Sunshine and warm temperatures accompanied the first ever Barn Market held at the Chadds Ford Historical Society on April 18.
CFHS Board President Kendal Reynolds said the 39 vendors — mostly antiques’ dealers — paid $125 each for a booth. Hundreds of visitors came through the society’s grounds to browse and buy.
Hudson Hoy, 1, of Hockesssin, likes flowers, his mother said.
Reynolds said the purpose of the Barn Market, in addition to being a fund-raiser, was to start having a spring event at the CFHS grounds.
“It’s when we start to open up our community and we really wanted to bring a market conducive to antiques and repurposing wood furnishings. We partnered with Brandywine View Antiques because Lisa [Vonderstuck, owner of Brandywine View Antiques] had a market, but outgrew her space. So, we met with Lisa and talked about having an expanded space, ” Reynolds said.
During discussions, they developed a list of possible vendors that hadn’t shown in the area before.
“We wanted vendors who are fresh to our market and we’re looking forward to repeating this every spring,” Reynolds added.
She also said the society is looking to having spring, summer and fall events.
Vonderstuck said she appreciated the society approaching her because barn markets are important to her.
Sold.
“I used to do barn markets at the shop [on Route 1 in Pennsbury Township], but parking became horrendous,” Vonderstuck said. “So [Kendal] asked me if I’d be interested in moving it down here and creating a new event, here, with her.”
Vonderstuck described barn markets as being a bunch of vendors coming together for sales. Many of the items they sell, they get from barns, she said.
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.
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan and Chief Mark DelVecchio of Norwood Police Department announced murder charges in the death of 2-year-old Mason Hunt who died as a result of his injuries while in the care of his mother’s boyfriend on Feb. 3.
Shannon Matthews, 30, of the 2500 block of Madison Street in Chester, mother of Mason Hunt, and Daniel Grafton, 31 of the 700 block of Pennsylvania Avenue in Wallingford, are both charged with murder in the third degree, aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, criminal conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter and other related charges.
Shannon Matthews
On Tuesday, Feb. 3, at approximately 4:40 p.m., Norwood Police along with Norwood ambulance were dispatched to a doctor’s office located at 425 Chester Pike in Norwood Borough for a medical emergency involving an unresponsive 2-year-old toddler. When police and paramedics arrived, they found the toddler cold to the touch, ashen colored and unresponsive. Once at the hospital, the toddler was pronounced dead. It was observed that there were numerous bruises on his face, head, shoulder, chest, elbow, genitals and anus as well as several deep bruises on the right and left side of the toddler’s body.
Authorities contacted the toddler’s mother, Shannon Matthews, who told them her child, Mason Hunt, had been in the custody and care of her boyfriend, Daniel Grafton, when she left for work at 10:45 a.m. that day. Shannon Matthews and her children live in an apartment located at 425 Chester Pike, above the doctor’s office where she works. Shannon Matthews told authorities that she returned to the apartment to drop off snacks for her son. She told police that she was in the apartment for approximately 2-3 minutes during which Daniel told her Mason was in the tub.
Just over an hour after she left, Daniel Grafton rushed into the doctor’s office, located below the apartment, carrying the limp body of Mason Hunt wrapped in towels, screaming that the baby was not breathing. Dr. Patricia Sutton took the child from him and started CPR. While Dr. Sutton continued CPR, she noticed multiple bruises on the child’s body, face, head, eye, abdomen and extremities.
During the investigation conducted by the Norwood Police Department and the Delaware County District Attorney’s Criminal Investigation Division, Grafton told detectives that when Shannon Matthews arrived at the apartment, he took the snacks from her and placed them in the kitchen. He said during this time Matthews peeked in on Mason in the tub before returning to work. After Shannon Mathews left, according to Grafton, he went into the bathroom and found Mason face down in the tub.
