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Year 30, No. 31
Celebrating 30 Years of Community News
April 8 – April 14, 2015
FIND YOUR COMMUNITY Deborah Cassidy and West Laurel Hill Meet Author Robert Wittman at NEWS HERE! Receive Rotary “Feather in Your Cap” Award the Tredyffrin Public Library “The most famous art detective” to speak at free event April 12
What made Cassidy decide to involve West Laurel Hill in a wider world? “Seeing the remarkable accomplishments of organizations geared to helping people is why we are so passionate about giving back,” she says. “We wanted to work with local nonprofits to help them further their mission. People come to us for help, and we in turn should do the same.” To honor this transformation and its positive effects, the Rotary Club of Bala CynwydNarberth presented its “Feather in Your Cap Award for exemplary service to the community” to Deborah Cassidy and West Laurel
he Tredyffrin Public Library is sponsoring a free author event on Sunday, April 12 at 2 p.m. Bestselling author and world renowned art security expert Robert Wittman will pull back the curtain on his remarkable career, offering a real-life international tales to rival The Thomas Crown Affair. The $500 million heist from the Gardner Museum in Boston is just one of the many cases Robert K. Wittman has worked to solve. While works of art and precious artifacts can be “owned” by individuals and museums, Wittman is ada- The Tredyffrin Public Library is mant that this does not make sponsoring a free author event them mere pieces of prop- on Sunday, April 12 at 2 p.m. with bestselling author and erty. “A stolen work of art world renowned art security is important. It is repreexpert Robert Wittman. sentative of the genius that is possible for mankind. This is not the same thing as a stolen Chevrolet.” While the “art crime of the century,” as the Gardner heist is called, re mains unsolved, Wittman has successfully recovered more than $300 million worth of priceless stolen art and artifacts and safely returned them to the museums and collectors from whom they were taken. Robert Wittman has been described as “a living legend” by the Wall Street Journal and “the most famous art detective in the world” by the London Times. He will recount his exploits, describing his undercover stings to lure art thieves to reveal the whereabouts of the stolen treasures. Often posing as a crooked art dealer, he has rubbed elbows with smugglers, thieves, scammers, forgers, thugs and blackmarket traders. In his twenty years with the FBI, he recovered masterpieces painted by Rembrandt and Goya, as well as historical and cultural articles such as Geronimo’s War Bonnet, and an original copy of the U.S. Bill of Rights. Currently working as an independent security consultant
See Rotary Club Honors Deborah Cassidy on page 10
See Meet Author Robert Wittman on page 6
T Celebrate Sinatra with Lou Dottoli Page 3
Dr. Jennifer Jackson Holden Speaks at AIM Page 11
The Rotary Club of Bala Cynwyd-Narberth presented its “Feather in Your Cap” Award to Deborah Cassidy, director of sales, marketing and family services of West Laurel Hill, honoring her for the organization’s exemplary commitment to service to the community. George Hatzfeld, president of the club, and Jennifer Lifsted, chair of the award committee, (right) made the presentation during the club’s weekly luncheon April 1, at Aldar Bistro in Bala Cynwyd. hen Deborah Cassidy joined West Laurel Hill in 2001 as director of sales, marketing and family services the 187-acre cemetery on Belmont Avenue in Bala Cynwyd had few connections to the living. Today their calendar of events reads like a “What’s What” of very lively experiences— for young, old and in-between. And beyond the iron gates and out in the community, West Laurel Hill is partnering with an assortment of organizations to sponsor activities that benefit a rich blend of ages and interests.
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Wayne Art Center String Orchestra Concert Page 16
Dining & Entertainment Pages 6 & 7
Film Screening of “Blue Tattoo: Dina’s Story, Joe’s Song” at Temple Sholom tells Dina’s story from the perspective of a mother, newly emigrated to America, explaining the meaning of the blue
Education News Pages 8 - 11
The idea for the song “Blue Tattoo” took root in 2007, when singer/songwriter Joe Crookston and Holocaust survivor Dina Jacobson met at her home in Elmira NY.
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he film “Blue Tattoo: Dina’s Story, Joe’s Song” will be shown at April 19, at 5 p.m. at Temple Sholom in Broomall, 55 Church Lane Broomall. The viewing will be followed by a discussion via skype with director Rich Kellman and a Yom HaShoah memorial service. Music has the power to touch both the mind and the heart. The song “Blue Tattoo” does that with passion and simplicity, and the film “Blue Tattoo: Dina’s Story, Joe’s Song” tells the story behind the song. The song “Blue Tattoo”
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tattoo on her arm to her four year old daughter in a way that protects her child’s sense of innocence. The idea for the song took root in 2007, when singer/songwriter Joe Crookston and Holocaust survivor Dina Jacobson met at her home in Elmira NY. They struck up a warm friendship, and the result, three years later, was “Blue Tattoo,” which Joe recorded and continues to perform in concerts internationally. Dina Jacobson grew up in Poland as one of 7 children. She and an older brother were the only members of her family to survive the Nazi onslaught. See “Blue Tattoo: Dina’s Story, Joe’s Song” on page 5