Inquirer.com – Zurich DR

Tag: Coatesville

  • New vaccination data show hundreds of Philly-area schools vulnerable to a measles outbreak

    New vaccination data show hundreds of Philly-area schools vulnerable to a measles outbreak

    Two years ago, every child in the kindergarten class at Eleanor Emlen Elementary in Mount Airy had vaccine protection against measles.

    A year later, the school’s kindergarten immunization rate had dropped to just 80%, putting students and the surrounding community at risk of an outbreak of the highly contagious disease.

    Emlen is among more than two dozen Philadelphia-area schools that saw double-digit declines in kindergarten immunization rates last school year — in many cases because parents are increasingly refusing vaccines.

    The affected schools span a diverse range of communities, from city neighborhoods like Mount Airy to the outlying suburbs. In Chester County, for example, a small private school in Downingtown saw its vaccination rates plunge by 20%.

    Even as countywide immunization levels remain relatively high, some 40% of kindergarten classrooms across the region became vulnerable to an outbreak during the 2025-26 school year, up from 33% the year prior, an Inquirer analysis of newly released state data found.

    (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();

    That means that at least 249 schools had vaccination rates below 95%, the level at which scientists say a population must be vaccinated to prevent the spread of measles, one of the most contagious diseases.

    Of these, 98 Philadelphia-area schools reported measles vaccination rates below 90%, presenting an even greater risk to students.

    A sharp increase in parents opting out of vaccination for religious or philosophical reasons continued to drive down vaccination rates; exemptions in this category rose by 15% in the latest two years for which data are available.

    (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();

    Pennsylvania is among a handful of states that allows parents to opt out of vaccine requirements for philosophical or religious reasons, often by simply signing a form.

    The health department published more granular, school-level vaccination data this summer for the first time, after reporting by The Inquirer and the Pittsburgh Post Gazette made this information public for the prior school year, exposing pockets of vulnerability within counties with overall high vaccination.

    More than 200 Philly-area schools vulnerable to measles outbreak

    The new data show the growing public health threat to the region from Pennsylvania’s growing measles outbreak, in which two people in Lancaster County have died, state officials reported Tuesday. They were the state’s first measles-related deaths in three decades.

    (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();

    So far, nearly 400 cases have been diagnosed, with nearly half in Lancaster County. The rapidly spreading outbreak is edging closer to densely populated Philadelphia. Chester County, just west of the city, has reported the second-highest number of cases in the state.

    At a news conference on the measles deaths Tuesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro stressed his concern about the rise in Pennsylvania parents opting out of vaccinations over the last 10 years.

    “It has dramatically reduced community immunity in different areas of our Commonwealth,” he said. “Today, we see the consequences of a lack of immunization.”

    The new school-level data on vaccines, he said, allow “everyone to see their school’s vaccination coverage and make informed decisions.” Lawmakers have also said they hope that having more access to data about their children’s schools will make families more aware of risks within their communities and encourage them to vaccinate their children.

    Amid rising measles case counts and declining immunization rates, Delaware County’s health department launched an immunization campaign over the summer to encourage families to vaccinate.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    Emlen, which saw one of the steepest drops in protection, was one of 40 schools in the five-county region that reported 100% measles vaccination rates two years ago, only to drop below the 95% herd immunity threshold last year.

    Philadelphia school officials say the changes at Emlen likely reflect increasing hesitancy among parents to immunize their children against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and other diseases. State records show that most unvaccinated kindergarteners at Emlen have philosophical or religious exemptions.

    Some fluctuations in kindergarten vaccination rates are typical from year to year, but the rise of anti-vaccine rhetoric in federal leadership appears to be exacerbating fears around vaccination, said Kendra McDow, a pediatrician who serves as the Philadelphia school district’s medical director.

    “What we’re seeing is reflective of what I believe are local and national trends,” McDow said. “Families are confused, and they want to do right by their children.”

    Inside Pa.’s measles outbreak: A family rides out the virus, doctors treat severely ill children

    In the latest federal vaccine maneuver — opposed by the medical establishment, prominent Democrats, and Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician — President Donald Trump signed an executive order this month asking states to “consider updating” laws to require fewer vaccinations for schoolchildren without any medical justification. He also advocated for splitting the MMR vaccine into three separate shots — even though no separate measles, mumps, or rubella vaccines are licensed in the United States.

    The order came after a chaotic year in which Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy fired federal vaccination advisers and pushed to upend the federal vaccine schedule. Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist, has promoted false concerns that vaccinations can lead to autism.

    Families are faced with a barrage of misinformation about vaccines. Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    With Pennsylvania now experiencing its largest measles outbreak in three decades, Kevin Ressler, a healthcare nonprofit leader in suburban Philadelphia who was raised in Lancaster County, worries that declining vaccine rates reflect increasing political polarization.

    “You don’t have to be a scientist to recognize that’s a problem,” said Ressler, the CEO of Alliance for Health Equity, a Coatesville nonprofit that works to improve access to health services. “A lot of this is rooted in whether we are able to hold trusted relationships.”

    Philly-area counties all at risk

    Philadelphia and its suburban counties overall remain well protected against measles, state officials say. The declines seen in the latest school year amount to less than 1% of all kindergarteners in each of the five counties in the area, an improvement from the drops that followed the COVID-19 pandemic.

    But even small drops can be significant given the contagiousness of measles, which can linger in the air for hours and infect nine in 10 unvaccinated people who come into contact with it.

    Mia Williams, a registered nurse, vaccinates a client at Delaware County’s mobile clinic in Upper Darby in July. Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    “The risk has definitely gone up because of lower vaccination numbers,” said Rene Najera, the director of public health at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

    Najera says slipping vaccination rates especially endanger vulnerable students and community members beyond the schools, like pregnant women, cancer patients, or babies too young to be vaccinated. Parents of high-risk children should speak with their pediatricians about the risks of attending a school with lower vaccination rates, he said.

    Last year marked the first time in more than 10 years that no Philadelphia-area county had reported measles vaccination rates above herd immunity.

    Bucks County had the lowest MMR vaccination rate for kindergartners, at 93.7%, down by more than a half a percentage point from the year before.

    Montgomery County, the only county in the Philadelphia region with kindergarten vaccination rates at herd immunity two years ago, slipped just below the threshold in 2025, to 94.8% vaccinated.

