I was lured to the Boscov’s at Granite Run the other weekend by a mailer I’d received advertising a one-day shoe sale — buy any pair, get the second for $1.99.
I went early to beat the crowds only to find the bounds of polite society had dissipated at the shoe department and it’d become The Hunger Games, but with footwear and senior citizen tributes (who are far more ruthless than their younger counterparts).
Flustered, I set off to browse the rest of the store. The first thing you might find yourself wondering as you wander around a Boscov’s is: “How does this place even exist?” It’s a full-scale department store that sells everything from perfume to sofas. I even discovered an entire candy counter on the second floor that during a previous visit I’d never noticed before. As it turns out, this Reading-based chain is in the fudge-making business too.
Legions of other department stores have fallen in the last few decades — Kaufmann’s, Bradlees, Hills, Hess’s — yet Boscov’s abides. The Granite Run Boscov’s is particularly a beast unburdened by the sands of time. It was previously an anchor store for the Granite Run Mall, which was torn down around it in 2016 to make way for the Promenade at Granite Run. Only Boscov’s remains of the once-storied mall. It is a rock that shall not be moved, a pillar to in-person purchasing.
The outfit
As I was browsing the brightly-lit aisles that fateful Saturday this month, wondering if the lights might give me a sunburn, my eyes fell upon something I can never unsee: matching camouflage sweat suits.
Here were outfits that managed to do what no state legislature or psychological expert ever has: They married rural and urban Pennsylvania.
Boscov’s bills these matching sweat suits as “Rustic Romance.”
As someone who spent her formative years growing up in Lycoming County — where we had the first day of hunting season off from school — I can attest that camouflage is not just for stalking prey and sitting in tree stands. It’s an entire sartorial color category all its own in rural Pennsylvania.
Camo is mixed and matched with everything and considered appropriate for all events, from weddings to funerals (think of it like Birds gear during a playoff run). I’ll never forget looking at photos from my wedding and realizing a guest from Central Pennsylvania wore a camo baseball hat to our reception.
Now, a matching tracksuit is something you rarely see in rural Pennsylvania, but it’s practically a closet-staple around Philly. You’ll see at least one person wearing one at every Wawa, Acme, or outdoor event you visit in the region.
Typically paired with sunglasses, these outfits are not only comfortable but incredibly stress-free. No need to worry about what to pair your sweatshirt with because there’s only one answer, the matching sweatpants you bought with it.
Standing stunned before these camouflage sweatsuits, which came in both his and hers, I wondered if Boscov’s had thrown back a few beverages before deciding to sell these things.
As a Pennsylvanian, I was highly offended. We the people of this fine commonwealth are more than camo and sweat suits! We are camo OR sweat suits.
But maybe, just maybe, by blending these two wildly different fashions together as the holidays approach, Boscov’s will also blend us. No more Philly, Pittsburgh, and the T in between. No more red counties and blue counties. This could be the one outfit to unite us all, while also helping us blend into woodland scenes.
When I posted a picture of the camo sweatsuits on Threads, several users pointed out that Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts recently wore a matching camouflage suit when the Birds traveled to Green Bay. I was surprised, as Hurts is typically a very stylish dude who wears Kangol hats and carries a man bag, but people suggested his outfit could have been a fashion statement indicating he was on the hunt.
Who better though to serve as the ambassador of the camouflage sweat suit and unite our state than Hurts? He’s cool under pressure, so he could take the heat of promoting an undeniably terrible outfit for the greater good, and he grew up in Texas, so it’s safe to assume he’s familiar with camo (and we already know he’s not afraid to wear it).
It wasn’t until I got home and looked at my photo of the sweat suits that I noticed there was a sign at the top of the store display billing these outfits as “Rustic Romance.”
Listen, I know that Pennsylvanians’ reputation for romance does not precede us, but that’s just insulting. There’s nothing romantic about letting your partner know you want them to look more like fall foliage.
I guarantee if you get your lady a matching camo sweat suit for Christmas, she’s not going to fawn all over you — she will hunt you down.
The most important variable in any negotiation is what the other side thinks you are willing to pay. Right now, the other 29 teams in Major League Baseball have every reason to think the Phillies aren’t willing to pay Nick Castellanos anything. That’s a tough starting point for Dave Dombrowski as he tries to find someone interested in trading for the veteran right fielder.
Fact is, Castellanos is due to make $20 million this season, which is at least $18 million more than he could reasonably expect to make if he were a free agent. Even if the Phillies eat most of that money, why would a team trade anything of value for Castellanos rather than signing this year’s version of Mark Canha for a couple of million bucks?
The only realistic option for the Phillies is to find a team that is looking to shed a similarly overpriced contract. Even then, Dombrowski may have to further incentivize an interested party. That quickly leads to a point where the Phillies are better off simply releasing Castellanos. Or walking a lot of things back before he reports for spring training.
Here are three examples of deals that maybe, kinda, sorta, if you squint could potentially make a fraction of a smidgen of sense for both parties.
Get excited!
Andrew Benintendi is slashing just .245/.309/.391 in his first three years with the White Sox.
