Chadds Ford Elementary School now has a new principal and the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District has a new budget for the next school year. What it still doesn’t have is a new board member.
Shawn Dutkiewicz
Shawn Dutkiewicz was hired to replace Mark Ransford as CFES principal. The appointment becomes effective June 27.
Dutkiewicz, who’s been the principal of Pennell Elementary in the Penn-Delco School District for nearly 7 years, told the board he hopes to prove that the decision to hire him was the right decision.
Superintendent of Schools John Sanville said, “He is the right person at the right time.”
Ransford retired in April. Tom Tobin filled in as principal on a temporary basis.
While the elementary school now has a permanent fulltime principal, the school board itself is still without a replacement for Eileen Bushelow who stepped down from the board for personal reasons.
Four candidates were interviewed for the position during the June 9 work session, but the board was unable to reach a majority opinion during a vote on June 16.
The original candidates interviewed were Bennett Baird, Arnie Klingenberg, Robert Sage and Hsinte James Yen, but Klingenberg withdrew his name before the regular meeting.
Baird was eliminated after the first vote, getting two votes, while Yen and Sage each received three. Yen and Sage then tied 4-4 on two more votes.
State law requires that a candidate get five votes to be appointed to fill the remainder of the term.
The board will vote again on July 14. At that time, Baird will again be considered. If no candidate gets the needed five votes, the decision goes to the Court of Common Pleas.
Other business
• School Board directors passed the 2014/2015 budget. It estimates revenues of $75.7 million and expenses at $76.9 million.
Taxes will increase. Chester County residents will see their millage rate jump to 26.44 mills while those in Chadds Ford Township in Delaware County will see an increase to 22.2 mills. The blended increase is 2.6 percent. A mill is a tax of $1 for every $1,000 of assessed value.
• The board also voted to opt out of the National School Lunch Program on the high school level. As previously reported, Director of Food Services Marie Wickersham recommend the withdrawal because guidelines that will go into effect in July are more restrictive.
She told the board on June 9 that there had already been a drop in the number of high school students participating in the program because they don’t like the food and anticipated even more of a decrease next year. High school lunches will still follow the guidelines established in 2011.
The decision does not affect meals on the middle or elementary school levels.
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.
For years people complained about conditions at the AMC movie theater in the Painters Crossing shopping center in Chadds Ford. The reason for those complaints may be a thing of past.
The theatre, closed for weeks because of a major renovation project, is now open and ready for business. It’s no longer a standard movie theatre, but a dine-in theatre. All nine auditoriums are equipped for serving a restaurant meal. Some of the auditoriums also have reclining seats.
The seats are wider and have more leg room. AMC Director of Public Relations Ryan Noonan says people won;t be “bumping elbows” anymore.
It’s a totally new movie-going experience, according to Ryan Noonan, the director of Public Relations for AMC.
“It’s not the same theatre it was. Now it’s an AMC Dine-In Theatre at Painters Crossing. Everything from the carpet on the floors to the paint on the walls, the restrooms, the bar and the auditoriums, everything has been enhanced. Everything’s been upgraded. It’s truly an amazing movie-going experience,” Noonan said during a press tour a day before the re-opening.
Yes, a bar, MacGuffins Bar to be exact. It sits to the rear of the new lobby. Noonan said it would be similar to a mini sports bar with food service and a TV.
People can sit and chat there before or after a movie and parents who drop their kids off to see a film can return early to eat and watch a ballgame while waiting for the movie to end and then take the kids home, Noonan said.
The new box office — with both automated and real-life flesh and blood attendants — is off to the left.
In addition to a bar, the biggest changes are in the auditoriums and in having a kitchen. Instead of going to a dining room, patrons would pay their admission at the box office and then go to their theatre seats where they’ll find a tray, a menu and a call button. Just buzz for service. Theatre admission and food service are paid for separately.
There are two types of auditoriums. One is what’s called “Fork & Screen” with plush rocker seats.
The other type is called a “Cinema Suite.” These are adult only auditoriums with power reclining seats. While those are labeled as adult only — aged 21 and older — that has nothing to do with the type of movie shown, Noonan said. Film features will not be the adult only type, they will be the same type of films AMC has always shown, he said. He explained that some people prefer watching a movie with a more mature audience.
Noonan said that in both types “There’s plenty of leg room and no bumping elbows with a stranger next to you.”
Watching a film in a Cinema Suite will increase the cost of a movie ticket by an extra $2.50, according to Noonan, but there’s no extra cost when using a Fork & Screen auditorium.
