Look With New Eyes

I am sure that many of us have faced prejudiced in some form or another, but facing it about where you live can be really hard. I have lived in Downingtown for the last 16 years and the last 10 in Johnsontown. When people ask where I live and I say Downingtown of course they ask, “Oh really where in Downingtown?” The looks on their faces or the sound of their “Oh” when I say near the train station is one of disappointment and a bit of disgust. At times I know that Johnsontown was not “THE” place to live in the town, but there is beauty that is yet undiscovered in Johnsontown and quite a few up and comers are moving into the area along with a lot of long time residents and their families.

One of the founders of St. Anthony’s Lodge on Church Street resided on Bradford Ave while living in Johnsontown. At first St. Anthony’s was housed at 231 Church Street and then in 1929 it moved to where it is now at 259 Church Street. Every August the lodge hosts a “Frog Party” where men gather to eat frog legs and share in brotherhood.

The Johnsontown playground got a facelift not too long ago with some equipment and swings. Soccer is played during the season on the wide open fields in the park and the Downingtown Lions Club built a really nice pavilion.

The gardens flowers and trees around the neighborhood are well tended and bright with color and the churches may be small but they are powerful in their message and congregation.

On a nice spring day take a walk around Johnsontown and see the growth and see it with new eyes as the neighborhood we love.