1. Andrew Benintendi plus cash to the Phillies, Castellanos to the White Sox
This is the baseball equivalent of one of those NBA trades in which a couple of overpriced veterans and 16 second-round draft picks change hands but nobody ends up with more than they started with. You only live once, baby.
Benintendi has been a sunk cost the moment he signed a five-year, $75 million contract in Chicago in 2023. Was it only three years ago that the White Sox were trying? Apparently, it was.
Benintendi hit free agency as the rare hitter still in his prime, having broken into the big leagues at 21 years old on the watch of none other than Dombrowski. He hasn’t come close to the .782 OPS he posted in his first seven seasons in the majors, hitting just .245/.309/.391 in his first three years with the White Sox. He showed a little life in the second half of last season and finished with a .738 OPS that was slightly above league average. But he didn’t show nearly enough life to warrant salaries of $17.1 million this season and $15.1 million in 2027.
Swapping Castellanos for Benintendi would make some sense from an accounting perspective. The Phillies would be taking on an additional $12.2 million in “dead” money over two years. More importantly from a competitive standpoint, they’d be tacking on $15 million in average annual value to next year’s payroll rather than paying Castellanos $20 million up front and then being free and clear.
But what if the White Sox included $10 million in cash to pay Benintendi’s 2027 salary? That would essentially enable the Phillies to split up Castellanos’ money over two years, saving them $10 million this year while adding $10 million next year. And, hey, maybe Benintendi gives them a little something in the outfield rotation as a Max Kepler replacement. At 31 years old, the chances of that aren’t zero.
What’s in it for the White Sox? Well, they’d save $5 million in cash in 2027 at the expense of an extra $3 million this year. I’m not sure whether this trade makes sense for both sides or makes sense for neither side. But that’s where we’re at.
The Orioles’ Tyler O’Neill had just 209 plate appearances and nine home runs in 2025.
2. Tyler O’Neill to the Phillies, Castellanos to the Orioles
Truthfully, I’m not sure how much sense this makes for either side. O’Neill signed a three-year, $49.5 million contract last offseason after a big year with the Red Sox (.847 OPS, 31 home runs). He was a major disappointment, posting a .684 OPS and nine home runs in 209 plate appearances in a season marred by injuries.
The argument from the Phillies’ perspective goes like this. They’d essentially be signing O’Neill to a two-year, $13 million deal, given the $20 million they are saving on Castellanos. That’s pretty close to fair market value for O’Neill, who has mostly been a league-average hitter outside of his two spike years (2021 with the Cardinals and 2024 in Boston).
The Phillies get a right-handed hitter who still might have another big season in him. Even if he doesn’t, maybe he is an adequate enough rotational corner outfielder for two years (O’Neill is heading into his 31-year-old season). They also save $3.5 million on this year’s official payroll.
Is all of that worth $16.5 million less in spending power next offseason? Probably not.
Likewise, what are the Orioles really gaining? Saving $13 million over two years isn’t nothing. But it’s probably not worth sacrificing the chance that O’Neill bounces back.
Kyle Freeland, 32, has spent his entire career with the Rockies and has been better away from Coors Field.
3. Kyle Freeland to the Phillies, Castellanos plus cash to the Rockies.
Freeland, who has spent his entire career with the Rockies, has one year and $16 million left on his deal. That’s a lot to pay a guy who has a 5.07 ERA over the last three seasons. Castellanos has hit well at Coors Field with a .914 career OPS in 88 plate appearances. The Phillies get another piece of rotation depth in the form of a guy who has had some decent years on the road in his career. The Rockies get a guy who at least has chance of regaining some value between now and next year’s trade deadline.
A Main Line developer’s plan to turn a shuttered steel mill into a 2-million-square-foot AI data center on the outskirts of Conshohocken was stymied Monday when he was forced to withdraw his application over legal issues.
At the Plymouth Township zoning hearing board meeting, Brian O’Neill’s team had been set to make their case for an exception that would allow a data center to be built at 900 Conshohocken Rd.
The plan has faced neighborhood pushback, and hundreds of people packed the meeting room on Monday night. O’Neill did not appear to be among them.
Edmund J. Campbell Jr., an attorney for O’Neill, said they wished to move the hearing to the township’s December meeting. Then an attorney for Cleveland-Cliffs, the property owner, said the prospective buyer did not have legal standing to do so.
An agreement of sale had not been approved prior to the meeting, said Heather Fine, the attorney for Cleveland-Cliffs.
Heather Fine, an attorney for Cleveland-Cliffs, addresses the Plymouth Township zoning hearing board on Monday.
Campbell later asked Fine and then the board for permission to withdraw the application. Both declined to provide additional comment.
Residents who had spent more than a month organizing in opposition to the project said they had mixed emotions.
“It is the smallest of small wins, because we’re making it harder for something bad to happen to our community,” said Nick Liermann, an attorney who lives in a neighborhood near the former steel mill. “But we will be back in this room in a few months.”
“Communities can be effective,” said Patti Smith, a neighbor of Liermann who has spearheaded the local data-center opposition efforts. “We have to stand up for ourselves.”
With the withdrawal, the data center proposal is officially off the docket in Plymouth Township, zoning officer Joel Rowe said, but the applicant can resubmit a plan at any time, restarting the process.
