The Delaware County Historical Society staged an open house at their annual meeting on Wednesday night where a full house came to witness the new look of the building, view new exhibits, share in their awards presentations, and eat some great food from Brothers Restaurant and Juice Bar.
We last heard from the Historical Society in a not so positive light when I posted ‘Chester’s lack of pride being addressed by developers’ which earned me an personal invitation from Executive Director Laurie Grant to hear her side of the story. After spending over an hour chatting with her and getting an exhausting elevator tour of the entire building, I walked away with a whole new perspective of Mrs. Grant, her mission, and the Historical Society.
For a guy who often creates blog posts from topics found in newspaper articles, I learned how a reporter from the Philadelphia Daily News did a bad job of putting his story together. Since I followed his lead, my blog post only added fuel to the fire. For that, I apologize to Mrs. Grant and the Historical Society.
Last night’s event symbolized what the society is all about. The place looked magnificent as the staff has worked under the leadership of Mrs. Grant to get rid of tons of debris and have spruced up the place to be presentable again. For their efforts, they were all presented with awards and an opportunity to express their passion for the historical society.
There were several county judges and county council members in attendance but not many familiar faces from the city. That is expected to change today as Chester High School basketball from the 1960s is recognized at the historical society today.
Chester educators should insist the 4th and 5th students from all schools participate in the Passport to History program offered by the historical society. Adults should stop by and visit the museum quality artifacts and discover some of the other goodies they have tucked away on shelves, in file cabinets, and in the stacks.
Chester is proud to be home to the Delaware County Historical Society.
Get to know them. 408 Avenue of the States.
Thanks, I needed this.
Chester Historical Preservation Committee has an exhibit up at the Marple Library for the month of September, showing how Chester was the logistical hub of Delaware County. In the showcase are several noteworthy stories:
1) How Hugh Shaw started Chester Trolley Company
2) Original research regarding the Celadon Terra Cotta Tile Company
3) A timeline of what happened to Baldwin Locomotive Company
4) Sun Ship artifacts
5) Artifacts found on the banks of Ridley Creek in Sun Village, and similar items found near Buffalo, NY along the rail lines
One of the passersby remarked that Baldwin Locomotive continued to sell steam engines to the Soviets, far after that technology was declared extinct by the US. A story that is perhaps not so far off from The Budd Corporation, depicted in Upton Sinclair’s World’s End series. Unsuccessful in selling his new airplanes to the British and the French , Robbie Budd sold thousands of planes to the German Nazis to keep his plant operating.
FANTASTIC! I will be visiting!