Our People
Kelly Drive
by Brooke Brunson
The ideal spot for joggers, runners, bikers, and rowers, Kelly Drive is a beautiful trail that winds around 4 miles along the Schuylkill River. Divided by east and west, the east end is Benjamin Franklin Parkway while the west side is Lincoln Drive/Ridge Avenue in Manayunk. Formerly known as East River Drive, it was renamed Kelly Drive in the 1980’s in honor of John B. Kelly Jr who throughout the 1940’s was an accomplished oarsman, a four-time Olympian, and a Philadelphia City Councilman for 12 years. Other than the historic and influential tales that surround this beautiful area, one of the biggest and main attractions is Boathouse Row. A historic site located on the east bank of the Schuylkill River, it is home to 15 boathouses (a building especially designed for the storage of boats) that consist of housing social rowing clubs and their racing shells. Racing shell is an ancient Egyptian term that is based on propelling a boat on water using oars.
Over the years, Boathouse Row has been known to host several major rowing regattas including the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta, Stotesbury Cup Regatta, the Navy Day Regatta, the Independence Day Regatta, and the Head of the Schuylkill. The boathouses are seen as centers of the rowing community around the United States. Rowers from the boathouses compete at every level, including local clubs, high schools, colleges, summer racing programs, and international-level athletics. Local universities including Drexel, Penn, and La Salle row out of houses on Boathouse Row while Villanova, and Saint Joseph’s row out of other boathouses along the Schuylkill that are not part of the Row. Each of the boathouses has its own history, and all have addresses on both Boathouse Row and Kelly Drive named after John B. Kelly, Jr. Boathouses #2 through #14 are part of a group known as the Schuylkill Navy, which encompasses several other boathouses along the river. Boathouse #1 is Lloyd Hall and is the only public boathouse facility on the Row and Boathouse #15 houses the Sedgeley Club that operates the Turtle Rock Lighthouse. The boathouses are all at least a century old, and some were built over 150 years ago.
Boathouse Row
Other than the boathouses, Kelly Drive also contains an impressive assortment of sculptures that ranges in date from the 1800s to the early 1960s that includes artist Harry Rosin’s portrayal of John B. Kelly Jr. Other sculptures by multiple artists honor American history and its revolutionary peoples, such as the Puritan, the Statesman, the Revolutionary Soldier, the Quaker, the Slave, the Miner, the Ploughman, the Poet, the Preacher, and the Scientist. While ominously overlooking Kelly Drive is the 78-acre Laurel Hill Cemetery and Sculpture Garden, which dates back to the early 1800s and is overflowing with Gothic mausoleums, monuments, and elaborate tombstones. In 1998, the burial ground became one of few US cemeteries to be designated as a National Historic Landmark. Resident gravesites include those of Thomas McKean, one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence, as well as many Civil War generals and passengers of the Titanic.
There is always something to do in the area. If you have a free hour, come rent a custom cycle and drink in the sights. Whether you are planning a structured team-building event, kid’s camp, birthday party, field trip, or family outing, Wheel Fun Rentals is the perfect place for your next event. Rentals include mountain bike, road bike, electric car, canoe, surfboard, and much more. A popular trail for bikers and runners is The Schuylkill River Trail. The trail is approximately 10 miles in length, providing recreational space in the center of this beautiful and historic city.
Fairmount Water Works
Schuylkill Banks, located between the Fairmount Water Works and Locust Street, is a linear park that hosts a variety of entertainment and recreational events throughout the year. From Schuylkill Banks to East Falls, the trail is a wide paved surface suitable for rollerblading, walking, running, and cycling. This section runs next to Kelly Drive and takes users past Boathouse Row. From East Falls to Ridge Avenue, the trail is on the sidewalk between Ridge Avenue and Manayunk’s Lock Street. Using Main Street, the trail goes behind Main Street and uses the Manayunk Canal towpath, a section of the Schuylkill Navigation System. The Manayunk Canal towpath varies between crushed stone and wooden boardwalk. From Shawmont to Port Royal Avenue the trail uses Nixon Street.
If you are looking for a new spot to get in a nice bike ride or run then Kelly Drive is the place to be. Not only is it packed with things to do but also you can get an amazing view of the Schuylkill River while strolling down the trails.
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Lonyo Holmes is the 59 year old business owner of Q&A Wholesale Smoke Shop, the only African American owned smoke shop in the city, located at 2749 Kensington Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19134, the heart of the Kensington epidemic. Along side his wife Tiesha Chandler, they celebrated 8 years in October 2022, while defending his turf from would-be thieves, and illegal solicitors. Combined with the setback of having his store robbed during the pandemic and failing to secure all but a PPA loan for his business, he’s felt everything. To this day he’s struggles to pay rent due to the economic side effects of an unchecked drug epidemic that deters those interested in learning more about this unique community space.
“During the pandemic one of my folks hit my phone and told me “yo, someone broke into your store. They broke in through the window”. So, me and my wife Tiesha go check it out… Man, they hit my displays, shelves, they cleaned me out. They left me with over 20,000 dollars in losses.”
