When I ventured out around 10 a.m. to pick the newspaper up off the sidewalk, a car stopped. I looked up, expecting to be asked directions to somewhere. A man gave me a great big smile and said, quite joyfully, “What a beautiful park!” He went on to say he had been out at ChesLen Preserve in Coatesville, and someone told him about the Park!
He remarked about the FRIENDS sign, and I filled him in a little about the tree sculpture, and how calling it FRIENDS is so appropriate for a number of reasons, including the fact that West Chester was started by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and the organization that raises money to improve and maintain the Park is called Friends of Marshall Square Park.
Before he went off, I found out he is from the Malvern area, and he said he has lived there for 30 years and never knew about the Park!
So nice that the word is getting out and all of the time and money invested is giving such enjoyment, and not only to West Chester residents.
~ Linda
[Linda is the FMSP Treasurer]
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Photos by Ed Hille
At the northwest corner of Marshall Square Park in West Chester, Adelaide Fieldhouse sets up her lemonade stand.“I’ll bring the signs; you take the cups,” she orders her father, who is unloading the trunk of the 2011 Honda CR-V parked on the side of the road.
“I’ll bring the signs; you take the cups,” she orders her father, who is unloading the trunk of the 2011 Honda CR-V parked on the side of the road.
Her younger sister, Briar, who told anyone who asked Sunday that she “will be 4 in 24 days,” ran to the playground and began pushing a swing no one was in. Adelaide examined the signs reading “Fresh Lemonade” and “All donations will go toward the toddler playground in the park!” They looked good. But then she realized: “We need tape!”
A couple minutes later they were all set, ready to partake in the great American summer tradition that blends capitalism and cuteness. The table and white chairs were unfolded, the sign hung with duct tape from a gray tablecloth, the paper cups were in two towers, and prominently in the middle was the lemonade.
Before Labor Day marked the traditional end of summer, the Fieldhouse family had their last lemonade stand of the season. Adelaide wanted to squeeze one more in before life, even for a 5-year-old, becomes too busy. She started kindergarten last week and will soon have basketball practices and games and gymnastics to do before her 7:15 p.m. bedtime.
Chantale Fieldhouse and her daughter, Adelaide, 5, pick lemons from a bin at their local Giant supermarket this morning as Briar, 3, waits in the shopping cart.
At first, Adelaide wanted to have a lemonade stand to earn money for stuffed animals, but her parents, Chantale and David, said no, so she settled on raising money for her local playground to include a toddler section. The family hoped to beat last month’s earnings of almost $40.
“Do you want some lemonade?” Adelaide asked the first woman in view. The mother was pushing her 2-year-old daughter in a stroller and stopped for a sip. She didn’t have any cash on her but promised to come back with some later.
“It’s sweet! It’s really sweet, we put sugar in it!,” Adelaide said to the mother, then repeating herself for the baby in the stroller. “It’s sweet because we put sugar in it.”
Neighborhood friends arrived, and Adelaide squealed in excitement. Many saw the notice on the “Friends of Marshall Square Park” Facebook group asking all to come to the park about 11:30 a.m. for “Adelaide’s Lemonade Stand.”
For some time, Adelaide got to work. “Excuse me!” she said to people walking by on the other side of the street. “Do you want some lemonade?”
She learned a lot of lessons selling lemonade, such as why the man in the Ford stopped to donate money but couldn’t drink any. “I’m diabetic,” he told her. She also learned sales tricks. “It’s fresh,” she would tell people as a plea if they said no or that they’d come back later.
After a busy 20 minutes with a steady stream of customers, the girls couldn’t help but be tempted by the playground behind them.
Soon, Briar was climbing a ladder that looked like a tree trunk to the top of the play set, and Adelaide ran across the shaky bridge toward the slide. Eventually, together, they ran back to the lemonade stand, where their parents were keeping watch.
“When you’re not here, we can’t get customers,” their father explained to them.
“They want to buy from kiddos not adults,” her mother said.
The girls became frustrated with the waiting.
“This is what actually having a business is sometimes,” their father said, before diving into examples. “Restaurants, they’re open all day, but then they get really busy when everyone is hungry.”
