Despite low profile, Dougherty's White highly regarded by Temple

Congratulations to Quinten White, a 6-3, 195-pound outside linebacker from Cardinal Dougherty.

White and a Dougherty teammate, Keith Dockery, attended a 1-day combine that happened to be held at Temple. Working with the defensive backs, White performed well. Owls assistant Curtis Bray pulled him aside and suggested he attend coach Al Golden's camp. He did.

"Up to then I'd only been hearing from Bloomsburg and Shippensburg," said White, who lives near Frankford and Church (map), in Frankford, and intends to become a fitness trainer. "But to go to coach Golden's camp and then be told, 'We're looking at you,' that really got my attention. I was pretty excited. On the way home on the bus, I was calling my friends. 'Guess what happened today! . . . ' "

Read the entire story on philly.com

Home of the week

In the 4600 block of Penn Street is our home of the week (Google map).

Crime in Frankford

From Philly.com:

...investigators last night (January 30th) were still searching for the man who killed Robert Overton, 21, outside a Kmart (Google map)in Northeast Philadelphia about 8:40 p.m. Wednesday.

Overton, of Ditman Street near Wakeling (Google map), was shot multiple times over an apparent ongoing neighborhood argument, a police source said.

Witnesses told detectives that the gunman fled in a light-colored sedan. Overton had a history of arrests on charges that included drug possession and carjacking, court records show.

Crime in Frankford

Thanks to a tip on Phillyblog from B-REAL we found this on 6abc.com:

FRANKFORD - February 3, 2008 -- The manager of a nightclub has been shot in the back while trying to break-up a fight.

The gunfire erupted outside Platinum nightclub just after 2 a.m Sunday in the 4100 block of Torresdale Avenue (Google map).

The manager apparently asked several men who were fighting inside the club to leave. As the manager tried to escort them out of the club, they all began to argue.

That's when one of the men pulled out handgun and started shooting.

The manager was struck once in the back. He was taken to Frankford Torresdale Hospital in stable condition.

No arrest have been made.

See the video report and read the entire story here.

Crime in Frankford

From kyw1060.com:

Police have released details and a composite sketch of a suspect wanted for a sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in the Frankford section.

The girl said she was walking on the 4400 block of Wingohocking Street in Frankford, when a man grabbed her by the neck, dragged her into an alley, held a knife to her throat and sexually assaulted her.

The attack happened around 9:15 pm on January 25th. Police were searching for a man believed to be about 6-feet tall with a thin build, 16-17 years old, with scars on his face. He was wearing a dark green jacket with fur around the hood.

Next week in Frankford

• Sun, Feb 3, 12pm – 5pm - GAR museum (Google map)- Civil War History Presentation! – FREE & Open to the public! Special Black History Month Presentation: Camp William Penn and the Training of Black Troops for Civil War Service. G.A.R. Civil War Museum & Library Presents: First Sunday Historical Program Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 1:30PM G.A.R. Civil War Museum & Library 4278 Griscom St. Philadelphia, PA 19124 215-289-6484 www.garmuslib.org For details: contact: Dr. Andy Waskie: 215-204-5452
• Thu, Feb 7, 7pm – 9pm - Frankford Civic Association meeting at Frankford Hospital (Google map), 2nd floor conference room. Check community calendar for agenda.
  

History Shmistory

It is almost hidden in plain sight googlemap
on a busy street in Frankford. The Historical Society of Frankford is opposite the Frankford Friends school. These two venerable institutions form a vortex of learning and culture in a neighborhood rarely associated with either.

We visited the Historical Society (HSF) last week and took a tour with Debbie Klak, the current president. While the HSF has no public programs during January and February, work still goes on.

We met Harry Silcox, the prominent local historian, doing some research on the Edwin Forrest Home for Retired Actors and also Jack McCarthy the society's archivist. We discussed the new organization of a Center for Northeast Philadelphia History which HSF is coordinating. A flock of volunteers came in while we were there and I could not tell you what they were doing except to say that they were very busy.

The building is larger that it first appears. Using parts of 3 floors, it is filled with both documents and artifacts from the 17th century through the present day. It would takes days to do justice to a review of the exhibits but some of our favorites were related to Benjamin Franklin, the Marquis de Lafayette, Hessian soldiers during the revolution, Lydia Darragh and Frankford during the Revolutionary War, the Civil War period in Frankford and of course the Lenape indians. It was something like the Antique Road Show of Frankford.

The document collection is extensive with literally thousands and books, records and maps to offer the researcher hours of new avenues to peruse. Genealogists looking for new routes to search, if your have ancestors in the Northeast, you may find that missing link right here.

Every institution goes through cycles of growth and rest. The Historical Society of Frankford is moving into the 21st century in a growth mode. With the influx of new folks coming into Frankford and the increasing interest in local history throughout the Northeast, things are definitely looking up.

It was a great tour for us and open house will resume for the public on the first Sunday in March at 1:00 PM. Meanwhile have a look at our slide show of some of the pictures from our tour on flickr.com.

[where: 1507 orthodox st. Philadelphia, pa 19124]