February 7, 2008 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Local News

Fairview resident celebrates 100th
by KRISTIN PAZULSKI

Fairview Care Center resident Kristine Priedite celebrated her 100th birthday on Friday, Feb. 1, with a star-themed party attended by friends and well wishers. (Photo by Erin Vertreace.)

Last Friday, Kristine Priedite sat in a typical waiting room chair turned birthday throne to celebrate her 100th birthday. A halo of gold and black paper stars formed a backdrop to Priedite’s tiny frame, and she wore a black gown speckled with gold and a necklace of stars.

Every month there is a birthday celebration at the Fairview Care Center, a retirement home on Bethlehem Pike, when all the residents with birthdays in that month are honored with cake, decorations and socializing. But the celebration last Friday was held exclusively for Priedite to celebrate her 100-year milestone on Feb. 1.

Florence Thorton, director of therapeutic recreation at Fairview, said every 100th birthday at the center is celebrated with a party, and in her 30-some years at the center, she has helped celebrate about 10. Currently, there are three residents over 100 living at the center, including Priedite.

Hill native writes first novel at 70
by Kristin Pazulski

Harry Groome

At age 70, Harry Groome has not yet learned what the term “retire” means as he celebrates the publication of his first book, Wing Walking, a novel (based on true events) that portrays the emotional and personal side of the large corporate players in the pharmaceutical industry.

Groome, a native Hiller and Chestnut Hill Academy graduate, worked in corporate pharmaceutical companies for more than 30 years, starting out as a writer and advancing, eventually, to chairman of SmithKline Beecham Consumer HealthCare.

When he was 52 and retirement loomed eight years ahead (SmithKline, a British company, required employees to retire at 60), someone had suggested he begin writing again.

“I filed it away,” he said of the suggestion, and when retirement came a few years later, he gave writing a whirl.

Commentary: Germantown Avenue Follies
by JIM FOSTER

Continuing construction has closed Germantown Avenue from Gowen Avenue to Cresheim Valley Drive. Detours are being used for buses and cars, making life for commuters and nearby businesses difficult. (Photo by Erin Vertreace. )

Having trouble commuting between the Hill and the rest of Northwest Philadelphia? Does that rerouting of all traffic via Stenton Avenue cause near gridlock at key travel times and even in the middle of the day drastically change your ability to access what were once very routine destinations? How about those of you who use public transit that can’t come even close to former stops?

I would like to take this opportunity to say, “I told you so.”

After attending community meetings that were strategically held next to holiday weekends to minimize attendance, I wrote an extensive commentary that was published, making the case that in this community, with almost no adjacent access arteries, closing Germantown Avenue completely was going to create a logistical nightmare and impact residents, commuters and businesses significantly.

Revived Traffic, Transportation and Parking Committee

In Chestnut Hill traffic has been an issue for decades. The first edition of the Chestnut Hill Local on Thursday, May 8, 1958, featured a front-page article, “Suggestions from your area traffic committee.” Written almost 50 years ago, the article resonates with many of the same challenges we face today relating to bus stops, pedestrians, motorists and parking issues.