What the data center proposal entailed
The now-closed Cleveland-Cliffs plant near Conshohocken is shown in this 2023 file photo. A data center has been proposed for the site.
This latest development in the Conshohocken-area data center saga occurs amid broader controversy about such facilities, which handle cloud-computing and storage for Big Tech companies.
The construction of data centers has been fast-tracked to meet the growing demands of power-hungry AI tools like ChatGPT. Politicians on both sides of the aisle, including President Donald Trump and Gov. Josh Shapiro, have pushed for more centers, while some neighbors near proposed sites have mounted fierce pushback.
In the Philadelphia area, Amazon is building a 2-million-square-foot data center on a former steel mill in Falls Township, Bucks County. And a 1.3-million-square-foot data center has been proposed at the former Pennhurst State School and Hospital in East Vincent Township, Chester County.
In Plymouth Township, O’Neill had not revealed the potential tenant for his proposed data center, but indicated it would be related to the life sciences.
The data center is proposed for a 66-acre property along the Schuylkill in the Connaughtown section of the township. The site is less than a mile from downtown Conshohocken. Its neighbors include the Proving Grounds sports complex, Tee’s Golf Center, and dozens of homes.
A crowd of people leave the Plymouth Township zoning hearing board meeting on Monday.
Some Connaughtown residents, along with other data center opponents from across the Philadelphia region, have rallied against the proposal. As of Tuesday, more than 1,000 people had signed an online petition urging township officials not to grant a zoning exception for the data center, citing concerns about light, noise, and air pollution; water usage; and electricity costs.
O’Neill, meanwhile, had argued that a data center should be permitted in the “heavy industrial” zone due its to similarity to a warehouse and laboratory, which are both permitted uses under township code. He had also touted the center’s potential economic benefits, saying it could bring in $21 million in annual tax revenue and attract other companies to the area.
“Industry hasn’t come and gone. It’s simply changed,” O’Neill said at last month’s planning board meeting. “What I’m proposing is to put 21st-century industry into an industrial building.”
Why the data center plan was withdrawn
The Plymouth Township zoning hearing board had been set to hear Brian O’Neill’s proposal for an AI data center outside Conshohocken on Monday.
At the start of Monday’s standing-room-only meeting, Plymouth Township officials were expecting a long and potentially tense night.
Solicitor Dave Sander began by warning the crowd that they must maintain decorum, and said he would cut off the proceedings at 10 p.m. Police officers stood outside the room.
Quickly, however, it became clear that Campbell, O’Neill’s attorney, had other plans, requesting a continuance to the Dec. 15 meeting. If granted, it would have marked the hearing’s second continuance: The proposal was initially supposed to be discussed at an October meeting.
“My client would like an additional opportunity to review with [community members] the project,” Campbell said. “When we proceed, if we have had a more robust dialogue with those participants, this hearing on the 15th would be significantly more efficient.”
Neighbors, some of whom had already attended a private meeting with O’Neill last month, objected to the last-minute request, saying that it was unlikely their minds would be changed if no significant changes had been made to the plan.
“Is the proposal significantly different than what was displayed to community members at the Oct. 8 meeting?” asked Smith, who organized neighborhood opposition.
Patti Smith, resident and organizer of anti-data center movement in the neighborhood, addresses the Plymouth Township zoning hearing board at Monday’s meeting.
“No,” Campbell responded, later adding that they wanted more residents to be able to attend the meeting and hear from their experts who could speak to concerns, including about noise and emissions.
Before the zoning hearing board could vote on the continuance request, Fine, the attorney for property owner Cleveland-Cliffs, took to the podium.
“There is no standing for the prospective buyer to proceed with the application this evening,” Fine said. “That authority was not extended to the prospective buyer from the owner. There is no LOI [letter of intent] in place.”
“My client delivered a signed agreement of sale to the owner this evening,” Campbell said. “Based on that, we have standing. … We made our application with the express consent of the owner.”
Sander turned to Fine, asking if that was true.
“It’s not entirely true, no,” Fine said. “The signed agreement that was transmitted to my colleague at 5:51 p.m. this evening had redline changes. Those have not been accepted by my client.”
She did not elaborate on what those changes entailed.
The zoning hearing board recessed before returning to accept Campbell’s motion to withdraw the application.
As a neighbor to the site, Liermann said the unexpected turn of events left him with a more sour taste in his mouth about the developer: “The last-minute request in an attempt to obstruct the process and dissuade the public from participating, and then this ‘confusion’ over whether or not an LOI was actually signed between the developer and the owner, is incredibly disturbing.”
“Home for the Holidays,” on Dec. 2, will feature holiday classics like Sleigh Ride, “The Christmas Song,” and “O Holy Night,” as well as classical works, such as David Ludwig’s Hanukkah Cantata.
The performance will be recorded by WHYY for radio and TV broadcast and streaming later in the month.
The event is another in a series dubbed Pipe Up! programmed in the space vacated by Macy’s in March. Philadelphia philanthropist Frederick R. Haas donated $1 million to help keep the Grand Court and Greek Hall open and accessible to the public with concerts, films, and other activities in the span of a few months before building owner TF Cornerstone begins renovations on the building early next year.
