Our Finance Committee is working diligently to

prepare our 2017 budget, and our Transition

Committee tirelessly forges ahead with

negotiations with Toll Brothers. Strickland

Committee members chose a decorator to assist

with the aesthetic updates coming to their building

and meet regularly to ensure forward progress.

The Buildings and Grounds Committee

recommended a product to help prevent bird

strikes on large and exposed windows in the

courtyard area and continues to work on street

signs to make our neighborhood more easily

navigable. Last but not least, these pages contain

the work of our great Newsletter Committee

members who dedicate their time to keep us

informed and entertained.

As always, we are grateful for the volunteer

time and effort that all of our committee members

contribute to making our community beautiful,

safe and fun! We urge you all to enjoy some time

walking around our community and checking out

the great new spots in our community!

For those who have been following the news

relating to the prohibition of grills, you may

remember that the driving factor behind the

decision had to do with the insurability of the

Association. At the last Board meeting on

September 20th, the Association's insurance agent

presented the bids from insurance companies

willing to write insurance for the Association. We

are pleased to announce that Naval Square's total

risk is far lower than previous years. Because of

this, the Association will see roughly a $22,000

reduction in insurance premiums. This is about an

8% decrease from last year.

The

Early Fall

Edition

of the

Naval Square

in this issue

Community Living P.2

City Living—Cultural Calendar P.3

Philadelphia Mormon Temple P.4

Dogs of Naval Square P.5

I S S U E

S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 6

48 News

Upcoming Events Save the Date

Oktoberfestival Naval Square Parade Ground

Saturday, October 22, 2016 2—6 PM

Family, Friendly, Food & Fun Fall event open to all Naval Square residents and their families! German-themed food and beer. Fall activities, face painting, inflatable slide, Psychic readings and more. Free tickets and sign-up sheet available at Concierge. Come join the fun!

Board Member Meet and Greet In Rotunda Saturday, October 8, 2016 3:30 to 4:30 PM All residents are invited to stop by with questions and concerns during the allotted time.

FROM THE BOARD

Happy fall, all! We are likely all welcoming

the cooler temperatures and looking forward to

changing leaves and Halloween costumes. As we

think of apple picking and pumpkin spiced lattes,

we are looking forward to many exciting things

taking place in the neighborhood, inside and

outside of Naval Square.

First and foremost you have probably noticed

fencing along Grays Ferry Avenue. The Board

and management make safety of our residents and

our neighbors a top priority. Repairs will be

coming to these sections of the wall, but in the

meantime, please use caution when walking and

consider using the opposite side of the street.

A few weeks ago, we saw the grand opening of

Fitzwater Street Philly Bagels on the corner of

20th and Fitzwater as well as the beginning of

construction at 20th and Bainbridge, rumored to be

the site of a new taqueria by the owners of Loco

Pez in Fishtown. A much-anticipated Starbucks is

slowly being constructed at 22nd and South

Streets, and a new nail salon opened near Ants

Pants Cafe! And, Fresh Grocer can't come soon

enough as construction continues at the former

Path Mark.

Inside the community, the Board hosted an

open meeting on September 20th, during which we

heard about great progress and exciting events

from the various committees’ chairs. The

Landscaping Committee continues to work

seamlessly with Outside Unlimited to update our

beautiful grounds and prepare for fall. The Social

Committee is planning an Oktoberfestival

for October 22nd from 2-6pm, open to all residents

and their families and featuring German-themed

food and beer, face painting, an inflatable slide,

pumpkins and more! They also hosted a happy

hour at Devil's Pocket restaurant on September 28th

and have more coming for fall!

Community Living

2

The Joys of Electric Grills…...? Like many townhouse owners at Naval

Square, we were very disappointed with the

decision to prohibit gas grills from our

decks. Charcoal grills…. sure. But gas?

We just don’t get it. However, that

proverbial horse has been beaten to death

and it is time to move on.

My husband Bill, being an avid year-

round griller, immediately started cooking

up a new plan to satisfy his urge to grill. So

many things we grill would stink up the

house if done on the stovetop grill pan, and

believe me, we know that from experience.

So, if we want to continue to grill outside,

there is only one option – the dreaded

ELECTRIC GRILL. I thought, what’s the

point? It would be like cooking on the

indoor stove. There wouldn’t be any of that

good grill taste you get from cooking right

on a grate.

