes Friends of Adaire for our last-Thursdayof-the-month Happy Hour Fundraiser! With $1 of every purchase going toward our Science Lab campaign, Lloyd is generously contributing to a great night AND great education here in Fishtown! Kids are definitely welcome! Join us for a family-friendly event in the neighborhood that will also be supporting Fishtown’s K-8 public school’s science education! Friday, February 24th, 6:45PM PALLET PAINT NIGHT Yes you can create beautiful, fun artwork! Join us on Friday, February 24th to create a Masterpiece! BYOB & BYOSnacks, (Coffee, tea, water & dessert served). Tickets are $40. Space is very limited so reserve your spot ASAP! Doors at St. Laurentius Gym will open at 6:15 Instruction starts at 6:45. For tickets call 215-423-8834 or email dgriffith@stlaurentius. org Saturday, February 25, 11AM-12:30PM FREE JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE / SUNCHOKE WORKSHOP La Finquita Community Farm & Garden (428 W. Master St.) harvested a large crop of sunchokes and wants to share! La Finquita will be giving away sunchokes / Jerusalem artichokes as well as providing an overview of sunchoke health benefits, recipes and demonstrations, and samples at their garden. This workshop is free. For more information, email thefinq@gmail.com. Wednesday, February 25, noon-6PM ADAIRE FARM STAND Come on out to the first Adaire Farm Stand! Students at Alexander Adaire K-8 have been growing greens and herbs in special garden towers in classrooms. The Food Trust is working with Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative to provide more than 100 lbs of produce for sale -- lettuce, basil, bok choy, arugula, sweet potatoes, potatoes, apples, rainbow carrots, and more! -- as parents attend report card conferences and for the surrounding community. Friends of Adaire is helping staff the stand after school hours. CASH ONLY. Saturday, February 25, 8-10AM
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APPLEBEE’S BREAKFAST Support Bridesburg Methodist Church and come to a T breakfast fundraiser at Applebee’s (2535 Castor Ave.) 1 Adults cost $7.50 and kids 12 and under cost $5. For more A info, call 215-290-7335. C N Saturday, February 25, 6-9PM i ST. ADALBERT DINNER A St. Adalbert Parish (2645 E. Allegheny Ave.) is hosting a a dinner with the Polish American String Band in the parish S hall. Food will be provided by Dinner House Restaurant. a This event is a fundraiser for the parish. Tickets cost $25 b for adults and $10 for children ages 6-12 and are available F to purchase in the rectory office or the sacristy after Suns day Mass. For more information, contact Janice at 215-6341930. S 1 Sunday, February 26, 11AM-2PM T FRANKFORD AVENUE GARDEN PLANNING MEETt ING & BRUNCH H Join the Frankford Avenue Garden at Amalgam Comics and k Coffeehouse (2578 Frankford Ave.) to discuss the five year a plan of the community space. For more info, contact info@ ekna.org. W A Wednesday, March 1, 7PM B DUFFY STRING BAND OPEN HOUSE c Fishtown’s Duffy String Band invites you to “Be a Part of n Something Great.” These mummers are holding their an2 nual open house at their clubhouse (2230 Cedar St.) For more information visit Duffy String Band’s Facebook. T L Thursday, March 2, 830-11AM G READ ACROSS AMERICA DAY D Adaire Elementary School wants you to celebrate the value C of reading with students and their peers nationwide to celf ebrate the 16th Annual National Education Association’s Read Across America Day. Adaire Home and School looking 3 for community members to read to classes. W If you’re interested in participating in the event, please email F your name and organization to Tuesday Chalmers by Feb. 25 f at adairehomeandschool@gmail.com o r Thursday, March 2, 7PM P PUB THEOLOGY Explore the intersection of life and faith with two Fishtown T pastors, while having a drink at Kostas (15 W. Girard Ave.) P All are welcome. For more information, visit Pub Theology: S Fishtown’s Facebook. d w Thursdays, March 2, 11AM-Noon T FOOD PANTRY DISTRIBUTIONS TIME CHANGE s St. Michael’s Church (Trenton Ave. and Cumberland St.) w will hold their weekly Food Pantry Distributions during P morning hours only. The church will continue to service F zones 19125 and 19134. T For more information contact coordinator Pat Walder at 215425-6190 or St. Michael’s at 215-423-0782. M C Saturday, March 4, 8PM J GARCIA V. THURMAN WATCH PARTY r Watch undefeated world champions Keith Thurman and f Danny Garcia duke it out at the Veteran Boxers Association b (2733 E. Clearfield St.) The program begins live at 9PM. F Free food and cheap drinks offered for those who come. r
