Where Tasha Tudor considered her books essential means to the end of creating the life she craved, Marguerite de Angeli considered hers like outreaches of her family & friends, as mini tributes to where she lived, to the history that reached down into the Pennsylvania soil she loved. Small wonder her books were so beloved by so many Bryn Athyn families.
I have no memory of first hearing Mom read The Door in the Wall, Jared's Island, Henner's Lydia, and the family favorite - Up the Hill. I would have been just a baby. I envision those earliest reads, with Peter, Michael, Mim & Ian sitting around Mom, myself in a cradle near her or perhaps being held by one of the older sibs. A magical image.
Talk about magic - can remember "Aunt" Gay Pendleton dropping by our Woodland Road house to ask Mim for a favor. Would she pick up & bring out a friend who lived near the Philadelphia Art Museum to Bryn Athyn for a tea party? It turned out to be Marguerite!
Per usual, I rode shotgun when Mim drove in. What a delight to pull up to the wonderful apartment building - not a charmless huge boxy thing, but a large enough building, brimming with character - and pick up an author/illustrator whose books were dear to our hearts.
Would the actual woman disappoint? Hardly!
Marguerite was every inch the woman who wrote & illustrated so many of our best-beloved books. If I was a little kid, would have wanted to crawl up on her lap. She was warm & friendly & an utter delight to drive to & from Bryn Athyn.
Along the way, Mim & I discovered that she was already heart-connected to our little home town. Marguerite was open about the post-partum depression that gripped her after the birth of one of her children. Nothing helped.
One day, another artist friend took her to see a remarkable sight - a cathedral being built just outside Philadelphia!
Marguerite talked about the sense of peace & calm that settled around her, watching the work on what became my home church. She started coming out, at one point weekly. As she described it to us, experiencing the building of Bryn Athyn Cathedral is what got her back on her feet, left her feeling grounded on what had been a rocky road.
By the time we dropped her at "Aunt" Gay's, we'd gone from devoted fans to enraptured friends.
Although Mim & I weren't among the guests at that afternoon tea, Mom was very much in attendance. And for years after, "Aunt" Gay took delight in what happened when she introduced Marguerite to Mom!!
Taking Mom's hand gently in hers, Marguerite asked, "Aren't you that lovely young woman from Strawbridge's book department?" Mom was stunned - that was in the mid-'30s, almost 40 past! Yes, she was - and with that, the two were off to the races!
Mom gave condolences on the death of Dai, Marguerite's husband, and asked about each of her children, by name & with great affection.
Yep, that was one time that Gay Pendleton was totally floored, watching Marguerite & Mom connecting as if they were longtime friends. Which, on a certain level, they were.
After that 1971 tea, it became a tradition for the Lockharts to pick up & return Marguerite to/from the Glencairn Sing. The first two years, Mom & Dad did the honors of fetching her, driving "Aunt" Gay's lovely car. The 2nd year, the station wagon wasn't available, so Dad (reluctantly) took our big Ford van, Marguerite in the front seat, Mom in the back.
Mim handled the driving honors the next year (Dad was gone), showing up once again in "Aunt" Gay's car. Marguerite was crushed! She loved the van, sitting up high, getting a great view driving through the city streets & countryside. From then on, it was the van!
From then on, "Aunt" Gay knew Mim would always be available for the special Christmas-time run! The three Lockhart Ladies loved the honor of picking up Marguerite, Mim behind the wheel, yours truly riding shotgun, Mom with her friend in the back seat - and a packet of crackers in the glove compartment for Marguerite to nibble. The drive sped by, with all the gabbing going on!
We'd get to Glencairn well before the start of the Sing. I'd usher the two older women in while Mim parked the van. Marguerite would be settled into a place of honor, then the three of us headed up to the balcony seats, nipping back down at intermission as Marguerite was saying her farewells to the Pendletons. Then off we went - a full concert was too much for our elderly friend - back to her hearth & home.
For "Aunt" Gay, those early departures became a cross to bear. She was torn - she HAD to stay for all of the Sing, but longed to come with us. She knew Marguerite would insist on stopping for a bit of a sip & nibble. What fun we all had those late suppers with cocktails, usually at a dandy restaurant on City Line Avenue. How "Aunt" Gay longed to join our merry band!
With friendship came special benefits. Marguerite drew a darling little bird for Mom & gave each of us a personally inscribed book - mine was Skippack School, because I taught at Bryn Athyn Elementary School.
No benefit topped time with Marguerite. The Sings & and other special events, like birthday parties down at the Philadelphia Free Library, are forever in my heart. She was unforgettable.
Over the years, I came to know her steadfast spiritual values, her passion for music (she was a gifted contralto, her husband was a violinist), deep love of family & loyalty to friends.
Marguerite didn't just talk about social justice - in 1946, Bright April was published, the story of a young African-American girl growing up in Germantown, the same section of Philadelphia that was home to the young Marguerite. Rare, very rare for a children's book author/illustrator to cross racial boundaries - for Marguerite, there were no such things.
As much as we love the books she wrote & illustrated, one that was perhaps dearest to our - well, at least my - hearts was one she illustrated, didn't write. And it could explain the close tie Marguerite shared with us, one of the few families that not only knew, but treasured The Dove in the Eagle's Nest - her first book illustration assignment. Our ancient copy is tattered, close to falling apart, but was & remains one of our greatest family treasures.
Almost as priceless a treasure as the friendships that developed with Mim behind the wheel, yours truly riding shot gun, Mom & Marguerite comfy cozy on the back seat.
Postscript - I was about to write, "Did Mim know that Marguerite & Dai had a cozy cottage at Toms River?" Then, I realized - of course! Those were the little details my big sis delighted in so much!
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