V o lu me T h i rt y , N umber 2
May-June 2016
Photo by Paige Welby
DURING A DINNER-HOUR DOWNPOUR on April 26, the sun suddenly broke through. Sun on rain crowned Beaumont with a spectacular double rainbow. What a wonderful surprise for dessert!
Immigration then and now— very different then!
JENNIE ON THE RUN: For more on Administrative Assistant Jennie Frankel, our versatile go-to person in the Front Office, see page 2.
By Mary Schnabel
The term immigration is now fraught with so much political turmoil that we have a hard time imagining how different the process was more than 200 years ago. About all a person needed to do to become an American citizen at that time was to have the passage money to get here. Photo by Louise Hughes
Immigration continued on page 12
Trying to keep up with Jennie leaves our reporter exhausted
a nursery school. She and her husband, Stephen, a software engineer, have two sons. Matthew, a Temple University M.S.Ed, is a math teacher at Conestoga By Rena Burstein High School. John is a June ’16 graduate from Drexel University, majoring in computer science and Hello! Beaumont. Jennie Frankel speaking! game development. Jennie happily reports that her Whether Jennie greets you at her desk or on the husband is a great cook (the cleanup is still hers to do). telephone, her hearty hello makes you feel immediately They have recently purchased an apartment in Ocean welcome and upbeat. City and are looking forward to entertaining future Jennie Frankel is the Administrative Assistant to grandchildren at our President/CEO, a the New Jersey position she has held shore. since July 2007. She Jennie finds Beausits at the first desk on mont a unique place the left, as you enter to work, which she the Beaumont office. says is never boring You may also see Jenand where she feels nie at any number of part of an extended Beaumont events, or family, while preferin meetings, or in the ring to be behind hallways, or elsewhere the scenes. on the campus, where Her “regular” she emanates her high Photo by Louise Hughes tasks include taking energy, actionONE OF MANY "NON-ROUTINE" ACTIVITIES: Hair and earrings minutes for both oriented personality, flying, Jennie energetically leads Rose-Marie Pringle and Kathy Hesington Board meetings (and optimism, and good in singing "Happy Birthday" to Joe Peduzzi. then delivering them spirit. to each Board member’s apartment), the Beaumont News What exactly does she do? It took her a while to story conference, Resident Committee meetings and figure that out herself and then to embrace the challengthe Health Care Committee. She is the proofreader for es and her responsibilities. memos and other miscellaneous items, including some Jennie came to Beaumont in October 2006, dining menus and the Beaumont News. In between, she when she was hired as the receptionist at the main desk sends reminders to residents and performs notary tasks. in the lobby. Several months later, when the administraShe is often spotted speeding through the building on tive assistant position became open, she was encouraged one of her multiple missions. Other times she may be on to apply and has held that position ever since. She recalls an inspection tour of the campus with our President. now that it took her about three years to become fully Last fall, I made an attempt to track some of involved in the myriad of tasks and responsibilities that Jennie’s non-routine activities during one week. These are considered to be part of her job. included judging a Halloween costume contest, spending Jennie graduated from Haverford High School, Jennie continued on page 3 where she took business courses and enjoyed a number of athletic activities. She went on to a number of office management positions and to being a gym teacher in In Memoriam BEAUMONT NEWS The Beaumont News is published by the residents and staff of the Beaumont Retirement Community, 601 N. Ithan Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 Editor Associate Editor and Production Manager Assistant Editor Graphic Designer Photo Editor Roving Reporter Events Manager Proofreader
Annette Von Starck April 19, 2016
Robert W. Copeland June 3, 2016
Margaret Canfield May 13, 2016
John A. Baird, Jr. June 8, 2016
Eleanor A. Pierson Richard C. Maass June 12, 2016 May 23, 2016 Charlene A. Simpson June 14, 2016
Mary Graff John Hall Marilyn Ayres TJ Walsh Louise Hughes Wistie Miller Kim Norrett Jennie Frankel
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Members of the Beaumont Community extend deepest sympathy to their families and friends.
