By Sally Jane Denk, President

So how are things going at the Sanderson?” is the question I always hear when someone sees me out and about the village. I have no doubt it was the same question our earliest board members and volunteers heard back in 1967 and 1968 during the initial “big clean-up” and with the opening of the first room.

There was a lot to do then before the public could see the difference: Repair and re-shingle the roof, re-build the porches, repair and paint the walls, modernize the electrical system; not to mention the hundreds of hours put in by » Continue reading “Building a Future – A Paradigm Shift”

By Chip Lohmann
Vice President

Two of our most valuable and charming volunteers, Jean and Les Baiardi, were born quite a distance apart; Jean hails from Willow Grove, PA, and Les, West Springfield, Mass. Les had a long career with Boeing Helicopters. Now that he’s retired he likes stamp collecting, gardening and reading. Jean is also an avid gardener and reader and also enjoys cooking and sewing.

Living in the Hamorton section of Kennett Square since August 1976, Les and Jean have 3 adult daughters, along with two grandsons and one granddaughter. All the grandkids live nearby, so they are seen often.

The Baiardis lived in the Brandywine Valley for more than » Continue reading “Volunteer Spotlight on the Baiardis”

Charles E. (Chuck) Ulmann
Sanderson Collections Curator

As you probably know, I check our responses from the Sanderson Website that are delivered to an email box. About once a week I actually do get a message with the subject ‘From the Sanderson Museum Website. . . ‘.

The other 50 to 100 messages are junk mail, better known as SPAM in the digital era. Thank goodness it isn’t all paper junk mail or there would be no trees left.

Anyway, most of the real messages are asking for » Continue reading “Museum Musings”

By Karen Smith Furst

2007 was an important year for the Sanderson Museum as the Board made great strides toward aligning the museum with Best Practices for Museums.

One of the first things the board did was to form a Marketing Committee that began to focus on public outreach. To this end, we now have full color, professionally designed brochures and rack cards which were distributed widely and received a positive response from » Continue reading “For the Times They are a Changin’”

By Sally Denk

Forty years ago in January 1967, Mr Andrew Wyeth had the vision to save the amazing life- collection of his old friend Christian Carmack Sanderson who lived from 1882 to 1966. To this end, a board of directors was formed with Mr. Wyeth at the helm, Arthur Beard, William Hoffman, Frank Rich and Thomas R. Thompson.

Above: Saturday, April 28, 2007 - Founding members Thomas Thompson, Andrew Wyeth, and Richard McClellan with current president Sally Jane Denk at the presentation of the commemorative bronze plaque.

Shortly after the formation of the board, the home that Chris rented from Lottie Eachus was procured and the arduous process of » Continue reading “Founding Members Honored”

Dear Friends of the Sanderson Museum

2006 has been a wonderful year of growth and I can report that the Sanderson Museum is once again making a name for itself in the community. When I first became president in 2005, my goals were to attract energetic and creative people to the board and for the Sanderson to take on a much more active part of the community.

To this end, in the last 18 months, we have welcomed onto the board » Continue reading “Letter from the President”

By Chip Lohmann

Ralph Wittle, the Sanderson Museum’s self-proclaimed “battery-operated old man” was born on August 30, 1922 in Florin, PA (which is now part of Mount Joy). He was anything but a lonely child as he was the youngest of » Continue reading “Ralph Wittle in the Volunteer Spotlight”

By Sally Denk

Above: July 25, 2006 - Sally Jane Denk in Charleston, South Carolina, presenting the Fort Sumter historian (Richard W. Hatcher, III) with copies of archival material from the Sanderson Museum (Chadds Ford) and copy of the (1904) letter from Quarter Master Sergeant William H. Hamner to Christian C. Sanderson. Sergeant Hamner lowered the flag on Fort Sumter on April 14, 1861, during the evacuation of the fort prior to Confederate control.

What a difference a day makes! That day was April 19, when I had the pleasure to have Sunday dinner with founding curator and Sanderson biographer, Tom Thompson in his elegant residence in Willow Lakes, PA. During the meal Tom happened to mention a 1904 letter to Chris in the Sanderson archives from the Quartermaster Sgt. William Hamner, of the US Army artillery who was assigned to lowering the flag on Ft Sumter during the evacuation of » Continue reading “President Sally Denk Brings the Sanderson to Fort Sumter”