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Next Meeting:

Echoes of the Truth: Making Sense of the Reinert Murders – David Montalvo

Upcoming Presentations and Events

Past Special Events:

2023 Tredyffrin Township Community Day

2023 Member Excursion

2022 Member Excursion

A City At War: The British Occupation of Philadelphia

Chester County Village Walk – Tredyffrin Township

October 2021 Special Events

Mt. Zion AME Church

Paoli Battlefield Heritage Day

Historic House Tour

Paoli Blues Fest

"Behind the Doors"

Recent Meetings:

From West Africa to the Great Valley – Michael Kearney, Ph.D.


Past Meetings


News:

New Berwyn School Fight Video

The S. Paul Teamer Awards

TEHS on Tredyffrin Township TV

TEHS exhibits at local public libraries

Virtual Roundtable on History & Preservation

In Memoriam: Michael Morrison

Main Line Airport Historic Marker Dedication

Paoli Inn Historic Marker Dedication

TEHS & Devon History on CBS 3 TV


MORE NEWS ITEMS


 

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Our Next Meeting

Upcoming Meeting

This Society meeting will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday March 17, 2024
at, and co-sponsored by, Tredffrin Public Libary in Strafford, Pa.
 

Echoes of the Truth: Making Sense of the Reinert Murders

presented by David Montalvo

In the early morning hours of Monday, June 25, 1979, the body of Upper Merion English Teacher Susan Reinert was found in the open hatchback of her car in Swatara Township, just outside of Harrisburg.  Her children, Karen and Michael, were never found.  After many false leads and years of investigation, Upper Merion English Teacher William Bradfield and Principal Jay Smith (who was already being prosecuted for four other crimes) were convicted of the murders, although Smith was later freed due to what was described at the time as egregious prosecutorial misconduct.

Given the many published twists and turns in the case, the fact that neither of the two ever admitted to the murders, the rumors of Smith's abberant behavior and the rampant speculation in the newspapers, it should be no surprise that many of us have garbled memories of this tragic story.  This talk represents the barest outline of the results of a long and painstaking attempt to create an accurate and factual timeline of the events leading up to the murders. Adherence to that factual timeline is an essential feature of any would-be theory of the crime.

David Montalvo taught high school physics for over 35 years, 33 of those years at Upper Merion Area High School. He and his wife Lynda (who still teaches chemistry at UMAHS) have lived in King of Prussia for 20 years and raised two daughters there. David became involved with the King of Prussia Historical Society in early 2015, becoming president in 2019. David's head may be in the sciences, but his heart has always been in the humanities.

 
 

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Upcoming Presentations and Events

Click on the following links (where available) to view more information on meetings coming up in Winter/Spring 2024:

17 March Tredyffrin Connecting the Dots: Making Sense of the Reinert Murders by Dave Montalvo
21 April Tredyffrin Warwick's Buried Cannon by Daniel Graham
19 May Tredyffrin Towers & Turrets: Victorian Mansions on the Main Line, 1870–1905 by Jeff Groff
 

* More information about these upcoming meetings and events will be available soon.

Please Note: Our regular meetings are held at either Tredyffrin Public Library in Strafford or Easttown Library in Berwyn


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Special Events Sponsored by Other Organizations

2024 Historic Trappe Free Lecture Series

St. Luke's Church, 200 W. Main Street, Trappe, PA
Tuesday evenings, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Refreshments following lecture
For more information, please visit the Historic Trappe Facebook Page

DATE SPEAKER & SUBJECT
12 Mar Lisa Minardi, "A Labor of Love: Restoring the Daniel Hiester House"
23 Apr Don Fennimore, lecture on Rittenhouse clocks + book signing + a special pop-up display of several Rittenhouse clock movements and surveying instruments
21 May Lisa Minardi, "Native Son: The Life and Art of David Ellinger" + book signing + pop up display of additional Ellinger artworks and drawings
17 Sep Emily Sneff on Declaration of Independence and its translation into German + preview of our 2026-27 special exhibition plans for the America 250
22 Oct Trevor Brandt on fraktur + Americana Insights book signing
19 Nov Chris Malone on paintings by Charles Hofmann + Americana Insights book signing
 

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Links to Recent Online Presentation Videos


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2023 Member Excursion

On Saturday, 10 June 2023, all current Society members were invited to join us for our Annual Member Excursion, which this year took us to The Mill at Anselma in Chester Springs.