But Bill did his research and decided that

electric grills were worth a look. We all

know that the best char-grill flavor comes

from charcoal grills

and those, rightfully

so, have never been

an option here. So

what do we get

from a gas grill?

It’s that flavor that

comes from the food dripping all over the

grate and caramelizing and making

everything taste better. But could we get that

from an electric grill? The search was on.

And right in the middle of all this, mid-

summer as well, we kicked our propane tank.

No sense buying another one, right? We’d

never use it up before the October 1st

deadline.

So here’s what we learned. Today’s

electric grills often use infrared heat.

Manufacturers claim that this cooking

method limits the amount of hot air that

comes in contact with the food, thus limiting

how much the food gets dried out. And

because infrared heat cooks the food without

drying it out, the sales pitches claim, it’s

much juicer and flavorful.

Here’s an infrared primer for the nerds in

the audience:

We opted for a Char-Broil model. Just

like with any other grill, you’ll need to

preheat it before use. Aside from regular

grilling, you can also cook with wood chips

to get that smoky flavor a lot of folks love.

So what has our experience been with it the

last couple of months? We’ve been

pleasantly surprised. It only takes about 5-

10 minutes to preheat and food gets those

grill marks that make anything taste better.

The juices from food have dripped all over

the grate so now we’re getting that good

grill flavor, similar to that produced by a

gas grill. And we think that the food might

actually be a little less dried out. Bill has

cooked different kinds of burgers, pork

tenderloin, vegetables and chicken and has

toasted buns on it. It cooks quickly and the

model we picked is much smaller than our

gas grill so takes up less space on the deck,

but it still has enough room to cook a decent

amount of food. And so far, we haven’t

seen any kind of spike in electricity usage.

So we have gone from naysayers to fans of

electric grills and suggest that for all you

frustrated grillers out there, it might be

worth a look.

-- Debra Homich, Naval Square Resident

From the Management Office

With the colder weather coming, please make sure your furnace is in good working order before you turn it

on.

Dryer vent cleaning is taking place in September. This is cleaning the vents from the exterior walls as far as

can be reached. Servpro is offering an $80 deal to Naval Square residents to clean the remaining interior

portion of the vents as well. Please contact the Management Office if you would like to learn more.

Please take some time to clean up any dead leaves and plants that may still be on your deck or balcony. It’s time to say good bye to this

summer’s petunias.

A reminder that fall decorations, like pumpkins and scarecrows, can be displayed from October 1 through Thanksgiving.

The dog poop situation is getting really bad. We can’t think what must be going through people’s minds when their dogs poop and they

decide to just leave it sitting there. C’mon…. we live in a shared community so please think about your neighbors and their kids.

With all the moving that goes on around here, residents are often looking to get rid of furniture. One easy option is donating it to

Habitat for Humanity. They will pick it up free of charge, and that means from wherever it sits in your home. They also take appliances,

housewares, rugs, arts and other decorative items, as well as building supplies. These are all then resold through their discount resale

stores, ReStore, one of which is at 2318 Washington Avenue. All the proceeds from the sales are used for building and repairing homes

in our city. If you would like to learn more, you can visit their website at:

habitatphiladelphia.org/restore or take a look at the attached brochure.

“Infrared electromagnetic frequencies are

just outside the visible spectrum of light. So

although we cannot see them with our eyes,

they are felt as heat by both our bodies and

food. The meat we eat has a moisture-

saturated boundary layer. Convection

cooking, like with gas grills, dries that layer

out, but with infrared cooking, the heat

penetrates that layer without removing it.

End of science lesson.”

City Living

3

New Additions to Twentieth [20th] Street

October Cultural Calendar of Live Performances in Philadelphia

Theater

Arden Theatre: through 10/16 - “Stupid F...ing Bird” (adaptation of “The Seagull”); opens 10/13 - “The Legend of Georgia

McBride”

Egdo Classic Theater: opens 10/26 - “Delirium” (adaptation of “The Brothers Karamazov”)

Lantern Theater: through 10/16 - “Mrs. Warren’s Profession”

Suzanne Roberts Theatre: through 10/16 - “Rizzo”

Walnut Street Theatre: through 10/23 - “South Pacific”

Wilma Theater: opens 10/12 - “When the Rain Stops Falling”

Annenberg Center

10/13-16 - “The Plough and the Stars” (Abbey Theatre)

10/21-22 -.Memphis Soul Stew (blues, soul, jazz)

10/21 - Terence Blanchard with the E-Collective (funk, R&B, blues)

10/29 - Liz Vice (gospel, soul, R&B)

Dance and Opera

NextMove Dance (Prince Theater): 10/13-16 - RUBBERBANDance Group

Pennsylvania Ballet (Academy of Music): 10/13-23 - “Cinderella”

Classical and Jazz Concerts

Astral Artists (American Philosophical Society, 427 Chestnut St.): 10/14 - Jordan Dodson, guitar

Boney James (Keswick Theater): 10/23 - jazz

Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia (Kimmel Center): 10/9-10 - Mozart, Haydn, Chung (world premiere), et al.

