I just love this photo I took!
right out of house beautiful
Image
I just love this photo I took!
Monthly Archives: August 2013
gossip
Thomas Sully Gossip- -Private-collection
There is in human nature the desire to gossip or chatter about others. Anyone who says they haven’t done it isn’t being honest with themselves.
Gossip is described as:
Gossip is idle talk or rumor, especially about personal or private affairs of others. It is one of the oldest and most common means of sharing facts, views and slander. This term is used pejoratively by its reputation for the introduction of errors and variations into the information transmitted, and it also describes idle chat, a rumor of personal, or trivial nature.
Gossip has been researched in terms of its evolutionary psychology origins.[1] This has found gossip to be an important means by which people can monitor cooperative reputations and so maintain widespread indirect reciprocity.[2] Indirect reciprocity is defined here as “I help you and somebody else helps me.” Gossip has also been identified by Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary biologist, as aiding social bonding in large groups.[3] With the advent of the internet gossip is now widespread on an instant basis, from one place in the world to another what used to take a long time to filter through is now instant.
The term is sometimes used to specifically refer to the spreading of dirt and misinformation, as (for example) through excited discussion of scandals. Some newspapers carry “gossip columns” which detail the social and personal lives of celebrities or of élite members of certain communities
So recently a couple of people I know have been going through some difficult stuff. And one of these people is now being chattered about.
Pieter Brueghel the Younger
Yesterday a mutual acquaintance told me how this one person was gossiping about one of these people. This person wasn’t chattering in a “oh I am so sorry, the poor dear” kind of way, they were gossiping in the “they have always been envious of this person’s life” kind of way. Sort of the super negative “aha” moment.
The person being dished by this other person would quite possibly be terribly hurt if they knew. The great irony of course is the person “spreading the love” so to speak has hardly lived a pristine existence and truthfully that disturbs me.
What is it about human nature that makes some people relish the distress of others? And why would you do that to someone who has only shown you kindness?
Why is it in the human dynamic to be cruel to one and other?
Have I lived the perfect life? No. But I like to think I am honest about who I am and I do try to be nice to people. Are there some people it is near on impossible to be nice to? Yes indeed. And that includes this person mentioned above “spreading the love”.
Truthfully, this person “spreading the love” is in the category of those people you choose not to have in your life after a point and this is why: because no matter how bad it gets for them they keep repeating the same pattern of mean and destructive behavior. The pattern (specifically) is they always somehow end up doing something not so nice to the people who show them kindness. Psychologically I can only wonder what they are punishing the world for still, but the truth of the matter is none of us are getting any younger. Sooner or later you have to let crap go and move on.
I have met men who were terrible gossips, but truthfully it is an especially female weapon. It is used in my opinion most often to wound and hurt instead of the person really addressing what is wrong.
For example, I have a friend who is divorced who started dating again a few years after her divorce. She met this great guy. So nice in every way. He is not quite finished with his divorce and although he was not the half of the equation who began his process, on the other side of his divorce table is a person who has created revisionist history.
And with that revisionist history comes malicious gossip that couldn’t be farther from the truth. As if my friend who came along way after their process began caused the issues to begin with. And what recourse does my friend have? None, truthfully, because this person is spreading this brand of love to get more attention for themselves. And if my friend reacts, it will be at her expense.
Why are women so cruel to each other? Some say it is a basic evolutionary drive of women that men don’t have. Some say it is low self-esteem. I think personally some people are just mean and have nothing better to do.
An article in Women’s Day Magazine asserts the reason gossip exists is to figure people out:
“Psst…what’s the latest?” We’ve all done it: passed on a juicy piece of gossip or listened eagerly to someone else’s dish. And although we may have felt a twinge of guilt, we kept gabbing anyway.
The truth is, 80 percent of our everyday conversations are purely personal, with more of them being gossip than anything else, according to a 2009 study by Nicholas Emler, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Surrey in England. The main reason we keep going back for more: “It’s irresistibly fun,” says Frank McAndrew, PhD, a professor of psychology at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois….But that’s just part of the story. Why we do it…..The short answer: to figure each other out. Since we don’t ever really know what other people are thinking, collecting information from and about them—in effect, playing amateur detective—is as close as we can get to being inside their heads.
And then there is this whole gang gossip. This week I found myself plunked in the middle of a group conversation concerning something that happened on a group Facebook Page I am on. It wasn’t something taken off the board by the page administrator, it was a bunch of women pissed off AT the page administrator. Who is a friend of mine.
The thing is this however, I haven’t been on the page much, and have absolutely no idea what they are talking about, nor do I care or want to be part of it. I was somewhat astounded the way they were kind of picking this person apart. It was like high school all over again. And to me, it was just gossip. I didn’t get into it, just sort of exited the conversation.
And again, I am not perfect, have gossiped a day or two in my life. So maybe I am just evolving as an adult, but recently I have noticed how women use gossip and words as a weapon. None of it has been directed at me, but it has been right or wrong directed at people I know. And in each and every case, not for any positive gain. So at the end of the day I have to ask: maybe we should all try to be nicer to each other and stay out of the pain of others?
What do you think?
community
Last evening I went to my first ever municipal meeting in Chester County. It was the East Whiteland Zoning Hearing Board. CubeSmart was supposed to be on it, but apparently the applicant continued it until September 23rd.