Nestled along the Pickering Creek in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, the Mill at Anselma is an extraordinary historic site demonstrating over 250 years of Chester County's industrial history. The 22-acre property and surviving historical buildings demonstrate a heritage engineered to last. The Mill retains its original Colonial-Era power train, as well as multiple layers of industrial equipment ranging from the late 1700s to the mid 1900s. A National Historic Landmark since 2005; an operational Mill before the United States of America; an independent, non-profit historic site today.

The workings of the Mill at Anselma in Chester Springs are a valuable window into how a colonial era grist mill was built and functioned. We were be able to see the Mill's water wheel in operation during our tour, as well as learning about the history and context of farming, milling, and shipping Pennsylvania flour around the world.

The staff of the Mill provided us with a guided tour, after which we enjoyed some light refreshments and an opportunity to converse. As with other recent excursions, we were open to being joined by members of the King of Prussia Historical Society.

Important — RSVP

To assist us with planning for the event, we asked that participants let us know that they were planning to attend.

The Society covered admission fees for all pre-registered members. Others were advised to expect to pay the regular admission fee ($10 for adults, $5 for seniors (age 62 and over) and youth (age 4–14).

Our tour started at 1 PM. Appropriate health and saftey precautions were expected.

When:
1:00 – 3:00 PM, Saturday, 10 June 2023

Where:
1730 Conestoga Road
Chester Springs, PA 19425
610-827-1900

The entrance is just west of Rt. 113 on Rt. 401. Directions from your location may be obtained from the LOCATION section at the bottom of the Mill at Anselma website

 

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Past Special Events Sponsored by Other Organizations

Tredyffrin Community Day

 

The Society exhibited again at the 2022 Tredyffrin Township Community Day — on Saturday 8 October 2022 from 2 pm until 6 pm at Wilson Farm Park in Chesterbrook. We enjoyed talking with the many people who stopped by and visited us.

The 2023 event was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.

 

Mt. Zion AME Church

 

170th AnniversaryMt. Zion AME Church celebrated their 170th Anniversary on Saturday 21 September 2018 from 10 am until 4 pm at 380 North Fairfield Road in Devon. PA State Senator Andy Dinniman presented a proclamation at 10 am, and members of the 6th Regiment United States Colored Troops (USCT) Reenactors presented a 21-gun salute and played "Taps," followed by tours of the historic church and cemetery, and a special service and banquet starting at noon.

Historical Marker — A state-sonsored historical marker commemorating the "Berwyn School Fight" of 1932–34 was dedicated on Saturday 21 November 2020 with a distinguished group of invited speakers in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. A large audience attended and the proceedings were video-recorded.

Graveyard Project — A front page article about the ongoing research and conservation and research project in the historic cemetery was published in the 29 January 2021 Daily Local.

 

Paoli Battlefield Heritage Day

 

The Society exhibited again at the again at the 2022 Paoli Battlefield Heritage Day on Saturday 17 September 2022 from 11 am until 4 pm at Paoli Memorial Grounds in Malvern.

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Historic House Tour

 

On Saturday 28 September 2019, the Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust held their 15th Annual Historic House Tour from 12 until 5 pm. The proceeds support the rebuilding of the historic Jones Log Barn and the proposed Living History Center at Duportail.

 

Paoli Blues Fest

 

The Society exhibited in past years at the Paoli Blues Fest, but for various reasons, did not exhibit at the 2018 event, and will not attend the 2019 event to be held on Saturday 28 September 2019 from noon until 6 pm at Paoli Presbyterian Church. See more about the Society's past involvement here.

 

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Our Most Recent Meeting

This Society meeting was held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday February 18, 2024
in-person at Tredyffrin Public Libary in Strafford, Pa.

