All in People of Swarthmore
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.
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.
At Monday’s Swarthmore Borough Council meeting, Mayor Marty Spiegel read a proclamation declaring Saturday, November 9, 2019 as Ed Jones Day in Swarthmore. He presented the proclamation to Donna Kay Jones, Ed’s widow (left), who was in attendance along with six former mayors of the borough and members of the Centennial Foundation, which Ed co-founded. There will be a memorial service on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Swarthmore Friends Meetinghouse for Ed, who served Swarthmore as mayor and in many other leadership posts in the borough, county, and state.
Born 90 years ago this fall, George Crumb has long been recognized as one of America’s greatest composers. This fall, Crumb is being celebrated at several venues in the Philadelphia area, where he has spent much of his career as a composer and a teacher. Two local Crumb-centered concerts, this weekend and next, invite music lovers to explore and celebrate the long career and compositions of this towering figure.
When Stereo League plays this Saturday night at Swarthmore’s waR3house3, it will be a homecoming gig for songwriter and front man Alex Savoth, who grew up on Riverview Road in the borough, and for fellow Strath Haven alumni, guitarist Dan King and drummer Gusten Rudolph.
Swarthmorean editor Chris Reynolds will be moving on from his post this fall. “Editing the Swarthmorean for the past 4 ½ years has been a great job, but to everything, there is a season. I’ll be leaving the paper in solid condition, with loyal readers and lots of upside,” Chris said.
Dedicated to the proposition that life is too short to drink bad wine, Swarthmore residents Steve Platt and Robin Schaufler are charter members of the Ethanology wine group which meets more or less monthly to taste wines, as well as other myriad forms of alcoholic beverages. The group consists of seven couples or pairs from as far away as Wilmington.
Last month, friends, family members and friends of the Swarthmore United Methodist Church celebrated one of its most faithful and venerable parishioners, Alma Trevethick, on the occasion of her one hundredth birthday.
Former Strath Haven (Class of 2014) track star Allie Wilson is shifting her running career into high gear as a new member of one of the elite U.S. training programs, the Atlanta Track Club.
Over the summer months, some go to the shore; others go to the mountains. My husband Kevin Babcock went to the emergency room.
“There’s a definite trend of people returning to Swarthmore … So many people come back,” said Swarthmore native and longtime area real estate professional Perri Evanson, an Associate Broker with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Fox & Roach Realtors in Media. Evanson transitioned to a successful career in real estate, serving Swarthmore and the surrounding area, which she has pursued for the last 25 years.
For the past 48 years, Joyce Perry has taught music to every class at Swarthmore Presbyterian Nursery Day School (SPNDS,) from the “young threes” to the kindergarteners. When not perched at her seat at the piano, she could be found attending to her other responsibilities, including overseeing the “Earlybirds” before the start of the school day and the “Stay and Players” after. In some families, Perry has taught three generations.
Swarthmorean Summer Travel Series
By Louise Coffin
State College is the name of the 4.5-square-mile town in Centre County, Pennsylvania. University Park is the main campus of Pennsylvania State University located in State College — and beyond. State College (remember, that’s the town) has a population of 42,000-plus. Penn State’s University Park enrollment of undergraduate and graduate students is about 46,000. Without the addition of Penn State students, the town’s population density is more than 9,000 people per square mile. With, … well, you can do the math. It is one crowded place, especially when out-of-towners visit during the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, held for the past 54 years during four days in July.
Swarthmorean Summer Travel Series
By Malcolm Reynolds
On Memorial Day, my good friend Alex Schaff and I set out from Swarthmore for the enchanting hills and meadows of New England, with the goal of visiting and talking with dairy farmers and cheesemakers. Alex, who suggested the trip, is a prospective veterinarian and a master’s student of dairy science at Colorado State University; I work as a cheesemonger at DiBruno’s in Philadelphia. So one could say the idea didn’t just come out of the blue!
Last month, Joel Siwik took over as Swarthmore’s Postmaster, replacing acting Postmaster Michael Keller (who took Siwik’s place as Postmaster in Chester). Appropriately for a town where most mail is delivered by letter carriers on foot, Siwik comes from a background as a postman.
It was a fantastic day of celebration across Swarthmore and surrounding communities, featuring awards, parades, races, swimming, music, and lots more. The Swarthmorean has the recap, including a slideshow capturing moments from Swarthmore, Rose Valley, and Rutledge.
The Swarthmore Centennial Foundation is pleased to award the Edmund Jones Scholarship to 2019 high school graduate Lena Lofgren. Here is her winning essay about her life in Swarthmore.
Like quite a few of their fellow Swarthmoreans, Jill Gaieski and Lori Knauer enjoy a glass of good wine. Together, they’ve also pursued the Certified Specialist in Wine designation at the Wine School in Philadelphia, a serious program that incorporates aspects of oenology and oenophilia. Now, out of their appreciation of wine, its variety and lore, the two are working to bring Swarthmore a wine bar and bistro named Village Vine, which they plan to open next year in the former Compendium location at 6 Park Avenue.
Last Thursday morning, June 20, Swarthmore postal employees paused before beginning their delivery routes, opening customer windows, and processing mail, in order to honor three of their colleagues. Swarthmore mail carriers John Fanelli, William Kane and Francis “Billy” Raymond were inducted into the Million Mile Club, each receiving an award only given by the United States Postal Service to mail carriers who have either driven or walked one million miles or have worked 30 years with the company without incident.
Dr. Dennis Hoffman retired on June 26, almost exactly 50 years since beginning his dental practice in Swarthmore. Over the decades at the 107 Rutgers Avenue office, Dr. Hoffman has served several generations of Swarthmore patients.
