Sunday, November 26, 2017

LONDON GROVE: Solomon's Temple

On my travels the other day I was heading west on West London Grove Road at Guernsey Road when I saw what looked like an old cemetery and the remains of a church.
A quick Google search and I learned that it was the site of the African Union Church of London Grove Cemetery, also known as Solomon's Temple Cemetery. The small church building's fieldstone foundation remains. Most of the grave markers are from the late 1800s or the early 20th century. Several are marked with American flags to honor veterans who fought for the Grand Army of the Republic during the Civil War. According to John Ford's stone, he fought in Company C of the Third Regiment of the Pennsylvania Colored Troops. (The regiment saw action at Fort Wagner on Morris Island, South Carolina, and then spent the rest of the war fighting in Florida.)
Civil War veteran John Ford died on March 28, 1915.

According to the findagrave website, for a time in the 1980s a local Boy Scout troop maintained the site; in fact, the wooden staircase and wooden fencing on the Guernsey Road side were installed as part of somebody's Eagle Scout project. Now London Grove Township keeps the grass mowed, but several tombstones have fallen over, parts of the ground have sunk, the wooden steps are rickety, and there were a few fallen branches on the ground. Perhaps another Scout project?

GARDEN: Ready for winter

It was such a warm autumn that I just put my garden to bed last weekend, uprooting the now-slimy celosia, harvesting the purple potatoes (thank you, Vincent), lifting the gladiolus and hymenocallis for the winter, and marvelling as usual about how two-inch-diameter, ten-foot-tall sunflower stalks can grow from a tiny black-and-white-striped seed.
I didn't get a chance to order my usual exquisite, expensive tulip bulbs from White Flower Farm, so I fell back on Plan B: Lowe's. And sometimes it pays to procrastinate: they were 75 percent off, and the clerk told me they'd been marked down that very morning. (My experience with Lowe's bulbs has been very positive, especially since I treat tulips as annuals.)

INFERNOS: A generous community

Like so many others, I was saddened by the tragic fire at Barclay Friends in West Chester. When the call went out seeking donations for the displaced residents, we headed to the Kennett Walmart and filled a cart with toiletries, towels, underwear, clothes, slippers and socks. We were about to head to the donation drop-off point in West Chester when I checked online and found out that they'd been overwhelmed with donations and had to close down early because there was nowhere to store everything. (Perhaps you saw the photographs of the stacks of donated walkers and wheelchairs.)
We went back to Walmart and returned everything. Selfishly, I was grumbling a bit because I really wanted to pitch in, but I was also pleased that the community was so generous.
Sadly enough, another chance to help out arrived just days later, and even closer to home, when a family on Dean Drive in the Cedarcroft neighborhood lost their house, possessions and dogs and cats to a quick-moving Thanksgiving night fire. The next day, a relative started an online donation site with a goal of raising $25,000. Within a day more than $32,000 had been raised, thanks to more than 450 donors.

EXAM: A scary prospect

On Saturday we had dinner at the Saw Mill Grill in Oxford with a young man who's working hard to gain his certification in a highly technical healthcare field. He already has passed two written exams, and the final step involves taking an oral exam this spring with not just one inquisitor but six of them, who each grill you for 30 minutes. The exam has a fearsome reputation -- the pass rate is only 50 percent, and the examiners are authorities in the field.
He told us a horror story about a hapless examinee who recognized his questioner's name and politely said that he'd studied the man's textbook.
The author pulled out a copy of the textbook from his briefcase and opened it to a random page.
"In that case," he said, "perhaps you'll be so good as to summarize this chapter for me."
I tried to reassure the poor fellow, pointing out how articulate and knowledgeable he was and how well he was able to explain the field to laypeople like ourselves.
He looked highly skeptical, pointing out that we were chatting over a relaxed dinner, not in the pressure cooker of pivotal oral exam.

FEAST: An excellent Thanksgiving

Here's hoping you had a nice Thanksgiving. We made our usual trek up the Northeast Extension to Perkasie, where we caught up with infrequently seen family members, played with the two well-behaved dogs, teased the kids about the very green (but delicious) mint chocolate chip cookies they baked, and after a heartfelt prayer enjoyed a traditional turkey dinner. (We brought the mushroom casserole; thank you, Marlboro Mushrooms.)
A few funny things about the trip: At the Wawa near the Quakertown exit we spotted two young men sporting carefully arranged pompadours (I caught one checking his hairdo in the driver's side mirror); they looked like members of the rockabilly band The Stray Cats. On the way home through Harleysville we saw a sign for "Angst & Angst, Attorneys at Law," which cracked us up. (A witty friend later suggested their slogan should be, "We worry for you.")
And at the Wawa in Lionville (we like Wawas), we asked the clerk if he had had his Thanksgiving dinner yet.
"No," he replied, "but my girlfriend says she has a surprise for me when I get home."
He actually looked a little anxious. The guy behind us in line tried to conceal his laughter.
Having a holiday in the middle of the week throws everyone off. Even the radio shows seemed to be out of whack. On Friday afternoon, a friend who listens to a lot of WXPN reported with some surprise that DJ Ben Vaughn was playing Earth Wind & Fire.
"That's not Ben Vaughn," I corrected him. "Ben Vaughn is on Saturday. It's Funky Friday."

ELISE: Best cat name ever

A friend was showing us photos of his new-ish rescue cat, Elise. We asked him to explain the name. It suits her, he said, because she is small and very cuddly. And then there's also the homage to Beethoven: Fur Elise.

LCH: Honoring a board member

Congratulations to West Marlborough resident Alice Moorhead, who received the APEX Award for Board Excellence to honor her exceptional service on the board of directors of La Comunidad Hispana, which provides medical, dental and social services for local Latino families. She received the award from the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers' conference in Lancaster. The APEX awards (short for Awards for Primary Care Excellence) are given each year to community health centers in Pennsylvania.


 

UCF: Some happy parents

The Unionville-Chadds Ford School District got a strong vote of confidence from two district parents I was talking to the other evening. They made a point of buying a house in the district and said they were baffled to learn that some of their neighbors pay massive amounts of tuition to send their kids to private school. Why, they wonder, when the quality of education in UCF is so high and the district's reputation is so stellar?
(And I hear they have a pretty good football team, too.)

Saturday, November 25, 2017

KENNETT: The Light Parade

Much to my regret, the Holiday Light Parade and one of my favorite exercise classes were scheduled for the same time on Nov. 24, so I caught only the prequel and the aftermath of the parade. On my way to Kennett on Newark Road, I saw a brightly illuminated tractor hauling a hay buggy full of kids -- not an everyday sight! -- and in the parking lot of the Landhope at Willowdale I saw another piece of lit-up farm equipment, this one pulling a wagon full of Christmas inflatables. And judging from the crowds of people streaming back to their cars on State Street after the end of the parade, it was a huge hit.

Saturday, November 18, 2017

MUSIC: Appalachian tunes and more

On Nov. 17 we headed to Newark for the opening concert of the Brandywine Friends of Old Time Music 2017-18 series. The quartet of Adam Hurt (banjo and fiddle), Beth Williams Hartness (guitar), David McLaughlin (banjo and mandolin), and Marshall Wilborn (upright bass) played a wide variety of bluegrass, old-time, and gospel tunes -- even George Jones's "She Thinks I Still Care" -- in addition to originals like David's entertaining "Skeleton Dance" and "Going Back to Old Virginia."
Adam used a West African gourd banjo to play "Old Molly Oxford," a Morris dance tune -- talk about genre-bending! He explained that the gourds are grown between boards so that they develop into the right shape and size. In introducing Washington Phillips' "What Are They Doing in Heaven Today?" Adam also mentioned another instrument I'd never heard of: the manzerene, a sort of home-made zither with violin strings that Phillips would assemble before every performance.
The show closed with a rousing singalong of the Carter Family's "My Home's Across the Blue Ridge Mountain."
In the next show in the Old Time Music series, The Herald Angels will perform at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 15, at the Unitarian Universalist Hall, 420 Willa Road, Newark.

NEW GARDEN: Townhouses being built

While driving home via Pemberton Road the other day, I noticed that construction has started on the 86-unit Pemberton townhouse development in New Garden Township. The Bentley Homes townhouses will be built in groups of three or four, and prices start in the mid-$200s. The Bentley website highlights the development's proximity to Bancroft Elementary School. 

UHS: The Art Gala

Paintings, photographs, metal sculptures, etchings, pottery, carved rocks, jewelry, fused glass, painted furniture, collages, tiles, paper sculptures and probably lots of other media I'm forgetting about were on display this past weekend at the 42nd annual Unionville Art Gala, a fundraiser for the high school PTA.
I made several circuits of the artwork on Saturday afternoon and had to keep reminding myself that I'm trying to get rid of things, not acquire more. I think my favorite works were the whimsical little etchings and paintings of animals and woodland sprites by Katy Winters of Havertown.
As always, part of the gala was devoted to pieces created by UHS students, including portraits, still lifes, jewelry, Adirondack chairs, sculptures and even a beautiful prom gown. The featured artists were seniors Margaret Clisham and Helen Nichols. I recognized several names, either as friends of the Young Relative's or from school activities. The talent on display was impressive!

NEWLIN: State funds to repair Laurel Road

On Nov. 17 State Rep. Eric Roe sent out an email announcing that Newlin Township will receive a $754,354 grant from the state to rebuild an 820-foot portion of Laurel Road that collapsed into the Brandywine Creek after heavy rain in the spring of 2014.
"This project will include rebuilding the compromised portion of Laurel Road, installation of a new guardrail, removal of debris, stabilization of the bank to halt ongoing deterioration and relocation of new utility poles," said Rep. Roe.

The collapsed section of Laurel Road in May 2014.
                                   
In other news out of Harrisburg, the Senate has voted to name the Eastern Hellbender our commonwealth's official amphibian. But apparently there's a move in the state House to nominate a much smaller creature, the Wehrle’s salamander. I'll keep you posted on this important decision by our legislators.
Reporting on this would have posed a problem at a newspaper where I used to work: the publisher had a debilitating fear of snakes and would not allow in the paper any story, photo or graphic of anything resembling a snake. I once had to eliminate a cobra headdress from some clip art of a pharaoh.

Thursday, November 16, 2017

SNOW DAYS: On the ground

I got to chatting with a retired teacher today about whether we're going to have a snowy winter. She told me that some years back she worked in a western Pennsylvania school district, where the superintendent wasn't the one responsible for declaring snow days. No: that duty fell on two of the bus drivers who lived in the most remote parts of the district. If the snow was falling there and they couldn't get out, they'd consult with each other and then tell the superintendent to cancel school.
Apparently it didn't happen very often.

HOCKESSIN: The Grinch returns!

This program down in "Who-ckessin" is well on its way to becoming a Christmas tradition. Once again the Hockessin Business Association is hosting a showing of Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," with actors, audience participation, singing and lots of noise!
This year's show will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, at the Hockessin Library, 1023 Valley Road, Hockessin. It's free and very family-friendly.
Portraying the Grinch (completely against character!) is our friend Charles Shattuck, the owner of the Wild Birds Unlimited store.

WILLOWDALE: Night owls

Yes, it's true, the Landhope convenience store at Willowdale is once again open 24 hours a day, so you can buy coffee, soda, ice cream, lottery tickets and gas very late at night or very early in the morning. In fact, according to the sign on the door, they're looking for employees to work the second and third shifts.

FRITANGAS: Delicioso!

A friend pretty much commanded me to try Fritangas Snacks, a Mexican restaurant in that little brick strip mall on South Union Street, across from Kennett High School.
When it comes to Mexican food, I hear and obey: we two Anglos went there the next night for dinner.
The place is freshly painted and bright and cheerful inside. The menu on the wall is written mostly in Spanish, but the friendly woman who waited on us translated as needed.
We had burritos -- tinga de pollo (shredded chicken) for me and carnitas (pulled pork) for my date -- and they appeared from the kitchen very quickly. The chef toned down the spiciness at our request but included a little container of hot sauce on the side. To drink I had pineapple-flavored agua, which was excellent, and for dessert a dish of coffee ice cream (yes, it was cold outside. So what?).
As the name indicates, in addition to ice cream, tortas, burritos, tacos and quesadillas, Fritangas also sells a wide variety of authentic Mexican snacks: nachos, esquites (corn salad), elotes (corn on the cob), frituras, dorilocos, churros locos, and intriguing combinations of fruits, vegetables and crunchy tidbits.
The restaurant's winter hours are Monday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

POOL: Sets and laps

I'm always entertained by the chatter of the schoolkids in the Y locker room. The other day one girl was telling her friends that for English class, she was assigned to write about "something painful." She chose swim practice -- a perfectly valid topic, though probably not what the instructor intended. The teacher made the mistake of trying to correct the girl's swim-team jargon. The young athlete's description of her point-by-point rebuttal to the teacher (who sounded like an insufferable know-it-all) was devastating.
I'm encouraged by kids who display that sort of spunk. 

Sunday, November 12, 2017

HOCKESSIN: Old meetinghouse photos

Hockessin Friends Meetinghouse is holding a talk on Saturday, Nov. 18, about Charles S. Philips, who photographed Quaker meetinghouses, other buildings and landscapes in New Castle, Chester, and Delaware counties in the 1890s. On Jan. 14, 1896, he visited Hockessin Friends Meeting.

Pamela Powell, photo archivist at the Chester County Historical Society, will present a slide show of images by Philips from the historical society's collection.

Potluck supper is at 6 p.m., with the program to follow at 7 p.m.

The meeting's 2018 calendar, "Quiet Shelter: Selected Photographs of Friends Meetinghouses by Charles S. Philips,” will be available to purchase for $20. The cover features an image of Hockessin Meeting from the CCHS collection. The calendar is a fundraiser for the renovations of the meeting's First Day School classrooms.

Hockessin Friends Meeting is at 1501 Old Wilmington Road.
 

HAMLET: The play's the thing

Leave it to the courageous actors at Unionville High School to take on "Hamlet" as their fall play. We had never before seen senior Suchi Jain, who played the lead role, on the UHS stage and greatly admired her intensity and her command of the language (not to mention her fencing skills).
Sophomore Rachel Tierney played Ophelia, and she did a great job with the "mad scene," staggering painfully around the stage wearing only one shoe.
The lighting, designed by Jonathan Chidekel, was striking, especially in the opening scene, when a spotlight narrowed in to highlight the telling detail of Claudius and Gertrude's clasped hands.
The curtain call was funny: everyone reverted to being smiling high school kids only seconds after the last scene, where pretty much everyone dies violently.
Hearing the Bard's words reminded me of the play's many contributions to our language -- to name just a few, "neither a borrower nor a lender be," "ay, there's the rub," "to thine own self be true," and "there's method in his madness."

Saturday, November 11, 2017

KENNETT: The Charge of the Light Parade

The annual Christmas parade (officially the "Kennett Square Holiday Light Parade") in downtown Kennett will be held on Friday, Nov. 24 (the day after Thanksgiving). It is always an absolute hoot, with impressively decorated farm equipment, fire engines, and work trucks. The competition among farms gets quite heated, with more elaborate light displays and juicier generators each year. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive, too, usually in an antique car. The parade gets under way at 6:15 p.m. According to Historic Kennett Square, it starts at Center Street and heads east on State Street (against traffic flow) before turning onto South Broad Street.

WEEDS: Green Grazer Goats

A loyal Tilda reader was intrigued by an advertisement he saw for Green Grazer Goats, a Lincoln University farm that rents out its herd of 32 goats to serve as efficient, economical and eco-friendly weed-eaters.
The ad points out that goats can clear noxious vegetation like poison ivy, kudzu, and wild rose and can access hillsides and irregular terrain that heavy equipment can't.
The goat owners bring the goats to your property, set up temporary electric fencing to keep them corralled, and visit often to monitor their progress. They also provide shelter, vitamins and minerals for them.
Green Grazer Goats is on Facebook (the videos of the goats at work are impressive!), and the phone number is 484-643-6939.

CHADDS FORD: Upscale Mexican food

For this week's date night we made our first visit to Agave Mexican Cuisine in Chadds Ford, which opened earlier this year. The interior is very attractive, with soothing lighting; you'd never know it used to be a Wawa. As soon as we sat down, a server brought us water in a thick glass decanter; soon after, chips and zingy green salsa appeared. 
Our food arrived very quickly. My trio of shrimp tacos ($16) came in a clever zig-zag holder that kept them standing upright. They were excellent, and I liked the novelty of having a whole leaf of lettuce rather than the usual shreds. My date, in a red-meat mood, ordered a ribeye steak with cactus and mushrooms ($27); he gave me a bite or two and it was really good.
The parking lot was full, but because the dining room is spacious, it didn't feel crowded at all. At the table next to us was a family with two school-age kids, but most of our fellow diners were couples and friends.
Agave is a BYO, and many people were drinking their own wine, hard cider, and beer (the restaurant also offers tequila mixes). One diner brought a selection of beer for his party in a wooden carrier that reminded my date of his UHS wood-shop project.
Agave is at 1620 Baltimore Pike, catty-cornered from Hank's diner.

WALMART: A careful clerk

This week's customer service shout-out goes to Trevor, a checkout clerk at the Kennett Walmart. My oddly assorted purchases the other night included a loaf of bread, a bath mat and knitting needles. Trevor made a point of fitting them all into my shopping bag with meticulous care, even wrapping the bath mat around the bread, so that nothing got crushed, torn, or punctured. Thank you!

Thursday, November 9, 2017

PARKING: Driving skills

If you can't parallel park, heed my advice: head out to a parking lot on a Sunday afternoon and practice. But please: you will not endear yourself to anyone by tying up blocks of downtown State Street traffic on a rainy Tuesday night at rush hour while you inch backwards and forwards, not getting appreciably closer to the curb.
At one point it looked like the driver had (sensibly) given up. She pulled out into the lane of traffic, and the patient motorist in front of me started pulling into the spot. No! She actually started backing up again! A collision was barely avoided.
Finally, a passenger had to get out of the car and guide the driver into the spot.
The night before I'd witnessed another traffic mishap, this time in the parking lot of the Jennersville Y. While trying to park, a woman drove completely over a traffic sign in the median. When she backed up, the sign caught under the bumper, tearing off the entire front part of her car with a painful grinding noise. I didn't stick around to see what happened after that.

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

UHS: A great season

Congratulations to the Unionville girls' varsity field hockey team, who made it all the way to the state playoffs. After winning the Chesmont American League title, they beat Boyertown 7-1 in the first round of district playoffs. They went on to beat Pennsbury 4-3 (in double overtime), lost to Downingtown West 0-3 but came back to beat Haverford 4-1 and then CB South 6-1 to make it into the state championships. But on Nov. 7 they lost a 0-1 heartbreaker to defending state champion Emmaus (despite outshooting Emmaus).

Good luck to the graduating seniors on the team -- I understand that many of the athletes will be continuing their hockey careers both during the 2018 indoor season and in college.

WEST MARLBOROUGH: Grader en route

Excitement is mounting as West Marlborough Township awaits the delivery of its new road grader.
I'm only half kidding: it was the main topic of discussion at the Nov. 6 township meeting. The township used $70,000 in state funds to purchase a 2007 John Deere grader to replace its venerable 1973 Caterpillar grader, nicknamed "Sisyphus." The new grader was purchased from Jackson County, Iowa, where it was used to maintain the county's 550 miles of dirt and gravel roads.
Sisyphus will be sold to neighboring Newlin Township.
The township also purchased a bright yellow V-shaped plow blade that will fit on the new grader, and road crew boss Hugh Lofting Jr. drove to New York State on Nov. 7 to pick it up. Out of curiosity, he researched the serial number on the old plow blade and learned that it was manufactured in 1942.
Hugh-2 said he expects the new equipment will be ready for use by the time the first snowstorm of the winter hits us.

OUCH: Health insurance woes

Those of us who are self-employed and pay for our own health insurance learned in early November that we are facing huge premium increases thanks to the tumult in the insurance marketplace (and a myriad of other reasons too complex for me to sort out).
My plan is being cancelled; my insurance carrier is suggesting a replacement that is 20 percent more expensive, has a higher deductible, and covers less (a virtual trifecta of good news!).
And there's nothing you can do about it. To be a responsible adult, you need to have health insurance, and there's absolutely no competition.
I wish insurance company executives and politicians would come out and acknowledge how painful and infuriating these premium increases are for average people.
If only they'd drop the spin and buzzwords and say something transparent like: "Look, we hear you: You think we're greedy blood-suckers who use your premiums to go on corporate retreats to Boca Raton. But here's exactly how we set your rates. Here's why they are so high. Here's what an MRI costs. Here's what an average hospital stay costs."
Instead, my carrier has been running a series of online spots featuring diverse, well-dressed, prosperous-looking people and happy families gazing at their laptops and phones with huge grins on their faces. Why are they grinning? Why?
Get real, guys: "open enrollment" season is not a cause for rejoicing and your new dental plans are not "exciting" to us.
My health insurance premium has become one of my largest monthly expenses, and it galls me to see insurance companies spending money on expensive ad campaigns and frills that I don't need or want (recipe tips? little magazines with trendy graphics? No, thank you!).
Even the $150 that I receive as a rebate each year because I'm a regular at the gym now represents a laughably small fraction of what I'm paying in.
The word "unsustainable" comes to mind.

CRAFTS: Centerpiece sale and workshop

My friend Linda Southerling asked me to spread the word about a holiday centerpiece sale and workshop that the Four Seasons Garden Club is holding on Saturday, Dec. 9, at the Episcopal Church of the Advent on North Union Street in Kennett Square. The sale of already-made centerpieces will begin at 9:30 a.m. and will last until 2 p.m. For more information about the do-it-yourself workshop, you can e-mail lsfleur1@Hotmail.com to request a registration form. 

NEW GARDEN: Service with a smile

I'm glad to see that Café Americana is doing well. The cheerful little family-run restaurant in the Giant shopping center in New Garden was bustling when I stopped in for lunch the other day in the middle of an errand run. I ordered an omelet with broccoli, cheese and spinach, and it was delicious.

Sunday, November 5, 2017

UNIONVILLE: The Hunt Cup Races

Sunday marked the 83rd running of the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup races in Unionville. The skies were overcast (no need for sunglasses), it wasn't windy even on the hilltop (no portable toilets were blown over this year), and the temperature (in the 60s) was just right, unlike some years when our extremities have been numb for hours afterward.
We were amazed at the courage and balance of the riders in the Mrs. Ford B. Draper Invitational Side Saddle Race, which was won by Julie Nafe on McCradys.
Jockey Mark Beecher won the Lewis C. Ledyard Memorial Race (on Bruce Fenwick's Daddy in the Dark) and the Arthur O. Choate Memorial Race (on Rosbrian Farm's Class Brahms). And in the four-mile-long Pennsylvania Hunt Cup race he was leading most of the way on Welcome Here Farm's Where's the Beef until he was overtaken by the same horse and the same rider who won the race in 2016: Darren Nagle on Irvin S. Naylor's Ebanour.
We were relieved that although there were as always a few spills, nobody (horse or rider) was seriously injured this year.
Between the races we caught up with lots of friends and neighbors (including the hard-working executive director of the races, Kathee Rengert), feasted on some excellent roasted chicken, rubbed the belly of the canine member of our party, and sat there comfortably solving the problems of the world while gazing out over the idyllic Unionville landscape.
One funny remark we overheard: a dad was carrying his unhappy-looking son and told him, "Well, maybe next time you'll wear socks."

Saturday, November 4, 2017

BVSPCA: Saving kittens' lives

The Brandywine Valley SPCA (whence we adopted our amazing miracle rescue cat Clarence) has received a $50,000 grant to develop its "Mama-in-a-Box." According to the BVSPCA's fall newsletter, this invention is designed to help care for the large number of kittens that arrive at shelters in spring and summer. It "provides a replica momma cat that can support up to eight kittens with a built-in heating mat and temperature-controlled bottles in a natural position. This setup allows caregivers to focus on bathing and stimulating and, in turn, to have more lifesaving capacity."
The BVSPCA team received the grant, one of two awarded nationally, after presenting the idea at the Petco Foundation's Innovation Showdown program in May.

