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Home : Quarterly Archives : Volume 34 |
Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society |
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Source: January 1996 Volume 34 Number 1, Pages 42–44 Notes and Comments
Annual Banquet A collector of old school books used between 1885 and 1950, Bill Nelson of Chester Springs, gave club members food for thought at the annual banquet held October 25. Using slide projected examples from his collection, he made the point that "school text book authors taught children to read, but at the same time used this direct avenue into a child's mind to pass along the values and ethics of society." The "readers" also taught health, compassion and respect -- for the flag, authority, parents, one another and even nature. Today's school books similarly influence youth but values have changed. Arrangements for the banquet, held at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Berwyn, were ably directed by Mildred Kirkner, and a pleasant evening of fellowship was had by all. TopNew Cumulative Index Prepared At the October meeting a much-needed new cumulative index for the Quarterly was made available, after almost a year of preparation. It covers Volumes I through XXXII, from 1937 through 1994, and contains over a thousand subject references. For convenience, the articles are divided into 68 subject categories. In addition, there is an author index. Over the years more than 240 persons have provided material for its contents. Reproduced on the next page is a resolution thanking Herb Fry for his efforts in the preparation of this index. A copy of the resolution was presented to him at the October meeting by Bob Goshorn on behalf of all the members of the club.
Top Club Officers Club officers elected at the November meeting to serve for the next two years are shown on page one. New in their positions are L. G. "Skip" Eichner, president, and Peggy Egertson, corresponding secretary. A special "thank you" is extended to past president Herb Fry and the other retiring officers, Martha Pugh, recording secretary, and Marian Aument, corresponding secretary. Their unfailing support of the Club and many contributions during their terms of office are sincerely appreciated. TopBerwyn Fire Company Honors 50-Year Member Henry "Zeke" Pyle, life-long resident of Berwyn [and incidentally a member of the History Club], was honored by about 100 friends, family and colleagues at the Berwyn Fire Company on September 21, 1995 in a surprise tribute marking his 50 years of service. Pyle, the youngest firefighter ever voted into membership, started his tour of duty at age 15 in 1945 while the company's older volunteers were fighting World War II. By the time he was 17 he became the company's youngest driver, and at age 21, its youngest chief engineer. His volunteer duties at the fire company, driving the trucks and keeping them in top repair, dovetailed beautifully with his day-to-day job as a truck mechanic at Berwyn's Mack Oil Company, just across the railroad tracks from the firehouse, where he was able to take time to leave for a fire call as well as do necessary mechanical work. For his dedication as a volunteer firefighter he was presented with letters noting his achievement from the governor and both houses of the state legislature, an American flag which had flown over the nation's capitol and best of all, a gold pocket watch. Wife June, who cut the cake at the celebration, married Zeke in 1957. She just smiled; she's seen it all. Firefighting runs in Pyle's family. His grandfather, Henry O. Garber, was a charter member of the fire company in 1894, as well as the driver of its first motorized fire truck. Zeke's father, Abram Pyle, married Garber's daughter Elizabeth, and was a volunteer fireman himself. Whitney Pyle, Zeke's daughter, now 32 and married, became the fourth generation of the family to gain membership. She was one of the first women members, and served eight years. |
