April 2015

RANGE NEWSLETTER

Volume 40 Number I

Annual Meeting Celebrates FOG's 40 Years and William Penn

F riends of the Grange w ill ho ld its Annual Meeting on Thursday, May 7 in the Grange Mansion at 7 pm. As we are comm emorating o ur 40th

anni versary of stewardship of the Grange Estate, we want to a lso recognize and celebrate Will iam Pe nn, the man who began it a ll.

Nancy Webster, noted loca l hi storian and Quaker scho lar, will g ive a presentation on " William Penn: 2 1st Century Man," outlining Penn 's vis ion for an urban,

multi-cultural, multi- re lig ious soc iety that made Pennsy lvania unique among the co lonies. His ideas pleased and inspired some while frustrating

others. Ms. Webster w ill make the case that Penn and his concepts would fit into the dialogue of today's Philadelph ia.

This meeting and presentation is free of c harge and the public is invited to attend. Our own Will iam P. Penn, pres ident of Frie nds of the Grange,

w ill preside over a brief business meeting and deliver the annual State of the Grange report to begin the evening. Light refreshme nts will be offered upon

conclusion of the meeting.

The Remembrance Garden Amphitheater Stage

Our volunteers completed the core platform of our amphitheater stage in time for our holiday celebrations (note the wreath on the bathhouse ruin). Plans are now being finalized for the electrical and lighting components of the venue. Construction of the entryways, including a handicap accessible ramp and pathways, will be the next major phase of the project. Please keep our "Make Remembrance a Reality" funding campaign in mind so that we can continue to move the project forward.

143 Myrtle Avenue • Havertown, PA 19083 61 0-446-4958 www.thegrangeestate.org

Hello Friends of the Grange - Bill Penn here, It is our favorite time of the year at the Grange Estate

- Early Spring! We are all so tired of the cold and damp, that this spring is especially welcoming and desired by everyone!

We have had an exceptional holiday season and we are moving forward into our busy wedding season. On Sunday, April 19 of this year, Friends of the Grange honored a longtime member, Mrs. Ellie More. The Haverford Township choir "Seventh Heaven" was here to perform and the members of Ellie's family were very moved and appreciative of her memorial. It was a beautiful day and I would like to thank the volunteers who helped organized the event. Thank you, Mrs. Jacqueline Langley, musical director for coordinating the choir and giving us an excellent performance.

This is a very special year for the Historic Grange Estate and the Township of Haverford. It was 40 years ago in May 1975 when Friends of the Grange, Inc. became the organization to manage the Grange Estate. Our major functions include the collection of material on the history of the property and the people involved in its development and that of the surrounding community, the dissemination of this collected information and the preservation of the Grange. As they say, easier said than done!

We need many more members and volunteers to continue our mission of conservation. Tell all of your friends that you belong to the Grange and how wonderful and historic this property is and how important it is to the community. On that note, I wanted to inform you that considering we are short-handed and stretched to the max, it was decided that we would forgo our Savor the Flavor event. We are optimistic that we will hold the event again next season. If you have any interest in participating in the planning and management of the event, please contact the office via email, and we will start the preparation for this event during the fall and winter months.

We have mailed our annual membership renewal letters and I am hoping you have completed them and returned · them to the office. Every donation is used to preserve and maintain the Grange Estate. To our dedicated volunteers -in the gardens, event planning and management and overall, I genuinely appreciate all of your efforts and you have my sincerest gratitude.

Please make plans to visit the Grange and walk around the grounds and I thank you for your supportl

PastPerfect Now [Part of] Our Present

This February Friends of the Grange purchased the PastPerfect museum management software. This

program will bring our recordkeeping capability into the 21st century for our collection of furniture, household accessories, paintings, and other objects and artifacts in our possession. Computerizing the records will enable us to duplicate the records and store them in multiple locations. Presently our paper-based documentation is cumbersome and, as largely singular copies, at risk of loss.

Aside from a range of administrative advantages, the PastPerfect program will aid us in the fun part of our mission as we'll be able to share our story with visitors and answer questions in more depth and with more authority. Our tour

143 Myrtle Avenue

guides could ultimately have more readily available access to information about each item on display. We will have records of acquisitions, what is on loan to us, date details when known, perhaps some unique back story attached

to the piece, and other information gathered which will assist in passing along a more complete and interesting picture.

Purchase of the software was made possible by multiple donations from members and supporters expressly interested in preserving our historical records. We are most grateful for their generosity in furthering our mission "To collect and care for materials relating to the history of the Grange Estate and its owners and to use these materials to interpret the heritage of the property to the community at large."

Havertown, PA 19083

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The Bees - Starting Over

This last winter was a very cold one for all of us. It was especially damaging for the bees. Usually, in the winter, the bees cluster together, vibrate their bod ies, and keep the cluster warm. Even on the coldest days, the queen in the center is kept at temperatures over 90 degrees. However, with the extreme co ld temperatures of this winter, they were overwhelmed. None of the Grange hives survived.

We know that the best chance for our bees to survive is to obtain ones raised in the north where d1ey have been adapted to the colder cl imate. We found a place in West Grove (Swarmbustin ' Honey) where they se ll these northern bees. Instead of sh ipping them loose in a box, they are so ld already on hive frames.

Our hive boxes have I 0 frames where the bees store their

honey, lay their eggs, and ra ise the brood. The bees we bought are in half hives of 5 frames called nucleus hives or "nucs." One advantage is they are organized and have already started laying eggs and raising brood. So on April 16th we picked up two nucs and installed them in two of our I 0-frame hives. We added some frames of honey from our old hives to give them a good start.

