communicationspro.com

Civil Rights Activist Julian Bond Speaks at Germantown Friends

barb — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:43:57 +0000

By Barbara L. Sherf for the Chestnut Hill Local

Civil Rights Activist Julian Bond speaks with GFS students after his talk.

More than 500 audience members heard an inspiring talk by civil rights activist Julian Bond on Thursday night at a program jointly sponsored by the Germantown Friends and the Germantown Friends School (GFS).

Titled “Civil Rights Movement: Legacy and Visions,” Bond read from his prepared speech, but spoke extemporaneously in the question and answer session to a host of individuals from diverse backgrounds, including Ramona Africa, the lone adult survivor of the MOVE fire.

From his college days as a founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to his present Chairmanship of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Bond has been an active participant in the movements for civil rights, economic justice, and peace and an aggressive spokesman for the disinherited.

Bond spoke openly to his attentive audience about his experience as one of the founders of (SNCC), which is widely known for sit-in and freedom-ride protests against the southern states’ Jim Crow laws. Several one-time SNCC members were in the audience, and one of them, Ed Nakawatase, introduce Bond following brief remarks by GFS Dean Dick Quade.

Nakawatase, who serves as the clerk of Germantown Friends Racial Justice Committee, detailed Bond’s extensive biography and “his determination to bring about social justice.”

A 1957 graduate of the George School, a co-educational Quaker school in Bucks County, he entered Morehouse College in Atlanta that same year. Bond was first elected in 1965 to a one-year term in the Georgia House of Representatives in a special election following court-ordered reapportionment of the legislature, but members of the House voted not to seat him because of his outspoken opposition to the war in Vietnam. Bond won a second election, to fill his vacant seat, in 1966, and again the Georgia House voted to bar him from membership. He won a third election, this time for a two-year term, in November, 1966, and in December the United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the Georgia House had violated Bond’s rights in refusing him his seat. Bond ultimately served four terms in the House and six terms in the Senate.

“He spent 11 years as National Chair of the NAACP and he continues as an active national figure in the fight for social justice,” said Nakawatase. “A retired professor from the University of Virginia, he continues to teach at American University in Washington DC where he currently resides.”

Once the elder statesman got to the podium, the audience gave him a standing ovation before his speech began.
While Bond detailed several changes that occurred in his lifetime, he also challenged the audience to continue to work on racial, economic and educational issues.

“For a couple of hundred years, black people have lifted themselves from slavery to freedom and many changes have occurred in our lives,” he said, “but there are still barriers to our full participation in American society and we need to continue the struggle so we can get rid of those barriers too.”

He spoke out against the ‘Tea Partiers’ and twice brought up the recent fatal shooting in Florida of black teenager Trayvon Martin as examples of backward movement he has seen in America in recent years.

“The Tea Partiers say they want their country back. In their country I couldn’t eat lunch at a lunch counter with whites, I couldn’t attend the University of Virginia, let alone teach there. Is that the country they want back?” he asked as the audience erupted in applause.

MOVE survivor Ramona Africa stood in line to ask Bond what he thought of the May 13, 1985 bombing of a block of homes in West Philadelphia that left 11 people dead, including five children.

Bond described the bombing was “a horrendous thing. There was no excuse for it and I’m glad you commemorate it every year because we know it shouldn’t have happened the first time and we should make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”

Bond shared his belief that African Americans are not making as much progress as they had in the past and his view that the African American community is not uniting as effectively as during the civil rights movement.

During the question-and-answer session, a man who described himself as ‘an elderly white male” noted that he did not have to show identification under the Voter ID laws, but that a black man behind him had to show his photo ID.

“There is a movement on the internet to provide photo IDs to everyone who doesn’t have one. If I were you I’d begin with your local NAACP or ACLU,” Bond suggested.

GFS Parent Kinshasa Brown-Perry talked about complacency among the younger generation and Bond pointed her to a group called The Young People’s Project (www.thpp.org) whose mission is: YPP uses Math Literacy Work to develop the abilities of elementary through high school students to succeed in school and in life, and in doing so involves them in efforts to eliminate institutional obstacles to their success.

Marie B. Golson, whose son attended GFS, reminisced about hearing Bond speak while she was as student at Cornell University.

“I was blessed to have that kind of education. But a private school education can be upwards of a quarter of a million dollars. I feel like we are going back to the vast inequities we once had in this country,” she said.

Bond, who joked that he recognized her same hairstyle from her days at Cornell, grew serious and talked of his “continuing attempts to rein in great wealth. We citizens haven’t engaged in citizen activism like we once did. We did with the election of Barrack Obama and then we sat back and didn’t do anything. We need to engage in the body politic beyond the Election Year.”

Former SNCC members Michael Simmons, Debbie Bell and Ed Nakawatase were in attendance. Nakawatase extended the invitation to Bond on behalf of the Racial Justice Club Committee of the Germantown Friends Meeting.

Barbara Sherf can be reached at CaptureLifeStories@gmail.com or 215-233-8022. For additional photos and thoughts on the talk, visit her blog at www.communicationspro.com/blog.

THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF LULA PIDCOCK MOHR Published November 17, 2011 in Celebration of her 93rd Birthday

barb — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 19:02:22 +0000

Born on November 17, 1918 as World War I was ending, Lula Pidcock Mohr has seen many changes over the years, but one thing that has remained steady has been her devotion to family.
A seventh-generation descendant of the Pidcock family, who came to this country from England, her ancestors built the original portion of the historic Thompson-Neely House located along Pidcock Creek in Washington Crossing, Bucks County. During the winter of 1776-77, the home of Robert Thompson and his son-in-law William Neely was used to aid and care for convalescing soldiers during the Revolutionary War.
A marker below the home and by the creek states: “On this spot on a tract of land of 505 acres called by the Indians WIN-NA-HAW-CAW-CHUNK John Pidcock, the first white settler, built mills and established a trading post with the Indians in 1684.”
It should be noted in The Pidcock Family History 2nd Edition there are several sources in which John Pidcock is referred to as Jon or Jonathan. It is unclear as to when John Pidcock arrived on the shores of the Delaware. Some local historians say l679 while others believe that he came prior to l678. All agree that by l684 he had established himself at the mouth of the creek which bears his name. Upon his arrival he made friends with the Lenni- Lenape Indians who occupied the vicinity, set up a trading post, and built some sort of abode almost exactly where the Thompson- Neeley House is now located. John married Ankey, an Indian woman, who bore nine children. Lula is the descendant of their first child, Charles.
A gravestone at the foot of the nearby Bowman’s Tower bears the following: “Here lie buried Jonathan and his wife Ankey and other members of the Pidcock Family.”
The 200-year-old Thompson Memorial Presbyterian Church located not far from the home is filled with Pidcock gravestones, including that of Lula’s father, Raymond Williams Pidcock, who died in 1920 at the age of 30, a casualty of the influenza outbreak of 1918-19. The influenza pandemic killed between 20 and 40 million people around the world, more people than in World War I, and has been cited as the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history.
While it was a global disaster to so many, to 22-month-old Lula, the death of her father was a personal heartbreak. The only memories Lula has of her father are from family photos of him holding her as an infant.
“I often looked for a Dad and wondered why I had to be the one whose Dad died so young,” Lula reflected.
Her mother, Laura Lillian Buckman Pidcock, was widowed at the age of 21. The youngest of nine children, Laura was the daughter of Ida Phillips and Walter Buckman, whose ancestors came to American in the 1600s on the ship named Welcome with William Penn. The Welcome left Deal, England, on August 31, 1682, and arrived at the mouth of the Delaware River on October 27 of that year, completing the Atlantic crossing in 57 days. Nearly one third of the ship’s passengers died of smallpox.
One of the first counties in Pennsylvania was named Bucks after Buckinghamshire in England, Penn’s family seat and the hometown of many of the first settlers. Lula lived most of her life in Bucks County.
Lula’s mother, Laura, who had attended art school, was an artist and homemaker. After her first husband died, Laura and little Lula moved back to the Buckman Farm in Taylorsville, Bucks County, not far from Washington Crossing.
Walter Buckman, Lula’s grandfather, who was called Dada by family and friends, served as Superintendent of Upper Makefield Area Schools for eight years. Dada ran the farm and also transported coal and lime that had been shipped by barge along the Delaware Canal to nearby homes and businesses.
Laura later met Frank Cornell on one of the trolleys that passed the farm on the way to New Hope. The couple dated and eventually married, moving to Trenton, New Jersey for a short time, where Lula’s (late) stepbrother, Norman, was born. The family moved back to Bucks County, settling in Langhorne, where Cornell worked as a fireman. After a few years, the marriage dissolved. “It was because I was the bone of contention,” Lula reflected, wiping away a tear.
Lula, Norman and their mother moved back to the Buckman homestead. As the Great Depression bore down, they pulled together to help put food on the table.
“My grandfather would choose a chicken to slaughter and I had to run around the yard and corner it. Then my mother would boil the chicken and she and I would pluck the feathers off of it,” she recalled. “We had to make do with what was on the land; growing our own produce, harvesting eggs, and doing the best we could.”
Lula walked to the Taylorsville School, a one-room schoolhouse that was just across the road from the farm. Later, she attended Newtown High School on Washington Street. Dada and another farmer would take turns dropping the girls off and picking them up after school, as it was six miles away.
She tearfully remembered a particularly upsetting episode when the family barn burned down and four horses died in the fire. The congregation was celebrating Children’s Day at the local church and people started running in to the church shouting ‘Buckman’s barn is burning, Buckman’s barn is burning.’
“My grandfather had gotten the horses out, but he hadn’t tied them to anything and they ran back in. All four died in the fire. It was awful,” she said, shedding more tears while remembering the sad tale.
