I grew up in kensington from the time i was born to the late 80's . I always go back to the days the neighbors hung watched there children and the ocassional fist fit between the neighbors that hated eachother one day and the next act like nothing happened the next. Just want to say that"gosh they where the good day" by the way is Kellis still open ?

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 ...

check this site out if you're from around K & A these guys grew up their in the 70's and 80's
http://www.kensingtonmemories.blogspot.com/

Hey that is a great website know some of the names on there i lved at B and ontario we had great time their!!!!!!

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.

Back in the day you could walk anywhere to get what u need the playgrounds where all over the place Mcveigh,hissy,Mcpherson square they where all there I bet kellis has changed havent ben down there in a looooooooong time ,now just memories!!!!!!!

Grew up around York & Dauphin..'60 & '70's..times were different..much different.

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My grandparents owned Motts & Mary's Candy shop on Madison 1 block off of Kensington Ave, and I remember walking the ave with my Grandmom. Kressegys, don't think I spelled that right.

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

SOOOOO SADDD!

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Camille

Did they have the live crabs being sold in baskets on Front St. around there back then? That is one of my memories from the '80s anyway.

York and Dauphin area is still full of business, mostly patronized by the Puerto Rican community.

industrial work went overseas... despair replaced work and drugs filled in after that and most of N Philly sank while the industrialists made yet more money overseas. sad sad sad. think of all that used to be made between baltimore and nyc up until the 70's, and where is it all made today? why, cheap labor and no enviromental laws. we kinda shot ourselves in the foot in this country it would seem, in the exact same way the industrial might of the world left the UK for here in the mid 1800's. (and left the UK a mess for years) i watched a film on this area that detailed the city from the mid 1800's to the 1950's the other night and it was amazing what used to be built here and how the city looked then.

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