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Life was much more simple when I was young.
Between then and now, television was invented, jet engines revolutionized flight; drive-in movies, vinyl records, vacuum tubes and rotary phones have all become extinct.
Color replaced black & white, Video tape replaced film, laser discs replaced tape and digital music replaced analog. Space exploration and satalite communications have become reality, computers help and entertain us, mail arrives instantly over the Internet and the price of gasoline has increased from 12 cents per gallon to $3 per gallon.
As a teenager growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio I loved helping my parents in our busy corner grocery store. When my father became too ill to work, I quit high school, learned how to cut meat and helped my mother run the store.
Before long, though, there was a new trend in food
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J&R Foods - our corner grocery.
shopping called a Supermarket.
These big markets began to convince customers that the convenience of pre-packaged goods and self-service was a better deal than our fresh foods and personalized service. But I was learning marketing and began to sell our 29 cent canned goods at 3 for a dollar. However, the supermarkets were winning the price war against our friendly corner market.
When my younger sister and brother finished high school (we were each just one year apart) I went back to school at night. When I finished school I took a job at the Cincinnati Public
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Inside This Issue
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Travel & Adventure
My photos and comments of famous cities throughout the world. Visit the Travel Section. Page 7
The Good Neighbor A Canadian TV commentator speaks out about America after the 9/11 attack on NYC. See the Editorial Page 2
Fairmount Waterworks
The story of Philadelphia's historic Waterworks. Page 5
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A brief genealogy Great, great grandfather was captured during the Civil War and died in prison at Andersonville, GA. Page 5
All for love He fell in love. She was repulsed by his misshappen appearance Page 3
Facing the Draft
My four years in the Air Force Page 3
Think you're smart?
Can you pass an 1895 eighth-grade exam? In the History Section Page 6
From raising to praising.
Two stories; two very different times. Page 4
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Library since there was no salary for me from the store.
Meanwhile, my sister became a secretary and my brother went to work for a supermarket. My Mother was working too hard trying to keep the store profitable so eventually it was time to sell the business and move on.
With the money I was earning at the Library I bought a 1957 Chevy and, earning just 90 cents per hour,
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even had enough to pursue my hobby in Amateur Radio with station K8ARV. After we sold the store, though, all our money went into the family fund.
Once my mother was employed again, I decided it was time for college. Hoping to beat the draft and get a free education, I joined the Air Force. After I left Cincinnati it was many years before I returned.
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Life in Philadelphia
A view of Philadelphia from the Art Museum's steps.
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My neighborhood is part of the City's beautiful Art Museum Area.
I live in Fairmount, named for the hill upon which the majestic Art Museum stands. Most of the homes are typical Philadelphia row houses built in the late 1800's and early 1900's.
This area borders Fairmount Park, the largest urban park in the world with over 8,000 acres. The Schuykill River winds its way through the park and past the Art Museum which stands above the, now reconstructed, 19th century Fairmount Waterworks.
Just north of the Museum along the river is Boathouse Row famous for the regattas and especially the Dad Vale Regatta in which hundreds of college students from around the world compete.
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Philadelphia has many historical landmarks and is well known for its culture and early American history. Thousands of visitors are attracted to the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and the museums each year.
Often they can be seen running up the Art Museum steps, imitating the scene made famous in the movie Rocky.
From the top of the Art Museum steps one has a grand view of Eakins Oval and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway back dropped by the Philadelphia skyline.
The Oval is named after Thomas Eakins, a talented Philadelphia artist and it boasts a prominent fountain with a grand statue of George Washington. The Parkway is Philly's version of Paris' Champs Elysées.
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