Since it was created by the WPA in 1936 for fishing and skating, the pond in Glen Providence Park has seen its fair share of fishing, from family outings to years of fishing contests! Early active involvement by the environmental organization Izaac Walton League gave way to activities led by other community groups, with fishing programs and rodeos for boys and girls, field trips, and fishing lessons. The pond was listed in the Fishing Directory of Delaware County, and was stocked with impressive quantities of fish for decades.  

Waders Beware!

Ten pairs of largemouth bass that were introduced as brood fish got the “rearing pond” off to a start a little more exciting than intended, as recounted in the August 1937 issue of Pennsylvania Angler magazine: “The bass were on the nests and everything was going lovely when a park authority gave Waltonian Phil Platt a hurry call on the ‘phone. It seems that a lad was wading or something like that and his foot came rather close to a bass over its nest. The fish struck so viciously that it drew blood.” Fortunately that did not deter hundreds of children from participating each year in the County’s fishing program!

Junior Fishing Project

There were fishing programs for children under 16 (the fishing license age) from at least 1940 to 1967, so that youths could “enjoy the pasttime of fishing.” In the County’s “Junior Fishing Project” in the 1940’s, each boy and girl would register at the park guard house: “Upon registration, the child is given a tag, and these tags, issued free of charge, permit the youngster to fish from May to October.” Fishing was permitted on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with daily catch limits, and a requirement that all hooks be barbless.

The fishing program was well organized by Delaware County Parks & Recreation – park guards tracked registrations, and the sizes and totals of  fish caught, with prizes awarded at the end of the season for the largest fish.  In the summer of 1941, “There were 282 registrations throughout the summer of children under 16 years of age. These youngsters proved themselves worthy Izaak Waltonians when a record of the total fish caught was received from Mr. Stokes, guard at Glen Providence Park, as follows: 662 sunfish, 19 perch, 4 bass.” A 17-pound bass was caught in 1940, and in 1945, “Stokes said catfish 10 to 12 inches long having been reported and carp up to 17 inches. Bass are running from 12 to 20 inches long.”

Stocking the pond

All this fishing was sustained by some impressive stocking of the pond with various fish through the years, often by the thousands. Perch, bass, sunfish, carp, catfish, and bullheads were stocked in the 1940’s; and blue gills, largemouth bass, and catfish in the 1960’s.

After stocking the pond with 4,000 catfish, bullheads, and carp in 1942, the County offered a recipe to make use of them: “Carp make good eating, too, park board authorities say. But, they warn, place six to eight potatoes in the same pan, smack up against the fish. Bake until done and then, above all things, discard the potatoes. That’s because the potatoes absorb the objectionable taste and odor. If the carp is prepared in this suggested manner, they say, the carp will easily pass for a fresh Spanish mackerel.”

As with most events and activities in the park’s past, different community organizations contributed to sustaining fishing through the years. In addition to Delaware County Parks & Recreation, those who stocked the pond included the Izaac Walton League in the early 1940’s, the Field and Stream Club in 1949, and Delco Anglers and Conservationists in the 1960’s. In 1950, 4,000 Bluegills were donated by the federal government! In 1963, the Media Jaycees, who were so involved in the park for years through running the Great Media Easter Egg Hunt and the July 4 Fireworks & Festivities, led a fishing expedition for children of Elwyn School: “17 boys caught 35 fish in the morning at Glen Providence Park.”

Fishing Rodeos

After forming as an organization in 1961, Delco Anglers and Conservationists were active in Glen Providence in the 1960’s. They transplanted over 200 Bluegills and 65 Largemouth bass into the pond in 1963. Then in 1965, they held a fishing rodeo for boys and girls up to 15 years old, with more than 100 contestants from 10 communities. Wonderfully, it was a four year old girl who caught more fish than any other contestant in the rodeo! Her well-deserved prize was “a spanking new rod and reed almost twice as tall as she is.”

The Delco Anglers held the “Annual Fishing Rodeo” for at least two more years. The most recent article I found specific to fishing in the park was from 1968, when Glen Providence was one of 4 locations where 2,500 catfish were released: “The whiskered gents have been released in four of the local lakes for your fishing pleasure.”

