Tag: World War I

Wayne’s First Baptist Church, part 8 – demolition on Conestoga Road site, re-build on Lancaster Pike west of the Trust Company as Central Baptist Church, Davis’ sons killed in Civil War named & Stilwell of WWI

/ Emma C. Patterson

The five-year-old boy standing in the doorway of his father’s hardware store on Conestoga road watched the tall bell tower of the Old Radnor Baptist Church as it came crashing down several weeks ago as part of the work of demolition of the 60-year-old edifice.

“God must be crying”, he said solemnly.

“Why?”, a bystander asked small Anthony Fillipone.

“Because they are tearing down His House”, the boy replied.

Few perhaps could express in words what Anthony had said so simply. And yet all much feel a sense of sadness at the vacant southeast corner of old Conestoga road, where it is intersected by West Wayne avenue. For 60 years one of Wayne’s largest and most stately stone churches had stood there. For 50 years before that its people had worshipped in the small building that had previously stood on this same site. Now all that remains is a great pile of stone, fallen in on the foundations of the former church. Soon even these stones will be hauled away, and the last vestige of the old Radnor Baptist Church will be wiped from the landscape.

And yet it is inevitable that this should have come to pass. The last entry in the old Church Record Book is under date of January, 1929. It is but three lines long and states simply: “After struggling along for several years now with only a handful of attendance to pay a pastor, we decided to discontinue services.”

Just a year before, the church had “received its greatest loss when two of our oldest and most loyal members answered the call of the Great Beyond”. Mrs. Sarah M. Siter was a member of the church since 1893. For many years she faithfully served as church treasurer and also on the Board of Trustees. Mrs. Mary E. Longacre, who until her death was the oldest living member of this church, died April 5th.

It was in May, 1896, only six years after the completion of their handsome new church building that a special business meeting was called “for the purpose of considering the advisability of securing a location for our Church and re-building near the center of the town”. A motion to this effect was defeated by a narrow majority of three votes.

In July, 1896, another meeting was called “by order and in behalf of the Board of Trustees.” The call to this meeting states: “The lot which we hope to procure, and which is valued at $6,000, has been offered to us for $1,500. Towards this amount, interested friends have pledged $1,000. If the Church would raise $500 we could secure the most desirable location for a church in our town.”

Again the idea of moving to a new location was rejected, this time by a slightly larger majority. Then at a meeting held early in November of 1896 at the home of one of the members a resolution was passed “to form a new Baptist Church in Wayne” and to build on a lot on Lancaster avenue, west of the Trust Company”. This is, of course, the site of the present Central Baptist Church. Those who had decided on this step asked for “the encouragement and sympathy of the entire membership of the First Church, since they believed “that the erection and maintenance of a Baptist church in a more central location would result in greatly blessing the community and the building up of the Christian life of those who hold to Baptist faith and principle.”

The tersely worded reply of those who wished to remain in the church on Conestoga road is as follows:

“We, the undersigned members of the First Baptist Church of Wayne, do agree to stay in the present church building to worship and to support it, and let those who wish to go and build a new church, go, and leave us undisturbed in the future and may God be with them.”

And so the matter was settled. Soon thereafter the Central Baptist Church was built, just west of the Wayne Title and Trust Company on a lot extending from Lancaster pike to West Wayne avenue. And for more than 30 years there were two Baptist churches in the small community of Wayne.

In view of the widespread attention entered on the demolition of the old church building, it would be interesting to know who the architect and builder were, as well as the names of the building committee and the means by which funds were raised.

But church records regarding these matters were apparently not made, or if made, were not kept in the old record book. There is, however, a record of Dedication Day of November 30, 1892, conducted by the pastor, the Rev. John Miller, when Dr. Abbott, president of the Board of Trustees “made a report of all the money and donations given in helping to pay the church debt . . . the mortgage was then burned, while the congregation joined in singing the doxology.”

