Out to dinner!

Did it feel strange, eating our first meal actually inside a restaurant since March 11?
No, it felt great. Yes, all the staff were wearing masks, and the waitress who brought our food asked permission before setting the plates down in front of us.
But the dining experience essentials were all there: we walked into the restaurant, sat down at a table, and were served dinner. Joy!
There is such a pent-up demand for going out to a restaurant that we actually had a tough time getting a reservation, even on a Wednesday night. One restaurant had no openings until 8 p.m. -- too late for me. At the place we chose, the Iron Hill Brewery on Main Street in Newark, every sidewalk table was full, so we ate inside (just as well; it was hot out there on the sidewalk). 
We wore masks as we walked into the restaurant but could take them off as we sat down. Some of the booths were taped off for social distancing, which cut down on the people watching. 
For dinner we had crab cakes with grilled asparagus (me) and a steak with broccoli (the Dearest Partner). No procedural changes were involved in the ordering or check-paying process. 
When the party across the room from us left, we noticed that a masked busboy promptly came out and cleaned and disinfected the entire booth, even pulling the table out so he could sweep up underneath.
We thanked the hostess and the waiters and told them we were so glad they were reopening. They seemed every bit as grateful.

UNIONVILLE: A life well lived

The Rev. John "Jack" L. Ferguson, longtime pastor of the Unionville Presbyterian Church, passed away the morning of Tuesday, June 9. Rev. Ferguson was known for delivering memorable eulogies in which he'd spell out the deceased person's name, choosing an appropriate quality for each letter. He was ordained and installed as pastor in 1959 and retired in 1997 after 42 years of service. In 1979 he was named "Citizen of the Year" by the Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce.
I will pass along funeral arrangements when they become available.

Some excellent Giant employees

It cannot be easy to work at a grocery store even at the best of times. And these days, add in the risk of virus transmission; short-tempered, entitled patrons; and new safety rules and I'm sure it's even worse.
That said, I want to give a shout-out to two employees at the New Garden Giant on Scarlett Road, Luke, who works at the self-serve registers, and Dairy Associate Jason. 
The other day Jason noticed me peering at the yogurt case, asked if he could help, and went back to the storage room to track down the exact kind of yogurt I was looking for. 
And Luke, tasked with cleaning the check-out stations after every customer, stood at attention like a Wimbledon ball-boy so he could spring into action as soon as customers took their receipts. He saw that the register was being balky and came over and got it to work, again without my even asking.
Great job, guys!

YELLOW: Things are starting to reopen!

This past weekend, Dearest Partner and I made the most of the transition to the "yellow" phase of the coronavirus quarantine.
Saturday we went to Liberty Place Market on State Street in downtown Kennett Square for Buddy Burgers and actually got to eat them on the newly reopened outdoor patio -- a novelty after eating take-out since March! Every table was occupied -- although the diners were safely spaced out.
After dinner we walked up the street to La Michoacana for ice cream, and it was wonderful to see so many people enjoying outdoor dining at Verbena, La Verona and Portabello's. People seemed to be elated at socializing and eating at a restaurant again.
On Sunday we took a road trip, our first since a pre-shutdown visit to Dover, Delaware, back in March. We drove west to Chickies Rock, a Lancaster County park that, after a short walk, affords a magnificent view over the broad Susquehanna River. 

View over the Susquehanna River from Chickies Overlook.

Again, all of our fellow hikers were smiling and friendly and seemed very happy just to be outside. We saw lots of dogs, including a St. Bernard puppy with gigantic paws (he is going to be big) and a sweet little Corgi named Annie. 
I felt very conscious about social distancing: One woman was having a little trouble clambering up some rocks and it felt odd not to be able to reach out a helping hand. 
After leaving the park we explored the towns of Marietta (lots of bicyclists) and Columbia. We then crossed the river to Wrightsville, York County, where we watched some kayakers put in, saw some riverside lime kiln ruins and read about how, in the Civil War, the Grand Army of the Republic saved Lancaster from a Confederate invasion by destroying the bridge. First the soldiers tried to blow it up, and when that didn't work they burned it down. A present-day pub named the Burning Bridge commemorates the event, and a little museum holds a diorama of the event (of course, it was closed).
We crossed back to the Lancaster County side of the Susquehanna and continued looking for lunch --- every place we'd tried was either closed or required advance ordering. We lucked out, happening upon an excellent roadside BBQ place called The Bishop's View. The owner, Troy, kept piling more side dishes and chicken on our plates!
As you know, I love Unionville deeply, but it was so good to see different scenery. 