Fishing today

We don’t have records of fishing at the park in the 1970’s, but we know the pond had virtually dried up by the early 1980’s – when it was revitalized and restocked with frogs, as recounted in A WPA Pond. The pond was likely restocked with fish as well. There are also fish in Broomall’s Run, which feeds the pond, making that another source of fish. 

While there are no longer fishing programs or rodeos, fishing at the pond continues today. Two years ago we discovered fly fishing lessons in the park, run by Delco Manning Trout Unlimited and Sporting Gentleman – when it was located in Media Borough, 2 blocks from the park. We also come across individuals and families “enjoying the pastime of fishing.”

The fish mentioned throughout the newspaper articles are listed as: bass, Largemouth bass, sunfish, Bluegill (sunfish), perch, carp, catfish, and Bullhead (catfish). The fish we have photographed in the past 5 years are: Pumpkinseed and Bluegill sunfish, Bullhead catfish, Common carp, Largemouth bass, and unidentified minnows. If you have more to add to that, let us know – we’ll create a Park Fish List to add to our species lists of the park’s birds, trees, and reptiles & amphibians!

Do you have stories, memories, or photos from fishing in Glen Providence Park, or species to add to those listed? Please email us at FriendsoftheGlen [at] gmail [dot] com.

Read some more details from early articles, and see that four year old fishing champion(!) and photos of the park’s fish, in the gallery below. Sources listed after the gallery.

Sources:

Chester Times & Daily Times articles researched on the Newspaper Archives of Delaware County Library.

Pennsylvania Angler Magazine:
Waders Beware!, August 1937
Successful Season at Junior Project, January 1941

Chester Times:
Thousands Enjoy Relief from Heat in County Parks, July 25, 1940
County’s Park System Program, January 31, 1941
Sports Shorts, May 14, 1941
Fishing Project for Young Folks, May 29, 1941
4000 Fish for Lake in Park, September 2, 1942
Glen Providence, On Edge of Media, Is Bird Haven, July 22, 1944
Glen Providence Fishing Contest To Start July 1, June 29, 1945
Glen Providence Park One of Scenic Spots in County, October 24, 1949
Glen Providence Gets 4000 Blue Gills, November 2, 1950
Glen Providence Is Interesting Spot, May 1, 1951???

Delaware County Daily Times:
Ernie’s Almanac, Ernie Trosino, September 19, 1963
Middletown Jaycees Aid Polio Clinic, October 9, 1963
Ernie’s Almanac, Ernie Trosino, September 2, 1965
Little Girl’s Fish Story Is No Fabulous Fiction, But Fact, September 18, 1965
Ernie’s Almanac, Ernie Trosino, September 15, 1966
Fishing Rodeo Is Scheduled, August 23, 1967
Ernie’s Almanac, Ernie Trosino, April 15, 1968

Additional sources cited in A WPA Pond.

Thank you to Brian Vadino of the Delaware County Conservation District, and Art at the pond, for their assistance with some of the fish ID’s.

2015 was the 80th Anniversary year for Glen Providence Park! In 1935, prominent Media Borough residents George and Eleanor Reed Butler donated the majority of land for Glen Providence, which would be the first park in the Delaware County system. The Butlers donated the park as a bird sanctuary and arboretum, and specified in the deed they signed on July 24, 1935 that the land be kept “in as natural a condition as possible.” Eleanor named Glen Providence “because of its glen-like formation and as it is located in the heart of the Providence townships.”

It was on Halloween 1935 when James Stokes, the first park guard, began work on the park under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a depression-era jobs program. The WPA built all original park structures, including the entrances, the pavilion, several footbridges, and the concert stage.

The day after the park opened, an article in the Chester Times beckoned the public: “Come with your bird glasses, your flower guides, your tree books. Bring the school children and scout groups, and let Nature teach them her ancient lessons.” Glen Providence has hosted decades of events and activities including nature walks, birdwatching, scouting events, skating, sledding, fishing, fireworks, concerts, Haunted Woods, and the Great Media Easter Egg Hunt!

In 2015, we celebrated and honored the first 80 years of Delaware County’s first park. In addition to our regular monthly events:

• At our Earth Day Celebration, we planted trees by the historical stage with Delaware County officials and Media Providence Friends School students.

