REFLECTING BACK...
 

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION PARISH COMMUNITY

EAST GERMANTOWN

PHILADELPHIA, PA.

 

Home
IC TODAY
IC SALE ITEMS
2012 IC REUNION
IC EVENTS
IC MAILING LIST
PARISH HISTORY
OUR SCHOOL
OUR TEACHERS
IC SCHOOL FIRE
IC CLASS ROLL
IC ROLL OF HONOUR
IC FALLEN HEROES
IC MAY QUEENS
PAST REUNIONS
REUNION COMMITTEE
REFLECTING BACK...
BEST MEMORIES (2008)
BEST MEMORIES (2010)
PHOTO ALBUM
DISCUSSION BOARD
TAKE THE POLLS !!!
VIDEOS
GTN THEATRES
"SPECIAL FRIENDS"
IC HALL OF FAME
IN MEMORY
LINKS
OUR SPONSORS

 

Friends of Immaculate

"Reflecting Back....."

 

A Friends of Immaculate Reunion tradition, launched with the 2008 reunion, is for a longtime and/or long-ago alumni and parishioner to share their wonderful memories of growing up in and/or living in Immaculate Conception Parish and Germantown.  This memory sharing is published in the keepsake Reunion Program Booklet given to all attendees.  It will also be published here, after the reunion.  Many thanks to these fine folks for sharing their special memories and experiences with us!  Very much appreciated and surely will be enjoyed by all that read them.....

Enjoy the memories!  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

James Henry Robinson

(from the 2010 Friends of Immaculate Reunion Program Booklet)

My name is James Henry Robinson. I was born in the East Germantown section of the city of Philadelphia in 1921 and baptized at Immaculate Conception Church. My parents were James Robinson and Bridget Agnes (Sweeney) Robinson. My father was born in Philadelphia and he worked for the Bradford Textile Mill.  My mother was born in Florence, New Jersey, daughter of Samuel Sweeney and Sarah Deighan.  Our family also consisted of my sister Mary, who was born in 1919 in East Germantown.  To help make ends meet, my parents would take in boarders.  In my early years, I recall living with my parents at our home at 5667 Matthews Street.  I remember walking with my mother to the mill to watch my father working through the window.  My father passed away in 1925 in the 5500 block of Matthews Street, on his way home from work.  His body was brought to our home and the undertaker brought a large size crib for the body and placed the body in our parlor.

I remember being sent to Immaculate Conception School at age 5 for first grade along with my boyhood friends, Jimmy Murphy and Leo Brown. At that time, there was no kindergarten in the Catholic School System.  I was sent to school early as my father was deceased.  Shortly after starting school, my mother got sick and was placed in a state hospital, from which she never was able to leave and come home.  My sister and I were taken in by the Sweeneys at my grandmother’s house across the street at 5672 Matthews Street, where she lived with my Aunt Margaret and Uncle Jim. My grandmother was a good story teller and taught me to play checkers and even let me win sometimes.

My time in Immaculate Conception was from 1921 until 1951. Back then, they did not have many after-school activities/sports except track teams and boxing in the basement.  I only recall a few of my teachers – Sr. Mary Patrick, Sr. Jane Marie and Sr. Silvia.  I had Sr. Silvia in 7th and 8th grades and she was a tough one.  My favorite was a lay teacher, Mrs. Faulkner and Sr. Mary Patrick.  My favorite priests were Fr. Greg Campbell and Fr. Devereux.  Father Higgins was the one who got things rolling in the parish with different buildings being built as the parish expanded.  I knew Father Corcoran and Father Devereux better than others.  Father Rooney is remembered as being the only priest who got fed up with people coming in late for Mass and leaving early.  On Sunday mornings, he told the ushers that, when he came out to the altar, to lock the doors.  This resulted in some rattling doors from the late comers.  Another time, at the end of Mass, he turned to give the final blessing and noticed people leaving their pews and yelled “where do you think you are going, Mass isn’t over yet”.  Other than a good education and the guys in my class, I was not too involved.  Most of my spare time was spent at the recreation center playing games with anyone who was there, such as quoits, volleyball and softball.  I was there at the start of the East Germantown Ramblers football team. These boys were a mix of Catholic, Protestant and Jewish boys.  When the fire struck in the Upper Church in the early days, my Uncle Jim ran to the church to attempt to save the Eucharist.  I attended Northeast Catholic HS for Boys and studied in the commercial course, graduating in 1938.  During my adult years that I stayed in the parish, I was active in the Holy Name Society and belonged to the Knights of Columbus, Santa Maria Council, effective 1949.  While an active member of the Knights, I bowled and was in tournaments from Newark to Wilmington to Rochester, New York to Buffalo, New York. The Vincentian Priests, who through the years were a blessing to us all, will always be remembered. I remained in Immaculate Conception Parish until 1951, when I married my wife and moved to Malvern, Pennsylvania.