Noonan said the renovations and changes go beyond just wanting to put in new carpets, slap fresh paint on the walls and change seats in the auditoriums. “We wanted to truly enhance the whole theatre,” he said.
Food and drink prices are comparable to the popular family restaurants and sports bars, he said. Salads range in price from $10 to $12, appetizers from $7 to $14 and entrées from $12 to $16.
There are also tacos, chicken tenders, fish & chips, sandwiches, burgers and desserts.
But even though they serve restaurant food, Noonan said old favorites are still available.
“We still offer the traditional popcorn, candy and Coca-Cola products that we’ve always offered.”
According to the menu, popcorn is $8.50, but that includes a free refill.
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.
Military aviation history buffs had a Fathers’ Day treat waiting for them at the New Garden Flying Field.
Sitting on the tarmac, with it’s bright yellow nose and four bladed prop glistening in the bright, mid-June sun, sat a P-51 Mustang, one of the most iconic fighter aircraft of WWII.
While the plane on hand was built during the war, it never saw combat. But it was modified to include a passenger. The originally installed auxiliary gas tank had been removed and a second seat put in behind the pilot. Enthusiasts took advantage by getting rides in the plane, much to their delight.
Bruce Roberts, an aircraft mechanic at New Garden was all grins when he alighted from the craft.
“It was a blast,” he said.
Roberts previously went up in another fighter, the P-38 Lightening, but this was more enjoyable for him. He actually had the opportunity to operate the craft from the backseat controls.
Carl Spirito, whose father flew B-17s during the war, is a private pilot from Philadelphia. He called his ride “fantastic.”
“I’ve got more than 3,700 hours in the air and this was my best flight. I’ve flown about 30 different aircraft, [but] this is an honest airplane,” Spirito said.
He explained that the plane responds immediately to whatever the pilot does to the controls. With many other craft, he said, there’s a delay of up to two or three seconds, not so with the Mustang.
“This is a real nice airplane. If I had the money, I’d try to buy it,” he added.
The day was made possible through the efforts of sponsor Jim Rudolph and aircraft owner Dave Murphy and his son Mark who was the pilot.
Rudolph said he likes making people’s dreams come true. For some though, “this wasn’t even on their bucket list,’ he said. “I wanted them to experience flying something that has more than 1,000 horse-power.”
Rudolph became fascinated with aircraft as an 18-year-old naval reservist assigned to submarine duty in 1951. When the Korean War broke out, he requested a transfer to aviation. He got the transfer, but was not allowed to attend flight school in Pensacola because he was already married. Instead, he worked on the ground with aircraft ordnance.
A Rolls Royce V-12 Merlin engine gives thee P-51 Mustang more than 1,000 horsepower.
Delivering those 1,000 horses of power is a Packard-built Rolls Royce V-12 Merlin engine. With a length of 32 feet and a wingspan of 37 feet, the plane was also outfitted with six .50 caliber machine guns. This P-51D was one of about 8,000 of this version of this classic aircraft (out of a total of 15,000 built) that served in all theaters of war around the world. With a bomb capacity of 2,000 pounds and its cruising speed of 275 mph, it was one of the greatest flying machines of the Second World War. Few Luftwaffe aircraft could match the P-51D; it was credited with downing 4,950 enemy aircraft in air combat, more than any other US fighter in Europe.
New Garden Flying Field is the home to 120 aircraft and provides a local resource for transportation, education, entertainment and industry. While the Field is a full service, general aviation facility with hangers, aircraft maintenance and inspection, glider towing and pilot training, Airport Manager Jonathan Martin, believes that one of his key roles is “to spark the interest of young people, develop their passion for aviation.” He said that he “wants to expose people to what we do here at New Garden and to the field of general aviation as a whole.”
To fulfill this aspect of the field’s mission, the airport sponsors a number of events each year to educate and entertain the public. Perhaps the best known is the annual “New Garden Festival of Flight Air Show” to be held this year – for the 43rd time – on August 23 and 24. The event includes aerial demonstrations of new and vintage aircraft, radio controlled miniatures and displays of unusual and experimental aircraft on the field. In addition to aviation themed booths, which provide information on pilot training and general aviation matters, there are flying-related souvenirs, food vendors, and antique cars, music and entertainment.
A more recent innovation, now in its sixth year, is the Future Aviators’ Camp. The camp offers young people the excitement and discovery of aviation in a day-camp setting, designed for ages 7-15.