Resolutions adopted on this occasion “recognize the self-sacrificing devotion and untiring energy with which our beloved Pastor, Reverend John Miller and wife, have most efficiently and successfully borne the larger share of the burden involved in the achievement in which we now rejoice.” When this writer went through the old church just before its demolition, the portraits of the Reverend and Mrs. Miller still looked down from the walls upon the deserted church which, 60 years ago, they had been instrumental in erecting. These pictures have since been placed in the rooms of the Radnor Historical Society. The big three-toned bell, presented to the church in 1890 by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Childs, has been taken across Conestoga road, where it may be seen in front of the store of Louis Fillipone, new owner of the old church property. It was made by the McShane Bell Foundry of Baltimore, a firm established in 1856 and still in existence.

The old churchyard seemed very peaceful and quiet, despite the heavy traffic of Conestoga road, as the writer wandered through it on a recent afternoon. The stones bear the names of many families well-known in the annals of Wayne. The section just back of the church is the older part, while in the section beyond are the newer graves. Many of these graves were there long before 1890, when the large church replace the first small one. Deacon William Siter and his wife Emily lie side by side in one of the older lots, the former having died in 1857, the latter in 1878. There are Childs and Lewises, Pughs, Ramseys, Wilds and Rossiters, to mention but a few of the old-time family names of Wayne. A number of graves bear the G.A.R. insignia. No stone has a more touching inscription than that of “Our Sons . . . Corporal Thomas P. Davis, killed at the battle of Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862, aged 21 . . . also Sgt. Stephen S. Davis, killed at Petersburgh, Va., June 17, 1864, aged 22 years.” They were sons of Stephen and Mary Davis, early members of the church. There is also the grave of a veteran of World War I, Courtland Stilwell, of the 334th Field Artillery. It is pleasant to think that, even though the old church is but a memory, the money realized from its sale will assume perpetual care to the old graveyard.

(Conclusion)

The Radnor War Memorial, part 2 – American Legion, Chew Family, WWI

/ Emma C. Patterson

On Sunday afternoon, May 28, 1922, two days before Memorial Day itself, Radnor township’s memorial to its servicemen who gave their lives in World War I was unveiled. The unveiling ceremony was performed by a little girl and two small boys, all the children of men who fell in battle. They were Frances Cotter, daughter of William Powell Cotter, Supply Company, 315th Infantry, who was killed in September, 1918, and Pennington Howard Way and Gordon Townsend Way, sons of Lt. Pennington H. Way, of the 96th Aero Squadron, who was shot down in a fight with eight German planes at the beginning of the St. Mihiel drive. These three children pulled the cords which drew back the veiling flags from the bronze.

This ceremony followed the dedication address given by Senator George Wharton Pepper, who was introduced by Captain Sydney Roberts, at that time commander of Anthony Wayne Post, American Legion, under whose auspices the ceremonies were held. Senator Pepper said in part:

“It seems to me that but little speaking is in order when grateful friends gather to pay tribute to those who did not speak, but achieved. We are assembled here where two roads meet and where the stream of life flows ceaselessly by. Presently we shall pass on and everything will look as it was before we came. But in that brief interval something will have happened that will have changed the spot forever.

“In that brief time, we shall, by dedicating this memorial, have given it a tongue with which to speak. It will bid the traveler pause and listen to the message that this spot is sacred forever to the men and women of this community who offered their lives when their country called. Twenty were taken. Today that 20 are part of the great community of invisible comrades, an army of occupation on that far shore, holding a place there for those of us who prove worthy. Shall we not here highly resolve to lead our lives so that when we join those twenty they will salute us?”

In the bright sunlight of a quiet Sunday afternoon, members of Anthony wayne, American Legion, Bullock-Sanderson Post of Ardmore, and John Winthrop Post, of Bryn Mawr, headed by the Marine Band from the Navy Yard and a detachment of Marines, had marched from St. Davids to the center of Lancaster Pike and Ivan avenue when the war memorial stood ready to be unveiled.

The memorial itself stood on ground owned by the Chew family since pre-Revolutionary days. On behalf of his family, David Chew presented the property to Radnor township “forever” as part of the dedication services. These services were opened with a prayer by the Rev. Richard H. Gurley, chaplain of Anthony Wayne Post, followed by the singing of “America” by the children of the township schools. The report of the Monument Committee was read by its chairman, Mrs. Robert G. Wilson. After Mr. Chew had presented the deed to the property to William S. Ellis, then chairman of the Board of Commissioners, it was accepted on behalf of the people of the township by Mr. Ellis. Following the unveiling, the Marines fired a salute of three volleys and trumpeters played “taps.”

