Walking Tour, 'Chester Lear Tales' Highlight Yardley History Events

YARDLEY, PA —The Yardley Historical Association will take a walk down memory lane with a tour of the Delaware Canal towpath and South Canal Street and "tales from Chester Lear" about the borough in the early-to-mid-1900s.

The walking tour takes place at 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 27, and will start at the Old Library by Lake Afton, 46 W. Afton Ave.

The 2-mile roundtrip stroll will cover a bit of downtown Yardley, then head south on the towpath to Lock 5, where the canal and railroad history meet.

From Lock 5, walkers will explore South Canal Street, a bustling area where the Delaware Canal was in commercial operation. There was an expansive boatyard and the houses on the east side of the canal were later built for railroad workers.

A special stop will be the historic AME Church, which is being rescued by conservator Shirley Lee Corsey and volunteers. Now called The Gather Place, walkers will tour the interior to see the original church features and a new exhibit of old photos of Yardley.

The return trip to the Old Library will be via either the towpath or South Main Street.

Susan Taylor, the former executive director of the Friends of the Delaware Canal, will lead the walk and point out sites and share stories along the way.

A $10 donation per person is requested. To reserve a place, please e-mail info@yardleyhistory.org or call 215-208-1154.

For more information about the walk or other activities of the Yardley Historical
Association, visit www.yardleyhistory.org.

Meanwhile, “Chester Lear Tells Tales,” an evening of stories about Yardley in the early to mid-1900s, will take place on Thursday, April 20, at 7:30 p.m.

The tales will be heard at the Old Library by Lake Afton, 46 W. Afton Ave. in Yardley.

Funny, sharp, and ever-observant, Chester Lear was the best of storytellers. He was the son of the lock tender at Lock 6 on the Delaware Canal In Yardley.

Vivid memories filled his head —his family’s life on the canal ( “We lived just like muskrats”), his encounters in downtown Yardley, and the folks he met.

He was interviewed at a Yardley Historical Association meeting in March 1981 and was 86 years old at the time.

At the presentation, a tape of that meeting will be played. The three canal boat models that Lear carved and gave to the association will also be on display.

The Yardley Historical Association preserves, maintains, and shares the Old Library by Lake Afton and its collections of books, documents, and ephemera related to Yardley’s history. The community is welcome to come to explore, discover, and have fun.