They are busy cleaning up after that horrible fire the other day in the Borough of West Chester
Tag Archives: west chester
flea market fun!
Today is not only a beautiful day outside, but it was the inaugural Sunday for Flea It Up Flea Market in West Chester!
I had a blast! Flea It Up is located back off Matlack Street in West Chester in an industrial area. The address is 21 Hagerty Blvd, West Chester, PA 19382. This outdoor flea market is being run through Christmas on Sundays between 9 a.m. and 1pm. It is being brought to you by For Sale Free or Trade Chester County and Tee It Up Golf.
This flea market has a nice mix of crafts people, small businesses, regular people setting up a flea market table, and vintage dealers who work the flea market circuit buying and selling. I was thrilled to find Dahlia Designs (handcrafted jewelry) and Chester County Antiques (Chestercountyantiques.net) there.
It was a steady flow of people when I arrived around 11:30 a.m. The dealers were all fairly affable which was nice. The pricing was true flea market pricing and people were willing to dicker on price. I was especially glad to see the vintage and antique dealers doing open air/flea market pricing because last year I was finding sticker shock with a lot of the Clover Market dealers in Ardmore.
As always, cash is king at flea markets. It keeps the prices down. I found a couple of treasures including a terrific book on quilts and the history of American quilting!
Flea It Up is going to be a lot of fun for fall, and I would say if you are a dealer or crafts person in Chester County or even someone who wants to do a garage or collectibles sale, Flea it Up is for you ! In addition there was mini golf and that West Chester historic train stops at this location and there are train rides!
Mark your calendars and check out Flea It Up! Lots of parking too!
Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the day!
clydesdales come to west chester!
On Friday, August 29 the thunder of hooves and the jingle of harnesses could be heard as Budweiser’s fabulous Clydesdales made special beer deliveries throughout downtown West Chester, PA. Thanks to my friend Lee Ann and my friend Peggy, I can share these photos with you:
baby crazy?
There is an article circulating around about a couple in Tredyffrin who have asked the Chester County Court System for protection from the birth/biological mother who lives out of state. The article reads like a Lifetime TV or true crime movie.
Adoptive parents seek protection from biological mother
By MICHAEL P. RELLAHAN, mrellahan@dailylocal.com
POSTED: 06/28/14, 5:36 PM EDT | UPDATED: 59 SECS AGO
WEST CHESTER — In an unusual court filing, a Tredyffrin couple has asked the court here to prohibit a Maryland woman and her husband from stalking them via the Internet and in person.
The Maryland woman, Michelle Stilipec, is the biological mother of the Tredyffrin couple’s son, but has waged an increasingly vituperative battle to gain custody of the young boy, claiming that she was the victim of an illegal and fraudulent adoption process — one of a number of dissatisfied mothers who have joined a loose “anti-adoption” campaign in the United States.
The Tredyffrin couple earlier this month filed a protection from abuse petition in Common Pleas Court, citing Stilipec’s alleged “ongoing threats, stalking (and) harassment,” behavior they say has become increasingly hostile.
On June 3, the petition alleges, Stilipec appeared at the mother’s workplace and at the couple’s home — addresses that she was not legally entitled to have information about, according to the couple’s West Chester attorney.
In the petition, filed on June 16, the mother alleged that Stilipec had posted flyers in her neighborhood accusing the couple of kidnapping her son, who she identifies as Jonathan Eagle Stilipec, and of committing adoption fraud….Michelle Stilipec also appears in a YouTube video that lasts for 20 minutes in which she describes her case. In it, she can be seen holding up a flyer with a photo of the Tredyffrin couple, who she labels “kidnappers” and accuses of adoption fraud. In it, she is dressed in a red, white, and blue blouse with stars…..“They encouraged my husband, son and myself to leave our home for fear that (Michelle Stilipec) was planning to abduct (the child),” the mother wrote in her PFA petition. “We had to leave our home, (and) take a leave of absence from work for an extended period of time.
This is something of interest to me because I was never able to have my own children. So if life circumstances been different, maybe I would have been one of those parents who adopted, instead of becoming a step-parent. I also know someone who has devoted their life’s work to a non-profit that assists parents trying to adopt with grants and whatnot.