    About 94% of Delaware County and Philadelphia kindergarteners were vaccinated last school year.

    In Chester County, the only Philadelphia-area county to report cases in the current outbreak, vaccination rates for kindergartners have held steady at 94.5% for the last two school years. Some schools in the county reported steep drops in MMR coverage ahead of the current outbreak, which has seen 40 cases confirmed since June.

    At Windsor Christian Academy in Downingtown, only one in four kindergarteners were vaccinated last year at a school that exceeded the herd immunity threshold the year prior. About 14% of the class had religious exemptions for vaccination. School officials did not return a request for comment.

    Caln Elementary School in Thorndale saw measles vaccination rates drop from 100% to 74% in a year. Officials at the school declined to comment. (Caln closed at the end of last school year, and most of its students are transferring to the newly built Doe Run Elementary this year.)

    Jeanne Franklin, Chester County’s health director, said she is “moderately” concerned about the current measles outbreak, given that many of the county’s most populous public schools still have high vaccination rates.

    The school-level data improve the county’s ability to identify schools with lower vaccination rates.

    Chester County health officials talk to school nurses, principals, and other administrators before the start of every school year to remind them of what to do if they identify a case of measles.

    Under county policy, a single measles case in a school will mean all unvaccinated students and staff must stay home for 21 days.

    This year, conversations that are usually hypothetical have taken on more urgency.

    The health department has urged schools to take stock of who within their school is unvaccinated and develop a plan for how they will teach unvaccinated students who are sent home and staff classrooms of absent teachers.

    “You don’t own getting them vaccinated,” Franklin said she tells administrators. “But you have to think through these things.”

    Sisters A’zuri, 3, and A’Sara, 6, wait while their mother, Shania’ Jason, checks in at a vaccination clinic during the School District of Philadelphia’s sixth annual Back-To-School Bus Tour stop this month at Marcus Foster Memorial Stadium. Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    Philly schools on alert

    As the school district’s lead health officer, McDow worries about the threat of measles so close by, but believes concerted efforts in the city have kept vaccination rates “as high as they can be in this current climate.”

    She’s also monitoring Philadelphia schools where the state data show declining vaccination coverage. (The publicly available school-level data does not include classes with fewer than 20 students, for privacy reasons, or schools that did not report to the state. About 90% of schools statewide reported data in 2025.)

    In some cases, what looks like a decline can be explained by delays in data reporting due to administrative issues or staff absences. School vaccination records are reported to the state during the month of December.

    For example, Mantua’s Morton McMichael School reported a 50% drop in MMR vaccination coverage, initially going from nearly nine in 10 kindergarteners vaccinated to just over a third.

    But by the end of the 2025-2026 school year, records show 93% of McMichael kindergarteners were fully vaccinated against measles, district officials said, though the state data does not show the improvement.

    McDow worries about drops at other schools, from Mount Airy’s Emlen Elementary to North Philadelphia’s James Logan Elementary’s 18.5% decrease in vaccination rates, which are likely related to parents increasingly refusing vaccines.

    Pediatrician Amanda Bernard (left) talks with Shania’ Jason and her daughter A’zuri, 3, at a vaccination clinic hosted by the Philadelphia School District this month at Marcus Foster Memorial Stadium.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    The school district hosts vaccination clinics over the summer and during the school year, working with the city health department to target families with unvaccinated children and schools with low vaccination rates.

    The district also works to ensure vaccination clinics are accessible to working parents, organizing some on weekends or evenings.

    “We need to be talking to families and answering questions in transparent ways,” McDow said. “But we also need to be providing the opportunities for vaccination.”

    Some families line up for immunizations

    On a recent sweltering August afternoon, families lined up at a tent pitched on the football field at Marcus Foster Memorial Stadium in Olney, part of a back-to-school fair sponsored by the Philadelphia School District.

    “IMMUNIZATIONS,” read a flag waving in the breeze. Business was brisk all day.

    Some families who visited the tent were recent immigrants, getting caught up on vaccinations before their children started at their new schools.

    “We’re vaccinated, my husband and I, because our parents vaccinated us. And I’ll do the same for my children,” said Betty Bachene, who moved to Philadelphia from Paris this summer. Speaking in French, she said she’s never been afraid of vaccinating her children, but does fear the diseases vaccines prevent.

    Anaiya Burnham, a nurse, said she’d opted against getting COVID or flu shots for her two children, one of whom is entering kindergarten this year. But vaccinating them against measles was never a question.

    “I would really be curious to know why anyone would opt out of the MMR, given the research,” she said.

    Cianey Brown, 16, reacts and turns to her family after getting an immunization at a Philadelphia school district vaccination clinic this month at Marcus Foster Memorial Stadium. Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    Philadelphia parents face a number of different barriers that keep them from vaccinating children — and not all of them are related to vaccine hesitancy, said Amanda Bernard, a pediatrician with Greater Philadelphia Health Action, the clinic offering vaccinations at the event.

    Some lack transportation to get to a health center outside their neighborhood, or don’t speak English well enough to navigate the healthcare system, she noted.

    “I think that these sorts of events are really a way that we could combat that,” said Bernard, who has heightened her advocacy around vaccination as Pennsylvania’s measles outbreak has spread.

    “There’s almost a desperation in my education. I sometimes feel like I’m almost begging [families] to get it.”

    Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the name of James Logan Elementary in Philadelphia.

    (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();

  • Six Coatesville men sentenced to prison, two for life, in an ill-fated revenge plot that left a friend dead

    Six Coatesville men sentenced to prison, two for life, in an ill-fated revenge plot that left a friend dead

    In August 2023, Dametrius “Meechie” McClain-Jackson had a path out of Coatesville, his family said Friday. He was just days away from returning to Lycoming College for his sophomore year and playing for the school’s football team.

    Instead, he got caught up in a cycle of violence that Chester County Chief Deputy District Attorney Andrea Cardamone said is all too common in the community.

    McClain-Jackson, along with six of his friends, armed themselves with guns and sought revenge for being disrespected. But the only casualty was McClain-Jackson, killed accidentally by one of his coconspirators.

    And on Friday, nearly three years to the day after the fatal shooting, all six surviving members of the conspiracy were sentenced to state prison by Chester County Court Judge Alita Rovito.

