Philly Tales Blog

On November 22, 1963, I was working in the darkroom making prints of some target or another for my employer, the United States Air Force. It was a ...

When you live in one place for a long time, you get comfortable with your surroundings, get used to the people who live near you, and become accust...

By Harry Hallman Kensington had a lot of hot rods, and in fact the whole country was crazy for hot rods in the ’50s and ’60s. Movies such as Rebel...

Making a Buck By Harry Hallman Ben Franklin famously said, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” Obviously, he didn’t grow up in the Kensington sectio...

Kensington dads, in my era, came in all flavors. Some drank too much, others were overbearing,  and some ignored their kids. Most dads, however, di...

I loved growing up in Philadelphia. My childhood street, West Wishart in Kensington, was packed with interesting people. People who still kept the ...

Kensington and Philly seemed to be designed to provide great hangouts for kids and adults alike. The numerous corner bars of that time was the equi...

For many of us, the golden age was when we were kids carefree and happy running around the streets of Kensington in Philadelphia with little or not...

Okay, so your ancestors came to Kensington and faced hardships, maltreatment, had to work long hard hours, and learn to adapt to a new way of life. They gave you the gifts they learned living and working in old Kensington. Learning those lessons was enough to make a person curse. Remember this, if you remember anything. The reason you curse so much is that your ancestors paved the way for you and left a few traits in you.

Valentine's Day was as an important holiday for kids as it was for adults.

My first memory was when I was just three or four years old. It was when the family got a puppy. Her name was Bonnie, and she was a funny little re...

One Thanksgiving I will never forget! My grandmother and mother were both great cooks. Year after year the made the best holiday dinners. One Thank...