March 4, 2010 - ChaddsFordLive.com

William F. Steele Jr. of Westtown Township

srv0000007725456 — William F. Steele Jr. of Westtown Township

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William
F. Steele Jr., 81, of Westtown Township, passed away on Sunday, Feb. 21.

He was
the beloved husband of Ellen Michener Steele, with whom he shared 53 years of
marriage.

Born
in 1929, he was the son of the late William F. and Frances Sharpless Steele.

Bill
started his career working at Steele’s Chevrolet in Clifton Heights. During
this period he completed a two-year course in the Dealership Program at General
Motors Institute (now Kettering University). Upon the death of his uncle he
became part owner in the dealership, later selling his shares after discharge
from the service.

During
the Korean Conflict he served as an officer in the artillery.

He was
a 1947 graduate of West Chester High School, and received his bachelor’s and
master’s degrees from West Chester State Teachers College and West Chester
University.

Bill
began his career in education teaching mathematics at Springfield, Delaware
County, Junior-Senior High School. He later taught at Brandywine High School in
Delaware, where he started the Ski Club and for 21 years took the students on
ski trips.

He was
instrumental in starting the racing program at Chadds Peak and for many years
coached the Brandywine ski team. The first race was between West Chester and
Brandywine. This was the start of the Penn-Del Slalom League that grew to
include 17 high schools in Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Continuing
to be an avid skier after retirement, he and his wife traveled extensively to
find the world’s best ski areas. To celebrate becoming an octogenarian, he
skied 80 days, one day for each year.

Gardening
was another source of pride and enjoyment. He and his wife owned and operated a
specialty nursery for azaleas for many years. They both enjoyed memberships in
numerous horticultural societies. Bill was awarded the Bronze Medal by the
Valley Forge Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society and the Frederick P.
Lee Commendation from the Brookside Gardens Chapter of the Azalea Society of
America. For a short period of time he served as national chairman of the
Azalea Committee of The American Rhododendron Society.

He was
a longtime member, manager and board member of the Quarry Swimming Association.
His love of the quarry sparked his interest in serpentine stone, and he became
an accomplished sculptor.

In
addition to his wife, Bill is survived by two children, William F. Steele III
and his wife, Mary, of California, and James A. Steele of Coatesville; four
grandchildren, Jennifer and husband, Matthew, Katherine and Philip of
California, and Katelyn of Morgantown; and one brother, Smith S. Steele of
Oxford.

A
memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 20, at Birmingham
Friends Meeting, 1245 Birmingham Road, Birmingham.

Memorial
contributions may be made to Neighborhood Hospice, 795 E. Marshall St., Suite
204, West Chester, PA 19380; Jenkins Arboretum, 631 Berwyn Baptist Road, Devon,
PA 19333; or Chester County Hematology/Oncology Services, 440 E. Marshall St.,
West Chester, PA 19380.

Arrangements
are being handled by the Founds Funeral Home Inc., West Chester, 610-696-0134.
Online condolences may be made at www.foundsfuneralhome.com.

About CFLive Staff

See Contributors Page https://chaddsfordlive.com/writers/

William F. Steele Jr. of Westtown Township Read More »

James Paul Harrington of Kennett Square

Obituaries

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James Paul
Harrington, of Kennett Square, died Saturday, Feb. 27, after a 6-year struggle
with pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension.

He was born
Christmas Day 1925 in Lucknow, India, attended the Woodstock School in
Mussoorie, India, graduated from Cazenovia, N.Y., High School in 1943, and
received BSE and MSE degrees from Princeton University.

He served
as a sergeant in the U.S. Army during World War II as part of the 238th General
Hospital unit while in Europe.

He worked
for DuPont, Wilmington. for 18 years as a research engineer in polychemicals,
technical representative and group manager, receiving two patents. He also
served as research and development director for the L.D. Caulk Co., Milford,
Del.; director of exhibits at the Franklin Institute (Philadelphia), 1973-1981;
and served as an editor at Technomic Publishing Co. (Lancaster) and Sage
Publications Limited (London, England). He was the founding editor of the
“Journal on Plastic Film and Sheeting,” and served in that role until
January.

In
addition, he served as a scout aster, was president of Runnymeade (the first
racially integrated housing corporation in Delaware in the late 1950s), a
leader of the New Party to get Eugene McCarthy on the presidential ballot in
1968, and a founder of the New Hope and Ivyland Railroad.

He co-authored
“Aviation and Pennsylvania” and “Packaging Foods with Plastics,”
wrote several papers, and edited several other publications.

He spent
much of his vacation time at Lake Paupac Club in the Poconos. He loved playing
tennis at Paupac and locally.

Largely as
a result of his experiences during the war, he became a member of the Religious
Society of Friends in 1953 with the Wilmington Monthly Meeting, then
transferred to Birmingham Monthly Meeting in 1989. He served in leadership
roles and on various committees with these Meetings and Philadelphia Yearly
Meeting.

He is
survived by his wife, Anne Wilson Harrington; daughter, Barbara Murphy of
Glendale, Ariz.; sons, Ian of Wayland, Mass., and Eric of Maynard, Mass.; three
grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and brother, William of Altamonte
Springs, Fla.

The
memorial service for Jim will be held Saturday, March 20, at 2 p.m. at the
Crosslands Retirement Community in Kennett Square.

In lieu of
flowers, donations may be sent to the Friends Committee on National Legislation
Education Fund, 245 Second St. NE, Washington, DC 20002; or Neighborhood
Hospice, 400 E. Marshall St., West Chester, PA 19380.

About CFLive Staff

See Contributors Page https://chaddsfordlive.com/writers/

James Paul Harrington of Kennett Square Read More »

Les Miserables opens at UHS

Local News

About CFLive Staff

See Contributors Page https://chaddsfordlive.com/writers/

Les Miserables opens at UHS Read More »

A snowy morning for CFHS plein air painters

Local News

billy — A snowy morning for CFHS plein air painters

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The aroma of fresh paint wafted through the gallery area of
the Chadds Ford Historical Society Saturday evening. The paint was still drying
on the paintings that were hanging from the walls during a “Wet paint Sale”
that came after 25 local painters took part in a plein air painting day in the
area.

Plein air is French for open air. Plein air painters do
their thing outside instead of in a studio. Artists, Saturday, were given a
list of 16 locations from which to paint. Many of those locations were private
homes.

The event, the third of its kind at the Historical Society,
was the brainchild of Jacalyn Beam, a plein air painter herself and the person
who runs the art show for Chadds Ford Days.

“We didn’t have anything in the spring and February was
Andrew Wyeth’s favorite time to paint, and there’s a long plein air tradition
here in the Brandywine Valley. Nobody has an organized plein air event like
this,” Beam said. “We’re
attracting people from five states.”

Some of the people taking part were nationally known
painters Kenn Backhaus and Nancy Tankersley as well as local painters such as
Billy Basciani of Kennett Square and John Hannafin of Pocopson Township.

Backhaus is a signature member of the Oil Painters of
America Society and has a TV show on PBS. Tankersley is the owner of South Street
Gallery in Easton, Md. She is known nationally for her plein air work and
figure painting, Beam said.

Beam added that the Chadds Ford Historical Society owes its
existence, in part at least to plein air painting.

She said it was about 45years ago when Andy and Jamie Wyeth
sold some of their work on a clothesline to help raise money to buy property
for the CFHS.

“It’s a tradition well worth reviving,” Beam said.

The “Wet Paint Sale” is for works the painters created that
day. They show up at the Historical Society beginning 7 a.m. and have their
canvases stamped with a log and a date so they can’t bring in a piece they did
previously. This year’s logo was a snowman because of the blizzard, Beam said.

“They’re only allowed to paint on those canvases,” she said.

She said the logo and date stamp turn the piece in a “record
in time” of the particular day, of what the conditions were like and how the
area looked at the time.

“When you plein air paint, you’re really documenting history
in a particular moment in time,” said Beam.

The conditions Saturday included a snow squall that did get
in the way for at least one painter.

Basciani said the snow interfered with the flow of his oil
paint and he had to scrape paint off and start again.

He said he liked the event anyway because it forces him to
continue working and gives him the chance to meet other artists.

As a fund-raiser, the Historical Society took 20 percent of
the sale price of the individual paintings. The 20 percent is a tax deduction
for the buyer, Beam said.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

A snowy morning for CFHS plein air painters Read More »

Adopt-a-Pet

Local News

Sugar is a 6-year-old spayed female Pembroke Welsh corgi mix that is available for adoption through the Chester County SPCA. Sugar originally came to the shelter in July because her owner could no longer care for her. She was adopted but brought back to us on Feb. 13, since she was no longer getting along with the small dog that she was living with. She is a very sweet girl who loves attention and to have her belly rubbed. Sugar is very smart and knows basic behaviors, is housebroken and loves to play fetch with her tennis balls. She would do better in a home with another dog her size or large. Sugar would also be happy to be the only dog in the house as well. She is looking for a responsible care giver who will give her the love and attention she deserves. If you are able to provide that home, visit the Chester County SPCA at 1212 Phoenixville Pike in West Goshen or call 610-692-6113. Sugar’s registration number is 96798461. To look at some of the other animals available for adoption, visit the shelter or log onto www.ccspca.org.

About CFLive Staff

See Contributors Page https://chaddsfordlive.com/writers/

Adopt-a-Pet Read More »

Police log for March 4

Police

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A GMC pickup truck was stolen from, and then returned to,
the parking lot of the AMC Theater at Painter’s Crossing shopping center. When
confronted by the truck’s owner, the suspect, described as a thin black male in
his mid 20s wearing dark clothes, fled through the theater and was picked up by
an accomplice in a white Chevy van, a police report said. According to the
report, the suspect entered the truck that was parked behind the theater. He
found the key in the ignition, then drove the pickup south on Route 202. The
owner spotted his vehicle and the suspect returned the truck to the lot
adjacent to the theater, the report said. The Chevy van escape vehicle was seen
traveling south on Route 1. No registration number was obtained. The incident
happened about 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 25.

• State police report one injury in a two-car accident of
Route 1 in Chadds Ford Township on Feb 27. According to a report, both cars
were in the left lane traveling north on Route 1. As they approached Route 202,
the report said, the lead car slowed to a stop for a red light and the second
car hit the first car’s rear bumper. The driver of the lead car was taken to
Riddle Memorial Hospital with neck pain.

• Police are investigating the theft of an iPod and an iPod
dock from the conference room of the Hampton Inn in Concord Township on Feb.
28. A report said the theft happened sometime between 2:35 and 7 a.m. The value
of the stolen property was reported to be $600.

About CFLive Staff

See Contributors Page https://chaddsfordlive.com/writers/

Police log for March 4 Read More »

Blogging Along the Brandywine: A look at Tommy Drane

Along the Ford

It had been a long, full weekend and by Monday night I
didn’t feel like making myself dinner, so I turned into the parking lot of the
familiar rustic structure on Route 1.

As I slipped into one of the quiet booths of varnished
handcrafted wood tables and hurricane lamps, it made me think of the old galley
from summers past, sailing on the schooner Lewis R. French in Maine.

I didn’t even need a menu – “Grilled Chicken Salad with
Honey Mustard dressing on the side, please.” It was second to none, even in the
area’s fine-dining establishments.

I waved to the trim, good-looking man, seated at the far
side of the bar regaling his friends. Looking a decade younger than his 72
years, he was wearing a turtleneck and black fisherman’s knit sweater along
with his long signature mustache.

As he walked over, I motioned for him to share the table
with me.

Tom Drane, owner of the Chadds Ford Tavern, was born in
Chester, the seventh of 10 children. “I’m not spoiled too much,” he smiled.

