October 23, 2008 Issue                                                     

Local News

Avenue businesses feel the recession
Chestnut Hill merchants hope to combat slowdown in the economy.
by JENNIFER KATZ

Joe Magarity, pictured in the showroom of his Ford dealership at Germantown Ave. and Hartwell Ln., has had to make cut backs and diversify his fleet to keep afloat during these trying economic times. (Photo by Joel Hoffmann)

The news isn’t good. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is dropping and rising with the frequency of dough in the hands of a pizza baker. The National Retail Federation’s name has become synonymous with apocalyptic gloom, and the “big boys” of the corporate world are looking more like exposed bullies on the playground.

For years now, Hillers have debated the fate and general economic health of the Avenue, specifically that illustrious strip from Bethlehem Pike and its environs to the very bottom of the bottom of the Hill at Cresheim Valley Road.

There have been forums and PowerPoint presentations, surveys and studies — all aimed at taking the temperature of the businesses along the Avenue in Chestnut Hill.

Video: Breast Cancer Walk Raises Awareness on the Avenue

Ghost Walk begins Saturday on the Hill

Annie Hart

Can’t decide what to do for the Halloween season? The Ghost Walk is the best deal in town at $5 a person and no charge for those under five.

On Saturday, Oct. 25, Teenagers, Inc. invites the surrounding community to join a haunted Ghost Walk of Chestnut Hill. Participants will quietly follow the lantern-bearing guides snaking through the old homes and churches of the Hill and encountering along the way four spellbinding storytellers who will weave their tales of the fantastic and the startling. 

Storytellers include:

Audrey Roll is a professional storyteller who for more than 20 years has performed traditional folk songs and composed original tales. She has performed narration for books in audio format, and video presentations for professional promotions. She is a full time children’s librarian for the Free Library of Philadelphia who loves sharing tales. Roll has been part of the Ghost Walk for several years.

Local Sports

Last Saturday, Chestnut Hill Academy’s football team provided its Homecoming Day crowd a lot of excitement, but not a victory. A third-quarter touchdown gave the visiting Penn Charter Quakers (3-4 overall) a 20-13 win over the Blue Devils (5-3), and both teams walked away with 1-1 records within the Inter-Ac League. After PC took the early lead on a touchdown pass from quarterback John Loughery to Alex Starr, Chestnut Hill notched back-to-back TD’s on a kick-off return by Jon McAllister and a run by Ibraheim Campbell. Michael Brown then rushed for the Quakers’ second touchdown 85 seconds before halftime. Kickers Pat Connaghan (CHA) and Billy O’Boyle (PC) were each one-for-two on extra point attempts, producing a 13-13 count at the intermission. The final score of the game was on the board with 1:21 left in the third quarter, after PC’s Loughery hit receiver Mick Foley in the left corner of the end zone and O’Boyle sent his conversion kick through the uprights. CHA’s last possession culminated in a fourth-down-and-six gambit with 1:52 remaining in the game, and the hosts’ last hope was snuffed out when Joe Volgraf of the Quakers sacked CHA quarterback Dan Gallagher. -TU

CHA soccer climbs over Hill
by TOM UTESCHER

In an attempt to take away the ball, Tom Gargan of CHA (#6) slide-tackles Ryan Dietrich of Hill School. For more photos, visit www.chlocalphotos.com. (Photo by Jimmy J. Pack Jr.)

This fall, victories haven’t been easy to come by for Chestnut Hill Academy’s soccer squad, but the Blue Devils conjured one up for their Homecoming crowd last Saturday, defeating visiting Hill School, 2-1, in a non-league encounter.

Junior Peter Adubato deposited both goals for CHA, which improved to 2-9-1 overall in the 2008 campaign. The Inter-Ac League tally for the locals remained at 1-2-1, a mark that included a 4-1 loss at Malvern Prep last Tuesday.

What deficiencies did the Devils address during the three days of practice between the Malvern and Hill matches?

“Just field vision,” replied CHA coach Mark Weinmann. “Being able to see where the numbers-up and the numbers-down situations are. To do it in practice is one thing, and to do it in the heat of battle’s another. We’re starting to trust each other a little more to get the ball to our feet or to find an open space.”