Several thousand people were present for this occasion, among them the families of servicement for whom special seats had been reserved. Servicement whose names are commemorated on the bronze plaque include those of Norman B. Hallman, William Bateman, Philip Overton Mills, Clinton Van Pelt Newbold, Thomas Roberts Reath, George H. Righter, David Rupp, 3d, William Henry Sayen Schultz, Alec Scott, Joseph Odorisio, William Powell Cotter, William Craig Dickson, Howard Ray Duncan, George Farrell, Thomas Foy, Clarence Patton Freeman, Edward Gallagher and Joseph M. Gardner. Above these names is this inscription:

“To the men and women of Radnor township who served in the World War and to those who gave their lives.”

The bronze bas-relief was the world of Dr. R. Tait McKenzie, of the University of Pennsylvania. In writing of it, Edith W. Powell, columnist of the “Public Ledger,” made some interesting comments. “Dr. McKenzie’s bas-relief,” she says, “shows at the top, forming a freize, a group of soldiers with pointed bayonets rushing up and forward . . . In this tablet the value of space for emphasis is at once obvious. The general design could not be more simple or more forceful and direct in the delivery of its message . . . First of all, in the freize Dr. McKenzie has succeeded in producing a convincing effect of strain and onrushing motion, a most difficult performance . . . it is not hard to realize that the necessity to incorporate a number of their pointed bayonets in a sculptured design presents a problem requiring considerable engineering ingenuity, and a delicate sense of composition. Dr. McKenzie’s management of the bayonets could not be more successful or interesting . . . Consider how their horizontal lines lead to the impression of thrust, and observe how expertly the directions of them are related to each other and to the carved boundary at the bottom.”

Dr. McKenzie himself gave high praise to Louis S. Adams, the St. Davids architect who designed the monument. “Mr. Adams,” he said, “has an unusual sense of fitness. Not only is the monument very fine in design, but it seems to me a matter of particular comment that he has so stained the marble with rusty color that it harmonizes with the field stone of the wall. I feel sure many architects would have been satisfied to leave the glaring white of the marble as it was.”

The beauty of the monument has always been enhanced by the background of trees. The planting of flowers and shrubs on the plot was the especial gift of school children of Radnor township.

The account book of the Memorial Fund, so carefully kept by the treasurer, Miss Grace Roberts, shows that in all $9,610.78 in money contributions was received for the erection of the Memorial. This represents contributions, both large and small, from many hundreds of people. In addition, there were countless gifts other than money, such as the land given by the Chew family, the stone for the wall, plans for the memorial, printing of all stationery, slides for motion pictures, bunting and flags for the dedication, the services of buses, the use of chairs for the dedication and many other items of equal importance. The monument was in truth the gift of the community itself to commemorate its warrior dead of World War I.

Until almost a month after the dedication checks continued to come in. By the middle of August all bills were paid. And on June 7, 1924, more than $1200 was turned over to the Board of Commissioners for the care and upkeep of the memorial, where on each Memorial Day since 1922 homage has been paid to the men of Radnor township who lost their lives in World War I.

(Your columnist is indebted to Miss Grace Roberts for the information contained in these two articles. Miss Roberts has not only kept intact the financial records, but the minutes of all meetings, the correspondence in regard to the memorial and several interesting newspaper clippings.)

The Radnor War Memorial, part 1 – “Society Circus”, WWI, Chew Family

/ Emma C. Patterson

July 4, 1951, passed as quietly in Wayne as many another July 4 of other recent years has done. On Monday, September 3, Labor Day will pass just as quietly. Practically the only outward indication of a holiday on these occasions is the constant flow of traffic from early morning until late at night along our great Lancaster highway. In the past there have been big celebrations in our small suburb, such as the “Society Circus” on Labor Day, 1913, when some 10,000 people gathered on the School Field to participate in a day and an evening of much fun and frolic. And this has been but one of many large holiday celebrations in Wayne.

