Josh Friedberg, one of the owners of Il Granaio in Concord Township, isn’t afraid of competition. That’s probably a good thing since Friedberg and his business partner, Gent Mema, opened their newest restaurant —Antica — in the old Bistro on the Brandywine just across the parking lot from Brandywine Prime in Chadds Ford Township.
And there’s going to be more competition when Café Felini opens up across Route 1 from Antica.
That’s all fine with Friedberg. He has a more the merrier attitude and thinks that competition will serve not only the patrons, but the restaurants, too. He even said that if his daughter wants a plate of spaghetti and meatballs, he’s likely to choose Felini since the menus will be different.
“I like the competition,” he said. “We’re in the area an area of tourism and affluence. There’s plenty of people looking to dine. People want something every night of the week. I’m going to fill part of that and I’m sure my competition from across the street will fill some of that and I’m sure my competition across the parking lot will fill some of that.”
He said it’s all a matter of what the diner wants to have that night.
“If people come to this area and say ‘I don’t know what I want for dinner,’ they can come into old Chadds Ford and figure it out there,” Friedberg said. “There are four restaurants right in the same area. We’re happy with that.”
He said Antica is it’s own restaurant. It will be similar to how they run Il Granaio, but the concept and the menu will be different
They opened Antica in Chadds Ford last month and have worked out the new business kinks, Mema said, and things are moving smoothly and successfully.
In discussing the difference in menu items, Friedberg said they emphasize seafood and one of the specialties at Antica will be pulpo contadino, or poor man’s octopus. It’s braised octopus sautéed with beans and garlic and served with crustini. Friedberg calls it “two hands eating.”
“It’s a simple dish usually prepared in the seaside communities of Italy,” he said.
The partners make homemade pastas at both of their restaurants, Friedberg said, including gnocchi and ravioli.
He added that the name Antica — meaning antique in Italian — refers to the fact that the Chadds Ford area is rich with history and there are many antique shops on the area. “The name seems to fit.”
Antica is a BYOB and Friedberg said that’s part of the niche and that it’s good for family and group dining because there’s no liquor of wine prices to add to the cost of a meal.
“People will be more inclined to have an appetizer or dessert,” he said.
Prices range $6 to $14 for lunch while the range for dinner is $11 to $27.
The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday. They close at 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, but at 9 p.m. the other days.
Photo: Antica owners Josh Friedberg, left, and Gent Mema, say competition among restaurants is good for patrons and the restaurants, too.
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.
Christmas comes early for Brent Schwietzer. The day itself still arrives on Dec. 25, but planning for Christmas begins in August.
Schwietzer loves Christmas lights displays and it’s been that way since he was 10 years old when his parents took him out to see the holiday displays. He was so captivated that he started designing light displays at that young an age when the family was still living in Delaware.
That was 15 years ago. For the past 10 years, the Schwietzers have been living on Joshua Way in Pennsbury Township. And the displays continue. And they grow.
Schwietzer said he started out having a display with about 1,000 lights. This year’s display is a lot larger, about 7,500 lights along with 165 blow mold figures, 25 inflatable characters, several speakers with music and, new for this year, a 12 foot tree built with color LEDs.
This year’s display is about three times larger than last year’s and he wants to get the display up to 10,0000 lights within the next few years.
He admits he might be in a little bit of competition with himself, but he simply enjoys the project.
“I keep buying stuff and it gets bigger. For some reason I want to be one of those people with a lot of stuff in the yard,” he said.
Schwietzer, a mechanical engineer, starts designing the display in August, shopping for new items on and off line and, he said, family members also chip in with figures and other needed items the find at auctions and yard sales. That takes a few months, he said. Then the physical work of putting it all together begins in early November. That takes about three weeks.
The display remains up until the second week in January. Dismantling the display takes two days.
“It’s a lot easier to take it down, “ he said.
Schwietzer said seeing the displays as a kid brought him joy and he wants to share that joy with others during the holiday season.
The display is lit from about 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at 4 Joshua Way, weather permitting. Don’t worry about looking for the house number, though. When the display is lit, you can’t miss it.
Photo: The Christmas light display at 4 Joshua Way has 7,500 lights. Brent Schwietzer wants to get that up to 10,000 lights within the next few years.
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.
Giving back to the community is a natural for Dave Kelleher.
