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Home : Quarterly Archives : Volume 42 |
Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society |
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Source: Fall 2005 Volume 42 Number 4, Pages 140–141 Note and Comments Medical Doctor Remembered A gathering on August 27, 2005, at old St. David's Church, Radnor, located at the corner of Easttown Township, celebrated the life of Richard Hawkes Bolster. Dr. Bolster practiced family medicine in the Devon/Berwyn area for 45 years prior to his retirement in 1989. He was a multi-dimensional man who, in addition to his medical practice, pursued interests as a potter, and enjoyed archery, music, horticulture, and was an early environmentalist. A talented tenor, he sang in choirs and with choral groups throughout his life. He became a Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture certified Master Gardener, and also had an interest in chess and tournament croquet. Dr. Bolster, 86, died May 22, 2005, at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, after a lengthy illness. He was born August 28, 1918, in Berwyn, the son of Thomas Levering Bolster and Clara Mickle Okie Bolster. His father was killed in France during World War I. His mother was the youngest child of Dr. Richardson B. Okie, who practiced medicine in Berwyn from about 1875 until his death in 1904. Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust Historic House Tour The Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust on September 25, 2005, took a step forward toward its goal of financing the restoration of the historic Jones Log Barn when it conducted its 1st annual Historic House Tour. The mission of the Trust is "to preserve and protect historic and cultural resources of Tredyffrin Township for the benefit of present and future generations and to educate the public about the preservation and protection of historic and cultural settings." Eight historic houses and three historic schoolhouses in Tredyffrin were open to visitors on a pleasant sunny afternoon. The locations were the following:
The tour was organized by Pattye Benson, President of the Trust, and an old house owner herself. The Jones Log Barn dates to the last quarter of the eighteenth century, making it one of the oldest barns in the Mid-Atlantic region. It was certified as a Chester County Historic Resource in 2004. Handel's Homemade Ice Cream A new store at the east end of Berwvn's shopping strip, selling Handel's homemade ice cream and yogurt served its first customers on August 23, 2005. Managed by Buck Buchanan and his family, the new Berwyn franchise found a receptive clientele after a month of red hot August weather. Buchanan spent his youth in Youngstown, Ohio, home of the original Handel's ice cream store, where he enjoyed the creamy concoctions made by Alice Handel herself. The company logo bears the inscription “since 1945.” Handel's boasts over 40 flavors, exotic as well as old-fashioned, made fresh daily on the premises. The store is located at the corner of Lancaster and Midland Avenues in a newly renovated building done up in blue and white colors. It formerly housed the auto repair business of Jim Stowell, recently relocated to Strafford. A Special Homecoming The October 1st weekend of 2005 will go down in history in more ways than one. Conestoga High School, celebrating its 50th anniversary, had a full slate of homecoming activities on the calendar, including the re-dedication of Teamer Field's renovated facilities and induction of 10 alurnni into the new Athletic Hall of Fame, as well as the traditional football game and homecoming dance. The 10 Hall of Fame inductees, Conestoga alumni athletes who went on to play professionally or at the national or international level and reaching the highest level of competition possible in their sports, are Nina Alston, basketball, CHS 1987; Amy Antonelli-Nicholls, softball, CHS 1992; Clay Buckley, basketball, CHS 1987; Lou DiSerafino, wrestling, CHS 1976; Jill Rankine Dunham Spear, field hockey and lacrosse, CHS 1986; Ron Holliday, football, CHS 1962; Holly Kleiderlein, swimming, CHS 1992; Coach Bill Paolantonio, 1955-1972; Karen Trudel Martellucci, field hockey and lacrosse, CHS 1981; and Brett Upper, golf, CHS 1977. In addition, the newly formed alumni association of the former Tredyffrin-Easttown High School held its first all-alumni get together. Around 300 alumni of the Berwyn school that graduated its last class in 1955 joined with one another in a special weekend of activities. The present Conestoga High School replaced the Tredyffrin-Easttown High School, and the old building, a Carpenters Hall replica built in 1908 at Conestoga and Howellville Roads, was tom down during a school renovation project in 1970. Members of the Class of 1955 held their 50th reunion during the weekend. Classes of 1950, 1945, 1940, 1935, and 1930 also held reunions. Tredyffrin Township Manager Retires Joseph Janasik, Tredyffrin Township manager since 1987, retired July 29,2005. Janasik was hired by the township in 1968 and served as assistant manager beginning in 1971. He first worked in the old township building on Old Lancaster Road in Berwyn—now the Timothy School—when Norman Mawby was the manager. The building was old. It started out as one room, and things were added on. During Janasik's tenure Tredyffrin's demographics changed, and development moved away from the railroad and into the Great Valley. Along the way the township attained a triple A bond rating, moved into a newly constructed building in Chesterbrook, and embarked on a program to secure open space and park land. At a Board of Supervisors meeting on August 15, Mimi Gleason, assistant township manager since 2002, was named to replace Mr. Janasik. Gleason, a West Chester resident, graduated from Villanova University with a B.S. degree in mathematlcs and has masters and doctoral degrees from the University of Texas. She worked in the local area for six years before taking the assistant manager post at Tredyffrin. Paoli Man Named HUD Director Tredyffrin supervisor and Paoli resident, Guy Ciarrocchi, was appointed regional director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Philadelphia office on June 30, 2005. He is a graduate of Villanova's School of Law and has served Iocally in a number of public positions in the Iast decade. He resigned his seat on the Tredyffrin board in August because of potential conflicts of interest with his new job. |
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