I know many who have adopted, I grew up with kids who were adopted. In both instances, the kids always knew and I never knew any who had sought birth parents out when they were old enough, nor that birth parents sought these kids out. But I know both instances happen because face it, it is totally human nature to want to know where you came from.
The adoption process is arduous and expensive. That I know from friends. As a matter of fact I have one friend who opted out of the process years ago because it was just too hard on the couple. I have heard stories of single moms who were encouraged to give up their babies by their hospitals when they were born.
Baby stories are always heart wrenching. This one working its way through the Chester County Court system is just terrible to hear about.
This couple, I don’t know them and they aren’t named so I will call them John and Mary Doe, adopted a baby through a legitimate agency. And now the birth parents have decided they want their baby back and that their rights were violated. They have joined the ranks of what is described as an “anti-adoption movement.’
If the birth parents, who are apparently from Maryland, were just fighting this through the court system it wouldn’t necessarily be news. But because newspapers like the Daily Local are reporting things like the fact the birth parents started a Facebook page against the adoptive parents put up a kooky video on CNN and papered the neighborhood of the adoptive parents in Chester County with flyers on utility poles, this case is front and center.
None of us were there, so we don’t know what happened, but I still feel for the adoptive parents. They went through the adoption process legally by their account to the media and I guess in court documents. It looks like from the birth parents Facebook page and blog the agency was Adoptions From The Heart?
These birth parents by their own accounts on their Facebook page do not appear to be dumb or illl-informerd. In their own words they say:
-Michelle is a Veteran of the US Navy where she held a Top Secret Security Clearance. She has a B.A. in English and a background in holistic health. James is senior enlisted in the US Navy as a Mass Communications Specialist. We have no criminal record between us.
The birth parents imply that the media has gotten it all wrong and that the Tredyffrin Detective hasn’t been nice, basically. O.k. if people in the community you serve, your residents, appear as if they are being harassed, stalked, and basically cyber-bullied, how are you supposed to be? Matter of fact get to the bottom of it, right?
And where I keep getting stuck is it doesn’t seem like these adoptive parents just brought this baby home. It seems like they have been parenting him and providing a home for quite a while. And now they have by newspaper accounts had to flee their home and go into hiding? Who does this to people?
By their blog, these birth parent claim post-partum depression of two years ago when the adoption must have taken place so has this been going on that long? The blog doesn’t have many posts but the most coherent is the “our story” post from 2013. The rest of it reads of a person (or persons) suffering from deep emotional distress.
The blog is called Jonathan Eagle’s Law. Incidentally as per the Facebook page, the birth parents are not of Native American heritage.
The husband/birth father in this equation is apparently still active duty military. I just can’t get my head wrapped around how they went through a long process to adopt their baby out to another family legally and now this is happening.
At the end of the day, as this baby grows this horrible case threatens to become his life legacy and that doesn’t seem fair. Poor child.
The birth parents on their Facebook page wrote something about family support a few hours ago:
It would be nice if we had family to support us in this time, unfortunately that is not the case. We both came from broken homes where our spirits were broken and where we were asked to remain children rather than encouraged and blessed to become adults and live our own lives. People grow older and they mature, hurts from the past heal, but we can not force other people to grow up with us. It has only been our deepest desires to reconnect with our family but there must be openness and honestness on all sides.
We were told within the first year of our marriage that our choices were not ours, our house was not ours, and our womb was not ours. Those things belonged to them to control and Michelle was the other woman in her own marriage because she chose to become college educated and capable of earning a living before becoming a mother….correction, before allowing them to be grandparents. Michelle never had a mother, and she had watched single mothers struggle for a living.
Years ago we made the mistake of defending ourselves, as so many people do. We learned in time that the best thing to do is walk away and try to heal ourselves. We can not change others. We can not force our love others who tell us that they do not want our love; we can not heal someone of pain they will not talk about; we can not ask someone to love or respect us if they do not love or respect themselves.
I can’t tell who is doing most of the writing on this page, but an educated guess would be the birth mother. She seems to be in such emotional pain that I have to ask if she did have her child, would she be able to care for him?
