remember the good old days at K&A - Page 2 - PhillyBlog

ctr3 · #11 (**permalink**) 07-13-2007, 11:35 PM

Martin's deli had the BEST ham and swiss on rye. My uncle was in the Navy in the late 70's early 80's. Everytime he came home on leave he requested Martin's sandwiches and pickled tomatoes. We still miss that place.
I remember walking the ave, getting my hair done at DeMario's, buying candy at Humphrey's, going to Kresge's, getting shoes at Fayva, etc. I went to Conwell as well.
My dad was banned from Kellis back in the day for fighting a guy. My best friends mom and aunt would go there every Friday night.
I wish I had a time machine. I would love to revisit those days.

ACE · #12 (**permalink**) 07-14-2007, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cammycap

Butlers, my Aunt still lives on Lippincott, my cousin was #122 shot dead this year, Andrew Strimmel.

SOOOOO SADDD!

I'm sorry about your cousin, Cammy. That's awful. So sorry.

Pineapple, you come from here? For some reason I thought you didn't grow up in Philly. I got some cool pictures I rounded up. Don't have them on a disc yet though. I thought of you when I was getting them together. They are mostly though from like around Front & Girard.

ACE · #13 (**permalink**) 07-14-2007, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WQ5668

I remember shopping at the York Store, Kresge's, and Kelly's Korner.

My Aunt use to work at Martin's Deli in the early 70's, and yes Kellis is still open.

We loved going to that Kelly's Korner.

We used to go to this Goumas Toy Store too. I'm not sure of the spelling. It was not right at K&A though. It was right where the El turns.

I remember my mom walking all of us to a laundromat too. No wonder the poor lady was thrilled when she got diaper service for my brother.

Pineapple · #14 (**permalink**) 07-14-2007, 02:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ACE

I'm sorry about your cousin, Cammy. That's awful. So sorry.

Pineapple, you come from here? For some reason I thought you didn't grow up in Philly. I got some cool pictures I rounded up. Don't have them on a disc yet though. I thought of you when I was getting them together. They are mostly though from like around Front & Girard.

Ace, I was born in Kensington, left the state for some years, then came back to live with family after graduating college. I am more of a Center City kind of girl than anything, though.

We live in a house in Kensington that has been in my dad's family for almost 60 years.

I, myself, like to look in old picture books of the city and see what Kensington used to look like 70 or more years ago.

Your research sounds good, Ace.

WQ5668 · #15 (**permalink**) 07-17-2007, 10:44 PM

The Franklin Playground was next to my house on Stella Street, lived across from the ware house.

LMAO, my mother planted a creeping rose bush on the fence to keep the kids off of it back in the 60's and it's still there alive and well.

Parents split up, Dad got the house, mom took the 3 kids up to Bensalem and we grew up in Lower Bucks, but I still went to my Dad's on Sundays.

Eventually he moved out of the house and rented it to my Aunt, and moved from place to place, and back to this house when my Aunt moved out, then he moved to Birch Street and the Arab that owns the Warehouse bought the place, needed a lot of work, then the neighborhood got bad over at Jasper and Birch Streets and he moved over to Port Richmond where the area is decent, can't park though LOL but at Birch Street I could LOL.

Yeah my Aunt Gail worked in the deli section, not hard to miss, big, with red hair, and very loud

philygirl · #16 (**permalink**) 07-18-2007, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pineapple

I remember my mom and her friends doing a lot of shopping at K&A with me and my friends' children in tow.

We were from the generation that had the dads working in a local factory-type setting and the moms were all stay-at-home types. Not everyone had a car, but you didn't need one anyway.

I remember growing up around a ton of blonde-haired and blue-eyed little kids with dirty little faces, playing hopscotch and the such in front of their houses, and running to the corner candy stores when their parents gave them fifty cents.

It was a different time I guess. I don't remember any drug issues with kids or with parents. I think some of the big fears for kids back then were the things on public service announcements, like beware of climbing high-wire fences just to be popular. Did anyone really climb high-wire fences anyway? You never hear about it anymore at least.

I passed some of the streets the other day that I remembered those kids playing on and all I saw were boarded up houses, empty weeded lots, and hardly a soul in sight.

Well, times move on and things change ...

Hi,

I was born and raised in the Port Richmond section and remember going to K & A shopping with my Mom at Kresge's etc. Then going to Horn & Hardarts for lunch. I loved putting the coins in the machines for what I wanted. Wish there was one around now to take my grandsons to. Or we'd shop at Food Fair when they opened. Also loved going to the "Midway" Movies,

badgirl1007 · #17 (**permalink**) 07-18-2007, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pineapple

Ace, I was born in Kensington, left the state for some years, then came back to live with family after graduating college. I am more of a Center City kind of girl than anything, though.

We live in a house in Kensington that has been in my dad's family for almost 60 years.

I, myself, like to look in old picture books of the city and see what Kensington used to look like 70 or more years ago.

Your research sounds good, Ace.

I just want to say with all the memories of K&A where the best, maybe one day everyone who use to live in kensington could get together and try to clean it up .My fondest memories are there any would love to see if the people who once lived there and loved it can get our city officals together to clean it up !!! I still think one day it might happen .I grew on at B & ontario "It was great" rose hill sleding mc veigh rec swimming ,the families that stuck together may be it could happen on day.WE could actually get a fund raiser together to maybe clean up the playgrounds where one of us use to hang at or to educated the people there now what the neighborhood use to stand for "FAMILY" maybe one day, JUst a dream of something that once was!!!!!!!!!!

sam731 · #18 (**permalink**) 07-18-2007, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ACE

We loved going to that Kelly's Korner.

We used to go to this Goumas Toy Store too. I'm not sure of the spelling. It was not right at K&A though. It was right where the El turns.

I remember my mom walking all of us to a laundromat too. No wonder the poor lady was thrilled when she got diaper service for my brother.

It was Gumas Bros. toy store..Front & York is where the El turned, I left Kensington in the late '70's, but used to go to Kelly's Kornor..you know back when I was growing up in Kensington there were alot of good things about the place...parents didn't have to worry, could leave the front door unlocked..hell you could leave your car unlocked, it was a different world.

philygirl · #19 (**permalink**) 07-18-2007, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sam731

It was Gumas Bros. toy store..Front & York is where the El turned, I left Kensington in the late '70's, but used to go to Kelly's Kornor..you know back when I was growing up in Kensington there were alot of good things about the place...parents didn't have to worry, could leave the front door unlocked..hell you could leave your car unlocked, it was a different world.

Sam,

Your right~~~it was like a whole different time and place back then. I remember going to sleep at night during the summer with just the hook 'n' eye on the front screendoor. Parents didn't have to worry about their kids outside playing by themselves. Everybody looked out for everyone's kids. Nowadays kids can't do that without the parents worrying about the crazies out there!

philygirl

pdc · #20 (**permalink**) 07-19-2007, 09:00 PM

i know i didnt live in kensington during the glory years, i was born in 81 and lived there till the early 90's. my whole familys from kensington, i use to live at A and westmoreland and my cousins use to live around the corner on ella st. i loved growing up there, me and my dad would go on walks all around the neighborhood, up on the tracks and up to lighthouse. my grandmom would always take me to front st and we would go shopping. i went to st Hughs up till the 4th grade and i loved it. my dad would take like the whole block of kids to juniata park and we thought it was like going to the country. we would go sledding down big bash. does anyone remember bill and joes,it was on ontario st,that was a great corner store. i had a great childhood in kensington, too bad there aint neighborhoods like that anymore