Spring/Summer 2022
Chadds Ford Life
Magazine
Brandywine View Antiques: Chadds Ford's eclectic emporium Page 30 30 Page
Inside: • Photo Essay: Chadds Peak Farm • Jimmy John's remains pipin' hot • New exhibit showcases "Gatecrashers"
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Chadds Ford Life Spring/Summer 2022
Chadds Ford Life Table of Contents 10
‘Gatecrashers’ exhibit opens at Brandywine River Museum of Art
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Chadds Ford Climate Control: Paying back the community
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Jimmy John’s Pipin’ Hot Sandwiches
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Brandywine View Antiques— Chadds Ford’s eclectic emporium
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Essay: A sommelier’s continually emerging love affair
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Chadds Peak Farm: An oasis for the human spirit
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Q & A: Danielle Clark, principal, Chadds Ford Elementary School
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Letter from the Editor: In this issue of Chadds Ford Life, we explore an eclectic Chadds Ford emporium, a roadside attraction for more than 80 years, a business that really gives back to the community, a new exhibit at the Brandywine River Museum of Art, and much more. We talk to Lisa Vonderstuck, the owner of Brandywine View Antiques, about all the shopping treasures that can be found in rooms filled with antiques, vintage and up-cycled goods ranging from furniture to handmade items. This issue also features a story about Ken Blackburn and the staff at Chadds Ford Climate Control. For this business, giving back to the community is as much a part of their business model as installing heating and air conditioning units in residences and businesses around Chester County. Just one example of how Chadds Ford Climate Control gives back is the company’s good work with the new Habitat for Humanity of Chester County development near West Grove. We also take a look at the history of Jimmy John’s Pipin’ Hot Sandwiches, a roadside attraction for over 80 years that is still thriving. If you want to experience a bit of what America was like back in the 1940s through the 1960s and enjoy a good meal, stop in at Jimmy John’s. You’ll like the casual atmosphere—and a trip back in time to when the pace of life was just a bit more manageable. Contributing writer Rachel Rhan shares an essay about her unplanned love affair with wines that developed after she took a part-time position at Chaddsford Winery. Following World War I, artists without formal training “crashed the gates” of the art culture in America and changed it forever. These artists are now being celebrated in a new exhibit at the Brandywine River Museum of Art. The subject of the Q & A is Danielle Clark, the principal at Chadds Ford Elementary. In the photo essay, we look at how Elizabeth and Vince Moro consider their Chadds Peak Farm to be an oasis for the human spirt. We hope you enjoy these stories, and we always welcome comments and suggestions for stories to highlight in a future issue of Chadds Ford Life. We’re already looking forward to bringing you the next issue of Chadds Ford Life, which will arrive in the fall of 2022. Sincerely, Randy Lieberman, Publisher randyl@chestercounty.com, 610-869-5553 Steve Hoffman, Editor editor@chestercounty.com., 610-869-5553, Ext. 13 Cover photo: Susan Alivio Cover Design: Tricia Hoadley www.chestercounty.com | Spring/Summer 2022 | Chadds Ford Life
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|Chadds Ford Arts| Following World War I, artists without formal training “crashed the gates” of the art culture in America and changed it forever. They’re now being celebrated in a new exhibit at the Brandywine River Museum of Art
‘Trespassing in the art world’s ivory tower’ By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer In the first chapter of her book Gatecrashers: The Rise of the Self Taught Artist in America (University of California Press, 2020), author Katherine Jentleson wrote about the highly-anticipated Carnegie International exhibit at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh in the fall of 1927. Melded within the collection, among the paintings and portraits from some of the world’s finest artists, was a painting that didn’t seem like it belonged there. The painting, entitled Scene from the Scottish Highlands (1927) was by John Kane, an immigrant who had arrived
Flag Day, 1935, by William Doriani 10
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in the United States years before and became a coal miner, and steel and tire laborer. There was something about the painting that defied convention and the unwritten rules of contemporary art and captured the eye of the painter Andrew Dasburg, who was the exhibit’s lone juror to champion the work of the self-taught artist. Kane, Jentleson wrote, was “trespassing in the art world’s ivory tower.” “Here was an artist,” she wrote, “humble and self-determined, who translated the American dream of equality and prosperity into an art world parable that has been repeated dozens of times over the past century by artists who Continued on Page 12
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Gatecrashers Continued from Page 10
Photo by Richard L. Gaw
The exhibit is being curated by Katherine Jentleson and is inspired by her book Gatecrashers: The Rise of the Self Taught Artist in America.
