I had to laugh when a friend asked me to attend a potluck supper later this month.
"Bring a covered dish," she said, "with food in it."
She spends a lot of time with her grandchildren (and great-grandchildren!), so perhaps she is used to giving literal instructions.
Saturday, December 10, 2016
Thursday, December 8, 2016
DOE RUN: On location in West Marlborough
Isabella Sutton, a Temple University film student, drove out in a rainstorm from Philadelphia to the West Marlborough township meeting on Dec. 6 to ask the supervisors' permission to shoot part of a film in the township.
Ms. Sutton is producing the short film, called "The Bandaged Heart," and told the supervisors she was searching for a "beautiful country road" for the two main characters to walk along, ideally with a sunset view. She found the perfect spot along Wilson Road near Doe Run village. She said the film crew will comprise 15 to 20 students, and they will be covered by insurance.
Wilson Road will be closed for the filming from 2 to 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 13. The supervisors asked Ms. Sutton to coordinate with township road crew supervisor Hugh Lofting to make sure signage is in place to alert motorists. Rain, but not snow, may change the crew's schedule, she said.
Ms. Sutton has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise $3,000 for production costs. She writes that the crew members "are seniors on different tracks in the film program and are putting one film together combining all skill sets . . . Making a short film requires a lot of dedication, time, and funding. From paying for locations to gas, it can add up quickly."
She summarized the project as "a narrative short film that all can relate to. The film portrays themes of isolation, abandonment, harassment, and how these relate to the LGBTQ community. Our primary focus in this narrative is to, through symbolism and careful storytelling, bring attention and awareness to persecution of LGBTQ youth in rural America."
Ms. Sutton is producing the short film, called "The Bandaged Heart," and told the supervisors she was searching for a "beautiful country road" for the two main characters to walk along, ideally with a sunset view. She found the perfect spot along Wilson Road near Doe Run village. She said the film crew will comprise 15 to 20 students, and they will be covered by insurance.
Wilson Road will be closed for the filming from 2 to 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 13. The supervisors asked Ms. Sutton to coordinate with township road crew supervisor Hugh Lofting to make sure signage is in place to alert motorists. Rain, but not snow, may change the crew's schedule, she said.
Ms. Sutton has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise $3,000 for production costs. She writes that the crew members "are seniors on different tracks in the film program and are putting one film together combining all skill sets . . . Making a short film requires a lot of dedication, time, and funding. From paying for locations to gas, it can add up quickly."
She summarized the project as "a narrative short film that all can relate to. The film portrays themes of isolation, abandonment, harassment, and how these relate to the LGBTQ community. Our primary focus in this narrative is to, through symbolism and careful storytelling, bring attention and awareness to persecution of LGBTQ youth in rural America."
WEST MARLBOROUGH: No tax increase
West Marlborough residents will see no increase in their millage rate or their 0.5 percent earned income tax under the 2017 budget proposed by the township supervisors on Dec. 6. Bill Wylie, chairman of the board of supervisors, said the 2017 budget is similar to the 2016 one. It will be posted on the bulletin board outside of the township building in Doe Run for public review, and the supervisors will take an official vote on the budget at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 29.
WEST MARLBOROUGH: Goodbye to a familiar face
The Dec. 6 township meeting marked the last official West Marlborough meeting for township engineer Al Giannantonio, who is retiring from his position at Yerkes Associates.
Both the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors passed resolutions thanking Al for his years of service.
Planning Commission member Roy Jackson took the opportunity to ask Al whether the planners should be doing anything differently. He thought for a moment and responded, "I've been to a lot of planning commission meetings, on both sides of the fence, for 46 years, and I think you've got a pretty astute group of people here." He said meetings in some other townships last into the wee hours and degenerate into "arguing and confrontation," but "I've never seen that here."
Al also noted the township's "efficient, low-cost township building" (the township hall is rented and also serves as the township garage and the local polling place).
Al said he would not be idle in his retirement: he has a long list of household projects to complete and also plans to spend time working on his antique cars.
Replacing Al as the township engineer will be Fran Greene, who also works for Yerkes. He lives in West Chester and has bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering from Villanova.
