Delco Proper
- Thread starter nardibynature123
- Start date
No philly accents, no E-A-G-L-E-S chant, and no philly sports gear and/or references in 6 minutes. Not realistic, especially at a wake.
Did you guys ever see the MTV True Life: Im Addicted to Oxycontin??
They interviewed a dad from Fishtown who lost his kid to the drug. And he wore an Eagles polo for the interview.
"Hey! Im gun' be awn tee vee! Where's my good Eagles pyoh-loh???"
They interviewed a dad from Fishtown who lost his kid to the drug. And he wore an Eagles polo for the interview.
"Hey! Im gun' be awn tee vee! Where's my good Eagles pyoh-loh???"
NickleDimer
Post 'Til Your Fingers Bleed
In his defense, he was the Eagles Head Coach at the time.
NickleDimer
Post 'Til Your Fingers Bleed
NickleDimer
Post 'Til Your Fingers Bleed
Lacrosse is huge in Delco, I chuckled at the reference...but, even through the three friends give off a distinctly Clifton Heights vibe...it didn't have enough Delco/Philly references for my liking...hoping the next episode is better.
Speaking of Delco, does anyone here have a tattoo?
I was born and raised in Delco and I'm amused by the attention but I thought the episode was pretty dull. The characters didn't really fit the stereotypes either. Maybe I should do a Delco TQ for the out of towners.
Some of you guys have it wrong. Pro sports are no bigger in Delco than elsewhere. You will find more die-hard Eagles fans in Philly and South Jersey than Delco. You'll see people in the poor sections wearing the merchandise but often because it's cheap. I can't think of one friend I grew up with that watches the Eagles regularly.
I was born and raised in Delco and I'm amused by the attention but I thought the episode was pretty dull. The characters didn't really fit the stereotypes either. Maybe I should do a Delco TQ for the out of towners.
Some of you guys have it wrong. Pro sports are no bigger in Delco than elsewhere. You will find more die-hard Eagles fans in Philly and South Jersey than Delco. You'll see people in the poor sections wearing the merchandise but often because it's cheap. I can't think of one friend I grew up with that watches the Eagles regularly.
i grew up in delco but do not have any tatoos. i had some friends with either the barbed wire tatoo or some sort of stupid Irish Cross on their shoulder. the sports teams tats didnt start until 2003ish, when the eagels got good
the real question should be if you grew up in delco do you have a college degree.
univ of phoenix and devry do not count. neither does ITT teach
univ of phoenix and devry do not count. neither does ITT teach
NickleDimer
Post 'Til Your Fingers Bleed
Grew up in Drexel Hill (arguably lower DELCO) and graduated with honors from Nova. I guess you could call me the exception.....
I live in Delco now but am from South Jersey. I have several tattoos, but no barb wire or tribal tatts.
And you really don't have friends that watch the Eagles regularly? What do they watch then? Real Housewives? I find this statement extremely unusual.
No, you are not the exception. A majority of residents of Drexel Hill probably have college degrees. There are sections near Clifton and some of the rowhouses near Lansdowne Ave. that are an exception. I would bet that Havertown and Drexel Hill have produced more Villanova grads than any other towns.
Places like Clifton is very much working class but they produce a lot of college grads (kids raised by working class parents) but most move out to more expensive areas when they make their own money.
Southern Delco is the poorest part
Places like Clifton is very much working class but they produce a lot of college grads (kids raised by working class parents) but most move out to more expensive areas when they make their own money.
Southern Delco is the poorest part
NickleDimer
Post 'Til Your Fingers Bleed
Thanks for this analysis. I was thinking of vacationing in Darby or Chester until I read this.
im one of those who bailed for the greener pastures of chester county. i was raised by two parents without college degrees, my mother ended up getting hers in her 40s and pursued a career in education.
delco has some nice parts. too crowded for me. even as far out as glen mills, rte 1 and 202 are tough roads to travel.
delco has some nice parts. too crowded for me. even as far out as glen mills, rte 1 and 202 are tough roads to travel.
God, I hate this new message board. My post got cut off.
