Chester CountyPRESS
www.chestercounty.com
Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Volume 151, No. 30
INSIDE
Municipalities to collaborate on grant to increase trail connections By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
Destination Delaware special section
West Grove to National Night event...6A
The Kennett Township Board of Supervisors agreed at their July 19 meeting to join the township with neighboring municipalities in applying for a $2.6 million multi-
modal grant from the Commonwealth Financing Authority which, if awarded, would further link the township, Kennett Borough and New Garden Township in a labyrinth of pedestrian and bicycle trail connections that would increase public access throughout
southern Chester County. Kennett Township manager Lisa Moore, who introduced the application, said that if approved, the CFA grant -- which is due July 31 -- would help pay for a trail connection from the township to the borough, from Pennock Park up
host Out
Photo by John Chambless
Nicholas Pontrelli as the Prince and Julie Luzier as Belle in ‘Beauty and the Beast.’ Kofi Baker brings the magic of Cream to Kennett Square …....... 1B
Capturing the magic of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ The Brandywiners stage annual spectacular at Longwood By John Chambless Staff Writer
10,000 Maniacs to headline Mushroom Festival …....... 1B
INDEX Opinion........................7A Obituaries..................2B
To Subscribe call 610.869.5553
Classifieds..................4B
© 2007 The Chester County Press
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Out of all the things Paul Goodman had to worry about on Monday evening, it wasn’t the 75 cast members or the microphones or the costume changes that topped his list. It was the approaching storm clouds. Although the dress rehearsal for “Beauty and the Beast” at Longwood Gardens started under a clear twilight sky, the forecast was calling for storms to roll in from the north, and the clock was ticking. The weather is always the chief concern when the
Brandywiners put on their annual extravaganzas at the Open Air Theatre, and in all the years they’ve been doing this, the Delawarebased theater company has gotten accustomed to following the playbook from Mother Nature. Having lost Sunday night’s rehearsal due to a downpour, Goodman was trying to make up for it on Monday evening, managing to keep a good attitude despite the pressure. He’s a relative newcomer to the theater group, having been called into service two years ago to fill a vacancy in “Fiddler on the Roof.” Last
South Street; the remainder of the Chandler Mill Road trail; a trail within Penns Manor that would connect to Pemberton Road and the borough; the construction of the Magnolia Trail, that would connect Victory Brewing to Pennock Park; a railroad crossing bridge; and a bridge on Marshall Mill Road. Moore said that the grant would also pay for streetscaping and sidewalk trails along Birch Street in the borough, which would connect to the township’s Cypress Street sidewalk project, and to other parts of the township’s existing trail system. New Garden Township is applying for the grant to create a trail connection that would link about 150 homes in New Garden to a Kennett Township trail from New Garden Preserve on Scarlett Road. The application for the grant also overlaps the
township’s efforts in pursuing a grant to finance the construction of a trail connection that would link Anson B. Nixon Park to East Marlborough Township. By applying jointly, Moore said there is a much better chance for all three municipalities to receive the grant. “I am deeply gratified that the four municipalities have come together to do something for the region and for the consequent greater benefit of the common good,” said board chairman Scudder Stevens. “You’ve got the borough, Kennett Township, East Marlborough and New Garden, all working together, happily, with a positive perspective.” In other township business, the board approved a request from David Evans, the store manager of the Giant in Marlborough Square, Kennett Square, to permit one Sunday delivery Continued on Page 3A
U-CF School District will spotlight strengths in six new videos By John Chambless Staff Writer
year, he stepped up considerably and performed as the wisecracking Donkey in “Shrek,” which was also staged at Longwood. This year, since his wife, Shauna, was already serving as the choreographer for “Beauty and the Beast,” and their young daughter, Delaney, was tucked inside a cart as the enchanted Chip, Paul figured he might as well get paid for all the long hours of rehearsal. “The actors don’t get paid, but the staff does,” Goodman said with a grin. But they definitely
The best way to reach an audience online is with a compelling video, and the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District will be putting itself in the spotlight with six videos that will be filmed during the coming school year. The U-CF School Board approved the $20,000 proposal as part of their brief meeting on July 17. Allied Pixel, a company based in Media, will produce six videos, which will run three minutes each, between September 2017 and May 2018. Dave Listman, who leads the district’s communications efforts, said that while the district has its own video production capabilities, Allied Pixel can easily produce a higher-quality result with a sleek, engaging, professional look. “The series of videos will complement our ‘Success for All’ presentation,” Listman said. “That helps
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‘I want people to be able to step back in time when they come here’ The owner of the Miss Oxford Diner talks about how the 1950s-style diner remains a fixture in the Oxford community after all these years By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer
Limbo library By Uncle Irvin
The Borough of Oxford, like other small towns of its size, is constantly changing and evolving. But one constant―one favored fixture―through all the years and all the changes has been a classic American diner situated at 233 South Third Street, at the edge of the town’s business district. After spending more than a dozen years listening to stories about the connections that people have to the diner, owner Pam Benjamin fully understands her duty as the caretaker of the Miss Oxford Diner, a nostalgic treasure that allows locals to remember their yesterday or simply to enjoy a lunch tomorrow. “I hear all kinds of stories from people who come in and say, ‘I worked here’ or ‘I met my wife here,’ Benjamin explained during an interview at the diner.
later known as the Paterson Vehicle Company, in Paterson, New Jersey. The company produced an estimated 1,500 such diners between 1926 and 1966. Diners had their heyday
The Kennett Library is in limbo again. For more than 10 years, its Board of Directors has wanted a new, expanded library to pursue its many worthwhile goals of learning and community services. The newest hope of a joint venture with the borough has been permanently jettisoned with the library’s plea for the Weinstein lot on Willow Street. The library is now begging the borough to sell the lot to the library at a discounted price, when it already has a site on Route 1 in Kennett Township that the Library Board bought for $600,000. It’s large enough to build four libraries.
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Photo by Steven Hoffman
The Miss Oxford Diner is is an example of the Silk City Diners that were manufactured by a division of the Paterson Wagon Company, later known as the Paterson Vehicle Company, in Paterson, N.J.
“This diner is like a living, breathing organism. It has a life. It’s been here for so long now that it’s a part of the community. The diner is an attraction because of the age of it, and because of its stability in the community.
It’s really an attraction on its own.” The diner arrived in Oxford in 1954. It is an example of the Silk City Diners that were manufactured by a division of the Paterson Wagon Company,