Milestone

Mrs. Miriam Myers was kind enough to pass along this photograph of Sam Barnard being honored last December for his 75 years as a Grange member. Barbara Roney, the master of East Lynn Grange #1263, is presenting him with his certificate.

Wood

I've been going to Doug Mooberry's open house for many years, and it's always inspiring. Doug and his team at Kinloch Woodworking in Unionville create the most beautiful furniture, and the open house gives the public a chance not only to admire their completed masterpieces but also to explore the workshop where they are made.
Upstairs was a striking coffee table made of paulownia wood (paulownia trees line the west side of the main path that leads to the conservatory at Longwood). Due to the configuration of the log from which the table was made, there was a dramatic hole in the middle. The piece featured on this year's invitation was a bench of bubinga wood with ash spindles: "Kinloch combines Shaker, Chinese and Modern in a very comfortable bench." I also liked the tall clocks whose moondials featured the covered bridge at Buck Run, and when I sat in one rocking chair I could feel my tight lower back relaxing immediately.
In the workshop I enjoyed seeing the antiques that the craftsmen are restoring and repairing. Stacked in one room are the raw boards from which the furniture is made, some still with bark intact.
In addition to Doug and his wife Pat (whose pottery was on display) I saw several friends. One woman came up to me and told me that when I came in, she thought I looked familiar. She and her husband wracked their brains and finally placed me: I'd met them at a housewarming picnic TWO SUMMERS AGO! Talk about a good memory.

Farmer's Road

A wholesome and delicious restaurant, Farmer's Road, has opened at the Painter's Crossing shopping center at Routes 1 and 202. I stopped in for lunch today and had an excellent turkey, cheese and spinach sandwich with spicy mustard, along with sweet-potato chips and an orange-mango soda (they serve all-natural New Hope sodas). The decor is appropriately rustic, and the service is quick and friendly (they had no problem giving me Cheddar cheese instead of goat cheese in my sandwich). They also feature an oatmeal bar at breakfast time and a pickle bar, there are vegetarian sandwich options, and there's even a "drive-thru" window (ironically, the place used to be a KFC joint). They seemed to be getting a good lunchtime crowd: a half-dozen coworkers were entering as I was leaving.
According to the restaurant's website, "Our menu will feature clean, fresh flavors along with all-natural, organic ingredients. As we support local business; 80% of our produce will come from local farmers; as well as our meats and poultry." Their menu and details are online.
Thanks to the mother-and-daughter pair of friends who alerted me to this place! It opened earlier this year to little fanfare (at least, little fanfare that reached my eyes or ears).

Infrastructure

Seen around town:
1. The powers that be REALLY want to alert you to the entrance to Cartmel along Route 926. First there's a 1000-foot warning sign, then a 600-foot one, then a 300-foot one. It reminds me of those sequential Howard Johnson's or Stuckey's turnpike signs on childhood car trips.
2. The long-empty, graffiti-marred former gas station at Route 1 in front of the Wal-mart is being torn down. There's no indication what's going to replace it.
3. A new (and welcome) Kennett Y parking lot is under construction across Race Street from the Y. And significant earth-moving is also going on in Unionville, behind the post office and fire station, for the new municipal park.

Good-bye to the garden

I just said good-bye to the vegetable garden of 2013, taking advantage of this warm, breezy afternoon to pull up the dead plants and spread straw. The sunflowers were long gone and the zinnias, celosia, salvia, gomphrena and pumpkins got hit by the frost a week or so ago. The snapdragons are hanging in there and I actually might get a few more bouquets. Not bad for the end of October!
My next chore is to dig up and divide the Peruvian daffodils; they have lovely and fragrant flowers, but the bulbs seem to multiply each season like Bartholomew Cubbins' hats.
There are already amaryllis bulb kits being sold in the grocery stores. Despite their low price, I always have great luck with them.

Hood's expansion

If you're a major municipal meeting junkie and didn't get your fill of East Marlborough Zoning Hearing Board meetings during the Whitewing Farm controversy, fear not: there's another one coming up. On Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m., the zoning board will meet to review a request from Hood's BBQ to expand its restaurant on Route 82 in Unionville. Hood's is seeking three special exceptions and 11 variances from the township's zoning regulations to accommodate its expansion plans. The hearing will be at the East Marlborough township building, also on Route 82.

