Tag: High St.

Main Line Financial – 211 East High Street

211 E. High Street
After a mad flurry of guesses among several fierce competitors, our winner is Debby Weber of Pottstown! She gets a 30-minute massage from High Street Yoga. Thanks to Barbara of High Street Yoga for the donation!

Main Line Financial Advisors occupy the former S. Miller & Son building at 211 East High Street. The image in the Positively!Pottstown header was taken from a photo of their front doorway. In addition to the intricate woodwork, I liked the blue of the letters and tried to mimic it in my header. Then I went for the Curlz MT font to mimic the woodwork. Totally amateur design sensibility!

S. Miller & Sons was a men’s clothing shop. The Millers were a German-Jewish family that came to Pottstown in the 1880s according to a story about a small Jewish cemetery on State Road in an Upper Pottsgrove newsletter from April 2009. (Unfortunately, the direct link to that newsletter seems to be broken now.)

There are just so many funky factoids out there in cyberspace. Check out this link from a publication called “The Clothier and Furnisher, A Monthly Journal Devoted to the Interests of Men’s Apparel,” established in 1872 and published out of New York City. On page 50 of their February 1895 issue, it says, “As soon as their alterations are completed, S. Miller and Son, clothiers, Pottstown, Pa., will occupy the store at 211 High Street.”

S. Miller & Son Facade

In another publication called The Railroad Trainman, Vol. 25 from 1908, S. Miller & Son is listed as being located at 221 High Street. Maybe that was a typo? Apparently, the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen allowed members to list businesses in their towns, encouraging other members to patronize them. Hmmm… my paternal grandfather spent his whole career working for the Reading Railroad out of Pottstown. Wonder if he was a member…

Main Line Financial Advisors does financial planning for individuals, families, businesses and institutions, along with integrated accounting and tax planning. The company was founded by Alfred “Fred” F. Matarazzo; his son Alfred “Al” F. Matarazzo, Jr. is the managing partner. In 2005 they expanded and developed their Pottstown office. They also have offices in Narberth and Malvern.

Main Line Financial Advisors
211 East High Street
Pottstown, Pennsylvania 19464
P: 610.323.5860
F: 610.323.5861

Cool architecture, financial planning, Jewish immigrants, trainmen and massage – you never know what you’re going to run into at Positively!Pottstown…

ANOTHER HINT!

ANOTHER HINT TO HELP THE DETECTIVES “SEE” IT: There’s a pattern on the windows above the woodwork. You have to look at the image on the blog. It’s not visible on the Facebook icon. If you’re walking in the 200-400 blocks of High Street, try to find the pattern on the windows and you will be led to the woodwork. (Hope the glass still looks like that…)

UPDATE: Inspiration – it’s in the details CONTEST!

There were a few comments on the Positively!Pottstown facebook page. So far we’ve got Positively Pasta and the Elks Lodge as guesses — but no winners.

Some great news: Barbara Kosiewicz of High Street Yoga has offered a 30-minute massage to the winner! Check out her blog here.

Okay, here’s a hint to narrow it down, so everyone can go out to High Street after work and solve this mystery: The building is in the 200-400 blocks of High Street.

SEE THE COMMENT BELOW FOR THE RUNNING LIST OF GUESSES!

Inspiration: it’s in the details

For a while now, I’ve wanted to talk about the image in the header of the Positively!Pottstown blog. I’ve thought about holding a contest to see if anyone can guess what building in town has the architectural detail shown in the photo. But, frankly, I worry that there might be a really long, cyberspace silence, and that’s not good for a blog’s business! Okay, what the heck? I’m a writer, I’ve endured plenty of rejections, let’s do it anyway!

Does anyone know where those little, carved wood curlicues live?

Hints:
They’re on High Street.
You do not need to trespass or climb a ladder or creep through alleyways to see them.
You do not need special glasses or binoculars, just an eye for detail.

I’m kinda hoping the people who own/use the building won’t give it away, although I’ll gladly post about the history of the building, its current use and some more photos once it’s identified.

I’ll scare up a gift certificate to somewhere for the first person who identifies the building. Let’s have a deadline of tomorrow at 3 pm.

Time to take a stroll!

Profile: Jason Bobst, Borough Manager

The view from Jason Bobst’s third floor office in Borough Hall provides a glimpse of the work he faces every day, managing what is essentially a small city that has a small-town feel.

As Pottstown’s Borough Manager, Bobst oversees not only the typical activities of local government, but three other entities that are more often associated with cities and usually governed by separate entities. These are the Pottstown Area Rapid Transit system, the Pottstown Municipal Airport and the Borough Authority, which provides water and sewer to residents and businesses. That’s a lot of responsibility for any manager, but 28-year-old Bobst takes it all in stride and is already making his own mark on the position.

