Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
History Quarterly Digital Archives

Source: January 2000 Volume 38 Number 1, Pages 39–40

Notes and Comments

• Club Banquet
• Berwyn Girl Celebrates 102nd Birthday
• A World War II Letter From Overseas

Page 39

Club Banquet

The annual club banquet held October 27, 1999 at Trinity Presbyterian Church featured a talk by Morrison Coulter, president of Philadelphia Sub­urban Water Company, on the history of water distribution in the area. Dr. Thomas Yohe, vice president Water Quality also attended.

The present day water works was started by American Pipe Manufacturing Company of Philadelphia during the mid-1890s to provide the Pennsylvania Railroad, and communities along the Main Line in Delaware and Chester Counties, with water. At that time the railroad required large amounts of water for its locomotives at Radnor, and at Glen Loch located six miles west of Paoli. The railroad retained American Pipe to develop a distribu­tion network, and the Pickering Creek water supply for the sites.

On July 23, 1895, officials of American Pipe incorporated five water com­panies: Easttown Water Company; Tredyffrin Water Company; Villanova Water Company, serving Radnor township; Willistown Water Company; and East Whiteland Water Company. One week after the five companies were chartered, Easttown Water was renamed Berwyn Water Company, and it acquired the other four distributors.

During its four years of existence, Berwyn Water developed the Pickering Creek pumping station near Phoenixville, and built Diamond Rock reservoir at the highest point on the line. It also laid pipes along the Lancaster Turnpike from Bryn Mawr to Glen Loch, providing public water to many.

In 1899, North Springfield Water Company acquired Berwyn Water. The growing water industry, shared by many companies, was consolidated on May 11,1925, when North Springfield Water and four other community suppliers were acquired by Philadelphia Suburban Water Company.

Page 40

Berwyn Girl Celebrates 102nd Birthday

Being born in Berwyn, Pa., during November of 1897, Miss Amanda Grubb is recognized as the oldest resident in Hutchinson House, an assisted living home in Devon. She celebrated her 102nd birthday on November 17. Amanda has lived on the Main Line all of her life and is proud of it.

A World War II Letter From Overseas

After four and a half years in the Army during World War II, a year and a half overseas, T/5 Halsey Frank Stanley of Berwyn, who was only waiting in Europe for discharge from the Seventh Army, found compensation for his wait by obtaining a ringside seat at the Big Four Conference at Potsdam which began July 1 7, 1945. In a letter published the following month in "The Berwyn Post," he wrote:

"We arrived just outside of Potsdam in a wooded area. We put up large tents the next day and began our work to get the place ready for the Big Four Conference. Everyone worked long, hard hours, for there was much to be done. The homes for the officers had to be scrubbed from top to bottom. Streets were cleared. Food had to be transported by truck. From the air fields, hundreds of enlisted men and officers came in each day or night. German civilians worked in the homes until 8:30 every day except Sunday under officers' supervision. The day before Mr. Truman and Mr. Churchill arrived, all civilians were forbidden entrance into the conference area. Even we had to show passes everywhere we went.

"About 11 o'clock, the morning the President was to arrive, the first sergeant came around and picked eight men to guard and handle the President's baggage. I was one of them, so we arrived at the airport via the secret route which was guarded by hundreds of Russians. The first ship to come in was the President's Flagship. It looked so big and powerful among the fighter escorts. Long before it landed, the Army band and Honor Guard were in their places waiting. I was very lucky to get a ring­side seat and saw each convoy of vehicles, which came within fifteen yards of where I stood. While waiting for the baggage planes to come, I was able to see President Truman, Mr. Churchill, Generals Ike, Marshall, Arnold, Admiral King and others. Since then I saw General Patton when he came to inspect the Second Armored Division.

"I have seen the President several times, but have not as yet seen Mr. Stalin. He is too well guarded."