Dumb question but election season means whatever happened to Debbie Bookman the former prothonotary? She resigned under a cloud, and I will note unfriended me on Facebook sometime when that happened which kind of made me laugh, but then we’ve heard nothing haven’t we? Are the Democrats burying this? Or is there some kind of investigation going on that they can’t talk about but maybe they want to say that there is an active or not active case?
Now maybe when that cloud broke, she simply exited Facebook, that would also make sense. Don’t know. All I do know is I voted for that woman so when the news broke in October, 2024 I was gob smacked and as a voter felt in a sense, betrayed.
Don’t know where that person went. So this was who I thought she was:
Here she is in a Melton Center video from 4 years ago:
Then this from a year ago with something sone by the Chester County Community Foundation:
And something State Senator Carolyn Comitta put out after visiting CYWA in Coatesville:
Then came the headline no one expected, let alone people who voted for her in October, 2024:
WEST CHESTER — Debbie Bookman, who made history in 2019 by becoming the first Democrat to be elected prothonotary in Chester County and then by winning a second term in 2023, has abruptly resigned from her position, citing personal reasons.
“It has been one of my greatest honors to serve the public as your prothonotary,” Bookman said in a statement sent to the MediaNews Group on Thursday evening. “However, this year has been extremely difficult for me on a personal level and I honestly can no longer give my best to this position.”….Her decision, however, comes in the wake of an investigation by the county Controller’s Office — the county’s elected financial watchdog — into financial irregularities in the Prothonotary’s Office. Bookman alluded to those matters in her statement. She acknowledged that she had made purchases of a personal nature using the credit card issued to the office for official business.
WEST CHESTER — The Chester County chief financial watchdog confirmed on Tuesday that her office had some months ago referred the matter involving potential misuse of a county credit card by the former county prothonotary to the District Attorney’s Office.
Controller Margaret Reif said in an email that she had sent word of her office’s investigation to the D.A. in late August after she had uncovered potential wrongdoing by Debbie Bookman, who was in her second term as the elected official responsible for civil court case documents and filings.
“As required by county code, our office is obligated to report any potential instances of fraud to the District Attorney’s office,” Reif wrote. “In compliance with this requirement, we reported the personal use of county credit cards to the District Attorney’s office on August 28th.
WEST CHESTER — An error by officials inside Chester County government has resulted in the now vacant office of county prothonotary being left off the ballot in the May primary election, leaving the county’s political parties without candidates who would go before the voters until November.
The mistake was discovered Wednesday and reported by commissioners’ Chairman Josh Maxwell to the media that day, as well as by the commissioners and their staff to the county’s two main political party leaders.
One of the county’s so-called “row offices,” the prothonotary is in charge of overseeing the filings for civil and family court cases. It has been vacant since October, when Debbie Bookman, who had held the office since 2020, resigned after it was discovered that she used a county credit card for personal expenses.
Of course this whole thing was described in the media as a “good faith mistake” by the Chester County CEO, and at the time Charlotte Valyo, head of Chester County Democrats (still and oh grandma please, but I digress) I do not recall commenting at all.
But until this morning all that has been heard about Debbie Bookman is motivational speaking stuff. Yes there is a website:
Yeah ok, I bet she is good at that. No digs, truly.
But hey now some watchdog lovelies from Coatesville sent me news through someone I know this morning that answers (for now) the question of what happened with the whole exiting the prothonotary’s office of it all last October and wowza:
Well damn, BOOM there it is. The PA Attorney General has charged her. Her formal arraignment is September 18, 2025 unless it moves. I do not see an attorney listed yet as of this morning.
What really and truly blows my mind is this started in 2023.
Bet that anonymous poster who posted in some random Facebook groups will be posting again soon… and yeah before the incorrect rumor mill starts, not my posts don’t know who posted, don’t care.
(Hey traditional media? You are very welcome! And it’s now your story to flesh out. This was just a dusty curtain raiser.)
End screenshot is from Rep. Pielli. Wonder what he will be thinking now? Not being snarky, as I just can’t believe all of this myself, yet here we are, right? And you have to wonder if Chester County Democrats will be holding onto county row? Time will tell.
Yesterday I put up a post about Hayti / Passtown which is part of the Coatesville area. So many seemed to like it, so I went into newspaper archives and did a search. And I did another internet search. And I tried to search the Chester County History Center online archives, and came up empty there, which surprised me truthfully. I found in 2023, the Hayti Historical Society purchased a building from Valley Township at 890 W. Lincoln Highway. The Hayti Historical Society had a website, but it is currently down pending updates it says.
I also found a 2021 article in The Daily Local wrote about the Hayti Cemetery (also known as New Evergreen Cemetery, Evergreen Cemetery, Passtown Cemetery, Midway Cemetery, Midway Hill Cemetery)
Hayti is an unincorporated community within Valley Township, yet it has a very specific history that deserves more attention, especially in light of America’s upcoming 250th, right?
I also found this really interesting presentation:
I am going to post a slew of clippings I found today. I am hoping all of these old clippings with encourage others to share more about the history of Hayti / Passtown so it is not lost to time entirely.
I would welcome being able to post old photos of Hayti as well since they don’t appear to have any online for people to see in the Chester County History archives.
