Burrowing into history

Off Route 162 near Embreeville there's a road called "Groundhog College Road." How did it get this colorful name? I asked East Marlborough historian Mary Larkin Dugan (one of my most loyal readers!), and she tracked down this narrative in an old resident's oral history interview: 

"Well, it was 1923 or 1924 they opened Unionville School, so that’s when it was abandoned. We had one in the edge of West Bradford about as far off the Newlin line as from here to the road. West Bradford and Newlin shared it before Unionville opened. West Bradford said, We’ll try it next year without it. And they closed it the following year because they didn’t have enough students for it. That was abandoned for a few years, and somebody came there to do some work one day, and the groundhogs were all crawling in and out of groundhog holes, and somebody said, Look, there’s Groundhog College! That’s where it got its name."

Danilo Maffei, a member of Kennett Borough Council, grew up on the road and said that's the same story he recalls.

And longtime Unionville school board president Guy Hayman, in his history of Unionville schools, wrote this: "Ground Hog College was owned by West Bradford District, but the water supply was in Newlin. A large number of pupils were residents of Newlin who dwelt within easy walking distance of the school. For a number of years, the two townships had operated the school alternately, rather than jointly."

Thank you, Mary, for your research!
I drove down the road on Saturday morning and saw horses, bicyclists, a jogger and some luxuriant stands of bamboo, but no groundhogs, educated or otherwise.

Byrsa Bistro

Joe Lordi treated me to a delicious lunch today at Byrsa Bistro, 102 E. State St., in downtown Kennett. We both ordered the chicken sandwich on a baguette ("Marinated Organic Chicken Breast, Sautéed Spinach, Roasted Peppers, Sharp Provolone Cheese") with a salad and roasted potatoes, and for dessert we split a mixed-berry crepe. Joe liked the crepe so much he said next time he will just order two of them and make that his entire lunch.
Our waiter, Matt, was very pleasant and competent and the place seemed to be doing a very good business. It was the first time either one of us had been to the "gourmet and western Mediterranean" restaurant, and we'll be back! You can see their menus online. And I know this will sound trivial, but their iced tea was just wonderful.
Joe, the retired director of the Bayard Taylor Memorial Library, took me out in return for helping him with his hot-off-the-press book, part 2 of a photographic history of Las Vegas, New Mexico, a town where he spends part of the year.

Delayed

The conditional-use hearing on Russell B. Jones Jr.'s compost dumping that was supposed to be held before the West Marlborough Township Board of Supervisors on Dec. 4 has been postponed to 7 p.m. Jan. 17. Mr. Jones' attorney, Mary Ann Rossi, asked for the delay so she could try to work out unspecified issues with the Brandywine Conservancy.
Mr. Jones has agreed that no more compost deliveries will be made to his 90-acre site at the southeast corner of Hood Road and Mosquito Lane until the supervisors have held the hearing and made their decision. Although he has a plan for the dumping that has been approved by the Chester County Conservation District, township regulations define mushroom compost dumping as a "conditional use." This means the township supervisors can impose additional conditions on the activity.
Neighbors have told the supervisors they are concerned about the truck traffic, the early-morning noise, and the possible environmental impact of the compost.

