Bucks
Quakertown Historic District Alex Lemonade Stand
Dear Friends,
Good morning. Two weeks ago, Quakertown Borough took another step to receive the coveted designation of a historic district in the national register. I’ll bring you up to speed in a moment.
But first…
You couldn’t pass by these cute little kids without buying a cup of lemonade. On August 7 in Quakertown, five youngsters, age one to seven, sold lemonade to support the cure for childhood cancer. It’s the 10th Anniversary of Alex’s Lemonade Stand.
Emma Murphy, 7, Hannah Murphy, 6,
Lily Whalen, 5, Broderick Whalen, 2, and Quentin Curdts, 1, set up shop outside
of
The parents, Alexis Whalen, Alaina Curdts, Devan Derstine, and Timothy Murphy, supervised the enterprise. “Alexis is the genius of the effort,” Alaina Curdts told me. It was the second year for Alex’s Lemonade Stand in Quakertown.
“Last year, the kids raised $225 for the two day effort,” Alexis Whalen chimed in. She then led the kids in a high-spirited lemonade cheer.
“2010 marks 10 years since childhood cancer patient Alexandra “Alex” Scott held her first front yard lemonade stand to help find a cure for all kids with cancer,” the kid’s brochure read. “Since that time, the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation has raised over $30 million to continue her dream of a cure.”
For more information, to donate
online, or discover how to hold your own lemonade stand, visit the website: www.AlexsLemonade.org. Or, send a
contribution to Alex’s Lemonade Stand foundation,
The Quakertown kids raised $150 for their efforts. They made the lemonade and I tasted a cup. It was delicious. Bravo! Alexis Whalen said that the children are ready for an encore next year.
And now to Quakertown Borough’s current mission.
The nomination for Quakertown to
the National Register of Historic Places will appear at the October 5 meeting
of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in
Quakertown Alive! with the unanimous support of Quakertown Council initiated the effort six years ago. Local business people, working with Preservation Consultant Kathryn Ann Auerbach assisted the process. The public hearing on August 4 was the last step. There were approximately 30 who attended. None objected to the plan.
“The Historic District includes 2401 resources on 1396 tax parcels of land and is over one mile long and ½ mile wide,” the brochure explained. “It is nearly double the size of Doylestown Historic District, and over 10 times the size of many smaller village districts in the area.
“Quakertown embodies distinctive characteristics of time and place, maintaining particular attributes of architectural style, community planning, transportation and political involvement throughout a period of significance spanning from 1734 through 1957,” the application noted.
One of the reasons for the larger
size of this historic district is that there were two separate communities
prior to 1854 when the Borough came into official existence. The original
Quakertown lay on
That’s why the order of
Quakertown’s wards is peculiar. You would think that the wards would be
numbered in geographic sequence starting in the oldest part of the town (
If you thought that, you’d be wrong.
Instead, the four wards are
numbered historically. The First Ward is the
That kind of logic is mind-boggling.
It reminds me why the Pennsylvania Germans named
But I stray.
“The National Register was created in 1966 to be a planning tool for federally initiated, funded or authorized projects,” the application explains. “It does not restrict the individual property owner in any way. Most importantly for towns like Quakertown, it offers greater opportunities for improvement grants, and makes substantial tax credits for rehabilitation of income producing buildings within the district possible.”
The application includes Quakertown’s architecture, a blend of characteristics favored by the Welsh Quakers and Pennsylvania German Protestants. The arrival of the railroad in 1856 contributed to wide streets on a spacious grid. Quakertown’s nickname, “The Hub of the North Penn” stems from its central location between the Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley regions, bordered by Routes 309, 313, 663 and 212, plus the railroad and trolley lines.
The application includes references to civic mindedness and risk taking for noble causes. The secret hiding of the Liberty Bell during the American Revolution; encounters during the Fries Rebellion in 1798; and providing safe haven for slaves in the Underground Railroad are proudly listed.
“Quakertown, with 94 percent contributing resources, gives a vivid image of a blended population based on the founding Quaker and German fundamentals of quality, social consciousness and egalitarian approach to providing a pleasant community to live and work,” the application states.
You can understand why I never left home.
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith