80-year-old Mt. Airy twins to be honored at Allens Lane

by AMY MASTERMAN

Shirley Melvin and Doris Polsky, 80-year-old twins who have contributed beyond measure to their community, flank Audrey Bookspan, whom they hired in the 1950s as a dance teacher after starting the Summer Day Camp and nursery school at Allens Lane Art Center.

“Nobody will be excluded from our neighborhood,” was what Shirley Melvin and Doris Polsky vowed when they moved to Mt. Airy from Greys Ferry in 1943. Their family had been told that they might not feel comfortable as the only Jewish family in the neighborhood, but the girls, then 19, not only enjoyed their new home, but went on to actively create a place where people from all religious and ethnic backgrounds would feel welcome.

Part of their vision included a place where everyone could come together around the arts. For their remarkable contributions to the West Mt. Airy neighborhood, including the creation of Allens Lane Art Center, the 80-year-old twins will be given the 2005 Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award at the Community Arts Festival on Saturday, June 4, 12:45 p.m., at Allens Lane.

The sisters were also presented with the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations 2004 Human Rights Award for Community Service, and they were featured in the documentary Neighborhood Ladies by LeAnn Erickson, which had several screenings in Philadelphia throughout the year.

Allens Lane is particularly grateful to Shirley and Doris for their role in creating the Art Center back in the 1950s. They lobbied board members to let them start the Summer Day Camp and the nursery school; hired staff such as Audrey Bookspan (dance), Ed Arian (music) and Maxim Gottlieb (art) to teach classes, and supported Kate Shaffmaster as the director of Café Theater.

“We wanted a day camp that was art-oriented and not associated with a church in particular. We wanted our camp to be racially integrated, and as far as I know, it was the first integrated public day camp in the city,” said Shirley. “It was a major help in stabilizing the community. When you see all of those kids playing out there this summer, you remember that starting it was a great achievement.”

That was just the beginning of the sisters’ many great achievements. In 1963, they formed Twin Realty in Germantown. At a time where there were no female brokers and other agents were encouraging “white flight” to generate sales, Doris and Shirley networked with white residents to welcome their new black neighbors. They worked with the white and black members of West Mt. Airy Neighbors to encourage residents not only to stay, but to celebrate the diversity of their neighborhood. They actively created integration, block by block, which resulted in stable property values and a culturally interesting place to live. The women wrote articles about this successful method, so the publicity helped create the result. As Shirley has said, “The successful integration of the neighborhood was a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

In a Germantown Courier article from 1989, Doris said, “During those beginning times, we worked with some wonderful people, really spectacular human beings… I hope this sort of thing continues in the community.”

Doris’ wish and the vision of both sisters clearly has continued for both Allens Lane and the neighborhood. Today, the Camp, Classes and Theater are all still running. It is not uncommon for adults to stop in the Center to say that they attended camp as youngsters and that it positively shaped the direction of their lives.

Between them, Shirley and Doris have eight children plus several adopted from Mexican and Chinese families. Shirley has six grandchildren, and Doris has 12 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Looking at their many accomplishments, it is obvious that their sense of “family” extends out much further than their offspring.

“It was an incredible way to grow up,” said Ellen Polsky, daughter of Doris, “because the moms were amazing examples. They had to make hard decisions, like sending us to public school. I was in Allens Lane’s first nursery school class, and went to camp and took classes. As an adult, I went away for 20 years, and when I came back, Mt. Airy was the cool place to be; it worked. I believe all I am has to do with who they were. I have their community spirit. And I’m still taking classes at Allens Lane!”

For more information, visit www.allenslane.org or call 215-248-0546.