Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
History Quarterly Digital Archives

Source: October 1990 Volume 28 Number 4, Pages 162–164

Notes and Comments

• More on Road Names
• Tredyffrin Police Officer Honored
• WCAU Becomes WOGL
• New Tredyffrin Township Municipal Building Faces Opposition
• Welsh Cookies

Page 162

More on Road Names

After the previous issue appeared we received a telephone call from Bill Coulter, who lives at the corner of Kromer and Price avenues in Berwyn and is a grandson of David Preston, who for many years was the "village shoemaker" for Berwyn.

He called to let us know that Margo Lane in Berwyn was named for Margo Benham, the wife of Bill Benham, one of the developers of the area. He also noted that his father, William Coulter, in the 1920s owned a part of the old Francis estate, and was the one who extended Kromer Avenue to the east beyond the present Price Avenue.

Tredyffrin Police Officer Honored

Officer Jim Eckert, of the Tredyffrin Police Department, in June received from Congressman Dick Schulze the Congressman's Medal for valor above and beyond the call of duty. In April, during a fire in the building on Lancaster Avenue in Paoli in which the Army-Navy store is located, Eckert rushed into the burning building to rescue a barely conscious Bernadette Duffy from her smoke-filled apartment on the second floor above the store.

In making the presentation Congressman Schulze observed, "This medal is not often or lightly given. Every once in a while an officer does something extraordinary: he risks his life. ... I am pleased to honor you for your actions on duty. You were willing to risk your well-being for the citizenry of your community." The Congressman also noted, "We are proud of the Tredyffrin police, their actions and behavior. You are a part of that tradition. It reflects proudly on your community, state, and nation."

Page 163

The presentation marked only the fifth time the medal had been presented by Congressman Schulze over the past ten years.

WCAU Becomes WOGL

Radio station WCAU, which began broadcasting in Philadelphia in 1922 and was one of the oldest stations in the country, is no more: after more than 68 years, on August 15th its call letters were changed to WOGL.

During the 1930s WCAU was a favorite of many listeners, and especially those who had made their own radio sets, as its transmitter was then located in Newtown Square in neighboring Newtown Township and its signal came in "loud and clear". (The transmitter had been located there in 1931 on the theory that a high elevation was most desirable for an AM radio transmitter, a theory that later proved unfounded as the area of northeast Philadelphia was developed. In 1941 the transmitter was moved to Moorestown, N.J., where a low moist soil in fact provided better ground conductivity.)

The station, it was reported in the Philadelphia Daily News, was founded by William Durham, the owner of an electrical engineering and contracting business. It first went on the air on May 22, 1922 with an evening program of sports news and an hour each of piano and violin music.

Two years later it was purchased by Isaac and Leon Levy, who later were among the founders of the Columbia Broadcasting System, with WCAU the first affiliate of the new network. By 1931 the power of the station had been increased from the original 250 watts to 50,000 watts, and it was one of the biggest stations in the country, powerful enough to reach 32 states under good atmospheric conditions.

Shortly after the Second World War, in 1946, the station was sold by the Levys to the Philadelphia Record newspaper, and when the paper folded the following year it was acquired by the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. In 1957 it became the property of the Columbia Broadcasting Company, its present owner.

New Tredyffrin Township Municipal Building Faces Opposition

Plans to build a new and larger, more centrally located township building for Tredyffrin Township on a site at DuPortail and Mill roads have been met with opposition from groups contending that the land on which the building is to be erected should be preserved for open space. The proposed site for the new building was donated to the township by the trustees of the Chesterbrook Corporate Center.

Page 164

Both the Open Land Conservancy and Great Valley Association have opposed the construction of the building on a site that is zoned as a rural conservation district. One attorney representing the two groups pointed out that the "Chesterbrook open space is required to remain open space in perpetuity", and that placing the township building on the proposed site would be "violating the trust of the people of Tredyffrin".

In the face of this opposition the township officials are reviewing the options available to them, among them amending the current zoning ordinance or condemnation of the property. Another public hearing has been scheduled for October 1st. In the meantime, opponents of the plan have announced that they will go to court, if necessary, to block construction on ground designated as open space.

Welsh Cookies

In recognition of the Welsh heritage of our area, at the annual Club picnic last July Tom and Martha Pugh provided traditional Welsh cookies -- and delicious they were too!

Here is the recipe for them:

Sift flour, sugar, salt, nutmeg, and baking powder three times. Cut in shortening until mixture is all puddly.

Beat eggs and milk together and add gradually to flour mixture. This makes a real soft and gooey batter. Add currants. Roll on a floured board 1/4 inch thick and cut with cutter.

Bake on griddle about one minute on each side, or till slightly brown. Recipe makes about four, dozen cookies.