October 13, 2015 - ChaddsFordLive.com

Deer, historic resources resonate in Pocopson

Information on a historical survey and deer management dominated the Pocopson Township Board of Supervisors meeting on Monday, Oct. 12.

Jane E. Dorchester, a historic preservation consultant, explains a historical survey the township is pursuing.

Jane E. Dorchester, a historic preservationist, explained that she would be conducting a survey that would augment an inventory of historic places done by the Pocopson Township Historical Committee about a decade ago.

Dorchester explained that she would be driving around to identify historic buildings and collect data, such as their original function, present use, style of architecture, construction materials, etc. She said Pocopson would contribute $12,000 and receive a $30,000 county grant.

Supervisors’ Chairman Barney Leonard said the project, an outgrowth of the township’s comprehensive plan, would enable residents to get information about historic properties and assist the township with future planning.

Randy Mims, a member of the township’s Historical Committee as well as the survey’s task force, expressed reservations about the fact that no specific plan exists to take advantage of the project. He said the current inventory hasn’t been used by the Planning Commission or the supervisors. He also pointed out that the township would have to front the $42,000 expense before getting reimbursed from the county.

“I have a real concern that we’re going to do this project … and it’ll sit in a drawer,” he said. “We need concrete examples of what this is going to be used for; otherwise, it’s a huge waste.”

Dorchester explained that her role is not to tell the township what to do, but she suggested that perhaps the survey task force could make some recommendations about ways to use the information.

Susan Woodward, a township resident who lives in a historic property, applauded the initiative. “We wish houses could talk,” she said, adding that the survey would enable residents “to pass on what we know now” to future homeowners.

Don Lane, who heads the township’s Deer Management Committee, offered an update on hunting season, which is underway for archery and will open for firearms on Dec. 1. He said according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the number of injuries from hunting-related shooting accidents has been declining. Twenty-nine incidents were reported in 2014 among 1 million hunters, he said.

Lane said Pocopson’s Deer Management Committee oversees 12 deer stands, only three of which are on township-owned land: one near the Barnard House and two in Pocopson Park. None are within 50 yards of any township trails, he added. Only two hunters are permitted among the 12 stands at any one time, during the hours from daylight to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Township Secretary Susan Simone said she has received some calls from people wondering whether they should wear orange when they are on trails. Leonard said it wouldn’t hurt for people to wear orange.

Lane said he would appreciate having calls forwarded to him. He said since the program’s inception in 2009, he’s only received one complaint and that was from a non-resident. “Once you explain the program and how it’s managed, they feel better about it,” Lane said.

Township resident Lisa Borel noted that the minutes from the Sept. 14 meeting inaccurately suggested that she criticized the deer management program. She said she had just sought information about what to do if a hunter doesn’t have a permit or appears to be violating the township’s guidelines.

“I didn’t want it to appear like I didn’t support the deer management program,” she said.

The supervisors said that any violations should be reported to the state police.

In other business, Supervisor Georgia Brutscher reported that she attended a meeting organized by East Bradford Township with more than half a dozen area municipalities on the possibility of establishing a regional police force.

“I don’t think we want or need to be in that study group,” Brutscher said.

Leonard and Supervisor Ricki Stumpo agreed that the state police are currently meeting the township’s needs, and the township will send a letter to that effect to the other municipalities.

Brutscher also reported that a cleanup day at the Barnard House on Sunday, Oct. 11, was very successful. The supervisors agreed that a request from the township’s engineer to release $4,200 retained by the township for work on the Barnard House needed more clarification before a vote could be taken.

Township resident Sean Rafferty asked when some of the “shoddy work” at the Barnard House would be resolved. Bruscher said the punch list is being reviewed.

Rafferty also questioned the presence of township solicitor Amanda Sundquist, who has attended the last several supervisors’ meetings. Stressing that he meant no disrespect to her, Rafferty said her attendance costs the township a couple hundred dollars an hour. “We’ve never had her at meetings before, one after another,” he said.

Leonard responded: “It’s to the advantage of the township to run an efficient meeting so that we don’t let the meetings stray too far off the agenda and we get the business of the municipality done correctly. So that’s why she’s here.”

After Rafferty suggested that such a role belonged to the supervisors, Leonard and Brutscher cut him off, saying it was time to move on.