• On the anniversary weekend of the park deed being signed, we held an 80th Anniversary Celebration at our July concert – with the Butler grandchildren Eleanor Reed Lewis and Clifford Butler Lewis as guests of honor!

• At our Halloween 80th Birthday Celebration, Hedgerow Theatre performed Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven, and enacted the park’s 1700’s Newlywed Ghost Story and 1800’s Witch Story! A costumed audience of almost 200 enjoyed the performance (and birthday cupcakes!) before heading off for trick-or-treating.

Read more about the founding of Glen Providence Park and its Halloween birthday, or explore its rich past on our History Timeline. More photos and details about our 80th anniversary events are in the green links above.

We wish you many more wonderful years, Glen Providence Park!

Photographs by George Tate:

In the summer of 1935, George and Eleanor Butler donated the land for Glen Providence Park, the first park established by Delaware County. Its final approval was reported in the October 30, 1935 Chester Times, and the long-time park guard and caretaker James R. Stokes, Jr. started work the next day on October 31, 1935 – so Halloween is Glen Providence Park’s anniversary, and this year will be its 80th!

Glen Providence Park would not have been possible without the generosity of George and Eleanor Butler and the vision of Samuel L. Smedley, the president of the Delaware County Park Board. Mr. Smedley championed regional planning and open space in Delaware County from at least 1927, when he spoke about the county’s rapidly growing population necessitating a recreational and park system and of Delaware County’s “rolling country, intercepted by beautiful streams, making ideal conditions for living and recreation.”

Samuel L. Smedley spearheaded the creation of the Delaware County Park Board in 1932, and apparently had his eye on the Butler property during a June 1935 walk reported in the Chester Times: “There is an arboretum upon the estate of George T. Butler, a natural one, the trees just grew as nature would have them. Samuel L. Smedley, one of Delaware county’s widely known botanists, in roaming through the lovely valley and over the hillside found fifty varieties of trees. Mr. Smedley is also an ornithologist and saw a number of different birds flitting around.”

Just over a month later on July 24, 1935, George and Eleanor Butler signed a deed donating the majority of the land for the park to Delaware County, with small tracts donated by The Media Swimming and Rowing Club and James J. Skelly. From the beginning, the focus was on preserving the natural beauty and habitat of the valley. The deed dated July 24, 1935 states “That the property shall be used only as a Park and Kept in as natural a condition as possible save only for the construction of paths or trails for the use of pedestrians.” Glen Providence Park was established as a Bird Sanctuary and Arboretum, and Eleanor Butler herself named it “because of its glen-like formation and as it is located in the heart of the Providence townships.”

There are hundreds of articles over the ensuing decades in the Chester Times recounting events and activities in Glen Providence Park, and many extoll its beauty, plants, and wildlife, as in the September 1935 announcement of the Butlers’ donation: “The tract is the beautiful glen and woodland which adjoins the Butler residence on West Front street… Owing to the great variety of natural conditions, which includes Broomall’s Run, a rapid flowing stream, many acres of heavy timber and a great variety of natural shrubs and wild flowers, this tract is particularly well suited for a bird sanctuary. Many species of birds already frequent the spot.” A November 1, 1935 write-up invites the reader to “Come with your bird glasses, your flower guides, your tree books. Bring the school children and scout groups, and let Nature teach them her ancient lessons.”

Generations of nature lovers, hikers, families, school children, and scout groups have enjoyed Glen Providence Park, which has also hosted a wonderful array of activities and events in its 80 years. That tradition of community events, and the elegance of the park’s design and structures built by the Works Progress Administration, are why Glen Providence Park was determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places!

The dedication at the park’s main entrance states, “A gift of land is a gift eternal.” Thank you to George and Eleanor Butler for this wonderful gift!

Happy 80th Anniversary, Glen Providence Park!

Thank you to William Vanleer for sharing the two entrance signs photos, from a series of 12 photographs taken circa 1939 by his grandfather GJ Ulshafer, and to Clifford Butler Lewis for sharing the portrait and photograph of his grandparents, George and Eleanor Butler!

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

Next 25 Years to See Million in the County, February 15, 1927
Unique Arboretum on County Estate, June 14, 1935
27 Acres Given for Park Site, September 13, 1935
Fine Water Supply for Broadmeadows, October 30, 1935
Club Leaders See New County Park, November 1, 1935
Glen Providence Nature Oddity, August 8, 1936
Glen Providence Park is One of Scenic Spots in County, October 24, 1949

We were delighted last year when local resident William Vanleer shared with us a series of 12 photographs by his grandfather, GJ Ulshafer, taken in Glen Providence Park around 1939! There are wonderful written descriptions of the park from its early years in the Chester Times and elsewhere, but early photos are harder to find.

These 1939 photographs are enchanting, showing entrance signs for “Glen Providence Bird Sanctuary & Arboretum,” rustic footbridges, and even the park’s original drinking spring by the base of Broomall’s Dam, as described in the 1941 Nature Guide to Glen Providence Park. That guide was written by long-time park supervisor James R. Stokes, Jr., who may be the park guard in one of the photos! The park visitors’ attire alone evokes a bygone era.

This collection of images is a treasure, and we are very grateful to William Vanleer for sharing his grandfather’s photographs with us.

Click on any photo for a closer look! There is further information about some of the photographs in our History album on Facebook. 

Join us as we celebrate the second year of Friends of Glen Providence Park!  It is our 2nd Anniversary Picnic, and this year we will celebrate on the lawn on the Upper Providence side of the park.  The Kirk Lane entrance is flanked by these elegant stone walls, likely built by the WPA in 1935-1937 when the park was established. Picnics are a longstanding tradition in Glen Providence Park- so come kick back and have fun!

Picnic in the Park!

Saturday, July 13
12:00 noon
Kirk Lane entrance, Glen Providence Park
Rain date Sunday, July 14

 UPDATE: The forecast is a little kooky, but weather.com shows 0% chance of rain until 4pm- so we’ll stick with our scheduled date of Saturday, July 13!  

Glen Providence Park has been a popular picnic spot throughout its 77 year history, and the picnic area off of Kirk Lane was a definite destination.  Chester Times articles in July 1948 refer to the shaded lawn in Upper Providence as the “Glen Providence roadside rest on Kirk Lane”(!) The articles indicate that there were three picnic tables “beneath the lovely old oak trees. The view commanded from the spot is very lovely over the western hills… Visitors come from many points to visit Glen Providence which is a beautiful spot.”  The park guard James Stokes had personally made the first picnic table!

We would like to thank Delaware County Parks & Recreation for recently adding two picnic tables, for a current total of four for this area. It’s still a lovely spot for a picnic!

What to bring?

– At last year’s picnic, people were jumping rope on the Sledding Hill– so be creative!

– Pack a picnic basket with a lunch, and if you’d like, a dish to share.

– A picnic blanket, and perhaps bug spray

– We will provide watermelon or other local fruit from the Media Farmers Market.

– Do bring your stories and memories about the park!

To add this event to your favorite calendar program (iCal, Outlook, Google, etc.), view the event listing on our calendar.

We were delighted and amazed to find a copy of the 1941 Nature Guide to Glen Providence Park in the Media Historic Archives, after reading about it in the June 7, 1941 Chester Times.  It was wonderful on a cool, blustery, beautiful day last Saturday to walk the trail described in the guide, comparing plants and features from 1941 and now!  Along the way we referred to early park photographs and descriptions, while searching for ephemeral spring flowers.

The 1941 Glen Providence Park Supervisor James Stokes wrote, “This guide has been prepared as a seeing eye for nature lovers, in order that they may enjoy the abundance of shrubs, flowers, trees and wild life found in this lovely Glen.”  There are quotes from the Delaware County Park and Recreation Board President Samuel L. Smedley, and National Recreation Association Specialist L.H. Weir.

The self-guided 1941 trail starts by the main entrance on State Street, heading down the sledding hill past the concert stage and turning right along the Ice House Trail towards the Broomall’s Dam waterfall.  Some of the still-existing trees and plants described include Flowering Dogwood, Hemlock, large Sassafras trees, Birch, Skunk Cabbage and Iron wood (Hornbeam).