Kelleher — the owner of David Dodge on Route 202 in Chadds Ford Township — paid for shuttle buses to take people to and from the Chadds Ford Historical Society and the Brandywine Battlefield Park when Chadds Ford Days and Rev Times were held on the same weekend. Last year he offered to help pay for moving the Chadds Ford Vietnam Memorial if necessary. But he’s also helped grow a charity that’s less known in the Chadds Ford area.
In 2008, Kelleher got involved with City Team Ministries in Chester. He donated 80 coats to help keep children warm and that led to some food donations for that year’s Thanksgiving. That all grew into what is now Adopt a Child.
Adopt a Child is similar to the Marine Corps Toys for Tots, but with a slight variation. Gifts given through Adopt a Child are targeted for specific kids.
“Toys for Tots takes any type of toy and then they try to figure out where the need is,” Kelleher said. “Our program is different in that, one, it’s Delaware County. What City Team Ministries does is put it out there to the people and families in Chester that if you have a need, you can register for the Adopt a Child program…So you really know that you’re going to help a family that needs help,” he said.
He said the families are fully vetted to verify their hardship condition to prevent any scamming. And the toy lists come the kids themselves.
“You’re not just giving a toy to a cause, you’ve now taken on Damian. Damian’s 11 years old, you know that and Damian wants skateboard and a scooter for Christmas. And then you provide,” he said.
The program is also different because the child wrote the wish list thinking it was just to his parents and Santa. City Team then fills the wish directly, buying the gifts and giving them unwrapped to the parents who, in turn wrap the gifts for their kids.
The total need this year is 2,800, the number of families that are registered for this year.
Kelleher “adopted” 50 children that first year, he said, but the following year he enlisted the help of his employees and clients from an auto dealers’ association.
“They came to the table like you wouldn’t believe,” he said.
The goal doubled to 100 and that goal has been met every year since. This year, though, he upped the goal to 300 and thinks they’ll actually exceed 500.
The minimum requirement for people is two gifts per child, but people can do a monetary gift instead. The minimum for that is $50 per child, Kelleher said. That money goes in to a pool and Kelleher’s mother does the shopping.
Even retailers are getting into the swing, he said. The Walmart on Conchester Highway gives a discount for the Adopt a Child program when Mrs. Kelleher does the shopping.
“My mother will go there and buy all the toys. It’s a daunting task, but she’ll fulfill all the requests…At $50 per child, I can easily take care of 20 children, but where my real power is to use my voice to make people aware of this,” he said.
Kelleher was asked why he gets so involved. He chuckled and said a friend recently asked him if he was trying to buy his way I to heaven.
“That’s definitely not it. Hopefully I’ll get there on my own. The real thing is, I was raised in a family that understood sacrifice, understood tough times and we always made it through together. I’ve worked very hard, but with that I’ve had a great deal of blessings. Somebody has watched out for me and I think I have a duty to pay it forward,” he said.
The deadline to sign up and to get involved in Adopt a Child is Dec. 6. There are forms available at David Dodge, but people can also signup by visiting drivedavid.com
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.
Living History: Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, words that saved America
In the midst of the greatest maelstrom this country had ever witnessed, one event stood above the rest, warranting special recognition for its importance. Two armies totaling 160,000 men met in combat in the small crossroads town of Gettysburg from July 1 through 3, 1863. The aftermath was staggering: 51,000 total casualties, the bloodiest conflict of the Civil War.
Due to the magnitude of the occasion, local attorney David Wills petitioned Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin to dedicate a special plot of ground adjacent to the Evergreen Cemetery as a final resting place for those who’d given their lives in the struggle. The ceremony occurred on Nov. 19, 1863 — four and a half months after the battle, as soldiers were still being buried nearby. The keynote speaker for the dedication in Gettysburg was U.S> Rep. Edward Everett of Massachusetts, a respected orator. Wills had also asked President Lincoln to attend and make “a few appropriate remarks.” Lincoln started working on his speech while he was in Washington and finished it in the second floor bedroom of Wills’ house in downtown Gettysburg after arriving by train the night before. Although fatigued and suffering from the initial symptoms of smallpox, the President managed to complete his comments in time for the commemoration the next day. The words he spoke transformed the very nature of our democracy.
