All in People of Swarthmore
Since 1998, Susan Kelly has worked to improve Little Crum Creek Park, Swarthmore’s largest park, located on the eastern edge of town between Harvard and Yale avenues. As part of Swarthmore’s Environmental Advisory Council and other groups, she has coordinated several work days a year and built a list of many hardy locals who don’t mind getting dirty: the Park Pals. But that didn’t seem like enough.
Underneath the newspaper’s name, the Swarthmorean banner reads “Serving Swarthmore and Surrounding Communities Since 1893.” This publication seeks to support and lift up the community it represents. I find that a noble mission and ambition for a local paper. When I learned that the position of associate editor was available, that mission drew me in.
COVID-19 may have put a stop to live musical performances, but new music is still available. Local duo Last Chance — Swarthmore’s Ingrid Rosenback and Wallingford’s Jack Scott — released their fourth CD on July 1. “Summer Again” boasts 16 original songs by Scott.
I’ve seen a lot change because of COVID-19. I recently graduated from Swarthmore-Rutledge School, and I liked that my online instruction schedule was flexible. Still, I missed things like playing capture the flag and dodgeball with my classmates in gym class. I have learned a lot during the pandemic, like remembering to be grateful for everything and adjusting to changes. Staying at home is tough sometimes, but I’ll remember a lot about this time when I’m older.
Since 2000, Swarthmore resident Lawrence Katz has been a guitarist for the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, a group you most likely know for songs they recorded before Katz joined them, such as 1992’s “Where Did You Go?” or 1993’s “Someday I Suppose.” The band’s sound is sometimes punk overlaid with ska horns, sometimes straighter ska but with rock-and-roll guitar solos. This is a story of his musical journey, including how he found Swarthmore.
This Juneteenth, the Historically Black Neighborhood of Swarthmore (HBNS) organized a combination Juneteenth celebration and Black Lives Matter protest. Various speakers, including two young people, offered thoughts on Juneteenth, Black Lives Matter, and the meaning of freedom. The Swarthmorean is featuring photos taken by Swarthmore resident and photographer Andy Shelter documenting the celebration.
On Tuesday, March 24, Tom Shaffer of Rutgers Avenue in Swarthmore started feeling sick. This is an account of his illness and subsequent recovery, edited from near daily Facebook posts by his wife, Virginia Thompson, while she was at home in Swarthmore with their two kids, both in their twenties. At first she called her posts “Update on Tom,” but after a while, she started titling them “The Tom Report.”
Swarthmore has been home to at least eight Guggenheim winners over the years. The distinguished fellowships have been awarded since 1926 in the humanities, sciences, and arts. In 2020, 175 people, out of an applicant pool of about 3,000, were granted fellowships. Author and Swarthmore resident Ben Yagoda is one of the award recipients.
A marathon plus five: That’s how many miles you have to run to cover all the streets in Swarthmore. Will Starr did just that earlier this month, embarking a journey that he named “Swarthmore in a Day.”
Frankly, I never thought I would be living at Plush Mills. Now, 12 years later, I can tell you we made the right decision for the wrong reasons. Oh sure, the healthcare helped, and not having to go out for meals was great. But the best thing about living at Plush Mills is how easy it is to meet your new best friend.
Nearly two months into a lockdown ordered by Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf to help slow the spread of coronavirus, many of us are experiencing profound fatigue. Housebound parents of younger children pinball crazily between conference calls and childcare, while some elderly people and those living alone endure long bouts of boredom and loneliness. But for some, staying safe at home is not an option. Instead, they go each day into the thick of the fight to care for those gravely ill from the virus, often putting themselves and their own families at risk. They are also our friends and neighbors.
Ruba Ahmed’s book “Bring Now the Angels” was published on April 14 by the University of Pittsburgh Press, which has published such poets as Sharon Olds, Ross Gay, and Richard Blanco. We spoke recently by phone about the poems, her teaching, and how she got to Swarthmore, with her kids occasionally audible in the background.
In the expansive world of gardening, Swarthmore resident Charles Cresson is something of a regional celebrity. His century-old, two-acre garden, Hedgleigh Spring, on Swarthmore’s Amherst Avenue, has been written up in the New York Times and Martha Stewart’s Living. Cresson is an esteemed horticulturist who has studied and taught at public gardens in England, as well as at the famed Longwood and Chanticleer gardens closer to home. He didn’t think he needed more feathers in his canvas hat. That was, until British gardener Monty Don came calling.
As is becoming widely known, the masks most needed by medical personnel are N95 respirators that, when worn correctly, filter out 95% of particles that can cause disease. But simple cotton face masks are in demand as well. A well made cotton mask worn over an N95 mask can extend its lifetime. Now, three local women are busy over bobbins and foot pedals making masks.
Head coach Landry Kosmalski of Swarthmore College number one-ranked men’s basketball team has been named the 2019-20 National Coach of the Year, the National Association of Basketball Coaches announced on March 20.
Our president has said that everything the government can do to keep us as safe as possible from the novel coronavirus has been done. No one I know believes him. The opposite is happening here at Plush Mills. Management has closed us down. Every day they tell us what they are doing and what aspects of our life here need to change. I applaud them.
David Pollack, MD, is a senior physician in Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)’s primary care network at three Delaware County locations. The Swarthmorean called him for some perspective on kids and COVID-19.
Dr. Daniel Soffer practices internal medicine and cardiology at Penn Internal Medicine in Media and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. He lives in Swarthmore. The Swarthmorean called him for his perspective on the COVID-19 outbreak.
When Plush Mills started 12 years ago, we had lousy food and great coffee. Every time the food service changed, we told the new guys, “You can fix the lousy food, but don’t touch the coffee!” They didn’t. Now the food here is good. Sometimes it’s even great, especially since Frank, our executive chef, learned the new sous-vide system of cooking.
The premise of Brenda Embrey Exon’s new children’s book, “Moxie and the Kite-Bite’n Ash,” is simple, but it took the first-time author a long while to bring that seed to fruition. It also took a trip halfway around the world.