In 1941, we could have crossed “an arched rustic bridge which commands a beautiful view of the Falls”, to pass a fernery and get to the drinking spring by Broomall’s Dam.  As that bridge fell long ago, we made a stream crossing over the stepping stones, past a scenic view of the wetlands fed by the numerous natural springs along Broomall’s Run. We made our way near the drinking spring, and saw the emerging Bloodroot flowers along the trail where indicated by the 1941 Guide.  We first spotted the Bloodroot on April 3 this year during this cold spring, 17 days later than last year’s warm spring!

By the pond is the lovely but now-dry Eleanor Reed Butler waterfall, and in the pond we saw turtles and fish- but it would be two days before the American Toads first emerged.   We took the lower Shingle Mill Trail to its end along Broomall’s Run, where there was once a children’s wading pool with “a very fine view of meadowland” stretching to Ridley Creek Road.  There was also a 100′ rustic footbridge over the marsh and stream!  Still growing is an “Oddity of Nature – nine trees growing from one central root of a Sycamore tree.”

In the absence of the footbridge, we made another stream crossing and connected with the lower Mountain Laurel Trail,  abundant with the state flower Mountain Laurel, and an enchanting patch of Partridge Berry on a fallen tree.  The 1941 trail ends at the pavilion, near our Earth Day Plantings.

While it was a late-blooming Spring, it was beautiful to get a clear view of the park’s landscape with early Spring colors, before the foliage emerges. Thank you to the 14 adults, 2 lovely children and the delightful dog who joined us on our walk!

You can view the PDF version of the 1941 Nature Guide to Glen Providence Park, and you can view and print our Annotated Trail Map with trail names and historical annotations!

See Glen Providence Park through the eyes of a park ranger from 1941!  We were intrigued during our historical research to find this June 7, 1941 Chester Times article describing a Nature Guide to Glen Providence Park.  We were delighted and amazed a year later to find a copy of the guide in a box at the Media Historic Archives!  Join us as we follow the trail described by this 1941 Nature Guide, and compare and identify specific plants and features described in it!

1941 Nature Guide & Ephemerals Walk

Saturday, April 6
10:00am-12:00 noon
Rain date Sunday, April 7
Main entrance on State Street in Media

Being early spring, we will also look for native ephemeral (short-lasting) flowers, buds, and other signs of this late-arriving Spring.  Some of those ephemerals are described in the 1941 Nature Guide! Of course we’ll look out for wildlife- on last year’s Spring Ephemerals Walk on St. Patrick’s Day, we saw Pickerel Frogs, and the American Toads were out in force on the first day of spring in 2012.  It will be interesting to see how their timing compares in this colder Spring.

Our friends from Transition Town Media will be joining us- they have included this in their new weekly hikes!

Logistics:

Estimated distance: 1-1.5 miles
Estimated time: 2 hours
Free!

We’ll be crossing Broomall’s Run as close as we can to where long-fallen footbridges once stood, so be prepared for stream crossings, steep hills, and uneven (possibly muddy) terrain: wear sturdy walking shoes, bring a hiking pole if you use one, and you never know when you’ll want binoculars!

To add this event to your favorite calendar program (iCal, Outlook, Google, etc.), view the event listing on our calendar.

Following the example of some of our friends, throughout November we have been counting down to Thanksgiving by posting daily thanks on facebook.  It is amazing how much there is to be thankful for! Here are those daily thanks- these were in no particular order, and it is by no means a complete list!

22 Days of Thanks in Glen Providence Park

We are thankful for…

Day 1: … all that Chester Ridley Crum Watersheds Association has done for 42 years to protect, conserve and restore the watersheds throughout its 132 square mile stewardship area.

Day 2: … the local schools who use Glen Providence Park as an outdoor classroom, teaching their students a love of nature, science, art and more. Thank you Media Elementary School, Springton Lake Middle School, Media Providence Friends School, and Penncrest High School- and homeschoolers!

Day 3: … the wonderful restaurants in Media that donated delicious refreshments for our park events and fundraiser: 320 Market Cafe, Desert Rose, Diego’s Cantina And Tequila Bar, Media Pizza & Grill, Planet Hoagie, Seven Stones Cafe, Shere-E-Punjab Indian Restaurant, & Sinfully Delicious Gourmet Pastries!

