USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > Collingdale > Borough of Collingdale 75th anniversary, 1891-1966 > Part 2
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Trolley service between Darby and Chester was established December 24, 1900 by the Darby, Media and Chester Street Railway Co., which later became a part of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company, predecessor of Philadelphia Transportation Company.
The line is described as operating "from Chester Pike & Parker Ave., Darby, via Parker Ave., 3rd St., Haverford, Arlington, Belmont, Harrison, Jefferson, Private Right-of-Way, Bullens Lane, Private Right-of-Way, 17th, Walnut, 13th, Up- land, 6th to 6th & Welsh, Chester, returning by the samc route."
In January 1904 the route was cxtended in Darby via Private Right-of-Way from Chester Pike & Parker Ave. to the terminal at 9th & Main Sts.
On September 11, 1932, buses replaced the little orange streetcars on the portion of the line between Darby and Folsom, while the streetcars continued in operation between Folsom and Chester. This state of affairs continued until May 26, 1935, when the entire line was motorized.
Bus Route 76 continued to be operated by PRT and its successor, PTC, until January 19, 1961, when this line, together with Routes 71, 77 and 82, was sold to Red Arrow Lines, Inc., which continues to operate it with the same Route 76 designation.
MacDade Boulevard - 1905
Page 16
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Justice of the Peace
Affidavits and Marriages
109 Upland Terr.
Collingdale
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B & O Station- 1915
Harris School Grounds
AMERICAN LEGION POST 669
On October 10, 1934, after a meeting of Henry Morton, Charles Lafferty, Dewees Shallcross, and William O'Brien, the Collingdale American Legion Post #669 was formally chartered. From its in- ception the Post and Auxiliary Unit have carried out to the fullest the tenets of their preamble:
"For God and Country We associate our- selves together for the following purposes: To uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America; to maintain law and order; to foster and perpetuate a one- hundred per cent Americanism. . . . "
The byword of the Post has always been ser- vice, and almost before they were fully active, the Legionnaires had a chance to prove their mettle when, with the cooperation of school children, they collected over 700 items of food for the vic- tims of disastrous floods in upstate Pennsylvania.
But the late 30's were only practice for the years ahead, for when WW II came the Post saw service
with a vengeance. 669's war service spanned a variety of activities, from the Post blood bank to participation in the Aircraft Warning Service; from the presentation of an inhalator to #1 Fire Company to the purchase of a fully equipped Emergency Truck for Civil Defense purposes. On a less glamorous but equally important level, the Post sent thousands of cigarettes to servicemen, kept the boys overseas informed of home through a frequent newsletter, and in short made wartime less burdensome for soldiers at home and abroad.
Today, Post 669 continues to serve the com- munity as it has for the past three decades, and its members are very active in the plans for the coming Jubilee, notably in the Jubilee Minstrels and the Drum and Bugle Corps competition.
669 has had an extremely close relationship with the people and events of Collingdale, and it is in a true fraternal spirit the Post extends its warmest congratulations to the Borough on its Diamond Jubilee.
Waters Farm-1908
Andrews Avenue
Page 20
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HISTORY OF COLLINGDALE BUSINESSMEN'S ASSOCIATION
Collingdale Businessmen's Association, one of the youngest civic organizations in the borough, has assumed an active role in community affairs since its formation in 1960.
Seven business men attended the first meeting in the home of Joseph W. Dorsey, 400 MacDade Boulevard: - Richard Gownley of Morrow Motors; Daniel I. McCloskey, McCloskey Groceries; Stewart Mears, Mears' Appliances; George Molineux, George's Feed Store; William E. Ruthrauff, Jr., Daniel P. Creed Company; Eugene Singer, Singer's Jewelers and Dorsey. Today the association has 75 members.
Meetings were held at Sue's Sweet Shop at Collingdale Avenue and MacDade Boulevard until permanent arrangements were made for regular monthly meetings in the Marshall-McKay Post 5428, Veterans of Foreign Wars, at Oak Lane and MacDade Boulevard. Dorsey was elected the first president in the fall of 1960 and served for two terms followed by David J. Phillips, 1962; Joseph S. MacDougall, 1963; Herbert H. Weindel, 1964; Francis E. Emery, 1965; and Salvatore Scoleri, 1966.