Chester County has this amazing history. A lot of it unsung and unrecorded. some of it is just by bits and pieces.
Such is the case of Hayti and Passtown…outside Coatesville.
A friend who used to do missionary work and nonprofit work in Haiti sent me two articles of Hayti in Coatesville. They are from the Daily Local, December 1986. They were written by Douglas Harper and I’m sharing them both in their entirety.
This is the kind of wonderful history that no newspaper does anymore, or if they do so it’s rare.
Before there was Hayti, there was Passtown.
Pasttown is the old name for the area along Lincoln Highway just west of Coatesville. It was also called hands pass, or simply the pass.
There is a narrow gap in the north Valley Hills here, and this past gave the place it’s early.
As for Hand’s Pass in the days when the Lancaster Turnpike was a toll road, the name was rumored to mean that travelers could gain free access to the highway here by giving a secret sign, made by a certain twisting of the hands.
But this was just wishful thinking by commuters. Hand’s Pass actually springs from the revolutionary war exploits of General Edward Hand of Lancaster.
A century ago, the battle that gave Hand’s Pass its name was told in much more glowing terms than today. Those were the days when patriotic pride was more important than historical veracity. Skirmishes and minor exchanges sometimes took on the aspect of major battles and glorious victories in the account of history writers . Such was the case with Hand’s Pass.
It was during the darkest days of the revolution. The American defeat on the Brandywine in September 1777 left Chester county open to the marauding British armies. According to the traditional account, General Hand and a small, but brave contingent of continental were prowling around the north Valley Hills. They encountered a detachment of Hessians, the hated mercenary forces of the British army. The Hessians had been out pillaging local farmers, but when they met with hand, he drove them back and took possession of the strategically important pass.
The revised version is somewhat different. Actually, both the Hessions and Hand’s continentals were out foraging from local farms – a practice, both sides employed during the war. When the two groups of hungry soldiers met, it is unknown who retreated faster. Only Hand and his men returned to the gap and camped there . The Hessians didn’t. Thus it was accounted an American victory. No one was killed in the battle, or even wounded. Neither side fired a shot.
Hand went on to a later distinguished political career in Lancaster County. His mansion still stands south of Lancaster. The Hession’s probably went on to fight for the British and other colonial wars, or whatever conflicts their prince leased them out to.
The name Hand’s Pass stuck for the gap, however. At the pass, or nearby, was a cave called Indian cave, which was rumored to be haunted in the late 1800s.
Earlier the cave had been the reputed hiding place of the notorious highwayman “Captain Fitz. “ James Fitzpatrick was a deserter from the Continental army in 1778. He earned the reputation as a local Robin Hood robbing the rich and sharing spoils with the poor.
He was eventually caught and hanged, but Bayard Taylor immortalized Captain Fitz as “Sandi flash“ in “the story of Kennett,“ and his career was one of the most colorful incidents in Chester county history.
In the last century, the past school stood across the road from a famous spring of clear, cold water. The waters of the Brooke that ran down to the Brandywine from the spring, refreshed generations of travelers, teamsters, school, children, horses, and tramps that passed through past town When Hayti first developed as a settlement of poor migrant workers, the spring was the sole source of water for the town. Both the spring and Indian cave disappeared under the expansion and relocation of Route 30 about 50 years ago.
In the approximate center of Valley Township on Lincoln Highway is the village of Hayti.
Hayti, pronounced “hay-tie”, is a busy, neat Coatesville suburb of about 1000 people overlooking the Chester Valley. But Hayti has different roots than most Chester county villages. The first inhabitants of Hayti weren’t scotch/Irish farmers or Quaker store and in keepers: they were immigrant millworkers from the Caribbean.
Valley Township was born in 1852. It already had two ironworks, and was near several more. The huge Brandywine Mills of Coatesville, later Lukens Steel, also had facilities in Valley. Most of Valley was farmland at the time, but the need for a permanent labor force for the mills soon changed the complexion of the Township.
Work in the mills was back, breaking and dangerous, even by pre-labor law standards. Mail jobs were undesirable to men who could find work elsewhere. Employment at the mills was sporadic. When there was work, the mills ran night and day for several weeks at a time. When orders dried up, they stood idle for whole summers, their employees out of work. From an early day, millwork devolved to immigrant workers.
According to tradition, sometime after the Civil War, a group of Haitians from the Caribbean island of Haiti came to Chester county and worked in the local Steel Mills near Coatesville. Perhaps they arrived one by one, perhaps they came as a group. Perhaps they were lowered there by company recruiters.
A little row of houses was erected for them on a street off of Lincoln Highway. On 1883 maps Hayti appears as an unnamed community of about 10 homes on the south side of Hayti Street now Front Street.
Local residence identified the village by the nationality of its inhabitants, and the pronunciation, and later the spelling of Haiti changed to suit the local tongue.
Hayti was one of several such company towns west of Coatesville in the age of Steele. Rock Run, Cat Swamp, Siberia, and Newlinville were names of others, many of which still stand. Mostly they were shabby patches of row homes, often without running water, rented by a series of poor tenants who stayed a few years and moved on.
“The story about Haitians is the one I’ve always heard, but historically I cannot confirm or deny it,” said Eugene DiOrio chairman of the Coatesville historical commission .
