It wasn’t as famous as Paul Revere’s warning, but the cry “The Hessians are coming!” was, for many colonial Americans, a terrifying prospect. And in 1777, our own Indian Queen Lane in East Falls was “Ground Zero” for an entire encampment. (more…)
Author: Steve Fillmore
-
A Schuylkill river fish tale
Who hasn’t seen the Falls Bridge fishermen and winced at the thought of eating fish out of the Schuylkill? Are they even edible? Are they radioactive or full of PCBs or BPAs or WMDs or something…??
What’s even down there? (more…)
-
When oysters were peanuts
They sure loved their oysters at the Hohenadel Brewery on Indian Queen Lane. We found hundreds of shells at the site this morning, unearthed by a construction crew digging up the site of the old brewery for condominiums.
(more…) -
Meet the brewer: Tom Coughlin
Our Q&A with Tom Coughlin, the brewer behind the Hohenadel lager: (more…)
-
Hohenadel Beer Project: Pilot Test for Cluster Hop
DATE: Wednesday 6/18/14
LOCATION: Princeton Junction, NJ
BREWER: Tom Coughlin
PHOTOS: Steve Fillmore
What is a “pilot” batch, and why brew one? (more…)
-
Here Comes the Hohenadel Beer Project
This October, Hohenadel House is going back to its roots! There won’t be horse-drawn carriages or gas lamps in the streets, but we’re bringing back the best of that old world: classic Bavarian lager beer that made the Falls famous. Oh, and we figure an old time orchestra sound by the Falls’ own Frank Sinatra, sung in the Hohenadel ballroom, wouldn’t hurt either. (more…)
-
Dangerous crossings: Railroads in the 19th century
“The repetition of serious or fatal accidents, by which men, women and children are crushed, decapitated, cut in two, or dismembered loses its effect by its frequency. The cases fall one by one, upon the public; we are told that, in the usual phrase – “the accident was inevitable and no blame is to be attached to the driver;” the survivors gather up the reeking remains of the victim – and the matter passes away and is forgotten.” (more…)
-
For the Love of Dogs, Then & Now
How much is your dog worth? Five bucks? In 1854, that was the reward offered for a “large white pointer dog” that was stolen from the Falls Hotel. That seems pretty cheap, until you consider that $5 then is worth about $140 today. (more…)
-
An evening with Harry Prime at Epicure Cafe
Harry Prime doesn’t let anyone piss in his pockets and he doesn’t forget a friend. Both poles of his personality were on display at his dinner show at the Epicure Cafe on Saturday May 24th. And, oh yeah, he can still sing. (more…)
-
A little “luck” at local church uncovers historical documents
It isn’t Indiana Jones unearthing the Ark, or Nicholas Cage finding a secret treasure map in the U.S. Constitution. But discovering a trove of nineteenth century mortgage documents in a musty church attic sure can make a geeky historian smile. (more…)