You've seen the signs and banners. You've said to yourself, "I've got to go to that one of these days."
Next time the pancake breakfast cooked by the Brothers of Kennett Masonic Lodge 475 rolls around, definitely listen to that voice.
The pancakes were really excellent. My breakfast-mate and I devoured four each, plus sausage, coffee and orange juice. It was well worth going out in the cold and rain, and the hearty meal gave us a good full stomach, fortified for the day's errands.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Friday, October 31, 2014
CONOWINGO: Our breath-taking national bird
I played hookey on Friday afternoon, dug out my binoculars and headed down Route 1 to the Conowingo Dam in Maryland in search of bald eagles. Standing on the west bank of the Susquehanna, I immediately spotted two of them perched on one of the concrete abutments at the base of the dam. And just a few minutes later I saw an eagle weave through the high-tension lines ("He's teasing us," muttered the photographer next to me, who wanted a clear shot of eagle and blue sky without power lines).
Then the eagle swooped down, plucked a fish out of the river with its talons and flew off, right toward me. It was spectacular. As he flew over, I heard a barrage of camera shutters, like when Nicole Kidman poses for the paparazzi on the red carpet. The wildlife photographers who gather at the dam are an interesting and patient bunch. The most serious ones dress in camouflage and even shroud their gigantic, tripod-mounted lenses in camo.
I highly recommend a trip to the dam to see our national bird, which has made a remarkable recovery since the pesticide DDT was banned 40 years ago (the chemical, funneled up the food chain, was causing their eggs to crack).
Saturday, Nov. 8, is Conowingo Eagles Day, with presentations on the dam and wildlife photography. The event will take place at the Dam pavilion on Shures Landing Road from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. You can sign up at rsvp@supportconowingodam.com, and there's more information on the "Support Conowingo Dam" Facebook page.
Then the eagle swooped down, plucked a fish out of the river with its talons and flew off, right toward me. It was spectacular. As he flew over, I heard a barrage of camera shutters, like when Nicole Kidman poses for the paparazzi on the red carpet. The wildlife photographers who gather at the dam are an interesting and patient bunch. The most serious ones dress in camouflage and even shroud their gigantic, tripod-mounted lenses in camo.
I highly recommend a trip to the dam to see our national bird, which has made a remarkable recovery since the pesticide DDT was banned 40 years ago (the chemical, funneled up the food chain, was causing their eggs to crack).
Saturday, Nov. 8, is Conowingo Eagles Day, with presentations on the dam and wildlife photography. The event will take place at the Dam pavilion on Shures Landing Road from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. You can sign up at rsvp@supportconowingodam.com, and there's more information on the "Support Conowingo Dam" Facebook page.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
UHS BOYS' SOCCER: Undefeated Ches-Mont champs!
A special "Hail Unionville" shout-out to the undefeated UHS varsity boys' soccer team. As Ches-Mont league champs, the Indians were the #1 seed going into the District 1 AAA playoffs and shut out Conestoga, 3-0, in their first-round match at UHS on October 25. They'll play Central Bucks East at Great Valley at 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6.
Thank you to all-kinds-of-proud soccer mom Allison Stautberg for emailing me about the team and soccer dad Mark W. Shafer (who was clearly a sportswriter at some point in his life) for sharing this vivid description of the team:
"Led by senior captains Henry Shafer, Brian Cortese, Sam Alfonsi and Andrew Chegia (all of whom have been school teammates since Fall 2009 when they played on Patton Middle School's 7th grade team), the team plays an aggressive yet unselfish, ball-control style of play.
The mid-field is patrolled and dominated by midfielders Logan Carlow, AJ Bernstein, Tim Yarosh, and Jeff Stautberg.
The defense is anchored by Cortese, Dan Beckman, Jack Seilus, and Chegia with Shafer in goal.
Up top, the brunt of the offensive damage is inflicted by Peter Ferraro, Aiden Walsh, Alex "The Great Dane" Andersen and Alfonsi.