Four-year-old Norman was blamed for starting the blaze.
“He and an older neighbor used to light matches in the barn. He got blamed for the fire, but I think it was the older boy who was responsible,” she said, adding that her brother was sent to live with relatives for a week until things quieted down.
Later, Dada’s brother, Harry, came to live on the farm and life improved dramatically.
“He bought mother a washing machine, had electric put in the house, bought us a Model T Ford and helped Dada build a new barn,” she wrote. “He was so generous that he didn’t have much money upon his death.”
Her grandfather died of hardening of the arteries at the age of 76. At the age of 14, Lula, with her mother and brother, had to scramble to make ends meet. The year was 1933 and the country struggled to get out from under the Depression. Laura babysat young children and cared for elderly neighbors while Lula tended to the farm animals and garden. In the evenings, Lula practiced her piano while her mother played the four-string banjo.
Eventually, her mother met and married Arthur Weldemere. They had a son, Philip, on December 29, 1937, and settled in a home on Sand Run Road in Yardley. Lula was 19 years old when her second brother was born.
“People thought he was my baby. At that point, my mother’s brothers thought it best if I went to live with my Aunt Ada and Uncle Watson in New Jersey. Aunt Ada was suffering from arthritis and had lost a baby,” she said. “They wanted to adopt me, but my mother would not hear of it.”
Lula assisted Aunt Ada around the home and helped Uncle Watson sell raw milk.
“I’d wash the bottles and fill them with milk. Uncle Watson taught me how to drive and I delivered the milk to small stores and homes throughout the area,” she said.
In 1941, Lula returned to the family home to work at the nearby Cold Spring Bleachery with her mother.
“My mother enjoyed the work; she drew patterns on tablecloths and she enjoyed doing that. It was artistic,” said Lula. “I bleached tablecloths that came in from restaurants and country clubs. During the war, I bleached netting that was used by the military and received extra money for doing that,” she added.
In 1941 her brother Norman and his soon-to-be bride, Edna, hired Paul Mohr’s father to drive his truck and put on a hayride for family and friends. Norman asked Lula if she would be Paul’s blind date.
“We hit it off and started dating, and within 16 weeks we were married–on January 20, 1942,” she added. The newlyweds stayed in a hotel one night before moving in with Paul’s parents for a short time in Morrisville, Bucks County.
After relocating to a rental home near the bleachery, the couple eventually moved to the Comfort Farm on Trenton Road in Morrisville before their first child was born. They shared the home with Paul’s sister, Emma, and her husband, Ben.
Lula and Paul had four children: Paula (1943), Florence Kay (“Kay,”1944), Robert (“Bob,” 1948) and Nancy (1950).
“Six months after Paula was born, I found out I was expecting Kay. I loved Paula so much I couldn’t believe I’d have the same feelings for another baby,” she reminisced. “But I soon found out I did. Then Bob was born and Nancy came along and we all loved each other very much.”
After a short relocation to New Jersey, the couple moved back to Bucks County, Pennsylvania; first to Upper River Road in Yardley, then to Aqueduct Road in Washington Crossing, then Lavender Hall in Newtown, and finally they bought their own home on Rose Arbor Lane in the Red Cedar section of Levittown, where they lived for 25 years while raising their children.
Then came the grandchildren, 16 in total; followed by 12 great-grandchildren and even 3 great great-grandchildren as of this writing.
“I enjoyed raising my children and my grandchildren very much,” she said. “With the grandchildren we had more time to play games and plant things in the garden. We always had a garden wherever we lived,” she said, noting that as ‘Gammy’ she spoiled her grandchildren a bit over the years. “They knew where the cookie jar and candy dish were kept and they all enjoyed my rice pudding.”
When her children were old enough, Lula went back to work as a seamstress at Unitog in lower Bucks County, until her retirement in 1978. Paul was a truck driver for most of his life, retiring from Great Bear Water Co. of New York.
In 1980, the couple sold their Levittown home and moved briefly to Glenside before Uncle Watson asked them to move near him in Florida. He was nearly 90 and widowed.
Paul and Lula sold most of their possessions, moved to Florida and worked a bookstand at a flea market and traveled for several years. However, after a series of operations, Paul passed away from a heart attack on February 17, 1996.
Paula’s son, Paul Shupe, took great interest in the family heritage, creating a lovely family tree that hangs in a prominent spot in the home that Lula and Paula share in Sicklersville, New Jersey. On another wall, Lula pointed to a painting of a lighthouse. “My mother painted that. She was very talented.”
As for her long life, Lula explained that she was a big fan of the Jack LaLanne exercise program and reminisced how she used to get the grandchildren to do the exercises with her. This remarkable woman credits hard work, exercise and taking vitamins with allowing her to live into her 90s without any major surgeries or serious illness.
Asked what legacy she hoped to leave behind, Lula was quick to offer, “I hope to be remembered for my heritage, my hard work, and for my love of family.”