There are no winners in this case. It will undoubtedly play out on a much more public stage than not, and I feel for the adoptive parents at the end of the day. They went through a process to adopt a child, and now this. I now understand why so many families choose closed versus open adoptions.
dining al fresco in west chester
I love dining al fresco before the summer gets too muggy, and tonight was a perfect night for it. So off we went to West Chester to Doc Magrogan’s Oyster House on Gay Street.
It’s a super cute place with the right look and truly terrific waitstaff.
But.
At the top of the list of “buts” we will start with the table of slightly inebriated or more women behind us. Super loud and unattractively so, they should probably practice taking selfies before they go out as a group again along with modulating their voices after a few cocktails. I am all for having a good time, but those ladies were slightly sloppy. One was drinking wine on ice cubes out of a straw, but I digress.
That table wasn’t the fault of the restaurant, although it would’ve been nice had to take the initiative to do something about them because they were disturbing all sorts of diners around them. When they left it was such a relief because you could actually speak to the people you were dining with as the volume had so decreased.
The fish was quite fresh that I had, but the meal other than the seafood was somewhat tasteless. No herbs, not really any spices, no pizzazz. Also for the prices they charge per plate on both their entrées and their appetizers, there could’ve been better greens, and a little more fish. For my dinner I had an entrée salad, and the greens were less than impressive. I could’ve found better at ACME.
They have this summer sangria with mango that I ordered. I had two glasses of it, about 5 1/2 ounces each glass. Both times the sangria was not chilled and I had to ask for ice. The second time the bartender sent my drink out missing a key ingredient because they were out of it. Did not care for that presumption on the part of the bartender.
What the bartender should have done is send my waitress out to say they were missing ingredients would I mind having it without a key ingredient or would I like something else. I did not send either drink back, because it wasn’t the waitress’s fault. But the bar staff should have known better.
Doc Magrogan’s Oyster House is a veritable institution in downtown West Chester and I would like to give it another try sometime as I have heard great things. But tonight I was underwhelmed at best. Except for the waitstaff. Again, I want to say how nice the waiters and waitresses were.
Tonight’s meal was a far cry from the excellent meal we had at Philadelphia’s farm to table called Russet last week. It was however, a beautiful night to eat outside. The town of West Chester does sidewalk dining very right.
Thanks for stopping by
tale of little dog found
On Saturday we had to rush one of our animals to the emergency vet. We go to West Chester Vet which also has one of the best emergency clinics around.
As my sweet man was checking our critter in for treatment, a family who had driven up from Chester came into the vet hospital with a little dog wrapped up in a towel or blanket or something similar.
The child of this family had found the little dog whimpering and crying in either an abandoned house or some sort of garage. And they had driven until they found a veterinary hospital which was open. ( My other guess is they had to drive to find a veterinary hospital that would treat a dog that they found like this.)
As they were handing over the dog (which had been stabbed) to the veterinary technicians the blanket or towel or whatever the dog was wrapped in opened and my sweet man says the little dog’s insides were peeking through the stab wound (or wounds as I do not know which).
I was told by my source at the CCSPCA later that the dog had been stabbed by a mentally unstable person and the police were involved. Little dog looks to be a chihuahua or chihuahua mix.
When we checked on our sick dog on Sunday, we inquired after the little dog. Little dog had come through surgery like a champ and was starting to eat.
This evening when we picked up our critter we heard that little dog continued to improve. We asked if they had a link up for donations as a lot of people would like to contribute to little dog’s care. I also know a couple of people who would adopt little dog and give her a kind and loving home. Unfortunately, because this is an animal cruelty case they could not tell me anything else.
However, NBC10 is on the case and they have this to say about little dog, who has apparently been named Hope:
NBC10 Philadelphia: Dog Stabbed in Animal Cruelty Case
A dog brought into a local veterinary medical center over the weekend with stab wounds is “eating, drinking, and happy,” according to a nurse at the facility.Kelly Fusco, a veterinary nurse at the West Chester Veterinary Medical Center says that the Chihuahua mix was rushed into the center by a family who said they found the pouch whimpering inside of a garage.
The dog who’s been given the name “Hope” by the veterinary staff is doing well after receiving emergency surgery to repair lacerations to her leg…..The case, which is being handled by the Chester County SPCA, is being treated as an animal cruelty investigation.