The stand would make $139.50 over an hour and a half Sunday, more than tripling profits from last time, even though the girls weren’t at the table for every moment, a visitor slipped a bill into the mason jars. As excited as Adelaide was for this lemonade stand, it’s hard to sit still on Labor Day weekend when you’re only 5, and there’s a gaggle of kids behind you.
By the end, the temptation was too much and Adelaide went running, spending the last bit of her summertime business on the playground.
Posted: September 1, 2019 – 5:41 PM
It’s official! Marshall Square Park has a Pennsylvania Champion Tree, a Blue Ash (Fraxinus, quadrangulata). Of this relatively rare species, our specimen is over 90 feet tall.
The Blue Ash, mostly native to western Ohio, is so named because early pioneers extracted a blue dye from its inner bark.
Champion trees are measured and scored by experts as the largest of their species in our state. A Longwood Gardens team measured our tree.
To see it, go to the park’s Matlack side, go down the Lafayette Street stairs and turn right. The Blue Ash is the first large tree in front of you. Look for the scaly bark, an identifying characteristic.
Beware: Our champion wears lightening protection (don’t touch).
Phoenixville chainsaw artist creates
art in the park
WEST CHESTER — Marshall Square Park is the new home to four owls, two squirrels, a fox, skunk, hummingbird, dragonfly, and new to the job, a wooden park caretaker.
On Monday, artist Marty Long was putting the finishing touches on chainsaw art carved into the remains of an 18-foot tall, five-foot diameter, and over 125-year-old red oak.
Long said the huge stump, near the intersection of East Biddle and North Franklin streets, is the perfect specimen for carving.
“It’s consistent in color with a dark center,” Long said, “It’s all about shadows. It shows off the forms really well.”
Anne Walters is a founding member of Friends of Marshall Square Park. She said the group wanted to preserve what was left of the tree after it half died. The borough didn’t fully finish the job of cutting down the whole tree and members of the group suggested a tree carving.
“It’s been in this park all this time and it should stay,” Walters said.
Long is a Phoenixville resident and former ice carver. With wood and chainsaws, he makes permanent art.
Long worked with music blasting through headphones on the project for more than three weeks. Regular rain showers slowed progress.
He appreciates that parkgoers, pedestrians and motorists will all view the 360-degree sculpture from different angles and see different things.
Long enjoys his job.
“It suits my personality,” he said. “I’m a free spirit.”
“I don’t set an alarm clock. I pay homage, while respecting nature, the environment and wildlife. I play up a variety of themes.”
Long might be best known for his Main Line wooden sculptures at Stoneleigh, the Haas Estate.
His stump-carved bunnies often wear outfits, including special garb for Mother’s and Father’s days, the first day of school, and all other holidays.
Long does not work alone; Harry J. Friel gives moral support and helps set up and break down.
Ninety-nine percent of the work is done with a chainsaw and when the job is almost complete, Long brings in sanders and grinders to finish off a project.
During the past few weeks, hundreds have gotten out of their cars or detoured on a walk through the park to snap photos of, and chat with Long.
Preschoolers from Friend’s School even stopped by to observe.
The 200-member Friends of Marshall Square Park is very active and recently brought the park’s fountain back to life.
The group also improved the gazebo, holds regular clean-up days, installed new benches and trash cans, holds “Music at Marshall” events, sets up luminaries during Old Fashioned Christmas and has installed signage.
A tree labeling project was instituted, the park’s classic brick swales have been unearthed and existing trees are cared for and maintained.
Long wants to thank Friends of Marshall Square Park “for all they do,” including promotion of public art.
Jim Salvas, FMSP Vice President, photographed Marty’s progress. Watch the tree change as Marty sculpts with his chainsaws, sanders, and grinders.
For photos, see the Dropbox folder called “TREE CARVING.”
For more information go to martylong.com, facebook.com/MarshallSquarePark, and marshallsquarepark.org.
By John Chambless
Staff Writer
West Chester & Chadds Ford Life
The West Chester & Chadds Ford Life October 2015 issue will be sent to homes in the West Chester and Chadds Ford areas. Here’s a “teaser.”
