Newark Life Fall/Winter 2022

Newark

Newark

Preston’s

Newark Life Fall/Winter

Letter from the Editor:

Welcome to the new issue of Newark Life. This issue features stories on a wide range of topics that illustrate just how dynamic and diverse the city of Newark is.

In one story, University of Delaware professor Doug Tallamy talks about how conservation, in the future, is going to be the responsibility of everybody on the planet. Tallamy says that America critically needs a homegrown national park that involves everyone.

We have a story about the only emus in Delaware. The emus are the most striking product of Pine Hill Farms on Smith Way, just south of Interstate 95 and just east of the Maryland line. Carolyn Palo, the owner of the emus, has sold a wide range of products over the last 30 years, including eggs, chicks, feathers, dog treats and almost 20 items using emu oil for body care.

The home of the Newark History Museum is an old train depot which operated for decades. The building was purchased by the city of Newark and is being used by the Historical Society to showcase people, places and events important in Delaware history. The interior of the building provides an eclectic walk through local history, with numerous exhibits showcasing things dating from the late 1700s up through the 20th century.

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This issue also features a story about how Greg Shriver and his son, Henry Shriver, bicycled across the country this year. The father and son share stories about their adventures.

Vero at Newark will be opening early in 2023. The 125-unit senior residence will welcome residents in both independent and assisted living as well as those requiring memory care. During the planning for the community, efforts have been made to establish strong connections to the University of Delaware.

Idea by idea, design by design and volunteer by volunteer, a mission to beautify the entrance to Nottingham Green is well underway. This issue features a story about these efforts.

The Q & A is with Lindsay McConnell, the founder of Mixtape Paper Co. Newark Life recently met with Lindsay to talk about her inspirations, her mission and her dream dinner party guests.

Preston’s Playground, Newark’s gift to all children, is featured in the photo essay.

hope the photos and stories in this issue of Newark Life shine a spotlight on just a few of the people who are making a difference in the community. We always welcome comments and suggestions for stories to highlight in a future issue of Newark Life. We’re already looking forward to bringing you the next issue of the magazine, which will arrive in the spring of 2023.

Cover design: Tricia Hoadley

Cover photo: Jim Coarse

Helping MotherHelping Mother

America critically needs a Homegrown National Park that involves everyone,

America critically needs a Homegrown National Park that involves everyone,

University of Delaware professor Doug Tallamy, shown photographing warblers in Pennsylvania, gets six requests a day to speak about his concept of the

National Park.

of Delaware professor Doug Tallamy concludes

of Delaware professor

Tallamy concludes

Nature Nature Nature Nature

By Ken Mammarella Contributing Writer

Doug Tallamy had an epiphany about the landscape in 2000, when he and his wife, Cindy, bought 10 acres in Oxford, Pennsylvania. The world has increasingly joined in, with the University of Delaware professor averaging six requests a day to speak about his Homegrown National Park idea.

“Conservation in the future is not just going to be accomplished by a few ecologists and a few conservation biologists,” he said in an interview from the Lepidoptera Trail, a native-plant garden outside his Newark office. “It is going to be the responsibility of everybody on the planet.”

“It’s global, but I’m starting here,” he said. “We’ve got 135 million acres of residential landscape just in this country. North America has lost three billion birds in the last 50 years.

“Our human footprint is enormous. There are very few natural areas doing what we need them to do, which is why we have to practice conservation outside of parks and preserves, in addition to them.”

That conservation means rethinking lawns and suburbia, one household at a time, in a movement he hopes will eventually encompass vast areas, a.k.a, a Homegrown National Park.

“Our only option for the future is to coexist with nature,” he said. “Otherwise nature is gone, and then we’re gone because we are products of it. We’re totally dependent on it. So nature is not optional. We have to learn how to share our spaces with it.”

At home with nature

For starters, Tallamy has created a website (hometownnationapark.org.), written four books and published dozens of academic papers. He has also lectured frequently on the subject, including a webinar talk for The Ohio State University that drew close to 5,000 viewers.

All photos courtesy of Doug Tallamy Blue jays carry acorns up to a mile from the parent tree before burying them for winter use. Because they only remember where one out of every four acorns is buried, jays plant hundreds of new oak trees every fall.

Doug Tallamy

The Tallamys’ home is now largely wooded. Alternate leaf dogwoods adorn their front yard.

A native of New Jersey, Tallamy, 71, wrote about his childhood love for nature in his book, Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens. After earning degrees in biology and entomology, he started at the University of Delaware in 1981.

The family decided two decades ago to move closer to Newark. They settled on a farm that had been subdivided. It had been used to grow hay, but three years of lying fallow left it full of invasives.

“The land around the house was raw from the recent construction and grading and, between the large bare spots, supported little more than mustard and ragweed,” he wrote, noting all the flies from a nearby horse barn. But a year later, by “rebuilding the landscapes in an aesthetically pleasing but also an ecologically productive way” that lured in predators, the flies stopped being a problem.

Today, his land is largely forested, dominated by oaks planted as acorns, with a big chunk as meadow, plus small areas as lawn. It supports 1,148 species of moths and 60 species of breeding birds.

“You’re just going to remove what you don’t want continuously, and what will come in are the natives that you do want,” he said. “Blue jays will bring in acorns and beech nuts and plant them. The squirrels will move things around. So natives will come back as long as you keep the the bad guys out.”

“My main contribution has always been, and continues to be, removing invasives: bittersweet, multiflora rose, porcelainberry, honeysuckle – and now mile-a-minute weed, garlic mustard and stilt grass as well,” Cindy said. “Doug is the one who plants things, mainly trees and shrubs, or

perennials that he hopes will attract moths. The perennials I used to plant were all eaten by the deer; trying to stay on top of the invasives keeps me plenty busy.

