But is it really nothing to see here or they got caught with their pants down and don’t realize stuff’s been going on?
Really nothing to see? Are they sure?
Whoever owns this property, you have got to give them an “A” for effort because they’ve been doing something right underneath Newtown Township Delaware County’s noses haven’t they?
I don’t really think this is just something that you can call people Karens about and write off can you?
Hey whatever… it’s just another municipality saying nothing to see here when there’s potentially everything to see, isn’t it?
Oy I can’t with this chick “Carly Closes.” Today it’s like Carly does Wayne, and is that like Debbie does Dallas? Dunno. She is going to say I am a petty beeatch, but this time she is co-opting literally one of my most favorite bits of quirky history. So favorited by me that I got a state approved historical marker that I still check on every time I am in Wayne.
Please note this is a public post a la wants to be an influencer on social media.
Let ME get into it. First and foremost, she can’t even pronounce what she’s trying to co-opt to shill with. She is speaking about the Wayne Natatorium in North Wayne. She doesn’t even have the location right. Literally the pool was Willow Avenue in North Wayne, Little Chicago. That’s right— where Willow Avenue is today was the pool. They blocked up the Gulph Creek to fill the pool, as well as utilizing springs underground and it was very popular for a short amount of time.
It was the largest outdoor pool in the country and one of the largest in the world at the time. There were swimming championships, and there was ice-skating in the winter. There were ladies and men’s dressing rooms, and there was a clubhouse and at the end of Willow Avenue before it takes the dog leg part of that clubhouse used to exist until there was a fire and when they rebuilt it, I don’t know if they saved any of it because there was a really cool fireplace and that then rental property that was from the original clubhouse.
This is a photo from around 2005 I think of the clubhouse fireplace mantel I mentioned
Carly implies with her interpolation that it was like a sideshow circus freak kind of an attraction and it really wasn’t that. It was part of Wayne at the time. So can I say thousands and thousands past through the pool? No, because I don’t think we really know. The other thing is it wasn’t just drought that caused the pool to fade in popularity other things gained popularity like cycling as in bicycles and golfing. While it was open it was popular. And there were swimming championships and exhibitions.
Again, I know about the Wayne Natatorium because I got the sign for it. Yes indeed I really did. I went to the board of commissioners in October 2009 in Radnor Township to get their approval. I wrote the application I raised the money, my nonprofit sponsor was the Radnor Historical Society. But I did the work. The chair of the historical society at the time was Ted Pollard and he told me back then I was on my own because he was focused on getting a sign for Bishop Richard Allen when he visited the Bryn Mawr section of Radnor somewhere off of Bryn Mawr Avenue probably close to where the WaWa is today if I remember it correctly. In 2009 they dedicated a small park on Brook Street in Bryn Mawr to him. At the time, Ted Pollard told me to wait and I said no because whatever the state emphasis was that year for historical markers, I felt the Wayne Natatorium stood a better chance of making it. And in the end I was right. The Bishop Allen Historical marker didn’t actually make it to marker status until 2023.
Two people in particular from Radnor Historical Society were instrumental in helping me and letting me into the archives of the historical society at Finley House. One was Greg Pritchard, who is now history everything with Lower Merion Township and is the Lower Merion’s HARB person. The other was Beverlee Barnes, who is the preservation planner at the Delaware County Planning Department.
Some of my other great supporters of this project back in the day is former commissioners John Nagle and Hank Mahoney, Sam Strike who used to be with the Suburban and Wayne Times, Bob Zienkowski now manager of East Vincent, my late friend Andy Lewis who was on County Council in Delaware County, as well as being a Haverford Township Commissioner during his life, and another dearly departed member of the Radnor Township community, Steve Paolantonio.
So seriously, I really want cool history preserved, and I want people to love the history, but when people co-op the history for personal gain, (and I’m entitled to that opinion, this is a public post across social media platforms) I think that’s wrong.
And if you’re going to speak about local history at least correctly pronounce what you’re speaking on. Otherwise you sound ridiculous and twatwaffleish.
