August 24, 2011 - ChaddsFordLive.com

Little dresses a big deal at Maris Grove

Mildred-Gilfillan-and-Dottie-Horan — Little dresses a big deal at Maris Grove

Sewing remains a big deal for a
group of women at Maris Grove retirement home, this time for a charitable
cause.

A group of 30 or so women are
turning pillowcases, drapes and other fabrics into clothing for the
organization Little Dresses for Africa. As the name implies, the garments —
both dresses and britches — go to orphanages in African countries, but also go
to South America and the Appalachian region here in the U.S. It’s headquartered
in Michigan.

Maris Grove resident Judy
Baldwin started the local group after seeing a story on it on TV in February.

The women do the actual sewing
at home on their own, but meet once per month to talk about their projects and
how to grow the club.

“We’ve been very lucky so far.
We’ve had people carry [the garments] to Michigan unless we can find
organizations that are going into Africa go take them in because you can’t just
ship them in because they get stolen,” Baldwin said.

She was intrigued to get
involved because she’s always had an interest in the children of Africa.

“I feel they are overlooked by
the world and I always wondered what I could do other than donating to UNICEF
or Doctors Without Borders,” she said.

Baldwin said getting the group
started in Concord Township was something she could do to help make a little
bit of a difference.

Since February, they’ve made
one shipment of 45 garments to Africa, while a brother of one of the members
took another dozen to Appalachia.

“The big goal is to keep it
going,” Baldwin said. “We’ve been talking about ways to expand…We may be small,
but we’re passionate.”

One member, Dottie Horan said
she likes being involved.

“I like to sew, so here I am,”
she said. “It’s a fun project and we can let our imaginations run wild.”

Mildred Gilfillan sees the end
result: “It’s very worthwhile. We have people of our own who need it.”

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.

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Barrar legislation ensures Medal of Honor recipients memorialized

Local News

With the most recent
Pennsylvania Medal of Honor recipient recently memorialized in the Soldiers’
Grove Tides of War Memorial Garden, state Rep. Stephen E. Barrar, R-160, of
Boothwyn, reiterated the need to devise a plan for the future use of the
grounds as an honorarium for MOH recipients, as space is dwindling.

“Soldiers’ Grove was
established by law in 1987 to honor Pennsylvania’s military heroes,” said
Barrar. “In 1994, the Medal of Honor Memorial Garden, known as the ‘Tides of
War’ was created. With the number of honorees expected to be memorialized on
these grounds, we may run out of space as early as 2016. We have to take action
now to ensure that our future heroes receive the tribute they deserve.”

Barrar authored House
Resolution 331, which the House unanimously approved in June, to form a select
committee to study the future and continued use of the Soldiers’ Grove and the
Medal of Honor Garden. Barrar, as majority chairman of the House Veterans
Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, would serve as the chairman of
the select committee, which is required to report its findings and
recommendations to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on or before Nov.
30, 2012.

“The soldier we honored here
today, Chief Master Sergeant Richard Loy Etchberger, is a shining example of
courage and valor,” said Barrar. “He sacrificed and gave his life for
this nation and earned the distinction of being honored on the hallowed ground
in Soldiers’ Grove. It would be offensive to him and to all other current
and future Medal of Honor recipients to ignore the issues facing this
memorial.”

Currently, 379 MOH recipients
are memorialized at Soldiers’ Grove.

About Press Release

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CF Girls Scouts earn silver awards

Local News

Katie-Dempsey — CF Girls Scouts earn silver awards

Three Chadds Ford Girl Scouts
have completed requirements for the Silver Award, the highest award in the
Cadette group. Ninth-graders Jessica Oehler and Annie Dempsey designed and
built sensory stations for an equestrian trail, while Katie Dempsey created a
mobile book library for a middle school in North Philadelphia.

Jessica and Annie will be
attending Unionville High School this year. Katie will attend Archmere Academy
in Claymont.