Hope is doing well and expected to make a full recovery, according to Fusco. She will remain at the vet until the investigation is complete.
I know nothing else about the dog. If you would like to contribute towards Hope’s care, please call West Chester Vet (610-696-8712) during normal business hours. They often do amazing acts of real kindness like this. Many vets will not do things like this. They are so awesome to do things like this that this makes me really proud as they care for our pets and the pets of many friends of ours!
Disclaimer: This is an extremely busy vet practice ALL of the time and I say call or maybe just Facebook them because I have no other answers. My guess is when they have something to say about this they will put something on their Facebook page or maybe tell NBC10.
We should also thank the unknown family who drove and drove to see that an injured dog got proper care. So many people wouldn’t bother, especially given the weather we have had.
Also a word of thanks is due to the Chester County SPCA and Main Line Animal Rescue for their caring and concern.
As for whomever did this, there should be a special place in hell for anyone who is cruel to animals, shouldn’t there be? I don’t get how anyone can do something like this to a helpless creature do you? May justice be served for little Hope, right?
St. Francis sure was looking out for this dog, wasn’t he? Or maybe the angel dogs once known as Argus and Fiona?
Get well soon, little dog named Hope. You are in excellent hands and a lot of people are pulling for you.
***Photo credit Kelly Fusco West Chester Vet and NBC10 Philadelphia
tales of pre-thanksgiving grocery shopping
Beware! If you go to the grocery store after today, be prepared to take your life in your hands! Yes people, it has arrived: the Thanksgiving food shopping frenzy.
This afternoon I am giving thanks that I am pretty much finished.
I went to my regular market, the giant Giant on Boot Road in West Chester. The parking lot was not so delightful. There were a lot of people not looking driving every which way. But that’s normal for that lot.
At first when I got inside, the store was relatively sane and only moderately crowded. I had a random conversation in the frozen foods with a very cute older lady who had recently celebrated her 88th birthday. God bless her, I hope I look that fabulous when I’m that age. We were talking about how nobody really does homemade much of anything anymore when it comes to sauces. We were standing in front of some bad Progresso sauces that had been reduced and stuffed in a last chance bin. We had both the stopped to look to see what was in the reduced bin.
Then I wandered up and down the aisles, artfully dodging the carts of other people. There were a lot of cart gliders who would wander at an aimless snail’s pace. Then they would simply stop and block the entire aisle, completely oblivious to anyone else around them.
I almost had a few near ankle experiences – as in people on their cell phones going up and down the grocery store aisles who nearly ran me over. I am always amused when this happens, because inevitably they give you a dirty look like you have some nerve to actually be shopping while they are trying to have their crucially important personal cell phone conversations quite loudly in the grocery store. Some of these conversations people have on their cell phones in public are simply astounding. I use my phone in the grocery store only because I put a memo on my phone with my grocery list. I can talk to my friends and family when I get home.
I had one of those totally funny crack yourself up conversations with one of the butchers while I was choosing a turkey in the meat aisle. The butchers at the store are very nice.
Basically, I was looking for a smaller turkey, and this butcher kept trying to sell me the turkey that needed its own apartment on Thanksgiving. Which just struck me as very funny. Had a vision of myself needing a truss to get in and out of the oven.
When I got to the produce section, is when I found the store somewhat irritating. A lot of things were not as fresh as they could be. For example is it THAT hard to take the rotten apples out of the apple bins and they were misting all the vegetables so much that they were all kind of soggy. But I was able to pick through and get some of the things that I needed that I did not already have. You know like celery hearts and onions and yams.
I ended up with a red yams because they didn’t have any sweet potatoes that weren’t overpriced and individually wrapped in shrink wrap plastic to go into the microwave.
There was this older crabby skinny man doing produce I have never seen before in this grocery store. He was sort of like the Soup Nazi of the produce aisle. Some nice woman asked him for sweet onions. He mumbled “something something I don’t know. ”
So I piped up and said you have two choices: the soft ones that are available individually in the bin against the wall or the mesh bags of them stacked below.
Oh boy if looks could kill.
So I said to Mr. produce aisle/soup Nazi “go check those onions yourself. They are soft and should be thrown away.”