“What I like most is the way our property is woods-like now, as opposed to bare field, and that there are more birds and insects every year.”

But there’s a huge caveat on their efforts. “An overabundance of white-tailed deer. They don’t like the non-natives either,” Doug said. They eat the natives – so accessible on edge habitats between woods and lawns – and “you end up with just this monoculture of Asian plants.”

Worse yet, a million car-deer accidents a year kill about 200 Americans – far more than poisonous snakes or sharks. Yet “we protect the deer that in essence is killing us,” he said.

He warns against lawns, which he said are great for walking on, but terrible for the environment. Tallamy believes that humans innately like lawns because they resemble

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Ditch daisy (Bidens aristos) is the only plant that the beautiful goldenrod stowaway moth can develop on.

Doug Tallamy

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the savannas that humans emerged in in Africa, where low grasses allowed them to spot predators and warring tribes from afar. Thousands of years later, castle builders created similar landscaping, and manicured lawns symbolized wealth in the form of English country estates.

He asks that people reduce their lawns – and keep the lawn that remains well-manicured, so neighbors know that you still follow cultural norms.

He praises keystone species that contribute most to the food web. In 84 percent of the counties in the country, including New Castle and Chester, it’s oak. “They support 952 species of caterpillars across the country and 557 species right here in the mid-Atlantic states,” he said. “There’s no other plant genus that comes close to that in terms of making the food that allows other things to live.”

In addition, the University of Delaware reported that 90 percent of what caterpillars eat is created by only 14 percent of native plant species, with only 5 percent of the powerhouse plants taking credit for 75 percent of the food -- a pattern that is consistent throughout the U.S.

A white-eyed vireo feeds its nestling a drab prominent moth that is in the Tallamy yard because he has sycamore trees, its only host plant.

What landscapes need to do

To showcase these powerhouse plants, Tallamy worked with research assistant Kimberley Shropshire to create

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Doug Tallamy

a database for America (hosted by the National Wildlife Federation at www.nwf.org/nativeplantfinder). They’re now working on the world.

Shropshire follows her research at home. “My house is about 60 years old,” she said. “For the 20 years I have lived here I have been slowly minimizing my lawn, trying to avoid pesticides, and planting native plants.”

Every single worthy landscape should accomplish four things, Tallamy said:

• Support pollinators, needed for 80 percent of all plants.

• Support the food web, turning the energy from the sun into plants, then creatures (often caterpillars at first, and later mammals like humans and what humans eat).

• Sequester carbon, to reduce climate change.

• Manage the watershed.

“Our human impact grows every day, which which means the urgency for this grows every day,” he said.

“What gives me the most hope is the interest that’s out there. People are thirsty for this information because they want to get active in it.”

Consider some of his new neighbors who wanted to make their land more natural. They started the conversion by mowing less of it. And then they realized they had an expert next door. Tallamy recommended Larry Weaner, a landscape architect, and their naturalization has begun.

“It’s a grassroots solution to the biodiversity crisis, but it requires grassroots participation.”

Eastern red cedars make good screens as well as cover for wildlife.

The white blotched heterocampa moth is a nutritious meal for birds during the summer. Like hundreds of other caterpillar species, it develops on oak trees, the most important plant in most of America’s food web.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

“We’ve got scary headlines,” Doug Tallamy acknowledges, but he wants to empower – and encourage – everyone. His Homegrown National Park “works on a micro-scale. If you have a balcony, and you put one pot with an aster in it that blooms in the fall, you can be part of the solution. You can help the local, native bees. They will find your little pot, even on the seventh floor.”

In “Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard,” he offers 10 ideas:

• Shrink the lawn.

• Remove invasive species.

• Plant keystone genera.

• Be generous with your plantings.

• Plant for specialist pollinators.

• Network with neighbors.

• Build a conservation hardscape.

• Create caterpillar pupation sites under your trees (ground covers, shrubs and fallen leaves, not mowed grass).

• Do not spray or fertilize.

• Educate your neighborhood civic association.

The cross-country journey of a father and his son

Sanford School student Henry Shriver enjoyed a cross-country bicycle trip earlier this year with his father, University of Delaware professor Greg Shriver.

By Ken Mammarella Contributing Writer

If teenager Henry Shriver is asked at Sanford School for an essay on what he did on his summer vacation, he can write about an unusual adventure: bicycling across the country with his father, Greg, a University of Delaware professor.

“It changed our relationship from traditional father-and-son roles to two friends of different ages,” Henry said. “He’s still my father, but we’re closer now and we can joke with each other.”

“We had no conflicts,” Greg said, when asked about their relationship during their journey. “We kept it really simple, and we joked a lot. We missed our puppies, which gave us a story to tell every day and something to distract us from how many more miles we had to go.”

In March, they posted their itinerary on their Pedal On blog, https://northerntier2022.blogspot.com, and they followed up with more than 40 posts chronicling it all. They figured their journey would take 60 days to cover 3,300 miles across the northern part of America.

In gear at Michigan’s Silver Lake Park. “We were stunned by the cycling infrastructure western Michigan has to offer,” Greg and Henry blogged. Greg wants to return.

“It was his idea,” Henry said during an interview with his father. “And I got roped in.”

“I’m passionate about cycling and the freedom to be in a different spot every day,” Greg explained.

maybe an errant journey when GPS steered them wrong. That happens when they have the freedom of two wheels.

The Shrivers’ cross-country journey took 44 days to complete and encompassed as much as 88 miles a day, in temperatures that ranged from 38 degrees to as hot as 110 degrees and included several rainstorms that they welcomed along their route.