According to the girls’ mothers,
Valerie Oehler and Karen Dempsey, the girls learned organizational and
leadership skills while working on their projects.

Katie Dempsey’s project
benefitted the Hope Partnership for Education, a private middle school in
Philadelphia. She found donors who provided a cart and more than 300 books. She
then made spine labels and put in book pockets.

The school, while private, is
too poor to have a library room. The cart and donated books serve as the
school’s library.

Part of the project, said
Katie’s mother, was to find businesses that would provide supplies. Demco, a
library supply company, donated the cart, Karen Dempsey said.

The project
took from last September until this August.

Jessica and
Annie designed the sensory trail for physical therapist Dr. Robin Langerhans
who runs Making Strides Hippotherapy providing physical therapy and
rehabilitation services on Brinton’s Bridge Road in Birmingham Township.

The trail is
for special needs children, Jessica said.

“It helps
kids get more out of their lessons,” she said.

“It works
with their motor abilities to give them more balance,” Annie Dempsey added. “We
used sensory stations as well in an arena to just let them have fun while
having therapy.”

The
stations, which include mailboxes, puzzles and chalkboards, allow the kids to
multi-task, work with their hands and improve their motor abilities and balance
while they’re on the horse, said Jessica.

Valerie
Oehler explained that the Silver Award is for a community-based project with a
minimum of 40 hours and no more than two girls can work on the project
together. “It must also be a sustainable project that will continue upon
completion,” she added.

As Senior Girl Scouts they can
go after the Gold Award, equivalent to Eagle Scout for boys.

Each of the
girls said they want to continue on with scouting. Annie said she wants to earn
the Gold Award and said she wants to look back and say she helped people and
made a difference.

Katie also
wants to earn the Gold Award and maybe become a scout leader.

“I’ll
probably volunteer a lot more in my adult life,” she said. “[This project]
really opened my eyes to all the poverty and hurting in North Philadelphia.”

Jessica,
too, wants to earn the gold and also thinks she’ll volunteer more.

“It’s a good
feeling to help other people. I really want to keep on doing that,” she said.

About Rich Schwartzman

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Adopt-a-Pet Aug. 25

Local News

Lady is a spayed female hound mix that is currently
available for adoption at the Chester County SPCA. She came to the shelter as a
stray and is now here looking for a brand new home. Lady is a sweet calm girl
who loves attention and affection from people. Since Lady was a stray we do not
have an exact age for her, we are estimating her age to be between four and
seven years old. Lady has a lot of energy and enjoys going for walks. We
believe she would do well with children and cats. Lady is
now looking for a responsible care giver who will give her the love and
attention she deserves. If you are
able to provide Lady a home, visit the Chester County SPCA at 1212 Phoenixville
Pike in West Goshen or call 610-692-6113. Lady’s registration number is 96804923.
To meet 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/

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Following the examples, part two

Opinion

Two stories this week focus on
voluntary service. One story deals with a group of retired women sewing
clothing for impoverished regions at home and abroad while the other deals with
three local Girl Scouts and their Silver Award projects to help others.

About 30 women at Maris Grove
formed a local chapter of Little Dresses for Africa in February. They make
clothing from pillowcases and drapes for kids in orphanages in African
countries as well as for kids in Appalachia and South America. Do they have to
do that? No, they do it because they like sewing and believe it’s a project
worthy of their time and effort.

One of the Girl Scouts put
together a rolling library for an underfunded private school in North
Philadelphia and two others installed a sensory trail for a therapist who uses
equestrian trails for her patients.

What is most significant about
these two stories is not the age difference between the participants, though
that is interesting, but the fact that the participation is voluntary. There
was no force or coercion for either group. Granted, the girls did get an award
for their service, but their actions were still voluntary. Most scouts, be they
girls or boys, don’t go after those higher awards. It takes a different level
of effort and desire.