Curtis Student Recital Series (Field Concert Hall) - opens 10/14; Curtis 20-21 Ensemble (Gould Rehearsal Hall): 10/30 - music

of Kaija Saariaho, composer-in-residence

Esperanza Spalding (Theatre of the Living Arts): 10/18 - jazz

Lalah Hathaway (Tower Theater): 10/19 - jazz, R&B

Philadelphia Orchestra (Kimmel Center): 10/4 - Mahler's 6th Symphony (Simon Rattle, conductor); 10/7-8 - Berlioz’s Fantastic

Obsession (Yannick Nezet-Seguin, conductor); 10/20-21 - Russian Favorites (Stephane Deneve, conductor)

Tempesta Di Mare, baroque orchestra (American Philosophical Society, 427 Chestnut St./Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill):

10/22/23 - Vivaldi, Lully, et al.

Vox Amadeus (Kimmel Center): 10/14 - Mozart’s Requiem, Piano Concerto 21, Jupiter Symphony

Several years ago we featured a 2-part

story about the ‘gems’ located on 20th Street.

Restaurateur Audrey Claire Taischman

establishments, Cook, Audrey Claire and

Twenty Manning, and Iron Chef Jose Graces'

Village Whiskey and Tinto. Numerous

Naval Square happy hours have been held at

De Angelo’s, Seafood Unlimited and Pub

and Kitchen restaurants. We are fortunate to

live within walking distance of any or all of

the 20th Street eateries.

New to the neighborhood is Lou Bird’s;

located on the corner of 20th and Lombard,

across from Pub and Kitchen in the former

home of Meritage which closed last

September. The owners, Norris and Debbie

Jordan are also owners of Happy Rooster on

Sansom. This 100-year old building was

extensively remodeled and expanded to allow

more dining space and full bar. The interior

was gutted and results in an open and airier

room with more windows and exposed brick.

“Jordan envisions Lou Bird’s to be a ”quiet,

lovely place to eat” with candles and warm

lighting.” This little bistro serves “high –end

American cuisine” priced between $19 and

$21. Offering Weekend Brunch, Happy Hour

and Dinner selections and outdoor seating.

Located just four blocks from the front gate,

Fitzwater Street Philly Bagels is owned

and operated by fifth generation bagel

maker, Aaron Wagner. The September 9th

opening in the Graduate Hospital

neighborhood, marks a further expansion in

the empire overseen by Aaron and family

(Chestnut Street Philly Bagels at 1705

Chestnut St., South Street Bagels at 613 S.

Third St., and The Bagel Spot in Cherry

Hill). The family owned traditional New

York style bakery is a welcome addition to

the neighborhood. The new location at the

corner of 20th & Fitzwater is open from 6:30

a.m. to 4 p.m. daily with assorted bagels,

specialty sandwiches, and hot and cold-brew

coffee.

Around the Neighborhood

4

Philadelphia Mormon Temple Review

Mitt Romney. Jon Heder. Amy Adams.

Gladys Knight. Jenna Kim Jones. What do

these famous people have in common? Not

much, except that four of them are

practicing members of the Church of Jesus

Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), or

Mormons (Adams was raised in the Church

but is no longer a member). Much of the

public’s perception of the Church is

partially based in reality—earnest young

missionary men clad in white shirts and

black ties—but the entertainment industry

and our own imaginations have

unfortunately filled in the rest. Before I

toured Philadelphia’s new LDS temple,

much of my knowledge was based on

HBO’s Big Love, the profane Broadway hit

The Book of Mormon, and fry sauce. Of

these three, only fry sauce is indeed a fully

accurate representation of Mormon culture.

This delicious combo of mayonnaise,

ketchup, black pepper, and a dash of vinegar

or Worcestershire for extra kick) tastes great

with fries, on burgers, and with seafood.

