Old Home Week, 1912: the VIA

In this postcard, taken during Doylestown’s Old Home Week in 1912, the Village Improvement Association shows off its parade float for “Industrial Day.” The float’s theme was clean streets — they helped pick up trash and sprinkled water on the streets to keep dust to a minimum. The VIA, whose mission is to improve the quality of life in Central Bucks, held its first meeting in 1895 and is still going strong today. It’s nationally recognized as the only women’s club to own and operate a community hospital.