history – The Guernsey Cow, Exton, Pennsylvania

Help Wanted: Neat & Pleasant Young Ladies; Dependable, Clean-Cut, Draft-Exempt, Married Men

While researching other information on Newspapers.com, I found examples of Help Wanted ads over time in various papers in the region. Ads were often categorized for “Female” or “Male” in those days. A List of former employees, some of whom may have answered some of these ads can be found on our Employees page here (and in the comments section): https://theguernseycow.com/employees/.

“On-the-job” photos from employees have also been shared on The Guernsey Cow Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/76664782328/

The earliest Guernsey Cow help-wanted example was from September, 1952 in the Pottstown Mercury:

Help Wanted The Guernsey Cow Thu, Sep 18, 1952 – Page 14 · The Mercury (Pottstown, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, United States of America) · Newspapers.com

In August, 1956, ads appeared in both the Plain Speaker and Standard- Sentinal in Hazelton, PA:

Help Wanted The Guernsey Cow Fri, Aug 17, 1956 – 26 · Standard-Sentinel (Hazleton, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, United States of America) · Newspapers.com

In 1962, ads began appearing for young men, preferably married:

Help Wanted The Guernsey Cow Thu, Jan 18, 1962 – Page 26 · The Mercury (Pottstown, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, United States of America) · Newspapers.com

Help Wanted The Guernsey Cow Wed, Apr 11, 1962 – Page 22 · The Mercury (Pottstown, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, United States of America) · Newspapers.com

1965 saw the following ad seeking “live wire girls”:

Help Wanted The Guernsey Cow Wed, Oct 6, 1965 – Page 19 · The Mercury (Pottstown, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, United States of America) · Newspapers.com

Later in 1965, the impact of the draft for the Viet Nam War was seen in this ad seeking “Draft exempt” young married men in the Republican and Herald in Pottsville, PA:

Help Wanted The Guernsey Cow Wed, Dec 15, 1965 – 10 · Republican and Herald (Pottsville, Pennsylvania, United States of America) · Newspapers.com

In 1966, the last of the ads appeared in The Pocono Record. Other ads from newspapers not covered in Newspapers.com probably appeared locally and later as the Chester County population grew and supplied an increasing group of hard-working teens.

Help Wanted The Guernsey Cow Fri, Jan 14, 1966 – Page 18 · The Pocono Record (Stroudsburg, Monroe, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

1939 Exton, PA, Rabid Dog Bite Spurs Regional Manhunt

Selling Sweet Corn in Exton — Larry Polite working on corn stand signage while daughter, Wanda, keeps an eye on customers. (Early 1940s)

On January 24, 1939, my 3-year-old mother, Wanda Polite, was bitten by the family dog. Earlier in the day, an Exton Dairy Grille customer was nipped on the hand by the same dog. Her father, Larry Polite, suspected something was wrong with the dog and, according to my mother, he killed the dog, severed its head, and drove it to Harrisburg for rabies testing. This was, and remains today, the only way to test an animal for rabies.

A few days later, results showed the dog did indeed have rabies and an alert

Reading Eagle - Google News Archive Search 2019-02-27 11-00-12.png — Tue, Jan 31, 1939, *Reading Eagle (Reading, Pennsylvania)*

from the Pennsylvania state police went out to the press in the area in search of the man bitten. According to reports at the time, effective treatment must occur within 10 days of a bite. A race against the clock ensued to find the traveler identified only as a likely New Jersey resident — based on Polite’s recollection of the man’s Oldsmobile license plate.

Articles appeared in newspapers in the region starting on January 26, 1939, and were seen as far west as South Dakota and as far south as South Carolina based on searches of newspaper archives on Newspapers.com.

The most dramatic headline appeared in the Reading Eagle: State Police Seek Rabid Dog Victim: Race Against Time ot [sic] Save Man From Death.

Clipping from The Indiana Gazette - Newspapers.com 2019-02-27 11-34-53 — Tue, Jan 31, 1939, *Indiana Evening Gazette (Indiana, Pennsylvania)* • Newspapers.com

For historical context, some of the “Dog Bites Man” articles shared front-page space with coverage of Hitler’s infamous Reichstag speech the prior day.

