Philly Tales Blog

As kids growing up in Kensington, Philadelphia, we were always on the lookout to make a buck. Well, more like pennies, nickels and at most a quarte...

Since May 14 was Mother’s Day and Father’s Day is June 16th this year, I thought it was a good time to post this article. This story is one of 46 f...

My first recollection of Cramp Elementary was kindergarten.  I would have been five years old, which by law you had to be to go to kindergarten bac...

"Spring has sprung," my grandfather, Pop, used to say. It was a time for celebration for him because he could go fishing again. Every April the 15t...

Philadelphia is considered one of the top locations for great restaurants and fantastic food. I mean, what could be better than an Italian Hoagie, ...

Since parts of the country are getting snow they rarely get, I thought I would highlight some of the past Philly snowstorms. I live in Atlanta now,...

I woke up early this morning thinking about Jerry Blavat. May he rest in peace. Somehow, I don’t think he is resting but rather hosting rock and ro...

When you see a flying roach, what do you do? If you grew up in rural America, you’re used to seeing and interacting with a great number of God’s ...

A while ago, I bought an illustrated map of Kensington created by Jessie Husband. It’s a beautiful visual depiction of the area where I grew up...

Note: I chose some images that relate to this article. You can see the other 35 images, plus over 1200 other images of historic Philadelphia, at h...

By Harry HallmanAfter 78 years, you have a mixed bag of memories, and I try to draw on the one from my happy years of growing up in Philly. The oth...

It‘s hot, almost oppressively hot, in the crowded schoolroom. You wipe the sweat from your forehead as the teacher gives final information about ho...