A Lawn Party

There are times when I wonder what La Mott was really like during various decades.  Look at the photo of this image!  It was one of several that I took while visiting a neighbor's collection. 

This ticket to a lawn party (which perhaps meant big floppy hats?) lists the names of Mrs. V. Burley and Mr. James A Burley.  James Burley was my mother's great uncle and one of the founders of Fairview Cemetary in Upper Dublin, PA.  How many people can claim that on their resume?

Anyhoo, I find the concept of a lawn party really neat.  I imagine that everyone was really well dressed back then. I imagine that people sipped lemonade from fancy glasses and chatted amongst themselves. Maybe there was a game of croquet going on. I wonder what a lawn party would be like today.  Would people wear casual clothing like shorts and sundresses or capris. Would they play a game of  baseball, toss the football or play volleyball?  What do you think? 

Reading About Your Neighborhood

In my effort to learn more about La Mott, and my family of origin, I am led to various resources such as the newspaper "The Philadelphia Tribune," established in 1884. To view the previous issues of the newspaper online meant that I could read about garden parties where women wore large hats, La Mott Hall where dances were held, baby showers, wedding anniversaries and various other social events. By looking under the heading "La Mott Events"  I saw that there was quite a bit going on.

An "Apron and Necktie" dinner was hosted on Graham Lane in March 1942. (I have no idea what kind of event this is.)

In May 1943, The newspaper reported that the Moore-Triplett Post, No 451 of the American Legion Board of Commissioners wanted to honor the Colored Soldiers at Camp William Penn and on the corner of Willow and Sycamore Avenues you will see a monument placed to honor those soldiers.

A La Mott Center Open Membership Drive was held, according to the March 16, 1957 issue of the "Tribune."  The Board wanted to expand the Center's community activities and fellowship organizations.  Mr. Aaron Bass served as president of the Center and Mrs. Helen Olvis served as one of the Campaign assistants. 

The  La Mott Community Center hosted a Baby Clinic in March 1959 which was a health forum for local mothers.

These are just a few of the events that were held during a time when the residents worked together for the common good of the neighborhood. 

1897 Map of La Mott

Through the years various organizations have created maps. A.H. Mueller & Company's publish an Altas of Cheltenham, Abington and Springfield Townships, Montgomery County, Penna. I focused on the La Mott area naturally.

One of the reasons this atlas is so interesting is because of Walker Jones. He lived on Willow Avenue intersected by Cedar Lane. He had a plot of land that he divided so that two brick homes could be built and lived in by his two sons Alphonso and Leon. His daughter lived with him and his other two sons also lived on Willow Avenue on either side of School Lane.

I was wondering if there was a map showing the property before Walker Jones divided it and indeed there is. This 1897 atlas shows his property. One other thing that interested me is when he moved from Upper Dublin where he appeared with his family on the 1880 U.S. Census. The 1890 U.S. Census burned barely leaving any census information. So, when did he move. Best I can figure out at this time, he purchased his property on Willow Avenue sometime before this publication was completed. Another note to mention is the the atlas lists the owners of property all throughout La Mott, Cheltenham Township and so on.

The atlas can be found at the Old York Road Historical Society located in the Jenkintown Library on Old York Road.

Jay Pee Street

I included about half the map in the previous entry where I spoke about Bee-Dee (now B-D) Street. What is Cedar Lane was once planned to be Jay-Pee Street. It's interesting to find this information and then wonder why the change was made. I figure if Edward Davis had all of the street names in print they would remain that way; however, Beach became Beech, Bee-Dee became B-D and Jay-Pee became Cedar. While none of us may never know why the street names are different from the original plan, it is certainly something to think about.

