Friday, November 29, 2019

SEMPER FI: A Korean War veteran

At Lowe's in Avondale I parked next to a pickup truck with a Korean War bumper sticker and various military decorations. The owner, an elderly gentlemen, and I were returning to our vehicles at the same time, and as he opened the passenger-side door of his truck and gave his little sweater-clad dog a cuddle, I noticed he was wearing a U.S. Marine Corps cap.
I thanked him for his service, and he thanked me in turn for remembering.
He said at the outbreak of the Korean War he'd gone to the Lancaster recruiting center to volunteer and was disappointed to learn that the Marines no longer had a paratrooper division.
"Seems not many men wanted to jump out of planes," he said, adding drily, "especially over North Korea."

RIP: Goodbye, Mr. Stegeman and Mr. Brown

Two prominent members of the community recently passed on. Both were kind, generous and public-spirited gentlemen and will be missed.
William Jackson Stegeman, the founder of Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories, died on Oct. 13 at age 77 at the Friends Home in Kennett Square. He started the company in 1982 in a room in a neighbor's barn, then moved to a rented building in Avondale, and finally to the headquarters that he built on Baltimore Pike in Jennersville (next to the Jennersville YMCA, where I often saw him working out). The company's products are used in research labs around the world.
Henry Brown died at his Newlin Township home on Nov. 21 at age 81. After "Jerry" retired from his career as an architect with Anderson, Brown, Higley and Associates in Wilmington, he opened Unionville's Foxy Loxy ice-cream store.  How appropriate that a party to celebrate his life will be held at Foxy Loxy on Friday, December 6, from 4 to 7 p.m.; all who knew him are welcome. I will miss his smile and the twinkle in his eye.

 

WEST MARLBOROUGH: The Landowners' Tea

After being postponed at least twice last year due to rain and mud, the Landowners' Tea for Mr. Stewart's Cheshire Foxhounds was finally held the morning of Saturday, Nov. 16, at Lydia Bartholomew's Plumstead Farm on Street Road. It was a beautiful sunny morning and, as always, there were lots of neighbors, ample food and drink, and conversations about the perennial interests of horses and real estate transactions.
Just before the horses and hounds set off for the day's hunting, Master of Fox Hounds Sanna Neilson gave a short, gracious speech, thanking the guests for allowing the members of the hunt to ride across their land.
For fun, I wore a vintage hat of my mother's decorated with (I think) pheasant feathers. Kim Brosnan-Myers told me it reminded her of the time a few years ago when she was cleaning out a closet at London Grove Friends Meetinghouse and found a cache of old hats and gloves. She said the story goes that during World War II, the ladies of the meeting decided they would not buy new hats or gloves and instead contributed the money they saved to the American Friends Service Committee.
 

THANKSGIVING: Amusement for kids and grown-ups

The surprise hit of Thanksgiving dinner this year was the paper tablecloth, which was printed with puzzles and turkey cartoons to color (boxes of crayons were distributed around the table). I had the pleasure of sitting next to a Hillendale Elementary School student, and we had great fun creating and pronouncing nonsense words from the hidden-word puzzle (SUBLATS!).
Across the table, the boy's parents were deeply engrossed in the game where you try to create more squares than your opponent out of a grid of dots. Dearest Partner sketched a rabbit and a cat on the tablecloth, then switched gears and helped a couple of kids tune their ukulele.
We were very fortunate in the timing of our journey to Perkasie for the Thanksgiving celebration. As we were zooming up the Northeast Extension in the early afternoon, we saw the aftermath of a chain-reaction crash involving several cars on the southbound side of the highway. Traffic was backed up for miles, and it looked like emergency vehicles were having trouble getting to the site because it's in a construction zone without shoulders. On our return trip at about 6 p.m. the roadway was as clear as could be.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

UNIONVILLE: A suitable soundtrack?

A reader who jogs around Unionville High School's track told me that on a recent visit, hard-core rap music was blaring from the stadium's speakers.
"I'm not easily offended," he said (he's not; I know him well), "but it was really disgusting." He gave a few examples of the lyrics, none of them pleasant, much less printable. He said none of the coaches or adults present seemed the least bit troubled by the violent, misogynistic imagery.
My reader suggested that the message being sent seemed in no way consistent with the school district's laudable goals of promoting respect, civility and tolerance for all.