Anyway, the closer to the Delaware River, the rougher the town. That is the general rule in Delco. Even the middle class and upper middle class sections tend to have certain things in common though. I think it is mostly because they are almost all Irish or Italian descent in most parts of DelCo. People are predominately Catholic too. There is a certain F- off attitude common in the area where people tend to be less concerned about social norms and peoples' opinions.
The uniform in the heart of Delco (Glenolden, Folcroft, Ridley, Marcus Hook, Linwood, etc.) seems to be white undershirts, basketball shorts or jorts and either all white sneakers or socks/sandals.
Anyway, the closer to the Delaware River, the rougher the town. That is the general rule in Delco. Even the middle class and upper middle class sections tend to have certain things in common though. I think it is mostly because they are almost all Irish or Italian descent in most parts of DelCo. People are predominately Catholic too. There is a certain F- off attitude common in the area where people tend to be less concerned about social norms and peoples' opinions.
The uniform in the heart of Delco (Glenolden, Folcroft, Ridley, Marcus Hook, Linwood, etc.) seems to be white undershirts, basketball shorts or jorts and either all white sneakers or socks/sandals.
Bonner High School is the reason most local delco Nova grads are from Upper Darby/Drexel Hill or Havertown. Its was an Augustinian all boys school (now merged co-ed with Prendie).
Obriend: I can't speak for what each of them likes to watch but pro sports were not big with me or my friends growing up. I attended 1 Phillies game (World Series in the 80s, I think) and one Sixers game. Both times my Godfather from South Jersey brought me. The first Flyers game I ever watched was in Stanford Hall because my room mate was a big hockey fan.
A few of my friends growing up were Flyers fans but they played ice hockey in some league. Other than that, I can't remember friends having an interest in pro sports. One of the guys who used to watch the Flyers is still one of my best friends and he went to Nova too. He's not much of a fan anymore.
I have been a Villanova basketball fan since I was a young kid. My Dad used to take me to the Nova basketball and football games. In 1985, I went to a bunch of games with my Dad and got the whole team to autograph a poster for me - I wish I still had it. The Championship was far and away the most excitement I ever experienced in relation to sports.
Of my group of close friends, one is a big Penn State football fan (his alma mater) and I am into Villanova basketball. Other than that, sports are not a big thing with us.
What was big growing up (and still probably is) was drinking in the woods/parks. School sports were important to most kids too, especially football, basketball, lacrosse and ice hockey. The kids that played hockey were the most gung ho. Almost everybody was Catholic and identified themselves by parish. I'm not sure that this is common in other areas.
A few of my friends growing up were Flyers fans but they played ice hockey in some league. Other than that, I can't remember friends having an interest in pro sports. One of the guys who used to watch the Flyers is still one of my best friends and he went to Nova too. He's not much of a fan anymore.
I have been a Villanova basketball fan since I was a young kid. My Dad used to take me to the Nova basketball and football games. In 1985, I went to a bunch of games with my Dad and got the whole team to autograph a poster for me - I wish I still had it. The Championship was far and away the most excitement I ever experienced in relation to sports.
Of my group of close friends, one is a big Penn State football fan (his alma mater) and I am into Villanova basketball. Other than that, sports are not a big thing with us.
What was big growing up (and still probably is) was drinking in the woods/parks. School sports were important to most kids too, especially football, basketball, lacrosse and ice hockey. The kids that played hockey were the most gung ho. Almost everybody was Catholic and identified themselves by parish. I'm not sure that this is common in other areas.
That is true. The Augustinians are at Malvern too. At both schools, the administration encouraged good students to go to Nova. At both schools, the top 2 in the graduating class each year got full rides to Nova.
There are other reasons, too, though. The area is very Catholic. O'Hara, St. James, Carroll, West Catholic, etc. have sent countless graduates to Nova. There are a lot of Delco kids in private, Catholic schools like Devon, Notre Dame, Villa Maria, Merion Mercy, etc. that end up at nova too. Tons of people have parents that graduated from Nova and they encourage their kids. Nova was a commuter school at one time (as was nearly every school) and a ton of Irish from Philadelphia and Delaware County commuted there in the 50s and 60s. Their kids frequently attended and now grand kids.
