The City of Filthadelphia is destroying a gem: the meadows at FDR Park in South Philadelphia are being destroyed for turf fields. The irony is, of course, the City of Philadelphia can’t even take care of the parks they have, but they’re going to add very expensive turf fields. Turf fields contain forever chemicals. Nature is being destroyed for that? Animals and birds are losing their refuge and what about the natural water sources?
This needs to be STOPPED.
You know, everybody thought Mayor Cherelle Parker was going to be like the second coming of Christ. Except I thought was she’s a Wiley Coyote of a politician who’s going to play everyone. How am I doing so far?
The Exton Square Mall carnival for spring 2024 is over barely after it began. Ruined by gangs of marauding kids who also tried to wreak havoc at Round 1 Bowling and Arcade and the now creepy dying mall as well.
These kids were so bad that I am told West Whiteland PD called in an assist from other municipalities. There is also an unconfirmed report of a police officer being struck. That is horrible and UNACCEPTABLE behavior.
From last evening
Then at another carnival not so far away, a shooting. Again, teenagers.
The Exton carnival had it’s permit revoked – the carnival is canceled. If you know something, saw something, please let the police know. Also if you have photos or videos, they also would be helpful.
Years ago I worked for a predecessor of Wells Fargo so when I saw the number pop up on caller ID, I picked up the phone.
Only it wasn’t Wells Fargo. It was Steve, the AI guy calling on behalf of Future Focus Dems.
Literally, an auto generated voice telling me about something called the “No Face Act” going through Congress and would I like to be put through to Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan‘s office in support of artificial intelligence not just being able to use your likeness or even your voice without permission. Artificial intelligence, is as we know, a hot topic for election season 2024 and it’s not a bad idea to restrict fake calls that you think are coming from someone you know only they’re not.
See this news story video below :
OK, so now that we’ve established that. I listened to the call out of curiosity because the artificial intelligence thing is a little creepy, and at the end of listening to his artificially generated spiel, (which I thoughtfully recorded for you), I was given the option to be transferred to Chrissy Houlahan‘s office and of course the AI bot thing named Steve had to tell me what I should say. That I found particularly amusing, because I love when somebody tells me what I am supposed to say to one of my elected officials.
So I hit number 1 on my phone keypad and it thanked me and said it would transfer me. Only it didn’t transfer me to Congresswoman, Chrissy Houlahan of the 6th Congressional District that I am part of, it transferred me to a dude in Western PA, Congressman Guy Reschenthaler, who is the 14th Congressional District in like Latrobe or something.
I figured there was a mistake in the programming so I called back three more times to the number that called me plus the number I was given to call in case I wanted to be removed from the list and every single time it goes through to Guy Reschenthaler’s office.
So I looked up this congressman, and I found on his Facebook page. Immediately I found something that let me know exactly why I wouldn’t know who this other guy named Guy was:
This guy Guy is not my country not my people literally. He’s from the political twilight zone.
So next I called the Chester County Democratic Committee office. Twice. But no one answers the phone there. (Of course I wonder why there’s nobody there to answer the phone because I was told that the Biden campaign is sharing office space in West Chester with them.)
Now I’m really curious. So I decided to call Chrissy Houlahan‘s office and ask them. They never heard of Future Focus Dems as a group they never heard of this bill and there wasn’t anything like it right now on deck that they knew of to go through Congress.
Alrighty, then. This is a definite political mystery. So I picked up the phone and I called Congressman Guy Reschenthaler’s office. They also have zero clue what I’m talking about and were amused that I was being connected to their office in the western part of the state.
Now in both cases I called Washington DC because you know those are the staffers that have a lot of things immediately at their fingertips, like proposed bills.
But no one knows what this call is about. And no one has ever heard of Future Focus Dems.
And no one is still answering the phone at the Chester County Democratic Committee’s offices .
We had a great time at Joey Chops this evening from start to finish. Food, ambiance, service.
I will start with the starters/appetizers. Seafood and it was great seafood. The scallops and shrimp were just off the boat fresh.
The steaks were amazing and the sides perfection. I had the Delmonico with grilled asparagus on the side and they remember the extra nice touch of shaving the bottoms of the stalks. No one remembers to do that anymore. My husband had a strip with mushrooms that were to die for. Our son had the Westholme Wagyu Teres Major with broccolini. And the quick pickled red onions served with each steak were perfect.
Joey Chops has a good wine list. They even have a blanc de blanc sparkling from a favorite vineyard of mine, Gruet in New Mexico. I also noted French (Provence) and Italian (Puglia) rosés I would like to try in the future.
Tonight I had a glass of Prosecco from the Veneto region of Italy. It was lovely and light and dry and not sweet. My husband had a glass of a Cabernet I think from Paso Robles, California- I forget the name but Sean our waiter said it was new to the menu.