Everett walked to the podium first. His address lasted for over two hours — and was quickly forgotten. Lincoln stood up and was initially hesitant, unsure whether his voice would even be heard in the huge crowd around him. His words reflected his deep sense of history, a reverence for the values embodied in our system of government. Lincoln’s speech had three major themes. The first: birth. The nation was ‘conceived’ incorporating our basic freedoms within its founding principles:
“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal…”
To Lincoln, the Constitution not only protected our liberties- it held us together as a society. Yet, the country was embroiled in a horrendous struggle regarding slavery, a practice which went against the grain of human decency, the fight over which had dissolved the bonds that held the Union together. As Lincoln spoke, he knew the foundations of our way of life were at risk due to the rebellion which tore the country apart. He understood that our rights as citizens are far from guaranteed- we have to fight to defend them. This led to the second theme of Lincoln’s speech: death.
“We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live…”
Lincoln sensed the smell of death near him as he walked around Gettysburg, his first sight coffins being unloaded at the train station. The unbelievable carnage there and from dozens of other battles had stunned the country. Yet through fighting- and dying- for sacred principles, brave Union soldiers deserved a special ceremony honoring what they’d sacrificed for us all. This led to his final theme: rebirth.
“…we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the Earth.”
Lincoln added the words “under God” Lincoln extemporaneously at the last minute, as he gave his speech. They do not appear in his original document. He believed that ours was a nation guided by Divine Providence — guidance he sorely needed in the great conflict swirling around him.
One of those men who died at Gettysburg was Charles F. Taylor of Kennett Square. Taylor was the brother of author and diplomat Bayard Taylor who wrote “The Story of Kennett.” Charles served valiantly and had been made the youngest Colonel in the Army of the Potomac. He was killed on the second day of the battle — July 2, 1863 as he and his troops were defending a rocky hill called Little Round Top. Two markers on the battlefield honor him and his fellow patriots. One is a beautiful sculpture depicting a soldier holding his rifle representing men of “The Bucktails” who volunteered to fight from Chester and neighboring counties in Pennsylvania which stands on the flanks of the Devil’s Den. The second is a granite monument paying tribute to the Colonel just up the hillside, across from Little Round Top. The mountain was immortalized in the film “Gettysburg” showing Colonel Joshua Chamberlain who led a brilliant ‘swinging door’ maneuver that finally repulsed numerous attacks from the Confederates, saving the Union Army- and the nation. Standing in front of Taylor’s marker, the sunlight glistening on his name carved into the stone, you can feel the wind rushing down the hill where he and his men gave their lives in the most critical battle of the Civil War.
The Gettysburg Address has been recognized as one of the greatest speeches in American history. Why? In two minutes, Lincoln explained the meaning of this great experiment in self-governance we call America. The ceremony honoring the 150th anniversary of this event was held on Tuesday, Nov. 19, at the Soldier’s Cemetery in Gettysburg. Many celebrities were in attendance who gave their thoughts on what Lincoln’s words have meant to our country. Gov. Tom Corbett and U.S. Sens. Pat Toomey and Bob Casey paid their respects on this solemn occasion.
The keynote speaker was author and historian James McPherson who has visited the battlefield many times. In his book “Hallowed Ground”, McPherson mentions the day in 1987 he took some students out to Gettysburg to get a better sense of what happened there. As they all gathered on Little Round Top, one girl started crying. Her sobbing kept the entire group silently enraptured as they gazed upon the marker honoring the 20th Maine regiment whose men died protecting the ground they now stood upon. In his book, McPherson says it was the most memorable moment he’d ever spent on any battlefield in America. McPherson noted in his address that our freedoms were very much in doubt the day Lincoln gave his immortal oration — and they remain fragile today. He wondered aloud whether these precious freedoms would exist 150 years from now, saying “No one knows for sure…”
As part of the commemoration, James Getty (attired as Lincoln) eloquently recited the Gettysburg Address- and then something equally memorable happened. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia read the oath of citizenship to 16 people from around the world who were there to join us all as new citizens of the United States, the number honoring our 16th President.
Walking in Gettysburg, the signs of this great conflict are all around you. The Farnsworth House Inn on Baltimore Street was there at the time of the battle; more than 100 bullet holes are still visible along its red brick walls. The Soldiers National Monument within the cemetery and hundreds of other markers where men fought and died throughout the battlefield remind us that the foundations of our democracy are tenuous. We honor them and all our veterans by resolving to support, protect and defend the sacred rights for which they gave their last full measure of devotion — not only to us, but for generations to come.