But Memorial Day is somehow different, perhaps because of the feeling that we who live must never fail to pay tribute to those whose lives have been given for their country. Of late years ceremonies have been small and quiet. But, at least, there is always the decoration of graves and the march to the Radnor Township War Memorial on Lancaster and Ivan avenues. Its dedication on Sunday, May 28, 1922, was a solemn and impressive occasion. At that time it was the memorial to some 20 men from Radnor township who had given their lives in World War I. Within the last few years there has been another dedication added to the men and women of our community who lost their lives in World War II, in the Memorial Library of Radnor Township.

From the time of the conclusion of World War I, citizens of Radnor township had felt that their township, like many of its neighbors, must commemorate its war dead in some fitting way. Various plans were informally discussed from time to time, but it was not until the fall of 1921 that definite action was taken.

The first meeting of which there are minutes is the one of October 24, held at the home of Mrs. Robert G. WIlson in St. Davids. Those present in addition to the hostess were Mrs. William Henry Brooks, Mrs. Benjamin Chew, Mrs. Adolph G. Rosengarten, Mrs. J. S. C. Harvey, Mrs. Walter S. Yeatts, Mrs. A. A. Parker and Captain Clifton Lisle. Committee members who were absent included Mrs. Louis Jaquette Palmer, Mrs. Lewis Neilson, Miss Grace Roberts and Monsignor C. F. Kavanagh.

The form of the memorial had evidently been decided upon previously, as a large boulder with a bronze tablet and surmounted by a bronze eagle. Later there was an alternate plan for a “doughboy” instead of the eagle.

The big question of the moment seemed to be the selection of a suitable site for this boulder. Mrs. Brooks, as chairman of the committee on location, reported that her committee had made a tour of possible sites along Lancaster avenue from Rosemont to Wayne. As they progressed westward the first location to which they gave favorable consideration was the point where Radnor road meets Ivan avenue at the Pike, on the property owned in part by the Chew estate and in part by S. Deas Sinkler. “This location,” the minutes of the meeting state, “is considered to be the nearest to the geographical center of the township on the highway, and is desirable for the reason of the available space and the improvement it would be to the present dangerous crossing.”

Other possible sites, in the estimation of the committee, included the corner of Pembroke and Lancaster ovenues and the grounds in front of the Library. The triangle in the center of Pembroke avenue where it meets the Pike seemed to present a natural setting. Also this site was close to the center of Wayne. Still another location was brought to the attention of the committee at a later meeting when Oswald Chew spoke of the gold course, with the beauty of its background.

At the next meeting of the general committee, it was unanimously voted to place the memorial on the south side of Lancaster Pike at its intersection with Ivan avenue. The ground for this was given by the Chew family.

The plans for a large boulder were soon abandoned in favor of those for the memorial as it now stands. This was designed by Louis S. Adams, a well-known Philadelphia architect who lived in Radnor township. Appropriately Colonial in style and set against a background of trees, its design called for a low wall of stone with benches of stone in front of it. In the center there was to be a bas-relief of bronze showing a group of soldiers going over the top, bayonets in hand. This was to be the work of Dr. R. Tait McKenzie, of the University of Pennsylvania.

With definite plans in hand the committee set to work to raise the $10,000 which was the estimate cost of the entire project. Some few checks had already been received before letters were mailed to all citizens of the township, giving each one an opportunity to contribute in any amount, however large or small, to a project that was to be one “of the entire township, not of any special organization.” From that point work on the memorial was so steady and so rapid that it was easily ready for unveiling on the Sunday before Memorial Day of 1922.

Mrs. Robert G. Wilson was general chairman of the entire project form its beginning, while Miss Mary DeHaven Bright was secretary and Miss Grace Roberts, treasurer. In addition to those already mentioned in this article the following served actively on the Memorial Committee: Rev. Dr. W. G. W. Anthony, Mrs. Archibald Barklie, Mrs. W. Allen Barr, Rev. J. W. Brooks, Rev. J. C. Burbage, A. W. Canizares, Robert K. Cassatt, Captain Benjamin Chew, David S. B. Chew, Charles E. Clark, William S. Ellis, Rev. J. W. Elliot, Mrs. F. B. Embick, Rev. R. H. Gurley, Miss Nancy Hallowel, C. Willing Hare, Horace B. Hare, Mrs. C. C. Harrison, DeWitt P. Henry, William K. Holman, Dr. G. L. S. Jameson, Dr. Guy C. Lawson, John D. Lengel, Rev. Crosswell McBee, George McFadden, Mrs. Paul Denckia Mills, Mrs. W. A. Nichols, Major M. A. Pugh, Henry Roever, S. V. Rowland, Rev. E. W. Rushton, Rev. Charles Schall, Mrs. Emilie Sayen Schultz, C. C. Shoemaker, S. Deas Sinkler, Mrs. A. G. H. Spiers, Louis H. Watt, W. A. Wiedersheim, 2d, James M. Willcox, Mrs. John P. Wood and William T. Wright.