Education by Inclusion Awards First Scholarship by Barbara Sherf

barb — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:49:59 +0000

Education by Inclusion CEO Chetan Bagga carrying books for resale.

Who would have thought reselling books and electronics could be such a lucrative business and result in scholarship money for needy students? Flourtown resident Chetan Bagga, a Columbia University graduate, ran the numbers and started Education by Inclusion (EBI) about a year ago.
The home page of their web site offers this comment to customers.
“We are a socially conscious online bookstore with a simple promise – everything you buy contributes to a deserving student’s education. This year, you’ve made over 100,000 purchases toward scholarships. We sincerely thank you! Let’s keep the momentum going.”
The startup company, based in Huntingdon Valley, has 15 employees and has just awarded its first scholarship in the amount of $40,000. EBI hopes to reach the $1.5 million mark in book sales by the end of this year.
Not bad for a 28-year-old former management consultant turned entrepreneur with social responsibility leanings.
“I do believe in making money and living well, but also in giving something back. I think you can do both,” said Bagga, EBI CEO. While he had many clients, Bagga wasn’t finding the work rewarding. He and colleague Michael Goldenberg, 26, decided to start a company with a cause.
“Now we make money and are giving a percentage away to students who might have been excluded from going to the college of their choice,” said Bagga, in his serene style. One such student, Javier Ramos, whose father was recently laid off from the Camden County Fire Department, is pursuing his dream of attending Fordham University due to the scholarship distributed by Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia.
“I’m not sure if I would be hear right now,” said Ramos, 18, by phone during a break in his psychology classes. “I feel like this is a blessing that just fell into my lap.”
Founded in 1995 at Germantown Friends School under the original name of Summerbridge, Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia provides disadvantaged students from Philadelphia’s under-resourced schools with the education and supports they need to access higher education.
Jean Fitzpatrick, a neighbor of the Bagga family on Creek Lane, who is involved with the Breakthrough, invited Chetan’s parents, Paul and Kushi, to a fundraiser a year ago.
“Our mission resonated with them. They realize how education can change lives and decided to support Breakthrough,” said Fitzpatrick, who had only high praise for Chetan. “He is a fine young man. He is a graduate of Columbia, has held high level management positions in Princeton and New York, but decided to take a step back and give back. He recognizes the gifts he has been given and is now giving back at a remarkably young age. It’s been very refreshing,” she said.
Two Breakthrough Board Members are from Chestnut Hill; Susan Fleming and Anne Marie Corner. Fleming talked about working with EBI and Bagga.
“One of the great things about Chetan is that he thinks outside the box. The scholarship he established has given a real boost to Breakthrough’s students and teachers. Everyone at Breakthrough is delighted to see Chetan’s dedication to our mission,” said Fleming.
Bagga said he needed an outside agency to work with that already had an infrastructure in place to process the scholarship.
“I didn’t want to just select a candidate on my own. I was looking for an entity that already existed and had a rigorous selection process and I found it in my own backyard. Next year we hope to give away four scholarships,” said Bagga.
Described over and over as a ‘big picture guy’ Bagga was doing a more mundane task this past Saturday; picking up books left over from the annual rummage sale at St. Paul’s Church in Chestnut Hill. He will sell the remaining books online, giving a portion of the proceeds back to the church.
“The reality is that I can get up to four times the amount online as they would bring at a book sale, but I understand there are reasons to have a book sale — like bringing visibility to an organization and building community,” said Bagga.
Upon graduation, Bagga worked as a management consultant from 2004 to 2009, but he had a yearning to start his own company and to give back.
“My entire life was in a thumb drive and I just felt like is this all there is? I wanted to create something that would have an impact on society. I guess it comes from the way I was brought up as my parents and grandparents were always proponents of giving back,” said Bagga.
Giving back is something that Bagga witnessed as a young boy. In India, his grandfather owned a bank and started a charitable foundation to fund a school. Chetan’s father, Paul, owned a number of fast food restaurants before starting a business in the alternative energy field. He too has given back in terms of helping to establish EBI and to make the connection with Breakthrough.
As for his son’s accomplishments over the past year, the elder Bagga said he is proud of Chetan.
“Giving back is a trait found on both sides of our families. Chetan is doing this by example. We are very proud that at such a young age he has decided to do this,” said the elder Bagga.
In addition to funding the Breakthrough scholarship, EBI has established relationships with 36 local colleges and universities whereby the institutions turn books over to EBI and a portion of the proceeds goes back to the school for their scholarship programs.
“Our goal is to branch out to schools beyond Philadelphia and work on a national basis, and then an International basis,” said Bagga, while giving a tour of the 25,000-square-foot warehouse.
The mostly used books are shelved in sections by institution, with employees sorting, working on computers, packaging books and placing them in huge bins to be shipped to customers all over the world.
Wearing a traditional Sikh turban, t-shirt, shorts and sandals, Bagga typically works in the front office managing the operation with Goldenberg. Goldenberg has a Star Trek-type central control station with several computer screens blinking and buzzing charting the best rate EBI can get on a book and the current inventory.
“I guess I’m the geek,” Goldenberg admitted, while punching in some numbers and showing off the software system he developed for EBI. “I really like this side of the business; controlling the supply and demand.”
After hours, Bagga recharges by swimming, biking, listening to music and dancing with friends.
While Bagga wears the traditional Sikh turban, he said he does for cultural reasons.
“I’m not so much religious as I am a believer in the cultural values within the Sikh community,” said Bagga.
As for keeping his mostly 20-something staffers happy, Bagga believes not only in hiring people who also have an interest in giving back to students, but in sharing a portion of the profits with his young team.
“At the end of the day here everyone has ownership in terms of sharing revenues and scholarships. It makes sense to give employees equity in the company,” he added. “I’m excited about the possibilities of where Education by Inclusion is going.”
To learn more, go to www.buyve.com or call 215- 995-4105.