    “There is this idea that what it means to be a man, what it means to be tough, to be worthy of respect, is to carry a gun,” Cardamone said. “It’s a tragic view that leads to too many young people killed, and it victimizes the entire city of Coatesville.”

    At its core, Friday’s hours-long hearing was about the two men who prosecutors said were most culpable: Victor Lara-Ortiz, one of the gunmen involved in the shooting, and Zaire Harley, who supplied weapons to the group and then drove them through the city, searching for their intended target.

    For their roles, both men were sentenced to life in prison.

    Lara-Ortiz, 22, and Harley, 23, were convicted of first-degree murder earlier this year under the legal principle of transferred intent. Though they were looking to attack Elijah Green, a criminal rival, they accidentally killed McClain-Jackson.

    Some of McClain-Jackson’s family took turns Friday addressing his friends, expressing shock and outrage that men who grew up with him would be involved with his death.

    “That night, people I consider family were there, people I trusted my life with,” McClain-Jackson’s sister Lyamoni Jones said through her tears. “But I couldn’t trust them with my brother’s life.”

    Samaria Turner said her brother’s murder has left a “Meechie-sized hole that can never be filled.”

    “My brother wasn’t perfect; nobody is,” she said. “But I should not be speaking about him in the past tense. I should remember what his voice sounds like without having to watch a video of him.”

    It was unclear who fired the fatal shot, and prosecutors were unable to recover any of the guns wielded by the group that night.

    The group’s animosity toward Green began on Instagram, after he posted a video taking credit for a shooting weeks earlier that wounded Harley and another man, and taunted them for not retaliating. It reached its peak hours before the fatal shooting, authorities said, when Green confronted another member of the group, Quadir Lavender, and threatened to kill him.

    The four others involved in the fatal shooting — Markel Jones, 23; Richard Rochester-Cottle, 24; Lavender, 19; and Gary White, 22 — pleaded guilty in the months leading up to the trial and testified for the prosecution.

    Rochester-Cottle and White pleaded guilty to conspiracy and third-degree murder, while the others pleaded guilty to manslaughter, conspiracy, and related crimes.

    The sentences for the four other defendants varied, from 5 to 10 years in prison to as much as 10 to 21 years. Rovito noted that they each played a specific, and different, role in the ill-fated shooting.

    “You knew guns kill. You knew none of you should’ve had them and you know you can’t take this back,” she said. “I hope a day doesn’t go by where you don’t think of Meechie and tell him you’re sorry.”

    The group rode together on Aug. 23, 2023, in a Chevrolet Traverse that Rochester-Cottle had stolen from a Sheetz store in Berks County in search of Green, according to testimony. The car’s owner had also left his loaded .308 handgun inside the vehicle. That gun, witnesses told police, would later be used by Lara-Ortiz during the shooting.

    When they found Green and his friends in the driveway of a home on Community Lane, Lara-Ortiz, McClain-Jackson, Rochester-Cottle, and White got out of the vehicle, prosecutors said. All but White opened fire — having second thoughts, he fled, running all the way home without firing a single shot, according to prosecutors.

    One of the bullets struck McClain-Jackson in the back and hit his lungs. He was later pronounced dead at Paoli Hospital.

    Rochester-Cottle and Lavender, horrified at what happened to their friend, stayed behind with him to call 911 and ensure medics would find him. That gesture earned them some leniency from Rovito, who also gave credit to Jones for calling McClain-Jackson’s family to notify them of what happened.

    But Lara-Ortiz and Harley showed no remorse, prosecutors said, and made calculated moves to hide their involvement, including fleeing to Lincoln University in an attempt to create a false alibi.

    They even lied to McClain-Jackson’s mother, telling her they had no idea what had happened to him. And later, when he learned that White was cooperating with police, Lara-Ortiz allegedly sent him death threats.

    Rovito admonished them both for their callousness.

    “This really is so, so senseless,” she said. “This was a waste of seven lives, and you both actively worked to hide the truth.”

    Prosecutors pointed out that Lara-Ortiz’s involvement in the shooting came six months after he professed to a different Chester County judge that he would stop carrying illegal guns, and would seek a life away from crime.

    He made that promise after being sentenced to five years of probation in the death of his younger brother, Roman Aguilar-Ortiz, who accidentally killed himself with a loaded Glock handgun that Lara-Ortiz had left unsecured in his bedroom.

  • These nonprofits called the shuttered Exton mall home. Now, some are struggling to relocate.

    These nonprofits called the shuttered Exton mall home. Now, some are struggling to relocate.

    Cristina Hartley watched her teenage son go from refusing to say more than two lines on stage to taking on the lead role in two performances, thanks to the confidence he built through theater production nonprofit Arts and Athletics Club.

    Now, Hartley, who serves on the organization’s board, is worried about what the future holds for the all-ages theater group. The nonprofit, formally founded in 2019 after starting as a high school senior project, was based for roughly four years in the Exton Square Mall, and lost its space when the mall closed its doors in June. The group has struggled to find a new home and will be forced to take a hiatus until a new location is secured.

    “The arts are always the first program to be cut out of schools, and there’s always a lack of budget to have that in schools or to expand these programs in schools, and we want everybody to have access to anything art-related, whether that’s drawing or trying to sing or trying to perform,” said Hartley, who has been involved with the nonprofit for six years.

    “We know that there’s a space out there. There’s a landlord out there willing to work with a small nonprofit. We just haven’t found it yet,” she said.

    The Arts and Athletics Club’s interior at the Exton mall. Finding a space for it to hold its productions and activities has been a challenge, leaders say.Photo courtesy of Arts and Athletics Club

    The roughly 1 million-square-foot Exton Square Mall closed June 30 amid a legal dispute between the property’s owners and local officials over plans for redevelopment. That squabble is still in court.

    For years, the mall declined from traditional retail, with only a handful of stores left when it shuttered after five decades. It was Chester County’s only enclosed mall.

    But even as the mall’s staples dwindled, other organizations — nonprofits, a robotics club, a fencing center, and more — occupied the space, drawing what business leaders said was significant foot traffic.