For more information on the New Garden Flying Field, the Festival of Flight Air Show, the Future Aviators’ Camp or the New Garden Flight Connection, see www.newgardenflyingfield.com/, call Jon Martin at (610) 268-2619 or visit the field at 1235 Newark Rd, Toughkenamon, PA 19374.
Rich Schwartzman added content and the photography for this story.
Mr. Trozzi currently provides interim Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer services and project management support and analysis to for-profit and nonprofit clients through his own consulting company. He also serves on the finance committees of several for-profit and nonprofit organizations.
Mr. Trozzi began his career in management consulting where he specialized in government, educational and medical clients and the retail industry. He later assumed senior financial positions in the retail industry for The May Company – Cleveland, The Sherwin-Williams – Stores Division, C&J Clark Retail, Inc. (the holding company for the Bostonian, Hanover and Clark Shoe chains), The Watch Hill Group, and Brooks Fashion Stores.
He was then recruited by the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) to be its Chief Financial Officer since she saw her 900 health care facilities as a retail chain operation and wanted someone who shared her vision.
Mr. Trozzi left PPFA several years later to become the Chief Financial Officer of an Internet company, Spree.com, which expired when the Internet bubble burst. While he was looking for another interesting senior financial position, industry friends asked him to do some projects which turned into a thriving consulting business where he served as the Interim COO or CFO for clients like Amnesty International of the USA, The After-School Corporation (TASC), the national office of the YWCA and EngenderHealth, Inc. an international reproductive rights and family planning services nonprofit which was founded over 65 years ago and has operated in more than 40 countries around the world.
After seven months as the Interim CFO of EngenderHealth, Mr. Trozzi joined the staff as a regular employee and 14 months later was promoted to the position of Vice President of Operations & Chief Financial Officer.
Mr. Trozzi has a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn and a Science Masters in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He and his wife Cheryl live in Chadds Ford, PA and participate in local civic and historic activities and 18th century re-enactments. Mr. Trozzi also holds a commercial pilot’s license.
Trozzi performs a variety of tasks for Chadds Ford Live which include writing the occasional article and helping with pre-publication tasks.
It was a throwback to an earlier era and part of Chris Sanderson’s legacy. It was also a 6-year old dream.
Part of Sanderson’s life was the Pocopson Valley Boys — the band made popular by long time Chadds Ford resident and historian Christian C. Sanderson — and that lived on as the museum that bears his name hosted a concert in its namesake’s honor.
The side porch of the Sanderson Museum on Creek Road was the stage as 10 musicians — including two who played with Sanderson in the 1940s and ‘50s — performed two sets of old timey music.
Ten musicians play tribute to Chris Sanderson and the Pcopson valley Boys on the side porch of the Chris Sanderson Museum in Chadds Ford.
For museum President Sue Minarchi, it was and idea whose time had arrived.
“This has been a dream of mine for six years, to have a band play on the side porch where people can just come and enjoy themselves,” Minarchi said during a break in the music. That was after she and a few friends were doing the Mummer’s Strut to a set-closing tune.
While it was a dream for Minarchi, it was a trip down memory lane for accordion player Bill Strine.
Strine was a 15-year-old when he played with Sanderson and the Pocopson Valley Boys in the 1950s.
“We played all over Pennsylvania. It was fabulous in the ‘50s. People were carefree. They square danced and Chris was a great organizer,” he said.
He said the June 14 session at the museum was a great tribute to Sanderson’s legacy and that he was excited to be playing the old music again.
Bob White, the drummer, only played with Sanderson briefly as a 12-year-old. He said he recalled thinking when he first met Sanderson, “What an old guy.”
But White and the boys played at the Philadelphia USO for a time during WWII.
When White first heard about the tribute, he called the museum to say he wanted in.
His reaction to getting to play: “Great.”
West Chester musician Tom Hoey got the ad hoc tribute band together during a six-month period. They only had two hours of rehearsal, but the crowd sat back, clapped, danced and enjoyed the two sets.
Among those enjoying the music were Barbara and Rich Masho who used to live on Brinton’s Bridge Road. They knew Sanderson and Rich Masho said he was one of the people who saw Sanderson juggle his Indian clubs for the last time.
“This brings back wonderful memories,” Barbara Masho said. “We used to see him walking from West Chester to Chadds Ford all the time.”
(Top photo: From left, Sally Denk-Hoey, Sue Minarchi and Rena Cuno do a Mummers’ Strut as the band played a set-closing closing number.)
