I heard from three different people that the East Marlborough police were out in force this past week stopping speeders in Unionville.
"I think Clarkie got writer's cramp," quipped one observer (referring, of course, to East Marlborough police chief Robert Clarke).
Just a reminder that the speed limit is 30 mph through Unionville on Route 82 and 25 mph along Wollaston Road. And slow down for pedestrians crossing the road at Hood's BBQ and the URA ball fields.
Saturday, August 1, 2015
YMCA: Gym shutdown weeks have been scheduled
Those of us who are YMCA regulars know that the Y branches close down for a week each summer to install new equipment and clean and refurbish the heavily used facilities. Fortunately the powers that be stagger the shutdown weeks so we can visit other branches. The Kennett Y will be closed from Aug. 24 to 30, reopening on Monday, Aug. 31. The Jennersville Y will be closed from Aug. 30 through Sept. 7, reopening on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
CLOUD REUNION: A local family's tradition continues
On Saturday afternoon I attended the 133rd annual reunion of the Cloud family at Veterans' Pavilion in the East Goshen Township Park. What a wonderful family tradition to maintain in these transitory days! There was a lavish spread of picnic food; I've noticed that the Clouds like to eat. I got there 45 minutes after the official start time and the macaroni and cheese was already gone.
Cloud athletes were tossing footballs, Frisbees and boomerangs in the field next to the pavilion, and Cloud kids (one in a Cloud Phillies jersey) whacked at a Minion piñata strung up from a tree branch (poor Stuart did not survive very long).
A brief business meeting followed the meal. The secretary, an older gentleman, read the minutes out loud, including a report about the Cloud Reunion Facebook page.
"Apparently it did not receive many hits," he read, then looked up and said, "Whatever that means." The same slate of officers agreed to serve for another year, and there was some discussion of where genealogy data, documents, photos and family contact information should be kept.
The guy sitting at the picnic table behind me had the perfect answer: "Why not store it in the cloud?"
Cloud athletes were tossing footballs, Frisbees and boomerangs in the field next to the pavilion, and Cloud kids (one in a Cloud Phillies jersey) whacked at a Minion piñata strung up from a tree branch (poor Stuart did not survive very long).
A brief business meeting followed the meal. The secretary, an older gentleman, read the minutes out loud, including a report about the Cloud Reunion Facebook page.
"Apparently it did not receive many hits," he read, then looked up and said, "Whatever that means." The same slate of officers agreed to serve for another year, and there was some discussion of where genealogy data, documents, photos and family contact information should be kept.
The guy sitting at the picnic table behind me had the perfect answer: "Why not store it in the cloud?"
WEST MARLBOROUGH: A summer afternoon with Charlie Zahm
Local favorite balladeer Charlie Zahm will be performing an outdoor concert on Sunday, Aug. 23, at Primitive Hall, the historic homestead of the Pennock family. Everyone is welcome. The house, built in 1738, will be open to the public for tours starting at 3 p.m., and Charlie will play at 5 p.m. You are welcome to bring a blanket, chairs and a picnic supper. There will be local products and dessert for sale (including La Michoacana ice cream!). The grounds will be open until 8 p.m. Visitors should be sure to look up and admire the Hall's newly installed (but historically accurate) cedar-shake roof.
The show is free but the suggested contribution is $20 per car.
The Hall is on Route 841, between Routes 926 and 842.
(Full disclosure: Tilda has the honor of serving on the Hall's board of directors.)
The show is free but the suggested contribution is $20 per car.
The Hall is on Route 841, between Routes 926 and 842.
(Full disclosure: Tilda has the honor of serving on the Hall's board of directors.)
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| Charlie Zahm will be performing at Primitive Hall Aug. 23. |
Friday, July 31, 2015
AROUND TOWN: Superfresh sale, Newark Road repaving, crash on 842
Random sights around town:
1. The Superfresh in the Longwood shopping center has a giant banner saying "Closing." That was quick! The store is being shuttered as part of the bankruptcy filing of its parent company, A&P. No word on who the new tenant will be. When I stopped in on Sunday evening, there were very few patrons and the shelves were still pretty well stocked. Discounts varied but were mostly 10% off.
2. Part of Newark Road between the Route 1 bypass and Route 926 are being repaved, including the infamous "S-curve" near Archie's in West Marlborough. The roadway is temporarily lacking its center and edge lines, but there are raised yellow reflectors indicating where the center stripes should be. I'm assuming they are temporary.
