Solebury Residents

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Rebecca Bailey (NHHS)

Becky was an elementary-school teacher at the New Hope-Solebury schools for over forty years. She speaks of 1920s and 1930s school days in New Hope with many teachers named and descriptions of the school day. She passed away in 2011.   Recording and details.

Maude Cathers (STHS)

Maude was a student at the Greenhill and then the Solebury one-room schoolhouses. She taught at the Carversville School and later taught and was principal at the Solebury Elementary School. Recording 1 is an interview conducted by New-Hope-Solebury students, recorded about the time of her retirement. It covered the period from 1909 to 1969 and has information about the Solebury one-room schoolhouse. The interview was transcribed and published in book form by the Society. Recording 2 is a presentation of a pretend school day of first, second, and third grades with some of her former students. Recording 1 and details. Recording 2 and details.

Betty Chardon (STHS)

Betty moved to Solebury as a new wife in 1948 and lives on Chapel Road near St. Phillip’s Chapel. Her memories cover 1950 to 2000. Recording and details.

Elaine Marie Crooks (STHS)

Elaine has been active in the Solebury Township Historical Society and other community organizations for many years. She was on the board of directors of the Society and at different times served as president, secretary, treasurer, and membership chair. Recording and details.

Malcolm Crooks (STHS)

Malcolm and his family are long-time residents and civic leaders of Solebury Township. He talked to Chase Asplundh, a New Hope/Solebury High School student and Society junior historian, and Linda Metcalf, a former STHS board member, about his life. His leadership, interests, and advocacy have been instrumental in shaping the preserved, open landscape we all enjoy today.Recording and details.

Leodora F. Davis (NHHS)

Leodora was born and raised in Solebury. She was a teacher at the one-room schoolhouse on Aquetong Road. Recording and details.

Edward Fell (STHS)

Ed was a Penobscot Indian who lived in Solebury Township for over 80 years. His memories cover the period 1920 to 2000. Recording and details.

Roland Fiori (NHHS)

Roland was a popular local musician who knew everyone in the local non-painter artistic community. He served as director of music for St. Martin’s Church in New Hope and mentions the names of many famous person who lived in or came to the New Hope area. Recording and details.

Donald Fitting (STHS)

Don talked to Chase Asplundh, a New Hope/Solebury High School student and Society junior historian, and Linda Metcalf, a former STHS board member, about his life. Don attended the Solebury one-room schoolhouse where his mother taught. Recording and details.

Filbert Fox (STHS)

Phil was interviewed by two New Hope-Solebury Elementary School students about his experiences as a student in the Solebury one-room schoolhouse and other events in his life. The interview was transcribed and published in book form by the Society. Recording and details.

Rachel Latta Franck (NHHS)

Rachel Latta Franck was the wife of travel writer Harry A. Franck  and an author of her own book, I Married a Vagabond, which was published in 1939. They traveled the world together as he continued to write his many books. In 1932 they settled in Solebury where she had family ties going back to the first Paxson settlers. Recording and details.

Mildred Randa Klicka (NHHS)

Millie was born in Solebury Township and raised on a dairy farm. She attended local schools and shares many memories of earlier times. Recording and details.

 Joseph Magill (STHS)

Joe was from a long-time Solebury family. He was raised on his family dairy farm. His reminiscences cover the period from 1920 to 2000. Recording and details.

Harold McDonald (STHS)

Harold was a Solebury farmer much involved with the social life in Solebury Township. He managed the Holmquist dairy farm with its small herd of Jersey cows and delivered milk in the area. The interview covers 1933 to 2000. Recording and details.

Richard J. Mangan (STHS)

Duffy Mangan was chief of police in Solebury Township for 36 years and was on the force for five years before that. He was chief during some calm and some turbulent times in the township, including during the Dump the Pump campaign. Recording and details.

Irene Mikita (NHHS)

Irene was a New York resident with a radio background who spent weekends in Solebury at her home on Stoney Brook Road and grew to love the area. Her husband Joe was president of the New Hope Historical Society.  Recording and details.

Erma Newhart (NHHS)

Erma was a long-time area resident who had great memories of her time in the area and in school. She was very aware of the social differences among the various groups of students. Erma became a teacher. Recording and details.

John Radosin (STHS)

John spent most of his life in Solebury. He served in World War II. His interview stresses the period of World War II but also covers other topics from 1935 to 2000. Recording and details.

Rhoda Renschler (STHS)

Rhoda is a life-long Quaker, a descendant of early Solebury settlers. She spoke to the Solebury Farmer’s Club on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Solebury Friends Meeting. Recording and details.

Willis Rivinus (STHS)

Will has lived in Solebury Township for more than 60 years. He was chosen as the STHS Honored Citizen in 2007  for his dedication to the township as a writer, historian, and preservationist. This series of five interviews conducted by Jack Donahue cover the New Hope Auto Show, floods on the Delaware River (especially 1955), books Will has published, the Friends of the Delaware Canal (FODC), and restaurants, inns, and taverns in the area.  Recording 1 (auto show) and details.  Recording 2 (floods) and details.  Recording 3 (authored books) and details.  Recording 4 (FODC) and details.  Recording 5 (restaurants) and details. Recording 6 (National Heritage Corridor) and details.

Margaret Mullen Root (NHHS)

Maggie was a Broadway actress who married set designer John Root in Doylestown and later settled in Wycombe, PA. In 1964 they moved to Solebury and remained there the rest of their lives. Maggie appeared in productions in almost every season at the Bucks County Playhouse from 1947 to 1967.  Recording and details.

Kyle St. Claire (STHS)

Kyle was the vicar of St. Phillip’s Church for 20 years, from 1980 to 2000. Recording and details.

Dorothy Slessinger Sommer (STHS)

Dottie was a long time member of the Phillips’ Mill Community Association and its theatrical guiding light for a number of years. She also played a key role in the New Hope Street Fair, and this interview was a promotional piece for the fair. Recording and details.

Betty Tease (STHS)

Betty’s father worked in the mill on Reeder Road and she was born in the small house at the corner of Reeder Road and current 202. She lived in Solebury all her life. Her interview covers 1920 to 2000. Recording and details.

Emma Fell Tinsman (NHHS)

Emma tells many stories about her childhood days on a farm.  The never ending chores around food production are a key feature of this oral history. Emma married William Tinsman, Sr., and is the mother of William, Jr. Recording and details.

William Jr. and Susan Tinsman (STHS)

The Tinsman family has owned the lumber yard in Lumberville for generations. Bill, with asides by his wife Sue, recounts his life in the area. Recording and details.

John Touhey (STHS)

John first moved to Solebury in 1977 and purchased his home in Solebury village in 1997. He was largely responsible for the resurrection of STHS in 1998. Recording and details.

Ruth Stonaker Worthington (NHHS)

Ruth, a life-long practicing nurse, married Alvin Worthington, New Hope’s first Chevrolet dealer in 1929. Their energetic and outgoing lives are a perfect vantage point from which to observe New Hope from the Depression years through the heydays of the 1960s. Ruth’s common sense point of view and observations give us many details of the growth of New Hope borough and Solebury Township. Ruth and Alvin initially lived in New Hope but then moved to Rabbit Run Farm, just outside the borough in Solebury Township. Recording and details.