Kennett Square Life Summer 2024

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Kennett Square Life

Kennett Square Life Summer 2024

Letter from the Editor:

In this issue of Kennett Square Life, we feature stories about the Carlin Academy of Fine Art, the effort to save Pennsylvania’s bluebirds one trail at a time, and the Heritage Center that captures more than 300 years of local history. We profile one man’s powerful transformation that has seen him rise in the ranks of business. We look at the connection between the Market at Liberty Place and the stalwarts of World War II. We speak with officials from a local non-profit organization about the vision they have for their new home. These stories illustrate just how dynamic and diverse the Kennett Square community is.

Kennett Area Community Service was on the front lines when it came to helping those in need during the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. Kennett Square Life recently spoke with KACS Executive Director Leah Reynolds and volunteers Anne Moran, Lynn Majarian and Will Majarian about the capital campaign that is underway for a new home, the improvements that building will bring, and the dreams that the organization has for its future.

We also take a look at the Kennett Heritage Center, which is the creation of Lynn Sinclair, a local resident and history buff. The Center includes colorfully displayed panels, descriptions, artifacts, photograph and paintings which tell the fascinating story of the area.

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We also take a look at how local residents play a part in saving Pennsylvania’s bluebirds, one trail at a time. Bob Suter is part of a team of neighborhood volunteers who monitor 52 nest boxes, all located at Crosslands, a life-care community in Kennett Square.

In his story, “Remembering the stalwarts of World War II: The Market at Liberty Place,” local writer and historian Gene Pisasale offers a look at the history of so-called Liberty Ships—and how, today, remnants of one stand in Kennett Square.

Inspired by teachers, comic books, Wyeth and his own faith, Kennett Square artist Neil Carlin has shared those influences with his students at the Carlin Academy of Fine Art for the past 27 years. We profile Carlin in one story and also profile Trevor Blyden of the Beyond Limits Fitness in another. The photo essay in this edition features Stephanie and Matt Olenik of The Bookhouse Hotel, who have transformed a piece of Kennett Square history into a boutique hotel.

We hope you enjoy these stories as much as we have enjoyed sharing them. Please contact us with comments and suggestions for future stories. We will bring you the next issue of Kennett Square Life in the fall, but until then enjoy all the fun the summer brings—an evening of shopping on State Street, perhaps, or a visit to Longwood Gardens, or a great day at the Mushroom Festival.

Sincerely,

Avery Lieberman Eaton averyl@chestercounty.com

Stone Lieberman stone@chestercounty.com

Steve Hoffman, Editor editor@chestercounty.com

Cover design: Tricia Hoadley

Cover photo: RBSuter

Saving Pennsylvania’s bluebirds, one trail at a time

Saving Pennsylvania’s bluebirds, one trail at a time

By JP Phillips Contributing Writer

An unhappy Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” wistfully sings, “If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow— why, oh why can’t I?” Bluebirds have often been associated with happiness and good luck. The bird is simply beautiful with its vivid blue back, rusty breast, and soothing warble. Pennsylvania is lucky to be home yearlong to these lovely birds, but it hasn’t been without heartache.

According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, bluebirds faced many obstacles during the 20th century. Unlike many birds that build open-air nests in trees or under eaves in buildings, bluebirds are cavity-nesters; they need a fully enclosed space in order to lay eggs and raise their young. The introduction of a type of sparrow to New York City during the 1850s (house or English sparrow) seemed like a good idea at the time, but their population spread rapidly and they commandeered many of the available tree cavities that bluebirds and other native birds would normally use. These sparrows are also aggressive, and will kill birds to remove them from an enclosure. Combine that with the use of toxic pesticides like DDT in the mid-1900s, and

Photo by JP Phillips Bob Suter checking one of the 52 boxes at Crosslands.

bluebirds were in serious trouble. Once DDT was banned and groups like The Bluebird Society of Pennsylvania (BSP) stepped in to help supply nesting cavities, the bluebird population slowly started to improve.

The BSP was established in 1998 with a mission to protect and propagate bluebirds and other native cavity-nesting species. In Chester County, cavity nesters include tree swallows, Carolina chickadees, and house wrens. A main strategy to achieve this mission includes building, maintaining, and monitoring the numerous bluebird nest box “trails” across the state.

That’s where Bob Suter of Kennett Square fits in. He and a team of neighborhood volunteers monitor 52 nest boxes, all located at Crosslands, a life-care community in Kennett Square.

Bob was a 40-year professor of biology at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. before he and his wife Val moved to the area in 2017. He immediately became involved with the Bluebird Society when he noticed all of the nest boxes in Crosslands.

“I came here and our next-door neighbor was already in the group that was monitoring, and because I was immediately interested, we just got to talking and I joined him pretty much right away,” Suter said. “They started doing their rounds at the end of March and I was part of that.”

BSP emphasizes that nest box monitoring is important. Visiting a box once per week helps to track progress and manage problems, giving the birds the best possible opportunity to lay eggs and raise their families.

BSP trail monitors open their assigned nest boxes every week during the “season,” which usually runs from April to mid-September. They log any nest-building activity, count laid eggs, verify when babies leave (or “fledge”), and then clean out boxes with the hope that either the same bird or another will build a nest and start the process again. It is common for bluebirds to have two broods, and may even have three each year. At Crosslands, two teams of three walk about a mile to check, log, and fix problems at 26 boxes. The following week, the teams switch so every volunteer sees all 52 boxes every two weeks.

During the winter and especially in March, bluebirds begin to scout out nest boxes. Birds like their boxes to be in open areas, and the meadows surrounding Crosslands’ cottages are ideal. Once a pair decides on a home, females take four or five days to build a nest, usually out of pine needles or straw. Females then lay one egg per day. After she lays all of her eggs (usually between four and six), she provides warmth by sitting on them and the 14-day incubation period begins.

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Photo courtesy RBSuter

A male eating dogwood tree berries outside of Suter’s cottage.

Bluebirds

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During this time, she rarely leaves the nest, while the male brings her insects to eat. She sometimes will not move even when a monitor opens the door to do their count. That does not deter Suter from his monitoring duties.