In addition to the senior-dominated squad, the roster has some outstanding talent from the UHS Class of 2016 which includes Juniors Mark Ellsworth, Eli Lipsman, Mike Kosuth, Austin Brown, Ryan Humes, Mike Ceribelli and EJ Jankowski."
IN THE MOOD: Borough Christmas tour is coming up Dec. 14
Lynn Sinclair asked me to spread the word that Kennett Square's 14th annual Candlelight Holiday Home Tour is coming up on Dec. 14 from 4 to 7 pm.
"We will not have a snow storm or a day-long
drenching downpour," she stated confidently (as you might infer, the tour has had rotten luck weather-wise the past few years).
CANINE PARTNERS: Honoring a departed benefactor
Nancy Biddle Kelly sent me a message after reading my item about Bernie Langer's memorial service at St. Michael Lutheran Church on Oct. 11. Thanks to her, I learned something new and very, very nice about him.
She writes, "He was a wonderful man (and quite the "character" too) and we all miss him so much. I was sitting in the narthex during the service since we are training a service puppy for Canine Partners for Life. Bernie and Claudette support CPL too, and named a puppy after their son, and that puppy and his puppy handler were at the service too."
I noticed a service dog in the lobby, and of course I knew Bernie loved dogs, but I didn't put two and two together. How wonderful, and how in character!
She writes, "He was a wonderful man (and quite the "character" too) and we all miss him so much. I was sitting in the narthex during the service since we are training a service puppy for Canine Partners for Life. Bernie and Claudette support CPL too, and named a puppy after their son, and that puppy and his puppy handler were at the service too."
I noticed a service dog in the lobby, and of course I knew Bernie loved dogs, but I didn't put two and two together. How wonderful, and how in character!
PENNOCKS: A prominent family in colonial Pennsylvania
Mark Myers's lecture on Wednesday, Nov. 19, entitled "The Cutting Edge of the Frontier: The Pennocks of Primitive Hall," will be of interest to anyone who has even a passing interest in local history. The talk will be at Primitive Hall, the 18th-century ancestral home of the Pennock family, which is located on North Chatham Road (Route 841) between Routes 926 and 842.
Mark, a member of Primitive Hall's Board of Trustees, plans to explore the Pennock family's role in colonial Pennsylvania and will highlight local "buildings and landscapes that they would have known in their daily lives," he wrote.
The lecture is a fundraiser for the Hall and tickets are $35. Signup is required by Nov. 15; email tonaleir@aol.com for more information. The talk will start at 7, with a reception at 6.
Mark, a member of Primitive Hall's Board of Trustees, plans to explore the Pennock family's role in colonial Pennsylvania and will highlight local "buildings and landscapes that they would have known in their daily lives," he wrote.
The lecture is a fundraiser for the Hall and tickets are $35. Signup is required by Nov. 15; email tonaleir@aol.com for more information. The talk will start at 7, with a reception at 6.
PUMPKINS: The Great Pumpkin comes to Chadds Ford
An athletic family member of mine is vigilant about eating right, and high on his list of approved foods are pumpkin seeds. Knowing that I grew an excellent crop of pumpkins this summer, he asked if I could save him the seeds.
Sure, I said. But then I thought it through and realized that my kitchen would be full of slimy pumpkin goo, every cookie sheet in the house would be full of drying seeds, and I'd have dozens of rotting empty rinds to dispose of.
A friend and a neighbor came up with a brilliant solution: Take him the seeds in their original packaging.
So for the past three days I have been delivering pumpkins to his house while he's at work. The first day I put them around his mailbox.
The second day I lined his driveway.
The third and final day I had intended, in a grand gesture, to delineate the first letter of our surname in pumpkins on his turnaround -- but I noticed he'd lined all the vegetables up neatly next to his house, so I just added a dozen more to the crowd.
He texted me, saying that he now believes in the Great Pumpkin with all his heart.