The meeting started a little late and the room was packed, even for August. I estimate that maybe 100 people can be seated and truthfully it wasn’t far off capacity. The first order of business was they announced the retirement of one of the members – I think it was the guy who fell asleep during the last Zoning Hearing Board Meeting where CubeSmart was discussed.
The most contentious discussion of the evening was the application that requested a single variance. 1535 Morstein Road in Malvern. They needed the variance on the frontage so they can shoehorn in two McMansions on what looks to me to be a flag lot. They got it. In a perfect world the variance would have been denied. But just like Lower Merion, Radnor, Tredyffrin, and so on they throw it back to the public that commissioners and supervisors create the zoning. And we all know the zoning and everything else is based on what? The outdated Municipalities Planning Code of Pennsylvania.
Yes it is a cycle, and we elect the people who perpetuate the cycle. So in order to break the cycle we have to change the players enough until we get people willing to enact the changes on a top down basis that better reflects what we want in our communities as residents.
But politics of municipalities is not the conversation I am having today. The conversation I am having is about community. And I saw it last night and it was terrific. First a little recap and a couple observations.
This Morstein application and discussion on the property was interesting. The applicant’s attorney put up several witnesses, including the daughter of the deceased who I presume was the executor of the estate. The guy has been dead a few years so who knows if there were other executors or not, but for someone who wants to sell and move on in my opinion the property has sat a long time in an area where they don’t sit too long. Now this lady grew up there and on some level it must be darn difficult to go through this. Obviously she lives someplace else and needs to settle the estate but I still find it hard to believe some of what she said.
When quizzed about the property by the Zoning Hearing Board and even residents she said that she had tried to interest a realtor in selling the property but couldn’t find one and that no neighbors had ever expressed interest in the property. I find that hard to believe. It is quite a desirable area.
The house itself is a wreck. The property is so overgrown and neglected that you almost expect Charles Dickens’ character Miss Havisham from Great Expectations to come wandering out of the woods. It did not get that way overnight. That takes years. I am always fascinated when people let a family home sort of crumble year by year. I have seen it out here, have seen it on the Main Line. Saw it some more in and around Berwyn yesterday when I was cruising around photographing historic homes for a fall house tour.
The proposed plan seems as if it has a few more hoops to go through (and wow look at the drawing below – light green looks like proposed lawn area and dark green forest. That to me looks like a LOT of trees will go) before it can become reality including things like septic testing, storm water considerations and so on. It is not a done deal yet. They have to pay close attention to the septic as apparently back there a lot of septic systems have failed and if the area went to municipal/public sewer well as I understand it the sewage plant or whatever that is closest is at or near capacity and where would they pump to? And the cost of adding public sewer is also quite expensive.
What I saw last evening that I REALLY liked and totally respect was a community which came together to 
appeal to the Zoning Hearing Board. All they want is their way of life and neighborhoods protected. They were realists. Many said if you have to build one house we get that, but why do you have to cram two into the space? The other thing I liked is they did this in a respectful manner. There was some drama but not to the extent you see in similar Main Line meetings I used to attend.
Community that comes together is awesome. I am glad to see a sense of community is alive and well. It is so important. What I also liked is I discovered that a lot of these people had lived around there for decades in some cases. That is a positive sign for any community and what has changed on the Main Line, for example. A lot of areas (the Main Line included) can get quite transient and that is not good for a community necessarily. Not everything can always stay the same but when you check out a community that has lots of comings and goings of residents to me that always makes you wonder what is wrong, doesn’t it?
We don’t need to all be in each other’s pockets and we don’t need local governments that micromanage every little thing. But a sense of community along with a sense of place is so important. It was so very nice to see neighbors who care about each other. That is something I saw less and less of on the Main Line before I moved.
People define community often as “community events”. Events are nice, but they don’t make the community, people do. And when people do embrace a true sense of community it is very cool and I think marvelous. And that is something no developer can replicate. It either just is or isn’t.
influence
Do you want your little girl to emulate Miley Ray Cyrus?
I am not a prude. I am also, above all else a realist. Today is the day I am glad I do not have a daughter.
Yes, I am talking about Miley Ray Cyrus and her turn as Striperella at the MTV Video Music Awards.
The girl is 20 years old and she basically performed a good whore’s stripper repertoire last evening. All she was missing was the stripper pole and some gross old men snapping dollar bills into her underwear.
I am not going to get into the whole Parents’ Television Council thing on sexually charged messages on TV and so on, but as a parent I have to ask where are hers?
Miley Cyrus has parents. Why I hear Achy Breaky has been pop Billy Ray Cyrus according to Huffington Post was tweeting support of his kid after her performance. Your daughter acts like a hooker meets stripper on stage is not yet even 21 and you are going to support that behavior? Atta girl, split your tips with daddy? Yuck.
And here I thought no one could top Brintney Spears sucking face with the pop star who has left no lips unturned, Madonna.
