The craziness that is Route 41 on summer weekends is in full swing, with southbound vacationers heading to the shore, bikes and beach chairs strapped precariously to their vehicles, just as others are returning home from their week's rental or heading north to visit Amish country.
The additional traffic is not news to anyone trying to negotiate the already challenging Chatham intersection.
At mid-day Saturday, coincidentally, we were at a key hub on this heavily traveled migration route: the Avondale Wawa. It was jammed.
One man, who was apparently taking his family on a road trip, eyed the long line at the deli counter and suggested, "Why don't we just grab a box of donuts and keep going?"
His wife vetoed the idea and they waited in line for presumably healthier fare.
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Thursday, June 15, 2017
UNIONVILLE: The Cheshire Puppy Show
The female hound "Telltale" was named the champion at the puppy show at the Cheshire Foxhounds Kennels on June 11, a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon. After Anne Moran, one of the Hunt Masters, welcomed the guests and introduced the Hunt staff, the show -- the first in many years at Cheshire -- got started.
Huntsman Barry Magner, dressed in the puppy handler's traditional white lab coat and black bowler hat, would name the hounds he wanted to be brought out, and whipper-in Mary Taylor Miller would carefully open the metal kennel gate just wide enough so they could come out.
Barry (whom all the hounds quite obviously adored) would then put them through their paces as the judges, Bruce Davidson and Joe Cassidy, watched closely. (Cheshire is hunting with both male and female hounds this year after many seasons of using females only.)
The judges then asked for several hounds to be brought back for further scrutiny (the woman next to me told me she was a fan of Malcolm's, and her hopes rose when the judges looked at him again). But finally, after much discussion, they chose Wilbur as the best male hound (with Matchbox and Tenor in second and third place).
Joe explained to the crowd that they based their decision on such qualities as the way the animal stood, the line of his back and the appearance of his feet: "Wilbur," he said, "has the most substance."
Barry then showed five female hounds, and Telltale was the judge's immediate favorite. "She has such presence!" exclaimed Joe.
Huntsman Barry Magner, dressed in the puppy handler's traditional white lab coat and black bowler hat, would name the hounds he wanted to be brought out, and whipper-in Mary Taylor Miller would carefully open the metal kennel gate just wide enough so they could come out.
Barry (whom all the hounds quite obviously adored) would then put them through their paces as the judges, Bruce Davidson and Joe Cassidy, watched closely. (Cheshire is hunting with both male and female hounds this year after many seasons of using females only.)
The judges then asked for several hounds to be brought back for further scrutiny (the woman next to me told me she was a fan of Malcolm's, and her hopes rose when the judges looked at him again). But finally, after much discussion, they chose Wilbur as the best male hound (with Matchbox and Tenor in second and third place).
Joe explained to the crowd that they based their decision on such qualities as the way the animal stood, the line of his back and the appearance of his feet: "Wilbur," he said, "has the most substance."
Barry then showed five female hounds, and Telltale was the judge's immediate favorite. "She has such presence!" exclaimed Joe.
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| From left, Bruce Davidson, Joe Cassidy, and Barry Magner (with three of the male hounds) at the Cheshire puppy show. |
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| The female hound Telltale poses for the cameras after winning the puppy show. |
NEW GARDEN: A crab feast
The Hilltop Crab House on Route 41 is the place to go if you're looking for a terrific and hearty seafood meal. Almost every table was filled when we were there for dinner on June 14, and many of the guests were there to devour blue crabs. Crab picking is, of course, a messy business: the waitresses put down brown paper on your table and bring out wooden mallets so you can extract every bit of crab from the shell. Instead of napkins they just give you a roll of paper towels.
The two of us shared the "seafood sampler" (Alaskan snow crab legs, shrimp, and a crab cake) and crab mac-and-cheese. Delicious! They also have crabs to go by the dozen, half-bushel or bushel.
The Hilltop is now a family place and, although there's a bar, it has completely shed that "biker bar" vibe of many years ago. I remember there used to be a sign posted prominently at the door that forbade guests from wearing gang colors.
The two of us shared the "seafood sampler" (Alaskan snow crab legs, shrimp, and a crab cake) and crab mac-and-cheese. Delicious! They also have crabs to go by the dozen, half-bushel or bushel.
The Hilltop is now a family place and, although there's a bar, it has completely shed that "biker bar" vibe of many years ago. I remember there used to be a sign posted prominently at the door that forbade guests from wearing gang colors.
MEMOIR: South Philly in the old days
Kennett Square resident Josephine B. Pasquarello has written a memoir about growing up in South Philadelphia in the 1950s and 1960s and was generous enough to send me a copy. The book, "Love & Loyalty," focuses on the extraordinary efforts of her mother, Romania, an immigrant from Italy who raised a dozen children on her own after her husband's death. She includes many pages of family photographs. I look forward to reading it!
WEST MARLBOROUGH: Outdoor Meeting for Worship
London Grove Friends Meeting, located at the intersection of Newark Road and Street Road (Route 926), will be holding Meeting for Worship outdoors next to the 335-year-old Penn Oak at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, June 25. Visitors are welcome to share in traditional Quaker worship, and refreshments will follow.