The cheesecake cart was a big hit with my husband and son because they love New York style cheesecake.
A special mention is necessary about Sean who was our waiter and he was hands down the best waiter especially in a steak house since Old Homestead and Delmonico’s in NYC. And the kids who were bussing and helping run food were also wonderful and friendly and very poised. All of the employees were terrific, truthfully.
The silverware has good weight to it and the steak knives are a well weighted knife and not some hulking exaggerated size, they are more like a Laguiole style knife.
Suggestions are they need larger water glasses, however. They are cute and I know little water glasses are a trend, but I am a big water drinker and these were the size of little juice glasses. And they need bigger candles on the tables or more than one.
We sat in the banquette seating underneath the windows . Very comfortable and pretty chairs. The big velvety curtains make you forget you are in a strip mall parking lot. And that is not the fault of the restaurant. It just happens to be in Lincoln Court Shopping Center in Frazer/Malvern. It took over and reinvented the space that was once Carrabba’s Italian Grill.
We had started in a booth (and no didn’t request a booth, it just happened), but like most modern restaurants, they are a bit uncomfortable, so they were super accommodating and moved us. The banquette seating was just perfect.
The banquette seating and tables are the way to go for sure. The chairs for the round tables that run down the center of the dining room are like a modern Windsor style chair, and they looked quite comfortable. If this were my restaurant, I’d replace the booths with additional banquette seating, or smaller tables with regular chairs. Sorry not sorry, but modern booths in a lot of restaurants are like what airlines are doing to seating unless you pony up for first class: just not enough room, space, depth.
The place was very clean, but they do need to fix one of the doors in the ladies room. Three of the louvered slats in the bottom of the door are broken.
But we had a wonderful night. It has been quite a while since I had a higher end dining experience that flowed as well as this and had good ambiance.
I am a little obsessed with the simply gorgeous sofa with its brilliant pop of color across from the hostess stand in the little alcove area.
We will definitely be back.
Thanks Joey Chops for a great meal and experience!
⭐️Please note that this is my honest review. I was not compensated in any way for this. I’m not a compensated blogger or some weird influencer.It’s where we went to dinner for a big birthday.⭐️
Malinda Hoagland. Say this poor child’s name. Remember it. She didn’t have to die. In my opinion the state, the county, the very system that was supposed to protect her, in fact failed her. Adults failed her.
How is it nothing was done to save this child? What is the deal with “Child Line” in PA? What is the deal with Children and Youth services in Chester County Pennsylvania? Why didn’t the school district also call the police? Are they not allowed to call the police? Or did they call the police? What is the point of having a system to protect kids if it doesn’t protect the kids?
Below is a statement from the woman who is the Superintendent of the Coatesville School District. Sorry, not sorry those are hollow words and it’s too little too late. Wearing blue sounds nice, but it would’ve been better if this child had actually been paid attention to and was safe, not dead.
But I can’t quite get my head wrapped around is how people do this to their own children? 
It is with an extremely heavy heart that I share with you the devastating and tragic news that one of our former students, 12-year-old Malinda Hoagland, was found dead over the weekend, a victim of inhumane abuse by her father and his girlfriend. While this horrific news was shared in a press conference and is making headlines in the media today, the district just learned of this child’s death late this morning, and we have been working to get details, understand and process this information, and communicate with our entire school community. Malinda Hoagland was enrolled at King’s Highway Elementary in April 2022 and continued on to Scott Middle School and then North Brandywine Middle School. Our staff diligently reported concerns about Malinda’s care to Childline, the state agency that receives and manages concerns regarding child abuse. Shortly thereafter, her family withdrew her from our schools in December 2023, and enrolled her in another cyber charter school. Her younger brother remained a student at King’s Highway. He is now in protective custody and is expected to be relocated to another county and school district. This news shakes our entire school community, and we are deeply saddened and upset by the horrific details of the abuse this child suffered. Counselors trained in grief and trauma support will be available at King’s Highway Elementary, Scott MS, and North Brandywine MS tomorrow for both staff and students who may need to speak with someone or want some help processing this tragedy. I know we join collectively in mourning the life of this child. No matter the length of time a child is a student in our school district, every child matters deeply and their welfare and well-being is critically important to us. We will collaborate in the coming days on ways in which we can honor Malinda’s life as a school community and support our students as they cope with this tragic information.
With care and support for all, Dr. Catherine Van Vooren Superintendent, Coatesville Area School District
Wearing blue does not unring this bell. And court records show she did this BEFORE?? In Pennsylvania no less ? Monroe County?
