Time for change
at Lions Park

By Diane Prokop
Times Staff Writer

It wasn’t quite opening day for Lions Park in Fox Chase last week, but the occasion created almost as much fanfare.
The Star-Spangled Banner, sung by Fox Chase resident Leslie Aita, kicked off the rededication of Lions Park and also streetscape improvements along the Oxford Avenue/Huntingdon Pike business corridor.
"We adopted the park fifteen years ago and are still taking care of it. The street used to come through here," said George Crane, the Northeast Lions Club past president, as he discussed the park at Oxford Avenue and Loney Street.
The Northeast Lions Club chapter is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. The international volunteer service organization, with chapters around the globe, is known for its work collecting old eyeglasses and sponsoring programs to end preventable blindness, but it also works on community projects ranging from park cleanups to providing supplies following natural disasters.
The Northeast club rebuilt the park as a green oasis for the neighborhood.
During last week’s ceremony, state Rep. John Perzel (R-172nd dist.) offered the Lions his thanks, a plaque and a legislative citation recognizing the chapter’s anniversary and its dedication to the park.
"For fifteen years you’ve worked hard to make it the pride of Fox Chase," Perzel said.
The lawmaker also dropped an old pair of glasses into the yellow drop-box at the park.
Five years after the park was installed, Joe Dollak, president of the Fox Chase/Rockledge Business Association and owner of The Carpet Shop at 7948 Oxford Ave., wrote a letter to the city asking that the site be adorned with a clock, much like those that can be found in the town squares of some municipalities.
About $15,000 had been raised privately, but that wouldn’t cover the cost of the clock, let alone its installation, he recalled.
"I wanted to have it up for the millennium," Dollak said, referring to 2000.
With the city’s cash-strapped coffers, that goal was never realized. Dollak was relentless, however, according to City Councilman Brian O’Neill (R-10th dist.). "This wouldn’t have happened without Joe. He should have been a committeeman," O’Neill said of Dollak’s persistence.
Lions Park recently installed not only its Victorian-era clock — the base is inscribed with the names of those vital to its existence — but also Franklin-style pedestrian lights with hanging flower baskets, new park benches, new sidewalks and road resurfacing for Oxford Avenue.
The streetscape improvements continue along the business corridor and into Rockledge, Montgomery County.
According to Mike Kowalski, a representative of the Mayor’s Business Action Team, the original study for the project was funded by a $25,000 city grant. The state also came through with more than $1.2 million, and Montgomery County contributed more than $450,000 to the project.
According to Dollak, it was businessman John Givnish’s idea.
"I never imagined the end product would be this," Givnish said.
The Rev. Stanley J. Krall, pastor of the Fox Chase United Methodist Church, arrived in Fox Chase in 1994, after the park had been adopted by the Lions Club.
"As a person who enjoys this park on a regular and daily basis, I thank you," he told members of the organization.
In his invocation, Krall asked the Lord to bless those who laugh and play at the park, those who can sit there and reflect, and those who enjoy the serenity it offers.
Al Taubenberger, president of the Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, was impressed with what the Northeast Lions Club had achieved.
"This is a great example of how a little bit of improvement became a major improvement," Taubenberger said. "Fox Chase is a much better community because of this."
Dollak agreed.
"I think (it’s an improvement) not only for the business district but it also improved the aesthetic of the street and calmed traffic. Cars used to go speeding up and down Oxford Avenue," Dollak said. "People were running the stop signs — the same thing with the new traffic lights. The flow of the traffic is improved."
Kowalski, the representative of the Mayor’s Business Action Team, was impressed with the way that Fox Chase and Rockledge came together for a common cause.
"There is always a possibility of in-fighting on a project like this. This project was devoid of that," Kowalski said, noting that it was cited for regional cooperation. "This is an ideal example of how it can happen." ••
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com