‘Great things come out of Camden’ | Morning Newsletter
Plus, a little bit of Eagles history.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Happy August! Your morning may be a little wet with some showers. Expect the clouds to stay put for most of the day and temps to dip slightly into the mid-70s, but it’ll still be humid.
We’ll start the week with a heartwarming story of a mother who congratulated her daughter in a really big way for finishing her doctorate program.
Then, a look at some of the closely guarded pieces of Eagles history housed at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
If you see this 🔑 in today’s newsletter, that means we’re highlighting our exclusive journalism. You need to be a subscriber to read these stories.
— Katie Krzaczek (@hashtagkatie, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
We don’t all get a chance to see our face on a billboard near our hometown. Kristine Smalls’ reaction to her mother’s graduation surprise to her — 14 feet high and 48 feet across, towering above bustling Route 130 outside her hometown of Camden — was a bit of a shock.
Smalls just graduated with a doctorate in clinical psychology from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Her mother, Kendra Busbee, went above and beyond to recognize her daughter’s accomplishment, as well as show kids in the community that “anything is possible.”
“She typically goes above and beyond for me and my brother whenever we, like, have any type of accomplishment,” Smalls said of her mother’s larger-than-life gesture. “She kind of outdoes herself each time.”
Keep reading for the full heartwarming story.
What you should know today
Activists say people are abandoning their dogs and cats in the Mount Airy woods.
Ahead of the mayoral contest next year, business leaders in the city are hoping for “somebody that smiles.”
Some potential mayoral candidates are already assembling teams for the 2023 race. 🔑
Philadelphia is creating a pop-up garden to memorialize thousands of overdose victims.
The owner of the fire-damaged Jim’s Steaks on Philly’s South Street said a temporary shop may be set up nearby.
Eagles players at training camp are embracing the “goofy” look of a new piece of protective headwear.
Philly in Ohio
Later this week, Dick Vermeil will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as an Eagles head coach, even though he also coached the St. Louis Rams (1997-99) and Kansas City Chiefs (2001-05). If you’re planning a visit to the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, there’s a good amount of Eagles history you won’t get a chance to see.
🦅 Nick Foles’ Super Bowl LII helmet is stored in the Hall of Fame’s archives (but the winning QB said he’ll want it back one day).
🦅 The game ball from the “Philly Blizzard” NFL championship — one of the Eagles’ three NFL titles won before the merger between the NFL and AFL in 1970 — is housed at the hall.
🦅 John Madden’s original Eagles contract is in the archives, too. Madden’s 1959 contract with the Eagles paid him $7,000, which would work out to about $71,000 in today’s dollars.
Check out some of the other precious memorabilia in our guide to nine historic Eagles items at the Hall of Fame.
🧠 Philly Trivia Time 🧠
This upcoming superhero movie features some familiar Philly places (even if it wasn’t actually filmed here).
a. Madame Web
b. Shazam! Fury of the Gods
c. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
d. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Find out if you know the answer.
🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩
This Philly rapper is headlining the Adult Swim Block Party in Fishtown later this week.
HART WACKIER
We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Send us your own original anagram to unscramble if you’d like. Email us if you know the answer. Cheers to Nancy Gale from Tewksbury, N.J., who correctly guessed Sunday’s answer: sphinx.
Photo of the day
That’s all for this Monday morning! 👋