*Note a lot of this was my own research, some of the items came courtesy of the Radnor Historical Society and their archives. The newspaper I showed screenshots of called The Philadelphia Times was in existence from 1875-1902, when I think it was merged into The Public Ledger.*
The Wayne Natatorium was written about in defunct Philadelphia area newspapers at the turn of the century and the Philadelphia Inquirer has written about it here and there including August of 1992. That article spoke about Fennimore Lake, Martin’s Dam, Mill Dam, places that no longer exist like Lea’s Lake, Cathcart Lake and the Wayne Natatorium.
In January 1896 there was a “Ghost Carnival”. The folks who attended back then we Main Line and Philadelphia notables and executives and families of the Pennsylvania Railroad. (Philadelphia Inquirer, January 19, 1896)
The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1899 also reported on an “enjoyable skating carnival.” (Philadelphia Inquirer, January 15, 1899)
At the end here are my photos and photos friends gave me from when we dedicated the sign – we received commendations from the state as well as Delaware County. We had Radnor Township officials present, my (then) home township folks from Lower Merion Township there, state representatives and a state senator.
So Aesop still says when Carly wants to close her mouth instead of the sound of her own voice, she might actually learn something. But until then she will be just another realtor using the area’s history as a social media marketing tool.
I hope you all have enjoyed actually learning about the Wayne Natatorium today.
Cheers! Hope the Canadian Wildfire smoke clears soon, don’t you?
This is about a cold case of a crime committed within East Pikeland Township. Does the Chester County District Attorney have a cold case unit? Maybe if items are still preserved the DNA of it all could be tested again like the author of this post I am sharing suggests? I will note that it seemed like in the not too distant past that the Pennsylvania State Police are still very much looking into this. Also it looks like they looked at it in 2017?
I’m going to note that I looked up in the newspaper archives I think written by a colonist from the Philadelphia Daily News in April 1970 at some point talking about the viewing in Darby for this murdered little boy who would have been 67 now had he lived. He might have had a family of his own and more. But he never even lived long enough to go to a prom, let alone get a drivers license, grow up, etc.
Think about that.
Anyway, the old newspaper articles talk about how he earned the money to go on this trip where he ended up getting murdered.
The Daily News article about the viewing in 1970 spoke about all the people waiting in line to pay their respects. A lot of the people seemed as if they were kids his age?
He was laid out in a dark suit and some adult signed the sympathy book in the church in Darby “FIDDLE” and said I guess to this reporter that people would know who he was or Terry’s family would know who he was.
The columnist’s name from 1970 was Tom Fox. He also interviewed the man who helped to make the trip possible who apparently owned a furniture store. His name was Harold Finigan. Mr. Finigan‘s brother was the Rev. William Finigan, pastor of St. Basil the Great Roman Catholic Church on Kimberton Road. Apparently the property that these Boy Scouts went camping on was owned by the church. The article said that the church owned 18 acres around there at that point. I don’t know how much they own today.
(An aside would be Harold Finigan was a beloved figure in Darby until he passed away at 95 and he was a legendary rower at Malta Boat Club in Philadelphia. His furniture store was a vintage and antique store and he was the one who helped locate the grave of 18th Century Philadelphia botanist John Bartram in the Quaker cemetery in Darby.So knowing that can you imagine how he must have felt? This man did nothing but good for his hometown.)
Another interesting part of the article was the fact that the Darby Police Chief was reported to have been kind of standing in the shadows, watching all the mourners come and go to look for strange faces.
The other article I read about this noted that the killer must’ve been quiet because there were so many boys plus supervising adults sleeping nearby.
So was it some random person that snuck in where they were camping or was it someone among them? Can you imagine? I bet they probably thought they couldn’t think of a safer place to go camping than the backyard of a church, right?
It was so sad to read the quotes from the children who were at this viewing who knew Terry. One little girl remarked that this would be the last time she saw him, and another girl said the last time she saw him he was walking down the street in his scout uniform.
So this church is near where they hold the Kimberton fair I think. I know I’ve gone past it.