Day 4: … the Birding Club of Delaware County and its members who have helped us so much with our Park Bird List this year: by leading bird walks, birding in the park, and even identifying species from photographs we email!  Thank you, Dave Eberly, Tom Reeves, Nick Pulcinella, Nick Crocetto, and the ever-helpful Al Guarente.

Day 5:  … all of the volunteers who have spent time working in Glen Providence Park through the years– both the dozens of people who have helped at our 5 volunteer days, and the countless who volunteered in the park before us.

Day 6: … our wonderfully generous Concert Sponsors, Media Recreation Board and Blueberry Bog Vintage & Handmade, who made possible the magical performance by Philadelphia Brass in September, reviving the decades-long tradition of concerts in Glen Providence Park!

Day 7: … the Delaware County Conservation District for their Mini-Grant and help planning our 2012 Earth Day Plantings, and for their guidance planning plantings for 2013.

Day 8: … the Media Historic Archives and its volunteers who preserve so many important pieces of Media history, including historical maps, documents, newspapers, and even wonderful early photographs of Glen Providence Park.

Day 9: … Delaware County Parks & Recreation, for its many years of caretaking and managing its 11 parks with over 600 acres(!) of open space for the public… now that is a daunting job!

Day 10: … the Delaware County Institute of Science, an amazing organization that has been all volunteer since 1833!  It has wonderful scientific and historical collections, and is well worth a visit! Its members have been studying Glen Providence Park since long before it was a park–  40(!)-year DCIS President T. Chalkley Palmer wrote in detail about Scroggie Valley in 1889, and a 1928 Chester Times article about the valley indicated that “Naturalists, from all over the country, attending the Delaware County Institute of Science, make a study of it.”

Day 11: … the Reformation Lutheran Church of Media, for its unsolicited generosity in donating matching funds for our Earth Day Plantings in April! This seems to just be representative of its ongoing environmental stewardship- it even received a national Energy Star award in 2010!

Day 12: … the Delaware County Library System, for its fantastic online archives of historic newspapers that enabled us to learn so much about the history of Glen Providence Park. And even more online archives are accessible with a library card.

Day 13: … our Founding Funders, whose generous support enables us to continue our work to improve the park and plan future concerts, events and activities- and for our Anonymous Donor who matched those gifts!

Day 14: … Delaware County Planning for their thoughtful work, and soliciting public opinion, on the Delaware County Open Space, Recreation & Greenway Plan and on our neighboring Mineral Hill Area Master Plan. Glen Providence Park and future generations will be better for it!

Day 15: … T. Chalkley Palmer, 1860-1934, for writing in loving detail about Scroggie Valley in 1889, enabling us 123 years later to read about the landscape, flora and fauna of Glen Providence Park in the 1800’s! He also had remarkable environmental insights for his time. What a gift!

Day 16: … Samuel Smedley, who with great foresight and wisdom in 1927 urged regional planning for open space, and spearheaded the creation of Delaware County Parks & Recreation, which was used as a model nationally for its excellent planning.  He personally helped create and plan Glen Providence Park.

Day 17: … our Nature Walk guides and other experts who have generously shared their knowledge and helped us identify (non-bird) species in the park (turtles, frogs, insects, fungi, trees and more!)– including Dr. Mac Given, the PA Fish & Boat Commission, Dr. Anne Bower, John Wenderoth, the American Chestnut Foundation, Tom Reeves, Aura Lester, Dr. David Hewitt, Marcia Tate- and our knowledgeable facebook fans!

Day 18: … the array of wildlife, native plants, and fungi in the park, which with the changing seasons provide something new to discover on every walk in Glen Providence Park!

Day 19: … long-time park supervisor James Stokes, Jr. for his years of care for the park. He started work in 1935 and continued for at least 25 years, and by all accounts really loved Glen Providence Park. He served as park guard, care taker, supervisor and park ranger- personally making picnic tables, preparing for concerts, planting trees & flowers, and teaching visitors about the plants & wildlife.

