SMALL WORLD: Where everybody knows your name -- or something

I often refer to living on "the island of Unionville," which means that the odds are really good you're going to know almost everyone you run into at Hood's, the post office or the food store. In fact, it feels odd and disorienting if you don't.
So the other day a non-Unionville friend was telling me about an instructor at the Jennersville Y who teaches a very good (read: tough and no-nonsense) class. She mentioned her first name, and I asked, "Oh. Do I know her?"
She gave me a strange look and said, "How on earth would I know?"
Now, if she were a Unionville resident, she would have said, "Yes, of course" and would have elaborated by telling me something about her family, her hobbies, her friends, where she lived, or her personal life. That would have provided enough of a clue for sure, something along the lines of "Oh, right, YES! She was the woman at the Hunt Cup that really cold year who wore that hat with a stuffed opossum on it!" or "She lives next door to the farm that used to have that hobbit-hole mailbox, until it kept getting smashed."
I had further proof of this just yesterday, when a woman recognized me at a church service. I had been a Christmas tour hostess at her home a few years back and she remembered me because I had graduated from the same central Pennsylvania college her son was just entering. Talk about a good memory!

SMALL TOWN: Tilda gets some much appreciated fan mail

A Chadds Ford reader sent me a wonderful email this morning that brought tears to my eyes. I quote:
"You show some of the small-town qualities of our area for which I am deeply indebted (growing up in a small town, then living in Chadds Ford with my husband for the last 28 years).  Thank you for the warm feelings."
You are very welcome. I am so lucky to have such kind readers!

UNIONVILLE: What, never? No, never too cold for ice cream!

I was in the mood for some ice cream after running errands one recent afternoon and stopped by Foxy Loxy in Unionville. The server was scooping up my bowl of chocolate almond when another customer, a stranger, asked me, "Isn't it too cold to eat ice cream?"
Never. NEVER!
In the parking lot I noticed that her car had a Philadelphia Parking Authority sticker on it; perhaps they think differently "in town" these days.
As one friend commented, "Poor soul; it's never too ANYTHING for ice cream!"

PERKINS: There are still good people out there

On Oct. 15, we had dinner at Perkins in Avondale (fried seafood for my date, open-faced turkey sandwich for me), and on our way out we stopped by a neighboring table to make a fuss over an adorable infant, who was sitting in her high chair happily eating macaroni-and-cheese.
Just then the manager came up and told the parents, a nice young couple, that another customer had picked up their check for them. The mom, stunned, asked who it was, and the manager told her he was sworn to secrecy.
Good stuff!

NEWLIN: Controversial new ordinance passed to regulate horse farms

Over the vehement objections of the equestrian community, the Newlin Township supervisors on Oct. 13 passed an ordinance that will regulate equine operations and boarding facilities.
As they have at meetings in August and September, residents turned out in force to object to the proposal, telling the board that the rules would jeopardize their livelihoods and would put at risk the township's rural character and lifestyle by placing undue hardships on horse farm owners. They asked the board to postpone its vote until the more contentious provisions are resolved.
The new ordinance allows the boarding of horses as long as the farm in question meets certain requirements. If the farm falls short, however, the owners, if they want to operate legally, will have to apply for a special exception from the township's Zoning Hearing Board. The township charges $1,500 to hold such a hearing.
After hearing the residents' comments, the supervisors explained why they support the new ordinance. The board chair, Janie Baird, explained that the rules were based on other townships' regulations (some were rejected as too restrictive) and had been approved by the township and county planning commissions. She said she has two horses and a pony herself and made extensive efforts to reach out to members of the horse community to discuss the ordinance. She also said that the current zoning on the books was stricter, requiring all boarding operations to obtain a special exception from the zoning board, although the rules had never been enforced.
Supervisor Bill Kelsall said the new rules "are not about shutting anybody down. It's about getting people legal."
Supervisor Rob Pearson mentioned the risks of not having sufficient township rules in place, recalling that a landfill was built in the township back in 1980 before zoning was enacted. He said that the supervisors must represent the whole township and speculated that the majority of the township residents were at home watching "Monday Night Football" rather than speaking up at the meeting.
The board then voted unanimously to approve the new rules, and Mrs. Baird said to the audience, "We love you all."

