Keeping up with past and present happenings in a remarkable small town.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Elm Court ~ The House We Never Saw
The fountain at the Polk Street entrance . . .
. . . we felt regal when we sat here and wondered.
21 comments:
Anonymous
said...
In the mid 50"s the gate on the elm street entrance was rarely locked. We used to pack lunches and head for Ritz park. We would cut across the "mansion". Through the gate,down the winding road,to the stairs on the left in the picture. It saved a lot of time. Then you could go anywhere in there. I remember watching the Philip's girls and their friends playing tennis,catching frogs at the pond and walking up to the house,I even ventured into the courtyard once. When you walked in the front gate,there was a Y,right to the house left down the hill. At the intersection there was a huge horse chestnut tree,bagged a lot of them,for what,who knows? Believe I mentioned before it was a great sled ride.
The mansion is owned by Fred Koch (Age 77), Jr. His family is the second wealthiest in the US behind Bill Gates. His brother (age 73) is married to Bridget Rooney (age 30 something) (granddaughter of Art Rooney). Bridget has a child by Kevin Costner. His two brothers are the movers and shakers behind the Tea Party movement.
I worked as a gardener on the estate in 1971 until I got poison oak pretty badly and had to quit. I remember the head gardener had us rip out some yew trees along one of the inside courtyards, and Mrs. Phillips was upset because she said Mr. Phillips had planted them himself. Mrs. Phillips was my Sunday School teacher at North Street Christian Church and we had a youth group function there once. What little I saw of the inside of the house was beautiful.
I remember attending a birthday party there for Barbie Phillips in the early 50's. Each of the guests (about 10 of us) received a favor at our table setting. I got cuff links which I still have! What elegance for this son of a ARMCO worker...
Elm Court and the Phillip's mansion were always something we gazed admiringly at when coming down North Main St. I remember gathering fall leaves for our school biology class. They had ginko trees. The mansion gave a certain prestige to the town. Like everything else, the ravages of time erases it all.
I took a walk during last week's snowstorm to the gates of the mansion where the pond is located. I could almost hear the sounds of all the neighborhood kids sledding down the road on a night back in the late 60's to early 70's. It was so much fun to take such a long ride from the top of the road near Elm to the bottom by North McKean. We would then walk the whole way back to the top and do it over again. It always seemed like there would be 40 to 50 kids there on a good snowing night.
Now, when I go sledding/tubing the hills are almost vacant. Modern kids too lazy to walk back up the hills.
My cousins and I snuck into the property back in the late 60's and Ben Phillips caught us. He was very gracious and let us look at the built in pool and beautiful flowers. I drive by the entrance often and would like to go look at it again someday.
I grew up on North McKean Street and have fond memories of sled riding from the top of the mansion property all the way down the drive way to the North McKean Street Entrance down the hill to Polk Street...There was big dogs and they would chase us to the gate!!!
On Christmas Eve 1959 several of us who were home from college decided to go Christmas caroling (with shot glasses in hand -- we were 21). We started out on "the Boulevard" but after a few houses one of our group suggested we go to Elm Court. We went and sang and sang at the front door and nobody came. So we started walking around the house in the snow looking in windows until we saw people and then sang a few more carols. The Ehrmann family then invited us in to join them and we did not leave until very late. They told us that as far as they knew we were the first carolers ever to visit Elm Court. The next year we went caroling but ONLY to Elm Court where we were once again welcomed famously.
I saw the inside of this house. A girl named Barbara Irwin (I think she was a granddaughter of Benjamin Phillips and lived at the estate) went to Butler public schools through 8th grade. I remember going to her house with her after school one day. After 8th grade, she was sent (reluctantly as I recall) to a "finishing" school (private boarding school) in the East.
21 comments:
In the mid 50"s the gate on the elm street entrance was rarely locked. We used to pack lunches and head for Ritz park. We would cut across the "mansion". Through the gate,down the winding road,to the stairs on the left in the picture. It saved a lot of time. Then you could go anywhere in there. I remember watching the Philip's girls and their friends playing tennis,catching frogs at the pond and walking up to the house,I even ventured into the courtyard once. When you walked in the front gate,there was a Y,right to the house left down the hill. At the intersection there was a huge horse chestnut tree,bagged a lot of them,for what,who knows? Believe I mentioned before it was a great sled ride.