WINTERTHUR: Local Roadshow episodes to air

The episodes of "Antiques Roadshow" that were shot at the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library in June will air on PBS  January 6, 13, and 20, 2020. The episodes will kick off the show's 24th season. I'll be watching to see if I spot any familiar faces!

KURC: A new home for a historical group

The Kennett Underground Railroad Center has found a permanent home, and a very appropriate one: the former house of Dr. Isaac Johnson at 120 North Union Street in downtown Kennett Square. Dr. Johnson treated an escaping slave who had badly injured his foot when he jumped off a train to flee from his pursuers. The man was nursed back to health by nurse Esther Hayes and recuperated in a house owned by James Walker at 233 South Union Street. He returned to Kennett years later, and had named himself Johnson Hayes Walker in their honor.
"Now we have a place where we can share all we know about the Underground Railroad operatives and activities in the Kennett area," the Underground Railroad Center's board of directors wrote in the group's annual fundraising letter. Their goals for 2020 are to install "a museum-quality display" in their new facility, expand their tours and presentations, do outreach to students and offer a scholarship at Kennett High School.
The house sits at the corner of Union and West Linden Streets, across from the parking garage.

NEW BOLTON: An unexpected treat

At a New Bolton Center lecture the other night on equine infectious diseases, the topic may have been unappetizing but the buffet set up outside the lecture hall was most certainly not. Before the program I said hello to New Bolton professor and associate dean Corinne Sweeney, DVM, and told her how tasty the food was (I'd noticed some vet students chowing down with gusto as well). She said all credit for the refreshments should go to Sarah Riggins Tonge, owner of Catering by Occasion.
I reached out to Sarah for more information and she told me that she handles all of New Bolton's events and also runs the café at New Bolton, which is open for breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday for staff, clients and the public. She also does outside catering "with our signature pit-style BBQ chicken." She can be reached at cateringbyoccasion@yahoo.com.
Sarah, a Unionville native, graduated in 2002 from Unionville High School.

CHEATERS: Eroding social capital

After a neighborhood get-together, I was walking back to my car along with a woman who had a service dog, a handsome Bouvier des Flandres. I complimented her on how well-behaved the animal was, and she said that is because he's a "real," highly skilled and intensively trained service dog. She told me that there are unethical dog owners who buy "service animal" vests online just so they can get special privileges.
I stopped in my tracks."Are you kidding me?!" I said in amazement.
It's true, she said matter-of-factly. And then when the faux service dogs misbehave, the reputation of real service animals and the users who need them is tarnished.
Utterly disgusting. Like when greedy people start fake GoFundMe accounts, claiming some calamity has befallen them and seeking to cadge money from good-hearted strangers.

WEST GROVE: Not-so-joyful noise

Tuesday evening I was picking up a book at the Avon Grove Library when a young patron suddenly began shrieking. 
"Oh, dear," I said to the library worker who was helping me. "Somebody's not happy."
The child just kept wailing, and her parents decided for the good of everyone that it was time to leave. The father carried the distraught girl under his arm, and the mother toted a sleeping infant in a car seat. 
"We'll try again in a few years," said the patient dad, with good humor.

KENNETT Y: A new executive director

Tom Gallagher is returning to the Kennett YMCA as the new executive director. He served as the Kennett Y's health and wellness director and senior programming director before moving to the Spring Valley Y in Royersford. Welcome back, Tom.

Friday, November 22, 2019

LONDON GROVE: A bell choir to ring in the season

The Belles and Rose Joyful Ringers Bell Choir will perform at London Grove Friends Meeting at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, with refreshments and social time to follow. London Grove member Grace Pfeifer describes the family-friendly evening as "a joyful start to the holiday season." The meetinghouse is at Route 926 and Newark Road. Carpooling is encouraged because parking is limited. 

