West Philadelphia: ‘Fresh For All’ Program Feeding Residents
This article was written for my Philadelphia Neighborhoods class at Temple University, is published on its website and was featured on Philabundance‘s site.
By Candice Monhollan, Audra Neff-Williams and Mike Polinsky
Residents of West Philadelphia waited in line to receive free fruits and vegetables from Philabundance. (Candice Monhollan)
It’s hard to miss the mass of people lined up between Spruce and 49th streets on a Wednesday afternoon. They are racially mixed with young and old, but one thing they have in common is the empty bags and baskets they brought with them.
Residents of West Philadelphia come to this spot to partake in Philabundance’s Fresh For All program where they bring in fruits and vegetables for free.
“Some people are out here at 7 o’clock,” said Pat Pearson, 64, a resident of 50th Street.
To receive the produce, residents sign-up and give basic household information, listed the Philabundance site.
Pearson found out two years ago at a local store and has since brought home what she could.
“They put it out on the table and they tell you how much you can have when you go up there,” Pearson said. “They try to stretch it out. Some things might be five, some things might be two, some things might be three. You take what you get and you work with it.”
Pearson noted that many of the residents who take advantage of the program are retirees.
“Sometimes the money runs out,” Pearson said. “You only have so much.”
Michael Norman, 58, is also one of those retirees and said he’s still trying to pay off student loans at his age.
“I’m fortunate enough to have food stamps that can help out, but they don’t kick in until the 12th of the month,” Norman said. “So between here and then are lean times.”
Fresh For All comes around once a week, every week throughout the year, except in cases of severe weather. The food is usually the same, but to residents like Pearson and Norman, it doesn’t matter.
“Sometimes you get bananas, bananas, bananas,” Pearson said. “People complain, but you shouldn’t. You’re getting it for free. Just be grateful for what you’re getting.”
Labelle Takes His Scoring Overseas
By Candice Monhollan
Three-year Royals veteran Olivier Labelle is packing up his things and heading to Austria next season. (Mike Ashmore)
It has been quiet on the Reading Royals front since they blew a 2-0 series lead and were mercilessly booted out of the first round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
Almost two months after the heartbreaking elimination by the Elmira Jackals, the first news of the 2012-13 season has come about, and it isn’t a pleasant one for the Royals faithful.
Gritty forward Olivier Labelle has taken his crash-the-net, goal-scoring touch overseas to play with the Moser Medical Graz99ers in Austria.
The 26 year old has played with the Royals the last three seasons and five overall in the ECHL. He had a career year in 2011-12 with the Royals, marking new highs in goals (27), assists (30) and points (57).
Despite all this, he only played in two games in the AHL this past season with the Providence Bruins. It could be speculated to have something to do with his unsightly minus-15 or the so-so record the Royals maintained all season long.
This is Labelle’s first time playing in Europe and is a move no one can fault him for after repeated attempts to stay in the AHL.
The loss of Labelle proves a daunting task for Royals head coach Larry Courville to fill. He played a big role on the team with the ability to get under the skin of opposing players and had the ability to get the gritty, dirty goals in front of the net.
Connecting Philadelphia’s Past to the Present
This article was written for my Multimedia Storytelling class at Temple University.
By Candice Monhollan
Sign outside of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. (Candice Monhollan)
It’s never hard to miss the gleaming skyscrapers that make up Philadelphia’s skyline. A closer look reveals treasures hidden among them.
Sprinkled within these lofty buildings are the frameworks of not only the City of Brotherly Love, but the nation itself.
“If you don’t know where you come from, you don’t know where you’re going,” said Kay Connors, a tour guide with Centipede Tours.
It’s a lesson she tries to instill upon visitors as she shows them the historic places around the city as, on this particular day, she guided a group of kids and chaperones from Michigan around Independence Hall.
“Think about the reality of it and who was here and how it all shapes everybody’s life,” Connors said. “Not just ours in the United States, but actually in the world.”
Employees who work around these places bear witness daily to how momentous the events that happened here were.
“It’s the history of the nation,” said Eric Knight, a park ranger at Independence Hall. “I’m in a position in this job [where] I can educate, I can entertain, I can inspire. It’s also a job where you’re constantly learning.”
A fellow ranger shares Knight’s sentiments.
“You get to experience where history actually happened,” Terry Papavasilis said. “The great thing about being a park ranger is you get to read about it and teach people about it.”
Not all the historic sites around the city are in good shape. Read more »
Historically Philly Audio Slideshow
This audio slideshow was created for my Multimedia Storytelling class at Temple University.
Pictures of historic spots across Philadelphia featuring interviews with people who work on educating the public on that history.
Slideshow from Candice Monhollan on Vimeo.
Historically Philly Video
This video was created for my Multimedia Storytelling class at Temple University.
