Dr. Frances Koblenzer, the owner of 175 Springdell Road in West Marlborough, has received permission to add a second story to her 800-square-foot garage. As proposed, there will be two bedrooms and a sitting room on the new second floor, and as part of the renovation project, part of the ground floor will be turned into a mudroom, changing room, and bathroom, with a stairway up to the second floor. (Period Architecture Ltd. of Chadds Ford designed the project.)
In granting permission for the expansion, the township zoning hearing board said she could not install a kitchen and could not rent out the unit. In legal terms, "The use of the accessory barn/garage building as so expanded shall be limited to occupancy by relatives and friends, such that it shall never be leased as a rental unit of any kind, and will not [be] put to any use not involving occupancy by family members and/or friends."
Dr. Koblenzer needed to appear before the zoning board before starting the project because her garage already exceeds the maximum 15-foot height for an outbuilding permitted by the township's zoning code, and adding the second story would further increase the height by six feet (from the current 20 feet to the proposed 26 feet).
Friday, February 10, 2017
Thursday, February 9, 2017
MUSIC: Old-time music in Delaware
My friend Brownell Ferry asked me to mention that father-and-son Old-Time roots duo Ken and Brad Kolodner will be performing a free concert at the Lower Brandywine Presbyterian Church (across from Winterthur) at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 12. According to the Kolodners' website, "Old-time music is a uniquely American form of
traditional roots music that grew out of the melting pot of Celtic music and
African rhythms, preceding Bluegrass and country music, yet still evolving
today." The Kolodners played in June 2016 at Anson B. Nixon Park as part of the summer series.
QUAKERS: George Fox on the West Coast
Quakerism is such a popular faith here in Chester County that almost everyone is familiar with the practice of silent worship. Not so much elsewhere in the country, though.
I was watching (on DVD) the final season of "Six Feet Under," a wonderful HBO series about a family, the Fishers, who run a funeral parlor in California.
One bereaved family requested a Quaker service, baffling co-owner Nate Fisher. Maggie, a friend of the deceased man, explained to him that Quakers sit in silence and wait for God to speak to them.
"What if He doesn't?" asked Nate.
"Then we make something up," she said with a smile. "At least, I do."
I was watching (on DVD) the final season of "Six Feet Under," a wonderful HBO series about a family, the Fishers, who run a funeral parlor in California.
One bereaved family requested a Quaker service, baffling co-owner Nate Fisher. Maggie, a friend of the deceased man, explained to him that Quakers sit in silence and wait for God to speak to them.
"What if He doesn't?" asked Nate.
"Then we make something up," she said with a smile. "At least, I do."
MOVIES: Where "Split" was filmed
M. Night Shyamalan's latest movie, "Split" (as in split personality), has been number-one in terms of box office figures for the past three weeks. The director, who lives on the Main Line, is known for shooting his films locally, and although he didn't use Unionville as a location like he did for "The Happening" (or Chadds Ford for "The Village"), he did use the Fisherman Restaurant, 440 Schuylkill Road, Phoenixville, as the location for a flashback diner scene. He also shot in Philadelphia (at the Silk City Diner Bar and Lounge, 435 Spring Garden Street, the Philadelphia Zoo, and 30th Street Station) as well as at Sun Center Studios in Aston.
Monday, February 6, 2017
USPS: Special delivery
I foolishly lost an ID card and after turning my purse and wallet inside-out searching for it I phoned the company to beg for a replacement. They didn't make me grovel too much, and the customer service person told me to look for the new card within 7 to 10 days.
"And I really mean `look for it'," she emphasized. She explained that the company's logo is so subtle that people glance at the envelope, assume it's just junk mail and toss it, then call back in irritation asking where their new card is.
(Now don't go staking out my mailbox, readers. The card will do you no good.)
"And I really mean `look for it'," she emphasized. She explained that the company's logo is so subtle that people glance at the envelope, assume it's just junk mail and toss it, then call back in irritation asking where their new card is.
(Now don't go staking out my mailbox, readers. The card will do you no good.)
Sunday, February 5, 2017
CPR: Free classes coming up
Last February I took an excellent Hands-Only CPR training course, sponsored by the Chester County Hospital/Penn Medicine, and I was pleased to see that it's being offered again. Here are the upcoming dates and times in our area:
-- Thursday, Feb. 16, 10 to 11 a.m. OR 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Penn Township Municipal Building
-- Thursday, Feb. 16, noon to 1 p.m., Chester County Hospital
-- Monday, Feb. 20, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. OR 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Longwood Fire Company
-- Thursday, Feb. 23, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. OR 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Chester County Hospital
The class is free but registration is required. You can register online through Chester County Hospital's website or call 610-738-2300.
