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| Lehman's Lane |
Post 54
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| Price St. |
There are unexpected golden pockets, hidden kingdoms tucked along the Wissahickon. One of them is in Germantown within view of Alden Park and within view of Lincoln Drive.
Jill McConkey, an ex-librarian, grew up in this
neighborhood. Because she loves it so much, she communicates its
beauties and history well,
So please welcome the guest author of this blog --Germantown Friends, Grinnell College and the late lamented Columbia University Libary School alum, library advocate, and all around good Josephine,--Jill McConkey.
"West Price was a special street. Stunning in spring, with an archway of
huge Norway maples, and steep front banks reefed in old azaleas. It
was an especially close community because the twin houses meant we were
packed tightly together and because we all had a generous front porch."
{House at right is where Jill grew up.}
We had an annual Victorian Christmas party (jointly with residents of
brick-paved neighboring Stafford Streett,) a tree planting party(to
replace some of the dying old maples with fast growing red oaks) and
even (for a brief time) our own little newsletter. Crime was infrequent
since we were in an isolated niche of Germantown.
We were also able to
take full advantage of the nearby park (walking Forbidden Drive) and running (and rolling) around the grounds of
Alden park and swimming in its unique indoor tiled pool. My father
used to tell us that the red blazes on the stone bridges over Papermill
Run (near Rittenhouse Town)was the blood of Lene Lenape braves.
It was an ideal neighborhood for trick-or-treating although it took forever as all of the adults had to chat with each other.
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| This is a documented William Eyre House |
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| Lehman's Lane |
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We hopscotched,roller skated and jumped roped (even double Dutch) on the
smooth asphalt of Price Street, jumping in leaf piles in the fall and
discovering that Sycamores drop the best, crunchiest leaves. --
We also
spent a lot of time playing, with neighbor kids, on "Private" yellow
brick Lehman's Lane...
Sledding down its steep curves in Winter, playing
Hide and Seek and Baby in the Air in summer. We thought we were the
only ones who knew about a hidden special mansion called Oaks Cloister.
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| Front of Oak Cloisters |
An elderly white-haired man and his even older mother used to sit under
the dark, arched, Studio porch staring at us. The Studio was a spooky
stone structure behind the Tudor style main house. When they were inside
we couldn't resist trespassing.
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| The Cloisters |
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The sprawling, neglected side yard
included overgrown fountains and other curiosities. Something of an
enchanted secret garden for us. We gathered acorns from around the
grounds for ammunition in acorn fights.
One day we found the courage
to peek in the windows. We saw an astonishing cloistered art gallery
with marble statues and antique paintings in gilded frames. We darted
away fast because we fancied that this mysterious old man was something
of an ogre.
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| Historical Marker |
Turned out that this old man, according to my father, was the son of
Joseph Huston who had designed the PA state capitol. Joseph had gone to
jail for a few years because he'd been convicted of graft in 1910 for
cost overruns on the construction and furnishings. This aura of scandal
only added to his mysteriousness in our eyes.
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| Side view Oak Cloisters |
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| Side Door |
Then one Halloween my father, who had always had a strong interest in
architecture, took us to his Studio while trick or treating.
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| More Side View |
We
trembled with fear as we approached but were also very curious. He
turned out to be the nicest man you could ever wish to meet and
generously donated money to our little orange UNICEF containers and gave
us each an enormous chocolate bar."
Jill, ever the librarian, has also been kind enough to furnish these links
http://www2.etown.edu/docs/InstitutionalAdvancement/OaksCloisterBrochureWeb.pdf
http://mtairy.patch.com/articles/private-historic-home-in-germantown-to-host-malts-march-fundraiser
Happy All Saints, All Souls.
The local guard cat, who saw fit to accompany me as I wandered.
Happy Halloween
I got to be part of a Halloween celebration that entailed wearing a costume to work. I work in a complex place and it was a complex costume --having something to do, I think, with Katherine Hepburn and time travel and the makings of: a currently mislaid, silent movie from the twenties that inexplicably stars an almost 60-year old Hepburn; "Bringing Up Baby, " and; "The Madwoman of Chaillot." To stifle my usual long-windedness I nicknamed it for the feminist literary crit. classic "The Madwoman in the Attic."