Monroe County Children and Youth Service’s handling of the McKinley Warren child abuse allegations has earned high praise from a frequent agency critic.
Angela and Bruce Bayer of Stroud Township have a lawsuit pending against C&Y based on allegations the county agency improperly handled a 2003 investigation involving two of the Bayer children.
But the Bayers and the board of a child advocacy organization they founded — Heads Held High — say C&Y did everything possible to protect the children of McKinley Warren.
Warren, 41, was arrested Jan. 5 and accused of torturing his 3-year-old son. His wife, Cindy Bird Warren, 28, was charged with child endangerment.
“What happened that particular day they followed to a T,” Angela Bayer said of C&Y’s handling of the case. “I know a lot of people in the public are upset. ‘Why didn’t they do something.’ They couldn’t until neighbors said they knew something was going on. Children and Youth didn’t know.”
Another Warren child, 2-year-old Jessica Marie Bock, died from head injuries in 2000 after the Warren’s brought her to Pocono Medical Center. McKinley Warren said the child tumbled out of his car and accidentally hit her head. She died in Philadelphia’s Children’s Hospital. A Philadelphia coroner ruled the death a homicide, though no criminal charges have ever been filed.
Jessica Bock’s death came about 14 months after she was returned to the Warren home after Monroe County Children and Youth placed her in foster care. State law requires families be reunited if at all possible and for children to be returned home if conditions improve.
C&Y acted again in 2003, when the three Warren children were placed in foster care for about three months. Another placement happened last year, according to court records.
STROUDSBURG — Cindy Warren, 30, of East Stroudsburg, was sentenced Wednesday to three to seven years in state prison after pleading guilty to endangering the welfare of her son, Isaiah, now 5.
A concerned neighbor’s phone call led police in January 2007 to discover Isaiah had been physically abused by his father, McKinley Warren Jr., 43.
Warren in December pleaded guilty to both abusing the boy and causing a head injury that led to the December 2000 death of his daughter, Jessica Bock, 2, who was Isaiah’s half-sister. Warren was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in state prison for both crimes.
On Wednesday, Cindy Warren’s friends and brother asked Monroe County Court Judge Margherita Worthington to show leniency. They described Warren as a “kind, loving, fun” mother who herself was abused by a controlling husband and whom no one would help.
“Unless you’ve walked in Cindy’s shoes, you can never understand what she’s been through,” said her friend, Diane Silver. “Three times, she was denied a protection-from-abuse order for herself and her children.
“Whenever she called police to her home, she would always be the one who ended up being taken away in handcuffs, not her husband,” Silver said. “He knew how to twist the truth. The day she lost her children is the day her sentence started.”
Monroe County Children And Youth Services has placed the children with McKinley Warren’s relatives.
“I’ve known Cindy for 20 years,” said a tearful Natasha Eddinger, Warren’s friend. “She was a very good mother. But, when her husband was around, she had no voice. Nobody knows what she went through.”
Warren’s older brother, Raymond Coons, said, “Cindy has been a very loving person ever since she was a little girl. She’s never done anything to take away my respect for her.
“She kept calling the authorities, who did nothing, until finally it took an outsider calling for them to do anything,” Coons said. “Just being away from her husband is a good thing for her, but for her to now lose her freedom is unfair. She doesn’t deserve this.”
Stroud Area Regional Police Capt. William Parrish, who investigated both Jessica’s death and Isaiah’s abuse, struggled with tears as a parent himself when refuting certain statements made by Warren’s supporters.
“To say she did all she could to get the authorities involved is erroneous,” Parrish said. “At any time, she could have identified her husband as the one who caused her stepdaughter’s death and abused her son, but she refused to do so. Instead, she lied with her husband about how Jessica got hurt and left it to a neighbor to report Isaiah’s abuse. Whenever neighbors complained about her and her husband being drunk, loud and boisterous and we responded to their home, she would be the one who remained loud and disorderly while her husband calmed down, so she would be the one taken away,” he said.
So I would love to know how someone like this was able to be around kids after the first time she went to jail ? And “Child Line”? What do they do all day ? Of course, should we be surprised that this thing that falls under the department of human services in Pennsylvania is problematic? Look at who is at the helm – former useless Montgomery County Commissioner and gubernatorial buddy, Val Arkoosh. In Chester County, someone named Eve Large runs the department known as Children, Youth, and Families.
So I think these people running these departments have blood on their hands. Obviously, there’s something very broken about a system that seems to let kids fall through the cracks, let alone let someone who went to jail for abusive kids, access to kids ever again and of course, you have to wonder what’s wrong with this guy that he would participate in this? I wonder where the natural born mother is in all of this? I found a custody/visitation case in Monroe County that seems like it has been active since 2019:
Adoptive parents of the surviving older brother of child murder victim Scott “Scotty” McMillan were horrified last week to learn that another child had fallen victim to fatal physical abuse at the hands of adults in the same Chester County town and under similar circumstances as what their son endured almost 10 years ago.