“I’m not shy about putting my fingers under a female who won’t leave the nest and finding out how many eggs she’s got,” he said.

Suter explained that because incubation for all eggs start at the same time, babies hatch within minutes or hours of each other. He said that virtually all of the songbirds here in Pennsylvania are “synchronous hatchers.” If babies hatched

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Photo by JP Phillips

Sometimes a bluebird will not leave the nest when a monitor is checking the box.

Bluebirds

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on different days, some will be stronger and larger than others. Younger birds may become weak and could likely die.

“Once the kids hatch, they (the parents) both are out and coming back, and they come back about every 10 to 20 minutes, depending on how good the food is, how much food they’re finding, only there are two of them,” Suter said. “They are responding to whose gape is widest and who’s got the strongest sound, and if a newborn has a full stomach, they’re not going to have their gape up there at all. This allows the mother to evenly spread the food around.”

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Photo courtesy RBSuter

A male sitting on a branch planning his next meal.

Bluebirds

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Babies stay in the boxes for 18 to 20 days. When it’s time for them to fledge, the parents stop feeding and one by one, like planes taking off at an airport, the birds come up to the entry hole and fly out of the box. They no longer need the nest, so monitors clean it out and hope for another round.

To improve motivation, Suter sends updated progress reports to the team throughout the season. Thanks to Crosslands volunteers, their 52 boxes yielded 161 bluebirds, 50 tree swallows, 17 house wrens and 13 chickadee babies in 2023. He also is an excellent photographer, and sends out beautiful images taken from his glassed-in porch.

Kennett Square is fortunate to also have BSP trails at Unionville and Pocopson Parks, as well as a 200-box trail on property owned by Longwood Gardens, where Suter also volunteers.

Asked why he devotes so much time to the birds, Suter emphasized that our native birds need human help. Problems such as leaky roofs, bent support poles, and invasions by house sparrows are beyond what bluebirds can handle. He tends to these issues weekly and cleans out nests when babies have fledged so the life cycle can start again.

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Photo courtesy RBSuter

A male feeds a baby who is almost ready to fledge.

Bluebirds

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Suter gets a great deal of satisfaction when the babies leave the nest, even though he hardly is ever in the right place at the right time to witness it.

“That just makes you feel like you did a good job, although what in fact happened was that the bluebirds did a good job,” Suter said. “You just happened to have written it down and seen some of it, but you feel moderately parental about it.”

The Bluebird Society of Pennsylvania is a non-profit organization (EIN: 25-1810835) which would enjoy more members and volunteers. Everything bluebird, including how to attract them and easy nest box building plans, can be found on their website at www.thepsb.org. They also have a Facebook page.

Photo courtesy RBSuter

A female bluebird on a dogwood branch.

|Kennett History|

The Kennett Herita more than 300 y

By Gene Pisasale Contributing Writer

The Brandywine Valley is so rich in history, you can come upon an historic site or marker quite frequently as you travel around Chester County. William Penn’s “holy experiment” wasn’t the first step: Native Americans lived here for centuries before Europeans arrived. The Battle of the Brandywine is not the only conflict that touched the area; hundreds of men from Kennett Square and the surrounding region

age Center captures years of history

fought in the Civil War. Scientists, statesmen, inventors, authors and artists have lived and worked here—and their impact is still around today, showcased magnificently in the Kennett Heritage Center, the creation of Lynn Sinclair, a local resident and history buff.

Located at 120 North Union Street in a house built in 1901 by Dr. Isaac D. Johnson, the Kennett Heritage Center includes colorfully displayed panels, descriptions, artifacts, photograph and paintings which tell the fascinating story of the area. As you walk inside, you see a section devoted to William Penn, who made it his life’s work to start a colony where people could live their lives in religious freedom. Strolling through the rooms, you can sense the care and attention Sinclair devoted to all the displays, which focus on three main topics: the Battle of the Brandywine, the Underground Railroad and local agriculture.

Although it did not officially become a borough until

1855, Kennett Square’s roots go way back. Francis Smith, originally from Kennet in Wilshire County, England, emigrated here and in 1686 purchased 200 acres of land, giving Kennett Township its name. William Penn granted his daughter Letitia a 15,500-acre tract in 1701, which included present day Kennett Township and Pennsbury Township. Quakers quickly settled the region. The Kennett Meeting was established in 1710, and their Meetinghouse still stands today on Baltimore Pike/Route 1 just outside of town. The Unicorn Tavern was once owned by Robert Morris, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and also known as the “financier of the American Revolution.” It was operating on a late summer day in 1777 when the British came to town.

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Kennett Square’s roots.

The Underground Railroad exhibit at the Kennett Heritage Center.

Kennett Heritage Center

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The Battle of the Brandywine raged on September 11, 1777 mostly around Chadds Ford to the east and in Birmingham Township to the north—but Hessian soldiers camped in Kennett Square before the conflict, giving a nickname to a local spot: Hessian Hill. Two future Presidents— George Washington and James Monroe—served in this battle, as did Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury and John Marshall, a future Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

As slavery spread throughout the young nation, opposition developed to thwart its existence. Quakers were the first major group to officially oppose slavery—and southern Chester County became a hotbed of abolitionist activity. Sinclair’s favorite display is one showing a night scene with a bright star and a small house on the horizon, which sets the tone for the Underground Railroad exhibit, as the North Star was a “guiding beacon” for slaves escaping to freedom.

Kennett Heritage Center

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Kennett Square became a vibrant community by the mid-to-late 1800s, with several inventors using their skills to advance agriculture in the area. Moses Pennock and his son Samuel were granted several patents on farm machinery tools which aided in planting and harvesting crops. One exhibit mentions Samuel and his brother Morton who opened the S&M Pennock Company to manufacture a variety of farm instruments.