Yep and MTV thought this was fab:
Miley Cyrus Promises ‘Crazier’ VMA Moment Than Britney-Madonna Kiss
‘It’s going be even crazier than the kiss,’ Miley says of her set at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.By Nadeska Alexis (@neweryork) 
, with reporting by Sway Calloway (@realsway)
Here are some of the other headlines she garnered:
NPR:Did Miley Cyrus ‘Flirt With Bad Taste’ Or Dive Right In? by Mark Memmott August 26, 2013 8:31 AM
Like it or not, young girls emulate this garbage. And everyone grows up fast enough without running around looking and behaving like porn stars. I am amazed enough at how forward and even aggressive some tween and young teen girls are, why do you want them to have this pop tart as a role model? Didn’t they learn enough from Blair and Serena on Gossip Girl for all those years? One Tree Hill? 90210 both times (except the original was so tame by comparison to what was just cancelled.)?
Again, I am not a prude, but even I was kind of grossed out by this. To me this seems like a young girl who wants attention, only doesn’t know how to attract the positive kind any parent wants their kids to have. Yes little girls and teens are going to push the envelope with inappropriate (and even dare I say it, tacky) clothing, but wow, do you want them add a strip tease and bump and grind to the dance team performances at school?
I don’t know why every young star wants to be on the Lindsey Lohan tour bus of infamy, but apparently they do. What I would love to know is how do the parents of these young celebrities justify what they have allowed to happen to their kids? How do they sleep at night after pimping their children out?
Miley dear, you will learn as you age it doesn’t always pay to advertise.
domestic diva blows a gasket over sears “service”
I cook. So for me to be without an appliance to achieve said end result is a big deal. A few months ago I was a lucky girl and got a new wall oven. And then mysteriously six months after install, the digital thermostat gives up the ghost. If we wanted things only 350 degrees or above, I was golden.
Yes, you guess it: the thermostat goes up, only up. It doesn’t come down. (As a slightly related aside read this amusing article about oven temperature on Slate.)
So anyway, my new oven which is brand name came from Sears. Sears appliances come with these warranties and “Blue Crew” repairmen who are truthfully awesome.
Unfortunately I am learning the customer service as in when you call the toll-free numbers is not so hot. To the point of frustrating enough to make you want to toss the telephone out the window after dealing with them.
So back to the beginning. The oven is wonky so we call the number on the warranty paperwork. We tell them what is wrong, give them all the data off the oven door and they say they will dispatch a repairman. A few days later, we get the repairman. Only he could only LOOK at the oven, the part had to be ordered. And the fact that warranty repair is this multi-step process like this is not exactly explained to you by the “customer service” people.
We are told the part would arrive by last Thursday (I am not sure it even came Thursday, I think it came Friday). When the box arrives we were told to call Sears toll-free number right away. So like good little robots we did. We were scheduled for repair between 8 a.m. and 12 noon.
This morning begins with a robo-call from Sears at quite the uncivilized hour stating the repairman would be there at 7:30 a.m. O.k. in a civilized world unless someone is bleeding on the side of the road or it is the snow day phone tree, the phone doesn’t even ring then! At that hour in the morning what is happening with families this time of year? Oh yeah, getting people off to work and school or they are trying to enjoy vacation and might shock or shockers sleep in a few minutes extra.
The repairman arrives. As always, the best and most competent and professional part of Sears Home Repair are the actual repairman. They are pleasant, competent, know their stuff.
So I hand my repairman the box that got shipped from Sears via the manufacturer. I had not opened the box as I did not want to invalidate any warranty if only a licensed technician was supposed to open it.
The repairman opens the box and turns to me with a pained look on his face “Is this all they shipped to you?” he asks.
I replied yes, just that box which I had not opened. Well it ends up what they shipped was not the actual digital panel part but the cover for it.
The repairman excused himself and went out to his truck to call his office or headquarters or whatever. He comes back with an even more pained look on his face. Apparently my part is on backorder and will arrive on Monday, September 2nd…you know, Labor Day. As in national holiday?
I said to the repairman, I know it is not his fault but how come they can robo-call and call for everything except for things like to tell the customer who has been waiting for over two weeks to get to this point and will be at over three weeks if the part arrives that a part was on back order???
He gave me a card with a “resolution hotline” listed in it. Resolution my fanny.
I called the number (888-236-1885). They said the call center was Houston, it sounded more like the Dominican Republic or something. The gentleman who answered the phone was very nice, but his voice was so heavily accented that I 
could not understand him. And I don’t speak Spanish so I couldn’t converse with him that way. So I politely said I could not hear him and asked for a supervisor. I was placed on hold and listened to a mind numbing repetitive fake jazz tune for about 10 minutes before he came back to the line and said he had permission to transfer me to a supervisor.
PERMISSION?????
So a woman named Patricia (still with an accented voice, though not as heavy) comes onto the line a few minutes after being placed on hold again and forced to listen to more of the same mind numbing repetitive fake jazz tune. I go through the whole situation with her. She then replies to me and I could tell she was reading a script or something off a computer screen.
I listened and then I said, look, I need to know what you are going to do to try to resolve my issues, and I need more than being read to off a computer screen. So she tells me that the manufacturer (Whirlpool) is specially making my oven part – yes specially. I laughed and said I wish that was true but we all know the parts are manufactured overseas in factories and there is nothing “special” about it.
She tells me there is nothing she can do for me. I asked who else I could speak to. She replies “Customer Resolution” but won’t give me the direct number. She transfers me. I spent the next 50 yes 50 minutes on hold listening to SAME mind numbing repetitive fake jazz tune and then the call was picked up and DROPPED on Sears end.