So far, they seem to be very gentle and are busy at work with brood and honey. Now WE wil l be busy making sure to control the black hive beetles, the wax moths and the mites. In today's beekeeping, the problems are never ending and we have to be ever vig ilant to be successful.

So -- all fingers crossed!

8'eP RcnPt

Let's Talk History

Beginnings I,'

With a section of our newsletter called "Let's Talk History" I could write on almost anything. But in the

40th anniversary yea r of The Friends of the Grange I want to talk about when The Grange was up for sa le. There were a lot of people striving to "Save the Grange." Among this group was one of our first FOG members, Beverly Rorer. Yes, the same Bev Rorer still working for our Grange. She can be found fully involved with the beehives and also giving tours of the mansion and our beautiful grounds! Just this past year she met up with former Haverford Township residents visiting on a weekday and gave them a grand full tour. The two coup les where so impressed they handed her a really generous donation of over I 00 dollars.

When FOG first got started managing The Grange they found beekeeping equipment in the attic of the carriage house. So with the help of local beekeeper Bob Fox, Bev set up a beekeeping project for FOG. As we all know, good plans sometimes have to be altered. Bev would have li ked thi s to have been a student-run project but 40 years later it is running with four active adu lt members and an occasiona l assist from some young fo lks. I still remember her smile when she told that story to us last winter when we took her oral history.

' B~erly !<:>_Ld us a~out a fa~10L~s loc~ !101ticulturist with a

backg"r<(Ul}d rn filni who spent ttQ)~e a~Tke Grangl? but wa~ upset wl1e1f ~.e- tt'ad to remove the ivy""~l1the iong ban\ wall. Yes, it looked lovely but it was destroy ing the building. He stopped helping at the Grange.

It was a pleasure hearing the stories of the fi ght to the last day to save The Grange. Would they rea lly have to stand in front of equipment ready to demolish the mansion? We are grateful that we can say no. Haverfo rd Township agreed to buy the property after a second generous proposal from the heir of Margaret Hoffman, the last private owner of The Grange, to al low the township to buy the property at a great price.

In addition to helping save and still supporting The Grange, Beverly is very active with the Upper Darby Historical Society. She was a co-founder of that society and a co-author of their Arcad ia book on Upper Darby.

So if you get a chance, take the time to talk to Bev and find out how we were lucky that a woman born in Texas fou nd her way to our neighborhood and was able to add her strength to d1e effort to save a lot of local history.

This article is based on an oral history conducted in November 2013. FOG has begun an oral history project interviewing persons connected to The Grange. If you know of anyone who has had an interesting relationship with The Grange and might be a candidate, please contact the office. We have begun the interviews with people who were involved in saving The Grange or who pre-dated the acquisition of the property, but we're most interested in capturing voices and stories before they are lost. We want to make this an ongoing project and to expand its scope as time and resources permit. We are grateful to those who have shared their memories and hope you will enjoy them. In the future we hope to make the digital recordings available for you to hear our history in these first person accounts.

grangeest@verizon.net www.thegrangeestate.org

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20 l 5 Grange Estate Dates to Remember! .. /· ..... :i: .. ~ "':" '" .. .#

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." SUMMER NATURE CAMP at the GRANGE ESTATE

... Bafnett Environmental Center in the Carriage House

Conducted by the Colonial P lantation of Pennsylvania

Two one-week nature camps at the Grange Estate

Monday to Friday, Half-day Sessions

Morning session - 9:30 am to Noon, 4-6 year olds

Afternoon session - 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm, 6-10 year olds

$90 per week for Haverford Township Residents

$100 for non-residents

WEEK OF MONDAY, JULY 13 to FRIDAY, JULY 17

Morning Course Name: Stra11ge New World

Afternoon Course Name: Living Witll tile Laud

WEEK OF MONDAY, AUGUST 3 to FRIDAY, AUGUST 7

Morning Course Name: A Pirate's Life for Me

Afternoon Course Name: Black Flags

For more infonnation and registration materials,

Please call the office at 610-446-4958

Email Friends of the Grange at grangeest@verizon.net

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Thursday, August 6 - 7:00 pm FAMILY FUN NIGHT: Magic Show and Ice Cream Treat Family entertainment by "Magic by Poly" www.magicbypoly.com

Admission is $6.00 per person . St. James United C hurch of Christ Fellowship Hall 135 My11le Avenue, Havertown, PA

Please send email inquiries to grangeest@verizon .net Advance Reservations - No tickets available at the door\ Please send payment to: Friends of the Grange

143 Myrtle Avenue, Havertown, PA 19083 This event fills up quickly! Make reservations ASAP! Family Fun Entertainment and delicious ice cream treats at a great bargain!

Saturday, September 12 - 9:00 am - Noon ATTIC TREASURES SALE Rain or Shine in the Carriage House Check out all the great items featuring Housewares, decorative objects, furniture, jewelry, books and novelties. You wi ll find some interesting bargains. Please call if you have any items to

donate before Monday, August 3 I.

Sunday, October 11 - l :00 - 4:00 pm OPEN HOUSE: Pumpkin Painting & Scarecrow Workshop Pumpkin painting begins at I :30 pm and costs $5.00 Scarecrow making begins at I :00 pm and costs $5.00 NOTE: Please bring your own clothing for stuffing! Start your holiday shopping in our Grange Gift Shoppe where a wide selection of gifts wi ll be available

October 25 - Last Day of Tours for the 2015 season