Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
History Quarterly Digital Archives

Source: July 1988 Volume 26 Number 3, Pages 119–120

Notes and Comments

• New Principal Named at Conestoga High School
• Old Lobb House Razed
• Railroad Stations
• Correction

Page 119

New Principal Named at Conestoga High School

In May Dr. Daniel E. Waters was named the new principal of Conestoga High School, effective July 1. He succeeded the late Dr. John Rittenmeyer, who was killed in an automobile accident last December. Dr. Clifford Franks served as acting principal of the school during the six-months interim.

Dr. Waters, who had been the principal of the Souderton Area High School, was one of more than one hundred candidates for the position. He earned his Doctor of Education from Temple University, after studying at Villanova and at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He also did graduate work at Lehigh University.

In April, one of the elementary school principals in the District was honored when Dr. Thomas L. Tobin Jr., the principal at New Eagle School, was included in Executive Educator magazine's list of 100 top educational leaders in the United States. He was one of the youngest educators selected for this recognition by the magazine, and one of only four named from the state of Pennsylvania.

Old Lobb House Razed

The old Lobb house, once called "Montebello", at the corner of Berwyn and Woodside avenues in Berwyn, was recently torn down to provide additional parking space for St. Monica's Church. A woodcut of the residence, more than a century old, was included in the Futhey and Cope History of Chester County published in 1883. [See next page.] *

Preston W. Lobb was a businessman in Berwyn. Although he was born in Darby township, on March 1, 1844, he attended the common schools of Easttown Township. He then became a machinist, at which trade he worked until 1870, excepting three years spent in the army during the Civil War.

In 1861 he enlisted in an independent battery of flying artillery, later Battery F of the 5th United States Artillery. The unit participated in twenty-one campaigns, including the Battle of Ball's Bluff, the Peninsula campaign, and at Antietam and Gettysburg. Lobb was one of only five of the original company of 295 men who was not killed or wounded at some time during the war.

Page 120

"MONTEBELLO" RESIDENCE OF PRESTON W LOBB, BEWYN, PA.

In 1870 he started a lumber, coal and feed business in Berwyn, which he later sold to William Fritz in 1886. Six years later, he purchased P. J. Trego's plumbing, stove, tinware, and roofing business.

His wife was the former Priscilla L. Barton, whom he married in 1886. The couple had five children. Lobb was active in the Berwyn Baptist Church, the Masons, the short-lived Lyceum, and many other community activities.

Railroad Stations

In May the Tredyffrin Board of Supervisors voted unaminously to add the Strafford railroad station to its list of buildings of historic interest.(The structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 26, 1984J

In the meantime, the 107-year old Berwyn station has undergone extensive modification. The old waiting room, to which a glass-enclosed area has been added on the south side of the building, is now a frame shop and art gallery, while space on the second floor has been occupied by an architectural firm.

Correction

In the October 1987 issue [Vol. XXV, No. 4] the maiden name of the late Mrs. Edward TenBroeck was incorrectly reported. Her correct maiden name was Mary (Molly) Atmore. We thank Virginia Wilson for calling the typographical error to our attention.