From West Africa to the Great Valley
The Story of Curry Ganges (1785-1858)
Featuring a Series of Unlikely Events from the Early Republic

presented by Michael Kearney, Ph.D.

"Capture of the Slave Ship" by Scottish artist Joseph Noel Paton (1821-1901).
While not contemporaneous with the USS Ganges' interdiction of the Prudent and Phoebe in 1800, the image captures the drama and poignancy of that moment when enslaved Africans, terrorized and suffering, are offered the rescuing hands of white mariners.

On October 21, 1858, Curry Ganges, an African American and forty-year resident of Tredyffrin, was laid to rest in the Valley Friends Meeting burial ground. Stephen Stephens, quoted in his wife's diary described the ceremonies as "quite a large funeral for a colored man." This offhanded compliment — and it was a compliment — was well earned. Curry had deep ties to the community, but his life story doesn't begin in Tredyffrin. Remarkably, rather, it begins with his birth in West Africa around 1785.

This talk tells the story of how the African Curry Ganges witnessed a rare success of the new republic's efforts to curb the foreign slave trade, came by his unusual surname and began a new life in Pennsylvania. This story spans the Atlantic world from London to Newport and Charleston to Sierra Leone, Havana and Philadelphia. It exhibits, yet again, how the lives of our African American brethren form an important part of our nation's history, if only we would look.

Michael Kearney, PhD, has been a genealogist and family historian for more than 30 years. His work has been published in the NEHG Register, the NYGB Record and the Connecticut Nutmegger. His most recent work has been "The Ganges Family History Project — Constructing the histories of 135 enslaved Africans rescued by the sloop-of-war USS Ganges in 1800," found online at thegangesfamilies.com.

 
 

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Society Special Events

"Behind the Doors"

The original Tredyffrin Easttown History Club occasionally held meetings at the various historic Inns in the area, as noted in this quote from an article about the history of the Club found in the October 1965 issue of the Quarterly (v.13 no.4, pg. 80):

On March 7, 1939 the first annual Banquet was held at the Windmill Tea Room (the General Jackson Inn) at Paoli. Originally the Club had these affairs at some historic inn. To date the following Inns have played host: The King of Prussia (once), Ye Old Bull Tavern (three times), General Warren (twice), Wayside Inn (General Jackson) (Five times).

Starting in 2013 this tradition was revived. So far we have visited two inns, both with tours and history presentations followed by a delicious five course food and wine pairing dinner. Both events were a great success and we look forward to more in the future. For more information, view the individual invitations for these events:

A portion of the proceeds from these events benefits the Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society.

 

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TEHS Programs on Tredyffrin Township TV

A selection of pre-recorded programs featuring presentations from past meetings of the Society are available for viewing on Tredyffrin Township Television, found on Comcast Channel 15, Verizon Channel 24 and On-Demand.

We are looking for volunteers who would be willing to assist with the recording of our presentations for later broadcast. Free training is available to township residents at the Greenwood Studio facility in the Township Building. Please contact us or Studio Manager Gene Donahue if you are interested.

Program Schedule:

  • 7 am on Sunday and Monday
  • 1 pm on Monday
  • 7 pm on Thursday and Saturday

 

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TEHS exhibits at local public libraries

TEHS display case at Tredyffrin Public Library

Did you know? The TEHS maintains a display case of local history materials in the Local History Room at the Tredyffrin Public Library.

The current exhibit highlights Herb Fry's book collection.

C. Herbert Fry was an active contributing member and officer of the Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society for over thirty years. Herb gave numerous talks and wrote over two dozen local history articles for the Society's History Quarterly periodical. He and his late wife Barbara amassed a collection of historical photographs, books, articles and other research materials that filled two closets. Following his death in July 2018, all of his local history materials came to the Society. One of his special interests was Valley Forge, and his books on the subject numbered over forty. Eight of these are displayed in this case.

ALT-TEXT

Another example is this book by Frank Resavy & Tom McNichol.


TEHS display case at Easttown Library & Information Center

During the month of April 2018, a display case in the main entry hall of the Easttown Library in Berwyn contained an exhibit featuring nine historic photos of Berwyn with intriguing captions, testing the viewer's knowledge of the area.

 

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S. Paul Teamer Awards

As we passed the milestone of our 75th anniversary as an organization in 2012, it seemed fitting to establish a new annual award to recognize the especially significant contributions made by some of our members over the years. In considering what name this award should have we decided to reach back to the very beginning of what was then The Tredyffrin Easttown History Club and to founder and first president S. Paul Teamer. It is certainly worthwhile to look back at those first few volumes of the Quarterly and rediscover the noteworthy articles written by Teamer and his colleague Franklin L. Burns, among others, who set a high standard for those who followed.

S. Paul Teamer Award Recipients
  († posthumous, * since deceased)

2012Sue Andrews, Herb Fry*, Joyce Post*
2013Bob Goshorn†, Mike Bertram
2014Franklin L. Burns†, Roger D. Thorne
2015Barbara Fry†, Mary Robertson Ives*, Clarissa F. Dillon
2016John O. Senior
2018Tim Lander, Cheryl Leibold, Michael Morrison*
2019Jim Brazel, Heidi Sproat
2020Bart Van Valkenburgh
2021Meg Wiederseim
2023Marianne Hooper Furman
2024Bertha Jackmon

At the January 2012 Annual Meeting, we were pleased to present the S. Paul Teamer Award for outstanding contributions to the Society to the first three recipients: Sue Andrews, Herb Fry, and Joyce Post.

At the January 2013 Annual Meeting, we were pleased to announce the names of the next two recipients of the award: Bob Goshorn (posthumous) and Mike Bertram. Since Mike was unable to attend this meeting, his award will be presented at a future meeting.

At the January 2014 Annual Meeting, we were pleased to announce the names of the 2014 recipients of the award: Franklin L. Burns (posthumous) and former president Roger D. Thorne.

At the May 2015 Meeting (rescheduled from the January 2015 Annual Meeting cancelled due to adverse weather conditions), we were pleased to recognize the 2015 recipients of the award: Barbara Fry (posthumous), Mary Robertson Ives (emeritus), and Clarissa F. Dillon.

At the January 2016 Annual Meeting, we were pleased to present the award to: John O. Senior.

(L-R): Roger Thorne and Society President Michael Morrison
with 2016 award recipient Vice-President John O. Senior
Society President Michael Morrison with 2012 award recipients
(L-R):Joyce Post, Morrison, Herb Fry, Sue Andrews
 
Society Vice-President John O. Senior with 2014 award recipient Roger Thorne and President Michael Morrison
 
(L-R): Roger Thorne (on behalf of Mary Roberson Ives), Herb Fry (on behalf of Barbara Fry), President Michael Morrison, and Clarissa Dillon
receive the 2015 awards

For several reasons, the award was not presented in 2017, but at the January 2018 Annual Meeting, Michael Morrison, Tim Lander, and Cheryl Leibold were recognized as new recipients.

 
2018 award recipients Michael Morrison, Tim Lander, and Cheryl Leibold with President John O. Senior (Note: The Philadelphia Eagles were playing for the NFC championship later that day, so John was wearing the team colors.)
 
 
2019 award recipient Heidi Sproat
with John O. Senior
2019 award recipient Jim Brazel
with Roger Thorne
2020 award recipient Bart Van Valkenburgh with John O. Senior

At the January 2019 Annual Meeting, Heidi Sproat (unable to attend) and Jim Brazel were recognized as new recipients.

At the January 2020 Annual Meeting, Bart Van Valkenburgh was recognized as the new recipient.

 
2023 award recipient Marianne Hooper with John O. Senior
2024 award recipient Bertha Jackmon
with John O. Senior

At the January 2021 (Online) Annual Meeting, Meg Wiederseim was recognized as the new recipient.

The January 2022 Annual Meeting was not held.

At the January 2023 Annual Meeting, Marianne Hooper Furman was recognized as the new recipient.

At the January 2024 Annual Meeting, Bertha Jackmon was recognized as the new recipient.

 

MORE NEWS ITEMS


 

Page last updated: 2024-02-24 at 14:37 EST
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