Cheshire Beauties

On Monday night I saw "Goodnight Ladies," Christianna Hannum's movie about her grandmother, Nancy Penn Smith Hannum, the longtime Master of Foxhounds of Mr. Stewart's Cheshire Foxhounds. It is an utter delight. If you love foxhunting and/or Unionville, you will want to see it.
The 35-minute documentary opens with a wryly amused Mrs. Hannum reading her prematurely published obituary. Christy goes on to interview her about her life and family and foxhunting and accompanies her on a few bumpy outings over Cheshire's fine hunting country in her iconic beat-up Jeep. These provide some of the film's funniest scenes, as we see Mrs. Hannum inform huntsman Joe Cassidy where the fox is likely to be, and where his hounds should be going, and where he and the field should be headed next. Joe listens politely and patiently and then just rides off in the direction he wants to go.
Another hilarious scene is when a physician visits Mrs. Hannum, taking her medical history. Only when prompted does she mention that she was struck by lightning.
When was this? asks the startled doctor.
Oh, six months ago, she tells him. When he asks her if she sought medical attention, she tells him no; she was still alive, so what was the point?
In another scene shot one snowy morning, Mrs. Hannum answers the phone -- "Cheshire Stables" -- and tells the caller that no, the Hunt won't be going out that morning. She graciously thanks the caller for phoning, and then immediately after hanging up wonders how anyone could possibly think they'd be hunting that morning.
And yes, Christy also gets her grandmother to tell the story about her infamous roadside run-in with that hapless state trooper. There are also some marvelous old photos and archival footage from hunts past. (I'm still amazed that women hunted while riding sidesaddle!)

I could go on and on. It's a great film and it's available on DVD for purchase ($28) at the Chester County Historical Society in West Chester, or at the Brandywine River Museum's gift shop, or contact Christy at swimpics@aol.com.

State police input

It was a good thing that state trooper Lieutenant Rich D'Ambrosio happened to be at the Dec. 4 West Marlborough Township meeting to give his periodic report, because he was called upon to comment on two other topics while he was there.
1. First, he reported that although there have been only three criminal incidents in West Marlborough in the past 3 months (a burglary, a theft and a drug arrest during a traffic stop), southern Chester County as a whole is "getting hammered" by burglaries. He said thieves are stealing packages left on porches by delivery people and have even been known to steal Christmas tips left in mailboxes for mail carriers. (He suggested handing your envelope to the mail carrier directly or leaving it in the mailbox near the time of the usual mail delivery.)
Trooper D'Ambrosio advised township residents to continue to watch out for each other and stay alert for any suspicious cars or unusual activity.
2. An Apple Grove Road resident reported that a dog had been abandoned near her home (this unfortunately happens out here in the country) and asked what she should do. Trooper D'Ambrosio said state police can pick up stray animals and take them to the police barracks, but only if the township has a contract with the local SPCA -- which West Marlborough doesn't. Another resident suggested the township should contact the nearby La Mancha animal rescue on Route 82 in East Fallowfield to see if they would accept strays.
Supervisor Michael Ledyard said he didn't think it was necessary to get the township involved in the situation: "We don't want to get away from our roots of taking care of ourselves." 
Supervisor William Wylie said if the problem continues, the supervisors would look into taking action.
3. And finally, a Newark Road resident told the supervisors that some gang-related graffiti had been spray-painted on a road sign near her home. Hugh Lofting Jr. of the township's road crew told her he would take care of it, and the very next morning he posted a photo of the cleaned-up sign on Facebook's West Marlborough Township page. Trooper D'Ambrosio commented that despite the "tagging," gangs are not a serious problem in the county.

63 degrees in the shade

I know by the time people read this in the newspaper we will probably be plunged back into more seasonal temperatures, but today it's in the mid-60s! Haven't the past two days been just glorious? I was ready to go to the Y to walk around the track but then realized it was so warm that I could take my walk outside, just like it was a summer evening.

First I went back inside and donned my blaze-orange vest, and then I did my usual four-mile route, mostly on our township's gravel roads. I enjoyed the different perspective I got in December. The brush has died back and the trees have lost their leaves, revealing some cozy little hidey-holes for creatures at the base of trees. I paused to admire a beautiful little winding rivulet that normally can't be seen in the more verdant months, with ferns, rocks, moss and little pools. From time to time a bluebird or a cardinal would dip down to get a drink.