Musehouse Opens by Barbara Sherf for The Chestnut Hill Local

barb — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 06:23:36 +0000

The definition of a muse is somebody who is a source of inspiration for an artist, especially a poet. Opening September 10 in Chestnut Hill is a place for writers to gather called the Musehouse: A Center for the Literary Arts. Oreland resident Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno, 55, a retired English teacher is serving as a muse to many in the form of her book of poems and in bringing Musehouse to life following the death of her daughter, Leidy. In 2003, Leidy, a nursing school graduate was murdered by an ex-boyfriend who was later convicted of the crime and is serving a life sentence.
“Leidy is here. Her spirit is all around us and she would have loved this place,” said Bonanno following an informal gathering of 20 interested writers and supporters in August.
Bonanno passed around a wish list with everything from tissues to a handyman to tighten up hinges on used furniture and install bookshelves.
While a storytelling workshop will be among the many courses offered this fall, Bonanno’s story is one worth listening to.
Four days after the murder of her 21-year-old daughter in 2003, Bonanno was compelled to write her feelings down in the middle of the night in a poem titled “Poem About Light.” That poem, along with 41 others, lead to an award-winning book Slamming Open the Door. Two of the poems were nominated for the prestigious Pushcart Prize and the volume went on to become a bestseller in 2009 for poetry books.
The national attention and book signings also lead to her desire to create a place for others to write, participate in workshops and public readings and hold launch parties for their books.
“After her death, I realized how fleeting life can be and while I had the idea for this place for some time, I knew I needed to act on it,” she said in interview, with her husband, David, an editor at the American Poetry Review, following the gathering.
The Bonannos adopted Leidy, and their son, Luis, from Chile in 1986. Luis is a roofing contractor who lives in Oreland, PA.
David Bonanno, who stayed in the background most of the evening, privately shared his feeling that his late daughter would be proud of the new facility.
“She was not a literary person. After Leidy’s death, we were trying to find active ways to process the death and Kathy used writing, which was a gift for all of us,” he said.
This past spring, Musehouse received a $50,000 matching grant from the Knight Foundation and was one of 36 winners from a pool of more than 1700 applicants.
“We will see if what we are offering is what this community wants,” she told her audience.
A total of 17 courses are being offered in the areas of poetry, memoirs, book clubs, SAT Tutoring and a teen magazine workshop. In addition to the Grand Opening, there are four other special events planned for the Fall semester, including a Monster Mash comprised of a reading by Carolina Morales from her book, The Bride of Frankenstein and Other Poems, fiction reading by Brian Francis from his horror novel, The Trail, and an art exhibit of monster portraits by Harry Boardman.
Longtime Chestnut Hill resident, Barbara Russell, who had a store on Germantown Avenue specializing in needlepoint, has published a book on the subject and was interested in finding out what the Musehouse had to offer.
“This is a place where I hope writers can gather and have launch parties or sit and talk about marketing their book,” Bonanno told the audience.
“It’s a fabulous concept and one I fully embrace,” said Russell.
Wyndmoor resident Marianne Fluehr welcomed the new place as well.
“We thank you for this much needed place. We need to come together as a writing community,” said Fluehr, who has written several short stories and is a guest columnist for The Local.
Located on the first floor of 7924 Germantown Avenue, the Musehouse has an inviting enclosed front porch, a sitting area with sofas and cushioned chairs, a conference space for workshops and a place to serve food.
Outdoor furniture is also on her wish list.
“I would love to have some writers sit outside during the summer months and do readings or simply enjoy each other’s company,” she said. “I want this to feel like a home for writers.”
The September 10th Grand Opening starts at 7 pm and the public is invited to attend. For more information, call 267-331-9552 or go to www.musehousecenter.com.