“I know that Lukens did recruit around the country, especially at the time of the first world war, when of course, there was a great demand for steel. Whether they ever recruited outside of the country, I’m not aware of,” DiOrio said. The Haitians were possibly in America already before removing to the Coatesville area.
“These things sometimes happened in the history of American immigration,” DiOrio said. “There are Jillians of good stories about how people got here.“
The story of the Haitians of Hayti is almost entirely forgotten. Details of their lives are difficult to glean today. Newspapers of the day, rarely mentioned immigrants or blacks, except an accounts of horse, thievery or revival meetings. But there are strong hints that these towns lived and died with the economy. When Steele thrived, times were good. When work fell off, people defended for themselves.
a correspondent in a newspaper of the 1880s reported on the changes brought to Rock Run by a change in prosperity: “dilapidated houses and hungry looking dogs met the eye at every return. Now comfortable houses and well clad children are the happy scenes that greet the eye.“
In another newspaper article, dated 1893, farmers and still rural Valley Township reported being “annoyed“ by petty pilfering of corn and grain, and by people who even broke into barns and milked the cows in their stalls.
“It is supposed,” the article continued, “that the mischief is done by some persons of the neighborhood, who, being thrown out of employment, are obliged to steal to secure a living.”
As late as 1920, most of the houses of Hayti were still occupied by black families, but the Haitians had either died or moved on. New developments sprang up in the Hayti area in the prosperity of World War I.
Russell Hill, a development south of Hayti, was nipped in the bud when route 30 was relocated through the middle of it. Lincoln Heights, as laid out in 1917, also faltered, but not before adding three new streets – Main, Lafayette and George– to Hayti . Meadowbrook was laid out in 1918.
In the days when horses took the place of cars and trucks as the principal means of transportation, disposing of dead animals was an urban problem. Just as junk cars are towed to scrap heaps today, dead horses, cows, and other animals were dragged to the edge of Coatesville, and left to rot in a field, just south of Hayti known as Horse Heaven.
Horse Heaven was a paradise for buzzards, crows, possums, and rats. It was also a source of income for small boys, who picked through the gruesome carcasses and gathered bones, which they sold for a few pennies to a nearby phosphate mill, the Charles E Cook bone mill.
An even older name for the Hayti area, and one that is now almost forgotten is Rainbow. One of the first settlers there, even before the Lancaster Turnpike was laid through, called his plantation rainbow farm. Later, the farmhouse became a tavern for the traffic on the turnpike.
This in, and a newer one that was replaced in around 1800, was called Rainbow Inn. The inn which later became a private home, was said to be haunted by the ghost of a man who was shot in a barroom brawl there a century or more ago.
Though the Rainbow Inn was already out of business by the turn of the century, when the Valley Township school board built a new one room school house to handle the growing population of Haiti they called the place Rainbow School.
Until 1957, under a defective system of segregation, the white children of Hayti attended rainbow school, while black students went to the Pass School. In 1957, Valley, integrated it schools under orders from the state Department of Public Education.
In 1929, the old Rainbow School was sold and a new one opened, and some school board members wanted to change the name to James A. Long school. The old Rainbow Inn had already passed from memory for most people.
But Rainbow survived the attempt, and Rainbow school remains one of the elementary schools in the Coatesville Area School District.
The Pass School has had a number of homes since it first opened as a private academy in 1800. Its first home was a log cabin, with a crude blackboard on one wall and a row of split logs for seats. Schooling grew more sophisticated over the years, but even as late as 1893 the Pass School had to stay closed one Monday because the teacher forgot to bring her key. Through the late 19th century Coatesville children who lived west of the Brandywine attended the Pass School, and the shade of an ancient oak tree, and beside a clear spring.
Anyway, there was a historical society website for Hayti and it’s under construction again so you can’t read about it . I have gathered some snippets of articles I have found and am including them because how can Chester County be doing the 250th of this country without including history like this? Or of Mount Pleasant in Tredyffrin?
Regency Park is a Low-Income Multi Family community that offers 2 & 3 Bedroom Apartments.
We are conveniently located to public transportation, with easy access to dining, entertainment, & shopping.
The apartments offer a well lit private entrance and include modern appliances.
We have a very active Full-time Social Service Coordinator that provides services & programs for all Residents.
Our community includes an on-site laundry facility, community room, beautiful community garden and playground.
With our great location in Coatesville, Pennsylvania not only do we have privacy as a community but we also have the convenience of various shops, restaurants, entertainment, pharmacies, and more just minutes away.
So do the photos people in Coatesville are starting to post look nice to you?
Not to me.
I have been seeing these images increase and conversation online. Over the years, my experience has been that those who live in rent controlled or low income housing don’t really open their mouths unless it’s so bad it’s completely untenable because they fear they will be evicted or punished or worse.
Even people in regular apartments that aren’t section 8 or HUD or anything or loath to complain to a landlord especially if there’s someplace that is somewhat safe for them to live. Years ago, when I was still single and living in Lower Merion Township, I lived in a crappy apartment in a safe neighborhood and you couldn’t get the landlord to do anything unless the township had been through on a rental inspection. You had to play games just to survive.
