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Home : Quarterly Archives : Volume 17 |
Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society |
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Source: October 1979 Volume 17 Number 4, Pages 113–114 Notes and Comments
County Begins Planning for Tricentennial Planning has already begun for the celebration of Pennsylvania's (and Chester County's) tricentennial, to be observed from March 1981 through April 1983, with the appointment by the County Commissioners last July of Dr. Robert E. Carlson to head up the planning committee. Dr. Carlson is the head of the history department at West Chester State College and also secretary of the Chester County Historical Society. While the full committee has not yet been selected, Carlson has indicated that it should be "made up of citizens from all parts of the county and representing all segments of the population". He also suggested that "local historical societies [such as the Tredyffrin Easttown History Club] get involved and undertake their own projects in addition to the countywide observance", adding that "there are not many counties that have a 300-year history". TopT-E High School Graduate Named First Black Woman General Hazel Winifred Johnson, a native of Malvern and graduate of Tredyffrin-Easttown High School in the Class of 1946, was recently appointed a brigadier general in the U. S. Army. General Johnson, who heads the U. S. Army Nursing Corps, is the first black woman to attain this rank. After graduating from T-E, General Johnson earned an undergraduate degree in nursing at Villanova, her master's degree at Columbia University, and a doctorate at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. In 1955 she joined the army so that she could, as she described it, travel without having "to start at the bottom" again each time she moved. Prior to her present assignment, she had served as assistant director of the Walter Reed Institute of Nursing in Bethesda, Md., and as chief nurse of the Army Medical Command in Seoul, Korea. When her appointment as head, of the Nursing Corps of more than 7,000 nurses was announced, it was also revealed that she had been chosen over fifty other colonels for the post. TopChester County Historical Society Re-opens After having been closed for slightly more than two years for extensive remodeling and renovation of its quarters in the old Memorial Hall at 225 North High Street in West Chester, the Chester County Historical Society officially re-opened for its members and the public on October 6th. (The library had earlier re-opened on a part-time limited basis on July 9th.) Renovation on the Society's building included the addition of a second floor in the main section of the building, fire-proofing the interior, the addition of temperature and humidity controls to protect the Society's extensive collections, and the modernization of its display areas. Exhibits for the re-opening include "Timekeepers: Clocks and Clockmakers in Chester County", a special display of Chester County grandfather clocks; "Tucker Porcelain"; and "Chester County Furniture, The Best of the Collection". TopDuPortail Barn Demolition Stay Extended At the August meeting of the Tredyffrin Township Board of Supervisors, the stay on a descision as to whether the 1792 DuPortail barn should be demolished was extended for another 90 days. "At a series of weekly meetings," Supervisor Lee F. Seybert reported, "plans have been developing fairly rapidly and are nearing completion for the approval of the final steps that will not only make possible the preservation of the barn but constructive future use of the entire Duportail complex... One of the main ideas being considered by the Committee," he added, "is the development of a French enclave at the farm which would show through varied exhibits the continuing French influence on American history and culture." Applications have been made for various grants to help finance the barn's restoration, the cost of which is estimated at $200,000 or more, |
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