They chose a northern route – going from Pennsylvania through Maryland, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana and Idaho before ending in Washington – because Greg wanted to experience the upper Midwest and the glacier country of the Cascades.

Greg estimated that he bikes 100 miles a week, including several commutes to and from Newark. Henry, who turned 16 a few days after their adventure ended, is active with the SoChesCo Hellbenders, a mountain biking team that his father co-founded.

A key highlight of the Shrivers’ trip was bicycling on Goingto-the-Sun Road in Montana’s Glacier National Park.

“It is beautiful, but it also had some of the worst traffic, and one of the scariest downhills,” Greg said. “I think we went up the hill as fast as we went down the hill.”

Their itinerary morphed in multiple ways, maybe a jaunt on mountain bikes, South Haven, Michigan, was one of their campsites. On other nights, they stayed in hotels or with friends.

Bicycle

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Bonnie MacCulloch (Greg’s wife and Henry’s mother) joined them in the park with a rented pickup truck that lightened their load and eased their logistics. But before that – when Henry fell in Michigan and hurt his wrist or when Henry’s front tire had an issue – they were on their own.

Before she joined them in Montana, Bonnie ran the household back in Landenberg, including the care of puppies Suzy and Jim, whose activities kept them motivated during the ride.

Their days were mostly on their bikes, but they did schedule break days to relax, visit and even push themselves further – by renting mountain bikes. They succeeded with the support from family members, friends and strangers, Greg said. They spent nights in hotels, camped and stayed with friends.

“Along the way we had two random acts of kindness,” Greg wrote in a blog post from Lake Michigan. “The first one, by us, was moving a painted turtle across the road towards the pond she was heading to. Next, we came across a free lemonade stand right in the middle of our path.”

Food was a recurring element of the blog, including Coke and cookies to celebrate one mountain pass; popcorn, Twizzlers and grape Fanta when they saw “Top Gun Maverick” and five-dayold sandwiches from a gas station.

Potomac, Maryland, was memorable for two things: this staircase, a surprise not on their bike map, and where they dined eight years ago on their first bike adventure.

They loved diners for their familiar carb- and protein-heavy breakfasts and grocery stores convenient to their accommodations (bananas were mentioned a lot). Dinner was often Mexican food or Domino’s pizza. “Domino’s delivers,” Henry said, “and it’s the same every time.”

Henry said his days started as early as 7 a.m. and ran as late as midnight, but there were many predictable evenings watching “The Office.” “On all of the hotel TVs, 99 percent had Comedy Central, and 99 percent of the time it was playing ‘The Office’ or ‘Seinfeld,’ ” he said. “Except for Wednesdays, they played ‘South Park,’ which we didn’t watch.

“But Freeform plays ‘The Office’ on Wednesdays. So Henry’s job was to get on Wi-Fi as quickly as possible, and then stream ‘The Office,’” Greg said.

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Shipping their bikes by air from Washington back to Pennsylvania turned out to be easy, Greg said. In this photo, wife and mother Bonnie MacColluch is seen with their luggage and equipment at the airport.

Bicycle

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Greg demurred when asked what the trip cost, but said once it was planned, he opened up his wallet so they were safe, clean and well-fed every day.

Their journey ended with a surprise greeting on the Pacific Ocean in Anacortes, Washington. Anya Maley – Henry’s friend since their days at a Montessori school in Hockessin -- and her parents Bill and Meg had prepared an emotional welcome on the beach.

“They took a lot of the blog pictures that we have been posting, printed them out and glued them onto Tibetan prayer flags, stretched out on a tree on the beach,” Greg said. “When we arrived, our entire trip was displayed on pictures in front of us, which was super cool. People on the beach were wandering up and asking what was going on. It was pretty special.”

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“This was probably the hardest ride we have had the entire adventure,” Greg and Henry blogged from Fergus Fall, Minnesota. The reason: a “wall of wind.”

Bicycle

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They’re already thinking about another venture next summer. Michigan is Greg’s choice, for the “gorgeous scenery and spectacular infrastructure for bicycling.” He’s think-

ing about flying to Traverse City, Michigan, and then taking two weeks to bike back to Landenberg.

Henry is tossing around multiple itineraries – maybe

Michigan, Virginia, West Virginia or North Carolina. “I think that they would all be cool,” he said. “Maybe something mountain bike-related would be fun. Or going somewhere we’ve never been.”

“Reaching the end is certainly bittersweet,” they wrote in their blog upon reaching the Pacific, “but we are already planning our next bike travel adventure!”

Henry and Greg Shriver, ready to tackle Going-to-the-Sun Road, one of their trip’s highlights.

Henry by the campfire in Big Horn, Montana.

Greg and Henry Shriver, relaxing in Ione, Washington.

The Newark History Museum: All aboard to Newark’s rich past

By Gene Pisasale Contributing Writer

Walking inside the Newark History Museum, you experience a unique part of local heritage: you’re in an old train depot which operated for decades.

The Pennsylvania Railroad Station at 429 South College Avenue served customers along the busy northeast corridor between Philadelphia and Baltimore. Designed by architect S.T. Fuller, the building was constructed in 1877 for just over $9,000 by the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad to replace an earlier structure.

Operating for nearly a century, it was closed in the 1970s and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982; an historical marker nearby tells the story. The building was purchased by the city of Newark and is being used by the Historical Society to showcase people, places and events important in Delaware history.

The museum is a time capsule that takes visitors back to

the late 19th century, when train travel was the fastest way to go. The structure is beautifully restored, with its steeply sloping roof, dormers and brickwork all superbly intact. Situated alongside the tracks, it feels like you can catch the next train when it stops for passengers. The interior provides an eclectic walk through local history, with numerous exhibits showcasing things dating from the late 1700s up through the 20th century.