Brutscher said the township is currently looking for volunteers for the township’s Parks, Recreation, and Trails Committee.

“We have an extensive network, and it would be nice for someone to keep an eye on it,” said Leonard.

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Police: Girl, 15, and accused felon being sought

Police

After nearly a week of unsuccessfully searching for a 15-year-old girl who ran away with an accused felon, New Garden Township Police are seeking the public’s help to locate her.

Henriquez-Molina.1 — Wanda Michell Henriquez-Molina

Police said they were contacted on Wednesday, Oct. 7, by the mother of Wanda Michell Henriquez-Molina, who reported that her daughter had left home with Walter Morales-Lopez, 29, of Kennett Square. According to court records, Morales-Lopez was charged on Sept. 28 with multiple counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, and luring a child into a vehicle, offenses allegedly committed on Aug. 30.

New Garden Township Police Chief Gerald R. Simpson said he could not comment on the pending charges. He said investigators have been focused on trying to locate the pair, believed to be in the Chester or Lancaster County region.

“We’re hoping someone will be able to give us information that leads to their whereabouts,” Simpson said.

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Manly “Nick” J. Hendrickson of Landenberg

Obituaries

Manly “Nick” J. Hendrickson, 89, of Landenberg, died Sunday, Oct. 11, at Heartland Hospice House in Wilmington. He was the husband of the late Betty Mae George Hendrickson who passed in 2012 and with whom he shared 67 years of marriage.

Born in New Castle, he was a son of the late Manly M. and the late Henrietta (Lucus) Hendrickson. He served our country in the U.S. Coast Guard and Merchant Marines.

Manly worked for NVF Company in Yorklyn for 45 years.

He attended St. Gabriel and St. Patrick Catholic Churches with his wife during their lifetime. They loved traveling to all points of the country especially the mountains. He loved hunting, fishing, and animals.

Survivors include two daughters: Nettie Joan Hanna (Tex) of Townsend, and Linda Schroder (John) of Hustontown; two sons: Nelson D. Hendrickson (Jean) of Nottingham, and Joseph “Nick” Hendrickson, Jr. (Edna) of Kirkwood; three brothers, Howard Hendrickson of Buck, Robert Hendrickson of Landenberg, and Sam Hendrickson of West Grove; 12 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, and 19 great-great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by two grandchildren.

You are invited to visit with Manly’s friends and family from 9-11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, at the Kuzo & Grieco Funeral Home Inc. (610-444-4116) 250 W. State St. Kennett Square, PA 19348. His funeral service will follow. Interment will be in St. Patrick Cemetery, Kennett Square. Contributions in his memory may be made to Heartland Hospice 5661 Ochletree Lane, Wilmington, DE 19808. To share a memory, please visit www.griecocares.com

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Winterthur gets new decorative arts professor

Arts & Entertainment

Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library welcomed Catharine Dann Roeber to the Research Division at Winterthur in August as the Assistant Professor of Decorative Arts and Material Culture in the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture .

Gregory J. Landrey, Director of Academic Affairs, was pleased to make the announcement, the result of a nation-wide search. A committee composed of WPAMC faculty members and executive committee members from both Winterthur and the University of Delaware assisted him with the search.

Roeber received her doctorate in history from the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia. She also holds a master’s degree in early American culture from the University of Delaware as a Winterthur Fellow. Her primary field of expertise is the history and material culture of the Americas from the colonial era to the 20th century. While her dissertation and master’s thesis address the materials and architectural heritage of Philadelphia and southeastern Pennsylvania, additional areas of research include material culture studies, culinary history, and the history of print and ephemera.

Roeber previously taught graduate and undergraduate courses at Winterthur, Villanova University, and the College of William and Mary. She also brings a diverse background of experience with archeology departments, research libraries, museums, and cultural non-profits to the position. Exhibitions she has curated, co-curated, and coordinated at Winterthur, the Brandywine River Museum, and at local arts organizations include Tiffany: The Color of Luxury (2015), Bein’ Green: The History of a Color (2015), Adorned: Body + Art (2015), Table Talk: Philadelphia in a New Nation (2014), Common Destinations: Maps in the American Experience (assistant to curator Martin Bruckner, 2013), and Seeing Red: Southeastern Pennsylvania Redware from Winterthur (2011).