Unfortunately, there were no subsequent reports found of the fate of the New Jersey man.

A few more examples of the items found in two dozen newspapers at the time appear below.

Tue, Jan 31, 1939 – Page 13 · The News Journal (Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware, United States of America) · Newspapers.com

Tue, Jan 31, 1939 – Page 9 · The Daily Times-News (Burlington, Alamance, North Carolina) · Newspapers.com

Tue, Jan 31, 1939 – 10 · The Daily Item (Sunbury, Northumberland, Pennsylvania, United States of America) · Newspapers.com

The Guernsey Cow From Above – New Photo

The Guernsey Cow from Above Late 1940s — The Guernsey Cow Property ca. late 1940s

Both the beauty and sometimes agony of going through my grandmother’s collection of things she’s saved over the years is that I often find nuggets of gold among things that I wonder why she saved. I know they all meant something to her and she had her reasons for saving either to look at later or to share with me and the rest of the family.

I found the negative for this photo with a few other negatives in a pile of Christmas photos from the 1970s. This is an aerial photo of The Guernsey Cow and Sleepy Hollow Hall (aka The Massey House) shot from the South side of the Lincoln Highway (Rte 30). I’m guessing that it’s late 1940s. Perhaps someone with a keener eye for cars can pinpoint it better.

If you click on the photo you can see a larger version and see the shadow of The Cow billboard at the bottom as it appeared at the time.

Note that The Cow billboard was built once World War II ended, so this could have been shot soon after The Cow was put in place. Also note the position of the sign. This was taken before the highway was widened and The Cow sign had to be moved. See the difference in position based on this photo from 1974.

For other aerial shots of Exton and The Cow see my previous post.

Meet You At The Cow

I just passed by the pile of newspaper clippings and paper in The Guernsey Cow bin and this card caught my eye. I read it and realized it has a little more ‘story’ and ‘hype’ than an earlier version of the history of The Cow that appeared on the back of a menu.

Permit us to welcome you to “The Guernsey Cow“, at Exton, where the Lincoln Highway (U.S. 30) crosses Route 100, just three miles south of the Downingtown interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Whether you be a neighbor from a nearby town or city, or a guest from Maine, Florida or California, call again, and again.

No matter where you travel, you will never find ice cream with better flavor or cream caramels as smooth and of more healthful content than that served here, amde with dairy products from tested Guernsey Cows.

The Guernsey Cow has been under the same management since 1931, and during that time we have taken great pride in serving the finest of Foods and Dairy Products. The manufacture of our own ice cream and famous cream caramels is done right on the premises, using the finest ingredients available anywhere. A majority of the many and unusual Guernsey Cow Ice Cream flavors are originals, not to be found in any other dairy store in the country. Our cream caramels are nationally and internationally known and are regularly sent all over the world, while our ice cream is occasionally flown to Europe to satisfy customer appetites.

The store building originally was a barn, and the stones in the building, today, are part of that old structure. Through the years, since its construction, the original building has gone through many internal changes. From a produce stand, to a fluid milk dairy, through a wholesale ice cram plant, and an ice cream mix plant, The Dairy Grille finally emerged in 1931. By 1941, the original Dairy Grille was changed to The Guernsey Cow, a name which was adopted through the insistence of our customers. Anywhere you might travel today, you can usually find someone who will understand the phrase, “MEET YOU AT THE COW“.

The residence on the property is one of the oldest in this vicinity. The back part of this house was apparently built in 1685 by people who moved into this valley, following the lines of migration north from Chester on the Delaware River, the oldest settlement in Pennsylvania. About 1740, an addition was built to the original small house by a George Massey. Mr. Massey was a great friend of George Washington, and he, Mr. Washington, was a frequent visitor and guest of Mr. Massey. This information was given to us by the Historical Society of Chester County. In 1820, the front part of the house was constructed. This contains excellent examples of mantles of that period.

