Editorial: Good night, Frolic
04/26/2016 11:57AM ● By Richard Gaw
If you have ever visited the Brandywine River Museum of Art, attended the annual Point to Point at Winterthur, stopped by the studio of Andrew Wyeth in Chadds Ford, spent a lazy Sunday afternoon watching the horses gallop at the Brandywine Polo Club in Toughkenamon – or walked along any of the 62,000 acres of land protected by the Brandywine Conservancy – your path crossed that of George A. “Frolic” Weymouth.
To the people of Chester County and beyond, Weymouth was the best friend a lot of us never met.
In short, they do not make many of his kind anymore. His sense of humor was nearly as famous as his nickname, which was given to him as a child growing up in Greenville. The moniker stuck, and so too did all of its implications – that life should be lived as a journey of wonder and discovery, liberally splashed with color and humor and fine things.
Weymouth's influence crossed the entire spectrum of life in the northern reaches of Delaware's Chateau Region and into Chester County, and there is barely a country road from Centreville to West Chester that doesn't reflect, in some small way, his love of this land. He was a philanthropist, a painter, and a conservationist. He was a connector of people and, as a result, he was a friend to everyone from the bluebloods at the finest soirees to the blue-collared, sitting at the breakfast counter at Hank's.
Without really ever being aware of it, Weymouth carried the torch of part of our identity, as citizens of an area steeped in history, art, culture and conservation. Now that he is gone, you could wonder who now carries that torch forward, but there is no need to worry. It will be carried by the Brandywine River Museum of Art, the Brandywine Conservancy, the Winterthur Museum – institutions he formed, steered and influenced – for generations to come. Frolic saw to it. He saw to all of it, so that life as we know it will remain as is.
To the people of Chester County and beyond, Weymouth was the best friend a lot of us never met.
In short, they do not make many of his kind anymore. His sense of humor was nearly as famous as his nickname, which was given to him as a child growing up in Greenville. The moniker stuck, and so too did all of its implications – that life should be lived as a journey of wonder and discovery, liberally splashed with color and humor and fine things.
Weymouth's influence crossed the entire spectrum of life in the northern reaches of Delaware's Chateau Region and into Chester County, and there is barely a country road from Centreville to West Chester that doesn't reflect, in some small way, his love of this land. He was a philanthropist, a painter, and a conservationist. He was a connector of people and, as a result, he was a friend to everyone from the bluebloods at the finest soirees to the blue-collared, sitting at the breakfast counter at Hank's.
Without really ever being aware of it, Weymouth carried the torch of part of our identity, as citizens of an area steeped in history, art, culture and conservation. Now that he is gone, you could wonder who now carries that torch forward, but there is no need to worry. It will be carried by the Brandywine River Museum of Art, the Brandywine Conservancy, the Winterthur Museum – institutions he formed, steered and influenced – for generations to come. Frolic saw to it. He saw to all of it, so that life as we know it will remain as is.