And that’s the truth. It is something that really bugs me about Giant. They do not throw away vegetables that aren’t supposed to be soft when they get soft. They do the same thing with Daikon radishes and fresh red beets.
Then this woman next to me also picking out red yams turns to me and says “I making these for the first time in years. Someone else always used to make the sweet potatoes or yams. How do you cook them?”
So I stood there for like 20 minutes and told this woman all the different ways that she could cook yams or sweet potatoes before mashing them and basically putting them in a casserole that would warm in the oven. It was a really pleasant conversation, and she was a super nice lady.
But unfortunately for us, we had the produce aisle guy and other people annoyed that we are actually standing there having a conversation. And no, we weren’t blocking the aisles.
I guess I just don’t understand why it is okay for people to have loud cell phone conversations in the middle of aisles of the grocery store, but it’s not okay for two women to stand in the produce department and discuss cooking techniques.
I know all of this is just because Thanksgiving is this week and everyone is in a frenzy. But what does it hurt any of us to try to be nicer or more pleasant to one another in public spaces like this? Especially when we are all preparing for the same holiday.
None of us are so busy that we shouldn’t be able to stop what we’re doing for a couple of minutes and exchange pleasantries. It doesn’t all have to be via Facebook, Twitter, text or cell phone conversation. I’m sorry but there’s something very true and real about being able to have a conversation. An actual conversation.
And since it is the season of giving, something occurred to me: many of us will not use our holiday free turkey coupons at our local grocery stores. So that being said, local food banks are in need. And if you can drop off anything in time for them to deliver to needy families for holidays, please consider it. And that includes the free holiday turkeys we get from the grocery stores as a shopping reward.
Check with your local churches as to where the food banks are located in case you don’t know.
As Thanksgiving draws near, I am grateful for the many blessings in my life. And I am thankful that I have such an amazing readership on this blog. And as I am not sure if I will blog again between now and Thanksgiving day, I wanted to take this time now to wish all of you a very happy Thanksgiving!
tucked away and ever so awesome
I love books. Real books. And Libraries. And look what I found tucked away on High Street in West Chester? How cool is THIS? West Chester’s Little Free Library! It is little things like this, tucked in unexpected places, which makes downtown West Chester so truly awesome! I would personally love to see more of these “Little Free Libraries” in other places. What a genius idea!
a very cool lunch bunch
I discovered this great thing today: Latino Luncheon which began 12 years ago in West Chester with just a handful of people. What a remarkable and nice bunch of people.
They are this Latino based networking/community group with their finger on the pulse of Chester County. It is not just Latinos, but it is also truly multi-cultural. Latino Luncheon is as per one member “open to all Latinos and those who love them.”
I have had many Latino friends over the years and met some fabulous Latina community activists when part of Save Ardmore Coalition and we were fighting eminent domain for private gain in Ardmore and elsewhere. Mary Cortes of Cramer Hill Camden and the late Rosemary Cubas of Philadelphia come to mind in particular. (I also have a Cuban Uncle, although I do not recall ever seeing much of his Latino side save for his fondness for Café Bustelo.)
Anyway, this collective holds a monthly luncheon at Iron Hill in West Chester and you can sign up via their Meet Up page. They raise awareness for issues affecting the community and even give out some scholarships – in other words they do good deeds and enjoy each other’s company. I can’t tell you how nice it was to be in a room of positive people who celebrate each other.
State Representative Duane Milne and State Senator Andy Dinniman attended along with a lot of lawyers and school board and judicial candidates. (Well it is election season, after all.)
I was introduced to the group by Maureen Martinez. Maureen is on the Planning Commission in East Whiteland and running for Supervisor. Maureen’s 
husband is Cuban, so she is very keen on the issues facing Latinos in Chester County and elsewhere.
Andy Dinniman presented a proclamation and remarked that the Latino community is becoming a force to be reckoned with in Chester County.
Dinniman also discussed a version of American Dream Act is coming to PA and both political parties support it. Bi-Partisan – anyone graduating from a PA high school will be eligible for in state tuition costs.
Everyone went around table introducing themselves. We heard from amazing men and women, and even found out that one of the Main Line Today Power Women of 2013 was a founding member of this group – Nelly Jiménez-Arévalo.
And they presented a scholarship check to an amazing young woman named Elenie Gonzalez.
I also met a woman named Joyce Chester who is president of a non-profit called Chester County OIC. From their website what this non-profit does is:
Chester County OIC is a non-profit organization with offices in West Chester and Phoenixville dedicated to providing FREE adult basic literacy education and life skills programs that prepare individuals for employment leading to economic self-sufficiency. In operation since 1979, CCOIC helps over 800 adult learners per year.
Joyce is part of the slate of candidates running for West Chester Area School Board called Better Direction for West Chester. I totally enjoyed meeting her and well, West Chester Area School Board would be lucky to get someone like her. Any school board would, so here is hoping voters check her out.
I had never met PA State Representative Duane Milne before and thoroughly enjoyed it. I always enjoy seeing PA State Senator Andy Dinniman and we chatted Chester County SPCA and other things.
But I have to tell you I was nervous going to a luncheon where I only knew a couple of people and now I look forward to going to another one. It has been a very long time since I met such a caring and welcoming bunch of people who had some amazing careers and were completely without pretense or artifice. They care because it is simply the right thing to do. We could all take a page out of their book.
For more information on Latino Luncheon, check out their Meet Up, Facebook Latino Luncheon – Chester County PA , and Twitter
Next time I will bring a grown-up camera to get some really great shots for these nice people!
Also a shout out is in order to Iron Hill Brewery – I love that they host these community endeavors so graciously and nicely!
guilty
Last September 11th I was up in a hot air balloon shaped like a flag floating over Chester County. This September 11th I spent all day in a court house.
Almost two hours ago the jury came back. Sorry for not posting sooner, but I wanted to sit and think a while. It has been a long time since February.
It was a long afternoon as we waited in the District Attorney’s Offices – which were a real kick to see! I have to say the Chester County District Attorney’s Office personnel were pretty darn amazing. They did not have to go out of their way to make us comfortable and they did. They allowed us to wait in a small conference room instead of just hanging in the hall all afternoon. On a brutally hot day with my friend Amy in a full boot cast, this was particularly nice. I met some really amazing people and even one of the working dogs handled by the Chester County Sheriff’s Department.
Anyway…..the verdict?
Guilty. Gabriel Pilotti wanted to be judged by a jury of his peers, and he was. And he was found guilty. Truthfully I think his defense team looked a bit surprised.
Case CP15 -CR-00010992013
Count 1 Cruelty to Animals (Argus) – Guilty
Count 2 Cruelty to Animals (Fiona) – Guilty
Sentencing is October 28th at 9 a.m. in front of Judge Ronald C. Nagle.
Assistant District Attorney Kevin Pierce really brought his A game to the closing. I could go into the back and forth nitty-gritty of the closing, but why? The verdict is what it is. I also understand that Mr. Pilotti will probably lose his weapon now? That is what I was told on my way out this evening.
Today justice was done for Argus and Fiona. To me this was also a big win in general for Pennsylvania’s dogs. A win for the dogs is much overdue.
I also want to thank Bud Haly who is on the board of the Chester County SPCA for stepping up and coming to court today. That gives me hope for that organization. Some people who are affiliated with the CCSPCA were mighty pissy that I even articulated someone should be there. Guess what? I wasn’t wrong and he said simply that he couldn’t NOT be there. So I am glad one board member did the right thing.
I also want to thank West Vincent Chief of Police Michael Swininger and Officer Austin Russell. They were there with us, and as critical as I can be about West Vincent Township, these two gentlemen are stand up guys. And many thanks to the media who devoted time for this, especially print media. We all know they are stretched thin.
We were all very emotional when the verdict was read. Bill Bock just stood there for a moment not moving with tears in his eyes. That right there made all the crap we took for believing in Justice for Argus and Fiona worth it. This family can have peace and closure.
Run free over the Rainbow Bridge Argus and Fiona. You have your justice, sweet pups.
Chester County man guilty in death of dogs
Mari A. Schaefer, Inquirer Staff Writer Last updated: Wednesday, September 11, 2013, 5:46 PM
Daily Local Breaking News: Jury finds man who shot dogs guilty
And some have asked if Pilotti can appeal. Well he can but whether or not he would get much traction? I simply don’t know. My guess would be not really.