Concert at St. Michael in Unionville

St. Michael Lutheran Church in Unionville is inviting the community to a free concert at the church at 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7. Professional singers Massimo Brutto and Evan Graver will perform popular stage and Broadway music in the genre of Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban, with such hits as “The Prayer,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” "You Raise Me Up," and “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables. St. Michael's music director, Ryan Peteraf, will accompany them on piano. 

Guests are asked to bring a can of soup, a box of cereal, or another non-perishable food item for Kennett Area Community Services (KACS).

Masks are not required, although the church asks that non-vaccinated people continue to wear masks.

St. Michael Church is at 109 East Doe Run Road, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

MUSIC AT ANSON B. NIXON PARK!

Wednesday night live music is back at Anson B. Nixon Park in Kennett Square!

No, one exclamation point is not enough. 

Wednesday night live music is back at Anson B. Nixon Park in Kennett Square!! We sorely missed these free concerts during the pandemic. 

Shows start at 7 p.m. and last until 9 p.m. Bring your folding chairs or blanket and your picnic basket and drinks to the amphitheater. 

Here's the line-up:

Aug. 18, Delta Cosmonauts ("an eclectic mix of blues, folk, country soul, Americana and classic rock songs")

Aug. 25, SydeTwo (featuring former Kennett Square mayor Leon Spencer)

Sept. 1, Late Ambitions (" six member cover band, playing rock, country, pop and folk from the Beatles and the Stones to Portugal The Man and The Black Keys")

Sept 8, Betty & the Bullet ("Michael Davis, Bethany (Betty) Bullington, and Mark Unruh are Betty & the Bullet: Roots music trio")

Sept. 15, Too Tall Slim and the Guilty Pleasures ("Homegrown rock 'n' roll band from Wilmington, Delaware plays originals and a healthy dose of covers")

Concerts on Sept. 22 and 29 are still to be announced.

A retirement party for Hugh Sr.

Three generations of the Lofting clan showed up to honor Hugh Lofting Sr. as he stepped down from his  longtime position as a West Marlborough Township supervisor.

Before the May 4 meeting, township officials held a brief ceremony in the township garage to say goodbye to Hugh. On hand were his wife, Ann; his son, Hugh 2, and daughter-in-law, Sally; sister, Cintra Murray, and his young grandson, Tuff.

Supervisors' chairman Bill Wylie said no one seems able to pinpoint the date of Hugh's first official township meeting. Hugh said not even he is not sure of the date, but he thinks it was held in Ken Cruse's living room. Hugh served as township roadmaster for many years, so as a farewell gift, the supervisors presented him with a toy truck. 

Refreshments were apple cider from Barnard's Orchards and a delicious cake, baked by Bill Wylie. Tuff Lofting did a great job distributing plates of cake and glasses of cider to the guests.

Emery Jones, formerly the secretary of the township planning commission, is taking over Hugh's position on the board of supervisors.

Bill Wylie, Hugh Lofting Sr., Hugh Lofting Jr., and township secretary-treasurer Shirley Walton at Hugh Sr.'s retirement celebration in the West Marlborough Township garage.

After the ceremony, the supervisors held their monthly meeting. Hugh Lofting Jr., who is stepping into his father's shoes as roadmaster, said he and the crew were busy mowing intersections, filling potholes and doing spring grading of the roads. He outlined some badly needed repairs he plans to do on the beds of the township's dump trucks: "They're from the 1990s, and they live in salt." 

In an attempt to slow traffic and improve safety, the supervisors asked him to come up with ideas for narrowing the stretch of Newark Road between Upland Road (Route 842) and Route 82. 

The supervisors also said they sent a violation notice to JLT Enterprises and set a deadline for the company to stop manufacturing wooden pallets at their property in the 1600 block of Newark Road. Neighbors had reported the manufacturing activity to the township, and there was a major fire at the site in March. 

Pro-Vaxxer

Re: the COVID-19 vaccination program: 

1. I'm healthy and under 65. I fully expected to wait until sometime this summer before getting my vaccination, and I was fine with being at the back of the line. Let the vaccine go to those who are more at risk.

2. In anticipation of the relaxed eligibility guidelines, I registered online with the Chester County Health Department last week. They said they'd notify me when they could give me an appointment.

3. I got an email from CCHD yesterday announcing that I was eligible; did I want to schedule an appointment? I did indeed!

4. Minutes later (literally), I got an email offering me an appointment for 16 hours later at my first-choice location: the Jennersville YMCA, only 20 minutes from my house. They attached a two-page form that I filled out and signed.

