MSNBC host Chris Matthews was inducted into the Northeast Philadelphia Hall of Fame in October.
The year 2014 has been an eventful one in the Northeast, with major happenings in the worlds of business, education, crime, politics and more.
Also, sadly, we said goodbye to a bunch of well-known Northeast folks who passed away this year.
In the business community, good news came with the announcement that Dietz & Watson would expand on its Wissinoming campus. Bad news came with the announced closing of the Mondelez bakery, better known as the former Nabisco and Kraft plant on Roosevelt Boulevard. Also closing was a Kmart store at 900 Orthodox St. in Northwood. A methadone clinic opened at Frankford Avenue and Decatur Street against the community’s wishes, but there have been few complaints from the people of Holmesburg and Mayfair since it debuted.
On the education front, the big news was the retirement of Holy Family University’s legendary president, Sister Francesca Onley. Filling her big shoes is Sister Maureen McGarrity. Good news followed bad news, when some generous Northeast High School alums and others paid to keep the school’s SPARC program operating. School District of Philadelphia funding woes had threatened to kill the decades-old program, which allows students to simulate space missions.
Crime, unfortunately, continues to fill the pages of the Times as never before. The Lower Northeast accounts for much of the violent crime in our neighborhoods, though two of the more celebrated cases took place elsewhere. A judge in February sentenced Herbert and Catherine Schaible to prison time after they pleaded no contest to charges of failing to give care to their ailing infant son in 2013. The Schaibles belong to a church that believes God, not medicine, can best cure ills. Eleven members of Ironworkers Local 401, based at 11600 Norcom Road, pleaded guilty to charges related to intimidation and violence at nonunion sites. Union boss Joseph Dougherty faces trial on Jan. 5.
In October, the Northeast Philadelphia Hall of Fame inducted historian Pat Worthington Stopper; MSNBC host Chris Matthews; war heroes Stephen Decatur Sr. and Stephen Decatur Jr.; Virginia Knauer, who headed the Office of Consumer Affairs under Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan; and the Klein JCC.
The list of well-known people who visited the Northeast included Thomas Perez, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, who stopped at the Finishing Trades Institute training facility, 2190 Hornig Road. Also, actor Tony Danza took part in Read Across America Day at Fox Chase Elementary School.
There were some changes in local politics. State Sen. Mike Stack was elected lieutenant governor. State Rep. Brendan Boyle was elected to Congress, replacing Allyson Schwartz, who made a failed bid for governor. Mike Driscoll replaced state Rep. Mike McGeehan, who stepped down after 24 years. Jason Dawkins ousted freshman state Rep. James Clay. Another state representative, Ed Neilson, won a special election to City Council.
The list of prominent local people who passed in 2014 included Pennsylvania State Police Trooper David Kedra; firefighter Joyce Craig; Tom Gola, a legendary basketball player and coach who served as a state representative and city controller; Hank Salvatore, who served 12 years as a state representative and 16 years as a state senator; Joe Duda, a former city elections commissioner; Trina Losinno, co-founder of Special People In Northeast Inc.; Bill Sample, founder of the Sunshine Foundation; Tom Mills, a former school board member and president of the Normandy Civic Association; Jim Ryan, who was active in Town Watch, Police District Advisory Council groups and Friends of Pennypack Park; former state Sen. Bill Stinson; and Scott Cummings, former president of the Mayfair Civic Association and the 15th Police District Advisory Council. ••
Pennsylvania State Police troopers carry the casket of the late David Kedra into Christ the King Church in Morrell Park.
Officials announced the closing of Mondelez bakery, the former Nabisco plant, which sparked protests by organized labor.
Dietz & Watson expanded its Wissinoming campus.
A look back: It was an eventful year in the Northeast. State Sen. Mike Stack was elected lieutenant governor.