The Civil War was not fought anywhere near Kennett Square, but several local citizens joined in the fight. Charles F. Taylor, the brother of Kennett Square’s most famous son, Bayard Taylor, was the youngest Colonel in the Army of the Potomac. He was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg while defending Little Round Top on July 2, 1863. Both Quakers and blacks picked up weapons to defend the Union. One display at the Heritage Center mentions that the horrific conflict was sometimes called the “boy’s war” because of the many young males who served as drummers and in other positions. It is ironic that thousands of blacks fought in this war, defending a government which did not recognize most of them as legitimate citizens or give them the right to vote. That would not come until enactment of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

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Wall mural highlighting major events related to slavery.

Kennett Heritage Center

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Sinclair is rightfully proud of her creation. She has done a masterful job encapsulating more than three centuries of local and regional history in a concise narrative which is a joy to behold. She is always thinking of ways to expand and improve the museum. A “Speaking of History” series covers a variety of interesting topics, and four speakers are lined up for 2024. Sinclair has plans for a “Heritage Harvest” in the fall, inviting people to bring photographs, artifacts and other items to the Museum for scanning and documentation.

Asked what her wish is for the Center, Sinclair said she wants visitors to “…learn at least one thing they never knew about Kennett.”

Walking through her suite of wonderful exhibits, it is likely that, for most people, her wish will come true.

The Kennett Heritage Center’s website is https://kennettheritagecenter.org. Admission is free, and they welcome volunteers. Contact them at 484-905-4170 or by e-mail at KennettHeritageCenter@gmail.com.

Gene Pisasale is an historian, author and lecturer based in Kennett Square. His 11 books focus mostly on the history of the Chester County/mid-Atlantic region. Gene’s latest book is Heritage of the Brandywine Valley, a beautifully illustrated hardcover book with over 250 images showcasing the fascinating people, places and events of this region over more than 300 years. His books are available on his website at www.GenePisasale.com and also on www. Amazon.com. Gene can be reached via e-mail at Gene@ GenePisasale.com.

Inventions related to agriculture played a crucial role in the development of the region.

The front entrance to the Kennett Heritage Center, courtesy Kennett Heritage Center.

|Kennett Square People|

Photos by Jie Deng

Trevor Blyden of the Beyond Limi redirected his life, and is now pro to do the same with theirs

mits Fitness in Kennett Square has oviding opportunities for others

BUILDING PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS

By Caroline Roosevelt Contributing Writer

The Back Story

It is not an uncommon scene.

Trevor Blyden bolts into Beyond Limits Fitness in Kennett Square – he has owned it since 2016 – completely breathless, and actively removes his tie as he runs to his office and pulls a Clark Kent level transition from business attire to gym rat. He is less than a decade removed from the life he once knew – that of a prison inmate – and he has accomplished more than many who didn’t have to restart their life several times. His best advertisement for training, for motivation, is himself.

“I have a whole wall in my house – a chalkboard – and I put my goals on my wall and write what I’m willing to do, what I’m not willing to do to achieve my goal and I reevaluate every month,” he said. “It could be a fitness goal, and it could be any goal.”

I have been training with Blyden for several years and have noticed the buzzing energy he brings to our sessions. He is always working on new endeavors and ways to expand the gym and is genuinely one of the busiest and most focused people I have ever met. I had to know the story of how Beyond Limits came to be, and how Blyden seamlessly blends his fitness and training career with an ever-expanding career in workforce development, and what he plans to do next.

“I’ll tell you everything,” he said. “You can decide what to use.” I pressed record on my phones’ voice memo app and turned it towards him.

Trevor Blyden can bring anyone into the fold. He attributes his welcoming and approachable demeanor to his early years growing up in Harlem in the Jehovah’s Witness community, the son of a woman who owned a hair salon for over 15 years as well as an insurance billing company, and the son of a man who manufactured leather for what were used in the making of Chanel handbags, and who worked as often as 20 hours a day.

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Beyond Limits Fitness

“My father’s side of the family is from the Caribbean, near Tortola and St Thomas,” Blyden said. “He didn’t know how to read but was good with his hands and opened up a leather factory. We grew up in the factory. He had 60 employees working for him. We barely saw him. He was always working.”

Despite his religious upbringing and his honor roll status throughout school, Blyden was derailed in his teens and twenties. When his mother and father divorced in his early teen years, his brothers, Yento and John, moved with their mother to the East Side of Wilmington.

“I stayed with my dad but eventually, when I came to Delaware, my mother had another child and there were four of us,” he said. “She was a single mother of four boys, and we were out on the streets. We got involved in dealing drugs. We never hurt anybody, we never robbed anyone. We were just making money.

“I was trying to start businesses because I wanted to stop dealing drugs. I didn’t like the lifestyle, I didn’t make friends, and we were just kind of the outcasts.”

His first conviction was when he was 13. His second came when he was 16.

Trevor Blyden has owned Beyond Limits Fitness in Kennett Square since 2016.

“At the time of my sentencing, the judge asked me if I had anything I wanted to say, or if I had any suggestions,” Blyden said. “I suggested that I go to the Ferris School for Boys. The judge wanted to send me to a program in Tennessee for sixteen- to twenty-five-year-olds, and I told him, ‘You don’t have to send me to Shelby Training Center. Just send me to the Glen Mills School (a youth detention center and reformatory school in nearby Delaware County). I told him that I have good grades, and if I had the right structure I’d do well there.’

“The judge told me, ‘Nope! I’m getting you ready for the big house.’”

After his second long stint in prison on drug-related charges, Blyden started making plans for his life beyond incarceration.

“I did everything,” he said. “I studied nutrition, I studied law. I studied business. I wanted to be ready to take advantage of the opportunities I had because I realized if I have a felony, I can’t work in 90 percent of the jobs out there – law enforcement, banking, teaching, medical – so I needed to become a successful businessman. I was taking advantage of everything.”

Eventually, Blyden began classes at Delaware Technical Community College to study Computer Information but left to enroll in the National Personal Training Institute where he developed his structure for training, which led to becoming a contracted trainer at Snap Fitness. There, he developed a large roster of clients, trained athletes, and eventually asked the owner to buy into Snap. After his offer was rejected, he opened Beyond Limits, and brought a sizable client base with him.

