The Train Master Who Engineers Happiness at Morris Arboretum

You can hear the deep-throated whistles from far up the path leading down to Morris Arboretum’s Holiday Garden Railway, a quarter mile’s worth of scale-model steam and electric trains, trolleys, a miniature ski lift, bridges, houses and other buildings, all decorated with twinkling Christmas lights. Just inside the narrow winding path leading into the breathtaking…… Continue reading The Train Master Who Engineers Happiness at Morris Arboretum

Giving Up His Career in Finance, Chestnut Hill Man Takes a Leadership Role in Guatemala Nonprofit

Brendan Dwyer took his first trip to Guatemala in 2009, as part of Teens, Inc., the Chestnut Hill youth service organization founded by Jane and Dick Becker and directed by Dwyer’s mother Marianne. That first journey was suggested by his older sister Meghan and inspired by another sister Caitlin, who had traveled to Guatemala with…… Continue reading Giving Up His Career in Finance, Chestnut Hill Man Takes a Leadership Role in Guatemala Nonprofit

Visiting Wissahickon Valley Park? Leave No Trace

There are two things you can do right now to make the Wissahickon Valley Park a better place: don’t litter and stick to designated trails.  It might sound like a little, but, according to Friends of the Wissahickon Executive Director Ruffian Tittmann, it can all add up to quite a lot.  Reducing trash and keeping…… Continue reading Visiting Wissahickon Valley Park? Leave No Trace

Celebrating Ups and Downs at Morris Arboretum: The Summer of Swings

Cling, swing, Spring, sing, Swing up into the apple tree. ~ T.S. Eliot Visit Morris Arboretum, the University of Pennsylvania-owned preserve at Stenton and East Northwestern Avenues, and you’ll take in a verdant 92-acre vista of trees of all varieties.  Ah … but do you really see them in all their glory? The arboretum’s education…… Continue reading Celebrating Ups and Downs at Morris Arboretum: The Summer of Swings

Facing a Shortfall, Artist & Craftsman Supply Draws Enthusiastic Local Support

(Above, from left: Grace Santana Cubero, Amir Lyles, Wanda Payne, Andrew Siebert and Mikel Elam) It would be easy to walk or drive by Artist & Craftsman Supply, down a narrow alleyway and across a herringbone brick courtyard, just off the 7900 block of Germantown Avenue. But don’t. Inside this imposing ivy-strewn building of Wissahickon…… Continue reading Facing a Shortfall, Artist & Craftsman Supply Draws Enthusiastic Local Support