similarly overcame their lack of formal academic training and achieved recognition from the highest arbiters of elite culture.” Within a decade of Kane’s arrival, other selftaught artists like Horace Pippin, Grandma Moses (Anna Mary Roberson Moses), Morris Hirshfield and Jacob Lawrence burst onto the national art scene and reshaped the notion of who could be called an artist in America. Many of these artists will be acknowledged and celebrated this year in Chadds Ford. Beginning on May 28 and running through Sept. 5, more than 60 works of art in this genre will be on display as part of Gatecrashers: The Rise of the Self-Taught Artist in America. The Brandywine River Museum of Art will serve as the second stop for the exhibit, which premiered at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Ga. and will conclude at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, Pa. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and The Dorothea and Leo Rabkin Foundation. 12
Scene from the Scottish Highlands, 1927, by John Kane
Saying Prayers, 1943, by Horace Pippin
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Organized by the High Museum of Art and curated by Jentleson, the exhibit will celebrate two dozen earlytwentieth century painters who without formal training, diversified the field across lines of race, ethnicity, class, gender and ability to “crash the gates” of the elite art world after World War I. “Gatecrashers -- both the book and the exhibition -- establish an origin story for how self-taught artists first succeeded within the mainstream art world,” said Jentleson. “Kane, Moses, Pippin and the other artists in the exhibition deserve to be reconsidered not only because of how their work intertwined with major cultural and social change of their day, but also because of how their gatecrashing set the stage for the vital role that self-taught artists still play in the 21st century, greatly diversifying our cultural canons across race, gender, class, ability and other important markers of identity that are all too often underrepresented.” Mythologies, workers first, national identity and trends Expanding upon Jentleson’s book, the Gatecrashers exhibit is organized into several thematic sections that explore the rise of self-taught artists in the era between the wars. The exhibition section entitled “American Mythologies” focuses on how these artists were eagerly embraced under the belief that by virtue of being self-taught they were examples of a creative excellence that was “uniquely American,” Continued on Page 14
Black Horses, 1942, by Grandma Moses (Anna Mary Robertson Moses) www.chestercounty.com | Spring/Summer 2022 | Chadds Ford Life
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free from the traditions and innovations that had made European artists dominant for centuries. During the Great Depression, the idea of the practical, multitasking American gained particular resonance. In the “Workers First” section, the exhibit examines the role that self-taught artists’ jobs outside the art world played in advancing their reputations. Whether it was Morris Hirshfield’s rise through the ranks of Brooklyn’s textile factories, or Israel Litwak’s trade as a cabinetmaker, critics noted how these artists’ occupational histories influenced their subject matter and helped shape their artistic development. A number of self-taught artists were recent immigrants who painted memories and customs from their homelands, as well as the places, symbols and history of the United States. The exhibit’s “Negotiating National Identity” section outlines the ways in which self-taught artists often employed distinctly American subjects to establish national identity in their work.
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Horses and Rattlesnakes, 1946, by Lawrence Lebduska
The section entitled “Related Trends in American Painting” reflects the ways in which work by self-taught artists in this period to the art of the American Modernists. Alignments in style and subject matter led to exhibitions that integrated these artists’ work with that of their trained peers, foreshadowing how many museums today display self-taught artists within their American and contemporary art collections. “This exhibition offers a fascinating new perspective on how self-taught artists were perceived and elevated in the years between World War I and II,” said Thomas Padon, the James H. Duff Director of the Brandywine River Museum of Art. “During this period, the work of self-taught artists was thought to embody a more direct experience of American life. The exhibition reveals how this group brought a heretofore unknown degree of diversity to the inner sanctums of museums and galleries in this country. “The exhibition provides such a fascinating context to the Brandywine’s own holdings of self-taught artists.” The exhibit Gatecrashers: The Rise of the Self-Taught Artist in America will be on view from May 28 to Sept. 5. To learn more, visit brandywine.org/museum. To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email rgaw@chestercounty.com.
Waterbirds Nesting, 1935-39, by Josephine Joy
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|Chadds Ford Spotlight|
Chadds For Fo Climate Co
Paying back th community By Monica Fragale Contributing Writer For Ken Blackburn and his staff at Chadds Ford Climate Control, giving back to the community is as much a part of their business model as installing heating and air conditioning units in residences and businesses around Chester County. “Ken helps a lot, obviously,” said Jeffrey Masishin, one of Blackburn’s employees. “It’s good to work under somebody like that, who actually puts forth effort into helping the community they live in like he does, and I appreciate that a lot.” Besides helping charities, first responders, and veterans in and around the region, and trying to “pay back to the community,” in Blackburn’s words, you can also find their crews at the new Habitat for Humanity of Chester County development near West Grove, installing ductwork and HVAC units in what will eventually be a 40-home community. “We do the HVAC for five homes at a time – each one of these (units) is a section of five,” said Blackburn, the owner of Chadds Ford Climate Control and also a board member of the local Habitat for Humanity. “And the fifth one we usually donate. We’re doing that to help Habitat and the people who will live there.” Continued on Page 18 Photo (right): Habitat Director Chris Wiseman and the staff from Chadds Ford Climate Control at the Fuller Meadows development. 16
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Ford Control the
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Chadds Ford Climate Control Continued from Page 16
Habitat Director Chris Wiseman said the Fuller Meadows development includes eight phases of five homes each. The work happening now at the site is the culmination of years of planning and preparing, and features 1,680-square-foot homes with central air and forced air heat, according to the Habitat website at hfhcc.org. “We started the process probably ten years ago of acquiring the land,” Wiseman said. “We actually started building just a couple years ago. We’ve finished phase one, and we just finished phase two.” Wiseman described Fuller Meadows as a partnership between Habitat for Humanity of Chester County and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where the USDA provides the funding for the mortgage loans. It’s slightly different from the usual Habitat development, where Habitat serves as the mortgage holder. Habitat also underwrites some of the construction cost through volunteers, donations, and would-be-homeowners’ “sweat equity.”
“It’s a really important part not only of just being able to have ownership in the home, but they also learn how to be good homeowners,” Wiseman said. The COVID-19 pandemic affected builders nationwide, but Blackburn helped Habitat get the ductwork and HVAC units for the 40 homes in advance and has been storing them at a warehouse until the individual units are ready to be installed. “Ultimately we actually bought all the units because the prices were going up dramatically,” Wiseman said. “[Blackburn] got them for us and has been storing them for us until we go to each phase.” Blackburn talked about purchasing the units ahead of time to help cut down on delays. “Everything has just been delayed,” said Blackburn, who has about 35 employees in the family-operated Chadds Ford Climate Control. “Units that would normally go to the supply house that you could pick up right away might Continued on Page 20
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Chadds Ford Climate Control Continued from Page 18
take six to eight weeks to come in. So homes that normally you can construct in a short period of time are taking much longer.” To avoid price increases and any delays on their end, Chadds Ford Climate Control bought the 40 units at one time and now pull them from the inventory, Blackburn explained. Masishin, who has been with Chadds Ford Climate Control for a year but has worked in the industry for more than two decades, has been working on the Habitat development. He is one of the Chadds Ford Climate Control crew who start installing ductwork once a house has been framed. He then returns once drywall has been erected. Masishin estimates it takes about two days to “rough” a house, or install the necessary HVAC equipment in the new construction. After everyone else does their part, such as laying electrical or plumbing and installing drywall, the Chadds Ford Climate Control crew will return for a day to
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finish installing the equipment. The roots of Chadds Ford Climate Control go back to Blackburn and his family who, according to the company’s website, “have taken pride in building Chadds Ford Climate Control from the ground-up.” Fifteen years ago, the company started with one truck, and now, following the acquisition of a Delaware-based company named Breeding and Day, it has more than 30 trucks and a service area that extends across two states, Blackburn said. For Blackburn, helping the community, especially through the work at Habitat, is what makes it all worthwhile. He talked of how families work alongside contractors and other volunteers to invest their “sweat equity” into their new homes. “It really works out well for the families,” he said. “It’s that first critical step that makes a difference in people’s lives. And we’re glad we can help them.” Some of the Chadds Ford Climate Control staff in a house under construction at Habitat’s Fuller Meadows development.
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|Chadds Ford History|
Jimmy John’s PIPIN’ HOT SANDWICHES A roadside attraction for over 80 years— and still thriving
Chris Sanderson at Jimmy John’s Pipin’ Hot in 1948, courtesy Sanderson Museum.
By Gene Pisasale Contributing Writer Restaurants have typically been challenging establishments to run because of staffing difficulties, changing consumer tastes and fluctuating profit margins. Often factors like limited parking and traffic problems determine the success or failure of a venue. Longtime residents of Chadds Ford are familiar with Hank’s and the Chadds Ford Tavern, but one establishment which pre-dates those places sometimes gets overlooked. Jimmy John’s Pipin’ Hot Sandwiches has been serving customers for over 80 years—and despite the COVID-19 pandemic, business disruptions, and other issues, it is still going strong. 22
Owner Roger Steward has been a part of Jimmy John’s since 1974.
According to local author Phyllis Recca, the story of Jimmy John’s goes back to the time when travel through this area was not quite as free flowing as it is today. In “Chadds Ford Then and Now II,” she notes that Jimmy John started several businesses during the Great Depression years of the 1930s, including “a hot dog operation from the back of his car at Route 100 and Brinton’s Bridge Road.”
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Jimmy John’s Pipin’ Hot display of Chris Sanderson in 1941, courtesy of Jimmy John’s
Wall of Nostalgia featuring past nearby businesses like Christy’s, Betty’s Ice Cream and Farmer in the Dell.
‘Chadds Ford Then and Now II’ front cover.
When Route 202 was constructed as a two-lane road, cutting through William Heyburn’s farm and leaving a small strip of land on the east side, Heyburn suggested that Jimmy set up his hot dog stand there. In May 1940, Jimmy John’s came to life. Jimmy John’s was always considered a “local” business, familiar to residents of the area who appreciated the down-home atmosphere and reasonable prices. One photograph from 1941 shows Jimmy standing out in front of his place with a sign stating “Giant milkshakes—15 cents” in the background. Chadds Ford
“village historian” Chris Sanderson dined there, depicted in a photograph from that time. One image from the era shows several guests out front on their motorcycles, a scene reminiscent of Marlon Brando in the film The Wild One. Big changes came in 1960, when Route 202 was widened to a four-lane road. The building was razed and rebuilt slightly to the east of the former structure. Family-friendly interior décor was added when an adjacent business named “202 Choo-Choo” featuring trains Continued on Page 24
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Jimmy John’s Continued from Page 23
prompted that owner to suggest a railroad motif for Jimmy John’s. A four-foot-byfour-foot train display was set up inside Jimmy John’s to help the adjacent business and it became quite popular. Over the years, Jimmy John did subtle, yet clever marketing. He often took two photographs of his customers—one which he sent to them, the other for display inside his restaurant, prompting the customer to return and dine there again. Train displays became more elaborate and extended around the venue, with locomotives running on a track while guests dined. Jimmy John’s became a thriving local institution, well known to travelers up and down Route 202. Their hot dogs are atypical—they are “cased,” a bit different from the standard item served at ballparks and barbecues, but the unique character of Jimmy John’s is what endears it to customers. Jimmy
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The train display is a popular feature of Jimmy John’s.
passed away in 2002, after having served his loyal customers for more than 60 years. The community was saddened to lose a faithful, longtime friend who gave people good food at reasonable prices. Some wondered if their beloved restaurant would soon depart as well.
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Continued on Page 26
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Jimmy John’s Continued from Page 24
Roger Steward has worked at Jimmy John’s since 1974 and is its longest-serving employee. He picked up the reigns of the restaurant since John’s death and purchased the establishment in 2005. Steward understands the business inside-out and is well known to the community. He has participated in various local events over the years, including Chadds Ford Days, where his breakfast sandwiches were a big success. Yet, more challenges lay ahead. A devastating fire hit the place in 2010, just as he was preparing to celebrate the restaurant’s 70th anniversary. The fire destroyed the wall of customer photographs and the train display, but Steward knew the family-friendly décor was part of the charm which customers loved. It took seven months of rebuilding and repairs, but Jimmy John’s was rejuvenated, coming back to life with an invigorated spirit. Steward wisely kept the negatives of customer photographs in storage for reprinting and posting on the wall; he also set up a brand-new train display. Steward also spruced up the restaurant with lovely paintings of nearby old-time Continued on Page 28
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Jimmy John’s Continued from Page 26
establishments like Christy’s, the Birmingham Grill, the Farmer in the Dell, Betty’s Ice Cream, Bartram’s Corner and the original Jimmy John’s from days gone by. If you’re driving north on Route 202 through Chadds Ford, look to your right. You’ll see a “Famous for Frankfurters” logo on the roof of a thriving establishment which has survived the onslaught of challenges and maintained its popularity. If you want to experience a bit of what America was like back in the 1940s through the 1960s and enjoy a good meal, stop in at Jimmy John’s. You’ll like the casual atmosphere—and a trip back in time to when the pace of life was just a bit more manageable. Gene Pisasale is an historian, author and lecturer based in Kennett Square. His work focuses on the history of the Chester County and the mid-Atlantic region. He has written ten books and conducts an historical lecture series throughout the tristate area. Gene’s latest book is Forgotten Founding Fathers: Pennsylvania and Delaware in the American Revolution. His books are available on his website at www.GenePisasale. com and on www.Amazon.com. Gene can be reached via e-mail at Gene@GenePisasale.com.
Jimmy John in front of his restaurant in 1941.
Photo courtesy of Jimmy John’s
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|Chadds Ford Spotlight| Life|
Shopping for treasures? M at Brandywine V Plethora of potential possessions available inside eclectic Chadds Ford emporium By Natalie Smith Contributing Writer Lisa Vonderstuck is a woman with a passion for the past. Sharing that enthusiasm is both her delight and life’s work as owner of Brandywine View Antiques in Chadds Ford. “I’ve always been an entrepreneur,” she said. “Antiques started as a hobby, and I’ve been [dealing in] them for almost 30 years.” Perusing the more than 5,000-square-foot converted Federalist farmhouse on Baltimore Pike can be a multi-level
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pleasure for collectors or those just wanting something special for their home. “Three floors, have fun!” is one of the store’s mottos, inviting customers to browse through the rooms chock-full of antiques, vintage and upcycled goods ranging from furniture to handmade items. Despite the store being open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, Vonderstuck considers herself involved “24/7.” “In fact, everybody tries to get me to go home,” she said. “I’m here early in the morning and I stay late at night because I just love being here! I love my job. I really, truly do. We go through life wishing we could love what we do and never take that chance, when you only get one chance in life.” Vonderstuck started out an ambitious girl growing up in the Folsom section of Ridley Township in Delaware County. She began mowing neighbors’ lawns when she was ten, and later operated a residential and commercial cleaning company for 17 years. Yet it was Vonderstuck’s love of collecting items with history, honed as a toddler accompanying her father as he combed for tools at weekend flea markets, that resulted in her expanding that appreciation to a new business. Her years in the cleaning business also taught her about antiques, Vonderstuck said. “I was interested in saving the past, and I was able to see such amazing
? Myriad possibilities exist
e View Antiques things in the many homes that I went to care for,” she said. “Everybody likes to talk about what they have in their homes. And I really learned a lot from that.” She had a stint as a weekend manager at a second-floor antiques shop, manning her own small booth. “I started out in the summer of 1996 in Mullica Hill with my dog,” she said, “and I would spend our Saturdays there. But traveling back and forth over the bridge was driving me nuts!” A drive to clear her head one day heading south on Baltimore Pike left a real impression. It was so nice. It had a total country feeling; it wasn’t developed. This pleasant feeling remained even after she almost hit a deer – serendipitously near the building that is now her place of business. Still, she knew Chadds Ford was the place to sell her antiques. After selling at various venues where she was renting space, she opened her own compact store, The Carriage House. Realizing she needed more space, she purchased the farmhouse where Brandywine View now makes its home. “It’s saving the past one piece at a time,” Vonderstuck said of her interest in antiques, “and it’s mind-boggling. “I love forensics, which for me would be looking at a piece and trying to identify it down to the time, the day and to the location. A lot of it just gets moved along to the next great home, right? So I almost feel like a halfway house for antiques.” The store has more than a dozen “fabulous” vendors that also display their wares, she said. Her husband Spencer Mallory also works at the antique store and handles online business orders that includes the sale of mirrors. “I ended up marrying the boy next door, who is my best friend,” Vonderstuck said of Mallory. “What’s that saying, you’ll know it when you know it? And I knew it. What’s really nice is that both our families already knew each other. So, it was one of those things. It was quite marvelous.” Something else a casual observer might notice are the number of equine-related items sprinkled throughout the store. “I love horses,” Vonderstuck confessed with a smile. “I’ve always gravitated toward them, probably because I never got a pony.” Other Continued on Page 32 www.chestercounty.com | Spring/Summer 2022 | Chadds Ford Life
