When it came to talking history, few if anyone could match the Allentown resident.
By: Ken Weingartner
ALLENTOWN When it came to talking history, few if anyone could match Ellis Hull.
Sitting on his front porch, or in his living room or later in the Tandum Health Care Center Mr. Hull looked forward to the chance to discuss history at any level. Youngsters and adults alike enjoyed hearing his tales, particularly those related to the borough.
"He was a wealth of knowledge about Allentown and its history," said the Rev. Stephen Heinzel-Nelson, the pastor at the Allentown Presbyterian Church, where Mr. Hull was a 50-year member.
"Even when he was physically frail, he was a curious and inquisitive guy who was funny and charming. He was an unusually bright man. We have a ministry in the church where junior high kids would visit him. They just loved him. They loved hearing the stories. He was like a talking history book. It’s a huge loss to the church and our community."
Mr. Hull died last week at the age of 94. He was the former owner and editor of the Allentown Messenger, which he sold in 1972, and a longtime member of Borough Council.
He was a man who seemingly possessed limitless energy perhaps best exemplified by the fact he began his 17 years on council in 1974, at the age of 67. He also was an avid gardener.
"He enjoyed wonderful health," said his only child, Elizabeth Olson. "At 67, he was better than most people at 47."
In addition to his work with the newspaper and council, Mr. Hull was a 50-year member of the Allentown Lions Club, was instrumental in the formation of the Allentown Public Library, and was a founder of the Allentown-Upper Freehold Historical Society. Of course, this probably is of little surprise given his love of reading and history.
He also was involved in the publication of two books, one dealing with the history of the Allentown Presbyterian Church and the other with the history of Allentown.
Mary Clark, a longtime friend, said she visited with Mr. Hull prior to Christmas. He had just finished reading David McCullough’s lengthy biography of John Adams and was working on Edmund Morris’ look at Teddy Roosevelt, titled "Theodore Rex."
"He was so glad to see me because I had read the John Adams book and he wanted to talk about it," Ms. Clark said. "I was a history teacher, so we had a lot in common."
Ms. Olson said her father was versed in American, European and local history. She said her father’s love for history stemmed from the fact he was raised by his paternal great-grandparents, George and Ida May. George Hull, you see, was a Civil War veteran.
"He was brought up reliving the Civil War," Ms. Olson said. "The Civil War was something very alive to us. It wasn’t ancient history to us, it was very real."
Mr. Hull was born in Springfield, Mass., and grew up in Franklin, Vt., an area that was similar to Allentown. He met his wife, Helen Naylor, while attending Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. He made his first trip to the borough in November 1930 to meet his wife’s family.
J.W. Naylor, Helen’s father, owned the Allentown Messenger, which he started in 1903. Mr. Hull started working for the paper in 1950, soon after the death of his wife. He took over as editor in 1952 following the death of Mr. Naylor and later bought the paper from his mother-in-law.
"Everyone thinks I’ve been here forever," Mr. Hull once said. "But I’m kind of a late arrival. I wasn’t born here, I married from here. I was known for a while as Helen Naylor’s husband. It took a little while to step into my own."
During his time with the Messenger, he was known for his column, "Around Home," which featured tidbits about local people.
"It meant a lot," Mr. Hull had said about the paper and its role in the community. "The paper kept everyone connected with their relatives. We had correspondents for years from every little crossroad. The women would write the news of who went to dinner, who had company, and what was happening.
"People loved it because they were all related. You could read in the paper that your cousin went to visit so-and-so and they hadn’t visited you for three weeks," he added with a laugh.
Ms. Olson said she believed her father immersed himself in the paper and community because he had no family of his own at the time.
"He never remarried and three years after my mother died I went to college," Ms. Olson said. "It was to fill an emptiness in his life. He devoted himself to the town."
She said her father was "a real people person."
"He loved politicking and loved running for Borough Council," Ms. Olson said. "He just loved meeting people."
Bob Peppler, a Lions Club member and former councilman, agreed.
"He just loved the community life, the type of life Allentown afforded," he said. "He was a real gentleman, a man of his word. Anything he did, he tried to follow through well. If he promised to do something, he did it."
Ms. Clark said Mr. Hull enjoyed Allentown, in part, because it reminded him of his hometown.
"He always said it was the closest thing to a New England community outside of New England," she said. "He was very interested in the community. His mind was always alert and always thinking. When I was doing an oral history of Allentown, thank God I had him. He was a perfect gentleman and a wonderful historian.
"I’m going to miss him terribly."
Mr. Hull’s obituary appears in the obituary section.