3. A tractor-trailer demolished a utility pole along Route 842 east of Byrd Road in East Marlborough on Thursday afternoon. No one was hurt, but nearby residents lost power. Crews were on the scene that evening to install a new pole. That area is quite marshy, and it will take a while for the muddy ruts to fill in.
1. The Superfresh in the Longwood shopping center has a giant banner saying "Closing." That was quick! The store is being shuttered as part of the bankruptcy filing of its parent company, A&P. No word on who the new tenant will be. When I stopped in on Sunday evening, there were very few patrons and the shelves were still pretty well stocked. Discounts varied but were mostly 10% off.
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| Discounts are offered throughout the store. |
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| Goodbye to the Superfresh supermarket. |
2. Part of Newark Road between the Route 1 bypass and Route 926 are being repaved, including the infamous "S-curve" near Archie's in West Marlborough. The roadway is temporarily lacking its center and edge lines, but there are raised yellow reflectors indicating where the center stripes should be. I'm assuming they are temporary.
3. A tractor-trailer demolished a utility pole along Route 842 east of Byrd Road in East Marlborough on Thursday afternoon. No one was hurt, but nearby residents lost power. Crews were on the scene that evening to install a new pole. That area is quite marshy, and it will take a while for the muddy ruts to fill in.
Thursday, July 30, 2015
BOBROWNICKI: Catching up with Dawn and her family
On Friday I had the immense pleasure of catching up with my old Kennett YMCA friend Dawn Bobrownicki. She was great fun at the gym: she had a distinct personality and worked hard in our step aerobics class but was always ready with a mock-gripe about lunges.
When they weren't on some exotic trip or another, Dawn and her family used to live in the Baneswood development in Kennett Township. Her husband owned Raymond Dodge on Concord Pike (she called it "the Dodge store," which always cracked me up). They now live in South Carolina.
Dawn told me that her son Ray, who was a high-jump star at the Westtown School a dozen years ago, went on to compete for Brown University's track and field team. After graduating, he moved to Australia, where he fell in love with a woman from Northern Ireland. They got married and moved to Scotland, and he became a British citizen. She said he is just finishing up his doctoral degree in sports psychology at the University of Edinburgh.
Even at age 30, Ray is still able to clear a 2-meters high jump and is competing internationally.
Dawn said she blames me for Ray's settling down in the UK: apparently when he was a boy, I told him about how great the music was over there and even gave him a CD of favorite tunes from my college days in England.
When they weren't on some exotic trip or another, Dawn and her family used to live in the Baneswood development in Kennett Township. Her husband owned Raymond Dodge on Concord Pike (she called it "the Dodge store," which always cracked me up). They now live in South Carolina.
Dawn told me that her son Ray, who was a high-jump star at the Westtown School a dozen years ago, went on to compete for Brown University's track and field team. After graduating, he moved to Australia, where he fell in love with a woman from Northern Ireland. They got married and moved to Scotland, and he became a British citizen. She said he is just finishing up his doctoral degree in sports psychology at the University of Edinburgh.
Even at age 30, Ray is still able to clear a 2-meters high jump and is competing internationally.
Dawn said she blames me for Ray's settling down in the UK: apparently when he was a boy, I told him about how great the music was over there and even gave him a CD of favorite tunes from my college days in England.
MARYLAND: An afternoon down in Ceciltucky
On Sunday afternoon we headed south of the Mason-Dixon Line to the annual Cecil County Fair and had a great time. We listened to bluegrass music and marveled at huge farm equipment. We checked out the prize cows, sheep, goats, poultry, and rabbits in the livestock barns and the prize flowers, vegetables, crafts, artwork, canned goods, and baked items in the 4-H barn.
We skipped the midway, the demolition derby and the Deep Fried Oreo vendor; we tried the greasy battered cookies at last year's fair and immediately concluded that once in a lifetime is enough. Instead we ate tasty BBQ sandwiches and ice cream.
The highlight of the trip for me was the Diesel Truck Pull, in which specially fortified pickup trucks try to pull a giant weighted sled across the dirt arena. It was noisy and involved a lot of black smoke. There contest seemed to be a rivalry between Dodge enthusiasts and Ford fans; as my companion noted, "I'm not seeing a lot of Isuzus."
The two guys next to us in the bleachers spent a good 45 minutes talking about nothing but their own trucks, with a brief conversational tangent about their fathers' trucks.