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Brandywine View Antiques Continued from Page 31
4840 Kennett Pike | Wilmington, DE 19807 | 302-658-9111
personal favorites of the proprietor are eagles, salvage items and garden objects. “I love frames, too. Because you can always put something cool in them and that old frame can become a piece of history, just like old pictures. You can always make the family who you want them to be.” Vonderstuck’s imagination and sense of fun reflected in her wares makes Brandywine View a natural partner for one of its regular clients. “We also do a lot of movie props here as well,” she said. “They have that big SunCenter Studios in Aston. They stumbled upon me a few years back. They’ve become my friends and I never know what they’re going to buy and they come in here all excited and out the door they go.” What do the movie folks do with the items after they’re finished with them? “I had just found out that they give first dibs to the other production companies and from there it goes on to auction, and that’s what I’m going to do,” she said. “I would love to buy back my stuff.” And she’s confident that she’d recognize the pieces. “Oh, yeah. The last one that they just did was (the HBO series) ‘Mare of Easttown’ with Kate Winslet. And the desk that was in that, a friend of mine actually had called me up and she said, ‘Oh my God, Lise, your desk is on TV!’ It was really cool. We’ve done quite a few movies.” With her other regular customers, Vonderstuck has struck up warm relationships. “Many of them have become my friends,” she said. “That’s why the sign at the door says, ‘Enter strangers and leave as friends.’ “A lot of them grew up coming here. Along the many years, I’ve watched them grow up. I could say I’m proud of that.” Vonderstuck said anticipating what people are going to purchase sometimes boils down to her best guess. Continued on Page 34
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Brandywine View Antiques Continued from Page 32
“Honestly, I never know what somebody’s going to buy,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what age you are, because what you like, you like and somebody else will think something different. “This generation that we’re in now, they seem to like a lot of the Vintage Modern, but they also like a lot of the Farm style. I feel their choices are eclectic, very eclectic today. Last year, I would say, it was more Modern.” It changes from year to year, she said, depending on the trends. As for first-time customers, Vonderstuck said many people find Brandywine View while they’re on vacation. “We’re surrounded by some of the greatest gardens on the planet -- Longwood, Winterthur and Nemours. They come from all over the world to see them. So when they come to Chadds Ford, I am both the tourist trap and the welcome wagon. “And being a small business, I like to see my small business friends succeed as well. I’m always giving somebody a heads-up of where to go, what to eat, who to check out and things to see.” The proximity and ease of travel within Southeastern Pennsylvania to its bordering three states makes Vonderstuck feel “very, very lucky.” For customers who are unsure about what to do with any piece they’ve
purchased, she offers some advice. “I tell everybody this: nothing straight. Put what you like together, then add something to it, like a little bit of green,” she said. “Whites can go with whites, but you can mix in a little bit of nature’s finest.” Her guidance extends to care for antique furniture. She’s a big fan of the Howard line of Continued on Page 36
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Brandywine View Antiques Continued from Page 34
products, particularly Restor-A-Finish and its waxes. “I absolutely love the Howards,” she said. “Once a year, people should take their furniture and condition it, and they don’t realize that. “It’s like spring clean-up to me. We do the same thing. We were just closed down in January for two-and-a-half weeks. Yeah, for painting, cleaning, rearranging. Everything needs a really good deep clean. And that also preserves it, too.” Vinegar and water are best for cleaning glass, she said. “Another thing people don’t realize is, animals can destroy furniture. Smoking can destroy furniture. Do that outside! Don’t do it in the house because you can’t get that out of wood. Same thing with smoke out of linen. And, “WD-40 should be in everybody’s cabinet,” she said of the lubricant and degreaser. “It’s the greatest stuff.” Vonderstuck suggested cleaning with it, loosening screws, removing rust. “It’s great for getting out gum or glue. You can use it on wood, metal and glass.” In short, the best way to keep your piece in good shape? “Clean it with the wax and finish with the restorer. Vacuum underneath. Another thing is to put the little cushions under the furniture’s feet so you can move it. Don’t drag anything across the floor! That gives me a heart attack. “Just remember, nothing is perfect. Life is not perfect. Furniture is not perfect.” Natalie Smith made be contacted at natalie@DoubleSMedia.com.
