Like many folks who grew up in the Northeast, Dan McMeans recalls plenty of good times.
“I have a lot of fond memories of Lawndale,” he said.
McMeans grew up at 307 Magee Ave. after living for a few years in Overbrook.
In the 1970s, from ages 13-18, he and a group of friends hung out on the steps of a neighbor’s house at Oakley Street and Magee Avenue.
“We were there faithfully every single night,” he said. “That was our place to meet and hang out.”
There were seven girls and nine guys, half of whom went to Northeast High School while the other half attended Cardinal Dougherty. They were known as the Lawndale Gang.
Today, McMeans is 65 and a retired sales manager living in Somerton.
“When I retired, I dedicated my life to writing,” he said.
What better way to reminisce about the good old days, he thought, than by writing about his longtime good friends. Now, he’s inviting everyone to check out The Adventures of the Lawndale Gang.
“I had a great time writing it,” he said.
There’s some non-fiction in the book, chronicling the author’s good times hanging at Oakley and Magee and later on even more good times raising his family on the 6200 block of Trotter St. in Oxford Circle.
“The rest of the stories are non-fiction, with the Lawndale Gang solving mysteries and going on adventures like the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew,” McMeans said.
The book consists of 17 coming-of-age story chapters.
The author looks back on things such as a 48-house wiffle ball marathon that raised $1,751 for the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association Labor Day Telethon, with pizza supplied by Fanti’s. He also recounts the nights the Gang slept in tents in backyards, getting up early to explore their surroundings and seeing milkmen delivering to houses and bakeries delivering rolls to delis, ending with watching the sun rise at Hasbrook and Magee.
“I always wanted to write about the nucleus of friends I grew up with. We cared for each other and looked out for each other,” McMeans said.
The book also features numerous locales far from Oakley and Magee.
“I thought it would be great if I expanded that story into mysteries and adventures,” he said.
The Gang, in the fiction portion of the book, goes to places like Rome to find the Lost Gospel of Thomas not included in the Bible and India to find the 14 lost scrolls of Jesus before pirates can get them for personal gain. They meet up with all kinds of people, including the Archangel Gabriel, Satan, the Prince of Darkness, an evil witch, skeletons and a fire-breathing dragon.
In some fictitious adventures, the Gang stays close to home.
The Gang leaves the Crest theater, only to be met on Rising Sun Avenue by the Vikings of the Old Order.
While at Penn’s Landing, the Gang learns that a Russian submarine is secretly docked there.
While in historic Philadelphia, they learn that there’s a missing rifle belonging to George Washington and that the pen Thomas Jefferson used to write the Declaration of Independence is missing.
After a visit to the Philadelphia Christmas Village, the Gang heads to the North Pole – via train from 30th Street Station – when they hear an anti-Christ gang has chained up Santa’s reindeer.
“The Lawndale Gang goes to the North Pole to help Santa,” McMeans said.
The final chapter is about Trotter Street, where McMeans and his then-wife lived for 16 years and raised their three daughters. They spent a lot of time with five other couples who had kids.
“We had patio parties every Saturday night,” McMeans said.
The Trotter Street Gang also held annual block parties with fireworks and Christmas parties at one of the houses, regularly went golfing and to the Knights of Columbus for beef and beers, and traveled each year for a weekend at the Thunderbird Inn in North Wildwood.
“We did everything as a nucleus,” McMeans said.
Today, McMeans is finishing another book on the mind, body and spirit.
And, yes, he’s still in touch with the Lawndale Gang, including holding an annual Christmas party at his house.
“We reflect back on the good old days,” he said. ••
To purchase the book or for more information, go to https://thelawndalegang.com/ or https://virtualbookworm.com/products/the-adventures-of-the-lawndale-gang