Friday, March 10, 6-8:30PM L SCAVENGER HUNT, AIR PLANT ENVIRONMENT, S AND SPA TREATMENTS A Collect materials in a hunt at to make your own airplant a with NLArts! After dinner, essential oils will be provided to C make your own sugar scrub to take home. The workshop n cost $25 a child. Space is limited. Email nlartsorg@gmail. o com to register. A
Saturday, March 11, 10AM-3PM W SPRING CRAFT FAIR Y St. Anne’s Senior Community Center (2607 E. Cumberland St.) R is hosting the center’s Second Annual Spring Craft Fair. CraftH ers of all ages are welcome. To reserve a table or for more infor-
mation, contact Karen at 215-426-9799. Sunday, March 12, 11:15AM ATLANTIC CITY BUS TRIP The Ladies of Port Richmond Breast Cancer are sponsoring bus trip Resorts Casino in Atlantic City. Those attending are expected to meet and board the bus at Belgrade & Allegheny Avenues. Tickets are $35. $25 slot play due in advance. For additional information, contact Marylou at 215427-3222 or Marie at 215-423-3414. Thursday, March 23, 3:30PM 16TH ANNUAL FISHTOWN MARCH MADNESS ACADEMIC COMPETITION Cheer on local students with neighbors and Fishtown Neighbors Association as they use their smarts to advance in the Final Four and Championship rounds for the 16th Annual Fishtown March Madness Academic Competition at Shissler Rec Center. Sponsored by Penn Treaty Special Services District, a celebration to honor Fishtown Teachers and Educators of the year and Joseph and a group that has been working with Fishtown-area youth will be held as well. For more information and to volunteer contact A.J. at ajthomson7@gmail.com. Sunday, March 26, 10AM 13TH ANNUAL BREAKFAST FUNDRAISER The Ladies of Port Richmond Breast Cancer are holding their annual breakfast fundraiser at St. George’s Church Hall (2700 Venango St.) Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for kids 12 and under. For more information contact Marylou at 215-427-3222. Weekdays, 9AM-9PM ACCEPTING DONATIONS Bridesburg Recreation Center (4625 Richmond St.) is accepting nonperishable food and clothing donations for the neighborhood needy. For more information, call Jackie at 215-685-1247, 215-533-6448. Third Mondays LOST PARENTS AND FAMILY MEMBER SUPPORT GROUP December’s meeting will be December 12th at Cione Rec Center (Aramingo and Lehigh Ave.). For anyone who is suffering the loss of a loved one, a friend, whoever, is welcome. 3rd and 4th Tuesday of Every Month, 6:30PM-8:30PM WOMEN’S SELF DEFENSE CLASSES Fishtown Recreation Center is hosting a Women’s Self Defense class 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM on the 3rd and 4th Tuesdays of each month for $10 per class starting 11/15/16. You can register in person at the Rec on weekdays 2:00 PM to 9:00 PM or on Saturdays 9:00 PM to 12:00 noon. Tuesdays in February, 7-9:30PM PUBLETTERS AT THE STANDARD TAP Stop typing that Facebook message, and come to the Standard Tap (2nd and Popular Streets) with your best handwriting. Publetters is offering a workshop upstairs at the Tap on writing the personal letter. Stationery, postcards, stamps, and pens will be provided. At the end of this free workshop, a walk, or stumble, will be made down to the US Postal Service mailbox to send the letters crafted that night. For more information visit publetters.com and Standard Tap’s Facebook. Mondays and Thursdays, 7:30PM CATHOLIC TALK SERIES Join St. Michael’s Parish (1445 N. 2nd St.) for their new series of talks to learn more about or deepen their Catholic faith. The talks are open to both youth and adults, and free babysitting services will be provided. For more information visit the parish website or call the rectory at 215-739-2358. Last Tuesday of every month, 7PM SPIRITUAL INQUEERY A safe space to explore and study the intersection of faith and sexuality for LGBTQIA+ Christians and Inquirers. Come share, listen, learn, and find community support in navigating the trials and tribulations of this life. We meet on the last Tuesday of every month at 1542 E. Montgomery Ave. Wednesdays, 6PM YOGA AT TOWEY REC Roots2Rise will hold yoga classes at Towey Rec (1829 N. Howard St.). Cost is $5 per class. Participants must bring
