• The seeds of inspiration
• Seniors stand up for storytelling
• A sense of place rendered in light and shadow
In the house
Kennett Square Life Winter 2019
Letter from the Editor:
In this issue of Kennett Square Life, you’ll find another collection of stories about what makes this area so special.
The art profile in this issue spotlights Bob Voynow, who makes the most of the small spaces in his works to capture local landscapes with evocative light and shadow. He’ll have a solo show of his works at the Chester County Art Association in West Chester this month.
We also visit a tai chi class at the Kennett YMCA that uses ancient techniques to boost health and well-being without the high-impact workout required by other programs. Our Q&A this issue features Eden Ratliff, the new Township Manager for Kennett Township, and asks about his goals for the township.
We also drop in on a group at the Kennett Area Senior Center that takes the rich life experiences of local seniors and turns them into topics of discussion that can spark memories and increase social interaction.
We profile Bryan Tuk, a drummer who has just released a genre-spanning CD of music with a new band, after a health crisis nearly derailed his career.
The Photo Essay in this issue is about artist T.S. Kist, whose mural, recently unveiled at Longwood Gardens, merges artistic styles in a striking way.
And since the holidays are rapidly approaching, we preview the many events that turn downtown Kennett Square into a winter wonderland of shopping and strolling. You’ll also get a sneak peek of the annual Longwood Gardens Christmas display, which draws thousands of visitors from around the globe to see the holidays as only Longwood can present them.
We hope that you enjoy the stories and photos in this issue of Kennett Square Life, and we are already hard at work preparing the next issue, which will arrive in the spring. As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions for stories that we might work on in the future.
Sincerely,
Kennett Square Arts|
Photos by John Chambless
Artist Bob Voynow in his home studio.
A sense of place, rendered in light and shadow
Bob Voynow’s landscapes are spotlighted in a show at the
Chester County Art Association
By John Chambless Staff Writer
There’s an air of quiet mystery in Bob Voynow’s paintings, as if you’re glimpsing a place that holds secrets.
Working within a fairly small format concentrates his works to their essentials – a line of trees, a shadow, a highlight that beckons you but doesn’t quite reveal itself. The surfaces of his oils are scraped, overlapped and scuffed, as if time has worn through several layers, leaving suggestions of what lies beneath.
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‘Green Shed’
Bob Voynow
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“I look at my paintings and I think of an old door from a house that’s been painted three times,” Voynow said during an interview at his studio, where he was surrounded by framed and unframed new works that would become part of his solo exhibit at the Chester County Art Association in November. “It’s kind of peeled away, and then there’s a new layer of paint, but you can still see places where the old paint was. If you look at a lot of my paintings, there’s another painting peeking through from underneath.”
Art has been a lifelong pursuit for Voynow. “I drew all the time as a kid, and when I was in fifth grade, I used to draw pen-and-ink pictures on other people’s notebooks, and they’d pay me a quarter apiece,” he said, laughing.
Growing up in Sea Isle City, N.J., “My parents encouraged me. They were happy to let me run with whatever I was up to,” he said.
There was also an encounter with the works of Andrew Wyeth that left a permanent impression. “When I was in third grade, our teacher took our class to see the Wyeth show at Swarthmore College. There I was, in like 1963, seeing Wyeth, and it just blew me away. I kept talking about it. My parents took me back to see it again. It was mainly the Andrew Wyeth stuff that was fascinating to me.”
‘Grey Day’
‘Studio View’
Covered’
Art took a bit of a back seat in high school, but Voynow got back into it a few years after graduation. He started out working in his father’s auto parts business, “and I hated it,” he said, smiling. “I made a real effort to get out of it.”
With his interest in art, he eventually got into the wholesale framing business in 1980, and worked with a firm that did the framing for entire hotels, for instance. “We did large-volume framing, and then I ended up in the wholesale framing business,” he said. Voynow is still with a leading framing company, which lends itself very well to his own paintings.
“I do all my own framing of the oils that don’t require glass,” he said, pointing out a frame. “This wood molding is from Northern Italy. They all have a beeswax finish that’s all hand done. I invest a lot in my frames. I’m particular about the way I like to see my art.”
Voynow is essentially a self-taught artist, “although I did attend several classes for a year at the Hussian School of Art in Philadelphia,” he said. He also took classes with artists including renowned regional painter Jon Redmond,
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‘In the Shade’
Bob Voynow
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an experience which is reflected, perhaps, in Voynow’s quiet compositions and muted palette.
“When I got into framing, I started painting and had a couple of galleries representing me. It kind of took off. I painted full-time for a year or two in the mid-1980s,” he said, “but the bills not getting paid had an effect on me. I started to hate it.”
His day job with the framing company “keeps me in galleries and museums every week, supplying materials for archival preservation to museums, things like that,” he said.
The relatively small size of Voynow’s works –most are about 12 inches wide – packs details tightly into the frame, making his sleight of hand with light and shadow even more remarkable. “I find it difficult to work larger,” he said. In his car, he keeps a stack of paper at the ready, measured off into 4-by-4 squares. “I keep a watercolor painting kit in the car when traveling, so I can pull over and do these studies,” he said, leafing through a
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‘The Brandywine’
Continued from Page 12
stack of tiny watercolors. “I have hundreds of these. I do these as I’m moving along. Some of them are finished works, some end up as studies. I do them to preserve things I see before they’re gone.”
