2009-2010 Events

“Our Sixty-Second Year”

Sunday, October 4, 2009, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., starting from the Friends of Radnor Trails Park (off West Wayne Avenue behind Vic & Dean’s Pizzeria and Grill)
Our fifth Mystery History Tour is co-sponsored with the Radnor Conservancy. This year we will take a walking tour of West Wayne Avenue and Highland Avenue, stopping at six designated historic sites, each with its own interpreter. At each site you will be asked to discover the answer to a related “mystery” question. Following the tour, refreshments will be served at Friends of the Radnor Trails Park, and there will be prize drawings for those who answer the mystery questions correctly. Off street parking is available at Odorisio Park on West Wayne Avenue or at the Township trail parking lot (entrance driveway to lot runs between Dr. Hunt’s Veterinary Hospital and Vic & Dean’s. If it rains, call 610-688-2668 for cancellation information.

Tuesday, October 20, 7:00 p.m., at the Winsor Room, Radnor Memorial Library
RHS and the Library are co-sponsoring a presentation by Dr. Thomas Childers, professor at the University of Pennsylvania and World War II historian. Professor Childers is the author and editor of several books on modern German history and the Second World War. He will discuss his new book, Soldier From the War Returning: The Greatest Generation’s Troubled Homecoming from WWII. Following his presentation, refreshments will be served, and books will be available for purchase and signing.

Sunday, November 8, 2:00 p.m., at the Winsor Room, Radnor Memorial Library
RHS and the Library are co-sponsoring a talk by Dr. Allen Guelzo, author, professor at Gettysburg College (former professor at Eastern University), prominent Lincoln historian, and two-time winner of both the Lincoln Prize and the Abraham Lincoln Institute Prize. His talk honors the Library’s bicentennial and Lincoln’s bicentennial. He will discuss his book (which just came out in paperback), Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates That Defined America. Following the talk, there will be a wine and cheese reception, and books will be available for purchase and signing.
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Sunday, December 27, 7:00 p.m. at the Finley House
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens: Bennett Hill, a retired teacher, member of the RHS Board, and a guide at Historic Waynesborough for many years, will read an abridged version of this classic Christmas tale by the fire in the front parlor. Refreshments will be served at the interval.
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Tuesday, January 12, 2010, 7:00 p.m. at the Winsor Room, Radnor Memorial Library (snow date is Tuesday, January 19 at 7:00 p.m.)
Cardy Crawford, retired Radnor teacher, author, and RHS Board member will moderate an oral history panel focused on local businesses. The panelists are leaders of long-established area businesses, including Braxton Animal Works, D’Amicantonio Shoe Store, Tony Cappelli & Son Contractors, Farnan Jewelers, and Forster’s Frame It. Historic photos and other materials relating to these businesses will be on display. This event is co-sponsored by RHS and the Library. The Library plans to record the proceedings as part of its on-going oral history project. Refreshments will be served.
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Tuesday, February 16, 7:00 p.m., at the Winsor Room, Radnor Memorial Library Reconstructing Williamsburg for a Second Time: Using Digital Technologies to Re-envision an Eighteenth-Century Town
RHS and the Radnor Memorial Library are co-sponsoring a PowerPoint presentation by Lisa Fischer, Director of the Digital History Center of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. How does a museum dedicated to understanding and interpreting eighteenth-century history engage new audiences in the twenty-first century? Come hear about the use of digital technologies at Colonial Williamsburg and several exciting projects providing new ways to learn about and study the past. From the development of a brand new website on the American Revolution to the ongoing initiative to build in an interactive 3D computer model of the town, the use of digital technologies is being used to bring together current research in new interactive web environments helping to extend the onsite visit to online.
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Tuesday, March 9, 6:00 p.m., at Founders Great Hall, Haverford College (snow date is Wednesday, March 10)
The Society’s Annual Dinner will be held in an absolutely beautiful space, Founders Great Hall at Haverford College. Founders Great Hall is an addition to the first building on campus, Founders Hall, completed in 1833. Founders Great Hall was completed in 1905 and was used as a dining hall until 1969. Wine and passed hors d’oeuvres will be served at 6:00 p.m. in the foyer of our dining space. A three-course dinner will be served at 6:45 p.m., followed by a lecture by Bill Astifan, Manager of the College Arboretum, which was originally designed in 1834 by English Gardener, William Carvill. Carvill’s design, still evident today, reflects the influence of Sir Humphry Repton, one of England’s master landscape architects. More details will follow closer to the dinner.
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Tuesday, March 16, 7:00 p.m., at the Winsor Room, Radnor Memorial Library
David Nelson Wren on the Ardrossan Estate: Wren is an independent scholar who has been an investigative reporter, columnist, and feature editor. He is currently working on a monograph about Ardrossan, the legendary Main Line estate made famous in the play and motion picture, The Philadelphia Story. As the first writer to be provided unfettered access to the Ardrossan archive by the Montgomery, Scott, Wheeler families, the owners of the estate, he has become a leading expert on a time and place few in history have had an opportunity to explore. This event is sponsored by RHS, the Radnor Conservancy, and the Radnor Memorial Library. Refreshments will be served following the presentation.

Sunday, April 18, 4:00 p.m., at the John J. Willaman Education Center of the Jenkins Arboretum, 631 Berwyn Baptist Road, Devon
The Annual Meeting of the Society will be held in the recently completed Education Center of the Jenkins Arboretum, which is expected to receive LEED gold certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) by the U.S. Green Building Council. We encourage you to visit the new building and the Arboretum grounds before the meeting. The Arboretum is hilly, and we hope to have golf-cart transportation available for those who would have difficulty climbing from the lower to the upper levels of the grounds. Dr. Harold Sweetman, Executive Director, will make a PowerPoint presentation entitled “Greener than Green.” He will review history of the Arboretum, and will emphasize the visually dramatic transformation of the pre-existing 33 year-old administration building into the John J. Willaman Education Center and gateway to the gardens. Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served.

Saturday, June 19, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., at Harriton House, 500 Harriton Road, Bryn Mawr
This event, co-sponsored with the Tredyffrin-Easttown Historical Society, includes a guided tour of Harriton House, home of Charles Thomson, first and only secretary of the Continental and Confederation Congresses. The history of the house and estate covers more than 300 years beginning with the settlement of “Meirion” by Welsh Quakers. Bruce Gill, Curator of Harriton House, will lecture about its history and provide guided tours of the house and grounds. Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served following the lecture for those waiting to tour and returning from a tour. Directions: To reach Harriton House from Radnor, proceed east on Montgomery Avenue to Roberts Road. Turn left onto Roberts Road. Cross through one traffic light. At the next intersection, take the left fork onto Harriton Road. The entrance to the Harriton Park is immediately on your left.
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