©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Local Life

Wyndmoor volunteer duo ‘no better, just luckier’
by PAULA M. RILEY

This is Marc McKenna(left) and Dr. Michael Keegan, his friend from Washington DC, Georgetown Prep High School, who got him involved initially.

This is the 11th in an ongoing series of articles by Paula M. Riley on Chestnut Hill volunteers.

“It’s no fun being poor,” says Laura McKenna of Wyndmoor. She and her husband Marc come face-to-face with poverty through their extensive volunteer work both near and far.

Cross-examining life of Hill ‘Renaissance Man’
by LEN LEAR

David and daughter Michaela when she was two-and-a-half. (She will be 14 next week.)

Every newspaper, regardless of size, receives calls from time to time from people in the community who say they would like to write for it. I had an editor at the now-defunct Philadelphia Journal in the late ‘70s who insisted editors should never waste time with such wannabes. “They’re never any good,” he insisted. “If you try to be kind to them, you’re just wasting your time and theirs. It’s best to let them down gently right away and be done with it.”

If I shared that view of the now-retired editor, the Local would have never run the brilliantly insightful book reviews of David Cross, now 40, who contacted the paper about six years ago asking to write some articles. At the time Cross was an attorney with the Philadelphia Public Defender’s Office and a Mt. Airy resident. (He has since moved to Erdenheim, then to Lafayette Hill.)

Mt. Airy artist, 83, does not believe in ‘that talent stuff’
by CANDIDA DeFONSECA

John Graham, of Mt. Airy, seen last month during an exhibit of his works at the Manayunk Art Center.

At 83 years old, Mount Airy resident John Graham has had his share of life experiences. One he can add to the list is an art show with fellow painter John Hagarty at the Manayunk Art Center at 419 Green Lane. Featured artists for the month of June, they were part of “Paintings in Color,” a show that ran through June 25.

“The first time I enjoyed art was when I was in second grade,” said Graham, who got started because he doodled away his class time. “I fooled the teacher, who thought I was taking notes, and I was doodling a lot.

“My education was sort of mixed up.” When Graham was a child, he had polio and as a result, missed a bit of school.

Graham dropped out of high school and enlisted in the Army for one year. When World War II broke out, however, he ended up serving for five years. After his service, he went to the School of Industrial Art, now known as the Philadelphia College of Art, under the GI bill.

Worldly Mt. Airy p.r. man was ‘Beyond the Cold’ in Norway
by MATT SWITKISKI

Michael Kleiner, a Mt. Airy resident, appeared recently at Big Blue Marble Books, 551 Carpenter Lane, to discuss his recently published book, Beyond the Cold: An American’s Warm Portrait of Norway. For more information, visit www.beyondthecold.com, which has slide shows of the country and excerpts from the book.

Up for a little word association? I’m gonna name a country and you tell me the first thing that comes to mind. Japan. I had sushi. England? Good rock music. Norway. Cold—your thoughts too, huh? If you came up with something else on reading “Norway,” you’re either a far worldlier person than I, or you’re Michael Kleiner, a man so in love with the country and its people that he is now hoping to broaden perceptions with his new book, Beyond the Cold.

Kleiner, 47 of Mt. Airy, has “always had an interest in writing,” putting it to good use throughout his career. He’s worked as a journalist in various aspects, as a sportswriter for the Germantown Courier and associate sports editor for Rutgers’ daily paper. Later he found himself working in public relations; one of his earliest jobs was being hired as the director of communications for the Abington Friends School. With a master’s degree in Educational Media from Temple, Kleiner wanted to incorporate more of his technical know-how into his practice.

World-class Rose Garden at Morris Arboretum

The garden dates back to 1924 when Lydia Morris transformed the area from a mixed garden of flowers, fruits and vegetables to a formal Rose Garden. In the last few years it has undergone a dramatic renewal.

The Delaware Valley is home to some of the most beautiful public gardens in the country. However, it would be difficult to find a more beautiful garden at this time of year than the Rose Garden at the Morris Arboretum. The garden, which is just now entering peak bloom, “…is nothing short of spectacular,” according to Arboretum Director Paul Meyer. “Many visitors have told us that they believe our rose garden is truly among the finest in the world.”