The article also commented that the investigation was also done with the assistance of Chester County Detectives at the time and the state police out of the Exton barracks. I have to be honest I thought that was a mistake in the article because they referred to “East Franklin” police and this church and property are in East Pikeland Township and I’ve also never known or maybe I don’t remember ever hearing about a Pennsylvania State police barracks in Exton…but there was because Barry Dee from WCHE FM sent me a note:
The PSP Exton Barracks was located where the Wicks Ski shop was later located that became Buckmans. It is across Rt 100 from Hill’s seafood which is at the corner of Pottstown Pike and Shoen Rd. They used to land the helicopter in the field on the south side of the building. It was an old beat up farmhouse. They later moved to Rt 30 heading west out of Exton, past Ball & Ball at the old farmhouse and barn on the right that became a veterinarian. The location is now the Pennsylvania Farm Table Company. That building location is right across from the old ARCO (i think) gas station that is now and Enterprise Rental.
They then moved to the building located on the Embreeville Mental Institution grounds on Strasburg Rd just east of Romansvile before they finally got the modern building where they are currently operating just half a mile west of their previous location.
How’s that for a history?
Barry
Now back to the old case of Terry Bowers.
Terry was in 6th grade when he was murdered and he was stabbed a few times in the back.
Thank you Angelina Robinson whomever you are for the Facebook post that randomly popped up that made me dig into this. Should we all pay it forward and see if we could get anyone to look at this again? I mean, if they could find the name of the “boy in the box” after so much time, one could hope they find maybe who murdered this little boy?
Yes, they did look into this in 2017 and there were a bunch of media pieces that year. There have also been other articles or pieces or podcasts here and there.
Maybe this year they can look at it again? Maybe this year the media could revive interest in this case?
Ahh birds of a feather on a Monday morning? State Representative Lisa Borowski who was a self- serving commissioner in Radnor Township is now an equally self-serving State Representative for Delaware County is a co-sponsor of PA HB 2151 which adds data center language dangerously so to the PA Municipalities Planning Code gets voted on this morning.
Lisa Borowski doesn’t give a good god damn about Pennsylvanians obviously and well if she’s elected again then Delaware County has lost its mind. She could’ve removed herself from the spill, but she just ignored everyone and went to her little petition signing parties. Of course she’s also let down a lot of Radnor residents recently on issues they are having where she promised to help.
Kristine Howard of course is the great invisible state representative representing parts of Chester county including East Whiteland, which is fighting a data center.
From Ginny Kerslake:
📌At 10 o’clock this morning, March 2 the Pennsylvania House Energy Committee will be voting on HB2151. You can watch the vote at the link below.
HB2151 will NOT put strict guardrails on data center development as some in Harrisburg are claiming. Expect the opposite from the Department of Community and Economic Development which has been working hand-in-hand with corporations like Amazon to fast-track projects and keep information from impacted communities. They should not be in charge of deciding what is reasonable for local data center ordinances – such things as setback distances from homes and schools or maximum allowable noise level levels.
All of these state representatives are on the ballot this year. Let’s see how they vote
Today the bulldozers have arrived at 400 S. Leopard Road in Berwyn, Chester County and Easttown Township. We have been living this since the first fire in 2024. Charged with arson in one fire here is still Kathryn Calmus Frankel. She was charged in the new year with a dangerous fire in York County, PA. She was also charged with some sort of fire in Delaware County (Radnor Township.) I am uncertain as to which prison she is located in – I presume York County which is county of latest arson.
Frankel has not been tried in any of these cases as of yet, although I did notice this on the Delaware County, PA docket:
Is there a chance she pleads on all of these cases? Who knows. The media down here has not followed up and we haven’t heard anything out of the various District Attorneys’ offices about that have we?
I am so sad that this quirky old house is becoming something we will maybe remember for a while and then forget as ashes to ashes dust to dust…and we know a McMansion shall replace part of our Chester County history, but two brutal fires have killed this piece of history.
This is yet another reason why this country needs better mental health services.
Here is one more photo and then to follow current dockets from 3 counties and a couple of prior posts.