Weird hairdos? Disrupted schedules? Our new hairdresser likes us anyway By Martha Lewis
We all know her as Kate, but she is really Mary Kathleen DePietro, our beautician and hairdresser (and a bit of a magician, too). She holds forth in our salon and could change your life. She is currently living in Eagleville, located near King of Prussia. She is truly a local lady, as she graduated from Plymouth Whitemarsh High School and attended the Gordon Phillips School of Beauty Culture in Norristown. She goes several times a year to professional classes to learn the latest techniques in hair styling and beauty care. Kate had about 15 years working in various department stores in the King of Prussia malls, then went to work in private salons in the King of Prussia area, and then came finally to Beaumont. She came partly because her mother taught her from an early age to care for senior citizens, and partly because the management where she was working was “going downhill” and it was time for a change. She says that things are working out very well for her at Beaumont, as she has lots of new clients and has made many new friends. Asked what her pet peeves were, she mentioned clients’ coming in very late and disrupting her schedule. She says she always tries to work in the latecomers, although during very busy times this is difficult. Sometimes she faces a “feast or famine” situation. “Weird hairdos,” what’s to be done about them? They do happen. Kate says she discusses the situation with the client and tries to point out the inappropriateness of the styling, but always ends up doing what the client wants. Sometimes this situation is complicated by the poor work done by another salon, particularly hair color. She has to undo the damage. She loves going to different beaches in the
Photo by Carol Matz
KATE DEPIETRO'S STYLING pleases Martha Lewis summer with her longtime gentleman friend, being very careful not to get too much sun. They enjoy trying different restaurants, looking for especially good food or wine. Kate belongs to a group of old friends from high school days who get together for monthly “meetings” when they sample good food and wine. They call themselves WOWs. You’ll have to ask her what it stands for. She said the most amazing thing about hairdressing is not just the interesting people she meets but a characteristic all have in common: No kind of bad weather will keep them from their hair appointments. What a relief to have so many clients under one roof ! Finally, she invites all to come to her (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.) and let her show what she can do for you.
Jennie continued from page 2 an hour and a half rehearsing for a spelling bee in which she was an actual contestant, attending a Veterans Day luncheon to distribute paper hats, and making preparations for a Budget Committee meeting. Exhausted, we gave up! This spring I found Jennie combining managerial team reports to be submitted in July to the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities for their survey, which is done here every five years. She was also
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preparing the agendas to be printed for our April Town Meeting and getting the by-laws printed and copied for distribution. Preparation for the Annual Meeting in May was under way. Jennie is always on the go, always in good spirits, and always making us look and feel good. She is administratively assisting the Beaumont residents as well as its President. A hearty and cheerful, “Bye, bye!”
What is this 'Cloud' thing, anyway? By Bob Catalano, Information Technology Director
All our lives, clouds have been those fluffy, white things up in the sky. We could see them and understand them. Now we keep hearing about “The Cloud.” What is it? Where is it? “The Cloud” is a very relative term, which is thrown around a lot these days. The term can be many, many things, and in fact, there isn’t one true definition of “The Cloud.” In basic terms “The Cloud” is a computer or hard drive that is not physically at your present location. It is located at a remote location, which is available over the Internet. It is a way to remotely store data (pictures, documents, etc.) and have it reside there, rather than on your local machine. There are many reasons why you would want to do this: to back up your data; to have your data in a more secure place; to have multiple copies of your data; to have your data somewhere else in case of a disaster. In Beaumont’s case, we are currently using “The Cloud” in a variety of ways. In the Health Center we use Care Tracker, which records patient data but is
running from a server in “The Cloud.” To dispense our medications, we use Millennium Pharmacy, which also runs on a server in “The Cloud.” One of our big projects for 2016 is upgrading our infrastructure by “virtualizing” our server environment. Currently we have 19 physical servers in our Head End. Once the project is complete, we will only have 3 physical servers and 15 virtual ones. This will allow us to streamline our servers, alloBob Catalano cate resources where necessary, and allow us to back up and restore easily if need be. Our email server will then reside in “The Cloud.” It will run out of the Microsoft Datacenter, which will provide the hardware portion of it, while we just deal with the software portion. This is great for us; we can put our resources into other things here at Beaumont. To summarize, “The Cloud” is a very relative term, which can mean many things in many different places. It just depends on how you are going to use it to your benefit.
Illustration by Lynn Ayres, using Photoshop Elements. Scribe image ID: 410916 Ancient Egypt. (ca. 1924-1933) NYPL Digital Gallery.
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From newcomers to neighbors Bob and Sue Denious (rhymes with ‘genius’) now at home in Pond Lane
What to talk about at dinner with the Bromleys? Try music, painting, Jungian psychology. . .
Picture this: a young man, not yet 20, went home to Colorado after his freshman year at Amherst College. In Central City, a small town west of Denver of about 500 residents, he went into a barroom that had a piano but no piano player. Coincidentally, the young man had musical ability. The owner of the saloon gave him a job to play there daily, sometimes as long as eight hours. He made music for so long that he had calluses on his fingers. But the money was good—so good that he made enough to help to finance his three years left at Amherst. Fast-forward 50-plus years: That young man has just become a resident at Beaumont. He is Bob Denious, who now occupies Villa 18 with his wife, Susan. Bob and Susan married a year after graduating: Bob from Amherst and Susan and Bob Denious Susan from nearby Smith College. After completing Yale Law School, Bob spent 40 years in Philadelphia with Duane, Morris & Heckscher, specializing in trusts and estates law. Susan taught for 18 years at Haverford School. She also volunteers at the Pierce School in North Philadelphia, and for 15 years was a docent at Penn’s Museum. Bob and Susan lived in Villanova, on Mill Road, for 48 years, during which they added three sons and eight grandchildren to the family. Despite their penchant for exotic travel, they also have vacationed at Squam Lake in New Hampshire and at Vero Beach in Florida. Unwinding all of the above, do you sense the advantages of persisting in your piano lessons? Play it again, Sam! Welcome, Susan and Bob!
Both Bromleys are true Philadelphians. Joan was born in Bryn Mawr Hospital and Jamie “is not sure”... but thinks he may have seen the light of day as far away as Lankenau. Married life for the Bromleys started out in a tiny Boston apartment while Jamie, having graduated from Princeton, finished Harvard Business School and had a first job with a small consulting firm that primarily managed projects for the Agency for International Development. Their first child was born in Washington after Joan finished college at George Washington University. Jamie joined Philadelphia Industries, which invested in small businesses. For 22 years, he managed one of them, Rapidforms, which sold business forms by direct mail. The company grew rapidly and when the decision was made to sell, he became a consultant to top manageJamie Bromley ments of small businesses, a practice he still enjoys today. When asked what his other interests are, Jamie replied “first of all, people,” then Jungian psychology, sports, photography, travel and reading. He has been Rector’s Warden at the Church of the Redeemer, President of the Merion Cricket Club, and is on the board of Peter’s Place, which helps grieving children and their families. Along with having two more children, Joan taught piano, first at the Bryn Mawr Conservatory, then later independently, and as she says, “The children and music absorbed my life.” She also was one of the founders of the Music Group of PhilaJoan Bromley delphia, a chamber group that performed commissioned works, as well as those lesser known.
By Rod Ross
By Jean Homeier
Newcomers continued on page 6
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Newcomers continued from page 5 She is a dedicated painter who did not take up the brush until middle age, and her sixtieth birthday was marked by her first solo exhibition. Joan continues to paint, producing small, delightful landscapes. In addition, she taught English as a Second Language in South Philadelphia, then spent a summer in Thailand teaching English under the auspices of the American Field Service. Two years later, she spent two months in southern Russia also teaching English. Their daughter Betsy lives in Wallingford and is the director of The Creative Living Room, a community center that offers classes in the arts as well as in Spanish and yoga. One son, Jim, lives in Seattle and is chief financial officer of the Gates Foundation. The other, David, is in Philadelphia, executive director of The Big Picture Company, which is concerned with educational reform. There are nine grandchildren ranging in age from 8 to 21. The Bromleys are enjoying 13 Pond Land, especially their expansive view into the Wheeler Woods, and we enjoy having them here as well.
Solomons brought with them treasures from Far East By Lynn Ayres
Married 73 years, Edward (Eddie) and Bernice (Bunny) Solomon would not change a thing in their lives if they could do it all over. Even before I entered their apartment, I knew that travel was a big part of their story. Their front door area and apartment are filled with beautiful art collected from all over the world, especially Asia. The most striking object is a decorative Chinese folding screen that stands against one entire wall of their living room, but they also have pictures, sculpture and other objets d’art from Japan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, India and Nepal. In Europe, a good deal of the Solomons’ travel resulted from machinery trade shows that Ed attended every year. Afterward, they would drive around Europe, transforming business trips into vacations. They also visited South America and went on safari in Africa. They loved cruising Edward Solomon on large ships and small and found riverboat cruising especially delightful. Their most unusual travel destination
Photo by Eta Glassman
KENTUCKY DERBY CELEBRANTS at the Bistro on May 7 include Howard Glassman and Joyce and David Randolph.