A lot of my memories revolve around family and my neighborhood in East Germantown. We had the East Germantown Recreation Center where the city supplied the equipment for us to play rubber quoits, volley ball, softball, wall ball, and tag. My Uncle Jim Sweeney took a petition around the area to ask the city to build that recreation center, which stood along Chelten, Anderson, Woodlawn and Ardleigh Streets.         

In the parish hall, they would have minstrel shows and in the 1930’s, they had boxing matches and card parties. The card parties were fund raisers for the parish and involved a couple hundred people.  At year end, all groups met to raise money for the church.  Awbury Park was between Haines Street and Washington Lane. They had a good picnic area and pond where a small metal boat with a candle created steam and ran across the pond.  You could ice skate and sled down a hill which curved and several people were injured when then ran into trees.  I remember going to the library in Vernon Park, near Germantown and Chelten.  You could take 2 books out at a time and my favorites were sports and cowboys and Indians.  There was also Willow Grove Park.  They ran a child’s all inclusive on the trolley line to the Park, which included food.  In high school I met many friends from Nativity and St. Ann parishes and attended many good parties and Polish and Irish weddings.

In East Germantown we had the Allen and Walton Theatres.  At the Walton, I was an usher and made a dollar a day.  I then went to work at the Allen and earned $6 a week.  They often had promotions at the theatres such as free dishes and a free pound of coffee with a 21 cent admission.  My later jobs were as a clerk for Leroux Liquors, factory help for Benjamin Franklin Paints and freight and billing clerk for the Pennsylvania Railroad both in the city and suburbs.

I met my wife while working for the Pennsylvania Railroad in the city. She was a secretary and I would volunteer to take things up to the offices just to get a chance to talk with her.  We were married in 1951 in St. Monica’s Church in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.  During our first year of marriage, we lived with my wife’s parents in Malvern, then moved into our home in Malvern and raised our family there.

My feelings about being raised in East Germantown and Immaculate Conception Parish are that I would not change anything.  It was so convenient with the school one and a half minutes away, corner stores, movies, a playground one third of a block away and the transportation on Chelten Avenue.  You did not need a car back then as family, friends, amusements and shopping were all in the area.

James Henry Robinson

October, 2010

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dorothy Hamilton Klotz

(from the 2008 Friends of Immaculate Reunion Program Booklet)

 

 

My name is Dorothy Hamilton Klotz.  I was born in Germantown in 1919. My family (Dad, Mom and three brothers) lived at 1385 Rittenhouse St and belonged to Immaculate Conception Parish.  In his early years, my Dad played professional baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics.  Later, he owned the Stenton Garage at Stenton Ave & Wister St.  He also owned the miniature golf course and a house that were adjacent to the garage.  When the depression hit, my family lost everything.  Jimmy Leech bought the property and turned the miniature golf course into a junk yard.  With WWII, the junk yard made a lot of money for him.  In later years, the junk yard was turned over to his sons and was known then as the Leech Brothers junk yard.  Anyway, along with the businesses, we also lost our house at 1385 Rittenhouse St.  We then rented a house on Haines St, on the other side of Stenton Ave, from Jimmy Leech.  Those years were hard times for my family.  I recall, sadly, going with my mother to the bank at 21st & Chelten Ave only to find the doors locked.  There was a man inside the door who informed the many people waiting outside that the bank would not be opened until further notice.  This was around 1932 or 1933.  Not only did my parents lose everything, but so did many other folks.  It was a very hard time for many. 
 
