Abington Friends School, 1697-1947

ABINGTON FRIENDS SCHOOL81 building in which George Corson's son-in-law, Thomas Hovenden, did the well-known painting, "John Brown on His Way to His Execution," and to inspect the new wing of the meetinghouse, designed by a member of Friends Historical Association, Joseph Linden Heacock. Here Plymouth Meeting Friends served coffee and ice cream to go with the box suppers which members of the Association had brought with them. ABINGTON FRIENDS SCHOOL, 1697-1947 Two Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary THE CELEBRATION of the two hundred fiftieth anniversary of Abington Friends School on Fifth Month 17th, 1947, is a notable milestone in the history of education in the Society of Friends in America. While our Quaker colleges— Haverford, Guilford, Earlham, and others soon to come—are marking the completion of a century of higher education among Friends, the celebration of the 250th year of a school which is believed to be the oldest American institution of its type in continuous existence in the same place under the same ownership and management, is a striking reminder of the fact that an earnest concern for education has marked the Society of Friends from the very beginning. Abington Friends School has served eight generations of Pennsylvania Friends in what was originally Dublin or Cheltenham, now Abington Meeting. It began as an ungraded elementary school, expanded to the secondary level, served as a boarding school before George School was founded, and is now a day school, offering instruction to 250 girls, both Friends and nonFriends , from the pre-school to college preparatory grades. It was held first in the meetinghouse, then in a separate building, now the caretaker's house, and since 1887 in a building across the road to the south. The School's celebration in Fifth Month last had as the theme "A Glimpse of its Past—A Vision of its Future." The vision of the future includes plans for a new auditorium and new classrooms, for which an anniversary fundraising campaign for $100,000 is now in progress, beginning with the anniversary year and continuing through 1948. Vol. 36, Autumn 1947 82 BULLETIN OF FRIENDS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION More than three thousand alumni, friends and students gathered to see the anniversary program, which was arranged by a large committee from the Meeting and the School. Exhibits of great variety were on view. In the gymnasium there were "Period Rooms"—a 1697 kitchen, a 1797 dining room, and an 1887 parlor—arranged by members of the Meeting and patrons of the School, and the School Committee sponsored an exhibition of Quaker and School relics. In the Assembly Room were portraits of famous Quakers, examples of children's clothing and school supplies since 1697, and a number of other historical exhibits. Quaker costumes were on display in the halls, as well as maps, charts, and lists of courses of study and activities at Abington Friends today. Samples of art work done in the School and a graphic account of the growth of music in America were also shown. The principal event of the day was the presentation in the meetinghouse grove of the Anniversary pageant. Under the direction of Anne Lois Ritz, and an able committee, members, patrons, and students of the School portrayed the past and future of Abington Friends. The historical narrative was written by Horace M. Lippincott, a member of the Abington Meeting, and the dialogue by Charles F. Jenkins, of Germantown. There were seven episodes: 1. "1697, The Gift of John Barnes," showing how the land on which the meetinghouse and the School now stand was given to the Monthly Meeting; 2. "1727, A Colonial School Day"; 3. "1777, First Day Meeting, Seventh Month, Sixth" ; 4. "1837, A Meeting of the School Committee" ; 5. "1887, A Class in the Old School"; 6. "1907, Boarding School Days"; and 7. "1947, May Day," in which the May Queen was crowned, "The School's Message," written for the occasion by Sarah CIeghorn, was recited in chorus, and a May Pole Dance, "Our Symbol of Unity," was given by Grades X and XI. The players arrived and departed from the scene by various means appropriate to the time of the episode, from horseback to...