was Papua New Guinea. Eddie and Bunny were born in Philadelphia and met in high school. He went to Wharton and she to Gratz College. They married, he was drafted, and Lieutenant Solomon flew 17 missions over Germany and Austria at the height of World War II. Back home, Eddie launched Pride Dog Food. Eventually he sold the business and bought the company that had manufactured all of the equipment for his canning plants. He remained in that industry until his retirement. Bunny served as an ombudsman, investigating complaints at nursing homes. When their children were out of college, she went out on her own as an independent contractor, working chiefly with McGraw-Hill and Chilton. She conducted interviews for trade journals to ascertain which advertisements attracted Bernice Solomon the attention of the readers. Ed and Bunny’s three children attended neighboring Harriton High School. Four grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren later expanded the family. The Solomons lived in Penn Valley for 40 years and then moved from their house to an apartment in Wynnewood. However, their building began to get “young,” as older residents left. Ed and Bunny wanted a place where there was more to do and where residents were contemporaries with similar interests. Their friends Fred Brenner and Elaine Goodstein introduced them to Beaumont, and here they are! Welcome!
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Newcomers continued on page 7
Cherished pets of old overlook Beaumont through the trees By Lynn Ayres If you’ve walked through Wheeler Woods, you’ve probably seen the granite memorial stone for Chip Wheeler at the highest point along the upper trail. It lies flat on the ground near a shiny bench and is inscribed, “Chip Wheeler, 1990-2002, Faithful Friend.” Chip was a handsome chocolate Lab that belonged to Beaumont founder Arthur L. Wheeler. Their portrait hangs over the fireplace at the entrance to the Beaumont Room. According to resident Leslie Wheeler, Chip’s full name was Chocolate Chip, and his predecessor was Chocolate Mousse. (Do we detect a theme here?) Burying beloved pets here predates the construction of Beaumont. At the top of the steep berm directly across the street from the Health Center entrance on Pasture Lane, there are two small gravestones. One says, “Eddy, 1948-1961, A.A. Austin,” and the other says, “Ruanne, 1953-1963, R.K. Davies.” Eddy and Ruanne were pets, probably dogs, who were buried there in the early 1960s, when Beaumont was still the Austin estate. Eddy was apparently an Austin, but who was Ruanne? In 1987, Elizabeth Huebner, an Austin grand-
daughter, negotiated with Arthur Wheeler about acquiring the property and incorporating the mansion into a retirement community. They reached an agreement, and she and her husband were in the first wave of Beaumont residents. In 1991, she wrote a booklet called Before Beaumont, Memories of Elizabeth Converse Huebner. It relates interesting history and anecdotes about the Austin family and mansion, including a juicy tidbit about an enterprising group of trespassers who chose to set up their marijuana farm here. Cherished pets continued on page 13
Newcomers continued from page 6
Kesslers settle in Austin after move from Maryland By Jean Homeier
At 268 Austin, Kate and Bob Kessler are in the midst of the unpacking ordeal well known to everyone here at Beaumont. They moved from Severna Park in the Annapolis area in order to be near one of their daughters in Radnor. After the University of Maryland, Bob was a naval aviator and spent 10 years in the Marine Corps. He then worked for Merrill Lynch for one day and received a call from Braniff International offering him a pilot position. Braniff went Bob Kessler
into bankruptcy 15 years later, and he was hired by Piedmont. Then Piedmont was bought by USAir. While with Braniff, Bob flew troops and supplies to Vietnam. A favorite passenger route was to South America, which he covered thoroughly. Now retired from USAir, Bob has the opportunity to play more golf, his favorite sport. He is enjoying playing ping-pong here at Beaumont. Kate grew up in Washington. After graduating from George Washington University, where she majored in finance, she worked as an accountant for a CPA firm before marrying Bob and raising two daughters. When I asked Kate if she liked golf is much is her husband, she Kate Kessler said, “I liked golf but golf didn’t like me!” She enjoys bridge a great deal. Before moving, she took many years of art history courses at Anne Arundel Community College, which also included several memorable trips to Europe. We welcome the Kesslers to Beaumont!