Newark’s heritage is a multi-faceted story. According to the Museum website, it had its beginnings in the early 1700s, with development of a small English, Scots-Irish and Welsh hamlet along two Indian trails and the line where the Christina and White Clay Creeks moved toward the Delaware River. The area served travelers from Maryland and nearby regions to Philadelphia.

By 1758, the bustling crossroads received a Charter from King George II; Newark was officially born. Entrepreneurs built numerous mills, including ones producing cotton, paper and flour along the creeks over the years. The Museum displays an important link to

Historical marker at the Newark History Museum.

our country’s inception: a book open to a page highlighting the Battle at Cooch’s Bridge, which occurred on September 3, 1777. Cooch’s Bridge was the only battle during the Revolutionary War fought on Delaware soil.

A museum exhibit mentions Deandale as Newark’s first industrial neighborhood. Joseph Dean was an Englishman who came to America and made a fortune in the wool business. The Dean Woolen Mill became a major supplier to the U.S. Army during the Civil War. Joseph Dean’s son William purchased property nearby and named streets after family members. A fire later destroyed the facility. A fiber mill was subsequently built on the site, which became the American Hard Fibre Company that produced vulcanized fibre used in luggage, waste cans, gears, bearings and other applications. The firm was merged into the National Vulcanized Fibre Company, which had its headquarters in Wilmington. The plant operated until 1991, and was then renovated and converted into offices, apartments, a restaurant and retail shops.

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The Newark History Museum.

photo by Flavia Loreto

Newark history

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The area’s roots include a link to nearby Chester County, Pennsylvania from which the New London Academy moved. The school was renamed the Newark Academy and would eventually become the University of Delaware. In 1837, the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad - later the Pennsylvania Railroad - linked Newark to points around the region. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, predecessor of CSX, came in 1886. Industrial concerns including the Curtis Paper Company and others helped to diversify the local economy. The town’s population grew rapidly through the 1920s; a large retail market developed with the university and industrial expansion. The Great Depression slowed economic growth, but the pace of development increased substantially during World War II and the post-war years. Several Du Pont facilities opened in the 1940s; in 1951, Chrysler built its Newark Assembly Plant.

The Newark History Museum provides interesting “slices” of many stories. You’ll see a large neon sign from a local icon- Minster’s Jewelers- which operated in downtown since 1895. It closed in 2018 after serving customers for 123 years. Another neon sign next to it is from the State Theater, which opened its doors in 1929. Built in a neoclassical style, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Minsters Jewelers and State Theater exhibit at the Newark History Museum.

The museum has two of the original seats from the theater in its collection. Sadly, the building was razed in 1989. Curator Mary E. Torbey stops and smiles at each exhibit as

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Newark history

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if they were old friends. A catalogue from Newark College from 1838- 1839 courtesy of the Lamborn family is in one cabinet. An Estey Pump Organ made in the 1870s stands along one wall; it was originally used in Ott’s Chapel, donated to the Museum in 2008. Women who enjoy seeing personal items from yesteryear will delight at finding a parasol from the late 1880s in one corner, a Fader family bodice and skirt circa early 1900s nearby. A Newark High School Spirit exhibit - complete with mannikins in school uniforms - is around another corner.

Newark Historical Society President Kaitlyn Tanis has put together a fascinating museum with the help of her team;

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A National Vulcanized Fibre label.

Two seats from the old State Theater in Newark.

Newark history

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Torbey says they are always considering new additions to the collection for future exhibits. Walking around the building, one appreciates the historic train station setting and the numerous artifacts which bring it to life. They are filled with so many memories, shared by the hundreds of people who come to see the displays, re-living parts of their past.

Gene Pisasale is an historian, author and lecturer based in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. His ten books focus on the Chester County/midAtlantic region. His latest book is Forgotten Founding Fathers: Pennsylvania and Delaware in the American Revolution. Gene’s books are available through his website at www.GenePisasale.com and on www.Amazon.com. He can be reached via e-mail at Gene@GenePisasale.com.

Curator Mary E. Torbey with Estey Pump Organ at the Newark History Museum.

Parasol and Fader family bodice from the turn of the 20th century.

Delaware’s on

Pine Hill Farms near Newark has been raising -and utilizing -- these exotic birds for over 30 years

Pine Hill Farms near Newark has been raising -and utilizing -- these exotic birds for over 30 years

Carolyn Palo runs Pine Hill Farms with her partner, Kathy Goldstone. Pine Hill is home to Delaware’s only emus, and Palo is holding a smoked emu bone, which they sell as a dog treat.

nly emus

By Ken Mammarella Contributing Writer

Carolyn Palo has made money and saved money with her emus, the only ones in Delaware.

Over the 30 years or so that she has raised the birds, she has sold a wide range of products, including eggs, chicks, feathers, dog treats and almost 20 items using emu oil for body care. “I use almost all the products,” she said,

and she estimated that her body-care regimen saved her thousands of dollars to reduce pain in her knees, until she got them replaced as a 65th birthday present from Medicare.

The emus are the most striking product of Pine Hill Farms on Smith Way, just south of Interstate 95 and just east of the Maryland line. She and her partner, Kathy Goldstone, also own land on Dixie Line Road, about a mile away.

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Photos by Ken Mammarella

Emus are the world’s second-largest birds.

Emus

The business was established by Palo’s grandparents as a chicken farm. Palo’s mother started with the emus in the mid-1990s. The farm now raises hay for horses, plus pumpkins, hay and cornstalks for Halloween décor. They also offer hay rides. And they maintain two produce gardens, mostly for their own consumption.