Voynow tries to paint every day, but the demands of his day job sometimes compete for his time. “I’m on the road quite a bit, but when I’m home, I wake up around 5 a.m., start painting by 6, and I have to set an alarm to remind me to go to work, because if I don’t, I can just paint straight until noon,” he said.
His wife is the one who can tell him, “That one is done” so that he stops re-working the painting, he said. Otherwise, he keeps tinkering. “When I’m painting and I start to get close to what I want it to be, it becomes painful because I’m not sure when to stop.”
Voynow’s home on a wooded hillside a few miles north of Unionville is a perfect place to inspire his views of fields and woodlands. “I like the Cheslen Preserve,” he said. A little garden shed is also a recurring motif in his works. “It’s on Strasburg Road, west
Continued on Page 16
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‘Modena’
Bob Voynow
Continued from Page 14
of Mortonville,” he said. “There are trees around it, so it’s never completely exposed. But I just love the shape and simplicity of it.”
The shed turns up in various settings, in several colors, but there’s just something about the shape that intrigues Voynow. The owners of the shed “have no
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Voynow’s paintings have a subdued palette that creates a sometimes mysterious mood.
‘Early Growth’
Bob Voynow
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idea, I’m sure” that he has painted it so often, he said. He often works from photographs, altering the horizon line or selecting just a portion of a scene to render in his paintings. He adds and subtracts elements as he sees fit. Some of the final paintings look like the actual places, others reflect only a hint of what he felt at the location.
Drawing upon his own love of the American Impressionists of the mid-1800s, Voynow has developed a style that’s immediately identifiable at this point in his career. “I just love being able to do this,” he said, smiling. “I seem to have found my sweet spot over the past couple of years. My work is very consistent.”
Works by Bob Voynow will be on display at the Chester County Art Association (100 N. Bradford Ave., West Chester) through the end of November. His work can be seen at Strode’s Mill Gallery in West Chester, as well as online at www.bobvoynowart.com.
To contact Staff Writer John Chambless, email jchambless@chestercounty.com.
‘Snow Valley’
Tai chi, the ‘moving meditation,’ provides plenty of health benefits
By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer
The students in Janet Louise’s tai chi class are making practiced, purposeful movements, their bodies flowing from one movement to the next in a balanced and controlled way. Janet leads the students during this part of the class, demonstrating the proper technique, but these students are well-practiced and understand the importance of precision. They meet regularly for this class at the Kennett YMCA, and with each class they build on what they know about tai chi, the Chinese martial art that is growing in popularity. A few minutes later, the class ends and the dozen or so students head off in a dozen different directions. But they always carry with them what they’ve gained from the class. Those who practice tai chi say that it brings many health benefits—it increases flexibility, relieves stress, and requires the entire body to move for an extended period of time. Tai chi improves circulation, and those who practice it regularly also learn the importance of focused breathing.
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Janet Louise demonstrates the proper techniques for the students to follow. Most of the students are already well-practiced in tai chi, but build upon their skills during each class.
All photos by Steven Hoffman
A tai chi class takes place in the holistic health studio at the Kennett Area YMCA, and the participants are all enthusiastic about this mindful exercise that dates back to the 16th century in China.
Janet Louise started taking tai chi classes in 1977, and started teaching not long after that. She has been regularly teaching others tai chi ever since then.
Tai chi
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Several students talked about the physical and mental effort that is required during a class.
“The benefits are innumerable,” explains Cynthia Candelaria, a resident of West Chester., who has been practicing tai chi for more than six years, the last four at the Kennett Area YMCA. “It affects how you live, how you walk, how balanced you are. It can give you peace of mind. I feel really good after a class.”
Tai chi is practiced all over the world—and by people of all ages. There are ample health benefits and it can be a lifelong pursuit. Janet likes to call tai chi the “moving meditation.” It blends perfectly the physical, mental, and spiritual, all together, in one exercise.
“Tai chi has given me peace of mind,” Janet explained. “It has taken a lot of the hardness out of me. It has saved my life a few times.”
She started studying tai chi in 1977, and within a few years she was teaching it to others because one of her early instructors encouraged her to do so.
Early on, she studied the Yang 98 forms and the Yang 108 forms and sword forms. She benefited from a teacher who had a very traditional style. Modern tai chi has many styles and forms, and while they are all different they all offer their own unique benefits.
“Master Chao said that you practice tai chi for good health,” Janet said. “I accepted that it was good for me.”
Tai chi can help a person improve balance—just one of numerous benefits from a martial art that is gaining in popularity.
In 1982, she met Ben Lo, who was a direct student of Theng Man Ching, who started learning the 37 form, which originated in Taiwan when it was created for the military. Theng Man Ching developed what has been called “short form,” in which 37 positions are counted, which is different from the wellknown long form with 85 or 108 positions, depending on how they are counted.
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Like anything else worth knowing, it can take a lot of time and patience to learn the forms. Janet said that it took her years to learn some of the longer forms.
One important lesson that she learned is that if she skipped just one day of tai chi, she could tell because there would be noticeable tightness. For that reason, Janet likes to practice tai chi regularly—she misses it when she doesn’t, and it has become an important part of her life.
“It’s really a daily practice for me,” she said.
Another important lesson to learn is that tai chi is not is an overnight cure for anything. While a person might see some small benefit from one tai chi class, just as any exercise can give a person a temporary boost, the real benefits occur over time. This is especially true when it comes to flexibility.
“It comes in layers,” Janet explained. “Tightness will be softened over time.”
Through the years, Janet has taught hundreds of people tai chi, including people at various skill levels.