    In June, those still left at the mall received notice that they would have to be out by the end of the month. For nonprofits like the Arts and Athletics Club without robust budgets to quickly relocate, the abrupt end put them in a bind.

    The Arts and Athletics Club was in the midst of two productions when its leaders learned they would have to vacate, said Chris Hutelmyer, executive director. They took June to move their things out, depositing belongings in people’s garages, and started the real estate hunt in July.

    The two performances, Oh Happy Day and Twisted Tales, went on, albeit under changed circumstances, with one held in a park. After holding a summer bash Saturday, the organization will be on hiatus until it finds a space, Hutelmyer said.

    The mall had been perfect for the group. An old Aéropostale served as its mini black box theater for four years. The former clothing store had no windows, which worked well for staging 10 productions each year, and it was accessible with ample parking. There were bathrooms, dressing rooms, and storage space. And it was a central location for its all-ages community, accessible from Malvern to Downingtown to Coatesville.

    The cast of “Twisted Tales” poses for a photo. Arts and Athletics Club, primarily a theater production nonprofit, has struggled to find a new facility since the Exton mall’s closure in June. Its last production was held in a park, and it hasn’t been able to run a show since.Photo courtesy of Arts and Athletics Club

    Trying to find a comparable space for the Arts and Athletics Club within East and West Whiteland Townships has proved difficult. But its leaders said they want to stay in the area, continuing to provide programming for participants from ages 7 to 70. The mall was the organization’s first permanent location, after performing in parks, libraries, and other community spaces.

    The theater group, which offers its programming for free or little cost, has a limited budget for renting or altering a space to fit its needs. Another challenge has been finding an available location that is the right size: about 1,800 to 3,000 square feet of open space.

    Group leaders have looked at retail locations, warehouses, and churches, and investigated partnering with community centers.

    “We’ve been striking out pretty much everywhere that we’ve been looking,” Hutelmyer said. “It’s just been hard to find a direct match for what we need.”

    It was a similar scramble for the Wardrobe, a nonprofit thrift store that accepts and sells secondhand clothing and also provides free clothes to those in need, after having to abruptly move out of the Exton mall.

    Racing to find a new space to avoid laying off any employees, executive director Sherri Cole enlisted a real estate agent, she said, but struggled to find something affordable that also hit the right marks.

    “Everything had to go out of the mall; it’s not like we could be like, ‘OK, we’ll go dark and we’ll move things when we find a new location,’” Cole said.

    The old exterior of the Wardrobe, a clothing store that accepts donations and gives clothes to those in need for free, in Exton mall. The business will open its new location in Malvern in the fall.Photo Courtesy of The Wardrobe

    By early July, the Wardrobe secured a pop-up location in the Plymouth Meeting Mall.

    And this month, the nonprofit found a new, permanent home in the Lincoln Court Shopping Center in Malvern, about a 10-minute drive from the old Exton location. Cole anticipates the store will open by October.

    The interior of The Wardrobe’s former Exton mall location. The nonprofit, which has called the mall home for the last few years, struggled to find a new location in Chester County after the mall shuttered in June.Photo Courtesy of The Wardrobe

    Still, for both the Wardrobe and the Arts and Activities Club, it was hard to lose the Exton mall.

    Out of the Wardrobe’s five locations in the Philadelphia region, the Exton mall location was its second-largest site for foot traffic and retail sales last year, Cole said.

    It proved that people would still show up to a “dead” or “dying” mall if there was something they needed, Cole said. And it was meeting a need.

    “There need to be spaces in the suburbs where everyone feels welcome, and often, the class divide in the suburbs is really stark,” she said. “It’s great that we’re able to find something that is still within the Exton, Malvern neighborhood where we can be providing these services, because even within the suburbs, poverty is really often overlooked.”

    For Hutelmyer, still searching for somewhere for the Arts and Athletics Club to land, it was sad to see a community space like the mall go.

    Housing a constellation of community organizations, the mall “wasn’t what people really expected it to be,” Hutelmyer said.

    “But as it transformed into the community space, at least while we were there, it was still serving a lot of good, and I think that not being there is a big loss for the community,” he said.

    This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.

  • Janet Klein, celebrated longtime historic preservationist and philanthropist, has died at 96

    Janet Klein, celebrated longtime historic preservationist and philanthropist, has died at 96

    Janet Klein, 96, of Rydal, Montgomery County, former member of the Philadelphia Historical Commission, historic program director for the Fairmount Park Commission, regional project coordinator for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, chair of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, volunteer, and philanthropist, died Tuesday, Aug. 4, of age-associated decline at her home.

    Born in Philadelphia, Mrs. Klein earned degrees at Philadelphia High School for Girls and the University of Pennsylvania. She and her husband, Lewis, traveled the world after they married in 1952, and she told The Inquirer in 1973 that she became interested in local historic preservation after returning from abroad in 1964.

    “I felt something was lacking here,” she said. “There was no pride nor a thorough knowledge of what we really have in Philadelphia to share with visitors.”

    So she joined the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s tour guide program, rose to chair of guides for the Fairmount Park house tours, and conducted hundreds of tours for thousands of visitors to the eight historic houses in the park. “The guides,” she said in 1973, “can’t help but sense that somehow they have passed on to the visitors the continuing life of historic Philadelphia.”

    Eventually, Mrs. Klein became historic program director for the Fairmount Park Commission, was appointed to the Philadelphia Historical Commission by then-Mayor Wilson Goode in the 1980s, and served as chair of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission from 1997 to 2003. Friends called her “formidable” and compared her to the Energizer Bunny.

    Keen to spark public interest in historic sites, Mrs. Klein forged partnerships between site officials and schools, community groups, businesses, and the media. In 1997, she oversaw filmmakers as they shot scenes for the movie Beloved at the Landis Valley Museum in Manheim Township.

    She appeared often in The Inquirer and said in 1989: “We often find that people who live just around the corner from a house museum don’t know it existed.”

    At Fairmount Park, she redefined the commission’s operating procedures and enlisted students as volunteers at its public mansions. At the city historical commission, she led walking tours of Old City and helped determine the historic designation of the old Lit Bros. building, the Boyd Theatre, the Dilworth house, and other significant structures.