Separately, responsibility for the holiday Light Show and Dickens Village have passed from Macy’s to a partnership of the Philadelphia Visitor Center and TF Cornerstone. Both Christmastime attractions open this year on Friday, Nov. 28, and are expected to be placed on pause for 2026 and 2027 during construction.
The Dec. 2 concert will be led by conductor Geoffrey McDonald, and features the Opera Philadelphia Orchestra and Chorus. Soprano Leah Hawkins will perform, as will the opera company’s general director and president, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo. Philly-based creative design agency 10th Floor Productions will craft and project art onto the Grand Court as the music is performed.
In addition, the former Macy’s space will host a Christmas Market starting on Black Friday, as well as pop-up food service offering snacks, craft beers, and holiday fare.
More Pipe Up! events are being planned and are expected to be announced soon, a spokesperson said.
“Home for the Holidays,” Dec. 2, 8 p.m., Wanamaker Building, 13th and Market Sts. Pick Your Price tickets starting at $11 go on sale on Thursday at operaphila.org. The concert will be broadcast Dec. 23, 8 p.m. on WHYY TV12, WHYY radio (90.9 FM), and via whyy.org.
In Philly and Delaware County, listings and sales of luxury homes are down from last year,according to an analysis by the real estate brokerage Redfin.
The luxury home market in the counties is relatively small, “so it can be somewhat volatile,” said Chen Zhao, head of economics research at Redfin.
In the combined market of Philadelphia and Delaware Counties, 285 luxury homes sold between July and September of this year. That’s down about 16% from the same time last year.
Redfin defines luxury homes as those in the top 5% of an area’s prices. The median luxury sale price in this region was about $1.3 million, according to Redfin.
A low supply of homes for sale is helping drive luxury trends. At the end of September, the number of active listings of luxury homes — 503 — was down about 23% from last year, the sharpest drop out of the 50 populous metro areas that Redfin analyzed.
Zhao noted that luxury home owners are less likely to need to sell their properties, and decisions to hold onto multiple luxury homes during a time of economic uncertaintymay be contributing to the tight supply.
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Faster price growth for luxury homes
Prices for luxury homes have grown faster than prices for other homes both in the Philadelphia region and nationwide.
In the combined market of Philadelphia and Delaware Counties, sale prices grew by almost 8% for luxury homes and about 6% for homes in the middle-price range over the last year.
Nationally, luxury prices increased by about 5%. Prices for homes in the middle range increased by about 2%.
“Luxury prices are outpacing the rest of the market because the people buying at the top end are playing by different rules,” Sheharyar Bokhari, senior economist at Redfin, said in a statement.
Unlike middle-income homebuyers, people purchasing homes at the highest price points don’t need mortgage interest rates or prices to fall before they can afford to buy. They’re more likely to pay in cash or take out smaller loans. Some are choosing real estate as a more stable investment.
“That demand, even at a smaller scale, is enough to keep pushing luxury prices up faster than the broader market,” Bokhari said.
How other metros compare
Between 2024 and 2025, luxury sales rose the most — almost 31% — in the pricey market of San Francisco. The median luxury sale price was more than $6 million.
Luxury homes sold the fastest — in a median of 14 days — in the San Jose, Calif., region and the slowest — in a median of 130 days — in the Miami metro area.
Florida is home to the areas where luxury prices rose and fell the most over the last year. They increased by about 15% in the West Palm Beach metro, and decreased by about 3% in the Tampa area.
“We could walk everywhere,” said Kevin Diehn. “We’d even forget where we’d parked our car.”
This was Diehn’s tribute to the rich offerings around the Bella Vista trinity he bought in 2012 with his wife, Ariel.
But perhaps the most unusual is the path leading to their street, with mosaics by the legendary Isaiah Zagar. Diehn says it’s about 70 yards long.
The outside of the home sits along a brick path.
And “we loved the proximity to South Street,” he said.
But now the Diehns — he works in the pharmaceutical industry and she’s a Pilates instructor — have moved to Maryland for work.
From the 840-square-foot home, the Italian Market, South Street, Washington Square, Penn’s Landing, and Jefferson and Pennsylvania Hospitals are all easily accessible.
The bathroom has a tub and a window.
The two-bedroom, one-bathroom house is tied together by a spiral staircase that wraps around all four floors.
The living room features exposed brick, wood floors, and a fireplace that could work if refurbished.
The kitchen is in the basement and has an adjacent pantry, stainless steel appliances, a gas stove, a laundry area, and tile floor.
The kitchen is in the basement.
The winding stairs lead through French doors to the first bedroom and a bathroom with a tub/shower combination and glass enclosure.
The primary bedroom is on the third floor with vaulted ceilings and two large windows. The upper floors have plentiful exposed brick.
The house is in the Meredith School catchment area.
It is listed by Pamela Rosser-Thistle of BHHS Fox & Roach at the Harper Rittenhouse Square for $319,000.
When a western diamondback rattlesnake sinks its fangs into your hand, and it swells up like a purplish water balloon for days in a Texas hospital, it might be a sign for a career change.
But Clyde Peeling, who was born in Muncy, Lycoming County, in 1942, had already been bitten by the proverbial bug long before the rattlesnake bit him while he was stationed in Texas with the Air Force. Peeling, 83, still loved snakes, despite that close call, and went on to become the reptile king of Pennsylvania.