I was forced to call again and start the process again. This time although I could have been in Brazil or Cuba, I was told I was calling Florida. A happy sing songy voice wanted me to go through it all again. So I did and then she transferred me to the super secret Customer Resolution area where the phone rang and rang and rang for 20 minutes before I swear the extension was picked up and disconnected. I did not even get to the mind numbing repetitive fake jazz tune part of being on perma-hold this time.
Now my better half is having a go at Sears. And I decided to write about it. And Sears? Your repairman is awesome and none of this is his fault.
I just want to know what happened to real customer service? What happened to valuing my time as a customer? Is my time not valuable? Am I just supposed to be Donna Reed sitting on the sofa in the living room with a nice gin and tonic and am not supposed to worry my pretty head about it?
My final word is usually I try to give local businesses more of a shot. Only after lots and lots of looking we discovered no one could beat Sears prices on brand names we were interested in. However, I think next time I might weigh the pros and cons of paying a little more and knowing I will get actual customer service vs. Sears magic carpet ride.
Am I experiencing desperate housewifery?
And I would really like to use my oven……
east whiteland zoning alert: malvern issues
I have been waiting for East Whiteland’s CubeSmart drama to pop up again, and it is…on Monday. Remember the last meeting on Cube Smart this summer? The one where one of the board members fell asleep? The zoning hearing board agenda for Monday is posted, check it out.
Appeal No. 13-15 Application of Old Lancaster Venture, LP, c/o CubeSmart (continuation of the hearing commenced at the July 22nd meeting of the Board).
I say this is a meeting worth attending for CubeSmart alone.
Of course while I was perusing the agenda (which I have loaded for you here: East Whiteland Zoning Hearing Board Agenda Aug 26 ), something else caught my eye that people anywhere near (or on) Morstein Road or Collegeview in Malvern should sit up and take note.
You know that derelict to the point of abandoned home on Morstein just before Collegeview (if you are coming up Morstein from King Road – grainy photo above)? The driveway is overgrown and trees have fallen down, yet if you look closely when you go by it appears it is still full of stuff although obviously not inhabited? Well apparently the property is in play and up for subdivision:
Appeal No. 13-17 Application of Pennfield Properties, LP as equitable owner, and the Estate of George F. Donahue as the title owner, for a variance from the minimum lot width at the street right-of-way line (75 feet required) in order to reduce the lot width at the street line to 49 feet, in conjunction with a proposed two-lot subdivision of property located at 1535 Morstein Road (tax parcel 42-6-51) in an R-1 zoning district.
I would say given the verbiage that the sale might be contingent upon zoning approval. If you live near this home or merely care about residential zoning in East Whiteland, I think this is an important thing – if this applicant gets approval for a variance in minimum lot width the barn door is WIDE open to questionable development where a lot more gets crammed onto a lot less space than used to be allowed.
The word of the day is precedence. As in you do not want it happening with this application.
Being allowed to go from 75 feet to 49 feet is a very big deal. Trust me, I came off the Main Line where no one is happy until every nook and cranny is developed and people are squished into neighborhoods like lemmings. (Which of course leads to other issues with things like infrastructure, roads, traffic, and so on and so forth.)
I figured from the first time I saw that house that the lot was just a goner and someone was waiting for a developer to put jingle in their pocket. However, I think if a developer overpays for land it is their personal issue. That being said, yeah ok, a developer bought it, but East Whiteland can say no to what they are requesting and have these applicants stick to developing more along the size and scale of other homes in the neighborhood. This property has a lot of woods. Once a neighborhood eco system is changed and open space is obliterated, it is not coming back. Please, if you are going to go to this meeting ask East Whiteland to deny the variance request. Preserve a very pretty stretch of road and neighborhood.
Pennfield Properties was unknown to me, so I looked them up:
far and away but worth it: wölffer estate vineyard
Long Island is known for many things – the glitterati who flock to the Hamptons, farming, beaches, lighthouses, and also vineyards. My pretty much favorite is 
Wölffer Estate.
Wölffer Estate is located in the Hamptons in Sagaponack. Their wines are good 
and to me something very important – they use all their own grapes.
A few weeks ago I made my annual trek to the vineyard. This time I tasted dessert 
wines and also had a marvelous time photographing the vineyard and stocking up on the rosé wines they produce. A good rosé is my summer wine of choice and truthfully I enjoy rosés year round – I don’t drink very much and am allergic to many types of alcohol and never acquired a taste for beer, so I am pretty limited as to what I will imbibe.
You can find some Wölffer in the Pennyvania Wine and Spirit Shops (a/k/a State Stores) but not all the time. If you ever go to the Hamptons check them out and take the time for one of their wine tastings. So fun, lovely setting, terrific experience.
cults, communes, or just creepy?
For The Anthroposophical Society, see Anthroposophical Society.
Anthroposophy, a philosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner, postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world accessible to direct experience through inner development. More specifically, it aims to develop faculties of perceptive imagination, inspiration and intuition through cultivating a form of thinking independent of sensory experience,[1][2] and to present the results thus derived in a manner subject to rational verification. In its investigations of the spiritual world, anthroposophy aims to attain the precision and clarity attained by the natural sciences in their investigations of the physical world.[1]
Anthroposophical ideas have been applied practically in many areas including Steiner/Waldorf education, special education (most prominently through the Camphill Movement), agriculture, medicine, ethical banking, organizational development, and the arts.[1][3][4][5][6] The Anthroposophical Society has its international center at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland.
