It just doesn’t seem possible. And I shed quite a few tears over this news when I wasn’t on the phone with Sherry Tillman.
Once upon a time and 50 years ago, a young artist named Sherry Tillman had an idea. That idea came to be Past*Present*Future.
It started as a one of a kind cool place for special handmade toys and creations and it became the business we have loved for so long.
Sherry is retiring and the business will be closing, so stay tuned for special opportunities to come in for one last visit and shop and reminisce.
Sherry has been such a part of all of our communities (and lives) and she will continue to be in Ardmore, it’s just for the first time in her life, I think she might actually relax for a little bit!
Sherry has been a big part of my life personally for so many years and I love her so very much and I wish her the best and I hope all of you go in and shop when she starts her sale and if you have any questions, just hit her up.
Special sales in advance of a well-deserved retirement start June 8th at 11 AM!
Eye rolls galore and sorry not sorry. Willistown isn’t stealing the farm are they? They just want to fix the stormwater issues and upgrade what already exists correct? I know where this property is I know this isn’t the “front yard” per se. It’s more like a corner of the property and there are adjoining neighbors and they don’t seem to be kicking up a fuss so what’s the deal for real? I actually was on the property a few years ago as someone I knew was renting the barn etc.
From a friend who lives there and has a culvert that was updated. They said:
…a lot of the culverts put in in the past are vastly undersized. It’s not a matter of draining wetland so much as it is handling storm water.
A resident of a neighboring street that cannot get emergency services to their road because of all of this said:
The area in question is so small. I don’t know the dimensions of the 2000 sf area in question but think about 40’x 50’ is 2000 sq feet. When it floods I can not either get to my house or leave my house. Emergency vehicles unable to access half the homes because of massive flooding on road
There was an article recently in the Daily Local that could have been better with more research as opposed to quick publishing.
So I’m sharing some photos and stuff of Spring Road in Malvern because I think the recent Daily Local article left a lot out.
The subject or main person of the article is seemingly litigious by nature, and if he is so big on the freedoms of Pennsylvanians, he’ll realize what I’m about to say, falls under the first amendment.
I think his little schtick in front of the county commissioners every month makes him like a mosquito. Buzz buzz buzz.
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Willistown IMHO most certainly does NOT want to exercise eminent domain from what I have followed of this issue but for how long is that road supposed to be closed because essentially he is not cooperative? And I am allowed to ask that question. And if you’ve ever watched any of the videos of the public meetings when this has come up, you might have a very different view of this than just this one article. Note video snippets for the consideration of my readers.
(And again, I’m allowed to say that it’s opinion covered by the First Amendment)
One of the things I am most strongly against is eminent domain. But this would not be eminent domain for private gain. It would be for public purpose because they have to make the roadway safe and the little bridge there safe the flooding is literally insane and it makes the road dangerous during the flooding events and after as it crumbles away. If you live there, wouldn’t you want that to be safe?
If the County Commissioners wish to wade in and help negotiate a non-eminent domain solution, that’s terrific but there’s a bigger story here and that’s my opinion.
I encourage people to go walk by the area being discussed on the PUBLIC roadway – I am not advocating trespassing as that is against the law. But there is a real need to fix this road. Again, I am not for eminent domain AT ALL, except this is public purpose and has been an emergent situation….for quite a while. Again, that is my opinion and it is allowed.
AND NO ONE IS PROPOSING A CONDEMNATION OF AN ENTIRE FARM, ARE THEY?
And I believe climate change has a lot to do with this because storms have changed dramatically over the past years as we all know.
At one of the May Chester County Commissioners, he referenced an attorney out of West Chester named James Tupiza, Esq. filing something against the PA Bureau of Land Preservation? That would be filed in Dauphin County, right? So was anything filed? What commercial horse business was he referring to? Renting the barn and stuff? And how many hives constitute an apiary? Is there more than one bee hive? How can he see the road from his house?
And this is literally a corner and like NOT the whole front lawn right? I think it might be 20′ x 20‘ or something approximately given what was in the article?
Look I went to county records. I don’t get what he’s talking about. No one is taking his whole farm that I can see. What I see is they want to deal with one small area of a large parcel and aren’t they doing it so they don’t have to keep doing this? This has been going on for years. And it can’t be a one lane road, can it?
No one is stopping him from playing gentleman farmer or whatever, it’s just about fixing the problem and opening a PUBLIC road isn’t it? The Willistown Meeting on this is June 4, 2026 at 7 PM in the township building.
A photo sent to me during recent civic association meeting…
I spy with my little eye a new Inquirer article on the 19035. No not about the grifters currently visiting Club Fed or wherever that the civic association didn’t want mussing up their “vibe” but the article is about the equivalent of the hypothetical company town owners.
(Inquirer article has a pay wall and you have to subscribe to read it, unless they are still allowing people a few free reads a month?)
