Bryn Athyn, an intriguing place, faces a dilemma. The tiny boro is a deeply beloved community. It has a special place in the hearts of those of us who live within it boundaries, whose lives have been touched by going to school there or through the church that is its reason for being, or who are simply enthralled by its beauty. It is easy to forget that it was, from the beginning, carefully created as a meticulously planned community.
People moved from Philadelphia, out to the countryside, in order to be a special sort of community. (tried to find a good online source for a history of the boro, but failed - found at least one funky one, but the rest were about the cathedral or the church or the schools).
From the beginning, fostering, nurturing, outright promoting a strong sense of shared community was very much part of "the original plan" for Bryn Athyn's long term success.
Whereas John Pitcairn gave the new community its spiritual heart - the cathedral - it was his son, Raymond, who crafted our social heart ~ ~ Glencairn's Great Hall.
Glencairn's Great Hall
For the first 75+ years, community outreach & inclusion was underwritten by the Pitcairn family. Wonderful concerts & social events, even politics, brought everyone together in what was the social heart of our community - the Great Hall at Glencairn, built to serve as a community gathering spot,
Back when I was growing up & a young adult, Glencairn concerts were free - Raymond & Mildred Pitcairn invited us into their home for the ultimate in house concerts*. Am forever grateful that I knew at the time it was an unusual opportunity to appreciate soaring music played & sung by inspired musicians & performers.
The Great Hall is remembered for much more than incredible "house" concerts. At least once a year, the Great Hall turned into a fabulous ball room as couples swung & swayed to classic bands belting out tunes by Glenn Miller & Benny Goodman et al - no cost, just come. It was a rare year when a Pitcairn grandchild didn't get married, always the occasion for the entire community - high school & up - to be invited to a swing-infused wedding reception in the Great Hall.
For a lot of us, the Great Hall
- now the focal point of the Glencairn Museum -
became as familiar & welcoming as an aunt & uncle's living room.
That Was Then...
Today, attending a concert at Glencairn is still a bargain, but the price of attending is still enough of a cost to rule out going with John. Wedding receptions have moved across the lawn, to Cairnwood, where anyone can rent the beautiful home for an event, but where fire regulations strictly limit the number who attend, so "open" invitations to the whole community are ruled out.
Dances - they no longer exist, anywhere; there are no special, downright magical (depending on your date) dances that are open to all, that invite women to dress in glorious gowns & men to look their spiffy best.
Which core community dynamics were fostered by Glencairn events? Currently, how has the Glencairn Museum built on Raymond & Mildred's legacy of making the Great Hall our community's social heart, breathing new life & light into new activities? Look forward to a future post looking at the many ways the Great Hall at Glencairn very much remains the social heart of our beloved community.
*Three cheers that house concerts have, over the past decade or so, become popular again in Bryn Athyn. They might be a lot smaller & limited to a cozy circle of friends or lucky guests, but they ARE. Bravo!!!
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