As urban renewal was occurring thru the area of Chester, many families were displaced. Even though our parents had spent countless hours renovating the Providence Avenue home including restoring the oak staircase banister and creating an authentic English garden, the City of Chester forced my parents to sale their home under the now racially bias policy of "Imminent Domain".
Our parents began the search for a new home in Middletown Township. They found a beautiful ranch-style home and made an offer to the seller via a broker. When the sellers found out that we were African-American, the asking price was raised by $4,500. In though days, it was very hard to fight housing discrimination. The court battle could take years and our parents just wanted to move ahead.
Our father was an employee of Delaware County National Bank. The owner and president of this small bank was John Pew. Some will recognize this name given that the Pew Charitable Trust Fund was created from his family money. In those days, employees could walk in the office of the president and ask for help. Our father informed Mr. Pew that our home was being taken by the city and was having difficulty finding a new home for his family in Middletown Township. Mr. Pew made a few calls and found the property in Media in one day.
After more than 35 years of living in Chester, Pa., our parents left the Providence Avenue house and moved into a newly built home in Media, Pa. on an 1 1/2 arces of land. At the time, this area was very rural with mostly farm land. Our parents wanted their youngest child to success in one of the area's best school districts. Contruction began in early 1967 and was completed in November of that same year.
For most of our parents' friends living in Chester, our family was the first to leave and start a new life some 10 miles away. The three bedroom rancher was typical of that period of time. Having the home built was a major accomplishment for our parents.
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