What do I say company town owners? Easy. In part this reminds me of our history when it come to factory / mining / mill towns when they were first settled (think 19th century.)
These company towns were controlled by the owners of the factory / mining / mill towns. They built the houses, school, local store, etc. etc. (Related aside: Gladwyne already once was a mill etc. town once upon a time, so is that the rich man poor man vibe the developers are going for again?)
Anyway these company towns had the ability to control every single person. They had literally a monopoly on everything. Workers and their families were dependent upon the owners of factory / mills / mines for their survival, which was a great way to control these people yes? Of course, history refers to boom and bust cycles with these towns which is why tourists visit ghost towns out west to this day, yes?
If you are interested in learning more about these types of towns see:
Yeah I know you think I am off on a tangent but the origin of the Gladwyne Village is HELLO a MILL TOWN. Do the upwardly mobile of nouveau 19035 really want to be owned again in a sense? Sociologically it’s a fascinating point to ponder.
So the article also talks about the mythical green space that is so fake sounding I can practically feel the sickly sweet taste.
Here is a link to what they presented to HARB at the beginning of May, which is what they presented to the 19035 gated community errr I mean Gladwyne Civic:
(I will tell you that Lower Merion Township’s website sucks, it’s as if it was designed to hide things, but I digress.)
So once again they are with the green space and fakakta gazebo with parking butting up against existing residents’ homes like it’s a city and WHY? Do they not see the big assed park that is 14.8 acres DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET?
I mean I am told that developer guy Andre worked in the village as a kid before he became an Andre? Does he have selective male Alzheimer’s or something? Are they literally BLIND as to the amount of green space, open space, natural water features, etc etc that ALREADY FREAKING EXIST IN GLADWYNE FOR ALL TO ENJOY? Are the residents also green blind?
Literally WTF in Gladwyne?
They don’t need a developer manufactured pocket park in essence….there is one across the street that is HUGE. Then there is Rolling Hill, Saunders Woods, Flat Rock Park, need I go on?
So these people and Lower Merion Township are either not listening hard enough, not caring enough to hear, or are just freaking green blind aren’t they?
Do the historic preservation and adaptive reuse. Rebuild the Gladwyne Pharmacy etc building, as that was probably just a favor for some pal that Walter Durham designed it in the first place because he designed houses, not mini malls. But leave the zoning alone which will threaten a well established historic district that is recognized on a local, county, state, and federal level. (Unless of course they plan to add a Trump Arch like planned for Washington DC?)
Listen harder and hear developers.
Don’t tart up the village. Do better, be better.
If these developers want their legacy in the 19035, they need to respect the legacy that already exists. Right now they are merely paying it lip service in my opinion.
For anyone interested in the bougie nightmare that they’re trying to create in the 19035 there is a meeting tonight. It is a PUBLIC civic association meeting.
The regular business of the Civic starts at 6:45 PM and I have been told the location this time is Gladwyne Elementary School. I am told the Haldon House stuff starts around 7:15pm?
The only reason I’m bothering with this is because the Civic doesn’t update their website anymore and there’s nothing on any of their meetings found easily- which of course speaks volumes. I doubt very much they are recording or zooming it so you need to show up if you’re interested.
The address of Gladwyne Elementary is 230 Righters Mill Road, Gladwyne, PA
I also have to ask is it wise to have the potential developer of the village as a business sponsor of the Gladwyne Civic Association? Is it just me or does it make you wonder about the people in charge of the civic? (I mean any more than their secretiveness in general about Gladwyne like it’s a gated community?)
Anyway, if you are so inclined, please show up. If they allow a zoning change, that historic village is DOA. Adaptive reuse and historic preservation aren’t the problems. A potential zoning change and nouveau development circus are. And yes, I can have that opinion because if you know Gladwyne, that is simply the truth.
Went to White Horse Farm in Willistown yesterday to pick up an order. We are part of their Butcher & Cream Club and have been for about a year now.
It’s nice to know your farmer and literally know where everything is coming from. This is a spectacular property in Willistown. You can’t just wander up the driveway, we were invited as we were picking up an order.
This. Finally. People all over now understand what the residents of Mt. Pleasant have been dealing with for YEARS.
Anyway, my cup runneth over in gratitude for Philadelphia regional media digging in to what has been going on for far too long in this historic old neighborhood in Tredyffrin. It is gratifying to know that they care about people in the region enough to hang out and talk with these people for a while because basically no one else has.
Perhaps somewhere up above Miss Mazie Hall and her pal Margaret Collins are smiling? I mean developers could tear down Mazie’s house, but neither predatory developers nor animal house college students have a right to destroy this neighborhood. It isthat simple.