“I’ve pretty much known what I wanted to do with my life since I was 14,” Peeling said recently, from his beloved zoo near Williamsport.
A snake-necked turtle is shown in an aquarium at Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland in Allenwood, Pa., on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025.
It wouldn’t be the last time he’d be bitten, either, in a career that has spanned more than half a century.
“Let’s see, once by a copperhead, a viper, and four other rattlesnakes. I don’t say that with any bravado,” Peeling said. “That was a very serious bite.”
Today, Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland is home to enormous Komodo dragons with uncanny eyes, poisonous Gila monsters, anacondas thicker than most thighs, and Aldabra tortoises that can live up to 150 years.
“Some of these tortoises were just five pounds when we got them,” he said, in their hot enclosure.
Today, the tortoises look like boulders.
Clyde Peeling, 83, talks about his experiences at his reptile zoo, Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland.
Reptiland opened on US-15 in Allenwood, Union County, in 1976. It joined an American tradition of roadside attractions ushered in by the post-World War II auto boom and the urge to hit the highway.
U.S. Route 15 bisects Pennsylvania, from the Maryland border, north to New York, passing through Williamsport and Harrisburg. Still, Peeling said it was far from bustling back then.
“I remember sitting there hoping one car would pass by. I was too egotistical to think I’d made a mistake, but I had a lot of naysayers,” he recalled.
In the timeless tradition of late-night television, Peeling has brought wild animals to visit Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, and others.
Reptile parks, serpentariums, and alligator farms dot the American landscape. Peeling wanted to elevate Reptiland beyond those hokey roadside shacks.
In 1986, his facility received a key and difficult-to-obtain accreditation by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums and it’s held that status ever since. Peeling said the inspection process, which takes place every five years, is grueling and every facet of the business is scrutinized, everything from record keeping, to veterinary care, aesthetics, and visitor services.
“We would have been accredited in 1985, but we were hit by a tornado that nearly flattened us,” he said.
Over the decades, Peeling expanded with a parakeet-feeding aviary and a large, outdoor dinosaur exhibit. More renovations are in the works, too. If you’d like parakeets to land on your head, you’ll have a blast. The park hosts a “Wino & Dinos” event outdoors, during the summer, for adults only.
At Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland, life-size animated dinosaurs give visitors a perspective on life in the Mesozoic Era.
Peeling, with his sons, has visited, lectured, and collected in dozens of countries.
“That skull is from a crocodile in Borneo,” he said in his office.
Peeling’s son Chad, a right-hand man in the family business, died from brain cancer in 2019. Peeling himself fought non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Tornadoes have damaged the property, and the COVID-19 pandemic has hurt, too.
Peeling hasn’t guided a trip since his son died but won’t rule out doing it one more time.
It's been 30 years since I've been back to Clyde Peeling's Reptiland in Union County and I wish I had come back sooner. Thanks for having us, Clyde! pic.twitter.com/5RKP9AbuWM
“Jefferson How We Adore Thee” will be released to the university community at its annual gala Tuesday. The university held a contest during its bicentennial last year, and Barden’s piece was selected from dozens of entries, the school said.
Elizabeth Avril Barden, a customer-experience specialist at Jefferson Health Plans and recent summa cum laude graduate of Thomas Jefferson University, has written the school’s first alma mater song in its 201-year history. “Jefferson How We Adore Thee” will be released to the university community at a gala on Tuesday.
“Elizabeth really captured the essence of the Jefferson community,” said Jefferson President Susan C. Aldridge “Learning, collaborating and innovating are all part of our collective DNA and I couldn’t be happier that we finally have an alma mater which captures who we are as a university as we venture into our third century.”
Jefferson has had a handful of songs that students have written over the years and a processional theme that launched in 1974, but never an official alma mater song, said F. Michael Angelo, Jefferson archivist.
One reason could be that at its founding in 1824, Jefferson was a medical college and over the years evolved into a university. But it was always medically focused until the school merged with the former Philadelphia University, best known for its design, engineering, and health science programs, in 2017.
“Philadelphia University, as far as we can tell through their archives, never had an alma mater song, either,” Angelo said.
Barden, 32, who received her bachelor’s degree in Health Services Management from Jefferson this year, said a colleague encouraged her to enter the contest. She has written about 30 songs, she said, so it wasn’t an off-the-grid venture.
It took her just 25 minutes to write the lyrics and music for the one minute, 55-second piece, she said.
“If you’re creative, you just flow,” she said. “You flow like water because it’s already in you, and you don’t have to overthink what’s already in you.”
And with the help of producer Keegan Myers, who played the music while Barden sang, the chorus goes:
It’s the Jefferson strong and true, where innovation leads us through. Together we achieve our best, as we prepare for what’s next.
“In every step I was taking at the university, it was preparing me for the next level of life,” she said.
Barden has been singing in front of people since age 2 and wroteher first song at 7, she said. Her parents, both Christian pastors originally from Haiti, encouraged her musical talent as she grew up in Brooklyn surrounded by gospel music, she said.
“Me and my six siblings, we were essentially the choir,” she said.