Newsletter Sign Up

barb — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 06:17:21 +0000

Philadelphia Artist Focuses on Wissahickon Indian

barb — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 19:11:14 +0000

Springfield native Paul Carpenter is a refreshing 25-old who has known that he wanted to be an artist for many years. Three years ago, the East Falls resident formed his own company, Fresh Design and Print, working out of the Sherman Mills Art Studio complex about a three-minute walk from where he lives. The space houses a printmaking set-up, enabling him to print his graphically enhanced photography and illustrations onto t-shirts, note cards, and wall art.
This is the text from his web site at www.paulcarpenterart.com
“Paul Carpenter is a Philadelphia based multi-disciplinary visual artist, concentrating on graphic design, illustration, printmaking, and painting. Living on the blurred edge where these mediums meet and mingle, most work implements layering of fundamental elements from each of these concentrations. Paul is a fun loving guy with lots of interests and is willing to work for money.”
Carpenter, who grew up second in the line of four boys in an old Victorian home on Bridge Street in Oreland. He is a Springfield High School graduate, who then went on to receive a degree from the University of Delaware in Fine Arts.
Upon walking into the Oreland Hardware store, this writer saw his note cards of the Indian statue situated in the Wissahickon Valley, next to note cards of the Phillies Phanatic.
“He’s my nephew. Good kid. Talented,” said his Uncle and store owner Bob Carpenter.
Paul Carpenter and I took a walk to see the Indian statue while he told me his story.
“My parents introduced us to the Wissahickon at a very early age. I spent a good deal of my childhood exploring this park,” he said. “I always remembered the Indian as being an icon of sorts for this area, and so I came back to photograph him.”
Those photographs were enhanced using Photoshop and Illustrator software programs and are very popular in Philadelphia and beyond.
“People from far and wide associate this image with the Wissahickon Valley and are drawn to it,” he said, noting that he tries to make artwork available in a variety of price ranges.
The history of the Indian is detailed on the Friends of the Wissahickon web site.
“This kneeling Lenape warrior was sculpted in 1902 by John Massey Rhind. Commissioned by Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Henry, it is a tribute to the Lenape Indians who hunted and fished in the Wissahickon prior to the arrival of colonists. The dramatic 15-foot high sculpture, which is mistakenly believed to depict Chief Tedyuscung, the most famous member of the Lenape tribe, can also be viewed from Forbidden Drive across the creek if one stands just north of the path to the Rex Avenue Bridge. The white marble statue was designed to commemorate the passing of the native Lenape from the region. For this reason, the Indian depicted in the statue has his hand to his brow looking west in the direction of the departing tribe. Rhind was not concerned with accurate representation since he gave this East Coast forest Indian a Western Plains Indian war bonnet. The statue, which was hauled to the site by workhorses, is situated on Council Rock, the place where the ancient Lenape Indians are believed to have held their pow-wows.”
Carpenter’s mother is a teacher’s aide, while his father, William Is a Judge of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.
Joan Carpenter talked about her son’s gift.
“All of the boys were very active, but he had the ability to sit and draw and color and I’m so proud he’s doing his art his way,” she said. “He has a sense of humor and that comes out in some of his designs. His political philosophy also comes out.”
Carpenter refers to Wyndmoor residents Mary Costello, owner of City Planter, an urban garden container store located in Northern Liberties, and her husband Bob Sawyer, an arborist, as his adopted parents. Carpenter worked for Costello doing gardening work in the summers during high school when she operated a landscape installation firm and learned about horticulture during those years. He taught her about color.
“Paul always had an artistic flair. He taught me about the color wheel and why certain colors went together and how to use it,” said Costello. “He is a hard worker and will do well in life. He has his priorities in order in terms of his direction.”
Carpenter’s first job out of college was as the Art Director for Liquid Surf Skate Snow based in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. He designed logos, a line of clothing, and hand-painted surfboards, skateboards, and snowboards.
“When the economy turned, they suggested I go freelance and offered to be my first client. I actually like working with a mix of different clients and still get down to the beach about once a month to deliver T-shirts.”
He then took on the Alley-Oop Skim Camp and supplies another Delaware shore business. Skimboarding (or skimming) is a boardsport in which a skimboard (a smaller counterpart to a surfboard) is used to glide across the water’s surface. Unlike surfing, skimboarding begins on the beach, it starts with the dropping of the board onto the thin wash of previous waves.
“I love being near the beach and so it’s a good excuse to deliver T-shirts or other products to them once a month or so. I love the sound of the ocean,” he said wistfully.
At times during our walk and talk, the philosopher comes out.
“I’ve found my life’s work. If you just see work as a way to make money, then you will never be happy. That’s how I see it,” he said, noting that while he is very involved in creating his art, he must discipline himself to do the marketing.
His girlfriend of three years, Kate Fanning, who works for the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, helps him sell his wares at street festivals on the weekends.
“Paul has exposed me to the subtleties of nature. Spring is brighter and fall is warm, that’s the beauty of the artist’s eye,” she said.
To view his complete line of work, go to www.paulcarpenterart.com.

Barbara Sherf can be reached at 215-233-8022 or Barb@CommunicationsPro.com.