    This story and photo of Mrs. Klein (right) was published in The Inquirer in 1973.Newspapers.com

    With the state historical and museum commission, she erected historical markers across the state, helped designate the Art Museum as a Commonwealth Treasure in 2002, and directed the commission’s public relations, tourist promotions, and preservation efforts.

    “History doesn’t have to be dead,” she said in 1998. “Historical markers represent the people and their interests. They are a way for young people to learn about their heritage and gain a personal respect for the past.”

    She also led the Comprehensive Historic Assistance Program for the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the 1980s, helped create the Liberty Trail near Independence Hall, and directed the restoration of the first historic home in the Lukens National Historic District of Coatesville.

    She served on the board of visitors at Temple University’s Ambler campus and Klein College of Media and Communications, on the collections committee at the Union League, and as a guide at the Winterthur Museum in Delaware. She was active with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Museum Council of Philadelphia, and other groups.

    This story and photo of Mrs. Klein appeared in The Inquirer in 1998.Temple University

    She was honored for her service by the Women’s Center of Montgomery County in 1999 and by the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia in 2001, and was named a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania in 2000. In 2018, she earned an award for service and philanthropy from Coatesville’s National Iron and Steel Heritage Museum.

    As philanthropists, Mrs. Klein and her husband supported what became, named after them, the Klein College at Temple, the National Association of Television Program Executives, the Police Athletic League, the American Heart Association, and other organizations dedicated to education, healthcare, youth development, and social service. They created the Janet and Lew Klein Making A Difference Award for the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters and donated his professional papers to Temple.

    Why did best-selling author Carol Saline email The Inquirer’s obit writer?

    “She was an inspirational community leader,” said David Boardman, dean of Temple’s Klein College, “who inspired others through her generosity, her brilliance, and her warmth.”

    Janet Surman was born March 3, 1930. She grew up in Oak Lane and earned a bachelor’s degree at Penn.

    Mrs. Klein (left) appeared with others in 2007 to celebrate a historical marker at the corner of 9th and Christian Streets.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer

    She met Lewis Klein in college, and they married in 1952. They had a son, Stephen, and a daughter, Ellen, and lived in Melrose Park and Rydal. Her husband, a pioneering TV broadcaster and cofounder of Gateway Communications, died in 2019.

    Mrs. Klein and her husband traveled the world for decades and attended dozens of galas and fundraising events. She enjoyed gardening, was an avid reader, and liked to play Scrabble.

    Survivors give advice about mourning their loved ones, as told to The Inquirer’s obit writer

    In 1993, Inquirer columnist Clark DeLeon called her “a wonderful, funny, vivacious lady.” Temple’s Boardman said: “She was truly one of the best human beings I’ve ever had the privilege to know.”

    In addition to her children, Mrs. Klein is survived by a granddaughter, two great-grandchildren, and other relatives.

    A celebration of her life is to be held later.

    Donations in her name may be made to the Abington Police Athletic League, 1166 Old York Rd., Abington, Pa. 19001.

    Mrs. Klein grew up in Oak Lane and earned a bachelor’s degree at Penn. Courtesy of the family
  • In the national debate around affordability, the politics are personal for Chester County’s U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan

    In the national debate around affordability, the politics are personal for Chester County’s U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan

    In the back of a classroom where she had just read to 20 attentive preschool kids, U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan was concerned about what the staff of the West Chester YMCA was telling her.

    Nearly a third of the families who rely on the facility’s childcare programs — in the richest county in Pennsylvania, and one of the wealthiest in the country — receive financial assistance to cover the $1,900 monthly cost, the staffers said.

    Houlahan, a Democrat who is soft-spoken when she is not grilling President Donald Trump’s cabinet secretaries or House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) on Capitol Hill, asked about the income qualifications for financial aid. At a certain point, the YMCA staff told her, some parents have a disincentive to earn more, lest they become disqualified and then stuck with a higher bill.

    “It’s terrible, no matter how you do the math,” Houlahan said a few hours later at a Malvern restaurant, relaying the story to her daughter, Molly Rosa Houlahan, and daughter-in-law, Kristen Rosa Houlahan.

    The YMCA’s fee was about the same amount the couple were paying for their 18-month-old, Lucy. With another child due in September, it is also an amount they still are unsure how to afford twice over.

    “We’re very fortunate in our jobs, and we’re both trying to get promotions in order to be able to afford a second daycare,” said Molly Rosa Houlahan, 33, a local theater director and producer. “But we are not in that position yet. I don’t totally know what will happen when this second child arrives.”

    From childcare to healthcare, groceries to gas prices, affordability concerns have remained top of mind for Americans this year — dominating discussions on Capitol Hill ahead of the high-stakes midterm elections.

    Republicans, who control Congress and the White House, say they have made real progress in raising wages and lowering costs. They marked the first anniversary of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act — since rebranded by Republicans as the Working Families Tax Cut Act — this month by celebrating the law’s more generous tax refunds and other benefits, like new investment savings accounts for children under 18.

    Democrats have pointed to the bill’s simultaneous cuts to Medicaid spending and food assistance for low-income families. They say Trump signaled he has no interest in lowering costs when he refused to sign a bipartisan housing bill and said he doesn’t “think about Americans’ financial situation” when handling the war in Iran.

    In this 2019 file photo, U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D., Pa.) arrives for a House Armed Services Committee budget hearing for the Departments of the Army and Air Force on Capitol Hill in Washington.Andrew Harnik

    Houlahan, who has represented most of Chester and Berks Counties since 2019, routinely highlights the broader scope of cost-of-living issues alongside her colleagues. She has taken a leading role among centrist House Democrats to help craft a detailed “affordability agenda.”

    Whether her party can advance any of those policies in Washington, even if it wins control of one or both chambers of Congress in November, remains an open question as Trump remains in office and the International Monetary Fund warns of a worsening global economy.

    But as the fight drags out, it has also become increasingly personal for Houlahan and her family.

    In addition to occasionally helping fill the gaps in their granddaughter’s care, Houlahan and her husband’s own home in Devon, Chester County, has transformed into a version of a so-called sandwich generation household within the last year. The couple’s other adult daughter, her husband, and both of Houlahan’s parents, who are 80 and 84, have all moved in.