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|Chadds Ford People|
My continually emerging love affair By Rachel Rhan Contributing Writer As it is with many great love affairs, my love affair with wine was unplanned. When I first graduated from West Chester University in 2015, I began the search to find my dream job – editing – and I searched high and low for it while working part time at a university bookstore. When the job results yielded nothing and the bookstore went out of business, I found myself without drive, without purpose and without a path to take. Eventually, my best friend Amanda recommended that I apply for a part-time position at Chaddsford Winery. My experience with wine before that time had been extremely limited — a glass here and there with friends or family – but the real truth was that I didn’t particularly enjoy wine. Without any other options in front of me, I decided I had nothing to lose by filling out an application. In the summer of 2016, I received a call from the winery to come in for an interview. Knowing practically nothing about wine or the industry that I was about to join, I accepted a position as a part- time associate, thinking that my time here was meant to be only a blip in the slideshow of my life. My first days at Chaddsford were interesting, overwhelming, and all-consuming, but it was during those early days, however, that all of this exposure was leading me towards an astounding revelation that I felt destined to be drawn into. Wine, I was discovering, is awesome. With every grape, every vintage and every blend that Chaddsford presented me with came the need to immerse myself further into the world I was now a part of. I quickly 38
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devoured the training materials Chaddsford gave me and was soon on to my next tasting notebook, the next stack of flashcards and the newest edition of Wine Folly. I became a fountain of information, and began arriving at work by asking my colleagues, “Hey, do you want to know a fun fact?” All I could think about were grapes, the different styles of fermentation, and the difference between Bordeaux and the Loire Valley. With each tasting, each note I took and every fiber of knowledge that I had started to collect, the management team at Chaddsford recognized my new found love and put me and a few others into a WSET Level 2 class in the Fall of 2017. After that class finished, I knew I had found my career. I wanted to be a Sommelier. Shortly after that class, I started to become a foundation Continued on Page 40
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in wine education department at the winery. I started training new hires, writing tasting notes and utilizing that English degree. I started pairing wines and hosting events that focused solely on education. It was clear to everyone around me: I had found my groove. I had become active in the management team and I began sitting in on meetings, connecting with our winemaking team and learning more about the cellar and its operations. In 2018, I was offered the official role as the Wine Educator at the winery. This came with the challenge and the task of creating a training program for our tasting bar and tour programs, working with all new hires and current staff, writing tasting notes and spec sheets for all wines on portfolio and contributing to press and radio interviews. I began preparing food and wine pairing menus and, most of all, I began my first steps towards becoming a Sommelier with my completion of the Intermediate Wine Course (IWC) through the International Sommelier Guild. In 2019, I was announced as a winner of the Young Leaders Summit through Somm Con in Washington D.C., hosted by the Tasting Panel. It was a three-day conference where I tasted hundreds of different wines and met some of the very best Master Sommeliers, restaurateurs and wine makers in the country. I tasted a Nebbiolo that had been harvested in the foothills of the Swiss Alps and then left to age in a caged box for four weeks. The grapes had turned into raisins and were then pressed, resulting in a figgy, orange brown wine. I tasted one of the most exquisite cuveés out of Italy that showcased the finesse and elegance of their terroir. I learned from the female representative of Provence, France about their Rosé production. I was able to have lunch with one of the Mondavi’s and learn about California. My three days in Washington, D.C. became 72 hours I will never forget. It was a mind-blowing expanse of information intake that allowed me to stand in a room of hundreds of other people in the industry, as a representative of an East Coat winery. It became one of the proudest moments of my life, and I fell in love all over again. For me, the education of wine has become an endless hallway of open doors, because the limit of what
I can know, taste and experience is never-ending. Every year, producers and winemakers are concocting something new, and the truth is that I will never taste the same vintage twice. While I find that a wildly exciting and endless discovery, I know that for others, wine can be a very intimidating hallway to step into. As a wine educator at Chaddsford Winery, my goal is to make wine approachable and fun, and I make sure that that point hits home with all of our staff – and to everyone who comes in for a wine tasting. Cracking the code of wine has to begin small, so my advice is to begin with one grape and go from there. For example, Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the most popular varietals in the world, so if you begin your research there, you will soon learn about the grape’s origins in the Bordeaux Region. You will learn about its traits and characteristics, what its parent grapes are and the styles of wine it produces. By starting your wine journey with Cabernet Sauvignon, you will arrive at the grape’s link to Merlot and Cabernet
Franc. Grapes are inherently connected to each other based off of region, heritage and blending capabilities. The best piece of advice I can offer anyone who wants to learn about wine is to take notes. My personal journey into wine has been one surreal ride that dates back to the Summer of 2016, when I applied for a job because I needed something to do. That one moment radically changed the course of my life. It created a trajectory that I had once struggled to find, and it carved my path. If I could go back to the girl who wondered if life had anything lined up for her, I would tell her that it absolutely does. I would tell her that it would be worth the wait, and I would also tell her that she’d love every single minute of it. Rachel Rhan is the Retail & Tasting Room Manager at Chaddsford Winery. To learn more about Chaddsford Winery, visit www.chaddsford.com.
