COMPETITIONS: Spuds for dessert?

So I'm making small talk with a fellow the other night, and he tells me, out of the blue, that he is a certified potato judge for Pennsylvania state agricultural fairs.
Marveling to myself at the unusual hobbies people have, I told him I've been involved with the baking competitions at the Unionville Community Fair for many years. Well! He was off and running. It seems that one of his major goals has been to get "mashed potato candy" approved as an official category in the competitions across the state.
I'd never heard of this treat. He explained that it originated among frugal Lancaster County farmwomen who didn't want to waste leftover mashed potatoes. They'd add powdered sugar and roll the dough into pinwheels.

MARKETING: "Ask your doctor"

Why do doctors have daytime TV playing in their waiting rooms? The programs are tedious enough but the barrage of "ask your doctor" advertisements for medications is appalling. I sat through two hours of it the other morning; I wasn't even a patient and it was making me queasy! Constipation, heart failure, cancer, diabetes: nothing is off limits. And all the ads, by law I suppose, include a laundry list of ominous possible side effects ("Tell your doctor if you experience …").
My fellow waiting-room inmates seemed to be utterly ignoring the blare of the TV, so why have it on at all? Silence would be much preferred and surely more soothing to already jangled nerves.

EAST MARLBOROUGH: Ulta is open

Hooray, I can stop rationing my Paul Mitchell shampoo: the new Ulta store is open in the Longwood shopping center. I stopped in on May 5, only two days after they opened, and the place was fully stocked with makeup, perfume, skincare, hair products and all kinds of beauty gadgets. I noticed a prominent display of cosmetics by Kylie Jenner, the makeup maven who, according to Forbes magazine, is at age 21 America's youngest ever billionaire.

GLEN MILLS: Another auto dealership

The former Turf Club on Route 1 in Glen Mills (before that, it was a movie theater) is being turned into a CarSense dealership. They have a big banner up, the website says "opening soon," and they're running newspaper and online ads looking for sales staff and techs.

RIP: A long life

Our area has lost a notable resident: on May 2, Margaret "Peg" Barnard Chalfant passed away at the age of 107. She grew up in Pocopson on the Barnard farm. Her great-grandfather, Eusebius Barnard, and her grandfather, Enos Barnard , were active in helping runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad. Margaret was Penn State's May Queen in 1934 and was the first female elder at West Chester's Presbyterian Church. She lived at 102 S. High Street in West Chester for 79 years.
A Barnard relative of hers, Loraine Lucas, sent me this 1918 photo of Margaret when she was six years old in front of Pocopson Schoolhouse (c. 1882). She is standing third from the right. Today the building is Lenape Village Kitchen & Bath at 1414 Lenape Road (Route 52), next to Lenape Pizza.

Margaret "Peg" Barnard Chalfant and her classmates in front of the Pocopson Schoolhouse, 1918.

 

KENNETT: History of Longwood Gardens

A reminder that Colvin Randall will be discussing the history of Longwood Gardens in a free lecture from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 16, at the Kennett Township building, 801 Burrows Run Road, Chadds Ford. His talk will cover "the complete story of Longwood Gardens over the past century from the planting of the original arboretum by a Quaker family, to Pierre du Pont’s creation of the gardens, conservatory and fountains, to its transformation from a private estate to one of the world’s greatest horticultural showplaces."

The lecture is sponsored by the Kennett Township Historical Commission.

MUDDER: It's epic

The trucks and equipment have arrived at Plantation Field at Route 82 and Green Valley Road, and the workers seem to be making good progress building the two dozen obstacles for the annual Tough Mudder event on May 18 and 19. If it's anything like last year, you can expect to see lots of athletes in soaking wet, filthy clothes running all over the 10-mile course, clambering up slick ramps, slogging through freezing mud pits, carrying their teammates on their backs, and swinging from ropes across swamps. I have friends who can't wait to fork over their money to register each year.
I stopped by the staging area off Apple Grove Road the other day to check out the progress and noticed stacks of metal pipes, a large crate labeled "nets," stacks of huge plastic tanks to transport water, some large pre-made wooden corners, a stack of railroad ties and two utility vehicles.

Water tanks at Plantation Field.



Part of the staging area for the Tough Mudder at Plantation Field.