Tea Party

The Spade and Trowel Garden Club's Tea Party was delightful, as always. I am sure that my colleague Caryl will give you a full account of it in her "Downwind" column, but just let me add that the food -- tea sandwiches and little desserts -- was delicious and the house, on a quiet road overlooking the beautiful Unionville countryside, was palatial. And hats off (as it were) to the multi-talented garden club ladies for decorating the house, organizing the vendors, preparing the food AND selling out both seatings of the tea!
For me the very best part of the afternoon was catching up with some friends whom I don't get to see very often anymore.

Hail and farewell

A warm welcome to Melissa Wright's baby daughter, born Nov. 29! I have no doubt Melissa will be an awesome Mom. As volunteer-wrangler at the Plantation Field equestrian events, she has shown herself to be perpetually energetic, cheerful and unflappable. Not to mention persuasive: I remember one day I showed up just to watch dressage and the next thing I knew she had roped me into measuring the riders' whips and inspecting their spurs.
And an equally fond farewell to Dr. Ramsey Buchanan, who died at his West Marlborough farm on Nov. 20. Dr. Buchanan was a true old-school gentleman and a good neighbor, and he will be sorely missed.

Too funny

I felt like having Mexican food for dinner tonight, so after a quick drink at the Kennett Square Inn my partner-in-crime and I headed to La Pena Mexicana on West Cypress Street at Washington Street in Kennett. I had a chicken burrito and my friend had a steak huarache. Fabulous as always!
But what added even more spice to the evening was the so-bad-it-was-fun dubbed-in-Spanish action movie that was showing on the restaurant's TV. All of us diners joined together in pointing out the glaring plot holes and ludicrous segues. First the hero, a blank-faced guy who carries a pointed stick like the kind park guards use to pick up litter, bursts into a lab where a scientist is just about inject some poor white mice with blue Miracle-Gro crystals. Then the scientist and the hero, who it turns out is blind even though we just saw him drive a plumbing van across the country, are in mid-air in a ski gondola, with a Molotov cocktail apparently left behind by a skier. Perhaps hearing the dialogue in English would have helped, but I doubt it.
I can guarantee you'll get a great meal and a friendly welcome at La Pena; the entertainment tonight was just a bonus!

House concert

The Joe Hillman Band, a local bluegrass/country group, is one of my new favorites. They played at a delightful "house concert" that I went to on Saturday evening and were terrific. The five-man acoustic group (mandolin, guitar, bass, banjo and fiddle) will be playing at the Four Dogs Tavern in Marshallton on Saturday, Dec. 15, and I immediately put it on my calendar.
I was chatting with one of the wives during the show and commented on how talented the band was. She said yes, they practice a lot, and even have their own sort of "Band Cave." She said she and her husband have an agreement: he gets to spend money on instruments and she gets to spend money on horses.
Fun party, by the way: people of all ages and lots of good food -- you don't want to get between me and homemade macaroni and cheese when I'm hungry.
At one point I was pouring myself a glass of cider when a woman arrived at the party.
"You look so familiar," I said, peering at her.
"Well, I should," she said dryly. Turns out she's the nurse practitioner at my doctor's office. I'm just not used to seeing her out of her office garb!

Charles Parks

On Saturday my sculptor friend Joel attended the memorial service for Charles Parks, who died in October at age 90. (One of Parks' most famous sculptures, "Boy With Hawk," sits outside the entrance to the Brandywine River Museum.) Joel, who cast and finished many of Parks' bronzes at his Cochranville foundry over a 33-year span, reported that Delaware Gov. Jack Markell and other dignitaries were in attendance and there were "nice presentations, including 3 Parks ballet pieces." The ceremony was at the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington.

Christmas tour

Sunday, Dec. 9, is the annual "Candlelight Holiday Home Tour" in Kennett Square, sponsored by the borough's Historical Commission. Unfortunately, for the first time in a few years, I'm not going to be a tour guide: I hate to miss it, but my sister's going to be visiting us this weekend. Information about tickets ($20) is available online at kennettsquarehistory.org.
The Chadds Ford Historical Society held its annual Christmas tour in Marshallton this past Saturday, and the village looked just beautiful.