I live in Jenkintown, Pa., a postage-stamp of a borough in the northwestern suburbs of Philly, nestled between the loving inattention of Abington and Cheltenham townships. Below is my attempt to tell you all you need to know if you feel like touring. I’ll update this post when the fancy strikes. Admittedly, this first draft was written the day before I learned I had pneumonia. Consider it accordingly.

Jenkintown sits in a sweet spot, train-wise, where three different train lines (and the airport line) pass. Jenkintown was once a shopping mecca, full of department stores and a train that took you all the way to New York City. Now, traffic along Old York Road burns through the borough at a rapid clip, a means of getting people from the city to the mall.

We moved here in 2000, just prior to getting married. My wife and I both took the train to work each day, and planned to have kids, so this place was ideal. However, it took us about 4 years to find a house we like.

Still, I hope to provide what you need to know about Jenkintown.

Jenkintown is roughly .58 miles square, and home to about 4,500 souls and 4,600 people. It was settled in 1697, yet retains few structures dating to that time. (Other than the stuff in the ditch behind the house.) Pumping our awesome cred is the fact that one of the wealthier sections of Abington Township is also called Jenkintown. Hence we get points for Bradley Cooper and Jabril Trawick.

Despite its size, it has two fire companies. The first, Pioneer, was opened in 1884 and the second, Independent, opened in 1889. Going through the library’s archives will tell you that Independent opened, essentially, because Pioneer didn’t allow Catholics (and possibly refused to douse Catholic fires). Yes, Catholics and Protestants didn’t mingle too well then, so much so that certain streets (did I mention this a .58 square mile town?) were off limits to opposing members. Jenkintown apparently had some Klan rallies to boot, but considering that there was only ever a small contingent of African-Americans in Jenkintown, they were probably there to scare the Catholics. Catholics had their time, though, apparently a few years back a majority-Catholic Borough Council sold the property where the old Borough Hall sat to Immaculate Conception, and moved the Borough into a squat ugly bunker a ways off the main center of town. Other than that, the rivalry seems to have dissipated, and Catholics and Protestants are more or less free to mingle. Still prejudices run deep.

Bizarre, if you ask me.

There’s the School, the lifeblood of all Jenkintown. I believe it is what holds this borough together, especially since Old York Road has long since given up that title. The Jenkintown School District goes from kindergarten to 12th grade, and it is so small as to feel like a private school. In fact, I think its enrollment is slightly smaller than Abington Friends School nearby. It helps inflate my taxes, but it also keeps the property values up, so we don’t mind so much. On top of that, it really is an exceptional school. Every so often, we’ll hear a grumble from the Commonwealth about consolidating the Borough’s schools with Abington or Cheltenham. If that happens, we would consider leaving.

There’s the borough government itself. They try very hard given the resources at hand and the Lstrs particularly appreciate their efforts in helping us resolve some drainage issues that turned Stinkbug Manor into a swamp earlier this fall. (My darling wife/professional engineer found a lot of the rumored-records and maps showing the stream that used to run down our street, a stream more-or-less resurrected briefly during Hurricane Irene.)

There’s the Jenkintown Library (Jenkin’s Town Lyceum, I believe the facade says — I once convinced my wife’s friend that we actually lived in Jenkin’s Town).

And, of course, the Hiway Theater, recently restored. They show first-run, more artsy fare on their single screen and kids’ movies on school holidays.

As for bloggers, there are few. I ran a Jenkintown blog about 8 years ago until I got paranoid that my neighbors would realize that I’m writing about them, so in the last few years, all of my Jenkintown posts have been puppy-related. However, my daughter is less interested in taking long walks and shooting puppy pictures with me, so there has been much less of that. Sadly.

There’s Jenkintown Station, which follows the business district’s flailing efforts from the perspective of a recent arrival. I believe the fellow who runs it is a noted regional Diner connoisseur/expert.

Undoubtedly, Jenkintown is a Democratic Party town. You can’t get away from it. However, if you want the minority opinion, you may try Jenkintown Chronicle, which takes its name from Jenkintown’s old paper, which is now part of a conglomerate of Montgomery County titles. It could use a few a pointers on design, or at least a functioning caps lock key. From what I gather, the author is not a Democrat, and that’s all I feel like saying at the moment.

Other J-town Links of Interest

Our storefront population keeps turning over, but there are a few places that are doing quite well. OK, yes there is a shoe repairman that remains inexplicably open and, I think, maybe, a vacuum guy too. But we have a hookah bar (if you’re into that sort of thing) and plenty of real bars to visit. Some Jenkintown places are developing into institutions in their own right.

Chief among those is Rhinoceros Toys led by the indefatigable Kate Pettit. A few years back she turned her (quite successful) bridal shop into a(n even awesomer) toy store. Kate also single-handedly wrangled together Jenkintown’s weekly three-seasonal Farmer’s Market.

Among local eateries, West Ave. Grille has hung in there for good reason. Its reliable, tasty, and always worth a visit.

Another Jenkintown stalwart, Mirna’s Cafe, is the kind of place you’d be comfortable taking your Aunt Myra (or at least, my wife’s Aunt Myra) to when she visits.

I was a little wary when Abner’s BBQ became Rosey’s, but the place is indeed better, making good on its promise of authentic southern barbecue. Or, authentic to me, at least, a committed Pennsylvanian.

As a sign of their goodness, West Ave., Mirna’s and Rosey’s have all recently opened up eateries in Dresher, Blue Bell, and Ambler, respectively. For that matter, I think Rhinoceros has another store in Collingswood, another small, lovely borough, albeit one on the wrong side of the river. (Apologies Jen!)

I’ve only been to 211 York once, but it is an exceptional place, hidden in plain site on Old York Road. There are a lot of good places to eat here in town. To be honest, I wish our borough would play that up a bit more. Retail (outside of specialty places like Rhinoceros) is a hard sell here. We should fill the empty storefronts with restaurants and little eclectic boutiques for post-dinner browsing.

UPDATE 1/10–I added the additional links bit.