Thoughtful musings on various topics by interesting people at Blithewold
Happy Birthday, Augustus
Now that our Christmas and New Year’s celebrations have slipped into the past, we want to pause to honor our founder, Augustus Van Wickle, who was born on January 4, 1856. In January of 1883 … Read more.
A Very Merry Christmas
Blithewold has thrown open its doors for the Christmas season, bringing the excitement of the season to all its visitors. After you have toured the elegantly decorated Mansion, soaking up the festive atmosphere within … Read more.
Arthur Lamora
Arthur Lamora was Marjorie Lyon’s grounds man and chauffeur from around 1950 until she died in 1976. He lived in the north end cottage apartment of the garage complex with his wife, Evelyn. Arthur … Read more.
Textile Conservation in Marjorie’s Bedroom
Blithewold’s Collections Committee decided last year that it would develop a project to repair and conserve the textile collection in the Mansion, including bed coverings, furniture upholstery, and window treatments. Everything, by definition, is more … Read more.
Educating Marjorie
Marjorie Van Wickle was born in 1883 in Cleveland, Ohio. Little is known about her early education until the family moved back to Hazleton, Pennsylvania, in 1892. There her parents, Augustus and Bessie Van Wickle, … Read more.
Night Blooming Cereus
Night Blooming Cereus One hundred years ago, on August 1, 1916, The Bristol Phoenix announced to the town that a rare horticultural event was taking place at Blithewold. Bessie had been cultivating a Night … Read more.
Happy Years At Blithewold
In the summer of 1978, eighteen months after the death of Marjorie Lyon, the East Bay Bulletin interviewed Tillie McDonnell, Marjorie’s long-time cook. Tillie had worked for Marjorie for more than forty years, and remained … Read more.
Blithewold’s Golf Club House
In 1895, when Augustus and Bessie Van Wickle purchased the 70 acre property on Ferry Road that became Blithewold, they had grand plans to make their ‘Country Place’ into an idyllic, restful retreat to share … Read more.
One Hundred Years Ago
JUNE 1916 As I write this in the middle of May we have the heating on in the offices. The Third Floor group just had lunch on the North Porch – a favorite spot to … Read more.
A Boy’s Trip to Europe, 1869
In 1869, 16-year-old Israel Pardee left his home in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, for a one-year educational journey through Europe, accompanied by his younger sister Anne. Israel (known in the family as Izzie) was Bessie McKee’s older … Read more.