My kitchen floor back then in my former apartment completely flexed as in you could feel it move when you walked on it because I think there was termite damage underneath. Only it was never repaired. The township back then told them to fix it, they never bothered. The floor had duct tape on it because it was bowing and everything so badly that the tiles kept popping up. Our doors in and out were not exterior grade doors. They were just interior doors and none of the windows locked in any apartments. Some tenants didn’t even have doors that actually locked properly.
So I feel for these people who don’t really have a choice they can’t just pick up and leave, they can’t just move. And where would they move to? It’s not like rentals are particularly affordable at this point even in Chester County. And is it true that this building has lots of single moms? Are they actually safe?
Apparently, Coatesville knows there are problems as in the city of so why don’t they act? How can the county turn a blind eye? It seems that a company out of Camden NJ runs the place, the Michaels Organization ?
They had me at Camden. SMH. Anyway I took a look at their executives on their website. Wonder if any of them have ever been to the property in Coatesville?
I don’t know anyone who lives in these apartments in Coatesville. But while things like the Daily Local’s “Operation Holiday” is running around why don’t they look into some folks who could use help? Or any other print or television media out there? Only a media spotlight will help and they could be the difference because the bad optics during the holiday season might mean these people will get help.
And Chester County Commissioners while you’re out raising taxes maybe do something about this? You like photo ops in Coatesville so go out with your inspectors and whomever is supposed to be in charge of affordable housing?
Ok I hope these people get attention. According to social media they are planning a peaceful protest on December 2 at 3 PM. 699 Victoria Drive Coatesville in front of “home office.”
I am not the media, just a blogger, and it should not be so hard for these people to get help. But hey, it’s a media desert out there.
So Michaels are y’all awake yet? Chester County? Coatesville? This place looks disgusting and a coat of paint will not address all that ails this complex will it? And I will note that the ONLY email Michaels lists for EVERYTHING is info@tmo.com
When chirpy little posts get put up about housing developments in Coatesville, you have to look. Because with the City of Coatesville, nothing is ever as it seems because there is a history of corruption in the City of Coatesville, is there not?
When Coatesville says no comment you ALWAYS look again, so I am. I learned that many years ago when it ended up, they were trying to take a certain farm via eminent domain for private gain for a freaking golf course.
So here’s the post that caught my eye and the post creator is correct because if you have an interest you DO have to go to the meetings to be heard. I will preface the post that this is 88.3 acres and I pulled the property record and they have been sitting on this since 2019, which undoubtedly means that logically the City of Coatesville has had some awareness since then and why so quiet?
I will note that her verbiage comes from a publicly published whyy.org article:
📌Harrisburg-based developer Brandywine View Tri-Corner, LLC hopes to bring 266 market-rate apartments to the city of Coatesville. The development will be called the Brandywine View Apartments.
The Planning Commission of the City of Coatesville is expected to vote on the new project in June.
If the five-person commission greenlights the project, the Brandywine View Apartments will be the first rental development to break ground in Coatesville in more than a decade…..
Brandywine View Tri-Corner, which appears to operate under Statewide Partners, did not return multiple calls for comment. Jon Juffe, one of the three partners leading the real estate outfit, did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
City manager Jonathan Logan and assistant city manager Roberta Consentino declined to comment on the project until after it receives a vote.
I think that’s my favorite part of the article. That the city manager and the assistant city manager of the city of Coatesville declined to comment until after it receives a vote.
Simple question really but why won’t they comment about some thing that they appear to be supporting? I guess it’s always the same old Coatesville government at the end of the day isn’t it?
If a municipality is supportive of a project, all they do is talk about it because they’re salivating over the money they can make. Except in Coatesville if they’re not commenting, it means the other shoe has yet to drop probably doesn’t it?
I called up Coatesville because I don’t see anything on the calendar. The person I spoke to said that the agendas go up a few days before the meetings and that the planning commission meeting should be June 12 and it is a public meeting. I don’t hold out much hope for a comprehensive agenda because I pulled up the one for May and honestly it’s like a 4th grader wrote it. I mean, it is so bare-bones it’s laughable. No plans no documents no instructions as to whether the meeting is recorded you can watch it live or anything.
I asked when I called to find out the date of the meeting to make sure it really should be June 12 if plans would be filed on the website and they don’t file plans on the website. Now they have a fancy new website with an AI bot, yet Coatesville can’t load plans and documents?
Soooo what about all of the houses in Coatesville that need help? Also are there going to be affordable housing units in this development or just market rate which are insanely overpriced most places?
Rental apartments are also creating a more transient society because people don’t stay in apartments necessarily especially given the way most landlords jump the rents with market rates. Just look around Chester County. Look at all the social media forums where people who rent are looking for places to live because their landlords are hiking rents.
The developer mentioned in the article,Brandywine View Tricorner LLC, has owned the property since 2019. They filed business name with PA in 2018.
Statewide Partners and its partners oversee business entities and activities in five main categories, which include: Real Estate Development, Residential Construction, Multifamily Construction, Property Management, and Commercial/Investment Brokerage. The three current partners, Josh, Jon, and Zach Juffe are brothers of a second-generation investment management team. Their combined skill set coupled with their zeal to develop responsible communities and businesses make them a perfect fit for the ever-changing real estate markets they serve.
