By November 1

Russell Jones has agreed to remove the mounds of spent compost from his Hood Road farm by Nov. 1. And with it goes a recurring item on the West Marlborough Township supervisors' agenda.
Last autumn Mr. Jones had 900 loads of spent compost trucked in from local mushroom farms to his property, located south of Hood Road near Mosquito Lane. It was supposed to decompose there for some months and then be removed to be bagged up and sold as potting soil.
However, neighbors complained about the noise and truck traffic and told the township they were worried about environmental damage. The Brandywine Conservancy, which holds an easement on Mr. Jones' property, also objected to the use. And the supervisors told Mr. Jones that under the township zoning code he needed to apply for conditional-use permission to continue dumping the spent compost.
At the township meeting on Thursday, Feb. 21, Mr. Jones's attorney, Brian Nagle of the MacElree Harvey law firm, told the supervisors that his client had worked out an agreement with the Conservancy where Mr. Jones would have the compost removed from the fields as soon as the weather and ground conditions permit, possibly as early as May or June but definitely no later than Nov. 1. Mr. Jones said it will take three months to remove all the soil.
"We're in the hands of the weather," explained Mr. Jones. He said the ground has to be firm and dry before dump trucks can enter the site (they'll be using his gravel driveway off Hood Road). He also said he didn't want the trucks tracking mud out onto the road.
Indeed, because the ground needs to be dry, a Hood Road resident told the supervisors he was concerned that the truck traffic will kick up too much dust. Roadmaster and Supervisor Hugh Lofting assured the neighbor that if he receives a complaint about excess dust during the work, he will contact Mr. Jones and "we'll take care of it immediately."
Mr. Jones said he plans to reseed the property as soon as the compost is gone.
Supervisors Lofting and Michael Ledyard approved a separate agreement reached between the township and Mr. Jones, making only a slight modification: to emphasize the urgency of the situation, they added a cross-reference to a sentence in the Conservancy's agreement about "time being of the essence." Mr. Nagle then withdrew his application for conditional-use permission, and everyone went home for the evening.
Unexpectedly, there were a couple of amusing moments from the legal profession during the evening:
-- When Mr. Nagle stood up to introduce himself, he said he was substituting for fellow attorney Mary Ann Rossi and would try to fill her "large shoes." He caught himself, remembering that in fact Ms. Rossi is a petite woman. "Actually," he said, "they're pretty small."
-- The township's attorney, Dwight Yoder, opened the meeting by offering a detailed recap of the Jones situation and outlining what action was anticipated for the evening. "That may have been more than you wanted to know," he said dryly as he wrapped up.

A big project

My regular readers know that I'm fascinated by the work being done at the old Elvin farm along Apple Grove Road (and from the number of people who have asked me about it, I'm far from being the only one who's interested!). The crumbling barn and long-abandoned farmhouse have been torn down completely; I doubted they were salvageable at any price. A few stone walls of the barn foundation remain, and there's a giant mound of earth full of big rocks in front of what used to be the farmhouse. When I drove by yesterday afternoon there was all kinds of earth-moving going on, and it looks like they've installed a stone-lined drainage ditch for drainage. There's an architect's sign on the property, so something should be going in.

Vintage

A friend who lives in Kennett recently had a plumber out to look at his leaky toilet. He really, really hopes it can be fixed because it's not just any toilet: it was manufactured by H. Schmaltz & Co.of Kennett Square and bears the maker's name prominently emblazoned on the rim, back near the tank. (Yes, Mum, I knew you'd want to know, so I asked him exactly where it was on the toilet.)

According to Joe Jordi's Kennett Square postcard history book, H. Schmaltz and Company was a hardware, tinsmith and plumbing business that opened its doors around 1904 at 101 East State Street. The Schmaltz family lived in a splendid Victorian building at 120 Marshall Street, now the borough hall.
 

