Teachers
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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.
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.
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.
Erika Oeschler Luitweiler (MAM)
Erica was a New Hope-Solebury Elementary School art teacher who also wrote poetry in her later years. The Michener Art Museum holds three separate interviews of Erika, and we include them in the STHS collection because of her importance as a teacher of many Solebury children. The first and third interviews are from the MAM general collection. The second is from the class collection of Professor Nancy Hellebrand of Bucks County Community College. Recording 1 and details. Recording 2 and details. Recording 3 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.
There Was a Time When . . . . . . . (STHS)
During the school year of 1981-1982, the fifth and sixth grade social studies enrichment students of New Hope-Solebury Elementary School conducted an archaeological dig on the site of the Center Hill one-room schoolhouse, today the home of the Solebury Township Historical Society. At the same time, the students interviewed seven residents of the area, some of whom were teachers, about their schooling and their lives. These interviews offer insightful memories that take us from as early as 1909 through the 1960s. The tapes of two of these interviews, Maude Cathers and Filbert Fox, have been saved and are included in the Society’s Oral History tape collection. All seven interviews were transcribed and published by the Society in book form called There Was a Time When…… and are included here as part of the Society’s Oral History project. The transcriptions of the interviews have been separated for the convenience of the reader.
Maude Cathers Filbert Fox Esther Goss Mrs. Hibbard