COATESVILLE: Goodbye to a great police source and a good guy

It was an unhappy surprise to see an obituary for Bill Zielinski, a longtime employee of the Coatesville Police Department. I hadn't seen Bill in years, but when I was a police reporter I saw him every Tuesday morning while making my police station rounds.
Bill was one of my absolute favorites. If there had been a particularly weird incident that week (and there were plenty in the Ville), he'd have the case folder ready and he'd present it to me eagerly, like a waiter offering up a toothsome soufflé. He was fond of sharing crime-scene photos (as a reporter you can't really protest, "too much information!") and once tested out the department's new mugshot software with me as the model. He was a history buff and enjoyed reading the genre of fiction where the author takes a real incident and morphs one part of it (for instance, what if the South had won the Civil War?).
As hardened as he was, he turned into a softie when talking about his daughter. Those were photos I actually enjoyed seeing.
My condolences to his family. I enjoyed working with you, Bill, and thanks.

ADAMSTOWN: Trying to recreate Bavaria in Lancaster County

On Saturday morning we headed north to Adamstown, Lancaster County. We'd been eager to check out a high-concept development there that a friend had told us about: it was supposed to be a recreation of a old Bavarian village, with shops on the first floor and living spaces on the second and third.
The concept, unfortunately, hadn't translated into reality. Although people clearly lived there -- there were Halloween decorations, planters and outdoor BBQs -- maybe two shops and a beer hall-style bar were open; the rest had "closed" signs or "for sale" signs. Only one shop actually had a display in the window so you could see what was being sold (Asian-style antiques). The cupcake shop and the candy shop were shuttered. Even the sales office, Heidelberg Custom Builders, was closed (the sign read "New homes integrating European inspired designs. Quaint shoppes. Olde World charm").
The streets are paved with cobblestones, and there's a big arch and a clock tower. The only sounds were a fountain in the plaza and oom-pah music being played over a speaker.
I especially liked the sign on one shop door: "Closing early to release 7 monarch butterflies for their migration to Mexico."
It was a pleasant drive up and back; we got to see lots of little Lancaster County towns like Terre Hill, Bowmansville, Goodville, and Churchtown.

NEWARK: Spencer & Rains give an old-time music concert

Friday evening we headed down to Newark to hear a concert by Tricia Spencer and Howard Rains as part of the Brandywine Friends of Old-Time Music series. They played fiddle, guitar and banjo and drew a crowd of knowledgeable fans who were avid to hear about the origins of the songs and how the two learned them. The two spent a lot of time tuning their instruments between songs. Howard joked that he really didn't need to use his electronic tuner, all he needed to do was look at whether Tricia, his wife, was smiling or wincing. Tricia and Howard, who live in Kansas, were spending the weekend in Oxford, giving a Texas Tune music workshop.
The concert was held at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship church, and there's a inspirational phrase written on the wall in big letters (the runic kind you'd see on a "Lord of the Rings" calendar). The last part is something about enacting change in the world and thus being changed ourselves. A light pole was in front of the final "changed" and depending on which way I leaned, the word could have been "changed," "charged," "charted" or "chanted." I kind of liked the latter.

AVONDALE: Getting ready for a big party for his daughter

I was picking up subs for supper on Friday at the Avondale Wawa and parked next to a pickup truck. The truck's door was ajar and the driver was standing by the bed of the truck, fixing something. I looked over and noticed that the entire passenger seat was taken up by an enormous centerpiece, wrapped in plastic with a light-blue ribbon.
"Wow!" I exclaimed. "Look at that!"
The man smiled and opened the back door of the truck for me, revealing another oversized centerpiece, this one a brunette doll in a very full white lace dress.
"Party for my daughter tomorrow," he explained proudly.
It  was his daughter's Quinceanara, the traditional Hispanic coming-of-age celebration for girls. In addition to the decorations, he had also been picking up the food and had a stack of large, foil-covered catering trays in the bed of the truck-- that's what he was securing with a bungee cord.
I wished him the best of luck for the party and I hope they had a great time, even though it turned out to be a rainy Saturday.