Well-marked roads to Valley Forge, the great shrine of American patriotism, branch to the left of Lancaster Pike as you go to Philadelphia. Near Paoli is the site of the Paoli Massacre, where the British Troops surprised Mad Anthony Wayne, whose birthplace and grave ar just beyond, near Devon.

Visitors from a distance will enjoy a rather interesting trip by taking the road to West Chester and going on to Brandywine Creek, where one of the early battles of the Revolutionary War was fought.

Visit The Guernsey Cow as often as you can. Tell your friends. Come out any time. Bring the children.

When traveling East, stop in to see us, just off the Pennsylvania Turnpike at the Downingtown interchange.

THE GUERNSEY COW
on the Lincoln Highway
seven miles west of Paoli, at
“The crossroads of the World”
Exton, Pennsylvania
Phone: (215) 363-9796

The Philadelphia Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike was completed in 1950 which would have included the Downingtown interchange. The emphasis on the proximity of The Cow to the Downingtown interchange was probably a response to traffic that the turnpike drew away from what had been the main East-West corridor: the Lincoln Highway aka Lancaster Pike aka U.S. Rte 30.

I like the phrase, “The crossroads of the world” to describe the intersection of Routes 100 & 30 in the center of Exton. I don’t know if that was something my grandfather created or whether other folks thought the same. I know we grew up thinking that’s what it was — and that the world thought the same.

Exton, PA through the ages from above

I was digging around on West Chester Jim’s history site recently and stumbled on a link for the Pennsylvania Geological Survey’s site for historical aerial photography of Pennsylvania.

In 1937, this is what the crossroads in Exton looked like:

Aerial Photo of Exton, PA (Chester County) in 1937

Mostly farm fields and woods. Here’s the same photo zoomed in on the crossroads of Routes 100 and 30 (the Lincoln Highway).

Next I overlayed the same shot with a shot from 1971.

The Exton Square Mall had not yet been developed but the Exton Drive-In is there (can you find it?). Plenty of housing and commercial development are starting to show their marks on the West Whiteland landscape.

Exton, PA Crossroads 1971 - Routes 100 & 30 — Exton, PA Crossroads 1971 – Routes 100 & 30

The photo below is a shot of The Guernsey Cow around 1974 or 75 after The Exton Square Mall was put in and the K-Mart and Exton Cinema were under construction. My grandfather had this in his office and my older brother has it on display in his home now.

The Guernsey Cow and Exton, PA Crossroads circa 1974

A close-up below shows The Cow property, Sleepy Hollow Hall (aka The Massey House) and The Guernsey Cow sign across Lancaster Highway.

And another overlay below using Google Maps shows the level of development in the crossroads today 30 years later.

The Guernsey Cow property below as it is today as the DNBFirst bank.

The Guernsey Cow/ DNBFirst Bank circa 2007

The Exton Dairy Grille 1940

Before The Guernsey Cow changed names and signage in 1945, it was known as The Exton Dairy Grille. This is how it appeared in 1940 on a Friday morning.

Flooded World War II Era Exton, PA

Cars and a truck navigate the Lincoln Highway during a flood in Exton, PA

At some time during World War II Exton apparently suffered a significant flood. The Valley Creek that runs along the road across from what was then The Exton Dairy Grill looks to have overflowed its banks. A Brandywine Farms truck navigates the waters along with two cars.

Our Ice Cream for Health; War Bonds for Victory

Before there was The Guernsey Cow billboard, during World War II, this sign pointed the way to The Exton Dairy Grill and proclaimed “Our Ice Cream for Health; War Bonds for Victory.”

Flooded Lincoln Highway brings out tow truck rescue

Mr. Green Jeans Slept Here

Next to The Guernsey Cow building in Exton, PA, is Sleepy Hollow Hall. Gladys and Ilario Polite bought what is also known as The Massey House a few years after they started running The Exton Dairy Grill.

The house, originally built in the early 1700s, is on the National Register of Historic Places and a detailed history can be read on the Pennsylvania Historic Resource form filled out in 1981.

From the 1930s and through the 1940s the Polites, while living in the house and raising a family, also boarded travelers. True to my grandmother’s inclination to save everything, she still has the original guest book.

