Spring/Summer 2017
Newark Life
Magazine
The Mobility Movement Page 16
Inside • Profile of artist Peter Saenger • Preston’s Playground takes shape • Vision A Capella: Singing for God Complimentary Copy
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Spring/Summer 2017
Newark Life Table of Contents 8
One family’s dedication to preserving Delaware’s Revolutionary War history
16
The mobility movement
28
Vision A Cappella
46
Profile of Pete Saenger
60
Preston’s Playground
68
Photo Essay: White Clay Creek State Park
78
Newark’s long, unbroken blue line
86
An appetite for good
92
Linda Majewski brings experience and a smile to the Newark Arts Alliance
8
16
60 Cover design by Tricia Hoadley Cover photograph by Jie Deng
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Plenty of uplifting stories to be found in Newark
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From a story about a professor whose research is helping traumatic brain injury survivors to a profile of the Vision A Cappella group singing Christian songs to a look at the effort to bring an inclusive playground to Newark, this issue of Newark Life is filled with uplifting stories. There are plenty of these kinds of stories to be found in the city, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that Newark is such a great place to live and work. Certainly one of the best things about producing a magazine that shines a spotlight on Newark is meeting people like University of Delaware physical therapy professor Cole Galloway, who is providing new hope to traumatic brain injury survivors everywhere with his groundbreaking research and innovative techniques to help those with mobility issues. We update readers about the GoBabyGo program. As our writers and photographers were working on this issue, we also got to meet Linda Majewski, who brings experience and a smile to her new role as the executive director of the Newark Arts Alliance. Speaking of art, in this issue we profile Peter Saenger, who has been creating tableware and artworks that people love since the 1970s. We also look at the efforts to complete Preston’s Playground, which launched last year through a collaboration between Fusion Fitness, Preston’s March for Energy, the City of Newark and hundreds of contributors. The goal of the project is to build an inclusive, 8,400-square-foot playground where able-bodied children will be able to play side by side with children with disabilities. We celebrate Newark’s history with a story about the Thomas Cooch House, which is just a stone’s throw from Cooch’s Bridge Battlefield. The dwelling has witnessed a great deal of history for over two centuries, and has been a treasured part of the Cooch family for 257 years. We also have a story about Vision A Cappella, which is the University of Delaware’s Christian a cappella group. The University of Delaware lists nine a cappella clubs among its student organizations. Vision A Cappella is one of those groups, but distinguishes itself in one important way, as they are the only Christian a cappella group on campus. They perform Christian songs, but they also sing mainstream tunes with a positive message. We hope you enjoy the stories in this issue of Newark Life, and we’re already hard at work planning the next issue, which will arrive in the fall. As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions for future stories. Sincerely, Randy Lieberman, Publisher randyl@chestercounty.com, 610-869-5553 Steve Hoffman, Editor editor@chestercounty.com, 610-869-5553, ext. 13 Cover design: Tricia Hoadley - Cover photo: Ashley Barnas
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——————|Newark History|——————
Photo courtesy of Richard Cooch
A photograph from the 200th anniversary reenactment of the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge.
The Revolutionary spirit Lisa Fieldman Staff Writer
One family’s dedication to preserving Delaware’s Revolutionary War history 8
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T
he Thomas Cooch House rests on a rise along the banks of the Christina Creek. off of Old Baltimore Pike. Just a stone’s throw from Cooch’s Bridge Battlefield, the dwelling has witnessed a great deal of history for over two centuries. The Hon. Richard R. Cooch now owns the property, and he shares ownership with his sister, Elizabeth Merritt Cooch. The house has been treasured by the family for 257 years. Thomas Cooch immigrated to America from England in 1746, and purchased 200 acres in Pencader Hundred. The
All photos by Lisa Fieldman unless otherwise noted
The Thomas Cooch House. The Cooch family is dedicated to the preservation of the house and the land.
farm included a small house, a gristmill and a sawmill. Fourteen years later, he built the stately home that stands today. Over the years, Thomas added approximately 850 more acres to his land holdings. In 1936, the home was included in the Historical American Building Survey. The survey provided 1,000 unemployed architects with ten weeks of work during the Depression. The survey also documented structures of architectural excellence, as well as “plain structures which by fate or accident are identified with historic events.” The Cooch House’s inclusion in the survey was due to its involvement with the Battle at Cooch’s Bridge, the only Revolutionary War battle fought in Delaware. Thomas Cooch served in the French and Indian War as a Captain, was a member of the Colonial Assembly, and presided as a judge in the Court of Common Pleas. In 1775, a militia was organized in preparation for the Revolutionary War, and Thomas was elected Colonel for the lower half of New Castle County.
Continued on Page 10
The Hon. Richard R. Cooch
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Revolutionary spirit Continued from Page 9
In July of 1777, British and Hessian troops under the command of Gen. Cornwallis and Gen. Howe approached the Head of the Elk with the intent of marching on Philadelphia. Having sailed from New York, they planned to travel up the Delaware River to New Castle. But the plan was foiled by rumors that the area was heavily protected. Additionally, there were no river pilots to be found to guide them around the shifting sand bars in the Delaware River. As a precaution, any river pilot suspected to be a British sympathizer had been jailed or was kept under close scrutiny. As the British were heading up the Chesapeake, Thomas Cooch packed his family off to safety at a family-owned farm in Lancaster County. Cooch was in his 80s at this time and too old to fight, but his son, Thomas, enlisted with the New Castle County unit. The Delaware Militia was called out to meet the advancing British troops. The Militia was under the command of Brigadier General Caesar Rodney, and included soldiers from New Castle and Kent counties, as well as men from the Cecil Militia. The British marched on Aikens Tavern (what is now Glasgow), and headed towards Cooch’s Bridge. Gen. William Maxwell, heading a special corps of light infantrymen, was headquartered in the Cooch house, and his men were concealed in the woods and countryside leading up to the bridge. The Militia planned a series of ambush and retreat tactics to impede the British troops’ progress. Gen. Washington’s intent was for the Militia to harass the British, buying him time to move his troops into position to defend Philadelphia. Early on Sept. 3, the British advanced on Cooch’s Bridge, only to be pushed back time and again by bullets from the surrounding woods and gullies. These setbacks continued until the British reached the bridge and met with the rest of Maxwell’s troops. With the arrival of Hessian reinforcements, Gen. Maxwell ordered his troops to withdraw to a position at Welsh Tract Church. The final battle at the church found the colonists outnumbered and no match for the British artillery. The Delaware militiamen were forced to retreat. It is remarkable that 800 colonists fought against 2,000 British and Hessian soldiers during this engagement, yet the Militia did not lose any men as prisoners. Though there is no official documentation, it is believed that the British may have suffered more casualties. After the battle, Gen. Cornwallis moved his headquarters into the Cooch House for a few days before advancing on Philadelphia. The house withstood the invasion with minor damage. However, the gristmill was 10
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The blockhouse, with rifle ports under the eaves.
burned down. Before vacating his home, Thomas Cooch possibly removed the millstone so the British could not use it to provide flour for the troops. Judge Cooch shared an interesting historical anecdote. When the family returned home, there were hoof marks scarring the first floor of the house. “The horses had value, so they were kept safe in the house during the night,” he said. Today the hoof marks are gone, lost with the flooring in a later fire. After the war, the Cooch House was once again the center of the family’s life. It remained unchanged until a rear wing and the third story were added in 1865. Several original outbuildings still stand on the property. Behind the home is a blockhouse built in the late 1600s. Judge Cooch believes the structure was originally used for protection from Indian attacks. Men in the blockhouse could fire on their attackers through rifle slots under the eaves. There is also a thick-walled ice house, which would have held ice blocks most likely cut from the frozen Christina River. The surrounding countryside may have changed, but time seems to stand still on the Cooch farm. Judge Cooch referred to the property as “a little bastion of green” in an area that is seeing more and more development. “My father grew up here,” he said, reminiscing about Edward (Ned) Cooch. “In the 1920s, there was just a dirt road out front. When my father heard a car coming, he would run down and watch it pass by.” In 1901, the Cooch family conveyed a strip of land adjacent to their driveway to the State of Delaware for a monument. A large granite marker sits inside a ring of four cannons that bear casting dates of 1863. The plaque explains that the location was the site of the Battle of Continued on Page 12
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Revolutionary spirit Continued from Page 11
Cooch’s Bridge. It also mentions that the battle “claims to have been the first in which the Stars and Stripes was carried.” Historians have long debated this claim. Wade Catts is a local archaeologist and historian who studies the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge. He firmly believes the newly minted flag was not carried during the battle. He said he would be happy if it was true, but has yet to find any evidence to support the theory. “There is no consensus and no support for Cooch’s Bridge being the place that the flag was first flown,” he said. “While it’s a nice story, there is no ground in historical fact that the flag was there. The flag story does a disservice to the battle; it’s just a sound bite. The battle was significant of its own accord.” Catts is writing a book about the battle. There are have been no other publications written about the conflict since Edward Cooch’s 1940 volume, “The Battle of Cooch’s Bridge.” Catts’ research includes resources that were not available in 1940, including translated German accounts of the engagement. “A lot of information came about after the Bicentennial,” he said. “Cooch’s Bridge is a remarkable battle because it sets the tone for how the Philadelphia Campaign was fought. It shows that the Americans were not going to roll over for the British as they worked their way towards Philadelphia.” The new Museum of the American Revolution, which opened in April,
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Photo courtesy of Richard Cooch
A map showing the position of the British Army sketched by Major John Andre. His journal is one of the most reliable sources for history of the war from the British point of view. He was later executed by the British as a spy.
has a Liberty Tree, which is a custom dating back to Colonial times. Colonists planted the trees as symbols of hope and confidence in their country. The trees were used as places to gather and to post broadsheets so the hot topics of the day could be discussed. The Continued on Page 14
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Revolutionary spirit Continued from Page 12
museum requested soil from various battlefields, historic homes and graves of Revolutionary heroes. “We gathered up a cup of soil from near the bridge and sent it up,” Cooch said. “It was mixed with soil from other battle sites and spread around the Liberty Tree.” The Thomas Cooch House is a historical and cultural gem. In 2003, the land was put under conservation easement. Over the years, the Cooches have opened their property to many local and international historical societies. The ice house. The Ambassador of France visited during a Revolutionary War event in 2006, and the descendants of Rochambeau have also been welcomed. Count Rochambeau fought alongside Washington to defeat the British at Yorktown, and Cooch’s Bridge is one of the last few preserved places he camped. In 1977, Judge Richard Cooch co-chaired a reenactment event that was attended by a huge crowd marking the 200th anniversary of the Battle at Cooch’s Bridge. Judge Cooch continues the family custom of being active in community. Many of his ancestors served their country through military duty and political service. There is a strong tradition of stewardship that runs through the generations. To some, the care of a historic site might be seen like a burden, but the Cooch family feels it is their duty to preserve an integral part of history, and they do so with grace and sometimes humor. At one time, a print of Gen. Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown hung over the mantel in the home’s living room. “My father hung it there for revenge,” said Judge Cooch with a smile. Visit the Cooch’s Bridge Battlefield memorial on Dayett Mills Road in Newark, or stop by the Pencader Hundred Museum at 2029 Sunset Lake Rd., Newark, Del., to learn more about Delaware’s role in the Revolutionary War. The Thomas Cooch House is privately owned and not open to the public.
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—————|Around Newark|—————
The mobility movement University of Delaware physical therapy professor Cole Galloway is providing new hope to traumatic brain injury survivors everywhere with his groundbreaking research and innovative techniques to help those with mobility issues
All photos courtesy
Dr. Cole Galloway, a professor of physical therapy at the University of Delaware.