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There are numerous health benefits for people who practice tai chi.
Tai chi
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She currently teaches classes at the Kennett Area YMCA each Monday and Wednesday.
“There’s probably about 15 people in each class,” she said, adding that she also has taught regularly in Newark.
Teaching has been a big part of Janet’s life. For 27 years, she taught English as a Second Language at the University of Delaware, and she also taught English and linguistics to college English teachersin-training in China. She really enjoyed those experiences in international education. Her skills as a teacher certainly helped her as she worked with tai chi students through the years.
Despite all her success as a teacher, she did not set out to be one.
“I started out to change the world,” she said. She got very involved with the women’s movement, and she also did extensive work with the League of Women Voters.
The camaraderie that Janet has with the students—and that the students have with each other—is evident.
There is always something new to learn and refine in tai chi.
One of the students in the class is a retired doctor. Another is a lifelong martial artist who turned to tai chi about five years ago as a way to stay in shape with a low impact exercise. All the students are wellversed in tai chi and its benefits.
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Tai chi blends the physical and the mental for an effective exercise.
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Despite the slow, graceful movements, tai chi is a workout of moderate intensity. The health benefits, combined with the fact that tai chi poses little threat of injury or damage, make tai chi one of the most accessible martial arts. This explains it’s growing popularity. As more people practice tai chi, they spread the word about how beneficial it can be. The students can see increased energy levels, improved blood pressure levels, more flexibility, and other benefits.
Antoinette Eickholt, one of the students in the class at the Kennett Area YMCA, said that people are always very interested to learn more about tai chi.
Janet said that one thing that she likes about it is that there is no end to the learning.
“Part of being a tai chi teacher is that we’re always refining our own body. By teaching, you learn a lot,” Janet explained. “Students are repeating back what we’ve been teaching. I’m constantly learning better ways to teach, learning about learning styles and how to move the bodies. It’s been wonderful. The students really know the forms.”
To contact Staff Writer Steven Hoffman, email editor@ chestercounty.com.
Students use slow, purposeful movements in tai chi.
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Q A
When Eden Ratliff accepted the job of new Township Manager for Kennett Township in September, he and his wife Gabrielle – both Chester County natives – saw it as an opportunity to return home. Since then, Eden has immersed himself in the community he serves, with handshakes and conversations. Kennett Square Life recently met with Eden to discuss his transition to a new role, how he plans to provide information to residents, and the dinner party he would love to host
Eden Ratliff
Township Manager, Kennett Township
Q. You came on board on Sept. 23, at a time of great transition in Kennett Township. What steps have you taken to help fully immerse yourself in the business of the township?
A. That process is still ongoing and it’s something I am really enjoying, and in a lot of ways is my favorite part about this career. It’s getting to know the community and throwing myself into it. My approach may
Photos by Richard L. Gaw Eden Ratliff was officially named Kennett Township’s new Manager in late September.
Eden Ratliff
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be different than other’s, but I want to talk to anyone who wants to talk to me – whether they’re involved in local government or paying attention to it, or if they are simply a township resident.
That’s what I’ve done over the past month, and that’s what I will continue to do. I began getting to know the staff and the Board of Supervisors, and I’ve continued with members of this community. Each time, I ask the same question: “What is one thing you absolutely want to make sure that I know about Kennett Township?”
Everyone has answered the question differently, and I have gotten as many different answers as people I have spoken to. I come to the Township Building every morning, and my calendar is filled with meetings with township residents and board members of local nonprofit organizations, and they allow me to learn
Ratliff addressed the township during his formal introduction on Aug. 21.
things about the township that may have taken more time to learn, had I not asked to meet them, and allow them to get to know me.
You had served as borough manager and chief administrative official of the Borough of Greencastle in Franklin County, Pa. What intrigued you about the position of Kennett Township Manager?
I wasn’t looking to leave Greencastle. It’s a wonderful town with great people in it. I had a great team and a great board that I worked for. There was no reason on paper for me to leave other than the fact that Gabrielle and I are both originally from Chester County, and that Kennett Township needed a new Township Manager.
When I first learned an amazing community like Kennett Township needed a manager, I thought that it would be too good to be true. Gabrielle talked about it over the summer, and I thought that this was an amazing opportunity and I don’t know what they’re looking for, but I will throw my resume in, and see what happens.
Gabrielle and I made a lot of visits to Kennett Township, and every time we came here, it became more and more clear – that this is a great place to be. I am lucky to be the Kennett Township Manager.
A key component of an effective township manager is to provide accurate and timely information to the residents, such as weather emergencies, policy changes and breaking news. Talk about the importance of communication in your job, and how you plan to use tools to help you communicate with the residents you serve. I think it’s incredibly important for any government to have an informed population who feels as though they are a part of the decision-making process and can influence their government. That is critical, and unfortunately, I think that is missing in a lot of local governments. I’ve built my career on engaging and informing the public to play a role in the decision-making process of their government.
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One of the things I’m looking forward to implementing is to teach everyone who is not directly involved in our government – but certainly impacted by it — to understand our complex web of how Kennett Township works. Whether it’s committees or departments, we’re going to come up with a model that works for Kennett Township. I also want to make sure that the Kennett Township residents know that I am accessible and available to them – that I want them to engage me and I want to engage them. I want them to know that the dialogue is open to them.
There is not one municipality whose approach to management exactly overlaps another’s. In what ways does Kennett Township’s management differ from the Borough of Greencastle?