So how many of you know that in Chester County is a hub for Anthroposophy? And other commune-ish beliefs for lack of a better word? Don’t want to use the word “cult” although I am hard pressed not to.
What, don’t believe me? Heard of Kimberton-Waldorf School or Camphill Special School?
I fully admit I am a traditionalist when it comes to religious beliefs. I am not one for magic underwear and double Jesuses. Not quite sure what to do with eurythmy or social finance.
I try to be live and let live, but I am amused to rediscover that in a sense the art of commune is alive and well in Chester County. Only it’s not your good natured hippies of 1960s San Francisco. To me, while I mean these people no ill will, I find it all a little creepy. Kind of like how I find polygamists creepy.
And there is a Big Love Chester County community that has been approved by London Grove Township for this West Grove thing called Three Groves EchoVillage:
HOMES Imagine living in a beautifully crafted home with no energy bills, a home filled with daylight and free of chemical toxins, a home that will save you money and support your family’s health, a home built to build memories. Welcome to Three Groves Ecovillage.COMMUNITY LIVING Imagine living in a place where your kids can play safely outside without supervision, a place rich with elders and youngsters, a place where neighbors look out for one another, a place that makes you feel really happy. Welcome to Three Groves Ecovillage.
Can you say commune boys and girls? It might end up being LEED certified (another acronym for expensive building), but this is communal living. How do you feel about your neighbor washing your underwear?
Chester County Press: Supervisors give final approval to Ecovillage construction 15 Aug 11:35 , Published by ACL, Categories: In Print News
By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
The London Grove Board of Supervisors gave final plan approval at their Aug. 7 meeting for the development of the long-awaited Three Groves Ecovillage in West Grove, an environmentally conscious development that is expected to break ground adjacent to Goddard Road this September.
Located on the corner of Prospect Avenue and West State Road, Three Groves will be a 37-unit complex that will incorporate sustainable and energy-efficient practices. It will include a common house, a natural pool, a rain garden, an orchard and walkways. The community has been designed to meet Net Zero Energy and LEED Platinum Certification.
Prior to receiving the 5-0 approval, representatives from Three Groves asked for and received waiver requests that asked for a reduction in township recreation fees for residents of Three Groves; to remove a sidewalk to the end of the Three Groves property along State Road; as well as requests for waivers on various internal parking and roadway concerns.
Think I am being a ninny? Check out a site called “Waldorf Watch”. They say right on their front page:
Anthroposophy, the bizarre religion concocted by Steiner.
There are nearly 1,000 Waldorf schools in the world today. Advocates of Waldorf education boast that theirs is the fastest growing independent-school movement in the world. Many thousands of children attend Waldorf schools — where they are subjected to covert occult indoctrination.
Despite the religious nature of Waldorf education, efforts are increasing — in the United States and elsewhere — to secure taxpayer support for the schools.
Humanity faces bigger problems than the proliferation of Waldorf schools and the spread of Rudolf Steiner’s esoteric doctrines. Nonetheless, the Waldorf movement should alarm anyone who is opposed to occultism.
My name is Roger Rawlings. I attended a Waldorf school from second grade through high school. My mother was secretary to the headmaster at that Waldorf school. Because I was in the school for so long, and because I occasionally questioned the headmaster, I gained some insights into Waldorf schools’ secret, occult agenda. More to the point, as an adult I have studied approximately one zillion books, booklets, and essays about Waldorf education and Rudolf Steiner’s doctrines. (It feels like a zillion, anyway.) Some of these materials were written by Waldorf educators, but the great majority were either written by Rudolf Steiner himself or they contain transcripts of lectures, meetings, and private conversations conducted by Rudolf Steiner. ** My objective here at Waldorf Watch is to share the results of my research with anyone interested in understanding the educational program that Rudolf Steiner laid out and that Waldorf schools embody today. There is nothing for sale at this website; there are no advertisements; I do not solicit anyone’s financial support. I am not looking for money or applause. My purpose is simple: It is to tell you the truth about Waldorf schools.
Chester County is also a hub of many off-shoot churches and extremely evangelical churches. These churches are off-shoots of traditional religion. One example? Vineyard Community Church in Chester Springs. Ironically, I know a Vineyard church pastor with a church in Ardmore. Very nice guy, very spiritual. But this new-age approach to religion isn’t my cup of tea and these Vineyard Churches in my opinion are like a religious pyramid scheme. I know they will all be praying for me now, but I just don’t get it. Kind of like how I do not get these new breeds of evangelical Born Again Christians.
I guess this all goes back to my belief that I do believe religion should be part of your life if you so choose, I just don’t feel it should be captain of your life ship. Religion like many other things in life is something I believe should be experienced in moderation. And yes, I have touched on religion before on this blog. I try to be careful about it, because I don’t want to offend or cause villagers to raise up pitchforks, but there is stuff that just escapes me. But I don’t have magic underwear so what do I know anyway?