In 1883, a leisurely stroll through Marshall Square Park in West Chester was a chance to enjoy the shade of large trees, to see and be seen by neighbors and passers-by, and to stop and admire a fine fountain that splashed in the northeast corner of the park. By 1889, civic pride – and a little funding – led to this first fountain replaced by an even grander example. It had five cast-iron layers, allowing the water to jet out from the top and then trickle down over the ledges to the basin below.
But as the decades went by, fountains became nothing to admire anymore. By the 1960s, the fountain was gone. And that would have been the end of the story, if not for the Friends of Marshall Square Park, a group of residents who got together in 2005 to maintain the trees and surviving buildings in the park. They had historic photos of the park, with the fountain standing tall. They started investigating what happened to it.
Eventually, the pieces were discovered to have been at the farm of Gene and Joan Gagliardi, who had installed three of the tiers and kept the fountain operating on their property. The top tier was never found. The Friends of Marshall Square Park recovered the three tiers after the Gagliardis moved, and have had them in storage since 2012, lining up the restoration process.
Of course, there was the question of what remained inside the corroded iron fence around the area where the fountain once stood. So shovels hit the dirt.
Anne F. Walters, who has her own landscape architecture firm and serves as vice-president of Friends of Marshall Square Park and chair of the fountain committee, said recently, “The original lower basin remained in place, but was filled with dirt and grass. About eight years ago, my office prepared a landscape plan for the area inside the antique iron fence which FMSP paid to have installed and maintained over the last eight years. That planting has since been removed in anticipation of the construction.”
Since the 1960s, piping had corroded, and there was plenty of work to be done.
“Several pieces of the structure of the fountain and a couple of bowls are missing and will be re-fabricated to match the original, multi-tiered fountain,” Walters said. “All new piping, electrical and plumbing work will be required as part of making the fountain operational. There will be substantial excavation required in preparing for the construction of the new basin and support for the fountain. A newly designed shed will be attached to the existing nearby building, which will safely house new pump equipment for the fountain. This shed will mimic the detailing on the existing building, and will have new landscaping that will provide screening.”
The moment when the time-traveling fountain again stands tall in the park will be a proud one for the group, but there have been other accomplishments since they first recognized how much history quietly existed inside the park.
The group traces the origin of the park to 1848, when a public square was established around the site of the public reservoir at the corner of Biddle and Matlack streets. It was named Marshall Square Park in honor of Humphry Marshall, a leading botanist from Marshallton. A bargain was struck with a local nurseryman, Paschall Morris, to established a nursery on the property, rent-free, for eight years. In exchange, he agreed to plant and cultivate trees selected by a committee. More than 150 trees of various species were selected, and an arboretum was born.
In 1856, Morris’ lease expired, the existing nursery stock was not maintained and the grounds fell into disrepair. In 1877, the borough appointed a committee to improve the park. Josiah Hoopes was hired for the task. He laid out walks, flower beds, shrubbery and buildings throughout the park. By 1878, the walks, benches and 20 beds of flowers were installed, and a Swiss cottage — designed after the Swiss Pavilion at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia – was built, along with a large gazebo.
In 1885 it was decided that the old reservoir would be removed. In 1887, a Civil War monument dedicated to the 97th Pennsylvania Regiment was constructed in that location.
Since 2005, the Friends of Marshall Square Park have helped to preserve the Swiss cottage and the gazebo, put up a sign about the park and Humphry Marshall, and have completed a tree labeling project. They have installed historically appropriate benches as well.
The cost of restoring the fountain seemed out of reach, but fate has taken a hand.
Jeffrey Beitel, president of Friends of Marshall Square Park, donated all the architectural work required over the last eight years, and prepared all of the architectural drawings, through his company, Jeffrey C. Beitel Architecture. Walters served as the committee coordinator and worked with Beitel during the design process. She also lined up a fountain design company to prepare a detailed set of plans for the operation of the fountain. In June, a donation of $45,000 was made by Pat Loew, widow of the developer Jack Loew. A plaque honoring Jack Loew will be placed at the fountain, which will be named in his honor. As a result, the first phase of the project — the restoration of the fountain, the basin and surrounding fence — is fully funded. Fundraising for the second phase – which includes the restoration of the brick sidewalk surrounding the fountain, landscape beds and historically appropriate signage — continues
“It would certainly have taken more time and effort without this donation, but we were never at the point of giving up,” Walters said. “There is a lot of support and enthusiasm in the neighborhood and within FMSP for this project. It has been our priority project for the last three years, and we have been very persistent with our efforts.”
