Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
History Quarterly Digital Archives

Source: Winter 2005 Volume 42 Number 1, Pages 29–31

NOTES AND COMMENTS

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YMCA Dedicates Plaque

The Upper Main Line YMCA celebrated its incorporation on October 15, 1962 by dedicating a commemorative plaque at Tredyffrin/Easttown Middle School marking the site of its first location 42 years ago. The YMCA's first programs were held in rented space at what was then the junior high school, now the middle school in Berwyn.

Through the good graces of the school district, the “Y” occupied a house next to the school which is no longer standing. The plaque will eventually be affixed to the exterior of the south wall of the school near the corner of Howellville and Old Lancaster Roads where the house stood. Herb Fry, who spoke briefly, represented the History Club at the ceremony.

Distinguished Citizen Award

The Distinguished Citizen Award of the Chester County Council of the Boy Scouts of America was presented to Thomas Fillippo, President and CEO of Devault Foods, on October 19, 2004 at a dinner at the Desmond Hotel.

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Devault Foods is a family-owned and operated business, founded by Fillippo's father in 1949. Today the firm is still based at the corner of Tredyffrin Township near Devault, where it produces a variety of processed meat products.

Fillippo's list of service positions is a long one. In the business world, he is chairman of the Chester County Chamber of Commerce, a board member of the Chester County Development Council, a member of the advisory board for First Financial Bank, and past president of the Great Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce. In his own industry, he is a board member of the American Meat Institute, past president of the Pennsylvania Meat Packers Association, and a member of the Eastern Meat Packers Association.

An alumnus of West Chester University, Fillippo is chairman of the university council of trustees, as well as a board member of the fund for West Chester University, the Sturzbecker Foundation, and the Killinger Foundation. He also serves the community as chairman of the Paoli Hospital Foundation Board, president of the Great Valley High School Alumni Association, and as a board member of both the Central & Western Industrial Development Authority and the Chester County Industrial Development Authority.

Two Landmark Buildings Demolished

Clark's Tavern, located at Lancaster and Lakeside Avenues on the east side of Berwyn since the middle 1930s, was demolished the last week of October 2004 by its new owners, an automobile dealership. After World War II, the premises was known as the Chesapeake Restaurant. A retaining wall, built in its place along Lakeside Avenue, will provide level space for additional used car sales display along Lancaster Avenue.

About one month earlier, shortly after Labor Day 2004, the crumbing former baggage building at the west end of the Devon train station, which dated from around 1890, was removed. It had become a public eyesore.

Tredyffrin Log Barn

The Richard-Jones Log Barn, saved from extinction in 2000, dismantled and put into storage, got a new lease on life in Tredyffrin recently. The Tredyffrin Historic Preservation Trust, formed to preserve and protect the barn, reached an agreement with Tredyffrin Township Supervisors on November 8, 2004, on a location in Wilson Farm Park, near Chesterbrook, where the pre-Revolutionary War structure will be reconstructed. It will be inside the park near the Anthony Wayne Drive entrance, just east of the parking lot. Funding, design, and construction issues remain to be worked out by the Trust.

Conestoga Celebrates 50 Years

Conestoga High School marks its 50th birthday this year. It opened its doors in September 1955 and graduated its first class of seniors in June 1956. As part of the celebration, the Conestoga Pioneer statue, the school's mascot for over 45 years, was recently restored and returned to its place in the school's main lobby. The Pioneer was the emblem of school spirit displayed in past yearbooks. Those voted as having the “Most School Spirit” were always photographed posing with the statue.

A common school prank was to remove the statue, photograph it in different places—the New Jersey shore, Atlantic City, the Poconos—and send the photos back for the yearbook. It was bolted to the floor to end its traveling days. Later an act of vandalism broke off the muzzle of the Pioneer's musket, and it was placed in storage.

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Now, thanks to the Conestoga Auto Body Company in Berwyn and employee Gary Page, the statue has been repaired and returned in time for the school's 50th anniversary year.

Historic Valley Forge Road Meeting House

Construction of a graceful meeting house of valley limestone was started in 1805 by parishioners of the Baptist Church in the Great Valley. The bicentennial of the event this year will focus on an extensive exterior and interior refurbishing program, including two new bollards to be installed at the front entrance to protect the front sidewalk, and three large chandeliers that are being rewired, polished, and lacquered.

The 1805 building replaced the earlier 26-foot square log cabin meeting house. The story goes that the logs from the original building were sold in 1810 and dragged by the purchaser up Valley Forge Road, to be used in constructing a stone building on the Lancaster Turnpike which shortly became the Lamb Tavern.

Easttown Library

A celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Easttown Library—now known as the Easttown Library & Information Center—began with a High Tea on January 2, 2005. To commemorate the centennial, the library published a centennial history pamphlet compiled by Neil Margolis of the Board of Trustees, edited by Director Peggy Mahan, and put on a CD-ROM by Youth Services Librarian Becky Sheridan.

New Superintendent Chosen for Park

Michael Caldwell has been named the new superintendent of Valley Forge National Historical Park. He assumed his duties on January 23, 2005 replacing Arthur L. Stewart, who retired after nine years at Valley Forge and forty years as a government employee. Caldwell, age 36, leaves the post of superintendent at Fort Stanwix National Monument in Rome, New York, where he served the past three years.

Caldwell arrives at Valley Forge at a time when there are two major projects on the agenda. One is the general management plan, a document that will guide the park's management and development for the next 20 years. The other is a proposed public-private partnership between the park and Valley Forge Historical Society to build the American Revolution Center, a $100 million museum that will be the only one in the nation devoted to telling the entire story of the Revolution. In addition, there is the perennial problem of what to do about the park's growing herd of white-tailed deer.

CORRECTION: The “Then... & Now” feature on page 140 of the Fall 2004 issue incorrectly gave the location of the former General Jackson Inn. It stood one building to the east at the present day address of 61 East Lancaster Avenue. Our apologies for the error.