Embraceable You

When we got across the bridge, I sensed that we were in a different world. We parked the car…and just sort of stood there looking around. There were hundreds of young people in blue jeans and brightly colored, gauzy shirts. Everyone had long hair; some with headbands, some with flowers, and some in big Afros … There were people singing, playing guitars, and dancing. They all seemed seriously engaged in the act of being joyful…the perfect word to describe New Hope. My sister …took off her penny loafers. I could sense that she had crossed a threshold, she was transforming. She rushed me into a tiny shop where she bought earrings with peace signs, a leather-fringed headband, and a wristband that matched. Barefoot and adorned in her sunglasses, and hippie accessories, she “fit in.” RHEA RAWLEY A friend of ours once quipped that New Hope is the place where “the black sheep from all families come to stay.” It is a haven for those who prefer to color outside the lines–for those whose motto is “live and let live.” Residents embrace New Hope’s eclectic mix of backgrounds, incomes, and lifestyles, whether they’re proud descendents of New Hope’s original families, recent transplants, or they wish to escape communities of conformity. JANINE WITTE Living in New Hope was always filled with excitement and surprise. You never knew whom you might spot meandering through the town. Some of the biggest names in show business have performed at the Bucks County Playhouse—Grace Kelly, Helen Hayes, Kitty Carlisle, Lillian Gish, Colleen Dewhurst, Bob Fosse, Robert Redford, Merv Griffin, George C. Scott, and John Travolta … It would not be unusual to find yourself sitting next to a celebrity …at one of our local restaurants. I remember seeing Liza Minelli riding her bicycle through town. DOROTHY GRIDER In a pocket full of change, I will instinctively look for a dime. That’s my lucky coin. My dear friend, Selma Burke, was the artist who designed the portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt that graces our U.S. dime…Selma had a magnetic personality and such a grand manner… People were naturally drawn to her. And, oh, how she loved to tell stories! Selma could regale a group for hours telling stories about her own life. … She was the center of attention—there was no one else like her. As I watched her sitting at one of the tables in my restaurant, surrounded by friends and admirers, I would remind myself that many years ago…Selma was a real “trailblazer,” for she was the first African-American person who ever came through the doors of this dining establishment. And now, here she was holding court in the Towpath Restaurant. I thought to myself, “You go, girl!” PAUL LICITRA Joe’s life was full of contradictions. He lived as a she for most of his life; he was devoutly religious and a great joke-teller; he was outrageous and caustic, yet loving and generous. People from all walks of life called Joe “Mother”…Over the years, he acquired many “children.” Mother was primarily known for walking everywhere—since he didn’t own a car—in his tight skirts, stiletto heels, bouffant hairdos (his own hair!), and the ever-present purse. MARILYN BULLOCK Every Thursday, May through November, the people of New Hope can look forward to an abundant offering of fresh produce at our local Farmers’ Market. As you wander from stall to stall, you can fill your eco-friendly shopping bag with an array of fresh vegetables and herbs, home-baked breads and muffins, organic poultry and eggs, sheep and goat’s milk cheeses, healthy jams, jellies, and preserves, as well as, a variety of fresh-cut wild flowers. This weekly event supports the small farmers in our area and promotes an environmentally friendly lifestyle. HOPE BLAYTHORNE I finished buttoning up my black shirtwaist dress, slipped on the white pinafore apron, and fastened the frilly round doily to the top of my head and . . . voila! I was now a Crystal Palace waitress. …The menu was overwhelming...fizzy concoctions, malted milkshakes, root beer floats, ice cream sodas and sundaes, and the king of them all—the banana split. …if you felt really daring, you might order the house specialty: a “Lillian Russell,” which was a half a cantaloupe scooped out and filled with two “buxom” scoops of French vanilla ice cream, topped off with dollops of whipped cream and two maraschino cherries. An order for a “Lillian” invariably caused an outbreak of giggles. LYNDA JEFFREY PLOTT …I purchased a weekend home with my then-partner, a few miles north of New Hope on the Delaware River. I returned to New Hope, as a child comes back to its mother, feeling a sense of comfort and belonging that no other place could offer. It was partly because it was a place where it was so easy to be gay. But in a more profound sense, it was because George Nakashima had made this picturesque hamlet on the Delaware River a place of memory, artistry, and serenity for me that could never be matched in its singular beauty anywhere else on this earth. STEPHEN A. GLASSMAN After college, a mad, wild, hectic career set in: I was living in N.Y.C. and doing Live TV. That’s when I first learned to grind my teeth. Deadlines, celebs with ultimatums, high rents, late nights, romantic crushes, and big stress: Ahhh, youth… N.Y.C. was the very first love of my life. It captured my heart before anything and anyone. While living there, a few geographical and social things became clear: I did not want to trek to those Hamptons. I did like Connecticut in the fall. And the weekend jaunts to New Hope, Pennsylvania? Hands down, those were the weekends that soothed my urban soul. LAURA SCHROCK Ours was one of the very first official Unitarian Universalist “Welcoming Congregations.” …we pride ourselves in being a liberal religious community that is open and welcoming to gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people. I have found in the New Hope community a strong ally and partner in promoting progressive and inclusive issues in general and especially in the area of LGBT rights. I was excited when the New Hope Council met to consider passing a comprehensive ordinance stating that New Hope does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. …Clearly, our congregation was pleased that the ordinance was passed. REV. CHARLES J. STEPHENS …while working as a reporter for NBC News … I was given the assignment of covering a protest in Bucks County…. A large protest was being waged to stop a proposed pumping station from being built in Point Pleasant. … Leading the protest was the controversial and infamous Abbie Hoffman. Hoffman, an antiwar protestor from the Vietnam era, had been a fugitive. …. Hoffman was a committed environmentalist and successfully fought to protect the St. Lawrence River from winter navigation before heading to Bucks County in hopes of protecting the Delaware River. I arrived the night before the Point Pleasant rally and stayed at the Holiday Inn in New Hope. I left early the next morning …As I drove up Route 32 with the sun glistening on the river and through the trees, I felt I had just arrived in heaven. It was one of the most spectacular views I had ever seen. It was more than just the sights…there was such a feeling of happiness and joy that I could not explain. NORMA QUARLES …This part of Pennsylvania was inherited by William Penn who created a colony of early Quaker settlers. They preserved and farmed the land and practiced their beliefs to live in peace and harmony with nature. …we owe much to the “Friends” for their tolerance and charity to others; customs we have learned to follow and respect. DEE ROSENWALD