East Coast Whirlwind, Pt. 6: Betsy's Place

Besides Independence Hall, my recent trip to Philadelphia included a visit to the Betsy Ross House. If I ever went inside, it would have been during school field trip some forty-plus years ago. This time I went armed with my camera! The first thing you might notice is that the house is SMALL! Not only in square footage, but the stairs, hallways, and rooms seem cramped compared to what we are used to today.



While there has been some controversy as to whether Betsy lived here or in the residence next door (since torn down), we certainly know that this is where she ended up. In the courtyard entryway you can see the grave of Betsy and her third husband,  John Claypoole. Betsy outlived all three of her hubbies! Her remains moved around a number of times over the years, with the third move seeming to be the charm, as the saying goes. John Ross is buried over at nearby Christ Church.



From the Historic Philadelphia website:

Enter the Betsy Ross House, and you are whisked back into the life of the 18th century widow/working mother/upholsterer credited with making the first American flag. Nestled in each room are the documents, artifacts and historic details that examine the legend and the life of Betsy Ross. Have a chat with Betsy in person as she plies her trade, stitching reproduction Colonial-era fabrics in her upholstery shop. You’ll meet the History Makers, costumed interpreters who depict the lives of women and men from centuries ago. And you’ll discover the ongoing research that aims to settle the question – did Betsy Ross really make the first Stars and Stripes? Now on display, see Betsy Ross’ sewing table from the 18th century in her bedroom, recently donated by her descendant, Eric Conrad.

Not a word about the controversy as to whether Betsy truly lived here or not. In fact, the website completely leaves out any doubts that have been raised over the years, mainly due to the changing of address numbering and historical records. However, inside the house one of the displays does state that she never owned this house, but rather rented it from landlord Hannah Lithgow, a widow. The aforementioned narrow spiral staircase:



The room that is being shown as Betsy’s:



Why the flag on the floor? As the nearby display explains, in Betsy’s time, no U.S. Flag code existed, so it was decided to display the flag this way to give an accurate representation of what it would be like to stitch a large 10-foot flag, a common size in the 18th century. To comply with the modern Flag Code, there is a cloth underneath the flag keeping it off the floor.



In the large sewing room, there is a lady who portrays Betsy.



She was kind enough to let me snap her pic!



The kitchen Betsy (may or may not have) used:



Want to eat like Betsy? Here you go…



A molinillo is a traditional, hand-turned wooden whisk used in Latin America (especially Mexico) and the Philippines to mix, aerate, and froth hot beverages like Mexican hot chocolate, atole, cacao, and champurrado.

Besides controversy as to whether Betsy actually lived in the house we can tour today, there have also been questions if she truly did make the first American flag. You can read more about it on the Historic Philadelphia website. There is a fair sized amount of evidence pointing to the viewpoint that she did make it, but none of it is definitive. So concludes today’s lesson!

See more Betsy Ross house photos at my main website.

Temple Tuesday: Shirley and the Waltz

Shirley Temple appeared in a full color cover for the February 1949 issue of Screen and Television Guide. Inside was a two-page spread titled Mrs. Agar Struts. The magazine wrote:

The Agars were so popular in “Fort Apache,” fans demanded an encore. Now they’re in “Baltimore Escapade.” Shirley’s a siren in a slicker when she steps into the captivating old-time rhythm of the Charleston. Remember 'way back when Shirley Temple was a little charmer with an amazing ability to master grown up dance routines? When RKO’s “Baltimore Escapade” called for a Charleston, Mrs. John Agar showed director Richard Wallace that she could go into her dance with more grace and charm than ever!



The Charleston dance is part of the opening montage showing girls (all Shirley) through the ages. Although brief, it is utterly delightful to see Shirley dancing with utter carefree abandon, devoid of any of the stiffness she sometimes exhibited in her teenage movies. It is the fulfillment of her childhood promise and makes one wish she had been given the opportunity to do more.



Retitled “Adventure in Baltimore” before its April 1949 release, it is what I would call a pleasant film. Shirley was expected to carry the movie with her star power, as it lacks a compelling story and a good script. The cast is more than competent, but it is obvious they are all doing the best they can with what they have been handed. It’s also a shame that the film wasn’t done in Technicolor; in the end it comes off as the poor stepchild of “Meet Me In St. Louis.” Below is a wardrobe test for Shirley, showing her in the outfit featured on the cover of Screen Guide:



She also wears the period outfit in  this church with costar and then husband John Agar:



The Charleston isn’t the only dance Shirley performs in the film. During a scene where she is fighting with boyfriend (played by Agar), her father (Robert Young) has a heart to heart chat with her.



Afterwards, the two enter the dance contest doing a waltz. Guess who wins?



Young had played Shirley’s adopted father thirteen years before in “Stowaway” (1936):



Below are two publicity shots of Shirley working with dance instructor Charles O’Curran for the waltz contest:



From the accompanying publicity blurb:

SPIRITED LESSON - Shirley Temple and Dance Instructor Charles O'Curran rehearse a lively number for RKO Radio’s 1905 period comedy romance, “Baltimore Escapade,” which stars Robert Young, Miss Temple and John Agar.



