History is a hit
at Holmesburg meeting

By Diane Prokop
Times Staff Writer

Holmesburg folks love their history. In fact, a banner hung on the wall of the Holmesburg Recreation Center, proclaiming that Holmesburg is "alive with history," during Holmesburg Civic Association’s meeting earlier this month.
The guest speaker, local historian and Times columnist Harry Silcox, engaged the audience with stories about the neighborhood once named Washingtonville during Colonial times — after our founding father, of course, who had traveled along the King’s Highway through the town.
Silcox a former Lincoln High School principal, urged the civic group to read a recent edition of the Times, especially his biweekly column on Northeast history. The article told the story of how neighborhood rivalries resulted in the proposed Mayfair High School being named Abraham Lincoln High School instead in 1949.
"Back in 1949 your organization had a very significant little episode," Silcox said.
Holmesburg residents had opposed naming the school for the Mayfair area, believing that their neighborhood had far more significant history. Tacony also challenged the city school board’s plans, insisting that Jacob Disston had donated land — now the site of Vogt Playground — for the school.
The board’s decision to go with Abraham Lincoln High School was intended to quell the neighborhood squabbles.
"It was a real story in social history," Silcox told the civic group.
He also told his audience about the richness of life in Holmesburg, from balloon flights to Shakespearean plays presented by residents of the Forrest Home, a residence for elderly actors.
"You should have seen it. Kids lining up to see Shakespeare. They wouldn’t have done that in Tacony," Silcox said, adding that he knows because he grew up there.
When it came to political connections, however, Tacony had Holmesburg beat, he added.
"They never quite had enough population to get political representation," Silcox said. Tacony had 7,000 people, compared to Holmesburg’s 3,000.
Holmesburg still got things done without waiting on politicians. They went right to the House of Corrections, where non-violent criminals were housed. The prisoners would shovel sidewalks, clean the streets, plant the trees. They even held the ropes before a balloon flight would take off, according to Silcox.
Others in the audience spoke briefly about Holmesburg connections to history, including Roland Williams, Rosemary Clayton and Bruce Conner. Williams gave a brief explanation of why Native Americans camped at Pennypack; Clayton, whose Holmesburg roots go back to 1893, when her great-grandmother was one of the first midwives in the area, has written a community biography about African-Americans in Tacony, Frankford and Holmesburg.
Conner, a Bustleton/Somerton historian, used to deliver papers in Holmesburg. As part of his work with the Center for Northeast Philadelphia History, Conner chairs a committee to catalog all the historic sites in Northeast Philadelphia.
Conner asked civic members to contact the Holmesburg group’s president, Fred Moore, who also is involved with the history center, to alert him to any historic locations, be it a house, church or store, for possible inclusion on the list.
"You happen to have one of these here," he said of the 1750 Holme House, at 8047-49 Walker St. "It’s a real gem."
Silcox asked Holmesburg residents to work to preserve their history and the buildings where it was made.
"You can’t let any of this go. What are (the children) going to know about the world I’m talking about?" he said. ••
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com
For more information on Holmesburg’s history, check out http://www.holmesburg.com/history.htm
To read Dr. Harry Silcox’s biweekly local history article, visit www.northeasttimes.com
The Holmesburg Civic Association will meet again at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at the Holmesburg Recreation Center, Rhawn and Ditman streets. For more information, call 215-332-6781 or e-mail civic@holmesburg.com