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.
Longwood opens new Meadow GardenThe meadow landscape will reflect the changes in the seasons.
It was 20 years in the making and needed the relocation of Route 52, but Longwood Gardens has opened the Meadow Garden with more than 100,000 wildflowers and grasses and 1,000 trees and shrubs.
Longwood Gardens Director Paul. B. Redman said it also required the work of an army of professionals and 100 tons of Avondale Stone.
The new garden debuted June 13. It spans 86 acres and is an ecological habitat for flora, fauna and 95 species of birds.
Redman said the design — by Jonathan Alderson Landscape Architects — would make visitors feel as if they are “standing in the middle of an Andrew Wyeth painting.”
“The new Meadow Garden is an exciting departure from the more formal gardens at Longwood,” he said. “In the Meadow Garden, guests will experience a bucolic Brandywine Valley landscape and discover the beauty and variety of native and naturally producing plants and gain an appreciation for the interconnectedness of the plants and wildlife in the meadow. The Meadow Garden is the latest example of our commitment to sustainable practices and sound land management.”
One of the ideas behind the design is that it reflects the changes of the seasons. Carolina silver bell, Eastern redbud, flowering dogwood, wild cranesbill, and Virginia bluebells will highlight springtime, while black-eyed Susan, hollow Joe-Pye-weed, sunflowers, and plants for the declining monarch butterfly, such as common milkweed would take over in the summer.
The Meadow garden will provide habitat for plants, insects and the wildlife that feed off them.
Autumn colors include native asters and warm-season meadow grasses. Winter blows in with the dried seedpods of the flowering plants and ornamental grasses, which provide texture and an important winter habitat for a variety of native insects and animals.
Alderson said he took inspiration from patterns that occur naturally and accentuated them to create experiences that celebrate the meadow’s temporal and ever-changing nature. “This meadow is a direct reflection of how the human and natural worlds interact, offering a valuable ecological and cultural experience,” he said.
Longwood’s staff will steward the Meadow Garden’s ecosystems by enhancing native plantings, managing invasive species, and supporting air, water, and soil quality. By more than doubling of the size of the meadow, the project will increase the potential for several species that require an expansive habitat, such as the Eastern Meadowlark, to complete their life cycle. It will also aid migration.
The plant and soil communities of the Meadow Garden will function as a living water filter for the ponds, headwater streams and wetlands throughout the space, enhancing the Brandywine River watershed, officials said.
The new garden is also for hikers. Redman said more than three miles of mainly grass-covered walking trails would lead visitors to the diverse habitats found across the garden’s terrain.
School groups and others, too, will have the opportunity to study the plants in the meadow as well as the birds and insects that those plants sustain.
One of the highest elevations is Hawk Point, a natural spot for bird watching, while the Pollination Overlook explores the important role of pollinators, from bumblebees to butterflies to hummingbirds.
Flora will abound in the new garden.
From the forest’s edge, where the woodlands meet the garden, to the open, undulating fields, to the lush wetlands surrounding the Hourglass Lake, the Meadow Garden will provide a bucolic tapestry of trees, shrubs, ferns, grasses, and wildflowers.
The Hourglass Lake Pavilion offers a chance to explore the nearby wetlands and inhabitants while the Forest Edge Pavilion shares the story of the surrounding woodlands.
The historic Webb Farmhouse — which has stood on the property since the early 1700s — has been restored and will serve as an interpretive center, Redman said. Inside the residence, restoration architect John Milner created two galleries, one showcasing photography and artwork depicting the surrounding landscape, and one that details the story of the people who inhabited and influenced the land since the Lenni Lenape.
Special opportunities to explore the new landscape — Meadow Days — which will be held Aug. 2 from 4-8 p.m.; Sept. 20, 11 a.m.–3 p.m., and Oct. 11 from 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Experts will be on hand to answer questions and share the story of the Meadow Garden’s flora and fauna as guests explore walking trails, embark on a seek-and-find, and more.
Folks at the Newlin Grist Mill are still fighting back against the ravaging effects of the April 30 rains that blasted through the main rock dam along Concord Creek. And on June 14, they received some help from musicians and guests attending a music festival.
A temporary dam has been breached three times since the original blast at the end of April. There are 3,800 sandbags with 705 tons of sand holding things together before the repairs are finished. Under the emergency permit, the repairs must be finished by July 8.
Tony Shahan, the director at the Newlin Grist Mill Park, said the bulk of the repair is done and water is flowing through the millrace, but there’s still some work needed to complete the job.
