The 93-year-old Chestnut Hill Bocce Club will be continuing a patriotic tradition that started more than six decades ago when the organization hosts its annual Fourth of July celebration on Saturday, starting at Hartwell Lane and Ardleigh Street.
The festivities honoring the nation’s 250th birthday will include free food, drinks, water ice, T-shirts, a bicycle parade, flags and races, along with a candy hunt, a bounce house, a magic show and a raffle that will enable one boy and one girl to win new bicycles. The celebration kicks off at 9 a.m.
The signature holiday event represents the community involvement that is a hallmark of the historic Bocce Club, according to Tony DePaul, 10-time president of the club who is also a 50-year, third-generation member and 12-time grandmaster of the Fourth of July celebration.
“The Bocce Club took over the Fourth of July event in the 1960s when the Chestnut Hill Fathers’ Club withdrew from sponsoring the event,” DePaul said.
Youngsters and their families will decorate bikes, wagons and floats in the holiday’s traditional red, white and blue, and parade down Hartwell Lane to the Water Tower Recreation Center. After they arrive, judges will decide whose bikes best represent the themes of freedom and independence in a nation celebrating its 250th birthday. The party with a patriotic purpose then moves to the recreation center with free balloons, games and field day activities. A free lunch and a magic show will round out the annual event.
”We would like to give particular credit to Frank ‘Stretch’ Hendrie as a longtime driving force for the July Fourth event,” DePaul said. “Stretch, 80, was a Marine, has four kids and was married to the late Peggy Hendrie, who worked for the Chestnut Hill Parking Authority. Hendrie served as the longtime president of the local youth sports club. He was widely recognized for signing up and coaching neighborhood children, including his own, for sports like T-ball.”
Hendrie served one year as president of the Bocce Club and is also a lifetime member and was always heavily involved in fundraising, DePaul said.
For decades, the Bocce Club, which is at 118 E. Hartwell Lane, has served as a cornerstone of the neighborhood, promoting community awareness, fostering social activities and encouraging civic pride among local residents.
Established in 1933, the club was founded as an athletic and social enclave where Italian-Americans and other local residents gathered to play traditional bocce and build neighborhood camaraderie. For those not familiar with the game, bocce is one of the oldest forms of lawn bowling, with roots dating back to the Roman Empire. The Chestnut Hill Bocce Club members no longer play the game, but play horseshoes instead.
Like many longtime Italian-American social organizations in Philadelphia, the club evolved from an exclusive enclave into a recreational and community venue that still honors its traditional roots. The club has 450 members, half of whom are under 50 years old, according to Chris Hesdon, vice president of the the club and a member for 27 years, joining when he was 21.
Although members enjoy the socializing that is part of being involved with the club, community service activities are equally important to them, members say. Most recently, they hosted a benefit for the Water Tower Advisory Council, but the group’s highest profile event is still the annual Fourth of July celebration. Over the years, thousands of children and adults have participated.
For more information about the Chestnut Hill Bocce Club, call 215-247-9776. The club does not have a website or email address but is on Facebook.
Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com.