BVVH: A new owner for Dr. Moss's practice

It's official! Dr. Marc Daniel, DVM, has purchased Dr. John Moss's Brandywine Valley Veterinary Hospital on Strasburg Road.
Dr. Daniel lives outside of West Chester with his wife, three cats, a rescued dog from Haiti, chickens, and honey bees. He and his wife have two sons in college and two daughters at home.
He writes, "I am honored to have the opportunity to assume the ownership of Brandywine Valley Veterinary Hospital. Dr. Moss and his associates have been providing high-quality and compassionate veterinary care to the community for many years and I hope to continue what he has started. I feel that practice ownership will allow me to further fulfill my desire to care for people, their pets and the staff that work under my guidance."
Dr. Daniel already gets high marks from me. I met him last month at BVVH when our elderly rescue cat, Clarence, was very sick. Dr. Daniel immediately spotted a large abscess and took care of it. A week later, to our delight and relief, Clarence was back to his normal self,  yowling, jumping up on the bed, and curling up on his blue fleece blanket.

THANKSGIVING: A lot of gratitude

I wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers. Thanks for reading my column, thanks for supporting your local newspaper (unfortunately, a rarity these days), and thanks for offering your feedback and contributions all year long.
I want to offer my special gratitude to the long-suffering Dearest Partner (who didn't know what he was getting into), student/athlete/all-around great kid the Young Relative, my feline buddies Tina and Clarence, and my dear neighbors and friends for inspiring and starring in so many "Tilda items" and adventures. And, as always, in loving memory of Mum and Dad, my most faithful readers (Dad: "Wait . . .  you mean YOU'RE Tilda!?").

WEST MARLBOROUGH: Another deer-vs.-vehicle collision

En route to a New Bolton Center lecture on Thursday evening, I came upon two vehicles with their blinkers on, pulled off to the side of Route 842 near the Stone Barn's pond. I stopped, rolled down my window and asked if everything was OK.
The woman thanked me for stopping and said they were unhurt and just waiting for a tow truck. 
"These deer, they just jump in front of cars!" she exclaimed. Sure enough, there was a deer carcass along the road and, not coincidentally, one of the cars had some obvious front-end damage. I'm sure this scenario has played out many times along Chester County roads in recent weeks.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

AVONDALE: Qfix, an international business amidst cornfields

On Nov. 19 I spent an interesting hour visiting Qfix, an Avondale business, and talking with CEO and Chief Technology Officer Dan Coppens and a few members of his team. 
The company's motto is "Positioning Patients for Life," which pretty much describes their product line: they design, engineer, manufacture and market devices used to position patients receiving radiation therapy. With more accurate and consistent delivery of radiation, the total dosage can sometimes be decreased, thereby reducing the risk of side effects, the cost of care and the number of times the patient has to travel to the medical facility. Dan said the staff members are very mindful of the fact that their products can improve patients' and families' quality of life during a very rough time.
Qfix, which employs about 160 people, operates out of several buildings on its 440 Church Road campus, which is surrounded by cornfields. Sales reps travel frequently to trade shows, and about half of the company's products are exported outside the United States.
Dan, who lives in the Inniscrone development in London Grove Township, said staffers are quick to pick up on any "sightings" of Qfix products, either in medical centers or in the media. For instance, their proton-beam therapy equipment appeared in Ken Burns' recent PBS documentary "The Mayo Clinic: Faith, Hope, Science," about 15 minutes into the program.

Qfix is located at 440 Church Road, Avondale.

UHS: The Art Gala

On display at the UHS PTA's annual Unionville Art Gala this past weekend were works by numerous local artists, everything from landscapes and still lifes to jewelry, pottery, woodworking, collages, 3-D works and sculpture. The featured professional artist was Diane Cannon, whose work was showcased in the lobby, and the featured senior artist was Sophia Mayer (honorable mention went to Ashley Kirk and Claire Favor). When I stopped by on Saturday, I especially enjoyed seeing the display of artworks by the students and overheard one woman pointing to a senior's painting and saying fondly, "I had her in third grade!"
Outside the high school I was amused to see a different kind of art: Calculus students had graphed the solutions to differential equations on the sidewalk in colored chalk. Maybe I would have understood calculus better in the open air!