Statewide filed this entity with the state in 2021:
So when you Google the address, this comes up:
And when you look at the reviews for the companies listed at this address, they’re mostly really bad aren’t they?
So I don’t know what the affiliation is or if these are all pieces of the same puzzle but on the Pennsylvania Corporation database:
So honestly, I think it’s up to the residents to decide. And if they have an interest or questions, they need to go to a meeting June 12 because there’s not much out there on this plan and nobody’s talking about it which can be construed as suspect in my opinion because doesn’t any kind of municipal government always has the ability to say that they don’t have much information but here’s what they know? No comment all the way around it’s just kind of suspicious isn’t it?
This land parcel has been bounced around and bounced around overtime, and I think other plans that were considered for the site were single-family homes in the past maybe?
The property records only record sales dates from 1955 forward, although if you look on the property record, it shows people owning it prior to that. I don’t know what this land ever was used for or if it was just raw land that had no use.
Whatever it is it’s 88 acres, right? Is this the best plan for that site? Was this site ever farmed? Was it a factory? It’s just a puzzle isn’t it?
I will note in another lifetime, I spent too much time going up to Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, etc. and that area has a lot of really unattractive development.
So if you live in Coatesville or abut Coatesville and this parcel you’re going to want to go to the planning commission June 12. And then you are going to want to go to the city Council meeting that follows and maybe even the one that precedes it to ask questions.
And one of the questions you should start with for the city of Coatesville is if you look at when the Chester county planning commission reviewed this it was 2021. So have they known about this since 2021?
And I don’t think this is a love match with the Chester County Planning Commission because it’s a pretty long reply. It is in this packet of information. Starting on page 27. I am going to give you screenshots of each of the pages but you should go read it in the PDF because there are other hyperlinks. You may wish to click on. And I’m also going to give you some of the Takeaway is that I am taking out of what Chester county said, as a little excerpts.
I hope residents and others interested in this project pay CLOSE attention to what the county is saying with regards to this project. They are not sold on this project the way I am reading this. I also wonder why Coatesville hasn’t seemed to talk about this before if Chester County Planning Commission issued this report late 2021 (December 27, 2021) and we are all learning about this now, almost halfway into 2024?
Here are some things that popped out to me in the Chester County Planning Commission report:
The parcel according to Chester County records is 88.3 acres. This plan calls for 7.8 acres according to Chester County Planning Commission so what happens to the OTHER acres?
is this to be a phased development?
What open space gets saved and preserved?
“The plan and aerial photography indicate that a portion of the site is wooded. Mature trees and shrubs reduce the volume and impacts of stormwater runoff by intercepting precipitation, increasing evapotranspiration, and stabilizing soil through root growth. If development or earth disturbance is going to encroach upon existing woodlands, the removal of trees should be limited to the minimum area needed for the buildings and support facilities. The limits of tree removal should be clearly shown on the plan and “limits of disturbance” should be delineated to protect all trees that are intended to remain”
“The area to the north consists of much lower-density residential developments, including single-family dwellings. We suggest that the applicant conduct a shadow analysis to predict how the proposed multi-story buildings will affect the neighborhood to the north”
“We suggest the applicant consider eliminating at least one of the proposed buildings or reconfigure the buildings to limit environmental impacts and provide more usable and centralized open space and recreational areas. Reconfiguring the buildings to allow parking underneath would decrease the footprint for the required parking, provide room for usable open space, and limit the environmental effects on the site, such as on the steep slopes and woodlands.”
“The applicant has requested a waiver from landscaping requirements at some parking areas. We suggest that the City carefully evaluate these waiver requests.’
“The applicant has requested a waiver from landscaping requirements at some parking areas. We suggest that the City carefully evaluate these waiver requests…..Subsurface infiltration stormwater management practices are not appropriate for areas that will receive runoff with high sediment loads. Particular care should be taken during construction to prevent compaction of the soil below the system and to minimize the delivery of sediment to this system from construction runoff.”
Public transit access?
ADA compliance including with sidewalks?
Traffic impact study? I am person ally adding one that is realistic and not done in dead of summer or a holiday which is a favorite dev eloper trick isn’t it?
“We suggest that the applicant and City consider providing a percentage of affordably-priced housing units within the proposed apartment building…”
City Fire Marshall needs to weigh in on “fire protection facilities” and I want to ask will all roads be WIDE enough to accommodate all fire trucks and apparatus AND will there be ROOM behind buildings and in between for all fire trucks and apparatus? We can all name developments of recent vintage throughout Chester County where we can’t say that about, correct?
So…lots of questions about this prospective project dating to late 2021 and the City of Coatesville seems like they have had laryngitis for a couple of years?
And I have to ask is this a site on the border of Valley Township? What have they been told? And do any other municipalities border this? What have they been told? Development does not happen in a vacuum does it?
It also shows up in a website called Construction Journal which has a notation of zoning variances being sought? So why is this going to planning June 12? Has it already been to zoning? If it has not been to zoning and they do need variances, what gives?
I mentioned earlier in this post that Coatesville’s website has an AI bot. I find that rather amusing considering what money could be better spent on, but I digress. But even the Coatesville Website Bot knows nothing about this project.