That these actions were
voluntary is what makes them moral and worthy of praise. Such would not be the case if either
group were forced to do what they did. That would be nothing more than
obedience to some authority.

Without choice — an honest
choice with no retribution whatever the decision — there can be no morality, no
virtue.

Similarly, there can be no
charity without the voluntary choice to give one’s own time or money to a cause
or another person.

Americans have traditionally
been the most charitable people on the planet. Even when times were difficult,
Americans chipped in to help others all over the world. In that regard, the U.S. has been the
most moral country in the world — because of its people, not its government.

When the government chooses to
help another country or group of people, there is rarely anything voluntary
going on. It forcibly takes money and other resources from the private sector,
from the realm of voluntary association and cooperation and uses what it takes
for its own political ends.

Several weeks ago this space
was dedicated to efforts of the Wyeth and Kuerner families, of their efforts to
do the best they could for their families and community. The scouts and the
ladies of Maris Grove are continuing that legacy through their voluntary
efforts. They, too, set the proper example.

About CFLive Staff

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

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History Made Personal: Book from Franklin’s personal library

Along the Ford

Article 04- Franklins-Book — History Made Personal: Book from Franklin’s personal library

One
of the best known and loved of the Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin was a
scientist, philosopher, diplomat, statesman and a voracious reader. In short,
he loved learning, exploring, widening his perspectives and gaining new
insights by continually encountering new people, places and things. Chris
Sanderson was in some ways the same kind of man. Chris enjoyed meeting people
from all walks of life, learning from their experiences and saving pieces of
Americana from his thousands of interactions over the more than eight decades
of his life.

Sanderson
collected things from around the country and all over the world that he felt
were important in helping people gain an understanding of history. The
Sanderson Museum in Chadds Ford holds roughly 18,000 artifacts, including a
book from the personal library of Benjamin Franklin. The book is titled
“Nouveaux Opuscules” (from the French and Latin meaning “new minor work”). The
book stands behind glass in a tall cabinet within the Chadds Ford Room of the
museum, just above a photo of Teddy Roosevelt taken for his inauguration as president
on March 8, 1905. On the reverse side of the title page is, “This book was
owned by Benjamin Franklin and is from his library,” purchased by Christian C.
Sanderson on June 18, 1947. Our research shows that the book was sold to Chris
at the Nannie T. Bache sale for $4. Underneath the book title is written
“Signed January 17, 1956- the 250th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin
Franklin.”

Deciphering
the clues that link this book to Franklin is even more fascinating. When
Franklin died in 1790, his personal library was bequeathed to one of his
grandsons, who quickly sold the collection. The books eventually landed in the
inventory of a Philadelphia book dealer. The dealer was frustrated that the
books would never sell and disposed of many of them at auction for ridiculously
low prices.

In
the 1950s, Edwin Wolf II worked to reacquire and identify Franklin’s original
collection, but struggled to determine a way to authenticate the books. He
began noticing a mysterious set of notations within books he believed belonged
to Franklin. Inside each volume were the letters “C” and “N”, each followed by
a number. After a lengthy examination of thousands of books, Wolf determined
that the annotations were Franklin’s ‘shelfmarks’ — “C” indicating the case or
shelf in Franklin’s bookcase where the book was held, “N” for the number or
placement on the shelf. After Wolf’s death, Kevin J. Hayes took up the task,
locating close to 4,000 titles that were part of the collection of this great
American patriot. Most of the books are scientific or philosophical in nature,
with very few novels- different from the collections of many people from his
time period.

As
Chris cherished pieces of our heritage, gaining possession of one of Franklin’s
books was special to him, as it represented a link to the men who made this
nation possible. The founders of this republic left an indelible imprint on our
country and the world. Along with
their memories, the collection of one man, Chris Sanderson, keeps our past very
much alive. Visit the Sanderson Museum – A Man’s Life, A Nation’s History at
1755 Creek Road in Chadds Ford, just north of Route 1 or on-line at www.SandersonMuseum.org.