Both students and faculty welcome Roeber to this faculty position in the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture. In addition to her duties as a WPAMC faculty member, she serves as Director of the Research Fellowship Program and Executive Editor of Winterthur Portfolio: The Journal of American Material Culture.

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Against the backdrop of one of her great-grandfather's paintings, Victoria Wyeth (left) chats with a guest at the Chester County Art Association, where an exhibit of rarely viewed N.C. Wyeth works is on display.

A winsome Wyeth convergence at CCAA

Arts & Entertainment

Explaining the 1931 genesis of the Chester County Art Association (CCAA), Christian Brinton, one of its founders, wrote: “The association merely wishes to acknowledge a sense of sincere obligation upon assuming the task of making Chester County more actively, and courageously, art conscious…”

David Linton (from left) and his wife, Barbara Linton, of West Chester, chat with Victoria Wyeth before her presentation at the Chester County Art Association, which is running an exhibit of her great-grandfather's work through Sunday, Oct. 18. — David Linton (from left) and his wife, Barbara Linton, of West Chester, chat with Victoria Wyeth before her presentation at the Chester County Art Association, which is running an exhibit of her great-grandfather’s work through Sunday, Oct. 18.

Eighty-four years later, the great-granddaughter of another founder, Newell Convers Wyeth, is energetically perpetuating that mission. On Monday, Oct. 12, Victoria Browning Wyeth addressed an enthusiastic crowd of nearly 100 at the Chester County Art Association, which is featuring 17 rarely viewed paintings by N.C. Wyeth during its Founders Exhibition, which runs through Sunday, Oct. 18.

The 36-year-old, who has become a sought-after art ambassador for the prodigious Wyeth art clan, is the daughter of Nicholas and Jane Wyeth, the granddaughter of Andrew and Betsy, great-granddaughter of N.C., and niece of Jamie. She grew up in Manhattan, where her father was the primary art dealer for her grandfather’s work, and her mother was an art consultant.

For the CCAA exhibit, 16 works by N.C. Wyeth, an acclaimed early 20^th century artist who helped to establish the “Brandywine tradition” of painting, were loaned to CCAA by the Hill School in Pottstown. Each painting in the “Poems of American Patriotism” series illustrates a literary work by an American poet, such as Walt Whitman and Henry Longfellow, and depicts a momentous event in U.S. history.

The imposing, well-known 17^th work – N.C. Wyeth’s “The Giant” – normally hangs in the cafeteria of the Westtown School. It is on loan from the school, where Victoria Wyeth will do a presentation that focuses on her grandfather on Nov. 21, a fundraiser for the Chadds Ford Historical Society.

During a question-and-answer session on Monday night, Victoria Wyeth responded to questions about her childhood and relationships with her famous relatives for more than an hour, enthralling the audience with her insight and humor.

As a child, Wyeth said she had no inkling of her ancestors’ pedigree and grew up hanging out in now-hallowed spaces, such as her grandfather’s studio. “What’s weird now is that it’s a museum,” she said.

Wyeth insisted that the art gene eluded her. “I had to take art in college,” she said, suggesting that her instructors’ high hopes for her were quickly dashed. “It ruined my GPA.”

But she acknowledged that she has garnered acclaim for her photographs, and she credited her grandfather for encouraging and pushing her. “He would drag me around to all of the places he painted,” she said, explaining that they weren’t necessarily subjects she would have chosen.

The results ultimately demonstrated her grandfather’s wisdom and foresight. “Just take it; years later, you’ll be happy,” he reportedly told her. After amassing a priceless collection of photos, Victoria Wyeth said she’s now grateful for what she termed “Andy’s insistence.”

Victoria Wyeth (left) poses with Karen Delaney, executive director of the Chester County Art Association, which is exhibiting rarely seen works by N.C. Wyeth as part of its Founders Exhibition.

Victoria Wyeth said most of her knowledge of her great-grandfather comes second-hand. He was Andrew Wyeth’s primary teacher, and by all accounts, a strict taskmaster who may not have lived long enough to appreciate his son’s talents. N.C. Wyeth’s death in a 1945 train accident in Chadds Ford was not a topic of discussion, she said.