I swear it’s the most economically deprived or challenged areas that have the snazzy websites that say absolutely not much. They have a city council meeting tonight and an agenda that says practically nothing and again, no attachments or uploads? And meeting recordings do not appear to be readily available and a handful of City of Coatesville videos and meetings are on YouTube…but only from 2020 so explain how they are sunshine friendly?
I have an inherent distrust of this municipality dating back to around 1999 when the City of Coatesville declared eminent domain on a family named the Sahas who are dear to me. Coatesville wanted to exercise eminent domain for private gain so a developer could build a golf course. I met the Sahas when we were fighting eminent domain for private gain in Lower Merion in the historic Ardmore business district. The Sahas fought until 2006. They won. Coatesville lost because they were in the wrong.
I have nothing more to add. This project seems off or it could just be me because it’s Coatesville. People will undoubtedly say I should be supporting things in Coatesville, and yeah if it’s for good, I am all ears to listen. This is just development and I am sorry not sorry of the opinion if residents don’t pay attention and residents in neighboring municipalities don’t pay attention they won’t be happy in the end.
There are too many questions already on this plan don’t you think? If people love Coatesville, then they had better look sharp. That opinion and the rest are brought to you courtesy of the First Amendment. You can’t trust Coatesville government can you?
I will close with a couple of things from the Saha struggle so people are clear as to why I will always and forever be mistrustful of the City of Coatesville.
I read local municipality agendas. It’s a very easy way to learn what’s going on around you. and when I read the most recent one for East Goshen Township warning bells went off in my head.
So….let’s get to it. Has anyone looked at East Goshen Township’s upcoming BOS Agenda? There is some special and interestingly worded language about a potential “right of way land acquisition” for the Paoli Pike Trail and the Hicks Farm. (Item 11 “New Business”)
When you read that after reading item 5B which refers to “Executive session” and “legal matter pertaining to the Paoli Pike trail”, if you have ever followed eminent domain cases it makes you wonder what East Goshen Township is up to precisely doesn’t it?
Read the agenda and ask those supervisors some questions….at the meeting.
At what cost do trails get built? And is this where they were talking development a while back?
Eminent Domain is something I despise. I helped find it successfully many years ago in Ardmore thanks to our groups help from the Institute for Justice in Washington DC. I learned about both kinds of eminent domain, private gain and public purpose. And municipalities love to say public purpose is for the public good but is it always for the public good?
Since I saw these items on the agenda I have been asking around. And I was told that indeed residents did receive an eminent domain letter from East Goshen Township. And then I saw this:
I went through the public meeting packet for East Goshen Township for their upcoming meeting. And there is nothing like taking letter included in the packet and that should be publicly posted. Because if they’re doing it for the public good, don’t hide it in executive session agenda items which I have to ask is that what they’re trying to do?
Ok East Goshen there is building a walkable community and then there is bullsheit. This,East Goshen, is bullsheit .
I am all for walking trails. And I love the trails that East Goshen has in their park down the road. But this this is crap. I mean what are they going to do connect their trail with West Chester Borough? I mean do they want to connect their trail to 202 or something?
I have not seen the eminent domain taking letter, only told by a few sources that it exists. If the owners want to make it public I am happy to publish it because Imms always going to have a problem with eminent domain. And I don’t think this has anything to do with public purpose I think this has to do with legacy building on the part of some of these supervisors and that is WRONG.
And when I saw this editorial, it did make me realize that Chester county does have an eminent domain problem from time to time and this is one of those times.
And East Goshen? Time to be public about this. And stop the madness. Why is it farms especially farms with horses have to be subjected to eminent domain takings? Aren’t enough things like overdevelopment threatening the equine and agricultural history and traditions of this county as it is???
Other things East Goshen is NOT considering is the impact this would have on a working farm or how this not might but would affect their liability and liability coverage.
Trails are like a shiny new bauble for municipalities but they have to be done and created for the right reasons. If East Goshen wants to use eminent domain it’s the wrong reason.
Farmers and equestrians I am asking you to stand with concerned East Goshen residents and the Hicks family Tuesday , June 15th at this IN PERSON meeting at EAST GOSHEN TOWNSHIP located at 1580 Paoli Pike West Chester, PA 19380. The meeting starts at 7 PM. If my friend the late Dick Saha was still on this earthly plane I know for sure he would be there with his farmer friends.
Also, I encourage people and media to FLOOD East Goshen with emails and calls:
Eeast Goshen Township Building East Goshen Township 1580 Paoli Pike West Chester, PA 19380-6199 Phone: (610) 692-7171 Fax: (610) 692-8950 Office hours 8:00 am – 5:00 pm Please note that you must wear a mask when entering the building.
Giddy up folks. This farm needs our support. And East Goshen? While I respect a lot of what you do, I don’t respect this and I am entitled to my opinion.
I am trying to gather my thoughts cohesively, but if I am honest, right now tears are getting in the way.
I met Dick and Nancy Saha in the early 2000s. It was back in the days of eminent domain for private gain. They were fighting to save their family farm from Coatesville which decided his gorgeous property would make a great golf course. (Read about it here on the Castle Coalition/Institute for Justice.) We were trying to save Ardmore’s historic business district from a similar eminent domain for private gain fate.
