March 16, 2006 Issue
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March 16, 2006 Issue
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Classified Chestnut Hill Local Webmaster Don't Miss an Issue, Tell us what you see or ©2005 Chestnut Hill Local Winner of Three |
From our readers...To Mr. Foster First, any assumptions about National City Lines seem to indicate that automobile and bus manufacturing in the United States in the 1930s was a General Motors monopoly. I’m sure that Ford Motor Company, Chrysler, Packard and a number of auto manufacturers would beg to differ. Also, the company that GM organized in the 1930s was Rex Motor Company, organized by GM to buy up money-losing systems, presumably with the replacement of money-losing trolleys with (presumably) less-costly buses. Jeez, what do you expect? Nobody goes into business planning to lose money, Max Bialystock notwithstanding. As far as the Snell report: I have read the summary, and his summary has National City Lines operating in Philadelphia as early as the 1940s, which doesn’t agree with the actual chronology, and in New York City, which NCL never entered. His report may have also been colored by the times: 1974 was the height of the Watergate era. As far as NCL’s methods, well, as far as anybody knows, nobody from NCL was pressuring those stockholders to allow their proxies to be used for NCL aims. I think those holders had their eyes open when National City Lines came calling, and they were looking for profits, which they felt could come with the NCL touch. I doubt that those holders cared how they got the profits, just that they received a dividend on a regular basis. As far as forcing the taxpayers to take over the system eventually, well, those taxpayers were voting with their feet, and their right hand, for the most part ... they had bought automobiles, and not necessarily just those built by GM, and for quite a number of reasons ... one of which was that they didn’t care to ride in vehicles that predated the Great Depression, including some that were contemporaries of the Titanic. Another reason, and one that may be a larger reason, is that people wanted to operate on their schedule, not the schedule of some transit or rail operator. That has been part of the American psyche since pioneer days and would take quite a shock to change even now. Regarding Mr. Foster’s note about Mr. Adamchik’s contention of a master 1938 plan to go bus: I’ve not heard of such a plan, but some previous research of mine did reveal that the mayor of Philadelphia at that time, S. Davis Wilson, did have a preference for the bus over rails ... he was not terribly enthusiastic over the first purchase of streamlined trolleys by Philadelphia Rapid Transit, PTC’s predecessor. That may have been the basis of a master plan belief. As far as later purchases of buses by PTC in the pre-NCL era, most of those were specifically steered to Mack Truck and ACF-Brill, both of which were Pennsylvania-based. Though GM buses were sampled by PTC in the pre-NCL days, politics were in play in the pre-1955 era and they didn’t favor GM. In this era, GM had gotten their transit bus product to the point where it was a solid, durable and economical vehicle, of which many buses of that era had 25- to 30-year service lives. Nothing I’ve written above is meant to be a paean to National City Lines. They install policies that induced a laziness in operation that is still evident today in SEPTA’s current operations, though there are groups (including one in which I am a board member and an officer, Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers), that are trying to force a sea change in the way that SEPTA operates. As a person who has lived near the Route 23 for 40 of my 50 years of life, I do hope that modern rail operation will return to this line, not just in Chestnut Hill, but all the way into South Philadelphia, where I currently reside.
