All tagged 2019/07
My own outings this week have proved fruitless (and fauna-less), so I’m especially pleased to have received submissions out of Rutledge and Rose Valley. Now if only some Nether Providence residents would participate. There is great habitat in Nether Providence, with Crum Creek Reservoir, the Houston Tract/Urban Field and Leiper Park, among others. Surely there are some regular walkers/observers of these areas, so please come forward!
Starting this month, hundreds of athletes with intellectual disabilities — and many abilities — will train in a variety of fall and year-round sports including volleyball, bowling, bocce, soccer, powerlifting, flag football and a Young Athletes program. All sports welcome athletes, coaches and volunteers.
Thanks for the interest shown in the Swarthmorean’s new “Wildlife Sightings” report. This week, my own observations have consisted of a common garter snake and a crayfish, both in Little Crum Creek where it emerges from its underground conduit on our property at the corner of Lafayette and South Princeton Avenue.
On a night when tornado-like winds struck Swarthmore, most of Rose Valley and much of Wallingford were darkened by power outages, Swarthmore Police Chief Ray Stuflett told the assembled members of Rutledge Borough Council, “You guys are lucky.” In fact there was at least one emergency call from Rutledge for a fire ignited by a lightning strike.
For Mark Wallace, Swarthmore College professor of religion, teaching continues in the summer, with a new set of students in attendance at a different venue for his lectures on July 8 and 16.
Swarthmorean Summer Travel Series
By Louise Coffin
State College is the name of the 4.5-square-mile town in Centre County, Pennsylvania. University Park is the main campus of Pennsylvania State University located in State College — and beyond. State College (remember, that’s the town) has a population of 42,000-plus. Penn State’s University Park enrollment of undergraduate and graduate students is about 46,000. Without the addition of Penn State students, the town’s population density is more than 9,000 people per square mile. With, … well, you can do the math. It is one crowded place, especially when out-of-towners visit during the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, held for the past 54 years during four days in July.
The academic year may seem far in the distance, but Wallingford Co-op Nursery School is making plans for 2019-2020 and beyond, naming Jodi Dawes of Swarthmore as its new director.
The Helen Kate Furness Free Library has a pop-up auction under way to benefit the library.
Swarthmorean Summer Travel Series
By Malcolm Reynolds
On Memorial Day, my good friend Alex Schaff and I set out from Swarthmore for the enchanting hills and meadows of New England, with the goal of visiting and talking with dairy farmers and cheesemakers. Alex, who suggested the trip, is a prospective veterinarian and a master’s student of dairy science at Colorado State University; I work as a cheesemonger at DiBruno’s in Philadelphia. So one could say the idea didn’t just come out of the blue!
Mayor of Rose Valley since 2008, Thomas “Tim” Plummer is halfway through his third term. It has been a period not so much of change as of preservation of the lifestyle and conservation of the resources that Rose Valley’s 900-some residents treasure.
You think you have privacy concerns? They are as nothing compared to the tangled web woven by, with, and around the quartet that Noël Coward created in his comic masterpiece Private Lives, now in a breezy three week run at the Hedgerow Theatre in Rose Valley.
Seniors are invited to a luncheon reception and a matinee performance of the Chester Children’s Chorus on Thursday, July 25. Luncheon begins at noon in the lobby of the Lang Performing Arts Center, and the concert at 2 p.m. in the adjacent Concert Hall of the Lang Music Building.
Nearly 120 members of the Chester Children’s Chorus are approaching the end of a five-week summer learning program conducted by CCC at a June/July camp session at Swarthmore College. In celebration of a semester of learning and growth, groups of campers will present poster sessions and performances from July 25 through Wednesday July 31, at the College.
When you think about eating out, the leafy lanes of Wallingford don’t usually come to mind — until now. With the recent opening of La Cannelle Cafe on Providence Road (next to the Wallingford post office), the predominantly residential area now has a delightful breakfast, lunch, and coffee bistro within easy reach. The Swarthmorean sat down with owner Loubna Lemgard for coffee and the backstory on this welcome addition to the neighborhood.
Swarthmore Recreation Association Bocce held its 30th season in June at our home bocce court on Wellesley Road. The season culminated with the traditional tournament and BBQ on June 25. Thirty players participated during the season, including two first time players. The bocce was, as usual, quite spirited and congenial though, as will be described later in this article, some disputes developed this year among the players regarding the use of analytics during play.
I struggled with whether or not to report the recent beaver activity on Crum Creek to the Swarthmorean. There are two schools of thought on wildlife observations: some keep sightings secret so as not to risk disturbing the animals with excessive gawking. I have encountered observers in the Crum Woods who clearly prefer to hold their sightings close to the chest. I decided, however, that I belong to the other school: I want to publicize wildlife sightings to raise awareness of our natural surroundings.
A great American novel is now a great American play, which will begin its second year on Broadway with a new star. You can be part of it by joining Schoolhouse Center in a one-day trip to see To Kill a Mockingbird at the Shubert Theater on Broadway on Saturday, November 16.
The Swarthmore Co-op will present a summer Dinner and a Movie Night series, starting Friday, August 2, from 6 to 10 p.m. The grilling starts at 6; the movie more like 7, all on Lincoln Way by the Co-op. Admission costs $5 per kid and $10 per adult, with proceeds going toward needed refrigeration system repairs at the food market.
Last month, Joel Siwik took over as Swarthmore’s Postmaster, replacing acting Postmaster Michael Keller (who took Siwik’s place as Postmaster in Chester). Appropriately for a town where most mail is delivered by letter carriers on foot, Siwik comes from a background as a postman.
From now through July 26, children in Delaware County can pick up a free passport-style booklet at their local library and journey across Delco to any and all 26 member libraries in the county. Journey Across Delco is geared towards children in pre-school and early elementary school, who can participate in various activities at each library, check out a new book, and have their passport stamped.