-- Thursday, Feb. 16, 10 to 11 a.m. OR 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Penn Township Municipal Building
-- Thursday, Feb. 16, noon to 1 p.m., Chester County Hospital
-- Monday, Feb. 20, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. OR 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Longwood Fire Company
-- Thursday, Feb. 23, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. OR 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Chester County Hospital
The class is free but registration is required. You can register online through Chester County Hospital's website or call 610-738-2300.
KENNETT: A walking tour through history
On Saturday afternoon I was one of the volunteer guides for a Black History Month walking tour through downtown Kennett that highlighted 19th-century abolitionists and members of the African-American community.
Despite the freezing temperatures, we had a huge turnout of visitors; they even started showing up 15 minutes before the tours were set to officially kick off.
The tour started at the Underground Railroad mural at State and Willow Streets, which depicts conductor Harriet Tubman holding a lantern. From there we walked north on Willow Street, west on Linden Street to Union Street, and then over to the Genesis Walkway, stopping at houses and churches of historical interest.
At the New Garden Memorial AME Church on Linden Street, the Rev. Maxine Mayo welcomed us warmly and told us about the church's 191-year history, highlighting the important role churches have played in the black community (and still do).
She said that on New Year's Eve, her church and many others still hold "Watch Night" to remember how African Americans gathered in the hours before the Emancipation Proclamation officially took effect on Jan. 1, 1863, unsure of what would happen.
The New Garden AME church and burial ground were originally located in the Bucktoe or "Timbucktoo" part of Kennett Township but the building was burned down in the mid-19th century and the parishioners decided it was safer to rebuild in town. The former church site (now part of the Bucktoe Creek Preserve) is being excavated, with a view to providing headstones for those who are buried there, and one of the project archaeologists showed us some relics that have been found at the site, such as some fragments of marble and a 19th-century penny from the Netherlands.
Also at the church, Michelle Sullivan from the Kennett Underground Railroad Center explained the vital role that freed slaves and other African Americans, not just white Quakers, played in helping slaves escape via the Underground Railroad.
By the end of leading two tours, I was so cold that I could barely enunciate "ardent abolitionist" one more time. Thank goodness for local historian Lynn Sinclair, who wrote the tour script: she opened her Sunrise Café on State Street to tourgoers and provided us with cookies, tea, and coffee.
Despite the freezing temperatures, we had a huge turnout of visitors; they even started showing up 15 minutes before the tours were set to officially kick off.
The tour started at the Underground Railroad mural at State and Willow Streets, which depicts conductor Harriet Tubman holding a lantern. From there we walked north on Willow Street, west on Linden Street to Union Street, and then over to the Genesis Walkway, stopping at houses and churches of historical interest.
At the New Garden Memorial AME Church on Linden Street, the Rev. Maxine Mayo welcomed us warmly and told us about the church's 191-year history, highlighting the important role churches have played in the black community (and still do).
She said that on New Year's Eve, her church and many others still hold "Watch Night" to remember how African Americans gathered in the hours before the Emancipation Proclamation officially took effect on Jan. 1, 1863, unsure of what would happen.
The New Garden AME church and burial ground were originally located in the Bucktoe or "Timbucktoo" part of Kennett Township but the building was burned down in the mid-19th century and the parishioners decided it was safer to rebuild in town. The former church site (now part of the Bucktoe Creek Preserve) is being excavated, with a view to providing headstones for those who are buried there, and one of the project archaeologists showed us some relics that have been found at the site, such as some fragments of marble and a 19th-century penny from the Netherlands.
Also at the church, Michelle Sullivan from the Kennett Underground Railroad Center explained the vital role that freed slaves and other African Americans, not just white Quakers, played in helping slaves escape via the Underground Railroad.
By the end of leading two tours, I was so cold that I could barely enunciate "ardent abolitionist" one more time. Thank goodness for local historian Lynn Sinclair, who wrote the tour script: she opened her Sunrise Café on State Street to tourgoers and provided us with cookies, tea, and coffee.
UNIONVILLE: Time for the book sale
A heads up that the annual Unionville High School Used Book Sale will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, and from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25 (with the "bag sale" from 3 to 5 p.m.), at the high school. The major fundraiser for the high school PTO, this is always a wonderful sale, and I always find some treasures (and those that aren't as interesting as they looked at first glance, I just donate back the next year).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)