Chester County Medicine Summer 2021 - 10

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History, Culture, Heritage, Pillars of Our Society
continued from page 9
PLAN YOUR VISIT
Who:
Plan to immerse yourself in
Chester County's history by
visting the Chester County
Historical Center (CCHC).
Where:
Chester County History Center
225 N. High Street
West Chester, PA 19380-2658
610.692.4800
When:
Visit Chestercohistorical.
org/visit for current hours
of operation and COVID
Guidelines.
What:
The History Center's houses
Turks Head Tavern Sign
chair of the Finance Committee, was instrumental in
helping to raise the money needed. Memorial Hall
officially opened on February 28, 1942. From 1937 to
1951 Dr. Francis Harvey Green served as president of the
Chester County Historical Society.
In May 1945, the society had 590 active members.
The 1950s saw consistent growth in membership. In
1951 there were 902 members with an annual budget of
$7520.00. Costs usually outweighed the funds collected.
At one time the treasurer reported $196.00 in the general
fund and 13 cents in petty cash. In 1960, under the leadership of Dr. James, a landmark
step was taken to create a women's organization. Mrs. Ball was designated in charge of this
group. In the 1960s membership exceeded 1,000 individuals, making Memorial Hall now
inadequate for exhibiting and storing the society's holdings. Dr. James retired as president
in 1967, and George Norman Highley, a banker, succeeded him as the president.
Another important year for the society was 1974 when Barclay Rubincam was the
subject of a popular exhibition and more importantly the society's board approved the
funds for the expansion of the facility. Congressman Ware served as chair of this funding
committee. Roland Woodward, a native of Chester County, was executive director of the
Society starting in the 1980s when the society's annual budget reached almost $500,000
in 1985-1986. The society's annual budget reached almost $500,000 in 1985-1986.
There were several successful exhibitions during the 1980s, including the " Historic
Signs " exhibit in 1985, " Silver " exhibit in 1986, " Pewter " exhibit in 1987, and " Quaker
Clothing " exhibit in 1990. Also, in 1988 an important exhibit of nationally known
Chester County native painter Horace Pippin was held. In 1992 a capital fund drive, with
a goal of $4 million, was set. By mid-1994 the amount of $4.8 million was reached.
It is worth a moment to reflect on the gentleman by the name of Josiah Harlan, a
Chester County Quaker whose life was portrayed in the 1888 novella by Rudyard Kipling
and whose archives are preserved by the Chester County History Center. The book was
immortalized by the movie of the same name, made in 1975, with Sean Connery and
Michael Caine playing the two adventurers. The Kipling book, titled The Man Who Would
Be King, is based on the lives of Josiah Harlan and James Brook, an Englishman who
became the first White Rajah in Borneo. A partially fictionalized story depicted these two
gentlemen traveling to Kafiristan, which straddles the area between current Afghanistan
and Pakistan, not too far from where I was born and spent my early life. Josiah visited
Pakistan and Afghanistan and became part of the highest echelon of their society when
he was named the Prince of Ghor. The book was immortalized by the movie of the same
name, made in 1975, with Sean Connery and Michael Caine playing the two adventurers.
Chest of Drawers
10 CHESTER COUNTY Medicine | SUMMER 2021

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Chester County Medicine Summer 2021

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