One of the most beloved features of the Glen Providence Park is the man-made pond at its center – created 80 years ago for fishing and skating! Like the other original park structures and trails, it was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a Depression-era jobs program – which is part of what made the park eligible for the National Register of Historic Places!

Creating a pond

Samuel L. Smedley envisioned the pond when he founded Glen Providence in 1935, and effusive Chester Times articles about the new park tracked the pond’s construction. Work had begun on the “lake” by April 1936: “Entering from the Third street end… From here the nature lover, following paths recently completed by the WPA will see springs, and a small lake in the course of completion.” The pond was “nearly completed” by August.

A 1937 article about Glen Providence described the new pond in detail: “The most outstanding object of interest is “Mirror Lake,” 400 feet long, 100 feet wide, irregular in outline, constructed near the middle of the property, and to the west of Broomall’s Run. The  water supply is by a by-pass, from Broomall’s Run… A second supply is from the larger spring [the historical drinking spring near Broomall’s Dam]… the water being carried through about 500 feet of pipe and liberated over an artificial cascade into the lake, making a very attractive feature.” That cascade would later be improved in 1948 by the Providence Garden Club as the Eleanor Reed Butler Waterfall – with her husband, Eleanor had donated the majority of the land for the park as a Bird Sanctuary and Arboretum.

Fishing, skating, ducks… and the Swamp Man!

True to its intended purpose, the pond was the site of years of fishing derbies for children in summer, and was regularly stocked with perch, bass, and sunfish. Enchantingly, there were lights around the pond for nighttime skating in winter! The pond also hosted a cast of feathered characters, with ducks and geese that were named by the park guards – and some of their antics made the newspapers!*

Any manmade body of water requires maintenance over time, and by the early 1980’s, the pond had virtually dried up. Under Recreation Supervisor Terry Smith, Delaware County Parks & Recreation held a “Sherlock Holmes Mystery Walk” in 1981 at the dried-up pond, which “won rejuvenation thanks to public awareness.” The pond was dredged, and in 1983 and 1984, “Great Bullfrog Releases” were held inviting volunteers “to help release bullfrogs into the park’s revitalized pond.”

The pond went on to play a role in the park’s “Halloween Hauntings” in the 1980’s –  we’ve heard from many people about the scary “Swamp Man” who hid in the pond (in scuba gear!), jumping out at passers-by!  

The pond today

While still full of wildlife including several species of turtles, fish, and frogs, the pond is again filling with sediment. Sometime since 1975, the pipes feeding the Eleanor Reed Butler Waterfall caved in, eliminating a source of water and aeration for the pond. A fountain was installed in the pond in the early 2000’s to help with aeration, but was ultimately vandalized. The pond’s shallowness, combined with insufficient aeration and inadequate vegetation around the pond, contribute to it being overgrown with algae in summers. 

There are potential upcoming changes to the pond as a result of the Broomall’s Dam replacement (now anticipated for 2018), including the possible creation of wetlands at one end of the pond. In any case, the pond will need dredging, stabilization of the intake and outlet, and planting of trees, shrubs, and appropriate native vegetation around, and in, the water to restore and preserve its ecosystem.

We hope that revitalization is successful, and that future generations are able to enjoy this WPA pond!   

*I’ll write more about the fishing derbies, illustrious ducks, and winter skating in future articles!

Click below to see the charming 1939 photos by local resident GJ Ulshafer showing what the new pond looked like, an undated postcard, and photos from 1944, 1959, and 2016. 

Early Spring pond panorama in 2016 – click for a closer view

Sources:

Chester Times articles researched on the Newspaper Archives of Delaware County Library:

Chester Times:
Club Leaders See New County Park, November 1, 1935
New Park Rich in Trees, Birds, April 2, 1936
Parks Pilgrimage, June 6, 1936
Glen Providence Nature Oddity, August 8, 1936
Delaware County Park Board Makes Progress, February 8, 1937
Glen Providence, On Edge of Media, Is Bird Haven, July 22, 1944
Swing Into Spring, April 10, 1959

The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Whodunit? At Bottom, It’s a Plot to Help Delco Parks, September 18, 1981
A Great Bullfrog Release Nears – Volunteers Restocking Media Park Pond, June 19, 1984

December was relatively dry and warm- it was 55 degrees on the first day of winter!  While we did not get snow (sigh), Glen Providence Park continued to be lovely: with fog, frost and ice changing the scenery.  And though reptiles, amphibians, insects and flowers may be dormant, birds and trees can be admired year-round!  Good thing Glen Providence Park is a bird sanctuary and arboretum…

Old drinking well with hand pump

We were proud to participate in the Christmas Bird Count, the world’s longest-running citizen science project! It was exciting to get close enough to a Turkey Vulture roost to hear their wings as they moved.  We counted 108 individual birds of 16 species that day, and discovered a few other things in the park, from fungi to an old drinking well.