“It shocks me that this abuse can happen in our county, and that schools don’t pick it up,” said the father of Scotty’s older brother, who will turn 16 later this year. “I don’t understand how this can happen.”……A preliminary hearing for both defendants has been scheduled for 9 a.m. July 8 before Magisterial District Judge J. Timothy Arndt III of Honeybrook. Hoagland is represented by defense attorney Stuart Crichton of West Chester, while Warren is represented by the Chester County Public Defender’s Office. Neither Crichton nor Public Defender Nathan Schenker would comment on the case last week.
In 2009, Warren, 45, was sentenced to three to seven years in state prison in the case of the assault on her son, who was 3 years old at the time of the incident. She was charged with endangering the welfare of a child in that 2007 case, after having escaped being charged with homicide in the earlier death of her 2 1/2-year-old stepdaughter because she cooperated with investigators against her then-husband, McKinley Warren Jr., who was later sentenced to 25-to-50 years in jail.
News of her criminal past left the father of Scotty’s brother outraged.
“Why on earth would (the county Department of Children Youth and Families) not have been more involved and why would they even allow her to have her son again after she got out of jail?” he asked.
There are no clear answers.
A spokeswoman for the county, Rebecca Brain, said officials at CYF were cooperating with the police investigation and could not comment on the matter because of confidentiality concerns.
In her statement, Brain said nCYF staff, “are working closely with law enforcement to provide support and services, as the death of Malinda Hoagland is investigated. We remind everyone in the community to call ChildLine should they suspect or witness child abuse or neglect.
The ChildLine number, 1-800-932-0313, will be answered any time day or night.
On Wednesday, Coatesville Area School District Superintendent Catherine Van Vooren said in a written statement that the school district, where Malinda was enrolled from spring 2022 through December 2023, had had some concerns about Malinda’s welfare.
“Our staff diligently reported concerns about her welfare to the state agency that receives and manages concerns.” The superintendent then said that “shortly thereafter” Malinda withdrew from school and enrolled in a cyber charter school. The victim’s brother remained at King’s Highway Elementary School and is now “in protective custody and is expected to be relocated to another county and school district,” Van Vooren wrote.
Scotty’s brother’s mother said that abusive behavior can in some cases be hidden by the perpetrators when they isolate the child from the outside, much like Malinda’s father did by entering her in cyber school.
Authorities agreed.
In his written arrest affidavit for Hoagland and Warren, Chester County Detective Bernard Martin, who is leading the investigation, wrote that, “Warren and Hoagland secluded (the girl) from mandatory reporters and others who may have offered her assistance in order to physically abuse and torment the child and used her seclusion to facilitate their crimes on an ongoing basis over a period of several months.
“They acted in concert with the intention of terrorizing and abusing the child and continued their actions until the child’s death,” he said.
I just don’t understand it. How could NO ONE have followed up since this girl was pulled from school? I mean didn’t the school district at a minimum have an obligation to check? If they couldn’t follow-up could a social worker have gone to the house given the suspicions and the calls about issues?
This child experienced hell for a good part of her life it seems like. Why couldn’t anyone have done something? If not in Chester County what went on in Monroe County? This girl will never go to high school. She will never go to her prom or see life after high school whether it’s college or something else and she’ll never have her own family she’ll never be loved as a living being.
Wasn’t Scotty McMillan enough of a wake up call? Both of these people are monsters. Just monsters, and they deserve worse than what that little girl experienced.
And the state and county agencies who were supposed to protect are also responsible. And I also can’t help but wonder if school districts were not constantly overrun by distracting bullshit if they would have been less out of site out of mind. And cyber charter schools should have some sort of a system too shouldn’t they?
And let’s talk about these monsters, now, sitting in jail: Cindy Warren and Rendell Hoagland. If they didn’t want this child, why didn’t they just turn the child over to her birth, mother, or grandparents? Cindy already had other charges pending from 3/14/24:
Harassment – Course of Conduct W/No Legitimate Purpose False Alarm To Agency Of Public Safety
So what are those charges about and will the attorney on that docket named Gail Nicolina Marr, Esq out of Bensalem be handling the new even more heinous charges?
I have been struggling with this post all day. And part of the reason I am struggling is because I just don’t understand how someone can do this to a child?
Well that West Goshen case involving Woodward’s widow is alive and well in federal court. The document is embedded above.
One would think the media would still be covering this, but they probably don’t but the case is now in the Eastern District versus Chester County Court.
