Readers share lessons of Bucks County history
Writing authoritatively about history is perilous. I learned this from books and articles I’ve written for the Naval Institute Press in Annapolis where I’m considered a submarine historian. Lesson I’ve learned: Someone somewhere on the globe knows more than I do.
Same is true and perhaps more so about local history. Here you easily can get lost in the weeds of Bucks County's 340-year-old history. Conflicting accounts make it hard to decipher “the truth.” In my writings, I have a self-imposed limit 800 words per column. Making cuts offers room for photos. After all, every photo is worth 1,000 words, right?
The joy in all this is hearing from readers who expand my knowledge. Here’s a sampling.
More tales of Bucks County's grist mills
Lois Lynch of Chalfont enjoyed my recent discussion of local grist mills (“Bucks County’s surviving grist mills tell a story of a golden era”, published July1). Lois wrote of seeing the destruction of the oldest covered bridge in Bucks near Spring Garden grist mill.
Read the original column:Bucks County's surviving grist mills tell a story of a golden era
“My father was the feed salesman at Spring Garden Mill until it closed,” Lois began. “In 1955 my family and I stood halfway down Spring Garden hill and watched the covered bridge as it was swept away in the flood waters and the rescue of a man by a Navy helicopter whose car was also swept away. Really enjoy your articles.”
Wayne Labs of Doylestown also chimed in: “My wife and I are fans of your column in the Intell. I can think of a few other mills in Bucks; maybe you’ve already discovered them. There is the Water Wheel Tavern (once owned by my dad’s family) on Old Easton Road. A couple of others: The old Cuttalossa Inn on the creek of the same name by River Road. Another housed in what used to be an antique store in Kintnersville, just off Route 611 near the intersection of Routes 32 & 611. And it seems to me there was an old waterwheel along (I think) Route 412 in Springfield. There’s also Stover Mill near Tinicum Park in Erwinna (along River Road).
“Thanks for the reminiscing.”
‘Hiding from atom bombs’ in Buckingham
Laure Duval of Point Pleasant responded about my Hughesian School column (“Buckingham farmer created a lasting legacy”, June 3):
“I went to first grade in Buckingham down Route 413 in the old Unity Frankford store across from the train station. For second grade I was in the brick building (next to Hughesian High School). I remember getting candy cherries on Washington’s birthday and coconut potatoes on St Patrick’s. And having drills hiding under our desks in case an atom bomb dropped on us.
More on the Hughesian school:How one Buckingham farmer created a lasting legacy for decades of schoolchildren
“For third grade I went to Buckingham Friends. We were members of the Meeting. I cannot recall the name of my teacher, curiously enough, as I can name every other teacher I ever had. But she kept me in as ‘punishment’ when the class went out to do yard clean up. This was supposed to build character. I told her I had to work at home and was not going to work at school too. So I sat and did pastels of birds and enjoyed being left alone inside. I was good at art and my parents even hired art teacher Cornelia Damien Tait for private lessons. Peter Barry was headmaster and came around to play his zither and sing folk songs with us for music lessons. We learned to play the recorder with George Remailly, who later went up to the Finger Lakes and developed wine grapes. Classes were small with just four girls: myself, Barbara Bye, Deborah Diemand and Marian Sandberg (Jean Toomer's granddaughter).
“I do not recall all the boys but Walter Teller's son ‘Wattie’ gave me the first avocado I ever saw or ate. His mother packed it for him in salad dressing, delicious. I gave him my peanut butter sandwich. I remember Budd Schulberg's son Steve, Ed Leydon (whose father was the admiral at the NADC Johnsville), Evan Root (mother Maggie was an actress, as is his sister Linda Kenyon now) .
“After third grade we moved to Johnsville because my father worked at NADC and I enjoyed a fabulous public school education in the Centennial system and at William Tennent.”
‘Another Falls Township’
Bob Hedden got in touch about my column on Tinicum (“How Pennsylvania became home to two Tinicum Townships”, June 17):
“Being from Fallsington, I always believed we lived in the only Falls Township in Pennsylvania. Imagine the surprise when upstate one day, we crossed the Susquehanna in Wyoming County about 10 miles north of Scranton, and saw a PennDOT Falls Township sign as we finished crossing over. Other than the name, and being situated on a river, there are few similarities. Falls Township in Wyoming County is very rural with low population.”
Tale of two townships:How Pennsylvania became home to two Tinicum townships, in Bucks and Delaware counties
Carl LaVO can be reached at carllavo0@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County history lessons from readers
