Chester CountyPRESS
www.chestercounty.com
Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas
Volume 156, No. 33
Wednesday, August 17, 2022
$1.00
Board chairman recommends hiring construction management firm to oversee entire project
New Garden votes to have hazardous structures demolished at Saint Anthony's By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer Within the collective consortium of townships in southern Chester County, New Garden Township may be the municipality with the most on its plate, and of its hefty agenda, the item with the most at stake may be the township’s decision to convert the 137acre Saint Anthony’s in the Hills property to a municipal park. Purchased in 2018 from Saint Padua in Wilmington, the township has spent the last few years collaborat-
INSIDE
Brandywine Festival of the Arts returns for 61st year...1B
ing with YSM, a York, Pa.-based engineering firm and township residents to develop a master plan that envisions the park as both a paradise of nature trails and open space and a bustling home for recreational activities. Getting there, however, first requires the township to do extensive work to put the safety of its residents first, and on Aug. 15, the Board of Supervisors gave approval for the township to elicit bids to demolish several unsafe and outdated structures in the park that date back to the era when
Orphan Grain Train spreads goods worldwide through the faith of volunteers By Chris Barber Contributing Writer
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A cavernous warehouse in Jennersville houses donated living supplies destined for people in need all over the world. Manager and branch founder Cliff Kraft, of West Brandywine, oversees the operation of this faithbased mission known as the Middle Atlantic Branch Orphan Grain Train. The Popular comedian to parent organization has perform at West Chester more than 25 branches all University...4A over the United States, of which the Middle Atlantic Branch is one. The warehouse itself is impressively large. Owned by Dansko founder Peter Kjellerup, the facility is stacked shoulder-high with huge quantities of donated clothing, food, medical supplies, household items and refurbished bicycles. Orphan Grain Train receives its donations from all over Pennsylvania area and beyond. The goods are
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Father Roberto Balducci oversaw the property as a refuge for inner-city youth. Demolition of hazardous structures is part of Phase 1 of the entire Saint Anthony’s in the Hills project. Structures that are slated for demolition include a caretaker home at the park’s Route 7 entrance; a gazebo and fencing; a shed at the park’s northern area near Route 41; several structures at the miniature golf course and adjacent playground that include a small log cabin tower, a scary gazebo, haunted bird house, a water wheel ride
destined for nations as far away as Kyrgyzstan, Latvia and Ukraine, and as close as Kentucky and New Jersey. Kraft, 89, is dedicated to the continued operation of the Orphan Grain Train, and has been so for the past 20 years. He said the operations of the Mid-Atlantic Branch are inspired by the faith of its volunteers who act on the teachings of Christ and the Gospels. He told the story of his founding of the MidAtlantic branch. According to Kraft, he had a friend who was interested in becoming a missionary. When the missionary returned to the U.S., this friend spoke of his experiences, including with Orphan Grain Train, to Kraft and to the church group of which Kraft is a part. So impressed was Kraft that he moved on the suggestion to develop a local Orphan Grain Train project that he proceeded. His decision to proceed, he said, was divinely inspired.
and compound play rides and slides; a paddle boat rental shack; all buildings, fencing, gateways and light posts throughout the park’s aviary; a creekside mosquito oasis structure north of the park’s Greek amphitheater; a day camp building and a puppet theater. Supervisors call for “phased” approach to park plans Photo courtesy of New Garden Township
At the start of their presentation, township Park & Open Space Superintendent Mike Buck and township
A former caretaker’s house in Saint Anthony’s in the Hills is just one of several structures that will be demolished, as part of New Garden Township’s longterm plans to develop the 137-acre property it owns to Continued on Page 2A a community park.
FROM OUR LENS Sky mentors
Photo by Richard L. Gaw
Counselors for the third and final Future Aviators Summer Camp at New Garden Flying Field of 2022 enjoyed a refreshment break on Aug. 11. Begun 13 years ago, the camp has given over 2,000 introductory flight lessons to young aviators, some of whom have gone on to pursue careers as commercial, military and corporate pilots as well as work in many aspects of aircraft maintenance and aviation. This summer, the camp drew close to 250 campers from as close as Chester County to as far away as Paris, France. To learn more about the Future Aviators Summer Camp at New Garden Flying Field, visit www.newgardenflyingfield.com.
“The Lord kept working on me,” he said. The parent Orphan Grain Train mission was founded by a minister, Rev. Ray Wilke after he visited Latvia
in 1992 and saw the need for spiritual and humanitarian need. According to the ministry’s newsletter, “This vision blossomed into a ministry and movement that
AROUND THE REGION
has sent more than 3,489 semi-loads of supplies to needy people here and home and around the world.” Kraft said the name, Continued on Page 3A
by Gene Pisasale
A great day for fiddlin’ around By Gene Pisasale Contributing Writer First begun in 1921 by George Hansel as the “Fiddlers Contest,” what is known today as the Old Fiddlers Picnic has been enjoyed by tens of thousands of people over the decades. According to Chuck Ulmann, curator of the Christian Sanderson Museum in Chadds Ford, the musical event now in its 93rd year was first staged at Chrystal Springs Park in Parkesburg. Last weekend, the tradition continued at Hibernia Park with huge crowds enjoying the sounds of Several musicians getting together spontaneously to play at the 93rd Old Fiddlers fiddles, banjos and other Picnic.
musical instruments along with fine singing to country and folk tunes. The Old Fiddlers Picnic may seem an anachronism; it is meant to be just that. In this age of electronic everything—media, communication and music—the notes emerging from beautifully played instruments with understated electronic input (aside from the microphones for singing) gives listeners a sense of what it was like back in the days when talented individuals grabbed a fiddle or a banjo and just started playing whatever inspired them, without fancy sound systems or special effects. While seeing a bunch of Continued on Page 3A