They live in a house designed by Palo’s mother and built by her grandfather, and the property includes a half-dozen buildings and a pond created by her grandparents. Palo’s mother also named both roads, with Smith Way for an early family that lived there and Dixie Line for how it hugs the state border. Palo and Goldstone, who has a day job as a land surveyor, share the property with two pet goats, two dogs and six cats.

How emus are raised

The raising of emus requires discipline and experience, combined with data monitoring. Palo has also learned from being a member of the American Emu Association, and she’s president of the Maryland Emu Association.

Emu groups are traditionally called mobs. The seasons at Pine Hill include egg laying

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A stuffed animal provides company for the only emu chick in this indoor pen.

December through April and hatching April through July. Emus grow fast and reach full size in about six months. They can run quickly but cannot fly.

“Emus have interesting calls,” according to the American Emu Association. The males grunt; the females make a throbbing drum; and the chicks whistle, with the males whistling back.

During a visit to the farm in June, more than one dozen birds separated by fencing scampered about in both indoor and outdoor pens. They keep breeding pairs together and big birds – they’re the world’s second-largest, following their cousins, the ostriches – apart from little birds.

An incubator maintains eggs at the right temperature and humidity, and in the basement, one chick was kept in a small pen with a stuffed animal for company.

Their oldest emu is a male named Isä, who’s more than 20 years old. That’s the Finnish word for father, a nod to Palo’s heritage. He’s paired with Hillary (as in Clinton) after his mate Äiti (Finnish for mother) has passed away.

A bountiful harvest

A typical 100-pound emu yields about 30 pounds of fat and 25 pounds of meat, plus four bones and a trachea that are smoked for dog treats, she said. The heart, liver and neck have fed animals at the Plumpton Park Zoo, fed dogs or become part of a raw-food diet. Feathers can be used for fly-fishing and in crafts, such as dream-catchers, she said.

Most of the attention on https://pinehillfarmsde.com and the brochure they give out at farmers markets and fairs is on the emu oil, made from the fat.

“This safe, sterile oil has proven to be hypoallergenic and will not clog pores,” the brochure notes, adding that it “contains several essential fatty acids, including omega 3 and 6.”

Aborigines in Australia, where emus are from, have used the oil for more than a thousand years to heal wounds, treat insect bites and alleviate arthritis, the brochure says. It then highlights more than three dozen uses for the oil, including arthritis, psoriasis, eczema, rosacea, acne and massage for chronic injuries. Prices range from $4.50 for lip balm to $90 for acne and rosacea creams. Such products based on the Pine Hill fat come from artisans in Alabama and Tennessee, with the bar soap from Iron Hill Soapworks nearby.

“Emu eggs are nutritionally equivalent to hen eggs yet non-allergic,” the brochure says, noting they equal about 10 medium hen eggs. Blown-out eggs have three layers –a dark green outer shell, a pale green intermediate layer

and a white inner shell, making them “an excellent item for carvers.”

Although Palo spoke highly of the meat (noting that it looks and tastes like beef but is a heart-healthy alternative), they don’t always have it for sale. She has referred potential customers to Amaroo Hills Emu Farm in Tennessee.

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A mob of emus (the traditional name for a group of these birds) outside on a warm day.

Emus

The joy of work

Emus are not the telegenic spokescreatures popularized in Liberty Mutual ads, she said. They’re largely standoffish, and she told the Newark Post that “they are dumber than dirt” and don’t recognize her from one day to another as she cares for and feeds them.

Palo and Goldstone have decided to pass along Pine Hill Farms to Yes U Can USA, a Delaware nonprofit co-founded by Vickie George and Debora Woolwine and focused on “getting people with disabilities and limited mobility moving.”

Palo handles most of the farm work and acknowledges it can be daunting. “People don’t want to work that hard,” she said – and she was just talking about the short season for harvesting hay. While she was convalescing, tenants Lisa Miller and Paul Arendt stepped up to handle the chores.

“At the end of the day, if I can put my feet up and have a cocktail, then it’s fun,” Palo said, paraphrasing an inspirational quote by “Peter Pan” creator J.M. Barrie: “Nothing is work unless you would rather be doing something else.” And to emphasize her outlook, she also cited a Finnish term – työn iloa – which she translated as the “joy of work.”

Breeding pairs and different sizes of emus are kept apart.

Preston’s Playground:

Newark’s gift to all children

Photos By Jim Coarse Text by Richard L. Gaw

For several years, Deb Buenaga of Wilmington imagined a place where her son Preston Buenaga – who has mitochondrial disease –could play alongside ablebodied children, an allinclusive playground with adaptive equipment for children of all abilities.

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The story of Preston’s Playground is a tale told in chapters that began with a dream.

Preston’s Playground

Within a short time, inspired by Preston and championed by Deb, the City of Newark, Newark Parks & Recreation, the members of Preston’s Playground Committee, Corrado Construction and Fusion Fitness Center, a community-wide effort brought her dream to life.

“I first met Deb and her family about ten years ago when we owned Fusion Fitness on Main Street in Newark,” said Nic DeCaire, who now owns Fusion Racing.

“We were participating in a fundraiser to raise money for the purchase of adaptive bicycles through her organization, Preston’s March for Energy. From those efforts, we then sought to bring the same kind of inclusion into the running world.

“One day over coffee, Deb mentioned that she and Preston had visited an all-inclusive playground, and that children like Preston should have the same kind of facility built in Newark. It was then and there that Deb and I decided to build such a playground.”

Preston’s Playground

Using his connections to the local community, DeCaire began to reach out to the vast network of businesses and government, and on November 19, 2018, before an enthusiastic audience of supporters and children, Preston’s Playground opened at the base of the Newark Reservoir, becoming Newark’s first all-inclusive playground.

