Friday, September 30, 2011

They're back

I got the following stinkbug update from Unionville resident Congressman Joe Pitts, who recently visited a Lancaster County orchard :
"In recent years, their fruit has been destroyed by the Asian stinkbug infestation. I toured the orchards with a professor from Penn State who is working closely with local growers to determine ways to fight the stinkbug. They’re looking into solutions to the problem including chemicals that block breeding and introduction of natural predators."
I know that some preternaturally tolerant people think that stinkbugs are just minor nuisances we should learn to live with, but they really are harmful to crops.
So far, I've had one very bad day where I picked literally dozens of the foul creatures off the walls and curtains and found them hiding in my clothes and bed. Yuck! Since then I've tried to keep all the doors, curtains and windows shut as much as possible, as tough as it is during pleasant fall weather, and that seems to be making a significant difference. My motivation is the memory I have of pulling a scarf out of a bureau drawer last winter and seeing dozens of stinkbugs clinging to it.

Rules of the road

Not for the first time, I almost had the front of my car removed today at the intersection of Routes 842 (Upland Road) and 82 (Doe Run Road) on the west side of Unionville, by the ballfield. When you're turning onto 82 from 842, you need to pull right up to the stop sign to see if any traffic is coming. But some people turning from 82 onto 842 cut the turn very sharply, like they're race-car drivers trying to maintain a straight line while accelerating through a curve.
C'mon, folks. Slow down and stay in your own darn lane of traffic!

State and local government

I missed the West Marlborough Township supervisors' meeting on Sept. 29 but got a full account from somebody who did attend (thank you to my source!). The board discussed the results of a road survey that McCormick Taylor Inc. conducted to help the township decide whether to "take back" several state roads, such as Routes 841, 842, 82, and 926 and Springdell Road. By doing so the township would have control over the roads in return for a flat fee from PennDOT -- but would lose the annual snow removal funding from the state and would have to foot the bill for maintenance, snowplowing and policing. The board talked about the pros and cons of taking back the roads and how it could fund the increased maintenance expenses, possibly by enacting an earned income tax. Most people who work outside of the township already pay this tax to the municipality where they work; if West Marlborough enacted such a tax, workers' taxes would not go up, but rather a portion would be forwarded to the township.
With U.S. Census data showing 398 households in West Marlborough and a mean household income of $137,172 (assumed to be half earned and half unearned), an earned income tax of 0.25% would bring in $68,243 and one of 0.50% would bring in $126,486.
The supervisors haven't made any decisions on the issue yet.
Speaking for myself, I'm still a little stunned by that mean household income figure.



Thursday, September 29, 2011

Long ago but not so far away

Who knew that a movie showing people filing out of church and school, pigs in a truck, and bottles of milk could be so captivating?
I went to a meeting of the Southeastern Chester County Historical Society at the Friends Home on Sept. 28 and we watched an hour-long movie shot in 1940 in the Kennett area. It seems that a movie company went around to small towns and shot footage of businesses, churches, schools, shops, sports teams and local attractions, trying to capture on film as many local people as they could, then edited it into a video. It was so much fun recognizing buildings that still exist (like Kennett High School, Unionville Elementary, the old Kennett borough hall, St. Patrick's, Kennett Presbyterian and other churches, Longwood Gardens) and seeing once again those that are long gone (like the Eachus dairy in West Chester and the Anvil Inn). Some old-timers in the audience even recognized some of the people!
The fashions and hats were striking; we especially loved the bomber-pilot hats and pointy caps that the kids were wearing. Another highlight was a group of women dressed up in Indian costumes as part of a social club called the Daughters of Pocahontas, and a group of possibly tipsy men cavorting at a golf outing.
One mystery is why the Kennett sewage treatment plant rated such extensive coverage.
The lack of a teenager in the room was sorely felt when there were technical problems with the video setup only a few minutes into the movie. But the delay gave me time to catch up with several audience members I hadn't seen in ages.
Thanks so much to Mary Dugan and her group for showing this wonderful film, and to Damon Sinclair for converting it to DVD and adding the music.
Copies of the DVD are available for $10; contact Mary Dugan (610-347-2237 or mary@marylarkindugan.com).

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Big success

Four things I loved about Saturday night: Windoview, Casey Cattie, the Kennett Flash and my hosts Denise and Jack.
Windoview is an acoustic band made up of three Unionville High School students, and they keep getting better and better (as well as more grown-up-looking). Casey, who opened their show, is a country music singer and guitar player, also a Unionville student, and simply cute as a button. I'm always struck by how comfortable and poised these teenagers are on stage.
The Kennett Flash was (literally) standing room only, but the acoustics were wonderful and the atmosphere could not have been nicer.
And Denise and Jack, the parents of one of the band members, were kind enough to provide not only the tickets but also beverages for their guests.
A marvelous evening!

Infrastructure

Poor Route 82! There it was, looking all spiffy and newly paved and striped -- when a big tree crashed down near Spottswood Lane on the afternon of Sept. 24, closing it down for a few hours.
Also, workers from Henkels & McCoy were out this past week maintaining the high-tension lines that run through our area. I saw them at the top of two towers, and several of their vehicles with giant spools of cable were parked at the Daleville PECO sub-station on White Horse Road on Thursday morning. They seemed to be all business, though, unlike the workers years who were repainting the towers and serenaded us with the Nat King Cole/Natalie Cole duet that was popular at the time, "Unforgettable."

Big party

I've been following the immense behind-the-scenes efforts to prepare for the Oct. 15 black-tie ball at the Brandywine River Museum to celebrate the museum's 40th anniversary. Some wonderfully creative folks, both employees and volunteers, have been busy for weeks creating oversized art tools -- brushes, paint tubes, colored pencils and the like -- as decorations for the party, in keeping with the theme "It's Gonna Be BIG."
That it is!
According to the museum's website, "We’ll mark the Museum’s huge range of achievements and impressive and growing collections with a monumental party to show members and other friends how enormously appreciative we are for four decades of support.   Held in the Museum’s vast tented courtyard, the ball will feature larger-than-life décor, a wide variety of artistic food and drink, and the big sounds of Ward Marston and his orchestra." 
The museum is 40 years old, imagine that. I remember going there on high school field trips shortly after it opened.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Big brother

I was driving on one of my favorite back roads on Sunday evening, on my way to dinner at the house of some dear friends, when I spotted a young boy, a man and a dog ambling along the side of the road. The boy waved to me, so I stopped and said hi. He explained that he had flagged me down so he could introduce me (a complete stranger) to his week-old baby sister, who was sleeping in her father's arms.
The lad told me about her birth, and how he is enjoying being a big brother -- and then asked me to demonstrate my car's sunroof and said he wanted a car like mine when he grew up.
The father said, somewhat apologetically, that if I let him the boy would've talked and asked questions all evening. If I wasn't already late for dinner I would've stayed longer. Charming child!