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‘Mr Whiskers,’ finding Beaumont cat-friendly, takes pen to paw to report on life with 'the BOSS'
Hi. My name is Mr Whiskers. I have been asked to get in touch with you to talk about a few of the experiences that me and the BOSS [C. James Luther] have shared recently. I am a cat, a big, white, fluffy cat. I am about 9-10 years old and the BOSS found me in an animal shelter in Maine, still a kitten, having been discovered inside a shoebox with another kitten (probably a relative) those many years ago. The BOSS brought me home with him and we ultimately moved to Beaumont where we now reside. It has been a pretty neat experience living here with mostly nice, friendly people, mostly older ladies who tend to Majestic Mr Whiskers be cat-friendly. The paid attendants and staff members have also been great, and I count many them as personal friends as we continue our relationships on a first-name basis. Early on, the BOSS was pretty active physically: playing golf, fly-fishing, swimming regularly, traveling, even painting on occasion. I know painting is not too physical and neither was his piano playing, but it made me happy to see him getting it going on the electronic “Eighty-Eight.” But then, as time passed, there was a slowdown in these activities, and things got worse this past year as shingles set in, followed by congestive heart failure and pneumonia. I have attempted to be as helpful
THE BOSS takes a selfie with Mr Whiskers
as possible. Like everybody else, us cats feel those pains felt by our BOSSES and we try to be helpful. I moved out of my bed and joined the BOSS in his. I know he felt better when I curled up on the pillow next to his head at night. And when he was experiencing the shingles dancing on his head, I would crawl up on his tummy, face to face and nose to nose, as he lay on his back. He seemed to welcome this attention, and I let him know I was there for him by putting one, then both, paws on the top of his head. It worked!! I know he felt better. We’re better now, thank goodness, but the BOSS still needs this older cat to entertain him, so I have been inventing a new game called “Find the Cat.” When he comes into the apartment, I meet him at the door with my new pose called “Crouching Predator.” He takes one step towards me and I fly away at warp speed to disappear under, behind, or above a newly discovered hiding place. We are doing just fine now. Thanks for asking. Sincerely, Mr Whiskers
Beaumont Fund receives gifts in memory of Jerry Spiegel
By Jim Zug
When Jerry Spiegel died, Paula listed the Beaumont Scholarship Fund in the Death Notice for gifts in memory of Jerry. Both have been keen supporters of the Scholarship Fund at Beaumont over the years. Scholarships are awarded annually to our employees in college at a ceremony in August. We have received memorial gifts from 32 individuals, totaling $1,603. Paula commented: “I have been very moved by the expressions of love and support through the
contributions to the Beaumont Scholarship Fund. Jerry and I have long been interested in the Scholarship Fund as a way to help and reward our devoted employees. The response has been very gratifying.” The Beaumont Fund Advisory Board has accumulated these gifts in a separate Memorial Fund within the Beaumont Fund, and will meet in June to figure out how to distribute these funds to the employees in August, with recognition that they come in memory of Jerry Spiegel.
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Longtime staff honored for service 20-YEAR EMPLOYEES: Donna Pink (Personal Care) and Jude Phasavath (Maintenance) receive recognition from Board Chairman Don Trachtenberg and President/CEO Joe Peduzzi.
15-YEAR EMPLOYEES: Rocco Arcaro (Food Services), Jake Bean (Grounds), Courtney Henry (Food Services), Ivan Ramos (Maintenance) and Donald Coward (Housekeeping).
10-YEAR EMPLOYEES: Paul Conboy (Maintenance), Secou Ross (Dietary), Jennie Frankel (Administration), Austin Hyman (Security), Robert Glace (Security). Photos by Louise Hughes
New fitness coordinator has varied experience, some of it rather unusual
By Joan Roberts
The fitness team at Beaumont has acquired a new member. Diana DiMeglio, fitness and aquatics supervisor, comes to us with considerable experience in the field, as early as high school. An athlete herself, she worked as a student athletic trainer at Springfield High, and went on to West Chester University where she majored in exercise science, with a minor in nutrition, graduating in 2008. She has her Exercise Physiologist certification from ACSM (the American College of Sports Medicine) and AEA (the Aquatic Exercise Association), and is certified in CPR and first aid. Her previous employment includes a job at age 15 in dining services at White Horse Village and later some stints at Harrah’s Casino & Racetrack in Chester and Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness, as a mutuel teller, processing bets. In her capacity as a fitness trainer, Beaumont is her third retirement facility, following Kendal-Crosslands and White Horse Village. Having grown up in Drexel Hill and Springfield, Diana has bought her first house in the Parkside
Diana DiMeglio
neighborhood of Brookhaven, Delaware County. She has two children, a daughter Madisyn, age 7, already proficient in basketball and soccer, and a son, Julian, age 3, chiefly interested in action figures. Diana’s interests include gardening, walking the park trails and baking. She is a
Walt Disney buff. Whether she is working on elderly balance and breathing or toning our “glutes” and “abs,” Diana is a wonderful addition to Beaumont’s staff and a boon to the health of the residents.
