Red Arrow – Friends of Glen Providence Park https://glenprovidencepark.org Preserving and enhancing Delaware County's oldest park Mon, 23 Jul 2012 23:46:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.1 8/4/2012 Nature Walk with Tom Reeves https://glenprovidencepark.org/2012/07/23/842012-nature-walk-with-tom-reeves/ https://glenprovidencepark.org/2012/07/23/842012-nature-walk-with-tom-reeves/#respond Mon, 23 Jul 2012 17:36:27 +0000 http://glenprovidencepark.org/?p=2179

As anyone who has been on a bird or nature walk with naturalist Tom Reeves knows, he is a wealth of interesting information about native plants and wildlife (especially birds!).  He has been a respected and incredibly generous volunteer and nature guide for decades, including 32 years with John Heinz Wildlife Refuge, 20 years with […]]]>

As anyone who has been on a bird or nature walk with naturalist Tom Reeves knows, he is a wealth of interesting information about native plants and wildlife (especially birds!).  He has been a respected and incredibly generous volunteer and nature guide for decades, including 32 years with John Heinz Wildlife Refuge, 20 years with Tyler Arboretum, and over 12 years with CRC Watersheds Association!  And now we are fortunate to have  him lead a walk for us…

Nature Walk with Tom Reeves

Saturday, August 4
8:30-10:00am
Main entrance, Glen Providence Park

And just where did Tom get his start as a naturalist?  In Glen Providence Park!  When Tom attended the Highland Avenue School in Lansdowne, his fourth grade teacher Miss Drayton had bird pictures displayed around her classroom, and taught her class about birds.  When it was time to go for a bird walk, the class took a Red Arrow bus to… Glen Providence Park!  

They did not use binoculars, but Tom still remembers seeing his first American Goldfinch that day, and watching its undulating flight- he says that is the moment he became a birder!  They saw 15 to 20 bird species on that bird walk, including Northern Cardinal and American Robin.  It was almost a whole day field trip, and included a picnic lunch in the park.  It seems fitting that Glen Providence Park played a role in inspiring Tom’s life-long interest in birds and nature, as George and Eleanor Butler donated the park to be a Bird Sanctuary and Arboretum.

Join us as we welcome Tom back to the park where it all started!

Bring binoculars if you have them, hiking poles if you use them, a camera if you’d like, and your curiosity!

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

]]> https://glenprovidencepark.org/2012/07/23/842012-nature-walk-with-tom-reeves/feed/ 0 7/28/2012 Picnic in the Park https://glenprovidencepark.org/2012/07/19/7282012-picnic-in-the-park/ https://glenprovidencepark.org/2012/07/19/7282012-picnic-in-the-park/#respond Fri, 20 Jul 2012 01:51:43 +0000 http://glenprovidencepark.org/?p=2021

Join us as we celebrate the first year of Friends of Glen Providence Park… with a picnic!  We can’t think of of a more appropriate way to celebrate- picnics are a longstanding tradition in Glen Providence Park.  So come join us- bring your stories and memories about the park, and kick back and have fun! […]]]>

Join us as we celebrate the first year of Friends of Glen Providence Park… with a picnic!  We can’t think of of a more appropriate way to celebrate- picnics are a longstanding tradition in Glen Providence Park.  So come join us- bring your stories and memories about the park, and kick back and have fun!

 

Picnic in the Park!

Saturday, July 28
11:00am-1:00pm
Sledding Hill, Glen Providence Park
Rain date Sunday, July 29

Glen Providence Park has been a popular picnic spot throughout its 76 year history.  In the 1940’s, the park guard James Stokes built picnic tables for the park.  In the 1950’s “members of several fraternities from the University of Pennsylvania enjoyed supper” in the park.   A mid-century Red Arrow Trolley brochure includes a photograph of the sledding hill and suggests, “Pack a picnic basket and take the family to Glen Providence Park, end of Media Line, for a refreshing day.”

In August 1966 there was a “Melon Melee”, with wheelbarrow loads of watermelon “consumed by 200 boys and girls (and some ducks) at the annual picnic at Media’s Glen Providence Park.” Playground director Thomas R. Walters said the children “ate them until I thought watermelon would come out of their ears.” They also had a pie-eating contest!

So pack a picnic basket!  Bring a lunch, and if you’d like, a dish to share.  It might not be a bad idea to bring a picnic blanket, in case we run out of tables.  We will provide popsicles, water ice, and watermelon, of course!  Who knows, maybe it will be our first Annual Picnic- and for next year, we could stage the return of the pie-eating contest…

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

 

This postcard shows the old Park Guard House to the left, and a picnic table (possibly built by the Park Guard) under a tree to the right.  It’s still a great hillside for a picnic, with several modern picnic tables!

Glen Providence Plaza 1930's or 1940's postcard

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