Bye house. You were once beautiful, quirky, and loved even by strangers driving by.
I actually do have friends who have had kids in Radnor School District past and present. And I’ve been asking them about this whole AI deep sexual fake thing that we all heard about for quite a while and then it exploded.
“Girls were pulled out of class after the situation was already widely known and visibly escorted to the principal’s office, increasing stigma, exposure, humiliation and distress. This happened despite the parents’ documented request to not interview the girls without speaking to a parent first. They were interviewed 1×1 by a 45 year old male.
So you have these hyper sexualized deep fake videos done by a freshman male who basically came right back to school yet the girls seem like they were doubted and grilled? And interviewed without parents permission or asked to be present in this situation?
“My daughter called me crying after being interviewed one-on-one by the assistant principal. This occurred after we had specifically requested that we be contacted before any such meeting took place, which did not happen. While crying, she said, “Mom, they think I’m lying,” and asked me to pick her up from school.
In my humble opinion, that’s a victim shaming.
One of Radnor School District’s excuses? They thought it was created off campus. But was it? Did the kid use like a Radnor tablet or whatever they give students? And this student did this because why to other students? It’s also just freaking creepy.
These girls, they stood up, they went to adults, and look at the lesson they’re learning? Essentially, it’s like they’re slut shamed by their own school district, isn’t it? Blame the victim, play Pontius Pilate, and wash hands.
We always tell kids they should speak up if something’s wrong, right? So what lesson do they learn when they speak up and they’re looked at like they did something wrong for speaking up?
Maybe it’s inconvenient to deal with the parents of these kids doing things that are actually wrong like the AI deep fake videos, but guess what? That is the job you signed up for isn’t it, Radnor Township School District?
I have had problems with this district over the years just observing how they don’t address bullying enough. And that includes on the school buses.
And then remember when the middle schoolers were acting like packs of wild animals at businesses in downtown Wayne? And Radnor School District did what exactly?
I mean on one hand I agree that they shouldn’t be doing the parenting for parents who aren’t doing the parenting. However, does that mean that these kids get by with no accountability for their actions? And the people these kids hurt are just left feeling vulnerable and exposed and betrayed??
These deep fake things are just another form of bullying. It’s similar what happened at the Great Valley School District and the way they treated the TikTok bullying of teachers by students. That made national news and really those kids had no accountability did they? Or their parents did they? 
These kids might be minors, but there has to be actual accountability. And I don’t feel like there’s not real accountability for the kids or their parents. The parents of the kids doing this crap also have to be held responsible and accountable.
Radnor High School and the school district are sending a message with their in action and double talk that girls don’t matter in my opinion.
What happened to these girls does matter and it wasn’t a harmless prank. It’s all well and good that they’re now looking at changing policy, but look at the damage they’ve done to those young women?
Oh my just when you think the Radnor meeting was going to be by the book stupid like they have been it was a little popcorn worthy.
With great delight, I saw a familiar face take command of Commissioner Jack Larkin’s grand (and latest) eminent domain plan it seems.
Now Commissioner Larkin seems to be a little too enamored of eminent domain don’t you think? Remember, poor Wayne Presbyterian Church, and their parking lot?
I may be borrowing the lede a little bit so here we go…
Tonight the Radnor Board of Commissioner received a visit from one of my favorite former commissioners from Lower Merion, Phil Rosenzweig. You see how I know Phil as he is one of the seven commissioners we put into office as residents when we wanted to end the specter of the threat of eminent domain for private gain in the Historic Ardmore Business District many years ago. As a matter of fact, once he was sworn in he was the commissioner who wrote the language for the ordinance to eminent domain in Ardmore.
When Phil shows up at a meeting, municipalities are wise to listen. Because that man doesn’t come to play, he doesn’t grandstand, he comes to win for his clients. If Radnor wants to get tied up in litigation and lose at the expense of taxpayers, he’s their man.
I heard a very clear message to Radnor tonight: the land they think they are going to bully their way into from VFMA is not for sale.
The look on Larkin’s face as well as Moira Mulroney in my opinion was rather amusing when the cameras panned back.