Bee Dee Street

Learning about your community yields all sorts of surprises. Take a look at the image on the left that was one of the initial plans for the part of La Mott west of Sycamore Avenue. It includes the public school that is now known as the La Mott Community Center. You can see, and this by the way is only part of the original planning document, that what is now B-D Street was originally going to be called Bee Dee Street. On the right is a photo I took of the community gardens and this view shows the intersection at Graham Lane and B-D Street. I don't know why and when the street name spelling changed, but obviously it did. As a child, we understood that the street was named after a pack of Bad Dogs that roamed the street or Benjamin Davis, who ever that was.

Please note that on the image on the left the school is called Camp Town Public School. This is one of a few original documents that a neighbor gave me the opportunity to digitally photograph. It is also one of the only documents that I've ever seen that has the original name of the village of Camp Town. Sometime after the after the Civil War when the land was known as Camp William Penn the area was planned with the names of the owners of various parcels of land and the street names. Notice also the one street is called "Beach" and in actuality became "Beech" Avenue.

On the other side of this small map, which is about 5" x 8", Edward Davis' name appears. (Actually, the name reads as E. M. Davis.) I make the assumption that this is Edward M. Davis, Lucretia Mott's son-in-law. Anyhoo, on this side of the map, he refers to the date January 1, 1885. The document itself is not dated, so perhaps it was prepared in 1884. Best as I can figure, he was instrumental in planning part of the village. I've not seen a map that refers to the village east of Sycamore Avenue, but perhaps there is one in existance somewhere.

Do you know how any of the streets in your community got their name? What urban legends exist about the area where you live?

Estelle Burley Anderson (1920-2010)

In my last blog post, I reported my Cousin Stanley's death. A few weeks after Cousin Stanley died, his older sister Cousin Stelle pasted away. It was a challenging time for the family.

I spent a lot of time with my Cousin Stelle between sharing a meal at Applebee's in Jenkintown or stopping by her house for a quick chat. She was so interested in family and local history as am I. We shared the same Burley relatives and I was always so entralled to hear tales of her father, mother, siblings and the rest of the family. She was also a 'Washington' through her mother and I enjoyed hearing about that side of her family as well. One of her relatives, Robert Washington, lived right next door to my Uncle Miltie (Milton) and Aunt Alice Jones. It's an interesting experience be directly or indirectly related to so many people in one neighborhood.

One of the last times that my mother and Cousin Stelle and I went out to dinner, Cousin Stelle talked about how much the times have changed. She stated that she thought kids today were growing up too fast.

She talked about playing jacks and ball and 'store' where the stones were potatoes and the leaves were vegetables. A child can use his/her imagination through free play.

I will still continue to blog about Cousin Stelle on occasion as I so often took notes when we visited together and I want to share her knowledge.

Stanley Burley (1932 - 2010)

Stanley Burley was born in La Mott, educated in the Cheltenham Township School System and eventually moved to Willingboro, NJ. He was my mother's cousin. His father and my mother's mother were brother and sister.

At this funeral, one of his friends touched upon how as a child Cousin Stanley stated that he wanted to be funeral director when he became an adult. He fulfilled his life's dream and worked for several years in his profession. My best guess is that he was influenced by his father who was one of the founders of Fairview Cemetery, a black-owned and operated organization located in Upper Dublin, Montgomery County.

I was moved my the fact that he knew what he wanted as a child and his steps were directed down that path. He worked at other places and he attended Mercer Community College and Temple University to achieve his goal.

He was a devoted father, uncle and brother. My primary recollection of him was when there was a historical program about La Mott, he and his wife would come over from New Jersey to the La Mott Community Center and I was impressed by that. It's like he never forgot where he came from and the historical significance of the community.

He was a graduate of Cheltenham High School (Go Panthers!) and he served in the Air Force shortly after graduating from CHS.

During the repast, I sat with a couple of women who knew Cousin Stanley from Willingboro. They had me in stitches because both Cousin Stanley and his wife got on the "Net." They were on Facebook and had email accounts as well. It's great to hear when people in the 70's and 80's are busy searching the web. Apparently there were two personal computers in the home with each of the two having his/her own access.

I am fortunate to be part of a family that moves with the times.