By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer
C
ole Galloway considers social mobility to be a human right, and he seemingly never stops moving in his effort to make sure that as many people as possible get to exercise that right. When he’s not teaching, Galloway, a physical therapy professor at the University of Delaware, can often be found hard at work on groundbreaking research at the university’s STAR campus, working closely with traumatic brain injury survivors and their families. Or he’s writing papers or applying for grants to continue his work on the innovative GoBabyGo program. Or he’s making presentations about community-based brain science and traveling to support GoBabyGo chapters around the world. Galloway is constantly in motion, inspired to help those who find themselves in situations where their own mobility is restricted—most often because of a physical ailment or an accident. No matter where he travels or how far the reach of GoBabyGo extends, the heart of the program
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remains at the University of Delaware’s STAR campus and the people who are the reason that the GoBabyGo program is constantly evolving. “I will go out and talk at different places,” explained Galloway, “but then I need to come back and hear about the realities of life for people surviving brain injuries, and what they go through day to day. Everything goes back to social justice and mobility.” If the ability to move around means that the world offers the promise of amazing things, the inability to move around, then, means that that promise is being taken away. Galloway refuses to accept that for the millions of children and young adults who have significant mobility issues. He is using what he likes to call “grounded, grassroots science” to help change their lives for the better. “When you’re immobile, it’s bad for your brain,” Galloway explained during an interview in April. “It’s bad for you socially. When you can’t move around, you can’t get from Point A to Point B—that’s obvious. But you also lose your freedom of expression. You can’t make a mark on the world. The ability to play, the ability to move
Working in the GoBabyGo Cafe provides physical, occupational, and cognitive therapies all at once.
Corey Beattie at work in the GoBabyGo Cafe.
around the planet, is a right—it’s critical.” In Galloway, traumatic brain injury survivors and children with mobility issues have an advocate whose energy is boundless. That’s exactly what Galloway wants their possibilities to be—boundless. His background, experiences, and education make him uniquely qualified to serve people with mobility issues. Galloway grew up in small towns in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, and maintains a sense of small-town kindness, even though he has traveled and lectured widely. “I came from an extended family of artists, scientists and storytellers,” he said, explaining that his mother was an American and Southern literature teacher, while his father was a concert pianist who later became a professor and went into the insurance business. That blend of the sciences and the arts can be found in Galloway’s approach to his work. When it was time to go to college, Galloway was interested in studying biology, primatology, and anthropology—for a time, he wanted to do the kind of work that Jane Goodall is famous for.
“I love grounded, grass-roots science,” he explained. “I love watching people move. We’re fragile warriors and we maintain our own fragile friendships. It takes very little movement differences for other primates to take a step back.” He was an honors graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, and then was on a Physical Therapy degree at the Medical College of Virginia before doing a NIH Training in Motor Control Neurobiology funded Ph.D. at the University of Arizona. He joined the nationally recognized Physical Therapy faculty of the University of Delaware in 2000. Galloway is best known for his work developing GoBabyGo!, a hands-on program that he started that helps children and adults with serious mobility challenges. He was deeply impacted by seeing children who did not have the ability to play and move around like their peers. Each child was facing a unique disability perhaps suffering from cerebral palsy or another genetic syndrome that restricts development and movement. Galloway had researched Continued on Page 18 www.newarklifemagazine.com | Spring/Summer 2017 | Newark Life
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Cole Galloway Continued from Page 17
how children learn to move their bodies. With no commercially available power wheelchairs for children younger than the age of three, it would be very beneficial to have something that would allow them some mobility. The children needed this mobility to help with their development, and Galloway heard from the families of these children how important this was. Every day that a child spent unable to move was another day when the gap widened between their development and their typically developing peers. Tick tock, tick tock. To Galloway, that was unacceptable. Without a high impact strategy, the pace of scientific research can be slow. One day, Galloway and a research assistant purchased some of the typical ride-on cars and trucks that can be found in a toy store. These cars are popular with children for obvious reasons. Just because a child has a condition that restricts his or her mobility, that doesn’t mean that the cars wouldn’t be popular with them, too. The cars just need to be adapted for each child’s individual abilities. So that’s what Galloway and his team did. They started customizing these cars so that they could be enjoyed by children, regardless of their physical impairments. The cars can even be designed to accommodate the changing needs of those using them as they age or their abilities change. There are now approximately 6,000 such cars being utilized around the world. But that was just the first step for the GoBabyGo program. Today, on the University of Delaware’s STAR Campus, traumatic brain injury survivors like Corey Beattie and Reston Turns work in the GoBabyGo Café, serving bagels, coffee, or ice cream to customers while simultaneously incorporating several types of therapy into their regular activities as they work to recover from injuries suffered in automobile accidents. The impetus for starting the GoBabyGo Cafe was another local traumatic brain injury survivor who wanted to
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have more mobility and the ability to stand up for longer periods of time. She was interested in working in a cafe setting, and Galloway and his team wanted to make that possible. Galloway is always looking to push the boundaries for what’s possible for the traumatic brain injury survivors that his team works with. He collaborated with Enliten, LLP., a Newark, Del. company that designed and manufactured a harness system that allows individuals to safely stand and move around, freeing them up to focus on other tasks without the fear of falling. At the time Corey was injured in the automobile accident in October of 2010, she was a senior in high school who was planning to attend a culinary school. She spent years working hard on physical, occupational, and cognitive therapies, but her recovery accelerated at the GoBabyGo Cafe. Her mother, Marie, said that working in the cafe was a wonderful experience for Corey. “Conversing with customers, making sandwiches and cooking in her home kitchen has not only helped her regain her physical strength but confidence and feeling of self-worth as she works towards realizing her culinary
University of Delaware professor Cole Galloway is a driving force in the mobility movement. He is pictured at one of the buildings in Newark that could be utilized as part of a mobility village.
dream of becoming a chef,” Marie explained. “The limited resources for integrated therapies, socialization and the bridge to community integration is the largest isolating factor in an individual’s recovery. Caregivers and survivors are Continued on Page 20
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Cole Galloway Continued from Page 19
looking for enriching opportunities that provide a greater, fuller quality-of-life for their loved ones and themselves.” The progress that Corey was making was so great that it exceeded expectations. “We thought there was a good chance that it would be fun and that we would learn a lot,” Galloway explained. With the cafe being so successful, the next step was install the harness system in a home to see what benefits that could provide. In the early part of 2016, two harnesses were installed in Marie’s home— Continued on Page 22 A variety of therapies and training programs are utilized to help Reston Turns continue making progress, including pilates.
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Cole Galloway Continued from Page 20
one in the kitchen and another in Corey’s bedroom. Soon, Corey was able to get her own breakfast and stand at the counter to prepare a salad. It was an important next step in her recovery from the accident. The GoBabyGo cafe and the harness house both exceeded expectations. Galloway, and graduate student Devina Kumar work closely with the caregivers and families to maximize what is learned from the program. “All along, it’s been a learning experience about the daily lives of people with mobility issues,” Galloway explained. “I call what we do blue-collar science.” Don’t ask Galloway about his goals or his vision for what the future might be for people like Corey. Galloway insists that his own goals don’t matter. His vision for the future is largely meaningless. What matters is what the TBI survivors dream of for themselves, and what the caregivers dream for. So he asks them regularly: What do they want to do this week, next week, next year? Galloway and his team are currently working with a
Corey Beattie and Reston Turns have benefited greatly from having the use of the harness system in their homes.
Continued on Page 24
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Cole Galloway Continued from Page 22
small circle of traumatic brain injury survivors who are determined to reach their potential—to exercise their right to social mobility. Corey wants to cook, so Galloway sees it as his duty to help her along her way. Reston wants to plan events. Stacy wants to have her own line of greeting cards. “They were so quick to tell us, in their own way, what they want to do,” Galloway said. Galloway said that it’s very important to listen to survivors and their families and caregivers. “What they provide are different, innovative experiences,” he explained. “A blind person can talk about a regular day for them and you will be riveted because it’s such a different experience than the one that you have every day. To you its new, its innovative.” Corey will come up with new recipes and think of things in an innovative way because of her injuries. There’s something to be learned from that. The work that is being done on the University of Delaware’s STAR campus is having a wide impact. The research that is being done today will help those with
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mobility issues in the future. Each new piece of information represents a step forward. There are now more than 60 GoBabyGo chapters all around the world. Some of the chapters focus on building GoBabyGo cars for children. There are also FIRST Robotics teams networking together on the effort. Other chapters focus on organizing workshops to spread the word about the GoBabyGo programs. Marymount University, the University of Central Florida, the University of North Florida, and Oregon State, among others, are tapping into and furthering the work of the GoBabyGo program. GoBabyGo has even established a relationship with Fisher-Price, the large toy company that makes some of the cars and vehicles that are modified to suit children with special needs. “They are very supportive of what we do,” Galloway said, explaining that one of the GoBabyGo cars, a purple Jeep, is on display at the Smithsonian Institution American History Museum’s Spark Lab. With each new university or business or person who
natural progression of the gets involved, there is GoBabyGo program, and increased hope for people the team is hard at work like Corey and Reston. developing the concept. “It’s a movement,” Galloway is planning to Galloway said. utilize several houses in Galloway is the recipient a row that will allow the of the American Physical traumatic brain injury surTherapy Association’s 2017 vivors with moderate to John P. Maley Award. But, severe mobility challengof course, when your daily es to have an even more work involves improving immersive experience. the lives of traumatic brain They can spend time there injury survivors or children helping each other handle with mobility issues, it’s all the daily chores that are not ever about awards. It’s GoBabyGo program offers innovative ways to help traumatic brain a part of life. about helping to make a The injury survivors recover. The goal will be to work difference. closely with each person “It’s not about me,” Galloway said. “There’s a need, and there’s a community and help identify and remove the barriers that are holding them back. that’s willing to work.” Continued on Page 26 Galloway considers the mobility village to be the next
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Cole Galloway Continued from Page 25
“For the first time, they will have to start deciding a million different things on their own,” Galloway explained. Outcomes won’t be measured only in the number of steps in a day or by a score on a cognitive test, but will also include the number of meaningful events that a survivor has experienced such as how many party invitations or new friends were made in the last year. The survivors won’t be patients, but lifelong learners—like the rest of us. Undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty from various disciplines could help in the mobility village, providing a unique learning experience for University of Delaware students. “This is, I really think this is, what the future of classrooms will look like,” Galloway said. Galloway views the mobility village as a way to connect the STAR campus operations to the rest of the University of Delaware campus. Devina S. Kumar, MS, PT is a PhD graduate student at the University of Delaware. She serves as the co-principal investigator of the GoBabyGo Cafe and harness house research projects, and she believes that both are producing results that will be useful to families around the world. “We hope our research is able to change more lives,” Kumar explained. “The Go Baby Go Café is a great opportunity for someone to explore a new rehabilitation model that we think can bring changes across physical, social and cognitive domains. The harness house can make someone more functionally independent in their own house. Now, with the harness, [traumatic brain injury survivors] have the opportunity to move about the house like they did before the injury.” She talked about the experience of having Galloway as a mentor and adviser. “Working with Cole has made me realize the importance and mobility and independence,” Kumar said. “He is community driven and very passionate about making a difference in people’s lives across the globe through GoBabyGo! Lastly, as an adviser, he has always guided me to not only think outside the box, but never lose sight of the fact that traumatic brain injury survivors’ families are an integral part our research and their voice matters.” Alan Turns said that his son, Reston, has benefitted greatly from working in the cafe and being one of the people to have the harness system installed in their home to help with the various rehabilitative 26
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therapies. The Turns family is thankful to have access to the University of Delaware’s STAR campus, and the GoBabyGo program. “For our family, having STAR Campus has been a godsend,” Alan Turns said. “We waited until September to begin the GO Baby Go cafe study. That was a two-month study and Reston continues to volunteer there two days a week. We have since installed a 13-foot-by- 20-foot harness in our house and are currently participating in the six-month Harness House study. We have met so many wonderful people through STAR, and one in particular is graduate student Kate Bailey, who is using a pilates workout to help strengthen Reston’s core and reduce his Ataxia. Reston also receives his speech therapy at STAR.” Marie Beattie, who worked tirelessly to get Corey the necessary therapy after the accident, said that Galloway’s work has been invaluable. “The University of Delaware’s support of Dr. Galloway and his visionary approach is what traumatic brain injury survivors and their families need,” Marie said. “Dr. Galloway’s tireless efforts to think out of the box and think beyond the clinical environment of physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy to living life in a real world environment is what we all seek—injury or not. The GoBabyGo Cafe and Harness House have given Corey a chance to participate in this enriched environment. The harness may be the assisted device helping Corey’s progress, but what’s happening under the harness is what’s important. She has improved because she is now participating in living her life, she is no longer an observer of life. That is the most valuable gift every person deserves.” Encouraged by the successes of the cafe and the harness house, Galloway can’t wait to see the results of the mobility village. “It’s going to take a bit of time, but within a year the results will be amazing,” Galloway said. “I think the mobility village will be a beacon.” For Galloway, the entire experience offers him a chance to extend his research as he grows personally and professionally. He learns, and he gets to help. And he gets to share the results of the research with others so that even more people can be helped. Galloway said, “This is a journey I really want to take with my colleagues, my friends, my extended family. They have a lot to teach us. It’s not my vision. It’s never been my vision. It’s theirs. They deserve a shot. Let’s go!” To contact Staff Writer Steven Hoffman, email editor@ chestercounty.com.
