He'll be cutting hairs in Heaven. Felix Molettiere, 92, the son of Italian immigrants Soccorso and Rosina (Boccella) Molettiere, owned and operated Molettiere's Barber Shop on West Main Street since 1955. The shop is located in the same small retail strip with such other renowned Lansdale stalwart stores like The Lord's Shop, Penn Valley Hobby Center and Stuart's Music. Molettiere, a barber since 1949, died Saturday at Elm Terrace Gardens in Lansdale. I don't remember ever getting my first haircut, but I do remember that the haircuts at Molettiere's were great, almost comforting.  My mom …

North Penn graduates: When's the last time you walked around the outside of North Penn High School? In the zone of grass between the bus driveway and main driveway, off the courtyard and cafeteria, is a memorial garden dedicated to fallen North Penn classmates and staff. There, you can walk with those friends. Each fallen comrade's name, birth year and death year are engraved on bricks on the pathway of the garden. To date, there are more than 80 bricks of various students and teachers who suffered fates due to accidents, illness, drugs or other means. Benches, attractive flora and some other…

When I was a boy, growing up in Towamencin, I was surrounded by amateur carpenters who do impeccable work. My father, uncles and Pop-Pop Di Domizio would take their etched- or permanent marker-monogrammed tools and construct a new deck, back patio, addition, mantel, bookshelves — you get the picture. I can’t speak for the other members of my family, but at least for myself, I also grew up in a home where six projects were going on at one time. I love my parents’ finished basement; I don’t love how they can’t use the other half of the attic. The plywood only covers the joists so far. It wasn’t…

I’m not saying my grandfather had anything to do with it, but the Eagles won big on the night of his death. There was a man that recently died that was given the moniker of “Mr. Lansdale”; that’s a false claim. If anyone was Mr. Lansdale it was person who was Lansdale before Lansdale was Lansdale. He wasn’t just Mr. Lansdale because of North Penn School Board and Lansdale Borough Council and Lansdale tax collector; there was Precision Rebuilding on Sixth Street. There was the Sons of Italy, Little Vets. The corner of Fifth and Towamencin was a deli, not a pub. He used to work at a gas station…

As a registered Republican in the county, I am still reeling from the Democratic landslide that occurred in Lansdale Borough on November 8. I knew the borough had become a Democratic majority over the past three years – do we blame G.W. Bush for that? – but I never expected anything like this. I’d like to believe that being a Democrat or Republican doesn’t matter when it comes to local politics; if you sit on council, you should work together, avoiding party lines, and do what’s right for the constituents of the town. Now I don’t live in Lansdale, so I didn’t have a say in who got elected to …

Holy crap: This is the greatest costume ever made. This past week, in between feature stories, corporate meetings and government town hall sessions, I've been dabbling in fashion design. By that, I mean I've been designing my Halloween costume this year. I know what you're thinking: How old are you? But when there's a prize on the line, and you're going to a Halloween show in Lansdale where you are asked to dress up, I've got to wow 'em. I'm not the type of person to just go out to Halloween Adventure and buy a $50 costume of Rowdy Roddy Piper or an evil clown or something like that. My …

There’s a plague, an epidemic, if you will, that has been infecting America – and even the world – since about 1999. We can’t get away from it and there’s nothing being done about it. In fact, a lot of Americans and other nations downright support it. It’s not dengue fever, and it’s not any kind of influenza. The contagion I’m referring to: Adam Sandler. Do you remember when Adam Sandler was bearable? He was once a highlight of “Saturday Night Live”; he was right up there with Chris Farley, David Spade and Dana Carvey. I loved watching him every Saturday, and even in those old reruns he’s …