Bucks Count PAN AMA — The Magazine of Bucks County — ESTABLISHED 1959 Volume XIV October, 1972 Number 10 alitor: Sheila Martin Associate Editor: Alice Miller Historical Editor: H. Winthrup Blackburn Art Director: Carla Coutts, Advertising: Joanne Rohr, Elizabeth Goehring, June Stefaneli eulation: Doris Killough Contributing Editors: A, Russell Thomas, Sheila L. M. Broderick, Mary Price Lee, Dorothy A. McFerran ‘TABLE OF CONTENTS Hampton Hill 4 The Lost Ring Phoebe Taylor 6 Fallsington Day Clare Nelson 10 Headmaster With a Heart Charlotte Andersen 14 What's New That's Old Dorotby A. Mcfermn 17 ‘The Ring Necked Pheasant ‘Jobn McDaniel 22 Rambling With Russ A. Russell Thomas 24 Mercer Mile 26 ‘Around Bucks County 29 Between Friends Sbeila Martin 30 Northampton Celebration 33 Book Reviews 35 COVER: Fallsington Day Barry G. Price of Croydon. adapted from photo by PANORAMA, The Marine sii i Nt ur 8,7: Teshowe 16-35 0700, Contd srcuiavon poste pat ot Dayan Px Aosta CALENDAR of EVENTS ‘Courtesy of the Bucks County Historical-Touris Commission OCTOBER 1972 1-31 BRISTOL ~ Siver Lake Outdoor Education Center, 1006 Bath oad. Open ‘Tues thre Sunday 9 to 5 pum. Monthy exhibit Autumn ‘olor fal bind mulgations 1.22 NEWHOPE™ 43rd Anna) Fal Art Fshbitat Philips Mil, River Road Route 32, 1 to mile north of New Hope. Daly and Sunday 1 to § Pa 1 UPPER BLACK EDDY ~ Ringing Rocks Riders wl presenta Hora Show begianing st 9 a.m. {nd Gontinulag all day, to bo hla atthe Bonnie brie Farm, Bridgeton Hl. Admission $1.00, hiiron under 12 free, Opea Show, fering 18 ‘ast, 1 WRIGHTSTOWN — The Bucks County olluong Society will proton an evening. of FOLK MUSIC. at the Wrightstown Finds Meeting Howe Recreation Root, Route 413 — ‘pam, FREE (0 you pay sh insrument, eg Iedlong DOYLESTOWN — Bucks County Antiques Dealers Asoetation, ne, presents 22nd Annual Antiques Show, atthe Armory,” Shewell ‘Avenue. Thursday and Friday Noon to 10 p.m, and Saturday Noon to 6 pm. Admision $1.0. Sales Lunch salle “ FALLSINGTON — ANNUAL OPEN HOUSE. DAY 10 am. to 4 pm. Open houses, sles, suction, crafts, hancheon, sack ar “ FESTIVAL OF THE FAR EAST — 114 ~ Views! and perfomaing ams ovental ood Children's dips onal exhibits. Solbury ‘School, Puilipe Biul- Road, ‘New Hope, P aanae, 20 NEWTOWN Northampton ‘Township ‘Annivenary Concer ~ 8 pan. In the Counel Rock Hig School Auditorium. "250 Years of Memorable American Musi,” wih the Counel [Rock Band and other musa! groupe ree 123334 {continued on eae 36) rt mayb feprecad what perp rm he jbl, Suberton rae One yurHEADMASTER On first meeting George Rowe, the new headmaster of Buckingham Friends School, You might wonder if someone so young is experienced Jenough to manage the education und_ guidance of some 150 children ‘and. the supervision of 15 teachers, | They you would notice the gray which is beginning to || show in his sideburns or hear him speak of having || served in the Navy in World War II, and you would realize that you had been fooled by the twinkling blue eyes, the athletic build, and the vitality with which he moves about his school and speaks of ‘education in general, at Buckingham Friends in particular. “The essence of good teaching is to provide a well-defined framework within which the child is free | to move at his own speed and make his choices suited | (© his individual style of teaming.” So Mr. Rowe summarizes the philosophy which he has practiced in 22 years of teaching and which he finds to a large extent at Buckingham Friends. George Rowe is no newcomer to Quaker education ‘or to Buckingham, Beginning his teaching career at Buckingham Friends in 1950 as a 7th grade teacher, Mr. Rowe continued as 4th grade teacher and sometime special teacher of 7th and 8th grade science for 16 years. In 1967 he went to Abington Friends School as Sth grade teacher and became their assistant headmaster in 1969. (“Every career benelits from an occasional change of scene or duties,” he says.) ‘George Rowe's background led into the Quaker religion gradually — he is, as the members of the WITH A HEART by charioste Andersen Society of Friends say, a “convinced” rather than a “birthright” Friend. Born a Baptist, he was educated at St. Paul's School for Boys. in Baltimore (an Episcopal prep school). With a father hospitalized for years with epilepsy, the young boy tured to his teachers at St, Paul's for adult male examples; and he 's sure they were influential in his decision to become teacher. World War IL interrupted his plans, however, and he joined the United States Navy, which sent him to the University of Richmond under the Y-12 program. From there he was sent by the Navy 0 the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business Administration; he liked “Penn™ so much that he returned there after the war to get his B.S. in Education,| Ringoes by Buckner Frise coon “1 also got my M.R.S. there," he quips, referring to the fact that it was there he met his future wife, the former Margaret Huber. Margie graduated’ in | clementary education for Penn's Ilman-Carter | School, and they were married in 1950. Theie first job together, in addition to their teaching at Buckingham Friends, was as caretakers of Wrightstown Friends Meeting, This involved not only janitorial work in the Meetinghouse, but living on the Mecting grounds, mowing lawns, digzing graves, and, incidentally, getting. to know the members of the Meeting “YIU never forget the kindness, compasion, and | concem of the members during our days there,” recalls George. During their 8 years of employment at Wrightstown, this human influence decided the Rowes to attend Meeting and, ultimately, to cast their lot with Quakerism. They became members of| the Society of Friends in 1955, and their son, Bill, was born at the Meeting. Charles Engerman, clerk of] the Bucks Quarteriy Meeting, minuted that the fist child bom on Meeting grounds was William Rowe, ‘born suddenly"! ‘The Rowes have two other children: Katherine, 20, a senior at Emerson College in Boston, majoring in| speech therapy; and Elizabeth, 19, 2 sophomore at) Earlham College, majoring in'math, Bill is now a] sophomore at George School. When the S-person family began to outgrow the quarters at Wrightstown Meeting, the Rowes decided to build their own home and began looking for a property. The only’ Fequirement was that it be equidistant between] Wrightstown Meeting and Buckingham Friends. School and with eurshot of the Lahaska fire siren| (George is an enthusiastic volunteer fireman), ‘The ideal place was found in Wycombe, where they | purchased 1% acres on Anchor Road and designed their own Colonial-style house, a twostory frame and brick with 4 bedrooms, build by Bob Hopf. If you were to visit there today you would also find a pony shed and several rabbit hutches, built by George himself, with Bill’s help, to house the children’s pets. In this peaceful, unpretentious setting, with plenty of open country around, far from the noisy, polluted, mechanized rush of the city or the conspicuous consumption of the suburbs, George Rowe has been able to raise his three children according to his theory that “children should have a chance to see the| contrast between open space and crowding, between 4 quiet life and a complicated one, and decide for themselves what is real and important.” Mr. Rowe has also managed, despite the demands| {continued on poge 16)AGWAY Petroleum Division Installation and Service of Heating Equipment Our Specialty Service Contracts Budget Plan WASHINGTON AVE. and LIBERTY ST. Phone: WO 8-428! NEWTOWN, PA. (HEADMASTER cont. rom page 15) of a busy schedule, to practice several hobbies Besides firefighting, George enjoys restoring and rofinishing antiques; he and Margie furnished their hhome this way, and the hobby led to professional work for several summers in New Hope, where, in the ‘employ of Francis Lovett, Mr. Rowe restored the interior of the Parry Mansion, He is also an enthusiastic astronomer, speaking knowledgably of meteor showers and eclipses and auroras; on clear nights, he often takes groups of amateur astronomers to a high point on his land for stargazing with the telescope he built. Take a walk around Buckingham Friends School with George Rowe and you will sense immediately how glad he is to have “come home”. (He began his daties officially. last July, replacing former principal Peter Barry). A child meets him in the hall and is greeted by name with a smile and a word about something Which interests him — Mr. Rowe knows them all. A teacher or secretary has @ problem and Mr. Rowe is not too busy with his guest to help. The walls of his office are glass and his door is open, inviting everyone to see that he is accessible. His iscussion of the school, its teachers, and its students fs sparked with anecdotes which reveal an intimate knowledge ofits past, its present, and its problems. Built in 1794, Buckingham Friends is one of the oldest schools in the county — perhaps only Solebury School at New Hope is older: and George Rowe thinks Buckingham may be ze oldest still using its original building, He takes you to the cellar, where the original oaken beams are still exposed, each a ‘whole log which the builder did not even bother to flatten on its bottom — or nonfloor — side, woodpecker and worm holes stil visible, one still containing its bark. Mr, Rowe touches this one reverently “There's something indeseribably thrilling about actually touching a beam which has supported building for almost 200 years! For one thing,” he ruses with a twinkle in his eye, “if the bark can stay ‘on that long, it proves your cellar has to be dry!” At one point in the 1880's the Buckingham Public School used the downstairs of this original building while the Quakers used the second floor. In the 1920's and 30's several smaller wings were added, and, since World War Il, a separate building for kindergarten, first grade, and First Day school, another for combined diningroom and gymnasium. Mr. Rowe has dreams of an addition to this latest building with space for stage and drama and music {continued on page 18)