Wednesday, June 21, 2017
MOVING: A rite of passage
A young friend who is moving into a new apartment July 1 has, for the first time, actually hired someone to help him move rather than recruiting his friends and family members to heft furniture and boxes. He made the decision after one of his volunteers suffered mightily while hauling boxes to the Goodwill store on a hot day and decided that, friendship or no friendship, moving was no longer for him.
UNIONVILLE: Rescue dogs on parade
About 30 rescue dogs took to the ring at Plantation Field at noon Wednesday, June 21, for the third annual Rescue Dog parade.
Winners were: smallest dog: BJ, a Dachshund puppy up for adoption at All Mutts Matter; largest dog, Ed Weisbrod's Boomer, a "Lab mutt" showed by his wife, Betsy DeMarino; and dog rescued from farthest away, Mary Ellen DeRuschi's English bull terrier, Cordelia (adopted from Arizona).
PetValu of Kennett Square provided the prizes, and two rescue agencies were on hand: All Mutts Matter and Greenmore Farm.
Making a special guest appearance (though not a rescue dog!) was Betsy Harris's Border Terrier Poppet, who won Best of Breed honors at the 141st Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York.
The parade was being held in conjunction with the "Jump for Rescues" horse schooling show, proceeds from which went to benefit local dog rescue groups.
Winners were: smallest dog: BJ, a Dachshund puppy up for adoption at All Mutts Matter; largest dog, Ed Weisbrod's Boomer, a "Lab mutt" showed by his wife, Betsy DeMarino; and dog rescued from farthest away, Mary Ellen DeRuschi's English bull terrier, Cordelia (adopted from Arizona).
PetValu of Kennett Square provided the prizes, and two rescue agencies were on hand: All Mutts Matter and Greenmore Farm.
Making a special guest appearance (though not a rescue dog!) was Betsy Harris's Border Terrier Poppet, who won Best of Breed honors at the 141st Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York.
The parade was being held in conjunction with the "Jump for Rescues" horse schooling show, proceeds from which went to benefit local dog rescue groups.
Mary Ellen DeRuschi's English bull terrier, Cordelia, won the prize (which she is already putting to good use) for the dog that was adopted from farthest away.
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| Boomer, owned by Ed Weisbrod and showed by his wife, Betsy DeMarino, won the prize for largest dog. |
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| Puppy BJ won the prize for smallest dog and is available for adoption. |
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| Betsy Harris's Border Terrier Poppet was a spectator rather than a competitor. |
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
UNIONVILLE: The Quilt has a home!
The Unionville Tricentennial Community Quilt finally has a home!
The quilt was created in 1982 to mark Chester County's 300th birthday, but since then it has been largely out of sight.
On Monday, June 19, 35 years to the day after it was unveiled to the public, the quilt received an official welcome at its new home: the lobby of the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District Office.
Three of the original quilters -- Bette McConnell, Jill Benjamin and Ella Sestrich (the former owner of Sestrich's General Store) -- were on hand, and Jill gave a presentation about the quilt's history.
In early 1982 Nancy Fenstermacher (one of the Bakers at Red Lion) came up with the idea of creating a quilt to honor the village, which had been recently placed on the National Register of Historic Places, largely thanks to the efforts of John and Pat Montague.
About two dozen women, working from sketches by Ron Fenstermacher and Barbara Churchville, sewed the blocks of the "album quilt." Everyone worked from a common pool of fabric to prevent the colors from clashing. Jill said the women ranged in age from 17 to 81 and had "all skill levels" when it came to sewing.
The subjects included the Farm Show (now the Unionville Community Fair), the Unionville Academy, the Grange Hall (which has been incorporated into the current Grace Fellowship Church building), a fox-hunting scene, Indian Hannah, the Unionville High School (now the elementary school), and various other historic scenes around town.
Nancy Fenstermacher herself sewed the central block, depicting a map of the town. (A key hanging next to the quilt gives details about each block.)
After the individual blocks were created and sewn together, the women spent April and May 1982 doing the quilting stitching, using an oyster shell motif as a nod to the three oyster bars that once flourished in Unionville (Jill said oyster shells were used to pave Wollaston Road, and she still find them in her garden).
Jill ended her presentation by thanking school district superintendent Dr. John Sanville for providing the quilt with a permanent home where people can see it and it can be protected. Dr. Sanville said he loves having the quilt hanging in the office and receives frequent compliments about it from visitors.
"I've learned so much about our local history" from the quilt, he said.
The quilt was created in 1982 to mark Chester County's 300th birthday, but since then it has been largely out of sight.
On Monday, June 19, 35 years to the day after it was unveiled to the public, the quilt received an official welcome at its new home: the lobby of the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District Office.
Three of the original quilters -- Bette McConnell, Jill Benjamin and Ella Sestrich (the former owner of Sestrich's General Store) -- were on hand, and Jill gave a presentation about the quilt's history.
In early 1982 Nancy Fenstermacher (one of the Bakers at Red Lion) came up with the idea of creating a quilt to honor the village, which had been recently placed on the National Register of Historic Places, largely thanks to the efforts of John and Pat Montague.
About two dozen women, working from sketches by Ron Fenstermacher and Barbara Churchville, sewed the blocks of the "album quilt." Everyone worked from a common pool of fabric to prevent the colors from clashing. Jill said the women ranged in age from 17 to 81 and had "all skill levels" when it came to sewing.
The subjects included the Farm Show (now the Unionville Community Fair), the Unionville Academy, the Grange Hall (which has been incorporated into the current Grace Fellowship Church building), a fox-hunting scene, Indian Hannah, the Unionville High School (now the elementary school), and various other historic scenes around town.
Nancy Fenstermacher herself sewed the central block, depicting a map of the town. (A key hanging next to the quilt gives details about each block.)
After the individual blocks were created and sewn together, the women spent April and May 1982 doing the quilting stitching, using an oyster shell motif as a nod to the three oyster bars that once flourished in Unionville (Jill said oyster shells were used to pave Wollaston Road, and she still find them in her garden).
Jill ended her presentation by thanking school district superintendent Dr. John Sanville for providing the quilt with a permanent home where people can see it and it can be protected. Dr. Sanville said he loves having the quilt hanging in the office and receives frequent compliments about it from visitors.
"I've learned so much about our local history" from the quilt, he said.
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| The quilt square depicting the Grange Hall and the Unionville Cemetery. Note the intricate oyster shell quilting. |
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| A fox-hunting scene, created by Jill Benjamin. |
The entire quilt.
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| Bette McConnell, Jill Benjamin, Ella Sestrich and Superintendent Dr. John Sanville at the June 19 presentation. |
Sunday, June 18, 2017
BICYCLISTS: Sharing the road
A "Unionville in the News" reader shared with me that when she is driving on our winding back roads, she blinks her car's headlights to alert oncoming motorists "to slow down if I have just passed bikers or if there are bikers in their lane on down the road." I thought I would pass this advice along, as my brother could well be one of those bicyclists and I am always concerned about his safety.
WEST MARLBOROUGH: Mulch for the taking
Thank you to the good folks at Marlboro Mushrooms here in West Marlborough for making their wonderful spent compost available free to the public. I had my annual Mulch Day on June 12, and yes, it was a hot, sweaty morning's work, but having the garden thickly covered with mulch equates to both moisture retention and minimal weeding for the rest of the gardening season.
You can pick up as much mulch as you can haul, 24/7, from Marlboro's compost depot on the south side of Route 842, just east of the Route 841 intersection. Bring your shovel.
You can pick up as much mulch as you can haul, 24/7, from Marlboro's compost depot on the south side of Route 842, just east of the Route 841 intersection. Bring your shovel.
LONDONDERRY: The 926/41 intersection
On June 12 I attended a meeting at the Londonderry Township building to check out the four options being proposed for the crossroads of Routes 41 and 926. Let me try to describe them by explaining how a motorist who is westbound on 926 and wants to cross 41 would be affected.
Alternative 1: 926 would no longer cross 41 head-to-head; the junctions would be staggered. The motorist would have to travel on the re-routed 926 (which would enter 41 just south of where it does now), turn right onto 41, then turn left on the re-routed other side of 926. Price tag: $1 million.
Alternative 3 (an earlier Alternative 2 was taken off the table): Instead of crossing 41 directly, the motorist would enter a four-armed roundabout connecting the four parts of the roads in question. 926 west of 41 would be slightly rerouted, as would 41 just south of the roundabout. Price tag: $4.1 million.
Alternative 4: Instead of crossing 41 directly, the motorist would turn right onto 41 and would enter a three-armed roundabout connecting directly with a slightly rerouted 926. Price tag: $3.5 million.
Alternative 5: The motorist would travel on a rerouted 926 to enter 41 just south of (toward Chatham) the current intersection. He or she would travel north (toward Cochranville) to enter a three-armed roundabout before turning left on a slightly rerouted 926. Price tag: $4.0 million.
Bear in mind that the dollar figures are for construction only, not the costs of obtaining right-of-ways or handling utilities.
Detailed maps of all of the options are available online at the website pa41.com. When you're looking at the online maps, bear in mind that Cochranville is to the left, Chatham to the right.
At the meeting I heard residents, including truckers, people hauling horse trailers, and people who live near the crossroads, telling the PennDOT engineers in no uncertain terms what they liked and didn't like about the alternatives. The agency is seeking additional comments; you can send your feedback via the website or to Rob Nuss, Erdman Anthony, 100 Sterling Parkway, Suite 212, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050.
According to PennDOT, "over the next several months, PennDOT will review the engineering considerations, environmental impacts and public and agency comments on the alternatives to determine which alternative provides the best balance in meeting the project needs and minimizing environmental impacts."
Alternative 1: 926 would no longer cross 41 head-to-head; the junctions would be staggered. The motorist would have to travel on the re-routed 926 (which would enter 41 just south of where it does now), turn right onto 41, then turn left on the re-routed other side of 926. Price tag: $1 million.
Alternative 3 (an earlier Alternative 2 was taken off the table): Instead of crossing 41 directly, the motorist would enter a four-armed roundabout connecting the four parts of the roads in question. 926 west of 41 would be slightly rerouted, as would 41 just south of the roundabout. Price tag: $4.1 million.
Alternative 4: Instead of crossing 41 directly, the motorist would turn right onto 41 and would enter a three-armed roundabout connecting directly with a slightly rerouted 926. Price tag: $3.5 million.
Alternative 5: The motorist would travel on a rerouted 926 to enter 41 just south of (toward Chatham) the current intersection. He or she would travel north (toward Cochranville) to enter a three-armed roundabout before turning left on a slightly rerouted 926. Price tag: $4.0 million.
Bear in mind that the dollar figures are for construction only, not the costs of obtaining right-of-ways or handling utilities.
Detailed maps of all of the options are available online at the website pa41.com. When you're looking at the online maps, bear in mind that Cochranville is to the left, Chatham to the right.
At the meeting I heard residents, including truckers, people hauling horse trailers, and people who live near the crossroads, telling the PennDOT engineers in no uncertain terms what they liked and didn't like about the alternatives. The agency is seeking additional comments; you can send your feedback via the website or to Rob Nuss, Erdman Anthony, 100 Sterling Parkway, Suite 212, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050.
According to PennDOT, "over the next several months, PennDOT will review the engineering considerations, environmental impacts and public and agency comments on the alternatives to determine which alternative provides the best balance in meeting the project needs and minimizing environmental impacts."
BASE BALL: The Mohicans will play July 9
I very frequently drive past the red, white, and blue Mohicans Base Ball Club banner attached to a fence at the northwest corner of Route 842 and Newark Road, and I finally remembered to check the schedule for the team, which plays using traditional nineteenth-century rules and equipment and wearing old-fashioned uniforms (without baseball gloves). The Mohicans will be hosting the Diamond State Base Ball Club and the Eclipse Base Ball Club of Elkton at Walker Field (which is where the banner is) on Sunday, July 9. The games usually get started around 1 p.m. Spectators and their dogs, children and refreshments are welcome.
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