“One of my biggest goals is to get citizens more active,” he said. And the key to that is communication. By using technology more effectively and holding face-to-face meetings in every ward, Bobst hopes people are encouraged to get involved.

The Borough now sends out a newsletter three times per year, and there is a monthly show on PCTV about various aspects of local government. On the odd-numbered months, the program features Bobst and an elected Councilor. On the even-numbered months, a department head is featured, talking about what exactly their department does.

Another use of technology is the implementation of the Swiftreach Network, or Swift911. Residents and businesses can sign up to receive calls in the event of an emergency or for getting important information. More about this service can be found on the Borough’s home page and, if you’re interested, you can then fill out this form.

These communication efforts are coupled with the recently-instituted ward meetings, which take place in the neighborhoods and give residents a chance to get to know and directly address their elected officials, police, a public works representative and Bobst.

Jason is a 2004 graduate of St. Joseph’s University, where he majored in business administration and political science. He stepped up to Borough Manager a little over a year ago, after starting out as Assistant Borough Manager in September 2007 and serving as interim Codes Manager and interim Finance Director before taking the helm.

In view of the recently proposed amendments to the rental ordinance and the Pottstown Partnership coming to fruition, he said, “There’s a concerted effort now to get things done, being pro-active rather than reactive. We need to keep setting goals and benchmarks and have a plan of attack. I may not always have the answers, but I know where to get the answers.”

Eventually, he’d like to get his master’s degree in public administration.

“It’ll happen, but I’ve been kind of busy since starting this job,” he said with a smile.

What does he listen to on his iPod to relax?

“I like the whole range of classic rock. Chicago, Led Zeppelin, K.C. & the Sunshine Band, Phish. I grew up listening to WOGL.”

Jason Bobst, Borough Manager

That’s 98.1 FM, an oldies radio station that plays a lot of songs that some of us – ahem – listened to when they first came out in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s.

And Bobst admitted to being a Parrot Head, a commonly used term for a Jimmy Buffett fan. He hasn’t missed a concert since he was 15! So, we’ll let Jimmy wrap this up, tug on our heartstrings and carry us through the weekend. This is his 1974 hit, “Come Monday.”

Thanks, Jason!

CORNBREAD

I was in downtown Pottstown last week (interviewing your hard-working Borough Manager, Jason Bobst; look for that post in a couple days!), and I dropped in at Martha’s Famous on High Street in search of some cornbread.

Martha's Famous
I’d been there months ago, when they first opened, but it was at night, and they’d actually run out of cornbread by then. Yes, I can vouch for the BBQ chicken and the candied yams – authentic, tasty and filling. But I’d been thinking about the cornbread ever since.

It was just after 3 pm, and dinner was just a glimmer on the horizon, so I ordered up two pieces of cornbread and sat right down at a table in their large, air-conditioned dining area and it was just heavenly – all buttery and moist and lightly sweet. (Would one piece of cornbread have sufficed? I think not.)

Whenever I make cornbread, I follow the recipe on the box, and it’s always kind of dry. Do I ever learn my lesson and add more butter or oil to make it moist? No. I just keep following the directions. I really need to cut loose every now and then, to take a chance, to live! Or I can just stop in at Martha’s Famous and get my fix there, because there’s also some sweet potato pie and a pineapple upside down cake that I still have to try…

Check them out online and use this coupon to get $3 off any order of $20 or more.

Martha’s Famous
259 E. High Street
Pottstown, PA 19464
484-624-4131
Dine in, take-out or delivery

Hours

Summer Performing Arts Camp at Tri-PAC

By now many readers of this blog have experienced – I hope! – at least one performance at the Tri-County Performing Arts Center at 245 E. High Street in downtown Pottstown. If not, don’t worry – they just keep comin’. Having just put on a widely-acclaimed production of Ragtime, The Musical, they recently announced their Summer Concert Series, which will feature the Jen Chapin Trio on July 16, the Travis Wetzel Trio on July 30 and Maggie and Mark Moliterno and Friends on August 20.

Also on tap is Tri-PAC’s 7th annual Performing Arts Summer Camp for children. There are 3 sessions to choose from, beginning on July 5th, July 18th and August 2nd. Each session lasts two weeks. There are some spaces still available, so email or call today! (Contact rebecca@villageproductions.org or call 610.970.1199)

The summer camp offers students entering grades 1-12 a chance to explore drama, voice and dance with professional instructors. A new format for middle and high school students allows beginners and more experienced performers to try out one of these areas of concentration or advance their skills, whatever suits their interests or needs.