HIller Wins Award for Educating the Public on Celiac Disease

barb — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 20:07:34 +0000

It’s been a heck of a week for Chestnut Hill residents Alice Salomon Bast, Founder and Executive Director of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA), and Dorothy Binswanger, who serves as President of the Board.
Bast, who suffered a stillbirth, several miscarriages, gastrointestinal problems and a host of medical issues due to celiac disease, was named the 2010 winner of Philadelphia Award and was profiled in a front page article in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday, April 10th.
“My yoga instructor said he cried while reading about my experience. He said he hoped he was making a difference in my life so that I could continue my work.”
Sitting in the Chestnut Hill Coffee Company for an interview last week, Bast, 50, said the publicity surrounding the award caused a spike in hits to their web site (www.Celiac Central.org) and a host of e-mails from individuals who suspected they might have the autoimmune disorder.
“The stories are heart-wrenching. To hear from people who have suffered for years, like I had, and to realize a simple blood test could change their lives is really hard to imagine. That’s why our goal is to have 1 million people diagnosed by 2015.”
Staying on message, Bast repeated that goal three times during the interview as her good friend, Binswanger, chimed in from time to time.
According to literature in their professionally designed packet, roughly one out of every 133 Americans has the celiac disease, but 97 percent remain undiagnosed.
One of them was Ed Snider, founder of the Philadelphia Flyers and chairman of Comcast-Spectacor. In a case study he shared that he had been experiencing symptoms for 50 years and at one point had lost 25 pounds. Finally he was diagnosed at the age of 72, now serves on the NFCA’s Board, and is responsible for nominating Bast for the Philadelphia Award.
The Philadelphia Award was established in 1921 by Edmund W. Bok to honor those who act in service “to the best and largest interest of the community in which Philadelphia is the center.” Bock, an editor, writer, community activist and philanthropist, is perhaps best known as editor of the Ladies Home Journal. Recipients have included H. Fitzgerald “Gerry” and Marguerite Lenfest, Judith Rodin and Ernesta D. Ballard.
Bast thought she was going to the Independence Foundation in Center City to pitch the Board on funding her NFCA work, but instead a roomful of dignitaries greeted her with the news and applause.
“I cried when I learned I won. When I got outside I was so frazzled I couldn’t find my car and once I did I immediately hopped into it and called Dorothy.”
It is hard to imagine that this 5’9” blonde who looks fit and vibrant was severely underweight, tired and suffering from fatigue and a host of other medical issues for six years. But Binswanger picked up the nightmarish saga.
“She was a mess,” Binswanger confirmed. “Friends would ask me if she had anorexia she was so thin. We would take walks down by the Valley Green Inn and she would tire easily. She was frustrated and I was frustrated for her.”
The pair met through their husbands who were schoolmates at Germantown Academy. David Binswanger, is CEO of the family-owned Binswanger of Philadelphia, a real estate consulting firm, and William Bast, is the Founder and COO of Netreach, an Internet content management company, based in Ambler.
“We would play mixed tennis as couples on Tuesday nights,” said Binswanger. “Then we would go to dinner at McNally’s and she would have a salad and drizzle plain lemon juice over it because so many of the dressing had preservatives and gluten in them. But that has changed.”
Since 2006, the number of gluten-free products went from 936 to 2,675 in 2010. Thousands of restaurants offer gluten-free items and gluten-free snacks are even offered at the major Philadelphia sports games, thanks to Bast and her power of persuasion.
Binswanger stood by her friend as Bast went to see 22 doctors before a veterinarian finally suggested that her symptoms sounded like celiac disease; a condition seen in some dogs as well as humans.
The disease is triggered by the consumption of a protein called gluten, which is found in wheat, barley and rye. Individuals with celiac disease cannot absorb these nutrients that damage the villi or tiny finger like projections that line the small intestine. The result can cause malnutrition, several forms of cancer, thyroid disease, osteoporosis, infertility and the onset of other autoimmune diseases.
Binswanger, who hosted the first fundraiser and tasting of gluten-free products at her home just before Halloween in 2004, has since had a family member die because his celiac disease went undiagnosed.
“My brother-in-law suffered from liver and colon cancer and died at the age of 60. We later found out that he had celiac disease. My nephew suffered from skin issues for years and got tested and he tested positive. Now he is on a gluten-free diet and is doing well.”
Bast credits Binswanger, a former sales and marketing executive, with bringing a creative flair to that first event.
“She created the Celiac Haunted House. Her four children got involved with one son lying in a coffin at the entrance holding a loaf of bread and a sign saying ‘I’m still waiting for my diagnosis.’ Then a vampire appeared with a pint of blood with information on how a simple blood test could diagnose the disease. A skeleton held a sign saying ‘I had celiac disease.’ But the best part was watching these adults, some who had celiac and some who didn’t eating these gluten-free foods. They loved them and even left with desert.” Lee Tobin, the creator and master baker of Whole Food’s gluten free product line provided food for the event. From there, the ball kept rolling on and on.
“Some people started seeing gluten-free and thought it was a fad, but it’s not. If you have celiac disease it is a lifelong diet. Even the smallest amount of gluten can trigger a reaction. A gluten-free diet is the only treatment available.”
Bast travels the country giving talks at national meetings for pharmacists, food chemists, chefs and the largest natural food show in the world. The award and $25,000 prize she will be receiving on May 17th at the Philadelphia College of Physicians is specifically being given for the foundation’s educational efforts. Indeed, the web site has a myriad of resources. The prize money will go back into the NFCA coffers.
Bast was the first to create online courses, with continuing education credits held out as the carrot for physicians to bite.
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Bast went to work in business and marketing for medical companies before starting a family. Her first baby, Elizabeth, was born in 1987 and weighed in at almost a healthy 8-pounds. (The now 23-year-old is going to medical school next year.) But then things turned around and her second child, whom the couple named Emily, was stillborn, weighing in at just below 7 pounds. Then there were several miscarriages before daughter Beatrice Linnea was born in 1993, weighing in at a mere three pounds.
Later she would learn that while someone can be a carrier of the gene, it can remain dormant until a stressful event, like pregnancy, surgery or severe emotional distress triggers the symptoms.
Once she was diagnosed and on a gluten-free diet, her life had changed in that she felt she had to share the information with others and educate the medical community. With some help, she applied for and received a $100,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health with the goal being early diagnosis through education.
Her creativity and marketing background kicked in as she came up with the idea of partnering with Quest Diagnostics, a medical-testing firm, to help get brochures into medical practices, and then the patients started asking doctors for the simply blood test. After that she started going after the food markets and restaurants encouraging them to carry more gluten free products.
“Locally, John Ingersoll of the Chestnut Hill Cheese Shop was a partner from Day 1. He is one of the first who stepped up and his wife is a physician, so she came on board as well.”
The NFCA is launching a GREAT (Gluten-Free Restaurant Education Awareness Training) Business Association to pay for the foundation’s free services to patients. Fees range from $250 to $7,500 depending on a manufacturer’s annual sales. The on-line course to train a restaurant costs $200.
She has made inroads with Wegman’s Supermarkets and Wal-Mart and is now working with the pharmaceutical industry to develop gluten-free medications.
The NFCA holds an annual ‘Appetite for Awareness’ competition among big name restaurateurs and chefs in October at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
As the interview reaches the one-hour mark, it becomes clear that Binswanger and Bast are the kind of friends who finish each other’s sentences.
“When we go to visit with a prospective donor we introduce ourselves as Alice in Wonderland and Dorothy of Oz, that way people remember our names,” said Binswanger, as the pair laughed while applying lipstick before posing for a photo.
For Bast, her storybook tale has had a happy ending.
“I feel great and I feel blessed to be able to do what I am doing and to have so many special people, like Dorothy, in my life.”
“Alice is all about bringing out the best in people and giving to everybody,” said Binswanger. “She gives credit to everybody else, but I’m excited to see her in the spotlight receiving this award.”