How the twirl looked in the final film:



This pleasant little film lost $785,000 and was one of the reasons Shirley left Hollywood, frustrated with the bland material forced upon her.

See more photos at my main website.

East Coast Whirlwind, Pt. 5

Family visits typically focus around the food element. Visiting Mom at her retirement community in West Chester, PA for a few days was no exception. As a result of one of her “ladies-who-lunch” groups, I had heard about Arianna’s Café and got to try it for myself this time. Normally, I would not even look twice at a restaurant in a bland strip mall, but this place was fantastic. Once inside, it felt very homey.



Mom is doing durn well at 94!



I didn’t photograph my lunch (which was fantastic!) but I DID take a picture of the dessert, which was a slice of homemade Peaches & Cream pie. This place is definitely on my “return” list next time I’m in the area.



Since shipping for Leopold’s Ice Cream is cheaper from Savannah to Philly, I had a large supply sent to Mom’s in time for her birthday AND my visit! Pumpkin Spice was one of the DELICIOUS seasonal flavors:



We also tried the Ice Cream Cookie sandwiches. Wow… both the cookie AND the ice cream were off the charts.



Friday night is Bingo night at Mom’s community; I came close a number of times but as the saying goes…no cigar!



My visit also happened to coincide with the memorial service for former Philadelphia Phillies owner Bill Giles.



His wife Nancy was a high school and college friend of my Mom’s, and they both ended up in the Philadelphia area. We saw them on a regular basis for dinners, holidays, and Phillies games (with just about the best seats in the house). Nancy passed away six years ago. The last time I saw both of them was on a visit for my stepfather’s 80th birthday back in 2009. Below are Nancy, my stepfather, Bill, and Mom:



Nancy graciously invited the family to attend a Phillies game the next day at Citizens Bank Park stadium, which had opened five years earlier to replace historic Veterans Stadium.



The Party Suite was named after Giles. As his son admitted at the service, he was not exactly the poster boy for healthy living, and yet he lived to 92!



Inside the suite:



When my Mom remarried in 1977, it was a small wedding at the house with Bill and Nancy, my Aunt and Uncle, and my stepfather’s mother. Bill got a kick out of me playing the Wedding March on the piano that afternoon and never failed to bring it up whenever I’d see him. His autobiography, Pouring Six Beers at a Time is the riveting story of his life in baseball and how he engineered some of the most zany stunts to help fill the seats at Veterans Stadium.



From my treasured autographed copy:



Giles was the mastermind behind the still beloved Phillie Phanatic:



To me, his strength was being able to talk to people from all walks of life with his kind nature and ability to put people at ease. There were no airs or artifice about him. The service was held at the Episcopal Academy in Newtown Square; it was packed.





The service was filled with beautiful (and funny) testaments of Bill, with one of the highlights coming from Phillies legendary third baseman, Mike Schmidt. All three sons spoke of their dad, with eldest son Mike detailing the annual spring training trips by car to Florida that the two shared. I was hoping to get a chance to talk to Giles’ youngest son, Chris, who was close to my age. I probably hadn’t seen him in over forty years, but as kids, we would often play together when our moms would visit. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to connect afterwards.



Mom and I had lunch at LaScala’s Fire afterwards. I’ll just leave it at that… 



On the way home, I spotted the new-to-me Newtown Square Railroad Museum. I had to pull over for this one! It was closed, but I still milled around and got a few photos.



What a cool little gem! Edited from their website:

The Newtown Square Freight station was constructed in 1895, shortly after the Pennsylvania Railroad branch line was built. It was located on the west side of Newtown Street Road (Rt. 252) and what is now Winding Way This was also the site of the lumber and coal yard, plus a feed and grain store. A corral was located in back of the freight station to hold livestock for shipments to and from the farms in the area. Farmers would bring their horses to E.W. Powell, the veterinarian, and after being tended by him they would be shipped out by stock car. A passenger station was next to the freight station. It housed the post office and telegraph station for many years. The freight station was the end of the branch line, the last stop from Philadelphia.



Between 1895 and 1908, as many as thirteen trains a day pulled in and out of the Newtown Square station: the milk train, the mail train, and various freight and passenger trains. The railroad ran its passenger service from 1895 to 1908, but its freight service operated into 1963 - in the later years servicing mostly the lumberyard. There were ten stops on the line - eight of them were “flag stops”, along with the Llanerch and Newtown Square stations.



The freight station is the last vestige of the Newtown Square branch of the P.R.R. freight and passenger line that once rumbled 9.2 miles between Newtown Township and Philadelphia. 



Several years ago, when the Winding Way bypass was to be built, the abandoned freight station was saved from destruction by the Newtown Square Historical Society, who raised money to have it disassembled and relocated to Newtown Township’s Drexel Lodge Park, where it was restored and the Newtown Square Railroad Museum built up around it – which now includes a 1902 passenger car, 1907 box car, 1950 caboose and small steam engine.



Next stop: Independence Hall!

See more Philadelphia photos at my main website.