THE Y: Not just a place to work out

An athletic friend who has been going through some domestic upheaval told me that going to the YMCA is helping her immensely as it provides her with some much-needed consistency. Seeing familiar faces, rooms and fitness equipment, as well as working out hard, is keeping her on an even keel. She even referred to it as her "medicine."

OXFORD: A gathering in Lower Oxford Township

Sunday evening, driving home from Oxford, we made a wrong turn and presently crossed over the Route 1 bypass, which was, of course, the highway we wanted to be on. No matter. We found ourselves in a dark, rural area, but up ahead was a yard full of what I thought were Christmas lights and inflatables, as brightly lit up as a used car lot. Wow, they got started early on the holiday, I said.
Dearest Partner disagreed, saying they weren't Christmas decorations; rather, it must be a construction site with barricades and signage.
As we got closer, we discovered we were both wrong. It was a gathering of probably 15 parked Amish buggies, all equipped with ample safety reflectors.

WHODUNIT: A sellout for the ACT Players

We were looking forward to seeing the ACT Players' production of the Agatha Christie classic "And Then There Were None," especially since neither of us could remember who the murderous villain turned out to be. But as soon as we pulled into the parking lot of the Kemblesville United Methodist Church on Saturday evening, the attendant informed us the show was sold out. It was unfortunate for us, but certainly good news for the local amateur theater group.
The ACT Players' next show is a revue called "Broadway Moments" at the Kennett Flash at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 26. You might want to make reservations!

Monday, November 18, 2019

WILLOWDALE: A win-win situation

"Clear Your Clutter for a Good Cause," read the post about Rep. Christina Sappey's Nov. 16 event in Willowdale, and I took that as a command.
I spent an afternoon going through my kitchen drawers and cabinets and packed up unwanted gadgets, extra pots and pans, a rice cooker, excess tea towels, a double boiler, pie plates, and a springform cake pan (used once). How did I ever accumulate so many baskets? I cleaned out the pantry of jars of spaghetti sauce. I went through my closets and culled everything I hadn't worn in the past year or so (good-bye, purple wool Jones NY winter coat). 
Amidst my trunkload of stuff, I actually had enough items to donate to each of the nonprofits represented at the event: Green Drop, the Brandywine SPCA, David's Drive, the Food Bank, and the Marine Corps' annual Toys for Tots collection drive. Worthy causes all.

Friday, November 15, 2019

GLEN MILLS: White Dog Cafe to open in 2020

American contemporary restaurant the White Dog CafĂ© will be opening in early 2020 in the Shoppes at Brinton Lake shopping center, in the space where the Big Fish Grill used to be. Other branches of the "local, seasonal, sustainable" restaurant are in Wayne and Haverford, as well as the original University City one founded in 1983 by Judy Wicks. White Dog is now owned by Fearless Restaurants.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

WEST MARLBOROUGH: Events at Primitive Hall

Last weekend I volunteered to provide refreshments for an event at Primitive Hall, the 1738 ancestral home of the Pennock family on North Chatham Road. What could be more seasonal than my ginger snaps and cider from Barnard's Orchards?
I stopped by Barnard's the day before, told Lewis Barnard there would be about 30 people at the event, and asked him how many gallons of cider I should buy.
He didn't miss a beat: "Thirty." A born salesman!
Speaking of Primitive Hall, there's going to be a history lecture there on Thursday, Dec. 5. Matthew Skic, curator of the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, will give a 20-minute talk about the museum's new exhibition, "The Cost of Revolution: The Life and Death of an Irish Soldier." The Irish soldier is Richard St. George, who fought on the battlegrounds all around here and was wounded at the Battle of Philadelphia. His talk will be followed by a 20-minute dramatic presentation, a monologue written by Philadelphia playwright Chris Braak and performed by actor Seth Reichgott. A reception starting at 6 p.m. precedes the 7 p.m. lecture and performance.
Tickets are $35; contact me at uvilleblogger@gmail.com to RSVP because this will probably be a sellout. (FYI, I am on the Hall's board of trustees.)