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The Spirit of the Riverwards – February 22, 2017 a mat For more info, visit roots2rise.com Wednesdays, 6:30-9:30PM SCRAPBOOKING Bring your photos and a book for scrapbooking at Bridesburg Recreation Center (4625 Richmond St.) It cost $5 to attend, and other materials will be provided. For more information, call Jackie at 215-685-1247, 215-5336448. Wednesdays, 6-7PM WEDNESDAY EVENING CLEAN-UPS IN EAST KENSINGTON At Huntingdon Emerald (Huntingdon & Emerald) and Arcadia Commons (Kern Street, Mid-Block). Join us each Wednesday evening for clean ups at two of our beloved neighborhood parks! Help keep our green spaces beautiful by supporting Arcadia Commons. Monthly board meetings, open to the public, take place on the third Thursday of each month at 2614 Amber Street. Wednesdays, 7PM ST. ANNE’S CHURCH CHOIR St. Anne’s Church Choir is back with a new director, April Anderson, and assistant director, Rich Burns. We’ll be rehearsing on Wednesday evenings at 7PM at St. Anne’s Church (Lehigh and Memphis). Thursdays, 5-8PM GAME ON! THURSDAYS Bring or borrow games and players at Amalgam Comics and Coffeehouse (2578 Frankford Ave.) for a night devoted of video game play. For more information, contact amalgamphilly@gmail.com. 2nd Fridays, 7:15PM MOTHERHEART KIRTAN Welcoming everyone in the neighborhood to take part in MotherHeart Kirtan. Kirtan is the recitation of spiritual ideas through songs of devotion. Style is call and response singing of mantra and sounds. It is an easy, safe environment to experience group, harmony, healing, and community. Kirtan can be peaceful, uplifting, and ecstatic. MotherHeart Studio (2359 E Susquehanna Ave.) Donation only.
with your resume, cover letter, or online job application. Every Thursday in February, from 1pm-4pm. NO APPOINTMENT REQUIRED! All the classes are free and are held at 1340 Frankford Avenue. Interested individuals can call 215-426-8610, Ext. 2006. Visit www.lsheducation.org or email for more info: pep@lutheransettlement.org
children
CUB SCOUT PACK 500 Open to boys in K-5th grade. We meet every Thursday 7-8pm in the St Anne’s Annex gymnasium at the corner of Memphis & Tucker. Scouts build projects, learn skills, help the community, and go on hikes and camping trips. Feel free to stop by a den meeting and check it out. For more information, email Den Leader Lisa at Pack500Fishtown@gmail.com
SIXERS NEIGHBORHOOD BASKETBALL LEAGUE Hancock Rec has more openings for players in their SNBL league held at Moffett Elementary School. For more information please contact Coach Larry @215-685-9877, or come to Moffett to register on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 4-6PM.
FISHTOWN LIBRARY Tuesdays: Toddler Storytime: Join Miss Dana for stories, songs, and silliness! Tuesdays @ 10:30AM. For ages 0-3 ½.
Wednesday PRESCHOOL STORYTIME AT RICHMOND LIBRARY This program is intended for children ages 1-4 and their caregiver. Siblings are always welcome. Daycares should call for separate appointments. Richmond Branch of the Free Library, 2987 Almond Street. For further information call 215-685-9992.
sign ups
Third Saturdays, 12-2PM FREE SOUP AND PRAYER Trinity Presbyterian Church (2905 Frankford Ave.) is provided a free hot cup of soup and a place for prayer on the third Saturday of each month. For more information, call 267-216-8996.
Monday, February 27, 6:30-8PM RIZZO PAL SIGN-UPS The Rizzo PAL (Belgrade and Clearfield Streets.) will be holding a registration and ice breakers night for it’s Positive Images Program. The program is a self-esteem program for girls ages 10-18 and will meet on Mondays from 6:30-8PM. Contact Officer Ernie for more information at 215-426-6568.
Sundays, 8:30-10PM THE WALKING DEAD WEEKLY SCREENINGS Come out to Amalgam Comics and Coffeehouse (2578 Frankford Ave.) for pizza, a donation bar, and zombies on screen. Doors open at 8:30, and the show starts at 9. For more information, contact amalgamphilly@gmail.com.
NLARTS SUMMER CAMP REGISTRATION 2017 Registration for NLArts Summer Camp 2017 is now open. Judy Chicago is this year’s focused artist. NLArts is asking for a $100 deposit for the camp, and all payments are due by July 10th. To register and find more information, visit www.nlarts.org/registration.
