Philly Tales Blog

Over the years, I have written a lot about the days we reserve to honor our military veterans (Veterans Day and Memorial Day). Growing up in the ye...

The first writing I did for money was a pamphlet called Whaling in Cape May. A Cape May retailer asked me to write it to help promote his nautical ...

One of my favorite pastimes, growing up in the Kensington section of Philadelphia in the 1950s, was going to the movies. Our neighborhood theater w...

It’s after midnight, and the street is empty as usual. Not even a stray cat or dog dares to walk this street at this time of night in the fall or winter. If there are rats, which is likely, they don’t show themselves. Occasionally a lone flying roach buzzes overhead, no doubt trying to find a warm house to raise its babies.

As much as I loved summer when I was a kid in the 1950s, the fall was always my favorite time of year. Temperatures dropped, and my bedroom in my m...

Can you believe it? The summer is almost over, and it seems like it just started. This summer will be memorable, but mostly for the wrong reasons. ...

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...

Dogs, Cats, Salamanders, and Scarlet Johansson. Oh my! By Harry Hallman Updated March 13, 2023 The other day while I was lying on my two-thousand-d...

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...

2020 will not be a year remembered for a time when we gathered in large crowds to celebrate Independence day by watching fireworks. To be honest, a...

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...