©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Local Life

Sitting on Keystone House’s comfortable porch (top photo), Mary Rose Nuse takes a break from the comfort she offers residents of Keystone Hospice. Caring for the beautiful gardens and grounds at Keystone House are among the many services volunteers contribute. (Photo by Paula M. Riley)

An angel to those near death
Still volunteering at 89— in her former residence
by PAULA M. RILEY

This is the eighth in an ongoing series of articles by Paula M. Riley on Chestnut Hill volunteers.

“Over here, well, that’s where we put up a table and two chairs to eat our meals. The horse from the stable next door would put his head right up to that window,” says Mary Rose Nuse. She is describing the apartment she rented as a young bride in 1939. Sixty-seven years later Mary Rose stands in that exact room where she now volunteers for Keystone House, the 19-bed residential hospice run by Keystone Hospice.

Hiller’s Peace Corps years lead to medical degree
by KRISTIN PAZULSKI

Dr. Taylor with some new friends in a small South African village

Entering the workforce for any college-graduate is a daunting experience, and many leave the four years of college with a degree in a field they discover they do not want to pursue as a career. Others are inspired by a life experience or a moment that alters and directs their goals and sets a definitive career path for them. For some, it’s a mix of both.

Chestnut Hill resident Heidi Taylor, 32, graduated on Sunday, June 4, with a medical degree in pediatrics from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. But flashback to 1996, when Taylor was graduating from Dartmouth University with a degree in English.

Mt. Airy’s new Harvard grad now spreading black culture
by AUDREY LEVINE

Adrienne recently graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with a degree in African and African American Studies and an emphasis on women and families.

From student to museum educator and eventual bed and breakfast owner, Adrienne Whaley has big dreams.

And to accomplish those dreams, the recent Harvard University graduate has education, experience, determination and modesty.

“I don’t walk around claiming all my achievements,” she said. “I could have gotten a big head, but I am remaining myself.”

Whaley, a West Mt. Airy resident, has worked on so many projects and had so many achievements that she has earned her bragging rights. Between internships and student projects, she has done so much to bring her love of African American culture and learning to others around her.

This summer, she will work at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art with a program called “In the Making.” The program allows high school students to learn about art techniques like design and printmaking, allowing them to prepare for an exhibition and understand what colleges will be expecting from applicants.

Had ‘captive audience’ in prison
Making beautiful music for more than 60 years
by CASSANDRA SLAVEN

Joe Agnello, still making beautiful music in his 80s.

Imagine making a living doing what you are most passionate about, and being fortunate enough to do what you love for more than 60 years. That is exactly what Giuseppe “Joe” Agnello has done and is still doing at the age of 84.

Agnello, a life-long musician and Roxborough resident has been a musician, music director at a local prison, teacher, piano tuner, conductor and founder of the Roxborough Orchestra. As he prepares to pass the baton this year, the third season of the orchestra, to Roxborough Orchestra co-conductor and Philadelphia Doctors Chamber Orchestra conductor, Fawzi Habboushe, Agnello will have yet another title: Founder and Conductor Emeritus.

Ex-pre-med major prescribes wine at Panorama
by LEN LEAR

Roberto Donna, who owns several restaurants in Washington, D.C. (right), had fun with the kitchen staff at Panorama at their recent “Book and Cook” dinner. (Photo by Len Lear)

It may not be in the Guinness Book of World Records, but perhaps it should be. Ristorante Panorama and Il Bar in the Penn’s View Hotel, Front and Market Streets in Old City, has a spectacular bar made of mahogany millwork salvaged from razed churches in the area. The centerpiece of the bar is a huge Cruvinet, custom-made by Winekeeper USA in California, which is reportedly the largest wine-preservation and dispensing system in the world.