Dear
Friends,
Good morning. Five items are on
today’s agenda. Let me start with a memorial service for a charming lady. Edna
Wenhold, 82, spent most of her life in the Quakertown area. I remember her
fondly as Mighty Betsy’s and my mother’s hairdresser. Listening to her pastor,
Reverend Dan Moser, at the First United Church of Christ in Quakertown, I
thought that his description of her was just right.
“Edna was a priestly hairdresser,”
he began. “How many confessions did she hear in her shop? How many tales of
joy…sorrow…laughter…tears? There’s a real ministry there,” Pastor Dan added.
He told a lovely story about how she
met her second husband. Long after Edna’s first husband, Jim, died, she was
seated next to a kind man on an airplane. They had never met but had a nice
chat and exchanged cards after the flight. That chance meeting turned into
correspondence, visits and finally marriage. “You never know what lies around
the corner,” Pastor Dan told the congregation.
Edna Wenhold was special and we’ll
miss her.
On Saturday, MB and I had breakfast
at Sunday’s Delicatessen. Sitting next to us were Deborah and Richard Samsel.
They told us that the Quakertown Train Station rents the premises for
receptions, parties and the like. It’s very popular. Twelve events are reserved
already during the next several months.
You can have a caterer prepare the food or do it
yourself, they said. It’s a bargain…only $200 for three hours. Reservations are
kept at the JD Whistle Stop at the railroad crossing and East Broad Street.
By the way, be sure to reserve tickets for an
evening of railroad slides on March 25. For just $20, you get a ticket plus
homemade chili, hot dogs, desserts, coffee and soda. The doors open at 5:30.
David Augsburger, Michael Bednar, Richard Samsel and Robert Wilt will take you
down memory lane. For more info, call the Samsels at
And speaking of trains, did you see the story about
the possibility of commuter trains returning within five years? State Senator
Rob Wonderling spoke at the Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce last week, sparking
much interest. If he’s right, trains would run between Shelly and Lansdale with
stops at Quakertown and Perkasie…other towns too.
Wonderling has talked about restoring commuter
service before. If he’s able to make this dream become a reality, train lovers
will run him for governor.
Last week, MB and I were in
Lenfest correctly pointed out that one of the
reasons why corporate America is choosing the Delaware Valley is because of the
density and variety of culture within the Philadelphia City limits. He
mentioned the Philadelphia Orchestra, Academy of Fine Arts, Franklin Institute,
the Art Museum, and the Zoo to illustrate his position. Although employees of
new businesses work in the suburbs, they turn to the city for cultural
enrichment.
To prove his notion, he asked the 100 in the audience
how many lived in the suburbs? Almost everyone raised their hands.
Lenfest told us that Allegheny
County [which surrounds Pittsburgh] has a small sales tax [one quarter of one
percent] which supports the arts. He says that the local residents are happy
with the system. How would you respond to a similar question? What would the
residents of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties
say?
At first blush, I think it’s a good
idea. I’ll ask Gerry Lenfest for more info and share it with you.
And speaking of sharing for the
public good, I do remember former Philadelphia Mayor Richardson Dilworth
speaking at Quakertown Rotary in the 1950’s. He believed that the five county
region should pool their tax resources to insure that the city would not
whither and die. Dilworth saw that Philadelphia’s tax base was shrinking. He
realized that major industries were fleeing, leaving the desperately poor
behind.
And that’s exactly what happened.
Gone are the factories, which once employed its citizens
and energized its tax base. When you ride the Septa train from Lansdale into
Center City, the tracks are elevated. As you pass over the streets of North
Philadelphia, you see that it’s a wasteland now.
Dilworth was probably right 50 years ago but the
concept was not saleable then…and it may not be today.
Non the less, Gerry Lenfest
recognizes that most residents in the four counties surrounding Philadelphia
depend upon art institutions within the city limits for culture. All of the
performing and non performing arts face insurmountable expenses and
insufficient financial help.
Lenfest may be a man well ahead of
his time.
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith