Thursday, February 28, 2019

COMMUNITY: BOGO

My dear parents were friendly, outgoing people and would talk to anyone. I must have absorbed this lesson thoroughly, because I have no problem chatting with strangers.
The other day at the Giant I saw a man with two young kids in his shopping cart and asked him in what aisle he had found these adorable children.
"Oh, they were on special. Buy one, get one free," he replied, not missing a beat. "But no returns!"

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

EAST MARLBOROUGH: A medical office

A lot of folks had high hopes that an Aldi supermarket would move into the former Sears Hardware at 817 East Baltimore Pike (next to PetValu), but it turned out that there would not be enough parking to accommodate the expected shoppers. Now an entity called Clark Kennett Realty Partners and CAP Realty Partners is applying to convert 9,000 square feet of the 27,700-square-foot shopping center into a medical office. The East Marlborough supervisors will review the plan at a conditional use hearing at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 5 at the township building.

STAPLES: Paper and ink

With a glum face, I visited Staples for the first time since the Longwood store closed. The nearest one is now in Concordville Town Centre, one of those new shopping centers on Route 1 between Routes 202 and 322. It's a lot like the Main Street at Exton complex: sprawling and confusing. Even after I got into the shopping center, I needed my GPS to locate the Staples store.

UHS: The used-book sale

The PTO's annual used book sale at Unionville High School seemed especially well organized this year. I was there on Saturday morning and volunteers were all over the place consolidating boxes and tidying up the tables of books. I overheard one volunteer asking her supervisor if it was OK that, while working, she was also finding books to buy for herself (it was).
I started my shopping in the CD and DVD section and within minutes had my arms full. An observant volunteer came up to me and offered me two paper bags, thoughtfully telling me where more were available should I need them. I ended up contributing about $35 to the coffers.
New this year at the sale was a volunteer group, Arts Holding Hands and Hearts (AHHAH), that builds and stocks mini-libraries around Kennett Square. You could donate kids' books to them or you could give them $10 so they could participate in the "bag sale" at the end of the final day. I'm told that the volunteers collecting the books were quite single-minded about stuffing as many books as they could into their bags (which is, after all, the point). 

OLD ROADS: Highbrow it is

The conversation about "roads that aren't there anymore" continues.
Unionville native Laura Deckman confirmed that Highbrow was the name of the road that branched off Hilltop View Road in Newlin Township and eventually joined McCorkle's Rock Road.
She also writes, "Also you mentioned the road just north of Blow Horn. I do not have a name for it but the road went to Mortonville and there was a house in the field that was once called Green Lane school. So I have been told."
You're correct, Mrs. Deckman. West Marlborough's unofficial historian, Don Silknitter, tells me that the now-abandoned road was called Mortonville Road. It branched off Route 82 between William Hannum's grist mill (now "Blow Horn") and the home and office of Dr. Joseph Palmer. Dr. Palmer hosted the Doe Run Literary Society and the Farmers' Club, and the Doe Run Library was located in his office.
The Green Lane School, which operated in the early 19th century, was located a little farther east on Mortonville Road. One of the pupils was James Smith, whose grandson, William Gordon, went on to become a superintendent of the Coatesville schools. Moses Coates was the Green Lane schoolmaster; his family gave Coatesville its name.
 

Saturday, February 23, 2019

CHESCO: A fit elected official

The Wall Street Journal does a regular feature on people's exercise routines, and on Feb. 19 they profiled Michelle Kichline, who chairs the Chester County Board of Commissioners. Because she attends so many food-intensive social functions as part of her job, she explained how she watches her diet (no bread or cocktails) and works out regularly (in the early mornings at a gym near her home in Berwyn). "Fitness for a Serious Schmoozer," read the headline.
I was startled at the reporter's description of Chester County as "almost as large as Rhode Island" and promptly Googled to find out if it was true. Chester County is 759 square miles; Rhode Island is 1,212.

UNIONVILLE: Inside these four walls

The other day I noticed some unusual activity on my brother's Facebook feed. Actually ANY activity on my brother's Facebook feed is unusual, as he normally keeps himself to himself. Finally, when he shared a podcast about how we should not worry about death so much and should live fully in the moment, I texted him, asking what on earth was going on.
He promptly replied that he'd been sick with a cold for the past five days. In other words, he was climbing the walls.
Now I know: next time he updates his profile, I need to start cooking up some super-nutritious healing soup.

KENNETT: Mystery solved!

Every Friday at about 5:15 p.m. I drive by the Episcopal Church of the Advent en route to the Kennett Y, and for the past several weeks I've seen a truck parked there, with a line of waiting cars. At one point the cars were backed up all the way across the parking lot.
What, I wondered, is going on?
I found out when I was having breakfast with a friend who's very active in local Girl Scout activities. The truck contains cartons of Girl Scout cookies, and the cars contain cookie chairpeople picking up their weekly allotment of delectable Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies, and Shortbreads.
Dearest Partner loves Girl Scout cookie season. He says he appreciates how each box is conveniently apportioned into two servings.

TOUGHKENAMON: On the runway

Talk about dangerous! Somebody has been vandalizing the approach lights at the New Garden Flying Field on Newark Road. Airport management is asking people to "keep an eye out for any unusual activity, most likely in the evening, on the west side of the airport."

Friday, February 22, 2019

COMPUTER: Sign of the times

This has nothing to do with Unionville but I'm offering it in hopes of preventing a reader from wasting 15 minutes poring through Word's disorganized, unsearchable, un-user-friendly Symbols menu like I did this afternoon, searching for a simple multiplication sign.
Where is it hidden? Between a capital O with an umlaut and a capital O with a diagonal slash through it. Of course! Silly me, thinking it might be in the "mathematical operators" part of the menu.
But wait! I found a shortcut. Just go to where you want the times sign to appear in your document, call up the Symbols menu, click on "More Symbols," type 215 in the "Character Code" box, and hit "enter."
You're welcome.

WEST MARLBOROUGH: A brush fire

The volunteers from the Po-Mar-Lin Fire Co. in Unionville were quick to extinguish a smoky brush fire on the afternoon of February 19 on the road bank along Clonmell-Upland Road (Route 842) between Ryan and Thouron Roads, near the old African Episcopal Methodist Church cemetery.
Station 36's website gave this account:
"Chief 36 quickly arrived on scene and gave an on-scene report of a brush fire on an embankment approx. 6' x 100'. Rescue 36 arrived on scene a few minutes later and the crew immediately went to work with hand tools and the booster reel. Brush 36 arrived shortly after the rescue and used its front turret for final extinguishment. The fire was put under control in just 8 minutes after arrival of Chief 36."
The charred embankment will be quickly covered by green weeds and vines as soon as spring gets here (on March 20!).
Po-Mar-Lin returned to West Marlborough the evening of Feb. 22 when a Waste Oil Recyclers truck overturned on Route 82 near the old King Ranch feed lots. The driver wasn't seriously hurt. Motorists were detoured onto a narrow rural road to get around the accident scene. 

EXERCISE: It's transporting

"The Crown," the Netflix drama that follows the life of Queen Elizabeth II from her early years, has received huge amounts of praise for its wonderful acting, writing, costumes, and music and its stunning production values.
Yes, yes, all of that is true, contends a friend, but best of all the show is so engrossing that she forgets that she's in her basement, working out on her stationary bike, an exercise she despises.
Other series she nominated for "best way to get through an hour of pedaling" are "The Sopranos," "Six Feet Under," "Rome," and "Breaking Bad."
"Boardwalk Empire," not so much.
For the upcoming Season 3 of "The Crown," Olivia Colman and Tobias Menzies take over for Claire Foy and Matt Smith as the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, with Helena Bonham Carter replacing Vanessa Kirby as the Queen's sister, Princess Margaret.  


Saturday, February 16, 2019

NEWARK: Old time music

On Friday we went to an enjoyable concert in Newark by "the dean of old time music," 86-year-old John Cohen, and two younger friends, Eli Smith and Wyndham Baird, who are keeping the tradition going. They played a lot of Woody Guthrie songs, like "The Farm Labour Train," sang about economic and personal strife (things didn't end well for either partner in "Frankie and Johnny"), and did a very old "history song" celebrating General James Wolfe, who fought and died at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham during the French and Indian War.
The trio seemed to be having a great time and were very relaxed, playing each other's guitars and banjoes and passing the mandolin back and forth. "Oh. I play harmonica on this one, don't I," said Eli, just as they were about the start a song.
For the last few songs they were joined by Pocopson residents Walt Koken and Clare Milliner on fiddle.
During intermission Wyndham spotted a piano in the corner, lifted the lid and just for fun played a beautiful version of the 1936 standard "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)." What a totally unexpected treat!
The next Brandywine Friends of Old Time Music concert will be by the South Carolina Broadcasters on April 26.

BOWDEN: Future of Somalia

The January/February issue of Smithsonian magazine focuses on "America at War" and includes an article by Kennett resident Mark Bowden, "The Legacy of Black Hawk Down." Mark, a former Philadelphia Inquirer reporter, wrote that bestselling 1999 book about the harrowing Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia (his book was made into the 2001 movie directed by Ridley Scott).
In the "Smithsonian" article he revisits the situation in Somalia and ponders what America's role should be in the country. "Our experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq -- and, years ago, in Vietnam -- showed us that American efforts will continually fail if there isn't a willing local government with the support of the people."

UHS: Used book sale

Just a reminder that the annual used book sale at Unionville High School will be Friday, Feb. 22, and Saturday, Feb. 23. Hours are 4 to 9 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, followed by the $10 bag sale from 2 to 4 p.m. Snow dates are March 1 and 2.

Thursday, February 14, 2019

UHS: Little Shop of Horrors


This year's UHS musical is the whacky "Little Shop of Horrors," and I'm sure the tech crew will ably rise to the challenge of creating the bloodthirsty plant "Audrey II." Director is Nicole Norton.
Show dates are Thursday, March 14; Friday, March 15; and Saturday, March 16 at 7 p.m. in the UHS auditorium. Tickets are available at the door or (starting Feb. 24) online at www.showtix4u.com.
Synopsis of the show: "It’s the 1960s and Mushnik’s rundown flower shop on Skid Row hardly ever gets any customers. All that changes when Mushnik’s nerdy apprentice, Seymore Krelborn, brings in a strange, new species of plant that looks like a Venus Flytrap. Seymore names it Audrey II after his crush at the shop. Customers flock to Mushnik’s and Audrey II grows huge, nearly taking over the store. It even begins to talk, demanding to Seymore, “FEED ME!” But Audrey II doesn’t need plant food to grow, it feeds on human blood! Will Seymore be able to save humanity from this alien plant or will it conquer the world with its monstrous appetite?"
A

EMPTY BOWLS: Filling the larder

The eighth annual Empty Bowls fundraiser for Kennett Area Community Service (KACS) will be held on Thursday, February 28, at the Red Clay Room in Kennett Square. Proceeds benefit the Kennett Food Cupboard. I've been to this worthwhile event many times and it always attracts such a lively crowd that the emcee has a hard time quieting people down.
Tickets for the lunch (11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.) or the dinner (6 to 8:30 p.m.) are $30 apiece. You can buy tickets online at www.KACSonline.net or by calling 610-925-3556.
 
 

CLOSED: Country roads

My item about roads that don't exist anymore (in last week's column) brought back memories for a Pocopson reader who has lived around here since 1964. He writes:
"I used to enjoy the occasional late-afternoon drive heading northeast on McCorkle’s Rock Road in my open MG.  And I walked on Sweet Road a few times when it was open. Sharitz Road was also a pleasant place to drive, east of 841. And I think of Bragg Hill Road to Northbrook; Creek Road from Wawaset to Lenape; Hickory Hill Road from Davidson Road to Wawaset; Larkin Bailey Road running South from Corinne / Locust Grove to Haines Mill Road. Each one of these closings probably has its own story. And there have been others, such as the one you mention from Hilltop View Road to McCorkle’s Rock. Or the extension of recently closed Lost Trail Road to the Glenhall Bridge. Oak School Road to Cannery Road."
 

LONGWOOD: Oh! Those Orchids!

We can get blasé about having Longwood Gardens in our backyard, but really, this year's Orchid Extravaganza is fantastic and well worth a trip. The colors and shapes of the flowers are stunning, as are the creative ways that the gardeners come up with to arrange them. The opening display at the Conservatory entrance with multiple orchids in a bed of moss was lovely. Of course you'll want to see the orchids in the Conservatory and the Orchid Room, but I thought one of the most interesting and informative parts of the exhibit was actually in the corridor past the bonsai display.
It was a relatively warm day, so after marvelling at the orchids we strolled down to the far side of the rehabbed fountain display. The new carvings of shells and fish are beautifully done, and you can walk through an amazing rock-lined grotto with an oculus in the ceiling that lets in light.
Any engineers in your family would be fascinated to explore the historic pump room, where you can see the machinery that powered the fountains until 2014. The display boards give all kinds of interesting information about the history of the fountain displays, and I especially enjoyed seeing Pierre duPont's hand-written hydraulic calculations. 

LECTURE: Speaking of love

We went to a lecture on Wednesday evening about spiritual maturity and were entertained by the almost girlish enthusiasm of the speaker, who is a middle-aged nun. She told us three or four times how thrilled she was to be speaking on the eve of Valentine's Day and, to mark the occasion, she even passed out little red glass hearts to everyone in the standing-room-only hall.
An hour into the 90-minute talk she realized she was going too slowly. "I need to hurry because I want to get to the ending!" she said with excitement. So she started flashing slides on the screen with no narration. It's a good thing I read quickly.

Saturday, February 9, 2019

SCOUTS: Thinking Day

The Unionville High School cafeteria became a veritable United Nations on Friday afternoon as the Girl Scouts celebrated International Thinking Day. Each troop researched a different country and presented its findings. The girls were wonderfully creative: I learned about royal etiquette in England and wildlife and trees in Madagascar, and watched Scouts in pretty blue costumes performing a Russian folk dance. There were more than a dozen countries represented around the room, and many of the displays offered food or crafts. The girls could "Make your own Faberge egg" at the Russian display.
This was the 19th year that the Brandywine Valley Service Unit held the event, and more than 160 girls participated.

Thursday, February 7, 2019

KENNETT: Keep it clean

My trusty Honda CRV was filthy from the road salt and mud, so on Saturday morning after the latest storm I dug out my carwash coupon -- then realized that a significant fraction of the populace was probably thinking the same thing. I waited until Wednesday and was glad I did, given that the carwash owner had posted a prominent sign on Mill Road warning, "Lining up in street is prohibited by law."

KING RANCH: Old roads

The house where former King Ranch manager Sam Wilson used to live is being renovated, and the workers found a gold mine of maps depicting the Buck and Doe Run Valley Farm properties in the mid-20th century.
I got the chance to pore over a few of them the other evening and learned a lot. Did you know, for instance, that West Road used to cross Route 82 and continued north to Apple Grove Road? That stretch was known as Sweet Road. 
Hilltop View Road branched off to the left at the top of the hill and connected to McCorkle's Rock Road; you can still see that part of the road as a path through the woods (the words "Road by High Brow" is written on the bottom of the map; was that the road's name?).
McCorkle's Rock Road, now a gravel hiking path through the Laurels Preserve, used to be a township road.
We are still trying to identify a road shown on another map. It's on the east side of Route 82 between Ercildoun and Doe Run, and the property at the corner was owned by Robt. L. Martin. Not many clues to go on!
I added modern road names to this 1949 map, which was found in a Doe Run house that's being renovated.






WRONG BAG: Absent-minded

I walked into the Jennersville Y locker room the other morning, put my stuff on the bench and let out an involuntary "Oh no!" I had brought my knitting bag instead of my gym bag. 
I started laughing at myself: how ridiculous!
One of the other ladies in the locker room sympathized. She told me she had once stashed her street clothes in a locker before going for a swim, carefully pinning the padlock key to the strap of her swimsuit. When it came time to change back into her clothes, she couldn't find the key. She summoned a maintenance employee, who cut the padlock off with a mighty pair of loppers.
The problem was, those weren't her clothes inside. It wasn't her locker! And just then she found the key stuck inside the lining of her bathing suit.
"So you see, you're not the only one, my dear," she said kindly.
I got through my workout perfectly well. It was a stroke of luck that I was wearing my sneakers instead of my winter boots!

WEST MARLBOROUGH: Lower speed limits?

At the February meeting West Marlborough supervisor Bill Wylie gave an update on the township's ongoing attempts to slow down motorists and "reinstill a rural feel" along the roads. He said the supervisors are hopeful that PennDOT will lower the speed limits on Routes 841 and 842 and will reduce the maintenance they do on state-owned roads. Mr. Wylie said the township would commit to funding more policing of the speed limits if the state follows through on lowering the limits.

WEST MARLBOROUGH: Township business

The West Marlborough Township Board of Supervisors had a brief, routine meeting on February 5.
Supervisor Bill Wylie took a moment to remember Elizabeth "Baz" Powell, who died on Jan. 10 at age 90. He said he asked the township secretary, Shirley Walton, to find out how long Baz had served on the township's zoning hearing board: since at least 2001, and probably long before that, they discovered. Baz had just been reappointed to the board in 2019.
"I feared her questions," Mr. Wylie said with a smile. "She was always very direct."
Road master Hugh Lofting Sr. presented a year-end report from East Marlborough Police Chief Bob Clarke for 2018. (The township hires the East Marlborough police department to cover West Marlborough on a part-time basis.) "Clarkie" reported that there were 288 calls from West Marlborough residents to 911, and the East Marlborough police worked for 150 hours over 38 patrol days, made four arrests, and issued 12 citations and 26 warnings.
Mr. Lofting also reported that the emergency services committee is still working on developing a formula for how best to fund the Po-Mar-Lin, Avondale and Modena companies that serve the township.
The supervisors thanked the Chester County Conservation District for funding the now-completed Runnemede Road bridge project, which involved replacing a crumbling bridge on the one-lane rural road.

WEST MARLBOROUGH: Vacuum is gone

Update on the vacuum cleaner that was inexplicably left neatly propped up against a street sign at the intersection of Newark and Street Road last weekend: it was there for four days and then disappeared. My best guess is that it was left there when the tenant of a house at the corner moved out. 

Saturday, February 2, 2019

WEST MARLBOROUGH: The new Polar Vortex model

Friday morning I was driving through the 926/Newark Road intersection and saw a vacuum cleaner propped up against the road sign, its green cord neatly folded. I had to stop and snap a photo. Considering there was a new "for rent" sign at the house next door, I suspect the tenant, while moving out, just decided he didn't want it anymore.
It was still there the last time I checked.
A discarded vacuum awaits a new owner at the London Grove intersection.

Friday, February 1, 2019

LECTURES: Planets and birds

Lower Brandywine Presbyterian Church is hosting a couple of interesting lectures this month.
At 3 p.m. Sunday, February 10, Janet and Kevin Witman will present their "Astral Harp" astronomy program, with Kevin showing his slides of the cosmos accompanied by Janet's harp music.  (We saw this presentation a few years ago at Kennett Friends Meeting and enjoyed it very much. Kevin and Janet live in Cochranville.)
And at 7 p.m. Thursday, February 21, bird photographer Laura Densmore will talk about avian "hot spots" she has visited around the globe. The photo on the invitation shows a loon feeding a fuzzy, eager chick seated on another loon's back.
The church is at the corner of Old Kennett Road and Kennett Pike (Route 52), across from Winterthur Museum.

ANNIVERSARY: Back to the future

Dr. Jenna Fitchett and the team at Fitchett Chiropractic threw a surprise party for Dr. Mike Fitchett on Jan. 25 to celebrate the practice's 30th anniversary. Dr. Jenna, his daughter and now his colleague, told me that her father was completely surprised, as he thought the reason he was summoned to the Bog Turtle Brewery was for a start-of-2019 all-staff meeting. Also in attendance at the party were patients past and present, family members, and former employees.
Dr. Mike opened the practice in January 1989 in downtown Kennett and now has offices in Willowdale and Jennersville.
Oh, and the start-of-2019 meeting? It was held the following Friday afternoon.

SPCA: Summer camp

Even though it's snowing and in the single digits as I'm writing, I'm already seeing some social media chatter about summer camps for kids. Here's one option that just came across my desk from a nonprofit that's close to my heart. 
The Brandywine Valley SPCA is offering a "Critter Camp"  at its facility at 1212 Phoenixville Pike, West Chester. Their description sounds like a lot of fun: "This week-long camp is for children between the ages of 7 and 12 looking to give back to animals in need while learning to be the best furry companion they can be. At camp, young animal lovers will learn about animal care; hear from guest speakers in the animal world; meet many of the BVSPCA’s adoptable pets; engage in creative and educational activities; participate in team building workshops; and practice their reading skills by reading to our companions."
There are separate camp sessions for kids ages 7 to 9 and ages 10 through 12. The sessions for the younger kids will be June 17 to 21; July 8 to 12; July 22 to 26; and August 5 to 9. The sessions for the older kids will be June 24 to 28; July 15 to 19; July 29 to August 2; and August 12 to 16. Camp runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day and costs $300; after-care until 5 p.m. is available for another $50.
To register, visit https://bvspca.org/events/outreach/.