STAYIN' AWAKE: Caffeine and nicotine

On my way home from the Y the other night at 8:20, I stopped by the Wawa to pick up a half-gallon of milk. I noticed that the guy in front of me was buying a cup of coffee the size of my head, a liter of Dr Pepper and two different kinds of chewing tobacco. I pondered this odd assortment of substances and concluded that he must be working the night shift. 
"Yes. 100%," confirmed a police officer friend who has pulled his share of overnight duty.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

WEST MARLBOROUGH: Red, white, and blue milk

At my first newspaper back in 1980, all of us reporters doubled as photographers and had to carry our cameras at all times, even off-duty. Woe to the reporter who happened upon a fire or car accident and didn't promptly deliver a roll of film (black-and-white) to the newsroom!
I was reminded of those days on Tuesday, when I was driving home from an errand run and saw (a) a loose cow (b) in a cemetery (c) eating an American flag for lunch. Of course, I stopped and got the shot. It would have made our chief photographer howl with laughter and probably would have made page 1 the next day.
After taking the photo and uploading it to Facebook, I drove up the road and pulled into the driveway of the Upland Road farmette I thought was the cow's likely home. A man was standing there next to a turkey and some chickens.
"Your cow's in the cemetery," I announced.
He sighed, as if it wasn't the first time, and said he'd retrieve her.

A cow munches on an American flag at the old cemetery on Upland Road.




UNIONVILLE: Not doing business as Chantilly Corp.

First thing Tuesday morning I received an odd email purportedly from a Unionville friend inviting me to sign up for a networking service so that he could start sending me business referrals. Time was of the essence: the invitation was good for only 24 hours!
I immediately smelled a rat. To start with, he is a creative fellow and certainly would have come up with a better business name than "Chantilly Corporation." Second, I would have heard had he moved to Toledo, Ohio, where Chantilly was supposedly headquartered.
I emailed him and alerted him that his name was being bandied about in cyberspace. He confirmed that it was a fake and apologized for the spam. When I ran into him later that morning at the Unionville post office, I greeted him as the CFO of Chantilly. He told me the bogus message hadn't gone to just me but had circulated throughout his email list. The upside was that he was reconnecting with friends he hadn't heard from in a long time.

KENNETT: A co-working facility

The latest idea for the former Midge's Bar at 120 East State Street in downtown Kennett is a co-working space called Work2gether, where for a fee you get access to the shared office facility for a certain number of days a month. Membership fees start at $65 a month, which gets you access for 2 days a month from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, plus an hour of meeting space.
The long-vacant building was extensively renovated from its dilapidated tavern days and was going to be a tapas restaurant, then a boutique, but nothing ever materialized.

KENNETT: Pancakes with the Masons

We arrived at just the right time for the semi-annual pancake breakfast at the Kennett Masonic Lodge 475 the morning of Nov. 9. By the time we were sitting down with our scrumptious flapjacks and sausages, the line of hungry newcomers was stretching almost out the door. 
We chatted with former East Marlborough Township supervisor Bob Weer, who is enjoying retirement life at Jenners Pond, and his daughter Blair Fleischmann, who was on her way after breakfast with husband Charlie to watch the Andrews Bridge foxhunters. Collis Townsend, who is active in the Kennett Library's fundraising campaign for a new library, stopped by to say hello. He readily agreed with me that neither carbohydrates nor caffeine intake counts when consumed at a pancake breakfast.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

UNIONVILLE: Art Gala Nov. 15 and 16

The annual Unionville Art Gala will be held Nov. 15 and 16 at Unionville High School. Admission is free, and proceeds from the event benefit programs at the high school. The student featured artist is senior Sophia Mayer (students Ashley Kirk and Claire Favor were runners-up for the honor) and the featured local artist is Diane Cannon. Hours are 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16.
 