Sunday, June 11, 2017
LONGWOOD: "HMS Pinafore"
On Saturday evening three of us attended the Savoy Company's production of Gilbert and Sullivan's "HMS Pinafore" at the outdoor theater at Longwood Gardens. It was an enjoyable show, with familiar songs like "Little Buttercup" and He Is an Englishman," amusing wordplay, and a "switched-at-birth" plot that came to light in the last scene and miraculously solved everyone's romantic problems.
Longwood was multitasking on Saturday night, so toward the end of the first act the fountain display started, with booming noises and jets of colored water causing many in the audience to turn their attention westward.
Between the operetta and the fountain display, the main parking area was full and we had to park in the huge new overflow lot across Route 1. The shuttle bus service was speedy, comfortable and efficient, getting us to the Gardens and back to our car without delay.
Longwood was multitasking on Saturday night, so toward the end of the first act the fountain display started, with booming noises and jets of colored water causing many in the audience to turn their attention westward.
Between the operetta and the fountain display, the main parking area was full and we had to park in the huge new overflow lot across Route 1. The shuttle bus service was speedy, comfortable and efficient, getting us to the Gardens and back to our car without delay.
KENNETT: Two history tours
History-minded residents are in for a treat: there will be two free walking tours of downtown Kennett Square.
On Saturday, June 17, the Kennett Underground Railroad Center is sponsoring a tour highlighting nineteenth-century abolitionists in Kennett Square. It runs from 2 to 4 p.m. and starts in the Genesis Walkway. (The same tour was held back in February and drew overflow crowds despite the below-freezing temperatures.)
On Thursday, June 22, folks can learn what it was like in Kennett the day before the Battle of the Brandywine in 1777. The tour script is based on Kevin Sheridan's book "Timpiece Chronicles: Battle of Brandywine Creek," with actors portraying various key figures like General Cornwallis, General Kynphausen and Captain Patrick Ferguson. The guided tours will start at 5:30 p.m. (the 6 p.m. tour will be in Spanish); assemble in the Genesis walkway. And you can meet Kevin Sheridan after the tour at the Sunrise Café.
On Saturday, June 17, the Kennett Underground Railroad Center is sponsoring a tour highlighting nineteenth-century abolitionists in Kennett Square. It runs from 2 to 4 p.m. and starts in the Genesis Walkway. (The same tour was held back in February and drew overflow crowds despite the below-freezing temperatures.)
On Thursday, June 22, folks can learn what it was like in Kennett the day before the Battle of the Brandywine in 1777. The tour script is based on Kevin Sheridan's book "Timpiece Chronicles: Battle of Brandywine Creek," with actors portraying various key figures like General Cornwallis, General Kynphausen and Captain Patrick Ferguson. The guided tours will start at 5:30 p.m. (the 6 p.m. tour will be in Spanish); assemble in the Genesis walkway. And you can meet Kevin Sheridan after the tour at the Sunrise Café.
WEST MARLBOROUGH: Good-bye to Al and Eddie
At their June 6 meeting, the West Marlborough township supervisors held a reception in honor of township engineer Al Giannantonio and building inspector Eddie Caudill. Both gentlemen are retiring after many years of service, and residents and township officials got to say good-bye to them while enjoying a tasty spread of cake, cookies, fruit, cupcakes and iced tea.
POCOPSON: A great hardware store
Since it closed its "downtown" Unionville location a few years back, I haven't visited Ace Hardware in Pocopson very often and I'd forgotten what a great store it is. My mother and I stopped in the other day to buy a pair of heavy-duty leather gardening gloves. They cost about $15, which means we had to make an additional purchase to qualify for the "spend $20 and get $7 off" coupon.
After we discovered that the store offers an excellent variety of cat toys and unusual cat food, we had no absolutely trouble meeting the $20 threshold. And Clarence gives a definite paws-up to the Healthy Gourmet "salmon entrée" and the Fussie Cat "tuna with chicken formula in aspic."
After we discovered that the store offers an excellent variety of cat toys and unusual cat food, we had no absolutely trouble meeting the $20 threshold. And Clarence gives a definite paws-up to the Healthy Gourmet "salmon entrée" and the Fussie Cat "tuna with chicken formula in aspic."
ROUTE 926: Phase 2 of the bridge construction
Starting Thursday, June 15, Creek Road (Route 100) will be closed from Meetinghouse Road to Route 52 until the new Route 926 bridge over the Brandywine is completed (although residents will be allowed access). Creek Road traffic will be detoured onto Route 52 and Route 1.
I stopped by the construction site the other day and it looks like excellent progress is being made. The old bridge was demolished this past winter and a new one already spans the creek: the beams were installed in May. The approach ramps will be much higher in elevation so that the road will be less likely to flood -- which was one key objective of the whole $8.6 million project. The work is on schedule and the new bridge should open Sept. 1.
I stopped by the construction site the other day and it looks like excellent progress is being made. The old bridge was demolished this past winter and a new one already spans the creek: the beams were installed in May. The approach ramps will be much higher in elevation so that the road will be less likely to flood -- which was one key objective of the whole $8.6 million project. The work is on schedule and the new bridge should open Sept. 1.
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