The first guest signatures show up May 1, 1938: Mr. and Mrs. R. Berg of Pittsburgh PA. From May to December that year, they registered about 150 guests at Sleepy Hollow Hall from all parts of the country and even a J. Shimojo from Japan by way of New York City in September 1938.

One of the guests that my grandmother speaks of the most is Hugh “Lumpy” Brannum. While Brannum probably gained most of his fame as Mr. Green Jeans on the Captain Kangaroo children’s TV show from 1955-84, he was previously known as a standup string bass player for band leader Fred Waring‘s orchestra, His Pennsylvanians. In the 1940s, Brannum performed skits as Little Orley on Fred Waring’s weekly radio show.

Brannum and his wife stayed at Sleepy Hollow Hall many times through the 1940s. Even when Fred Waring bought The Shawnee Inn & Resort in 1943 and insisted his band stay there (at their own expense), Brannum, according to my grandmother, insisted on staying in Exton.

Mr.s & Mrs. H.R. Brannum in the Sleepy Hollow Hall Registry

The postcard below was from Mrs. Brannum in July 1941 from Shawnee On Delaware:

July 1941 Postcard from Mrs. Brannum to Mrs. Polite Exton PA

Dear Mrs. Polite,

Will you please send me two pounds of caramels C.O.D. to Mrs H.R. Brannum, Shawnee Lodge, Shawnee-on-Delaware, Pennsylvania. I’d like most of the dark ones with the walntus.

I expect to send the picture Mr. Brannum took of the children by next week. He has been too busy to print them.

We think of you often and hope you are having a pleasant summer.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Brannum

Postcard from Mrs. Brannum requesting caramels

Cows on the run

Dairy cows on the loose by The Guernsey Cow billboard

Sometime in the late 1940s or early 1950s a truck carrying cows either overturned or broke down along the Lincoln Highway in Exton, PA in front of The Guernsey Cow. The cows, on the loose, were drawn to the giant Guernsey Cow billboard and milled around in its shade and that of the nearby trees. Meanwhile, serious men stood by pondering the best action to take.

Dairy cows roam around The Guernsey Cow billboard in Exton, PA

Reader Mail: Horn & Hardart Years

Last week, I received an email from Frank Lavin who worked for Horn & Hardart and managed The Guernsey Cow for a few years in the late 1970s.

I’ve edited the letter a bit for length:

I worked for Horn & Hardart from 1973 ( during High school ) through 1978 ( as a Restaurant Manager ).

Horn & Hardart took over the ‘Cow’ for a few years in the late seventies… I knew the ‘Cow’ was better off with the Polite’s. Horn & Hardart was in the process of closing stores (pretty much the end of the line for the once great company).

I worked at the ‘Cow’ for about 2 years when I just got out of High School in the restaurant as the night manager for H & H and later they brought me back to make the ice cream for not only the Exton restaurant but also the rest of their Philadelphia footprint of restaurants and retail stores.

I remember helping Willie move from his home inside the store to his new home in the small cottage next to the big home in the rear of the restaurant.

Willie was ‘great’ he helped me immensely. I used to visit him ( after I left Horn & Hardart ) at least once a year until one day when I found his cottage was vacant. I spoke to someone who told me that he moved to Downingtown.

In a follow up email, Frank explained:

Yes, we used to ship the ice cream and also the caramels ( not sure who made the caramels for Horn & Hardart ) in the Guernsey Cow tubs to all the H & H stores in their Philadelphia market, such as:

Broad & Walnut

12th & Market ( Reading Terminal )

Cottman & Large

8th & Market

16th & Market

Lansdowne

Lawrence Park

Bala (City Line Ave)

There were more, but these are some that I worked at.

I do remember both your Grandparents. Larry was a nice man. I was the afternoon manager and I spent some quality time with him. I was just out of High school ( very green behind the ears ) and he showed me around and taught me lot about managing the restaurant.

Do you remember Mackie? he worked at the Ship Inn and used to come in everyday?

I do remember Mackie as I’m sure many others do as well. He was some kind of character!

Thanks for writing in Frank.