The Gym

Beyond Limits occupies the end lot of the shopping center at 739 West Cypress Street and boasts 24/7 access with a key card, up-to-date equipment, free weights, a smoothie bar, and the option to include flexible personal training sessions, cryotherapy, and meal plan development. With more than 20 years studying health, fitness and nutrition, Blyden is the architect of his client’s health journeys, even down to

Continued

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Beyond Limits Fitness

designing specific workout and nutrition plans to help meet their goals. A few of his clients have become the architects of Blyden’s journey. He points to a woman working out at one of the machines.

|Kennett Square Life|

“When I first met Celeste, she had bad scoliosis,” he said. “She was just on the bike all the time at the gym, and I asked her to begin working out with me. Now she’s deadlifting 200 pounds.”

Celeste has since started working with Trevor not just as a client, but in a business capacity too, as his accountant. Her husband, who works with Bancroft Construction, has become a mentor for Blyden in business and construction, and encouraged him to focus on his other career - developing business strategies for minority contractors in the tri-state area.

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Blyden provides assistance to one of his many clients.

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Beyond Limits Fitness

“I had many people helping me when I put my company together,” he said. “I met a contractor who was still working on the labor side in his seventies, and I told him that I would pay him $30 an hour to be my project manager. I asked him to teach me everything he knows. He taught me how to read blueprints and estimates, and I did about $2.5 million in construction projects, residential and light commercial that first year.”

It led to Blyden starting his own construction company called Community Labor Empowerment Alliance for Redevelopment (CLEAR).

The Pathway

Blyden is also working alongside his brother, John, the Chairman of the Board of LIUNA (Laborers International Union of North America, Local 55, and co-founder of L.E.E.P (Labor - Economics - Education - emPowerment), an organization that provides opportunities for minority contractors. The union’s mission is a constant upward climb against the privatization of the modern prison system.

Historically, the black population has been overwhelmingly supportive of unions and the idea of collectively organizing in the workplace since unions protect them from wage theft and racial discrimination. With the privatization of prison, however, the incentive for the carceral system shifted to filling cells and making a profit, a decision that pulled the most disenfranchised off the street and took them out of the workforce.

The results have drastically impacted the minority landscape in unions. Whereas the black population completed 80 percent of construction jobs prior to the privatization of prisons, the percentage of black contractors contribution to union work is now less than five percent.

L.E.E.P.’s first program -- Pathway to Apprenticeship –arranges for individuals to receive an eight-week training program that leads them to a union job.

L.E.E.P has just been awarded part of a $14 million dollar grant for workforce development programs which will looks to funnel people from Chester, Pa. into job opportunities for the newly announced MACH2 (Mid Atlantic

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Beyond Limits Fitness

Clean Hydrogen Hub) Plant as announced by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s administration. In all, the Hydrogen Hub anticipates that it will create 28,000 jobs – 14,400 in construction and 6,400 permanent jobs.

John also founded the Pathway to Business, which Trevor now runs. The prototype, which already exists in Wilmington, will eventually be implemented in Newark, N.J. and Penns Grove, N.J.

“Pathway to Business is a minority contractor development program that helps our clients how to create business plans,” he said. “I’m teaching them everything from soup to nuts about their business. We also have a business incubator space where they can work out of and learn how to manage their companies.”

Beyond Limits Fitness is just one of many business ventures Blyden is a part of.

Blyden’s achievements continue to roll off like a mustdo list of accomplishments. He has been a key donator to the Delaware Center for Justice, conducted job fairs to identify minorities with construction experience, served as one of the founders of 100 Black Men in Delaware and was its economic chair in 2023, and is also the co-owner of Mobile 1 Audio with his brother, Yento.

The Photograph

As we wrapped up the interview, I pulled up a photo on my phone and turned it towards him, pointing to a tintype of a 19th century man named Edward Wilmot Blyden, who was known as the “Father of Pan-Africanism.” Blyden was a scholar, writer, diplomat from Saint Thomas, went on to become the Secretary of State of Liberia, and then the country’s Secretary of the Interior.

“You have a famous last name,” I told Blyden. “Are you familiar with this guy?”

“I remember that picture!” Blyden said. “My grand-

mother was the first person to take out a loan in Saint Thomas, and my family over there are all entrepreneurs. You look at all the other groups of people that come over here - they do the same thing with their franchises. My Dad has two storefronts in New York City and has a whole supplement line on Amazon and is in 120 different retail locations.”

“I am making up for lost time,” he said.

This is the stage of the profile where I could invent some cheap nod to “overcoming adversity,” but the profile is so much more than that, so I am ending this with the revelation of the photograph, to illuminate that Trevor Blyden comes from an ancestry of self-made people. His ability to challenge himself, and to challenge others to become the best versions of themselves whether through health and fitness or helping them open the doors to new job opportunities and personal development. It’s in his blood. It’s in his family. It’s in his ancestry. It comes from a raw and honest place. I am constantly asking him how he gets it all done.

The Market at Liberty Place in Kennett Square.

By Gene Pisasale Contributing Writer

“The officers and men of the Merchant Marine, by their devotion to duty in the face of enemy action, as well as natural dangers of the sea, have brought us the tools to finish the job. Their contribution to final victory will be long remembered.”

~ General Dwight D. Eisenhower on National Maritime Day, 1945

The 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion brings to mind the conflict which redrew the map of Europe and changed the course of history. Although the United States did not enter World War II until December 8, 1941 following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the nation quickly ramped up its military and industrial production capacity to meet

the enormous challenges we and our allies faced in oceanic shipping. With German U-Boats sinking dozens of ships every month, America responded with a vessel that helped us win the war. That was the Liberty Ship—and today remnants of one stand in Kennett Square.

Following World War I, America’s merchant fleet had deteriorated and declined in numbers. The Merchant Marine Act of 1936 began a shipbuilding program which would reverse that trend. Hitler’s aggressive actions targeting Allied shipping provided a catalyst to quickly ramp up production. Started under President Franklin Roosevelt, the Emergency Shipbuilding Program eventually created 5,500 vessels, more than half of them dubbed “Liberty Ships.” Roosevelt wanted to bring liberty back to Europe in a time of chaos- and these ships aided immensely in that effort.

