2013 Events at Graeme Park

While you're planning out your 2013 Calendar - scheduling all those doctor/dental/vet appointments, recording birthdays and anniversaries, practices, concerts, and games - why not take a few minutes to review some of the great programs we have planned at Graeme Park in the coming year and jot those down too so you remember them, and more importantly, make time for them. We'll have more details on each event as it approaches, so check back or subscribe to our email updates. You can also check on the new "DO" tab at the top to see these dates any time without having to go back through old blog posts or of course visit our website at www.graemepark.org.

Colonial Valentine's Day Tours—February 10 - Learn the history of Graeme Park and of Elizabeth Graeme’s loves and losses as costumed actors present vignettes throughout the historic Keith House. Tours run approximately every half hour from 12 noon—3 pm and are $12/person, which includes light refreshments.


Colonial Cooking Class—March 9 - Experience first hand the emergence of our unique American appetite, as the period leading up to the Revolutionary War brings together elements of English, German, French, and Native recipes! Distinctively taught in the intimate summer kitchen at Graeme Park, the Hearth and Home cooking series will give participants the opportunity to prepare a full colonial meal over an open wood fire, as would have been enjoyed by the Graeme family during their time in the Keith House. $55/class or $100 for March and May classes. Reservations required.

Charter Day—March 10 - Free tours in honor of the granting of the Pennsylvania Charter to William Penn. If you’re one of the locals who’s driven by here countless times and never knew what we were about, please stop in and find out. 12 noon—3/3:30 pm. Free.

World War II Encampment—April 20-21 - Join us on the grounds of Graeme Park and the adjacent Penrose-Strawbridge House to see American and German camps and vehicles, including trucks and armor, military demonstrations and a mock battle, live music, and more. Admission charged.

Colonial Cooking Class—May 11 - Experience first hand the emergence of our unique American appetite, as the period leading up to the Revolutionary War brings together elements of English, German, French, and Native recipes! Distinctively taught in the intimate summer kitchen at Graeme Park, the Hearth and Home cooking series will give participants the opportunity to prepare a full colonial meal over an open wood fire, as would have been enjoyed by the Graeme family during their time in the Keith House. $55/class or $100 for March and May classes. Reservations required.

Celtic Heritage Festival—July 20 - In honor of the Scottish heritage of the Keith, Graeme, and Fergusson families, Graeme Park will be abuzz with Celtic vendors, music, dance, food, games, Celtic clans and non-profits, and children’s activities. A fun-filled day for the entire family. 10 am—6 pm. Admission charged.

Yellow Fever Living History Theater—August 25 - Learn about the Yellow Fever epidemic that raged through Philadelphia in the summer of 1793 and the effect it had on the residents at Graeme Park. Costumed actors will be presenting vignettes throughout the house. Tours run approximately every half hour from 12 noon—3 pm. Admission charged.

Homeschool Day—September 18 - This annual day for homeschoolers and their families features tours of the Keith House and various activities around the grounds, including a hearth cooking demonstration, military drill, colonial games and activities. Admission charged.

Senior Days—October 1-2 - In the tradition of Elizabeth Graeme’s Attic Evenings, where people gathered to discuss various topics and learn from one another, the Friends of Graeme Park are offering seniors two days of lectures, seminars, and discussions on a wide range of topics. We guarantee you will find something entertaining, educational, perhaps even enlightening. Continental breakfast and lunch included. Admission charged. Reservations required.

Haunted Moonlight Tours—October 25-26 - Graeme Park has been called the most haunted house in Horsham, and stories of Elizabeth’s ghost have been circulating since very soon after she died. Our own volunteers, staff and visitors often report strange smells, sounds, and happenings in the house. These evening candlelit tours take you through the house where you’ll encounter costumed actors presenting scenes related to the history of Graeme Park and Elizabeth, and hear stories about some of the experiences we’ve had ourselves or that have been passed down through the ages. Admission charged.

A Soldier’s Christmas—November 30 - Tour the grounds and first floor of the historic Keith House to see reenactors portraying various eras and wars and learn about how the soldiers celebrated the Christmas holidays on the battlefront. Crafts and refreshments will also be available. 3:00-8:00 pm. Free admission.

Teeny Tiny Graeme Park: Part II

You  may remember way back when we featured miniature versions of Graeme Park that had been crafted over the years. Well, a new version has come to light, and I'm happy to say that we are in possession of it.