HERSHEY: A race in Chocolate Town

We spent Saturday in Hershey at the PIAA cross-country championship, and I'm happy to report that the amazing Unionville High School girls' XC team took sixth place in the entire state!
The girls' team comprised Madison McGovern, Marcella Krautzel, Hallie Weaver, Josie Cicchino, Katelyn McGovern, Meghan Smith, and Gemma Krautzel. The girls' times for the 3.1-mile course averaged 20 minutes 6 seconds. The notoriously tough course ends with a brutally steep hill that must have been excruciating for already exhausted legs and lungs.
Before the race we walked around the team tent area. Some of the teams had decorated their tents with enlarged photos of the athletes' heads, and we were amused to see that one team honored its star runner by mounting his cardboard head on a pike! Didn't that used to be the fate of executed traitors?
Naturally, chocolate plays a key role in the town: the banners in the huge parking lot sported the names of Hershey candy bars; the lamp posts were decorated with Kisses; we drove past the Chocolate Workers Union Hall (a historical plaque commemorates their sit-down strike); and we chuckled at a billboard advertising the Cocoa Counseling Center.
After the meet, I asked Google Maps to find us a restaurant near Elizabethtown and it suggested Martin's Country Kitchen, Home of Randy Lee's BBQ, right on Route 743. Great choice! We cleaned our plates and didn't need another meal the rest of the day.

GREENVILLE: In loving memory

I had the honor of attending F. Michael Donohue's memorial service as Christ Church Christiana Hundred on Oct. 2, and I don't think I've ever been to a service that better reflected the honoree. Everything was done right. The beautiful church was packed (I imagine there were a lot of empty offices in Wilmington that morning). The hymns were beautiful and uplifting ("Abide With Me" and, set to the tune of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy," "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee"). The eulogies, by Mike's longtime business partner Rodman Ward Jr. and his daughter-in-law Kirstie Donohue, painted a portrait of Mike as a distinguished leader of character and integrity, a masterful stockbroker, an avid athlete, and a loving family man (and sometime prankster). 
I was especially impressed with the Rev. Ruth Beresford, who led the service. Perhaps sensing that there were many non-churchgoers in the crowd, she explicitly invited all to take part in the Communion ritual and explained all the details that can baffle outsiders. It felt very inclusive.
The reception afterward in the parish hall was catered by the Wilmington Club, and (of course) included the club's signature fried oysters.

THE FLASH: Up in the balcony

An evening at the Kennett Flash is always fun, especially when you sit in the balcony. It's only a few steps above the rest of the room, but you feel like you're in your own spacious VIP lounge, furnished with comfortable sofas.
On Sunday, Oct. 29, we were at the Flash to see Sarah "Hurricane Hoss" Larsen (who has played with Mason Porter) and Abbie Gardner (of Red Molly). When she performed her song "Modena," Sarah drew raucous applause from our party, two of whom have worked in the tiny Chester County borough.
Just a caveat if you decide to eat dinner at the Flash (they offer snacks and sandwiches): we ordered before the show started and our food didn't arrive until intermission. There was only one very busy waiter for the entire room, and by 7:45 we were getting so hungry that we were paying more attention to his comings and goings than the performer: "Do you think that's our food? Is he coming our way?"

APPLIANCE: Shouldn't be this tricky

I bought a new lamp the other day and was eager to see how much better my office would look with a brighter bulb. But first I had to unwrap the power cord, which was not a simple matter. First I had to remove the tiny white elastic string holding it to the lamp socket. Then I tore off the cardboard label and peeled off the super-sticky multilingual safety warning wrapped around the bundled-up cord. Underneath were three very tight zip ties (not simple twist ties, mind you) holding the bundle together. I had to find a penknife and gingerly saw through the zip ties without nicking the power cord. I can't imagine someone with vision problems or arthritis being able to manage without assistance.

Friday, November 3, 2017

KENNETT TOWNSHIP: New houses going in

What's going on near the northeast corner of the Five Points intersection south of Kennett Square? It's "Stonehouse," another housing development by Tom Bentley. His company, Bentley Homes, is building 38 "carriage homes" in nine clusters of three, four, or five units. There will be two entrances to the development, both on South Union Street. The houses will be priced in the mid-$400,000s, and the first units are expected to be ready next spring.
The website describes the development as "nestled in the heart of Kennett Square," only "steps" away from Kennett High School, within walking distance to downtown and "minutes" away from Longwood Gardens.

BB&T: An excellent employee

Shout-out to Laura Bernal, a teller at the New Garden East branch of BB&T Bank. I went in there the other morning with at least 40 checks to deposit. This is not the account I usually use, so not only had I forgotten the account number but I don't even have an ATM card for it.
No matter: Laura quickly totalled the checks (double-checking her math) and made sure she put it in the correct account. She assured me that my ignorance of in-person banking was no problem (I'm sure it was) and even apologized that the transaction took her so long (it didn't).
Excellent customer service from a delightful human being.