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|Chadds Ford Life Photo Essay| For Elizabeth and Vince Moro, their Chadds Peak Farm may have served a symbolic role in what brought them together, but their greatest gift has been what the farm has come to mean for others
‘An oasis for the human spirit’ Text by Richard L. Gaw The first moment Elizabeth Moro saw her future husband, Vince was walking around his nearly 12-acre Chadds Peak Farm in Pennsbury Township, where the 2015 Brandywine in White event was being held, carrying a gas tank. Assuming he was the owner of the property, Elizabeth thanked him for allowing the event to be held at the farm. Elizabeth later befriended Vince on social media, and later that year in December, Elizabeth’s father passed away, and when Vince heard of the news, he left a message on her phone, sharing his condolences. He knew the same heartbreak; during Easter that year, his father had passed away. “My children were elsewhere that Christmas, so I was home alone when I asked my father, ‘Where are all of the good guys like you?’” Elizabeth said. Just then, her phone hummed. It was Vince, leaving her a message of condolences. “He had seen that not only had my dad died near Christmas but that in two days, it would be my birthday,” Elizabeth said. “He had gone to his father’s grave that morning and told him, ‘Dad, I am not coming back to Chadds Peak Farm next year alone, so you’re going to have to help me out.’” To this day, it is the firm belief of Elizabeth and Vince Moro that their fathers were in Heaven, playing Cupid. Continued on Page 44
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Chadds Peak Farm Continued from Page 42
If the story of what brought Elizabeth and Vince Moro together comprises the latest chapter of the history of Chadds Peak Farm, then its newest chapter – still being written – is an ode to the power of people of like minds to gather in one place in order to inspire one another.
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Over the past several years, the barn at Chadds Peak Farm has been a vessel for self-discovery, dialogue and collective and connective energy. From pioneer circle meetings to guest lectures, Chadds Peak Farm has become the little barn of big ideas – and all done in the company of nature and animals.
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Chadds Peak Farm Continued from Page 44
“Vince and I want to build the barn at Chadds Peak Farm into an oasis for the human spirit,” Elizabeth said. “We want to continue to ask questions like, ‘What does it mean to be free in spirit?’ and ‘How do we move the conversation from ourselves to the holistic conversations we should be having now?’ Our gift is that whatever opportunity comes before us to be of service, we always say ‘Yes.’ “We believe the issues of the world will be solved by small groups of people coming together to create the changes we seek,” Elizabeth wrote on the Chadds Peak Farm website. “Every one of us has a purpose – we refer to that as your genius. The Pioneer Circles are open to anyone looking to find their genius, and the dialogues are free-flowing conversations that will hopefully inspire the participants on how they can bring that forward to make a better world.”
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|Chadds Ford Life Q & A|
Danielle Clark, Principal, Chadds Ford Elementary School Through a worldwide pandemic and a local storm, Chadds Ford Elementary School continues to thrive, with a spirit and energy that can best described as magic. Recently, school Principal Danielle Clark sat down with Chadds Ford Life to discuss the school’s perseverance and its commitment to its students, as well as those who inspired her and one celebritystudded dinner party. Chadds Ford Life: While thousands of students and their parents have learned first-hand about the uniqueness of Chadds Ford Elementary School in recent years, there are thousands more who drive by the school every day and do not know about the magic here that brings out that uniqueness. For those drivers and passengers, describe that magic, how it happens and who plays a part. Danielle: The magic that happens here begins with our kids. Without them, the energy and enthusiasm we all have as a team would never come to light. It’s the same feeling you get from being in the company of a good family in the sense that everyone belongs. Everyone is happy to be here. Everyone is looking out for each other. There is a network of support here that reaches from every corner of the school. It starts every morning with our bus drivers and our parents who drop off their children. The social engagement with our kids then extends to our custodial team and our grounds crew and our food service department and continues with our teachers and our staff. When you talk about Chadds Ford Elementary School, you’re talking about a group of individuals who care for these children as if they are their own. The basis of primary education has become much more attentive to the fine details of a young person’s academic achievement, but also his or her personal development. One of the programs at Chadds Ford Elementary School that has 48
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been rolled out in recent years has been Math in Focus. Math in Focus is our core program to help our students achieve the Pennsylvania Core Standards, but what we really aspire to do here with math education is to develop that core program and help our students acquire the mathematical concepts and skills that will help them apply that knowledge into novel situations and become critical thinkers and problem solvers. As we know, generations moving forward need to be problem solvers and critical thinkers in order to solve the challenges that are facing our future and to help them be better prepared for the evolving workforce. Another initiative has been a developmental one -- the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program. A comprehensive education is about developing the whole child, and here at Chadds Ford Elementary School, that is a part of our vision statement. The program empowers our students to treat everyone with a sense of belonging, respect and dignity. Through that, they learn essential skills to help them be self advocates and champion for others as a bystander. We then take that program and use it to teach core essential traits each month, and through those traits, we are hoping that our students develop their social and emotional skills and apply them to situations and opportunities, so that they can practice in a healthy and positive way. The Unionville-Chadds Ford School District has recently adopted the Portrait of Graduate Program that spells out what a graduate of the district will look like at the end of his or her experience in the school district. There are five points in the matrix: Be inspired to learn. Build your character. Succeed in life. Take care of yourself. Contribute to society. We’re exploring how we can support our students to embrace those principles as part of their development.