* Gene Pisasale is an author and lecturer based in Kennett Square. He’s written six books focusing on history. Gene’s most recent work is “The Civil War- Rebirth of A Nation” which delves into the causes, the events, the personalities, the major battles and the aftermath of America’s greatest conflict. The book highlights the Underground Railroad in Chester County. To learn more, visit his website atwww.GenePisasale.comor e-mail him atGene@GenePisasale.com.
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.
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 15-year-old girl faces drug charges after she and three other youths were stopped for traffic violations shortly before 1 a.m. on Nov. 26 in Chadds Ford Township. According to a police report, a 16-year-old boy was driving without a license. He was accompanied by three underage girls, the 15-year-old and two 16-year-old girls. The 15-year-old was found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia, the report said. All four had left their respective homes without parental consent, according to police.
• A 46-year-old woman from Clifton Heights was arrested for DUI following a traffic accident on Route 926 in Pennsbury Township. There were no injuries reported. Police said Jenice J. Jackson was driving eastbound in the left turn only lane while approaching Route 52, but illegally changed lanes prior to reaching the intersection, turning into the path of another eastbound vehicle. The accident happened at 11:42 a.m. on Nov. 26.
• A 42-year-old Chadds Ford man from Meadow Court faces charges related to simple assault and domestic violence after he allegedly struck his 11-year-old son several times in the arm. A police report said injuries were apparent.
• State police arrested Joshua Lee Rettig, 36, of New Castle, on a variety of charges at Glen Eagle Square on Nov. 20. A report said there was an active warrant out on Rettig who was found to possess heroin, marijuana and related paraphernalia. He was arrested and sent back to prison, the report said.
• Samuel McFadden, 23, of Wilmington, was cited for public drunkenness after a traffic stop near the Brandywine Summit Office Complex on Route 202. McFadden was a passenger in a car involved in a traffic stop.
• Police are investigating the theft of two iPads and three iPods taken from Chesterbrook Academy in Chadds Ford Township sometime between Nov. 21 and 22. The iPods had been in a locked cabinet, but the keys were unsecured and readily available.
• A West Chester man faces several charges after a traffic stop on Route 202 in Chadds Ford Township on Nov. 23. Mario Liborio Varriale, 23, was arrested for DUI and police also found a bag of marijuana, a report said.
• A Baltimore, Md. Man was charged in connection with a traffic accident on Route 202 near Route 1 on Nov. 20. Police said Franklin Yockey, driving a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer, struck another car when he tried to merge into the right hand lane from the center lane.
• Police are investigating the theft of $250 worth of merchandise from the Gap store in Glen Eagle Square. The unidentified suspects robbed the store on two separate occasions — Oct. 26 and Nov. 16 — police said. There is video footage available.
• One motorist was charged with careless driving after striking another vehicle while making a left turn onto Route 202 from Pyle Road in Concord Township. No injuries were reported.
• A 27-year-old from West Grove, driving a 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier, was cited after rear-ending another vehicle on Route 1 near Conchester Road on Nov. 22
• The Kennett Area Senior Center sponsors a free Medicare counseling clinic on Thursday, Dec. 5 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you are unhappy with your current Medicare insurance coverage or prescription drug plan, the open enrollment period ends Dec. 7. New coverage begins Jan. 1. Sign up to meet with a Department of Aging volunteer from APPRISE who can help you make a change or evaluate your options. Please contact the Kennett Area Senior Center at 610-444-4819 before the event to make an appointment. Also, for those newly eligible for Medicare on Jan. 1, there will be APPRISE counselors at the KASC on Thursday, Dec. 19 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (by appointment only) to assist seniors with their new Medicare enrollment questions.
• Santa is coming to Olde Ridge Village during the weekend of Dec. 7 and 8. The bug guy will bring his reindeer for a photo opportunity from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7 and will make a solo appearance at Special Teas Tearoom on Sunday at 120 p.m. Tea & Sweets with Santa is $15.95 per person. Reservation and prepayment are required for the tea. Call the tearoom at 610-358-2320.
• The annual Critter sale at the Brandywine River Museum is Dec. 7 and 8. Critters are Christmas decorations made from organic materials and come in dozens of shapes and sizes, from small, individual ornaments to large, tabletop decorations. They are made in many likenesses, ranging from animals to ballerinas, Santas, angels, snowmen and athletes. Prices range from $5 to $45, with specialty items starting at $50.
