Letters: January 30

Posted 1/30/13

Support Chestnut Hill Farmers Market

In a community that is ever active in saving important landmarks in it’s neighborhood, I address this letter.

I have lived in Mt. Airy for over forty …

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Letters: January 30

Posted

Support Chestnut Hill Farmers Market

In a community that is ever active in saving important landmarks in it’s neighborhood, I address this letter.

I have lived in Mt. Airy for over forty years and welcome new businesses that help to make this such a vibrant place to live, work and shop. However , this does not have to mean that the old has to be replaced.

Before the upsurge in the popularity of weekly street markets and the welcomed expansion of Weaver’s Way to Germantown Avenue, there was the Farmer’s Market behind the Chestnut Hill Hotel. The merchants who inhabit this market have served us well with prime quality, fairly priced merchandise, to say nothing of friendly helpful service.

The market is allegedly marked for a facelift and expansion in the types of merchandise that will be offered. That is the good news. The bad news is that the center of the space has been gutted, merchants have left and now we are about to lose an anchor in Jonathan’s Best. For months, during the reported transition, the space seems almost abandoned .

Not so. Several new businesses are about to open but, more importantly, around the outside edges of the space remain the “old guard.” people who have dedicated themselves to bring the best that can be delivered to their clients.

These merchants are still there and provide only the freshest produce, teas and coffees from around the world, real poultry not “flash chilled” (frozen), fabulous prime meats, deli to die for, Middle Eastern home made dinner and party offerings, ready to cook or cooked for you seafood, handmade sushi, and always friendly one on one personal service.

Absolutely go to the Pathmark and Acme for your detergents, napkins and Kellog’s Cornflakes, but treat yourself and your pocketbook to quality fresh food, cut and packaged just for you, complete with a greeting and a smile. They have been there for you for years and they need you now! Come back and help save a wonderful Chestnut Hill institution.

Anne Moskovitz

West Mt. Airy

 

Parking = RIP for Hill merchants

R = Revenue from the kiosks in the parking lots.

I = Income lost from lack of business.

P = Parking problems caused by the kiosks.

Let's have a moment of silence for what has befallen the many shops and customers who have gone away from Chestnut Hill because of the kiosk virus.

What's next? How about toll booths on Germantown Ave? I hope you are all current on your EZ Pass account.

Albert Bigelow Paine (The Hills of Rest) wrote about this situation.

“Beyond the last horizon's rim, beyond adventure's farthest quest, somewhere, they rise, serene and dim. The happy-happy Hillers of Rest.”

Dr. Don Barnes

Flourtown

 

Thanksgiving services

(Editor's note: Please see Rev. Cliff Cutler's response below)

Now that I have had a chance to recover from the holidays and settle into 2013, I wanted to express my deep disappointment in the Episcopal community churches this last Thanksgiving. For as long as I have lived here, there has been a Thanksgiving Service at either St. Martin's or St. Paul's at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day. This year there was nothing.

Even though Thanksgiving Day is an American holiday, not a religious feast as Christmas or Easter, it certainly has a place in our community's churches. It is certainly a holiday we hold as being very important – a day which not only provides an opportunity for families to reconnect and be together, but for the people of faith, it has a special purpose; it is the time to recall the need for gratitude, to be truly thankful for our blessings, particularly those we receive and then take for granted.

Thanksgiving is the day set aside to be thankful in our country, in our communities, in our families, and to remember the less fortunate. Religion is at the heart of the American Thanksgiving celebration. It is the special day of thanks to show gratitude to God for helping us in life. It is the day set aside, to take time out, to say thank you.

Have we lost our way? Has Chestnut Hill decided we no longer need to set aside an hour on Thanksgiving in our community to say thank you? If so, it seems to me, that as a community we have lost our way. All the more reason to make absolutely sure we re-find it in 2013.

Marion Schuenemann

Blue Bell

 

Open doors, open minds, open hearts

I am thrilled that Marion Schuenemann was looking for worship on Thanksgiving Day. In a letter to the editor in today’s Chestnut Hill Local she writes of her deep disappointment in not having an Episcopal Church worship in Chestnut Hill on Thanksgiving Day. The only disappointment is that she never found her way to Saint Paul’s that hosted two services, one a glorious interfaith celebration on Thanksgiving Eve, and the other a celebration of the Episcopal Church’s Eucharist, our Great Thanksgiving, on Thanksgiving Day itself at 10 a.m. At Saint Paul’s we say you will find open doors, open minds and open hearts. That was no less true on Thanksgiving than on any other day of worship. The good news is that Marion does not have to wait until next year. She can worship with us every Sunday at 8, 9 and 10:30 a.m. and every Wednesday at noon with prayers for healing. We even plan to take worship out to morning commuters on Ash Wednesday. There is no need for disappointment at not being able to worship. Our doors and hearts are open!

The Very Reverend E. Clifford Cutler

Rector, Saint Paul’s Church

15 years too long for deer kill in Wissahickon

January, 2012 marks the 15th consecutive year of killing white- tailed deer in Fairmount Park, including Wissahickon Park, Pennypack Park, West Park and Cobbs Creek Park. More than 333 deer have been killed in Fairmount Park during this time.

Agencies aiding and abetting this senseless killing of deer by both high-powered rifles and bow and arrows are: Friends of the Wissahickon, Fairmount Park Commission, Pennsylvania Game Commission and the City of Philadelphia/Mayor Michael Nutter.

What is happening to the deer is covert, unnecessary and inhumane. The public needs to know what is happening in Fairmount Park and Fairmount Park's “managed care plan” needs closer inspection.

Philadelphia Advocates for the Deer (PAD) believes that as conscious beings the deer have the right to live freely on their own terms. PAD was formed to cultivate respect for the deer in Fairmount Park and throughout greater Philadelphia. A cooperative venture, PAD is committed to the long-term ecological health of Philadelphia parks and respect for indigenous animals.

Even though city officials told us 15 years ago that the killing would be a one-time only event, it has continued year after year with no signs of stopping.

A peaceful protest against the 2013 deer kill will be held by PAD on Saturday, Feb. 2 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Bells Mills Road near Forbidden Drive.

Please join us as we share information about this lengthy and inhumane killing of the deer who habitat the forest of the Wissahickon. We will continue to speak up about this inhumane activity, which takes place in our neighborhoods.

Please contact your member of Philadelphia City Council and urge them to introduce legislation to ban the deer hunts in Fairmount. Please speak up for the deer, as they are unable to do so.

Mary Ann Baron

Bridget Irons

Chestnut Hill Residents

PAD Cofounders

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