TOWAMENCIN- Every day, thousands of people rush through the busy intersections and streets of the North Penn area with one goal in mind: getting to their destination on time. With driver’s eyes on the road and passenger’s eyes more than likely on their phones, few take the time to look around and think about the ever changing landscape of their community.

The Lansdale Historical Society is looking to change that, through a series of monthly presentations open for free to the public. The Historical Society’s latest event, held this past Wednesday night in the North Penn High School auditorium, showcased portions of the documentary “A North Penn Portrait,” produced in the late 1980s by local historian John Ruth along with his son, Jay.

The crowd gathered in the auditorium watched as the growth of the North Penn community, from pre-colonial times right up until the time the documentary was made, unfolded on the projector screen. Shortened into an hour long presentation, the originally two hour long film delves into details regarding the shaping of local towns and buildings.

“Every time I see John Ruth’s program, it brings up [memories] in me,” said Steve Moyer, a Lansdale resident who has been with the Historical Society for twelve years and recalled going on a Historical Society-led house tour of the house his grandfather, parents, and brothers had lived in- but that Moyer had never set foot in before.

Those in attendance were undoubtedly familiar with the names of some of the people profiled in the film, such as revolutionary war general Francis Nash (who gave his name not only to a local elementary school, but also to the town of Nashville, Tennessee) and mill owner Henry Souders, who would eventually lend his name to Souderton. And while many know that the name “North Penn” comes from the name of the railroad that passed through the area on its way to northern Pennsylvania, few people are aware of Mary J. Ambler, a resident of what was then called “Wissyhickon” (later renamed Ambler after Mary), who sprang into action when two trains on the railroad collided.

Following the documentary, Moyer presented the popular “Then You Saw It, Now You Don’t,” where old images of the area were compared with modern-day images of the area. Many of the older audience members shouted out their memories of the places on screen, connecting their memories of old friends and family members with the long-gone places of yesteryear.

“It’s always nice to have people look up and comment that their mother, father, brother, or cousin, their uncle worked there and they grew up there, or they remember their first date they went somewhere,” Moyer commented after the program. “There’s so many memories that people have and that’s the neat thing- you bring them in touch with their past. Our past is our future, in a way.”

The Lansdale Historical Society is located on the Jenkins Homestead and Historical Research Center at 137 Jenkins Avenue in Lansdale. The building, according to Moyer, contains over 28,000 historical images of the Lansdale and North Penn area. Images are also posted daily on the Historical Society’s Facebook page, which can be found by searching “Lansdale Historical Society” on Facebook.