Three Ladies of Rydal Park
Longtime Members Share Memories
When three of the First Presbyterian women at Rydal Park gather in the same room reminiscing about their church, a wealth of memories fill that room.
The trio, Winnie Fahs (1950), Polly Montaigne (1949) and Lisa Panetta (1973), have a combined membership of 161 years!
Winnie, who had been very active in the Girls’ Service organization in Harrisburg where she lived, moved to Germantown in 1944, visited many churches in the area but found First Church to be the best. Polly moved from New Jersey to finish college at Penn, came here for worship and “found it very satisfying.” Lisa, the daughter of the pastor of the Italian Presbyterian Church in Germantown, grew up on Price Street in the manse of that church. Her father was one of nine sons, three of whom became Presbyterian ministers.
All three women were in the choir at one time or another. Winnie was an alto, Polly a soprano and Lisa a mezzo. They recalled that long-time organist and choir director Ira Ruth didn’t have auditions, but when Robert Cartwithen came, he called for prospective members to try out for the choir. The old choir loft, prior to the renovation of the sanctu-ary, could seat only 20 singers. The three ladies all had praise for David Daugherty’s music. They agreed that the choir was good “and…getting bigger and better.” As for loud music in the church, they re-membered what former director Russell Patterson used to say: “Sometimes you have to let it all out.”
Polly, however, has some serious concerns about the music program. She feels it is beautifully presented, but there seems to be less support for it than previously. Winnie, though, has shown a different kind of support; she has left her electronic piano to the young people of the church, a piano she bought years ago when Russell Patterson went with her to Jacobs Music Co. to help her select the instrument.
All three women have been deacons—or in earlier terminology “deaconesses.” Both Winnie and Lisa were in charge of flower delivery. One of their observations was that people are not always happy to get the flowers; sometimes those delivering the arrangements would not be invited in to homes although no door was ever literally slammed in the faces of those deacons with flowers.
Another point on which the women were in agreement is the seeming lack of interest today on the part of so many people. Polly lamented on how folks are not looking at the Scriptures, that worship is vital since it is “spiritual food.” Lisa observed that a place of worship is not a place “to show off stuff.” Winnie noted how casual things seem to be in worship but recognizes that in order to attract young people, we have to understand them, to live in the present. All the ladies agreed how wonderful it is to have young people in the congregation.
In the sanctuary of First Presbyterian is the “Breakfast on the Shore” window which Polly endowed in memory of her parents, Gottfried Henry Binder and Emily Freihofer Binder. The window is located on the west side of the sanctuary not far from where Polly sits on Sunday morning. Polly chose the theme because her parents were very gracious in their entertaining and inviting people for dinner in their home. Mention of the window reminded Lisa of one of the windows, “Christ in Gethsemane,” in the Italian Presbyterian Church. At the dedication of the window, she was chosen to pull the string on the covering of the window. She jerked it so hard that the cover came down blanketing the four ministers who were participating in the service.
Lisa also remembered that when she was 10 years old, she was chosen to be a Madonna in a Christmas pageant, but she wouldn’t do it because she didn’t want to be known that way. In Old Italian, ma donna literally means “my lady.” Let it be known, then, these three Presbyterian women, Winnie Fahs, Polly Montaigne and Lisa Panetta, are indeed our ladies.