“We’ve had some unexpecteds, but they’re not bad unexpecteds,” Shahan said while people were setting up for the festival to benefit the repair efforts. “We’ve learned a lot about how the dam was originally built. What we’re looking at right now are two ends that remain from two separate dams.”
Shahan explained that the dam was actually two dams built side by side, but at two different time periods. The newer section is believed to have been built in the late 1880s, while the first section could date back to 1704. He said the size of the stones used was telling. Smaller rocks were used for the older section, but larger rocks that would have required the use of heavy machinery were used for the newer section.
“Where the dam breached [in April] is where they were connected,” Shahan added.
The finding has added about three more days to complete the work and added a little bit more to the price of fixing the problem. Repair costs were first estimated to be about $35,000. Now, Shahan said, the cost could be $40,000 to $45,000. In the interim, Concord Township donated $2,500 and Delaware County chipped in another $10,000. An online fund drive raised an additional $10,000 in its first six days. The mill had $25,000 in a reserve fund.
Shahan said he hoped the music festival would raise at least another $6,000. Admission to the festival was $20 per person.
Blacksmith Jim Neubauer, makes a candelabra that will be raffled off during an event at the end of June.
The crowd may have been sparse at the start of the event, but more people arrived as the afternoon wore on. One of the early attendees was probably the one who traveled the farthest.
Don Newlin drove down from Lloydminster, a Canadian city that’s half in the province of Alberta and the other half in Saskatchewan.
Newlin thinks he’s descended from Nathaniel and Mary Newlin who settled in Concord Township and built the mill after coming to the colonies from England in 1683. He said he’s searched his family tree and went back as far as 1716 to John Newlin Jr. who would have been Nathaniel and Mary’s grandson, he said.
Other people were more local. Steve and Julie Leusner are from Chadds Ford Township. They came because they enjoy the mill’s park.
“It’s a beautiful place to walk,” said Julie Leusner. “It’s convenient and we like music.”
Dianna Neely, of Lower Merion, said she felt the same, but added that preservation is important.
The candelabra.
“It’s vital to preserve an historic area like this. It’s beautiful and everyone should support it,” she said.
The festival went from noon to 8 p.m. with eight different bands playing a variety of music from classic rock to folk, bluegrass, blues and Irish.
One of the park’s blacksmiths, Jim Neubauer, was on hand making a candelabra that will be raffled off during an event at the end of June.
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.
• The Chadds Ford Historical Society continues its celebration of the Barns-Brinton House’s 300th anniversary. Barns-Brinton House Day — from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Saturday, June 21 — features a colonial fair with demonstrations of colonial life, informal talks, colonial music, dancing and a tour of the house located along Route 1 in Pennsbury Township. At 11 a.m. there will also be a dedication of a plaque noting the building’s status as being on the National Register of Historic Places. (Top photo:A public bedroom at the Barns-Brinton House.)
• Summer History Camp at Brandywine Battlefield Park begins June 30 and continues through Aug. 8. There are six weeklong sessions for children in kindergarten through seventh-grade. The hours are 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day. Each day of camp is dedicated to a different aspect of the 18th century, including cooking, medicine, a soldier’s life and uniform, “capturing the flag” and purely fun activities like playing with water balloons and much more. For more information, call the park at 610-459-3342 or visit the park Web site at www.brandywinebattlefield.org.
If you are looking for own little fairy, then look no further because she is here at the Chester County SPCA. Say hello to little Tinkerbell, a black and white 2-month-old spayed female domestic shorthair. Tinkerbell’s golden eyes sparkle with so much love and kindness. This beauty is an affectionate girl who enjoys cuddling with her people and she’s also quite the entertainer! She will like to engage in any fun game with her new family and she will keep the kids busy. If interested in Tinkerbell, please come by the Chester County SPCA at 1212 Phoenixville Pike in West Goshen or call at 610-692-6113 for more information. Our web site is www.ccspca.org.
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.
Visiting Angels’ Director Kyle Beck prepares to cut the ribbon for the official re-opening of the office in Pennsbury Township. Beck and his father Allen opened the office in the Marshallton Building of Chadds Ford West off of Pond’s Edge Road 18 months ago. Visiting Angels is a home care living assistance franchise that provides a variety of support for the elderly and those needing some extra in-home care while recuperating. For information, call 484-770-8479, send e-mail to kabeck@visitingangels.com or go to www.VisitingAngels.com/ChaddsFord.
