All tagged 2019/11
The thorny subject of Swarthmoreans renting out their homes for short periods of time was debated by the Planning and Zoning Committee of Swarthmore Borough Council at its monthly meeting on November 14. The issue was brought to the committee’s attention by neighbors of a house frequently rented out on Airbnb—sometimes to large groups—when the owners are away.
An unofficial theme has emerged in this Thanksgiving week issue of The Swarthmorean: community. We talked with two Swarthmoreans who recently moved back to the borough about what this place means to them, and both of them cited a sense of community as a special quality of the town.
The historic Thomas Leiper House will host its annual Colonial Christmas Open House on Sunday, December 15, from 1-5 p.m. The rooms are decorated by six local garden clubs, and refreshments will include a birthday cake honoring Mr. Leiper’s December 15, 1745 birth in Strathaven, Scotland.
The walkway along Providence Rd. (rte. 252) in Wallingford will receive a major upgrade thanks to a $500,000 state grant for sidewalk installation. State Representative Leanne Krueger (D-161) announced the grant from the Multimodal Transportation Fund to Nether Providence Township, stating, “This project will make our community more walkable and improve pedestrian safety, including for students in our region.”
Eight cases of pertussis have been confirmed in the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District since the beginning of the school year, according to Superintendent Lisa Palmer. The diagnosed students have been from Swarthmore-Rutledge School, Strath Haven Middle School, and Strath Haven High School. The highly contagious disease, which affects the lungs, is commonly known as whooping cough because of the sound sufferers sometimes make after a long fit of coughing.
A check for $13,000 was presented to the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District at the School Board’s meeting on November 25 by Frannie Reilly and Elizabeth Ross, president and vice president of the Foundation for the Wallingford-Swarthmore Schools. The money, which will be equally distributed among grades K-12, will support R.E.A.D: Reading for Education, Acceptance, and Diversity. Also at the meeting, Superintendent Dr. Lisa Palmer informed the district that, since the beginning of the school year, eight cases of pertussis (whooping cough) have been diagnosed among district students.
“I was invited to throw out the first pitch this year for the Swarthmore-Nether Providence T-ball game…I throw out the first pitch, and then they throw all the balls at me.” Such are the pleasures and perils of life as a small-town mayor. Marty Spiegel has been serving as mayor of Swarthmore since February, when Borough Council appointed him to replace Tim Kearney, who resigned after being elected state senator of the 26th district. On November 5, Spiegel was elected to the position by the borough’s voters.
When I moved to Swarthmore in June 2000, our real estate agent gave us a year’s subscription to The Swarthmorean. I remember how happy it made me to leaf through those pages. The articles, the ads for local business, the calendar, and the classifieds were all windows into this new, unknown community I was joining. In the nearly 20 years since, I have looked forward every week to getting the paper. Even as I came to know my neighbors, get drawn into local organizations, and see my kids’ procession from first grade at SRS all the way through the high school, I have counted on The Swarthmorean to inform me, enliven me, and help me feel connected. My goal as editor will be to continue these missions and to broaden outward.
Based on the Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, this musical tells the story of a plucky orphan who dreams of finding her parents. Billionaires, cruel orphanage matrons, nefarious con artists, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt feature in this family favorite, along with unforgettable songs like “Tomorrow” and “It’s the Hard Knock Life.”
Congratulations to team Robust & Son which won the inaugural Swarthmorean Barbecue Cook-Off on Sunday, November 17, at waR3house3 in Swarthmore. The decision by the four-judge panel was unanimous. Five teams of cooks braved the November chill to compete for the title and feed the hungry crowd, which came from as far away as West Chester.
In January the Healthplex Sports Club will have a new owner and operator: the Community YMCA of Eastern Delaware County. The Healthplex, which offers work-out equipment, a swimming pool, basketball courts, tennis courts, children’s programs, and more, has been located at Springfield Hospital since 1996.
Swarthmore College alumna Emma Otheguy (‘09) will present two programs this week, sharing her books and talking about her career. Her work focuses on Latin American and Latinx history, literature, and identity.
Former British Parliament member, environment secretary, and foreign secretary David Miliband will speak about the future of world politics on Monday, Nov. 25, at 7 p.m. His talk will address threats to the global order from the Trump presidency and Brexit to climate change and refugee crises.
On Sunday, Dec. 8, from noon - 4 p.m., Penn State Extension Master Gardeners will offer handcrafted, fresh-cut evergreen wreaths, holiday floral creations, conifer identification activities—and, in a different vein, information on the invasive and destructive spotted lanternfly.
Opt Outside (away from the malls) and join Friends of Little Crum Creek Park on Friday, Nov. 29, to clean up the park! Beautify this community gem and work off those Thanksgiving calories, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (approximately). Come when you can.
Media Chamber Chorale, a 45-voice choir under the direction of John Stroud, will present its holiday concert, “Miracles Can Happen,” on December 6 and 7. The concert will feature Part I of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio plus other music of the season, accompanied by organ, piano, and an instrumental ensemble.
Swarthmore Borough Council led off its monthly legislative session on Tuesday night with the ceremonial swearing of new police officer George Dunn, who was celebrated by a throng of fellow and family members. Officer Dunn actually began in the job last week following his official oath of office. Council president David Creagan congratulated council members Mary Walk and Ross Schmucki on their reelection, new member Jill Gaieski upon her election, and Mayor Marty Spiegel on election to his first full term. Gaieski will replace Creagan on Council as of the upcoming reorganization meeting.
This week’s edition marks a changing of the guard here at The Swarthmorean. We want to express sincere gratitude to our departing editor, Chris Reynolds, who for nearly half a decade has done a masterful job functioning as the paper’s heart and soul. We are delighted to have found Rachel Pastan, a writer, editor and writing teacher with more than 30 years of professional experience, the past two decades of which were spent in Swarthmore.
I’ve spent the past 4½ years sitting at a big desk looking out onto Swarthmore, as I arrange words to describe what’s going on beyond the window. I’ll miss the work, and I’ll miss the view — the village of Swarthmore, whose sidewalks beckon you to stroll and explore; whose avenues invite you to ride a bike; whose yards and parks burst with vitality and imagination.
In her lecture “I Am Delivert!” on Thursday, November 21, Alisha Lola Jones, assistant professor of ethnomusicology at Indiana University Bloomington, draws from Black male musicians’ narratives and recordings since the late 1980s, exploring a social history of anxieties surrounding the performances of deliverance testimonies in Pentecostal gospel music scenes.
