Members of the Santoleri Family put some final touches on their entry, Dragon on Castle.According to April Margera, her entry, carved with friends, is a cross between a dragon and a phoenix.
When the unexpected happens, the rule is to adapt, adjust and overcome. And that’s exactly what the administration of the Chadds Ford Historical Society did to prepare for this year’s Great Pumpkin Carve.
Some people start from a drawing.Jeff Brown works details from the very beginning.
Two weeks before the annual event, a pipe that carries water from the spring house to the creek broke and flooded a major portion the area used for the pumpkin patch. So, they redid the design for this year’s layout, tightened the area being used by the 60 carvers so they and the thousands of visitors could work and watch on dry land instead of a marsh.
As is typical for The Carve, it was fun-filled with skilled carvers providing the main show while the band Kenny and Friends provided the musical entertainment. The carvers’ talent was undeniable.
The Chadds Ford Historical society made sure there was ample parking.Jakub Callan, of Drexel Hill, has his own view of The Carve.Don’t run withy sharp objects. Carve pumpkins instead.
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.
Chester County Sheriff Carolyn ‘Bunny’ Welsh interacts with club members as they write messages to the grocery recipients.
A club designed to foster kindness, compassion, and service to others lived up to its name at Pocopson Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 12.
Students in grades three through five, members of the school’s fledgling Kids with Heart Club, enthusiastically greeted representatives of the Chester County Sheriff’s Office. They were eager to show off their “Good-for-You Groceries” project for less-privileged children.
Students had an opportunity to meet and interact with three teams from the Chester County Sheriff’s K-9 Unit – Lt. Harry McKinney and Melody, Deputy Michael Sarro and Dexter and Deputy September Spencer and Luke. Then they got busy stuffing 50 grocery bags with healthful food and snacks, crafting notes to the recipients, and finally, using chalk to write positive messages on the sidewalk outside the cafeteria.
Some of the students took an upbeat but serious approach to the notes placed inside each bag with colorful drawings and messages such as “We care about you,” “Caring is sharing,” and “Have a great meal.” Others opted for a more whimsical approach: “Eat up, son” was signed by Mr. Smiley Melon, and one student quoted Dr. Seuss: “Why fit in when you were meant to stand out?”
After the students completed their tasks, they each got a club t-shirt. The front of the red shirt contained the club’s names; the back, its mantra: “Kindness is the new cool.”
Janis Michels, one of five parents overseeing the club, said the idea for the club stemmed from the parents’ conversations about how blessed their children were. “Many of our children don’t have any idea of the trials and tribulations that other children experience,” she said, adding that she received personal inspiration from another parent, Lisa Barrickman, who wrote a book entitled “A Case for Kindness.”
Once Michels, Sylvia Kane, Tracy Wahl, Julie Gates and Eileen Day realized they were on the same page, they got permission from Pocopson Principal Clif Beaver to start the club.
Michels said the organizers had planned to operate the club with 25 students; however, sign-up day proved much more popular than expected. To avoid a revolt, the club accepted 40 members and established a waiting list.
Chester County Lt. Harry McKinney, accompanied by K-9 Melody, addresses the Kids with Heart Club at Pocopson Elementary School.
The healthy food outreach grew out of a connection Michels had with Heaven on Earth NOW, a national nonprofit whose programs include the “Good-for-You Groceries” initiative. A small group of club members went shopping after school at the Giant supermarket in the Dilworthtown Crossing Shopping Center. Their mission: selecting specific, nutritious food options, such as whole grain cereal and unsweetened applesauce cups. In addition to monitoring the ingredients, the students worked with a list and a budget, Michels said.
“It was wonderful seeing them shop for healthier options while being conscious of cost and ingredients,” said Michels. “They really took it seriously and perhaps have a new-found appreciation of what it is like to shop on a tighter budget.”
Michels said the managers at Giant provided invaluable counsel. “They were great with the kids and were helpful in getting our cost as close to the $15 to $17 limit as possible,” she said. She also praised the participation of Chester County Sheriff Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh, who offered to assist in finding recipients for the food.
Less than a day after the Pocopson Elementary students prepared the gifts, Welsh and a couple of deputies delivered them to the Chester County Family Academy in West Chester. Welsh serves on the board of the K-2 school, which was founded in 1997 to carry out the vision of local philanthropists Dick and Sheila Sanford “to make a difference in the lives of children.”
