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In the terms of the vernacular, with all his accomplishments and contributions, William J. "Bill" Bowan could be called a historical superstar.
Since he lived in the Ambridge area all his life, that was his primary place of research. But his files of thousands of slides, mostly historical and old buildings, encompassed the whole county and other nearby localities. A few years ago, he donated the collection to the Ambridge library.
Bill strongly believed that Legionville should be declared a National Historical Park and developed as a tourist attraction. A bill to this effect had been presented to the United States Congress and came within a very narrow margin of passing. He never gave up believing that it would be reconsidered some day and still happen. He compiled a book on "Legionville Wayne" and worked long and hard for this cause.
When a trek to Lookout Rock in Ohioville Borough was organized in 1985, Bill arrived with his heavy bag of camera equipment. The fact that to get to the rock required a vertical - almost perpendicular - descent of about 200 feet did not deter him one bit. (Getting backup was a bit of a problem.) Bill got some spectacular pictures. He was about 79 at the time.
When the BCHR&LF became involved in the "Always a River" project, Bill was consulted and produced the pictures used on the displays.
On a couple of occasions when stories were needed for MILESTONES a call to Bill produced the same response ... "Give me a couple of days ... and whatever the theme or seasonal topic was he had a collection of anecdotes that turned a story into something entertaining and educational.
He was also involved in the Heritage marker program.
But the one activity he liked the most was putting on slide programs. It gave him a chance to display his craftsmanship as a photographer and to draw on his vast knowledge of historical facts.
There is much more that we could mention about his historical and other accomplishments. But let's justsay thanks for your help and inspiration, Bill.