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Miriam Quinn is new Wellness Director
staff warmly welcome us to sit with her and hear her explain it all with a wonderful smile and warmth. She comes to us with great deal of management experience in a variety of medical practices where she has developed plans to increase efficiency and productivity, while never allowing all that to dampen her welcome and warmth. One of her immediate goals at Beaumont is to lead us forward with the Beaumont Aging in Place program, which when implemented, will allow many of us to remain in our homes while receiving medical attention and care, rather than going into our medical wing. Miriam has had experience with such a program at Bayada Nurses. She says that when she takes a new position she has much to learn and “I like to learn.” One of her great joys is in finally completing her MBA a few years ago, all while working at various places. In getting to know her, you might talk to her about her Irish background and her trips there to visit family. Or even to chat about the Philadelphia Eagles.
By George Hollingshead
March 8 was a wonderful day for many of us at Beaumont because that was the first day of work here for Miriam Quinn, who came here to head our Wellness Center. If you, like so many of us, are confused about all the mailings we have been getting about our health insurance policy benefits and payMiriam Quinn ments, physician’s bills, hospital costs and Medicare payments, Miriam Quinn is the name to remember. She and her behind-the-door
Memorial Day at Beaumont
Photo by Lynn Ayres
MEMORIAL DAY PICNICKERS Margie Manlove, Shirley Novo, Anne Gruenberg, Jane Lillie, and Donna Winsor enjoy good food and conversation. STARS-N-STRIPES HAT AND A SMILE from Bob Olsen brightened this table at Memorial Day picnic.
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Photo by Mary Graff
Annual community yard sale: Ka-ching! Ka-ching! COMMUNITY YARD SALE: At the February sale to benefit staff, sales were brisk. Louise Hughes deserves a good deal of credit for making this annual event a successful fundraiser.
TAKING IN THE MONEY: Jean Churchman, Caroline Kemmerer and Julie Williams tally the proceeds. TAKING AWAY A TREASURE: Coordinator Louise Hughes thanks Roel (Charlie) Dixon and Dirk Hibbert for their patronage. Photos by Charley Kurz
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Looking for good summer reading? Try Inquirer choice for best gift list, by our own Peter Binzen By Lynn Ayres When I was a child living in Philadelphia, Richardson Dilworth was mayor. He was just a name to me, and an often-mispronounced name, at that. I heard a number of people pronounce it “Dilsworth.” I guess it just slid over the tongue more easily. Nearly every Philadelphian of a certain age remembers the newspaper slogan, “In Philadelphia, nearly everybody reads The Bulletin.” Journalist Peter Binzen, a Beaumont at Bryn Mawr resident, came to Philadelphia in 1951 to join the Bulletin staff. He writes that at the same time, “Richardson Peter Binzen Dilworth and Joseph S. Clark ended 67 years of boss-ridden, often corrupt rule by the GOP. Clark served one term as mayor and then went on to the U.S. Senate. Dilworth pulled off a singular trifecta, serving first as Philadelphia’s district attorney, then as mayor, and finally as head of the city’s
embattled Board of Education during the tumultuous 1960s.” As an education reporter, Peter met the former mayor after he had become School Board President. In 1972, while researching his book on Dilworth, Peter conducted six two-hour interviews with him. Unfortunately, Peter’s publisher put the book on hold — for 40 years. With the help of his son Jonathan, Peter finally had his Dilworth biography published last year. In December, The Inquirer included Peter’s book, Richardson Dilworth: Last of the Bare-Knuckled Aristocrats, among the recommended books for holiday giving. Peter Binzen was a reporter, editor, and columnist for more than 30 years at The Philadelphia Bulletin, and for more than 20 years at The Philadelphia Inquirer. He is the author of Whitetown USA, the coauthor of The Wreck of the Penn Central and The Cop Who Would Be King, as well as the editor of Nearly Everybody Read It, a history of the Philadelphia Bulletin.
Immigration continued from page 1 The door stood open and it had no keeper. The first immigration station in America was Castle Garden, down in Battery Park, New York. It was operated by the state and during its 45-year existence eight million people were processed through there. It did an appallingly bad job: Employees were corrupt, record keeping was shoddy and the immigrants were treated terribly, so the federal government took over and the station moved to Ellis Island in 1892. Immigrants came in from other points besides New York. San Francisco, Boston, Baltimore and Philadelphia saw a share of new arrivals, but it was Ellis Island that came to be known as America’s Turnstile, The Golden Door, and the Island of Hope. Eventually the original little three-acre Island grew to 27 (from landfill taken from the excavations for the new subway systems and Grand Central Station).