English is a second language for most of the families, who value education but struggle financially, said Susan Flynn, the academy’s chief executive officer. On Friday, Oct. 13, Flynn oversaw the distribution of the grocery bags to groups of gleeful children.
Flynn explained that students at another school had not only selected the items but also enclosed messages, some of which reduced some of the adults present to tears. For their part, the children were so appreciative and delighted that they asked if they could do something similar for other kids.
“These are two groups of children who might never have interacted. But the combination of the caring hearts of the club members and the grateful recipients at the academy has created a unique and beautiful bond,” Welsh said. “The fact that the experience has encouraged the academy’s students to pay it forward is truly a joy to behold. The Sheriff’s Office was thrilled to play a small role in that.”
Pocopson Township Supervisors voted 2-1 Monday to support a variance for a sign on the new Ducklings Early Learning Center building.
Supervisors Ricki Stumpo, the board chairman, and Alice Balsama voted for the motion. Supervisors’ Vice Chairman Elaine DiMonte opposed the motion.
The township’s Zoning Hearing Board will hold a hearing on the sign variance at 7 p.m. Oct. 26.
The color of the sign was an issue with two of the supervisors. Both DiMonte and Balsama said they wished the yellow-and-orange colors on the sign would complement the building more. The building is at the entrance to the Riverside at Chadds Ford development.
“The building is so beautiful,” DiMonte said. “I think it would be nice if the colors were more subtle. I think because it’s in a residential area is why it bothers me.”
Stumpo said she had no issue with the sign’s colors. “I have no problem with it,” she said.
The attorney for Ducklings’ owner Joanne Thompson, Neil Land, said the colors and design of the sign were important to establish branding and franchising for Ducklings, which also has locations in East Marlborough (Longwood), Lower Oxford (Oxford), and Franklin townships (Landenberg).
The non-lit wall sign would be placed above the front door, facing the street, Land said.
“The sign proposal meets existing standards,” he said, adding that in the settlement with residents of the Riverside Development, there was nothing included about the existence of a sign.
Township Secretary Susan Simone said that while Pocopson’s Planning Commission recommended the variance be granted, several of its members also had comments on the proposed color scheme.
Ducklings needs a variance for the sign because the facility, while a commercial use, is located in a residential district, and the sign would not normally be permitted, according to the ZHB notice advertising the hearing.
Other business
DiMonte and Stumpo met on Oct. 6 with GKO Associates, Stumpo said during the Sunshine Announcements portion of Monday’s meeting. GKO is the firm conducting the feasibility study of the historic Eusebius Barnard House and the current township building.
Later in the meeting, DiMonte noted that GKO had presented initial concepts that piqued their interest.
“They were some pretty cool ideas,” DiMonte said.
Balsama added that the ideas were “kind of an extension of what they originally proposed.”
The next time supervisors will meet with GKO will be Nov. 3. County commissioners were invited to attend, as the Barnard House property was originally under county ownership before it was transferred to Pocopson.
Monica Thompson Fragale is a freelance reporter who spent her life dreaming of being in the newspaper business. That dream came true after college when she started working at The Kennett Paper and, years later The Reporter newspaper in Lansdale and other dailies.
She turned to non-profit work after her first daughter was born and spent the next 13 years in that field.
But while you can take the girl out of journalism, you can’t take journalism out of the girl. Offers to freelance sparked the writing bug again started her fingers happily tapping away on the keyboard.
Monica lives with her husband and two children in Kennett Square.
Mason Porter plays the Friends Folk Club on Friday, Nov. 3.
• In partnership with PECO, the Brandywine River Museum of Art will host a local drop-off station for the Cradles to Crayons’ “BIG Give” event on Saturday, Oct. 21 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The BIG Give is a community-powered effort hosted by Cradles to Crayons to collect vitally needed warm winter essentials for over 13,000 low-income and homeless children in the Greater Philadelphia region. Participating visitors who donate winter clothes and accessories to Brandywine’s drop-off station will also receive $2 off general adult admission. Donations will support Cradles to Crayons’ efforts to provide children from birth to age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essentials they need to thrive. For additional ways to get involved, visit www.cradlestocrayons.org/philadelphia.