Welcome to the land of malcontents and trolls… A.K.A. Facebook. As I turn 60, I marvel at these people.
This post captured in a screenshot appeared most recently on a public page that pretends to be local but is run literally by people from other parts of the country who have never lived here. It’s mostly a sounding board for people who hate pretty much everything that’s not them or the cult of Donnie.
So do they think that I am going to pull the covers over my head and cry? Have they met me ? Oh wait, they wouldn’t have because I don’t know people like this.
I figure he likes posting my picture, so perhaps I should post his? After all, it’s public on his Facebook page with a weird mouth inserted, probably to make him harder to identify? I figured that’s a valid question to ask given the posts that I have seen that he puts up that are well, somewhat offensive.
So that screenshot that opens this post is from this guy. The other day, he posted it in multiple places. Odd and obsessive about me yet I never knew he existed until the other day.
His behavior is not normal, it’s harassing. He is supposedly upset because I had written about the plight of the neighbors adjacent to the Brickette Lounge in West Chester. then he took issue with the fact that I was posting about the door-to-door salesman from Eco Shield Pest Solutions .
Eco Shield has aggressive sales people. When they were in my neighborhood I had to point out to them that I had posted no soliciting. Tall guy in the photo waived some permit thing he was wearing. I told him that didn’t matter that if I had posted no soliciting, and if he proceeded onto our property, it was legally trespassing. And then I asked him who he was working for. Three times I asked him what company he was working for, and he refused to answer.
So as he was wandering more around my neighborhood, I took his photo and the little guy he was with and I sent it to my township and what came back was the following from our local police department:
The group EcoShield does not have permits and were turned down for improper credentials.
Then the police actually cited sales people going door-to-door from this company the following day I think it was and one person they stopped was using credentials for another municipality a fair distance away. Also important to note that these guys are not local. All of these discoveries were made by a local police department, yet the troll blamed me.
Oh and the troll didn’t like what I said about the Brickette parking situation. Their patrons were parking so horribly (and dangerously) that West Whiteland had to put up a slew of “No Parking” signs for Kirkland and start ticketing. West Whiteland also went to PA for state “No Parking” signs for Route 100.
Route 100 or Old Pottstown Pike or whatever you want to call it shouldn’t need state signs for no parking, it should be common sense. But it wasn’t.
It was not me that caused West Whiteland to do the “No Parking” signs jam, neighbors went to meetings and stood up and spoke to the township officials and asked for help. They all said they didn’t mind the idea of the Brickette , because they had all been living with it even under prior ownership. But they pointed out that under prior ownership, they didn’t park up the neighborhood streets and leave trash, etc.
But this troll blamed me. And when I asked him why he was posting my face like wanted posters on social media, that it was harassment he said I was stalking him. And harassing him—yes pretzel logic: asking why he was in fact harassing me I was harassing him and stalking him because I asked on the page where I first became aware of his behavior who he was and where he came from because I didn’t know until that point he existed that I was stalking him.
Yes for real. I kept the screenshots. And his buddy another Trumpian misanthrope has to mention my “crazy Karen eyes” and that if I am blocking them he will ban me from a group that I left…and blocked them.
Oh and then the guy who claims that I am the bad bunny announces how he has been looking into me although he admits that I am not a public figure.
Yep pretty creepy. But I am the bad bunny, apparently. And who knew? I’m also a Karen. I had no idea the tribe that gives Karens shelter wanted me to count among them?
Anyway I am making this public because I reject this harassment of me for no reason other than a troll doesn’t like my opinions. I mean gosh if we went through what he posts everywhere I am sure our eyes would cross right?
I’m so tired of these people. It’s like no other opinions can exist other than what they are comfortable with. He also mentioned that I should help people, because according to him I need to and don’t. (Also good to know.)
In case you are wondering why we need to live more in a world that is balanced and not full of hate and creepiness, this is a good reason. I don’t know about you but the idea of living in a world where January 6th becomes like a twisted Groundhog Day is rather unappealing. And Facebook still does nothing much about these people, yet they have AI that will remove posts for words they find suspicious in benign posts.
Rainy days mean more of a day watching the world go by. Busy busy can be for other days. And besides sometimes you can do your best pondering on a rainy day. I was doing some of that yesterday. I was debating whether or not to publish this or if it was too scribbly.
Scribbly or not, here it comes.
Yeah, ok, maybe it’s a female thing, but take manners. You don’t expect manners to be perfect, but you do expect people to get the basics. Manners kind of seem optional to some people.
The past few days contained a little bit of people pondering. Not worrying, more like pondering catch and release.
I am a watcher of people. I find human nature and behavior endlessly fascinating. And some days you just need a good think.
