Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
History Quarterly Digital Archives

Source: Fall 2004 Volume 41 Number 4, Pages 135–137

Notes and Comments

Page 135

A New Principal at Conestoga High School

In the interest of maintaining an unbroken record of those who have served as principal at Conestoga High School, we report that during the short interval when publication of the Quarterly was interrupted in 2001-02, Timothy Donovan was appointed principal effective July 1, 2002 to succeed Susan Yates who had retired.

Mr. Donovan obtained a B. A. degree in History from Holy Cross College and an M. A. in Education from Villanova University. He holds a principal/supervisor certification from Pennsylvania State University and is pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership at the University of Pennsylvania. He began working for the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District as a teacher at Conestoga of world cultures, European history, and philosophy. He is listed in Who's Who Among America's Best Teachers. He was a faculty sponsor of extracurricular activities, an assistant football coach in 1994, and then head football coach for three additional years. He was named Central League Coach of the Year in 1996. He serves on the District Strategic Planning Committee and the District Safety Committee.

Easttown Township Tricentennial

Several important events continued the year-long celebration of Easttown Township's tricentennial. A township history, Easttown: Old in History, Young in Spirit, by C. Herbert Fry, past president of the Tredyffrin Easttown History Club, was published on March 1. The 154-page book stimulated interest in the history of the township and added to an understanding of its beginnings.

An art show and sale at Hilltop House the week of May 16-22 featured 12 Easttown artists and their original paintings which appeared in the tricentennial calendar, as well as works by other artists from "The Art League." The show opened with a "Meet the Artists" reception on Saturday, May 15.

An official tricentennial walking tour of Berwyn on July 15 was sponsored by the Berwyn-Devon Business and Professional Association and the Tredyffrin Easttown History Club. Twenty volunteers led over two hundred walkers through the avenues of Berwyn. Some visitors came from other parts of the county and state.

All of Easttown's residents were invited to a "very special picnic" September 11 on the grounds of Historic Waynesborough to celebrate the tricentennial. Activities included food and soft drinks from Aquilante's Catering, music, history reenactments, and the presentation to the township of a "time capsule" prepared by Conestoga High School students to be opened in 2104, one hundred years from now.

Conestoga High School Dedicates Plaque to Veterans

On May 26, 2004 the Berwyn Veterans Memorial Committee presented and dedicated a bronze plaque naming the 38 graduates of Conestoga High School and Tredyffrin-Easttown High School - the predecessor of Conestoga - who lost their lives while serving in the United States armed forces during World War I, World War II, the Korean conflict, and the Vietnam War.

The plaque will be installed in the main lobby of the newly renovated Conestoga High School.

Taking part in the dedication were William DeHaven, member of the committee and a Tredyffrin Township supervisor, committee member Neil McAloon, and Conestoga principal Timothy Donovan. Colors were presented by the Color Guard from the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.

Page 136

Easttown Resident Authors Book

David Zucchino, Easttown resident and Los Angeles Times foreign correspondent, spent the winter and spring of 2003 embedded with U.S. solders fighting in Iraq. His experiences with the 2d Brigade of the 3d Infantry Division were reported in a series of articles for the Times and became the basis for his book, Thunder Run: The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad. Zucchino is a former reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer who received the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of the last days of apartheid in South Africa in 1989. His Iraq articles qualify him as a finalist for a 2003 prize. In July he attended a book signing at Barnes & Noble and spoke about his book at the Easttown Library and Information Center.

Journalist Helped Preserve Our Local History

Helen Tyson Cooper, a news journalist for the Wayne Suburban Newspapers for over 30 years, died on August 4, 2004 at Bryn Mawr Hospital. She was the wife of the late Chester R. Cooper. The onset of cancer had curtailed her activities in recent years. She had an affinity for local history, no doubt nourished by her father, John H. Tyson, who was an educator in Upper Darby schools for nearly half a century and was also the editor/author of a history of Upper Darby Township published in 1972.