As a teenager, weighing all of 118 pounds, Drane exercised
horses for Frederick M. Mitchell owner of Fox Valley Farm in the Cheyney-Glen
Mills area. First exercising horses on weekends only, he dropped out of school
in 10^th grade, and went full time. “I didn’t like school.” he
explained. “I wanted to be a jockey and rode thousands of horses. I was wiry
but strong,” he reminisced. “I loved it.”

But at the age of 18, Drane started working in the
restaurant business and married his wife Earlene, still steadfastly by his side
today.

Then, in 1966 a small, run down c.1830, one-room tavern in
Chadds Ford came on the market. Originally offered for $35,000, by the time
Drane was able to buy it in 1967, the asking price was $45,000.

“It was in very bad shape,” he said.

Drane cleaned up the place and added on the larger back
wing, making the Chadds Ford Tavern the local icon it is today.

I asked him how Chadds Ford had changed since he came to the
village.

While mentioning the former Continental Safari Night Club up
at Routes 1 and 202, the coming of the condominiums and hotels, Drane said, by
in large, the character of Chadds Ford has not changed.

“A lot of my customers have passed away, but others who came
in the ‘70s still come,” he said.

A quick glance around the tavern shows original paintings of
men with oddly familiar mustaches.

“Andy, Frolic, Rea- they all sketched me” he said, and
pointed to two oils of him done by Bill Ewing.

For the past twenty years, Drane’s daughter Kym, a former
model in New York City, has been general manager of the tavern. “She still runs
every morning,” Drane added.

But like so many adult children of very successful
restaurateurs, the same desire to devote a lifetime to long restaurant hours,
perhaps at the expense of their families, is not always guaranteed. Drane, who
has had heart bypass surgery, worries about the future of the tavern.

So as the evening ended, we raised our glasses of wine and
toasted to a bright future for the Chadds Ford Tavern.

And oh yes, the next time I’m there, I think I’ll try
another tavern favorite – Chicken Charlie on Ciabatta bread.

About Sally Denk Hoey

Sally Denk Hoey, is a Gemini - one part music and one part history. She holds a masters degree cum laude from the School of Music at West Chester University. She taught 14 years in both public and private school. Her CD "Bard of the Brandywine" was critically received during her almost 30 years as a folk singer. She currently cantors masses at St Agnes Church in West Chester where she also performs with the select Motet Choir. A recognized historian, Sally serves as a judge-captain for the south-east Pennsylvania regionals of the National History Day Competition. She has served as president of the Brandywine Battlefield Park Associates as well as the Sanderson Museum in Chadds Ford where she now curates the violin collection. Sally re-enacted with the 43rd Regiment of Foot and the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment for 19 years where she interpreted the role of a campfollower at encampments in Valley Forge, Williamsburg, Va., Monmouth, N.J. and Lexington and Concord, Mass. Sally is married to her college classmate, Thomas Hoey, otherwise known as "Mr. Sousa.”

Blogging Along the Brandywine: A look at Tommy Drane Read More »

First person singular: Enough of this winter already

Opinion

canoes-for editorial — First person singular: Enough of this winter already

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Let’s say this straight out. This winter has been too cold,
too snowy and has lasted far too long. I want spring and I want it three weeks
ago.

Granted, I’m a summer person by nature—preferring to kayak
and boogie board rather than risk my limbs by skiing or ice-skating—but even my
sister, a winter person who likes the cold wants this winter to be over and
done with.

I used to think her preference for winter was because she
was born in January while I was born in June, but there are even people born in
April who prefer winter. (Maybe it was a cold spring.)

As a kid I thought winters were almost as great as summer
because if it snowed enough there would be no school and that was great. My
friends and I would get our sleds out—Flexible Flyers, of course— and head out
to Suicide Hill, the steep hill at a nearby golf course, the one within
trudging distance.

We’d be out there for hours, until we were soaked through.
It was difficult staying on the sled all the way down the hill and sometimes it
was actually more fun to fall off the sled than actually make it all the way.

The single best time on Suicide Hill was the day a car hood
showed up and it became our version of a ski lift. What a blast that was to go
belly flopping own the hill and hitting the hood just right. Most of the time
we’d hit it wrong and just lose balance right away, but when we would hit it
right we would become airborne for a short while. Of course, we’d then slam
down hard and I sometime wonder how any of us became baritones.

