Delaware County has been selected by the Pennsylvania Department of Health to be the host county for a new large-scale COVID-19 testing site for the Pennsylvania Southeast Community Health District, which includes Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery, and Schuylkill counties.
The COVID-19 drive-thru testing site, located at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby will be operated under the direction of the Health and Human Services’ Increasing Community Access to Testing Team, in coordination with the County of Delaware and Trinity Mid-Atlantic/Mercy Fitzgerald.
The Delaware County location was selected because it is in an area of the state with a large population and a significant increase in COVID-19 cases and testing needs.
Free drive-thru PCR testing will be provided 7 days a week from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Results will typically be provided within 48 hours. No health insurance or ID is needed.
This site is currently scheduled to be in place through Feb. 7, unless an extension is approved by HHS.
“This high-volume, high-throughput site, now under the direction of the ICATT team and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, can provide approximately 1,000 tests per day and 7,000 tests per week,” said Delaware County Board of Health Chair and the county’s COVID-19 Task Force Director, Rosemarie Halt. “This will allow Delaware County and our COVID-19 Task Force to address the high demand for testing during a time of high transmission of the highly contagious Omicron variant throughout the region.”
Free Drive-Thru PCR Testing: Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital
1500 Lansdowne Rd
Darby, PA 19023
Monday-Sunday (7 days a week) 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Residents who have questions related to the testing site or test results can call 1-800-635-8611.
A full list of County-sponsored or operated COVID-19 testing sites can be found at delcopa.gov/testing. The latest COVID-19 vaccination information, including vaccination eligibility details and hour of operation for County-sponsored vaccination clinics, can be found at delcopa.gov/vax.
There is so much more than meets the eye in Chester County. No one knows that better than Constance McBride, who for the past two years wrote the Art Live column for Chadds Ford Live. A ceramic sculptor herself, McBride was surprised to find a thriving art scene when she moved to the area. “Aside from the Wyeths, I wasn’t familiar with the Brandywine Valley art scene,” McBride says. “I started visiting galleries in West Chester and was very happy to notice that the arts are alive and well in Chester County.”
McBride’s experience is a common one for people unfamiliar with the rich artistic tradition of the area. Even lifelong residents may not have experienced more than a school visit to the Brandywine River Museum of Art or passing familiarity with the works of Andrew Wyeth. However, you don’t have to look hard to find more. “I learned a lot about what was going in the area by writing for Chadds Ford Live,” McBride says. “It was all new to me. I would come across a tiny shop in a street mall, walk in and find fine art!”
The Lonely Girls at Tubbs Gallery – Rehoboth Art League – photo by Karen Hahn
This is a common refrain I have heard from many visitors and new arrivals to Chester County over the years. Those who have only seen the most famous representations of local art can be surprised to find more than they expect. “It isn’t all snow on rooftops, cows, and landscapes,” McBride says. “There are so many contemporary artists and active studios all over Chester County.”
McBride herself is one of those artists, as well as an active member of the local art community. Her most recent show, The Lonely Girls, expanded upon a project started in 2011. After her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, McBride was inspired by both her and the women she lived with. The original collection of seven ceramic portraits was completed in 2013/2014. When the pandemic hit in 2020, McBride revisited the project and created several more sculptures. Each bust bursts with emotion, with expressive faces that range from curious to thoughtful to lost. The series explores both the disease and representation, as “a gendered issue of dementia engaged from a female point of view.” The project was most recently shown in late 2021 at the Tubbs Gallery at Rehoboth Art League in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
McBride got into ceramics as many do: through a local class. “I took a class at Abington Arts Center to make clay tiles. The moment I touched it, there was something about the material that drew me in.” She developed a passion for the medium that lasted. “Once I realized how I could sculpt figures in clay, I was hooked.”
McBride shares her passion by teaching hand building to students. She taught at Chester County Arts Association prior to the shutdown, and now is an instructor at Clay on Main in Oley, Pennsylvania. The studio has continued to thrive through the pandemic, with safety measures in place. “I have students well versed in clay, and students who received a gift certificate and just want to get out of the house. But once they get going, it is a way to escape and shut off all the noise.” Many have found such an activity soothing, especially over the past few years. “Working with your hands is a meditative process, whether molding clay, knitting, or crocheting.” The many new bakers who have discovered a love of kneading and baking homemade bread since 2020 would agree.
The pandemic has provided many challenges for those who rely on sharing their craft, but McBride notes that some changes have been positive. “As challenging as it has been, the pandemic has brought more of us online, where you can reach a wider audience,” McBride muses. “Artists are watching from other areas, noticing the events in our region, and getting interested in showing here.” This is a boon to the many galleries throughout Chester County. Exhibits and shows are returning rapidly, and this will be an exciting year in the art community.
“In all mediums, people need to have a purpose again,” McBride says. For her, clay has provided that in a variety of ways. “It is of the earth, and we are of the earth. For me it’s life and our experiences over time.”
Victoria Rose (she/her) is an editor, writer, avid reader, self-described geek, and fan of all things creative. Her passion for words has led to her current career as a freelance editor, and she is the owner of Flickering Words, an editing service. When not wielding a red pen (or cursor), she loves reading books of all genres, playing video, board, and word games, baking ridiculous creations to show off on the internet, or enjoying the gorgeous outdoors. She is a board member of the West Chester Film Festival and part of the Thirsty Monsters, a team of streamers from around the world who fundraise for various charities supporting LGBTQIA+ and accessibility rights. She can be found online @WordsFlickering or the Brandywine Art Guide @BrandywineArtGuide.
Horace Pippin (1888-1946), Gas Alarm Outpost, Argonne, ca. 1931-37, oil on canvas. Purchased with funds given by The Davenport Family Foundation in loving memory of Peter D. Davenport, 2021
•The Brandywine River Museum of Art is presenting an online talk on some of the works of Horace Pippin from 7-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 22. Toward the end of his life, Horace Pippin remarked that “World War I brought out all the art in me.” To recognize the recent acquisition of a major work by Pippin, Gas Alarm Outpost, Argonne, the Brandywine River Museum of Art presents a discussion of the painting, focusing on Pippin’s military service as part of the “Harlem Hellfighters,” the all-Black 369th Infantry Regiment, and its impact on his life and work. Moderated by Brandywine Curator Audrey Lewis, the program will feature Dr. Anne Monahan, author of Horace Pippin: American Modern and Dr. Jeffrey Sammons, Professor of History at New York University and co-author with John H. Morrow, Jr. of Harlem’s Rattlers and the Great War: The Undaunted 369th Regiment and the African American Quest for Equality. The program is “pay what you wish” and will be offered online on Zoom. Go here to register.
Learn to grow dahlias at Longwood on Wednesday, Jan. 26
•Longwood Gardens is offering a class Growing Dahlias: Early Spring Preparation on Wednesday, Jan. 26. This online event runs from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and costs $29. Join LeeAnn Huber online and learn the best approaches for spring tuber care, proper nutrition, soil preparation and testing, and how to prepare for the growing season. You’ll also get a behind-the-scenes peek at her wide array of blooms from the Coseytown Flowers hybridizing program and learn tips and techniques from the field. The class includes three-month access to the recording of the presentation. This course counts as a horticulture technique requirement for the Ornamental Horticulture Certificate. Go here to register.
•The Chester County History Center is offering an online talk about the Cassatt Family, focusing on artist Mary Cassatt. The talk, The Cassatts at Home: West Chester and Beyond, is led by Nancy Mowll Mathews, will visit the Cassatt family, including artist Mary Cassatt, in their many homes in Pennsylvania and France. We will get to know their friends and family, gathering amidst the art on their walls and in their famous daughter’s studio. We will focus on the Cassatt home on Westtown-Thornton Road outside West Chester where Mary Cassatt began her art studies and the family weathered the Civil War. In many ways these years in the early 1860s shaped her career and future life. The event, from 7-8 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 26, is free, but sign up here.
Mt. Cuba Center is offering a class in making tote bags next Saturday, Jan. 29.
•Create a one-of-a-kind, no-knit, durable tote bag, ideal for carrying art supplies, books, tablets, and more, at Mt. Cuba Center on Jan. 29. Using merino wool and other fun fiber accents, instructor Sara Setzer walks you through the ancient craft of wet felting, from selecting and arranging your wool fibers to the finished product. Expand your knowledge of fiber arts and go home with a truly unique hand-crafted tote. Please bring your lunch. This program takes place in-person at Mt. Cuba Center on Saturday, Jan. 29. But there’s a snow date of Saturday, Feb. 5. To register, go here.
