April 3, 2008 Issue
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Classified Chestnut Hill Local Don't Miss an Issue, Tell us what you see or Winner of Two |
Local LifeCommodore Barry Club: 50 years of Irish pride in Mt. Airy
In our Local travels, we have interviewed many interesting people. Once, we even interviewed a cell phone — or, more accurately, the person on the other end. Now, we have interviewed a building, the Commodore Barry Club, 6815 Emlen St., at Carpenter Lane, in West Mt. Airy. The building had nothing to say; it took four interesting and informative surrogates to bring its story forth. According to our initial contact and host, Jim McGill, the Club is officially known as The Society of Commodore John Barry USN, and also as The Irish Center. In addition, said Billy Brennan, historian and librarian, this onetime auto club and catering hall also shelters 10 other Irish-affiliated groups. These include the Philadelphia Ceili (pronounced ‘KAY-lee’) Group. This organization, founded in 1958, preserves traditional Irish music and dance, and, according to Billy, has given its extensive Irish music archives to the Library of Congress. Jim, who also dotes on Irish music, was quick to mention the “huge Ceili Festival covering three days every September” at the Club. Owns gas station but tours Europe regularly
Growing up, Rob Henderson absorbed the music of the times, starting with Motown records before moving on to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Then, as a teenager, Henderson’s uncle turned him on to a style of music that would direct the course of his life — jazz. Sitting in his Germantown home, Henderson says that prior to that time, he had collected hundreds of rock and soul records. “I gave them all to my younger brother,” he laughs. “I said, ‘If it ain’t jazz, it ain’t staying in my collection.’” Though Henderson has since reopened his library to other genres, jazz is still his first love. It makes sense, of course, because the 50-year-old has made his career as a successful jazz drummer, a vocation that has taken him all over the world to play his music. Not to mention that one of his bands, H-Factor, released a record that made it to number 20 on the national jazz charts. “I was in shock,” he explains. “I was doing radio interviews all over the country. I was on a ride that you would not believe.”
New technology a ‘Windfall’ for stress reduction clients
Some people relax by reading a good book. Others enjoy a cup of tea or a bubble bath. Soon, some people may say they unwind with sessions in the Vibro-Acoustic System. With their new business at 7322 Rural Lane in West Mt. Airy, energy medicine enthusiasts Shawn Althauser, CBET, and Kaye Baluarte will be giving clients the relaxation they need by introducing them to this novel technology. Even though her work now focuses on energy medicine, Althauser started out in the biomedical/clinical engineering field, although she doesn’t believe the two areas are that different. “The switch over wasn’t really a switch in my mind,” she said. “It’s all in the field of energy and working with the electromagnetic field.” Shawn worked for Thomas Jefferson University Hospital for 14 years and later worked for Surgical Laser Technologies, a medical laser company. She started to move toward energy medicine when she became involved with Reiki, a Japanese form of spiritual practice focusing on stress reduction and relaxation.
‘Third’ a first-rate play at Suzanne Roberts Theatre There is something fundamentally decent about the characters in Third, Wendy Wasserstein’s last play. Wasserstein, who died of cancer at 55 in early 2006, is the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning playwright whose focus was always on the humanity of her often feminist and generally likeable characters.
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