Communes have a politically correct name now – “Intentional Communities”. I found a website called Fellowship for Intentional Community and they list on their website a handy directory of your local communes. Here is what they have listed for Chester County:
Camphill Village Kimberton Hills/Kimberton, Pennsylvania, United States:
Camphill Village Kimberton Hills is one of 10 North American communities in the Camphill movement–each one unique, yet all with similar purposes. We seek to create a renewed village life and to establish healthy social forms of human interdependence. Our approach is based on the inspirations of Rudolf Steiner’s anthroposophy, which allows each person to evolve to their potential as a respected individual
Altair Cohousing, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, United States
Altair has been active for twelve years and currently consists of five families who have invested in cohousing. We follow the traditional cohousing model and are looking to build 30-40 units ranging in size from studios to four-bedroom units. We have our eye on sites in Kimberton….We seek people of all ages and income levels. At the moment, we need a solid group of investors! You can visit our website or contact us by email or phone.
Concord Ecovillage envisions 30-40 very environmentally friendly homes, clustered around a central walkway, with a lively, well-used common house. We will have a community organic garden, native plantings, play space for the children, and many other amenities. We are actively seeking individuals and families with or without children and value diversity. We will be located within walking distance of a small town in southern Chester County PA or New Castle County, DE. We are both a cohousing community and an ecovillage. We place an emphasis on excellent facilitation of meetings, building social ties before we build homes, and honest group dynamics. Status: looking for land.
Three Groves Ecovillage is an organization of local people seeking to build and reside in an environmentally and socially sustainable neighborhood. We will break ground in Fall 2013! We have land in London Grove Township, on the south edge of West Grove PA, and intend to build a LEED-certified Platinum ecovillage neighborhood…An inter-generational, friendly atmosphere that is safe for children and conducive to visiting with neighbors.
* A large Common House, for optional shared meals and other activities. * A pedestrian village that is clustered around walkways and the common house, with cars parked on the periphery of the site for safety and to maintain open spaces for nature and recreation.
There is even a magazine about this stuff called “Communities” :
Since 1972, Communities has been the primary resource for information, issues, stories, and ideas about intentional communities in North America—from urban co-ops to cohousing groups to ecovillages to rural communes. Communities now also focuses on creating and enhancing community in the workplace, in nonprofit or activist organizations, and in neighborhoods, with enhanced coverage of international communities as well. We explore the joys and challenges of cooperation in its many dimensions.
This whole “group process” stuff is just weird. When did being in a traditional religion or even being in your own home or whatever it is go out of fashion? Is communal living a new trend? Are we morphing into some Logan’s Run society where soon we will make no decisions, they will be made for us? Of the sheeple, by the sheeple, for the sheeple?
I don’t get it. But Chester County has a history of cults and communes and group living. I am told it just exists out of the normal view shed. Here check out the “Battle Axe” Cult of North Coventry Township of the 1840s:
A quote from the Bible explaining the name. The actual quote is from Jeremiah 51:20, not 51:6: “Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;”
Religious cult spread through Norco in mid-1800s
Sunday, January 4, 2009 2:31 PM ESTBy Michael Snyder, Special to The Mercury
One Sunday in 1843, the members of Shenkel Church, in North Coventry Township, Chester County, had their weekly service interrupted by a procession of interlopers cavorting down the main aisle waving their arms and crying out. Not only were they noisy, they weren’t dressed in their Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes; in fact, they weren’t wearing any clothes at all.
These cavorters were not outsiders. Most were former members of the Shenkel congregation and relatives of the people seated in the pews. They weren’t thrill seekers or practical jokers, but members of the Battle Axes, a cult that made its appearance in northern Chester County in 1840.
The Battle Axes, one of the many cults that sprang up during the Second Great Awakening, a religious revival that swept through America in the early 19th century, was the creation of Theophilus Ransom Gates….
Almost all of Gates’ recruits came from northwestern North Coventry Township. This was called Shenkel’s Valley, but after the Gatesites began practicing their faith, the name Shenkel lost out to Free Love.
There probably were never any more than 35 Battle Axers. Strangely, even though Gates continued as their leader, he is seldom mentioned as having an active role in that sect in the Coventry area. According to North Coventry historian E. Spencer Claypoole, Gates and his wife, Mary, lived with Samuel Reinhard in East Coventry Township. He died Oct. 30, 1846, and is buried amongst members of the Reinhart family in the Union Cemetery in Parker Ford.
The movement was so poorly organized; there were no written codes of conduct, no formal liturgy was developed, and there doesn’t seem to have been a set time or location for their meetings. However anecdotal records reveal that group nudity, emulating the pure state of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, played an important role in Battle Axe service.
They were known to have had meetings in Hannah Shingle’s spring house, present day 1525 Shenkel Road, and at the farm of George Snyder on Unionville Road. One of their favorite ritual spots was a pond on the west side of Cold Springs Road. Here, according to the historian Charles Sellers, “they would enter the water in single file.” “It was the greatest sacrilege . . . to look behind,” but “once in the water the ‘natur’of ‘em’ broke lose.”
From Farm Community to Haven for Free Sexual Affairs
Sunday Local News, West Chester, PA, pp A17-A18, March 29, 1987 Identical text to original article – added to this site Oct. 6, 1997
By ELIZABETH HUMPHREY of the Local News Staff
In the northernmost wooded country side of Chester county lies a village called Shenkel, its serenity only a cover for the tumultuous hedonism of the past.
Consider the mid-19th century – as straight laced as women’s corsets, covered by the layers upon layers of frills and enshrouding societal “lace.” Somber and reserved.
Ironically considering the severity of repression at the start of the Victorian age, the era brought on the antithesis of reserve in many an unassuming American town.
Such was the advent of Free Love Valley (so designated on certain old Chester County maps): religious cult, nudist colony, alleged Utopia. The transformation of the small North Coventry township corners from a peaceful farming community to a haven for sexual exchange and un-inhibited nudity followed the arrival of an evangelist by the name of Theophilus Ransom Gates.
The story is told in detail by Charles Coleman Sellers in “Theophilus the Battle-Axe.” A sickly boy, born in Connecticut in 1787, he was haunted by visions of the pits of hell.
Thrown into Philadelphia’s Old Arch Street Prison for debt, Gates gained note for an impassioned public plea in which he attacked the practice of jailing debtors.
I remember in the 1980s someone telling me of some sort of communal living thing somewhere off Route 926 in Westtown. It was described as more of a Shaker-like community. Of course, Shakers were religious commune communities, weren’t they? There was that whole Utopian mind-set and communal living, right? The Shakers gave us many things interestingly enough. Beautifully simple architecture, form meets purpose. Baskets? Chairs? Furniture? Yet everything in its simple beauty had a purpose.
And students of history? Owenism? A communal Utopian community was in Valley Forge based on Ownenist principals – Valley Forge Community, Valley Forge, Chester County, PA (1826). Also known as “Friendly Association of Mutual Interests.” (Check out the list of Communal Societies from the late 1600s)
I guess we can safely say communes and quasi-religious communal living is as American as apple pie. We are a land of religious freedom, but these groups seem to forgo both religious and individual freedoms for group mentality, don’t they? Our founding fathers provided this right when our country was formed, but do these groups in fact, harken back to (in a sense) what people were escaping from in the first place?
Any thoughts? Do we call these communities cults, communes, or just creepy?
Some further interesting reading? An old, old book called History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with genealogical and biographical sketches (1881) – you can read it online or get for Kindle, etc.
barking out loud
swimming dog, East Hampton, NY
Dog rescue is an emotional business. Want to see people get up in arms quickly? Talk about animal rescue and shelters. So that being said, some are not going to like that I am posting about the Chester County SPCA.
The Chester County SPCA has a fabulous history. One of my most favorite rescue dogs ever, an English Springer Spaniel named Winston came home from there. But like every other animal rescue place time in memoriam, apparently the Chester County SPCA is having some fairly serious issues.
The Chester County SPCA has exploded all over the news in the past few days or so much like the Delaware County SPCA did a few years ago. I am not surprised because very early on in the summer I heard some really upsetting things about the Chester County SPCA. Is it true they are NOT scanning animals for micro chipping and are in a lot of cases just shipping animals down to Philadelphia? I find that personally distressing because why are we micro chipping and licensing pets if no one is really going to try to use these things to identify our animals if god forbid they get lost?
The Inquirer broke news that Chester County SPCA volunteers said the shelter had turned into a “kill factory”. If it had been anyone other than Amy Worden and Mari Schaeffer (whose article first appeared) breaking this news I might be very skeptical. But these women know their stuff. So is it true?
And the stories leaking out are of volunteers and shelter employees being punished and/or shown the door for questioning things? And even board members are talking?
I personally am very concerned because if the Chester County SPCA doesn’t quit trying to muzzle people and deal with its issues they will have real problems which may cause them to have serious, serious issues in the long run. I will say I realize and accept that not every dog and cat can be saved. However, that being said, if they are taking the money to pay for the saving, then the Chester County SPCA needs to open up and be honest. I figure because they take public money they might be subject to right to know requests?
Sign me worried and disappointed and see below for what is in the media and so on.
Like it or not, something is going on because TOO many media sources are writing. And a blog I never saw before has cropped up – Justice For Chester County Animals:
We tried to tell them -parts 2, 3, & 4
Theresa Duffy, former volunteer, wrote this on July 28, when she was still a core dog walking volunteer and a member of the Dogs on Tour team.
Board of Directors
The Chester County SPCA 1212 Phoenixville Pike West Chester, PA 19380
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I am currently a volunteer at CCSPCA. Until recently, I was a regular face at the shelter, spending as much time as possible there walking dogs and having the pleasure of getting to know their individual personalities.
I am writing to you to express my concern for the well being of the animals that reside in this shelter. I feel this is a matter of urgency and requires your attention. My observations are detailed as follows:
The absence of an operations manager is apparent. I hope you are actively and aggressively seeking to fill this position with a qualified individual. There is no evidence of that in the job openings section of the CCSPCA website or a search conducted on the internet.
It is clear the shelter is under-staffed in the kennel specifically. On several occasions, fellow volunteers and I have cleaned up the dog pens and ensured water was replenished. I never minded doing it, but it speaks to the need for more attention to detail. Potential adopters may turn away due to offensive odor. Also, I’m sure you wouldn’t want someone conclude that the animals were not given fresh water at all times.
Regarding the health of certain animals, I have observed that some animals’ conditions do not appear to improve over time and then they are suddenly missing. Veterinary attention is a basic need for the health of these animals. I have heard rumblings that veterinary care was being reduced as a cost cutting measure for shelter. I understand the shelter is not a sanctuary, but euthanizing a dog when an antibiotic could have spared its life, is reprehensible.
