For those involved in local history, the name Nancy Mohr conjures images of expansive landscapes — replete with lush forests, pristine pastures, and gurgling waterways — but preservation represented but one of her myriad passions.
Mohr was one of the key volunteers who worked with the Brandywine Conservancy to acquire the Chester County segment of the Texas King Ranch, a steer-raising compound spanning five townships that was rumored to be a contender for a Disney theme park in 1984.
Eager to avoid such an outcome, a consortium masterminded the biggest privately funded land-conservation deal in the country. It purchased 5,367 acres, protected them with conservation easements, and paved the way for the 1996 creation of a 771-acre preserve known as the Laurels, which includes acreage in Newlin and West Marlborough Townships.
A former Chester County commissioner once called Mohr “the mother of open-space preservation in Chester County,” but Mohr did not limit herself to that pursuit. In addition to raising five children in Newlin Township, Mohr enjoyed careers as a restaurant owner, a middle-school English teacher, a community outreach activist, a magazine and newspaper writer, and an author.
In fact, Mohr’s multiple occupations — and the numerous notes, journals and articles they generated - provided the impetus for her latest book, Delicious Memories. Subtitled “Random Journeys Where Strangers Shared Recipes and Became Friends,” the memoir is part autobiography, part history lesson, and part cookbook.
Since food anchored many of her adventures, Mohr, 81, who now resides in East Marlborough Township with her husband, John, punctuates her chronicles with their culinary accompaniments. As she explains: “Recipes offer the reader-cook do-it-yourself confidence for events or celebrations where quantity and ease of preparation are required – a chuck-wagon breakfast in a meadow (equally good in a back yard), or holiday breakfasts that become traditions with plenty of make-ahead options.”
Some of the dishes date back to Mohr’s foray into the restaurant industry when she ran the former Wild Goose Inn at the crossroads in Willowdale. Others stem from some of the fascinating, far-flung assignments she pursued for Countryside magazine, ranging from a trek through Big Sky country to temporary residence with Circus Flora in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Mohr, the former head of Chester County 2020, an organization that brings people together to find common ground on divisive issues, said she wanted to share her experiences because she believes “everyday stories about real people” have enriched her life and she hopes will do the same for others.
But mining her copious reservoir of memories and archives became more challenging when she suffered a stroke five years ago, she said. Left with a vocabulary of six words, Mohr said her husband, John, and a fantastic medical and rehab team greatly sparked her recovery and heightened the satisfaction of completing the book.
“I tend to be fairly determined,” Mohr said, smiling as she added: “but nicely, though.”
Amy McKenna, the board president of the Buck and Doe Trust, which monitors the Buck and Doe Run watershed, including the Laurels Preserve, said she would be one of the first people in line to purchase Mohr's book. She credits Mohr with teaching her the importance of conservation as an ongoing pursuit and believes that Mohr's memoir will provide valuable insight into how she accomplished so much.
"A lot of it revolved around the kitchen table and her baking," said McKenna. "She has a natural ability to bring people together, and food was always part of that process ... She would begin by talking about where we've come from, where we are today, and where we're going."
McKenna said none of the area's preservation would have occurred without people like Mohr, Frolic Weymouth and the late Nancy Penn Smith Hannum. "They stuck their necks out," said McKenna. "Now it's fashionable to conserve land, but 25, 30 years ago it wasn't. People would say: 'Are you crazy? You want me to lose money?'"
Mohr always stressed that people could make a positive difference, especially if they worked together, McKenna said, adding that Mohr's achievements attest to that. "Not a lot of people can say that what they've done affects our day-to-day lives, and will continue to do so for the next 100 years," McKenna said.
Book-signings for “Delicious Memories” will be held on Sunday, Dec. 14, from noon to 2 p.m. at Foxy Loxy in Unionville and at Bayard Taylor Library in Kennett Square on Saturday, Dec. 20, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., which is selling for $30. For more information – or to arrange a purchase - visit http://sevynmorpress.com.
Other books by Mohr include “The Lady Blows a Horn,” a biography of Nancy Penn Smith Hannum, the late doyenne of Chester County foxhunting and a fellow conservationist; “Uncommon Women Together – Generations Apart,” a study of Mohr’s alma mater, Mount Holyoke College, and the shared connections between members of its class of 1955 and class of 2005; and three architectural primers: “The Log Home, Farmhouse: Classic Homesteads of North America;” and “The Barn: Classic Barns of North America.”
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