Germantown Historical Society, Philadelphia

Did you know that today is National Food Day? It is celebrated each October 24. During this Day, the importance of good, healthful food- those low in sugar, sodium, and carbohydrates, for example- is celebrated. In honor of this Day, we post this photograph of Edward Albert’s fruit and produce business, which occupied the storefront of 5151 Germantown Avenue, as it appeared in August 1902. As is visible in this recent Google Street Views image included for comparison, the b...uilding is still very much standing, though altered. #NationalFoodDay For more information about National Food Day, visit https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-food-day-october-/ The photograph shown here and thousands of others are available online at https://germantown.pastperfectonline.com/ . It’s a great way to spend some time reliving Germantown memories at home.

This photograph was a part of local historian Edwin C. Jellett’s collection. As mentioned in other posts, Jellett photodocumented Germantown and the Wissahickon Valley as he saw them at the turn of the 20th century, and also spent a considerable amount of time in areas adjacent to Philadelphia. He collected historical photographs of these areas as well. The location shown in this 1903 photograph in Jellett’s collection is unknown; we know only that it was taken by a Mrs. Hum...phrey. Of interest are the doors visible in the center of the photograph. Due to their strong, sturdy nature, doors were often reused for other purposes- as tables and walls, for example. In this photograph, reused doors are shown partially enclosing a porch. To see other images of Jellett’s photographs from of scenes of the Wissahickon and Germantown, Mount Airy, and Chestnut Hill as well as images of scrapbook pages from his many scrapbooks, visit here: https://bit.ly/2NiUmrG

- In celebration of the arrival of National Nut Day, today’s post features a circa 1955 photograph of one of the former Allen’s Department Store’s window displays, with mounds of peanuts visible in the foreground, and a sign reading "How many peanuts in this window? Come in and make a guess no purchase required 3 prizes of tickets for two to the circus." Allen’s was one of several department stores in Germantown and regularly featured raffles and contests as part of its adver...tising and promotional features. Though the origins of Allen’s is much earlier, it opened in Germantown at the southwest corner of Greene Street and Chelten Avenue in 1927 and remained there for almost exactly 50 years, before finally closing. #NationalNutDay For more information about National Nut Day, visit https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-nut-day-october-22/ The photograph shown here and thousands of others are available online at https://germantown.pastperfectonline.com/ . It’s a great way to spend some time reliving Germantown memories at home.

Today’s post brings us to the site of the old Log Cabin Inn, which stood on the slope of the east side of what is now Lincoln Drive, just below the Henry Avenue Bridge, where a short pull-off from Lincoln Drive is now located. Shown in this 1887 photograph glued into one of local historian Edwin C. Jellett’s scrapbooks is a boy drinking from a cup chained to a small metal structure surrounding a fountain, with the caption Fountain at Log Cabin Site, 1887. In the 19th centur...y, the water from many springs located throughout the Wissahickon was once potable. As areas surrounding the Wissahickon Valley were developed, the water within the springs lost its purity, and some springs dried up completely as a result. The photograph also shows the knowledge and standards associated with drinking from a public cup at the time. We would never consider doing so today! To see other images of Jellett’s photographs from of scenes of the Wissahickon and Germantown, Mount Airy, and Chestnut Hill as well as images of scrapbook pages from his many scrapbooks, visit here: https://bit.ly/2NiUmrG

We are posting this photograph in honor of the arrival of National Youth Confidence Day, which celebrates the spirit, confidence, energy, and potential of our children. This circa 1907 photo of young Nathalie Rinker in the driveway between 440 and 442 West Winona Street captures just this spirit, as she strikes out on her own, leaving the safety of her home on Winona Street behind. #NationalYouthConfidenceDay For more information about National Youth Confidence Day, visit https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-youth-confidence-/ The photograph shown here and thousands of others are available online at https://germantown.pastperfectonline.com/ . It’s a great way to spend some time reliving Germantown memories at home.

This image shows a page from one of local historian Edwin C. Jellett’s Wissahickon Anthology series of scrapbooks, and typifies the content often included on a single page- a couple photographs accompanied by a newspaper article related in topic to that shown in the photographs. In the example shown here, the photographs were taken just after the turn of the 20th century, along Cresheim Creek just down the creek from the McCallum Street Bridge, which is visible in the backgro...und in one of the photographs. The water wheel of one of the ruined Hill mills along the creek is shown in the other. The article discusses the ruins, and notes the changes being made in the vicinity of the Cresheim Valley, with large houses being constructed. The ruins of these mills are still visible today. To see other images of Jellett’s photographs from of scenes of the Wissahickon and Germantown, Mount Airy, and Chestnut Hill as well as images of scrapbook pages from his many scrapbooks, visit here: https://bit.ly/2NiUmrG

What do all three of these photos have in common? None of the men have beards, and in celebration of the arrival of No Beard Day, we are posting them here! These photographs were taken on a single day in 1941, of pedestrians walking at or near the intersection of Germantown and Chelten avenues. The stone building shown behind the gentleman in a white ensemble was that of the Germantown Trust Company bank, at the southeast corner of Germantown and Chelten avenues. It would lat...er be the site of Rowell’s Department Store, until Walgreen’s Pharmacy moved there perhaps 20 years ago. As for the arrival of this Day, it is celebrated each October 18, in honor of the clean-shaven look- the look of the no beard. #NationalNoBeardDay For more information about National No Beard Day, visit https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-no-beard-day/ The photograph shown here and thousands of others are available online at https://germantown.pastperfectonline.com/ . It’s a great way to spend some time reliving Germantown memories at home.

