Ah, H-Town. You might have grown up here, you might forever be considered a newcomer. But on October 7, 2023, in this quaint little corner of the world all will be considered Townies! Darby Road will again be transformed into a bustling hub of activity, celebration and community spirit. It's the 28th annual Haverford Township Day (HTD), and listen up newbies: If you've never been, you're in for a treat. Imagine waking up to the gentle hum of a community coming together. The day kicks off with a flea market and craft fair at 10:00 am. Now, I've been to many a flea market in my time, but there's something about the Haverford one that feels... well, homey. Local and artisan vendors will set up shop. If I’m being honest, in the last several years, I’ve been a bit “meh” about many of the vendors, especially the Multi-Level Marketing pyramid schemes like LuLaRoe (they should be banned from the festival). There’s also a lot of overpriced, mass-manufactured jewelry. I try to suss out the hand-beaded, hand-made wares. The good thing is you can always find some vendors with true flea market finds like old books, vintage clothes, and trinkets you don’t need but you’ll definitely want. Watch out for the one table with the small wind instruments, though - if you blow it, you bought it! If shopping isn't your thing, perhaps a 5K race at the Middle School at 8:30 am might get your heart racing. Or, if you're like me and prefer a more leisurely pace, the parade starting at Manoa Shopping Center at 10:30 am is a sight to behold. It comes up Eagle and down Darby, ending at the Skatium. The *rocking* Haverford High School band plays, there’s usually Mummers (because: Mummers - they’re everywhere!), and various scouts. Sometimes there are politicians waving and throwing candy from the backs of convertibles. No floats though really. Sad. But! The firehouses usually toss a few treats and blast their sirens. Bring ear plugs and maybe don’t bring the dog. Our dog howled his … [Read more...]
“Social Security” robocall hitting PA. Print this out for vulnerable neighbors.
You can copy and paste this post (in between the lines), print it out and put it in their mailboxes. Also please share it via text and email messages and posts in social media. We got this call today, July 16, 2019. The scam is currently active in PA. __________________________ Pennsylvania is the 2nd most senior state, after Florida. Pennsylvanians will be the target of “Social Security” scams for many years to come. Don’t answer the phone or email when you are busy, tired or feeling unwell. These states make us particularly vulnerable to this type of “phishing” scam (i.e. “fishing for information.”) Here’s what to look out for with the latest Social Security scam call. We received a call today from 1-646-755-1692, a New York, New York phone number. It was a robocall, but to untrained ears it could sound like a recorded human voice. The phone number of this scam changes quickly. You may not receive it from the same phone number, but the scam will basically be the same. The call attempts to scare the listener into pressing a button to “hear more” about the “suspension” of his or her social security number. The callers want to get you live, on the line, so they can trick you into telling them your Social Security number, banking numbers and other information. Here is the transcription of the message we received. Your message may be the same or similar: “This call is from the Department of Social Security Administration. The reason you have received this phone call from our department is to inform you that we just suspend [sic] your Social Security Number because we found some suspicious activity. So if you want to know about this case just press 1. Thank you.” THIS CALL IS A SCAM. HANG UP. Do not press 1 to hear more information. Hang up. If you do press 1, you will be routed to a fake call center where a human worker will ask you to verify your Social Security Number and contact information. These workers are well-trained in psychological … [Read more...]
Collingswood Facebook Community Group (Like H-Town’s) Blows Up
Phillyvoice has an article about yet another Facebook community group splintering due to drama trauma. Why did journalist Kevin C. Shelly report this non-event as "news" when it isn't really new? Because in our modern era, online groups are something worth talking about. We want our own community groups to help to our community instead of hinder it. Collingswood's group seems to have split up over typical stuff. Usually, bad member behavior and a lessening of moderation by the group's administrators cause the rift. If rule-reminders aren't handed out regularly, behavior doesn't re-align with the goals of the group. Behavior grows more errant until a split occurs. A new group is formed with a curated membership, similar rules, and good moderation. We have one or two Facebook Community Groups here in H-Town. The most active is the Havertown Community Group (HCG), run by Administrators Kim Lacovara-Barr and Carrie Kauffman. The HCG has 3,770 members. Haverford Township has (by 2010 census) 35,878 residents. That means HCG's membership is roughly 10.5% of the population. (These numbers are estimates, as HCG members can come from surrounding towns). As far as Facebook groups go, these are some impressive numbers. It's very possible a group of this size can enact real change in H-Town. For example, one of the topics of conversation in the HCG right now may end up making a difference for all of us: The Red Plum Mailers. Townies are throwing around the idea of throwing the Red Plum Mailer people out of H-Town. Talk of a petition is brewing. (One can request Red Plum to remove her address from the list, but we've tried this and have seen no results. The mailers still end up on HavertowniesHQ's driveway). If enough interest is generated, perhaps the issue will be brought in front of the Commissioners or the Delco Board. That's powerful stuff. HCG's admins seem to be quite on top of things and will occasionally remind members to refer back to the rules. This is … [Read more...]