The fair attracts a truly diverse group of people, from all ages and ethnic backgrounds. This year's fashion statement seemed to be the "Ceciltucky" T-shirt we saw on a number of fairgoers. My curious companion (a reporter in a previous life, or am I rubbing off on him?) actually went up to the T-shirt vendor and asked what the term meant. He explained that it was meant to indicate rural pride.
We skipped the midway, the demolition derby and the Deep Fried Oreo vendor; we tried the greasy battered cookies at last year's fair and immediately concluded that once in a lifetime is enough. Instead we ate tasty BBQ sandwiches and ice cream.
The highlight of the trip for me was the Diesel Truck Pull, in which specially fortified pickup trucks try to pull a giant weighted sled across the dirt arena. It was noisy and involved a lot of black smoke. There contest seemed to be a rivalry between Dodge enthusiasts and Ford fans; as my companion noted, "I'm not seeing a lot of Isuzus."
The two guys next to us in the bleachers spent a good 45 minutes talking about nothing but their own trucks, with a brief conversational tangent about their fathers' trucks.
The fair attracts a truly diverse group of people, from all ages and ethnic backgrounds. This year's fashion statement seemed to be the "Ceciltucky" T-shirt we saw on a number of fairgoers. My curious companion (a reporter in a previous life, or am I rubbing off on him?) actually went up to the T-shirt vendor and asked what the term meant. He explained that it was meant to indicate rural pride.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
LIBRARY: An outspoken board member departs
Geoff Birkett has resigned as vice president of the Bayard Taylor Memorial Library board, as the exodus of trustees from the embattled board continues.
Mr. Birkett, of Kennett Township, was the board member who memorably said it was obvious that the public liked the library's controversial name change because, after all, patrons were still using the library (earlier this year the board abruptly changed its historical name to the Kennett Public Library). He voted to ask the library's architect to rebid on the new library project (but was outvoted). He also chided the supporting townships for delving onto the library's finances, saying they just needed to trust the library board.
Mr. Birkett also drew the ire of Kennett Township supervisor Scudder Stevens, who wrote in a recent laundry list of the board's shortcomings that "It is interesting that the Vice President of that board is in the process of moving out of the area, but has failed to tell any of his fellow board members of his plans."
Mr. Birkett, of Kennett Township, was the board member who memorably said it was obvious that the public liked the library's controversial name change because, after all, patrons were still using the library (earlier this year the board abruptly changed its historical name to the Kennett Public Library). He voted to ask the library's architect to rebid on the new library project (but was outvoted). He also chided the supporting townships for delving onto the library's finances, saying they just needed to trust the library board.
Mr. Birkett also drew the ire of Kennett Township supervisor Scudder Stevens, who wrote in a recent laundry list of the board's shortcomings that "It is interesting that the Vice President of that board is in the process of moving out of the area, but has failed to tell any of his fellow board members of his plans."
Sunday, July 26, 2015
HEAVENS: A blue moon on Friday, July 31
Don't forget that this Friday, July 31, we will have a Blue Moon, the second full moon of the month. They occur every 2.5 years on average (accounting for the phrase "once in a blue moon"), according to "The Old Farmer's Almanac." And you've probably noticed how the days are getting shorter: on July 1 the sun rose at 5:10 a.m. and set at 8:24 p.m. The corresponding figures for July 31 are 5:35 a.m. and 8:05 p.m.
LONGWOOD: An evening full of music and light
This year's musical by the Brandywiners, "Fiddler on the Roof," was lots of fun. As the lead character, the dairyman Tevye, Bill Fellner was a very likable presence (he played the same role in the Brandywiners' previous production of "Fiddler" back in 1977). It was great to hear songs like "Tradition," "If I Were a Rich Man" and "Sunrise, Sunset." I didn't realize that the charming "Do You Love Me?" was from the musical.
Aside from the songs, my favorite part of the play was the huge puppet of the butcher's deceased first wife. Think Marge Simpson in a bad mood. She appeared to Tevye in a nightmare and made it very clear that she did NOT want Tevye's oldest daughter to become the new Mrs. Wolf. (At least, that's Tevye's story and he's sticking to it.)
Thank you to my generous neighbors for sending tickets our way for the second summer in a row (speaking of "Tradition").
The play was held in the Open Air Theater at Longwood Gardens, and during intermission we walked through part of the new Nightscape exhibit. Frankly I thought it was going to be like those hokey rock-and-roll laser light shows we went to back in the 1970s, but I was so wrong: this was utterly spectacular. The creators use the Longwood landscape as a 3D canvas, projecting colorful moving light patterns across the trees. As we walked down one pathway, it was as if we were being encircled by light and were heading through some kind of a mysterious portal. It was like the best of psychedelia, science fiction and technology combined.
