The Unionville Community Fair is entering its 95th year with new leadership. After three years as president, Deb Deckman has stepped down to pursue other endeavors. Bonnie Musser has volunteered to step up as president for the 2019 fair.
Bonnie Musser is the new president for the Unionville Fair.
Musser has a long history of passionately supporting the fair in many different roles. She began serving on the board in 1978, serving as a director of Baked Goods, Board Secretary, and eventually several terms as President in the 1980s. Musser has overseen the publishing of the fair catalog most of the years since then. Musser has been attending the Fair since she was an infant. Her mother and Aunt were both Fair Queens, then called Harvest Queens.
Also joining the leadership team as president-elect is Cindy Wallace. As a long-time resident of the area, Wallace has many fond childhood memories of the fair. Her family’s farm produced many crops that were entered in the fair. Wallace works in the tech industry but remains connected to her agricultural background. She lives on part of the farm her grandparents bought in the 1940s and raises chickens, ducks and goats. Her children are active participants in the fair. They won the 2018 family award and Katrina Wallace is a two-time winner of the Robert Struble youth award.
Since it began in 1924 as a school harvest festival the Unionville Community Fair has grown into a community institution. The Fair remains focused on showcasing activities and displays that educate the community about the importance of agriculture, homemaking and the arts.
The fair is operated by an all-volunteer staff. Thousands of hours go into putting on the fair each year. There is always a need for new volunteers. More information can be found on the website ucfair.org.
This year’s fair will be held October 4 -6. In addition to the return of many of the traditional activities, the fair will see the popular wine and beer garden and 5K run return this year. Also in the works is a haunted tent attraction and new animal displays.
John Andrew Pennington, who volunteered for the Navy and served his country honorably in Vietnam, died Friday, April 12, at Chestnut Hill Hospital in Philadelphia after a long and hard-fought battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia-related illnesses. He was 70 and had resided in Wilmington for the past 35 years.
John A. Pennington
John was born in Wilmington, the son of Margaret Grady Pennington and the late Ralph Jefferson Pennington, and grew up in Chadds Ford. After graduating from Kennett (Square) High School in 1967 and attending Philadelphia Technical Institute, he enlisted in the US Navy Construction Battalion and served from 1968-1972 throughout the Vietnam era. As a Utilities Man 3rd Class, John was a crew leader whose projects included installing pipelines, working on a barge converting sea water to fresh water and building 136 houses for Vietnamese people in Cam Ran Bay. He was honored with the National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Technical Service Medal, and Vietnam Campaign Medal.
After the war, John worked as a naval ship inspector in California, a mechanic on an offshore platform, and as head of maintenance for Harrahs Hotel and Casino in Reno, Nev., before moving back east, where he spent most of his professional career as a chemical processor at DuPont’s Chestnut Run facility in Wilmington.
His interests included machinery, construction, home projects, landscaping, auto repair, ceramics, and spending time outdoors with his dogs. He was especially proud to be the grandfather of John William Pennington, who brought him inexpressible joy in the last years of his life.
John was predeceased by his wife of 35 years, Jill Forster Pennington, and a brother, Ralph Pennington. He is survived by his son, John Marshall Pennington, John’s wife Elizabeth, and their son John William Pennington, of Wilmington. He is also survived by a daughter, Jewel-Lynn Pennington, and a son, Christopher Pennington, both of California; by his mother, Margaret Pennington of Avondale; two sisters, Susan McCue of Avondale, and Faye P. Smith of Spring City; and more than a dozen loving nieces and nephews.
The family will welcome visitors from 10 to 11 a.m. at McCrery & Harra Funeral Homes, 3710 Kirkwood Highway, Wilmington on Saturday, April 20 with a memorial service to follow immediately at the funeral home at 11 am. Military honors will be provided. Burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Wilmington VA Medical Center, 1601 Kirkwood Highway, Wilmington, DE 19805. To send messages of condolence visit www.mccreryandharra.com
It's Puppies and Pearls, Saturday, May 4 at the DuPont Country Club.
It’s party time for Canine Partners for Life. CPL is celebrating 30 years of helping people gain greater independence with the help of man’s best friend. It’s Unleashed and “Uncorked: Puppies & Pearls” on Saturday, May 4 at DuPont Country Club in Wilmington. The event runs from 7-10 p.m.
Guests can test their luck in the wine pull and crowd-favorite wine toss. Guests will also have the opportunity to bid in our silent and live auctions on an autographed Carson Wentz jersey, vacation homes, a behind the scenes tour of the 6abc Action News Studio, elegant jewelry, wine packages and more.
“I hope you will join us for Unleashed & Uncorked: Puppies & Pearls to celebrate CPL’s 30 years of providing service and home companion dogs to individuals who have physical, cognitive and developmental disabilities. Throughout the evening you will have the opportunity to connect with our mission first-hand as you meet CPL recipients who have received the gift of independence thanks to the generosity of our community,” said CPL’s Executive Director Janie Cramer.
Individual tickets are $150 and include two drink tickets, a champagne toast and delicious cuisine. Proceeds benefit CPL’s mission to provide highly trained service and companion dogs to individuals with a wide range of physical and cognitive disabilities.
To learn more about Unleashed & Uncorked: Puppies & Pearls, and to purchase your tickets, call 610-869-4902 ext. 227 or email specialevents@k94life.org. Tickets must be purchased by April 26. A special thank you to our lead sponsors, West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc., Tory Kitchell, Robert and Margaret Duprey, and the Blue Yak Foundation for their incredible generosity and continued support of CPL.
Learn about Revolutionary War hero Dr. Joseph Warren at The Gables on April 23.
•The Revolutionary Dining series concludes next week with a talk by Christian DiSpigna. The talk is “Founding Martyr: The Life and Death of Dr. Joseph Warren, the American Revolution’s Lost Hero.” DiSpigna recently published a book on Warren and says had Warren lived — he was killed at Bunker Hill — he might have led the country in the same manner as Washington and Jefferson. The dinner is 6-9 p.m., Tuesday, April 23 at The Gables on Route 1 in Pennsbury Township. Cost is $50 per person. For more information, call 610-459-3345. For registration and tickets, go to www.brandywinebattlefield.org
•The 45th annual CCIU High School Art Show is underway through April 27 at the Chester County Art Association. Exhibit hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. A free reception and awards ceremony will be held on Tuesday, April 23 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. for students, their families and the general public. The Art Association is at 100 North Bradford Avenue in West Chester.
•It’s time for the superheroes to step up for CASA Youth Advocates’ fourth annual Superhero 5K Run/Walk set for 9 a.m. Sunday, April 28, at Ridley Creek State Park. Runners, walkers, children, and pets are encouraged to dress as their favorite superhero to show their commitment to the organization whose mission is to champion children in Delaware and Chester counties’ child welfare systems. Event registration is $30 for adults and $15 for children 7-17 before April 21; $40 for adults and $20 for children 7-17 after April 21, including the day of the race. All children 6 and under are free. For more information and to sign up, go here.
Tickets are now on sale for the 15th annual West Chester International Short Film Festival, April 26-28. The festival kicks off on Friday with an opening night party at align.Space, followed by film blocks at the Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center. A Family Film Festival and Young Filmmaker’s Film Festival take place on Saturday, along with other activities throughout downtown West Chester all weekend long. Visit WestChesterFilmFestival.com for tickets and details.
•Portions of the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls will be displayed for the public to view in the Pennsylvania State Capitol on Tuesday, April 30. This exhibit is in coordination with the annual Commonwealth Prayer Breakfast that will take place that same day at the Radisson in Camp Hill and will feature Brian Rickett as the keynote speaker, an expert in the Scrolls who will share his insights into the ancient religious manuscripts. The breakfast will take place at the Radisson in starting at 7 a.m. Tickets are $30 per person or $300 per table and can be reserved by contacting stephanie@bennisinc.com. Following the breakfast, the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit will be available to the public in the Capitol’s main rotunda from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
•The Friends Folk Club, along with St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church is proud to announce the return visit of a Friends favorite Celtic balladeer Charlie Zahm with Tad Marks joining on fiddle on Friday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m. For a great musical tribute to the wonderful folk songs of the 1960s, plus some of John Denver’s very best. Proceeds from this concert will benefit St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church. Attendees are asked to bring nonperishable food items which will be given to the local area food cupboards. Tickets are $15. Children 12 and under are free. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the concert will start at 7:30. The concert will be held at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church 116 Lancaster Pike Oxford, PA 19363. For more information or for reservations call:610-869-8076.
•Chester County residents are invited to attend a celebration that will mark the 30 h anniversary of the open space preservation program in this county and recognize the economic benefits of these efforts. The Chester County Open Space Summit will take place from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. Thursday, May 2, at the Lenfest Center at ChesLen Preserve, 1199 Cannery Road, Coatesville. For more information, visit https://chester-county-open-space-summit.eventbrite.com
•A brand new production of “The Sound of Music,” produced by NETworks Presentations, is making its Wilmington premiere May 9-12, at The Playhouse on Rodney Square as part of a North American tour. Tickets are on sale now at www.BroadwayInWilmington.org, or by calling 302-888-0200. For more information, please visit TheSoundOfMusicOnTour.com.
•Upland Country Day School is hosting an all-school reunion on Saturday, June 8. Join your Upland friends for an evening gala with dinner and dancing under the tent beginning at 6 p.m. We invite the entire Upland Community, including alumni, parents, former parents, and faculty, to reconnect on Upland’s campus. For more information please contact 610-444-8114 or visit www.uplandcds.org.
State Rep. Steve Barrar helps a constituent during a shredding event at Barrar’s Concord Township office last Saturday.
