Our People of the Century Fola Bevan: Preserving the Past for Community's Future

History provides us with a sense of where we’ve been, and a hint of where we’re going.

Reflecting on past mistakes and triumphs can offer a beacon guiding us into the future.

If not for the work of historians, this link to the past would be gone forever.

Preserving history has been a lifelong passion for Millville’s Fola Bevan, as well as a family tradition.

At 85, she has experienced much of Millville’s past and knew many of the people who played a part in its development during much of the 20th century.

Some of her earliest memories date to World War I. She can recall the red, white, and blue banners decorating downtown buildings for the official homecoming celebration in 1919, a year after the war ended.

In 1931, Bevan graduated third in her class from Millville High School. A classmate was Frank Wheaton, Jr., whom she described as a character in his argyle socks and tam-o’-shanter hat.

Brought up to believe in the importance of education, Bevan worked at Woolworth’s on High Street during the Depression to pay for her daily train fair to a teacher’s school in Glassboro.

Inspired by those who taught her in Millville Public Schools, she went on to a career which spanned more than 40 years in Camden and Cumberland counties.

“School teachers were considered to be like missionaries in my day,” she said. “They weren’t in it for the money, they worked for the good of the community.”

Her husband, Edward, meanwhile played a vital role in the early efforts of the state’s Green Acres program. He was responsible for purchasing land used for parks and historical preservation. He died in 1971. The Edward G. Bevan Wildlife Management Area near Laurel Lake is named for him.

Besides teaching, Bevan has been involved with various historical societies and organizations since the 1950s.

After the death of her mother, Alicia Goodwin, in 1981, Bevan rescued 26 shoeboxes of obituaries and news stories of Millvillians that spanned decades. Bevan’s mother had shared in her passion for history and, every day, would clip the articles from the local newspapers until “they looked like lace,” Bevan said.

Many of these original clippings make up the files at the Millville Historical Society.

Bevan can be found there on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons, helping patrons and teaching them about Millville’s past.