Today is a special day in Germantown, as it is Black Poetry Day. This Day is celebrated each October 17 in honor of Black Poets past and present, and in celebration of Black heritage and literary achievements. Shown here is the March 12, 2016 Haiku Trail to Freedom event held as part of Historic Germantown’s Elephants on the Avenue: Race, Class and Community in Historic Germantown program series. The event was held at the Johnson House Historic Site, and participants read a...nd discussed 19th-century works from abolitionist poets. These were followed by exercises inspired by Black history in Germantown. For more information about Black Poetry Day, visit https://nationaldaycalendar.com/black-poetry-day-october-17/ For more information about the Black Writers Museum, visit https://www.blackwritersmuseum.com/ The photograph shown here and thousands of others are available online at https://germantown.pastperfectonline.com/ . It’s a great way to spend some time reliving Germantown memories at home.

Tonight might be a rainy one, but you can still enjoy many features of Night of Lights from the (warm, dry) comfort of home via the event's mobile website--star...ting with our Storyteller Stations! In audio pieces mixed and produced by Molly Murphy, hear how the neighborhood has changed over the years from long-time residents Willard Detweiler, Steve Kurtz, Russell Goudy, and Anne McNally. From our partners at the Germantown Historical Society, Philadelphia, listen to experiences and memories of the Black community in Germantown, from attending dance classes at the YWCA to shopping on the Avenue to student life at Germantown High School. These recordings are part of a project called "African Americans Between the Wars," recorded in the1990s. To access these stories from your smartphone or web browser, as well as building histories in Chestnut Hill and more, just follow this link: http://bycell.co/conls #nightoflightsCH #preservationhappenshere #archivesmonthphilly #archivesphl #designphilly

Did you know that today is Department Store Day? It is celebrated each year on October 16 and is a perfect day to reflect on the importance of department stores in our lives. Many people have fond memories of spending a day shopping at a department store. For those growing up in our area, this meant Rowell’s, Allen’s, Cherry’s, or that of James S. Jones, known affectionately as Jimmy Jones. In the case of the latter, it opened as a dry goods store by 1844, and by 1864, it h...ad moved to storefronts at 5401-03 Germantown Avenue. Shown here is a sketch of the store, as it appeared at the time. Many area children have memories of the store, and fun times were spent by Germantown Friends School students getting x-rays of their feet (an x-ray machine was used to measure them for size, when buying shoes) after school in the 1950s. The store closed shortly after, and Gaffney’s Fabrics moved in, in 1978. #DepartmentStoreDay For more information about Department Store Day, visit https://nationaldaycalendar.com/department-store-day-octob/ The photograph shown here and thousands of others are available online at https://germantown.pastperfectonline.com/ . It’s a great way to spend some time reliving Germantown memories at home.

Did you know that today is National White Cane Awareness Day? Its arrival provides an excellent reason to be aware of the needs of the blind. Shown here is a photograph published in an unknown issue of the Chestnut Hill Local, in the early 1990s. It included the caption Presenting A Cat to Catherine Campbell, a resident of the Nevil Home for the Deaf and Blind Elwyn, are youngsters from the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in Germantown:(l. to r.) Kevin Ferrell, Ebony Golden..., Sonia Santiago. Eight and nine year olds from PSD have been visiting the 38 Nevil residents during the past year and developed a wonderful relationship with them. Since they cannot visit more often they decided that a deaf cat would be a constant reminder of their friendship and they appealed to the Woman's Humane Society to be on the lookout for a suitable feline friend. ‘The youngsters learned about the continuity of life...young to old, animal to human and deaf to deaf,’ said PSD teacher Julie Marothy. #MeetTheBlind For more information about National White Cane Awareness Day, visit https://www.nfb.org//meet-blind-m/white-cane-awareness-day The photograph shown here and thousands of others are available online at https://germantown.pastperfectonline.com/ . It’s a great way to spend some time reliving Germantown memories at home.

If you have a sweet tooth, today is the day for you! Today is National Dessert Day, and its arrival provides a great excuse to indulge in a sweet treat for dessert! Shown here is a photo published in a 2003 issue of the Chestnut Hill Local, published with the following caption: Alexa Taicher of Telford Junior Girl Scout Troop #485, left, listens to Ken Weinstein of Chestnut Hill, owner, of Cresheim Cottage Cafe, 7402 Germantown Avenue, Chestnut Hill (incorrect- Mount Airy), ...as they prepare their dessert, ‘Aloha Cobbler.’ The dessert was one of 16, which were recently entered in the Delectable Desserts Contest launching the 2003 Girl Scout Cookie Program. The Cookie Sale runs through February 24. The event appears to have been held in the atrium of One Liberty Place. #NationalDessertDay For more information about National Dessert Day, visit https://nationaldaycalendar.com/national-dessert-day-octob/ The photograph shown here and thousands of others are available online at https://germantown.pastperfectonline.com/ . It’s a great way to spend some time reliving Germantown memories at home.

This photograph is included in one of local historian Edwin C. Jellett’s scrapbooks and shows the west side of the 5200 block of Germantown Avenue as it appeared in perhaps around 1860. Notice the Belgian block which almost everyone immediately associates with Germantown Avenue is not yet installed; it would not be installed until the 1870s. The photograph illustrates well the rhythmic way in which our 18th and early 19th century buildings were constructed along the Avenue. T...he locations of these buildings are the results of the long, narrow lots on which they were constructed. Included here is a recent image showing the same houses at the left. Those to the right have long since been demolished. Note the location of the Trinity Lutheran Church’s spire in both photos, to compare the two images. To see other images of Jellett’s photographs from of scenes of the Wissahickon and Germantown, Mount Airy, and Chestnut Hill as well as images of scrapbook pages from his many scrapbooks, visit here: https://bit.ly/2NiUmrG