At the time, I just started 8th grade at Immaculate Conception School.  But, because we moved to the other side of Stenton Ave, I had to go to St. Benedict’s School.  After that, I went on to Wagner Junior High, then to Germantown HS and then to the Helen Fleisher School of Dress Design.  During WWII, with my sewing skills, I made uniforms for the Marines.  After WWII, I met my husband, Art Klotz, who lived nearby and we married.  We bought a house at 1356 Rittenhouse Street, across the street and down from the house my family lost during the depression.  We had two sons, Art and Fred, who both went to IC School.  While my sons were in IC, I was a den mother and worked with the cub scouts for 6 years.  In 1963, we moved from Germantown to Warminster, because my husband’s employer moved from Philadelphia to Hatboro. 
 
Misfortune aside, my years in Germantown were very happy ones for me. Germantown was a special place to live and grow up in.  Awbury Park was near where we lived and the East Germantown Recreation Center was not far.  I recall all of Germantown’s theatres, but the two I remember most were the two that were closest to me – the Allen and the Chelten, both located at Chelten Ave & Anderson St.  The Allen was a small theatre and the cost of admission back then was a nickel.  The Chelten was so fancy compared to the Allen, and cost alittle more.  I also did a lot of skating back then, at the Skytop Rink, located on the 2nd floor of a building on Germantown Ave next to the Colonial Theatre.  I remember all the trolleys that ran along the streets of Germantown.  I remember too when many of the streets were still cobblestoned.  Back then in Germantown, you felt so safe.  Even when raising my own children, you could let them play on the sidewalks and not have to worry about them.  Such a wonderful neighborhood!! 

My years at Immaculate Conception School were very happy ones for me.  I was heartbroken when I had to transfer to St. Benedict’s in 8th grade.  But, our move to the other side of Stenton Ave put us in that parish, so I had to go there.  My good friend from IC, Anna Maguire, was so helpful to me at the time with her encouragement.  Plus, the 8th grade nun at St. Benedict’s was a wonderful person, so that helped with the transition.  The IHM nuns at Immaculate Conception were very nice.  Some were no-nonsense.  I remember one in particular, Sr. Savarah, who taught me in 5th grade.  She ran a very tight ship.  Remember the sliding blackboard partitions between some of the classrooms in the school?  I remember, if somebody didn’t obey, Sr. Savarah would yell ”If I were down there, I’d throw you through that board!”.  She was known to carry through on her threat.  The boards rattled and vibrated and we learned to obey real fast.  In the 6th grade, I was taught by Sr. Tarsisius.  She was an angel.  She received a very disciplined class from Sr. Savarah!  Her classroom was next to Sr. Savarah’s.  When we heard that famous exclamation coming from Sr. Savarah in the next room, the sweet, lovable Sr. Tarsisius would stop teaching until the storm was over.  When the boards stopped rattling and vibrating, Sr. Tarsisius would resume teaching and you could tell she was trying VERY HARD not to laugh.  The sound of Sr. Savarah carrying out her threat was one I knew from both sides of that partition!  Another thing I remember, chewing bubble gum was a very big NO NO.  I once got caught and had to wear it on my nose all day!  Still, I mostly remember the good sisters as so nice and caring and my days at Immaculate Conception School as happy ones for me. 

Fr. Higgins was pastor during my years at Immaculate Conception School.  The only thing I really remember about him is that he looked very old to me.  When I look at a picture of him now, he doesn’t look that old at all.  But to a young girl back then, he looked very old. 

Many may remember the school nurse, Miss Harkins.  She was actually there when I started first grade in 1925.  I was surprised that she was still there when my own children went to Immaculate in the 1950s.  I understand she retired from Immaculate in 1971. 

I also remember Paddy Neilan, the hall custodian, mostly from bowling in the hall basement bowling alley.  The bowling alley was manual.  Boys would be hired to set the pins up.  I loved bowling there.  One thing I remember, if you got a gutter ball, you were pretty much assured of knocking down the end pin!

Germantown and Immaculate Conception, such wonderful and special memories for me!!!

  

Dorothy Hamilton Klotz

October, 2008

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~