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The dining area inside The Market at Liberty Place displays several Liberty Ship steel beams.

U.S. A Postal Service stamp honoring the Merchant Marine.

The Market at Liberty Place

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Liberty Ships were built on an English design modified for simplicity and speed of production. The vessels were 441 feet long and 57 feet wide with a 2,500-horsepower steam engine; they could carry approximately 10,000 deadweight tons. Interestingly, they were designed to last only five years, but were sturdy and quite useful. Roosevelt said, “I think this ship will do us very well. She’ll carry a good load.”

The first Liberty Ship was launched on September 27, 1941. It was named the SS Patrick Henry, after the man whose yell “Give me liberty, or give me death!” helped spark the American Revolution. Liberty Ships were mainly used to move cargo, but in some instances they carried troops as well. The project also helped further advance American shipbuilding technology, using a cold-rolled steel process and advanced welding techniques to produce the first completely welded ships. A total of 2,751 Liberty Ships were built between 1941 and 1945. Because German U-Boats were faster-moving and destroying so many vessels, the relatively slow Liberty Ships were supplanted by Victory ships, which could attain higher speeds.

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Courtesy photos

Larry and Geoff Bosley standing beside one of the steel beams from a Liberty Ship inside The Market at Liberty Place.

The Market at Liberty Place

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Old timers may remember Alvin’s Department Store in Kennett Square, which was constructed in 1948. It was built using steel beams from a Liberty Ship. Real estate developer Larry Bosley purchased the building in 2010 and began refurbishing it as a means of drawing additional commercial opportunities to Kennett Square Borough. The 40-foot-tall beams are clearly visible throughout The Market at Liberty Place, and they form a conversation piece accompaniment to a 32,000-square-foot hub of retail and office space.

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Courtesy photo

Verde restaurant inside The Market at Liberty Place.

48

The Market at Liberty Place

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The Market at Liberty Place now holds eight restaurants serving a variety of foods, from sandwiches and soups to pizza, burgers, Mexican and other casual cuisine. The newest venue— Verde—opened in April 2024, offering a multi-ingredient salad bar and other tasty options. Walking around the place, you can feel the “presence” of the once sturdy Liberty Ships as you touch the beams supporting a steel roof which was once part of a ship used during the greatest conflict the world has ever seen. Larry and his son Geoff are proud of their establishment—and welcome visitors to Kennett Square to dine there. They offer libations at their bar- and also live music on weekends.

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The bar inside The Market at Liberty Place.

The Market at Liberty Place

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The Liberty Ships have not completely disappeared; a few still remain. One of them—the SS John W. Brown—is in the harbor at Baltimore, Maryland. The ship is open to the public for tours and also offers cruises. A somber note regarding these vessels is worth mentioning. Despite their focus on shipping rather than combat, the men aboard these ships faced great danger each day on the water. Of the nearly 250,000 volunteer merchant mariners who served during World War II, more than 9,000 were killed.

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Courtesy photo

Mary Pat’s inside The Market at Liberty Place in Kennett Square.

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Today you can see portions of one of these proud vessels in downtown Kennett Square, thousands of miles from where they carried our men and supplies around a dangerous world. Thanks to Larry Bosley and Geoff Bosley, we have this subtle monument to ships which helped us triumph and defeat the evils of Nazism and fascism which threatened to destroy our way of life. As you sit and enjoy your meal, think about how important a role these stalwart carriers played in making the world “safe for democracy.”

Gene Pisasale is an historian, author and lecturer based in Kennett Square. His 11 books focus mostly on the history of the Chester County/mid-Atlantic region. Gene’s latest book is Heritage of the Brandywine Valley, a beautifully illustrated hardcover book with over 250 images showcasing the fascinating people, places and events of this region over more than 300 years. His books are available on his website at www.GenePisasale.com and also on www. Amazon.com. Gene can be reached via e-mail at Gene@ GenePisasale.com.

Owner Larry Bosley standing beside a plaque honoring the SS John W Brown Liberty Ship.

|Kennett Square Life Photo Essay|

Stay, dream, read: The literary comfort of The Bookhouse Hotel

Stephanie and Matt Olenik have transformed a piece of Kennett Square history into a boutique hotel

In 2023, soon after Stephanie Olenik saw that a former bookstore on Union Street in Kennett Square was zoned to be the future site of a hotel, she arrived at the site and was greeted by 5,000 books that had remained there from the previous owners.

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Photos by Jie Deng | Text by Richard L. Gaw

|Bookhouse Hotel|

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From those stacks – and with a deferential nod to the historic Macaluso’s bookstore that had stood there for decades – Olenik created her vision for what has become the most talked-about new boutique hotel in southern Chester County.

opened, The Bookhouse Hotel has become a welcome respite for guests whose childhoods were spent in oversize chairs absorbing picture books at their hometown libraries; for those who love to disappear in dusty old bookstores; and for those who wish to dream the night away in the gentle company of written words.

“I want visitors to feel like they have just stepped in from the outside world and been given the gift of curling up cozy with a new book, with the charm of Kennett Square just a moment’s walk away,” said Olenik, who owns the hotel in partnership with her husband Matt and their business partners, Stephen Tallon and Bill Rookstool.

“We had to redesign the entire space, but I had the vision in my head that books would encircle the beds in every room.”

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Combining her skills as a realtor and her background in interior design, Olenik – who attended the Moore College of Art and Design – worked with Matt to create a stunning lobby and four distinctive rooms drawn

with repurposed gems: The Studio, The Study, The Writer’s Den and The Secret Garden Room. There are also two book groups that meet every month at the hotel, where members get to meet authors who will talk about their books.

The reviews from those who have stayed at The Bookhouse Hotel have been incredible, Olenik said.

