| Spawned by Web
site, Old Chester reunion is a success Terry Peters, Times Correspondent
Sunday October 7, 2001
CHESTER -- Yesterday was a virtual walk down memory lane
for the 100-plus former Chester-ites who attended the second oldchesterpa.com reunion,
spearheaded by John Bullock of North Carolina. Bullock is the webmaster of
oldchesterpa.com, a nostalgic Web site of more than 600 pages featuring biographies of
well-known Chester-ites, old photographs, upcoming class reunions, school histories,
former Chester industry and businesses, and a message board where visitors nationwide post
inquiries, looking for childhood friends and genealogy information.
Fellowship Hall in First Presbyterian Church on Edgmont
Avenue was filled with laughter and some tears while former Chester-ites reminisced about
the tasty pig ears at Dalton's Bakery and half-moon crullers at Sadie's; the small
"monorail" through which money traveled when making a purchase at Stotter's
Department Store; the "junior" charge account teenagers could acquire at the
Charming Shoppe (with a $20 limit, and a mandatory $1 per week payment);an abundance of
jobs at Scott Paper, Westinghouse and Baldwin's; and the savory smells wafting out of
Ferry Bros. Shoe Repair each time you passed.
Others at the reunion remembered the many parades Chester
held, when veterans trekked every Memorial Day to Soldier's Circle in the Chester Rural
Cemetery; watching Pennsylvania Military College's handsome uniformed cadets march in
formation each Saturday; roller skating to organ music at the Great Leopard; and listening
to the Salvation Army Band, which played in front of the post office each Christmas.
Mary Clapcich Sablian and Dot Trush Suda, now neighbors on
Donegal Lane in Brookhaven, attended the reunion and enjoyed reminiscing about Chester in
its heyday. Suda's parents owned and operated Frank's Market on McIlvaine St.
Chester's Mayor Dominic Pileggi was on hand to greet the
many Chester-ites who arrived during the four-hour affair.
"It's interesting that through the oldchesterpa.com
Web site, John Bullock has brought so many people together," Pileggi said. "He
has really provided a focus for the good will that people have toward Chester and their
memories of friends, family, schools and neighborhoods."
"I read about the Web site in the Daily Times,"
said Betty Bernardo of Ridley Park. "When I found out John was having this reunion, I
had to come. I grew up in Chester and have so many wonderful memories."
Between greeting all the guests, Bullock kept busy
scanning many old Chester photographs that visitors brought, which he intends to post on
the Web site.
Nearly every visitor could be heard thanking Bullock for
the hundreds of hours he has devoted to creating and maintaining the site.
The Web site is updated with additional information and
photographs at least once per week.
Many visitors did some early holiday shopping at a table
filled with coffee mugs depicting old Chester landmarks, 2002 calendars featuring Chester
sites, and books about Chester's history.
The items are also for sale on the Web site, under the
link "Chester Emporium."
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Neighborliness and a helping hand
has long been a tradition among Chesterites. If you'd like to share this
tradition with some of today's most needy Chesterites, when you come to
our "Get-Together", bring along one or more of the following
items that the Chester Salvation Army will distribute:
