Pequea Valley JUNE 4, 2025
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXI • NO 24
Lafayette Painting To Be Unveiled at Tea
Twirling to Italy Chicken Barbecue to Support Competitors
BY ANN MEAD ASH
BY ANN MEAD ASH
the idea for the painting. Baker pointed out that in the completed piece, the Mount Vernon Inn is in the background on the hill. In the foreground, Lafayette is reviewing his former regiment. Route 30 - then known as the Lincoln Highway - runs through the right side of the painting. Lanser pointed out some of the details in the painting that he added, including a Conestoga wagon. “It’s so Lancaster County,” he noted. There is also a carriage similar to what Lafayette would have traveled in that was suggested by Baker. Lanser painted a replica of the French flag at the
Emilie Thibeault first picked up a baton to “try” twirling at the age of 7. “I have never put the batons down (since then),” recalled Thibeault. Kyleigh Jarvis started twirling for “fun” at age 9. Like Thibeault, Jarvis continued twirling. “I just really enjoyed it, and I started competing,” she stated. The years of practice and honing their talents has paid off for both young women, who are now looking forward to competing in the International Baton Twirling Federation (IBTF) Nations Cup, sometimes referred to as the “Olympics” of baton, which will be held in Torino, Italy, from Saturday, Aug. 2, through Sunday, Aug. 10. To help defray travel expenses, a chicken barbecue will be held at Paradise Fire Company, 5 Hershey Ave., Paradise, on Friday, June 20, from 4 to 7 p.m. A chicken barbecue meal, which will include a leg and a thigh or a breast, chips, a beverage, and dessert, may be purchased, or people may buy chicken alone for a reduced cost. Those who wish to preorder chicken may call 717-687-5212. Both Thibeault and Jarvis twirled with Pequea Valley High School (PVHS) marching band, and both qualified for the IBTF championships at a National Baton Twirling Association (NBTA) competition held in Aiken, S.C., in January. Thibeault placed first in the adult solo category and second in the three-baton category. “Multiple
See HSST pg 3
See Chicken Barbecue pg 4
Looking forward to the unveiling of a painting commissioned for the Lafayette Tea on July 27 at White Chimneys are (from left) painter Christopher Lanser, Historical Society of Salisbury Township (HSST) president Leona Baker, White Chimneys proprietor Jessica Meyer, and HSST vice president Brett Snyder. Photo by Ann Mead Ash
painting will benefit HSST. More information may be found at https://lafayette200.org. Lafayette was not yet 20 when he came to America from France in 1777 with some military training and a passion for equality. The teenager offered his services and resources to the Americans, becoming a major general at the tender age of 19. Lafayette eventually convinced the French government to join in the war effort by sending the French Navy to America’s aid. After the war, he returned to France, where he became involved in the French Revolution. At the age of 66, he
returned to the United States and spent 13 months traveling 6,000 miles and visiting each of the 24 states in existence at the time. HSST president Leona Baker felt it was necessary to have a painting to commemorate the event, and she remembered Lanser, who had given a presentation to HSST that included some of his paintings. “We had knowledge of the fact that when Lafayette came back in 1825, he stopped near the Mount Vernon Inn before he came to White Chimneys and moved on to Lancaster,” reported Baker, who worked with Lanser to develop
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he arrival of a re-enactor posing as American Revolutionary War hero Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette in Gap promises to be a wellattended event. The re-enactor is following the path that Lafayette took when he completed a farewell tour in 1824-25, and he will be visiting the places Lafayette stopped at on the dates that correspond to Lafayette’s journey. Brett Snyder, vice president of the Historical Society of Salisbury Township (HSST), reported that when the real Lafayette arrived at the Mount Vernon Inn, which once stood at the top of Gap Hill near the Chester County and Lancaster County line, 1,000 people were waiting to see him. “He was like a rock star,” stated Snyder. To celebrate the arrival of the re-enactor, HSST commissioned a painting, which has now been completed by artist Christopher Lanser of Narvon. The framed painting will be available for viewing at the annual Living History Day and Lafayette Day on Saturday, July 26, at White Chimneys, 5117 Lincoln Highway, Gap, beginning at 10 a.m. The day will feature Civil War re-enactments, house tours, open-hearth cooking, food trucks, and more. More information about the event may be found by searching for “White Chimneys” on Facebook and clicking on the “Living History Celebration” tab. A High Tea for General Lafayette will be held from noon to 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 27, at White Chimneys. The painting will be auctioned off directly following the High Tea. Funds raised from the sale of the
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