Photo by Richard L. Gaw
Chadds Ford Elementary School Principal Danielle Clark, second from right, with school nurse Melissa Hocking, far right, office manager Jeanine McCloskey, second from left, and school counselor Kara Sowden.
Chadds Ford was one of the towns hit hardest by Hurricane Ida last September. Take the readers of Chadds Ford Life back to that day and how you, your staff, the teachers and the entire school community galvanized in the days and weeks that followed. We knew the storm was coming, but had no idea what the eventual impact of it would have on the area in its aftermath. The directive from District Superintendent Dr. John Sanville informed us that we needed to get our kids and our staff home safely, and then our bus drivers home safely. Gratefully, the school sits high on a hill, but the flood waters at our entrance had come over the top of that little bridge and made its way to the traffic light on Route 1. We saw the damage that Hank’s, the post office and the gas station all endured. It was devastating to watch, seeing the livelihood and vitality of our community fall apart before our eyes. We also saw the strength of our community -- people coming together in that time of challenge. We knew that while so many experienced different levels of hardship, few of the families of our children were seriously affected. Within the U-CF community, there were collections and clothing drives and clean-up along the Brandywine River Valley.
While Hurricane Ida had a major impact, the impact of COVID-19 on elementary school education was huge. Paint a picture of the work that the administration and teachers at Chadds Ford Elementary School did to achieve the mission of education during that time. It has been the people – those of the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, our school and the community – who have given us the stamina, perseverance and foresight to get to the point where we are now. Under the direction of Dr. Sanville and the U-CF board, we began discussions as early as January of 2020. As February arrived, those meetings went from weekly to daily and then hourly. To the team here, it was about getting our technology on board, our bus drivers and food services coordinated, and receiving stakeholder input. No idea was a bad idea. Every idea was considered, and we followed the guidance of from our health officials and those who had the knowledge to help us make informed decisions. We also had a supportive community, and resilient children. Everyone looked out for everyone else, and together, we made it through. We began the COVID-19 journey with virtual hugs and now return to real hugs, smiles and high fives. Continued on Page 50 www.chestercounty.com | Spring/Summer 2022 | Chadds Ford Life
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Q &A |Chadds
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Ford Life|
For every educator, there is an influential teacher or teachers in his/her life who inspired them to enter education. Who was that teacher for you? Sister DeLuitus, my second grade teacher. I remember having a leadership role in her classroom. I was the page turner when she played piano, and I often stayed after school to do other projects. I feel that she saw that leadership quality in me. In order to condition for high school track, I begrudgingly ran cross country, and to this day I can still hear my coach Mr. Fuel with his booming voice, yelling “Dani! Dani! Go!” I remember the conversations I would have with him on those long bus rides to indoor track meets when he would tell me, ‘You should consider teaching as a career.’ That resonated with me back then. Before joining the Chadds Ford Elementary School in 2019, I was a teacher in Delaware County for 20 years, and everyone I interacted with really influenced my journey to leadership as a principal. I hope that I can continue to give that back to people here at Chadds Ford Elementary School in order to inspire them to be the next generation of leaders.
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What is your favorite time of the day at Chadds Ford Elementary School? In other words, is there a moment that you look forward to every day? I have two moments. The first is when we open our doors at 8:50 and the students start to flood into the school from buses and cars, and they’re all happy and smiling. How could you not smile when you hear 350 “Hellos” and getting that reciprocal Continued on Page 52
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Q&A Continued from Page 50
feedback and the kindness that exudes from them? We get to feed off their energy and that’s what makes us who we are as educators. The other moments are in the lunchroom and during recess. For me in my role, that’s really where I get to see the students’ interactions and how they engage with each other socially. What is your favorite spot in Chadds Ford? I love being able to admire the beautiful sunsets from my office window at Chadds Ford Elementary School when the kiddoes have safely returned home. My husband and my eight-year-old son like to tube down the Brandywine River. We like to fish and hike and be outdoors and take relaxing drives, and witnessing the fall in this area is beautiful. You host a dinner party, and can invite anyone. Who would you see at the party? We – the entire staff at Chadds Ford Elementary School – have the party at the Brandywine River Museum of Art outdoors at dusk. We will start off with food from Brandywine Prime and desserts from Oso Sweet Bakery. We will invite some local musicians perform some Aretha Franklin, and also
invite Jon Bon Jovi to play some of his music, while at the same time invite Andrew Wyeth to give tours of the museum and share some of his magic with us. It would also be really great to speak with the first superintendent of the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, to discuss the continuing evolution of public education. We would also invite author Malcolm Gladwell, researcher John Hattie, author Maya Angelou and former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. For some fun, we would also invite comedian Sebastian Maniscalco and for the sports fans at the party, we would invite either Jackie Robinson or Mike Schmidt. We would end the night with a movie screening of an M. Night Shyamalan film. What food or beverage can always be found in your refrigerator? I love a good charcuterie board, so our refrigerator includes a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. Because we have an eight-year-old, we stock it with water juice boxes and healthy snacks, and of course ice cream for dessert. - Richard Gaw
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