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—————|Newark Arts|—————
Singing for God
All photos Courtesy of Vision A Cappella unless otherwise noted
Vision A Cappella performs Christian songs along with mainstream music with a positive message.
Vision A Cappella is the University of Delaware’s Christian a cappella group Lisa Fieldman Staff Writer
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n recent years, a cappella music has seen a resurgence. Movies such as “Pitch Perfect,” TV shows “Glee” and “The Sing-Off” have created enthusiasm for this singing style that blends voices in intricate harmonies. The term a cappella roughly translates to “in the style of the chapel” and refers to singing without instrumentation. Gregorian chants are considered the first form of a cappella singing. Close-harmony groups such as barbershop quartets and the Sweet Adelines have been around since the early 1900s. Everyone is familiar with doo-wop of the 1950s. The University of Delaware lists nine a cappella clubs
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among its student organizations. Vision A Cappella is one of those groups, but distinguishes itself in one important way. They are the only Christian a cappella group on campus. Like the other clubs, they are totally student-run. They perform Christian songs, but they also sing mainstream tunes with a positive message. As Vision president Sam McCluskey put it, “We were founded to be a ministry on campus and show the light and love of Christ. We do this by singing positive songs that are Biblically aligned. Recently, we performed songs by the Beatles, Jason Mraz and Rascal Flatts. Our members are from a variety of denominations, and at all different stages of their walks with Christ.” Kai Inguito is a junior who has been singing tenor
with Vision for two years. He is studying economics with a minor in biology, and hopes to work in the health policy field. Between school and volunteer work at Newark United Methodist Church, he finds the time to put in seven hours a week of practice with the group. And he admits that “Pitch Perfect” piqued his interest in a cappella music. Inguito started singing in first grade at Holy Angels School, and continued singing throughout high school as a member of the Delaware All State Chorus. He knew he wanted to sing in college, but wanted something different. He looked at the club offerings and found Vision. “I didn’t honestly know what to expect, but I saw a YouTube video of them singing ‘Never Gonna Let You Down’ and fell in love with their voices and their presence,” he said. Inguito was not specifically looking to join a Christian group. “Sophomore year of college is when I really started to develop in my faith,” he said. “We don’t just perform in church -- we do a lot campus gigs,” he said. He’s had people approach him to share that Vision’s singing has helped them deal with the stress of everyday life. He likes the idea that he can help others through singing. “Ultimately that is what my faith is founded in -not necessarily quoting the bible, but bringing light to people,” he said. Vision’s weekly practice schedule incorporates an hour of Bible study on Thursdays, and an hour
Rachel Kraft says, ‘Singing is so expressive -- I get a lot of joy from singing with the group.’
Katie Corbino enjoys singing upbeat songs with a good message.
Kai Inguito treasures the sense of community he has found in the group. Photo courtesy of Olivia Forney
Olivia Forney said, ‘We are very invested in each other’s lives because we have the connection of our faith.’
of praise and prayers on Sundays. Rachel Kraft, a senior computer science major, is the group’s spiritual adviser. She said the adviser role is really what you make of it. She leads the Bible studies, arranges prayer partners and prays for the group. She also tries to make herself available to her fellow members if they need to talk or just need someone to listen. “I could talk about Vision forever,” she said. “‘Family’ is the word we always go to, but that’s what it feels like. We are friends in and outside of the group.” To her, having a prayer partner deepens her connection to the group. “We encourage prayer partners to meet and get to know each other on a more personal level,” she said. “You learn what makes a person laugh. You learn what they are struggling with, and you can share the things you struggle with in your life.” Kraft said she benefits from the Bible study. She leads the bible study with a lesson plan in mind, but sometimes a question will pop up and lead to a different discussion or a sharing of ideas. “Other members ask things that you would not think to ask,” she said. “With people of different faiths in the group, you get different perspectives.” Kraft was in ROTC her first year at Delaware, and was expecting to spend four years in the military after graduation. “I grew up in a military family, so I respect it a lot,” she said, “but then I realized I wanted a different path.” This change in plan gave her the opportunity to join a club like Vision. She said she doesn’t come from a particularly musical family. “No one else in my family likes to sing as much as I do; I sing all the time,” she said, laughing. “My father says it’s very quiet when I’m gone. It’s his way of saying I sing too much!” Continued on Page 30
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A Cappela Continued from Page 29
For Katie Corbino, the fact that Vision was a Christian group was definitely an incentive for her to join. “I’m very deep within my faith, so I thought Vision was perfect,” she said. “Being part of the group has given me so many friends who have the same values and mindset.” A freshman at the university, Corbino explained that coming to college can be a time where you feel lost, and you may find yourself in situations where your faith is tested. “This year I have seen my faith change immensely because of Vision,” she said. Corbino grew up in the Wilmington area, and has a background in chorus and musical theater. Coming to the University of Delaware, she knew she wanted to sing a cappella. “I thought, ‘Where can I go to find people who are like me, who are super cool and also super into their faith?’” she said. The group’s Christian focus made Vision very appealing. When not singing, Corbino is studying elementary education, and also serves as the business manager for Vision. “I make flyers, run the social media sites like
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Vision A Cappella was joined by alumni at their fall concert.
Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and I publicize auditions and our concerts,” she said. “It’s great; I just love it so much. There’s a lot of time commitment to it, but you get out what you put into it, and it’s changed my life.” Continued on Page 32
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Vision A Cappella recently performed at a fundraiser for Autism Speaks on campus. They were also invited to sing at Greenhill Presbyterian Church. Though most of their gigs are on campus, the singers enjoy sharing their voices and their message out in the community. “Church gigs are the best because we sing first, then we all go to the same service,” said Kraft. Coming up in May is the much-anticipated DELAC event that showcases all of the University’s a cappella groups. The proceeds from the event are donated to charity. This year’s theme is “TV Guide,” with each singing group interpreting a different channel. Vision will represent the Weather Channel. The show is a sellout each year and tickets go fast. Freshman Olivia Forney has been singing with Vision since the fall, and this spring was asked to become the group’s musical director. She is the only music major in the group, which makes her uniquely qualified for the position. “I’m a music major so it’s kind of all I do,” Forney said. “I started singing in elementary school and have never really stopped. I did All County Chorus, All
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State Choir, and have a background in musical theater.” She also plays piano and guitar. Though she auditioned for other a cappella groups, she said she felt drawn to the members of Vision. “They are very cool people. I look forward to going to rehearsals because we’re like family,” she said. Forney explained that music takes up 20 of the 24 hours of her day, so she really likes that she can incorporate her music into her faith. “It’s kind of a cathartic experience for me. They are my friends and I love singing with them,” she said. As music director, Forney runs the rehearsals, warms everyone up, decides what they will practice, and does a lot of arranging. She also weighs in on music selection, though the group as a whole has say. “Each semester we decide who is going to sing a solo,” she said. The soloist is then responsible for choosing and arranging the song. “They can come to me and say, ‘Hey, I need you to arrange for me,’” she explained. “A couple of our members are very good at it, too.”
Inguito recently arranged his first song, a mash-up of three tunes by the Christian rock band Citizens and Saints. “I didn’t think I could do it a year ago, but I really wanted to experiment with my musical talent,” he said. Forney makes herself available to collaborate with the group, guiding them through the arranging process. “Having a background in music and having knowledge of music theory helps,” she said. “It’s quite a process, but very satisfying and fun for me.” When people come to auditions, the group is very upfront that Bible study and prayer are a part of their practice schedule. “It’s kind of hard,” Kraft said. “It is a very specific person who is looking for a Christian group and a singing group. But it’s worth the trade-off, getting to have those conversations with people. It can be limiting, but God has always come through.” Forney said that sometimes there is a stigma about Christianity. “I think it’s hard for some people to grasp that we are a Christian group. They may think, ‘I’m not Christian, so I can’t have anything to do with that.’ But
Vision A Cappella dresses up for a skit.
we are welcoming to everyone. When I found there was a Christian a cappella group on campus, I thought, ‘Cool! I’d like to put a little Jesus in my singing!’” For more information, visit Vision A Cappella on Facebook. You can also follow the group on Instagram and Twitter.
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Camp & Education Guide Art First
Delaware Aerospace Academy
This is the Summer Developmental Program of Art First, Inc., for ages 4-14. It is an all-encompassing exploration of the arts, involving mind, senses and spirit. Art First, Inc. is committed to the high quality of materials and teaching abilities offered. The staff has a broad spectrum of experience and talent and will open worlds for our community’s children with their fresh perspectives as dedicated artists and educators. Call 302-239-3544 for email diane@artfirst.com
Children in grades 1 to 10 can take summer camps focusing on science and technology, engineering, mathematics and space exploration, with a variety of packages available at Newark or Smyrna, Del., locations. Call 302-834-1978 or visit www.dasef.org.
Barbizon Summer Camps available. June 19-30 Fashion Design Camp and other summer sessions going on all summer. Let your child experience the summer of a lifetime. Contact 302-658-6666 or email info@barbizonchique.com
Camp Arrowhead Summer camps are offered in five sessions for grades 2 to 11 from June 25 to Aug. 12 at a wooded site on the Rehoboth Bay. Day and overnight camps are offered. Call 302-945-0610 or visit www.camparrowhead.net.
Cecil College Summer camps are offered this summer for ages 6 to 8, 9 to 12, and 13 to 17, with outdoor activities and exploration of career pathways. Call 410-392-3366, ext. 628, or visit www.cecil.edu/youth.
Centreville Layton School Summer Program 6201 Kennett Pike, Centreville, Del. A summer program is offered for youngsters in June and July, for pre-K to eighth grade, and middle and high school students. Call 302-571-0270 or visit www.centrevillelayton. org.
