Today life got a little too real. Someone very special, whom I truly admired, has died. Dick Saha of Wagontown/Coatesville.
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.
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 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.
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!!)
I wrote another post about my first Mt. Airy visit and also about an event I attended on the farm that was a wine tasting. One granddaughter, Gretchen Voelcker, is a very talented vintner (Luna Hart wines.). These were the last two times I saw Dick Saha. He had aged, and he looked frail to me. And now heaven has another angel. Dick Saha was 90.
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.
Dick, it was an honor to have known you. Fly with the angels. (His funeral home has information here.)
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.
We returned yesterday evening to the farm located in Wagontown for a wine tasting. We went to meet the lovely Gretchen Voelcker, owner and creator of 
Why Luna Hart? Other than the wines are quite good? Because her proprietress and winemaker is from Chester County.
Gretchen Voelcker, the winemaker and creator of Luna Hart Wines grew up in Europe and right on the farm hosting the wine tasting event. 
While she and her family lived in Europe during her high school years and continuing with summers during her college years, she visited many different wine regions in France ultimately falling in love with the craft of winemaking and developing her own passion for wine.
When you speak with Gretchen as I did, you can see the passion for her chosen profession right of her face. She completely lights up while discussing how passion for wine began while living in Europe and visiting the many wonderful wine regions and vignobles in France. Another passion was fueled by her love of nature and all things outdoors bringing her to California where she has had the fortune of working with gifted winemakers, mentors and role-models. 
After studying Business & French at Georgetown University and earning a degree in plant science from University of California, Santa Cruz, she moved to Santa Barbara County.
The 2017 Grüner Veltliner was my pick because I am allergic to most red wines, and I prefer varietal whites over a bland Chardonnay. People laugh when I entertain because I don’t include Chardonnays. This wine is reminiscent of three wine styles to me: Alsatian, Austrian, and German.
I also sampled the 2018 Sauvignon Blanc which was nice, but as I said the wine that hooked me was the 2017 Grüner Veltliner.
There is a lot of pretentious and not so enjoyable wine out there. Luna Hart is a label to watch. Gretchen is a talented winemaker and I look forward to tasting and purchasing more of her wines. Another one which interested me but sold out was the 2016 Aurora White. It uses in part a viognier grape and one of my all time favorite white varietals is a viognier.
Many thanks to beautiful Mt. Airy Lavender for hosting this event and a special note about how lovely the place looked and the food was terrific especially the salmon. A lot of times people skimp or do not truly bother with food at a wine tasting which I find to be a mistake. Wine is an experience generally paired with food so if you do a proper tasting the food should be sufficient and complementary.