The rules in life seemed often more delineated and reliable for lack of a better description years ago versus today. Manners for example.
We see way the world today goes very easily on social media. Sometimes it shows us all what we don’t want to see. But that sometimes is quite useful when framing your own opinions.
You reach a certain point and you feel like some in your life including family can actually reach out to you once in a while to connect and check in. It shouldn’t always have to be you. I have been feeling that a lot recently. If you feel like you are always having to do the connecting and are tired of doing it, simply hit pause. See what happens.
Then there are the chronic we should get togetherers. They call, you chat, they say “we need to get together.” You make plans. You set a date. They evaporate. The next time they surface you laugh because of the last time they evaporated, and then they seem offended. How about you are possibly quietly offended if not merely annoyed and they don’t get it? They don’t get that you put time aside, made plans, and crickets. I have discovered that the easiest solution with these people is to avoid making plans. Or you say great idea let’s check our calendars.
I also saw photos of someone entertaining recently. One of those people whom we have included in things and have entertained. Yet they have never had us to anything or reciprocated. It’s kind of a one-way street and it just makes me wonder. It’s hard to not feel a little used, even if realistically you know it doesn’t matter in the big life picture.
It’s not like I’m going to die for lack of social invitations to do things, but it is the point of the matter. You include them, yet they never reciprocate.
I am thinking that this is when you realize your relationship with some had always been superficial in their world view, so it’s time to simply pull back. Not being mean, life has taught me sometimes that you sometimes invest more in a friendship than is actually there and that is OK. And some people are kind of clueless. And unless you like feeling used, you need to look after yourself and practice a little self-care.
Then there are the people who view most relationships as transactional. If everything is transactional how is it an actual relationship or friendship? And when you are no longer useful, you know because you never hear from them otherwise do you?
Social capital used to go hand in hand with what was society. And the concept of society, and how you got invited places were asked to volunteer had very clearly defined rules. If you had a familial pedigree that was of interest that made it much easier. Otherwise, you earned your spot socially. And like it was with what were once society photos, you were invited in. No pushing, shoving, demanding.
Next we move along to how some move around to gain social capital. It used to be a mingled combination of who introduced you to an organization and working to earn your volunteer chops.
With me, and the whole being social/society of it all, a lot of it had to do with people knowing my parents or friends’ parents at first. Especially when you’re younger. But then, as you earned your own stripes, you were invited to do more. Or not. I was born with a vowel on the end of my name, so I always knew living on the Main Line that not all social doors would ever be open to me and I really wasn’t bothered by that. I left the social striving to others.
Now, within any social structure you did of course have people who would use you for your hard work if you didn’t pay attention. My friends and I had that happen years ago with the then young friends committee for a particular non-profit. This was in the 90s.
We were invited to the orbit of this young friends committee by friends of my parents, actually. I was very excited for this volunteer opportunity at the time because it involved history and historic preservation.
Before we were going to be formally welcomed as members of the then young friends committee, we were asked to help volunteer for a benefit they were having to kind of earn our places (or so we thought.) I think it may have been some sort of a holiday party because it was late in the year. It has been too long.
The event had a silent auction. That is specifically one area where they needed help. They needed silent auction items and they also needed us to bring our friends as paying guests because that is the purpose of being on a committee. You aren’t just doing it so your name shows up on an invitation, you’re doing it because you believe in the organization and you want to help them survive and thrive.
So we helped them sell out the event that year and we got them some of the best silent auction items they had probably seen in at least a couple of years. We got things donated like a full day of golf with food and adult beverages, tickets to a ski resort, and more.
We also lent them the social capital we had build up with our other volunteer opportunities, which sold lots more of their event tickets because this group was rather insular at the time. And we did this gladly. It was a super fun party and they raised money, and we all had fun.
After the party was over, we kept waiting for when this young friends committee would be contacting us to let us know what the next steps were.
Crickets.
Finally, after time had passed, I sent the chair and vice chair a note, thanking them for letting us volunteer with them for the event, and we hoped they were pleased and what were the next steps to joining their group as regular members of the volunteer committee.
What happened next was stunning.
I received an email back from either the chair or vice chair finally in the following new year. Anyway it was this self-impressed little blonde woman with a very constipated and nasty personality. She said that they had changed their by-laws and thanks for helping to make their event a success but they were not interested in any of us any longer.
Only not that nice. And they hadn’t actually changed the bylaws.
I had never experienced that before and neither had my friends. It was terrible feeling thatused and discarded. The irony is if they had said their committee had enough bodies but they needed help on that one event with extra volunteers, we probably would’ve have still volunteered. Back then people cross-volunteered.