Sure, I said. But then I thought it through and realized that my kitchen would be full of slimy pumpkin goo, every cookie sheet in the house would be full of drying seeds, and I'd have dozens of rotting empty rinds to dispose of.
A friend and a neighbor came up with a brilliant solution: Take him the seeds in their original packaging.
So for the past three days I have been delivering pumpkins to his house while he's at work. The first day I put them around his mailbox.
The second day I lined his driveway.
The third and final day I had intended, in a grand gesture, to delineate the first letter of our surname in pumpkins on his turnaround -- but I noticed he'd lined all the vegetables up neatly next to his house, so I just added a dozen more to the crowd.
He texted me, saying that he now believes in the Great Pumpkin with all his heart.
KIDS' PROGRAM AT BVA: What's not to like about books and boots?
We writers are asked frequently, "How did you learn how to write?" For me that's an easy question: I learned how to write by reading ravenously as a kid. My mother took us to the library one night a week after dinner, and I checked out a stack of books every single time.
So I was taken by a press release that crossed my desk from the Brandywine Valley Association/Red Clay Valley Association. Along with Baldwin's Book Barn, they are sponsoring a monthly kids' program called "Books & Boots" that includes not only a story with a nature theme (read by Potter the Otter!) but also an outside adventure (that's the "boots" part).
It starts on Friday, Nov. 21, from 10 to 11:30 a.m., at the Myrick Conservation Center on Route 842 and continues through the spring. It's for kids ages three to five. Each program costs $6 for BVA members, $8 for nonmembers; signup is required by the Wednesday before each program. Contact information is www.brandywinewatershed.org or 610-793-1090.
So I was taken by a press release that crossed my desk from the Brandywine Valley Association/Red Clay Valley Association. Along with Baldwin's Book Barn, they are sponsoring a monthly kids' program called "Books & Boots" that includes not only a story with a nature theme (read by Potter the Otter!) but also an outside adventure (that's the "boots" part).
It starts on Friday, Nov. 21, from 10 to 11:30 a.m., at the Myrick Conservation Center on Route 842 and continues through the spring. It's for kids ages three to five. Each program costs $6 for BVA members, $8 for nonmembers; signup is required by the Wednesday before each program. Contact information is www.brandywinewatershed.org or 610-793-1090.
PREDICTIONS: What will the winter bring?
The woman who does my hair has not been happy about the harrowing forecasts for this coming winter -- that it's going to be just as cold and snowy as last year. She co-owns the salon, and last winter's bad weather translated into chaotic weeks of power outages, canceled appointments, staffing problems and decreased profits.
So after hearing one of these disturbing predictions the other day, she went home and told her partner she was getting worried.
He is a general contractor and hence both a practical man and very conscious of the weather. He pointed out that no-one had predicted last winter's heavy snowfall. Or this year's mild summer. Or the lighter stinkbug invasion this autumn.
She had to admit that this was true, and thanked him for giving her a different perspective.
So after hearing one of these disturbing predictions the other day, she went home and told her partner she was getting worried.
He is a general contractor and hence both a practical man and very conscious of the weather. He pointed out that no-one had predicted last winter's heavy snowfall. Or this year's mild summer. Or the lighter stinkbug invasion this autumn.
She had to admit that this was true, and thanked him for giving her a different perspective.
CHIMING IN: A case of operant conditioning
In last week's column I mentioned the suggestion that a Buddhist made at the recent religion forum sponsored by West Grove Friends Meeting: Install a "mindfulness chime" on your computer and cellphone that sounds at random to remind you to take a deep breath and a mini-break from your workday.
For fun, I installed it. And Gilbert and Binnie, my guinea pigs, have welcomed it enthusiastically as a signal that they deserve carrots: "Gongggg .... WEEEK! WEEEK! WEEEK!"
Of course, when they get the requested carrot, this just reinforces the pattern. Who is training whom?