5. I showed up at the Y. The workers could not have been nicer and the whole process couldn't have been easier or more efficient. Before I knew it, I'd received my vaccine in the left arm and scored that beautiful, coveted vaccine card. 

6. I hung out in the waiting area for a while (they want to make sure you don't have a bad reaction). Even this wasn't a hassle, as my brother got his shot shortly after me, and we got to catch up on news.

This is just my experience, of course, but I have nothing but good things to say about the entire process. 10 out of 10!

A new supervisor for West Marlborough

"It's been a good ride," said West Marlborough Supervisor Hugh Lofting Sr., summing up his decades of service to the township. At the April 6 meeting, he submitted his letter of retirement, which was regretfully accepted by the other two supervisors, Jake Chalfin and Bill Wylie.

Mr. Wylie asked long-time township secretary Shirley Walton how long Hugh Sr. had been a supervisor, and she said he started serving as a planning commission member back in the 1980s.

"That was before I was born!" exclaimed his son, Hugh Lofting Jr., who is the head of the township's road crew. The younger Lofting agreed to take on some of his father's tasks in terms of getting grants for township roadwork.

Supervisors Chalfin, Lofting and Wylie, with secretary-treasurer Shirley Walton and engineer Al Giannantonio, at a 2016 township meeting.

The supervisors appointed Emery Jones Taylor to fill Mr. Lofting's term. A lifelong township resident, she was the secretary for the planning commission and is married to former supervisor Josh Taylor. She recently joined the staff of the National Steeplechase Association. Jake Chalfin predicted she will be "a dynamite fit" on the board.

The supervisors also received a resignation letter from zoning hearing board member Tom Best.

Supervisor Chalfin also noted that Kenny Young, "a fixture of the township," died April 4. Mr. Young served in the Army, rode the King Ranch as a cowboy and for 50 years served as the farm manager for  the Runnymede estate. He said the last time he saw Mr. Young was when Mr. Young brought him some Angus steaks from his own cattle. Jake said Mr. Young was immensely proud of his grandchildren and loved talking about them. Supervisor Wylie recalled that Mr. Young and his brothers were all gifted athletes, and the King Ranch baseball team was always a formidable opponent.  Here is Mr. Young's obituary.

Kenny Young

Also at the meeting, Mr. Wylie said he had heard from a former member of the Kennett Library board who told him that West Marlborough's financial support of the library's building project was instrumental in influencing other municipalities to contribute as well. Mr. Wylie noted that he thought this was worth mentioning, given the "concerns" that some West Marlborough residents expressed back in 2019 about whether the township should help to finance a new library building in the center of Kennett Square.  

Artist's rendering of the proposed Kennett Library.

 

Starting the gardening season!

I stopped by the local big-box DIY store this afternoon and found it fully stocked with gardening products, and with hope. 

Potted hyacinths scented the air, with a whiff of fertilizer from off in the distance. Racks of seed packets with beautiful illustrations of flowers and vegetables almost made me forget my lack of success starting pretty much anything indoors. And as they're undoubtedly designed to do, the patio sets, grills and fire pits got me thinking of warm summer days on the deck.

But I was there on a mission. My two-seasons-old gardening gloves had developed a rip in the middle finger. This would not be a problem if the extent of my gardening were planting pretty red geraniums in a window box, and then sitting down to a glass of iced tea. No: my yardwork includes tangling with my arch-enemy the multiflora rose and its mercilessly sharp curved thorns. So I quickly rejected the dainty cotton gloves in floral prints and went straight to the heavy armor: rugged reinforced leather with Velcro closures. They look like something an astronaut might wear. I will soon put them to the test.

Small talk with strangers is something I have greatly missed during the pandemic, so I was happy when another shopper came up to me in the garden center and said he couldn't find those brown coir liners for planters. It was his belief, he said darkly, that the store just wanted you to spend more and buy their premade planters rather than assembling your own.

 

A 1919 reunion

On Friday I had a great time exploring life in Chester County circa 1919, thanks to the microfilm collection at the Chester County History Center on North High Street in West Chester (formerly the Chester County Historical Society). 

At the Cloud family reunion back in August, I had volunteered to research whether the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic had affected the family's 1919 reunion. Back then, stories about family gatherings were a fixture of the Daily Local's society pages, so I asked the library staff if I could take a look at the appropriate reel of microfilm. They very kindly set me up at a microfilm reader, dimmed the lights for better viewing, and I started my trip back in time.