Choir School Presenting a “Harry Potter” themed summer camp for ages 6-12, June 26 to July 28, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday thru Friday. The Choir School’s five-week Summer Camp is offered for children ages 6-12 (entering 1st grade through completing 6th grade).The objective of our camp is to provide reading, math and music instruction that will allow students to maintain and/or advance their skills over the summer. Campers have four class rotations every week, and these classes are fun and enjoyable for the kids, rather than feeling like school during summer break. Call 302-543-8657 ext. 4, or email camp@ccsde.org.
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Delaware Museum of Natural History 4840 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, Del. Thirty two summer camps are offered for ages 2 to 12, exploring the natural world. Call 302-658-9111 or visit www.delmnh.org.
Fairwinds Farm 41 Tailwinds Lane, North East, Md. Horse Camp to learn the basic skills of horsemanship is offered on weekdays this summer. Call 410-658-8187 or visit www.fairwindsstables.com.
Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania Four resident camps and three day camps are open to girls entering grades 1 to 12 this summer, focusing on a wide range of outdoor skills and interests. Visit www.gsep.org/camps.
Hockessin Athletic Club 100 Fitness Way, Hockessin, Del. Summer camps are offered for ages 3 to 12, with swimming, crafts, sports, games and volunteering. Call 302-766-7482 or visit www.hachealthclub.com.
Iron Hill Museum 1355 Old Baltimore Pike Newark Explore Delaware’s natural history, geology, or prehistory and fossil record, learn what archaeology can tell us about people from the past, or discover the world of insects at one of the Iron Hill Museum’s Science Adventure Camps this summer. Call 302-368-5703
St. Annes Episcopal Day Camp At our Day Camp, children make friends of all ages during the morning meet & greet, the all-camp lunch, the camp-wide activities, and at the close of each day. They’ll bond with those in their age-specific groups during morning and afternoon sessions run by our own St. Anne’s faculty. Email mferster@stannesde. org or call 302-378-3179, ext. 358.
St Elizabeth’s
Wilmington Ballet
St. Elizabeth High School is a close-knit Catholic school that follows the Benedictine tradition and offers a rigorous college preparatory curriculum. Located on the southwest edge of the city of Wilmington, the Vikings have hospitality at the core of our values with service, spirituality, and 21st-century skills as our focus. St. Elizabeth’s summer programs are co-educational camps for rising Pre-K through 8th graders. Our programs are run by experienced educators and strive to foster learning, creativity, and fun in a safe and caring environment. Call 302-656-3369. St. Elizabeth’s summer programs are coeducational camps for rising Pre-K through 8th graders. Our programs are run by experienced educators and strive to foster learning, creativity, and FUN in a safe and caring environment. Variety of camps.
1709 Gilpin Ave., Wilmington, Del. Founded in 1956, Wilmington Ballet Academy of the Dance is one of the longest surviving ballet schools in the tri-state area and has a history of professional-level instruction to prepare young dancers for wherever their dance aspirations take them. The Academy is dedicated to providing superior classical ballet training to foster discipline, confidence, and poise to students of all ages in the Wilmington area. Summer camps available. Call 302-655-1004 or email info@wilmingtonballet.org.
Sanford School 6900 Lancaster Pike, Hockessin, Del. The school offers day camps for ages 3 to 14, with sports and arts camps for ages 8 to 14, and specialty camps in tennis (June 12-16, 19-23 and 26-30) and Coach Hutch’s Sports Camp (June 12-16, Aug. 14-18, and Aug. 21-25). Visit www.sanfordschool. org.
Tatnall School 1501 Barley Mill Rd., Wilmington, Del. Summer camps are offered from June 19 to Aug. 18 for ages 3 through 12th grade. There are sports camps, an on-site pool, music classes, science and technology classes, dance camps and more. Bus trips to local attractions are available. Call 302-8924347 or visit www.tatnall.org.
Wilmington Friends School A camp for ages preschool to ninth grade has oneweek sessions from June 19 through Aug. 25, with a variety of activities and themes. Call 302-576-2998 or visit www.wilmingtonfriends.org/summercamp.
Wilmington Youth Rowing Association 500 E. Front St., Wilmington, Del. Three camps are offered: “Row For It!” for ages 10 to 14 (June 26-July 13); “Rowing 101” for ages 13 to 18 (June 19-23 and Aug. 14-18); and “Christina Rivber Rangers” for ages 10 to 13, with visits to the DuPont Environmental Education Center in the mornings and rowing lessons in the afternoon (July 17-21 and 24-28).Call 302-777-4533 or visit www.wyra.org.
YMCA Camp Tockwogh An overnight camp on the Chesapeake Bay offers summer camps in one-week or two-week overnight sessions from June 25 to Aug. 18, for children who have completed grades 2 to 9. There is a wide range of camp sites, age groupings and themes. Visit www. ymcacamptockwogh.org. Continued on Page 36 www.newarklifemagazine.com | Spring/Summer 2017 | Newark Life
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A guide to area private schools and colleges
DELAWARE PRIVATE SCHOOLS Archmere Academy 3600 Philadelphia Pike, Claymont, 798-6632, archmereacademy.com Caravel Academy 2801 Del Laws Road, Bear, 834-8938, caravel.org Hockessin Montessori 1000 Old Lancaster Pike, Hockessin, 302-234-1240, thehms.org Independence School 1300 Paper Mill Rd., Newark, 302-239-0332, theindependenceschool.org Layton Preparatory School 6201 Kennett Pike, Centreville, 655-3280, laytonprep.org
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The New School 812 Elkton Road, Newark, 456-9838, thenewschool.com
The Tatnall School 1501 Barley Mill Road, Wilmington, 998-2292, tatnall.org
Red Lion Christian Academy 1390 Red Lion Road, Bear, 834-2526, redlionca.org
Tower Hill School 2813 W. 17th St., Wilmington, 575-0550, towerhill.org
Salesianum School 1801 N. Broom St., Wilmington, 654-2495, salesianum.org
Ursuline Academy 1106 Pennsylvania Ave., Wilmington, 658-7158, ursuline.org
Sanford School 6900 Lancaster Pike, Hockessin, 239-5263, sanfordschool.org St. Andrew’s School 350 Noxontown Road, Middletown, 378-9511, standrews-de.org
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Wilmington Christian School 825 Loveville Road, Hockessin, 239-2121, wilmingtonchristian.org Wilmington Friends School 101 School Road, Wilmington, 576-2900, wilmingtonfriends.org
DIOCESE OF WILMINGTON Padua Academy 905 N. Broom St., Wilmington, 421-3739, paduaacademy.org St. Elizabeth High School 1500 Cedar St., Wilmington, 656-3369, sehs.org St. Mark’s High School 2501 Pike Creek Road, Wilmington, 738-3300, stmarkshs.net
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES Delaware College of Art and Design 600 N. Market St., Wilmington, 622-8000, dcad.edu
Delaware State University 3931 Kirkwood Hwy., Wilmington, 254-5340, desu.edu
Springfield College 1007 Orange St., Wilmington, 658-5720, springfieldcollege.edu
Delaware Technical Community College 400 Stanton-Christiana Road, Newark, 454-3900; 333 Shipley St., Wilmington, 571-5300, dtcc.edu
University of Delaware Main Campus in Newark; Wilmington Campus, 831-2792, udel.edu
Goldey-Beacom College 4701 Limestone Road, Wilmington, 998-8814, gbc.edu Neumann University One Neumann Drive, Aston, Pa. 19014-1298, 610-558-5616 or 800-9-NEUMANN, www.neumann.edu/visit
Widener University School of Law 4601 Concord Pike, Wilmington, 477-2100, law.widener.edu Wilmington University 320 Dupont Hwy., New Castle, 356-4636; 31 Reads Way, New Castle, 655-5400; 3411 Silverside Road, Wilmington, 877-967-5464; 651 N. Broad St., Middletown, 877-967-5464; Continued on Page 38
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Self-Confidence, poise, etiquette, FUN... that’s Barbizon! Barbizon Modeling & Talent Agency provides first-class service to people of all ages. Our full-service agency has been the best in the area for decades. Barbizon models and talent can be seen throughout the world on the runway, in magazines, on TV and in movies! We represent models and talent form Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and New Jersey, not only at our location in Wilmington, but also in Philadelphia. In international modeling competitions in both New York and L.A., Barbizon has won many top awards. Barbizon is where you can make your dreams come true! Our training prepares you for all of the challenges life has to offer, while letting you explore the exciting world of modeling and acting. We give models all the poise, self-confidence, and self-esteem needed to go out into the
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industry or any job field. The Barbizon experience is about discovering what makes you special and developing your one-of-a-kind star quality for the whole world to see. Fashion Design Camp June 19-30, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Join us for a fun-filled and exciting two-week journey into modeling and acting. Campers will create their own fashion designs and show them off on our red carpet. In addition, campers will learn poise and etiquette, growing their self-confidence. An unforgettable, stylish way for your child to spend the summer! Summer Sessions Saturdays all summer (rolling admission). Summer session evening program (please call for update). Have your child experience the summer of a lifetime. Join us for all of the fun of modeling, acting, and fashion design. Through our summer sessions, your child will learn poise and etiquette, growing their self-confidence. Photo poising will lead the way to a fabulous photo shoot at Barbizon!