Funded by the City of Newark and private contributions, Preston’s Playground offers 6,000 square feet of everything a child could want in a play space. There are slides, monkey bars, a merry-go-round, several types of swings and small zip lines – all of it on a rubberized surface and equipped with ramps to allow children of all abilities to play together.

On any day of the year, it is likely Newark residents walking by will note with civic pride the accomplishment of their town to create such an all-inclusive gift to the children of this generation and those to come.

Preston’s Playground is located at 250 Old Papermill Road in Newark, at the base of the Newark Reservoir. For additional information, visit “Preston’s Playground” on Facebook. To learn more about Fusion Racing, visit www.fusionracetiming.com.

Vero at Newark: A new home, in partnership with UD

Senior residence to open in 2023

By Natalie Smith Contributing Writer

It’s no secret that the draw of a college town can go beyond its students. The charm of Newark’s restaurants, small businesses, artistic offerings and parks attract the resident and casual visitor alike.

But the University of Delaware itself was among the many factors appealing to the builders of the Vero at Newark, a 125-unit senior residence on Barksdale Road set to open in early 2023. The community will welcome residents in both independent and assisted living as well as those requiring memory care.

The proximity of the University of Delaware was definitely a plus for Leisure Care, the corporation that owns the new senior living community and many other similar facilities around the country.

“[The chosen location] wasn’t just based on age or finances or demographics. The university was very attractive to this company,” said Frank DeMarinis, general manager of the Vero at Newark. “The university area is not only a very desirable place for people to live and it’s not just a typical college town. It’s a Main Street community,” he said. (The Main Street America movement is a non-profit network that recognizes small communities for their district revitalization. Newark won the award in 2011.)

All images provided by the Vero at Newark The front of the Vero at Newark. The Barksdale Road senior community is expected to open in early 2023. It will offer independent and assisted living and a memory care section.

“We’re near the university so students can get paid, graded or volunteer because they do that for their community work.” A way to initially connect with these students is through Handshake, a database of thousands of internships and jobs for UD students and alumni.

“Hospitality options for our culinary restaurant may offer viable part-time and full-time options for students within walking distance,” he said.

DeMarinis noted that the location of the university will also make it convenient for students to work at the Vero.

According to DeMarinis, his firm is approaching various

Vero at Newark

university departments with the goal of establishing more connections. “We have reached out to Human Resources and are formalizing our discount to both retired faculty and postgrads of the university who move into the Vero.”

Terri Doody, the Vero at Newark sales manager, said in her position she’s been finding that those who are connected to the university feel a strong link to the city. Even if the person isn’t a graduate of the school themselves, their children or grandchildren attended or are currently students there.

“People who have graduated from University of Delaware are very proud of their school and they love Newark,” she said.” she said. “I think they really appreciate that Vero is a place for that next step.”

Terri Doody is sales manager at the Vero at Newark.

DeMarinis agreed there does seem to be a lot of university legacy and that association is important to the Vero community.

“It’s interesting because I noticed that Newark is a little unique in the way that people can connect with their uni-

George DeMarinis is general manager at the Vero at Newark.

versity town as a hometown, whether they came from (for example) Greenville but settled in Newark after college.

“They stuck around and it’s where they want to stay.”

Natalie Smith may be contacted at Natalie@DoubleSMedia. com

Q & A|

Lindsay McConnell Founder, Mixtape Paper Co.

Lindsay McConnell

Inspired by her love for music, colors, love and humor, Newark resident Lindsay McConnell launched her company Mixtape Paper Co. in 2020. Newark Life recently met with Lindsay to talk about her inspirations, her mission and her dream dinner party guests.

Newark Life: Let’s start at the point where Mixtape Paper Co. started. Just before COVID-19 arrived in 2020, you were in a high-level position at a small business and leading a team, but you left your job that February. It is never easy to leave a successful career mid-stream in order to search for a larger purpose, but you were searching for a greater level of happiness and fulfillment. Take our readers through that transformation.

Lindsay: I graduated from UD in 2008 and by 2015 I was working as a brand director for a successful apparel and lifestyle brand based in New York City. I juggled all areas of the business from design and merchandising to sales and marketing, and I was thrilled to develop all these skills in the process. I’ve always been very defined by my work, and I love being that person people turn to and depend on to get the job done right. A lot of my weeks were spent traveling and working crazy hours – as many as 60 to 70 hours were the norm. I found myself not being home every night to have dinner with my family or put my son to bed.

By late 2019, I reached a point where I wanted to trade in all my ambition for happiness. I was exhausted from being spread thin for so many years, and I didn’t see that for me or my family any longer. My son Finn was six at the time, and was becoming increasingly aware of my absence. So, I left my job with the hope of resetting and finding something simpler: the desire to not feel so stressed all the time.

And then the pandemic happened.

When COVID-19 happened, everything turned upside down, and like so many of us, I struggled to make a plan. I was staying home with my son who was now doing remote learning. Going from working in New York City every week to suddenly being home 24/7 was a total shock to the system. I was incredibly antsy to get back to work. I spent a good bit of time thinking about the skills I had developed, and what aspects of my previous jobs brought me the most joy. I knew in my heart I wanted to start a business.

Launching a greeting card line was something I always knew I wanted to do down the line, so instead of waiting,

Photos courtesy of Lindsay McConnell and Source Creative House Newark resident Lindsay McConnell founded Mixtape Paper Co. in 2020.

Q &

I purchased a dependable home printer – I still print everything off of it today – and began sourcing sustainable paper and materials, and just went for it. The designs poured out of me; it felt like all of this excitement and inspiration was just there waiting to be tapped.

You recently said in another interview that you wanted to start Mixtape Paper Co. because you wanted to help people share more love. Talk about how a simple greeting card can make the world a better place, and what Mixtape Paper Co. does to help facilitate that.

