The Strands: Last Family to Live in the John Chads House

By Laura Fraser

As a young schoolgirl, Maryann Strand came to live in the John Chads house with her parents. Her family lived there for close to nineteen years and was the last to live in the house before it was purchased and restored by the Chadds Ford Historical Society. She describes the house as follows:

The house, at that time, I thought, was a big house. Of course it really wasn't a big house. It had two rooms on the first floor, two rooms on second, an attic and a cellar. I spent very, very, very enjoyable years there. I don't believe I really knew any unhappiness when I was there.

We had to carry our water daily from the spring house for all of our needs. That was including doing the wash on Monday. Since I was the only child, I believe I had to do most of the carrying—up from the Spring House, across the road, up the hill and up the steps.

The reason for the move of the Strand Family to Chadds Ford gives an indication of the racism and segregation prevalent in the area at that time. When asked the reason for the move, Maryann Strand says,

I am not sure the reason. Probably had to do with my schooling because my mother had such a terrible time. It was very predjudiced back in those days. At the time we were living on the state line between Delaware and Pennsylvania over in the Mendenhall area. Someone from Chadds Ford came to visit my mother and wanted to know where my bedroom was. Not knowing, she told him. Come to find out my bedroom was on the Delaware side, so therefore, I could no longer attend Chadds Ford School. I had to be sent to Wilmington. Let's say I had to go to Delaware. The school in Centreville would not accept me because they were very predjudiced there; segregated I should say. In turn they had to send a cab from Wilmington out to our house to pick me up because I was too young to ride public transportation.

The Strands moved to the John Chads House and Maryann resumed schooling in Chadds Ford.

In the beginning we started off in 6th Union Room which was taught by Miss Ruby Jones. That was set up with six grades and she taught all six grades because of the segregation problem. We didn't integrate with the other children until we began seventh grade. Then in later years and in time for myself, we started with sixth grade, with Miss Lydia Betts,who was Dr. Betts' daughter.

When asked how she felt about segregation as a child, Maryann went on to say,

We didn't feel anything because we knew we played together. It was just something that was there and you just didn't bother with it because when you went home on the school bus, you played together. So segregation really, at that time, didn't play a big thing in my life because I really didn't know what it was all about. It wasn't until I got older. We had separate drinking fountains. We had a separate playground and we had almost a separate door that we should go in. Every once in a while we were allowed to go in the other door. As I said, this was something that was taught us and you did what you were told without question.

Maryann also says that groups such as Girl Scouts and 4-H Club were not open to black girls. She says that during the 1930's and early 1940's Lenape Park was open only one day each year to blacks - the last Thursday in August.