So Tredyffrin Township, it’s time to get off your collective asses and stop ignoring this neighborhood because everyone knows if this was an expensive McMansion district you’d be hopping to PDQ. Yes I am in fact saying that if this wasn’t a historically black neighborhood, this problem would have been dealt with years ago. And by the way, the McMansionette dwellers in the new big huge town houses are not happy with this issue either.
And Villanova University, walk the walk, don’t just talk the talk.
Courtesy of those amazing East Whiteland residents protesting data centers
Welllllpppp…the litigation trains have left contemplation station. Residents have filed against East Whiteland Township. The topic? DATA CENTER planned for Swedesford.
Can’t say I am surprised but I bet the township is. Wake up over there on Conestoga Road in the township building. It’s never too late to do the right thing for residents is it? Mebbe Captain Green Fig can move the data center to his back yard in Willistown?
Sarcastically yours while telling East Whiteland I told them so. I told them this was a bad plan…..around 2018 for the first time….and continually since….
Has a rainbow come to Mount Pleasant in Tredyffrin? Not sure exactly, but a mighty fine centerpiece article from The Philadelphia Inquirer has arrived.
I am so happy for the very beleaguered residents of this small historic neighborhood. I am honestly really happy that a bona fide reporter listened to what the residence had to say and wrote about it fairly.
See Tredyffrin? Told ya.
See Villanova University? Others do care about Mount Pleasant, even if your off-campus students and student rental slumlords there do not and just out of curiosity how many of those student rental landlords are alumni?
Yes there is a paywall but I actually know someone who subscribed today just so they could read this article. Tredyffrin’s inactive chickens are coming home to roost in Mt. Pleasant with this article. A reporter, the photographer to look into what has been even documented on social media.
This is a large article and I hope the message has been received that it is time to stop offering lip service, and deal with this.
As for Tredyffrin Supervisor Carlotta Johnson-Pugh who was quoted? She really shouldn’t dance. She should just say what the residents tell her: if this wasn’t a historically black neighborhood, people would care more. THAT is the truth and reality.
I don’t know where half of these Tredyffrin Supervisors were years ago when the original student housing ordinance was coming in to play, but I remember quite clearly how much it took them just to get around to doing an ordinance. It was somewhat disgraceful it took so long. And maybe the police department only has a certain number of calls on the books for the school year 2025 to 2026, but I have to ask were all of the calls investigated? Are the residents taken seriously?
📌 “When the parents aren’t getting on them, the college is not getting on them, the police are not getting on them, and then you got the neighbors, and all we can do is make a little fuss, but there’s not a lot we can do,”📌
This is a centerpiece article IMHO. The curtain has been lifted beyond a curtain raiser. Tredyffrin’s zoning officer is lazy at a minimum and could be doing more.
Allow one more (brief) quote from the Inquirer article today from Villanova University:
📌“Students are subject to the University’s Code of Student Conduct whether they are on- or off-campus, and the University follows up on all reports it receives from local municipalities,” the spokesperson said in a statement.📌
Ok good to know based upon this familiar email. I say familiar because I’ve been told people have received variations on the same theme:
Now to be fair, in the past I have found Villanova’s security folks helpful to residents to the best of their ability. But heavier lifting needs to come from Villanova University decision makers. I think they promised to be better during that meeting last year with residents once they acquired Cabrini?
A lot of schools in this country have directories on file for where all of their off-campus students are residing correct? Why can’t Villanova do this? I think I’ve been asking this for like over 20 years haven’t I? Why can’t they have a better grip on where these kids are living and how they are behaving vis à vis their policies they have in place for their students in general?
You know when you talk to these residents, they understand the college students want to have fun because a lot of them were college students once upon a time. However, these are literally animal houses that Mount Pleasant has been dealing with for far too long. And there needs to be palpable culpability on the part of the property owners who are renting these houses, perhaps?
I think this is a big stay tuned thing because I think this is a story that’s going to keep growing until the problems are solved in Tredyffrin like in Mount Pleasant.
Oh Honey Brook Township Liberty Biberty mush mouth Steve-O 🤣 is at it again (must’ve lost his binky and needs attention) and he really shouldn’t give up his day job, but nobody’s really sure what it is right now because he’s doing all this stuff again, right??
It’s all of the same lame arguments that they tried to apply to Valerie Shultz before she beat the pants off of him (frightening mental visual BTW) in the fall election as a Republican.
There is even a pathetic attempt to resurrect the kids are unsafe issue because Scott Stilson as a Republican committeeman asked a school if they would consider being a polling location because the polling location that serves their precinct is outgrown for the most part. That’s common and happens all across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania every year and all across the country, and it doesn’t mean the kids aren’t safe. That is a fear mongering lie, and it’s like the other lies.
You know it’s all being spread thicker than pig manure on a cornfield out there because they are THAT desperate.
