Events
The Two Worlds of Augustus Tanksley
Sunday, November 23 at 2pm
at Wthe Upper Merion Towship Building
Henderson Room
In one world, he was the humble butler for the Irwin family at the Moore-Irwin mansion here in Upper Merion in the 40s and 50s. He served dinner, washed dishes and lived in the servants quarters attached to the house. In another world, he was a mover and a shaker, a Philadelphia entrepreneur who was instrumental in bringing the exclusive sport of golf to the African American community, starting the first golf association open to people of color in the Philadelphia area, and one of the first in the nation: Fairview Golf Association. The story of Augustus’ life takes us from the Jim Crow south to New England to the Delaware Valley and is an insight into the two worlds that African Americans in the service industry at that time lived in: one foot in the world of rich, successful white folk, and one foot in the hardscrabble, segregated world of black folk that people like Augustus struggled to make better.
The Society organizes monthly meetings from September to June each year. We invite speakers to talk about topics of local interest. Meetings typically last from an hour to an hour and a half.