• Gene Pisasale worked as a petroleum
geologist, then later as a portfolio manager/analyst for 24 years in the
investment industry. He retired in 2010 to pursue his writing career and
lecture tours. He is the author of several historical novels including
“Abandoned Address- The Secret of Frick’s Lock” and “Lafayette’s
Gold- The Lost Brandywine Treasure.” Gene is married and lives in Kennett
Square. Contact Gene at gpisasale@FoodWineTravelHistory.com or www.GenePisasale.com

About Gene Pisasale

Gene Pisasale is an historian, author and lecturer based in Kennett Square, Pa. His eight books and historic lecture series focus on the history of the mid-Atlantic region. Gene’s latest book is Alexander Hamilton: Architect of the American Financial System, which delves into the life and many accomplishments of this important Founding Father who almost single-handedly transformed our nation from a bankrupt entity into the most successful country in the history of mankind. Gene’s books are available on www.Amazon.com. His website is www.GenePisasale.com; he can be reached at Gene@GenePisasale.com.

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Bits & Pieces Aug. 25

Along the Ford

• The 5.9 magnitude earthquake
centered in Virginia was felt in the Chadds Ford area Tuesday afternoon. Homes
shook along Ring Road during what felt almost like the rumblings caused by a
large truck rolling down the road. Rumblings were also felt at the township
building. No injuries were reported. There was some minor damage when items
fell from shelves in several buildings.

• The Chester County Citizens
for Climate Protection will be resuming its monthly speaker series on
Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. Mary Hall will share the master plan for the
development of the Philadelphia Naval Yard, which includes a Clean Energy
Campus. The free, community programs are held the first Wednesday of the month
in the West Chester Municipal Building, 401 E. Gay Street. For more
information, please visit www.chescocooler.org

• Pennsylvania residents with a
motorcycle license or learner’s permit still have time to take free courses
through the Pennsylvania Motorcycle Safety Program to obtain their license or
enhance their riding skills. Courses for new and experienced riders are
available at approximately 70 locations statewide through October. A full
schedule is available online at www.pamsp.com.

• Bring your dog, the family
and march in the Doggie Dress-up Parade at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 10, at
Chadds Ford Days. All dogs joining the parade should be “all dogged up” and ready
to go at 11 by the bandstand. Fancy dress for their human companions is
optional. Children in costume accompanying their dogs are welcome. A
distinguished panel of judges will award dog prizes in 5 categories including:
“Dog-gone Gorgeous”, best female costume and “Gone to the Dogs,” best male
costume. Participation in the Doggie Dress-up Parade is free with Chadds Ford
Days admission of $5.

• The Brandywine River Museum
display of Farm Work by Jamie Wyethis coming to a close.Wyeth’s
depictions of farm work and life combine his artistry, wit and sense of wonder.
The exhibition is in its final days, and is on view through September 11, 2011.

About CFLive Staff

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

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Police log Aug. 25

Police

• Pennsylvania State Police
from Troop K, Media, are investigating a suicide at Targetmaster on Route 202.
According to a police report, a 22-year-old male from West Chester
intentionally committed suicide while at the range inside the gun shop. No
other patrons were injured. The
incident happened at 12:22 p.m. on Aug. 22. Police will not release
the victim’s name.

• Police arrested a 21-year-old
woman from Wilmington after she allegedly removed several articles of
children’s clothing from the Gap store in Glen Eagle Square on Aug. 19. Police
said she tried concealing the clothing in her handbag. She was arrested at the
store with the item in her possession, police said.

• Someone stole a diamond ring from a car parked at Garnet
Ford in Chadds Ford Township. A police report said the incident happened on
Aug. 18 sometime between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.

• Two vehicles parked in the
Springhill Farm development of Chadds Ford were broken into on Aug. 20,
according to police. An iPod and a laptop were stolen from one car. A pair of
sunglasses and a Phillies cap were taken from the other.