The shelter is losing long standing solid contributing volunteers for 2 reasons. First, they are being fired because they care too much. The policy states that a volunteer cannot question euthanasia decisions. Volunteers give of our time because we care, asking us to ignore that is impossible. Enforcing shelter policy related to volunteers specifically should require the use of some compassion. The situation with Leslie Celia could have been handled with much more respect and understanding rather than inflaming an already emotionally charged situation. Second, they are leaving out of disgust specifically due to Deb Murray. As volunteer coordinator I believe she’s actually going out of her way to deter volunteers from participating. She removes Facebook posts that she deems inappropriate when in actuality, that’s the only place we can share information and learn from each other. She is rarely present at the shelter and when she is, doesn’t participate in walking dogs. Therefore, she doesn’t know their personalities, or needs. How can this individual be in charge of volunteers?
I am also wondering why the dogs park days have been eliminated. The importance of these informal outings shouldn’t be diminished. These animals are given so little time in the fresh air, that a good long walk, in normal surroundings benefits their mental well being. Additionally, some critical learning’s about the dogs behaviors help to inform potential adopters of any special needs. Please consider reinstating this as soon as possible.
Michele Amendola’s absence is noticeable. Not one dog, that I am aware of, has gone to rescue since she began medical leave. Have you discontinued trying to move these animals and spare their lives? Also, what happened to the satellite adoption centers for the cats? Didn’t that program move over 40 animals to families?
I am a volunteer specifically for the CCSPCA for a variety of reasons. The Mission and Vision contribute to it. If these values have changed, please let me know.
Also look at these media reports:
Philly Dawg: Volunteers: Chester County SPCA Has Become a “Kill Factory”
Animal lovers are speaking out about treatment of pets at the Chester County SPCA, including dogs put down for minor health problems and a majority of cats getting a one-way ticket to the euthanasia room.
Volunteers say the shelter in the state’s richest county has become a “kill factory.”
Euthanasia numbers on rise at Chesco animal shelter
Mari A. Schaefer, Inquirer Staff Writer
Last updated: Monday, August 12, 2013, 1:08 AM
It is a regional hub for taking in stray dogs and cats, but the Chester County SPCA shelter has become a “kill factory,” say SPCA volunteers, a former board member, and ex-staff members.
They blame ineffective board leadership, unfilled senior management positions, and a clash of ideologies for a significant rise in euthanasia numbers.
Pottstown Mercury: Animal advocates concerned about Chesco SPCA euthanasia rate
By Vince Sullivan vsullivan@21st-centurymedia.com
Posted: Monday, 08/19/13 01:11 pm
When Dave Schlott picked up a stray dog in Chester, Delaware County, last Monday, he was enamored of its personality.
Found on a porch, the dog was frail, but not starved. A homeowner had been feeding it, and it seemed friendly. It also showed signs of physical abuse.
Schlott is filling in as the city’s animal control officer for a few weeks after having retired from that position last year. The reason he gave for retiring was the county’s then-new contract with the Chester County SPCA to take in all of Delaware County’s stray animals.
Schlott had been in the business for many years with contracts for 15 Delaware County towns and he didn’t want to have to make multiple trips a day to the West Chester area facility.The reason he gave for not taking this particular dog, which has been named Gretchen, is that he is concerned with reports from former volunteers and employees in Chester County that the SPCA’s euthanasia rates have skyrocketed since it started taking in Delaware County’s strays.“They seem to be overwhelmed by the number of animals they’re getting in,” Schlott said. “I was determined to save at least this dog.”….A group of current and former workers at the Chester County SPCA have banded together to try and change what they deem as unsatisfactory policies and practices regarding the euthanization of animals….The volunteers and staff members say that the influx of animals from Delco has overwhelmed the Chester County SPCA.
“Every staff member said we can’t handle this,” said Kaity Dempsey, who worked at the shelter for seven years. She was fired from her position as rescue coordinator nine months ago.
“They just said we’ll take your money,” said Jen McCreary, a former volunteer who fosters animals. She stopped volunteering in May because of her issues with the organization’s leadership.
Rich Britton, spokesperson for the Chester County SPCA, declined to talk about euthanasia numbers Friday. He instead highlighted the issue of animal overpopulation…One of the chief complaints from the former workers is the lack of qualified people in leadership positions. The shelter is currently searching for an executive director, which is traditionally a person who oversees the day-to-day operations of a facility. That search has been ongoing for several months after a handful of short-lived interim managers.
“They’ve never had any leadership,” said a former employee who asked not to be named because they aren’t permitted to speak about the shelter’s operations. “It’s been nine months since the last operations manager. But the executive director is the big piece that’s missing. That’s your fundraising.”
“They need to hire day-to-day management,” said a current volunteer who asked not to be named because they didn’t want to be barred from the shelter
Patch: Chester County SPCA’s Message About Pets Surprises Some
The SPCA has an urgent plea for pet owners who can no longer afford to care for pets.
Posted by Bob Byrne (Editor) , August 11, 2013 at 11:41 AM
The Chester County SPCA has a message for pet owners who may no longer be able to care for their pets: Please try to find a new home for your pet before bringing it to the SPCA.
giggle
Image