Kennett Township is larger, has more development, and is a community that is in transition. We once were and in some ways still are a rural farming community, and that’s really important and we need to hold on to that. However, we are growing and developing to become a
The Station Gallery
more urban community, especially in the ring around Kennett Borough. There are some in our community who are embracing this, and others who are more hesitant. That’s a bit different than some of the boroughs I have worked in who are more regulated, but while those are the differences, I also look at them as opportunities, and I look forward to engaging our residents in determining what we want our community to look like in 20 years, and to ask, “What do we need to be doing now from a planning and municipal management perspective, to properly manage that growth?”
In what ways are the municipalities the same?
Just like in Greencastle, there are great people here who want to influence and want to be involved. I continue to be impressed by the intricate web of committees and task forces and volunteers who are highly motivated, highly educated and highly curious about their government, and want to influence our process.
Ratliff meets with Amy Heinrich, the township’s new Finance and Human Resources Director.
Eden Ratliff
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There are communities that would do anything for that web of people to help influence their own community’s process. I am very excited to engage with them as we continue to plan our community over the next several years.
While you and Gabrielle are not new to Chester County, you are new to Kennett Township. Have you both determined any favorite spots in the township or the Kennett Borough?
I have been going to Longwood Gardens since I was a little kid, when my grandmother would take me, my two brothers and my two cousins there for Christmas. Gabby and I love to go to Anson B. Nixon Park, we both enjoy the Kennett Creamery, and the trail network has been great for walking our dog, Otis! I say every morning and night as I either arrive or leave work, “It was a beautiful day in Kennett Township.”
You throw a dinner party, and you can invite whomever you wish. Who do you want to see around that table?
I would love for one more time to have dinner with my wife, my two brothers, my two cousins and my niece, as well as my mother, who is still alive, and my aunt, who passed away five years ago. I miss my aunt very much, and I know that she would be very happy but not surprised to see what’s changed over the last five years, and where we all are in our lives.
The spirit that my aunt had and the joy that she put into all of our lives has been something that’s been unmatched. I also know that she would have loved to meet Gabrielle, and Gabrielle would have loved to meet her.
What food or items can always be found in the Ratliff refrigerator?
It would have to be cheese. Gabby cooks with a lot of cheese. She puts it on a lot of sandwiches, and she puts it over a pork casserole we have often.
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Seniors stand up for storytelling
Photo by Chris Barber
Members of the Living History Story Telling Club at the Kennett Area Senior Center do warmup exercises for their storytelling session. In the circle, clockwise from lower left, are Mary Sinton, Jan Michener, Phyllis Lay, Karl Leck, Keith Schneider, Gary Smith and Martha Taylor.
By Chris Barber Correspondent
Members of an experience-sharing group at the Kennett Area Senior Center are standing up against the isolation which many have attributed to the evolution of digital communication in recent years.
The Living History Story Telling Club meets every week, under the guidance of facilitator Jan Michener. The group members talk, face-to-face, about experiences that affect their lives and how they have reacted to them. On any given week, five or six of them get together, sit in a circle and take turns recounting events that they have lived through.
“Everyone has a story. Sharing their story validates them as individuals,” Michener said recently.
The group began in 2003 at the senior center as a 10-week program of personal storytelling. But as Michener recalled it, “The last day came and [late member] Gertrude Leck said, ‘Well what are we going to do
next week?’ And so we’ve been going ever since.”
They meet each week with the goal of sharing a supportive and non-judgmental atmosphere. In addition to leading this group, Michener has initiated a number of other support and arts incentives. An actor and teacher, she is the founder and executive director of AHHAH (Arts Holding Hands and Hearts) as well, which serves youth and families through literacy and arts in Chester County.
Unlike traditional oral history projects which record and store the voices of individuals for posterity, Living History Story Telling centers on supporting its members and giving voice to their opinions in the present. There are no recordings kept.
When questioned about their feelings for the club, the members uniformly said they are pleased to attend their weekly meeting and would miss them if they stopped.
“There’s 400 years of experience here,” said group member and Gertrude’s son, Karl Leck, 74.
Storytelling
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“It’s a reinforcement of ourselves and our strength,” said Martha Taylor, 77. She added that she keeps coming back because it’s a contrast with what she sees around her -people constantly on their cellphones.
The weekly class begins under Michener’s guidance, with stretching and warming up. As a prelude to addressing the topics of the day, the members are asked to tell briefly what has happened over the past weekend. The responses are generally commonplace, but in the telling, they remind others of similar events in their own lives, which they become eager to share.
Later, Michener presents a topic they can draw on from their own lives, making sure that each member has a say. Recent topics have been “your first job,” “something you fear” and “a surprise that you would like.”
Sometimes, members feel they don’t have much to say, but as the conversations move around the room, the earlier speakers are suddenly prompted to contribute. Sometimes, however, the experiences that are shared are amazingly unexpected.
Carmela Contro, 80, is eager to tell friends that she grew
up in South Philadelphia with the 1950s dreamboat singers Bobby Rydell, Frankie Avalon and Fabian. She confessed that she once sneaked out of home to dance on “American Bandstand,” even though her Catholic school frowned on it.
Gary Smith, 71, told a story of rushing into an elevator going down in order to catch someone who was descending the nearby steps. Mary Sinton, 80, described an experience with her family in Ireland. One of the occupants of the thatched-roof house was pregnant and had been sitting around lazily for months. One day the roof caught fire. Everyone rushed out excitedly, and that was just the exercise the pregnant woman needed. She went into labor the next day, Sinton said.