• The Chester and Delaware County division of SCORE is offering a workshop on how to market a business on the Internet, next Tuesday, Oct. 24, and again on Oct. 25, from 7-9 p.m. This presentation explores each of these Internet environments and discusses marketing strategies to promote your brand, prospect for new business and generate new leads through the Internet. The workshop will be at the Media-Upper Providence Free Library at 1 East Front Street in Media. To register, go here http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=ekds7zcab&oeidk=a07edijqko7dcecc6b4
• West Chester University invites members of the community to attend two briefing sessions that will detail the university’s future plans, including proposed construction projects, on Monday, Oct. 30, as well as Friday, Nov. 3, at 6 p.m. in Philips Autograph Library on the second floor of Philips Memorial Building, 700 South High Street, West Chester. The University will host two sessions to provide a better opportunity for all interested to hear and discuss WCU’s upcoming plans; the same information will be presented at both sessions. RSVPs are not required to attend. Those requiring special accommodations are asked to contact Anna Downes at 610-436-6972.
• Crozer-Keystone Hospice is offering a bereavement support group. The sessions are free and open to all adults who have recently lost a loved one. Groups are facilitated by qualified and caring professionals. The fall session will be held on Wednesdays, from Nov. 1 to Dec. 13, from 9 to 10 a.m., in Classrooms A & B at Taylor Hospital (175 E. Chester Pike, Ridley Park). Please RSVP to Nicole Irwin by Monday, Oct. 23, at nicole.irwin@crozer.org or 610-595-6751.
• The Friends Folk Club will present a performance by the band Mason Porter on Friday, Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. The band developed its original sound blending folk, bluegrass, blues, country and rock influences into the unique personality that is Mason Porter. Witness this wonderful performance on Friday, November 3rd at the Oxford Friends Meeting 260 S. 3rd St. Oxford, PA. Doors open at 7 and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15. Children 12 and under are free. Refreshments are available at a reasonable price. For more information, email friendsfolkclub@aol.com or visit www.masonporter.com
• State Sen. Tom Killion, in partnership with state Rep. Steve Barrar, will host a veterans’ appreciation breakfast at Elam United Methodist Church on Saturday, Nov. 4, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. Reservations can be made for 8:30, 9:30 or 10:30 a.m. Seating is limited, so RSVP to Killion’s office at 610-447-3163 or Barrar’s office at 610-358-5925. The church is at 1073 Smithbridge Road in Concord Township.
• The next Tavern Talk at the Chadds Ford Historical Society is definitely for food lovers. It’s Feast Mode on Thursday, Nov. 9 from 7-9 p.m.at the society’s Barns-Brinton House. Become a historical foodie as we delight in the delicacies of 18th century cooking through several interactive stations. Learn about tavern fare with historic food ways historian Susan Plaited and cheer on TV host, podcaster and competitive food eater Monty “Moe Train” Wiradilaga as he does the “Colonial Food Tasting Challenge.” Other guest participants include New Castle Historical Society and Chaddsford Winery. Tavern Talks takes place at the Chadds Ford Historical Society’s Barns Brinton House, an historic 1714 tavern, located next to the Chaddsford Winery at 630 Baltimore Pike. Admission is $20 for non-members and $15 for members. Tickets must be purchased in advance over the phone, in person or online (http://bit.ly/2i1qCDs) as space is limited. All attendees must be 21 and older. For more info on the CFHS or to purchase tickets, call 610-388-7376, email info@chaddsfordhistory.org or visit www.chaddsfordhistory.org.
• The American Helicopter Museum will host a Hops & Helicopters Craft Beer/Homebrew Festival on Friday, Nov. 10, from 5-9 p.m. The festival includes craft beer tasting from local breweries, homebrew sampling and information exchange, live music and food trucks. The cost is $30 in advance, $35 at the door. For tickets, go to americanhelicopter.museum/node/367
The following animals are ready to be adopted from the Brandywine Valley SPCA in West Chester.
Digger
Digger
Digger is a sweet, laid back cat who’s a little shy but responds well to a gentle touch. This 7-year old loves to be petted and would be good company for someone looking for that special lap cat companion. His adoption fee is “pay what you want” through Sunday, Oct. 22.
David Lee Roth
David Lee Roth
Looking to add a rock star to your family? David Lee Roth is a handsome 10-month old puppy looking for an active home with folks who want to work with him on his puppy training. He’s super smart, eager to please and enjoys the company of other dogs who match well with his zest for life. Based on his size and enthusiasm, he may do best in a home with older kids. David Lee Roth’s adoption fee is “pay what you want” through Sunday, Oct. 22.
For more information, go to www.bvspca.org or phone 610-692-6113.