    The underlying circumstances for the multigenerational home, as they would be for any family, are various and personal. And Houlahan emphasized across multiple interviews that she is fortunate to have the means to welcome her family under her roof. (Houlahan is an Air Force veteran and a former executive at the athletic apparel company AND1. Her husband, Bart, is a partner at an investment research firm.)

    But the larger realities — like skyrocketing costs for childcare and senior living — have also now played a role in her own life. Her mother has a Parkinson’s diagnosis, and her parents were unable to find a one-floor living space that was affordable and fit their other needs as they looked to move closer to their family.

    “We’re having these conversations, and you know people all over our community are having these conversations,” she said. “It’s an acute issue for families in our area: How do you balance all of this?”

    U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (center) has dinner with her family at Brick & Brew in Malvern, including her father, Andy Jampoler (left), her husband, Bart Houlahan, and her mother, Suzy Jampoler.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    ‘A big balancing act’

    Houlahan has shared parts of her family’s story as she has traveled her district this year — prioritizing events and meetings that aim for a deeper understanding of an affordability crisis that has not spared her home county, where the median household income is about $131,000, or 40% more than the statewide average.

    On back-to-back days this spring, that meant a focus on the kinds of childcare and senior-care issues she has become familiar with.

    “We call it ‘from zero to Edna,’” Laura Schoefield-Pierson, executive director of the YMCA of Greater Brandywine, said of the facility’s programs aimed at all ages, from infants to seniors.

    Walking Houlahan through the pre-K classes and a gym with a dozen seniors playing table tennis, Schoefield-Pierson spoke about the organization’s exercise programs aimed at offsetting symptoms of Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, and about the complexities of providing assistance for families with young children.

    In addition to the “many children” whose care is subsidized through the state’s Child Care Works program — set for families earning 200% or less of the federal poverty level, or $66,000 for a family of four — others receive aid through the YMCA, Schoefield-Pierson said. The facility’s fundraising goal this year is $237,000, she said. On the day of Houlahan’s visit, Schoefield-Pierson said “the kiddos” were writing thank-you notes to donors.

    U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D., Pa.) interacts with teachers and children at a childcare center at the YMCA in West Chester.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    Though the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends childcare should not exceed 7% of household income, Houlahan said she was surprised to learn a family would have to earn $327,000 to meet that benchmark at the YMCA for one child.

    Nationally, the average annual cost of childcare in 2024 was $13,128, an increase of 29% over the previous five years and far exceeding the national recommendation for the average household’s budget.

    “It’s crazy how much healthcare and childcare plays into your family planning,” said Helena Cordoba, a 35-year-old mother of two who said at a roundtable hosted by Houlahan that she had been hoping to grow her family.

    A Colombian immigrant who owns Café Com Leite in Phoenixville, Cordoba said she thought she had been living the American dream. But a recent miscarriage and the rising costs of both childcare and healthcare, which she does not currently have, have made her rethink her family’s plans.

    “I never thought I was going to say, ‘Maybe the miscarriage is a blessing.’ That thought on its own is very saddening,” Cordoba said. “I don’t know if we were going to be able to afford another baby. Our life would have been completely turned upside down.”

    Others voiced similar struggles while Houlahan sympathized and shared her daughter’s own experience with a $2,000 monthly daycare bill.

    Karessa, Amelia, and Zack Hathaway, pictured here in 2023, at Sweet Amelia’s in Kennett Square.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer

    Zack Hathaway, who owns the restaurant Sweet Amelia’s in Kennett Square with his wife, Karessa, said their business “makes just enough” to cover the $700 to $800 weekly cost for their babysitter amid a demanding restaurant schedule. Thomas Smith, who works at the Cleveland-Cliffs steel plate production facility in Coatesville, said he makes too much to qualify for subsidies for his grandchildren but still struggles to cover the cost.

    “It’s like a big balancing act to be able to put your kids in a place that you want to feel comfortable with them being and with being able to afford it,” said Amarte Grove, another Cleveland-Cliffs employee and a father of five daughters.

    In another tour focused on the other end of the age spectrum, Houlahan peppered staffers at Brandywine Valley Active Aging in Downingtown about their work to offer free meals, housing services, and activities to about 120 seniors daily.

    According to the organization, Chester County’s homeless population has decreased in recent years — from 916 in 2023 to 747 in 2025. But the percentage of that population that is over 60 has increased from 9% in 2023 to 14% in 2026. About 45 older adults in the county were homeless as of early May, according to the organization, which works alongside other independent and government groups to connect seniors with stable housing.

    “It is really difficult to live in Chester County,” said Jen Manthey, BVAA’s director of information and assistance. “It takes a long time for them to get out of homelessness, partly because it takes a long time for us to build the trust with them and get that rapport — that they trust what we’re saying, and there aren’t $400 room rentals out there that we’re just hiding from you.”

    U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D. Pa.) visits with senior citizens at the YMCA in West Chester. She shares the burden of the “sandwich generation” caring for her elderly parents, opening her home to her adult daughter and son-in-law, and helping to care for her other daughter’s toddler.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    Nick Popov, BVAA’s chief operating officer, said demand remains high for the 5,000 free lunches the organization provides every month to individuals age 60 and older. The cost for those meals is reimbursed through the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, though the organization raises most of its funding in total, he said.

    “The services are out there. We’re doing everything we can to provide them,” Popov said. “But it’s always a struggle to kind of balance the bottom line between our goals and what we can actually affordably accomplish.”

    Houlahan’s parents said they had never expected to move in with their daughter. Even as they looked to move closer to their family and could not find a spot that fit their financial and physical needs, it took some convincing, mostly from their son-in-law, Bart Houlahan.

    “It was an inspiration that permits us to enter old age — serious old age, not just the kid stuff right now — with greater confidence that our health will be sustained,” said Andy Jampoler, Houlahan’s father, a Holocaust survivor born in German-occupied Poland in 1942.

    U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan poses at a family during dinner at Brick & Brew in Malvern, including her father, Andy Jampoler (left), her husband, Bart Houlahan, daughter Molly Rosa Houlahan, daughter-in-law Kristen Rosa Houlahan, and Houlahan’s mother, Suzy Jampoler.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    Turning experience into policy

    In May, Houlahan introduced legislation that would require the federal government to collect data on the sandwich generation, a step she said is critical to creating better policies for an “undervalued role in the nation’s economy.”

