May 31, 2023 - ChaddsFordLive.com

Anson Nixon Park anniversary

_1JF3965 — The Kennett Area Park Authority is planning a 30th anniversary celebration for Anson B. Nixon Park on June 21. From left are Mark Volpe, KAPA’s facilities director, Sheila Tekavec, office manager, and John Gaadt, KAPA’s vice chairman.

Anson B. Nixon Park in Kennett Square turns 30 this year. According to John Gaadt, vice-chairman of the Kennett Area Park Authority, Kennett Township and the Borough of Kennett Square got together to start the park after a landfill was closed where the soccer fields are now.

“The land was going to be turned over to the township when the landfill was leaving, but the township and the borough had a vision of providing a park for the community,” the KAPA vice-chairman said.

Sheila Tekavec, KAPA’s office manager, said the two entities got together and formed an authority to operate the site. The park opened to the public on June 12, 1993, 15 years after the landfill was closed down. It’s named for Anson B. Nixon, a former Kennett Township supervisor who was also chairman of the Regional Landfill Authority.

According to KAPA’s website, the park was originally established for passive recreation, but there’s much more to it now. There are two ponds that are home to geese, turtles and fish, and where the park has its annual Trout Rodeo. There are the Tino Lito soccer fields, basketball courts, a playground area, frisbee golf, tennis and pickleball courts, pavilions, two dog parks, and almost three miles of walking trails in the 106-acre park off N. Walnut Street. There’s also a community garden where people can rent a plot for $25 per growing season, spring into autumn.

There’s also been improved lighting, parking, and the installation of indoor restrooms that are open spring through autumn. Tekavec also said there’s been improved connectivity with the borough so that most people in Kennett Square can walk to and from the park.

The playground area and the walking trails seem to be what most of the people who come to the park are interested in.

“When we started doing the most recent fundraising appeal,” Tekavec said, “we put a question on the reply card saying, ‘Tell us what you love the most about Anson B. Nixon Park’ and the answers are amazing. People talk about how much they love coming here with their dogs, and how it means so much that they can come here with their grandchildren. And a lot of people said what it meant to them that they could come here during COVID. It became a place where they could go outside and de-stress.”

The authority was recently awarded a DCNR grant to build a new playground. Gaadt said the plan for the next five to 10 years, in addition to the new playground, is to renovate the old borough waterworks that are on the property and convert them into offices for the authority and to make some indoor space for the community. And they’re thinking of making a splash pad for young kids to play in very shallow water without swimming. “They can run in it,” he said.

There will also be a new pavilion and a small plaza where there can be smaller outdoor events without the need for the large band shell that’s near the ponds.

Gaadt said many people have told him that the park is “a place of peace” for them. “It’s a real gem for the community. It’s within walking distance from the borough and a lot of people from the township can walk or ride bikes to the park. It’s a real community asset.

There’s a party scheduled for Wednesday evening, June 21 to celebrate the park’s 30 years. As with all such parties, there will be ice cream and cake, but also live music, some giveaways, and “maybe a few other surprises” Tekavec said. That night will also mark the return of the Wednesday night concerts in the park.

About Rich Schwartzman

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.

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Anna Victoria Ford of West Chester

Obituaries

Anna Victoria Ford (Tori), 33, of West Chester, died unexpectedly on Wednesday, May 24. Born in Sacramento, Calif., she was the daughter of Jeffrey Cosenza and Cathy Ford.

Tori was a bright light that would do anything for a friend in need. She had the greatest smile and shared it with everyone. She had a beautiful spirit and will be missed. She loved Harry Potter and always had her nose in a book. She always worked multiple jobs and most recently she was a food service specialist.

In addition to her parents, Tori is survived by her sons, Milo Ford and Max Krawczynski. She is also survived by her sister, Holly Manetta and her brother, Jeffrey Walter Cosenza.

Services and interment will be held privately.

Arrangements are by Matthew Grieco of Grieco Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. of Kennett Square (484-734-8100). To view her online tribute and to share a memory with her family, please visit www.griecofunerals.com

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Edward F. Kavanagh of Avondale

Obituaries

Edward F. Kavanagh, 80, of Avondale, died Wednesday, May 24, at Christiana Hospital in Newark. He was the spouse of Sandra (Lawrence) Kavanagh, with whom he shared 59 years of marriage. Born in West Chester, he was the son of Francis Kavanagh and Ruth (Brown) Kavanagh of West Grove.

He was “Pop Pop” to his four grandsons, and “Uncle Eddie” to his many nieces and nephews. Pop Pop was most proud of his family and cherished them every day. Ed was a proud graduate of Salesianum High School in Wilmington. Ed attended two years at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, majoring in math.

He was proud to have been from West Grove, and regularly supported the community during his lifetime. Ed served on the board of the Southern Chester County Hospital and the Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce. He was a 25-year member of the West Grove-Avondale Rotary Club. He was also a member of the Salesianum Alumni Association, the Suburban Contractors Association, and the Inter-County Contractors Association. He owned his own site development and excavating company (F.P. Kavanagh & Son, Inc.) for over 37 years. He loved golfing at the Kennett Square Golf & Country Club and later in life, his greatest joy was spending time with his four grandsons and their friends.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his daughters, Wendy Abernethy and Tina Land (Neil); and four grandchildren, Robert Abernethy, Kevin Abernethy, Colvin Land, and Wyatt Land (Emma).

All are invited to visit with the Kavanagh family and friends from 9 to 11 a.m. on June 10, at St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother, 8910 Gap Newport Pike, Avondale, PA 19311. Ed’s funeral service will follow at 11. Interment will be held privately.

Contributions in his memory may be made to Salesianum School, 1801 North Broom Street, Wilmington, DE 19802 https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/2079/donations/new or St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother https://saintgabrielparish.org/give/

Arrangements are by Matthew Grieco of Grieco Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. of Kennett Square (484-734-8100) To view his online obituary, please visit www.griecofunerals.com.

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Blogging Along the Brandywine: A sad goodbye

Along the Ford

ConcordTwp.ConcordvilleHotelc.1908pc — The Concordville Hotel, circa 1908

This is not about an inn with history going back almost 200 years. Nor is it about detailed corporate and legal matters about its purchase by Encompass Health Corp, its scheduled closing on June 25, or its eventual demolition.

It’s about a family who believed in hard work and in America.

Few remember the Great Ionian Earthquake of 1953 that measured 6.8 on the Richter scale leveling 90 percent of the homes on the Greek Island of Kefalonia, plunging it into social and economic darkness. Out of this darkness came brothers Alex and Jerry Hionis who would make their impact on the Brandywine Valley.

At Alex Hionis’ death in 2018, the Brandywine Valley Premier Hospitality Group would boast the Concordville Inn, the Concordville Best Western Hotel, the Mendenhall Inn, the Inn at Mendenhall as well as other independently owned properties.

Last call. The Concordville Inn is closing on June 25.

While the presence of the Concordville Inn at the 1777 retreat from Brandywine may be apocryphal, records at the Concord Township Historical Society show it was opened by John Way in 1830. Its mansard roof dates to the 1850s at the earliest.

The Hionis family became the 25^th owners in 1975, renovating the run-down inn and building an award-winning reputation with its signature crab imperial and prime rib.

Long-time Sales Manager Dottie Sonsalla joined the team in 1988.

“I remember Alex senior having a conversation with me one day. He told me that there were people that may have saved their whole lives to have a party with us,” she said. “He knew I would take good care of them and that our team would take care of them, no matter how small or how large that party might be.”

“I also remember guests coming, mostly to have a personal conversation with [Jerry] about something financial – an unexpected death in the family and a funeral luncheon needed to be planned,” she said. “I remember a handshake was all that was needed.

A payment plan would be established after the luncheon. The most important thing that Jerry wanted them to do was to take care of their family first.”

This writer worked for the Hionis family at their Mendenhall property from 1987 to 2013. But for 10 months I worked in their sales office at Concordville where I was assigned to Coretta Scott (Mrs. Martin Luther) King in May 2002, who wanted to honor her sister, Edythe Scott Bagley, a department head at Cheyney University, who had survived cancer. She arrived Monday night, I met with her over three days, and the dinner reception was Friday. Did the Concordville team embrace this very nervous sales neophyte? Yes!

But why the demise of this popular restaurant that was so much a part of the Brandywine Valley? I spoke with owner Steven Angeline who answered, “Covid, the price of food and labor issues.”

“We tried to sell it as a restaurant,” he explained, “but no one builds a restaurant that large anymore.”

My husband and I recently went to the Concordville Inn one last time. The dining room was full. When I inquired about the closing, our server told us he was already in training two days a week at Harry Savoy in Wilmington.

The Concordville Best Western Hotel will remain and add a lounge, bar and some banquet facilities. In addition, they are offering staff placement at the hotel or at the Mendenhall.

As Sonsalla, now the director of wedding and ballroom events at Mendenhall remembers, “We were a team, we were a passionate force, we cared about others, we were family.”

About Sally Denk Hoey

Sally Denk Hoey, is a Gemini - one part music and one part history. She holds a masters degree cum laude from the School of Music at West Chester University. She taught 14 years in both public and private school. Her CD "Bard of the Brandywine" was critically received during her almost 30 years as a folk singer. She currently cantors masses at St Agnes Church in West Chester where she also performs with the select Motet Choir. A recognized historian, Sally serves as a judge-captain for the south-east Pennsylvania regionals of the National History Day Competition. She has served as president of the Brandywine Battlefield Park Associates as well as the Sanderson Museum in Chadds Ford where she now curates the violin collection. Sally re-enacted with the 43rd Regiment of Foot and the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment for 19 years where she interpreted the role of a campfollower at encampments in Valley Forge, Williamsburg, Va., Monmouth, N.J. and Lexington and Concord, Mass. Sally is married to her college classmate, Thomas Hoey, otherwise known as "Mr. Sousa.”

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Police Log May 31: Crashes, threats, thefts

Police

Pennsylvania State Police

Avondale Barracks

• Police said they arrested a 21-year-old man from Wilmington on drug possession charges in East Marlborough Township. The arrest followed a traffic stop for a traffic violation on Route 1 near Orchard Avenue on May 23. Police did not identify the driver in the report, but said he was charged with drug possession and DUI.

• Someone stole $125 worth of flowers from the Styers Peonies Flower Shop on Cossart Road in Pennsbury Township on May 23. Police are investigating.

• Andrew W. Nastasiak, 37, of West Chester, was cited after the car he was driving left the roadway and sideswiped a utility pole on Unionville-Wawaset Road at 8:29 p.m. on May 23, police said. According to the report, Nastasiak was distracted listening to music.

• A 28-year-old man from Claymont was arrested and charged with making terroristic threats against a 56-year-old Kennett Square man. The report, which did not include identities, said the threats were made as part of a road rage incident. The incident happened at 1:40 p.m. on May 21 on Route 1 at Lenape Avenue.

• Police said James M. Russell, 19, of Chadds Ford, was cited after a two-vehicle crash at Route 1 and Onix Avenue in East Marlborough Township on May 21. According to the report, Russell was traveling southbound on Baltimore Pike but failed to stop at a red light and then struck another vehicle that had the green light to turn left onto Onix. Both vehicles were disabled but no injuries were reported.

• A 30-year-old Cochranville woman, not identified, was arrested in East Marlborough Township on drug possession charges and for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. The report said police stopped the vehicle because of traffic violations. After the stop, police said the driver was showing signs of impairment, which were supported by a field sobriety test, and that there was a firearm in plain view. Drug paraphernalia was
also found, police said. The incident happened on E. Street Road at Waverly Lane.

Kennett Square Police Department

Police said Benjamin Ledyard, 56, of Wilmington, was charged with criminal mischief following an investigation into a March 5 incident at an Airbnb in Kennett Square. According to the police report, officers received a report that there had been loud arguing during what was thought to be a domestic dispute at the property on E. State Street. Damages were observed to the kitchen cabinet, there was a hole in the wall, which appeared to be from someone punching it, and dried blood on the curtains, interior of a closet, and in the carpet, police said.

About CFLive Staff

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