It also has to do with affordability. Havertown and Drexel Hill are mostly middle class to upper-middle class. The same is true with Springfield, Broomall, etc. People in Clifton frequently can't afford it. It is the best Catholic school in the area so it is going to draw a lot of local Catholic kids provided their parents can afford it.
I doubt many mainliners go to Nova for a variety of reasons.
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NickleDimer
Post 'Til Your Fingers Bleed
Definitely early on. I'm talking late 60's and 70's. I remember in HS when I would meet kids my age from Bonner and O'Hara a high percentage of them would say their parents or one of their parents attended West Catholic. Parts of West Philly and the Southwest area just outside West Philly were the first to go. MBS had 3800 students, largest catholic grade school in country, in late 60's. When it closed in 2002 it had 170.
It depends on the neighborhood. Delco was populated well before white flight was a thing. There were a lot of immigrants, particularly Irish, that came directly to parts of Delco. For example, Havertown and Drexel Hill each had textile/fabric mills that were opened by Irish-born brothers (or cousins, I forget) named Charles and Denis Kelly in the early 1800s. They were major mills and the owners became really wealthy. They recruited laborers from Ireland and towns were built around the mills.
Charles Kelly had the mill in Drexel Hill and the Kellyville section was named for him. It is a working class area and always was. The local Catholic church, St. Charles, was built by him and a parish school was opened to educate the children of the Irish mill workers. The school closed a few years ago.
Denis Kelly opened St. Denis by his mill in Havertown. Similar situation.
More recently, there have been a lot of people moving from Philadelphia. Some was white flight but not any more so than other counties, most likely. Now, you have white flight from Delco.
The biggest change has been the increase in minorities, especially blacks. Most have relocated from blighted sections of Philadelphia looking for better schools and better, safer lives for their kids. There are towns that are still 95% + white but there are historically white areas that are primarily (even overwhelmingly) black. I am not a racist but I am honest. A lot of the areas that have become black have seriously declined. Part of it is the poverty and some is cultural. The biggest reason, though, in my opinion is white flight. People saw a few black families move in and ran for the hills. The house prices dropped with a flooded market and more blacks moved in to fill the void. . . and so on and so on. Ignorance has killed a lot of neighborhoods. A lot of the white people left behind were those that couldn't afford to move away so you see a trashy element. It is similar to Kensington, just less pronounced.
The poor towns in Delco seem to be mostly black. The middle-income areas are proportionately mixed. The upper-income areas are still really white. This is the way things are in most urban places in the U.S. White people will say it is because the blacks moved in. I disagree. If people had just gone ahead and lived their lives accepting their new neighbors, the neighborhoods would have been fine. The flight hurt the real estate market and started a shift toward lower income residents. The problems in these areas are pretty typical of lower-income areas elsewhere, regardless of race.
Burrs: A lot of suburban kids in the olden days went to West Catholic before Bonner and O'Hara were built. Going to West Catholic doesn't mean they ever lived in West Philly.
It's like this thread has become Kittlesfan's dissertation on the history of Delco. Is this the same Kittlesfan who hired a private dick to trail his cheating spouse?
NickleDimer
Post 'Til Your Fingers Bleed
True, but primarily in the first half of the century. Bonner opened in '53 and O'Hara in '63.
Anyway, the Parrish's closer to West like DeSalles, MBS, St. Carthage, Transfiguration were primarily AA when I went to West. However in the 60's and into 70's they were predominantly white. That changed quickly and many of these folks moved to Delco. That's all I'm saying.
Yes, Ovrrbrook had a string Italian presence (St. Donato's) around 64th & Callowhill. However, it also had other neighborhoods. St. Callistas was an Irish Parrish. Overbrook Farms had a lot of Jewish people. Plus, black families were living in 'Brook as well.
No, not the same person.
I thought you might want insight from a born and raised Delco guy. I'm out.