St. Martin’s Church, part 3 – Richard H. Gurley, WWI

/ Emma C. Patterson

By his resignation to become effective next month, the Reverend Richard H. Gurley terminates a pastorate of more than 30 years’ duration at St. Martin’s Church, Radnor. In accepting his resignation, the members of the Vestry paid tribute to the long and amicable relations which have existed between Mr. Gurley and the members of the parish. As a final expression of their esteem they have elected him Rector Emeritus for life.

In October, 1920, Mr. Gurley came to St. Martin’s as curate in charge of the parish from St. James Church, then at 22nd and Walnut streets, Philadelphia, a church that has since gone out of existence. And on March 21 of the following year he was called as Rector of St. Martin’s, to succeed the Reverent George Lamb. He was the eight minister to serve the church in Radnor, and the first to conduct services in the Chapel at Ithan, which had just been completed at the time.

The Reverent Percival H. Hickman, who was elected rector of St. Martin’s Church on September 23, 1887, immediately after it became a parish in its own right following several years as a mission chapel of the Church of the Good Shepherd, tendered his resignation less than two years later as a “consequence of the difference of judgment as to the conduct of the parish”, to quote from the original old record book of the church.

He was succeeded by the Reverent George A. Hunt, who served from July, 1889, to November, 1891. Other rectors have been Winfield S. Baer, November 1892-June 1898; A. A. Abbott, June 1898- September 1898; Frederick A. Schultzburg, October 1898-May 1900; George A. Hunt, April 1900-September 1904, and George W. Lamb, 1904-1920.

Standing alone in St. Martin’s Church in the quietness of a weekday morning not long ago, a gentle rain falling outside, the 64-year-old edifice gave the writer the feeling of a House of God that has been reverently and lovingly cherished by its parishioners throughout all the years of is existence. Perhaps its very size makes for a certain feeling of intimacy. The many memorials, all bearing names of those closely connected with the establishment and growth of St. Martin’s, show that it is here especially that their families would have their lives commemorated.

The rood screen is known as the handsomest in any diocese in Pennsylvania. The work of the Gorham Company, of New York City, it was given by Thomas Newhall in memory of his mother, Eleanor Mercer Newhall. One large stained glass window is in memory of James W. Paul, Jr., another commemorates Margaret Perkins, Morris Wister Stroud and William Daniel Stroud, Jr., while still another is in memory of Fleurette LeBenneville Bell. A fourth commemorates Anna B. Schmidt.

The beautiful organ was presented to the church by the family of Frances Drexel Paul; the Alms Basin is a memorial to J. Franklin McFadden; the wall lanterns were given in memory of C. William Hare by Esther D. Hare; the Baptismal Font commemorates the Rt. Reverend Samuel Babcock Booth, D.D., Bishop of Vermont, 1883-1935.

Following the death of Theodora Rand Gurley, wife of the Reverent Mr. Gurley in April, 1945, a number of gifts were made to the church in her memory. Among these are the baptismal font light, the eight church lamps, and a small stained glass window near the baptismal font.

There are other memorials, too, throughout the church, none more far-reaching in its deep significance to many families than the Carillon Chimes. These have been given “to the glory of God in devoted memory of those from this parish whose lives were taken in World Wars I and II, and as a tribute of honor and respect to all of our fellowship who in these wars have served our country in its times of crisis”. Names from World Wars I are Thomas Roberts Reath, Norman Beadle Hallman and Lewis Gouverneur Smith. Those from the second war are James Dillon Jacoby, David Montgomery Haughton, George Lee Jameson Forster, Edgar Dunbar Morris, Jr., David DeHaven Conley, George Rushton Howell, Jr., John Morton Pool, 3d, John Warren, Christine Blackadder Weston, Louis Crawford Clark and Peter Van Pelt. The names have all been inscribed on a handsome bronze plaque on the right wall of the church.