In high school, she won a song-writing contest and got to meet Grammy-winning R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan, who, she said, encouraged her to keep writing. She had written her high school’s alma mater song, too. And when she was a student at Delaware County Community College, she sang the national anthem at two ceremonies.
“Any school I go to, I want to leave a piece of me there,” she said. “Music to me is connection. That’s how I connect to people.”
For winning the Jefferson contest, she received a $200 gift card to the school bookstore, lunch with Aldridge, and a Jefferson mug.
“But the greatest gift was my name being attached to this alma mater song,” she said.
Barden said her aim in writing the song was to give Jefferson a gift.
“Jefferson gave me a lot,” she said, including a scholarship. “There were moments where I needed to talk to professors because life was happening. They were always kind and patient with me.”
Barden attended community college in New York after high school, but left when she got pregnant. When she moved to Philadelphia in 2016, she enrolled at Job Corps and then moved on to the Delaware County college. She continued on to Jefferson, while raising her four children, now ages 2 to 13.
In 2023, she began working there, too. Her job entails focusing on the patient experience and helping patients navigate the system.
“For the most part, I’m kind of like a clean-up person,” Barden said.
She’s currently enrolled in a dual program at Bryn Mawr College and Jefferson to obtain her master’s degrees in social service and public health. She plans to become a licensed clinical social worker and to incorporate music therapy into her work.
As part of her studies, she’s doing research on how music therapy can help those suffering from post-traumatic stress.
“I do believe that the incorporation of music,” she said, “has the ability to communicate with anyone … and help them learn how to cope.”
Philadelphia is obviously a gift to the world, but what in the world do you give someone who is obviously in love with Philly?
If The Inquirer’s 2025 Very Philly Gift Guide helps you find something for everyone, this one’s just for the locals — and anyone who thinks a Sizzli snow globe is peak holiday magic. Consider this a love letter to Philly’s quirks: a collection of gifts that only true locals (and a few honorary ones) will fully appreciate.
As one of those people myself, I’ve compiled this list of some of my favorite recent Philly purchases and experiences, along with items I’m putting on my own wish list this year.
The selections here represent The Inquirer’s picks this holiday season. When you make a purchase through a link in this list, The Inquirer may be paid a commission.
Apparel
SEPTA ugly sweater
It’s no secret that Al’Lee Floyd, who manages SEPTA’s store, has elevated the agency’s retail outlet into a must-stop shopping destination for Philly transit lovers.
SEPTA’s ugly holiday sweater for 2025.
This holiday season, Floyd is really killing knit with a particularly snazzy ugly holiday sweater featuring a front-and-back design of SEPTA vehicles, the Philly skyline, and snowflakes.
So while all you may want for Christmas is for our state legislatures to permanently fund SEPTA, you can at least get this ugly sweater — which seems far less likely to unravel than our government.
🛍️ SEPTA’s holiday sweater is $49.95 and available at shop.septa.org.
‘Women’s Sports Town’ shirt
A collaboration between Go Hamm and Watch Party PHL, this shirt celebrates Philly’s forthcoming WNBA team.
If you want to score points with the sports fan in your life who’s hyped that Philadelphia is getting its own WNBA team in 2030, this year’s slam-dunk gift is a “Philly is a women’s sports town — Est. 2030″ T-shirt.
This wardrobe staple is extremely versatile — you can wear it while traveling or to court — and it’s been spotted on celebrities like Parks and Recreation’s Aubrey Plaza, who wore it to a WNBA game this summer.
Aubrey Plaza is spotted in the audience of a New York Liberties vs. Minnesota Lynx at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., wearing Go Hamm and Watch Party PHL’s popular “Philly is a Women’s Sports Town” T-shirt.
The tee is a collaboration between Go Hamm, a Philly-based shirt company dedicated to women’s sports, and Watch Party PHL, a group founded by Philadelphia firefighter Jen Leary.
Called the “shirt of the year” by the Phillies’ social media account, the “Go Phils & Phillips” tee from Phillygoat is ridiculously random and a great gift for the Phils fan in your life who’s still salty at the actual team.
Phillygoat’s “Go Phils & Phillips” T-shirt celebrates the vast variety of Phils on this planet.
Emblazoned with the words “Go Phils” on the front and back, the T-shirt features an assortment of people, characters, and things named Phil and Phillip, or that have “fill” in their name. There’s Uncle Phil from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, former St. Joe’s basketball coach Phil Martelli, Punxsutawney Phil, and a cavity filling.
Phillygoat also makes a “Go Birds!” shirt with images of Larry Bird, Tweety Bird, and a hand flipping the bird.
If you’re stuck on what to get the diehard Delaware County resident in your life, how about a holiday decoration that commemorates getting stuck in Delco?
The Route 420 “crash bridge” ornament, featuring a tractor-trailer stuck under a low-clearance bridge, nods to the Amtrak bridge on Route 420 in Prospect Park, where big-rig drivers keep getting stuck despite the warning signs.
This ornament by Rock and Russ Creations of Delaware County immortalizes the Route 420 “crash bridge” in Prospect Park.
The ornament is from Rock and Russ Creations, a company founded by lifelong Delconians, Stephen and Lisa Russell. The couple started designing locally themed ornaments in 2022, and they release a new one each year. Stay tuned to their website for this year’s very Delco decoration release.