Three community events, sponsored by C. B. A. during its first year, have become annual affairs. They are the Hallowe'en Parade, con- sidered the largest and most colorful in Delaware County; a visit from Santa Claus and the erection of a 30-foot Christmas tree on the high school grounds at Clifton Avenue and MacDade Boule- vard; and an Easter display and parade at the same site.
The association also sponsors a Hallowe'en window painting contest in conjunction with the Southeast Delco Lions Club; a Boy Scout troop and the annual presentation of a plaque to an out- standing high school business student.
C. B. A. was established to promote: a sense of obligation on the part of the business man to instill confidence in his customers, to their mutual benefit; fellowship and understanding among the business men of the borough; a sense of civic pride in his place of business; an intensive cam- paign to secure new business and industry by ad- vocating the rental of vacant stores and the erection of new buildings; a big brother attitude toward all business men and to extend a helping hand when needed.
COLLINGDALLI
B & O Station
Felton & Beechwood Avenue
Harris School
B & O Station-1915
Page 22
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COLLINGDALE CHARGERS BOYS CLUB
The Collingdale Chargers Boys Club, formed by a group of parents who were interested in teaching the fundamentals of football, the spirit of sportsmanship, and the ideals of fair play, was organized in 1962 and chartered in 1964.
The Chargers' teams (90 lb .; 105 lb .; 125 lb.) play in the Delco Boys Football League on Sun- day afternoons; home games are played at Little Flower Manor, on Springfield Road, Darby.
A large percentage of the boys who play this type of weight ball would not have a chance to play in high school; however, those boys who do go on to play have gained valuable experience in competitive sports since the Chargers work close- ly with the coaches of Collingdale Junior High School and the freshman team of Monsignor Bon- ner High School.
All boys from Collingdale who are interested, who are between the ages of eight and fifteen years, and who weigh from eighty pounds to 125 pounds are invited to participate in the program.
VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS LADIES AUXILIARY
The Ladies' Auxiliary to the Marshall-McKay V.F.W. Post #5428 was instituted on October 13, 1952 at the Collingdale Fire Co. No. 1 with thirty- two members. Among them were Mrs. Elizabeth Marshall and Mrs. Alice McKay, Gold Star mo- thers of Joseph Marshall and Donald McKay, after whom the post was named.
From the term of the first president, Gloria Christie, through the administration of Mildred Quirk, the present president, the Ladies' Auxiliary has been extremely active in the community. Through card parties, dinners, merchandise clubs, etc., the auxiliary has fulfilled its principal purpose of aiding the men of the post. Further, the ladies also contribute generously to the schools for Veter- ans' orphans at Scotland, Pennsylvania, and Eaton Rapids, Michigan, as well as to the Veterans' Hospitals at Perry Point and Coatesville. The La- dies' Auxiliary, which is currently involved in sending a small gift to Collingdale servicemen serving in Viet Nam, also sponsors a Junior Girl Scout Troop and helps with various community activities.
VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS
The Joseph Marshall-Donald R. Mckay Veter- ans of Foreign Wars Post #5428 was mustered on May 23, 1952, with one hundred and four charter members at the home of Harry T. O'Hagan, the first post commander.
During its early existence, the post met in many different locations, but ground for the present post was broken by Mr. and Mrs. John McKay on a late Sunday in October, 1959. Although the shell of the building was erected by a contractor, the remainder of the building was completed by post members and a few interested and talented mem- bers of the community. Boy Scout Troop #159 was sponsored in 1958; three Eagle scouts, John Gardner, Gregory Culin and Michael Funcheon, have emerged from this organization. The post has also sponsored Explorer Scout Troop #2159 since 1964.
Under the leadership of William B. Spear, the present commander, the post has continued its tradition of service to the community. Besides participating in the All-Sports Banquet, July 4th committee, Memorial Day observances, and var- ious charitable and civic drives, the post annually contributes to the state and national organization in its duties to all veterans. It presents annual awards to members of the graduating classes of Collingdale High School and St. Joseph's parochial school. During the last Christmas season over one hundred gifts were sent to service men from the borough.
Andrews Avenue
Page 24
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A house and farm area of historic value to Collingdale is the currently owned home of Mr. and Mrs. Larry Biggerstaff, who purchased it from Mr. Reading.
This land was given by an original land grant from William Penn to the Andrews family who had it for several centuries. Judge James Andrews, 1863 and Martha B. Andrews, 1870 who in turn sold it to Howard W. Reading in 1911. A son, Roy W. Reading now lives at 324 Clifton Ave. Sharon Hill, Penna.