Helen wrote "The Restoration of Waynesborough," published in the Winter 1976 issue of the Tredyffrin Easttown History Club Quarterly. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The article dealt with the conservation of the Waynes' home by Orrin Wickersham June - Mrs. June was a Wayne - and was adapted from a series which appeared in the Wayne Suburban in 1976. Four years later in 1980, when Easttown Township purchased Waynesborough from Mr. June, Helen wrote two more articles for the Suburban on June 5 and 12 reporting the transfer of ownership.

She was a good friend of Robert M. "Bob" Goshorn, past president of the Tredyffrin Easttown History Club and editor of the Quarterly for 17 years until his death in 1995, when she wrote a memorial biographical sketch for the Suburban. In 1998 Helen wrote a full page Suburban Spotlight article featuring a History Club meeting devoted to "The Mills on the Darby Creek." On January 31, 2002, she did another full page Suburban Spotlight as a kickoff for Easttown's Tricentennial celebration. As late as March of this year she was working with a committee planning a publication for the Paoli 250th anniversary.

Conestoga High Graduate Wins Olympic Gold

The summer Olympic Games in Athens August 11-26 had a not widely-known local connection. A member of the Gold medal-winning U.S. women's soccer team, which defeated Brazil 2-1 in the finals, was Kristin Luckenbill, the team's no. 2 goalie, a resident of Paoli, and a Conestoga High School graduate of 1997.

She was a Parade All-American and Pennsylvania Player of the Year at Conestoga High before going to Dartmouth. In college, she was Ivy League Player of the Year and All-Ivy three years in a row. She holds the Dartmouth record for all-time shutouts and goals against average. Following college, she joined the new women's professional soccer league - WUSA - with the Carolina Courage where she led all goalies with 12 wins and 114 saves in 2002 and helped the Courage defeat the Washington Freedom to win the Founder's Cup. The next stop was an invitation to the U.S. team's training camp where she was selected no. 2 goalkeeper.

Police Shootout in Easttown Field

An event in Easttown Township on September 9, 2004 was a chilling reminder that police officers are sometimes called upon to fire their weapons in defense of themselves and the residents they work to protect.

Page 137

A bank robbery occurred in Limerick, Montgomery County and the driver of the getaway car, lost on the way back to Philadelphia, wound up on East Lancaster Avenue in Easttown. An Easttown police officer stopped the car for what appeared to be an ordinary speeding violation. But the ordinary turned extraordinary when the officer saw a passenger in the trunk of the car and the driver sped away. The driver surrendered after driving the car into a field near Boulder Lane. Tredyffrin police officers also joined the fray. Then the suspected bank robber got behind the wheel and drove further into the field, shooting at the pursuing police cars. In the ensuing melee, the officers shot and killed the suspect.

Tredyffrin Township Park Opens

The long-awaited dedication and grand opening of the 90-acre Wilson Farm Park took place at 11A.M. on Saturday, October 2, 2004 just inside the Lee Road entrance. The Paoli Scout Troop #1 Drum and Bugle Corps presented the colors and raised the flag and the Conestoga High School Marching Band played the national anthem.

Under a portable tent erected because of threatening weather, Robert Lamina, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, presented words of welcome and introduced the distinguished guests: Carole Rubley, State Representative, Bob Thompson, State Senator, and Jim Gerlach, U.S. Representative. Jack Trimmer, Chairman of the Park and Recreation Board, and Robert Wise, President of the Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust, recognized the corporate sponsors of the park. Jim Garrison, Chairman of the township Historic Architectural Review Board, spoke about the historic significance of the event. After remarks and reminiscences by William F. Wilson and William Nassau of the Wilson family, Judy DiFilippo, Vice Chair of the Board of Supervisors and Chair of the Dedication Committee, led the cutting of the ribbon opening the park. Judy's efforts in promoting the park deserve special mention.

A lengthy schedule of grand opening events was postponed for one day by the weather until Sunday, October 3, which turned out to be sunny and mild. The activities were enjoyed by a large turnout and the celebration closed with fireworks at dusk.

Wilson Park map (from back cover)