By Steve Edgcumbe

As part of its 125th anniversary celebration, the Chester County Historical Society will host its First Annual Halloween Ball on Saturday, Oct. 27 from 6:30-10:30 PM.

The fundraising event will take place at the CCHS on North High Street in West Chester, and features a live auction, music, and open bar. Catering will be provided by Special Events by Duffy’s of Downingtown and costumes are encouraged.

Lamb McErlane PC is the event’s Presenting Sponsor.

“The Chester County Historical Society is our story keeper, our storyteller,” said Jim Sargent, a partner at Lamb McErlane and Chair of the CCHS Board of Trustees. “As an educational institution, it keeps our history alive. It’s important to remember our history. We have had people from our county who have impacted history, and our county has played a big role in our country’s history.”

Sargent noted that West Chester is home to historic buildings designed by famed Philadelphia architect Thomas U. Walter, including the stone side of CCHS, known as “Horticultural Hall (1848),” First Presbyterian Church of West Chester (1834), the Bank of Chester County, now Wells Fargo (1836), and the old Chester County Courthouse (1846).

Walter is most famous for his contributions to the U.S. Capitol, which include the north (Senate) and south (House) wings of the building, as well as its distinctive central dome which is the very symbol of America.

Sargent also noted the contributions of West Chester chemist G. Raymond Rettew, who pioneered the mass production of penicillin, the world’s first antibiotic.

In 1943, with Wyeth Laboratories, Rettew set up a small West Chester lab in a converted automobile repair shop near the intersection of Walnut and Chestnut streets. There, Rettew made and sent more penicillin to the Armed Forces than any other lab in the world, saving countless lives on the battlefields and in the hospitals of World War II.

CCHS is creating a replica of Rettew’s laboratory for display in its History Center, Sargent said. The original lab was smaller than the kitchen in an average suburban home today, he said.

“These are the kinds of stories we want to tell to our school children,” Sargent said. “The Historical Society has all sorts of interesting displays, artifacts, and memorabilia that tell the history of our area.”

Fundraisers like the Halloween Ball ensure that CCHS has the resources necessary to continue sharing the history of Chester County and to continue caring for its collection of 80,0000 artifacts, 100,000 historic photographs, and 750,000 manuscripts, and to educate people of all ages.

Lamb McErlane PC has been a long supporter of the CCHS with two prior Chairs of the CCHS Board of Trustees, George Zumbano and Vincent Donohue.

Click here to purchase tickets to the Halloween Ball. For more information, call CCHS Director of Development Allison Snavely at 610-692-4800 ext. 267 or e-mail her at development@chestercohistorical.org.

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