Past Meeting

At our public meeting on Sunday, February 21, 2016 the featured presentation was:

Matthews Ford Album, Paoli 1918-1954, Then and Now

by Bart Van Valkenburgh

The Society's Image Archive contains a significant collection of historic images provided by Matthews Ford in 2014. Bart VanValkenberg's engaging presentation guided us through a detailed look at the photos of Paoli from the Matthews Ford Album and compared them with today's landscape.

Bart is a lifetime resident of the Main Line. He grew up in the Merion-Narberth area of Lower Merion Township. He served in the United States Army 1969–1971, in the 4th Infantry Division, Viet Nam. He moved to Malvern in 1980 and is married to Denise. They have two daughters that live locally with their families. His business career was involved with automobiles, collision repair and automotive paint manufacturing. He retired in 2004, but has been employed part-time at Matthews Paoli Ford since 2005. His hobbies include automobile history and restoration, gardening, homesmithing, military history, food and wine. His interests include U.S. history, especially the history of S.E. Pennsylvania (since grade school) and local Main Line history. His main history focus is Colonial America 1620-1815. He has served as a Board Member of the Paoli Battlefield Preservation Fund.

This presentation was held at the Easttown Library & Information Center in Berwyn, PA starting at 2 pm.