HTHS Annual Membership Meeting

Thursday, April 17, 2008 @ 7:30 PM

Llanerch Presbyterian Church

Lansdowne Avenue Havertown, PA 19083

Today’s News,
Tomorrow’s History.

Do news photographers just record history as it is happening, or do they sometimes influence the course of history? What if there had been a press photographer at the Boston Tea Party? Would the public reaction have been different? What if a photographer had been with Lewis and Clark? How photogenic would Sacagawea have been?

Our speaker at the April meeting will be Staff Photographer Anne Neborak, of ‘The News of Delaware County’. In one of her articles Anne wrote: “Sometimes you touch greatness and don’t realize it. I find it often in the people I meet. In my pursuit for the picture I don’t see it until after the fact”. In her assignments she sometimes puts herself at risk in order to get the best angle for a shot.

In speaking of the changes in photography Anne says “…it’s good to look at the past. Photography has changed immensely…today everything is digitally created….There are even experts who decipher whether or not a photo is real or digitally enhanced…so one should always be aware that the girl on the cover of Shape Magazine does not look like that.”

Board elections will take place during the April meeting. The meeting is free and open to the public.

2008 Heritage Festival

Sunday, June 1

11 AM – 4 PM

Step into history with us by taking part in this year’s festival. There are many opportunities to get involved. See page 2 for more information!

HTHS Collaborates with the Friends of the Grange, Inc. once again on June 12, from 6-9 PM

We are happy to announce another joint event with our colleagues at the Grange Estate. On June 12, 2008, from 6-9 PM, HTHS and FOG will be hosting a Wine & Cheese and Fine Arts Show at the Grange Estate. The event will feature a variety of hand-selected wines as well as light refreshments and an exhibit of fine art for sale. Join us as we showcase some of the area’s most talented local artists in the beautiful setting of the Grange Estate. Tickets for this event will be $20 for members of HTHS or FOG and $25 for non-members. Look for your invitation in the mail in early May. Additional invitations can be obtained by calling the Grange Estate office at 610-446-4968.

Inside This Issue…

2008 Heritage Festival 2

Friends of the Grange Events 2

Darby Creek Clean-up April 26 2

Welcome New Members 2

Maintenance and Upkeep 3

UPenn Volunteers Step into History 3

From the Archives

Wilbur Hall 4

Recent Accessions 4

A Bit of Verse 5

2007-2008 Membership Directories Available 5

A Wish List…for HTHS Educational Programs 5

Upcoming Events 6

Events

2008 HTHS Heritage Festival

Sunday, June 1 11 AM – 4 PM

Historic Dancers from the 2007 Heritage Festival

HTHS Photography Exhibition

HTHS will be showing a juried exhibition of photographs taken in Haverford Township inside Nitre Hall during the Heritage Festival. All photographers are welcome to enter their own original work into this exhibition. Entry fees are $10 for the first photo and $5 for each additional photo. All photographs must be taken within the Township and may feature the people, places and scenic beauty that make our Township special. To enter your work in this exhibition, you must drop it off to Nitre Hall along Karakung Drive on Saturday, May 17, between 12 and 4 PM.

Artisans/Crafters

Once again, HTHS will be giving local artists and crafters a chance to display and sell their work during the Heritage Festival. A registration fee of $20 applies.

Local Organizations

Haverford Township fosters a strong sense of community through many civic and local organizations. Come showcase what your organization means to this community by setting up a booth at the Heritage Festival. Local groups are invited to reserve space free of charge

Join the Planning Committee

If you have an interest in local history, have an idea about how to make the Heritage Festival a success or simply enjoying serving your community, please join us as we plan this fun-filled, family event.

Questions about the 2008 Heritage Festival can be directed to Tricia Woodman at johnwman@msn.com. Or on the website www.haverfordhistoricalsociety.org .

The Friends of the Grange, Inc. have shared their calendar with us, and we encourage HTHS members to visit the historic Grange Estate for these special events:

April 19 Earth Day Celebration

April 26 Arbor Day 1-4 PM

May 1 Annual Membership Meeting

May 4 Mimosa, Tea and Tour

Presented by the Painted Teacup

* Nitre Hall is also open – Visit both!

July 3 Independence Eve Lecture and Music

July 19 Nature/Gardening Program

The Grange is open for tours every weekend from 1-4 PM starting April 12. Call the Grange office for more information about these events!

Darby Creek/Cobbs Creek Cleanup – April 25

Darby Creek Valley Association is once again coordinating a clean up the accumulated tires, shopping carts and other debris from the creeks in our community. On Saturday, April 26, hundreds of volunteers will perform this labor of love at about 30 individual sites up and down the creeks. To organize a clean-up crew for your area of the creek, or to find a site where you can join other volunteers, call 610-683-0788 or visit www.darbyhistory.com or www.dcva.org .

