Today we thought we’d give you a few shots of Lansdale from 1978 — perhaps to compare with those from the 1950s that recently ran.

In the photo of Main Street that was taken with an ultrawide-angle lens, it may give it the appearance of almost a ghost-town effect, but if you look closely you’ll see plenty of shops.

This was a time when Koehler’s Jewelers was still on Main Street, as was Swartley’s.

There are various clothing stores, a shoe store, optician and other shopping options.

In the other photo you see Ralph’s grocery store, which also had been on Main Street.


Check out that Tuesday and Wednesday thriller: a big single roll of Scot towels for just 55 cents.

Newcomers to the area might wonder why the shopping center at Route 63 and Forty Foot Road in Hatfield Township is called Ralph’s Corner.

Here’s why. Ralph’s was long a grocery store staple in Lansdale, and eventually moved out to that site.

Years later, Clemens Supermarket took it over.

Now that Clemens no longer exists, Superfresh has moved into that spot.

But Ralph’s Corner remains, a nod to days gone by.

With the reports on Thursday and Friday that the North Penn School Board had rejected an arbitration report and the district teachers had approved a strike starting today, we thought we’d take a look at another time when the teachers walked the picket line.

These two photos were pulled from Reporter files from September 1986, a time when other area school district teachers also decided to “walk the line.”

These photos — snapped by Willard Krieble, who was The Reporter’s chief photographer at the time — show the different sides of the strike.

In one, members of the NPEA walk past school buses while they wear signs that declare “NPEA ON STRIKE” and “NO CONTRACT, NO WORK.”


In the other photo, parents and students wait outside the district administration building, with one parent sporting a sign that reads “NPEA TEACHERS UNFAIR,” as Principal Paul Peters enters the building.


The parents and students were waiting for negotiation teams to arrive.

Back in the day, if you wanted to impress people in the Lansdale area by buying quality products, you had to buy at Geller’s.

Geller’s Emporium was once located on West Main Street in Lansdale, where the Lansdale School of Cosmetology, Wilson’s Hardware and PCS Cellular are located today.

According to Lansdale Historical Society President Dick Shearer, the photo showing the wagon pulled by horses probably was taken sometime between 1906 and 1910.

Shearer said it’s possible that the photo was taken at the time of a parade.

The men dressed to the nines and sporting top hats also are wearing sashes that read “hardware” and the like, touting the various offerings of the store.

Shearer said that the deliverymen for Geller’s would also dress up to deliver furniture to area residents’ homes, and the store would make sure the deliveries were made during “socially advantageous” hours, so that your neighbors would know you had bought it at Geller’s.


It is uncertain what the building is in the background, but the word “Proprietor” is on the building.

The other photo shows the leather signs that adorned the team of horses — including in the old photo — that pulled the Geller wagon.

The signs now are among the local historic artifacts at the Lansdale Historical Society.

If you remember way back to last Monday, we featured two photos submitted by Conny Hughan Tanis of Hatfield, showing a bustling downtown Lansdale in 1957.

And we promised to show you the other two photos she submitted, so here they are.

The photos were taken by her dad, Jim Hughan.

It may be a bit out of season, but the Santa photo is just too great to keep until December.


In the photo, Santa, also known as Bob Hinkle, is seen talking with 6-year-old Margie Hughan and older sister Conny in front of Jay Jewelers.

The other photo shows a portion of Main Street, Lansdale, back in 1957, and you can see Jay Jewelers, the Lansdale News Agency and several other shops along the main street.


The family lived on the second floor of a building at Main Street and Susquehanna Avenue, above the Perfection Bakery, when these were taken.

Thanks for sharing!