Sundays, 12-4PM AMALGAM ADVENTURER’S LEAGUE Adventurers! Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse is now hosting Adventurers’ League play on Sundays from noon to 4PM. Bring your level 1 character, or just yourself and our DM will have pre-gens, and join us as we begin the new season of Storm King’s Thunder with the Great Upheaval adventure. New and experienced players welcome!
ELFRETH'S ALLEY VOLUNTEERING Elfreth's Alley, the only site in Philadelphia celebrating 300 years of middle class history, seeks enthusiastic, history-loving guides to give tours and get a chance to share their passion with others. Volunteers will learn about the Alley's fascinating past, life in the 18th and 19th centuries for the middle working class as well as how the Alley avoided being torn down during the Great Depression There is also opportunity to assist at special events. For more info, contact psilverman@elfrethsalley.org or 212.574.0560
Every Sunday morning, 10AM LET THE CHILDREN COME Progressive, child-led Christian education for children ages 3-13. Storytelling (with ample time for wondering) with a focus on processing through art. All children and families welcome, regardless of religious affiliation. At Atonement Lutheran Church, 1542 E. Montgomery Ave. LUTHERAN SETTLEMENT HOUSE JOB READINESS CLASSES Lutheran Settlement House (1340 Frankford Ave.) is hosting a month worth of job readiness classes as part of the Pathways to Employment Program. Welcome to PA CareerLink and JobGateway: February 6th, 13th, and 27th, from 10am-noon Getting Your Resume Right: February 1st and the 15th, from 10am-noon Interviewing Skills: February 8th and the 22nd, from 10amnoon Career Drop-in: Drop into our computer lab for assistance
BRIDESBURG COUGARS REGISTRATION Signups for baseball, softball, rookie, and t-ball will be held from 6-8PM at Bridesburg Recreation Center (4625 Richmond St.) on the following: Thursday, February 16 Thursday, March 2 Tuesday, February 21 Tuesday, March 7 Thursday, February 23 Thursday, March 9 Tuesday Feb 28 Signups will also be held on Saturday, March 18 from 9AMnoon. Additional dates may be added. Rookie and tball cost $35. Boys and girls travel cost $80 for ages 12 & under and $110 for 13 & over. Jerseys cost an additional $15. For more information, contact Daymon at 215-900-5647, dywills@aol.com or Alina at 215-307-5523, amdwhittle@ comcast.net
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The Spirit of the Riverwards – February 22, 2017
COMMUNITY
CLASSIFIEDS A D S @ S P I R I T N E W S . O R G • 1 4 2 8 E . S U S Q U E H A N N A AV E • 2 1 5 . 4 2 3 . 6 2 4 6
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215.423.6246 The deadline is Friday at 5pm for display ads, and Monday at 12pm for classifieds. All advertisements must be paid for in advance.
JUNK CARS
FAIR HOUSING
PARENTS
Up to $1,100 cash for cars or trucks with bad engines or transmissions. $550 CASH for any complete junk car or truck with or without title. Call 215-669-1000
YOU HAVE A NICE SET OF WHEELS BUT CAN’T FIND A PLACE TO PARK THEM.
FOSTER PARENTS
Landlords must allow you to make reasonable accommodations to ensure full use of your apartment. Telling you that you can’t install grab bars and ramps is against the law. You can fight back.
PLEASE CALL
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REAL ESTATE SALES: new or experienced; free training program. Call Mike Dunphy at 215-840-8399
If you suspect unfair housing practices, contact HUD or your local Fair Housing Center. Everyone deserves a fair chance.
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Good, Loving homes needed for children of all ages.
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The Spirit of the Riverwards – February 22, 2017
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Is there something going on that’s a little funky in your neighborhood? Anything you want us to look into? Have something juicy you want to leak? Know of something fun or interesting going on that you think we should know about? We rely on sources like you for news that effects our neighborhoods. No tip is a bad tip. Drop us a line at news@spiritnews.org.