Welcome New Members

Michelle Corallo

Roger Crockett

David and Gale Dewsnap

Steve and Monica Durfee

Lauren Feldman

Anne Garnett

Stacey Bartels & Matt Kaufhold

Maria and Eugene Smith

Tom and Beth Thornton

Maintenance and Upkeep

Nitre Hall Kitchen EXPOSED!

As part of our ongoing project to restore Nitre Hall to its early nineteenth century roots, Township workers this winter removed the carpet and subflooring from the first floor kitchen to reveal the original brick floor. The carpet and subflooring, along with other “improvements” were made when the first floor was converted into a caretaker’s apartment.

The newly exposed brick floor, though a bit uneven and somewhat weathered, was a happy sight for HTHS eyes. Although we suspected that the floor was there, no one had been around long enough to be sure. Early photographs of the kitchen seemed to suggest that a wood floor had been laid over the original brick, but the evidence was not clear.

The removal of the carpet and flooring also revealed a gap of about eight inches between where the bottom of the drywall ends and the floor. The drywall had been installed for the caretaker’s apartment as well. To bridge the gap, we are in the process of installing a baseboard in the room.

We hope to have the kitchen ready for visitors by this year’s Heritage Festival on June 1^st, if not before.

A section of the newly exposed kitchen floor and original stone hearth at Nitre Hall.

Kevin Olsavsky (far left) with pledges from Phi Kappa Sigma and HTHS Board Member Tricia Woodman outside Nitre Hall.

Volunteers from University of Pennsylvania’s Phi Sigma Kappa

Step into History With Us

On March 1, some HTHS Board members were joined by a group of volunteers from the University of Pennsylvania for a work day at Nitre Hall and Lawrence Cabin. The volunteers were members of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity who performed this community service as part of their pledge program. Haverford Township resident and Historical Society member Kevin Olsavsky acts as the fraternity’s advisor and coordinated the work day.

The day was a great success. Projects for the day included:

- Cleaning Lawrence Cabin and the artifacts housed there;

- Cleaning out the Summer Kitchen;

- Cleaning out and installing baseboard in the kitchen of Nitre Hall;

- Wiping down artifacts and furniture that were covered in dust during the removal of the carpet and floor in Nitre Hall;

- Moving a display case and furniture recently donated by the Henle Estate; and

- Sorting through files in the third floor office.

- Application of a UV barrier on the second floor window of the “doll room”.

The Historical Society is very grateful to the members of Phi Kappa Sigma who helped and especially to Kevin Olsavsky for directing their efforts our way.

Thanks Guys!
From the Archives…

Wilbur Hall and family.

Wilbur Hall

By Carolyn Joseph, Curator

In an interview with Margaret Johnston in 1968, Wilbur Hall spoke about his life living and working in Llanerch. Wilbur Hall was born in Kemblesville, Chester County which is south of West Grove near the Delaware line. Mr. Hall, born in 1879, worked originally for Consolidated Edison in West Chester. He came to Llanerch in 1901 to work as an oiler for the Philadelphia and Western Traction Company. Before long he was promoted to night engineer, then chief engineer. In 1908, he and his parents moved into a row house on the southeast corner of West Chester Pike, in Llanerch, now razed. This was quite convenient since he could walk to work and come home for the mid-day meal. About 1912 he built a home on Tenby Road. When he married Alice Logan, they continued to live with his parents at that residence.

Wilbur Hall photographed what were his work and his passion. It is our good fortune that he recorded the local scenes, railroads, railroad buildings and details of the machinery and trains used during the early part of the 20^th century. Scenes of the countryside can be seen meshing with the railroads and transportation in Haverford Township and beyond. Trolleys and steam engines, long gone, are depicted in the photos as are winter storms, homes, businesses and schools of interest, and everyday family and community events.

Many years ago this collection was donated to the Haverford Township Historical Society. Some of the photos from this collection were used in the book "Images of America Haverford Township", written in 2003 and published by Arcadia Publishing. Copies of the book are available through the Historical Society and at local bookstores.

More recently the cataloguing and preservation of these pictures has been completed, with the help of volunteer Libby Hawes. This work involved the cataloguing of over 200 glass plates and hundreds of photographs. These photos have been scanned and entered into the museum program, PastPerfect.

It is our hope that residents capturing ordinary events in the Township will continue to provide us with photographic wealth for the future. What will be common today will be extraordinary in the next 100 years. If you are thinking about throwing out those old photos and ephemera of the past, do think of us. And if you are handy at taking pictures, do photograph what is happening now. It will be history soon!