Long before 2022, Lonyo opened his store to build and promote events by community members. So far he’s held shows around spoken word, and hip-hop, while hosting givebacks to the community, meet and greets and more. “Everyday I’m fighting for my livelihood. If I don’t open this shop, I don’t eat.”
Despite the challenges, the fight to survive lives on. These days Mr. Holmes spends his time selling food outside to keep the rent paid. “I started selling more food and water ice because that’s the only reason people were coming to my store. I gotta do something if no one is coming here to even buy a lighter”.
One of Philadelphia’s local celebrities, DJ Dior, found inspiration at Q&A, using it as space to provide food for the homeless and a give back with donations provided by Unapologetically Imperfect and The YMCA (North Philly Branch).
Mr Holmes continues to innovate his space, despite his environmental challenges. This past yr he’s added a stage, speakers and more for those blooming artist, both visual and musical. “This area is still a great space. The sound is good, the people are good and spirits here are good as well.“
Bryan Carter: What kind of work do you do in the community?
Lonyo Holmes: We feed the community as much as possible, primarily Friday and Saturday with our nonprofit Samaritans of Service. If we see someone in dire need, we’re here to help.
BC: What are you doing, or considering to rebuild your business?
LH: We are considering a way back – come to our establishment, get ya hair cut (Mr. Holmes is a certified barber), get your ID, or gently used clothes to get employed so folks can get on their feet. We also work with Take Back Philly and Momma Love Soulfood with a Twist where we give out large platters of food. DJ Dior was instrumental in meeting Alicia Joyner, CEO of Take Back Philly. Start between 4:30 and 5:30pm for an hr or until the food is gone. The donations we receive from The Rock Ministries and Richards and Friends United in the Community allows us to bless the rest of the ppl in line. We also deliver to different clothing outlets around the Aramingo area, and to orgs who share our donations with their audience.
BC: How can others get involved?
LH: I’ll tell you how to help our people and our city… Show up. We’re out here every Friday, 11am to 2pm unloading trucks, packing cars, delivers etc. and any help from you would be greatly appreciated.
If you would like to support Mr. Holmes and his community work, check out his event space, and more? Please visit 2749 Kensington Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19134 or call (267) 584-8354.
Go to school. Get a good education. Get a good job and open a bank account. Does this sound familiar? Most of us heard this from our parents. Most of us have been indoctrinated to believe that this formula would lead us to our dream life. How has that worked out? I refer to this as a covert poverty mindset. Our parents taught us this because that’s all they knew. If we don’t learn something different then we will most likely teach this to our children, and that covert poverty mindset will linger in our communities for at least another generation. Now, more than ever, we need effective and relevant financial literacy education.
- Establish an emergency fund: You should have 3-6 months of your financial obligations saved up for the purpose of protecting against unforeseen events. Studies show that more than half of American families have less than $1000 in savings and therefore struggle to survive the occurrence of even a minor financial emergency. (CNBC.com, “Here’s How Much Money Americans Have in Their Savings Accounts,” September 13, 2017)
- Get proper income protection: The industry refers to it as life insurance. I prefer the term income protection because many people believe that insurance will repair or replace the item that is insured. However, life insurance can not and will not replace a life. It will replace income. Many families lost loved ones due to COVID-19 and since many of those lost were not properly covered, their families had to endure an additional hardship trying to finance the cost of final services for their loved one.
- The last concept that I work to teach families is, “Pay yourself first.” By that I mean prioritize and put money away for retirement. Learning concepts like the “high cost of waiting” and the “time value of money” help create the necessary urgency around investing. True financial freedom occurs when your investment income matches or exceeds that of your earned income. 75% of Americans admit to wishing that they had started planning for retirement earlier than they did. (2016 Wells Fargo Retirement Study)
When I work with families, I use these concepts, along with some others: like the rule of 72 and dollar cost averaging, to help them. I’ve found that many people because of the lack of information are unable to take advantage of, and benefit from the knowledge of the rules of the money game. It doesn’t matter what game you play, if you do not know the rules you are a lot less likely to win. Therefore educating families about the strategies to win, positions them in a much better place to do so. I believe the solution to better finances starts with education. The next step is to develop a plan and lastly to get a coach to help you implement and stick to the plan.
There are financial coaches, like myself, who are actively looking for individuals and families that want to succeed at the money game. Actively looking for people who are willing to open their minds to trying something that may be different. In this regard, financial health is very similar to physical health. When you need to assess or verify that your physical health is in order, you go see a doctor or health care professional for a checkup. They may ask you to change your diet or prescribe some medication to help remedy or enhance your condition. When your finances are in need of a check up, you need to go see a financial professional. They may ask you to change some of your spending habits or put you on a plan that will help or remedy your financial situation. As a parent I feel very strongly that you have to model for your children the importance of appropriate financial planning and to start creating positive financial habits at an early age. Sean Covey says in his book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “First you make your habits, then your habits make you.” When children and young adults begin to incorporate the strategies mentioned above, they maximize the time value of their money and more importantly create habits that become lifestyle.
Asante Sana,
Marc L. Wilson
Fresh Prince of Finance
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