I got my answer within an hour. The Aug. 4 issue carried a lengthy account of the Cloud reunion in East Goshen (we still meet at the East Goshen Park), but it didn't mention the Spanish flu at all. More evident was the long shadow of World War I: the entertainment portion of the gathering included the WWI songs "Keep the Home Fires Burning" and "Good Morning, Mr. Zip Zip Zip" (Google the latter; it's a snappy tune). 

There was a lengthy account of the annual "base ball" game, which featured a pitcher who in his college days at the "State Normal School" had been known for his "cannon-fire speed." (There's no longer a baseball game, but we did have a heated cornhole competition last year.) The luncheon menu included ham, beef, potato salad, ice cream, jellies and lemon butter (still a staple at today's reunions).

After finding the reunion story, I spent another hour browsing through the paper. The Daily Local must have had a huge staff at the time because they ran detailed first-person stories about everything from car crashes, industrial accidents, arrests, and court trials to births, deaths, marriages, club meetings, and church activities. 

One reporter was sent out to find out why a politician decided to drop out of a race. The reporter quoted the man as saying "for party unity," before noting that he turned away from the journalist and busied himself with some paperwork. Can't you imagine his gritted teeth and the horse-trading back-story there!

Police officers were much more willing to provide colorful, on-the-record comments about arrests. One provided an account of how a youth ratted on his friends and turned them in for breaking into houses. And there was certainly no Patient Privacy Act; the paper ran a list of hospital admissions, sometimes giving details of the person's illness and prognosis. A reporter interviewed one recuperating patient who had received several blood transfusions; the enthusiastic patient was happy to share his experience and said he felt years younger.

Some things remain the same over time, of course. According to a letter to the editor, a road south of Oxford was in such rough shape that it would produce indigestion in the soundest constitution. And a West Grove resident complained that the placement of a billboard was an accident waiting to happen because it blocked motorists' visibility. One wonders what they would think about today's distracting video billboards on highways!

February WMT meeting

Notes from the brief Feb. 5 meeting of the West Marlborough Township supervisors:

1. The meeting was postponed from the usual "first Tuesday" due to the lengthy snowstorm. Supervisor Hugh Lofting Sr. said that the road crew plowed from Sunday afternoon through Wednesday morning. "No equipment broke down!" he reported.

2. West Marlborough will join with its neighbors East Marlborough and Newlin to apply for a state grant to update the regional comprehensive plan. The state requires an update every ten years, and supervisor Jake Chalfin said that the grant money is expected to cover most of the consultant's fees. Not much updating will be needed, he predicted.

 

Goodbye to the Goddards

I just heard today about the deaths of Steve and Marna Goddard on January 2 and 14, respectively, at ages 81 and 82. The West Grove couple, married for 56 years, will be missed for so many reasons.

The Goddards were the kind of distinctive people who give spice to a community. Their appearance alone made them instantly recognizable: Steve's long white beard and ponytail, Marna's old-fashioned braid wrapped around her head.

The couple donated the land that is now the popular Goddard Park in London Grove Township. And they were fixtures at every kind of cultural event in the area: Hadley Fund lectures, school and community theatrical productions, and concerts. They were regulars at the Anson B. Nixon summer concerts, so much so that we remarked on the rare Wednesday evening when they were absent. They always sat in the front row, and Steve would lug heavy wooden folding chairs for them to sit on.

We were not at all surprised to run into them at plays in Wilmington and at the Milburn Stone Theatre in North East, Maryland. 

I first met Steven when I was working at the Bayard Taylor Library. He did not want to have a computer at home, so he used the library's public computers (and grumbled when we told him his time was up and someone else was waiting!). I've since seen him using the computers at the Avon-Grove Library and I wouldn't be surprised if he is familiar to staffers at other local libraries as well. 

Here is their obituary:

Steven Jerome Goddard, age 81, of West Grove, Pennsylvania, passed away on January 2, 2021 at his home. He was the husband of Marna Mason Goddard, age 82, who passed away January 14, 2021.  They shared 56 years of marriage.

Steve was born in Louisville, Kentucky, graduated from Rice University, and earned his PhD from MIT.  He worked for DuPont.

Marna was born in Hartford, Connecticut, graduated from Earlham College, and earned her MA from Harvard.

Steve and his wife Marna were both music lovers and patrons of the arts, Steve hosted a radio show at WVUD for several years. Their love of nature, community, and conservancy was exemplified by their donation of land to London Grove Township which initiated what is now known as Goddard Park.

Steve and Marna were preceded in death by their son Chad Phillips Goddard, and survived by their daughter Laura Pogue.

Services and interment will be held privately.  Contributions in their memory may be made to London Grove Township/Goddard Park, 372 Rosehill Rd, West Grove, Pa. 19390.