WEST MARLBOROUGH: COVID Voting

Today was primary election day in Pennsylvania. A lot of people voted via mail-in ballots, but I went to our township garage to cast my vote in person. Voting's not only a civic duty, one I'm proud to perform, but here in West Marlborough Township, population 850, it's also a social event -- even before the pandemic. 
This time around, after weeks of seeing friends only via Zoom, it was so great to chat with Jonathan Ireland and Brett Dolente (representing their respective political parties) and Tom and Risa Herman and Sandy Nutting (who were running the voting process; thank you for your service).
Everything was very well organized. Masks were of course required before you entered the township garage. Plexiglas screens separated the seated poll workers from the voters. Blue arrows on the floor indicated the correct pathway in and out. And even the ballpoint pen you used to sign the voters' book and to fill in the little circles on your ballot was collected afterward and sanitized. 

The West Marlborough Township garage/polling place. Photo by Tom Herman.

An update from the county library system

Libraries won't be opening to the public just yet, according to an email I received this evening from Joseph L. Sherwood, executive director of the Chester County Library System: 

"June 5 will be the first time the state has allowed library staff into the buildings (other than emergency facility work and emptying the book drops) since mid-March. Staff at libraries will be in the buildings trying to get organized, caught up and preparing for when we can restart services to you. Everyone’s priorities will be getting ready to continue services to you. However, those services will not start on June 5.

"The state is still restricting our in-person services. So, for now, our virtual services will continue.  However, we will be looking to add curbside holds pickup as soon as we are able. We will be cleaning our buildings, marking appropriate social distancing spaces, installing sneeze guards, and much more. While we have ordered PPE, as everyone has, not all of it has arrived yet."

Mr. Sherwood said he expects to post updates later this week.

EAST MARLBOROUGH: A new township supervisor, and local activities are starting up again

East Marlborough Township has a brand-new supervisor, Burling "Burley" Vannote. 
He was sworn in virtually by District Justice Al Iacoccca at the June 1 township meeting. The judge asked him if he wanted to have someone hold the Bible or other meaningful text, or simply to raise his right hand. Burley chose the latter: "My wife is tending to our two-year-old," he explained.
Burley replaces former supervisor Julia Lacy, who resigned in May.
The township meeting was full of news about local activities starting up again:
1. Plantation Field will be hosting an equestrian event June 5 through 7, although spectators will not be permitted. Denis Glaccum, president of Plantation Field Equestrian Events, said there will be a professional screener checking participants for any coronavirus symptoms. Scoring will be paperless, and no last-minute paperwork will be accepted. He said procedures have been put into place to "cut down on face-to-face interactions." Most of the competitors will be from Pennsylvania.
Denis said one of the great joys of running horse shows like this is seeing youngsters just starting out in competition and "10 years later you see them representing their country."
The supervisors gave their approval to the event as a "temporary outdoor activity."
2. From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, June 8, the day Unionville High School graduation was supposed to be held, there will be a parade allowing the new grads to take a "drive down memory lane." The students will meet at their former elementary school (Unionville, Hillendale, Chadds Ford and Pocopson) and will process to the Patton/UHS campus. For efficiency, departure times and routes have been set for each school. Kim Murray, one of the organizers, said that 180 students have already RSVP'd and she doesn't expect more than 200 vehicles. No roads will be closed, but there will be people controlling traffic at the Willowdale crossroads.
3. Bob Dobie, president of the Unionville Recreation Association, said he'd like to allow families to be able to reserve one of the baseball fields for a half-hour at a time so members of the household can play ball. He said if the state goes to green status by June 29, URA will be able to hold a full baseball season. Signup will be via GoogleDocs, he said. 
"You'll make a lot of families happy," he said, thanking the supervisors for their approval.
Finally, the supervisors gave permission to Tom Blomer to build an 80-square-foot addition to the kitchen of his house at 1667 West Doe Run Road (across Route 82 from Hood's BBQ). He said it will allow people entering the house to walk into a mud room rather than directly into the kitchen.