dog

A happy-go-lucky guy with a lovable dog. If you’re having a bad day, you instantly feel better in his company. If you’re discussing your aches and pains, you feel better after talking to him. He’s better than Aleve!! Our villager for the month of October is jovial Richard Michie.

Richard was born and raised in a row home on North 18th Street in Philadelphia. Among his early recollections were of his dad, an air-raid warden, and the curtains being closed when the air-raid sirens sounded and to this day, remembers ration books. In the back of his house was an alley where many merchants passed through selling fresh ground horseradish, and other merchants sharpened knives. Richard attended Germantown Friends elementary school. While there, he went on a bus trip to pick milkweed for the war effort.

Sadly, at 8 years of age, his mom passed away. His dad decided to send him to Pennington Prep, a boarding school where he started second grade. His dad frequently visited him, and they often shared dinner together. During summer months, Richard lived with his dad at the Manufacturers’ Country Club in Oreland, and part of the summer went to Camp Lenape in the Poconos. He also spent some time in the summer with his aunts, his dad’s sisters, and grandparents in Jenkintown. Richard attended Pennington Prep until the 6th grade. When he was 13, Richard’s dad remarried. He really got to know his birth mom through many conversations with his stepmother, who had gone to school with his mom. Soon they moved to a home in East Falls, Germantown, near Penn Charter School. Richard continued his schooling there, graduating in 1956.

Having enough sense to know that he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do in the future, he decided to join the Naval Air Reserve, requesting immediate active duty. He went through Bainbridge Maryland Boot Camp, and was assigned to an S2F Squadron in Quonset Point, Rhode Island, serving as an Aviation Storekeeper. Half of his time he spent on land, and half the year he traveled on the Aircraft Carrier, USS Leyte CVS-32. While on ship he was able to visit England, Lisbon, Portugal, Athens Greece, Rhodes, and Gibraltar. After 2 years of active duty, he went into the Inactive Reserve. He started college, originally known as Philadelphia Textile Institute, which became Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science, then Philadelphia University, and now a part of Jefferson. In 1962, he graduated with a degree in Management and Marketing. Afterwards, Richard went into the family business, textile manufacturing, started by his grandfather. Richard was involved in production and plant maintenance. The company, Andrew Y. Michie and Sons, produced textile interlining for the men’s tailored clothing industry. In 1964, the company began manufacturing a replacement for horsehair cloth. The new division of the company became known as Mitchie Textiles, Inc.

Richard has three wonderful children from his first marriage of ten years. The second time around, he decided he only wanted to raise, as he puts it, “four-legged kids”, and started a hobby raising, and showing, Shetland sheepdogs. At the same time, he developed an interest in Jaguar sports cars. Soon he joined a local Jaguar Club where he raced cars, as well as participated in Car shows.

In February, 2016, Richard moved to Pine Run. He loves to walk, and walks his dog, Thor, even in bad weather. Richard loves to eat, and the food here being better than he expected, he does eat! Consequently, like many of us at Pine Run, he has to watch his weight. Richard looks forward to many more years at Pine Run.

— Elinor Cohen