Presented with the question of what kind of surprise they would be happy to have, quite a few of the members mentioned winning the lottery, or in some way receiving a large sum of money.
Smith said he wanted to encourage community revitalization and the establishment of an arts and performance center in Kennett Square, which got support from Michener.
She encouraged him to go for the possibility by reminding him of similar projects in other towns that were achieved by grants.
Phyllis Lay, 77, said she would like to share a windfall with members of her family to get higher quality education. In her years, she said, she has become aware of the limitations a lack of education places on people, and she wants to help others overcome it.
Keith Schneider, 75, said he often thinks about having a Publisher’s Clearing House fortune arrive at his door. But in a related idea, he said he fears facing the chores that will eventually be involved in downsizing his living quarters and moving into a smaller dwelling. “Perhaps I need a fairy godmother,” he said.
Leck said his desired surprise would be having the opportunity to drive a classic Ferrari. This prompted suggestions from the other members on where and how he could accomplish that.
The average age of the members is in the mid-70s, although several are in their 80s. Several of them mentioned their fears of the chronic conditions brought on by
TL
age, including becoming a burden to their families, the challenges of affording the costs of living, and the decreasing number of friends to relate to.
As Smith said, “The older you get, the fewer people there are to feel close to.”
What has the storytelling experience meant to the members?
Smith said it has enhanced his tolerance – in fact, embracing – of the lives and views of others. He added that, in a group that includes many women, he has grown in his appreciation of women’s opinions and outlooks on life.
Leck said that in hearing the stories of other people, he has become aware of memories that he would not otherwise have been in touch with. He also said that having a facilitator for the group was the catalyst in having a successful experience. “It’s not as much fun without the facilitator. And fun feels good,” Leck said.
As the end of the meeting approached, a question arose about what the future held. Would there be a completion date? Michener said it would go on with no end in sight.
“We have some great stories,” she said.
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Kennett Square Arts|
For Kennett Square drummer Bryan Tuk, recording and releasing his band’s latest CD was a gift of musicianship, but it was a gift he almost didn’t live to see completed
All photos by Jim Coarse unless otherwise noted Bryan Tuk is the lead conductor and percussionist for The Bryan Tuk Complex.
In the house of Tuk
By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
For two days this July, Kennett Square musician Bryan Tuk holed up at the SpectraSound studio in Quakertown with an ensemble of 13 musicians, to record an album entitled Life in High Gravity.
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Bryan Tuk
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Figuratively speaking, the studio caught on fire during the recording sessions – a commonplace occurrence when the Bryan Tuk Complex knocks out some work in a studio or performs live. From straight ahead jazz and big band 1970s funk – and variations of modern rock and pop tossed in for fun – the group is made up of some of the biggest names in the Lehigh Valley-Philly music scene, including several young musicians who are currently studying music at Temple and West Chester Universities and the University of the Arts. In addition, Tuk also had bassist Brian Bortz and guitarist B.D. Lenz with him, who are members of the Bryan Tuk Trio.
Over the period of two long recording sessions, with Tuk on drums, the ensemble recorded a six-track CD that included interpretations of The Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood,” “What is Hip?” by Tower of Power, and “How Deep is Your Love?” by the Bee Gees. The recording came on the heels of the March release of Liftoff, and with one album done and the other on the way, the Bryan Tuk Complex was now riding the glorious high that occurs when creativity meets output.
“A lot of what made this recording came as a result of word-of-mouth,” Tuk said. “I remember sitting in this control room listening to these musicians and wondering, ‘How
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Courtesy photo Kennett Square musician Bryan Tuk will be performing with his 13-member ensemble at the Kennett Flash on Nov. 24, beginning at 5 p.m.
did this possibly happen?’ It’s rare to get so many talented musicians like this in the same room together.”
In between recording sessions, Tuk was continuing his Kennett Square law practice, conducting percussion lessons to young musicians through his company Groove KSQ, and with his wife Jen, nurturing the lives of his teenage children, Connor and Sarah. His was a very full and extraordinarily enriched life that hit all cylinders: Husband, father, musician, band leader, teacher, attorney.
What he did not know was that he was a walking time bomb about to go off, and on July 29, just weeks removed from the recording of Life in High Gravity, Tuk sat on an operating table at Chester County Hospital as attendants and doctors prepared him for a catheterization for a blocked artery, wondering if he would survive.
Earlier that day, Tuk had met with studio engineer Jim McGee at SpectraSound to wrap up post production on Life in High Gravity. The songs all sounded crisp. Every horn, every beat, was melded in sharp cohesion, and Tuk drove back to Kennett Square that afternoon, anxiously looking forward to a Sept. 14 CD release party and performance at the Kennett Flash with the entire band.
At about 3 p.m., in the middle of a lesson at Groove KSQ, Tuk began to feel a tickle in his throat and some slight indigestion. Nerves, he thought,
just some pent-up anxiety and anticipation from the new recordings. After the lesson, he went home and rested. Jen and the kids were in Stone Harbor, N.J. for the weekend, so the house would be quiet and allow him to catch up on some much-needed rest.
At 9 p.m. Tuk felt like someone was pulling on his ribcage and was not letting go.
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Courtesy photo
Tuk is also the founder of Groove KSQ, a percussion and music studio in Kennett Square that provides lessons and opportunities for young people interested in music.
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His hands had begun tingling again. He drove himself to a nearby Urgent Care but had arrived at 10:05 p.m. – five minutes after the center had closed.
