Chester CountyPRESS
www.chestercounty.com
Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas
Volume 155, No. 24
INSIDE
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
$1.00
Public hears plans for Moran Farm Development in Oxford By Betsy Brewer Brantner Contributing Writer
On June 9, the public heard plans for the proposed development of the Moran Farm in Oxford Borough. The first in-person meeting since the pandemic began Oxford Arts Alliance offers was held in the equipment summer art camps...1B building at the Public Works location on Locust Street. After a recent walkthrough of the property by
Oxford Borough officials and representatives from Frost Development, council and the planning commission planned a public meeting so residents could hear first-hand the plans for the 95-acre tract on Locust Street and to inform developers of their concerns and questions. Plans for the Moran Farm had previously been presented to the Borough Continued on page 2A
Longwood Gardens: Re-imagining its future beyond the pandemic By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer Paul Redman has been the president and CEO of Local police honored during awards ceremony...4B Longwood Gardens for the past 15 years, and over that time, has served as a primary architect for establishing the institution’s place as a living museum of gardens that is known throughout the world. On his watch – and accom-
panied by the generosity of private donors and a tireless staff of more than 1,500 – annual attendance has risen to an average of 1.54 million visitors, memberships have increased from 17,000 to more than 73,000 households and earned income has tripled. As 2020 began, Redman and his staff were anticipating a year of record-breaking attendance that would coin-
cide with a project that will transform a 17-acre portion of Longwood Gardens into a stunning canopy of glasshouses, a new restaurant, a new courtyard and a stateof-the-art education center and administration building. Then on March 13, Longwood Gardens was forced to shut its doors to COVID-19, and suddenly, the normal streams of revenue – attendance, food
and beverage and retail sales – had all evaporated. With little warning, Chester County’s showcase to the region and the world was shocked into silence, and its leadership was left scrambling to find ways to remain viable. “We had to respond very quickly,” said Redman, who was the featured speaker at the Historic Kennett Square Economic Development
Council’s June 11 online meeting. “There was a lot of uncertainty as to what we were supposed to do. We were even uncertain if we could have staff come to take care of the plants. We had to sort it out over the weekend and the following week. “[Longwood Gardens] was a frightening place to be.” Continued on page 3A
Penn Township approves a contract for park trail OAHS grad earns R.O.T.C. scholarship...6B
By Marcella Peyre-Ferry Staff Writer
The Penn Township Board of Supervisors met on June 9, discussing progress on the new sports park, and updates about the passive park that local residents Opinion.......................7A have enjoyed for years. The board approved Obituaries.............2B-3B a contract for $21,299 to Classifieds.................6B complete the perimeter trail around the sports park. Pads have been poured for benches and bridges are in place. Drafts have been
INDEX
prepared for signage at the environmental education center. “I encourage anyone who hasn’t been over there to go over and take a walk,” Victor Mantegna, the chair of the board of supervisors said. At the passive park, the old flowers and shrubs at the entrance have been removed. An engineer’s design for the area is being prepared. A design will also be prepared for replacement of the ramps leading to the
restrooms at the park. The supervisors are not in agreement about the best choice for repair or replacement of the sign outside the township building. The board seems to agree that the white sign with interchangeable letters to post events should be eliminated. Multiple options were proposed for the larger township sign on an artificial stone background. One proposal supported by supervisor Curtis Mason is to attempt to have the exist-
ing sign restored. Another option is an LED electronic sign, but Mason argued that the location does not get enough passing traffic for an LED sign. Supervisor William O’Connell countered that there is steady traffic to the township building and passive park. A compromise option is to move the sign from Old Baltimore Pike to the side road and put a new LED sign in its place. No decision was reached at the meeting.
Supervisor Jay Ennis reported that repair work is complete on damage done to the Red Rose Inn by a truck. A front column has been replaced and bricks repaired, with new rain gutter put in place. The Inn will be the location for the township’s upcoming Red Rose Rent Day festivities this fall. There will be a presentation ceremony, and the Inn will be open to visitors to tour the building and view the displays of local Continued on page 3A
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Celebrating the Class of 2021
Avon Grove, Kennett, and Unionville high schools hold commencement ceremonies
Kennett graduates look beyond Unionville graduates the obstacles of their senior year express optimism about the future By Chris Barber Contributing Writer
No speaker at Kennett High School’s graduation ceremony on June 12 managed to avoid a reference, in one way or another, to the chaos and disappointment that was caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The frequent refrain, however, was that the students were strengthened by what they
the class that missed out on half, if not most, of their senior year was not the type of legacy we imagined we’d leave behind. Despite the world of firsts we faced in a year that should have consisted of many lasts, our reaction to the unprecedented circumstances was more powerful than the circumstances themselves.” Marlen Cordova-Pedroza Continued on page 4A
‘You, the Class of 2021, are the accomplishment’
Avon Grove graduates 415 at Delaware Stadium By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer
© 2007 The Chester County Press
went through. Introducing her fellow student speakers, Class President Alondra HerreraEsquivel said, “We all sit here today, six feet apart, but closer than we have ever been in the last 455 days. In the midst of heartache, loss, and pain, we have all – individually and collectively -- overcome the obstacles placed before us … I guess being known as
On June 12, the morning after a summer storm had postponed the 93rd annual commencement exercises for the Avon Grove High School Class of 2021 the evening before, the gray clouds above Delaware
Stadium in Newark gave only the slightest hint that they would open up again. For the 415 graduates who received their diplomas, however, another downfall would be of little hindrance, given that each of them had endured and emerged victorious from a stop-start-stop haunted
house tour through a pandemic that is still leaving Photo by Chris Barber its mark. The commencement was held under big cumulous The story of this year’s clouds and the rain held off until well after the ceremony. graduating class is, “as you reflected not only the optiBy Chris Barber can imagine, somewhat difmism of the Class of 2021, Contributing Writer ferent,” school Principal but also the elation that the Scott DeShong told gradThe mood at Unionville students felt as they reached uates seated in the south end zone and the more than High School’s gradua- the important milestone. Continued on page 5A Continued on page 6A tion ceremony on Monday