The human element of life, and the connection made with other human beings, is what life is all about to me. There is no solid connection ever made without honest, open communication, and I personally don’t see any value in holding things back. I’d much rather regret something I said than sit with regret over saying nothing at all. That’s the biggest mission here – to encourage people to show up for the people in their life, express their deepest feelings or their gratitude, or just to tell someone how much they mean to them. Our motto has always been “share your love,” and we hope in some small way we can encourage people to do that.

There is not a creative person alive who is not inspired by everything he or she comes in contact with. What inspires you, and how does it translate into your creative vision?

Mixtape Paper Co.’s Lunchbox notes have proven to be a very popular seller, and are beginning to appear in the lunchboxes of many schoolchildren.

There are a million different things that inspire me, and they’re not always visual. It could be something funny a friend said to me, or an old concert poster, or an interesting color combination my son is wearing on a particular day. It’s also being present in nature, and letting the beauty of the world wash over me. My biggest influence would have to be music though, especially lyrics which inspire so much of the collection – hence the name Mixtape.

Lindsay McConnell

Speaking of music, you create monthly mixtapes that connect your customers and followers to some pretty amazing tunes. Name two or three songs that get you in the creative mood to produce work for Mixtape Paper Co.

“Never Tear Us Apart” by INXS has always been a favorite song of mine. I’m also a major Frank Ocean fan, and his song “Ivy” always gets me in an emotional headspace. To get amped up and energetic, I love listening to Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4,” or “Nothing’s Going to Stop Us Now” by Starship. I create the monthly mixtapes with my husband Matt; he can put together a playlist like no other and I love having him as a partner in this small piece of the Mixtape world.

Mixtape

Lindsay McConnell

Continued

In our world of e-mails and texts, the practice of letter writing has become the lost art of communication, but Mixtape Paper Co. is a creative counterpunch to that trend, yes? In many ways, you are serving as a conduit to have people write letters to each other.

It’s absolutely the reason I set out to do this, and it’s also the reason that all of our cards are blank inside. I want people to use their imagination and their heart to write something thoughtful and meaningful.

I’ve always been passionate about tactile things in life. I’m that girl that still drives around with a massive collection of CDs in her car. People don’t often print out an email or save a text message, but a written letter or a card is forever. They’re going to stand the test of time, and I think it’s a human desire to want things to hold and look back on.

Do you yourself keep old cards and letters?

Yes, even the most inconsequential of them! I’ve framed a lot of my favorite cards my family or I have received and hung them in our home, almost like a gallery.

You’ve become a bit of a road warrior of late, as you have been showcasing your products at artisan shows from Brooklyn to Harrisburg to Newark. What has been the reaction of the people who have seen your work there?

By the end of this year, I will have showcased my work at 35 markets. Meeting customers has been the most rewarding and beneficial part of running this business, and hearing their feedback is such a motivator and validation of what I am doing.

Any small business owner knows how hard this work is, and we all just want to know our work means something to others. When shoppers come to my booth and begin laughing over a particular card they’ve read, or ask me for something for a particular occasion, it’s all so important, and it always informs what I design next.

Mixtape Paper Co. is not just about greeting cards. You developed a series of items specifically for children.

Yes! I love designing with kids in mind, and I have to

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SENIOR

live independently anyone making care decisions

I ensure my carried out in an emergency?”

Lindsay McConnell

Continued from Page 58

thank Finn for being such an awesome collaborator. My Lunchbox Lovin’ Mini Notes and fill-in-the-blank Kiddo Cards were created to encourage little ones to express their feelings and practice sharing gratitude. My mom instilled the habit of thank you card writing early on, and I definitely think it set me up for a life of thankfulness. I love the thought of being a part of that for little ones today.

You recently launched a line of gift wrapping paper. The gift wrap was so much fun to design, and I see it as a natural evolution and extension of the collection. We launched with two reversible gift wrap designs, and there will be new designs coming out in time for the holidays.

In just a few short years, you have been able to market Mixtape Paper Co. at artisan fairs, markets and have developed a strong online presence. Do you see yourself owning your own store someday?

Absolutely. I have always wanted to be a shop owner, and doing markets has become a small test pilot of that. I have a lot of ideas outside of just a traditional retail space, and I’m really excited about what’s to come for Mixtape Paper Co.

Continued on Page 62

In addition to showcasing her products at Bloom in Newark, Mixtape Paper Co. frequently appears at artisan and craft fairs from Brooklyn to Harrisburg to Newark.

Lindsay McConnell

What is your favorite spot in Newark?

If it’s a spot to eat, it would definitely be Roots Natural Kitchen - I’m on a major kick lately with their El Jefe Bowl. If it’s to hang out, I love Rittenhouse Park. It’s a total oasis, and you never know what varieties of animals you will end up seeing there.

Lindsay McConnell throws a dinner party and can invite anyone – famous or not, living or not. Who would you want to see around that table?

Patrick Swayze. Tom Petty. Princess Diana. Chef Gordon Ramsey. Peloton instructor Jess King. ASAP Rocky. Jon Hamm.

What food or beverage can always be found in your refrigerator?

That takes no time to think about. Cheese. I love all types of it. To me, there is no

good meal without cheese involved. There are at least six types of cheese in my refrigerator at any given moment. In fact, State Line Liquors is one of my favorite spots to buy cheese; they have an awesome assortment.

Q & A

Mixtape Paper Co. items are sold in 50 stores in the U.S. and Canada, and are available locally at Bloom, 165 East Main Street in Newark. To learn more about Mixtape Paper Co. and order online, visit www.mixtapepaperco. com or visit Instagram: @mixtapepaperco

-- Richard L. Gaw

Community|

Idea by idea, design by design and volunteer by volunteer, a mission to beautify the entrance to Nottingham Green is well underway

The new colors of the boulevard

By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer

There, at the entrance to Nottingham Green on Radcliffe Drive, is a parcel of three planting beds 200 feet long and 3,300 square feet in size, where for the past several decades, brackish and tangling weeds have choked the breathing life and color out of a once attractive invitation to a 70-year-old Newark development.