For more than 25 years Mr. Gurley has been chaplain of Paoli Troop I, which last month celebrated the 40th anniversary of its founding, and is one of the oldest Scout troops in America. On Boy Scout Sunday, which is celebrated in connection with Boy Scout Week each year, services have been held in St. Martin’s Church since 1926. Of those who have marched up the aisle, proudly erect in their Scout uniforms, five who were members of the Church have died in the uniforms of their country. Their names stand on the bronze honor plaque. David Conley, Lee Forster, David Haughton, Edgar Morris and George Howell.

The present Rector Warden of St. Martin’s is T. Truxtun Hare, while the accounting warden is Ledyard W. Heckscher. others serving are Edward S. Buckley, Arthur H. Clephane, Richard S. Crampton, A. Reynolds Crane, M.D., Y. Parran Dawkins, Jr., Hervert S. Henderson, Stanton C. Kelton, Vernon S. Mollenauer, William R. Spofford and W. Furness Thompson.

In closing the series of articles on St. Martin’s Church, Radnor, the write wishes to acknowledge her indebtedness to Mr. Gurley, who has permitted her the use of the old church records, in addition to giving of his own time. Thanks are also due to the church secretary, who has been most helpful with supplementary information.

Wayne’s Company B, part 2 – Anthony J. Drexel Biddle

/ Emma C. Patterson

Company drills were routine for Wayne’s own “Company B”, the organization of which in the early days of World War I was described in last week’s column. Tuesday evenings of each week were devoted to squad drills and Thursday evenings to Company drills. Both were held on the Radnor School Field–offivers and privates alike took this military practice very seriously with the result that the company soon presented a fine appearance.

Eventually the group took up the study and practice of guard duty, in which members were required to memorize the twelve general orders for sentinels as weel as special orders for the sentinel at the posts of the guard. According to Captain Margerum, who has kept such a splendid record of his groups, “this feature of the evening to hear the several posts call out the hour and ‘all is well’ lent a glamour to the situation which few will forget.”

As drills were continued, membership steadily increased, in spite of the fact that many members were going into active service from time to time. Permanent squads were formed with corporals training their respective squads for competitive drill. Captain A. J. Drexel Biddle, U. S. M. C., who had just returned from the European battle front, reviewed a parade of Company B held on the old Biddle estate in Lansdowne. From there the Company procedded to the grounds of the St. Davids Golf Club with music and colors, for drill in extended order.

Aside from the manual of arms and the various maneuvers of company, platoon and squad, members of the Company were rigidly drilled in the matter of military deportment.

Chairman of the Recruiting Committee was A. M. Ware, who was very active in furnishing and placing notices throughout the township. His son, Albert A. Ware, was detailed to drill the awkward squads after he enlisted and went into Camp. According to one historian the Sergeant “was so efficient that he continued in this capacity until he came to the conclusion that his military training in Company B had been something of a detriment, as it kept him from seeing more active duty”.

When Captain Orme informed Company B in January, 1918, that he must resign because of a change of residence to New York, the Company gave him a farewell dinner at the Men’s Club. They also presented him with an inscribed sabre as a token of their esteem. From this time until May, 1918, the Company was under the command of the first lieutenant. At that time an election was held with all military formality, resulting in the unanimous choice of W. L. Margerum for Captain, Norman J. Coudert for first lieutenant and Herbert Plimpton for second lieutenant. On this same date, W. L. Margerum was commissioned a captain in the Philadelphia Military Training Corps.

Only a short time after leaving Wayne, Captain Orme died in New York of influenza. When he was buried from his residence in Wayne, Company B, by special permission of the health authorities, acted as a guard of honor at his home and at the Valley Forge Memorial Cemetery where he was buried. As a mark of respect, the officers of the company wore the usual mourning on the sword hilts for thirty days.

In July, 1918, Corporal Edward W. Maxwell resigned, as he was leaving for England. Supply Sergeant F. F. Adams also left Wayne about this time, while Private Edward Carey Gardner joined the marines.

