Fallsers know him, but unless you were born here or happen to collect Big Band records, the name "Harry Prime" might've slipped under your musical radar. What a shame. UPDATE June 17, 2017: Harry Prime passed away Thursday, June 15, 2017. Born on March 5, 1920, Harry spent his final years with his family in Pennsylvania. He was a graduate of St. Bridget's Elementary and Roman Catholic High School. Services and interment will be private at the...
Few things are more beautiful this time of year than a historic house decked out for the holidays. Hohenadel House's sweeping ceilings and dramatic architectural details are made for garlands, wreaths and twinkling lights. But celebrating the Holidays in a house under construction presents its own special challenges: How to hang stuff without damaging 200-year-0ld molding? Where do stockings go, when fireplaces are kinda being used for storage...
Local newspapers are a great source of juicy neighborhood details you won't find anywhere else. During the Golden Age of Newspapers -- from the arrival of the "penny paper" in the 1830's to the dawn of radio in the 1930's -- hundreds of newspapers covered all aspects of Philadelphia culture and society. Historical tidbits about Hohenadels in East Falls recently came our way, compliments of EastFallsHouse friend John C. Hohenadel (!!) from...
Thank you, John C. Hohenadel of Lancaster, PA -- a distant relative of our own "brewer branch" here in East Falls. He's been collecting Hohenadel breweriana for over 30 years, and also has uncovered lots of interesting clippings he's been so very kind to share with us. Here's one from a break & enter at the mansion on Indian Queen Lane (from the Evening Public Ledger, January 26, 1918): THIEVES OPERATE WHILE FAMILY IS ATTENDING...
East Falls House joins forces with another Hohenadel -- this one keenly interested in her family background. So far we've only made first contact, stay tuned as our story develops to present a clearer picture of these German immigrants who built a small local empire with their native brew. Our recent email exchange bodes well: October 22, 2014: Dear East Falls House, My name is Bridget Fichera. I am an amateur genealogist living in Connecticut...
What a night at Hohenadel House Saturday, October 18th! Thanks to some last-minute press by "Joe Sixpack" in last Thursday's Philadelphia Daily News, tickets started selling so quickly we were advised to turn off online sales to prevent a "Fire Marshal" situation. The packed house included almost 150 partiers -- most dressed to the nines-- some from as far as Allentown and Maryland, not including Felicite's dad from Oklahoma and Mike the...
Unbelievable progress in Hohenadel House's ballroom, thank goodness -- the party is this Saturday, yeep! Let's recap the incredible effort Mike and his crew have made, and give a huuuuge high five to Patrick the Plasterer -- pulled from retirement as a personal favor to Tom from Epicure. Last week. Can you imagine Patrick's face when he first saw this rush restoration job? Patrick got right down to business patching holes and building out the...
Our local ghost stories continue with this latest tale from the Evening Bulletin, April 8 1932, about the ghost of a sad, suicidal tenant who once boarded there with early Rittenhouses. Rittenhouse is of course a huuuuuge name in Philadelphia -- not just in Center City where David has his own square, but here in our Wissahickon, early Rittenhouses built America's first paper mill in what's now a National Historic Landmark off Lincoln...
Back in August, we discovered an article in an old Penn Charter Newsletter that interviewed John Jacob Hohenadel, Jr -- grandson of John W. Hohenadel who ran the brewery at the height of its success in the early 20th century. When speaking with the author, we learned John Jacob Jr was alive and well: a retired office equipment wholesaler in Greenwich, CT. Of course we chatted him up! We briefed him on his family's significance in East Falls,...
Joseph Steppacher, Jacob Hohenadel, and Philip Guckes Were Early Brewers Nearby Springs Supplied Water and Ice for Product Thirty-five years ago the section where winding Warden Drive makes its graceful curves on the way from Midvale ave to School House lane was entirely different. The roadbed of the present thoroughfare follows what was once a natural valley through a thick stand of trees, mostly chestnut and beech. The little vale skirted the...
