Kristen Gallagher

I wake up aware that today is the birthday of both my aunt Nancy and my cousin Amy. When you have 75 people in your family, it’s not uncommon for 2-3 people to share a birthday. But there’s a magical vibe around knowing today is the day I’ve been assigned for my Philly Diary [Coincidence 1].

Nancy’s going to Lititz, PA, which I’ve never heard of. Turns out it’s a cute town west of the city w a chocolate shop and a wolf sanctuary. Now I want to go to the Wolf Sanctuary.

[Coincidence 2] My cousin Amy lives in the Northeast Philly neighborhood of Tacony with my aunt Geraldine and cousin Christine, next door to my cousin / her brother Michael and his wife Trisha and their two kids. I’ve been meaning to ask aunt Geraldine if I can photograph the header of the original mortgage to her house because Amy’s sister Patti’s husband Brendan told me Geraldine’s mortgage has the name “Disston” on its header. During a year I spent in Florida, I learned that a Philadelphia guy named Hamilton Disston came up with the destructive / evil genius plan to drain the Everglades in order to turn it into valuable real estate. Disney World, Sea World, Kissimmee – that land is, technically, the Everglades, though you’d never know it now. We can thank Hamm Disston (1844-96) for that. He inherited his dad’s Philadelphia saw mill and really went to town trying to make a name for himself buying up “swampland” in Florida and designing drainage canals to “manage” the water. The word “Disston” is everywhere in Northeast Philly – Disston Street, Disston Park, Disston Saw, Disston Precision, etc. My father grew up on Disston St. My uncle Jimmy (Amy’s dad) built a community garden (dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary) in Disston Park at a time when the city wasn’t doing much with it. I ask Amy if she knows anything about it. She points out that the houses around there were built for workers at Disston’s mill. 

Then I call the Philadelphia Free Library Social Science and History Department to make an appointment to look at their archives for stuff about the early development of these neighborhoods – Kensington, Tacony, Mayfair – all of which figure in my family history. I call and talk to a friendly archivist who shares lots of insider baseball about which parts of the department care for which types of archival material and why. Due to funding limitations, the “Maps” person does not work full time and I have to email to make an appointment with her

Next, somewhat related to my research on home and neighborhood, I go to a small gallery exhibit by Amy Ritter called “Hidden in Place” at Grizzly Grizzly. It’s based on a trailer park she grew up in called Li’l Wolf outside of Philly in Orefield, PA. [Coincidence 3] Another Amy! [Coincidence 4] More wolves!

I love these disorienting shots looking into people’s windows. You can feel the desire for privacy in the ways the trailers surround themselves with trees. Even in neighborhoods with full sized houses, people still get in your business. Maybe it’s even harder in a trailer community? The tape recorder is full of interviews w people about how they came to live there. Good stuff!

[Coincidence 5] I notice in Amy Ritter’s bio that she got her MFA at OSU, right around the same time as my cousin Michael (not the cousin Michael who lives in Tacony, though this Michael is from the same family. With 75 people, you’re bound to have more than one Michael). I text him to verify. He knows her! 

All these coincidences feel like signs: my Disston Florida-Philly project is destiny, my family is on board, life is good. 

After this, my husband and I take a long walk all around the area – first, outside the gallery on North 11th. 

We found this billboard really amusing – injury lawyer w football helmet – it makes sense! But maybe a bad look for football, with all the injuries…. 

This neighborhood is changing fast – all of Philly is, better appreciate these signs of the old world while we can. Unless you don’t. I do. 

We spend some time contemplating the juxtapositions between the old Philly and the new, which are everywhere. Then, as if to put a superfine point on the metaphor of invasion: my final photo captures what seems to be a flying saucer. I try to find an angle of approach that will make the apparition go away. Nothing works. There’s no denying the phenomenon.   

Kristen Gallagher is a writer and writing teacher. Recent work can be found at Air/Light, Tagvverk, and The Baffler. Follow her on insta @minor_ecologist