Do not misunderstand me, I certainly don’t want to see more residential development back there and Valley Forge has been selling off land piecemeal over time. One thing that also came out tonight is how much a particular developer offered them for I presume the land that Radnor now wants. I believe the number was 20 million or thereabouts and just wow right? Especially just wow because Valley Forge said no.
Radnor needs to be a respectful date and learn that right now, no means no.
We first heard about this officially when Savvy Main Line wrote about it in early January.
Apparently they want the land, (they meaning Radnor Township for some kind of parks and rec thing.) Of course I find that amusing because they can’t take care of the parks they have now. And it’s always a battle at meetings when people come in and ask for basics.
… the township would much rather shake hands than grab, according to Commissioner Jack Larkin whose ward includes the VFMA campus. It prefers to negotiate an amicable purchase and bypass the long, tortuous path of eminent domain,
This wouldn’t be a hostile takeover as some eminent domain purchases are, he says. Cash-poor Valley Forge Military wants to sell. In fact, it’s had talks with a developer who hoped to build single-family homes at the site, Larkin says. VFMA knows the township wants the property but went “radio silent” some time ago.
Could the threat of eminent domain bring VFMA back to the bargaining table? There is a precedent. Radnor engaged in a similar gambit in late 2024 when it threatened to use eminent domain to take Wayne Presbyterian Church’s parking spaces. In that instance, friendly fire sparked a friendly resolution.
The VFMA deal – whether negotiated or seized – will be a boon for the township, Larkin says.
So this whole issue just got a little more fun at least for me to watch with popcorn.
Again, no one wants more residential development over there, but the flipside is sometimes Radnor needs to do things the right way not the way they just feel is more expedient. These commissioners needs to learn how to do things differently, and they also got some stripes in their proverbial hides courtesy of residents who are pissed off because they doesn’t respond to emails apparently.
Get your popcorn, ready kids, I’m not kidding. Radnor had a personally delivered warning on camera tonight. No matter how pleasant it was delivered, I think the message is pretty goddamn clear.
‼️MISSING‼️: Rep. Lisa Borowski Lisa Borowski for State Representative. We suspect she is probably on her knees somewhere doing whatever is asked of her by Johnny Frack as this is what she does- whatever she is told. (I hope the pats on the head don’t mess up her hair.)
Lisa Borowski is a co-sponsor of horrible data center loving PA HB 2151, and was for quite a while a co-sponsor of last year’s disaster of a data center bill HB 502, until she slithered away like the snake 🐍 in the grass that she is (or muppet weasel take your pick.)
This is Lisa’s habitual political M.O. —whatever is best for Lisa. She would not and cannot be counted on to defend Delco residents on pipelines, hydrogen hubs, warehouses, or wanton development (even in Radnor Township which also doesn’t like being tagged by this lowly blogher much to my great amusement!) so unless public pressure comes to bear she will sit there on data center bills like Joshie’s good little girl.
It’s time to innundate Radnor’s fave political muppet. Call her, if they don’t pick up the phone, leave a message. DO NOT USE FOUL LANGUAGE NO MATTER WHAT – among other things, her staff doesn’t deserve it. They can’t help it if she is inept and a political striver. (I had to laugh just now because for some reason when I started to write striver, it wanted it to be stripper🤣)
If you live in her district, you also should find people to primary her and run against her who are decent candidates. After all if she can’t stand up for everyday Pennsylvanians in solidarity of getting rid of data center threats, you can’t trust her for anything. People should want someone who works for them not for themselves and special interest groups right?
STATE REP. LISA BOROWSKI 168TH DISTRICT/DELCO CO-SPONSOR OF BAD DATA CENTER BILL PA HB2151 LAST SEEN AT PHOTO OPS IN RADNOR TOWNSHIP Call 484-427-2884 or 717-772-2005 1-833-787-5039
Oh, and Lisa? The First Amendment protects my right to criticize you as now a state politician because you are no better than you were as a local politician.
