“And Who is Eakins?”

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on “And Who is Eakins?” By late 1912, in his sixty­-eighth year, Thomas Eakins – who today is frequently referred to as the greatest of American painters, notwithstanding more familiar names such as Homer, Whistler and Wyeth­ – was a tired and ailing man. The compact, rugged physique he had retained throughout his middle years had finally given way; first, briefly, to an almost delicate obesity; then, with...
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Bedlam in Penn’s Woods

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Bedlam in Penn’s Woods Pennsylvanians have been concerned with the welfare of the insane since the earli­est provincial days. Indeed, as befits the Commonwealth’s humanitarian Quaker heritage, Pennsylvania has made pio­neering efforts in the field. For most of the pre­Revolutionary period, care of the mad was restricted to physical support and occa­sional confinement for public safety. Victims’ families...
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A Salute to the Bicentennial of the Keystone State

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on A Salute to the Bicentennial of the Keystone State The current Bicentennial celebration commemorates not the birth of the United States, but the proclama­tion of thirteen British-American colonies that were “free and independent states” as of July 4, 17.76. When they formed a loose compact in 1761, their articles of confederation declared that “each state retains its sover­eignty, freedom and independence.” The...
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A Tour Through Very Early York County

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on A Tour Through Very Early York County Everyone has some interest in the past, even if only an intrinsic realization that our present existence is shaped by past experiences. For many, there is a much greater aware­ness of our debt to the past, or at least an abiding interest in prior human events and products. The degree and reasons for these curiosities vary enor­mously: from the function of a rusted tool, or the fascina­tion with...
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A Woman’s Day: Work and Anxiety

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on A Woman’s Day: Work and Anxiety Many books and articles have been written about the lives of early Pennsylvania coal miners and their involvement in labor-management strife, unionization problems, and mine disasters. But has anyone remembered the women who packed the miners’ dinner pails, washed their blackened clothing, and waited in anguish outside the mines when disaster struck? The lives of these women also were...
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Gardens Change with Time

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Gardens Change with Time William Penn’s wish that Philadelphia, the capital of his colony, should be a “Greene Country Towne” never was to come to fruition. The town’s settlers really preferred a re-creation of London in miniature. However, gardens and gardening have been an important aspect of the Pennsyl­vania heritage. Gardening has been practiced as a fine art and as a necessity based upon...
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William Darlington, A Man for Our Age

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on William Darlington, A Man for Our Age The first citizen of Chester County to receive the Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania, William Darlington was one of the organizers of the Chester County Medical Society. Read out of Meeting by the Society of Friends for serving in the War of 1812, Darlington was elected to Congress in 1815 and was a member of the House of Representatives for six of the next eight years....
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Ben Solowey: The Thing Speaks for Itself

Posted by on Nov 27, 2013 in | Comments Off on Ben Solowey: The Thing Speaks for Itself In a career that spanned more than six decades, Ben Solowey (1900-1978), painted, sculpted and created exactly as he wanted. He paid no attention to what was fashionable or lucrative at the moment, cultivated no distinguished patrons, sought little publicity and asked for no exhibitions; unsolicited, the work nevertheless came to him. Although he gained renown for his portraits of the American...
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Lee of Conshohocken

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Lee of Conshohocken Shortly after the end of World War II, Pope Pius XII received a small group of GIs from the U.S. Occupation Force. Following the benediction. he asked them where they lived in America. “New York, New York,” answered one. “Very big … bigger even than Rome,” the Pontiff replied as he turned to another, “And you?” “California, Los Angeles.”...
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Pennsylvania Gridiron: Washington and Jefferson College’s First Century of Football

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Gridiron: Washington and Jefferson College’s First Century of Football Gentlemen, you are now going to play football against Harvard. Never again in your whole life will you do anything so important. Yale’s noted football coach T.A.D. Jones delivered his message just as his team was going out to defend Yale Bowl against its ancient rival. But it’s not only coaches whose pas­sion for football is ardent­ – millions play the game on high school,...
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