A community celebration: St. Hubert junior Julia Boyd smiles with her parents and Lynn Rotoli, who coordinated the Northeast Philadelphia Hall of Fame essay contest. MICHELLE ALTON / FOR THE TIMES
The Northeast Philadelphia Hall of Fame on Sunday afternoon inducted five individuals and one nonprofit agency during a ceremony at Holy Family University.
The inductees were Pat Worthington Stopper, Chris Matthews, Stephen Decatur Sr., Stephen Decatur Jr. Virginia Knauer and the Klein JCC.
Stopper, a local historian, signed copies of her books.
Matthews, an MSNBC political commentator, predicted during a cocktail reception before the ceremony that Republicans on Nov. 4 would win a net of eight U.S. Senate seats and increase their advantage in the House of Representatives to about 245 members. In his official remarks, he recalled delivering the Bulletin, eating cream and jelly doughnuts every Sunday after Mass, cheering on the “Iggles” and shopping at “Ack-a-mee.”
“My memory is chock full of Northeast Philly,” he said.
William Decatur Morris, a 25-year-old descendant of the Decaturs, accepted for his kin.
Valerie Knauer Burden, Knauer’s daughter, accepted for her mother.
Andre Krug, president and CEO of Klein JCC, accepted for the agency.
Sister Maureen McGarrity, Holy Family’s new president, offered welcoming and closing remarks.
St. Hubert junior Julia Boyd was recognized as the winner of an essay contest that asked high school students to write on, What Makes Northeast Philadelphia Special?
The inductees were chosen by a nine-member selection committee, chaired by former Holy Family President Sister Francesca Onley, who was unable to attend the ceremony, as she is in Poland recovering from a broken leg suffered in a fall.
The public participated by suggesting candidates for consideration.
Here is more information on the inductees:
• Stephen Decatur Sr. (1752–1808) was born in Newport, R.I. Shortly thereafter, his family moved to Philadelphia, where he grew up. Stephen’s father had been an officer in the French Navy, and young Stephen followed him to a life at sea. By 1774, Stephen was master of a Philadelphia merchant ship and that same year he married Ann Pine of the city. The Decaturs were patriots in the Revolutionary War and when the British invaded Philadelphia in 1777, Ann moved temporarily to Maryland. Decatur commanded a number of privateer ships during the war and captured several British vessels. Following the war, he was a sea captain for the Philadelphia merchant firm Gurney and Smith. He eventually became part-owner with them of two ships, in which he captained many voyages to Europe. Decatur was commissioned a captain in the U.S. Navy during the 1798–1800 Quasi-War, America’s undeclared war with France. He commanded the ship that captured the first French vessel of that war, and in 1799 he was given command of the newly built frigate Philadelphia, in which he captured several other enemy ships. Decatur retired from the Navy in 1801 and lived for a time on an estate in Byberry Township he had purchased in 1796, situated on what is now Decatur Road. In 1803, he purchased a large powder mill property in Frankford known as Millsdale and lived there until his death in 1808.
• Stephen Decatur Jr. (1779–1820) was born in Maryland, where his family had moved to escape the British occupation of Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War. He was raised in Philadelphia, studying at Episcopal Academy and the University of Pennsylvania before joining the U.S. Navy in 1798. He commanded a ship in 1803, taking to the Mediterranean for service in the first of the Barbary Wars — America’s wars against North African pirate states — where his leadership and actions were acclaimed. He also distinguished himself in the War of 1812 with acts of heroism and his high-profile capture of the British ship Macedonian, the first British frigate captured in the war. In 1815, he returned to the Mediterranean for the second Barbary War, where he secured a treaty with the Barbary States. Decatur was mortally wounded in 1820 in a duel that was the result of a long-simmering dispute with another naval officer. He died March 22, 1820, at his home in Washington at the age of 41. He was originally buried in Washington, but his remains were removed years later and re-interred in the graveyard at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, at 3rd and Pine streets in Society Hill.