I saw this earlier today and literally started to cry. This is my friend Lisa’s business. I started out as a customer years ago when I met Lisa at one of the first Clover Markets in Ardmore all of those years ago. Literally we met in 2010 and became friends, I am not jut a customer. And I am a happy customer.
Lisa the owner is a wonderful warm hearted person who would give someone a hand up if they needed help. She has a rare generosity of spirit that someone or several someones has decimated. I think there should be a special place in hell for people like that.
Even Martha Stewart has been to her store. She has a great eye and a wonderful mix of new, vintage, and antiques. And this is a very historic property and fabulous adaptive reuse.
In case people can’t read her message via my screenshot, here it is in her words:
Dear Friends.
I am sorry. I need to close the store for a bit. I have tried so HARD the last couple of months to try to keep it together. In almost 30 yrs of doing what I ABSOLUTELY LOVE to save, we had a very bad robbery. They pulled in the back driveway with a van, and uhaul. I don’t understand how, but they managed to override the system. They had at it. The basement, attics, backyard, shop, and my office. Let alone a constant supply out of my vehicle, and trailer. I believe this was over time, LOADS of vtg xmas, art work, costume, jewerly, primatives, salvage, garden, paper, glass, minitures, mirrors etc.. many collections and memories in boxes.
I IMMEDIATELY shut our social media down, and was trying to work through the trauma. It HURTS so bad. I watched it go through auctions, area consignments shops, in the antique shops as well as marketplace. I feel so LOST, betrayed, and mentally EXHAUSTED. We work so HARD at being a small business, let alone save 2 old houses over 200 yrs old. It is so SAD we live in this kind of world.
Take pictures, do inventory it will save u in the long run. Don’t keep keys out, let alone how you store your valuables. Keep your guard up. DON’T think it WON’T happen to you.
I CAN’T THANK my family and friends, state police ENOUGH for helping me work through this. Esp. my husband Spencer. Quite tough loosing the bits and pieces of your life’s work. I know the man upstairs has a plan. I TRUST him. I look forward to being, and feeling our happy place again. “Three floors, have fun. ”
I thought it was bad enough when the losers stole her hydrangeas outside a few years ago. But this? This is like someone raped her. This is her business, livelihood, dreams, hopes, hard work.
This is the kind of crap stuff that is a joy sucker. What she sells can’t be magically replaced like it is an Amazon warehouse.
What I am asking of readers, especially fellow antique and vintage dealers is keep an eye out. Be wary of too good to be true and unknowns wanting to peddle things like she describes. If you are a dealer be aware, this could happen to you.
Lisa will rebuild and we will all support her. I firmly believe there is a special place in hell for people who do things like this to wonderful people and small businesses.
Police say Kathryn Frankel is accused of starting a fire using a heat gun in a home on Ogontz Street. They also say she has a previous arson arrest out of Chester County from 2024, also with a heat gun.
Details of the arson
Police said Frankel was living in the basement of the home on Ogontz Street when the fire started just after midnight on Jan. 1.
The fire department was dispatched for a reported basement fire, and upon arrival, they saw people trapped inside. Several residents had to be rescued, with some jumping from the second floor, and one person was hospitalized for smoke inhalation.
A firefighter was also hurt.
According to charging documents, witnesses told officers Frankel was acting suspiciously before the fire and tried to stop others from going into the basement.
Police say they found a pile of burning clothes and blankets on the floor, as well as seven burned aerosol cans and a can of lighter fluid.
Frankel admitted to being in the basement and using a heat gun in the area shortly before the fire started, according to the charging documents. Kathryn Frankel is charged with arson and recklessly endangering another person.
Look I am sorry she is so mentally ill. But she is not safe out on the street. Someone is going to die. Once again, she could have died, and this time others got hurt.
She needs to NOT be out on the street. This is not the first fire. She is not safe, she may never be safe with this hobby of hers, correct?
Below are the dockets. Imagine if the wheels of justice had moved a little faster? Maybe those people in York wouldn’t have been displaced. I hate to say lock anyone up, but she is a danger to herself and others. She went from high style on the Main Line to a basement apartment in York County, PA.
