Blogging Along the Brandywine: “Crowbar” Sue Minarchi

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The village of Chadds Ford
is quickly getting to know Sue Minarchi, the energetic and effervescent
president of the Sanderson Museum on Creek Road.

Two summers ago, before
she became president, I started calling her “Crowbar Sue.”

Why?

Well, as always, we were
trying to save money at the Sanderson, and instead of hiring a contractor, Sue
and I had decided to take on a little do-it-yourself project. The challenge was
in removing the shelves and Plexiglas© photo display which unfortunately had
been permanently installed in the late 1960’s over an architecturally
significant detail in the mid 19th century home —a second front door.

I was there with the claw
end of my hammer prying out the individual nails holding the super structure
together.

“Wait a minute,” she said
and came at the sides with her crowbar.

SKKRRRRREEEE ….CRRAACK
went the framing ...and voila! There was the old door still intact!

This is the way Sue
Minarchi takes on all her challenges – head on!

Sue grew up in Montville,
New Jersey in historic Morris County just north of where Washington’s troops
were quartered during the bitter winter of 1779-80.

“My father owned a
trucking company and my mother was a stay-at-home mom,” she said.

As a business administration
major with a concentration in marketing at Montclair State University in
Montclair, NJ, Sue’s post graduate life took her to Michigan and Louisiana
before moving to Unionville 10 years ago. “Now, I feel like I’ve lived here all
of my life,” she said.

So how did Minarchi get
involved with the little museum in the village of Chadds Ford?

Minarchi, an art student
of Karl Kuerner relates, “Karl originally invited me to see the Sanderson
Museum and I became involved as a museum guide. Soon thereafter, I was
invited on the Board and the rest, as they say, is history.”

Shorthand for, Minarchi,
like many others, had been bitten by the Sanderson bug.

“I have an interest in preserving history and often wonder
about the person who might have used a particular artifact and how it was a
part of their life. And, of course, I have my own little collection of items
that have been a significant part of my life.”

“I think there is a lot of
Chris in me,” she said.

In September of 2009 after
leading the board’s steering committee in restoring the outside of Sanderson to
its mid 19th century appearance when it was owned by the Bullocks and Harveys,
Minarchi was elected president of the museum.

She is currently
spearheading the Steering Committee’s efforts with a major landscaping project
as well as getting bids for a new HVAC system in order to better preserve the
eight-room collection.

And she does all of this
with a full-time job as Project Manager for Synthes, a leading global medical
device company in West Chester.

Minarchi once said she
wanted to run the Sanderson as if it were her own company and added, “The
Sanderson Museum is a gem that I'd like to be able to share with visitors both
locally and nationally. Our collection spans the better part of several
centuries and contains artifacts of worldwide significance and interest.

So don’t underestimate
this pretty lady with a crowbar in her hand. You will find with the right
tools, she can accomplish anything!

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.”

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