High-quality programming from Wilmington Friends Summer Camp Wilmington Friends Summer Camp provides a wealth of high-quality programming for campers who are at least age 3 through those who are entering ninth grade. Mighty Munchkins is a full-day program combining exciting, weekly, theme-based preschool activities along with off-campus field trips to local attractions. With a low camper to staff ratio, our preschoolers get plenty of attention as they run through sprinklers on our wet-and-wild water days on campus or play at the Can Do Playground. Teachers take a thematic approach to activities each week as campers dabble in arts and crafts, gym, music/movement, and storytelling. Too old for naps? Not ready for ice skating? We’ve got a camp that’s just right. Tailored especially for campers in kindergarten and first grade, mornings will be spent in age appropriate activities for Art, Physical Education, and the weekly special (music, cooking, science, etc.), while afternoons and field trips will address our kindergarten and first grade sensibilities. Big Kids camp is for students entering 2nd through 5th grade. Themed morning sessions include an activity presented to support the growing minds of our campers and will engage the creativity and curiosity within each child. Morning sessions also include Art and Physical Education. Other activities include ice skating, swimming and bowling. Middle school camp is for students entering 5th through 9th grade, and offers both Base and Theme camps. Base Camp is designed as a foundation to build long-lasting camp memories. A rotating schedule of weekly activities includes active games, free art project time, video time, gardening, board games, hiking, fishing and access to our gyms and game room. Each week, campers will enjoy one of the many field trips, and will have the option to cool off at Valleybrook Swim Club. We are one of the few camps in the area that offers camp from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. (Before/after care from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., and 4:30 to 6 p.m. for an additional fee.) Check out www.wilmingtonfriends.org for more information or contact camp director Carlos Charriez at ccharriez@wilmingtonfriends.org. Continued on Page 40 www.newarklifemagazine.com | Spring/Summer 2017 | Newark Life
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‘Seussical’ at UD “Seussical,” based on the works of Dr. Seuss, comes to life on stage this summer during the University of Delaware Community Music School’s Musical Theatre Camp (MTC) production, complete with your favorite characters and zany stories from the classic tales. Director Tina Sheing says “Seussical” was an obvious choice for the camp because it “offers many opportunities to feature different students in roles. It’s familiar but also expands on the stories, and well, it’s a whole lot of fun!” MTC began last summer with a wildly successful production of “Cats.” “I met and made friends with a lot of amazing people, and it was really cool to participate in a big production done with just kids – and we still made it awesome,” says 2016 camper Evangeline Heflin. This year’s camp promises to be just as amazing. Not everyone desires a place in the spotlight, and MTC offers four camps in one: On Stage, Backstage, Pit Orchestra and Run Crew – plus free weekend workshops in set design and construction, designed to give even teenagers with summer jobs a chance to participate. Sheing explains that this is what sets the CMS camp apart from other opportunities. “It’s well-rounded,” she says. “Our camp provides a glimpse into all aspects of creating live art -- costumes, makeup, props, set pieces, pit orchestra and crew -- in addition to performance opportunities. It is all created by the campers themselves.” Area professionals, such as Sheing, run MTC along with interns from the Department of Music, many of whom are future music teachers. This arrangement allows all ages to work together and learn from each other, as the veterans pass along their experience and love for the arts, and students young and old bring their enthusiasm and energy to the camp. Musical Theatre Camp runs through the month of July. Visit www.music.ude.edu/cms for full information, including specific dates and age ranges for each camp and other summer programs offered by CMS. Continued on Page 42 40
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‘Every Child is an Artist’ at Art First, Inc. Pablo Picasso once said that “every child is an artist.” Let your child (ages 4 to 14) be inspired by faerie houses, magical worlds, whimsical animals and vibrant collages. Younger artists (ages 4 to 7) will become pee-wee pirates, paint masterpieces with tricycles, design colorful monster pillows, go on an adventure with Pooh and play with mermaid slime. Older artists (ages 8 to 14) will create original jewelry in star-studded hues, sculpt a rolling monster, paint wacky fish brimming with color, discover the magic of alcohol inks, and transform a gourd into a vibrant paisley chicken. While having fun, they will create amazing artwork using high-quality materials. Classes run for one week. Children may attend morning classes (9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.), afternoon classes (12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.), or stay for both sessions and take two different classes. Classes for older children on most weeks are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. If needed, extended care is available (7:30 to 5:30). Art First has been in business since 2004. Children are encouraged to be independent and to develop skills that foster a positive self-image. Our philosophy is to foster a love of learning and provide a fun and creative investigation of art in a caring atmosphere. Camp starts June 12. Reserve your spot now! Class schedules and descriptions, registration information, pictures, information for parents, and teacher profiles are available online. Art First, Inc. is located at 728 Yorklyn Road, Hockessin, Del. 19707. For more information, call 302-239-3544 or visit artfirstinc.com. Continued on Page 44
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Summer Art Camp at Delaware Art Museum Art is fun at the Delaware Art Museum! Young artists, divided into two age groups, explore drawing, painting, ceramics and more in the Bank of America Education Wing Studio and throughout the museum’s galleries and Copeland Sculpture Garden. Camp is full-day, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Each session ends with a camper art show for family and friends. The museum also offers grants for Summer Art Camp through the Red Apple Fund for Student Enrichment. Full funding for tuition will be awarded to those who receive a Summer Art Camp Grant. For more information, call 302-351-8551 or email redapple@delart. org. SESSION 1: THE ARTIST’S TOOLBOX (June 12 to 23) Campers will look at and create artwork exploring the process of art-making. Fun and exciting class projects include colorful printmaking and imaginative clay sculpture.
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SESSION 2: ANIMAL TALES (June 26 to July 7, no camp July 4) Come on an adventure and explore animals in some of the Museum’s most beloved artwork. Be inspired by animals, both real and imagined with projects that include ceramic figures, cut paper designs, and roaring masks. SESSION 3: SCULPTURE (July 10 to 21) Carving, building, forming and sculpting is the theme of this session! Campers will spend time in the Copeland Sculpture Garden and inside the Museum finding inspiration in a variety of three-dimensional artworks, including the special outdoor installation Craig Colorusso: Sound+Light. SESSION 4: CARTOONS (July 24 to Aug. 4) Find a passion for drawing stories! Campers will explore the Museum’s one-of-a-kind illustration collection to inspire creative artwork full of imagination. Projects will include illustrating colorful cartoons and making 3D characters in clay.
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———————|Newark Arts |———————
Porcelain with character Since the 1970s, Peter Saenger has created tableware and artworks that people love By John Chambless Staff Writer
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n Peter Saenger’s world, teapots lovingly drape themselves over their cups, salt and pepper shakers lean into each other and vases do a stylish tango, creating a signature style that has carried Saenger through some 40 years as an artist.
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To reach Saenger’s home off of Paper Mill Road in Newark, you choose an unlikely looking lane, then follow it until it looks like a dead end, then go right. His home, perched on a wooded hillside with a spectacular view of the White Clay valley, is tucked into the terrain in much the same way his cups nuzzle each other like contented puppies. Sitting
in his ground-floor studio and exhibition space, Saenger was surrounded by his instantly recognizable pots, vases and cups, as well as some one-of-a-kind pieces that signal a dazzling new direction in his longstanding career. “I was very fortunate in the timing of when I started. I was the first one in my family to graduate from college,” he said. “I did it in pottery – my poor parents,” he added, laughing. “They were very supportive that I should do what made me happy, but they didn’t know how I would make a living. This was also the ‘Do your own thing’ era, luckily, and the general culture embraced me. I did reduction-fired stoneware – hanging planters, mugs and plates and stuff.” From his start in the 1970s, Saenger gradually developed tableware that goes well beyond functionality into the realm of sculpture. Sitting in countless craft fair booths over the years, Saenger saw which pieces drew the most attention, and when he gained the ability to cast his pieces instead of creating them on a potter’s wheel, his horizons expanded immensely. “You can’t throw the things I cast,” he said. “When I started casting, that’s when I developed my look.” At one time employing several people to handle the production of his functional ceramics (“we were just jamming stuff,” he said), Saenger has now stepped back from the grind of turning out the same cups over and over again, and “this is year two of not loading the van and doing craft shows,” he said. “I kind of
Photo by John Chambless
Peter Saenger in the display area of his home studio in Newark.
describe myself as being selfunder-employed at this stage.” He has plenty of inventory on hand that he sells through his website, and he hears from people who have owned his work for years when they write, desperate to replace a broken cup or pot
that they have come to love. That kind of connection with his work is gratifying, Saenger said, but the chance to cast both functional pieces and his own artistic statements is opening a new avenue for him. “I’m not Continued on Page 48
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Saenger Continued from Page 47
distracted by doing production work, so the kiln can be filled with two kinds of work – some production pieces and some onesies in there,” he said. “I get curious. What happens when I try this? And away I go. That’s the driving force.” There’s a unifying style in Saenger’s ceramics – a friendly, warm spirit that people have tried to put into words. “I had a surgeon come by my booth years ago who said, ‘That looks like organs, the way they fit together,’” Saenger noted with a smile. “It’s a fluid shape, it’s shapes responding to each other. There’s an interplay.” People buy his teapot sets even though they never drink tea, Saenger said, because they admire the shapes. “Some people never use them,” he said. “Some people use them for special occasions. When they came by the booth, people would say, ‘clever,’ or ‘inventive.’ The sugar and creamer – the ones that flow into each other – is kind of sexy, and some people would feel it’s a little bit X-rated,” he said, smiling. “So many people have seen my work and smiled,” he said. “I think that’s worth the price. If it puts a smile on your face every day, how can you not want it?” His work came to the attention of the White House through the connection of former Vice President Joe Biden. “One of the fun things I got to do, being a Delawarean, is that the President, Vice President and
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The design of Saenger’s lamp went through several phases as he layered the shade to block just enough light.
Secretary of State, when they travel, they give gifts of state. Seeing as how Joe Biden is a Delawarean, I was among many Delaware artists that were able to have some work Continued on Page 50
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Saenger Continued from Page 48
given away by both the President and the Vice President. That was a wonderful thing. My big hugging vessels were going to be given to somebody by the Obamas, so I was all over the moon about it. Then I got a note that said ‘Peter, we think these are too human, too sexual, so we don’t think we should give them as gifts from a head of state.’ But that’s life in the art world. Unlike the fashion designers, we gift makers can’t make a big deal about this while they’re in office.” Another brush with fame came when a gallery owner Saenger worked with submitted his nuzzling teapot and cup set to the production company making “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” “A friend called me and said, ‘I saw your teapot on TV,’” Saenger recalled, smiling. “I didn’t get credited, but it was used.” Still in production, Captain Picard’s Tea Set has since won him a legion of admirers among “Star Trek” fans that continues to this day. Saenger’s recent explorations of using liquid slip – basically porcelain in pourable form – to create intricately latticed globe shapes is particularly satisfying for him. “I
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try to go for that unconscious energy, and the scribbly lines,” he said. “And it pushes my physical limits because I have to hold the molds and swirl the slip inside at the same time. I layer it for strength and to give me textures that I can accentuate with colors later.” The lacy patterns of the finished pieces are eye-catching and there’s a sleight of hand involved in the spheres, which look like they have been spun out of spider webs. “People ask how long it takes, and I say, ‘40 years.’” Saenger said. “Things roll one into the other. It’s just step by step.” Placing one of the new spheres in the window of his studio revealed ever-changing patterns as the sunlight hit the piece at different angles. There’s a time-lapse video on his website showing how the spheres change appearance at various times of day. As lampshades, the pieces throw fascinating shadows, and the glare of the bulb is dimmed in just the right way. That was a process of trial and error, Saenger said, admitting that his initial shades were too thin and allowed the bulb to glare too brightly. Whether someone buys a set of cups to drink out of, or
to go biking. “I’m a trail rider, and the one of his new sculptural pieces to hang trail riding here is spectacular,” he said. on the wall and admire, Saenger said the “I can go right from my back deck, up reward is the same for him. “One of my to White Clay or over to Middle Run, friends said the work is really not comdownstream or upstream. I just get on plete until someone owns it,” he said. the bike and go.” “And that’s what keeps me going. Of Having been a professional artist for course, it’s great if my latest idea is the so many years, Saenger said he was thing that inspires people.” encouraged by a recent opinion piece in Saenger’s work is created through his The New York Times. “They said people purchase of wind-generated power. “It Even Saenger’s functional pieces, such as are at their most creative when they’re takes lot of power to run the electric this butter dish, have a distinctive look. older. So as an older person, I’m very kilns, so using wind power lets me feel heartened by that idea. I will do this as as clean as possible,” he said. Even his broken pieces or things that don’t work out perfectly are long as I can and have the inspiration and the curiosity. recycled. “Some of my seconds are put in a tub and given Something that inspires you to come down and get to to a mosaic artist I know, Celeste Kelly. She cuts them into work. My insomnia is well used in those times,” he added with a grin. “That’s worked consistently well over the thumbnail-size pieces,” he said. Saenger credits his wife for running the business side years, that feeling of, ‘Aha! Let’s try that!’” For more information, visit www.saengerporcelain.com. of things, as well as helping him finish work when the To contact Staff Writer John Chambless, email jchamborders back up. When he’s not making art, Saenger takes advantage of his proximity to trails along the White Clay less@chestercounty.com.
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—————|Downtown Newark|————— Stay Connected Facebook.com/ DowntownNewarkPartnership Twitter.com/DwntwnNewarkDE Instagram- DwntwnNewarkDE
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Gift Cards A Downtown Newark Gift Card makes the perfect gift for anyone who likes to shop, eat or stroll down Main Street. Shoppers can use the gift card at dozens of participating merchants. Get yours today, in denominations from $10 to $500, at the parking office at 45 East Main Street, at the City of Newark municipal building or at enjoydowntownnewark.com.