Bob Dorcy
http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?v=2&cp=qtbd968b838z&scene=23473198&lvl=2&sty=o
Yep, thanks to modern technology we can see anywhere!
I got to be there for awhile will a friend house sat for thr Dr. & his wife. Lovely place.
I think I saw an original Delacroix there once upon a time.
I heard they are selling the mansion.
not selling
The mansion is owned by Fred Koch (Age 77), Jr. His family is the second wealthiest in the US behind Bill Gates. His brother (age 73) is married to Bridget Rooney (age 30 something) (granddaughter of Art Rooney). Bridget has a child by Kevin Costner. His two brothers are the movers and shakers behind the Tea Party movement.
I worked as a gardener on the estate in 1971 until I got poison oak pretty badly and had to quit. I remember the head gardener had us rip out some yew trees along one of the inside courtyards, and Mrs. Phillips was upset because she said Mr. Phillips had planted them himself. Mrs. Phillips was my Sunday School teacher at North Street Christian Church and we had a youth group function there once. What little I saw of the inside of the house was beautiful.
I remember attending a birthday party there for Barbie Phillips in the early 50's. Each of the guests (about 10 of us) received a favor at our table setting. I got cuff links which I still have! What elegance for this son of a ARMCO worker...
Hi Tad,
Your mother's pictures are all over my house. Hope you are well. Abigail Richards Redman
Your mother painted my sister's portrait back in the 1970's. I believe Mrs. Forringer lived on West Pearl Street.
Elm Court and the Phillip's mansion were always something we gazed admiringly at when coming down North Main St. I remember gathering fall leaves for our school biology class. They had ginko trees. The mansion gave a certain prestige to the town. Like everything else, the ravages of time erases it all.
I took a walk during last week's snowstorm to the gates of the mansion where the pond is located. I could almost hear the sounds of all the neighborhood kids sledding down the road on a night back in the late 60's to early 70's. It was so much fun to take such a long ride from the top of the road near Elm to the bottom by North McKean. We would then walk the whole way back to the top and do it over again. It always seemed like there would be 40 to 50 kids there on a good snowing night.
Now, when I go sledding/tubing the hills are almost vacant. Modern kids too lazy to walk back up the hills.
didnt r.w. mcdonald live in one of the houses?
Interesting Site..Butler is a very nice County..Lots of history
My cousins and I snuck into the property back in the late 60's and Ben Phillips caught us. He was very gracious and let us look at the built in pool and beautiful flowers. I drive by the entrance often and would like to go look at it again someday.
I grew up on North McKean Street and have fond memories of sled riding from the top of the mansion property all the way down the drive way to the North McKean Street Entrance down the hill to Polk Street...There was big dogs and they would chase us to the gate!!!
B Crouch
On Christmas Eve 1959 several of us who were home from college decided to go Christmas caroling (with shot glasses in hand -- we were 21). We started out on "the Boulevard" but after a few houses one of our group suggested we go to Elm Court. We went and sang and sang at the front door and nobody came. So we started walking around the house in the snow looking in windows until we saw people and then sang a few more carols. The Ehrmann family then invited us in to join them and we did not leave until very late. They told us that as far as they knew we were the first carolers ever to visit Elm Court. The next year we went caroling but ONLY to Elm Court where we were once again welcomed famously.
Joe Lestyk
Thanks for finally talking about > "Elm Court ~ The House We Never Saw" < Liked it!
Feel free to visit my homepage: www.wermovers.org/
I saw the inside of this house. A girl named Barbara Irwin (I think she was a granddaughter of Benjamin Phillips and lived at the estate) went to Butler public schools through 8th grade. I remember going to her house with her after school one day. After 8th grade, she was sent (reluctantly as I recall) to a "finishing" school (private boarding school) in the East.
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