Ice Cream

Michael Zuckerman is emeritus professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania The Convention and Visitors Bureau touts Philadelphia as "a city of firsts. " The Independence Hall Association lists five pages of "Philadelphia Firsts" on its website. A walking tour of the city links "Philadelphia Firsts" to its home page. George Morgan may have been the first to title a book on Philadelphia The City of Firsts , in 1926, but even he acknowledged the research of others who had been tracking those firsts for "many years past.

THE PAST 38 DAYS have taught Occupy Philly a bitter lesson: It's pretty damn hard to create a utopia on the unforgiving concrete of the City of Brotherly Love. It started as an almost spontaneous social movement that, in seeking to throw a spotlight on corporate greed and inequality in America, gathered 1,000-strong in a Center City church and threw open its arms to anyone from the so-called 99 Percent. But it turns out that 99 percent of America includes a hard-core faction of as many as 10-20 anarchists who've feuded with Occupy Philly's more moderate originators, as well as the city's large homeless population, which began to dominate the tent city at Dilworth Plaza as cold weather sent better-off protesters home.

A 4-YEAR-OLD girl was accidentally sent from a Mantua day-care center with the wrong man yesterday, then was reunited with her parents after police responded to a call about a possible child abduction. She even got some ice cream and a trip to the park out of the deal, police said. Staff at Caring People Alliance, inside a community center on Haverford Avenue near 35th Street, were called by two girls' mothers, who gave names of two men authorized to pick them up, police said.

SOME BURGLARS are stealthy. They'll pick a lock, swipe the diamonds you rarely wear, and leave no evidence behind. You might not notice what's missing for weeks or months. And then there's Britney Singleton and Harley Gifford, the 19-year-old lesbian lovers who Upper Darby police say ransacked more than two dozen houses this summer, stealing everything from flat-screen TVs to facial creams - and turning back only when, the women insist, a lion greeted them inside one of the homes.

ENJOY A STRONG DOSE of protest in a performance, with ice cream for dessert? "Jesus, Bombs and Ice Cream" promises all that. Debuting here tomorrow on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the event aims to raise awareness about excess militarism in the United States with testimonies from 9/11 and Iraq War survivors, plus more diverting, arts-happening-styled fare. Take the mural to be created live onstage by Scott Erickson, the anti-violent act by world-champion juggler Josh Horton, or the live welding performance by Josh Seitzer to "tie an AK47 in a knot.

Labor Day weekend brings the end of summer, with cool September breezes a welcome relief from muggy, 100-degree days. Still, it's bittersweet to say goodbye to the season. But, as in autumn, when leaves turn most brilliant just before winter, summer offers a sweet finale - fuzzy, juicy peaches. Delicate and ephemeral, peaches are a perfect way to end summer. Their easily bruised flesh doesn't travel well, and their sticky sweetness quickly overripens to leave a soggy mess and a kitchen full of hovering fruit flies.

WATER ICE IS A cherished summer institution in Philly, and those of us who skip dairy, whether for ethical, health or other concerns, can appreciate this cool vegan treat. Sorbet, Popsicles, frozen fruit bars and the like are also delish. But let's face it: "You can always have water ice [or sorbet]" is the cool-treat equivalent of "you can always have a salad. " Nothing against salad or water ice, but we sometimes want that singular richness and flavor associated with ice cream.

In 1945, Alice Handel started selling her handmade ice cream in a corner of her husband's gas station on the South Side of Youngstown, Ohio. When the steel mills shut in the late 1970s, about 50,000 workers lost their jobs, people left in droves, and the gutted city became known for its poverty, corruption, and crime. Yet Handel's Ice Cream not only survived, it thrived. The company now operates 32 stores in six states, including one on Lancaster Avenue in Berwyn. So how did an ice cream stand that originated in a hardscrabble place like Youngstown end up on Philadelphia's storied Main Line?

If the idea of an evening outing along eatery lane appeals, consider trekking to the next Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 1 in University City. Launched two years ago, the Baltimore Avenue Stroll shares some similarities with Night Market - both feature bands, D.J.s, crowds, gourmet food trucks, and specials at the local eateries. In fact, the most recent Baltimore Avenue Stroll coincided with the Mount Airy Night Market, on Aug. 4. But Night Market, sponsored by the Food Trust, and the Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll, a project of the University City District, are pals, not competitors, says Lori Brennan of the University City District.

Edward Joseph Knorr, 79, formerly of Boothwyn, a retired owner of Advanced Chemicals Inc., died of Alzheimer's disease Monday, July 25, at Fair Acres Geriatric Center in Lima. After a career in sales with General Electric Co. and ITE Corp., Mr. Knorr established Advanced Chemicals in 1965. The Upper Darby firm initially produced lubricating oil and grease. It later manufactured powdered pigments and dyes for paints and cosmetics. He retired in 2003. Mr. Knorr grew up in Fairmount.