Interviews with five people who all have some part in preserving and/or educating the public on different aspects of the history of Philadelphia.
Aaron McKie Reflects on Run to Final with Sixers
This video was created for my Advanced Sports Reporting class at Temple University.
Interview with Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Aaron McKie about playing with the Sixers and Temple University.
Sixers from Candice Monhollan on Vimeo.
Goaltender Trades Skates for Wheels at Temple University
This article was written for my Sports Writing class at Temple University.
By Candice Monhollan
John Mehler started every game for the Temple Owls in 2011-12. (NCRHA)
Hidden away in a dark studio on the first floor of Annenberg Hall, Temple senior John Mehler idled his time away on a computer.
The broadcast major spends most of his time here as the sports anchor on Temple Update, the university’s student-run newscast.
But Mehler is more involved with sports than just on TV. He is also the goaltender for Temple’s roller hockey club.
“It was something I looked for in a school,” Mehler said. “I wanted to make sure I could still play hockey. Obviously education comes first, but it was a plus for a school to have a hockey team as well.”
In Temple’s case, it has an ice and roller hockey team. Mehler, a native of Cherry Hill, N.J., played in both through high school, but made the decision to play roller hockey in college.
“It was too expensive to play ice hockey for Temple, so roller hockey was the next best thing,” Mehler said. “I definitely enjoy ice hockey a lot more, but making the full transition to roller hockey wasn’t too bad, especially since I had played for a few years in high school.”
The biggest difference for Mehler is the inability to slide from post-to-post like on ice. Goaltending in roller hockey requires more lunging for him, he said.
The 22 year old is no stranger to transitions since he hasn’t always been tending net.
“I gave it a try playing as a forward in high school my first two years,” Mehler said. “I volunteered to be a goalie my junior year because we wouldn’t have had a team if we didn’t have a goalie. I just decided to stay with goaltending.”
He honed his skills as a goaltender the summer before his junior year of high school at a summer camp.
“It was a week long, five hours a day of playing goalie,” Mehler said. “It had a lot of past NHL players and professional goalies to help us. It was definitely worthwhile. That’s where I learned everything.” Read more »
Temple Senior Rod Streater Hoping to be Drafted
This audio was created for my Advanced Sports Reporting class at Temple University.
By Candice Monhollan
N.J. Sports Writer Passes 1,000 Games Covered
This article was written for my Sports Writing class at Temple University.
By Candice Monhollan
Mike Ashmore is well-known for his minor league baseball coverage, but has expanded to other sports. (Candice Monhollan)
Sometimes for journalists to catch their break, it takes being in the right place at the right time.
In the case of Mike Ashmore, it was sitting in his sports journalism class at Raritan Valley Community College in 2003 that got him the start he needed.
“The Somerset Patriots beat writer for the Hunterdon County Democrat, Scott Stanchak, was in my class,” Ashmore said. “I happened to be taking a look at some pictures of Patriots games that I had taken on my computer and he needed someone to help him out with pictures for the season.”
Stanchak brought Ashmore on to help him during the season and by the end, he progressed into writing. In 2006, Ashmore took over for Stanchak and became the Patriots beat writer and has since added the Trenton Thunder as well, he said.
The 29 year old got his start in minor league baseball and is now in his 10th season and just passed his 1,000th game covered, but they haven’t all been about baseball. He has also ventured into other sports, including hockey, basketball, football and the UFC.
Ashmore has varied in leagues as well, going from the minors up to the major leagues.
“There was some aspect of wanting to expand,” Ashmore said. “I wanted to have more versatility in my resume and my portfolio. I wanted to show that I could do more than just baseball.”
The native of Three Bridges, N.J., may be the Patriots beat writer for the Hunterdon County Democrat, but he is also a “freelance extraordinaire,” as he calls himself on Twitter. Read more »
Wrapping Up the 2011-12 Reading Royals
By Candice Monhollan
All is now quiet inside the Sovereign Center as the 2011-12 season has come to an end for the Royals. (Candice Monhollan)
After holding a 2-0 series lead in the first round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs, the Reading Royals were unable to secure the last win they needed and were eliminated in the decisive Game 5 Monday night by the Elmira Jackals.
Now that the dust has settled, emotions have cooled off and the players have packed up and left, it’s time to look back at the season that was in 2011-12.
REGULAR SEASON STRUGGLES
After a promising 2-0 start in the preseason, fans quickly had their eyes opened to see a team that was going to be so-so throughout the regular season.
The Royals continually had a pattern of win two, lose two, win one, lose two, win two, lose one. Back and forth, all season long, they hovered around .500.
Then came the harsh reality that the team may not even be good enough to make the playoffs when, from Nov. 18 through Dec. 8, the Royals were unable to win a single game, losing nine straight and dropping them to last in the Atlantic Division.
