Sunday, December 11, 2011

Remembering the past

I first visited the Chester County Historical Society when I was in the fourth grade, writing a report on Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad in Chester County. I loved poring through the archives -- the fancy, sometimes-illegible handwriting, the yellowing paper, the knowledge that these old letters, newspapers and ledgers were around at the very same time the Underground Railroad was operating.
I had the same experience this past weekend when I was doing some photographic research at the Society's library. The wonderfully helpful librarian, Pam Powell, had pulled out some files for me to look through, and I donned my special white gloves and spent a few hours sorting through fascinating photos of life in Kennett and Unionville in the 19th and early 20th century. A cinema marquee in Kennett advertised a D.W. Griffith spectacular: "Exciting Night!" A group of  folks posed on the front steps of Pyle's dry goods store in Willowdale, one man with a crutch next to him. A gas station in the middle of Unionville boasted three old-fashioned pumps with "White Flash" fuel.
And there were some fox-hunting photos that could have been shot at last Saturday's meet, except for the ladies in skirts riding side-saddle.

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