“I then drove myself to Chester County Hospital, because it just seemed to be the fastest way to get help and not have to wait for an ambulance or EMS to find me,” Tuk said. “In retrospect, it was incredibly dumb, but at the time it seemed like a reasonable decision.”
Within two hours of arriving at the hospital, Tuk had a stent implanted in one of his arteries. While he lay on the operating table waiting for the procedure, he began to have thoughts – the ‘God-forbid-if’ kind that took him on a checklist of his life. He knew that Connor and Sarah would be okay; they were both self-sufficient and would have the ability to negotiate their way through the world. Jen would have Connor and Sarah to help her carry on.
The checklist then came to his music.
“Immediately after, I began to think ‘Thank God those last two records are done,’” Tuk said. “I thought that if I can leave behind some recordings that are objectively good, that’s enough of a legacy.”
He remained in the hospital for the next four days, during which time a cardiologist told him that he can’t continue living according to such a dizzying schedule. He said that Tuk’s mortality rate was very high; Tuk’s father died of a heart attack when Bryan was seven years old.
Tuk left the hospital and returned home to rest. Exactly eight days after his heart attack, he made plans with Jen to have dinner in a nearby restaurant, and as they were leaving the driveway of their home, the same symptoms he had experienced a little more than a week before returned. As they tuned on to State Street in Kennett Square, Tuk told his wife that they needed to return to Chester County Hospital. Soon after they arrived, he received a second stent.
“If the first heart attack was the major shock, then this second incident was the aftershock,” he said. “Knowing that the Chester County Hospital is so close was comforting to me. The people at Chester County Hospital saved my life – twice.”
On Sept. 14, with the entire Bryan Tuk Complex crammed onto the intimate Kennett Flash stage, Tuk hit the first notes of a sold-out show that poured through the entire catalog of Life in High Gravity and dipped into earlier recordings of the band. Horns of various pitches reverberated around the listening room. The big band was in total sync, and Tuk sat behind his drum kit center stage – a man fully in charge of his life again.
Unless he or she has reached superstardom and is confined
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to the sequestered life of limos and airports and fancy hotels, a musician’s life is motivated in part by the harmonious connection he or she has with other musicians. In Tuk’s case, several in the Bryan Tuk Complex have known and played with each other for years, and the recording became the outgrowth of networking and friendships. In preparation for Life in High Gravity, Tuk said that he began to chat it up with the ensemble last December, preparing charts and conducting two pre-recording sessions.
From the time he was a youngster playing the spoons on his mother’s couch, Tuk has been drawn to the tactile sensation of drumming and percussion. It led him to study music at West Chester University and pursue a career in music, while at the same time earning a law degree and practicing the legal profession, first in a firm and now in his own private practice.
Like many musicians, Tuk is a magician with a gift, trying to balance his love of music with the obligations of running his practice and being a married father of two children. Eventually, he realized that what he needed more of was time, so he began his own law practice, which now shares office space with yet another passion of his – Groove KSQ, a percussion and music studio, where he conducts lessons in music and provides opportunities for young people interested in music.
“In my prior law position, I was in the car making three trips to Allentown a week,” he said. “That’s 12 hours on the road, and that’s practically two work days. My enemy became the wasted time that was taking me away from my mission.”
In 2014, Tuk gave a TEDx talk in the Lehigh Valley, and discussed the roadblocks that he faced in the big juggling game he was playing.
“If you embrace your own true nature, and allow that person to come to the surface in your professional world, then many pleasant and surprising things will happen to you,” he said at the talk. “You will unlock your own potential.”
By his count, Tuk has several projects currently on his plate, which include continuing to develop Groove KSQ in partnership with local organizations; championing the EP recording the Bryan Tuk Trio released earlier in the year; planning a limited run tour with the ensemble; and discussing an upcoming recording by the ensemble that will feature original songs composed by some of its members.
For the moment, he said that Life in High Gravity is a high water mark in his musical journey, one that’s taking center stage for now. Tuk and the band will be making a return visit to the Flash on Nov. 24, beginning at 5 p.m.
“I want people to leave the Flash humming the melodies and remember what they heard,” he said. “With the talent that is in this group and the way we constructed the arrangements, from a technical standpoint, it’s very gratifying to play. I want our music to be accessible for the casual listener, as well as experienced musicians, because this band is terrific.”
To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email rgaw@chestercounty.com.
More about Bryan Tuk
In concert: The Bryan Tuk Complex will return to the Kennett Flash for a performance on Nov. 24, beginning at 5 p.m. To obtain tickets for the show, visit www.kennettflash.org.
The band: To learn more about the Bryan Tuk Complex and order Life in High Gravity, visit www.thehouseoftuk.com.
Lessons: Are you or your child interested in receiving private lessons in percussion? To learn more about Groove KSQ, visit www.grooveksq.com. Groove KSQ is located at 109 Church Alley, Kennett Square, Pa. 19348.
In addition to his band and his duties for Groove KSQ, Tuk is a Kennett Square attorney.
The seeds of inspiration
Kennett Square resident T.S. Kist designed a mural that is now part of a student exhibition at
Longwood Gardens
Photos by Jie Deng
Text by Richard L. Gaw
The work of Kennett Square artist T.S. Kist is a stunning and abstract mashup of influences – our culture, our social status and our pursuit of what is popular at the moment.