For fun, I installed it. And Gilbert and Binnie, my guinea pigs, have welcomed it enthusiastically as a signal that they deserve carrots: "Gongggg .... WEEEK! WEEEK! WEEEK!"
Of course, when they get the requested carrot, this just reinforces the pattern. Who is training whom?
IN THE BAG: The consequences of technology
A neighbor and friend recounts the following story:
"It all began one day when a friend and I decided to take a short trip. We were not that familiar with the roads but as we got closer, we recognized landmarks. We got out of the car and went into the town's library to run an errand.
We got back into the car and continued on down the now-familiar road towards our destination and all seemed to be going well - UNTIL I heard a woman's voice coming from the trunk of my car!
I looked at my friend at the precise moment that she looked at me wondering if I had said something. We quickly realized that neither one of us had said a word.
Then we heard that woman's voice talking loudly to us again! We listened to the words: "Turn left at the next intersection on route ___."
Well, that gave it away. When they were on familiar ground, they no longer needed the GPS. When they got out to go into the library's they'd stashed it in a bag in the trunk.
They stopped by a restaurant and "we laughed and laughed and laughed and talked about the woman in the trunk ... and a poor woman looked at us quite frightened! We were forced to explain."
"It all began one day when a friend and I decided to take a short trip. We were not that familiar with the roads but as we got closer, we recognized landmarks. We got out of the car and went into the town's library to run an errand.
We got back into the car and continued on down the now-familiar road towards our destination and all seemed to be going well - UNTIL I heard a woman's voice coming from the trunk of my car!
I looked at my friend at the precise moment that she looked at me wondering if I had said something. We quickly realized that neither one of us had said a word.
Then we heard that woman's voice talking loudly to us again! We listened to the words: "Turn left at the next intersection on route ___."
Well, that gave it away. When they were on familiar ground, they no longer needed the GPS. When they got out to go into the library's they'd stashed it in a bag in the trunk.
They stopped by a restaurant and "we laughed and laughed and laughed and talked about the woman in the trunk ... and a poor woman looked at us quite frightened! We were forced to explain."
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
JON OLSON: A life well lived, and the life of any party
My friend Jon Olson died on October 26 at his Jenners' Pond home. Jon served on the Bayard Taylor Library Board with me and was in my experience that truly rare combination: an engineer with a droll sense of humor. (Sorry, engineers, but you know it's true.)
Jon would cheerfully volunteer for just about any duty, from parking cars at the library's annual home and garden tour, to presenting an impromptu investment report at a board meeting, to helping design a Philadelphia Flower Show display for the Spade & Trowel garden club (he'd create these detailed sketches with numbers and calculations). Whatever task he performed, he did it with the greatest style and zest.
A proud Princeton grad, he often volunteered to serve drinks at our library fundraisers, and the liquor was poured with a generous hand whenever he was behind the bar.
A few years ago two other library board members and I joined Jon and his wife, Nancy, for dinner at Sake Hana in Avondale. Jon was grinning broadly throughout, reveling in the fact that he was having dinner with four women and was the only man at a table.
Jon was amusing, intelligent, urbane and kind: a great guy and a wonderful raconteur. Any encounter with him was a memorable one -- especially the last time I saw him, shopping at the Country Butcher.
Godspeed, Jon. Much love to your family.
Monday, October 27, 2014
LYME DISEASE: A talk about Lyme & other tick-borne diseases
A friend who is a member of the Lyme Disease Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania (a family member of hers has the disease, as do so many people around here) asked me to put the word out that Pat Smith, the president of the Lyme Disease Association Inc., will be speaking at 7 p.m. Wednesday, November 12, at the Genesis building at State and Union Streets in Kennett Square. Admission is free and anyone can attend. The speaker is a longtime advocate and fundraiser for Lyme research, education and policy. Her talk is entitled "Lyme & Other Tick-Borne Diseases: A National Overview & the Role of LDA."