“Three YouTubers came from three different states and recorded their entire visit, and as a consequence, people who have seen the clips call and ask if we have upcoming vacancies,” she said. “Writers on retreat have stayed here, including one writer who hid her latest book in a bookshelf at the hotel. People tell me they are so excited about the small details they see here. Just last week, I saw a couple walking out of the hotel carrying a picnic basket on their way to Longwood Gardens.”

The Bookhouse Hotel is located at 130 S. Union Street in Kennett Square. To make reservations and learn more, visit www.thebookhousehotel. com, or follow the hotel on FacebookandInstagram.

“It’s the magic of the books and the magic of this building’s history.”

Stephanie Olenik, The Bookhouse Hotel

|Kennett Square Arts| Inspired by teachers and comic bo Kennett Square artist Neil Carlin has sha at the Carlin Academy of Fin

The bridgemaker

By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer

Photos by Jim Coarse

In 1997, the artist Neil Carlin was on a train at one o’clock in the morning, careening past northern New Jersey towns on his way back to Kennett Square after having spent another Friday in the company of figure painter Michael Aviano at Aviano’s apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Carlin had begun studying under Aviano beginning the year before – a weekly visit he would continue until 2001 –and being in that apartment, listening and absorbing the clear education of art that had its basis in the fundamentals of form and composition, was unlike any form of teaching Carlin had been given before, not at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where he had received a BFA in illustration, and not anywhere else.

Through his earbuds, Carlin heard his late grandfather’s voice speaking to him.

“I asked myself, ‘Why do I have to make this trip up to New York? Why didn’t I get all of this teaching in college?’”

Carlin said. “This isn’t rocket science. These teaching elements have been known for centuries. Why isn’t this same form of teaching available in Kennett Square?

“Then the lightbulb went off. I heard the voice of my grandfather in my head. He told me, ‘You can either spend your time complaining about a problem or fixing a problem.’ Aviano handed me such a clear education that I decided to stop complaining, be the answer to the problem, and bring it to Kennett Square. I felt a fire that other people in this area should have the same experience that I am hav-

ing without having to travel to New York to get it.”

Carlin began his first art classes in the basement of his townhouse in Kennett Square in 1997, rented a studio above what is now Currie Hair Salon on State Street where he held classes until 2007, and in 2008, he opened the Carlin Academy of Art on Willow Street, where he has taken what he learned from Aviano and passed along those tutorials to hundreds of students who arrive at the studio every year, harboring a far-off and fanciful idea that imagines them living a creative life.

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Such is the destiny of facts.

There is not an individual alive who spends at least a portion of their upright hours on a dance recital floor or in a parent’s basement with a guitar or in a quiet room wielding either a notebook of sketched-out stories or a brush dripping with paint near a canvas who does so without the power of influence. Rimbaud had Verlaine. Monet had Daubigny. Hemingway had Twain and the war and Ansel Adams had the rocky and unforgiving terrain.

When he was a young boy growing up West Chester, the young Neil Carlin had comic books.

“A family friend took me to a 7-11 on Boot Road in West Chester and introduced me to my first set of comic books, and bought me my very first stack,” Carlin said. “For a quarter, I could pick up a magazine that gave me exciting stories and beautiful art, made by some of the greatest comic book artists in the world. I was immediately taken not just by the art, but by their narrative and compositional ability to tell a terrific story.”

ooks and Wyeth and his own faith, hared those influences with his students ine Art for the past 27 years

Neil Carlin has owned and operated his Carlin Academy of Fine Art studio for the past 27 years.

Neil Carlin

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As it often is with young artists who grew up in southeastern Pennsylvania over the last half century, the young Carlin collided headlong into the inevitable influence, and the race was now on.

“The first piece I saw as a child that created a strong emotional response was Andrew Wyeth’s ‘Christina’s World,’” he said. “I asked my mother for a print of it, because I kept finding things within it every time I saw it. The comics were fun, but this was a real painting of a real person, and it really moved me.”

Following his graduation from the University of the Arts, Carlin embarked on a successful freelance illustration career – consistently working for the Franklin Mint and other clients – but while his new career was earning him regular work, Carlin felt the vacancy of knowing that in order to better utilize his gifts as an artist, he needed more training -- a teacher who would hammer home the repetitive importance of form and composition. He was about to pursue a master’s degree when he stumbled upon an oil class at the Chester County Art Association with West Chester artist, Michael Traines.

“Within the first 30 minutes of the first class, I knew this was the exact type of painting education I wanted to get in college but didn’t,” Carlin said. “Michael quickly told me that if I really wanted to get the full breadth and scope of the training he was offering at the art association, I should work directly with his teacher in New York City.”

That teacher’s name was Michael Aviano.

“Aviano was by far the best teacher I have ever had and have ever seen,” Carlin said. “His ability to clearly define the fundamental principles of drawing and painting and present them in an understandable fashion was simply unparalleled. His teaching ability was complimented by his rigorous curriculum that broke everything down to bitesized chunks. It was an old-world class. You started where the master told you to start, and you only progressed when he told you that you finished the project to the degree that he was satisfied, and then you proceeded to the next project, and the next.

“That was exactly what I needed. There were no vagaries in his methodology. I was able to hear one voice with clearly defined concepts. I wanted to give others the same gifts

I was receiving – to allow someone with a vision in their head the ability to hit that vision, to help them get there in a very concrete fashion.”

The Carlin Academy of Fine Art offers a comprehensive program of study that trains its focus on the three fundamental disciplines of visual art: drawing, painting, and composition. Tailored to meet the needs of artists at all levels and across several mediums, Carlin works one-on-one with each of the students in his classes by introducing them to the fundamentals of art, project by project, in order to strengthen their confidence, control, mastery of technique and use of materials. The Academy’s advanced curriculum in portraiture, still life and landscape opens the door to those students who have completed the core curriculum to finding their true expression of creativity.

“My classes are not about creativity, but about mastering the fundamentals of drawing and painting,” he said. “I tell

Carlin works one-on-one with each of the students in his classes by introducing them to the fundamentals of art.

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my students that true creativity comes only after they master these fundamentals to the point where they become second nature, to the point that they are a part of them – to the point where they are breathing that language.

