Historian, 91, has ‘eye to the future’
Kathryn Campbell Slasor is shown with A.D. White at a Bethel Church homecoming. White, a local author, teacher and historian, died July 4, 1994, just months before what would have been his 100th birthday.
Kathryn Campbell Slasor, left, and her sister, June Campbell Grossman-Welch, pose for a photo with their cousin, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Duncan Campbell.
Kathryn Campbell Slasor descended from Washington County pioneers, and in many ways, she is a pioneer of her own time. The longtime historian from Eldersville founded Jefferson Township Historical Society and helped form A.D. White Research Society in Avella.
Although she recently moved to Beverly Hills, Fla., about 80 miles north of Tampa, she has not severed ties with Southwestern Pennsylvania. Slasor, 91, is working on a book titled “My Front Porch” about the many people she met over the years.
“Since I was a young child I have been interested in writing poems and stories,” Slasor wrote in a letter to the Observer-Reporter. “I sat out in my parents’ yard under the big sugar tree and wrote down my thoughts.”
“As the years passed, I kept writing, about hundreds of subjects, until now – at more than 90 years of age, I am looking for someone to type and publish all this material into books.”
Slasor is also working on an anthology of poetry. When asked if she would rest afterward, she said, “I don’t plan to.”
She has proven to be a Renaissance woman who dabbles in many subjects, but she wasn’t always interested in history. It grew on her when her late sister, June Grossman-Welch, became a genealogist. They discovered their ancestors, the Clarks and Campbells, were pioneers in Western Pennsylvania and Brooke County, W.Va.
They were mostly farmers and factory workers, and the two sisters fortunately “haven’t found any horse thieves” in the family lineage, Slasor joked.
Slasor lived on a farm in Bethel Ridge for 40 years and handled the daily duties. She was a member of local farming granges, taught Sunday school and joined a Parent-Teacher Association when her son was in school.
Her first major historical project was in 1969, when she helped form Fort Vance Historical Society, which has displays in Burgettstown Community Library. Several years later, she wrote a historical pageant with musical performances for the 150th anniversary of West Middletown.
Slasor made her career in newspapers and started out working for the weekly Burgettstown Enterprise, then took an editor job with the Moon Township Bulletin. When the Bulletin was sold in 1972, she started writing for the Aliquippa News, then began her own newspaper called Kathryn Slasor’s Leaves five years later.
She published it on a Multilith press she borrowed from a cousin, but it became so popular she had to go “commercial.” She had it printed by the Brownsville Telegraph, and later the Observer Publishing Co.
“This proved very successful for the remainder of my newspaper adventures, a total of 14 years,” she said.
In 1990, she organized a meeting with 19 other “historically minded” residents of Jefferson Township to discuss the possibility of forming a historical society. Needless to say, the rest is history.
The Burgettstown-based society holds monthly meetings and has a museum in Heritage Hall, a building built in 1876. The society purchased the building for $1 from the Odd Fellows Lodge.
Slasor, along with her sister and brother-in-law, established the A.D. White Research Society in Avella in 1994 to commemorate the late local historian. She then went on to organize “The Seekers,” a group for Jefferson Township children to learn about local history and attend educational field trips.
That initiative blossomed into an annual history fair held at Avella Community Center. Slasor served as director for 13 years, but said the event, sadly, was discontinued when she moved to Florida.
Carl Patchy, 71, met Slasor through a historical field trip she hosted. He described her as a prolific writer and community leader.
“Just about any historian in the area would know her,” he said.
“She’s really an incredible lady,” said Carol Bales, of Philadelphia.
Bales first traveled to Eldersville to conduct family research. She was directed to Slasor for more information. She recalled her first impression when she saw Slasor walking outside her home.
“Her head’s down and she’s on a mission. She was not to be deterred,” Bales said. “I jumped out of the car, and I said, ‘Mrs. Slasor, my sister and I are descendents of two early settlers of Eldersville.’ She looked up at us and her whole expression changed.”
She learned a great deal from Slasor, and they have been friends ever since. Slasor said she is passionate about her pursuits because “everything has a history behind it.” She also wants to pay homage to the area where she grew up.
“I think everyone should learn about their past, with an eye to the future,” Slasor said. “I’m very proud of my past, my ancestors and the place where I lived. Jefferson Township has a lot of history, and it has a lifetime of good memories for me.”