The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness web site is www.CeliacCentral.org.

Flower Show Excess Goes to a Good Cause

barb — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 21:40:52 +0000

Sara Burke was a vibrant, energetic, fun-loving five year-old girl who loved arts and crafts, mac ‘n cheese, music, her Big Wheel, and her big brother and big sister. However, on May 9, 2008, just after Mother’s Day, little Sara lost her 10-month battle to a malignant brain tumor and died at her Abington home, surrounded by family and friends. In their grief, her parents decided to start the Sara’s Smiles Foundation to help other families deal with long hospital stays, making as many “happy memories” as possible by providing them with “inspiration kits.”
To fund the foundation, Kevin Burke of the Wyndmoor-based Burke Brothers Landscape Contractors, came up with the idea of recycling plants from the Philadelphia Flower Show and Macy’s Flower Show and selling them just before Mother’s Day. This will be the third year the sale will take place at the company greenhouses, located at 7630 Cheltenham Avenue, just across from the Holy Sepulcher Cemetery.
“I always felt bad about the waste I saw following these events,” said Kevin, sitting beside his wife Jennifer, in the company conference room. “I had the idea that we could take the plants from our exhibit and sell them to get them in the ground again and raise money for this charity.”
Soon, other exhibitors heard what the Burke Brothers were doing and they started donating items as well. In the first year, $5000 was raised and that amount doubled in the second year.
“We are hoping to hit the $15,000 mark this year, and by adding a third day, I think we can.”
The sale takes place Friday, April 29th from 11 to 6; Saturday from 9-5 and Sunday from 9 to 3.
Jennifer Burke, who oversees the foundation and spent 7 months living at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), said she wanted more families to have “happy moments” while in the hospital. “Many of the people we saw did not know how to make happy moments. We tried to get in as many happy moments as we could, because you just never know…” she said. “You are in that hospital 24 hours a day and it can’t be all about the medical side of things.”
The Sara’s Smiles website (www.saras-smiles.org) offers links to ideas for arts and crafts, activities, social networking, emotional support, glossaries of terms and information on how to obtain a survival kit. The Sara’s Smiles inspiration kit includes:

* A file for important papers
* A form letter to notify and reach out to friends, family and community
* A tote bag to carry items throughout the hospital
* A room decoration
* A squeeze toy for stress release
* Ideas for craft activities

If you are unable to attend the sale, but would like to make a donation, make checks payable to the Sara Smiles Foundation c/o Kevin Burke at 7630 Cheltenham Avenue, Wyndmoor, PA 19038.