• Tyler Arboretum in celebrates nature and the winter season with the Woodland Winter Wonderland Saturday, Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Held concurrently with the Country Gardeners Greens Sale on the same day from 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Activities for the day include hayrides, unique crafts for the kids including natural ornaments using materials gathered at Tyler, a Reindeer Scavenger Hunt for the kids, hot beverages and cookies around a camp fire, historic tours of Lachford Hall and an opportunity to have a professional family portrait taken in our antique sleigh. Pre-registration is required. Please contact Joanne Landau at jlandau@tylerarboretum.org or phone 610-566-9134 ext. 215.
• New Ark Chorale presents “Christmas Scenes,” featuring Michael Larkin’s world premier of “Missa brevis for the Nativity” at St. Michael Lutheran Church at 3 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 8. There will be a reception with light refreshments following the program. Suggested donation is $5 per adult and $2 per child under age 12. St. Michael Lutheran Church is on East Doe Run Road, just east of the traffic circle on Route 82.
• Join the director of the Brandywine River Museum for a special event at the Hotel du Pont, at 4 p.m. on Dec. 11. Tom Padon will discuss N.C. Wyeth, including how he settled in the Brandywine Valley, his influence on other artists, and the collections at the museum and the hotel of work by the artist. This is the third lecture in a series celebrating the centennial of the hotel. The cost of the Speaker Series presentation is $65 per attendee, and includes a champagne & hors d’oeuvres reception, lecture, and Q&A session. For more information and reservations, please call the Hotel du Pont at 302-594-3154.
• The Delaware Museum of Natural History is offering kids (and parents) a break from the hustle and bustle of the holiday rush with Holiday Nature camp on Saturday, Dec. 14, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Campers at Holiday Nature Camp will create festive crafts inspired by nature, play games, and venture outdoors to track down winter animals before exploring our special exhibit, Ice Age Imperials! The museum will also host a day of “Savings & Songs” on Dec. 14 with member discounts in the Museum Store and the Hopewell Elementary School choir performing throughout the galleries. In addition, visitors can participate in a dinosaur-themed wreath-making activity. Visitors are encouraged to visit www.delmnh.org for the full lineup of holiday programming. Admission is $40 for members, $45 for nonmembers. For more information, call 302-658-9111 or visit www.delmnh.org
• Times Square has a ball drop to bring in the new year, but Kennett Square will now have the Mushroom Drop. The first-ever Mushroom Drop — with a 8 foot-by-7.5 foot mushroom — is scheduled for this New Year’s Eve. It’s part of the main event for Midnight in the Square, a new event in the borough. There will be music, food, and fun for everyone from 9 pm on Tuesday, Dec. 31 to 1 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 1. All events are on Broad Street and in the American Legion Building, between State and Cypress streets. Admission is the donation of a non-perishable item or canned good. All donations will be given to the Kennett Food Cupboard.
• The Christian C. Sanderson Museum in Chadds Ford presents a collection of holiday note cards entitled “Three Generations of Wyeths.” The note cards showcase the heartfelt pen and ink drawings from years past that N.C. Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth and Jamie Wyeth sent to their friends during the holiday season. Originals of the Wyeth holiday artwork sent to Chris Sanderson and his mother Hannah are proudly on display at the Sanderson Museum. Three note cards are available, one by each artist. A box of 10 cards of one image may be purchased for $15 by calling 610-388-6545 or visiting the Sanderson Museum or through the museum Web site www.sandersonmuseum.com
When I think of Reading, Pa., I think of the Pagoda, beer and pretzels, the Ringgold Band, and perhaps infamously, John Philip Sousa, who died in Reading in 1932 in the Lincoln Hotel just after a final concert rehearsal.
But until a cousin invited me to see folk icon Judy Collins perform Saturday evening, Nov. 23, in the Miller Center for the Arts, an intimate 500-seat theater, which opened in 2007, I never associated Reading with the sublime.
Judy Collins was born in Seattle, Wash., in 1939. Ten years later the family moved to Colorado where Collins studied classicalpiano making her public debut at age 13, performing Mozart’s “Concerto for Two Pianos.”
But much to the disappointment of her piano teacher, the music and lyrics of Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie soon caught her attention and she took up guitar and made her way to Greenwich Village in New York City. Her first album was released at the age of 22 in 1961.
By 1969, the group Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young released a collection of short songs in her honor, “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” by Stephen Stills.
Indeed, former President Bill and Hillary Clinton have always stated that their daughter Chelsea was name after Collins’ 1969 recording of “Chelsea Morning,” a song she sang at Clinton’s Inaugural Ball in 1993.