Recently I heard another volunteer horror story. It involves social blackmail in the hyper sensitive overly politically correct world we live in. Someone who likes to be on committees for what it can get out of them, as opposed to the true spirit of volunteerism. If it was even 15 years ago, people would’ve stood up to this person, and told them to go pound sand. Because truly, that is what should happen. If people are going to play those cards, call their bluff. They only have the power you give them.
I rarely volunteer much anymore where a committee is involved. I know I can no longer keep my mouth shut around certain committee types because it is not fair to the organizations raising money. I just can’t do the fake kiss kiss and vapid small talk with all.
I also can’t stomach the social climbers of today. A lot of them fall into the they want to be influencers category. They live their lives on social media and everything is wonderful/fabulous/amazing /24/7/365. Now if you live in reality, you know that is not possible and really that is who non-profits think will be fabulous for them? So stupid because in the end when organizations cater to the fakely fabulous, they might get short term attention but then what ?
So here I am looking at 60. I don’t know that all the lack of understandable rules and boundaries are really helping anyone and I definitely don’t feel the political correctness BS does any of us any favors. Fakeness and wielding political correctness as a weapon are wrong. And it almost seems as if it is supposed to normalize all sorts of other bad behavior.
Life is short and it is all about learning from our life experiences.
And play catch and release with emotions over people who simply aren’t worth it. Thanks for stopping by.
The other day a beautiful and historic structure in Chester County suffered a fast moving and devastating fire. This house at 400 Leopard Rd (on the corner of Leopard and Sugartown and did used to have a Sugartown Road address!) is so familiar and well loved by many of us including myself. I have loved the whimsy of this house since I was a teenager growing up on the Main Line. I had friends who grew up in this part of the Main Line, and those who live here as an adult not so far away, so I have literally been driving past it forever. Sugartown is also one of my favorite drives from Chester County to the Main Line.
I wrote about this fire the other day and my first post now includes older photos of the home and history. One of the former residents actually contributed so it’s kind of cool. This post right here has post fire photos and more.
What is NOT cool is the following comment left on my blog’s Facebook page because people in the community and myself are talking about the fire on my blog’s Facebook page. NO ONE mentioned the people (or person?) who was living there. Here is the comment:
This woman left a public comment so her name is evident on the page, but here I chose to cover the name. I do not know her from Adam’s house cat, but the comment annoyed the snot out of me.
Apparently, talking about a historic home in our extended community is disrespectful?
Talking about a fire that burned suspiciously hot and fast and took so many fire companies to handle that could have caused human injury or death as well is disrespectful?
Does this woman know this call had junior firefighters on it as in people’s kids not just adult firefighters? They put their lives on the line for a fire many at this point are asking MANY questions about so I think the ONLY person being disrespectful right now is her as well as being utterly disrespectful of a page which is not hers is it?
And she is talking about a fire that affected everyone around it, so yeah maybe she can just go pound sand.
No one is being disrespectful of anyone who may or may not have been living there by talking about a fire and the history of the house that has historic significance in a particular area.
And the house has a name as I learned from prior inhabitants. It was called Breeze Hill. Apparently the house was named for its location and the presence of a refreshing breeze during this non-air conditioned era. Also the house dates slightly later than people think. Most think this house was built around 1864 or 1865.
From a woman who grew up in the house I have learned this Tudor revival style wasn’t seen in America until well into the 1870’s. That family’s understanding was that it was possibly built in the 1880’s. Both the spring house and the stable predate it. That means that this particular house could not have hid people traveling the Underground Railroad during the Civil War because it didn’t exist yet, although other structures in the area undoubtedly did and were used.
This was a home for the Sharp family for much of it’s existence. This would have originally been part of an estate called “Hawthorne” — this house still exists at 521 Leopard Road which had its own write up in Philadelphia Magazine a few years ago – CLICK HERE. It also showed up in Vista Today and I am guessing that this is where the Hawthorne Place street in Berwyn gets its name since Hawthorne was once over 200 acres?
Joseph W. Sharp the son (it was actually his fatherJoseph a successful Quaker wool merchant who first created the estate and then died in 1848) was apparently one of the founders of the then Berwyn National Bank and was a partner in what eventually became Hajoca, which has not only one of the older trademarks still in continual use today (statue of William Penn) but was one of the early leaders of indoor plumbing –Sharp had a plumbing supply business. By the time Joseph W. Sharp the son died he was kind of considered one of Berwyn’s founding fathers.
This house that had the fire was constructed by Joseph W. Sharp for his younger sister, Rachel.
Born in 1828 in Philadelphia, Joseph W. Sharp was the eldest son of Joseph Sharp and Hannah Lindsay. The elder Mr. Sharp had purchased approximately 250 acres in Easttown prior to his untimely death in 1848.
