Local highlights of 2015 include Al Taubenberger winning an at-large Council seat. TIMES FILE PHOTO
It’s not every year that a pope comes to visit the Northeast.
Looking back at 2015, the obvious local highlight was an appearance by Pope Francis on Sept. 27.
Granted, few people had the opportunity to get up close and personal with the pontiff.
Pope Francis visited Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, meeting with selected inmates and their families. The guest list also included some local elected officials.
Police blocked off State Road at Linden Avenue and Bleigh Avenue, with onlookers looking skyward at the helicopter that carried the pope. Some also caught a brief glimpse of the vehicle that brought the pope from his landing spot at Pennypack on the Delaware to the prison and back.
Pope Francis arrived at Philadelphia International Airport on Sept. 26, and the Bowes family of Somerton was there to greet him. The World Meeting of Families selected Rick and Bernadette Bowes and their three children for the honor following a recommendation by Monsignor Joseph Garvin, pastor at St. Christopher Church. Rick Bowes is a former Philadelphia police officer who was seriously injured in a 2008 shooting in North Philadelphia.
Later that day, the pope blessed John Marynowitz, a police officer severely wounded in a 1993 shooting, during a private Mass for bishops, clergy and other religious people at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. The pope touched the forehead of the wheelchair-bound Marynowitz, a devout Catholic from Bustleton.
The other big news event of 2015 came on May 12, when a speeding Amtrak train derailed off curved tracks in Port Richmond, killing eight people and injuring more than 200 passengers and crew. Aria Health’s Torresdale and Frankford campuses treated some of the injured.
Among those on the train was Patrick Murphy, a Parkwood native and former congressman who was confirmed earlier this month by the U.S. Senate as an Army undersecretary. Murphy, who suffered minor injuries, assisted other passengers and tweeted, “Thank you so much to all the first responders.”
State Rep. John Taylor, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, toured the site, saying it was “surreal, like watching the staging of a disaster movie. … It’s hard to believe more people were not killed or seriously injured.”
Politically, the big news in Philadelphia was the election of former Councilman Jim Kenney as mayor.
Locally, Fox Chase’s Al Taubenberger won an at-large Council seat in his sixth run for office. Taubenberger beat out Denny O’Brien, who served four years in Council and 33 years in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, including two years as speaker.
Also, Rhawnhurst’s Lisa Deeley won one of three spots as a city election commissioner. She’ll likely replace the much-maligned Anthony Clark as chairwoman.
Statewide, Pine Valley’s Kevin Dougherty was elected as a justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
The 2016 political season should be interesting, with hot races brewing in the 170th and 202nd legislative districts and the 5th Senatorial District.
In the sports world, Fox Chase native Rich Gannon was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. The former Central Avenue resident and Fox-Rok A.A. athlete attended St. Cecilia Elementary School, St. Joseph’s Prep and the University of Delaware before enjoying a successful 18-year career in the NFL.
Gannon, who turned 50 earlier this month, quarterbacked four teams from 1987 to 2004. He led the Oakland Raiders to Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003. He was an NFL Most Valuable Player and was selected to four Pro Bowl games. He will be part of the two-week lead-up to Super Bowl 50 on the CBS Sports Network.
In the business world, the Northeast said goodbye to some venerable companies.
Roosevelt Boulevard motorists smelled the baked goods coming from the old Nabisco plant for the final time in June. That’s when workers at the nine-story bakery rolled out their last batch of Cinnamon Teddy Grahams. Mondelez International shut down the bakery, which opened at 12000 Roosevelt Blvd. in the mid-1950s.
Also closing their doors were Phil’s Shoe’s, which had its start at 998 Anchor St. in Oxford Circle in the early 1950s and later moved to 7332 Elgin Ave. in Rhawnhurst; and Singers Appliance Company, which began selling goods on Castor Avenue in Oxford Avenue in 1946.
A&P went bankrupt earlier this year, leading to the closing of local Pathmark and Food Basics supermarkets.
The Northeast said goodbye to some people of note in 2015.
The group includes former state Rep. Francis Gleeson; Joe Bilbee, a Fox Chase native and very popular DJ at the old Moore’s Inlet in North Wildwood, New Jersey; Torresdale’s Stanley Wojtusik, a World War II veteran knighted by monarchs in Belgium and Luxembourg for efforts to memorialize the Battle of the Bulge; Chuck Newns, who coordinated the quarterly meetings of the Oldtimers Bats and Balls Association; Nick Forgione, a Somerton resident who raised tens of thousands of dollars for cancer charities through a series of bicycle rides; and historian Pat Stopper, a member of the Northeast Philadelphia Hall of Fame. ••
The year 2015 included the Amtrak train derailment that killed eight and injured more than 200 people. TIMES FILE PHOTO
Memories: The year 2015 included historic events such as Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia in September. TIMES FILE PHOTO
