Swarthmore resident Sharon Lee discusses her life and her new book, “Public Gardens and Livable Cities,” which focuses on the essential role public gardens can play in improving urban life. Free to read and share
Panel Okays First Family/Caregiver Suite
The Swarthmore Zoning Hearing Board unanimously approved a special exception for Kit Raven to build a “family/caregiver suite” at her house on Dartmouth Avenue. Raven’s is the first application for a family/caregiver suite to come before the board since the borough amended its zoning code to permit them in 2018.
Concerns About Bicycles, Budget Finalized
After concerns about kids riding bicycles on sidewalks in the business district were raised at Swarthmore Borough Council’s December 7 work session, five residents attended the December 21 council meeting to express their sense that the bicycle problem is getting out of hand. Also, the council voted not raise taxes in 2021. Free to read and share
2020 in Review: Before and (Mostly) After
Rereading articles from this past January and February is like peering through the wrong end of a telescope into a lost world. Here’s a review of what we were doing and thinking about in 2020, as it showed up in the pages (and website) of this newspaper — both BC (Before COVID) and AD (After Distancing). Free to read and share
Ohev Shalom Raises the Curtain on a Second Century
Ohev Shalom synagogue in Wallingford celebrates its hundredth anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, the congregation commissioned a vibrant new ark curtain from Indian-American-Jewish artist Siona Benjamin. The symbol-rich curtain tells the story of the prophet Joseph, an outsider who overcame oppression. This connects to the synagogue’s efforts at “tikkun olam,” repairing the world. Free to read and share
Taxes to Stay the Same; Sparks Fly Over Bicycle Enforcement
In a sometimes fiery meeting that lasted over three hours, Swarthmore Borough Council voted on Monday not to raise taxes in 2021. The vote was 6 to 1. The most contentious part of the meeting was a report on the increasing nuisance of bicycles in the business district. Business owners have complained that cyclists are riding down the Park Avenue sidewalk with little regard for pedestrians and leaving their bikes obstructing the sidewalk. Free to read and share
Wood-Fired Pottery Adds Luster to CAC Holiday Sale
Mark Tyson, who teaches ceramics at the Community Arts Center in Wallingford, works ground-up stone, sand, and iron from blacksmith scale and old hand warmers into the clay. “Irregularities make the clay surface more interesting,” he says. Much of the ceramic art Mark Tyson is offering was fired at the center’s new wood-burning kiln. Tyson is one of over 40 vendors who will be participating in this year’s annual Community Arts Center and Potters Guild Handcrafted Holiday Sale, running from December 4 through 12. The number of vendors is reduced this year as a COVID-19 safety precaution. But shoppers who preregister for 1-hour slots will still be able to buy locally crafted jewelry, home decor, clothing, and wooden items. And, of course, ceramic art. Free to read and share
Linton Stables Raises Spirits and Funds
Linton Stables, President of the Swarthmore Senior Citizens Association, was awarded the 2020 Swarthmore Lions Club Citizen of the Year Award. He got involved in community work when he was living in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood in the 1990s, but his is involvement in Swarthmore came about more accidentally. This is a story of how his community contributions evolved, and his affinity for fundraising, which he calls “telling a story that shows you what the opportunities are for you to be generous.” Free to read and share
Bucking the Trend With Bricks and Mortar: Swarthmore Native Opens Art and Paper Store
Pens and other art supplies, along with notebooks, tote bags, mugs, and enamel pins, are the main merchandise in Caroline Stockman’s new store, Of Aspen, which opened in Swarthmore last month. Stockman is an artist herself, and Of Aspen specializes in products she uses and loves. “Through the years, I’ve found a lot of products that I live by,” she says.
Staying Afloat: Local Businesses Lean on the Community to Survive the Pandemic
In light of the pandemic, Swarthmore’s annual Home for the Holidays event has been significantly pared down from what the community has come to expect. In place of the traditional horse-drawn carriage rides, visit from Santa Claus, and dreidel games, there will be a handful of holiday activities that people can do on their own. Since the day of seasonal festivities is usually a big shopping day in the borough, the cancellation is worrisome for some retailers. Free to read and share
Teachers Find New Ways to Connect With Kids, Each Other
COVID-19 has upended strategies teachers rely on to connect with kids and teach their subjects. In the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District, teachers have had to switch gears several times, going all-virtual last spring, then preparing over the summer for in-person school, only to learn that school would stay virtual after all. Then, in October, most teachers went back to school buildings, teaching cohorts of students in a hybrid of in-person and virtual instruction. Free to read and share
Hoppy Days Are Here for the Swarthmore Co-op
After years of effort and legal wrangling, the Swarthmore Co-op sold its first bottles of beer and wine on Tuesday. Free to read and share
Humans of Swarthmore: Martha Perkins
I’ve lived here for 20 years but I felt like I belonged here and was welcome within a year of moving here. It’s such an open community. The only thing that turned me off was the lack of diversity. But as I got to know people in the town, I realized that that was just the surface. It was just what I was seeing with my eyes.
Preliminary Election Results 2020
These results are preliminary and unofficial, as of November 5 at 11:18 pm. Because of changes to voting rules, and this election’s occurring during a pandemic, far more mail-in and absentee ballots were cast than ever before. Pennsylvania law disallows counting those ballots before election day, so we will have to wait for final results. Free to read and share
Voting Briefing
Our final voting briefing of the 2020 election.
Local Races: PA District 5
An overview of the two candidates running for the PA District 5 seat in Congress: incumbent Mary Gay Scanlon and challenger Dasha Pruett.
Humans of Swarthmore: Lucy Saxon
My family moved here in 1989. I’ve grown up in Swarthmore since I was five, and had a wonderful, really an idyllic childhood, running around the woods. And I feel so lucky that we have the college here, and I was able to attend so many amazing concerts and dance programs, terrific pieces of theatre.
Big Doings at Little Crum
On a recent Saturday, the Friends of Little Crum Creek Park board member Andrew Bunting gave a tour of the park to fellow board members, the mayor, and some borough council members. He wanted to show the progress volunteers have made in restoring the stream banks and surrounding woods, and in creating a wetland. He also outlined the challenges that remain. They are working to reestablish in the park at the eastern end of Swarthmore. Free to read and share
Local Races: 9th State Senate District
A preview of the candidates running for Pennsylvania’s 9th State Senate District. Tom Killion, the incumbent, has represented Pennsylvania’s 9th State Senate District since 2016. John Kane, the challenger, says Harrisburg is dominated by “lawyers and career politicians who only act when their campaign donors need something.”
Manifesting Beauty: Jeannine Osayande Seeks Joy and Change Through Dance and Stories
Jeannine Osayande was born in Swarthmore in 1960 to Betty Ann (née Coleman) and Donald Lee. Her mother taught at Nether Providence Elementary School, and her father was Swarthmore’s first Black policeman. In time, he would become the town’s chief of police. Little Jeannine and her two older sisters, Annette and Donna, lived with their parents in the Historically Black Neighborhood of Swarthmore, in the same house Osayande lives in now. Growing up, she was surrounded by family, and by neighbors who were family, too. Osayande likes to tell the story of how African dance found her on a street corner in Harvard Square. “The drums were playing, and a dancer suddenly pushed me into the circle,” she recalls. “And I knew what I wanted to do with my life.” Free to read and share