Students in grades 1-4 will take part in an interdisciplinary curriculum, giving them broad exposure to improvisation, theater movement, vocal expression, writing/drawing and making instruments. They can attend for half- or full-day with short breaks in the morning and afternoon, along with lunch (which is “bring your own.”)

For students in grades 5-12, it’s a full-day program from 9am-4pm. This year Tri-PAC has added concentrations in acting, voice, and dance, so that these older kids can work intensively in one of these areas. A student can still be a beginner and sign up for one of the concentrations and really immerse themselves in it. Half the day is spent in their area of concentration and the other half is spent working to put together an ensemble performance, which will be presented on the last day of each two-week session.

For students in 11th and 12th grades (and recent high school graduates) there is also a Counselor-In-Training program.

Tri-PAC’s summer camp options continue to evolve to encourage participation in the performing arts by newcomers and experienced students alike. If you’ve got a budding performer in your family, check it out! There is a Student Referral Incentive program and need-based financial aid available. Full information and registration forms are available at http://www.tripac.org.

RAGTIME – A musical for our time

“Where is the America we were supposed to get? Was it a silhouette?”
In the musical RAGTIME, Tateh, an Eastern European Jewish immmigrant sings these words as he despairs over the health of his young daughter, whom he has brought to this country to make a better life in the early years of the 20th century. But he may also be singing for today’s immigrants and even the native-born, who are struggling to make ends meet, to hold onto a job, and to provide health care and safe and decent housing for their families.
RAGTIME, based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow, is an interwoven tale of the haves vs. the have-nots, corporations vs. workers/unions, black vs. white, newcomers vs. the gatekeepers, and tradition vs. women’s rights, all during a time of great change in our nation.

Village Productions is putting on RAGTIME now at the Tri-County Performing Arts Center in downtown Pottstown. The current production engages audiences on several levels – emotionally, musically, spiritually and intellectually. I attended last Sunday’s matinee with my mom and aunt, and as the story and music unfolded before me, I had the growing sense that this was becoming one of the most powerful theater experiences I’d ever had. The fact that this was happening on High Street, in my hometown, which itself is facing some of the same struggles that these characters face – that made it all the more poignant.

The wealth of talent in this company is mind-boggling. The voices are incredible and fill the theater with sorrow and joy. I had a lump in my throat throughout, and a couple scenes in particular still inhabit my psyche nearly a week later.

In one, the character of Mother, brilliantly played by Julie Eurillo, gives us a distinct moment – a pause – when she must decide whether she will accept responsibility for another woman and child in need. It struck me then how we are constantly faced with moral choices. To what extent am I my brother’s or sister’s keeper? What should I do?

Another indelible scene is when the character Coalhouse Walker, Jr. holds his son for the first time. He has been an absent father until that point, but he didn’t even know he had a child. Played by Gary Giles, Coalhouse hums a series of slow, almost primal, notes of recognition and love that come from way deep within. For me, Gary Giles will always be Coalhouse.

The production and staging are inventive. Two video screens keep the audience oriented geographically as the scenes shift from various locations in New York City, New Rochelle, NY, Massachusetts, and Atlantic City. Somehow there’s a 14-piece orchestra above the set, and the costumes are astonishing.

RAGTIME runs this weekend and next. Last weekend was the theater’s biggest opening yet, and the word is out about this remarkable show, so don’t wait. Shows take place Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings and a Sunday matinee, until June 20. Ticket info. can be found at Tri-PAC’s website.

The winner is…

TERRI B. from Sanatoga! Congratulations!

Terri has received 2 free tickets to opening night of RAGTIME, The Musical at the Tri-County Performing Arts Center on High Street. RAGTIME will run from June 3-20. Thank you to Tri-PAC and Village Productions for donating the tickets!

Memorial Day Observance in Pottstown

In the meantime, check out Positively!Pottstown’s calendar for all of this weekend’s happenings, especially events that honor those who gave their lives in service to the ideals of democracy and freedom.

Pottstown’s Memorial Day Parade, brought to you by the Joint Veterans Council of Pottstown, will be held Monday May 31 at 10 a.m., starting at Good Will Fire Company at 714 E. High Street, going to Manatawny Street, and then on to Memorial Park. Veterans and community groups should begin arriving at 9 a.m. at Good Will to line up for the parade. No special registration is required. Just show up!

I’d like to give a shout-out to my dad, veteran Richard Repko, who sometimes plays Taps at the funerals of area veterans. For the interesting history of this moving musical tribute, see this at the West Point Connection website. The last I heard, my dad will be playing Taps in Memorial Park at the end of the parade. It always brings tears to my eyes. A heartfelt “thank you” goes out to all veterans for their service.

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