Day 20: … all of those who appreciate our efforts to preserve & enhance Glen Providence Park- our facebook fans, those who read our newsletter and website, and those who have attended our history & nature walks, events and concert!

Day 21: … the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts for their years of involvement in Glen Providence Park going back to at least 1939- with hikes, cookouts, award ceremonies, meetings, and volunteer projects. And a Brownie troop meeting just this fall!

Thanksgiving Day: We are thankful for George and Eleanor Butler, who with great generosity and foresight donated most of the land for Glen Providence Park as a Bird Sanctuary and Arboretum, to be preserved for future generations.  There would be no park without them- we are so grateful!

Happy Thanksgiving!

George and Eleanor Butler donated the land for Glen Providence Park in the summer of 1935, and its final approval was reported in the October 30, 1935 Chester Times.  The long-time park guard and caretaker James Stokes started work the next day on October 31, 1935- so Halloween is Glen Providence Park’s birthday!

Perhaps it is fitting, as there seems to be a tradition of strange tales and haunts in the park.  In fact it was the local ghost and witch stories recounted in the early 1900’s by Dr. Anna E. Broomall that led us to discover the rich pre-park history of Glen Providence Park, from the time it was called Scroggie Valley!  Dr. Broomall was the daughter of Judge John M. Broomall, who had owned the land that is now Glen Providence Park from about 1864 until his death in 1894.

You can get in the Halloween spirit reading Dr. Broomall’s telling of the 1700’s story of newlywed ghosts haunting the park, and the 1800’s witch story of three sisters tormenting the local miller and their Witches’ Ride in the park.  We annotated the stories with our historical research and maps, and even included music for the witch story.

We have heard wonderful accounts of the annual Haunted Woods that County Parks & Recreation held in 1980’s, with Freddy Kruger, a chain saw man, Dracula, and even water creatures in the pond! It sounds like it was an impressive production, and pretty scary! This year at our Nature & Ghost Walk, we shared extra information about the historical ghost and witch stories and other appropriately odd tales about the park, and the darker side of its plants and wildlife– you can read some of those in our article “Ghosts & other park frights”.

Halloween events are just some of the park’s wonderful array of activities and events since it opened in 1935. That tradition of community events, and the elegance of the park’s design and structures built by the Works Progress Administration, are why Glen Providence Park was determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places!  What a marvelous history it has had…

Happy 77th Birthday, Glen Providence Park!

And, Happy Halloween!

The image is of a 1930’s or 1940’s postcard of Glen Providence Park, showing the park guard house half way down the sledding hill.

For decades, summers meant weekly concerts at the stage in Glen Providence Park! The first concert on Tuesday, June 29, 1937 had “classical and semi-classical numbers” performed by the Delaware County WPA Orchestra.  Classical music continued to be favored through the early 1940’s, with programs including Beethoven, Dvorak, Schubert, Strauss and Rodriguez– and even opera with Bizet’s Carmen!

Concerts in 1941 were held on Tuesdays nights in July and August, with bands such as the Upper Darby WPA Concert Orchestra, Glen Mills Band, Quaker City Elks Band, and the Chester YMCA Glee Club. Park Guard James Stokes would prepare for the concerts including setting up chairs, distributing programs, and spraying for mosquitoes!

Performances stopped during the United States’ involvement in World War II, and post-war programs seem to have transitioned to big band music and John Philip Sousa’s patriotic marches, with concerts usually held on Thursday nights.  A long-time favorite was the Chester City Band- they performed in Glen Providence Park every summer for at least 19 consecutive years from 1947 to 1966, and as recently as 1982.  Their concerts were popular- one in 1948 drew 1,500 people!

These concerts were sponsored by the Delaware County Parks & Recreation Board.  In 1975, the amphitheater at the new Rose Tree Park in Media was dedicated, and the main concert series moved to this larger venue.  There were very few concerts in the 1980’s and 1990’s- at least one concert was presented by the Media Business Authority. The last record we have found for a concert in Glen Providence Park is for June 17, 2000, when Media Brassworks played for Media’s 150 year anniversary celebration.

Concerts were a wonderful part of the array of events and activities held in Glen Providence Park over its almost 77 years!

Image is from the June 29, 1937 Chester Times.