Yes, there is an old and broken bench buried under that tree

And with further traces of things past, we discovered more fixtures for wiring– the one depicted below was over 15′ high in a dead tree along the path that leads from the sledding hill to the Ice House Trail. We know there used to be lights around the pond for nighttime ice skating(!), and there are old wires in some trees along the Ice House Trail which would seem to be from lights.

Click on any photo for a closer look, or scroll through the photos below for a virtual tour.  You can view more photos in our Christmas Bird Count post, and in our Facebook Albums: including Wildlife, Scenery, and History.

An amazing 1933 account of a girl rescuing her younger sister from icy water at Broomall’s Dam is remarkably similar to that of George Bailey rescuing his younger brother in the 1946 Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life.

In the movie, George’s younger brother Harry falls through the ice on a frozen pond while sledding on shovels. Twelve year old George rescues Harry, but loses hearing in his left ear due to a resulting infection.  In the real-life incident at Broomall’s Dam, 9 year old Alice Gollis and her 6 year old sister Mary Jane were “sliding” while watching skaters on the lake, when Mary Jane fell through the ice.  Alice  fell through the ice herself while working to save her little sister Mary Jane, but succeeded in rescuing her, even after Mary Jane went under water.  Mary Jane  stayed at “a nursing home for convalescents” to recover, and her big sister Alice was reported two days later to be “still suffering from the effects of her cold plunge”.

Chester Times - February 21, 1933

Broomall’s Lake is retained by the 3rd Street Dam, and it marks the northern border of Glen Providence Park.  It was originally called Broomall’s Dam, and was a popular ice skating spot since its creation in 1883.  According to a 1937 Chester Times account, after the man-made pond in Glen Providence Park was created in 1936, “the smaller boys and girls” would skate at the pond, while the big kids and adults skated at nearby Broomall’s Dam.  The park’s pond was considered safer for younger children: due to its shallowness, a park guard looking out for them, and nighttime lighting!

So is there any chance the 1933 Broomall’s Dam incident inspired the rescue scene in the movie It’s a Wonderful Life?  Well, the screenplay is based on the story The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern, first sent as a 24-page Christmas card in 1943, and later published as a book.  I was initially encouraged to find the author was born in Pennsylvania and raised in New Jersey.  But I bought the book… while it does include a pond accident where George saves his brother Harry, it is a swimming accident that takes place in August.

Could director Frank Capra or the screenplay writers have heard of the Broomall’s Dam sister rescue? Though 4 of 5 contributing writers lived in nearby states New Jersey or New York, I found no evidence the story was circulated beyond the Chester Times.

I also found no further record of Alice or Mary Jane Gollis.  It is unknown how little Mary Jane recovered, or if like George Bailey, Alice lost the hearing in her left ear… regardless, Alice was one incredible big sister!

For Glen Providence Park’s connection with Charles Dickens’ holiday classic A Christmas Carol, see our post about Ebenezer Scroggie.

When Mr. and Mrs. George Butler donated the land for Glen Providence Park in 1935, it was the first park in Delaware County.  Dedicated as a Bird Sanctuary and Arboretum, this park has hosted an amazing array of events and activities in its 76 years, not to mention the habitat it provides for plants and wildlife!

Long before summer concerts in Rose Tree Park, Glen Providence Park had incredibly popular outdoor concerts, from 1937 through the 1970’s.  And the 4th of July fireworks that were held annually from 1954 to 1986 drew crowds in the thousands!

Events were not restricted to summer- the Halloween Haunted Woods in the 1980’s included a “swamp man” in the pond!  In winter, ice skating at the pond was enhanced with a cabin for warmth and lights around the pond for nighttime skating.  And generations have enjoyed the spectacular sledding hill at the main entrance!

Easter sunrise services were held in the park through the 1940’s.  Easter also heralds the longest running event in Glen Providence Park- the Annual Egg Hunt started in 1954!  Other events in the park’s past include fishing derbies, pie eating contests, even picnics for University of Pennsylvania fraternities.

The natural environment of the park is enjoyed year-round by hikers, bird watchers, dog walkers, and children.  From the park’s beginning through the present day, school classes have visited the park to study nature.  Until at least 1970 there was a park guard, whose role was part caretaker and part park ranger, helping visitors identify plants and wildlife.

Glen Providence Park was the pride of the county in its early decades.  Due to the elegance of its plan and its original structures, in 2002 it was determined to be eligible for the National Registry of Historic Places!

Yet in all its 76 years, Glen Providence Park is perhaps the most relevant today.  With concerns about gas prices, the economy, health, and wildlife habitat, a walk through this park provides a free family outing within walking distance of thousands of local residents.  Exercise and stress relief? They’re unavoidable while exploring this beautiful park.   Its land provides a haven for an array of wildlife and native plants.  Glen Providence Park could not be more valuable.

The dedication at the park’s main entrance ends with, “A gift of land is a gift eternal”.  What an incredible gift it is!

Our Letter to the Editor in September 2011

By Stephanie Gaboriault