• Virginia Wright Knauer (1915–2011) and her husband, Wilhelm, a corporate lawyer and former deputy attorney general of Pennsylvania, moved to a property in Upper Holmesburg after their 1940 marriage. In 1948, the Knauers bought the historic Morelton Inn along the Delaware River in Torresdale. The Morelton had been a well-known resort for wealthy Philadelphians at the turn of the 20th century. They later founded the Knauer Foundation for Historic Preservation. In 1959, Virginia Knauer became the first woman to serve on City Council. In 1969, President Richard Nixon appointed her Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs. She later became director of the federal Office of Consumer Affairs, a position she held under Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. Knauer died in 2011 at the age of 96 in her home in Washington, D.C., and is buried at All Saints Episcopal Church in Torresdale.
• Pat Worthington Stopper, born in 1928, comes from a family whose roots in the Northeast go back more than 300 years. She has spent many years collecting, preserving and sharing local history. A longtime resident of Bustleton, she has researched and written about the neighborhoods of Bustleton, Somerton and Byberry, and has given presentations to schools, libraries and historical groups. In the early 1990s, she was a founding member of the Northeast Philadelphia History Project and worked with fellow historians on two books on the history of the Northeast. She also published two pictorials, volumes I and II of A Pictorial Glimpse into the Past: Bustleton-Somerton-Byberry, published in 1995 and 1999, respectively, which contain a wealth of images and information on the history of these neighborhoods. She has also been active in researching and preserving the history of her church, Pennepack Baptist. In 2013, she donated her historical collections to the Friends of Northeast Philadelphia.
• Chris Matthews lived near 15th Street and Hunting Park Avenue before moving to 1242 Southampton Road in Somerton in 1950 when he said the area was “nothing but cows.” He attended Maternity BVM Grammar School before enrolling at St. Christopher when it opened. He later went to La Salle High School. He served in the Peace Corps in Africa from 1968–70. He ran for Congress in 1974 in the Democratic primary, but was crushed by Rep. Josh Eilberg. He worked as a speechwriter in the Carter administration and served six years as chief of staff for U.S. House Speaker Tip O’Neill. He spent 15 years as a journalist for the San Francisco Examiner and San Francisco Chronicle. He is best known as a political commentator and news host for NBC and MSNBC. He hosted the Chris Matthews Show from 2002–12 and has been host of Hardball with Chris Matthews since 1997. He has written several books, including the bestseller Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero. His most recent book, Tip and the Gipper: When Politics Worked, is about the working relationship between Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill.
• The Jewish Community Center Klein Branch, at 10100 Jamison Ave., has been serving the people of the Northeast for almost 40 years. Founded in 1975 and endowed by businessman and philanthropist Raymond Klein and his wife Miriam, the branch offers a variety of social, educational and cultural services and programs for all ages. Activities include health and wellness, after-school programs, summer day camp, sports classes and leagues, and adult education classes and programs. Social service programs are available for immigrants at risk, low-income families, senior citizens and the hungry. The branch provides more than 45,000 home-delivered meals to seniors each year.
The Northeast Philadelphia Hall of Fame is sponsored by Glen Foerd on the Delaware in partnership with Holy Family, the Historical Society of Frankford, the Northeast Times and Councilman Denny O’Brien. Jack McCarthy is the project director. ••
Andre Krug, president and CEO of the Jewish Community Center Klein Branch, spoke about the center’s history during the induction ceremony on Sunday. MICHELLE ALTON / FOR THE TIMES
The local elite: The Northeast Philadelphia Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held on Sunday. There were six inductees, including Pat Worthington Stopper. MICHELLE ALTON / FOR THE TIMES
The local elite: The Northeast Philadelphia Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held on Sunday. There were six inductees: Pat Worthington Stopper, Chris Matthews, Stephen Decatur Sr., Stephen Decatur Jr., Virginia Knauer and the Klein JCC. William Decatur Morris (pictured) accepted the award for his kin, the Decaturs. MICHELLE ALTON / FOR THE TIMES
The local elite: The Northeast Philadelphia Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held on Sunday. There were six inductees, including Chris Matthews. MICHELLE ALTON / FOR THE TIMES