We made it as far as the big lake but had to hurry back to see the second half of the show. We will definitely return because there is quite a lot we didn't get to see.
In addition to all the other attractions, Longwood is always great for people-watching. As we were waiting for the play to start, two sweet older ladies walked down the aisle to their seats, and when they reached their row, one turned to the other and said with surprise, "They're waiting for us!"
And one man a few rows in front of us found his seat, only to realize that it was #13. Apparently a superstitious fellow, he made a dramatic show of refusing to sit down. Fortunately his companion had no problem with it.
Aside from the songs, my favorite part of the play was the huge puppet of the butcher's deceased first wife. Think Marge Simpson in a bad mood. She appeared to Tevye in a nightmare and made it very clear that she did NOT want Tevye's oldest daughter to become the new Mrs. Wolf. (At least, that's Tevye's story and he's sticking to it.)
Thank you to my generous neighbors for sending tickets our way for the second summer in a row (speaking of "Tradition").
The play was held in the Open Air Theater at Longwood Gardens, and during intermission we walked through part of the new Nightscape exhibit. Frankly I thought it was going to be like those hokey rock-and-roll laser light shows we went to back in the 1970s, but I was so wrong: this was utterly spectacular. The creators use the Longwood landscape as a 3D canvas, projecting colorful moving light patterns across the trees. As we walked down one pathway, it was as if we were being encircled by light and were heading through some kind of a mysterious portal. It was like the best of psychedelia, science fiction and technology combined.
We made it as far as the big lake but had to hurry back to see the second half of the show. We will definitely return because there is quite a lot we didn't get to see.
In addition to all the other attractions, Longwood is always great for people-watching. As we were waiting for the play to start, two sweet older ladies walked down the aisle to their seats, and when they reached their row, one turned to the other and said with surprise, "They're waiting for us!"
And one man a few rows in front of us found his seat, only to realize that it was #13. Apparently a superstitious fellow, he made a dramatic show of refusing to sit down. Fortunately his companion had no problem with it.
QUAKERS: A chance to visit historic meetinghouses
Meeting for Worship at the Old Kennett Meetinghouse on Route 1 was lovely this morning. Old Kennett, built in 1710, is one of the historic Quaker meetinghouses in our area that opens its normally closed doors on certain First Days in the summer. I enjoy going to see the architecture, to soak up the ambiance and to imagine the generations of people who have sat there before me (I noticed "1812" carved on the wooden bench in front of me).
There were probably 40 people there this morning (including newlyweds Lars and Linda Farmer, who were married at the meetinghouse a few weeks ago). It seems that normally the summer meetings there are held at 11, but this time it started at 9 as an experiment to see if the traffic noise from Route 1 would be reduced. It was still pretty noisy during silent worship, but as one member told me, "I just block it out."
Old Kennett will be open again for worship at 9 a.m. Aug. 30.
Homeville Meetinghouse, 4904 Homeville Road, Cochranville, will be open for worship at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30.
London Britain Meetinghouse, 1415 New London Road, Landenberg, will be open for worship each Sunday through Sept. 6 at 10:30 am.
Parkersville Meetinghouse, 1232 Parkersville Road, Kennett Square, will be open for worship at 2 p.m. Sunday Sept. 13.
Colora Meetinghouse on Colora Road in Colora, Maryland, will be open for worship at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20.
There were probably 40 people there this morning (including newlyweds Lars and Linda Farmer, who were married at the meetinghouse a few weeks ago). It seems that normally the summer meetings there are held at 11, but this time it started at 9 as an experiment to see if the traffic noise from Route 1 would be reduced. It was still pretty noisy during silent worship, but as one member told me, "I just block it out."
Old Kennett will be open again for worship at 9 a.m. Aug. 30.
Homeville Meetinghouse, 4904 Homeville Road, Cochranville, will be open for worship at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30.
London Britain Meetinghouse, 1415 New London Road, Landenberg, will be open for worship each Sunday through Sept. 6 at 10:30 am.
Parkersville Meetinghouse, 1232 Parkersville Road, Kennett Square, will be open for worship at 2 p.m. Sunday Sept. 13.
Colora Meetinghouse on Colora Road in Colora, Maryland, will be open for worship at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20.
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