 

 

 

NEW BOLTON: Robotic CT imaging for horses

At a First Tuesday lecture at New Bolton Center on Nov. 5, three veterinarians (Barbara Dallap Schaer, Kathryn Wulster, and Dean Richardson) gave a fascinating presentation about New Bolton's new robotic CT imaging system.
Instead of having to anesthetize the horse and figure out how to slide the affected body part into the CT "doughnut," the new system uses computer-controlled robotic "arms" that move around the standing, awake horse to acquire the data. The vets then review the high-resolution reconstructed images and can plan treatment accordingly. The new CT system provides key information about injuries and sometimes uncovers unsuspected problems.
As orthopedic surgeon Dr. Richardson quipped, "If I can't see it, I can't fix it."
Dr. Richardson said the most frequently injured equine body part is the fetlock, and he showed photos showing why: when the horse is galloping, the fetlock is almost flat against the ground.
The speakers said that new system may even have applications for human medicine. Now children have to be sedated for CT scans so they don't move, but with a robotic system the child could lie in bed playing a video game during the scan.
One of the first questions from the audience, most of whom were horse owners, was about the cost of a scan using the new system. The speakers said it was about the same, given that anesthesia wasn't needed, and insurance companies have been covering the procedure.

AUTUMN: Changing of the seasons

Up until the end of October, I was still harvesting zinnias, celosia, cosmos, ageratum, salvia, phlox and even snapdragons from the cutting garden. Then came the first frost, and everything turned to either mush or dried-up, colorless stalks. Another gardening season is over.
Tom Tatum's outdoors column in last week's paper also offered a good reminder that it's rutting season. The romance-minded bucks are not thinking straight and are even more likely than usual to cross the road without looking both ways. Also, if you see one deer along the road, there are probably others nearby.

WEST MARLBOROUGH: Making the pitch for a new library

Kennett Library board member Jeff Yetter has been making the rounds of local government meetings asking for funding to build a new library, and he and library director Megan Walters brought their road show to West Marlborough on Nov. 4.
The architect's renderings show a modern, 29,000-square-foot building located just a few lots east of the current library on East State Street in downtown Kennett Square. Jeff said the glass walls are designed to draw people in and allow them to see all the library's activities.
Jeff emphasized that libraries are about far more than just books these days. The library runs many popular children's programs and has a thriving English-as-a-second-language tutoring program, but the 58-year-old building has just run out of space.
Plans also call for an auditorium that could be used by community groups as well. There would be 37 parking spaces reserved for patrons.
The catch, of course, is the cost of building and operating a new library, the same hurdles that the library board has struggled to overcome since the idea of a new library was floated back in 2000. Jeff said the building is estimated to cost $15 million, and operating expenses would of course increase in a larger facility with an expected doubling of patrons.
He said that West Marlborough has 108 library cardholders, 1% of the total, though the number of township users is likely higher. He asked the township to contribute $22,638 per year for three years toward the cost of building the library.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

HERSHEY: The YR's last XC race for Unionville

On Saturday we headed to Hershey for the state cross-country meet, the final one for the Young Relative in a Unionville jersey. Even though the tough final hill (not-so-fondly known as Poop-Out Hill) was eliminated because of the muddy conditions, it was still a grueling race. Nonetheless, the Y.R. drew on his physical and mental strength to give his best performance ever at Hershey, and both the Unionville boys' and girls' teams finished sixth in the whole state. Two Unionville boys were named to the elite first team by the Pennsylvania Track and Field Coaches Association.
At the Parkview course, spectators park at the Giant Center, an arena surrounded by acres of vast parking lots. To help you remember where you parked, the light poles are identified by numbers and banners depicting candy-bar wrappers. We parked at "Almond Joy." Dearest Partner was in one of his playful road-trip moods and kept reminding me that we had parked at KitKat. Or Mounds. Or Reese's. Or Butterfingers.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

WEST MARLBOROUGH: An unexpected windfall

The West Marlborough Township supervisors and residents received some happy news at the township's Nov. 4 monthly meeting: real-estate transfer taxes have brought $33,756 into the township's coffers so far this year, more than twice the $15,000 the supervisors had projected in the 2019 budget. The windfall resulted from the sale of several large properties in the township this year.

WEST MARLBOROUGH: A new space for the township

If anybody has a spare dining-room table to donate, please contact Shirley Walton, West Marlborough Township's long-time secretary-treasurer. The township has expanded its tiny Doe Run Village office into the much larger space formerly occupied by John Goodall and the western staff of the Brandywine Conservancy, and Shirley said that without furniture it is so empty that it echoes. Having a table (an oval one is preferred) would allow the township staff to review plans without spreading them out on the floor, she says.
Shirley's email address is westmarlboroughtownship@verizon.net.