• A police report said someone
stole an Apple laptop computer, a Kindle and several debit/credit cards from a
vehicle that was parked at the Brandywine River Museum. The incident was
reported 1 p.m. on Aug. 21. Anyone with information is asked to call police at
484-840-1000.

• State police are
investigating a case of aggravated assault at McKenzie Brew House on Route 202.
A police report said one man punched out another, knocking him unconscious with
a blow to the face. The victim, a 34-year-old man from Bear, was taken to
Riddle Memorial Hospital for treatment. Charges will be filed against the
assailant once his identity is confirmed. The incident happened 11:30 p.m. on
Aug. 20.

• Jonathan Quarm, 34, of Willow
Grove, was charged with DUI and multiple traffic code violations after he was
stopped on Route 1 at Brandywine Drive just before 2 a.m. on Aug. 22, a police
report said.

• Police arrested Anthony
Bowman, 28, of Kennett Square, for DUI on Route 1 near Painters Crossing on
Aug. 20. A police report said Bowman was observed speeding and crossing white
lines three times.

About CFLive Staff

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

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Free Your Space: Color Me Organized

Home and Leisure

Prior
to this summer I went to a store to pick out a new purse. I don’t spend too
much money on my bags, which makes it easy to feel good about treating myself
to a new one to match the season. As I wandered through the store browsing
different types (large, small, fabric, clutch, strapped) I was delighted to
realize that in this particular store, instead of by style or brand name, the
bags had been divided by color.

Naturally,
all of those other options mattered to me — I wanted something small,
attractive and summery with a few separate compartments — but having my
choices pre-sorted by color made it easy to gravitate to the section that felt
best for me for Summer 2011. Once there, I had only to stay in one area to see
which purse would suit my other needs.

Sorting
by color is a skill taught at a very young age. So many early learning toys are
designed to develop this ability and most children have learned to sort by
color by the time they are eighteen months old. Despite our many years of
experience with this tool, we often forget that we have it.

I use
the word “tool” because many people use color in many ways:

Artists use color as a tool for creating visual
images.
Writers use color as a tool for creating mental images.
Chef’s use color as a tool for stimulating the
palate.

As an
organizer, I use color to create organization and streamline processes.

Take,
for instance, clothing. Whether it is a closet or a sock drawer, clothing is a perfect area to
address when deciding to try organizing by color in the home. To take on the
challenge of setting up color-wise clothing organization first identify the
area that you will address such as a closet or drawer. Next separate items,
like with like — pants, blouses, jackets, skirts, dresses — each in their own
section.

Take
one section at a time and start matching up like-colors together, working from
light to dark. Don’t make yourself crazy with multi-colored items. Some
patterns will tend more toward a particular color. Just pair them with the
sections where you feel they fit best. When you are finished you should be able
to see a rainbow-like pattern of colors.

I
understand that for some, this may not seem like something you might want to
spend your time doing. But, like so many other organizing projects, the time
spent up front in setting up the system will pay off every day following once
the system is in place.

Managing
your clothes with a color system will shorten decision-making time and free up
space in your mind for more important thoughts. Being able to go directly to a
section of clothing to find a particular blouse or jacket makes wardrobe
coordination a breeze. If asked to pull out a green shirt, it is likely you
could produce it before the question was ended. Finding a pair of black pants
to match it? Not a problem. Also, being able to see clearly what colors of
clothing you have more of will help in knowing where your wardrobe may need to
be supplemented.

Some
of you may be reading this and thinking, “This isn’t for me. Color-coding and
setting up this kind of rigid order is not something that would inspire me and
wouldn’t work with my artistic nature.” If this sounds like you, I would
ask that you try it for a month. Remember, a Monet painting may have
many colors mixed to form breath-taking art, but those colors started out on a
well-organized color palate. The art is a product of the artist.