In 1837, this farm covered 450 acres, most of modern-day Collingdale. Its area is now less than 2 acres.
"It was built along graceful Spanish Colonial lines, the house nevertheless was made for stamina. Its stone walls and partitions rough casted in white are 18 inches thick, supported by massive stone pillars in the basement. Eight inch yellow pine floor boards have borne the tread of many feet. A Marble fireplace, believed imported from Italy is the last of the original 150 fireplaces that warmed the rooms." (Excerpt from The Upper Darby News, May 6, 1954.)
The Biggerstaffs, upon their purchase, had it remodelcd to suit their taste.
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Toll Gate No. 6
Page 26
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Mrs. Margaret Gillespie settled in Collingdale about 1912. She has lived continuously at 223 MacDade Blvd. since that time. The property in which she now resides was conveyed to her husband by his father in 1916. She is the mother of seven children - her youngest child was born in Collingdale, and six of the seven now reside in Collingdale.
Mrs. Gillespie and her late husband, Cornelius Gillespie, were among the original members of Collingdale #2 Volunteer Fire Company. She has been active for many years in local affairs and was a member of Holy Spirit Church, Sharon Hill, Pa., and then later became a member of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, Darby, Pa.
Mrs. Gillespie at the age of ninety-two is still very active. She has a keen interest in cooking and frequently tries a new recipe she learns of from television. She maintains her home with her youngest daughter.
She has 17 grandchildren and 38 great-grand- children.
THE FULFILLMENT OF A DREAM
During the warm months of the year 1954, approximately twelve interested citizens of Col- lingdale met at the home of John J. Saling, 726 Rively Avenue, with the express purpose of talk- ing and thinking about the possibility of starting a swimming pool. The twelve invited guests, to- gether with Jack and Nona Saling, were the nucleus of what is today one of the bright spots of Collingdale's social life, especially during the Summer months.
There are many members enjoying the facilities of the Collingdale Swim Club who do not realize that but for the urgency of Jack Saling's Dream, the site of the Club today would still be the field it was or rows of homes.
It took much planning, promotion and several years of work, but on July 4, 1957 the Collingdale Swim Club opened for business with 500 families as members. The membership is maintained at that number and a waiting list is always well filled.
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THE BARTRAM HOMESTEAD
On the west side of Springfield Road, half way between Darby and Aldan, stands an old stone dwelling known as the Bartram Homestead, named after one of the Quaker colonists who came with his family from Derbyshire in 1683 to join the little group which had settled in Darby during the preceding year.
These early Quaker settlers found no ready - made town at the spot they had chosen for a home. Whether the early immigrants were shel- tered by their Swedish neighbors and the friend- ly Indians until their houses could be built is not recorded. Perhaps they made caves in the hill- sides as the first settlers did in Philadelphia and as Samuel Sellers did in Upper Darby.
How John Bartram and his family were provid- ed for at first is not known, but early records show that he obtained from Thomas Brassey a tract of 300 acres lying between the present lines of Pro- vidence Road and Bartram Avenue, and extend- ing westward from Darby Creek almost to the Muckinipatus, a plot marked No. 34 on Holmes' map of early settlements. It was wilderness which had never been cleared, but is was abundantly supplied with springs and hardwood timber.
Here the first John Bartram built his home of fieldstone, with solid walls eighteen inches thick. Here he established his farm and founded the family whose most distinguished member was to be his grandson and namesake, America's first botanist.
John Bartram, the botanist, was born on March 23, 1699, the son of William and Elizabeth Bar- ram; he was not born in the homestead, but in a house built by his father on the Bartram planta- tion. He was left an orphan at thirteen and appar- ently grew up in the care of his grandmother on the farm which he inherited when she died in 1723.
Although Bartram had grown up on a farm, he had no knowledge of wild flowers and no in- terest in them until he reached manhood, when he suddenly felt a great desire to learn all he could about plants. This became such an absorbing passion that in 1728 he bought land on the west bank of the Schuylkill and laid out the garden which was to become so famous. Here he raised plants brought back from his trips or received from collectors in Europe with whom he corres- ponded and exchanged seeds and specimens.
