People of Conshohocken – Dave Raimondo – I Summer in Conshy guy

People of Conshohocken – Dave Raimondo – I Summer in Conshy guy

7/15/2017

by Brian Coll

       This is part of our People of Conshohocken series…
We have close to 10,000 people in our borough, add in the residents of West Conshohocken, Plymouth, Whitemarsh and Lafayette Hill and we have a large community. Some of the people that will be featured will be well known in the area, some will have just moved into the area, some will have been here their entire lives. Some of them may be business owners, or people who walk around the area, or maybe work in the area. Maybe you know them, maybe you don’t. Everyone has a story. While we are only going to take their picture and maybe ask a question or two, we want to share these stories with you.

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I think I’ve been wearing an I Summer in Conshy shirt for at least 5 years now. I was thinking about how long those shirts have been around and when Dave Raimondo walked in I had to ask…. it’s almost 10 years now. Hard to believe.

Anyway, let me talk about Dave for a minute…. maybe two. Dave has been a staple down at the CBC Club for a number of years, he seems to be involved in one thing or another all over Conshohocken as well as Montgomery County. He is just one of the good guys in our community. If you see Dave, just start talking, I guarantee you that you will walk away with a smile. He’s a great story teller and has an infectious laugh. We were just talking about Conshy and West Conshy and some of the stories we were telling can’t be translated to a website. We sat here talking and it felt like 3 minutes and it was closer to a half hour. Thanks for coming by Dave. I started to ask him about how did I Summer in Conshy come about and rather than me go into the long story, I decided to copy the story from the website, there is an official website Isummerinconshy.com

Here is the story:

Have you ever been asked a question and your answer made you laugh on many levels? 

Me, being from modest blue collar roots, was in Los Angeles in 2008 visiting some lifelong neighborhood friends who live in Hollywood.   We went to a party to hob knob with the LA elite.  I began making small talk with some dude about our current living locations.  
 I asked, “So where do you live?” 
He said “LA, where do you live?”
 My response, “I live near Philadelphia”
 I then asked, “How do you like living in LA? It seems like a cool city.” 
He said, “It’s cool, but I am not here that much throughout the year being that I winter in Aspen and summer in Martha’s Vineyard” 
My response, “That’s great man…you get to summer in the Vineyard” (trying to sound cool). 
He said “yeah man…where do you summer?” 
That is when it happened…..I stopped and thought for a minute….started laughing, and said with twisted pride and humility……” I Summer in Conshy” 

“I Summer in Conshy” immediately was tattooed in my psyche and made me think further into the meaning. 

I was raised in West Norriton, PA. Both my parents were born and raised in Conshohocken, PA.  Both my sets of grandparents lived, and many of my 42 cousins still live in Conshy.  As a child, every morning in the summer, my mom would load my brother, my sisters and myself, into the 72 Oldsmobile and off to Conshy we went.  For a day filled with swimming in the 4ft above ground pool and running all around Sutcliff Park.   In a sense…Summering in Conshy.

Conshohocken is a super unique borough.  It’s fun, rich in heritage and has a strong sense of community.  It is filled with very proud and resourceful residents.  Conshy’s yearlong calendar is full of great activities.   Summer:  hosting some of the best, Classic Car Show, Fireworks, Soap Box Derby to name a few.   So to think about where you are this summer and what fun you are having……there is a good chance, if at least for a minute….you can say…….  I Summer in Conshy!

Thanks Dave, thanks for coming by today, thanks for being out in California a few years ago and starting this I Summer in Conshy craze. I have worn mine with pride on trips to Iceland, Alaska, Mexico, Jamaica and most importantly, all around Conshy! When I’m abroad people either know about Conshohocken or at least have to ask where it is. Like I said earlier, if you see Dave out and about, make sure to say hi, strike up a conversation and enjoy.