“Nothing hinders creativity like sloppy, undisciplined technique.”

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the Carlin Academy of Fine Art is a working classroom of ideas, humming with activity along its nine stations, with each artist separated from the others by black cloth for privacy.

“In any given class, I can have one person working on a landscape painting, another beginning a drawing and another finishing a still life,” he said. “Regardless of where someone ends up in my programs, everyone goes through the same building bloc curriculum.

“There are a lot of teachers who focus strictly on teaching their particular style of painting. Rather, I am teaching them the language of painting, drawing and composition so they can confidently develop their own style.”

While much of his energy is focused on his Academy and his continuing work as a commercial illustrator, Carlin has

still been able to establish and maintain a successful artistic career, exhibiting his work at several art museums including the State Museum of Pennsylvania. In 2003, his painting “Transcendence” was awarded First Place in the Still Life category of Artist’sMagazine’s 20th Annual National Art Competition. In 2004, his painting “Emergence” received Second Place in the Portrait category of the magazine’s 21st Annual National Art Competition -- selected from over 12,000 entries nationwide.

In a life led by influences, Carlin’s most impactful – and one that informs much of his art – has been his faith. Raised by parents who were Evangelical Christians, he was first drawn to the Catholic Church by the young woman who would eventually become his wife, Colleen Owens.

“Although I was raised in non-denominational churches, I was no longer involved in any religious affiliation after I graduated from U Arts and had begun my illustration career,” Carlin said. “I began to attend Mass with Colleen, and over time, I learned that many of the preconceived stereotypes I had about Catholicism were blatantly false,

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Highly influenced by Catholicism, Carlin has translated the power of his faith into works of art, and his client list includes parishes and shrines across the country.

and I had this yearning to be in a liturgically structured environment.”

In 1999 – the year before he married Colleen -- Carlin attended the Right of Christian Initiation for Adults class at his local parish, and officially became a Catholic at the end of the year. For the past several years, he has specialized in large-scale sacred and devotional art for new and renovated parishes. His client list includes parishes and shrines across the country, and he was the artist selected to paint the official iconic painting of the Holy Family for the 2015 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.

Carlin said the connection between his faith and his art is seen in the power of images.

“I was always haunted by the cross, even when I totally abandoned churchgoing,” he said. “When I became a Catholic, I realized that I entered into a community that was still interested in images and saw the need for contemporary artists to create artwork for them.

“The Catholic Church still recognizes the power of art as an important contemplative and didactic tool, even as stripped down as churches have become. It has been an

honor and a joy using my talents and skills to provide it for them.” * * * *

There is very little about the interior infrastructure of the Carlin Academy of Art that would define it as being anything more than functional. There are no Victorian armchairs for the artists to rest in, no elaborate table settings for tea to be served between stints at workspaces and the rumble of large vehicles that drive by on South Willow Street do not lend themselves to the idea that the making of art is best done in the whispering sanctuary of a creative space.

Its magic, however, is found in the reams of notebooks filled with sketches and ideas, in the tactile and finite shape of chalk pieces and in the texture of rudimentary charcoal drawings and half-completed paintings and projects that form a kaleidoscope of tangible evidence that art is being made here.

For the past 27 years, Neil Carlin’s artistic life has been to

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“The absolute best in craftsmanship and customer centricity!! Would highly recommend and will be using them again for future projects.” – Gregory, Oxford, PA

Neil Carlin

Carlin

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be a receptacle and a conduit to others, in a space tucked inside what was originally a mushroom composting plant that is now an art studio on the edge of an old borough.

“Over the past 75 years, art education has been infected with the idea that you can get to the point of brilliance without first learning the fundamentals,” Carlin said. “The truth is that no one starts out having already arrived there, no one in any artistic endeavor – no dancers, no writers and certainly no visual artists. I’m trying to bridge the gap between Aviano’s Upper West Side apartment and Kennett Square and give my students the same access to a solid education that ultimately will bring them creative joy.”

The Carlin Academy of Fine Art is located at 128 South Willow Street in Kennett Square. To learn more about classes and instruction, visit www.carlinacademy.com. For more information on Neil Carlin and his work, go to www. neilsoncarlin.com.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email rgaw@chestercounty.com.

The Carlin Academy of Fine Art offers a comprehensive program of study that trains its focus on the three fundamental disciplines of visual art: drawing, painting, and composition. Neil

|Kennett Square Life Q & A|

Photo by Richard L. Gaw KACS Executive Director Leah Reynolds, center, with volunteers Lynn and Will Majarian.

Kennett Area Community Service: A new home, a new vision

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic – assisted by community donations and led by a tireless and dedicated staff -- Kennett Area Community Service (KACS) provided food, housing, and social service support to those in our community who most needed it.

As the needs of those less fortunate in Chester County grow, so will KACS, which is currently in a capital campaign to raise $15 million for the construction of a new, 24,000 square-foot facility on West Cypress Street. Kennett Square Life recently spoke with KACS Executive Director Leah Reynolds and volunteers Anne Moran, Lynn Majarian and Will Majarian about the project, its early benefactors, the improvements the new building will bring, the message of the campaign, and the dreams for its future.

Kennett Square Life: What first precipitated the necessity for a new location?

Leah: KACS’ need for a new home was necessitated by the convergence of several factors. COVID-19 brought about a huge increase in the community’s need for food and shelter, and we didn’t have enough staff to accommodate those requests, so we were forced to increase our staff at the same time the community’s need for food and shelter grew.

At the same time COVID-19 was having a major impact, we had several disasters at our current Cedar Street location. There was a flood in both the food cupboard and the resource center, which led to the appearance of mold

in the resource center that required us to remove everything on the first floor: offices, conference room, and the shower and laundry we had available for the homeless to use. Our building experienced floods again this past year because our drains and sump pumps were not hooked up to any battery or generator, which have since been corrected.

It was a convergence of these setbacks added to the economics of our country – the lack of affordable housing, the rise of grocery costs and gasoline costs, and the impact of all these growing realities on the working poor – that led us to consider the need for a new facility.