Unfortunately, tours of Pennsylvania’s

first LDS temple at 1739 Vine Street are no

longer open to the public. After a brief

“open-house” period, only Mormons in

good standing are permitted to enter the

temple. On a beautifully clear, late-summer

morning, my tour group gathered in a plain

white, small meeting-house with pews and a

pulpit across the street from the main

temple. After a brief logistical intro, we

were escorted to the main building, where

brothers and sisters helped us place surgical

booties over our shoes designed to preserve

the temple floors. Each greeter wore a

nameplate with the title Sister or Brother

plus a surname (e.g., “Sister Smith”). It was

quite a feat for me to keep the booties in

place over my flip-flops, but somehow I

managed.

The official tour invitation requested that

visitors “dress modestly.” One of our young

guides wore a lace dress that stopped just

above the knee with a cropped denim jacket,

and the other a colorful maternity dress that

highlighted her baby bump. We viewed a

brief film about the significance of temples

in the Mormon faith. Temples are

considered to be the most sacred structures.

They are not the equivalent of a church in

which Mormons regularly worship. Sunday

services take place in an unadorned

meetinghouse or chapel (see above).

Rituals (ordinances), however, are

reserved for the temple. They include

sealings, in which husband is sealed to wife

and children are sealed to their parents.

Families who have proven themselves

worthy to Him and followed His

commandments will be rewarded with

eternal life. After families complete their

earthly lives together, they remain united in

heaven after death. Temples serve a central

role in Mormons’ lives, but in order to

physically enter them, they must be in good

standing with the Church.

We also had the opportunity to see

baptismal founts and rooms in which

marriages will take place. Large paintings

that depict scenes from the life of Jesus

Christ adorned the walls. Smiling brothers

and sisters quietly greeted us as we made

our way from floor to floor. In general, the

interior of the temple reminded me of a well

-appointed hotel or conference center. It is

clean, comfortable, and utilitarian. This

makes sense, given that the Mormon faith

focuses more on the significance of the

spiritual passages that take place within the

walls rather than the grandness of the

building’s interior in which they occur.

Our final destination was a room filled

with fancy but comfy couches arranged

around a huge crystal chandelier hanging in

the center of the room. Our guides

encouraged us to sit quietly on one of the

sofas to meditate upon what God means to

us, which exactly what this room was

designed for. Thus ended the tour and the

first part of my self-education. Next stop:

YouTube’s Mormon Channel, to watch the

documentary Meet The Mormons (2014).

Jenna Kim Jones, a former writer for Jon

Stewart’s The Daily Show and “clean” stand

-up comedian, cheerfully narrates this

documentary that chronicles the lives of six

diverse Mormons. Some were born LDS,

others were baptized as adults. The primary

themes that dictate how these individuals

lead their lives is the importance of family

and relationships; reaching out to people in

emotional or physical need regardless of

their religion, culture, or station in life; and

“service before self.” If you raise your

children to fulfill their roles as sisters,

brothers, sons, and daughters, they will be

ready to serve as missionaries for 18 months

to two years as young adults. Sharing the

Word is only a part of their mission; they

also engage in global humanitarian efforts.

The Mormons profiled include the head

coach of the U.S. Naval Academy in

Annapolis, MD Ken Niumatalolo; “Candy

Bomber” pilot Gail Halvorsen, who dropped

chocolate bars for children during the Berlin

airlift in the late 1940s; Carolina Munoz

Marin, a renowned Costa Rican kickboxer,

and her husband Milton; engineer Bishnu

Adhikari, who was inspired by his

conversion to build infrastructure and

improve educational opportunities in his

native Nepal; Bishop Jermaine Sullivan and

wife Kembe of Atlanta, GA, who balance

family life with three young sons, working

in education, and the obligations of a

bishop.

Instead of summarizing here in detail the

experiences of the featured Mormons, a key,

general question one could ask about any

religion springs to mind: Does it make the

people who practice it strive to be active

forces for positive change in their families,

communities, and even the world?

Regarding the LDS church, the answer is

yes. After pushing the limits of their

personal abilities and success, Mormons

then ask, with much hope and little

cynicism, “What else is possible?”

To the Reader: Please note that this article

represents my personal views and

experience after visiting the temple and

viewing the documentary.