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InformMe Citizen Notification System Newark’s Citizen Notification System provides you with the opportunity to select the information you want to receive, and the delivery method(s) through which you want to receive it. With InformMe, not only will you receive emergency alerts, which are mandatory, but you can also select from a list of municipal service, traffic, or community alerts that have one thing in common—they all provide useful information in a timely fashion. Register at Newarkde.gov, or by calling the City of Newark at 302-366-7000.
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Downtown Newark Continued from Page 55
Memorial Day celebration and parade In honor of the men and women who lost their lives in service to our country, the City of Newark will host Memorial Day events on Sunday, May 21. A ceremony, including drills, the presentation of flags, and patriotic music will take place on the University of Delaware Green at 1 p.m., followed by the 82nd annual Memorial Day parade at 2 p.m. The parade kicks-off at South College Avenue and runs up East Main Street to Chapel Street. Marching units representing all service branches, veteran’s organizations, schools, and community organizations participate in the parade.
Health & Wellness Expo June 8th University of Delaware Star Campus On June 8th, The New Castle County Chamber of Commerce will partner with the University of Delaware Star Campus for its 2nd annual ChamberStar Health & Wellness Expo. The event will showcase Chamber member businesses, as well as the practices that are a part of the University’s Star Campus. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an educational health related workshop, sample products, watch and participate in demonstrations, and at the end of the evening, enjoy a Healthy Happy Hour with healthy hors d’oeuvres and wine tastings. Contact 302-737-4343 Vendor space available
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A New Night Downtown Join us for Newark’s premier street festival on Saturday, June 10 from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., as we celebrate the beginning of summer on our Great American Main Street. Stroll from curb to curb, as the street is closed to vehicles and business and community organizations show off their best wares, services and food. Attendees will be serenaded by musical artists scattered throughout the event, and kids will have a blast winning prizes and jumping on the moon bounce in the game area.
Newark Police Department 150th anniversary celebration The men and women of the Newark Police Department invite you to join in celebrating a major milestone. The Newark Police Department 150th Anniversary celebration will be held Saturday, July 17 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the City of Newark municipal building. Guests will have the opportunity to meet officers, tour the facility, watch demonstrations and learn about the rich history of the department.
4th of July Fireworks and Liberty Day Celebrate Independence Day with thousands of your friends and neighbors. The annual event kicks off at the University of Delaware Athletic Complex at 6 p.m., with food, games, craft booths and live entertainment. Stick around after dark for an impressive firework display. Free parking in available in the University of Delaware Athletic Complex lots.
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Food and Brew Out & About Magazine and Downtown Newark Partnership are proud to host what has become a summer tradition: the 14th Annual Downtown Newark Food and Brew Festival on Saturday, July 22, from noon to 5 p.m. The event showcases more than 40 craft and imported beers paired with creative food offerings from more than a dozen of Newark’s restaurants. Unlike most beer festivals, this event takes place in the restaurants. Participants travel from restaurant to restaurant to sample the featured brews and tasty dishes designed to spotlight the brews at that establishment. Tickets are not required. This is a pay-as-you-go event.
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Fall Festival The City of Newark’s Parks and Recreation Department, in cooperation with the University of Delaware, Christina School District, and the Downtown Newark Partnership present the area’s premier fall festival on Sunday, September 17. This exciting event features fun for the entire family. Date: Sunday, September 17, 2017 (Rain date: September 24)
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Time: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Location: University of Delaware Green from Memorial Hall to Main Street, Main Street
Taste of Newark Date: Sunday, September 24, 2017 - Time: noon - 3 p.m. e Location: Old College Lawn (Rain location: Clayton Hall) Tast Founded by former Mayor Vance Funk, and now co-chaired by Mr. Funk, Mayor Polly Sierer, and Dr. Sheryl Kline, Chair of the University of Delaware’s Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management Department, Taste of Newark is the ultimate foodie event in Newark! Guests enjoy the culinary delights of nearly 50 Newark restaurants accompanied by the finest area wine distributors on the picturesque Old College Lawn. Celebrity cooking demonstrations provide phenomenal entertainment as guests’ palates are tempted by the ultimate variety of foods from around the world, all in the idyllic setting of the Old College Lawn, with live music in the background. We hope to see you there! Proceeds from the event benefit the Downtown Newark Partnership and University of Delaware Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management program
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Fall Flea Market It’s time to clean out your garage, attic or basement and join other flea marketers for the City of Newark, Parks and Recreation Department’s Annual Fall Flea Market. This event is not only fun but also profitable and can be a great time for the whole family! If you do not have anything to sell, don’t worry, because there will be a large assortment of new and used items available for purchase at hard to beat prices. The Fall Flea Market will be held on Saturday, Oct. 7 from 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. inside and outside of the George Wilson Center. Registration fee is $27 and the Newark resident discount fee is $19.
For more information, please contact the Recreation Office at 302-366-7000 or visit www.cityofnewarkde.us/play to register online.
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——————|Around Newark|——————
The ripple that’s about to open a playground
Courtesy art
Preston’s Playground will be constructed at the Newark Reservoir off Paper Mill Road.
Nic DeCaire of Fusion Fitness and Deb Buenaga of Preston’s March for Energy had an idea to create an adaptive playground in Newark. Soon, Preston’s Playground will open the doors for acceptance and inclusion By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
The 8,400-square-foot site will serve as an inclusive playground for all children.
To date, $500,000 has been raised through private and public donations, in order to reach the $600,000 price tag. 60
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here is a sizable plot of land, located off Paper Mill Road in Newark, that patiently waits to become an inclusive, 8,400-squarefoot playground, where able-bodied children will be able to play side by side with children with disabilities, and where attention will be given not to differences, but to the quiet truth that everyone who will go there is all one. Preston’s Playground, launched last year through a collaboration between Fusion Fitness, Preston’s March for Energy, the City of Newark and hundreds of contributors, is about to fill up that square footage with a beautifully designed labyrinth of slides, swings and other equipment that every child will be able to play on. To date, nearly
$500,000 has been raised toward the $600,000 price tag, and the playground – which was designed by Tennessee-based PlayCore -- is expected to break ground this year. That in itself is enough of a story, and it would not be a violation of any rules of essential journalism to place a definitive period at the end of the second paragraph and move on, and yet, its narrative is not found in design but in passions. It is found in unraveling the complicated means by which people come together with no other agenda than to even up the playing field of humanity. This is the story of how a guy with a gym came to know a mother and her son, and how a playground came to be. This is a story about the power of inclusion. Preston Buenaga is a junior at Concord High School in Wilmington. He approaches his life with a ready smile and a sharp sense of humor. He lives with a mitochondrial disorder, which affects his physical, developmental, and cognitive abilities and his muscle tone. He is confined to a wheelchair.
Courtesy photo
Preston Buenaga and his mother, Deb.
Continued on Page 62
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Preston’s Playground Continued from Page 61
Preston is also a long-distance competitor; through the use of an adaptive running chair he sits in, he has been pushed along by his mother, Deb, at two marathons and several 5K and 10Ks. Preston and Deb have run in snow, in sleet, in hailstorms and in sandstorms, in Delaware, Virginia, Connecticut and other states. When Preston Buenaga is seated in that bike with his mother behind him, he feels immeasurably in the world, front and center with the wind in his face and swept up in competition. It is a temporary diversion, however; throughout his life, he has sat in his wheelchair at playgrounds with his mother near him, confined to the outer reaches, looking in. Deb would not have it; she arranged games with the other kids that would include her son. Get Preston in this game, she would say. Let Preston play with you. They did. Continued on Page 64
Photo by Richard L. Gaw
Fusion Fitness owner Nic DeCaire, with one of the adaptive running chairs that he and his business partner, Steve Sinko, provide at races.
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Preston’s Playground Continued from Page 62
“The other parents sit and watch their kids, and usually, I’m the only parent up there playing with them,” Deb said. “A lot of parents used to tell their kids not to play with Preston, but the kids were so interested in him and what he was able to do. “It’s not the kids who are afraid. Its the adults. Kids don’t care if you have five eyes or two eyes. They just want to be able to play, on the same levels.” When Nic DeCaire began Fusion Fitness in Newark, he did so with the understanding that his business would represent more than just a place to work out. He envisioned a concept that would immerse Fusion into the fabric of the Newark community, with out-of-the-box plans for raising money for organizations and causes. He formed the Main Street Mile, which has to date raised
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$150,000 for the Newark police Department’s K-9 unit. Several years later, DeCaire received an email from a father asking if his son, Andrew, could participate in the Main Street Mile. Andrew, the father wrote, lived with a severe form of spina bifida. As a result, the father wrote, Andrew participated in races through the use of a handcranked bicycle, but several race directors barred him from competing. He was a liability, they told him. Of course , DeCaire said. This is an inclusive race. Anyone could participate. “Andrew was all smiles, ear to ear, and I watched people react to him being a part of the race,” DeCaire said. “I watched him cross the finish line, and it was a great moment. I turned to someone next to me and asked, ‘Where did this bike come from and how can we buy one for someone else?’” The bike was purchased for Andrew through a foundation called Preston’s March for Energy, run by Deb Buenaga. It raises money to get specialized bikes into the hands of families who have children with physical limitations. Each bike costs between $1,800 and $2,400. It was time for DeCaire and his staff and members to help raise money to buy more bikes. Fusion Fitness organized Fusion for a Cause, a fitness challenge, and dedicated all proceeds from the event to Preston’s March for Energy. After four weeks, Fusion for a Cause raised $7,200, and purchased four more bikes. Over the course of that year, Fusion for a Cause continued to raise funding that purchased 15 more bikes. In July 2015, Fusion kicked off the Fusion Inclusion Means Everyone 5K, the proceeds of which went to raise money to help pay for educating children with disabilities how to better participate in physical education classes in schools. More than 250 competitors participated. The excitement from the race led to a second Inclusion Race in October 2015. “I was having coffee with Deb, just thinking about where we should dedicate the proceeds of the October race to, when I turned to her and said, ‘Maybe we should build an adaptive playground,’” DeCaire said. “I was joking, but I was Continued on Page 66
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Preston’s Playground Continued from Page 65
also serious at the same time. Delaware does not have a good adaptive playground, that provides easy accessibility for someone with a handicap. We wanted to build something that Delaware had not seen yet.” DeCaire pitched the concept to the City of Newark, and immediately, it signed on. Joe Spadafino, the head of Park & Recreation, helped DeCaire find a location, secure the property, find grants and establish permits for building. Newark Mayor Polly Sierer single-handedly raised more than $10,000 for the playground. The Newark Charter School raised $7,000, and a local University of Delaware sorority raised another $6,000. The playground will be 6,000 square feet, but will include 8,400 square feet of rubberized surface material and three accessible entrances for kids with wheelchairs, braces or other mobility issues. There will be safe, adaptive equipment for all abilities. A bright sun shade will cover the park to protect children from the sun and make for a cooler environment in the summer.
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For DeCaire, giving back is in his family’s DNA. His father, Xavier, has been involved with the Delawarebased Operation Smile Foundation, which raises funds to pay for surgeries for children in Bolivia and Ecuador. This led to the DeCaires forming a second fundraising effort – called Kids With Confidence – which raises funding to help pay for surgeries for local children whose families can’t afford them. That DNA has been passed to a new generation of DeCaires. His 7-year-old daughter, Josephine, wants to sell cookies to raise money for the playground. Recently, she reached out her hand to her father. In it was 11 cents. She wanted her father to donate the money to Preston’s Playground. “There are two type of people who can help out – those who can do financially and then people who can help bring time and resources and people together,” DeCaire said. “I do have time and I do have resources. Some people have the gift of being able to pull people together. For some reason, I have that gift, so why not use it?”
