Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-10-22
AS ONE WOMAN SEES 1T
American Citizens In the Making Az.
ford an Interesting and Profit.
able study Right Here
In Philadelphia
BY SARAH ID. lOwRIE


MTHEN Lady Gregory was over here before
w the days Of Sim Fcin, she advised us
all to go folkloring as she had done In
Ireland, greatly to the benefit of the Irish
Players as well as William Yates, the poet.
Then the war came on and we all forgot
folklore. In fact. the tide turned sharply
the other way and every effort was made to
change the foreigners who had come to stay
on our shores from old allegiances and GUS
toms to our ways and creeds--at least that
Is what most persons mean by AmericaniZa-
tion.
! fancy it will take more than one gen
GRAFTON meanwhile, any one who has an
eye for color and prefers to study national
characteristics with a view to preserving
them, rather than to oblitereting them-in
fact any one who likes to go "a -folkloring'
let him follow the way the wind is blowing
north, south, east or west-and hunt up
the strange people that live in our midst
and enjoy the queer, interesting ways they
have brought with them from the back
side Of beyond from where they have
travelled bringing gifts to our shores.
They are a great deal more interesting
than the Pilgrim fathers ever were, or than
the Friends, or than the Dutch. and their
coming has been just as much of an ad
venture, and they themselves are just as
much pioneers as were the first Americans.
Poland is just now looming large on the
horizon actually beating the dreaded forces
Of Lenine. and giving the. Soviet form Of
go to Warsaw to see the Poles. They are
here in this town right under our hand in
a little town OF their own between Rox-
borough and Manayunk. II you want to see
them en- masse. about good a way as any
is to see them at worship, either at st.
Josaphat's est Joseph'sl in Manayunk, or
better still about i 80 O'Clock of a Sunday
afternoon at st. Timothy's, Roxborough.
The Ridge avenue cars as far as the Wissa.
hickon and then Norristown car will take
you nearly there.
Their service is in Polish, and in fact the
whole atmosphere of the place is foreign
literally and iguratively, from the smell to
the chanting and the vestments.
worth enjoying If you like color and move.
ment and ancient rhythms with a touch
of the Far East in them.
60 MUCH for going north! If the wind
- blows east, you can follow it to find the
Rumanans. There are, l suppose. about
1000 of them in little town Of their own
within this great town near Third and
Brown streets.
The first Rumanian vessel ever to touch
this port anchored near there this summer,
and the officers were given a banquet by
their compatriots. There was before that
a religious procession through the streets
earlier in the spring. and also a kind Of
festival and play. ending with native dances
in costume to which all the neishborhood
Orthodox eastern ritual. is held in st.
Johns parish house, Third and Reed streets,
on Sunday mornings, lasting about three
hours
a playground nearby, where about forty
five children can actually play at once
while some 100 wait their turn outside.
and a little library thronged with children
learning to read American books are the
only pubic benefits that are being respon-
sibly meted out to them by thei American
,-lh fl,Aa. t,,nn rtnn,,
up there, however, who seems to have found
them and taken them to her heart, and
that is the librarian of the little library.
Her name is Mrs. Owen, and l discovered
that Mrs Owens mother Is the Mary Ann
Thompson who writes hymns.
One of the hymns with a gorgeous tune
is 80 Zion. Haste" and the words have
a great swing.
DUT suppose the wind blows south! Well
D there is the Italian quarter-one of them
at least. another Is up at Richmond-and
the Jewish quarter.
The Little Italy that is easiest reached
is near Eighth and Catharine streets. and
from there south, past scores Of little chaps
that might be in Naples. and a church or
two that need only leather curtain to
make forget America.
The best restaurant down there is a
shabby one with an upstairs place for gen
tlefolks kept by one Palumbo. They have
the most delicious Zuppe lnglcsi out of
Rome there. II you want sensation go
from dining there one block east to the
Graphic Sketch Club. 1t is open any eve
ming for its members and You can easily
find one thereabouts who will introduce you
to the public rooms.
1t is in its way one of the most beautiful
things to be found anywhere-as beautiful
a. the Poldi -PezsOli in Milan or the Wallace
Gallery in London.
But instead of being just beautiful re-
roSitorv for beautiful things. 1t iS living
place for the daily creation Of more beauty.
1t is the dream of a singularly interesting
resident of this town come true. Samuel
Floisher is his name. Incidentally he is a
great woo'cn merchant, but his business is
making artists.
The collection Of copper samovars and
other beautiful old eating and cooking uten-
sis is we'll worth seeing. both at the
Graphic Arts Club and at the Settlement.
Many of the Russian and Polish Jews have.
however, parted with these old possessions
in their desire to forget the horrors of their
pnst. Machine made pots and kettles and
sk;Ilcts have this advantage over hand
made ones. they are lighter and can be
kent cleaner but oh. aren't they ugly
My advice is go to see the coming Ameri.
cans before they lose all their color and
othcrworIdlincss.
We Americans have great deal to learn
from them. If we can only reach them be-
fore they forget it.