STRODE'S MILL: Preserving the old pork-processing barn

If there's a Chester County historical preservation project going on, you can bet that my friend Linda Kaat is somehow involved. Her latest project is the restoration of Strode's Mill (the one with the scrapple sign) at the corner of Route 52 and Birmingham Road. She asked me to put in a plug for the fundraiser that the Friends of Strode's Mill is having on Saturday, September 12, from 5 to 8 p.m. The event will be held at Chesterdale Farm, 1046 Lenape Road, West Chester. The goal is to raise $20,000 "to cover the next phase of demolition and repair" of the old mill, and although there isn't a ticket to buy, there will be donation jars at the event.

The party will include Revolutionary War reenactors from the First Delaware Regiment, colonial music and dance, food and drink, and a silent auction (another chance to contribute to the cause!). 

Take a look at the Friends of Strode's Mill website, which gives lots of history about the property and possibilities for the future.

According to the site: "For 250 years, a single Quaker family built thriving businesses at this corner. The circa 1722 mill, across the street, ground corn, pressed cider, and turned trees into usable lumber. As the family prospered they added this pork-processing barn. Pork may not sound romantic, but Strode's became nationally known for its quality sausage and scrapple, produced with hogs grown on the surrounding farm. The date stone says 1875, but the foundation suggests an earlier barn stood here long before. We look forward to uncovering the full history as we preserve the site.

"The Strode's historic district includes a remarkably well-preserved collection of buildings. Unlike other important intersections in the area, it has retained its intimate character, with most of the original buildings still surrounding a rural crossroads. Restoring the barn will further stabilize the historic district and preserve this example of prosperous early industry for future generations."

 

 

 

 

NEWLIN: Annual party to support volunteers

Saturday, October 10, is the third annual "Thank our Volunteer Firefighters and EMS" party, hosted by the Newlin Township Fire and EMS Support Committee. This year the event will be held at the Natural Lands Trust’s Lenfest Center on Cannery Road. Proceeds benefit the volunteers who serve Newlin Township: the Po-Mar-Lin, West Bradford, and Modena Fire Companies. Tickets are $25 for adults, $12 for kids 12 and under. For tickets email NewlinFEMS@gmail.com or call 610-486-1141.
From 3 to 4 p.m. there will be guided walking tours of the Cheslen Preserve. At 4 the party will start. The BBQ dinner will be by Hood's. There will also be music, kids' activities, a raffle/auction, local beer and wine, and a display of fire company equipment.

JENNERSVILLE: Kennett Y members head west

Those of us who frequent the Kennett Y have had to venture elsewhere for our exercise fix this week because of the Kennett Y's "shutdown week" -- whoops, sorry, "enhancement week." I've headed to the Jennersville Y, but this is no great hardship because I visit both facilities regularly anyway. The folks at Jennersville kindly posted a sign in the lobby welcoming Kennett Y members and directing them to the fitness center (which is a bit of a trek down several hallways). I helped one guy find the water-bottle filler-upper -- yes, Jennersville has the same kind of dispenser that Kennett does, it's just a bit out of the way.
One Y friend said she especially liked the large whirlpool at Jennersville (Kennett doesn't have one). "Also, they have a really cool thing called the Synergy 360 in the fitness center. It is like a playground! It has battle ropes and TRX and other really FUN stuff! Easy to lose track of time, great way to socialize with others too."
A young Mom from the Kennett Y said, "Been to Jennersville almost every day this week, taken some classes, used the weight room, and the kids loved the change of routine. Shout out to Chris Feuda and her group ex team for running a good ship!" 
And this coming week, the situation will be reversed: Jennersville members will be coming to Kennett.

