Friday, June 6, 2014
Tales of Newark Road
Thank you to a public-spirited citizen who moved a recently struck deer carcass off heavily traveled Newark Road earlier this week. I'm told he carried it in the bucket of his front-end loader to a remote part of his property, where the turkey buzzards could dispose of it.
Speaking of Newark Road: Another resident is begging motorists to slow down. The speed limit is 40 m.p.h., but she said she sees people flying by her house regularly and even passing other cars. "Somebody's going to get killed," she warned darkly, as we stood in her front yard watching traffic during evening "rush hour."
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Bike ride
"Unionville in the News" reader Bill Clement wrote to tell me that this year's "Chester County Challenge for Cancer" (www.cccride.com) will be on Sunday, June 22, so just a heads up that there will be an especially large number of bicyclists on the roads that day. The main rest stop will be at Kinloch Woodworking on Route 82 in the middle of Unionville, with another on White Horse Road toward Cochranville. The ride is a fundraiser for the Chester County Hospital Cancer Center and Neighborhood Hospice. There are five rides scheduled: five miles, 10 miles, 30 miles, 50 miles and 65 miles, the latter described as "most challenging, hilly."
West Marlborough police news
Police matters took up most of the June 3 meeting of the West Marlborough Township supervisors.
First, Trooper Rich D'Ambrosio, from the state police barracks at Avondale, made one of his periodic reports about state police activity in West Marlborough. Since March, he said, there were a total of 45 incidents in the township, including two criminal cases (one harassment, one theft) and 11 car crashes, three of them involving injury or significant damage.
He advised residents to lock their car doors and to call the police if they see something suspicious. He said West Marlborough always has the lowest crime statistics in the entire district: "You have a very safe community," he said.
In response to a question from one of the supervisors, he said the state police did not play a major role in the Chester County Detectives' recent break-up of a large local cocaine-selling gang "other than us going out and grabbing bodies."
In addition to coverage by the state police, West Marlborough also hires Lieut. Robert Clarke to work 40 hours per month. He reported that for May, he issued 13 citations (10 for speeding and three for parking) and five warnings.
Lieut. Clarke also reported the results of a traffic study he conducted along Runnymede Road near Springdell from May 17 to 27. He found that 37 percent of the 427 motorists (215 eastbound and 212 westbound) were exceeding the 25-m.p.h. limit: 92 were going 26 to 30 m.p.h., 43 were going 31 to 35 m.p.h., nine were going 36 to 40 m.p.h., nine were going 41 to 45 m.p.h., two were going 46 to 50 m.p.h., and three were going 51 to 55 m.p.h. No one was going above 55 m.p.h.
In other business, building inspector Eddie Caudill reported that he issued three building permits to township residents in May, two for HVAC installation and one for a new deck.
First, Trooper Rich D'Ambrosio, from the state police barracks at Avondale, made one of his periodic reports about state police activity in West Marlborough. Since March, he said, there were a total of 45 incidents in the township, including two criminal cases (one harassment, one theft) and 11 car crashes, three of them involving injury or significant damage.
He advised residents to lock their car doors and to call the police if they see something suspicious. He said West Marlborough always has the lowest crime statistics in the entire district: "You have a very safe community," he said.
In response to a question from one of the supervisors, he said the state police did not play a major role in the Chester County Detectives' recent break-up of a large local cocaine-selling gang "other than us going out and grabbing bodies."
In addition to coverage by the state police, West Marlborough also hires Lieut. Robert Clarke to work 40 hours per month. He reported that for May, he issued 13 citations (10 for speeding and three for parking) and five warnings.
Lieut. Clarke also reported the results of a traffic study he conducted along Runnymede Road near Springdell from May 17 to 27. He found that 37 percent of the 427 motorists (215 eastbound and 212 westbound) were exceeding the 25-m.p.h. limit: 92 were going 26 to 30 m.p.h., 43 were going 31 to 35 m.p.h., nine were going 36 to 40 m.p.h., nine were going 41 to 45 m.p.h., two were going 46 to 50 m.p.h., and three were going 51 to 55 m.p.h. No one was going above 55 m.p.h.
In other business, building inspector Eddie Caudill reported that he issued three building permits to township residents in May, two for HVAC installation and one for a new deck.
A new life for the Brown Derby
Olen Grimes, the owner of the Artworks gallery in Kennett Square, has bought The Brown Derby restaurant in downtown Toughkenamon. He and his two business partners, Ray Maxwell (who will double as chef) and Steve Burkes, will be renovating the place, a local institution, and hope to reopen soon as the Fire Hill Pub. Maxwell was formerly the chef at the Foxfire Restaurant at the Stone Barn here in West Marlborough.
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Blow Horn update
I'm delighted to report that the historic Blow Horn mill at Routes 82 and 841 is going to be preserved and renovated.
General contractor Chuck Ginty of Unionville, who has the fascinating assignment, was kind enough to show me around the eighteenth-century fieldstone mill one morning last week, with the generous permission of owner D.D. Matz.
The iconic "Blow Horn" stone is going to remain where it is, forming the edge of a courtyard. But the rest of the wall nearest Route 82--the one that was mangled when a wide tractor-trailer hit it last October--is going to be taken down, stone by stone, and moved about eight feet back from the road, for safety's sake.
Chuck said Mrs. Matz asked him to assess the mill shortly before the accident, and he predicted that given its level of deterioration, "it would be two to five years before something tragic happens. ... when the truck hit, it goosed us all into action." Parts of the mill are in obviously bad shape, with gaping cracks, a collapsed wooden floor and damaged beams. We could hear and see baby birds in a nest in one of the walls, and there was fresh fox scat on an upstairs floor.
