John Abbott is fascinated with the history of Chalfont, a quaint borough in Central Bucks County that is both his home and an iconic representation of small town America.
A skilled, yet amateur, video producer and editor, the former Chalfont borough councilman, has spent the last five years creating “A Nostalgic Oral History of Chalfont.” The multi-episode project uses personal, unscripted interviews, vintage home movie clips and photographs to tell the story of Chalfont’s people, architecture, schools and businesses in the mid-20th century.
“Everyone I interview, especially the older folks, tell me how grateful they are to be given an opportunity to publicly share their memories. I think it is both important and fun for our younger generation to realize how much simpler everyday life was growing up in a small town like Chalfont,” said Abbott.
In more than 20 interviews with current and former borough residents, Abbott’s videos showcase memories, events and Chalfont life as it was from the 1930s through the 1970s. Almost 100 people attended the premiere of the first installment that featured filling stations and classic cars gassing up at the pumps.
In the second episode of the eight-part series, titled “Motor Heads,” viewers can discover the story of the group of Chalfont teens who built and raced a stock car at the Daytona Speedway. The third and fourth videos take the audience on a trip to see the barns and fields surrounding the borough and, using drone footage, highlight the community as it transitioned from an agricultural-centered one to the town it is today.
The fifth historical video is about Forest Park, showing rare movie clips of the once-popular picnic grounds and small amusement park that closed in 1968.
Abbott said the sixth episode is about the Chalfont School in the 1940s and the seventh is titled The Toll of War. Both are completed but not yet released. The eighth video, which is currently being made, will look at Chalfont firefighters.
All the completed videos are preserved with the Doylestown Historical Society’s Video History Series and can be seen on its YouTube channel.
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