Snowball fights were fun, too, but I preferred sledding. And
rolling or sliding down a hill without a sled of any kind was fun, too.

(One of the things I find so curious is that too few people
in the Chadds Ford area seem to be out sledding when it snows now. There are
people who go to Pocopson Elementary School and sled down Mt. Pocopson, but
there should be more, especially more kids. And the younger ones could use the
smaller hill at Brandywine Battlefield Park.)

Now, I don’t dislike winter. I actually like the change of
seasons. It’s just that as I get older, winters seem to last longer than they
should. Two days of cold weather, a two-foot blizzard, then springtime
temperatures again.

OK, maybe not realistic and maybe not even the right thing.
Nature needs the balance of summer and winter in the temperate climate and a
healthy spring needs the biological action that goes on under the blanket of
snow and frozen earth. Plus, as a photographer, I do enjoy capturing those winter
scenes, especially the ones that make a person shiver just looking at the
image.

So, I tolerate winter. It’s both pretty and necessary. But I
still need spring. I need to thaw out.

About Rich Schwartzman

First person singular: Enough of this winter already Read More »

Know Your Finances: Brokers, advisors and planners. Oh my.

Business

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If you are not intimately acquainted with the world of
financial professionals, it can be incredibly overwhelming trying to figure out
the puzzle of who does what? Who
charges what? Who is looking out for your best interest? Who is regulated by
what agency? Who has which licenses?

I was a broker for four years at E.F. Hutton in the early
1980s and now am an independent investment advisor who also does financial
planning so I can give you the skinny on how the puzzle fits together.

A broker may also go by other names, including: stockbroker,
registered representative, financial advisor, wealth advisor, and account
executive. Brokers are employed by broker-dealer firms (also called securities
firms), which, by the very name, describes their function: the broker and its
brokerage company buy and sell securities for clients as well as for their own
benefit (dealers.) In the last 20
years of massive consolidation, commercial banks, investment banks and
insurance companies have all bought broker-dealer companies and thus, many
types of financial firms trade securities. We’ll see how far the Obama
Administration and Congress tear down those walls…but that’s a discussion for
an entirely different article.

Brokers are licensed and regulated by the Securities and
Exchange Commission and must have certain licenses to perform their job,
specifically, Series 6, 7 and 63. Brokers are not required to be their clients’
fiduciary. A fiduciary is someone who must always act in the best interest of
someone else. Brokers are held to
what is called the “suitability” requirement, meaning that if two similar
securities are pretty good for a client, it is legal to choose the one that
costs the client more and pays the broker more. Also, brokers do not have to
reveal any conflicts of interest about their asset choices for client
portfolios. Brokers get paid by commissions and may also be paid security price
mark-ups and ongoing annual percentage fees from products. Very often, brokers
do not have a full understanding of their clients’ financial picture and
recommend securities that may not be in the best of their clients.

When we talk about advisors we need to distinguish between independent investment advisors and advisors who
are employed by a financial firm. Advisors who are registered as independent
investment advisors must abide by the “fiduciary” requirement and always put
the interests of their clients first. They also must hold Series 6, 7, and 63
licenses and they are regulated by the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 under
the Securities and Exchange Commission. Those advisors who hold the Chartered
Financial Analyst charter are rigorously trained in investment research and portfolio
management and are held to a very high ethical and fiduciary standard. Since
they are independent they are not compensated by the providers of any products
they choose for their clients. They typically charge clients a percentage fee
based on assets under management.

Financial planners are often employed or compensated by
broker-dealers, mutual fund companies, or insurance companies, and therefore
inherently operate under conflicts of interest for their clients and do not act
as client fiduciary. On the other hand, financial planners who are independent
investment advisors do act as their clients’ fiduciaries. Financial planners
who hold the Certified Financial Planning designation shows that they have been
trained in-depth in many areas of financial planning. But be alert to the fact
that a Certified Financial Planner may or may not have conflicts of interests.
It depends on who their employer is and how they are compensated. Financial
planners can get paid in several different ways: directly from the companies who produce the product they
recommend to you, a flat fee for a financial plan, an hourly fee, or a
percentage of assets under management.