However, Victoria Wyeth recalled that her grandfather once said: “Pa’s death allowed me to see the world with a clearer vision.” Now that she has experienced the intense pain of losing her grandfather, she said she can identify with that sentiment, and she credited her uncle, Jamie Wyeth, with helping her deal with the enormous loss.

Asked if members of the Wyeth family got nervous when they learned that some works, such as those in the CCAA exhibit, hang in schools, where they could be damaged, Victoria Wyeth said no. In fact, she would like to see the art as accessible as possible. “Wouldn’t it be nice if people starting donating [art] to schools?” she asked.

In response to a question about which country she would like to see exhibit Wyeth work, she said she would choose a place where it isn’t known, such as South Korea or Africa. “If the art’s powerful,” it will transcend geography, she said.

After the presentation, Karen Delaney, CCAA’s executive director, expressed thanks for Wyeth’s candid and insightful commentary. “We were all touched by her willingness to share the details of the intimate, emotion-charged moments the Wyeth family shared, especially those related to Andrew’s passing,” Delaney said.

Many in the audience attended Monday night’s session because they had heard Victoria Wyeth speak before and knew the experience would be enlightening as well as entertaining.

David and Barbara Linton of West Chester said they first saw her in action about a decade ago at the Brandywine River Museum of Art, where David Linton had worked as a volunteer. Barbara Linton said at one of Wyeth’s first presentations, she didn’t know the answers to a couple of questions but promised to get them.

“A few weeks later, we heard her again and she was ready with those answers,” Barbara Linton said. “She does a great job, and she is so funny.”

Nadia Barakat, executive director of the Chadds Ford Historical Society, is also a longtime fan, and Wyeth made a point of identifying Barakat so that people in the audience could get information about the Nov. 21 fundraiser. “I’m really excited about it,” Barakat said, adding that details appear on the society’s website: http://www.chaddsfordhistory.org.

In the meantime, those who need a Wyeth fix should head to the Chester County Art Association. In addition to the rarely seen, commanding N.C. Wyeth work, the CCAA exhibit includes publications by Brinton, its co-founder as well as an art critic; early letters from the third co-founder, William Palmer Lear, who also served as CCAA’s first art director; and paintings by CCAA charter-member George Gillett Whitney, also on loan from Westtown School.

Admission to the exhibit is $15 per person a day. On Wednesday, Oct. 14, it will include a 6 p.m. lecture by Christine Podmaniczky, curator of the N.C. Wyeth Collection at the Brandywine River Museum of Art; reservations are recommended. Podmaniczky will discuss the “Poems of American Patriotism” paintings and share a comparison of those paintings with works Wyeth sent to the annual CCAA exhibitions.

For tickets to the exhibition and more information, visit www.chestercountyarts.org or call 610-696-5600.

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Bertha Gallagher Fabiuccci of Hockessin, formerly of Toughkenamon

Obituaries

Bertha Gallagher Fabiuccci, 97, of Hockessin, formerly of Toughkenamon, died Saturday, Oct.10, surrounded by her loving family. She was the wife of Michael Fabiucci, who died in 1997, and with whom she shared 59 years of marriage.

Born in Kennett Square, she was the daughter of the late George G. and Mayme Nelson Gallagher.

She worked as a mushroom packer for Phillips Mushroom Co. for 30 years prior to her retirement.

Bert had a great love for family and life, spending many years at Hollaway Beach. She will be missed by her family and many nieces and nephews.

She leaves many memories to her family, Virginia Forenski (Robert) of Hockessin, with whom she resided and Linda Thompson (Chalmer) of Newark; six grandchildren; 11 great grandchildren; eight great great grandchildren and a sister-in-law Helen Detter.

She was predeceased by three sisters, Margaret Allaband, Martha Bailey and Virginia Gallagher and one brother, David Detter.

You may visit with her family and friends from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17, at St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother Church, 8910 Gap Newport Pike (Route 41) in Avondale. Her Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 11. Burial will be in St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Route 82 in Kennett Square.

In lieu of flowers a contribution may be made to St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother Church, P.O. Box 421, Avondale, PA 19311 or to the Avondale Fire Company, 23 Firehouse Way, Avondale, PA 19311

To leave an online condolence, please visit www.griecocares.com

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Oscar “Monk” John Crosson Jr. of Oxford

Obituaries

Oscar “Monk” John Crosson Jr., 71, of Oxford, died Saturday, Oct. 10, at his residence. He was the husband of Maryetta Plebani Crosson, with whom he shared 48 years of marriage.

