Edward and Robert
by Jeffrey Stockbridge
Edward Merchel III, Winter 2011.
Journal Entry by Edward and Robert Merchel, 2011.
Robert Merchel, holding the photograph of his recently deceased brother, 2011.
I met Edward Merchel III while photographing on the abandoned Lehigh Viaduct, also know as “the tracks”. This is a place where addicts retreat from the street in order to shoot up without fear of getting busted. A few weeks later I was on the corner of Kensington and Somerset, sharing new prints with people I potentially wanted to photograph and I met Robert.
Audio Transcript
Robert: He died, uh, July 25th they found him at the gas station on uh, at the Sunoco station. I’m not lying to you.
JS: I believe you.
Robert: Uh, my brother Eddie, that’s him…that’s my brother Eddie.
JS: Were you close with Eddie?
Robert: Yeah, he was my only brother.
JS: Were you helping him at all dealing with his addiction?
Robert: Yeah. Yeah.
JS: He was on it for a while, right?
Robert: Since he was 12. Wow, do you have one where you can see his face real good?
JS: I do, the boy took it. Here it is, right here.
Robert: Can I have that, that’s my brother.
Passerby: I know it is but I really like it.
JS: I’ll give you another one.
Passerby: E-mail it to me. E-mail it to me.
Robert: My brother, my brother’s dead.
Passerby: I know he is.
JS: I’ll give you another one man.
Passerby: Can you email it to me?
JS: Yeah yeah yeah.
Passerby: I’ll give you my email address, here. (Passing the photo to Robert)
Robert: Ah, man.
Passerby: That’s a good picture, ain’t it?
Robert: Ah man. Thanks.
Passerby: I was gonna hold onto that. I was just with him a month ago. I was just with him.
Robert: He died.
Passerby: I know he did, let me see the other one.
Robert: He was a wall writer.
Passerby: That’s amazing, man.
Robert: His name was pretty boy back in the 70’s.
Robert: …I was on vacation, and uh, I called home and my father said uh they found my brother we used to call him Stachi.
Passerby: Yeah, that was my home boy.
Robert: and uh, they found him on uh 25th, it was a Mon…it was a Tuesday and uh, they took fingerprints and uh, my father’s name’s Eddie, Eddie Merchel his name is, right and uh, my dad’s brother’s a cop but he’s retired so when they got the fingerprints he thought it was his brother and he came down and met my father at, ya know, went to his house and he was like, they found Eddie at the Sunoco station on uh, Frankford and Lehigh. I went there last week and knocked on the window and asked the woman about the guy they found dead, she said I was here that day. I said, How long was he there? She said he was there an hour and 15 minutes.
Passerby: You’d think you could make a documentary about this neighborhood.
Robert: That’s what he is doin’
Passerby: Seriously..know what I’m saying, this is, this is one of a kind, this neighborhood, really…and throughout the United States there’s probably not a neighborhood like this, seriously.
Robert: Sure there is, every city has a neighborhood just like this. Like I been to the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
Passerby: I don’t think there is..there’s something, you don’t even..
Robert: No matter where you go, if you meet somebody from wherever and they’ve been to Philly, everybody knows Kensington and Somerset.
Passerby: It’s like the Bermuda triangle down here.
Passerby: Yeah, man it’s hard.
Robert: Once you get in you can’t get out.
Passerby: …and like just cause I don’t use dope but I’m caught up in this too, I’m caught up in this too. Right there, she be up the street. (Refering to a woman in a photograph of mine)
Robert: I know everybody in that. (Refering to my stack of photos)
Passerby: That’s some picture, man. This is something, man. All this but nobody’s sayin, man, people gotta know what goes on right here, man. I’m telling you man, this is something man, people don’t know man. This is, this is…
Robert: This is Hell. This is my brother.
Passerby: What he’d do?
Robert: He’s dead.
Passerby: Where?
Robert: At the gas station on Lehigh, there he is again. He’s dead now, OD’d. What did he sign, pretty boy? That was his wall right writing name back in the day. That’s what we used to do…tag.
Robert: (Reading Edward’s journal entry) My name is Edward Merchel, Edward Merchel the 3rd. I was once known as king of the graffiti, in this world from 1975 to 1978. I was, I was the king, which he was, but now its Feburary the 11th, I am on drugs Heroin, Coke and need to get off these drugs. I mean now.
Drug Dealer: Suboxone!
Danny: You mind talking to me for a sec?
Robert: Well, that, well…
Danny: I gotta talk to you about them pictures.
JS: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ll talk to you in one sec, man.
Robert: Well, that’s enough about me, see all of you later. That’s my brother. Edward Merchel… I’ll write something.
Robert: (Reading his journal entry) Hello Ed this is your brother Robbie, I knew I’d see you again and I did. It was crazy, I was coming down Kensington Ave, I met this guy that took your picture. I was shocked to see you but I knew where to find you. It made my whole day, its August 25th 2011, you’ve been gone one month to the day. It’s really crazy but I knew I’d see you again. I hope your with Mom, Nana and Jamie I miss you a whole…I miss you a whole lot, and everybody you know down here misses you too. Say hello to Mom, Nana and Jamie for me, come see me in my dreams. I’ll be waiting for you, love your brother Robbie. Aka Bolo NP with PB #1. Take it easy Ed.
I wish you would do this for all your photos. I would like to read about these people’s stories.