There were 33 buildings occupying this space. Besides the processing area, there was a 275-bed hospital, contagious-disease wards for 450, X-ray facilities, a morgue, huge kitchens and dining halls, 1,200 dormitory beds, a chapel, a rooftop playground and even a movie theater. The water around the island was too shallow for ships to dock so they had to anchor in the harbor and wait for barges to ferry passengers to the island. This could mean a wait of several days because there were sometimes as many as 30 ships loaded with more than 10,000 immigrants awaiting the barges. The poor immigrants, who were jammed together on these ships for four weeks to several months, depending upon the weather, were tired, dirty, hungry and frightened. They were surrounded by strangers speaking all kinds of unknown languages. They were carrying all their worldly possessions and frantically exhorting their Immigration continued on page 13
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Cherished pets continued from page 7 Anna Alcott Austin was the last surviving unmarried daughter of William Austin, and by the 1960s, after the death of her sister Rebecca, she was the last Austin living in the mansion. As a matter of fact, she was almost the last person living in the mansion. She had property in Wyoming, where she spent late summer into autumn, leaving the mansion deserted except for the house sitter, Gyda. Gyda noticed the enterprising “farmers” and notified the authorities, but almost as soon as the police cleared them out, they reappeared to continue their operations. Anna returned from the West, bringing with
her Ruby Davies, a friend from Wyoming. When Anna heard about the intruders, she did what any rip-roaring Westerner would do. She got her hunting rifle and ordered them off the property. They fled. During this period, Eddy was Anna’s canine companion, and Ruanne belonged to her friend Ruby Davies. The ladies are gone, but their dogs are still here — on top of the berm across from the Health Center entrance on Pasture Lane. Photos by Louise Hughes, who climbed the berm in 2012, when there was still a clear path to the top.
Immigration continued from page 12 families to pay attention, keep together. The peak year was either 1904 or 1907, when 8,818 ships disgorged those anxious, confused foreigners. On one day alone, a tidal wave of 12,000 new arrivals flooded through and were processed at the record shattering rate of one every two minutes. At Ellis Island, a paid staff of more than 700 doctors, nurses, cooks, maintenance men, worked seven days a week, 24 hours a day. There were interpreters for every language. Fiorello La Guardia worked for two years as an interpreter, speaking five different languages. The open arms with which America welcomed her immigrants 100 years ago is a far cry from the horror stories we hear about the poor and homeless trying to find a better life in today’s world.
Photo by Louise Hughes
ST. PATRICK'S DAY SOCIAL: Cynthia Drayton (in the hat) and Callie Wheeler enjoy the goodies.
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Ubiquitous Easter Bunny captures hearts
Photo by Chef John Bauer
ON DUTY FOR THE BRUNCH: Courtney Steer, Secou Ross, Rudy Lagasca, Easter Bunny (Gregory Johnson), Michael Santangelo, Julia Kisia, Amanda Wilson, Latysha Peterson.
Photo by Chef John Bauer
Photo by Ann Louise Strong
ICE SCULPTURE EGG created by Chef John Bauer encircles a happy bunny at the Easter brunch.
EASTER BUNNY escorts Nancy Harris and Jeanne Cortner to the Easter Brunch.
Photos by Rich Smyth
ENJOYING THE EASTER EGG HUNT: above left-Ethan Szoke, Samantha Pera, Emma Szoke, Alexandria Pera, and Kristen Szoke, from Payroll; lower left-Jenny Hadfield’s Emma and Danielle; above center-driver Rich Smyth’s grandchildren, Luca and Mia Burris, embrace Easter Bunny; above right-recrecreation therapist Jenny Hadfield directs the troops.
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It's Greek to me!
By Frank Kampas (Kαμπάς) Did you ever say to yourself, “That’s an interesting word. I wonder where it came from?” We all probably learned in school that a good deal of our vocabulary is based on Latin or Greek, and recognizing word roots can help us decipher meanings. For example, people running for public office should know that the English word “agony” ultimately derives from the Greek verb agein (to lead), which transformed into agon (assembly for a contest) and then into agonia (struggle for victory). [In recent years, increasingly prolonged American campaign seasons have created genuine agony for both candidates and constituents.] A related English word is “synagogue” which derives from the Greek syn (together) + agein,
to produce “bring together.” It was coined by Greek translators of the Old Testament. The Greek prefix syn appears in many English words. One example is the word “syntax,” the set of rules for creating sentences. It comes from syn (together) + tassein (to arrange). From there we can jump to “taxonomy,” the laws of classification, which derives from tassein + nomos (from nemein, to manage). That takes us to “Deuteronomy,” which means “second law” from deuteros (second) and nomos. Finally we go to “deuterium,” an isotope of hydrogen that has twice the mass of the more common form. “Isotope” also comes from Greek, but I’ll save that for another day.