Foxy Loxy will reopen in the spring

After working out the other day I was thinking about heading over to Foxy Loxy in "downtown" Unionville and enjoying a hot cup of coffee in front of the fire -- but then I remembered they're closed until April. Another reason to look forward to spring!

Tina Brown (daughter of founder Henry Brown) explained the reasons behind the temporary shutdown in this notice on the shop's Facebook page: 

Trail cam changes Tilda's life

My new trail cam, a CamPark T-100 model, may be the best Christmas present I've ever received.

As soon as I get out of bed, I check the footage to see what critters visited overnight, before I even feed Tina the cat, pour my coffee, or fix my cereal. (Tina has filed a formal complaint with the West Marlborough Cats' Union.)

The trail cam is equipped with side and front motion detectors that trigger the camera to capture both still photos and videos. First I scroll through the photos for a summary, and then I watch the 10-second videos.

There is no routine for the backyard activity, although usually the opossum shows up shortly after sundown, and then the raccoon or raccoons appear at about 3:30 a.m. After that, all is quiet until sunup -- unless the fox shows up, or the skunk, or the barn cat. We've seen deer strolling by only a few times, far off in the background.

We put out leftovers for the critters every night, whether it's bones, turkey skin, stale cereal, or stuff in the pantry or freezer that predates my low-carb diet. 

We've started to recognize one raccoon with a truncated tail -- we call him Stubbs. Though he can't climb up the feeder pole and swing on the bird feeder like the other more acrobatic raccoons, he's excellent at picking up Cheerios.

The trail cam did have a bit of a learning curve. Determining the optimal settings and location involved some frustration and, sorry to say, some bad language, but we've managed to figure it out.

I share the most amusing or action-packed footage via social media every day, and so far two friends have enjoyed it so much that they've purchased their own trail cams.

A visit to the Conservatory

We had a wonderful, rejuvenating visit to Longwood Gardens on Sunday. The sun was shining and the previous day's wind had died down, so the walk from the visitor center to the Conservatory was pleasant. 

We had a great time exploring the organ display -- you get to see the organ pipes, which range from tiny metal tubes to massive wooden skyscrapers. There's a mural of a long-ago meeting of the organists' guild at Longwood and lots of vintage programs of gala organ concerts. A clever working model shows you how an organ produces sounds, and by pushing buttons you can see and hear how it works. 

The Conservatory displays are full of massed amaryllis, anthuriums, cyclamens, and miniature peach roses this season. Dearest Partner brought his camera and worked diligently making images with just the right lighting and exposure. In the fruit room one of Longwood's resident cats was lying in a sunny spot, licking himself and completely ignoring visitors. 

I'm so glad that Longwood is remaining open during the pandemic. It didn't feel crowded, and everyone wore masks, indoors and out (I did see one woman remove hers to have her photo taken in the Cascade Garden room). Although the masks did cut down on the intoxicating waft of fragrance that usually greets you when you enter the Conservatory, the delightful scent of the paperwhites and Oriental lilies still managed to reach my nose.

A bounty of paper towels

At the Jennersville Giant the other day, the "paper products" aisle was absolutely chockful of paper towels. Not only were they on the shelves, but there were stacks of them piled up in the middle of the double-wide aisle. What a difference from the early days of the pandemic, when the shelves were bare!

Apparently another shopper had the same thought: he was taking a photo of the surplus with his cell phone.

A delicious Indian dinner

As avid restaurant-goers, we have been doing all we can to support our local restaurants. Just days after the most recent dine-in ban was lifted, we enjoyed a terrific meal at one of our favorite Indian places, Rasa Indian Cuisine in the Painters Crossing shopping center.

We arrived on the early side. Although we were the only diners there for a while, the place was bustling with customers picking up their takeout orders. The waiter made frequent trips from the kitchen to the front desk lugging to-go bags.

The owners went out of their way to thank us for our business, but really the pleasure was all ours. I started enjoying Indian food only a few years ago and I now relish every flavorful bite. I even splurged (trying not to think about the carbs) and ordered their amazing garlic naan. Plus, their portions are so large that I had enough lamb biryani for the next few days!

Highly recommended.

New music director comes to St. Michael Lutheran Church

St. Michael Lutheran Church in Unionville has a new music director, Ryan J. Peteraf. He is a native of Selinsgrove but moved here from Massachusetts, where he served as director of music and liturgy, organist and choir director at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Chatham, Mass.

His responsibilities at St. Michael will include playing the organ and directing the Adult Chancel Choir, the Matins Choir, the Jubilation Ringers, and all youth and children’s vocal and bell choirs.