Both the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors passed resolutions thanking Al for his years of service.
Planning Commission member Roy Jackson took the opportunity to ask Al whether the planners should be doing anything differently. He thought for a moment and responded, "I've been to a lot of planning commission meetings, on both sides of the fence, for 46 years, and I think you've got a pretty astute group of people here." He said meetings in some other townships last into the wee hours and degenerate into "arguing and confrontation," but "I've never seen that here."
Al also noted the township's "efficient, low-cost township building" (the township hall is rented and also serves as the township garage and the local polling place).
Al said he would not be idle in his retirement: he has a long list of household projects to complete and also plans to spend time working on his antique cars.
Replacing Al as the township engineer will be Fran Greene, who also works for Yerkes. He lives in West Chester and has bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering from Villanova.
KENNETT SQUARE: Mary Dugan remembered
On Wednesday, Dec. 7, I had the honor of attending a lovely gathering at the Sunrise Café in downtown Kennett to dedicate a bench to the memory of local historian Mary Dugan. A longtime English teacher at Patton Middle School, Mary would regularly gather her friends and colleagues at the restaurant for meetings, so owner Lynn Sinclair thought it was a fitting tribute.
The plaque on the back of the wooden bench reads "In memory of local historian and founder of the Kennett Underground Railroad Center Mary Larkin Dugan 1935-2013" and has a North Star on it. The star has come to symbolize the Underground Railroad because the slaves fleeing from the South used it to guide their nighttime travels.
Gathered for the ceremony were two of Mary's sons -- one who traveled all the way from Maine for the event -- and one of her grandsons; two 90-year-old friends of Mary's, Ella Sestrich (who used to own Sestrich's Market in Unionville) and Mary Anderson; and several of Mary's other friends, including Marlene Drewes, Nancy Pennock Sager (Herb Pennock's granddaughter), and Janet Deckman. Lynn served coffee ice cream (Mary's favorite) and chocolate-chip biscotti as everyone reminisced about historical sites near and far that Mary took them to, the impact she had on our community, and how much she is missed by people in so many different circles.
Stop by the Sunrise Café for breakfast or lunch and take a look at the bench and the photographs of Mary and Underground Railroad materials that Lynn has gathered.
The plaque on the back of the wooden bench reads "In memory of local historian and founder of the Kennett Underground Railroad Center Mary Larkin Dugan 1935-2013" and has a North Star on it. The star has come to symbolize the Underground Railroad because the slaves fleeing from the South used it to guide their nighttime travels.
Gathered for the ceremony were two of Mary's sons -- one who traveled all the way from Maine for the event -- and one of her grandsons; two 90-year-old friends of Mary's, Ella Sestrich (who used to own Sestrich's Market in Unionville) and Mary Anderson; and several of Mary's other friends, including Marlene Drewes, Nancy Pennock Sager (Herb Pennock's granddaughter), and Janet Deckman. Lynn served coffee ice cream (Mary's favorite) and chocolate-chip biscotti as everyone reminisced about historical sites near and far that Mary took them to, the impact she had on our community, and how much she is missed by people in so many different circles.
Stop by the Sunrise Café for breakfast or lunch and take a look at the bench and the photographs of Mary and Underground Railroad materials that Lynn has gathered.
EAST MARLBOROUGH: Functional fitness
My pal Krysta, who organizes group exercise classes at the Kennett YMCA and teaches many of them herself, had the chance on Dec. 7 to put her impressive musculature to work outside of the gym. Here is her account:
"Heading into the [Longwood] Wawa I spot a young man (30s) and a medium young man (50s?) pushing a car up the hill to turn into the parking lot. As cars made their way around them and zipped by, I sat watching for a moment at the stop sign as they struggled to push and steer around the turn and up the hill. No one jumped out to help but kept passing them awkwardly.
"Suddenly I thought: Hey, I am as able-bodied and BodyPump strong as any dude that could help. So I zip into parking spot, run down the hill and begin to help.