In the absence of will disposing of his assets, the Easttown property was split equally among his four children, Joseph W., Rachel and two younger sons. As the eldest, Joseph W. Sharp also inherited his father’s business.
Over the next few years, Joseph purchased the other three portions of his father’s original holdings from his three siblings, paying them fair market value , according to historical records. As both Joseph and Rachel were unmarried at this time, Rachel lived with Joseph and was the de facto mistress of his household and undoubtedly social hostess.
By 1857, Joseph was so successful in business that he had a imposing Victorian house built and thus the country estate “Hawthorne,” which has been restored and is located today at 521 Leopard Road in Berwyn, just down the street from Breeze Hill.
Philadelphia Inquirer April 3, 1908
He was the first gentleman to commute from Berwyn into Philadelphia each day utilizing the newly-constructed “Main Line” train, and was a partner in what eventually became Hajoca Corporation, an early leader in the nascent indoor plumbing industry.
In 1865, Joseph married Sidney Serrill Bunting. Oral family history indicates that Sidney and Rachel did not get along well, so Joseph commenced the construction of Breeze Hill (so named for its location and the presence of a refreshing breeze during this non-air conditioned era) for Rachel some time before his wedding. As the home was on the Sharp family property, it didn’t receive its own separate deed when built, but was shown on Pennsylvania Railroad maps dating to 1873.
Already on the property was a two-story stone spring house, the top floor of which was occupied by tenant farmers on the estate. It is believed that the spring house structure was built in 1837 and the spring provided a supply of clean water for the main house.
Philadelphia Inquirer, October 18, 1940
The garage/carriage house was originally constructed as a barn, also before 1865; careful examination of the walls inside show signs of stalls and a ladder to the full, second floor which was surely originally used as a hayloft. Local historical records also indicate that Leopard Road was a well-travelled path on the Underground Railroad.
Philadelphia Inquirer, September, 1941Philadelphia Inquirer, July 1942Philadelphia Inquirer, February 11, 1941
Philadelphia Inquirer, Wednesday, May 22, 1957
Philadelphia Inquirer, Wednesday, December 17, 1942
Philadelphia Inquirer Sunday, April 11, 1920
Rachel Sharp and other family members lived at Breeze Hill until 1888, when Joseph Sharp’s eldest daughter, Mary Bunting Sharp, married William Morris of Villanova in 1888, the young couple moved into Breeze Hill, where they lived until 1942. Joseph Sharp and his wife subdivided Breeze Hill from their larger property and deeded it to their daughter for “$1 and her natural love and affection” in 1901, when it became legal for a married woman to own property in her own name in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia Inquirer November 30, 1941
The Philadelphia Times, page 3 Thursday, June 13, 1889
The Philadelphia Inquirer September 14, 1913The Philadelphia Inquirer Sunday, May 10, 1914
Since the departure of the Sharp family and descendants from the property, numerous owners have made changes and improvements to Breeze Hill to bring it to its current condition as a thoroughly beautiful modern family home.
I was right when I said this house has incredibly thick stone walls, not quite 2 feet but indeed 18 inches.
So to this woman and her merry band I say quite clearly that I see you and advise you all to stay in your lane unless you have something actually value added to share. I am not in the mood for any of your crap about this. Y’all want to do one of your amateur hour cancel attempts because I as a blogger and others are talking about what a potential historical loss this is and the history of the house and the fact volunteer firefighters including junior firefighters could have been seriously injured at a minimum fighting this fire then you are the ones who need an attitude adjustments. Grow up. No one is “disrespecting” the people or person who lived there including wondering IF this fire was an accident or deliberately set. If you are uncomfortable reading posts where the history of the house and area or discussed and people wondering how this essentially completely restored house with super thick walls went up faster than a magic candle on a birthday cake, don’t read the posts. Go back to wherever you are more comfortable.
This was a fire that burned bright and very fast. I and others are allowed to be suspicious of fire origins.
This house has literally withstood the test of time and I hope talking about the history saves Breeze Hill. We have lost so much of our history in Chester County, and this house is part of a rich history of both Chester County, the Main Line, and Philadelphia. I think it can be saved. I also noticed that the Keller Williams “coming soon” sign is gone. That was the wrong realtor for this house anyway, given the caliber of more local realtors who actually know the history of the house, area, schools, etc.
Here’s hoping that we learn fire origin soon and that Breeze Hill will rise like a Phoenix from her ashes. They don’t build houses like this anymore, which again, is probably why it is still standing after that fire.
Feel free to keep sending me historical and old photos of this beautiful house and even anecdotes especially if you ever visited the house or lived there. The clippings are from old newspapers that concern the families who built and lived in Hawthorne and Breeze Hill. I chose but a few, I have found dozens.