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DeCaire calls the formation of what will become Preston’s Playground “the Ripple Effect.” “You toss the stone and you watch the ripple keep going. The ripple effect for the playground began with the Main Street Mile, where we met Andrew. Andrew led to Deb. Deb led to the bikes. The bikes led to a race. The race led to the playground.” There’s another new ripple in the water. Fusion Inclusion, a nonprofit organization begun by DeCaire and Fusion Fitness trainer Steve Sinko, brings adaptive running chairs to races throughout the Delaware community. DeCaire has spoken with Cole Galloway of the University of Delaware’s Star Campus’ Go-Baby-Go Program, which helps provide individuals with disabilities the technology that allows them to better function. Galloway has expressed interest in using the playground for testing, fitness and rehabilitation. “Nic DeCaire and Deb Buenaga did not build this playground,” DeCaire said. “This will be a community-built playground. I want to be able to able to walk to that
playground with my daughters, Josephine and Grace, and play there and have no one know that I was involved in this. When we bring everyone together, they will take ownership of that playground. I may be serving as the captain of the ship, but it’s the crew who is making that ship work.” When DeCaire is asked to imagine a finished Preston’s Playground, he sees an 8,400-square-foot spot in Newark that is one of pure inclusion, where no one looks at those in a wheelchair as any different than they are. He sees the playground as a place where children learn acceptance. “In my mind, that’s what Preston’s Playground will mean,” he said. For more information about Preston’s Playground, visit www.prestonsplayground.org. To learn more about Preston’s March for Energy, visit www.prestonsmarch. org. To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email rgaw@ chestercounty.com.
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—————|Newark Life Photo Essay|—————
White Clay Creek State Park: Newark’s walk in the woods Photos by Jie Deng Text by Richard L. Gaw
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As spring and summer return to Newark every year, so too does the outdoor splendor of its most glorious gift to nature, White Clay Creek State Park.
The park’s seemingly endless stretch of lush greenery, sparkling streams and tributaries of trails provide a sanctuary of calm, relaxation and exploration. There are historic sites, scenic vistas, rock walls to climb and pedestrian bridges to cross. There are picnic areas, a pavilion, and park land. There is fishing and birdwatching and a full schedule of public events like music in the park and year-round activities that are guaranteed to attract every member of the family. Over the next few pages, through the lens of Newark Life photographer Jie Deng, we invite you to take a tour of your own. Continued on Page 70
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Photo Essay Continued from Page 69
The waterways of White Clay Creek State Park are great sanctuaries for some of the best freshwater fishing in Delaware. From large-mouth bass and bluegills to trout, the Millstone and Cattail ponds offer year-round opportunities. In addition, the White Clay Creek offers anglers the opportunity to fish for stocked rainbow and brown trout. The trout fishing season runs from the first Saturday in April through June 30, and from the first Saturday in October through Nov. 30.
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Thirty-seven miles of trails in White Clay Creek State Park lead explorers to historic sites and scenic vistas. Hikers and mountain bike riders can enjoy trails at Possum Hill and the Judge Morris Estate, or follow the Pomeroy Rail-Trail to the pedestrian bridge over White Clay Creek. Continued on Page 72
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When added together, the seven biking trails in White Clay Creek State Park provide visitors with nearly 20 miles of meandering journeys. For hikers, the park’s 1.3-mile Millstone Trail traverses a boardwalk at Millstone Pond below a rock outcropping. Its 3.9-mile Twin Valley Trail winds through mature beech, maple, and tulip forests, and passes the Arc Corner Monument marking the point where Delaware and Pennsylvania meet.
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There are plenty of year-round activities at White Clay Creek. The Nature Center hosts public programs, and visitors can enjoy outdoor activities such as fishing, bird-watching or disc golf. Families may take advantage of the large picnic area and pavilion for a reunion or to host a casual barbecue with friends, followed by an evening concert or other special event throughout the summer. The White Clay Creek State Park is open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset. Delaware State Parks have an entrance fee from March 1 to Nov. 30: An in-state car costs $4, and an out-of-state car costs $8. An annual park pass for in-state vehicles costs $35; and an out-of-state vehicle costs $70. The White Clay Creek State Park office is at 750 Thompson Station Road in Newark, and office hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. The park office is closed on weekends and holidays. For more information about White Clay Creek State Park, call 302368-6900, or visit www.destateparks.com.
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Chesapeake City Events
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Chesapeake City Canal 5K Run/Walk June 24, 2017 6:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
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——————|Newark History|——————
Newark’s long, unbroken blue line The rich history of the Newark Police Department dates back to 1867. Now, on its 150th anniversary, the department looks to a bright future in protecting the people of Newark
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All photos courtesy of the Newark Police Department
Above: A member of the department meets with local schoolchildren in the 1950s. Right: Former police officer Bud Wassmer, aboard a police motorcycle.
By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
T
o acknowledge the part that technology and modern policing methods play in the mission and policies of the current Newark Police Department is to reinforce the dichotomy between what the department is now to the 1880s, when it used the bottom floor of what is now Klondike Kate’s as a jail cell for hoodlums. In the years immediately following the Civil War, Newark -- with a population of less than 1,000 – was considered a hardened town where, according to notes made at Town Commissioners’ meetings, numerous complaints were made by citizens about disorder and misdemeanors. In an effort to hold back the bedlam, the town established rules that outlawed boisterous singing, curtailed excessive noise, and held the line on the large number of horses, cattle and pigs that ran freely through its streets. Residents were also required to shovel their sidewalks and driveways 10 hours after snowfall, or suffer a fine of $1. Continued on Page 80
Corporal Aaron Olicker gets a hug from an admirer the National Night Out in Newark.
Hug a Cop and Celebrate! The Newark Police Department’s 150th Anniversary Celebration June 17, 2017 1 to 4 p.m. City of Newark Municipal Building 220 S. Main St. www.newarklifemagazine.com | Spring/Summer 2017 | Newark Life
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Police Continued from Page 79
On June 15, 1867, Jesse Russell was hired as the town bailiff to restore law and order, and the Newark Police Department was born. By 1875, Russell was making the big money -- raking in an annual salary of $30 -- while extra police officers were hired occasionally, with no police training, to supplement Russell during the town’s busy periods, for the sum of $1 and $2 per day. In 1873, a “frame lockup” was built to house prisoners, and in 1880, the jail was moved to Center Hall, in the building Klondike Kate’s now occupies. In 1891, the town’s administrative offices, police department and fire department moved to a new Town Building on Academy Street. On Aug. 29, 1894, a group of 50 men gathered to form the Newark Protective Association, in order to “devise some means of protecting ourselves from the horse thieves and other miscreants who are operating in the surrounding country.” In 1970, the department moved to a renovated church at 294 E. Main St., had a sworn-in force of 35 officers and two cadets, two special officers and six civilian support staff. Since 1993, the department has called the Newark Municipal Center home, and as it acknowledges its 150th year -- with a special celebration scheduled for June 17 -- its history is a well-documented catalog of photographs and remembrances. And yet, the methods by which it approaches law enforcement are as modern as Newark has become. On the day he took office ten years ago, Police Chief Paul Tiernan told his officers that the main focus of the Newark Police Department would be to solve crimes, improve the quality of life in Newark, and to do all it could to help reduce traffic accidents.
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The department showed its colors at the 1972 Memorial Day Parade.
John Cunningham, standing, was a fixture in Newark during his long tenure as police chief.
Newark Life | Spring/Summer 2017 | www.newarklifemagazine.com
The cover of the police trading card for Lieutenant Andrew Rubin.
“We developed a portal system that enables us to chart activities related to crime problems, and made the flow of information better,” Tiernan said. “We instituted a street crime unit, putting officers in plain clothes. In 2008, we started a crime suppression plan to zero in on finding out where most crimes were being concentrated.” Thanks to advancements in police technology, the department now relies on crime mapping, license plate readers and more than 50 cameras it has placed throughout Newark, as well as a revamped website that encourages interaction with the community through social media. The department’s anti-shoplifting initiative places undercover officers in stores throughout Newark. It’s also a part of the Newark Hub program, which connects state and local social service agencies to address the root cause of many of the issues that the department deals with, as well as additional resources. “When I first got here, it was a reactive unit,” he said. “Officers responded to calls for service, but then we evolved into a preventive type of policing, one that encouraged information sharing, so that we could anticipate where the problems were, and when they may occur. It has allowed us to put our Continued on Page 82
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Police Continued from Page 81
resources in certain locations, in order to prevent crimes before they happen.” The mission of the department does not end with fighting crime and helping reduce traffic accidents. Tiernan encourages his staff to strengthen community relations. In 1995, the department began a police trading card project, which requires schoolchildren to collect the cards of the department’s officers, as well as special unit staff, dispatchers, civilian employees and vehicles to win prizes. The cards were last circulated in 2013, and a set of 100 new cards is expected to be issued soon. In 2015, after several police incidents caused a backlash all over the nation, former police information officer James Spadola created the Hug A Cop campaign. As part of the project, Spadola and officer Aaron Olicker walked around Newark holding signs that read “Free hugs” and “#HugACop.” A video taken of the Continued on Page 84
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Sgt. Curtis Davis participates in the annual Halloween Parade.
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Police Continued from Page 82
project soon became an internet sensation, and was copied by law enforcement departments in the United States and other countries. Tiernan receives letters from Newark residents every week, including one that complimented an officer for walking a wheelchair-bound citizen half a mile to his residence, after the man’s electric wheelchair battery ran out of energy. The story of the Newark Police Department may be in the much-coveted archive of historical photographs that tell of a quieter time. In deference to its history, each officer wears a badge reminiscent of the one worn by Newark police officers in the 1930s. “The challenge of policing in Newark is juggling the perception that it’s a sleepy college town,” Tiernan said. “It’s a challenge, but we’ve met that challenge. Our lines of communication have improved through our information portal, the installation of closed-circuit television cameras, and license plate recognition cameras. “It’s part of the commitment we have made, and continue to make, in order to improve the quality of life here.”
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The Newark Police Department was housed on Academy Street from 1891 to 1970.
To learn more about the Newark Police Department, visit www.cityofnewark.de.us To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email rgaw@ chestercounty.com .
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—————|Newark Business|————— Over the last decade, the downtown Newark cuisine scene has been marked by innovation and boldness in the kitchen. Now, several restaurants are gaining a reputation for the work they do in the community
An appetite for good By Pam George Contributing Writer
O
n a busy evening at Grain Craft Bar + Kitchen, bartenders were bustling for tips. Tables were full, and flat-screen televisions were displaying colorful footage. Just another night for the Main Street restaurant? Not quite. Partial proceeds from the evening
Grain Craft Bar + Kitchen sponsors an annual wing-eating contest that benefits first responders.
All photos courtesy
Lee Mikles and Jim O’Donaghue of Grain Craft Bar + Kitchen in Newark.