The Delaware County Children and Youth Services were actively involved in the supervision of Mason Hunt and his brother. This supervision was the result of an incident that occurred on Jan. 5, at 1 a.m., when authorities were called to the apartment for a domestic related incident. Cpl. Christopher Kennedy of Norwood Police arrived at the apartment and found that Mason Hunt had been doused with seasoning salt on his head and eyes while in his crib.
On April 10, Delaware County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Fredric N. Hellman provided a report on the death of Mason Hunt. The report states there were innumerable contusions on the boy’s body, mostly over his head and face as well as the toddler’s abdomen and upper body. There were at least 120 distinct contusions counted all over the body of Mason Hunt, many of which appeared to be pinch marks. There was also blunt force trauma. Additional contusions and other injuries involved the shaft of the penis and suprapubic region, and a laceration of the toddler’s liver.
Daniel Grafton
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Hellman stated, “While my final opinions are awaiting the performance of select ancillary studies derived from the autopsy of this child, it is clear that the circumstances of this child’s death are homicidal in nature.”
“This is a particularly horrific case where a helpless 2-year-old boy is senselessly beaten and left for dead by his own mother and her boyfriend, who had the exclusive care and custody of this little boy,” said District Attorney Jack Whelan. “I would like to commend Cpl. Christopher Kennedy of the Norwood Police Department, and CID Det. Adam Sendek, Det. William Wright, and Det. David McDonald, for their work on this investigation that led to the arrest of these two individuals.”
Through investigation and interviews with Shannon Matthews and other persons, it was confirmed that the victim, Mason Hunt, was in the exclusive care of Shannon Mathews and Daniel Grafton.
Both were arraigned on April 16 and were to be remanded to the Delaware County Prison without bail. Deputy District Attorney Michael Galantino of the Special Victims Unit will be prosecuting the case.
In a unanimous vote this week, the Tyler Arboretum Board of Trustees approved the appointment of Elizabeth S. “Cricket” Brien of Swarthmore as executive director. She will begin her tenure on May 11, a Tyler press release said.
Elizabeth S.”Cricket” Brien will begin her new post as the Tyler Arboretum’s executive director on May 11.
With aid from Kittleman and Associates, an executive search firm that specializes in nonprofits, the Tyler board was successful in finding the best candidate to fill the position that opened after the passing of former Executive Director Rick Colbert.
Brien will continue Tyler’s mission to preserve, develop, and share its diverse horticultural, historic, and natural site resources in order to stimulate stewardship and an understanding of the living world.
“We are completely without reservation in this decision,” said Board of Trustees President and Interim Executive Director Shipley Allinson. “Kittleman sent only highly qualified candidates with impressive resumes and interviews, and we are absolutely confident that Cricket is the best of the best for Tyler. We are very excited to see her come on board!”
Brien, a landscape architect by trade and a member of Tyler Arboretum, has worked with arboreta, botanic gardens, sculpture gardens and other nonprofits as planner and designer throughout her career. As chair of the Barnes Foundation Arboretum Advisory Committee, Brien led the strategic planning process to transform the Barnes Arboretum into a destination public garden. She understands the unique challenges of a private arboretum like Tyler, and she has experience in meeting those challenges with vision and enthusiasm.
Brien is committed to the Tyler vision to create a unique horticultural and environmental destination that reconnects individuals with nature and provides knowledge and inspiration to help them reduce their environmental impact.
With a master’s degree in landscape architecture, a certificate in urban design, and a bachelor’s degree in art history and design of the environment – all from the University of Pennsylvania – Brien has a long history of experience in landscape architecture and urban design and has worked with several highly regarded firms in the Philadelphia area. Her ability to manage people and projects is self-evident, and she gives back to her community as a member of the Scott Arboretum Council. Additionally, Brien has broad experience in teaching and lecturing.
“For 20-plus years, it has been my passion to create places that facilitate learning and build community,” said Brien. “After working with the Barnes, I saw how rewarding it can be to work with an organization that can do good and bring beauty into people’s lives. I look forward to the insights of the staff and the board to undertake this wonderful new challenge as executive director, a challenge I enthusiastically embrace.”