There, in creative defiance of the nettles and the bramble, a group of neighborhood visionaries armed with shovels, rakes and ingenuity have spent the last year spearheading a beautification project that will someday unveil the bountiful appearance of witch hazel, service berry and dogwood shrubs where invasive plants once grew.

There, led by the careful eye of experts, the hard work of these volunteers are slowly transforming that ruddy gray ground into a garden, where tall flowers like oak leaf hydrangea will grow next to blue wood aster, and where tufted hair grass will form a stunning groundcover beside creeping raspberry.

Seeds

The concept that has become the Nottingham Green Boulevard Restoration Project began last October, when organizer Lisa King reached out to her neighbor Rich Stickley to become her partner in a unified commitment to restore the boulevard.

“I saw a tremendous opportunity to rehabilitate the gar-

dens,” said King, who has lived in Nottingham Green for the past nine years.

Soon after, Angela Breuer, who has lived in the development since 1975, came on board.

“I was a high school teacher, so I have always loved the strength that comes from community, and I felt that we needed to create a sense of community here,” Breuer said. “I thought being involved and getting others to join would build a sense of cohesion and belonging to the neighborhood.”

On the heels of a social network notice that was sent to Nottingham Green residents, King joined with ten other volunteers at the site, and within four hours, the neighbors had cleared away enough invasive weeds and overgrowth –including poison ivy -- to better allow cars to pass by safely.

The project was quickly followed by several meetings, during which it was decided that a one-time excavation of the damaged area by a small but hearty group of volunteer homeowners would not be enough. In order for the project to eventually succeed, it would require the talents of gardening and horticultural experts, who could undertake the design and implementation of an entirely new boulevard landscape.

In order to get there, however, the members of the Nottingham Green Boulevard Restoration Project needed to combine the two components things that typically accompany projects of this magnitude: expertise and the funding to pay for it.

King reached out to her friend Carol Long, the curator of gardens at Winterthur Museum, Library & Gardens, and the Co-Op Extension Office at the University of Delaware, who

operates a Master Gardeners program.

“The master gardeners’ assessment matched Carol’s assessment, which basically said that we have the thugs of the invasive plant world living in these beds,” King said. “They

identified eight invasive species, and told us, ‘You need to take aggressive action. You’re not going to be able to solve this problem on your own.’”

Photo by Richard L. Gaw Some members of the Nottingham Green Boulevard Project include, from left, Bruce and Jen Reinhold, Angela Breuer, Lisa King and Jude McDonald.

Nottingham Green

Plantings

This spring, King, Breuer and five other volunteers canvassed every neighborhood throughout the 435-door development, and raised more than $1,200 in door-to-door donations. In May, the group launched a Go Fund Me page, that read:

“If we, as the owners of this property, all chip in a little, a lot can be accomplished. Our goals are to prune and stabilize the major trees, remove the invasive plants, and then prepare the gardens for new plantings. The cost for the pro’s work is $3,930. We’ve already raised over $1,200! Once they’re done, the rest of the elbow grease will come from our neighborhood group. Any funds raised beyond the current goal will be used for new plantings. How can you help?”

Within six weeks of the Go Fund Me posting, the Nottingham Green Boulevard Restoration Project had raised $8,700. The outpouring of community support completely financed the project’s first two phases – removing invasive plants and

conducting tree service – which are being performed by Verdant Plant Health Care, a Montchanin-based, environmentally-responsible landscaping company, and Brandywine Tree Services, who have trimmed the black locust trees and removed invasive species like Bradford pear, Japanese barberry and honeysuckle. The remaining funding will go toward the project’s third phase – the selection and implementation of the garden beds, which are being designed by Elisabeth Davis, an Agricultural Sciences student at the University of Delaware and the owner of Ellie’s Garden and Landscaping, LLC, and will likely be planted next spring.

Continued

Courtesy of Elisabeth Davis

The gardens are being designed by Elisabeth Davis, an agricultural sciences student at the University of Delaware.

Courtesy photos

The entrance to Nottingham Green as it looked prior to early restoration and the entrance as it looks today.

Nottingham Green

Continued

Page

Growth

While the “heavy lifting” involved in the restoration at the corner of Radcliffe Drive and Nottingham Road is now in the hands of the experts, much of the cosmetic work is still being done by neighbors. Over the next several months and into 2023, homeowners will be repurposing the river rock walls of the beds and preparing a mulch made from tree bark and leaves that will be spread and hopefully lead to soil improvement and drought tolerant beds that gives native plants a fighting chance to grow and proposer.

To King and Breuer, the tasks ahead for the Nottingham Green Boulevard Restoration Project will not just be about restoring, planting and maintaining.

“We all needed something to connect us back together after two years of being apart and alone,” Breuer said. “This is that project.”

“Everyone associated with these efforts feels strongly about the idea of community engagement, which began softly but has continued to build,” King said. “There is a much larger purpose for all of us here, because it provides opportunities for neighbors to get to know their neighbors.

“I think we have tackled this project from a divide and conquer approach, and while I am confident that this project will help drive future projects, right now we’re at the stage of celebrating our success.”

To learn more about the Nottingham Green Boulevard Project or for ideas on how you can work with your neighbors to help beautify your Newark neighborhood, email Lisa King at king_lisa@verizon.net.

Photo by Richard L. Gaw Plantings in all three beds are expected to take place in the spring of 2023.

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