🛍️ The Route 420 “crash bridge” ornament is available at select Delco gift shops and rockandruss.com for $25.
Wawa snow globe
Sleigh gift-giving this year with the Wawa snow globe.
For your Shorti who’s always going on a Wawa run, consider shaking up gift-giving this year with a Wawa holiday snow globe.
Is there any reason this had to be made? Nope, but I’m snow glad it was. The globe features an old-school Wawa store and a base that reads “Wawa Wonderland.”
If you’ve ever been to a Wawa after 2 a.m., you know it is a land of wonders, indeed.
🛍️ This Sizzli and snowy gift is $19.99 and available at gear.wawa.com (sold out as of Nov. 25).
Hallmark ornaments
Hallmark’s Jalen Hurts Keepsake Ornament is sure to be number one on your tree.
For those who dream of hanging in their living room with Jalen Hurts or Trea Turner, Hallmark can help make your holiday wishes come true.
No, you can’t buy your way into a Hallmark holiday movie with Hurts or Turner as your star-crossed lover, but you can buy official Hallmark ornaments of the Philly sports stars your friends will pine after, fir sure.
Hallmark’s Trea Turner Keepsake Ornament will slide its way into your holiday collection.
The Wanamaker Christmas Light Show and Dickens Village will return this year thanks to a fundraising campaign by the Philadelphia Visitor Center and the building’s new owner, TF Cornerstone. And for the first time, you can secure the “best seat in the house” by making a donation in a loved one’s name (or in your own, Scrooge).
The “Behind the Lights” blueprint is available for those who donate at least $250 to the “Save the Light Show” fundraiser.
As part of the “Save the Light Show” fundraiser, there are several donation gifts, including an 8-by-10 “Behind the Lights” blueprint for those who donate $250 and a “best seat in the house” experience for four to view the show from the second-floor mezzanine when you donate $500 or more. (Note: There are no plans for actual seats. It will still be standing room only.)
Obviously that’s a sack full of money, but it’s for a great cause, and the show is still free to the public.
The holiday light show at the Wanamaker Building in 2019, when it was owned by Macy’s.
I can’t believe it took me 18 years to go on the tower and building tours of our gorgeous City Hall, but after finally crossing it off my bucket list this year, I highly recommend the tours for the Philly-phile on your list.
Even though I’d walked in and around City Hall countless times, I saw so many details on the building tour I’d never noticed before, like City Hall’s cornerstone.
Philadelphia City Hall.
The tower tour, which is a separate ticketed experience, took me high up in City Hall and into a four-person elevator that dropped me off right below the statue of William Penn and onto a platform with an incredible 360-degree view of the city.
🛍️ Timed tickets for the tours are available at phlvisitorcenter.com/CityHall and range from $10 to $26 a person, depending on age and military status.
The Universal Sphere
Times are tough right now, and just leaving your house can feel expensive, so I wanted to include a free experience that doesn’t feel cheap — the Universal Sphere at the Comcast Technology Center.
The Sphere, a state-licensed attraction in the building’s upper lobby, is a 34-by-39-foot futuristic orb you step inside of for an immersive theatrical experience. For most of the year, it features a seven-minute film called The Power of I, about the power of ideas, but during the holidays you can see the short film Shrek’s Festive Flight, which features a roller-coaster-esque adventure to the North Pole that begins with a flyover of Philadelphia.
Audience members enter the Universal Sphere in the second-floor lobby of the Comcast Technology Center earlier this year.
Tickets are free, but timed reservations are recommended — that way, you don’t have to tell anyone it was free. Pair this with free visits to the nearby Comcast Center’s holiday show on its LED wall and the Wanamaker Christmas Light Show, and you’ve got a day that’s easy on the wallet but rich in memories.
Two of my favorite purchases this year were plushies of Gritty and the Phanatic that sit independently on my shoulders. When I wear them both at the same time, it’s the Philly version of having an angel in one ear and a devil in the other.
Called “shoulder buddies,” these plushies come with magnets in their bottoms and an additional flat magnet that goes inside of your shirt so the doll can attach to it. These stuffed mascots are so humerus nobody will give you the cold shoulder while you’re sporting them around town.
Gritty sports an itty-bitty shoulder version of himself.
🛍️ The Gritty shoulder buddy is $24.99 and available at shop.outphitters.com. The Phanatic shoulder buddy, which I bought at Citizens Bank Park, is harder to come by. The Reading Fightin Phils had it available online for $25 at fightinphils.milbstore.com recently, but it was unclear how long supplies would last.
Released this year to mark the 20th anniversary of the show about five megalomaniacs who run a skeevy Philly dive bar, the set also features Charlie in full conspiracy-theory mode, Flipadelphia Dee, Fat Mac, and Dennis demonstrating his D.E.N.N.I.S. system of seduction.
The “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” Little People set from Fisher-Price.
🛍️ The Little People gang comes in a box made to resemble Paddy’s Pub and is available on Amazon for $29.95.
Books
‘Greater Philadelphia: A New History for the Twenty-First Century’
From the folks at the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia website and the University of Pennsylvania Press comes a hardcover book set, Greater Philadelphia: A New History for the Twenty-First Century, for the Philly history buff in your life.
