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Friends of Immaculate
"Reflecting Back....."
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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!
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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
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Dorothy Hamilton Klotz
(from the 2008
Friends of Immaculate Reunion Program Booklet) |
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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
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