Len Lear

Natale D’Amico immigrated to Philadelphia from Sicily in 1900 and operated a hair salon from 1900 to 1910 in the Bourse Building, across from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. He later opened a barber shop nearby in Old City. Since then, four generations of the D’Amico family have been providing “shear magic” for loyal clients.

When it comes to technology, I am more old school than Alexander Graham Bell. I recently purchased my first iPhone at the Verizon store in Chestnut Hill. My next-door neighbor and I spent about three hours there. I had lots of questions for the saleslady about the phone, of course. She pointed out that the store is only for sales and that one would have to call Verizon for questions about service.

In recent years, several people have asked me if I know what ever happened to Paul Roller and his restaurants, Roller’s Express-O and Flying Fish, both of which were in Chestnut Hill for many years but have now been shuttered for almost a decade. I have wondered the same thing myself.

When Emma Hearn was acting and singing in plays at Norwood-Fontbonne Academy in Chestnut Hill and then Germantown Academy in Fort Washington, she dreamed of performing on professional stages.

When Emma Hearn was acting and singing in plays at Norwood-Fontbonne Academy in Chestnut Hill and then Germantown Academy in Fort Washington, she dreamed of performing on Broadway and other professional stages, like millions of other young hopefuls, even though the skyscraper-high odds are against them.

Many people, hopefully most, are very proud of their parents. But Alice Farber, Roxborough resident for 40 years and a massage therapist and retired art teacher in the Philadelphia public schools, was getting bored in her retirement, so she decided to spend her time doing something very unusual but very rewarding.

It is hard to imagine anyone who did more to beautify Chestnut Hill than Markoe “Koey” Rivinus, who died in 2006 at the age of 91. Rivinus, former president of Smith, Kline & French Laboratories (now GlaxoSmithKline Corp.) and longtime head of its international division, could often be seen after his retirement in 1967 in old clothes, picking up litter, removing graffiti or planting trees in and around Chestnut Hill and the Wissahickon Valley.

Many people, hopefully most, are very proud of their parents. But Alice Farber was getting bored in her retirement, so she decided to spend her time doing something very unusual but very rewarding.

Peter Paone, 89, of Mt. Airy, a renowned artist, educator, and mentor whose work has been exhibited in some of the world’s most prestigious museums and galleries, died May 14 after a brief illness.

It is hard to imagine anyone who did more to beautify Chestnut Hill than Markoe “Koey” Rivinus, who died in 2006 at the age of 91.