Special occasions are worthy of notice of any review of Company B’s existence in Wayne. On Memorial Day, 1918, the Company marched to a point off Old Church road for field practice in attack and defense. On that same day, by invitation of Jarvis A. Wood, the company participated in a memorial service in the Central Baptist Church for Lieutenant William Bateman, Lieutenant Pennington Way and Corporal Norman Hallman, the latter a former member of Company B. The Rev. W. A. Patton also invited the Company to the memorial services held in the Wayne Presbyterian Church for Sergeant Wallace C. Dickson, who died in France.

At the Fourth of July celebration on the school field in that same year, Company B made their appearance when in addition to the manual of arms, company and platoon drills, they were deployed as skirmishers with blank cartridges. They gave an exhibition of this feature of the drill regulations. On the evening of the following day, by invitation of Major William C. Tuttle, the company joined the military rally at Bryn Mawr.

The conversion of the Saturday Club house into a hospital during the influenza epidemic has already been described in this column in the story of that organization. Both trained and volunteer nurses and other workers were on constant duty in the sickrooms and in the kitchen. Most of these were women. However, when strong arms were needed for handling delirious patients, a call to the men of Company B went out. In spite of the public dread of the disease the response was prompt.

Among organizations which were formed to operate on a more widespread basis during the days of World War I were a Committee of Public Safety for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the “American Protective League” for the whole country. The former was a Home Defense police force for the various counties of the State as created by Act of Assembly in July, 1917. Charles Wheeler, who was vice-director, appointed T. Truxtun Hare and W. L. Margerum as aides. Lieutenant Coudert was also a member of this organization. Captain Hare commanded Company B of this organization embracing Radnor Township. This Committee of Public Safety was not demobilized until April, 1921.

The American Protective League was organized with the approval of the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Investigation, under whose direction it operated. In this organization W. L. Margerum was appointed lieutenant in April, 1918.

Several days after Armistice Day the Peace Jubilee was celebrated in Wayne by a rousing parade in which various local organizations participated. Headed by a detachment of Marines from the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Company B paraded with two bands of music, members of the Red Cross in Uniform, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and the fire company, all forming a column worthy of the occasion. Company B. paraded three platoons, with the first Sergeant in charge of the third platoon.

Soon comrades returning from overseas and from camps in this country were home. Among them was Captain Fallon, who had received a special decoration from the French Government because of his services in the Air Force. And of course there were many others.

By February, 1919, rifles of Company B were returned to the P. M. T. C. or delivered on order to other organizations. Among the latter were forty rifles turned over to St. Luke’s School, and sixty to Radnor High School.

Sergeant Edgar L. Hunt was mustered out of Company B. And soon the days of the Company’s activities were a thing of the past, to linger on only in the memories of those who had participated in its work, and those who had stood by admiringly as they saw what had been accomplished in such a short time.

(The End)

Wayne’s Company B, part 1 – Phila. Military Training Corps., Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, Men’s Club of Wayne

/ Emma C. Patterson

In these days of “wars and rumours of wars” it might be interesting to review the history of Wayne’ own “Company B”, organized early in the days of America’s participation in World War I, primarily for the purpose of home defense. Like its neighboring communities, Radnor Township at that time was disturbed by the fear of internal disturbance, since war propaganda in regard to German families was rampant everywhere. And so in June, 1917, only two months after President Wilson’s declaration of war on Germany, a number of residents of Wayne, St. Davids, and other parts of Radnor Township formed Company B, Wayne Infantry, Philadelphia Military training Corps.

Composed originally of those who were beyond the age for active service, the Company soon had among its members many who were later to enter the active service. During its existence of something over a year it had 152 names on its roster. Of these, 42 entered the service, two of whom made the supreme sacrifice, Wallace C. Dickson and Norman B. Hallman.

This Philadelphia Military Training Corps, of which Company B was a part, was originally incorporated in 1916 under the laws of Pennsylvania. Sponsored by Major Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, it had its headquarters on the old Biddle estate in Lansdowne. Upon the outbreak of the war in Europe, Major Biddle delegated Captain Edward W. Macey to organize the Main Line for military drill.

