The need to write this particular piece is pleasing and
saddening at the same time. Sally Jane Denk has ceased her weekly “Blogging
Along the Brandywine” column for ChaddsFordLive.com, but it’s for a good
reason.

As most readers know, Sally became engaged a few months ago.
She and Tom, her fiancée, moved into a home in West Chester two weeks ago.
She’s no longer in Chadds Ford, doesn’t even drive through the township on her
commutes to and from work. So, less time here means no more column for us.

I already miss Sally’s work and I miss running into her
while I cruise the Chadds Ford area looking for stories and photo
opportunities. I even miss the fact that she would make up her own rules of
punctuation, like putting spaces between the last word of a sentence and the
period or question mark, or her putting the comma after the quotation mark.
There were normally three to six incidents per column.

But Sally was always on time with her columns. They’d be in
my e-mail between noon and 1 p.m. every Tuesday. If they weren’t there, she
would send an e-mail telling me when she’d have the column to me. Sometimes I’d
get two or three of those of e-mails, but I knew I needn’t worry. She was
dedicated and professional even while knowing her only pay might be a meal at
Hank’s.

I first met Sally while cruising for stories and photos
during my first spring as editor of the Chadds Ford Post. As I pulled into the
entrance of the Brandywine Battlefield Park I saw a woman walking on the lawn
in front of the visitors’ center. She was dressed in garb and carrying a
guitar. (At least I think it was a guitar.)

Seeing people in garb was still novel enough to me to make
me stop and talk with her. She was bubbly and talkative, chatting away as if
she and I were already friends. She talked about the park, the Battle of
Brandywine, 18^th century music and gave me one of her CDs. This was
how I became acquainted with the “Bard of the Brandywine.”

Sally and I became friendly and would talk when we’d see
each other at various events in Chadds Ford. A running gag between us developed
the first time I attended the annual Antiques Show at the Brandywine River
Museum.

Sally and I were chatting in line waiting for the doors to
open, but once inside, we went our separate ways. We bumped into each other
again on the second floor and then again on the third floor. When Sally saw me
that time she asked: “Are you stalking me?”

My response: “Only if you want me to.”

Sally has a strong caring side to her personality. She
e-mailed me almost weekly after the Post closed and I was laid off. She kept
telling me, “Remember who you are,” and to know that things would work out.

Those e-mails meant a lot to me.

As Emily Myers and I were developing ChaddsFordLive.com,
Sally Jane Denk was our first choice for a columnist. We knew her personality
would be perfect. But could she convey that in writing?

I broached the subject with Sally during a breakfast meeting
at Hank’s Place. Her jaw dropped when I told we wanted her to write a blog for
us.

“I don’t even know what a blog is,” she said.

Maybe she didn’t, but she sure caught on fast. Sally hit the
right tone immediately. The column was as chatty and bubbly as Sally herself.
It was just what we wanted and she kept it going throughout her stint with us.
Her fan base grew. “Blogging Along the Brandywine” became the first thing many
readers would go to when logging on to our site.

Emily misses Sally. I miss Sally and I know her readers miss
her, too. But we’re also pleased that a friend has found her personal
happiness.

Maybe we can coax her back to write monthly but, even if we
can’t, we wish Sally and Tom nothing but the best. Thank you for all you gave
us, Sally. Thank you for what you
gave me. Be forever well.