Ways to preserve our past are to volunteer your time, donate your collection, become a member, or give a gift to the Haverford Township Historical Society.

Recent Accessions

Pine schoolmaster’s desk donated from the estate of Mary Henle

In December, HTHS received personal property from the estate of Mary Henle. The items donated will help us furnish the soon to be restored kitchen at Nitre Hall. The donation was a Pembroke Style Country Drop Leaf Table, made in Pennsylvania, c. 1800, a Windsor hoop back armchair of oak, pine and maple, c. 1840, a six board blanket chest, a set of four arrowback side chairs and a small chest of two drawers. There is also a Schoolmaster's desk of pine and oak, made in Pennsylvania, c. 1810 which we hope to incorporate into the furnishings in the library.

Mary Henle also recently gave HTHS a small handmade copper beaker made in early 19th century.

A Bit of Verse

By Mary Courtney

The historical society archives house a wealth of information regarding the history of our area. The library has over five hundred books. There are maps and atlases; the files contain township records, deeds, letters, diary entries, journals, photographs and ephemera of all sorts. Members may schedule research time by calling the office at Nitre Hall.

Following is an example from the extensive notes of Margaret Johnston, former president and curator. It may serve to praise all the creative Colonial guides, who produce delicious stews, soups, cornbread, griddle cakes, and other tasty dishes from the cabin’s open hearth and the summer kitchen’s wood-burning stove.

Owen Meredith was the pen name of the mid-19^th century English writer, Edward Robert Bulwer-Lytton, First Lord Lytton, diplomat and poet, who lived from 1831 to 1891. His poetic novel Lucille, published in 1860, was enormously popular in the United States and it is not at all surprising that our ‘Delaware County Housekeeper’ included this poem in her receipt book. Meredith’s choice of a nom de plume is perhaps more interesting to those of us living in the former Welsh Tract today than his poetry. His Welsh heritage is from Owen Gwynne ap Griffith, King of North Wales and Meredith ap Tudor, great-grandfather of Henry VI.

2007-2008 HTHS Membership Directories

Be sure to pick up your copy of the new Haverford Township Historical Society Membership Directory at the April Membership meeting.

Colonial Living Guide Sarah Farnsworth, inside Lawrence Cabin

“Choice Receipts from Delaware County Households, compiled by

a Delaware County Housekeeper”

We may live without society, music and art;

We may live without conscience, and live without heart,

We may live without friends;

we may live without books,

But civilized man cannot live without cooks.

He may live without books –

what is knowledge but grieving?

He may live without hope –

what is hope but deceiving?

He may live without love –

what is passion but pining?

But where is the man who can live without dining?

Lucille

Owen Meredith

Send your suggestions, comments and feature ideas for the HTHS Newsletter to Tricia Woodman at johnwman@msn.com or leave a message at 610.446.7988. Suggestions for a new newsletter name would also be appreciated!

A Wish List…for our Educational Programs

The key to the success of HTHS’s Colonial Living and Federal School programs is to provide an authentic experience for the children who participate. In the programs, children perform tasks similar to those of their colonial ancestors. Guides, in costume, help them through these tasks using our historic sites as a backdrop. HTHS works on an ongoing basis to improve these programs by finding antique or reproduction tools and equipment for the children to use. Many times, this equipment comes to us in the form of donations. Some on our current wish list include Colonial style kitchenware and fireplace tools. If you have these or other items that you would like to donate to our Educational programs, please leave a message at Nitre Hall at 610-446-7988.

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Haverford Township Historical Society

Board of Directors

Officers

President Mary Courtney

1^st Vice President Dick Walker

2^nd Vice President Renee Coffey

Treasurer Vince Snyder

Recording Secretary Open

Curator Carolyn Joseph

Committees

Programs Dick Walker

Education Amy Wolfe

Membership Tricia Woodman

Newsletter Tricia Woodman

Web Site Carolyn Joseph

Publicity Bette Ferrill

Member-at-Large Donna Lunny

Member-at-Large Terri Dougherty

Upcoming HTHS Events

April 17 7:30 PM

Annual Membership Meeting

Llanerch Presbyterian Church

May 4 1 - 4 PM

Open House at Nitre Hall and Lawrence Cabin

June 1 11 AM – 4 PM

2008 Heritage Festival along Karakung Drive

June 12 6 - 9 PM

Wine & Cheese and Fine Arts Show

at the Grange Estate

June 19 7:30 PM

Membership Meeting featuring HTHS President Mary Courtney’s presentation on the Battle of Llanerch Crossing and West Chester Pike.