NEWLIN: The Mason-Dixon line

Todd Babcock will be discussing the history of the Mason-Dixon Line at a meeting of the Newlin Historical Society at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Liberty Lodge at the KOA Campground on Route 162, Embreeville. All are welcome. Dues to join the group are for individuals, $10 for one year or $28 for three years, and for families, $14 for one year or $39 for three years.
For more information visit the society's website at newlintwphistory.org/.

 

 

EAST MARLBOROUGH: The Bread Ladies

Lovers of homemade baps, brownies and bread will be relieved to learn that the Bakers at Red Lion (aka the Bread Ladies) are baking once again. Oven problems forced them to close last weekend, but they've been fixed, and Barbara and Nancy will be back in business this weekend. The beloved little bakery is at the corner of Route 926 and Doe Run Road.

JENNERSVILLE: Another supermarket sells alcohol

The Jennersville Giant will soon be selling beer and wine, just like the Kennett Giant and the Avondale Acme. Renovations just started this past week in the corner of the store near the produce section. It will be interesting to see if whether this has any impact on the nearby State Store on the other side of the Jennersville shopping center.

JENNERSVILLE: It's now just rubble

They've finally razed that long-vacant building on Old Baltimore Pike in Jennersville, across the street from the Jennersville McDonald's. It used to house a florist shop and then a consignment shop but has been sitting empty and exposed to the elements since it was heavily damaged by a fire. For the past several months there's been a big "X" spray-painted on the west side. It took a demolition crew only a few hours to tear the building down, leaving only broken bricks and charred timbers.

KIDS' SONGS: The farmer or the dog?

Two kids' songs formed part of this week's soundtrack for me.
Friday morning, during an important board meeting, I received an urgent text from my brother: In the song B-I-N-G-O, is Bingo the name of the farmer or the dog? Apparently this debate was raging at his workplace, and he thought that I, as a copy editor, could provide some useful input.
I told him to get back to work.
We ran into him the next day, and he said the argument had quickly spread throughout the entire office and he and his coworkers spent most of the day researching how the song was depicted in YouTube videos and cartoons.
The conclusion was that Bingo is, in fact, the dog's name.
(For some guaranteed amusement, run the question by a friend or family member and just watch them start singing the song.)
Later in the week, Dearest Partner encountered a man making slushies at Wawa for himself and his wife. The guy's wife studied the icy, oddly colored mixture and opined that it resembled "greasy, grimy gopher guts." D.P. said the phrase took him back to his boyhood, but it was new to me. Echoing my brother and his colleagues, we looked it up. The gross lyrics, sung to the tune of "The Old Gray Mare," consist of a litany of similarly disgusting offal, with each verse ending in "But I forgot my spoon!" Pretty funny stuff.

GLEN MILLS: A tasty Indian dinner

Wow, did we have a terrific dinner on Saturday at Shere-E-Punjab in Glen Mills, an Indian restaurant tucked away in the Concordville Town Centre shopping center on Route 1. We got there at about 5:30 and several booths were already taken. The food arrived very quickly, first my lamb masala and garlic naan and then the sizzling platter of salmon, shrimp and chicken that Dearest Partner ordered. My lamb dish was wonderful, with a terrific tomato and onion sauce, perfect spiciness level and the unusual touch of fenugreek leaves (I've always loved the taste of fenugreek). The waiter kept our drinks filled throughout dinner, which I always appreciate during a spicy meal.
We will definitely be back. There's lots more on the menu to try.

CUSTOMER SERVICE: Apathy in inaction

While shopping this weekend we encountered a laconic youth named Kevin who personified the stereotype of a slacker employee.
I was paying for my stuff when a stink bug crawled across the edge of the checkout counter.
"Eww, a stink bug!" I said, pointing to it.
The clerk turned to his coworker. 
"Kevin!" he said. "There's a stink bug."
Kevin replied, with an utter lack of animation, "Whaddya want me to do about it?" It was the rhetorical equivalent of a shrug. 
Dearest Partner, realizing no one else was likely to take any action, flicked it onto the floor and squished it.

CHILD REARING: Entertainment at the Acme

Regular readers know I'm a Giant shopper as a rule, but I popped into the Avondale Acme on Sunday because it's closer and I needed to pick up just a few vegetables for our crockpot supper. It was busy, and I observed a few scenes that made me smile.
One mother was teaching her son to select peppers. She allowed him to choose any color, and he picked a bright orange one, carefully weighed it and put it in a plastic bag.
In the next aisle, a mother was patiently explaining to her daughter that the snack she wanted was exactly the same as the regular kind but was more expensive simply because there was a picture of a princess on the box. This did not dissuade the young girl from wanting the princess snacks anyway. The woman reminded me so much of my own dear mother, an excellent consumer who rarely fell prey to marketing gimmicks.

POCOPSON: Pumpkins and cider

If you've left your autumn decorating until the end of October, Barnard's Orchard on Route 842 east of Unionville still has plenty of pumpkins, gourds, and ornamental kale for sale. We stopped by on a rainy Sunday and, after a little browsing around the yard, spotted a wonderful pumpkin with a distinct bump on the side that will serve as a perfect nose. We also liked the strange-looking pumpkins with barnacle-like growths on them.
And even if you already have your Halloween pumpkin, be sure to purchase some of Barnard's wonderful apple cider, which I think is the best around.

Pumpkins at Barnard's Orchard