WEST MARLBOROUGH: Over its banks

Springdell residents won't soon forget the dramatic flooding on the evening of Sunday, July 22, when the Doe Run abruptly overflowed its banks, closed Route 841 and stranded two dozen motorists at the Whip Tavern. Township old-timers say the creek has never flooded so quickly and severely.
As soon as I heard all the sirens and saw "water rescue" on my emergency services app, I went flood-chasing. A dozen emergency vehicles were already on the scene in Springdell, and I saw an orange rescue raft in operation at the intersection of Route 841 and Thouron Road. I've never before seen emergency vehicles trying to negotiate tiny, unpaved Hicks Road.
West Marlborough Township road crew member Hugh Lofting was having dinner at Bangkok House in Wilmington when "my phone just exploded." He immediately drove to the township building to help in the effort and ended up rescuing seven people in the bucket of a front-end loader.
I shot a 10-second video of roaring, fast-moving water flowing across Thouron Road and posted it online. (A friend told me that CBS3 ran it on their evening news show and credited me.)
The next day, remarkably, everything was pretty much back to normal, although fences were full of debris and a lot of trees were at odd angles. The roads and fields that had been covered in water were drying up. I saw one poor Mini Cooper still sitting in a ditch at Wilson Road and Route 82.

Water flows across Thouron Road just south of Route 841, July 22.

WEST MARLBOROUGH: What a great guy he was!

Geoff Roehrs, who died at his West Marlborough home on July 14, was a very nice guy and a good neighbor. Whenever I saw him on our road, he'd give me a big smile, he'd shut off the engine of whatever car, truck, or piece of equipment he was operating, and we'd settle in for a friendly chat.
He always had something amusing to say about what was going on in the township or -- like all farmers -- a definite opinion about the weather.
I will miss those chats.
Deepest sympathy to his wife, Jill.

COUNTRY ROADS: A traffic situation

Dearest Partner is on the road all day every day, so he remains patient in the face of distracted driving, speeding, stop-sign running, and other baffling behind-the-wheel decisions.
Me, not so much.
I was heading to the Y the other evening and stopped at a stop sign because a motorist on the main road had her turn signal on, preparing to turn into my road. All of a sudden the woman behind me pulled around me, blocking the lane for the oncoming driver.
I looked over at her incredulously.
"Oh," she said peevishly. "I thought you were stopped."
Had I been capable of speech, I would have pointed out that yes, I WAS in fact stopped -- for an oncoming motorist who HAS THE RIGHT OF WAY!
She then pulled out onto the main road.
The turning motorist and I looked at each other as if to say, "What just happened here?"
I know most people out here, but I didn't recognize this woman. I wanted to get her tag number, but she sped off (what a surprise).

INFECTION: It bends again!

Thank you to all the kind readers who wrote to say they hope I'm feeling better (I spent two days in Chester County Hospital getting IV antibiotics for a hand wound that became badly infected).
I'm much better, thanks. My finger bends again, and my hand is back to looking completely normal. Frankly, I felt like something of an imposter in the hospital because I felt fine throughout, but my doctor assures me that it was a really serious situation. Apparently you really do not want to mess around with infections like this because they are so virulent and fast-moving.
After hearing about my experience, friends couldn't wait to share their stories about gruesomely infected insect bites, cat bites and even a belly-button piercing ("It looked like a donut!").

LANDENBERG: A new winery opens

Eric Matuszak of Kennett Square alerted me that a "wonderful" new winery and tasting room, 1723 Vineyards, is having its grand opening on Saturday, August 4, starting at noon. The location is 5 McMaster Boulevard in Landenberg, just off New London Road (Route 896) near the village of Kemblesville.

Eric writes, "Being affiliated with another local winery (Penns Woods) and being a close neighbor to another (Galer), I was really impressed by the quality of and the expression in their releases." 

According to 1723's website, the winery, owned by Sarah and Ben Cody, comprises "7 acres planted on the historic McMaster farm in Landenberg, PA, with an additional 3 acres planted on the historic Ford Farm."

The name 1723 comes from the year the original New London Township was chartered (the winery is now in Franklin Township). "Benjamin Franklin once owned a portion of the farm, along with adjoining property during the time he served as ambassador to France."

 

KENNETT: Scottish music and funk

Our friend Charles Shattuck, owner of the Wild Birds Unlimited store in Hockessin, asked me to mention that a Scottish folk group, the Old Blind Dogs, will be performing at the American Legion Hall at State and Broad Streets in downtown Kennett at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 13. Tickets are $29 in advance and $33 at the door. The show is sponsored by the Green Willow Folk Club (www.greenwillow.org).
Charles was also the emcee for the almost-rained-out "Will Power" show at Anson B. Nixon Park on July 26 and reports: "You missed an amazing performance by Will Power the other night. I was worried when I arrived to announce the show and the 11 member group outnumbered the audience. People trickled in and the rain held off until I was exiting the park at 9:10. Will Power certainly brought the funk to Kennett Square."

EAST MARLBOROUGH: Getting rid of baggage

You'll recall that I wrote about the "Lights Fest" at Plantation Field in late June, in which hundreds of participants paid $25 to $60 a pop to light and launch paper lanterns into the sky at dusk. It was billed as an uplifting spiritual event, with the lanterns acting a metaphor for setting your spirit free, or letting go of your limitations and fears, or some other New Age-sounding objective.
Unfortunately, on this earthly plane, the remains of the lanterns ended up hanging from the trees along Green Valley Road. They're still there, three weeks later.
According to the Lights Fest website: "We have a very thorough clean-up crew who gathers the lanterns within 24 hours after the event and disposes of them properly. Our crew is equipped to retrieve lanterns that may end up landing in trees, and though uncommon, a tree service company will be brought in if needed."
Another launch is set for Oct. 20; perhaps the employees could be a tad more thorough in their cleanup this time?