The house at Bartram's Garden is crowned with memories of Bartram and the distinquished men and women who visited him, but the home- stead in Delaware County was his first laboratory. It was here that he began to botanize and to plan his garden which was to become an inspiration to later botanists and horticulturists. This quiet old house, too, is filled with memories of Bartram and his descendants. It is one of the small number of houses in Delaware which was built before 1700 and is still standing. These houses stand as me- morials of the pioneer builders of the community who endured the hardships they experienced in the wilderness of America in order to win the freedom denied to them in their native land.
Blecher Drug Store - 1928
Page 30
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THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
Two years before the borough of Collingdale was incorporated in 1891, the first church, Col- lingdale Baptist, received its charter. Formed in 1887 with only four members, the church build- ing was built on Andrews Avenue, then only a dirt road. Since the original building, which seated only 75, had no Sunday School rooms, classes met in the church before services. After the first year, when growth was slow, only 10 members were added and collections amounted to $157.89. Yet, nine years later, when the church building was razed by fire, the congregation raised almost $3,000 to rebuild. Ground was broken in 1900 for the present church structure, and it appeared to be the turning point in church history. Andrew Carnegie assumed half the cost of the new organ, the 1905 church records show, and twenty years later a parsonage was built.
Early church records give a clear picture of the times; for example, in 1894 the annual statement reported, "We have been greatly hampered by debt and the depression of the times." Yet two years later the records report that the year was the most prosperous in the church's history.
Seventy five years after its meager beginning, Collingdale Baptist Church shows the concerted efforts made through the years. The sanctuary has been enlarged to seat 350, the pipe organ in- stalled in 1941 has been relocated to a recess be- hind the altar, a raised baptismal pool installed, new blond pews, a vestibule and rear stairway- added, and six adult classrooms completely mo- dernized in the Bible School building, which was dedicated in 1959.
TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH
The first service of Trinity Church, conducted by the Rev. Dr. Charles A. Maison, Rector of St. James Church, Philadelphia, was held in the parlor of Mr. George Perkins' home on Clifton Avenue in January, 1888. Under the guidance of Rev. A. Harold Miller, the first Vicar, the cornerstone of the first church was laid in the spring, 1890. The new church edifice was first used for public worship on Christmas day, 1890.
Many advances were realized under the leader- ship of the succeeding vicars of Trinity Episcopal Church. The Rev. Arthur Hess began the first boys' choir; his successor, the Rev. Augustine W. Schick, a divinity student who was a native of Collingdale, guided the building of the first parish house. The Rev. George N. Holcomb organized the first Young People's Fellowship, while Mrs. Holcomb instituted a Children's Guild and took an active part in its work. During the tenure of the Rev. Henry Davies, Ph. D., the new church was erected. Finally, under Rev. Harry E. Kauf- mann, the greatest period of growth saw the re- duction of the mortgage and the doubling of the size of the church school.
In 1945 the Rev. John P. McGarvey, S.T.D., became Vicar and has been here for 21 years. In January of 1946 Trinity Church was made a par- ish, thereupon becoming self-supporting.
Trinity Church instituted the first kindergarten and nursery schools in Collingdale. Following the building of the new Rectory in 1957, the old Rec- tory was turned into the Collingdale Public Li- brary. Today the majority of the congregation of Trinity Church comes from outside Collingdale itself.
Page 32
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THE CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE
In 1894 a group of Godly persons formed a con- gregation and worshipped at 884 Main Street, Darby, under the name Heavenly Recruits, later adopting the name Holiness Christian Church. In 1897 a frame church building was erected on Chester Pike, west of Springfield Road, where the congregation worshipped until 1926.
The congregation united with the Church of the Nazarene in 1909. The first Pastor thereafter was the Reverend Alan Klegg. On April 9, 1921, the Delaware County Court granted a Charter of Incorporation. In 1925, under the leadership of the Reverend Walter Nielson, the present church edifice and parsonage was erected at MacDade Boulevard and Staley Avenue. Following the death of the Reverend Walter Nielson, the church was guided by Reverend John Nielson (1926- 1937) and Reverend E. E. Grosse (1937-1940).
Under Reverend Francis D. Ketner, who served from September 22, 1940 to June 26, 1960, a three story Sunday School educational unit was built, the church front was reconstructed with new entrances, and stained glass windows were added to the sanctuary. In 1961, under the guidance of Reverend Robert E. Zollinhoffer, the main sanctuary was enlarged and decorated.
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