Robbie, I am so very sorry you lose of your brother Ed. This is heart breaking to me and I do not know you or your brother personaly. I feel your lose. I grew up down there, and I am so very very grateful, I never got on the drugs. I don’t think, I am like one of the few that made it off of them. I would have died there also. God Bless you Robbie. Sorry that a chunk of your heart will be gone forever. Hopefully, your brother is at piece now , with your other loved ones. Cathy
I know that you don’t take comments, but I just wanted to say that this post tore at my heart, I am a native Philadelphian and grew up two neighborhoods away in Juniata Park. I still have friends living in Kensington. I respect what you are doing here and hope you don’t stop. I lost a friend to the Avenue, so it’s personal. You are talented, very very talented. That’s all.
Beautifully captured.
Incredible photos and emotions, as always. I grew up in Kensington, at Kensington and Ontario streets. As a young boy, I watched, in a matter of just a couple of years, the neighborhood turn from a lower-middle-class working one that was mostly safe, to what it is now. At 17, with no other options, I joined the Navy just to get out of there. Thank goodness I did.
this is really great. i read your interview the other day, so i realize this project can’t go on forever, but i hope you’ve got enough photos logged away that you can keep posting them for awhile. i always look forward to your posts showing up in my inbox. be well.
Here is a picture of Edward from 1976
http://digital.library.temple.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15037coll3/id/13743
I knew both of them in the 70s! It’s been a long time… Love to you Bolo!! Love cindy
That’s my dad…
Out of all these horrible sad tragic photos and stories behind some of these photos this one really hit me hard. It really had me sad for the simple fact that the picture of Edward in the cold winter by himself writing and 5 months later his brother holding that same picture taken and writing in Edwards journal broke my heart completely. I know Edward is in a much safer place it breaks my heart for his brother his family, and for Ed to have overdosed and died the way he did. I have never been down that way I’ve heard many many stories bc my brother is an addict and has overdosed a few times down there but by the grace of God instead of ppl walking by him bc he was passed out or looked like a junkie what not he had angels with him every time and was brought back to life. Considering that you would think he would’ve stayed cleaned for almost dying and coming that close to death especially down there it doesn’t stop any addict until they are completely ready one hundred percent. It’s a sad devastating situation period living there growing up there being homeless but to become a homeless prostitute or homeless junkie bc of their addiction and all the dirty needles surrounding them, all the shit they gotta go thru or do just to make sure they’re not sick I could not absolutely could not imagine it. There’s drugs everywhere you go there’s addicts everywhere and than there’s junkies who go from here there everywhere and end up in Kensington Lehigh Alleganeny etc. I pray for all those people I am an addict myself but I have never touched a hard drug like dope crack meth etc I only fucked with opiate pills or snort coke when I be out drinking when I was younger and rarely ever now but I couldn’t imagine loosing everything being homeless living on the streets and living in Kensington. God bless them all
This is my father Robert Merchel, Edward Michelle was my godfather I got the news one day I hadn’t talked to my dad and about 2 years I never was part of the whole drug gang but he was my father that was my uncle Kama also lost my mom. My uncle Jamie which is Eddie and my dad’s brother. And my grandmother if you. Years before. The hard life living and Kensington. There’s no place like it. I mean there is there’s a place like that everywhere in every city but I’ll tell you Kensington once you get in you don’t get out. I was smart enough to move out when I was a child about 21. I came up with my father for years even though he was in and out of jail in and out of the game. I actually learned from my father and my uncles and my mother not to do the things that everybody else did I didn’t glorify it like my brothers. But no matter what I love them to death I help people any chance I get that deal with addiction. This article is heartbreaking I really can’t say much more on it. As I sit here crying. I’ve just reconnected with my father after 10 years I’m 36 years old now I was so mad for so long but you realize one day you can’t anymore if something ever happened to him I don’t know what I do. I love you Dad. Robert my cell AKA bolo. I love you Uncle Eddie. AKA pretty boy. I love you Jamie Tompkins. You were my best friend and the Devil Himself took you way too God damn young. You’ll be in my heart forever. As I’m writing this I’m trying to call my father now no matter what I’m so proud of him no matter what he’s done in his life it’s made me who I am and people can look at him as a drug addict or whatever they want to but they never seen what I seen I seen a hard-working man with a hard life that work on Commercial fisherman boats that got caught up in the game that almost died in the ocean and got hooked on drugs but always took care of his family no matter what. I see all this now I’m glad it’s not too late. Thank you for whoever put this article out there.
This is a neighbor who lived across the street from the Merchel’s you letter is so kind and your dad Robbie n uncle Eddie were good friends to my brother mention Patches to you daddy . i m so happy for you Robin that you saw the bad side of drugs and you were smart enough to stay away. If you are in touch with Robbie please tell him Pickles was asking Denise too.i remember when you were born it was Oh Robbie had a baby girl wow years pass we all grow apart but the Fairmount People will never forget their neighborhood it was a time where everyone knew everryone then the younger brothers came along and Jamie was the cutest of them all again so sorry you lost him too.well i hope life is good to you and always know dad n Eddie were good kids .Take care Denise Paczkoski Wilkin so Robin Cheryl (Pickles) ask me to send you her # to give to your daddy ok sweetie ❌⭕❤
This is a neighbor who lived across the street from the Merchel’s you letter is so kind and your dad Robbie n uncle Eddie were good friends to my brother mention Patches to you daddy . i m so happy for you Robin that you saw the bad side of drugs and you were smart enough to stay away. If you are in touch with Robbie please tell him Pickles was asking Denise too.i remember when you were born it was Oh Robbie had a baby girl wow years pass we all grow apart but the Fairmount People will never forget their neighborhood it was a time where everyone knew everryone then the younger brothers came along and Jamie was the cutest of them all again so sorry you lost him too.well i hope life is good to you and always know dad n Eddie were good kids .Take care Denise Paczkoski Wilkin so Robin Cheryl (Pickles) ask me to send you her #215-768-591 to give to your daddy ok sweetie ❌⭕❤