Sam Cowell

A new color photograph of Ted's maternal grandfather, Samuel Cowell, circa early 1970s. I received this recently from the archivist at the Roxborough Historical Society in Philadelphia, along with this description:

The enclosed group photo is of the Roxborough Garden Club. Mr. Cowell is the man I've singled out in a separate image. Sylvia, who turns 100 in June, is wearing the blue coat at the center of the group photo holding a shovel just in front of her. This personal photo is hers and she's donated it to the historical society.

Finally, Sylvia told me again when giving me the photo that her thoughts and memories of the man were nothing but good. He was a kind, generous man who did much for the garden club, the community, and the friends he made along the way. She has never believed any of the negative things said about him (that he drank or was abusive) and thinks them to be the creation of gossip mongers that love to talk trash when something ugly happens in the world. I find Sylvia to be an excellent judge of character and she is finely attuned to the manipulations of people and politics in the most subtle of situations from the various non profit boards she sits on to community groups she still serves. She is as keen and sharp eyed as ever ... just a little hard of hearing.

In this particular photo, the group had been working in the neighboring community of Chestnut Hill on property owned by a friend of Mr. Cowell who let him grow plants and trees on his unused land. This day the group had been helping with a bunch of dogwood trees that were sold to raise funds at $1.19 each (can you imagine?).

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If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading this 1969 letter from Ted to his grandfather in 1969, Dr. Dorothy Lewis'a testimony from the 1987 competency hearing, and these editorials to the Roxborough Review newspaper in 1989.