A long strange trip as World War I memorial relocated to Richboro
Local filmmaker Richard Noe recalled lyrics of a Grateful Dead tune in viewing the relocation of a wartime memorial from Churchville to Richboro. “What a long, strange trip it has been,” Rich crooned. He ought to know. He’s been in the forefront of the effort that has juggled nostalgia with upkeep demands and encroaching traffic hazards. Something had to be done.
I became aware of this in tracking down the story of a Northampton farm boy who served in Europe in World War I. Earl Slack was among 56 local heroes of the conflict. He came home in 1919 and died two years later in a horrific train crash and fire near Bryn Athyn that made national headlines. The North and Southampton Reformed Church earlier had purchased a small parcel of land across Bristol Road from the church to establish a tribute to the region’s World War I veterans including Earl.
At the road’s intersection with Bustleton Pike, stone masons attached a bronze tableau with the veterans’ names to a large granite boulder. The memorial site featured war emblems, flags, a bronze eagle and an Army cannon. It caught the eye of those passing in occasional horse-drawn wagons. A century later, the cannon is gone and the landscape has been chiseled away at a now heavily traveled intersection. It became perilous to cross Bristol Road from the church to get to the monument.
Northampton-bound
Last year I met Rich at the boulder to discuss Earl Slack’s story. As an aside, he mentioned an offer by Northampton to remove the memorial to a new site in Richboro near the township building. Doing so would better preserve it and enable needed improvements to the Bristol Road/Bustleton Pike intersection.
Under the direction of Northampton Manager Bob Pellegrino, a township work crew prepped the new site and gathered aspects of the existing memorial for transfer to Richboro. All except the boulder. It was discarded. Later this spring, the area will be replanted with grass and otherwise tidied up.
Meanwhile, Rich is very pleased. “Notice the aging bronze plaque now refinished, lit up, surrounded by first class work and completely visible while at peace compared to the hazardous location it had become when in 1919 it was the horse and wagon era.”
Dorothy’s Doylestown rainbow
I was unaware until recently how a rainbow influenced the life of Oscar Hammerstein II. It’s why he left New York in 1941 for Doylestown where he wrote the lyrics to many Broadway hits.
I came across the story in a biography by Natalie Zellat Dyen, retired French teacher who lives in Huntingdon Valley. After “Desert Song” and “Show Boat” in the 1920s and early ’30s, the lyracist struggled to achieve followup fortune. At age 46 in 1940, he yearned to get away from Manhattan’s bustle. He and wife Dorothy visited friends in Bucks County and were impressed by the rural charm. “One rainy autumn day,” according to Natalie, “a real estate agent showed them several farms in the New Hope area, none of which was right for them. After lunch, the agent took them to nearby Doylestown. As they drove up East Street, Dorothy spotted a rainbow and insisted they follow it to see where it ended. The rainbow led them up the hill to Highland Farm. Dorothy sensed something magical about the place; perhaps she thought it would revive her husband’s career. They both fell in love with the property and bought it soon after.”
The 40-acre working farm included a barn, carriage house and three-story mansion built in 1840. Former owners included the Lentz circus family that housed elephants in the barn. At Highland Farm, Broadway magic was reborn. There on long walks through town Oscar found inspiration for “Oklahoma!”, “Carousel”, “South Pacific”, “The King and I” and “The Sound of Music”. They became the pot of gold at the end of Dorothy’s rainbow.
The full article by Natalie Dyen can be found in the fall/winter 2019 edition of “Neshaminy: The Bucks County Historical and Literary Journal” published by the Doylestown Historical Society. Highland Farm is a bed & breakfast. Information: www.highlandfarmbb.com or by calling 215-345-6767.
Carl LaVO can be reached at carllavo0@gmail.com
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: WWI memorial makes long strange trip from Churchville to Richboro