Dick Saha May 2005
As a member of the Save Ardmore Coalition (see “success stories” on Castle Coaltion website) , we spent a fair amount of time with the Sahas. We all went to Washington DC together and other places. And the thing about Dick is he supported all of our efforts in Ardmore. He and Nancy came to community events.
Dick and Nancy visiting us in 2006 in Ardmore, PA
Dick Saha lived by the courage of his convictions. He was like a lion defending his farm, but I am telling you that man did it in the most pleasant no-nonsense way. One of my favorite memories of him was when he and his friends went to Radnor Township years ago to make sure the old Coatesville manager who was part of the eminent domain game was NOT hired by Radnor as an interim township manager. The Radnor Commissioners were nervous that these people from Coatesville were there. It was hysterical. And all Dick Saha did was stand at the back of the boardroom. And smile. It was his John Wayne moment for sure.
One thing I also adored about Dick Saha was his devotion to his wife and family. The love was so real and you could see it. Magnificent and steady not gushy. You never saw Dick without Nancy, generally speaking.
Dick and Nancy Saha in Washington when we were all at an Institute for Justice conference. They are speaking with my friend Scott
The years passed and we all went on with our lives. I thought of Dick and Nancy here and there, especially when I moved to Chester County. Then as fate and luck would have it last year I learned about a lavender farm called Mt. Airy Lavender, otherwise known as the Saha farm. I was so excited about it, and went out to an open farm day. ( I wrote about it HERE. ) At that time I wrote:
It was a crazy time. What we all went through was hard. It was a brutal battle. We went to Washington alongside the Sahas, Susett Kelo (think Little Pink House), people from Long Branch NJ, and many many more. It was the time of the US Supreme Court case Kelo vs. New London.
Dick and Nancy Saha were inspirational. They created a hands off my farm movement. (You can read about it here on the Institute for Justice website in more detail.) They had a great deal of local, regional, and national news attention. We all did. It was kind of crazy.
It cost the Sahas hundreds of thousands of dollars and pure grit and hard work and they saved their farm.
I used to love seeing Dick and Nancy Saha. They are the nicest people and they would make the drive from the Wagontown area to even visit us in Ardmore when we were hosting events.
But time and life move on and we all got on with our lives after eminent domain. I moved to Chester County. And since I moved to Chester County I have thought about the Sahas once in a while. I thought about reaching out, but then I thought well the battle was over so maybe it would seem weird. But I always wondered what happened to the Saha family after.
So this morning an article from Main Line Today popped up in a social media feed. About two sisters named Joanne Voelcker and wait for it….Amy Saha! Dick and Nancy Saha’s daughters and their lavender farm! (Lavender farm? Wait what?? How awesome!!)
Dick Saha wasn’t a close friend or a family member, but I am feeling this as if he was. He and Nancy made an impression on me. They are good people (I can’t even really think if Dick in the past tense yet), and I am lucky to know people like this in my life even for a little while. Dick Saha is one of those people who made the world a better place.
Here we are in COVID19 land so how do families mourn their loved ones? This breaks my heart. I am sorry this post is not more eloquent. I am just sad.
May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face. And rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
Just when you think more headaches can’t possibly arise for East Whiteland residents, along comes the possibility of…..BILLBOARDS…BIG ELECTRONIC ones.
So riddle me this East Whiteland— why did you spend ridiculous amounts of taxpayer money on a Route 30 Corridor Study only to allow further deterioration via billboards? I mean What The ever loving F ? is Lancaster Ave / Route 30 / Lincoln Highway supposed to improve by being turned into I-95 in Philadelphia by GIANT television screens that are on 24/7/365? You haven’t even addressed the smaller one that blinds people near Lincoln Court!
So does that mean East Whiteland now has a lot in common with other townships like Tredyffrin, Haverford, Coatesville, and even more? (See the Community Matters Blog in Tredyffrin.)
And hey East Whiteland all those apartment dwellers you want on Route 30? Townhouses, etc? Do you really think these people and future residents want to have to buy blackout shades to avoid the glare of I-95 in Chester County? Because that is what people already face driving by that small non-related overly bright TV in front of part of Lincoln Court, right?
And it looks like East Whiteland zoning for off premises signs doesn’t exactly match the supposed spirit of what they supposedly wish to accomplish with the Route 30 Corridor Study?
I just can’t EVEN with this township. Sign me disgusted. If YOU are disgusted too please go to the Christmas Surprise Planning Commission Meeting. Wednesday December 18th at 7 PM. East Whiteland Township is located at 209 Conestoga Road, Frazer, PA 19355
Long ago is what feels to be now another lifetime, I was part of the original Save Ardmore Coalition. We were ordinary people who banded together to save friends’ and neighbors’ businesses from eminent domain for private gain in Ardmore PA.
Pennsylvania Ardmore Through the grassroots and political processes, a citizens group called the Save Ardmore Coalition (SAC) successfully defeated Lower Merion Township’s attempt to seize and bulldoze 10 thriving businesses in Ardmore’s charming historic district. When it comes to grassroots activism, the SAC did it all — rallies, protests, publicity campaigns and coordinated efforts to unseat local officials who supported eminent domain abuse. Its members testified before state and local bodies urging the reform of eminent domain laws, attended the Castle Coalition’s national and regional conferences, and worked with the media to bring attention to their battle. In March 2006, the Township took its condemnation threats off the table — no doubt in response to the public outcry generated by the SAC.