It was during these challenging times that KACS received assistance from two wonderful people. How did the partnership between KACS and Mike and Nancy Pia begin?

Leah: After COVID-19 began on March 13, 2020, the Pias called me that Saturday afternoon and said they were watching the news and wanted to help KACS. I told them I needed food and cash to remain open and keep helping people. They sent $50,000 to KACS that day. Over time, the Pias would stay in touch with us, and after we had the flood and mold and no office space for the staff that kept growing, Mike and Nancy called me and said that they wanted to give KACS almost six acres less than a half-mile from our current location for a new building and $500,000 to get started.

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Kennett Square Life Q & A

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Will, in your role as the chairman of the building committee, you and your colleagues are partnering with several local contractors on the planning, design and eventual construction of the new facility. Who are those partners?

Will: Civil engineering for the project is being done by Tom Schreier from Hillcrest Associates in Landenberg, and our architects are John Meadows and Paul Sgroi from Bernardon in Wilmington. Our construction manager-consultants are Richard and Nick Basillio from Mobac, Inc. here in Kennett Square, and our owner’s representative is Matt Eskridge from Turner & Townsend in Maryland, who was also the owner’s representative for the construction of the Kennett Library. It was a conscious decision by the building committee to hire local firms as our contractors, largely because they are already familiar with KACS and its mission and because this project allows each of these firms to have some skin in the game in the construction of KACS’ new home.

The new facility will be a superb example of how form follows function. How did you arrive at what will become the architectural and design layout for the new 24,000 facility?

Will: KACS is now housed on what used to be a small residence and a former auto body garage, so it’s not conducive to just providing food but supporting people’s lives. When we first started the process of designing the building, we brought the KACS staff together with the building committee. My message to the staff was, “Forget about where you’re working now. Here is a clean sheet of paper. Think about what you do and how you do it, not in the current building, but in a perfect world. How would you design a facility that supports all the processes that KACS provides?”

That is how the architectural design of the building was created. It really is “form follows function.” We spent hours talking about the entrance of the new building; specifically, how we will manage the flow of the participants coming into the building. That is something that KACS has never had the luxury of doing, and now with a clean sheet of paper we can design a building that actually works.

While state and county funding for the project are expected to account for $9 million toward the total construction costs for the new facility, there is still $6 million that needs to be raised through a capital campaign

Courtesy images KACS is currently in a capital campaign to raise $15 million for the construction of a new, 24,000 square-foot facility on West Cypress Street in Kennett Square.

that is appealing to foundations, corporations and private donors. Describe the narrative of the capital campaign.

Lynn: This campaign is about the community. Yes, we will require the efforts of the large donors, but we also need everyone to be a part of this – as part of our effort to share the message that what KACS does affects the entire community.

Anne: My husband Michael and I met last March with Leah and Lynn to consider the idea of me co-chairing the capital campaign, and that’s when I heard about the Pia’s contributions, Leah’s and Lynn’s dreams for a new facility and the big question of how to reach potential donors. It became obvious that this was something I could do in my area – reach the townships in the area of West Marlborough Township where I live – all of whom are

within five miles of KACS and right in their backyard. This is something meaningful I can do. I have lived here for 40 years, and this community means a lot to me.

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Kennett Square Life Q & A

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A question for Lynn and Anne. You are both co-chairing the capital campaign, but your work with this agency goes back several years. Talk about what first led you to become a part of Kennett Area Community Service.

Anne: This is a hard story for me to talk about, but the thing that keeps coming back in my mind was that about five years ago, I came to do some volunteering at KACS on a miserable day, and there I saw a young mother standing in the rain with her two children beside her. I tried to make eye contact with her, but she was embarrassed and sad, and I thought, “This is terrible. These are the working poor and it’s heartbreaking to see this happening five miles from where I live.” Thank God, I will never have to do what that woman was doing that day. That’s what has pushed me to do whatever I can do to raise this money for the new building. I am drawn to make this happen, and it is because of Leah and Lynn and their drive and their vision and their empathy and their love for everyone.

Lynn: I was a stay-at-home mom and volunteered for many years, such as serving as a PTA president at my children’s school. When they both went off to college, I didn’t

know what I was going to with myself, so I began to volunteer at local organizations. In 2014, a friend of mine asked me to volunteer at KACS’ Food Cupboard. I walked in the door that day and I never left. I joined the KACS board in 2018 and served as the board president three times.

My favorite part of being at KACS has been getting to know the people who benefit from the services that we provide. Will and I have led a fortunate life, one that I never figured would end up like it has, and now is my time to give back. I need to be with the people we serve and they need us.

When is KACS’ new home scheduled to open?

Will: I would estimate that the new building will open during the first half of 2026. We are doing very well with respect to the building design and getting the land development approvals that we need. We’re allowing the capital campaign to catch up with the building project, so if everything goes the way we hope it will, we will start going out to bids to contractors in September, and hopefully break ground in December. The building process will take between 12 to 14 months, which will be followed

by moving from one location to another. The earlier the better; we can do so much more in this new building. We need to be in it as quickly as we can.

Let’s fast forward a few years when the new home for KACS is celebrating another birthday. When you imagine a fully functioning agency thriving at peak performance, what do you see?

Leah: I see dozens of our partner agencies joining us side by side, all available to assist the people who will

come to the building by meeting their health care needs, their housing needs, their nutritional needs, their personal needs and providing resources such as our Bridges Out of Poverty programs and our financial literacy workshops. Once we have classrooms and conference rooms and more resources to accommodate everyone, we will be better able to lift up the families and households in our community.

– Richard L. Gaw

To learn more about the new building project for Kennett Area Community Service – and to make a private or public donation to the capital campaign -- visit www.kacsimpact.org.

Join Kennett Area Community Service for an evening of tastings while strolling the charming grounds of the Farm at Casa Carmen. Bourbon tastings will be curated and presented by Executive Bourbon Steward Lanny Lewis and will include five exquisite bourbons from across the country. Sponsorship levels will be available. To learn more, visit www.kacsimpact.org/fundraiser.