- - Aisha O’Connor, Naval Square Resident

Philadelphia Mormon Temple

Community Living

Newsletter Committee Naval Square Executive Board / Committees Jeanette Litts, President Laura Thomas, Secretary Maria Cianfrani, Treasurer Gary Gladstone, Board Member Tim Labrie, Board Member

Buildings and Grounds Committee - Jack Smyth, Jr Communications Committee - Deborah Lyons Finance Committee - Maria Cianfrani Internal Dispute Resolution - Ron Levine Landscape - Ginny Minehart/Doug Linneman Rules & Regs Committee - Margaret Moran Social Committee - Margie Renzi Transition Committee - Wendy Wiesmiller

Debra Homich Aisha O’Connor Jessica Leon Nancy Stinson Deborah Lyons Wendy Steesy Nancy Naftulin Openings Available Send all articles, suggestions and feedback to: NavalSquareNewsletter@yahoo.com

5

Often, the most we ask of our furry

friends at Naval Square is to be companions

on long walks, playmates for our children or

affectionate cuddle buddies. In our

community today, we also have at least one

who is training to perform service work

such as search and rescue missions -- a

yellow lab named Hoke.

Katelyn Flaherty and Doug Henry had

talked about getting a puppy for quite a

while, but the timing never seemed right.

Their long workdays and commutes to

match made having a puppy impractical.

Adopting a senior dog seemed like a good

option, but the same concerns remained

about leaving their buddy at home alone for

long periods of time. Then they discovered

a creative solution: fostering a dog from the

Penn Vet Working Dog Center (WDC).

Katelyn and Doug went through foster

training while waiting for a dog to become

available. It was their first dog together and

their first time doing anything like this, so

they had originally asked for an older dog

Dogs of Naval Square: Meet Hoke

who was already trained. But

while on vacation in California,

they got an email from the WDC

saying they would be getting a

puppy that May.

Hoke was donated to the

WDC by Southland Kennels.

This pure bred Labrador retriever

was only eight weeks old when

Katelyn and Doug brought him

home. The WDC gave them an

exercise pen and a crate, and

were told that at his age, he

wouldn't be able to climb stairs

for a few more weeks. Less than

15 minutes after getting him

settled into his pen, Hoke

surprised his new parents by

silently climbing out of it and

part-way up the stairs. A natural

searcher!

Every day, Katelyn and Doug

drop Hoke off at “school,” where he learns the

technical skills he will need for his future

work, such as walking on horizontal ladders

and moving planks. In the evening, he gets to

be a regular dog at home, but Katelyn and

Doug still need to be consistent with his

commands vocabulary. Just like school for

human children, Katelyn and Doug have

“parent/teacher” conferences with Hoke’s

trainer to learn when he knows new

commands. Hoke even gets to go on field

trips with the school, like to a farm with

horses, an Air Force base, and even Great

Adventure!

At two months old, he was very sweet and

fluffy. He would plop down in Katelyn’s lap to

snuggle when he was tired after much high-

energy mischief making. These days, at six

months, though not as snuggly as he once was,

he has a wonderful temperament, and is still a

bundle of energy who wants to play -- now

with the addition of teething. He always needs

to have something in his mouth to chew.

Hoke and his humans like to go on all

kinds of adventures, while his kitty sister,

Stella Anne, stays at home. He's been to

Rittenhouse, Wissahickon, the beach, and

the Poconos. At Naval Square, his pals are

Isabelle, Brody, Ginga, and Luna.

Basically, anyone he meets becomes an

instant friend by way of enthusiastic

sniffing, but sometimes, like the rest of us,

he just likes to hang out on the balcony,

and watch the people and dogs go by. He

loves living here.

At the WDC, they train for all sorts of

support services, like diabetes alert, and

bomb and drug sniffing. They even had

one dog who was hired to sniff out bed

bugs in California! Hoke’s job hasn’t been

determined yet, but word on the street is

that he is a natural “rubble dog” like his

namesake, a dog trained to find survivors

as well as the remains of victims of

disasters, who served on September 11th

and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

What a beautiful tribute to the invaluable

life- saving services performed by rescue

dogs.

The WDC is always looking for fosters

and backup fosters. If you’d like more

information about fostering a working dog,

check out the WDC's Facebook page

(where you can also see Hoke in action),

this Philadelphia Magazine article, and

stop and say hi to Hoke and his family

when you see them in neighborhood!

If you would like your dog featured in the Naval Square News please send us an email: NavalSquareNewsletter@yahoo.com

comes from the food dripping all over the grate and

caramelizing and making everything taste better. But

could we get that from an electric grill? The search was

on

Hoke is training to be a search and rescue dog at

the Penn Vet Working Dog Center.