Approximately 2 years ago we were contacted by Millie Wintz, who was active in the York Road Historical Society, served on Upper Moreland’s Historical Commission, and is an expert on the history of our area, with a particular interest in the mills on the Pennypack Creek. The reason for Millie’s email was to offer us a miniature version of Graeme Park and two dolls, one of Elizabeth, and one of Henry, that she had created back in the 1970s and used when she gave lectures and presentations on local history to various groups. Millie was cleaning out and preparing for a big move cross-county, so when the items did not materialize, we figured she had run out of time and took them with her or found some other caretaker for them.

That is until we received a recent phone call letting us know the caller, a friend of Millie's, was on her way with the house and dolls! The model of the Keith House is constructed out of foam core, with meticulous details including the gambrel roof, stones, windows, doors, and roof shingles drawn on.

 

The roof, featuring all five dormers, lifts off and Elizabeth and Henry, in period clothing, reside inside.

Their heads, arms, and legs are made from kaolin, a fine white clay normally used for porcelain, that was dug from the Pennypack Creek and they are stuffed with sand. Their outfits, which are removable, are detailed right down to shoes, stockings, and undergarments.

 

Elizabeth's likeness was based on a drawing of Elizabeth that is in our collection, and Henry, since there are no known portraits of him, was simply made up.

 

Nestled in the bottom of the house is a small, handmade scrapbook, covered in the same fabric Elizabeth’s dress is made from, that contains a bit of the history of Graeme Park and Elizabeth Graeme, a newspaper clipping about a student film that was made in 1976 by Upper Moreland School District elementary school students, the clothing patterns, and ribbons the dolls were awarded when they were displayed at the PHMC’s Bicentennial Doll Exhibit.

Christmas Week at Graeme Park: 1777

In the winter of 1777-78, Graeme Park was taken over by troops of the American army. Major General James Armstrong went into winter quarters here during Christmas week, 1777, and on New Year's Eve was joined by General James Potter and his brigade. At one point there were nearly 2,000 men encamped on the grounds of Graeme Park. This number, however, decreased rapidly as enlistments ran out and the men went home in the New Year. Both officers were replaced by Brigadier General John Lacey, Jr., who arrived at Graeme Park in mid-January, 1778 to find conditions here "deplorable" with the equipment scattered and the 600 green recruits who remained in camp "confused, demoralized, and leaderless." By January 24, 1778 Lacey reported that there were only seventy men left at Graeme Park. When the troops finally moved out, much to the relief of Elizabeth and Betsy Stedman, the mess they left behind was extensive. Valuable timber had been cut down to buld log huts for the men; the parlor of the Keith House had been occupied as a guardroom, and most of the furniture usually on the first floor of the house had been moved upstairs to storage rooms on the third. Elizabeth was reimbursed only ₤106.4 for 2,360 pounds of beef slaughtered, and that not unitl the end of March. How the women survived after the army left is hard to imagine, no cattle or horses were left and the stored grains and other food must have been pretty well consumed by the army.
 (From The Most Learned Woman in America: A Biography of Elizabeth Graeme Fergusson, by Anne Ousterhout and The Valley Forge Winter: Civilians And Soldiers In War By Wayne Bodle).

Happy Holidays!

Final Friday Fotos: December 2012

Well, here we are, December already, and time for the final edition of First Friday Fotos. We began in January, 2012 taking a monthly photo of the summer kitchen and garden to see the development through the year. Unfortunately the garden didn't get planted this year, so the changes weren't as dramatic as imagined they would be. C'est la vie. While we had snow at the end of November, the December photo found us with another dreary, dull day. 

To review where we've come from, here are the thumbnails for each quarter:

Historical News and Notes: Graeme Park Man Victim of Hold-Up at Willow Grove

The following appeared in the Evening Public Ledger, published December 7, 1921.

Graeme Park Man Victim of Hold-Up at Willow Grove

Clarence McCoy, employed by J. Welsh Strawbridge, at Graeme Park, north of the city, has reported to the Abington police that he was robbed of $176 by two men while waiting for a trolley car at Willow Grove, after being drugged by the smoke of a "cigar."

McCoy says he was drugged and while in this condition the men took the money from an inside pocket and escaped.

"The men engaged me in conversation," McCoy said "and one of the men asked me if I could change $500 in notes of large denomination. He said he was about to negotiate a real estate deal, and did not want the agent to realize just how much money he had. I told them I had only $200.

"One of the men, who had introduced himself as the Rev. Mr. Harris, was puffing away at a large cigar and was exhaling the smoke in my face. I noticed it had a very unusual odor, but I thought nothing of it, until I suddenly became dazed and leaned against an iron pole for support. It was the smoke that drugged me."

The Library of Congress has made historic newspapers, dating from 1836-1922, available in their Chronicling America Series. Papers are easily searchable by keywords and location.