"Ryan is arriving at an interesting time, when we are not yet meeting in our sanctuary for worship services," read a letter sent by the Music Director Search Committee to the church members. "We look forward to his direction in continuing the virtual music that can be incorporated into our worship services, until such time as it is safe to have choirs singing the sanctuary again." 

Ryan earned his Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Performance, with a Minor in Music Education, at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and went on to earn a Master of Sacred Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Notre Dame.  

Steeplechase season approaches

Well, here is some happy news: The 28th running of the Willowdale Steeplechase is set for Saturday, May 8. However, the organizers caution that the number of spectators may need to be limited based on Pennsylvania's mandates in place at the time: "Please check back for the latest updates concerning ticketing on our website and social media," they advise.

Race director is Leslie Carpenter. Proceeds benefit the Stroud Water Research Center and New Bolton Center.

As far as the season-opening Cheshire Point-to-Point is concerned, the date is Sunday, March 28, but I haven't seen any updates about whether spectators will be permitted. Here's hoping!

 

A complaint about cattle trucks on Route 82

A man who lives along Route 82 came to the West Marlborough township meeting on Jan. 4 to let the supervisors know that noisy tractor-trailers hauling cattle to the feed lots at the former King Ranch were making his family's life miserable. 

He played a recording he made of a trucker applying his Jake brakes and said the "obnoxious" noise goes on around the clock, making it difficult to sleep or concentrate. It sounded a lot like this YouTube clip:

He said he suspects the trucks are also too heavy to be using the Rokeby bridge on Route 82.

Township supervisor Jake Chalfin said he sympathized, as loud trucks hauling road materials sometimes use Springdell Road near his house.

Township supervisor Bill Wylie said he believes the cattle at the feed lots are brought there for a period of quarantine before being shipped overseas. He suggested that the township could contact the farmer running the operation and notify him of the problem with the trucks. If that doesn't work, he said, the second step might be to contact the Pennsylvania State Police and ask them about their truck inspection protocol.

Holsteins at the feed lots, Jan. 5.

West Marlborough reorganization meeting

By state law, each township board of supervisors has to "reorganize" at the beginning of the year. West Marlborough did so on Monday, Jan. 4:

• Bill Wylie remains chairman of the board of supervisors, with Jake Chalfin as vice chair. 
• Shirley Walton remains the township's secretary/treasurer. 
• Tom Brosius remains chairman of the planning commission, with Tom Roosevelt as vice chair and Emery Jones as secretary. 
• Township meetings will be held on the first Tuesday of each month.
• Josh Taylor was reappointed to another 3-year term on the township zoning hearing board.

Two notable changes did take place. Township employees (other than the supervisors) received a 3% raise across the board. And the head of the road crew, Hugh Lofting Jr., took over his father's position as township roadmaster and emergency management coordinator. Residents won't notice any changes: "He handles most of it now," explained supervisor Hugh Lofting Sr. in nominating his son for the position.

Hugh 2 and Brother Wilson got a raise.

The Mushroom Drop, 2020-style

 Happy New Year, friends!

Our celebration was a little different this year. Instead of attending Midnight in the Square (aka the Mushroom Drop) in person on New Year's Eve, we watched the two-hour video at home the next afternoon. (The video is available on Midnight in the Square's Facebook page (1) Facebook.)

Because of the pandemic, the organizers moved the site of the Mushroom Drop from the middle of Kennett Square down to the big parking lot in the 600 block of South Broad Street. Spectators were encouraged to stay home and watch the livestreamed event. 

The Mushroom was escorted to the site by fire trucks, sirens blaring, and was raised at 9 p.m. New Year's Eve. The livestream started at 10:15 p.m. In the time-honored spirit of "the show must go on!" the usual Mushroom Drop emcee, Tom Lafferty, handled the challenge masterfully. During the two-hour show, he did a super job of integrating his live announcements with photos from past Mushroom Drops and virtual musical performances. 

This year's entertainers were Kevin Pierce, William Rose (we enjoyed seeing the dog sleeping on the sofa behind him), and two members of the Funsters, the oldies band that traditionally warms up the Mushroom Drop crowd. Kevin Pierce was a wonderful and truly engaging singer that made us smile with his versions of classics like "The Way You Look Tonight" and "What a Wonderful World." We Googled him and found that he is a former state trooper (Bio - Vocals By Kevin)!

As midnight approached, Mr. Lafferty spoke from the heart about how he hoped 2021 would be a better year for all. And then he counted down as the lighted mushroom was slowly lowered to the earth.