Past Meetings

At the public meeting on September 16, 2007, the first of the Fall term and co-hosted by the Easttown Library, the featured presentation was:

We Scrapples

This program told the story of everyday life in Tredyffrin’s Great Valley during the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Our presenter was Society member Mr. Craig TenBroeck, whose mother Molly TenBroeck wrote a charming manuscript of her life and times with the humorous title We Scrapples: The Main Line as it Really Was. Two decades after her death, Craig found and edited the manuscript and, as a tribute to his mother, recently published the book.

Molly TenBroeck grew up in Wayne and lived all her life on the Upper Main Line. Her book describes life hereabouts in the mid-20th century — how real people from all walks of life, whether rich or poor, executive, farmer or commuter on the Paoli Local, lived during the war years and afterward. Especially if you have lived on the Main Line for a few years, you will almost certainly recognize names, places and events. She was a consummate story-teller, and her book is a great read!

Using previously unpublished photographs to augment passages from his mother’s book, Craig shared wonderful anecdotes about colorful characters, their lives and their foibles. Members of the audience also shared their recollections and filled in some missing details.