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benefitted Water is Life Kenya, which brings clean water to remote rural communities in the African country. By the end of the evening, the charity had raised about $8,000. “Grain was very nice to work with,” said Colleen Leithren, the U.S. program director. She was impressed that the restaurant ran the charity’s YouTube videos on a TV display and allowed the group to sell jewelry made by Kenyan artisans. The charity benefited from bar tips and 20 percent of the food sales. The fundraiser, part of the restaurant’s “For Support” program, is business as usual for Grain. “Community involvement is a key component of our desire to be a neighborhood bar,” said Lee Mikles, who owns Grain with Jim O’Donaghue. “We feel that as we become part of our guest’s lives, it’s only natural to find ways to support their causes.” Grain is not the only restaurant that regularly steps up to the philanthropic plate. “Nine out of 10 give back in some fashion,” said Carrie Leishman, executive director of the Newark-based Delaware Restaurant Association. According to the National Restaurant Association, America’s restaurants donate up to $3 billion a year, and nearly 70 percent make cash contributions. The solicitations, however, can be staggering. “It is overwhelming at times to read so many emails and letters with well-meaning requests,” Mikles acknowledged. “We tend to only respond to those made in person by people we know.” People seek donations from restaurants because they’re a visible part of the community. They are also accessible. “It’s easy to walk up and down Main Street and ask for assistance,” said Sasha Aber, the owner of Home Grown Café.
Home Grown Cafe has dedicated a portion of proceeds from a food and beverage stand at the Delaware Shakespeare Festival in Wilmington to the festival.
Mikles prefers to make donations that give people a chance to experience Grain. For instance, one popular gift basket includes dinner for two and the ability to jump in front of a line of customers waiting for a table. The VIP access is a prize considering the wait time can be over an hour from Thursday through Sunday. The Stone Balloon Ale House has donated a chef’s tasting courtesy of Delaware’s celebrity chef, Robbie Jester, who bested Bobby Flay on the Food Network television show “Beat Bobby Flay.” A recent tasting was donated to benefit the local family of a boy killed by a drunk driver. Many restaurants have programs that let nonprofits and the establishment benefit without a lot of heavy lifting. Grain’s “Fork Support,” which benefitted Water for Kenya, is an example. The charity paid bartenders an hourly fee and had at least two of their representatives behind the bar. The charity got all the tips. “Grain takes on a certain excitement and energy when these events are happening,” Mikles said. Continued on Page 88
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Philanthropy Continued from Page 87
Home Grown Café offers the “Local Flavor” fundraising program. The cause picks a date and time and the restaurant prints coupons to distribute. During the specified times, the restaurant donates 15 percent of the check from the tables that present the coupon. Similarly, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant has the Give 20 program, which also involves coupons. The charity gets 20 percent of the presenters’ food bill. (These programs generally do not include alcohol, tax or gratuity.) Since 2009, when the program began, Iron Hill’s Newark location has raised more than $30,000. “Some of the more successful Give 20s in Newark have included Water is Life Kenya, UDance (a University of Delaware dance marathon to beat childhood cancer) and the Grand Opera House,” said Kevin Finn, one of the three founders. Some restaurants like to keep it local. Each week, the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in Newark holds “Eat Wings, Raise Funds” events to benefit such organizations
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as Newark High School and the University of Delaware. “Giving back to the community is in our DNA, and we are blessed to be able to contribute in this small way,” said Bobby Pancake, owner of High 5 Hospitality, which also operates the Stone Balloon Ale House. High 5 has also raised money for the Newark Senior Center. Grain has focused on local first responders, including the employees of the police and fire departments. Consider the First Responder Wing Eating Championship. The police compete against the fire department to benefit Preston’s Playground, an all-inclusive park that will be located on a Newark site. Organizers are seeking to raise $500,000. Grain donates $1 for every wing consumed by the contestants or the guests, along with proceeds from shirt sales. In April, the Fraternal Order of Police nabbed the championship for the second year. This year they won by just two wings. Grain has also stayed open on Christmas Eve with a free
buffet for first responders who have to work that evening. “It’s a chance for them to get out of their patrol car or ambulance,” Mikles said. “While we have met many of them off-duty, it was special to see them in uniform.” Some got to-go boxes for their coworkers. Volunteers helped out, cleaning tables and doing other tasks so that regular staff could take the night off. Many local restaurants participate in the Battle of the Bars, an annual event to benefit the Newark Police Department’s K-9 unit. Bartenders compete to generate tip and drink sales. The event has been held at the Courtyard Marriott at the University of Delaware. As the fundraiser demonstrates, restaurants don’t need to stay on site to benefit a charity. Home Grown Café, for instance, has trekked up to Rockwood Park in North Wilmington for Delaware Shakespeare’s annual festival. The restaurant has a food and beverage stand with partial proceeds going to the nonprofit arts group.
Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant made a sizable contribution last November to CureSearch for Children Cancer.
Continued on Page 90
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Philanthropy Continued from Page 89
With so many requests, many restaurants have refined their giving programs. Iron Hill, for example, has selected CureSearch for Children’s Cancer as the company-wide charity for the chain, which now has 13 locations. (Newark is the first.) A portion of the sales of the restaurant’s triple chocolate hill dessert goes to the nonprofit. “Since starting our partnership with CureSearch in 2005, Iron Hill has donated more than $260,000,” Finn said. “Of that amount, $21,853 was in 2016, and $1,692 came directly from Newark.” Since 2013, additional proceeds from the dessert have gone to the Food Bank of Delaware. Many causes have touched the owner’s life or the life of an employee. Aber’s mother, for instance, died of breast cancer, and she focuses on charities that benefit patients or conduct research. With two elementary school-age children, she’s also interested in schools and organization involved in learning.
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Jester in spring was participating in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s “Man of the Year” campaign. Participants vie to raise the most money. He has a friend who has Hodgkin Lymphoma. The “Beat Bobby Flay” viewing party at the Stone Balloon benefited the pal, who is currently in remission. When Grain bartender Brian Ford won a best bartender award, the restaurant ordered 50 Bobblehead dolls that looked like him and sold them. “We took all the proceeds from those sales and let him decide where the money should go,” Mikles said. “He chose the Newark charity Team Jen. Philanthropy works when it is part of how everyone thinks.” He said that the restaurant group, which has grown to three locations in just a few months, does not put a budget cap on giving. “It really is based on our connection with the charity,” he concluded. “It is important for businesses to get involved ... they are a safe meeting place for their community.”
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——————|Around Newark|——————
Linda Majewski brings experience and a smile to the Newark Arts Alliance
By Pam George Staff Writer
A
s a child, Linda Majewski couldn’t stay away from packets of construction paper and a roll of Scotch tape. In her hometown of Flint, Mich., she would happily walk by a toy store to enter Carlton
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Stationery, the paper purveyor in those pre-Staples days. “There were colored pencils and art pads – oh, my gosh!” she recalled with a reverent voice. Majewski, who now lives just outside the Newark city limits, is still fascinated by paint, paper, pencils and pastels. But now she can just poke her head outside of her office for inspiration. In January, she became the executive director of the Newark Arts Alliance in downtown Newark. On a Monday afternoon, she was busy giving three women a quick tour of the space, which includes a store for members’ artwork and a gallery with changing exhibits. It was the first time the friends had entered the Arts Alliance, which is tucked away just off Main Street near Grain Craft Bar + Kitchen. Karen Jesse of Wilmington was impressed. “The Newark Arts Alliance delighted me with their diversity – colorful and wonderful exhibits in a variety of mediums stretched from professional artists to children dreaming of becoming one,” she said. “There was a smile and surprise around every corner.” The gregarious Majewski has a warm welcome for anyone who enters the Arts Alliance, including a member who wanted to show his art in the store. “We could see that she was a ‘people person,’ and that is important in a volunteerbased organization,” said Carole Fox, president of the board.
Top photo: ‘Green Gold Mermaid’ by Sarah Dressler, one of the items available in the gift shop. Bottom photo: Majewski hangs a painting in the Arts Alliance shop.
Majewski has held a variety of jobs, all of which have prepared her for her role at the non-profit arts organization, which started in 1993. Born in Flint, Majewski was one of four children. (One brother has since died.) Her mother was a medical receptionist, and her father was a mechanical contractor. The budding artist used construction paper to make 3D animals, a technique that she developed on her own. As an elementary school student, she attended a summer program at the Flint Institute of Arts. But she put art aside when she entered middle school, where she was in choir, the jazz ensemble and singing groups. Her father had a case of wanderlust, which his youngest daughter would later inherit, and the family began a series of moves when she was 16. Majewski later landed in Delaware because her sister is in Dover. While living in Delaware’s capital, she completed her psychology degree at Wesley College and worked for the Delaware’s State Office of Volunteerism, which organizes the annual Governor’s Outstanding Volunteer Awards and Governor’s Youth Volunteer Service Awards. She also worked with the Kent County Theater Guild, where she gained more experience working with volunteers. It was in Dover that she met her husband-to-be, Jason. In 2004, she Continued on Page 94
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was a single mom with a 4-year-old. She made a list of everything that she wanted to accomplish, one of which was learning to play the cello. She used her tax refund to purchase a cello online from a seller in Wisconsin and called the Music School of Delaware for lessons. Her teacher was Jason Majewski, and the two struck up a friendship. Then she moved to Nevada to help her father care for her mother. When her father died, she returned to Newark in 2008 with her mother and rekindled her relationship with Jason. They married in late 2009. Majewski, who has been a school photographer and worked in a hospital, became familiar with the Arts Alliance when her daughter, Grace, wanted to take lessons. Members get a discount. At the time, she was working in Wilmington at the Fair Trade Federation, a non-profit industry organization for fair trade retailers and wholesalers in the United States and Canada. She had a new husband
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Karen Jesse of Wilmington (left) was impressed by the range of items for sale at the Arts Alliance.
and her mother lived with the family. It was a stressful time. A friend suggested a hobby. Majewski returned to her first love, paper. Inspired by pages on Pinterest, she started making floral arrangements out of hand-painted paper. Continued on Page 96
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“The only way you can kill it is to water it,” she said, pulling a tiny pot from the shelf above her desk and showing it to a visitor. Her business, Paper Home & Garden, is on Facebook. She also sells items at art shows, including those organized by the Newark Arts Alliance. Majewski’s background in volunteer program administration, non-profit management, special events management and disability-inclusion advocacy appealed to the Arts Alliance board when they were looking to replace outgoing executive director Dennis Lawson. “Besides the many skill sets that Linda had to offer, it was clear that she was familiar with our organization and felt strongly about our mission,” said Fox, the board president. One of her Majewski’s first priorities at the Newark Arts Alliance is to strengthen the volunteer program. No matter the non-profit, 20 percent of the volunteers often do 80 percent of the work, said Majewski, a graduate of the University of Delaware’s non-profit management certificate course. The organization needs to swiftly incorporate those who express an interest in volunteering and move them through the ranks. Majewski also wants to do a better job of promoting the store.
Majewski looks through books available in the gallery’s store.
“Where else can you get one-of-a-kind local artists’ pieces around Newark?” she asked. She’s not interested in adding events, which Continued on Page 98
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Art Continued from Page 96
put a strain on volunteer resources and her time. Majewski, who works 25 hours a week, also spearheads the effort to secure grants. Currently, the non-profit receives a large part of its funding from the Delaware Division of the Arts. Smaller grants help support Camp Imagine, a two-week summer camp that’s attracted so many children that it has moved to the First Presbyterian Church in Newark. The Arts Alliance offers a scholarship. Because she knows first-hand how challenging it can be for an artist to run a business, Majewski is considering some classes on such topics as pricing. “A lot of artists completely under-price their work,” she said. Between her home life, her art and her work life, she’s clearly busy. So much so that she hasn’t reviewed that bucket list in some time. “I’m happy doing a lot of things,” she said. “I’m excited about the job. My daughter is doing well. My husband is dong well. My mom is doing well. In short, she says, “I’m living my bucket list.” To contact Staff Writer Pam George, email delwriter@gmail.com.
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One of Majewski’s floral arrangements, made out of handpainted paper.
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