    It would require at least one federal survey to ask whether individuals provide unpaid care to both children and older adults. U.S. Sen. Andy Kim (D., N.J.), who has two young sons and cares for his father with Alzheimer’s, sponsored a companion bill in the Senate.

    Sen. Andy Kim (D., N.J.) poses with his family and Vice President Kamala Harris after taking the ceremonial oath of office in the old Senate chamber on Jan. 3, 2025, in Washington.Steven M. Falk / Staff Photographer

    Houlahan is also the chair of an “economic growth and cost of living” working group within the New Democrat Coalition, a group of self-described centrist Democrats that includes about half of the entire caucus. The group rolled out an “affordability agenda” earlier this year that is considered a framework for how Democrats would tackle housing, healthcare, energy, paid family leave, and much more if they win control of the House.

    U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D., Ill.), chair of the New Democrat Coalition, credited Houlahan for her leadership with the agenda, describing her as having a “quiet wisdom that focuses on the core of a problem” while bringing her own life experience to the work.

    “Everyone’s experience is unique, but her experience shares many of the aspects of what people across the country are facing,” Schneider said. “The sandwich generation, taking care of kids and parents, for whatever circumstance, while at the same time seeing the cost of just everyday living … is putting a burden on families.”

    Houlahan said she has been aggravated by the pace of progress in Washington, including Trump’s decision to not sign the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act in an attempt to force a vote on stricter voter-ID laws.

    The legislation aims to incentivize housing construction, restrict large investors from buying single-family homes, help families with home repairs, and more. The president reiterated Friday that he would not sign it, allowing the bill to become law without his signature.

    In her Capitol Hill office about an hour after Trump canceled that bill signing late last month, Houlahan described the president as “so obtuse that he can’t see in front of him that this is something that the people want.” After spending much of the last year calling out Johnson, the House speaker, for not standing up to Trump, she said there should be “counterinsurgents” and an “uprising” in the Republican Party.

    At the same time, she expressed some hope. The housing bill may have been a rare moment of bipartisanship, but it was also a sign that Congress can still act on affordability even before the end of the year, she said.

    “We don’t have time, for all of this stuff, to wait until somebody else is in charge,” Houlahan said. “We can do this ourselves.”

    U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D., Pa.) sits between her father, Andy Jampoler, and her husband, Bart Houlahan, at Brick & Brew in Malvern. Houlahan’s parents recently moved in with her. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
  • A Chesco couple cared more for drugs than their young son, judge says before sending them to prison for decades

    A Chesco couple cared more for drugs than their young son, judge says before sending them to prison for decades

    Hunter Hawa would have turned 11 in April, his aunt, Jennifer Back, told a Chester County judge Wednesday.

    But the boy known for his smile and laugh died three years ago on the filthy carpet in his parents’ Coatesville apartment. Prosecutors say he had fentanyl and cocaine in his system, powerful narcotics that his parents used and sold that ended his life before it had been given a chance to begin.

    Mousa Hawa and Holly Back failed in their ultimate duty as parents to protect Hunter, according to Judge Analisa Sondergaard, who sentenced them both to decades in prison for their son’s murder.

    “This was the culmination of many bad days and bad choices,” a visibly angry Sondergaard said. “You chose drugs over Hunter every single day. You put your wants and desires before your son every single day.

    “You loved drugs more than your son.”

    The couple was convicted of third-degree murder, aggravated assault, and endangering the welfare of a child after a trial in February.

    Back was sentenced Wednesday to 20 to 40 years in prison, while Hawa was sentenced to 22½ to 45 years. Their sentences included a mandatory minimum of 15 years for third-degree murder of a victim under 13.

    District Attorney Chris de Barrena-Sarobe said Wednesday that Sondergaard’s sentences were “justice for a child that deserved so much more.”

    “This was a case about parents who continually disregarded every basic parental responsibility and allowed their child to ingest fentanyl and cocaine,” he said. “Because they chose to put themselves above their child, we prosecuted them to the fullest extent of the law.”

    Their attorneys said both had been in the throes of drug addiction since their teenage years, and suffered from previously undiagnosed mental health conditions. Hunter’s death, they said, was a horrible accident.

    In a tearful statement, Back said the images of her son, lying dead in her living room, are forever burned into her mind.

    “I never meant to fail him,” the 42-year-old woman said. “I did not murder my son. The last thing I wanted to do was harm him.”

    First Assistant District Attorney Erin O’Brien, who prosecuted the case, rebuked Back’s statement, saying the couple showed extreme indifference to their son and his health.

    The two had kept their son in squalor in a home where drugs were “ubiquitous” — Hunter, she said, was surrounded by narcotics and the materials Hawa used to package them. Their attempts to prevent him from touching the toxic substances, she said, were half-hearted at best.

    “Hunter didn’t get to make plans for his future; he didn’t even make it to the third grade,” she said. “I could attempt to go through everything he missed out in life, but that list is endless. His life mattered.”

    Hawa had called police to his home on July 26, 2023, just before 2:30 a.m., after Back awakened him in a panic, prosecutors said. She had found Hunter “folded like a sandwich,” pinned between the recliner he had fallen asleep on hours earlier and the wall behind it.

    When Coatesville Police Officer Jennifer Schreiber arrived at the home, Hawa was performing CPR on his son, who had ashen skin and blue lips. He showed no signs of life, Schreiber said.

    Clear signs of drug abuse were found feet from the boy’s body: small glassine bags filled with heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, as well as a scale and a syringe.

    Doses of Narcan sat unopened on a coffee table, and, O’Brien noted, might have saved the boy if used.

    An autopsy later concluded that Hunter died of an overdose of fentanyl, morphine, and cocaine. Exactly how the boy ingested the drugs remains unclear. But samples of his hair showed that he had previously been exposed to those narcotics, according to O’Brien.

    Hawa and Back initially lied about their drug use when interviewed by police, but confessed to being regular users weeks later when confronted with their son’s autopsy report, investigators said.

    Hawa, 43, told detectives he did not believe his son had overdosed, saying the amount of the drugs found in his blood was too small to be fatal. He said he and Back had repeatedly warned the child not to touch the drugs in their home, telling him that it was their “medicine” and that he could get sick from it.

