FROM THE PUBLISHERS

RowHome Rollback to 2004!

Before we spring forward, we’re going to look back at some of RowHome’s favorite memories of the people, places and faces that helped us launch a magazine in the neighborhood we know and love. These were our Letters from the Editors printed in the Summer 2004 edition. It’s our way of remembering how it all began as we celebrate our 20th anniversary in the months to follow.

You knew company was coming when you smelled the coffee. Not just any coffee, either. Nana’s coffee – perked to perfection in an old aluminum pot on the stove. I watched as she poured each cup – carefully straining any mutant grinds that found their way into her brew.

You knew it was Sunday, too. At least you hoped it was Sunday. Nana’s meatballs were more an event than an entrée. No one, nowhere, no-how, makes meatballs like my grandmother. To this day, if you see Nana’s handwritten “gravy” label on a plastic bowl lid in the freezer, you know life is good.

Life in our town is about food and family. There’s no denying it. We turn ordinary dinners into social rituals for friends and strangers alike. If there’s food on the table or grandkids jumping on the couch, you know life is good.

So, what’s my point, you’re asking yourself. Close your eyes for a second. Now imagine your neighborhood without the grocery store, the hairdresser, or the old man who neatly displays his brooms outside his hardware store every morning. Where would you take your visiting friends from New York and San Diego for calamari or roast pork if they closed the corner tavern?

Many of our friends and family members opened a business in this neighborhood – sharing their rituals and recipes with the rest of us. We taste sauces and stews prepared from generations-old recipes. We shop and decorate, build and borrow from family businesses three and four generations in. The faces change, but you know the names. They are the businessmen and women who keep our economy strong, our neighborhoods friendly, and our kids active. Food, family, fun!

Without them, ours would be just another maze of city streets. No cheesesteaks, no artists, no bricklayers. The character and charisma that we associate with our community would be lost. The heritage of our grandparents – people who settled in these neighborhoods with little more than a dream to succeed – would be ignored. I said it before and it’s well worth repeating. Park your cars, people. Take a walk through the neighborhood. Buy a sandwich from the local deli or take the kids out on crab night at the corner bar and grille. Buy your shoes, your shovels, your shingles from a local retailer every so often. Let’s keep tradition alive in our neighborhoods. Let’s make our families proud. Go home to shop. Go home!

Dorette Rota Jackson Vice President / Editor

Okay. I’m going to test your memory right now. Brady Bunch. That famous episode when Jan is stressed out because “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia” is always in the limelight.

Welcome to my world!

Growing up in my house with an older sister (Yeah, she’s older!) who’s an English major – I think from the time she was born – wasn’t easy. She’s an edit addict. Edited everything I did – homework, refrigerator art, dinner conversations. My love letters weren’t even safe. So, how did I handle it? I grew up and started a magazine with her!

Yes. She writes most of the stories. Edits all of them. And I’m sure you will all agree, she does a great job. But my job is much more important. I inspire! She calls it writer’s block or something like that. She sits down at the computer and zip! Nothing. Nada. If I wasn’t around to inspire her, I’m talking blank pages, people! My sense of humor gives her an endless supply of material.

Great. So, I’m a clown. She also likes the way I speak my mind. Okay. I’m a rebel. She also likes the fact that I lend a reader’s perspective to whatever she writes. That’s her way of saying that I don’t have a problem telling her ‘It stinks.’

It was my idea, after all, that jumpstarted this magazine. I’ve been asking her for the last three years to sit down and plan this thing out. She has more than 20 years of writing experience; won tons of awards; wrote about the neighborhood when she was a reporter for the local weekly newspaper. To this day, people around here remember her column about “Real South Philadelphians.” You know the one – real South Philadelphians don’t buy meatball sandwiches from a vendor. Everyone remembers reading about her daughter Jade, now 21. I knew if we sat down together, we could publish a magazine that people would want to read. A magazine that highlights everything that’s right about our neighborhood and its people.

So far, you’re telling us that we’re doing something right. I’m sure you’ll let us know if we’re not. After all, this is South Philly. There are other people besides me who don’t have a problem speaking their minds.

And, just in case you’re wondering, the answer is yes. She edited this column.

Dawn Rhoades Vice President / Features Editor

ROWHOME GROWN AND PROUD!

Thank you to the entire South Philly community for all of your support these last few months on my new film, Fuhgeddabout Christmas. Blessed to be from the best city in the world.

Joan Roman

DEAR ROWHOME MAGAZINE

I read your magazine cover to cover. Even the ads! I want to spend my money with local shops and your magazine leads me to everything I need. I even found a new dermatologist thanks to you. Keep up the good work!

J. Kern

DEAR PRH:

Love the Steve Martorano cover of your January issue. Can’t wait to make my reservations! I ate dinner at his Florida restaurant while visiting friends there and I still talk about it. Brought back so many happy memories of the foods I grew up with.

Dorothy Steele