Chester CountyPRESS
www.chestercounty.com
Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas
Volume 155, No. 14
INSIDE
Wednesday, April 7, 2021
Campaign has already raised more than $10 million; groundbreaking expected in August
Kennett Library & Resource Center nearing fundraising goals By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
Into the foal at Walnut Green Farm...2A
Brandywine Hills Point-toPoint returns...1B
Arguably, the mostwatched video in southern Chester County these days is not a Hollywood blockbuster, or even a small independent film made on a shoestring budget that still offers its viewers a whole lot of story. In fact, the film that is receiving a lot of local attention is only seven minutes and seven seconds long, and it wasn’t even created by a filmmaker, but by an architectural firm in Virginia. What’s more, it is devoid of real living actors, and its only images are in the form of computer-
helps
INDEX Opinion.......................7A Obituaries..............2B-3B Classifieds.............5B-6B
Gerald W. Davis, who died on March 27, is being remembered for his nearly 50-year career in law enforcement that included stints as a police chief for New Garden and East Marlborough townships, as well as for a legacy of public service that was layered with accomplishments. Born and raised in Avondale, Davis graduated from Avon Grove High School in 1962, and soon began to embark on
Continued on page 2A
to break ground this August and be completed in December 2022.
a career in law enforcement that he seemed destined to pursue. His father Ernie was the Police Chief of Avondale Borough and his brother William served as an officer at the New Garden Police Department and the Kennett Square Borough, until his untimely death while serving the midnight shift on Nov. 15, 1972 with Patrolman Richard Posey, who was also killed in the incident. The family DNA did not end there. Two of Davis’ uncles served as troopers
with the Pennsylvania State Police’s Avondale barracks. Davis began his public safety career in June 1967 as a dispatcher for the then newly-formed Chester County Police Radio, which at the time was a branch of the Chester County District Attorney’s Office. In October 1967, Davis began his law enforcement career with the New Garden Township Police Department, serving under Police Chief McKinley Hall. There, he worked alongside several law enforcement pro-
fessionals including Frank Zagorskie, Steve Guest, Fred Guilanio, Marvin Noznesky, Martin Feliciano, Ralph May, Vernon Rouss, Prince White and Kevin McCarthy. Following Hall’s retirement in 1972, Davis became the department’s Chief of Police, where for the next 30 years, he oversaw the expansion of the department from a 12-member part-time staff to becoming a primary law enforcement agency with a strong emphasis on community policing.
As New Garden Township began to grow in its population and evolve in its identity, so did the demands for its police department. Under Davis, the department expanded its coverage hours, increased its dedication to officer training, created and supported several community programs in local schools, and transformed into an agency with 12 full-time officers. After retiring from New Garden in 2002, Davis went on to become the first police Continued on page 6A
LCH Community Health Services: Improving health and the economy in Oxford Borough A ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the organization’s new location in downtown Oxford will take place on April 9 By Betsy Brewer Brantner Contributing Writer
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generated graphics, but the story it is telling is one about what happens when dreams meet ingenuity, and when determination collides headlong with resources and people. The video, available for viewing on the new Kennett Library & Resource Center’s website (www. Campaign4KennettLibrary. org), was created by Arlington, Virginia-based RRMM, Inc., the lead architect for what will become a 31,485 square-foot facility that is scheduled to undergo groundbreaking this August and projected to be comCourtesy image pleted in late December of The Capital Campaign for the new Kennett Library & Resource Center has already 2022. raised more than $10 million toward an $18 million goal. The new library is expected
Longtime Police Chief Gerald Davis remembered for half-century of public service By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
New book families...1B
$1.00
LCH Community Health Services recently opened the doors to a new location in downtown Oxford, in the former Oxford Sewer Authority Building at 14 S. Third Street. “A friendly and walkable community is what we were looking for and we found it in Oxford,” said Laura Mackiewicz, the brand manager for LCH Community Health Services.
Ted Trevorrow, the interim director of operations, was responsible for overseeing the renovation of the building which has housed many businesses in the past. Commonwealth Group of Wilmington, Del. was responsible for the makeover of the 5,351-square-foot building and transforming it into a Community Health Service Center. LCH was formerly located at 301 N. Third Street, where they operated in a 1,000-square-foot building with only three exam
rooms. Moving to the center of town, in the heart of the business district, seemed like the perfect place to expand the growing business. The new location not only gives LCH more exam rooms so they can provide more services to the community, but also provides more space for their staff to work together. “We are delighted to move here and become involved with Oxford Mainstreet’s First Fridays and other events. We love being a
part of the community,” Mackiewicz said. They also feel excited about working with the diverse population in the borough, and the fact that Oxford is such a walkable community. “We love the fact that there is a park so close by,” Margarita Garay-Zarco said. “We are happy to be here. Like our mission statement says, we change lives by serving southern Chester County as the leading provider of integrated health and community services.”
Through their integrated electronic health record system, LCH Centricity, service providers can understand social and environmental influences first-hand on each patient. The LCH team has a full understanding of a patient’s situation, and works together to help move the patients forward to the next level of health, independence, and confidence. They emphasize preventive care, and educate their patients on how life experiences and Continued on page 3A
Lions offer a reader’s paradise to the community The Book Barn has been operating for almost two decades
Photos by Chris Barber
The Book Barn was originally part of the original dairy farm.
A customer sorts through the books at the Book Barn.
© 2007 The Chester County Press
By Chris Barber Contributing Writer Where once farmers tended their livestock and the silo yielded the grain for the winter, a magnificent used bookstore stands courtesy of
the Avon Grove Lions Club. Last week, the Lions opened the doors of the Avon Grove Book Barn for another warm weather stretch in a tradition that began in 2002. The barn is on the family farm of C.P. Yeatman
and Sons mushroom company just north of Avondale Borough. Members of the Lions Club and even the Yeatman family themselves are not sure exactly when the barn was initially built, but they know this: It was
created to serve a dairy farm before the mushroom industry even started in Chester County. In 1920, the barn blew down in a windstorm and had to be rebuilt. This year, just like every year for the last two decades,
it reopened in early April for the warm seasons. It will continue through October. The building itself is sprawling with a host of large nooks and crannies. It houses sections on fiction, Continued on page 4A