The first company in Wayne was known as “Company A”, and although composed for the most part of excellent material, it did not long survive. It was in 1917 that its successor, Company B, was organized at a meeting of the Men’s Club of Wayne, still under the leadership of Captain Macey. Although its primary purpose was to act as a secondary line of defense in the absence of the regular army and the State Militia, Company B was desirous of giving primary military training to those who should later be called into the service.

The Men’s Club of Wayne immediately voted the use of its clubhouse as headquarters for this new military organization. Captain Milton W. Orme, who had had a long and active career in the Pennsylvania National Guard was the first commanding officer. He remained in this position until he moved to New York City, when he was succeeded by Captain Winfield L. Margerum, another active National Guardsman, who had been first lieutenant under Captain Orme. The former had been captain of Company A, First Regiment Infantry, N.G.P. Norman J. Coudert was second lieutenant under Captain Orme. He had formerly been connected with the Twenty-second Regiment of Infantry of New York State. Later Norman Coudert became first lieutenant under Captain Margerum and Herbert Plimpton became second lieutenant.

Because of his former military experience, T. Griffiths Roberts was selected as first-sergeant, a position he retained by his own choice throughout the existence of the company. According to our historian, “It was a pleasure to see him form the company in front of the Men’s Club, preparatory to turning it over to the commissioned officer in charge.” The other non-commissioned officers appointed at the first roll call in May, 1917, were: Sergeants, Herbert Plimpton, Charles H. Scott, W. L. Fox, Albert A. Ware, Wallace C. Dickson, C. L. S. Tingley, F. P. Radcliffe, W. H. Shuster, Edgar L. Hunt and J. Arthur Standen. Corporals were M. C. Prew, A. N. Elliott, E. W. Maxwell, Richard S. McKinley, Walter Pierson, Jr., J. Donaldson Paxton, W. M. Holloway, George R. Park and Henry H. Ziesing, who later became a first lieutenant of engineers.

Frank T. Adams was appointed supply sergeant, and was succeeded by Lance E. Booth, who remained in that position until the company was mustered out.

At a meeting of the company held on September 28, 1917, a civic organization was effected and by-laws adopted. Officers elected were Captain Orme, president; C. H. Wilson, vice-president; Wallace C. Dickson, secretary-treasurer. F. T. Adams succeeded Mr. Dickson when the latter entered the service.

For those men who did not equip themselves, uniforms, with campaign hats and hat cords, leggings and cartridge belts were provided by public spirited citizens. Among those who were active in creating this fund raised by the Men’s Club were A. M. Ware, William H. McCutcheon and Charles S. Harvey. Among the many liberal donors to the fund were Charles C. Shoemaker, then president of the Men’s Club, H. P. Conner and Walter Pierson, Sr., with his three sons.

Transient as its membership was, the attendance at drills averaged six to eight squads. The company was also always well represented at the weekend reviews of the C.M.T.C. at Major Biddle’s Lansdowne estate. It had grown to the point where 103 rifles were constantly employed, these rifles being furnished by the Philadelphia Military Training Corps.

Although many of the members of Company B were well beyond the years of active campaigning, others joined for the knowledge of the drill and army usages which would help them so greatly after they joined the colors. In Lansdowne they frequently participated in weekend drills, parades and reviews, when they gained experience in regimental and battalion maneuvers.

Routine work was sometimes relieved by the unusual. On one such occasion in May, 1918, Company B participated in the outdoor fete held on the estate of Mrs. Charles A. Munn, at Radnor. This was for the benefit of the overseas hospitals, under the auspices of the Emergency Corps of the American Red Cross. As Company B staged a sham battle using blank cartridges. Red Cross field work was demonstrated. Litter bearers, ambulance dressing stations and hospitals of the Red Cross gave an exhibition of what the work would be under real war conditions. Certain Company members even served as casualties, among them “Private” A. M. Ware, who was placed on a stretcher and carried into a hospital tent after he was “wounded.” Further particulars of his recovery are lacking, however.

(To be continued)

(For all the well authenticated facts in regard to Company B the writer is indebted to one who is thoroughly conversant with them, Captain W. L. Margerum, who wrote a series of articles for The Suburban some years ago.)