Roxborough Review Archive Photo Throwback Gary Barbera Aids Car Theft Victim

Roxborough Review Archive Photo Throwback Gary Barbera Aids Car Theft Victim

Gary Barbera and His Barbera Cares Programs Throwback Photo– Before there was Go-Fund Me to make charity easier and the Internet to make the world smaller there was the local neighborhood paper.

Roxborough Review Archives – Seen on the Front Page of the Roxborough Review
30 Years Ago!
Photo re-posted October 1, 2019 from the Review Archives

They say a picture is worth a thousand words… This photo may appear at first sight to be an early 1990’s Gary Barbera ( the hair makes one conclude) congratulating a client on her late 80’s Dodge Reliant purchase. After delving into the history of the photo and tracing it back in time, a more monumental event is is actually taking place at the home of Gary Barbera’s original dealership, Gary Barbera Dodge 6719 Ridge Avenue in Beaaauuuutiful Roxborough.

This photo appeared on the front page of The Roxborough Review late summer 1990 with the Headline “Car Dealer Comes to the Aid of Theft Victim”. Subtitled, DOING SOMETHING… Gary Barbera aid he “Just had to do something” when he heard about the theft of Debbie Skumanich’s car, so the owner of Gary Barbera Dodge presented her with a 1985 Dodge Reliant to replace the stolen car.

The Skumanich’s family vehicle a 1962 station wagon was stolen but to make matters worse their 4 year-old daughter’s carriage was inside the wagon. Their daughter has cerebral palsy so her carriage was critical for her care and it was worth $400 at the time. When Debbie told her story to the Roxborough Review she had no idea that her plight would be read by Gary Barbera the local car dealer and that he would step up to help her family out. The article was written by Roxborough Review Staff Reporter Carole Boynton, almost 30 years ago who is unfortunately no longer with us. To read the article in its completion see below.

Gary Barbera and His Barbera Cares Programs did start out steady 30 years ago, Caring, Sharing, and Helping out their Hometown Heroes one at a time with consistency. No longer located in Roxborough, Barbera’s on the Boulevard in the Great Northeast still serves clients from the Roxborough neighborhood. Clients who purchased their first cars at the Gary Barbera Dodge dealership in Roxborough happily say that this is their 7th – 8th car from the dealership.

The Roxborough Gary Barbera Dodge dealership is no longer there but Gary left Roxborough in good hands. At the enlarged location across the street from the 5th District Police Station resides a CVS and a full service WAWA with gas pumps.

Gary Barbera and His Barbera Cares Programs still love Roxborough and will always consider it home away from home. Many of the Barbera Cares initiatives that began in Roxborough continue today 30 years later such as the partnership with the Roxborough YMCA. Many Barbera employees and clients are or were Roxborough residents and members of the YMCA. Barbera Cares still cares and keeps roots in Roxborough. Keeping up with the initial commitments to the Roxborough community, the Barbera Cares Program hasn’t backed down from supporting the Hometown Heroes like the Roxborough YMCA, Northern Home for Children, and the Manayunk Development Corporation.

For more information about Gary Barbera and His Barbera Cares Programs, The Barbera Cares Bear and Street Team see www.garybarbera.com or www.garybarberacares.org

To view more archive photos from the Roxborough Review

http://www.reviewarchives.org/