I hope this brief review helps clears up some of the
misunderstanding some of you may had had about the financial industry and its
many professionals. Don’t be afraid to ask your financial professional:

What is your experience?

Who is your employer?

How do you get compensated?

Are you a fiduciary?

What licenses do you hold?

The better informed you are, the more rewarding partnership
you will have with your financial professional.

• I look forward to
receiving your questions about anything related to investments, retirement
planning, or the economy. Send them to: ellen@ascendinvmgt.com and write
“Chadds Ford Live” in the subject line.

About Ellen Le

Ellen is the Founder and President of Ascend Investment Management. She was born in Philadelphia and has lived in the Delaware Valley for most of her life. When she is not researching investments and managing portfolios, she pursues her interests in tennis, bridge, hiking and art. Beginning her investment career in 1981 as a stockbroker at E.F. Hutton and Co., Ellen now has over 20 years of investment management experience. Prior to founding Ascend in 2006, she managed high net worth assets for many years at Bank of America, Mellon Bank, and most recently at Davidson Capital Management. At Davidson Capital Management, Ellen served as a Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager of the firm. She managed assets for more than 50 family relationships and was a core member of the firm’s Investment Committee.Ellen earned a BA in History from Brown University and a MBA in Finance & Investments from The George Washington University. She is a member in good standing of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute, which is a global organization dedicated to setting a high ethical standard for the investment profession. Her professional memberships include the Delaware County Estate Planning Council, Women Enhancing Business (WEB), and the Chadds Ford Business Association. She is a docent with the Delaware Art Museum and an active volunteer with the Brown University Alumni Association.

Know Your Finances: Brokers, advisors and planners. Oh my. Read More »

Mind Matters: The changing brain

Health

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The brain has been on my mind lately. Last weekend through
sleet and snow like an eager letter (not to mention junk mail) carrier, I
trekked to City Line Avenue to hear two eminent M.D. writer-researchers speak
on the plasticity of the brain. Norman Doidge is the author of “The Brain That
Changes Itself.” Dan Siegel has written several books, most recently
“Mindsight.” (I have referred to his books in previous articles—particularly to
his book with M. E. Hartzell, “Parenting from the Inside Out.”

There are vast implications for us from all the ongoing
brain research. Many psycholotherapists, perhaps particularly family
therapists, have intuited for years that interactions with others, and that
family relationships inparticular have profound effects on the developing
child’s mind. Also, the pioneer in education, Maria Montessori, in Italy in the
early 1900’s, knew how much the child was “an absorbent mind,” a sponge.

Now we may relate her educational methods to be geared to
the affluent who can afford private pre-school. But in fact, Montessori
utilized her methods first with Italian children who were poor and considered
limited in ability and IQ. Her schools, which allowed the children freedom of
movement and individualized experiences, also promoted teamwork and
collaboration.

So now brain researchers are proving with clinical data,
derived from technological advances with MRI’s and CAT scans that indeed human
interaction directly affects the development of the brain, its structures and
neurochemistry.

Dan Siegel informs us that relationships are key for
stimulating neuronal activation and growth. (For this process, he uses the
mnemonic SNAG.) Relationships, although crucial in early stages of development,
remain significant until our last breath.

Doidge and Siegel point out that we used to consider the
brain like a machine, a computer. It is not. Our brains and nervous system are
in process and change—not at all fixed, rigid structures.

There is an upside and downside to the plasticity. On the
one hand our brains can be remarkably adaptable, with areas of the brain taking
over other areas that have been injured. On the other hand, the responsiveness
of plasticity can be problematic in such things as drug abuse or other
addictions. (Dopamine chemistry of the brain, such as with the use of
marijuana, can be irreversibly affected.)

There were several memorable “takeaways” from the
conference.