* Annette Reyman is a member of the National
Association of Professional Organizers and its Philadelphia Chapter. View her
Web site at www.allrightorganizing.com.
To contact Annette for organizing work or speaking engagements in the greater
Philadelphia area, call(610) 213-9559 or email her atannette@allrightorganizing.com. Visit her blog,http://www.areyofhope.blogspot.com

About Annette Reyman

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The Doctoir is In: When to go to the Emergency Department?

Health

A medical
emergency can happen at any time, to anyone. But do you know what types of
injuries and illnesses are serious enough to warrant a trip to your local
emergency department?

In
general, the hospitals in our area are equipped to handle a wide range of
medical emergencies – from broken bones and sprained ankles, to chest pain,
breathing problems, stroke, burns, trauma, work-related injuries, sports
injuries, sudden illnesses, and more.

According
to theAmerican College of
Emergency Physicians (ACEP), it is important to call 9-1-1 or go to the closest emergency
department if you or a loved one ever experiences these signs of trouble:

·
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

·
Pain or pressure in your chest or abdomen

·
Unexplained change in vision

·
Problems with speech or difficulty in communicating

·
Confusion or changes in state of mind

·
Weakness in an arm or leg; facial droop

·
Uncontrolled bleeding

·
Severe or persistent vomiting or diarrhea

·
Coughing up or vomiting blood

·
Suicidality

Special Circumstances – Get Help Right Away

· Stroke is a type of cardiovascular
disease caused by a blood clot or ruptured blood vessel in the brain. Certain
treatments to restore blood flow to the brain must be given within the first
three hours after the start of symptoms, so it’s important to get to the
hospital right away if you think you might be having a stroke. Common warning
signs of stroke include sudden feelings of weakness or numbness in the arm,
leg, face, or one side of the body; slurred speech or trouble understanding
others; confusion, problems with balance or coordination; a severe headache
that comes on quickly; or problems seeing in one or both eyes.

· Chest pain is another potentially
life-threatening warning sign that never should be ignored. If you or a loved
one is experiencing unusual pain or pressure in your chest, seek out immediate
medical attention. You could be having a heart attack.

· Severe burns from hot
liquids or steam, electricity, chemicals, and other sources may require urgent
medical care, particularly if the burns cover large areas of your skin or cause
respiratory distress, unconsciousness, or shock.

ICE Your Cell Phone

If you ever become unable to speak for yourself due to illness or an
injury, first responders or the emergency department staff will need to notify
your loved ones. For this reason, the ACEP recommends that you and everyone in your
family add one or two “In Case of Emergency” (ICE) phone numbers into contact
list of your cell phones; for example, “ICE1 – Husband” or “ICE2 – Mom.”

It also is a good idea to keep a list of your medications, known
allergies, and diagnosed health conditions in your wallet or purse. If you have
elderly homebound parents, you might wish to hang a “File of Life” on
their refrigerator. The File of Life is a red vinyl pouch in which you place a
card that lists an individual’s name, emergency contacts, medical insurance
information, health status, medications, and other critical health-related
information. For more about the File of Life, call 1-800-814-1788 orclick here.

For more information on medical emergencies, download this informative
brochure, “Seconds
Save Lives,” from the ACEP.

*Joshua
Feinberg, D.O., is a family medicine physician in practice at the Crozer Health
Pavilion, 145 Brinton Lake Road, Suite 201, Glen Mills, PA
19342, 610-459-1619

About Crozer Keystone Staff

Crozer-Keystone Health System’s physicians, specialists and advanced practitioners are committed to improving the health of our community through patient-centered, quality care across a full continuum of health services. Crozer Brinton Lake is Crozer-Keystone’s comprehensive outpatient care facility in western Delaware County, offering primary care, specialty services, outpatient surgery and advanced cancer treatment. Contact us: 300 Evergreen Drive, Glen Mills, PA 19342 http://www.crozerkeystone.org/Brinton-Lake 1-855-254-7425

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