Valley Township It cost Nancy and Dick Saha $300,000 of their retirement savings and six hard years, but they prevailed in their bout with the City of Coatesville. The couple bought their Pennsylvania farmhouse in 1971, making lifelong dreams of owning a small horse farm a reality. With their five children, the Sahas moved to Chester County and restored their charming 250-year-old residence. Truly a family farm, two of their daughters married and built their family homes on the land, giving Nancy and Dick the chance to see their five grandchildren grow up next door.
When Coatesville threatened to take their property by eminent domain to build a golf course—plans for which didn’t even include their farm in the first place—the Sahas remained fully committed to a grassroots battle. They submitted three petitions, protested at local meetings and took their fight to court. Ultimately, the city council backed off when the Sahas pushed to elect new representatives, agreeing to purchase five acres that the Sahas had offered to give the government for free at the beginning of the dispute.
It was a crazy time. What we all went through was hard. It was a brutal battle. We went to Washington alongside the Sahas, Susett Kelo (think Little Pink House), people from Long Branch NJ, and many many more. It was the time of the US Supreme Court case Kelo vs. New London.
Dick and Nancy Saha were inspirational. They created a hand off my farm movement. (You can read about it here on the Institute for Justice website in more detail.) They had a great deal of local, regional, and national news attention. We all did. It was kind of crazy.
It cost the Sahas hundreds of thousands of dollars and pure grit and hard work and they saved their farm.
I used to love seeing Dick and Nancy Saha. They are the nicest people and they would make the drive from the Wagontown area to even visit us in Ardmore when we were hosting events.
But time and life move on and we all got on with our lives after eminent domain. I moved to Chester County. And since I moved to Chester County I have thought about the Sahas once in a while. I thought about reaching out, but then I thought well the battle was over so maybe it would seem weird. But I always wondered what happened to the Saha family after.
So this morning an article from Main Line Today popped up in a social media feed. About two sisters named Joanne Voelcker and wait for it….Amy Saha! Dick and Nancy Saha’s daughters and their lavender farm! (Lavender farm? Wait what?? How awesome!!)
In the heart of Chester County, there’s a little piece of Provençe, France, thanks to sisters Amy Saha and Joanne Voelcker. On their 42-acre Wagontown farm, some 1,200 lavender plants flourish. In the warm months, those fields are abuzz with bees and butterflies. They flit from plant to plant, drunk on the heady scent the flowers release as they sway in the breeze.
Creating and maintaining such an idyll has been no small feat. Saha and Voelcker’s Mt Airy Lavender has required years of dedication and hard work. Their parents bought the farm in 1971, moving their family from Media to the homestead just outside Coatesville. With love and care, its rundown 48 acres began to thrive.
Years later, in 1991, the city of Coatesville tried to build on the property, claiming eminent domain. After a six-year legal battle, the family won, losing just six acres in the process. As their parents aged, preserving the land they fought so hard to protect became more and more important to the sisters. They couldn’t bear to see it sold.
Over the years, Saha and Voelcker built their own homes on the farm to be near their parents. The houses sit on either side of a long, shaded driveway that wends by pastures where horses can be seen cropping the grass. One lavender field is right behind Voelcker’s home. She began planting it in 2012, a year after she and her husband returned from a five-year stay in Brussels. “I worked and lived over there,” says Voelcker, the former head of client insight and marketing technology at Vanguard. “I got a chance to visit the South of France, and I just fell in love with the lavender.”
Please take the time to read the entire article. It’s so wonderful. I am so happy for the Sahas and this new success I am am all choked up with emotion. It is so awesome to hear about nice things happening to nice people in a world that some days is truly nuts.
I can’t wait to visit the farm on open farm days. Via their Facebook page for Mt. Airy Lavender I found their website.
They have great products they make that you can order online and they hose all sorts of events .
Events that interest me are the upcoming open farm days and I hope my husband will want to check it out:
Visit us when the lavender is expected to be in bloom – Mt Airy Lavender Open Houses – Sat. June 22, Sun. June 23, Sat. June 29, Sun. June 30 Come visit Mt Airy Lavender these weekends when we expect the lavender to be in bloom. Shop our products, bring your cameras and a picnic lunch. Fresh cut lavender and a variety of lavender products will be available for purchase. We aren’t normally open to the public, so this is a great opportunity to enjoy the farm. Please note – we lost quite a bit of lavender due to all the rain and lack of sun. We are in the process of replanting. The farm is still quite beautiful so we hope to see you at our Open Houses.
We will be open 11 am to 4pm on:
Saturday, June 22 & Sunday, June 23
Saturday, June 29 & Sunday, June 30
Note: Bees love lavender, please be aware that bees will be attending the Open House as well. If you are allergic to them, please take special precautions!
What else makes me happy? Not just that this is still a farm and was saved, but how farmers in Chester County get creative to exist in today’s world. See? We don’t need fields of plastic mushroom houses, we can have things like fields of lavender instead!
Another view of the Saha Farm today courtesy of Mt. Airy Lavender