They turned things around against the Wheeling Nailers and after another win and a loss, put together a string of four straight victories, before falling back into the old win one, lose one pattern again.
After two bad losses to the Jackals over the first weekend of March, the playoff window significantly shrunk for the Royals with just 12 games remaining in the season, and the majority of them were at home, where the team struggled mightily. Read more »
About
“Hockey won’t hold still for a portrait. To gain a glimpse inside, you join it in progress, just as players do – jumping onto the ice for their shifts as the game swirls around them.
“On that ice the action moves at high speeds. The punishment doled out can be staggering and the very best in the world form bands of brothers as authentic as any in sports.
“Virtuoso talents alongside distinctive leaders, fearless combatants and relentless competitors. They play with an intensity from another age. A passion invulnerable to cynicism and an energy that embraces whatever the ice offers next. Through heights and depths, lengthy streaks and sudden turnarounds and the spirited collision in the national spotlight, they have revealed a portion of a season in progress.
“Hockey won’t hold still to give you a better look. You wouldn’t want it to anyway. It’s the action that makes the possibilities endless. The next practice, the next city and the next game await.”
-24/7 Penguins-Capitals: Road to the NHL Winter Classic
Candice grew up and still lives in Philadelphia, Pa., although she did spend one year in the hockey hub of Boston, Mass. She is currently in her last year majoring in sports journalism at Temple University in Philadelphia.
She covers the Reading Royals for Something’s Bruin and is in search of a home for her Trenton Titans coverage. She also contributes articles on the Royals to the Center Ice Hockey Magazine.
She is a former American Military History major and still likes to dabble in history when she can find the time, from reading books by the dozen and trying to travel to battlefields across the country, and hopefully soon, the world. Though her attention is mostly focused on writing about sports, she still hopes to one day research and write a book on either the Civil War or World War II.
Read more about her here.
Check out a feature about Candice on Dave’s World.
Royals and Titans Latest News
The 15 latest news stories out of the Reading Royals and Trenton Titans. Make sure to visit each team’s page for more news stories, standings, rosters, schedules and statistics.
- Labelle Takes His Scoring Overseas (5/25)
- Wrapping Up the 2011-12 Reading Royals (4/12)
- Royals are eliminated from the Kelly Cup Playoffs with a 4-2 loss to the Elmira Jackals. (4/9)
- Elmira Jackals force Game 5 with a 3-0 shutout of the Royals. (4/7)
- Royals Can’t Sweep Jackals as Late Goals Cost Them (4/6)
- Royals Continue to Win, Hold 2-0 Series Lead (4/5)
- Royals Get the Bounces and Take Game 1 (4/4)
- Royals place Kyle Nueber on reserve. (4/3)
- Syracuse Crunch reassign Dale Mitchell to the Royals. (4/3)
- Royals activate Derrick LaPoint off injured reserve. (4/2)
- Colten Hayes returns from bereavement leave. (4/2)
- Royals sign Brad Eidsness. (4/2)
- Royals place Colten Hayes and John Scrymgeour on reserve. (4/2)
- Royals release Ryan Blair and Chris Doyle. (4/2)
- Toronto Marlies reassign Mark Owuya to the Royals. (4/2)
Team Records
Reading Royals (ECHL)
Round: Kelly Cup Quarterfinals
Opponent: Elmira Jackals
Series: 3-2 Elmira
Last Game: L 2-4
Next Game: N/A
Trenton Titans (ECHL)
Record: 21-41-4-6
Last Game: L 4-6
Next Game: N/A
Streak: Lose 6
Last 10: 2-6-1-1
Philadelphia Flyers (NHL)
Round: Stanley Cup Semifinals
Opponent: New Jersey Devils
Series: 4-1 New Jersey
Last Game: L 1-3
Next Game: N/A
Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)
Round: Stanley Cup Quarterfinals
Opponent: Phoenix Coyotes
Series: 4-2 Phoenix
Last Game: L 0-4
Next Game: N/A
Adirondack Phantoms (AHL)
Record: 37-35-2-2
Last Game: L 2-4
Next Game: N/A
Streak: Lose 1
Last 10: 5-4-0-1
Boston College Eagles (Hockey East)
NCAA “Frozen Four” Champions
Round: Frozen Four Final
Opponent: Ferris State
Last Game: W 4-1
Next Game: N/A
University of Minnesota Golden Gophers (WCHA)
NCAA “Frozen Four” Tournament
Round: National Semifinal
Opponent: Boston College
Last Game: L 1-6
Next Game: N/A
University of Wisconsin Badgers (WCHA)
Round: WCHA First Round
Opponent: Denver
Series: 2-1 Denver
Last Game: L 3-2 OT
Next Game: TBD