The Death Squad mentioned in Bridget Irons’ letter is none other than the United States Department of Agriculture, the federal killing squad for wildlife which includes poisoning crows in Lancaster and accepting payment from foreign-owned slaughter houses in the United States in defiance of legislation passed by Congress to forbid government funds being used to inspect the slaughtered horses prior to shipment to the European and Asian gourmands who feed on horsemeat. These are the USDA Death Squad hit-men to bait and kill the Fairmount Park deer. Contrary to Skurecki’s issue with emotion, it would be good if Irons’ descriptive words stirred emotion. If one cannot be emotional about pain and death, what can one be emotional about? Skurecki’s objection to the word kill is a semantic error. It is pertinent to note that whether it is kill, cull, harvest or deer management activity, it is always death caused by an agency, just as a rose by another name would smell as sweet. The trusting, unsuspecting public referenced by Irons are those who have swallowed the Game Commission credo that the retrograde method of hunting is the way to manage wildlife, despite wildlife contraception which has been used successfully by the Bureau of Land Management, Department of Commerce, the National Institutes of Health, etc. For example, a study by an independent researcher of the Fire Island deer treated with Porcine Zona Pelucida (PZP) showed that in a 30-month period ending in October 2000, the deer population dropped an average of 26 percent per year. Has hunting produced any such decrease according to an objective study? Skurecki’s feeble attempt as ventriloquist to speak for the deer is merely a reflection of his own thoughts. What the deer are really thinking: all members of the Ungulate Preservation Association feel threatened by an overpopulation of humans who are taking our land and right to live. You’ve polluted the waterways, punctured the ozone layer, genetically messed with plants and animals and saturated the world with the blood of countless species, including your own. According to Skurecki, you have claimed the world as your Homeland. However, the way you have used it shows that it is not your oyster; it’s your toilet! Give us the privilege of contraception that you have but don’t use sufficiently. Contraception would certainly limit our numbers so the deer right-to-kill proponents could not use the Starving Deer excuse for seasonal bloodletting. All of us — does, bucks and fawns — feel threatened by an overpopulation of humans and are thinking of hiring Tony Soprano and his associates to reduce the burgeoning human herd so we can live in peace. Please ponder the words of Dostoevsky who admonished: “Man, do not pride yourself on your superiority to animals: they are without sin, and you, with your greatness, defile the earth by your appearance on it, and leave the traces of your foulness after you.”
Joseph Borrelli, the owner/director, has presented us with a well thought-out, well-lit, nicely installed exhibition called Spring Forward, which turns out to be a very apt title. Four local women artists of his choice, each of whom knows her way around the world of paint and canvas in a modest space which contributes to a sense of intimacy, is the content and the visual diversion on these walls is really satisfying. On each side-wall hangs the work of two artists. The ground is vibrant, warm and white, inviting. The smaller works are hung close to the entrance for a good first look (actually, going and coming) whereas for distance viewing the larger ones are well placed at the rear. As one enters on the right, there are the vibrant sophisticated flowers of Marta Sanchez, surrounding as they do several almost abstract scenes from railroad yards, sharp and decisive lines, strong work. To the left of the entrance Nancy Wheelers’ still lifes of domestic arrangements in lovely harmonious colors. The light that comes from them is appealing. One responds to these works. Look again. To the right at the end Ronell Douglass has several large cool soft but firm compositions that invite contemplation. A large landscape of Maine coast islands woods and bay is handled with original vigor and stroke. Quite different from the classic model of this subject. One small canvas of drifting white flowers in a dark green copse is very appealing. To the left rear, spotted on entering is one of Judith McCabe Jarvis’ arresting, witty landscapes. In one, two bright wooden longback garden chairs in an interesting play of color, face left. There are several canvases, white framed. One of drooping sunflowers close up and inscrutable. Two more night cityscapes — wet reflections featuring yellow cabs, commanding and well, chaotically constructed, give impact. At the far end, in the office on two walls, in a remarkably tasteful, jam-packed arrangement is the gallery inventory, which unobtrusively beckons. I was delighted at this fresh sophisticated collection; competent, in no sense derivative and painted in each individual’s thoughtful vocabulary. Thank you again, gallery owner/director, artists and Chestnut Hill.
Chestnut Hill Meals on Wheels operates out of the Chestnut Hill Hospital where the food is prepared in the kitchen. Before venturing out to deliver meals each week, Ed could be found in the cafeteria enjoying the camaraderie of the other Friday drivers. We, the undersigned, appreciated Ed’s unfailing sense of humor, his kindness and dedication, and we gained from his good judgment and experience, as did his Meals on Wheels clients. Thanks, Ed. Chestnut Hill Meals on Wheels’ staff, volunteers and clients will miss you!
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