Patricia Allen
My blogs
| Gender | Female |
|---|---|
| Industry | Education |
| Occupation | Communications; freelance writer |
| Location | Philadelphia, Pa., United States |
| Introduction | When we were young, my father, who was the son of Irish immigrants, regaled my siblings and me with harrowing tales of growing up poor in Philadelphia -- in Germantown -- during the Great Depression. For quite some time, I thought he wore rags to school and ate his morning corn flakes submerged in water instead of milk. I discovered later that he was just a good storyteller, given to Gaelic hyperbole (also known as blarney.) At the start of our own 'Great Recession,' I found myself wondering how his family and their neighbors -- who were mostly Irish, but not all -- weathered and survived the Depression. This blog chronicles my journey back to understand that time and those people, as well as the Irish who arrived in Philadelphia long before them. Please join me -- two shorten the road! |