A life well lived

The Unionville area has lost another longtime resident: early Oct. 27 Barbara Ann Miller Wilson of Doe Run died at age 81.
A native of Marlborough Village, she graduated in 1949 from Unionville Consolidated School, where she was a cheerleader and 1948 Harvest Queen. She received her degree in elementary education from Maryville College in Tennessee and taught at New Garden Elementary School in the Kennett school district for 35 years. She was the wife of the late Sam Wilson, manager of the King Ranch in West Marlborough, and as her obituary said, "their 49 years together on the ranch were filled with adventures day and night."
I knew my neighbor Mrs. Wilson only later in her life but was always struck by what a gracious and lovely woman she was. At the service at Westminster Presbyterian Church, in addition to beautiful flowers from neighbors and friends, there were lots of photos on display of her with her family, here and on vacation, in her wedding gown or in a swimsuit, and she had a wonderful smile in all of them. Sympathy to her son Samuel S. Wilson, Jr., daughter, Mary Jean, son-in-law Mark Stenz, and granddaughter, Taylor.
Hood's restaurant in Unionville, where Mrs. Wilson was a regular customer and family friend, was closed on Thursday so the staff could attend her funeral. In the past few weeks, when she was ill, I'd often see Sam lunching there on his own. So many people would come up to him and ask, "How's your Mom?" that his lunch break was probably double its normal duration.

Crash

Traffic accidents are a staple of local newspapers, to the point that they catch our attention only if we are very familiar with the location, or if we were caught in the ensuing traffic jam, or if we know the people involved. The latter situation happened to me this past weekend.
I saw a photo of a demolished Toyota Corolla on the open-grate bridge on Route 322 south of Downingtown but didn't think much about it -- until I found out that a young Unionville friend of mine and her boyfriend were the victims. They are OK, thank God -- and thanks to the seat belts and air bags.
My friend said she blacked out for a few seconds after the impact and when she came to, her boyfriend was already calling 911. When the EMTs arrived they took one look at the extent of damage to the car and called in a chopper. They had to saw apart the car and cut off her clothing to get her out (they kept her covered her with a blanket).
"Flying naked in a helicopter; cross that off my to-do list!" she joked. She said she couldn't see anything except the roof of the chopper en route to Paoli Memorial because of the neck brace she was wearing.
She was hurt worse than her boyfriend was (cracked rib, scratched spleen), though naturally they both are very sore. She spent a few days in the hospital, keeping her friends updated via Facebook -- including saying how upset she was that they didn't make it to the Renaissance Faire, which is where they were headed.
I went to see her the day after she was released. Despite her high spirits, she was moving a little gingerly and her hug was a tad cautious. She said she plans to send a letter not only to the EMT who took special care of her, but also to Toyota for their life-saving safety engineering.

Blow Horn update

On Monday morning I drove past the old grist mill at Blow Horn -- you'll recall that on Oct. 21 it was hit by an oversized tractor-trailer -- and saw an insurance adjuster assessing the damage. He had his measuring tape out and was taking photographs. The less stable stones have been removed from the damaged area of the building, and you can see just how thick the wall is. There's still some rubble by the side of the road, guarded by PoMarLin's traffic cones. The stop sign regulating traffic on northbound Route 82 is standing once again, but it's pretty crumpled.

Slow down

The new 30-mph speed limit is in effect on Route 82 all the way through Unionville, and although I haven't seen them, I've gotten reports that the local police have been spotted monitoring motorists as they drive through town.

Litter patrol

Early Sunday morning I joined a bunch of neighbors at Doe Run Village and, after having some coffee and donuts, we donned orange safety vests and work gloves and set out to remove litter from along Route 82. I've done this several times before and it's always fun (as I kept telling myself when the alarm rang at 7:05). Once we got moving and the sun rose a little higher, it turned out to be a beautiful morning for an autumn walk.
The litter wasn't very interesting: I'd say an unopened and discarded "Final Notice" for an E-Z Pass violation took the blue ribbon this time. Coors Light seems to be the beverage of choice among litterers, although we did find a four-pack of Sutter Home Chardonnay and some pony bottles of Corona. My partner and I had an especially easy job because one landowner keeps her side of the road utterly pristine.