Future funding for maintaining the fountain will come from an endowment set up by the Friends of Marshall Square Park.
“This fountain and the park belongs to the Borough of West Chester,” Walters said. “However, we have not requested, or been given, any funds from the borough for the project. The borough will pay for the electrical power and water usage to operate the fountain.
“The project has been fully endorsed by West Chester Borough Council and is overwhelmingly supported by our local residents,” Walters continued. “Jeff Beitel and I will continue coordinating together and with the contractors on a regular basis during the construction and installation of the fountain – and likely indefinitely. We will likely make daily site visits to review the construction progress.”
When the water is again trickling through the restored fountain, it will be a proud moment for the Friends group, and the community.
“Our fountain committee is very excited about the project and has been committed to the project since before we recovered the original fountain,” Walters said. “Everyone in the group will be thrilled to see this piece of history restored to the location in the park where it originally stood. We hope to make this gateway to West Chester a focal point for the borough and our park. We have plans to add landscaping and new walks, repair existing antique brick, and add signage to the area after the fountain is installed.”
Visit www.marshallsquarepark.org for more information, to contribute or become a member.
To contact Staff Writer John Chambless, email [email protected].
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Music at Marshall’s featured band is on the radio today at 9AM!
Tune in to WCHE 1520AM to hear Bill Mason interview The Sin Brothers.
Tune in again at 6:30PM when the Music At Marshall concert is broadcast live! Catch both online at http://www.wche1520.com/tuneinhowto.htm.
Our Music at Marshall concert/picnic season ends tonight. Because of the rain postponement last week, we need everyone to come out, have some fun, and show our great sponsors we appreciate their support.
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By Candice Monhollan
cmonhollan@ 21st-centurymedia.com
@CMonhollanDLN on Twitter
Posted: 07/03/15, 4:49 PM EDT
WEST CHESTER >> It has been over 60 years since the five-tiered Victorian fountain stood in Marshall Square Park in West Chester.
But Friends of Marshall Square Park (FMSP), a West Chester community group, is changing that as they move forward in restoring the once big community magnet.
“A lot of people always thought it would be cool to get the fountain back,” said Jeff Beitel, president of FMSP. “It has been missing and not in the park longer than it was installed and running in the park.”
Originally installed in 1889 in the northeast corner of the park, it was once described by the Daily Local News in 1932 as producing “a genuine thrill, a gorgeous effect to be remembered.”
But some time in the 1950s, the fountain was disassembled and the top four tiers were removed, leaving behind just the bottom tier and the basin in the park.
“We have not been able to find any documentation of exactly when the fountain was taken down and we don’t know exactly for what cause,” said Jim Salvas of FMSP.
For some years, no one knew what happened to the tiers until Gene and Joan Gagliardi found them and installed three of the four tiers on their farm.
The top tier, however, was never found.
“(Gene and Joan Gagliardi) brought it back to their farm and restored it there as a working fountain,” Salvas said. “They kept it out there and maintained it for years.”
FMSP recovered the three tiers after the Gagliardis moved and have had them stored away since 2012.
That didn’t mean FMSP forgot about them.
In fact, as of that time, they began to draw up plans to fix up the tiers and remnants of the fountain in the park and restore it to its original beauty and back in its rightful place.
“Some of (the tiers) are a little rough and there is going to be some repairing on it,” Beitel said. “I think when we get it done and all painted up, nobody is going to know the difference.”
FMSP has been raising money, all through fundraisers and donations, without the borough paying a dine, to pay for the restoration.
On June 18, FMSP announced a donation of $45,000 from Pat Loew, widow of the developer and philanthropist Jack Loew, making her the park’s new benefactor.
“One of our members approached (Loew) at a function and told her all about what we were doing and that we were looking for donations,” Beitel said. “She is very honored to be able to help us out with this. It enabled us to get the project really rolling. Before her generous donation, we really didn’t have the money to pull the trigger. That has now allowed us to build on the momentum.”
