How many moving boxes can fit into a 2007 Toyota Corolla?
Seventeen. I know – I loaded them.
June 11 is moving day and the big van is loading my
furniture and traveling 10 miles north to our dream home, a beautiful 4-bedroom
Williamsburg Colonial in the woods.
(And yes the Radon problem was easily resolved—a poor French
drain design was the culprit.)
We know this home was truly meant to come into our lives,
after making the happy discovery that the man who built it in 1970 was the late
Emil Markow, my long-time voice professor at the School of Music at West Chester
University so many years ago.
An operatic bass, he had recorded an album with RCA with
Renata Tebaldi, Robert Merrill and Jussi Björling, later appearing on early
television with the Voice of Firestone Choir as well as Fred Waring and the
Pennsylvanians.
There’s something very cathartic about moving.
My sister, who has moved at good half dozen times, always
said moving is the greatest way to sort out the clutter, and it’s amazing how
much has ended up in the dumpster or in the charity boxes.
I really thought Chadds Ford would be my home forever.
I came here 31 years ago as a young teacher and was quickly
caught up in the Chadds Ford Historical Society, the Brandywine River Museum,
with eventual board presidencies at the Brandywine Battlefield Park Associates
and the Sanderson Museum.
My life changed and grew because of the kindness and
generosity of the many wonderful people I met.
The Chadds Ford Historical Society supported and encouraged my
efforts as a folk singer and subsequent CD; the Battlefield got me into
re-enacting with the 43rd Regiment of Foot; while the Brandywine River Museum
raised my consciousness about art and land conservancy. And through the
Sanderson Museum I came to know founder Andrew Wyeth and ultimately my future
husband who inquired about doing research in our archives.
There are names that I will always associate with my 31 year
sojourn and for whom I will always say an extra prayer: Ed and Kathy Wandersee,
the late Susan Hauser, Fred Reiter, Kayta Gajdos, Beth Rorke, Sondra Eisenman,
Tommy Thompson, Cheryl and Mark Trozzi, my dear neighbors Ron and Madelon
Coates, Barbara Moore and of course Rich Schwartzman.
My wish for Chadds Ford is that the supervisors will continue
to keep it green and that the HARB will continue to keep our village looking
appropriate.
Yes, I know, fewer businesses mean fewer corporate tax
dollars to support our schools.
However the late actor, Claude Raines of “Casablanca” fame
once lived on a farm in Concordville saying it reminded him of the green fields
of his native England.
But now, every time I drive down Route 1 through
Concordville I cringe to see what a vast and arid expanse of asphalt it has
become.
So I’ll be on a sabbatical for a while until we can get
re-settled ...or maybe one of you dear readers who likes to write….
In the mean time, as soon as the moving vans pull away on
Friday evening, I’m making a beeline back down to Chadds Ford for Rich
Schwartzman’s opening “Buzz” at the Chadds Ford Gallery!
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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Sally,
Glad things worked out with the radon problem. Some things are just meant to be.
Best of luck to you and Tom.