The set features three books: The Greater Philadelphia Region, Greater Philadelphia and the Nation, and Greater Philadelphia and the World, which tell the true Philly stories behind everything from the topography and transit of the region to the Revolutionary War, the Odunde Festival, Gritty, and scrapple.
“Greater Philadelphia: A New History for the Twenty-First Century” comes in individual editions or as a three-volume set.
Timed to coincide with the nation’s 250th anniversary next year, these new encyclopedic books feature lovely images and loads of dense text about the city’s history and its place in the world.
🛍️ The books retail for $44.95 each or $125 for the three-volume set. They are available wherever books are sold and at pennpress.org.
‘Cheers to McGillin’s: Philly’s Oldest Tavern’
When it comes to mainstay establishments in Philadelphia, few have more street cred or more stories than McGillin’s Olde Ale House, which predates LOVE Park, Ralph’s Italian Restaurant, and even City Hall.
Now the tales of Philly’s oldest continually-operating tavern, which opened in 1860, have been gathered into one book — Cheers to McGillin’s: Philly’s Oldest Tavern — by the bar’s longtime publicist, Irene Levy Baker.
“Cheers to McGillin’s: Philly’s Oldest Tavern” traces the 165-year history of one of Philadelphia’s longest-running establishments.
The newly released book includes ghost stories, tales of love, sports celebrations remembrances, recipes, photos, and a foreword by former Gov. Ed Rendell.
🛍️ Cheers to McGillin’s: Philly’s Oldest Tavern is $29.95 and available at mcgillins.com, at McGillin’s Olde Ale House (1310 Drury St.), the McGillin’s Shoppe (123 S. Juniper St.), and wherever books are sold.
The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, which runs the popular Mütter Museum, announced plans on Monday to expand its footprint at 22nd and Chestnut Streets with a new, accessible entrance, larger galleries, educational and event spaces, an upgraded gift shop, and a renovated core gallery for the museum.
The oldest private society of physicians in the country, the College purchased the buildings at 2129 Chestnut St., a former Swedenborgian Church and Parish House, in 2023 for about $9.3 million.
The organization has since raised $27 million to initiate the first phase of renovations, which will occur in stages over the next few years.
A rendering of the sanctuary space at the former church located at 2129 Chestnut St. The College of Physicians plans to use it for events.
A large glass structure will serve as the new entrance and will connect the current College building and the adjacent church building. The latter will hold administrative offices, shared spaces for College Fellows, and public event spaces for both College and Mütter programming.
“We’ve been space constrained for a number of years. In our original building, we use pretty much every square inch of space, and so this allows us to increase the space, especially our educational offerings,” said CEO Larry Kaiser, a thoracic surgeon who was appointed in January.
The College typically welcomes about 5,000 students a year for STEM and museum programs. With more classroom space, they anticipate doubling the number of Philadelphia students that can be reached.
A rendering of how the College of Physicians building will connect to the adjacent former Swedenborgian Church at 2129 Chestnut Street.
The renovations will also increase the amount of gallery space for the museum. There will be greater square footage in the current galleries with the goal of showcasing more of the Mütter and Historical Medical Library collection of some 500,000 objects, from medical equipment to human remains.
Now, in place of a museum director, the Mütter is led by Erin McLeary, senior director of collections and research, and Sara Ray, senior director of interpretation and engagement.
A rendering of the Mütter Museum’s renovated core gallery, which will expand its footprint while retaining its Victorian aesthetic.
The core gallery of the Mütter, which showcases historical artifacts along with skeletons and organs that represent rare medical conditions, will undergo significant renovations to update the display cases and create more space for the exhibits on view.
The Victorian aesthetic will remain, but the casework and labels will be upgraded for better visibility and legibility. Those renovations are expected to begin in 2027.
“People love the look of the museum. They love walking into that space and feeling like they are transported back into time, they respond really positively to it. We really want to respect and honor that,” said McLeary. “However, when people walk up to look into the cases, they’re dealing with century-old glass that’s hard to see through … so we really want to honor the architecture of the building, the feeling of being transported to a different time and place, but really improve the visitor experience and the staff experience [with] strategic updates.”
From left: New Mütter Museum leaders Sara Ray, senior director of interpretation and engagement, and Erin McLeary, senior director of collections and research.
It’s likely that the exhibits will also change as staff rotates specimens and objects out so that museum staff can ensure preservation and conservation.
“I’ve been giving tours of this museum since like 2014 — it’s 11 years that I’ve walked through that core gallery with great attention to detail, and almost nothing has changed,” said Ray, who was once a docent. “There’s some things that have been in there for decades at this point, and they need to be rotated off display for the stewardship of that specimen.”
The Benjamin Rush Medicinal Plant Garden.
The hope is that the Mütter will be able to spotlight more of its historical holdings as only about 20% of the collection is currently on display.
Design firm MGA Partners and project managers Becker & Frondorf are partnering with the College on the expansion efforts, and construction will begin in early 2026.
An earlier version of this article reported that Mütter and the College’s expansion is a deviation from Mira Irons’ plans, and that there would be new galleries at 2129 Chestnut Street. The expansion is in line with the plans of Mütter’s former leadership and, for now, is limited to the existing galleries in the museum.
