Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-07-22
TRAVELS IN PHIL UADELPHLA
BY Christopher Morley
we found tavenn dispensing Wildey streets
favorite drink-pop and porter-and we halt
ed to drink health to the block party.

we found tavenn dispensing wildey streets
favorite drink-pop and porter-and we halt
ed to drink health to the block party.
DEYOND Shackamaxon street we struck
~ into the unique silence and quiet cleanli-
ness Of "Fishtown." The ouetness of
those streets Of quaint little houses is re-
markable: in the golden flood of A warm
afternoon they lay wish hardly echo to
break the stiffness. The prevailing color
scheme is green and red: many Of the houses
are neat cottages built Of wood others are
the old parti-colored brick that comes down
from ancient days Almost every house has
Its little garden, often outlined with whtened
s..ells. 1t seems like New England fishing
village in the heart Of the city. An occasional
hucksters wagon rumbles smoothly along
the asphalt paving; an occasional tinkle of
piano in some cool, darkened parlor. That
is all. i can imagine no haunt of ANCIENT
peace more drowsy with stiffness and the
treble chrp of birds than the tangled and
orergrown cemetery at Thompson street and
Columbia avenue. in the hush of hot sum
mer siesta.
6NHERE is a note of grace and comeliness
i in Wldey street life that one attributes
to the good native stock of the inhabitants.
The children are clean and rounded and
goodly. The little girls have plump calves
and crisp gingham dresses and blue eyes;
they sit in their little gardens playing with
paper dolls. Their brothers. with the mis-
chief and errant humor that one expects Of
small boys garnish walls and hoardings with
whimsical legends scrawled in chalk. The
old family tOOthbInS that lay on the floor
was one such that amused me. Another was
a regrettable allegation that presumably
absent playmate was afflicted with 'maines."
The mountaineer and l. after studying the
context, came to the conclusion that the
scourge limited at was mango"
MOST thrilling of all. Wildey street be-
Welcomes more and more maritime. over
the roofs of the houses one sees the masts of
ships-always sight to make the eager
heart leap up. Cramps Shpyard is at hand.
and many of the front windows display the
starred service cards OF the United States
Shipping Board. On Richmond street, parallel
to Wildey, shipchandlers' stores, with
windows full of brass pulleys and chocks and
cleats. coils of rope and port and starboard
lanterns. We hurried down toward the water
front and peeped through the high board .
fence to see steamer in drydock for a coat
of camouhage. Great stripes Of black and
blue and white were being laid along her
hull.
DEM TREATY PARK, at the foot Of
- Columbia avenue. would deserve an essay
OF Its own. Here, under a pavilion, the
mountaneer and l sat surrounded by the
intoxicating presence Of water and boats,
watched the police patrol launches being
overhauled, watched a little schooner loading
lumber U couldn't read herr name, but she
came from Hampton. Va) watched the pro-
file Of Camden shining dmy through the
rain. For very smart rainstorm had come
up and we sat and felt a pang Of sympathy
for the good people of Wildey street, whose
Chinese lanterns and tricolored tissue paper
would be ruined by the wet. We watched
the crew OF the tug Baltic setting ready for
supper and dinghies nosng the piers and
bobbling with the rise and fall of the water,
and We saw how the gleam of rain and mist
on the roofs of Camden looked exactly like
a fall OF snow Fishtown uses Penn Treaty
Park as place for lounginE and smoking
under the peeling sycamores and watching
the panorama of the river
ID s, l thought great deal about the
i block party on Wildey street that night
and hoped. that the rain would not have
spoilt 1t. So the next morning I got of the
S:lS at Columbia avenue and walked down
past that deep violin note Of the Columbia
avenue sawmills to see how things were
going. found the same old lady on the
sidewalk, hopefully renewing her red, white
and blue tissue, and I noticed that all the
children were wearing fantastic patriotic
caps made OF shirred and huted paper
well" ] said, how did things GOT" "Oh,"
she replied, the rain hurt thinks q BIT but
tonights going to be the biz nieht It's eotns
te = great time: ysv't bstt&f esalS
s' y efnR q trlunrh < s s 4 +, Il q