WEST MARLBOROUGH: A lovely summer afternoon at Primitive Hall

I would venture to suggest that there were no more surprised and delighted people in West Marlborough on Sunday than the organizers of the Charlie Zahm concert at Primitive Hall. I can say this because I was one of them.
We put out the word that Charlie and Tad Marks would be performing at 5 p.m., and the Hall -- the historic homestead of the Pennock family, built in 1738 -- would be open beforehand for tours. We really had no idea how many people would show up for an event on an end-of-summer Sunday afternoon.
Well, I arrived at 3 and found the first visitors were already waiting. I quickly donned my name tag and had the pleasure of showing people around and talking about the Hall's history until almost the moment the concert started.
Outside, guests were picnicking in the walnut grove. Some brought simple meals of sandwiches and potato chips; others prepared vats of gazpacho, brought a selection of beer and wine, and set up portable tables with little flower arrangements. La Michoacana did a roaring business selling their popsicles -- during intermission it seemed like everyone was eating one.
Charlie (on guitar) and Tad (on fiddle) performed a wonderful mix of Irish and Scottish songs, 1960s songs, and folk tunes, and even threw in "They Call the Wind Maria" from "Paint Your Wagon." Tad played the haunting "Ashokan Farewell" and joked about the mispronunciations he has heard, like "Shogun Farewell" and "Chokin' Farewell."
Looking back, I suppose that we shouldn't have been surprised that we had such an amazing turnout. Some of the visitors were attracted to the local history. A few community members told me they'd driven by the Hall for years and were thrilled to get a chance to look inside.  Others mainly came to hear the music -- Charlie has quite a local following. And still others came to socialize with their friends and neighbors in a beautiful spot on a beautiful afternoon.
"You should totally make this an annual thing," said one woman to me as I was leaving.
I think I can again speak for the Hall board when I say this: We are hugely grateful to all of you for coming out.

QUAKERS: Colora Meetinghouse won't be open for worship

A few weeks ago I wrote that several historic Quaker meetinghouses in our area that are usually closed will be open for worship on upcoming Sundays. Unfortunately one of them on that list, Colora in Maryland, will not be open because a large tree fell on it a few weeks ago, causing serious damage. I'm told that the tree is being cleared, but it's a gradual process. It's a real shame to hear this, because that meeting was in excellent repair.
But you can still visit other old meetinghouses.
Old Kennett Meeting on Route 1 will be open at 9 a.m. on Sunday, 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. (A tree also fell on Parkersville's property, but unlike Colora it didn't hit the meetinghouse.)

MUSIC: Two fundraising concerts coming up in September

 

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The concert series on Wednesday nights at Anson B. Nixon Park is over for the season, but there are two local shows coming up in September that I want to let you know about.

1. "Jam on the Brandywine" will be held at the Brandywine Red Clay Alliance (formerly the Brandywine Valley Association) on Route 842 east of Unionville from noon to 9 p.m., Saturday, September 12. The performers are Echoes, The Bullets, Kategory 5 (they did a standout show at Anson B. Nixon Park a few weeks ago), Montana Wildaxe, the Brad Newsom Band, Mystery Fyre, the Cameltones, Cameltoustic, Nancy Curry, Betty and the Bullet, and Steve Pepper. Tickets are $25 per person, $15 per person in advance (if you order online by Sept. 4), $10 per student with ID at gate only, and kids under 12 get in for free. Hickory House Catering will be the food vendor, and you can bring your own food in as well. Leashed dogs are welcome. Proceeds go to support the Alliance's watershed conservation and environmental education efforts.

2. Back at Anson B. Nixon Park, "Rock the Park" with Love Seed Mama Jump will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, September 27. Tickets are $10 (children under 12 free) and proceeds benefit the resforestation of the park with native oaks, maples and sycamores. There will be food trucks and Victory Brewing on draft.

 

 

 

WINDOWS 10: Trigger warning for Mac users

Have you upgraded to Microsoft Windows 10 from Windows 8? I kept getting a popup message on my computer screen, so I decided to take the plunge. I scheduled the upgrade for the end of a workday, saved my work and shut everything down. When I returned to the computer a few hours later, I logged in again and waited for the system to restart and update itself. A message about "this is taking longer than usual" gave me pause, but after a few minutes everything was good to go.
I noticed a few changes -- smaller "tiles," a different "start" screen, a much-improved Gmail screen, and a new "Microsoft Edge" browser if you want it -- but everything seems to work fine and nothing seems to have gotten lost in the upgrade.

WEST MARLBOROUGH: Vintage base ball on a Saturday afternoon

On Saturday I finally got a chance to watch the Mohican Base Ball Club of Kennett Square in action. It was a hugely entertaining afternoon. The members of this team, who play without baseball gloves using old-fashioned rules, won both games in the double-header against the Eclipse Base Ball Club of Elkton. The Mohicans, who are now 13-1 on the season, will take on Fairplays BBC of Talbot County, Maryland, at 1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30. 
The Mohicans, who wear old-fashioned white uniforms with red socks and caps, play in a beautiful setting at the northwest corner of Newark and Upland Roads here in West Marlborough. A corn field marks the far edge of the outfield. There's no high-tech modern ballpark gimmickry here: the players' bench is actually a log, the scorekeeper writes the score in chalk, and after the game the players line up for a gentlemanly salute. And the pace of the game is remarkably speedy: as soon as the catcher tosses the ball back to the pitcher, he throws it again.
Bring a folding chair and watch "base ball" (yes, two words) as it used to be played. You'll see some pretty amazing athletes.