Being the park’s benefactor will give Loew a plaque to name the fountain in honor of someone; she chose her late husband.
FMSP now has enough to pay for the entire restoration of the fountain and already has all the contracts in place to build a new basin and restore the iron tiers — and create a new top tier designed to look as close to the original as possible.
But they aren’t done fundraising yet.
“We’re trying to create it as a new gateway to West Chester,” Salvas said. “We’re putting in new park benches around there. The whole path down there will be reset.”
When all is said and done and residents drive down East Marshall Street toward the park, they will undoubtedly see the fountain not only during the day, but also at night as FMSP plans to install lights on it.
The hope, and tentative schedule, has the fountain being finished by late September or early October, just before the winter freeze sets in.
“A lot of people don’t realize that Marshall Square Park is the first original park West Chester dedicated and is actually seven years older than New York City’s Central Park,” Beitel said. “The fountain will be an amazing public feature for the park and the town itself. We’re quite proud to do this.”
Contact Candice Monhollan at 610-235-2652.
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Friends of Marshall Square Park received $45,000 from a single benefactor.
By Justin Heinze (Patch Staff) June 19, 2015
Holly Brown, former Borough Council President and a member of FMSP’s Fountain Committee, said this gift allows the group to restore and install a working fountain before the end of this year.
The park’s new benefactor is Pat Loew, widow of well-known developer and philanthropist Jack Loew.
Her gift of $45,000 almost matches all funds raised by FMSP in the past few years.
In recognition, FMSP proposes to designate the restored fountain the “Jack Loew Memorial Fountain.”
Installed in 1889 at the northeast corner of the park, the five-tiered Victorian fountain quickly became a hub of community activity. By 1932, the Daily Local News wrote:
“When the tall central stream is turned on, tossing its waters high in the air, and filling the twenty-foot pool with spray… that produces a genuine thrill, a gorgeous effect to be remembered.”
By the 1950s, most of this great fountain was removed, leaving behind its basin and lowest tier. The upper portions were later found and saved from destruction by Gene and Joan Gagliardi, who installed them at their farm in East Bradford. With their help, Friends of Marshall Square Park recovered these sections in 2012, drew up plans for full restoration, and set about raising the needed funds.
The plans shown Thursday night include restoring the iron fountain and basin, installing a new iron fence to match the existing one, and re-laying and expanding the antique brick paving. At the end of the first phase, the fountain will be fully operational with a new pump, modern plumbing and electrical service, plus lighting and security features.
According to FMSP President Jeff Beitel, “Our goal is to create a welcoming space and gateway for our town.”
Anne Walters, FMSP Vice President and Chair of its Fountain Committee, pointed out that though current funds are enough to restore and install a working fountain, it will cost more to complete the “gateway” features. The final goal is $200,000, with almost $130,000 already raised or pledged by FMSP members and donors.
To reach the final goal, FMSP seeks donations of any amount and offers special recognition for major donors. Donor opportunity details are available at marshallsquarepark.org.
]]>They were joined by Gene Gagliardi, who is working with Gordon Woodrow on a major fundraising event for this October. Mr. Gagliardi and his late wife, Joan Chandler Gagliardi, saved this fountain from destruction over many years.
Jeff and Mary Veale, who purchased Southdown Farm in East Bradford from the Gagliardi family, are the last private owners of the fountain. They generously donated it to the Friends of Marshall Square Park, who have worked ever since to raise enough funds to restore the 1889 fountain.
We plan to dedicate the restored fountain in memory of Mrs. Joan Chandler Gagliardi, who did much to protect this treasure over the years.
Item 20 on the AGENDA of BOROUGH COUNCIL’s WORK SESSION, Tuesday, OCTOBER 15, 2013…
Consider the Parks Recreation & Environmental Protection Committee recommendation to approve proposed Marshall Square Park fountain area improvements subject to fundraising efforts to implement the project.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013— FINAL VOTE.
Please plan to attend at least one of these sessions; it’s exciting to see our work not only accepted by the Borough but also seen as a welcomed addition to our town.
Now, all we have to do is raise the money to pay for it!
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