Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
History Quarterly Digital Archives

Source: Spring 2005 Volume 42 Number 2, Pages 70–71

Notes and Comments

Page 70 - continued

Paoli Celebrates

"April showers bring May flowers," goes the old school ditty about changeable spring weather. The Paoli community, which includes contiguous neighborhoods in Tredyffrin, Willistown, and Easttown Townships, was all set to mark 250 years of its history on Saturday, April 30, 2005 with a parade down Lancaster Avenue at I0 o'clock followed by a Family Day from 12 noon to 4 o'clock on the grounds of Historic Waynesborough. The parade, using the theme of “Transportation Through The Ages,” was canceled due to safety concerns caused by a drenching rain, essentially wiping out community efforts in preparing floats, vintage vehicles, and parade entertainers for the event.

Family Day, sponsored by the Paoli Hardware Center, went off as scheduled, however, under a tent at Historic Waynesborough, where a large crowd enjoyed piles of food dished up by Aquilante's Catering and Clay's Bakery, face painting, live music, and tours of the adjacent historic mansion. Ed Auble, chairman of the 250th Celebration, said he felt that 90 per cent of the hoped for increased sense of community pride had been accomplished from the past three years of planning by many citizen volunteers.

A feature of the event was the honoring of “Unsung Heroes,” members of the Paoli community who support their area and special causes without any fanfare or recognition. A tree will be planted for each honoree to commemorate their service. Also, a portion of the funds raised will be given to the "Front Porch Fund" to give local high school students scholarships based on need and effort.

Page 71

PQ Corporation Opens Plant in China

PQ Corporation recently announced that as of February 1, 2005, it is operating under the ownership of JPMorgan Partners, who bought the company from descendants of the Elkinton family, the original founders. A history of the company, which moved its corporate headquarters to 1200 West Swedesford Road in Tredyffrin Township in 1973, was published in an 8-page article by John J. Curtin in the April 1988 issue of the Tredyffrin Easttown History Club Quarterly.

Known as the Philadelphia Quartz Company during its Philadelphia days, its name was changed to PQ Corporation in 1978. The company's plants produce sodium silicate, used in making detergent, pulp and paper, oil drilling adhesives, and other products. A new plant opened in early May in China, two hours east of Beijing, in Tianjin.

Paoli Hospital Recognized

For the second consecutive year, Paoli Hospital, a member of the Main Line Health System, has been named one of the Top I00 Hospitals in the United States by Solucient, a national health care data and consulting firm that identifies the premier hospital performers in the nation. Paoli was one of more than 1,000 medium-sized community hospitals (100-249 beds) studied. Evanston, IL-based Solucient used data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to determine its winners.

Performance levels were measured in five areas: quality of care, efficiency, financial performance, growing community service, and patient safety. Results were tabulated for five categories of medical facilities: major teaching hospitals (15 winners), teaching hospitals (25 winners), large (250+ beds) community hospitals (20 winners), medium (100 to 249 beds) community hospitals (20 winners), and small (25 to 99 beds) community hospitals (20 winners). Paoli is licensed for 176 beds. It has a medical staff of 450 plus 1,100 employees and 400 volunteers.

Route 202 Project Gets Accolades

When the 5-year highway project to widen and improve 5 miles of Route 202 between Gulph Road in Upper Merion Township and North Valley Road in Tredyffrin Township finished ahead of schedule in October 2003, everyone cheered. During National Engineers Week, February 20-26, 2005, the Delaware Valley Engineers Week Council memorialized the effort by naming it the region's Outstanding Engineering Achievement.

The project totaled $350 million in construction and engineering costs and necessitated moving the 300-year-old, 580-ton King of Prussia Inn and the onsite assembly of a 480-foot railroad bridge. Redesign of the interchanges with U.S. Route 422 and Interstate Route 76 (the Schuylkill Expressway) added a great deal of complexity to the work. In addition to the council's award, the Route 202 project won 6 other engineering awards from regional and national organizations.

CORRECTION

The photograph of the Daylesford Railroad Station on page 27 of the Winter 2005 issue is used with permission of the Rare Book Department, The Free Library of Philadelphia.