MARY MCKAY: A new dogwood grows in Unionville
My friend Ray McKay reports that on October 26 the members of the Lesserton Garden Club planted a pink Kousa dogwood tree at the Charles F. Patton Middle School in memory of his wife, Mary, who taught there for many years. He said that Mary, a member of the garden club, "had planted the first gardens near the main entrance to the school office and sponsored a garden club at the school. Her dedication to others and her community were recounted by many members of the garden club in attendance. It was nice to see so many good friends honoring Mary."
Mary Mackenzie Tharp, president of the garden club, was nice enough to share these photographs of the planting ceremony. "It is nice to see this beloved, but modest friend receive recognition from the Community!" she writes.
Members of the Lesserton Garden Club and Mary's family standing next to the tree.
Right to left: Ray McKay; his son, Donald; and his son-in-law, Jeff.
The pink Kousa dogwood tree.
Mary Mackenzie Tharp, president of the garden club, was nice enough to share these photographs of the planting ceremony. "It is nice to see this beloved, but modest friend receive recognition from the Community!" she writes.
Members of the Lesserton Garden Club and Mary's family standing next to the tree.
Right to left: Ray McKay; his son, Donald; and his son-in-law, Jeff.
The pink Kousa dogwood tree.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
BOY SCOUTS: Troop 24 hosted a great spaghetti dinner
On Saturday evening Boy Scout Troop 24 hosted a spaghetti dinner at Kennett Friends Meeting -- and if the quality of the food is any indication, those Scouts eat very, very well.
Dads filled our plates with spaghetti, delicious homemade marinara sauce (I'm told they started cooking it on Wednesday), meatballs, and sautéed Kennett Square mushrooms. There were also salads, rolls and homemade desserts.
When we sat down a polite Scout with the nametag "Barnacle Boy" (I suspect that was an alias) took our drink orders. He came back later to check if we needed anything else.
It was all-you-can-eat, but one plate of spaghetti was more than ample even with our hearty appetites. A terrific meal and for $8 a great bargain!
I was also happy to catch up with two mothers of Scouts who were there, Sally Warren and Carol Anne Ganly.
Parenthetically, I noticed that one of the folding chairs at our table had a faded red-and-white sticker on the back announcing that it was the property of Thompson Roses. Old-timers will remember that the Thompson greenhouses used to be on Thompson Road in New Garden Township.
Dads filled our plates with spaghetti, delicious homemade marinara sauce (I'm told they started cooking it on Wednesday), meatballs, and sautéed Kennett Square mushrooms. There were also salads, rolls and homemade desserts.
When we sat down a polite Scout with the nametag "Barnacle Boy" (I suspect that was an alias) took our drink orders. He came back later to check if we needed anything else.
It was all-you-can-eat, but one plate of spaghetti was more than ample even with our hearty appetites. A terrific meal and for $8 a great bargain!
I was also happy to catch up with two mothers of Scouts who were there, Sally Warren and Carol Anne Ganly.
Parenthetically, I noticed that one of the folding chairs at our table had a faded red-and-white sticker on the back announcing that it was the property of Thompson Roses. Old-timers will remember that the Thompson greenhouses used to be on Thompson Road in New Garden Township.
IN THE LIGHT: An amazing sendoff for Marcus Macaluso
I've never seen such a diverse group of people within the walls of London Grove Friends Meeting as I did on Saturday afternoon at Marcus Macaluso's amazing, standing-room-only memorial service. What a profound testimony it was to the number of circles that Marcus traveled in and the number of people he influenced.
Each time somebody stood up and spoke about the impact Marcus had on him or her, the reporter in me would make a mental note and say, "Oh, that was beautiful. I have to mention that in my story." Then the next person would speak, and it would be just as articulate and moving. It was a remarkable afternoon that reflected a life well lived.
Each time somebody stood up and spoke about the impact Marcus had on him or her, the reporter in me would make a mental note and say, "Oh, that was beautiful. I have to mention that in my story." Then the next person would speak, and it would be just as articulate and moving. It was a remarkable afternoon that reflected a life well lived.
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