James Smart's Philadelphia

James Smart is a Philadelphia native, unabashed chauvinist and chronicler of the city's life and lore. He was a staff member of the old Philadelphia Bulletin from 1948 to 1973, including 14 years as writer of the In Our Town column. His later career included public relations work and editing business publications, but his greatest pleasure came during the Bicentennial period, when for two years he wrote a daily column of Philadelphia news of that day 200 years in the past. Since 1990, he has written a weekly column distributed to newspapers in southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey published by InterCounty Newspaper Group, and other Journal Register Company weeklies.

On this site, you'll find recent Of All Things columns, stories of Philadelphia's past, tales of the late great Evening Bulletin, and assorted facts, opinions, oddities and whimsies. They'll change frequently.

Thanks for dropping by.

A new essay, The beginning of Philadelphia,

is now on the Historic Philadelphia page.

Here's a brief resume:

2009 - Due to Journal-Register bankruptcy and closing of several newspapers, Of All Things now appears only in The Review, serving the Roxborough, Manayunk and East Falls communities in Philadelphia.

2008 - Of All Things won third place among general interest columns in the under 100,000 circulation category in the 2008 competition of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists

2001 - author of "Historic Philadelphia: An Illustrated History," published by Historical Publishing Network, San Antonio, Texas.

James Smart

"Historic Philadelphia" book cover

1995 - collection of columns published: "Soggy Shrub Rides Again and Other Improbabilities" (copies available; e-mail the author at address below.)

1990 - present: write Of All Things column for Philadelphia area weekly newspapers published by Intercounty Newspaper Group, and other Journal Register Company papers.

1983 - 1990: media relations manager, Mellon Bank, Philadelphia.

1980 - 1983: editor and publisher of Delaware Valley Business Magazine, monthly regional business magazine

1978 - 1981: editor and publisher of Building and Realty Record, monthly real estate trade newspaper

1976 - 1986: taught news writing, feature writing, Charles Morris Price School of

Advertising & Journalism, Philadelphia

1974 – 1978: freelance writer

Typical freelance projects through the years included:

Firefighters Museum, Harrisburg, Pa.; (wrote descriptive panels)

U. S. Navy (audiovisual script for minority officers recruiting)

Army Corps of Engineers (audiovisual script for National Dam Inspection Program)

National Park Service, Thaddeus Kosciusko House, (audiovisual script)

Philadelphia Bicentennial Commission; (monograph on history of Philadelphia business)

The Bulletin, (daily column on Philadelphia news 200 years ago that day, 1974-76; also monthly

supplement on the American Revolution and 20-newspaper-page history of the United States

during 1976 Bicentennial)

National Park Service, (wrote dedicatory poem read by Lee J. Cobb on televised ceremony

when the Liberty Bell was moved to its new pavilion, New Years Eve 1975-6)

(Many others)

1973 - 1974: vice president, Public Relations Ltd., subsidiary of J. M. Korn & Sons

advertising agency, Philadelphia

1948 - 1973: staff member, Philadelphia Bulletin; featured columnist 1959-73

1947: sold first freelance magazine articles while a high school senior

Graduate of Northeast High School and Charles Morris Price School of Advertising and

Journalism, both Philadelphia

Are you talkin' to me? Email jamessmart4@verizon.net Be nice. (Reply not guaranteed)