    The fentanyl that killed Hunter was stamped with the same distinctive logo, “Bad Bunny,” as the kind that killed Tyler Stout in Phoenixville in March 2023.

    Prosecutors also deemed Hawa responsible for Stout’s death, charging him with drug delivery resulting in death and related crimes. His trial in that case is pending.

  • Five Chester County centenarians, ranging from 99 to 104, give their life secrets

    Five Chester County centenarians, ranging from 99 to 104, give their life secrets

    From horses giving way to cars and the invention of television, to the election of more than a dozen presidents, World War II, and even the sale of sliced bread — the 45 Chester County centenarians who gathered for an annual luncheon this week have watched the world remake itself time and time again.

    “I saw a lot of things. A lot of wars, and a lot of popes. There’s a lot of good things,” said Anne Caporale, who will turn 100 in July. “I got married, had a family. I had a good life.”

    The annual luncheon celebrated Chester County’s group of centenarians — a total of 57 residents reaching or surpassing the milestone. Tuesday’s celebration saw a dozen who would turn 100 this year, plus quite a few returning attendees, including 108-year-old Evelyn Fair, who still writes poetry.

    “You are the builders, the teachers, the parents, the neighbors, and the foundation of the Chester County community,” Josh Maxwell, chair of the board of county commissioners, told attendees. “Every single comfort and freedom we enjoy today is a direct result of the hard work, sacrifice, and grace you poured into the world decades and decades ago. We are walking today on paths that you have all cleared.”

    Meet some of Chester County’s longest residents.

    Henry Jacks, 104

    Henry Jacks, 104, enjoys the annual centenarian luncheon hosted by the Department of Aging. Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer

    Henry Jacks moved to South Coatesville when he was 4 years old, and has called it home ever since. He’s witnessed “quite a bit of change.”

    He remembers watching deliveries come by horse and wagon and recalls the hard days of the 1930s during the Great Depression (“cost of living wasn’t as bad as it is now,” he noted). Jacks joined the Army in 1940 during World War II, serving in the 92nd Engineers Regiment, and was stationed in Africa and Italy. He came back home to have three children, a boy and two girls.

    He was a Boy Scout leader, the first Black mail carrier in Coatesville, a city council member, and a judge of elections. He still sings in the church choir. (His advice: “Treat people right. Go to church.”)

    “So many changes that I’ve seen in the days,” he said. “I remember when I first saw TV; one of the neighbors had one, and all of the kids used to watch through his window. I’ve seen from the horses, to the cars, to the jet airplanes. And it’s been a wonderful life.”

    Letitia Hemphill, 103

    Letitia Hemphill, 103, at Tuesday’s luncheon. Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer

    Letitia Hemphill started her working life at the candy counter at the former F.W. Woolworth’s five-and-dime in her hometown of West Chester. Though her father remarked she wasn’t good at math, she’d go on to have a long career using her skills while filling the registers and doing the end-of-day count in a department store and later at the treasurer’s office.

    She retired in 1986 but had trouble sitting still.

    “I got bored of not working,” she said.

    She started cleaning houses. It was something she’d always done: help her mother clean in the morning, and then go to the park in the afternoon. She kept up the tradition with her two grandkids and her two great-grandkids, whom she babysat for 14 years.

    An active life has been key to Hemphill, who did 10 years of ballroom dancing and more than 20 years at the gym.

    “Keep your body moving and keep your mind moving,” she said.

    She keeps her mind active by painting landscapes in watercolor, a hobby she took up in 1995.

    Hemphill was born in West Chester to a stonemason father and a stay-at-home mother. Once, someone asked Hemphill if she had a lot of friends. With 11 brothers and sisters, she remarked she didn’t need any.

    When she journeys through West Chester, she points out all the stores that have changed over time.

    Still, Chester County is “beautiful,” and much of her family is still around to keep her moving: two children, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

    Joseph Donia, 100

    Joseph Donia, 100. There were 45 centenarians in attendance at Tuesday’s luncheon.Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer

    Up until last year or so, Joseph Donia’s hobby was building boats. He constructed a 20-foot wooden cabin cruiser from scratch. He had it for 40 years.

    “The only reason I sold it — my wife couldn’t get on it anymore,” he said.

    He had a lifelong love of boats, and spent five years at sea for the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II. His time in service was the only time he wasn’t living in West Chester, where he bought a house and raised three kids. He also has six grandkids and three great-grandkids.

    His most recent project was a 35-foot sailboat. It’s still sitting behind his West Chester home, but he’s given it to his son to finish.

    It kept the 100-year-old active — something he advises.

    Eleanor Hammond, 101

    Eleanor Hammond, 101, enjoys Tuesday’s annual luncheon. Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer

    Eleanor Hammond has always been a fan of creative pursuits: a voracious reader who knitted and sewed. She stitched her daughter’s wedding gown, and, perhaps more memorably, a jacket for her husband.

    “He insisted I make him a jacket because I sewed for everyone else. He picked out the material; looked like Liberace. It was horrible,” she said. “I wouldn’t go out with him when he wore it.”

    A graduate of Coatesville High School, Hammond would go on to work there until she was 81, in the principal’s office. She was once a disciplinarian, and truancy officer. She’s watched the county change over time, marveling at the amount of development. And, less positively, the traffic.

    “The way to get here, I used to zip here,” she said. “But I can’t do that now.”

    Still, she likes it, and the changes that have come with time.

    “I’ve been here a long time. Everything about it is beautiful. The people are friendly, and it’s a beautiful place,” she said.

    And as much as she loves home, she recommends travel. If you don’t know the language, be nice, smile, and “use your arms” to convey your meaning.

    Anne Caporale, 99

    Anne Caporale, who turns 100 in July.Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer

    Anne Caporale graduated alongside Hammond at Coatesville High School. She went on to raise six kids, and has 10 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren.

    “We have quite a group,” she said. “I love them.”

    She has found Chester County to be a good place to live and “wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”

    She lives at home, right by one of Downingtown’s high schools, which she loves because “the kids are great.” She still does her laundry and cooks every day. The luncheon Tuesday was a treat for her. “Let somebody else do the cooking,” she said.

    Keeping active is the secret, she said.

    “I know we’re here for a reason, but I don’t know it. I don’t question it,” she said.

    This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.