Born in West Chester, he was the son of Elizabeth Hickman Crosson of Newark, Del. and the late Oscar John Crosson Sr.

Monk was horseman/equestrian at Cheshire Hunt inj Unionville. He was the whipper-in for Cheshire Hunt and the Cochran Hunt. He was a Huntsman for the Vic Mead Hunt.

He was a member of the Unionville Presbyterian Church, Professional Horsemen’s Association, where he had served as past president, and numerous gun clubs.

In addition to his wife and mother, he is survived by, two sons, Michael Crosson of West Grove, and John Crosson and his wife Rachel of East Earl; two daughters, Beth Nance and her husband Daniel of Pocopson, and Amy Crosson of Oxford; a daughter-in-law, Debbie Crosson of Kennett Square; one sister, Patricia Ingle and her husband Bob of Newark; eight grandchildren, Ashlee, Brian, Carly, Lexi, Zach, David, Dylan, and Kyle; one great grandson, Nicky; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by one sister, Iva Young.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to Ann Esposito and Neighborhood Hospice.

You are invited to visit with Monk’s family from 10 to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at the Kuzo & Grieco Funeral Home, 250 West State Street in Kennett Square. His Memorial service will follow at 11. Burial will be private.

If you hunted with Monk, the family requests that you wear hunting attire to the service.

In lieu of flowers, a contribution may be made to Brandywine Valley Chapter Professional Horsemen’s Association (BVCPHA), c/o Nancy Tully, 226 South Union Street, Kennett Square, PA 19348 or to the Unionville Presbyterian Church, 812 Wollaston Road, Kennett Square, PA 19348

Online condolences may be made by visiting www.griecocares.com

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Alleged Dunkin’ Donuts robber in custody

Police

A 25-year-old East Marlborough Township man has been charged with robbing his local Dunkin’ Donuts on Monday, Oct. 12, said state police.

Troopers from the Avondale barracks, who responded at 12:07 p.m. to the Dunkin’ Donuts in the 900 block of East Baltimore Pike, took Stephen Matthew Cote into custody within 30 minutes of the alleged crime, said a state police press release.

The release said Cote implied having a weapon and fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash. Based on the victim’s description, police said they found Cote about a half hour later “in close proximity to the crime scene.”

Cote was arraigned on charges that included robbery, terroristic threats, simple assault, and drug possession, court records said. He was remanded to Chester County Prison after failing to post 10 percent of $150,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 20.

Anyone who has information about the alleged crime is asked to call the barracks at 610-268-2022.

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Patricia (Trish) Antonia Leach of Landenberg

Obituaries

Patricia (Trish) Antonia Leach, 56, of Landenberg, died Saturday, Oct. 10, at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia,.

Born in Rockville Centre, New York, she was the daughter of the late Anton J. Juras and the late Helen Mollenhauer Juras.

Trish graduated from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado with a bachelor’s degree in social work and psychology. She received her master’s degree in elementary education from Wilmington College in Wilmington. She worked as a loan officer for credit unions in Colorado, as a teacher in the Christina School District in Delaware, and as a homemaker, mother and home-school teacher to her three children.

Trish loved Jesus, and she enjoyed teaching Bible studies with her home group in Landenberg and attending church at The Barn Vineyard Church. Trish loved adventure, and she traveled all across the United States. Trish loved her family, and enjoyed spending time with them. Trish loved her friends, and enjoyed giving generously to help people. Trish loved animals, enjoying her dogs and cats throughout her life.

Survivors include her husband, James, her son Joshua, her daughter Jasmine Zook and Jasmine’s husband Chris Zook, her daughter Nicolette; two brothers, Richard Juras and Michael Juras, and her sister Virginia St. John.

Family and friends are invited to visit with Trish’s family from 2 – 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, at the Foulk and Grieco Funeral Home at 200 Rose Hill Road, West Grove, PA 19390. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17, at The Barn Vineyard Church, 3224 Appleton Road, Landenberg, PA 19350. Burial will be private.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or the Trish Leach Education Scholarship at Fulton Bank in West Grove

Online condolences may be made by visiting www.griecocares.com.

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