by LAWRENCE H. GELLER The story of Len Lear begins with all the makings of the stereotypical American success. Hard-working parents who never finished high school, thrilled that their youngest of five sons, a Central High School graduate, was going to be a professional man.
"Not just any professional man, but a doctor," said the 65-year-old Lear, Local Life editor of the Chestnut Hill Local, in a recent interview. "And not just any doctor, but a doctor of psychiatry.”
by JAMES STURDIVANT One of the lasting legacies of the tumultuous 1960s was the flourishing of a vibrant alternative media in cities across the country. The most influential of these “underground” newspapers in Philadelphia was the Distant Drummer, launched in November 1967. The paper took off quickly and excelled as a forum for commentary on local and national politics, reporting on Philadelphia’s radical/hippie community and its frequent clashes with police, critique of the mainstream media (ridicule of the Inquirer and Evening Bulletin was common), information on the city’s exploding music and arts scene and essays by some of the period’s best-known underground writers.
by ANDREW LAZOR A community meeting held at Grace Baptist Church on Aug. 16 allowed two area developers to formally introduce the preliminary details of a proposal to convert several local historic properties into market-rate apartments.
Sean D. McDougall, who heads Wallingford, Pa.-based Visionary Development Company, and James A. Nolen IV, principal of Manayunk-based Nolen Properties, LLC, joined with City Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller to address questions and concerns from Mt. Airy and Germantown residents.
The main purpose of the meeting was to establish a working dialogue that the developers hope will lead to a tangible strategy for the project.
The plan involves altering three buildings located on West Johnson Street in Mt. Airy: the former Presser Home for Retired Musicians, the former Nugent Baptist Home and an historic carriage house located on the premises. The developers also introduced the idea of constructing entirely new condominium units adjacent to the Presser and Nugent homes to offset building costs.
"Dancing in Our Alley" by Rosa, one of Nancy McGirr's students, depicts life in Guatemala City's sprawling municipal dump.
by MICHAEL J. MISHAK When ex-Reuters photographer Nancy McGirr took a break from covering the carnage of war-torn Latin America in the late 1980s, she never expected to stay there. But after 14 years of building a program to educate the region’s children, she’s home.
On a fundraising junket, Nancy McGirr, who lives in Guatemala year-round, shared her story with an audience of about 40 at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields on Aug. 2.
A group of six from St. Martin's visited Guatemala earlier this summer as part of an outreach program with three sister parishes. Touring the country, the group spent a day with McGirr and her students, ultimately inviting her to Chestnut Hill, said Betsy Masters, who organized this month's event.
Jenks students learn artistic process through mobile project Fourth- and fifth-graders from John S. Jenks School in Chestnut Hill have created an original mobile art work that will welcome students as they return this fall. Hanging in the school's main entrance hall, the mobile was built under the direction of teachers and artist-in-residence Tina Zavitsanos.
A grant from the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts, which was matched dollar for dollar through the fundraising efforts of the Jenks Home and School Association, made the project possible.
Jenks students designed, printed and painted a seven-paneled hinged box kite that incorporates the use of several artistic processes and media. Participating students were able to successfully mimic the entire artistic process while having the opportunity to kinesthetically understand the artistic elements of their science and social studies curriculum. All fourth- and fifth-grade students were involved on some level in every step of production from conception to installation.
Local Life editor Len Lear
"Dancing in Our Alley" by Rosa, one of Nancy McGirr's students, depicts life in Guatemala City's sprawling municipal dump.