Photos by Joe Peduzzi
BEAUMONT PASSOVER SEDER in the Music Room on Friday, April 22: Evelyn Rosen and Marvin Weisbord light the candles for the sanctification of the celebration. Evelyn displays the charoset, one of the special Passover foods that serve as a reminder of the Hebrews’ enslavement in Egypt. Charoset is a sweet, dark-colored paste made of fruits and nuts, whose color and texture represent the mortar used by the Hebrew slaves to make bricks. The Hill School continued from page 16 Brandywine School of painters. His many paintings have become very valuable. Mr. Sweeney retired in 1936 after 40 years’ service to The Hill and to its boys. He was 71, and teaching was never his major role. However, thanks to
his vision and exceptional generosity, the inspiring paintings that he donated began teaching then and continue to teach now. Hopefully, they will continue to educate and uplift Hill boys for centuries to come.
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Paintings, memories reward visitors to The Hill School By Alvan Markle On May 4, twenty-four Beaumont residents and guests journeyed to Pottstown to view 17 extraordinary paintings created by N. C. Wyeth, renowned artist and illustrator. The visit was arranged by Deborah Bishop. En route, Debora Zug called upon her experience as a Brandywine River Museum docent to tell the group about the Wyeth family of artists. On arrival at The Hill School, I spoke about Michael F. Sweeney, the faculty member who gave these large, inspiring works of art to the school. Ellen O. Nelson, the school’s visual arts instructor, then gave us an interesting Power Point talk about the paintings and Photo by Louise Hughes their patriotic theme. N.C. WYETH'S PAINTING OF The paintings hang in the NATHAN HALE hangs above large, paneled dining hall Alumnus Alvan Markle. Hale where Ms. Nelson gave was hanged by the British as a spy during the American Revolution. the history of each one. The His last words were, “I regret that Beaumont group was greatly I have but one life to lose for my impressed by the imagicountry.” nation and skill of the artist, the ambience the paintings produce, and their fitness for such a fine school. * * * * * * * * * * * * * Remarks about Michael F. Sweeney, donor of the N. C. Wyeth paintings, made to the Beaumont visitors at The Hill School by Alvan Markle III, Class of 1937. Mike Sweeney was born in 1865. He was educated at Dr. Sargent’s School and the Chatauaqua Schools of Physical Training and excelled nationally in track and field sports. Although he lacked impressive academic credentials, he came to The Hill in 1896 as track coach and became Director of Physical Training. I first met Coach Sweeney about 1930 with a group of six prospective students and their fathers who had come to see the school. I was 12 years old. He was wearing a dark business suit and street shoes. We were at the track, and several high-hurdles were set
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up nearby. He was 65 years old, and someone remarked, “You must wish you could jump those today.” Without a word, he handed his jacket to someone, ran a precise approach, and nipped over a 36” high hurdle with no apparent effort. Mr. Sweeney was concerned with the boys’ minds as well as their bodies. He taught them that little could be accomplished without self-discipline and perseverance. He built character as well as muscles. In addition to helping the Hill boys, he coached others, including Gene Venzke who ran within a few seconds of the fabulous four-minute mile.
Photo by Louise Hughes IMPRESSIVE DINING HALL captures English Renaissance style, with dark oak walls, intricate wood carvings, and use of wrought iron detail.
Every new boy was sent to the gym for physical evaluation. He stripped, small black dots were painted on his ankle bone, his hip joint, and the point of his shoulder, and his profile was photographed. Lines connecting the dots on the photo clearly showed his posture, and corrective measures were taken if needed. I believe it was in the 1920s that Mike became aware of a group of 17 impressive paintings with patriotic themes that were for sale. They had been created by N. C. Wyeth to illustrate classic books, and Mike realized their great inspirational value to impressionable growing boys. He lived on a schoolmaster’s salary, and his resources were very limited, but he recognized that this was a unique opportunity. He convinced Nathaniel Wyeth of what they would mean to the boys, bought all the paintings, and gave the lot to the school. In those days, illustrators were not held in high regard in the world of art. But over the years, N. C. Wyeth became recognized as the fine painter he was, and along with Howard Pyle, as founder of the noted The Hill School continued on page 15