I had met Collins on Aug. 15, 1995 when she appeared at the Chester County Book Store signing her newly released novel “Shameless.” Yes, she’s a successful writer too!
I had released my CD “Bard of the Brandywine” some two years earlier and gave her a copy. I still have the book with her flowing script, “To Sally Jane Denk, Keep Singing! Judy Collins”
But now some 18 years later, what was I to expect at a concert given by a 74 year-old (yes 74) legend whose life had admittedly been laced with alcoholism, drugs, love affairs with many of the big names in the recording industry and the tragic suicide of her only son Clark.
All I can say is it left me breathless.
Judy Collins strode out on stage with confidence and elegance – with her custom 12-string Martin guitar, model HD12-35SJC. (After the concert, a stage manager showed me the back, which featured solid East Indian Rosewood inlaid with a Pacific Big Leaf Maple wedge.)
Her gray hair flowed loose in a style that even would have made the late Farrah Fawcett-Majors jealous. Wearing dark plum-colored leggings, a matching cami, healed short boots and a black-beaded evening jacket, her slim body made me jealous.
Her incredible voice had not changed and did not disappoint for one moment.
Classically trained singers who study the Bel Canto technique know that the “lift” in any voice (i.e, those 1 or 2 notes where a chest voice becomes a head voice) needs to be worked thru for a seamless transition. Collins, however, has created a style by accentuating hers. From her strong lower voice she has a pronounced if not agile skip to her upper voice, which is still as pure and as clear as a flute. At moments it was as if one were in church listening to the sacred.
Her vocal range and phrasing would be amazing for someone half her age.
Her concert featured not only iconic songs like Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” and Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns”, but “Danny Boy” and the “Hills of Shiloh” (both performed acapella), “My Father”, “Who Knows Where the Time Goes”, and in a nod to her life-long friend Joan Baez, “Diamonds and Rust”. Her encore song, “Somewhere over the Rainbow” left us all wanting more.
Judy Collins remains ageless, elegant and energetic — an inspiration in perfection to all of us aging folkies.
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.”
“In life, as in football, you won’t go far unless you know where the goalposts are.” ~ Arnold Glasow
Today is not only Thanksgiving Day, this year it is also the start of Hanukkah and, for all you sports fans, there’s a football game or two.
Wikipedia reports that the first football game to be played on Thanksgiving Day took place right here in Philadelphia in 1869. And, whether you’re a fan or not, there is something that can be learned from taking a look at the structure of an organized team sport.
I visited NFL.com to take a look at some of the basic rules of football and here’s what I found out:
To start with, there is a very specific measurement for the field of play: “The field measures 100 yards long and 53 yards wide. Little white markings on the field called yard markers help the players…keep track of the ball.” Not a bad idea, don’t you think? When you know how much space you’re working with it is easier to plan how you will use it. It is also a reminder to stay within the boundaries of that space.
The game is timed: “Games are divided into four 15-minute quarters, separated by a 12-minute break at halftime.” If you are not a football fan, you might argue the apparent brevity of these times (especially when you’re not the one holding the remote). Nevertheless, limited time requires prioritizing and planning – in other words, time management.
Advancing the ball: “There are two main ways for the offense to advance the ball. The first is called a run. This occurs when the quarterback hands the ball off to a running back, who then tries to gain as many yards as possible… The other alternative to running the ball is to throw it.” Or, as they say in football, pass it. Advancement requires action and teamwork. Even a star quarterback is not going to win the game on his own. Whether it’s family, friends or hired professionals, if you’ve set your eyes on a big goal, involving a team is the best way to insure success.
Knowing the goal: “The object of the game is to score the most points.” Space planning, time management and movement is all for naught if we don’t know why we’re doing it. So, before tackling any organizing project, take a moment to consider the goal. Do you want to organize your bedroom? Why? Is it so you can feel relaxed when you walk in at the end of the day? Is it because you can never find the clothes you need when you’re getting dressed in the morning? Is it because the clutter on the floor has become a tripping hazard? Since your answer will affect your approach, you may want to write your objective down and tape it up while you are working so you can keep your goal in sight.
All the planning in the world is not going to move the ball down the field. There has to be a balance between planning and execution. Knowing the limits of your space, giving yourself a time frame, taking action and keeping your goal in mind is a sure plan for an organizing touchdown.
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