And then when blather hoodie wants to talk about his close personal friend, Gary McEwan who’s been on the school board for how many decades at this point (is it like 33 years?) and involved in politics for how many decades at this point like his dad before him and that’s a reason for term limits is it not?
And then Steve mentions John Burdy the toady (his wife is Laura Burdy the toady who is a supervisor and isn’t it all so cozy?) who is running for Republican committeeman who is also just a yes man warm body for the status quo on the Twin Valley School Board along with Sally Dee Gee’s son Baby Nicky (or maybe he still wants to go by his sock puppet account on Facebook called Jack Wilson?) who is a college student, so they want to set him up not only on the school board where he’s just a warm body to say yes to whatever the school board president wants, but then they can set him up to keep the political control going of Tammy Hall in the cornfield in Honey Brook, right?
People, is time for change in Honey Brook and this is a small but important opportunity to keep that mission going.
Be the change you want and don’t vote for any of these people. I mean, come on they’re even slashing political signs and destroying them, which is something that they swear they don’t do right? And then there’s the whole question of debate, this time they asked for it and now apparently they’re not doing it?
Be the change. End Tammany Hall style politics in Honey Brook.
PS to address one of drama hoodie’s erroneous claims of last week was insinuating that there was something wrong with the Honey Brook Township Manager leaving? No state secret, just MONEY…
Gladwyne is a wonderful place with a historic village. The nouveau and uninformed see it as this money-laden Main Line place to be conquered. Yeah, so they have done that enough in general to the Main Line, but there are some places that they should just leave alone. That includes the literally historic village in Gladwyne.
Yesterday was Azalea Day at St. Christopher’s in Gladwyne. It was the 73rd year.
I went to Azalea Day from the time I was 12 pretty much until I moved to Chester County. It was and is a perfect example of the magic of the village and surrounding environs which just don’t need tarting/messing up.
Historic preservation and adaptive reuse YES.
A zoning change and development circus? NO.
Gladwyne doesn’t need to be other than it is. Maybe people can’t stop Lower Merion from approving horrible out of place LEGO infill development McMansions, nor keep predatory development out of Ardmore with BS plans every few years for Schauffele Plaza, etc., but Lower Merion needs to be proactive with stopping the madness in the 19035.
It’s like Groundhog Day in Gladwyne every few years when a bad plan arises. The only thing now is that they neither have a civic association with people willing to protect the historic village, nor elected officials who are willing to do so and did you ever think Gladwyne would be in this predicament? Honestly, I did not because all of my observing prior to this was admiration for Gladwyne sticking up for Gladwyne.
Historic preservation and adaptive reuse YES.
A zoning change and development circus? NO.
Now there are still some people on Gladwyne Civic who were part of the magnificent years where they STOOD UP and fought for Gladwyne and the historic village. But they are the minority and probably tired. And my so much civic “leadership” yet where IS the leading? Oh I am sure they don’t care for my opinions and they even tossed me out of the closed Facebook group started by a friend. They have social climbers from Chester County in the group, but I am a threat. They tried once before this to remove me unsuccessfully.
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So I am out of the group now, which is no great loss as it is quite the insipid government ass kissing shadow of the group it once was….and civic it once was.
They will say that I am talking about this because it is merely sour grapes and no it’s not. If they kept such close tabs on my activity there before the co-prez removed me, they would see that I really did not visit much as the involvement of my friends lessened. That and knowing that I could not keep my mouth shut over the insipid nothingness that was being posted. Gold foil stars for all, and the nerve of that horse for not picking up its poop!
I had posted about what was happening in the historic village district because THEY WERE NOT. And it was and IS important. But now I realize WHY they aren’t and it’s sad that I realized it’s in my opinion a combination of a lack of spine and it would mean actually working for the community, right? For these people it’s easier to have a “greenspace” and gazebo that is not needed and for the historic village district to lose protections with a zoning change and an overlord they can bow and scrape to isn’t it? And if this goes through like this, history in my opinion, will not remember them fondly.
Again, for the cheap people in the expensive seats: historic preservation and continued adaptative reuse is a GREAT thing. Creating a fake narrative and a Peddlers Village/Disneyesque landscape is NOT. Potentially changing the zoning, tearing down houses and undoubtedly trees is also a BIG MISTAKE.
I can indeed have these opinions. My opinion remains the same: yes to historic preservation, tree preservation, and adaptive reuse. No to zoning changes and the ensuing circus. It’s still supposed to be a historic 18th/19th century crossroads village and THAT is ok.
The Gladwyne Civic needs to recover where they left their collective balls.
Lower Merion Commissioners need to not sit on their hands.
Residents can’t depend on either the commissioners or civic association here and they should go to every single meeting possible to save the village.
Historic preservation and adaptive reuse YES.
A zoning change and development circus? NO.
Vanity projects can be useful, this project has many problems. The developers here should use their big money for good….if they are really listening, that is?