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The Spirit of the Riverwards – February 22, 2017
WRITTEN BY SHARON ISABEL CURLEY
Spirit Astrology YOUR DOSE OF HYPERLOCAL SPIRITUAL ADVICE
Aries: My new friend drew a sun for me recently. It’s a beautiful idea. I can look at this sun on a gloomy day and feel the sun shining anyway. Two of my closest gal pals are Aries, and they both love the sun. They thrive, they grow, they chase it, even. The sun kind of scares the crap out of me, but to each his own. If you are feeling like the gloom of the winter has you chasing the sun, go ahead and chase it. Find the sun shining on the days you feel the gloom. Draw a picture of it, look up a picture of it. Don’t let the gloom in your life get to you. The sun will always shine again. The flowers will bloom, the waters will glisten, the shadows will move. And you will be right there to witness it all. Taurus: I was house- and dog-sitting in Kensington a few weeks ago. I don’t mean the “hip” Kensington; I mean the real deal drug corner Kenzo. There are boarded-up houses and strung-out folk, prostitutes and dealers. It’s a strange place to be, coming from the places I do. I didn’t want to judge the environment I was in. Instead, I tried to accept it. I thought about these people’s lives, and I realized how similar I felt to the families in the neighborhood. I have been unemployed for a year, and I am currently on welfare. My bank account is dwindling, and my savings are gone. I hustle and struggle every waking moment. When I walked through the neighborhood with the dog, people were so friendly to me. Nearly every person said hello, and some even wanted to stop and chat. They told me about their dogs, their days, and they accepted me as a person. I felt terrible for even trying to judge these people, just because their environment is different than my usual. My usual, being a place where striking up a conversation with passersby or even just saying hello is normally followed by rejection or avoidance. Taurus, if you’re feeling like you’re being judgemental lately, I urge you to stop. Feel how you are connected to what it is you’re judging, and be one with us all in this world. Gemimi: I wish sometimes that I could add photos to these horoscopes. I would like to take a picture of all of the trash that is blowing around in my neighborhood right now, and ask you your thoughts. Would you ignore it? Hate it? Try to pick it all up? Now that I’ve got you imagining trash blowing around and wondering how you’d handle it, I would like you to picture the trash in your life blowing around, and I want you to think what you’d do with it. Maybe you’ve been storing this trash in a trash can with a lid, but the wind is about to blow, my friend. This will have your trash blowing everywhere, and it is your choice what you will do with it. Pick it up and tuck it neatly back into your neat little can and hope someone comes and takes it away, or let it blow around. Remember, if you have a care at all in the world, if you see it blowing around, you’re most likely going to hate it. Cancer: Over Labor Day weekend last year, my near and dear friend Sean Whisner came to visit me in Philadelphia. I was struggling and hurting and I felt like a bore to be around, because all I had was complaints. Wiz, as we call him, took me out for a few drinks, and he looked me in the eyes, and he said, “Curley, you need to keep a PMA”. The positive mental attitude he suggested I keep came so naturally to me after that. I have since kept my chin up, despite my hardships. Cancer, get that PMA, dude. However you need to. Take a walk down Frankford Ave., stop in some places you have not yet visited, and talk to some strangers. Call a friend in need, and don’t tell them your troubles. Give them positive advice, and then take it yourself. A negative plus a negative equals a negative, a positive and a negative is lesser than the positive, but two positives always equals a positive. Leo: A few years ago, when I was living in Tucson, AZ, I read an article online about a robbery at Capital Beer, that awesome Chinese/sushi/beer spot on Cumberland. The story talked about a man trying to rob the place with a knife, and the sushi chef coming out with a much larger knife and threatening the robber. I thought this was so badass. I wonder what I would do in a situation like that, even if I had the bigger knife? Take this as a metaphor in the coming weeks, Leo. Remember that the option of having the bigger knife in life can always be there. It’s whether or not you have the balls to use it that counts. Virgo: On August 20, 1977, NASA launched the space probe
Voyager 2. The Voyager 2 carries with it the Golden Record, on which is included a love story between Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan. Druyan, who was the creative director of the mission, chose to add a song, “Flowing Stream,” a traditional Chinese folk song. She spoke about this decision on a Radiolab episode that I recently heard. She also spoke of her memories of falling in love with Carl Sagan during their collaboration on this project. Afterwards, I listened to the song, and it touched me in such a way that I began falling in love with everything. I am listening to the song as I write this horoscope for you, and I want you to listen to it. I want you to feel the feeling of pure love. Of loving everything for just what it is. Accept the world around you only through the light and love it offers, Virgo. This outlook will help you release the stress you’ve been feeling and float along like a duck in a lake on a perfect spring morning. Libra: Do you ever have terrifying dreams of waves crashing or a plane crashing or maybe of someone trying to hurt