The mill is going to be completely repointed and new windows will be installed. Its future use hasn't been determined.
In the dirt-floor basement there are several beautifully built arches where water flowed in and out, providing the power source for the mill, as well as chutes where farmers could drop off their grain from the outside of the building. The millstone is missing. The muddy basement floor is going to be cleaned up, drained and covered with concrete.
The massive beams, Chuck said, are made of hemlock (Pennsylvania's state tree). By studying the saw marks, he can tell the date of some of them and even how big the saw blade was (huge).
Belts and gears conveyed the power from the basement through the three levels (there used to be another story on top as well), with wooden chutes directing the finished product into big storage bins. The gears still turn, thanks to the animal fat that was used as lubricant.
Chuck found a pile of the substantial canvas belts with metal scoops that were used to carry the grain automatically from floor to floor.
On the top floor, which is bright and airy, there's an old scale, and a windlass with thick rope that dangles down through a trap door.
Some of the craftsmanship is beautiful, with unexpected decorative touches on the staircase banister and the curved plaster window reveals. In the mill office on the main floor, scrawled sums are still visible on the white plaster wall.
The date stone on the west wall bears two dates: 1744, when William Harlan owned the mill, and 1789, when Caleb Phipps bought and enlarged it. Several owners and uses later (grain, lumber, cider), it was destroyed by fire in 1884 but was rebuilt a year later by owner William Hannum. It was purchased by Buck & Doe Run Valley Farms in 1946.
I'm pleased that the mill is being preserved -- thanks, Mrs. Matz -- because it holds a special place in the hearts of a lot of us Unionville residents. Blowing your horn at the corner is a quirky tradition that mystifies outsiders, but it's a much-loved part of our history.
General contractor Chuck Ginty of Unionville, who has the fascinating assignment, was kind enough to show me around the eighteenth-century fieldstone mill one morning last week, with the generous permission of owner D.D. Matz.
The iconic "Blow Horn" stone is going to remain where it is, forming the edge of a courtyard. But the rest of the wall nearest Route 82--the one that was mangled when a wide tractor-trailer hit it last October--is going to be taken down, stone by stone, and moved about eight feet back from the road, for safety's sake.
Chuck said Mrs. Matz asked him to assess the mill shortly before the accident, and he predicted that given its level of deterioration, "it would be two to five years before something tragic happens. ... when the truck hit, it goosed us all into action." Parts of the mill are in obviously bad shape, with gaping cracks, a collapsed wooden floor and damaged beams. We could hear and see baby birds in a nest in one of the walls, and there was fresh fox scat on an upstairs floor.
The mill is going to be completely repointed and new windows will be installed. Its future use hasn't been determined.
In the dirt-floor basement there are several beautifully built arches where water flowed in and out, providing the power source for the mill, as well as chutes where farmers could drop off their grain from the outside of the building. The millstone is missing. The muddy basement floor is going to be cleaned up, drained and covered with concrete.
The massive beams, Chuck said, are made of hemlock (Pennsylvania's state tree). By studying the saw marks, he can tell the date of some of them and even how big the saw blade was (huge).
Belts and gears conveyed the power from the basement through the three levels (there used to be another story on top as well), with wooden chutes directing the finished product into big storage bins. The gears still turn, thanks to the animal fat that was used as lubricant.
Chuck found a pile of the substantial canvas belts with metal scoops that were used to carry the grain automatically from floor to floor.
On the top floor, which is bright and airy, there's an old scale, and a windlass with thick rope that dangles down through a trap door.
Some of the craftsmanship is beautiful, with unexpected decorative touches on the staircase banister and the curved plaster window reveals. In the mill office on the main floor, scrawled sums are still visible on the white plaster wall.
The date stone on the west wall bears two dates: 1744, when William Harlan owned the mill, and 1789, when Caleb Phipps bought and enlarged it. Several owners and uses later (grain, lumber, cider), it was destroyed by fire in 1884 but was rebuilt a year later by owner William Hannum. It was purchased by Buck & Doe Run Valley Farms in 1946.
I'm pleased that the mill is being preserved -- thanks, Mrs. Matz -- because it holds a special place in the hearts of a lot of us Unionville residents. Blowing your horn at the corner is a quirky tradition that mystifies outsiders, but it's a much-loved part of our history.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Birds at the ball park
There was some avian drama at the URA baseball fields the other night. The Young Relative's team was playing in the field closest to the road, so we spectators were standing next to the little but dense area of wetlands. A red-winged blackbird was perched on a tall reed in the swamp, protecting her nest. She'd fly directly at the head of any spectator she saw as a threat, which proved to be an effective means of keeping people away. She even got tangled up in one Mom's hair.
Later in the game a Canada goose flew slowly and low, right over the infield. Fortunately the boy at bat smacked a line drive rather than a popup. I'm not sure how hitting a goose would be scored according to the URA rules.
Later in the game a Canada goose flew slowly and low, right over the infield. Fortunately the boy at bat smacked a line drive rather than a popup. I'm not sure how hitting a goose would be scored according to the URA rules.
A new lifestyle
Tilda's father recently retired, and it seems that he has put his 60-some years in the labor force behind him with remarkable ease. My brother stopped by our parents' house on Friday and my father asked, "So what did you do today?"
"I went to work," my brother said. "It's Friday."
"Oh! That's right," said Dad, with a certain degree of satisfaction.
"I went to work," my brother said. "It's Friday."
"Oh! That's right," said Dad, with a certain degree of satisfaction.
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