Her work defies easy description and instead is led by inspiration, no matter the medium or the surface. She works in acrylic paint on canvas and paper, in experimental sculpture and on found objects. Kist, a recipient of an MFA from Savannah College of Art and Design, has received a visual arts grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a residency in sculpture at the Vermont Studio Center, a solo exhibition at the Savannah/Hilton Head Airport, and is published in national publications such as New American Paintings and West Elm.
Earlier this year, Kist, an art teacher at Tower Hill School, participated in the “Seeds of Inspiration” Student Exhibition at Longwood Gardens, a project that’s part of the Professional Horticultural Program that allows students to design gardens as part of their coursework. Her contribution – one of four in the exhibition – is “Seeds the City Chose,” and features images of an urban wildscape centered on a concrete ruin.
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T.S. Kist
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The street mural was based on conversations Kist had with students Alexandra Correia, Lana Guardo and Emrys Stromberg, who told her they wanted to create a garden exhibition that was inspired by the urban marvel of seeing plants prosper among the dilapidated buildings they’ve seen in Philadelphia.
“The students approached me after seeing some of my paintings that hang in Philter in Kennett Square,” Kist said. “They were looking for an artist who could visually reflect the graffiti-like nature of vandalized urban dwellings – specifically, those that are decaying in an industrial sense. The juxtaposition of man-made structures that are left to become unsightly, melded with what can come from scattered weeds, is beautiful.”
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Originally scheduled to run from May through October, the Student Exhibition Garden at Longwood has been extended to 2020. To learn more about T.S. Kist, visit www.tskist.com. For more information about Longwood Gardens, visit ww.longwoodgardens.org.
It’s beginning to Christmas in K
By John Chambless Staff Writer
Downtown Kennett Square has earned widespread acclaim for its restaurants, shops and attractions, picking up an award for Best Suburban Shopping Destination 2019 by Philadelphia magazine.
If you haven’t sampled all that the little town has to offer during the holidays, this is your chance to find out what everyone is talking about. With a convenient parking garage (free on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as weekdays after 5 p.m.), getting into town is easy, and once you’re there, you can stay a while.
The annual Holiday Light Parade packs State Street with spectators and marchers on Nov. 29 beginning at 6:15 p.m.
Under holiday lights, there will be antique cars, marching bands, farm equipment, fire equipment and Santa and Mrs. Claus, who arrive to start the holiday season. Immediately after the parade, meet Santa & Mrs. Claus at Anchor Life + Fitness (112 S. Broad St.) for pictures and refreshments
Small Business Saturday 2019 is Nov. 30, when you can sample Kennett Square’s independently owned small shops that are stocked with jewelry, local art and pottery, and handcrafted homewares, as well as new and vintage clothing and accessories, specialty food items, outdoor gear, and toys and games.
Adding to the holiday atmosphere, The Brandywine Singers will be caroling throughout town on Nov. 30, Dec. 7 and 21 from 2 to 5 p.m.
Kids can meet Santa and Mrs. Claus at the conclusion of the annual Christmas Parade.
Kennett Square’s holiday season kicks off with the much-anticipated parade on Nov. 29, featuring marching bands, antique cars, performing groups and Santa himself.
olook a lot like Kennett Square
downtown offers a wide range of gift ideas for everyone on your list.
The Kennett Square Holiday Village Market is a curated, open-air artisan market filled with holiday gift options from local and regional vendors. On Dec. 7, 8, 14 and 15 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., enjoy food trucks, ice sculptures, seasonal craft workshops, live music, a photo booth, children’s activities and greenery sales and holiday shopping at the Creamery of Kennett Square. A shuttle will run to and from downtown Kennett Square.
Dec. 12 will be the date for Tinsel on the Town, an evening of holiday shopping with a DJ spinning holiday music, State Street closed for pedestrians, a visit from Santa and more. It runs from 6 to 9 p.m.
Kids can have Breakfast with Santa at the Kennett Fire House (423 Dalmatian St.) on Dec. 15 from 8 to 10 a.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for ages 3 to 12, and free for ages 2 and younger. The menu includes eggs, bacon,
sausage, potatoes and French toast sticks. No walk-ins are allowed, and reservations are required in advance. Call 610-444-4810 or e-mail info@firestation24.com. Proceeds benefit the fire company.
As always, Midnight in the Square will cap the holiday season in Kennett Square, when a lighted mushroom is dropped on Dec. 31 at midnight, after an evening of live music, activities and specials offered by downtown restaurants beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Many visitors discover that Kennett Square and Longwood Gardens are a good pair, but locals can also take part in Longwood Gardens Christmas in Kennett, which is offered
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All photos courtesy
Strolling carolers will entertain visitors on select days during the holiday season.
Shopping
Christmas in Kennett Square
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through Dec. 28. Visit Kennett Square for a festive Saturday of shopping, dining, and strolling. Then catch the shuttle bus and explore “A Longwood Christmas” at Longwood Gardens. The 2019 dates are Nov. 23 and 30, Dec. 7, 14, 21 and 28. To take part, buy your Christmas in Kennett tickets online (www.longwoodgardens.org), which includes the shuttle. Park for free in the Kennett Square Parking Garage, with the entrance off of East Linden Street (100 East Linden Street). Catch the shuttle and enjoy “A Longwood Christmas.” You must have a special Christmas in Kennett ticket to use the shuttle. Afterward, you can return to your car and easily head home, without traffic and parking headaches.
Shuttle pick-up and drop-off locations are:
In Kennett Square:
Corner of State and Union streets, 101 E. State Street, Kennett Square
Pick-up every half hour from 1:30 to 6:30 p.m.