"Their responses made me laugh as they originally questioned my strength but were quickly impressed. We pushed it right into place at the gas pump and I felt good about a good deed and a purpose for my muscles.
"Also secretly always wanted to try to push a car."
Strength, by the way, runs in her family: her brother Jon Zacharkiw still holds the UHS shot put record, which he set in 2003.
"Heading into the [Longwood] Wawa I spot a young man (30s) and a medium young man (50s?) pushing a car up the hill to turn into the parking lot. As cars made their way around them and zipped by, I sat watching for a moment at the stop sign as they struggled to push and steer around the turn and up the hill. No one jumped out to help but kept passing them awkwardly.
"Suddenly I thought: Hey, I am as able-bodied and BodyPump strong as any dude that could help. So I zip into parking spot, run down the hill and begin to help.
"Their responses made me laugh as they originally questioned my strength but were quickly impressed. We pushed it right into place at the gas pump and I felt good about a good deed and a purpose for my muscles.
"Also secretly always wanted to try to push a car."
Strength, by the way, runs in her family: her brother Jon Zacharkiw still holds the UHS shot put record, which he set in 2003.
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| This plaque hangs in the UHS lobby. Recognize any names? |
Sunday, December 4, 2016
PHOENIXVILLE: The Firebird Festival
On Saturday we visited Phoenixville, which was hosting its annual Firebird Festival, the climax of which is the burning of a huge wooden phoenix at Friendship Field on the north side of the borough. All afternoon there were musical performances in the shops on Bridge Street and Church Street, and we had a great time wandering around being tourists and stopping in here and there to warm ourselves up. We especially liked the Barn Swallows, a guitar-and-dobro duo who played at the Soltane Bridges Café and Bakery.
Later in the afternoon Morris dancers, cloggers, and hobby-horse dancers performed outside the Colonial Theater -- it was like we were in an English village! -- and while we were eating our dinner at XPress Pizza we could see fire jugglers spinning their blazing batons across the street.
Up at Friendship Field medieval warriors from a group called Barenheim were staging mock battles. We noticed that some of them quickly put down their weapons and went AWOL when the pizza delivery guy arrived with his white boxes.
Judging from the number of businesses and restaurants in town and the big apartment complex that is being built, Phoenixville seems to be a thriving town. It was also a remarkably friendly one. While we were at the coffee shop we asked where the phoenix bonfire was going to be held, and several helpful customers chimed in, giving us good directions and informing us about the shuttle bus (we walked instead). Random people we encountered on the street smiled and said hello, and even the folks who were asking us about parking (right, like we knew!) were polite.
Later in the afternoon Morris dancers, cloggers, and hobby-horse dancers performed outside the Colonial Theater -- it was like we were in an English village! -- and while we were eating our dinner at XPress Pizza we could see fire jugglers spinning their blazing batons across the street.
Up at Friendship Field medieval warriors from a group called Barenheim were staging mock battles. We noticed that some of them quickly put down their weapons and went AWOL when the pizza delivery guy arrived with his white boxes.
Judging from the number of businesses and restaurants in town and the big apartment complex that is being built, Phoenixville seems to be a thriving town. It was also a remarkably friendly one. While we were at the coffee shop we asked where the phoenix bonfire was going to be held, and several helpful customers chimed in, giving us good directions and informing us about the shuttle bus (we walked instead). Random people we encountered on the street smiled and said hello, and even the folks who were asking us about parking (right, like we knew!) were polite.
PETITIONS: Just a way to collect email addresses
It seems like I'm always being asked to sign petitions for this, that, or the other cause on social media. I always refuse, and in a Dec. 3 posting the political website The Daily Kos provided an excellent explanation of why: "Petitions are sign-up forms for your organization. They are a way to build a contact list of like-minded people, so that you can send those people emails with more impactful actions on related topics at a later date."
In other words, you might think you're just lending support to a single good cause championed by a friend, but what you're really doing is adding your name to a mailing list and asking for an avalanche of emails. No thanks!
In other words, you might think you're just lending support to a single good cause championed by a friend, but what you're really doing is adding your name to a mailing list and asking for an avalanche of emails. No thanks!
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