you? These anxiety-ridden dreams can really muck up a day in your waking life. This dream did not come to you; rather, you created it in your own subconscious. So, in your own consciousness, you are then left to control it again and create your own reality. It’s like an old “Choose Your Own Adventure” book. Turn the page to where you think you want to end up. The Libra spends so much time taking care of others that they often forget they’ve got to take care of themselves as well. Turn the page to surfing that wave, instead of letting it drown you. That plane wasn’t crashing; it was just doing tricks. No one is going to hurt you unless you let them. Spring has been prematurely in the air lately, and you ought to be feeling that. Make way for the rebirth of you. The new you has the chance to learn to take care of yourself without getting hurt. Scorpio: I have been feeling really positive lately, although times are hard. I spend my days trying to fill the time with excessive productivity. Literally doing almost anything at all that I want to, but being sure that it is not wasteful. I have been working so hard every day, mentally and physically, and yet, this is not considered a job, and there’s no employer walking around paying people like me to work. Instead, there are rich people getting richer, and people like me barely making it through a week without shedding a tear in my hardship. Yet through that single tear I may shed, I see the reflection of what’s in front of me. Glistening there upon the tear, I see my family and my friends, and I see a lot of love out there for me. Scorpio, if you are in a position of hardship, don’t look out for what you don’t have; focus on what you do have. The latter can keep you afloat, so you don’t end up sinking in your tears. Sagittarius: There is a line that stands out to me from one of my favorite Rilke poems, “I Am, You Anxious One.” The line I like so much is: “I am the dream you are dreaming”. This sentence, these words coupled together, forms a sentiment that I embody. I do feel as though I have been the dream “you” have been dreaming. I have felt like I have put myself out on a limb over and over again. I have accepted and I have forgiven to a fault. I have been used and abused, and still I stand. I am here for those to depend on, to trust, to feel loved and special, because this is how I like to see
people enjoying their lives. Lately, someone I know has not been remembering her dreams. If this is you, Sagi, take a nap after a nice cup of mugwort tea. Find the lucidity in your dreams, and control them. Remember what it is you love, and wake up loving it. Care for it, reach out to it. If you keep something you love at a distance for too long, it’s likely to disappear. Make the right choice, and do it with love. Capricorn: Sometimes life keeps going on, and we find ourselves with some empty spaces. We lose a friend, we move to a new city, and there seems to be a void in the space between. We feel this as an emotional attachment to something that we feel to be no longer a part of us. This space can seem bigger than it needs to be. We call this space a void. Yet this is not so, because life keeps on moving, with us living in tow. What really took up that space? Well, it was you. Once on a day of feeling all the love from my love, he wrote to me, “Today, I think God is in the space between people”. I see this as true between us all, and also between ourselves. This void exists somehow. My old and dear friend Scott says to “be the void”. I have always loved this advice. Take this all in during the next few days, Capricorn. Revisit your empty spaces and be one with them, be them, find whatever God is to you in them. “Become complete, become destroyed, become nothing, be the void.” Aquarius: In the early 2000s, Martin Short premiered his character, Jiminy Glick. Glick hosted a TV series entitled “Primetime Glick” in which he interviewed such celebrities as Jerry Seinfeld, Eugene Levy, Chevy Chase and many more. Although I loved the character Jiminy Glick no end, a part of me did always wonder: why the character? Why not just Short himself interviewing these celebrities? Glick just had a lovability about him unattached to Clifford the Big Red Dog, that’s for sure. Aquarius, hone in on the character you’d like to be and find out what makes you feel like the character might be better off in some cases. There’s no harm in living out fiction. This is no lie. This is a fantasy, or an inspiration. Don’t be afraid to be the poor little black child that Bob Dylan grew up as. Pisces: I wish I could come up with one of these grand ideas that I come up with, and actually get paid for it, or even have the money to execute it. John Malkovich is now a fashion designer. A great actor, who is paid way more than anyone I know, got to just start his own fashion line. He’s beloved enough to have this excite people, and strange enough to make people want what he’s got for them. When, really, has anyone ever commented on his personal gear? Has anyone ever said, “Yo, did you see what John Malkovich was wearing last night? He looked amazing!” No, I am almost certain these words have yet to be uttered. And yet, here we are in the new world with Malkovich as a fashion designer. Call me jealous, but I make an effort to have others express their love for my fashion. I have created clothing and sold it in boutiques. Fashion is my life. However, without the money to get me anywhere to show you what I am made of, I sit in my robe writing this charged horoscope with this advice to you: Pisces, whatever it is you’re capable of, do it. Do as much as you can with what you’ve got. Maybe one day it will pay off as you wish, but you can’t succeed unless you try! •