Our Community
Historic Newtown Square Day Celebrating Our Community, Past and Present by Christina Manning Photos courtesy of Newtown Square Historical Society (L- R): Jack Grant and Historic Newtown Square Day founder Sam Coco at Newtown Square Railroad Museum
drum corps with volunteers in costume as Betsy Ross and George Washington. They kicked off the Abe Lincoln (Doug Humes) speaks at 150th birthday party for Bartram Bridge in 2010 event at the Paper Mill Museum, and then went on to provide tours of eight historic locations in the township. That first year served as a template for what has become an annual event.”
(L- R): Madaleen Ellis, President, with invited guests George Washington, Ben Franklin and Betsy Ross
June will mark the 25th anniversary of Historic Newtown Square Day, a day filled with historic demonstrations, tours, delicious local food, and more. To learn about this community event, we talked with our local Historian, Doug Humes, about why this fun and educational event, sponsored by the Newtown Square Historical Society (NSHS), has become an annual local tradition. It all started in 1995, when Sam Coco, Stan Short and Jan and Sid Elston, all of whom Doug described as “the beating heart of the organization,” had an idea they called “Colonial Day,” a day-long celebration of our area’s Colonial history. One thing led to another, and with the help of dozens of volunteers, it became something so much more, “almost like a little Williamsburg.” On June 10, 1995, NSHS hosted the first Colonial Day, and Newtown Square families came together for some outdoor summer fun. Doug said the Opening Ceremony was “a fife-and-
$0
Each year since, the annual events have made countless memories for Doug, two of which involved weddings held at the Newtown Square Quaker Meeting House. In 1999, a Quaker wedding was featured, and Doug played the part of the groom. At the end of the day, there was a “wedding reception” at the Square Tavern, to which all volunteers were invited. Doug remembers a moment at that reception when he was sitting out in a beautiful moonlit summer night and marveling at the music, dancing and laughter behind this old tavern, which used to see its share of celebrations like that in the 1700s. He was struck by the thought: “What a great way to bring the community together and connect it to the past!” The second wedding involved Doug’s daughter, Elizabeth, who chose to do her high school senior year project re-enacting a Colonial wedding for Colonial Day. She even found the original records from the Newtown Quakers during the time of the American Revolution, incorporating those facts into an actual marriage that had occurred that year. All the hours of work that went into planning her wedding project seemed unlikely to be fulfilled when the night before the big day, a rainstorm rolled Let Our Personal Trainers Motivate You to Achieve Your Goals.
ENROLLMENT
(with Ultimate Membership)
Unlimited Guest Privileges Use of Any Retro Fitness Location Full Use of Club Amenities FREE Fitness Assessment & More!
SIGN UP TODAY! 484-420-4935 GYM HOURS: Monday-Friday 5am -11pm Saturday & Sunday 7am -7pm 18
Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors
4845 WEST CHESTER PIKE NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA 19073
May 2020