At Longwood Gardens:
In the Visitor Center Bus Lot Pick-up every half hour from 3:30 to 10 p.m.
Return shuttles (from Longwood Gardens) will leave Longwood Gardens every half hour from 3:30 to 10 p.m. to transport guests back to Kennett Square. Tickets are $30 for adults, $27 for seniors (ages 62 and older), $27 for college students with valid ID, $16 for ages 5 to 18. Visit www.longwoodgardens.org
Kennett Square has been named Best Suburban Shopping Destination 2019 by Philadelphia magazine.
‘A Longwood Christmas runs from Nov. 22 to Jan. 5
It’s shaping up to be “A Longwood Christmas” to remember. On view from Nov. 22 to Jan. 5, the holiday display is inspired by the contours of traditional holiday favorites, such as poinsettias, pinecones and snowflakes, as well as shapes unique to Longwood.
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A Longwood Christmas
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Inside Longwood’s four-acre Conservatory, the Exhibition Hall holds a 400-foot-long ribbon entwined with giant ornaments, nestled among trees, culminating in a towering Christmas tree decorated in red, gold and silver ornaments.
The Music Room is transformed into a confectionary shop decorated for the holidays, featuring two 18-foot Fraser firs dripping in pastel-colored Christmas candy. In a collaboration with America’s oldest candy store, Shane’s Confectionary in Philadelphia, the Music Room showcases vintage candy molds and clear toy candies, a Pennsylvania
Decorated trees are displayed in the Conservatory.
German Christmas tradition. The display counter is filled with horticulturally themed chocolates, lollipops and cookies, while apothecary jars are filled with artistic lollipops and other sweet favorites.
The East Conservatory holds the largest indoor tree in the display, a 24-foot white fir with a pinecone motif that’s flanked by cut white pine trees and fountain jets. In the Rose House is a living tree decked out in more than 150 pink poinsettias as handcrafted chandeliers glow from above.
In the Ballroom, an 18-foot Fraser fir is covered in
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Poinsettias add vivid color to Longwood’s annual Christmas display.
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crystal ornaments fashioned in shapes reminiscent of the crystals found in the 90-year-old chandeliers and sconces in the room.
Thousands of poinsettias, amaryllis, fragrant paperwhites, and other floral finery fill the Conservatory. Living wreaths fashioned from everything from orchids to succulents, and trees fashioned from a variety of plant materials, highlight the skills of Longwood’s many horticulturists.
Outside, more than 500,000 lights are strung on 150 trees. New displays include dancing lights that simulate the fountain jets in the Main Fountain Garden. The towering trees bordering the Large Lake are the backdrop for a repeating illuminated light show set to holiday music.
In the Meadow Garden, visitors stroll through a 140foot tunnel of light in the winter landscape, and discover a grove of glowing architectural orbs that pulse and change to the rhythm of holiday favorites.
The Wildlife Tree is swathed in skeins of yarn, while hundreds of handmade ornaments serve as a holiday buffet for wildlife. The 25-foot Gardener’s Tree
showcases some of nature’s most unique shapes – ornamental gourds.
In the Open Air Theatre, fountains dance day and night to holiday classics. And Longwood’s outdoor train display will be operating daily. Three fire pits invite guests to warm up by the fire on chilly evenings.
Throughout the season, Longwood’s Ballroom will be the site of free and ticketed holiday-inspired performances, as well as daily carol sing-alongs performed on Longwood’s pipe organ. The Strolling Olde Towne Carolers add to the holiday charm on select evenings, while Longwood’s historic Chimes Tower plays holiday music every half-hour. For a complete listing of performances, visit longwoodgardens.org.
Admission to the Christmas display is by timed admission ticket, purchased in advance for a specific date and time. Members require free, timed reservations every day if arriving after 2 p.m. Gardens Premium Members do not require reservations. Tickets and reservations are available at www.longwoodgardens.org.
Kennett Library hires Mary Hutchins for capital campaign
The Board of Directors of the Kennett Library recently announced that Mary S. Hutchins has been hired as the development associate for the capital campaign for the new Kennett Library. In this role, Mary will support the implementation and management of the campaign.
Mary has a long history in the Kennett community. Most recently, she was the executive director of Historic Kennett Square, a position she held for 20 years. Before that, she was the editor of The Kennett Paper. In both roles, Mary has always supported the creation of a new Kennett Library in the Borough of Kennett Square.
“We are looking forward to Mary bringing her passion for Kennett Square to the library campaign,” said Board President Thomas C. Swett. “I have known Mary for over 20 years and am confident she is what we need to make the new library a reality.”
The plan for the new library includes an approved 29,000 square feet of space with a 110-seat auditorium, a total of 16 meeting rooms to house the Adult Literacy Program
classes and tutors as well as provide much needed meeting space to the businesses and organizations in the community, quiet reading and study rooms, a Maker Space with state-of-the-art technological resources, and dedicated parking spaces for library patrons.
The total cost of the project is close to $15 million and about $5 million has been raised to date, including a $1 million RAC-P grant and a $1 million anonymous donation. While there will be some immediate site improvements made, the real construction won’t begin until 70 percent of the campaign funds have been pledged. The Kennett Library Board of Trustees plans for the new library to open in the summer of 2022.
“I love Kennett Square! I strongly believe that a new library is important to its future development and am thrilled to be a member of the team that makes this dream come true,” Mary said.
To contact Mary Hutchins, you can email her at mary@ kennettlibrary.org.