A very patient patient

This afternoon I was giving two visitors a tour at a local historic house where I volunteer, and I spotted a woman walking around outside taking photos. I invited her in and asked if she wanted to join the tour. She was hesitant at first but then accepted.
"Let me go out and get my husband," she said. "He's in the car."
She explained that he had had hand surgery at Chester County Hospital that morning and in fact she was driving him home to Avondale when she saw our cars out front and decided to pull in. She said she'd driven past the house for years and always wondered what it looked like inside.
So in came her amazingly tolerant husband, hospital bracelet still around his wrist. At one point during the tour I asked him if he was feeling OK. He said the pain meds hadn't yet worn off, so he was just fine.
Talk about a good sport!

More than coincidence?

Today at lunch I ran into a friend who took part in the BVA's Polar Plunge as a member of the winning Embreeville Mill team (the Golden Plunger trophy resides at the Mill for the year). As a proud supporter of the Brandywine Valley Association, this was his fourth year of participating. He even showed me his photo in last week's Kennett Paper, waist-deep in the creek (yes, he went fully under).
His all-important veteran's strategy is to start ingesting warming fluids at 10 a.m., 90 minutes ahead of the plunge, and then to continue drinking for some time afterward. But y'know what? For a usually hardy outdoorsman, he didn't sound so good when I saw him: he was stuffed up and coughing and said that for some mysterious reason he'd been really, really sick the past week.

Paper, not plastic

Just a reminder that the green metal bin in the Unionville Post Office parking lot is for recyclable paper only. I dropped off a few bags yesterday and noticed that someone had deposited a clear plastic bag full of trash. It's not a trash can!

Honoring St. Patrick

At a recent meeting, the men of St. Patrick Catholic Church's Knights of Columbus chapter were brainstorming about how to publicize their St. Patrick's Day event. One fellow had a bright idea: Did anyone happen to know Tilda Tally-ho?
Well! My dear friend Doug, an active member of the group, spoke up and said not only does he KNOW me, he was having lunch with me on Sunday!
He immediately became the center of attention and said all week long he received a flurry of e-mails containing information about the event to share with me.
So here's the story: The group is holding "a wholesome family celebration honoring St. Patrick" at the Kennett Fire Company's Red Clay Room on Dalmatian Street from 7 to 11 p.m. March 16. On the program is Irish music by The Ladeens, performances by the Do Cairde School of Irish Dance, and a buffet and refreshments, including soda, beer and wine. Ticket are $25 for adults and $16 for children 12 and under and will be sold in advance or at the door. For more information visit the chapter's website, www.kofc15346.org. Proceeds from the event will "assist those in need within our community, and also around the Globe."

He cleaned up!

A friend was eager to tell me about an incredible deal he got on the Dove soap he likes at the Avondale Acme. Normally six bars for $7.99, it was on sale for $6.49. He bought three six-packs and used three $4 coupons. On top of this, there was a special deal running where he got a $5 coupon off his next week's grocery purchase.
So he ended up getting 18 bars of soap for $2.47, or 13 cents a bar for soap that usually sells for $1.33 a bar. He said even the cashier commented on what a great deal that was.
Lest anyone should think he is some kind of a soap hoarder, he was quick to add that he's storing it on a shelf against an outside wall, so it's also serving as insulation.

Ambassador Tilda

On Saturday evening I was hurrying along State Street on my way to meet the family at the Half Moon when I saw a couple standing on the sidewalk looking around them, obviously lost. They asked if by any remote chance I knew where the Byrsa Bistro was. Indeed I did! I told them to cross Union Street and they'd be there -- and I threw in my opinion that they were assured of having an excellent dinner.

There is hope!

In last week's column I told you a story about two surly young boys at the Y and bemoaned the state of manners in the world today. So you can imagine how much it warmed my heart when one of the participants in the Kennett Square Junior Cotillion, a generations-old program, told me that in Week 1 he learned about making introductions, shaking hands, and correct buffet behavior (put only one piece on your plate and then move along). And in the dancing portion of the class they learned the salsa! I can't wait to hear about Week 2. His mother showed me a photograph of her son looking extremely smart in his Cotillion outfit: the traditional blue blazer, khaki trousers and tie. The program runs for six weeks at the Kennett Square Country Club.
A friend of mine who grew up around here did Cotillion when she was young and to this day frequently comments, when confronted with a glaring example of rude behavior, "I'm telling you: Cotillion for all." Excellent advice.