Effortful attention is necessary! Use it or lose it! We are
reminded that yes we do need brain exercise and we do need to challenge our
brains with something NEW! Siegel informs us that while an infant’s brain
circuits that help consolidation of information and experience are “always on,”
we, as we age, “turn off.” We then don’t make the effort to pay attention to
learn and we actually stop exerting ourselves mentally. This is reversible by
revving up our curiosity. Our brains need novelty. Not only do we benefit from
mental activities, but also from aerobic exercise.

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it turns out we
humans need a dose of it to live just one life.

We and our brains also benefit from engaging in mindfulness
practices which heighten our awareness of ourselves and others. Mindfulness has
become a buzzword in many circles these days. However, given its long history
throughout the world, mindful awareness of being in the moment is no fad. Again
brain research gives us direct evidence that practicing mindfulness meditation
can significantly change neural patterns.

Heightening awareness and observation of ourselves, becoming
reflective rather than reactive, promotes our own neural integration and mental
health. And because we and our brains need relationship and are dependent on
interaction, mindfulness of self correlates to healthier interaction with
others. As Siegel notes in “The Mindful Brain,” “Today, more than ever, we
desperately need a scientifically grounded view that supports our societal
encouragement of reflection to promote compassion and care for each other.”

Books to consider:

“The Brain That Changes Itself,” Norman Doidge

“The Mindful Brain,” Daniel Siegel

“The Neuroscience of Human Relationships,” Doug Cozolino

“The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion,” Christopher Germer
and Sharon Salzberg

• Kayta Curzie Gajdos holds a doctorate in counseling
psychology and is in private practice in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. She
welcomes comments at MindMatters@DrGajdos.com
or (610)388-2888. Past columns are posted to www.drgajdos.com.

About Kayta Gajdos

Dr. Kathleen Curzie Gajdos ("Kayta") is a licensed psychologist (Pennsylvania and Delaware) who has worked with individuals, couples, and families with a spectrum of problems. She has experience and training in the fields of alcohol and drug addictions, hypnosis, family therapy, Jungian theory, Gestalt therapy, EMDR, and bereavement. Dr. Gajdos developed a private practice in the Pittsburgh area, and was affiliated with the Family Therapy Institute of Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, having written numerous articles for the Family Therapy Newsletter there. She has published in the American Psychological Association Bulletin, the Family Psychologist, and in the Swedenborgian publications, Chrysalis and The Messenger. Dr. Gajdos has taught at the college level, most recently for West Chester University and Wilmington College, and has served as field faculty for Vermont College of Norwich University the Union Institute's Center for Distance Learning, Cincinnati, Ohio. She has also served as consulting psychologist to the Irene Stacy Community MH/MR Center in Western Pennsylvania where she supervised psychologists in training. Currently active in disaster relief, Dr. Gajdos serves with the American Red Cross and participated in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts as a member of teams from the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Now living in Chadds Ford, in the Brandywine Valley of eastern Pennsylvania, Dr. Gajdos combines her private practice working with individuals, couples and families, with leading workshops on such topics as grief and healing, the impact of multigenerational grief and trauma shame, the shadow and self, Women Who Run with the Wolves, motherless daughters, and mediation and relaxation. Each year at Temenos Retreat Center in West Chester, PA she leads a griefs of birthing ritual for those who have suffered losses of procreation (abortions, miscarriages, infertility, etc.); she also holds yearly A Day of Re-Collection at Temenos.Dr. Gajdos holds Master's degrees in both philosophy and clinical psychology and received her Ph.D. in counseling at the University of Pittsburgh. Among her professional affiliations, she includes having been a founding member and board member of the C.G. Jung Educational Center of Pittsburgh, as well as being listed in Who's Who of American Women. Currently, she is a member of the American Psychological Association, The Pennsylvania Psychological Association, the Delaware Psychological Association, the American Family Therapy Academy, The Association for Death Education and Counseling, and the Delaware County Mental Health and Mental Retardation Board. Woven into her professional career are Dr. Gajdos' pursuits of dancing, singing, and writing poetry.

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