At this time the Arden Craft Shop Museum is temporarily closed for remodeling and we wanted to make our community aware of the reason.  
 
On August 4th the museum experienced water damage due to a sprinkler head going off in the apartment above the gallery.
 
Museum staff and volunteers were already onsite and, once ascertaining that it was safe to be in the building, immediately began moving collections and laying down plastic sheeting and buckets. They implemented our recently approved disaster response plan, which included alerting building manager Jamie Jamison and board chair Peter Slattery.  Both were onsite promptly.
 
Many thanks to the speedy response of the Claymont Fire Company, who arrived promptly!  Fortunately, their services were not needed.  A number of community members also pitched in to assist.
 
A local remediation company was called, and they came to the museum that evening, and, once the water stopped pouring, began the process of vacuuming and cleaning up. They also removed the damaged carpet and drywall.
 
Thankfully, the water only directly impacted the gallery space.  Due to this and the prompt work of staff, museum volunteers, and community members the damage to the collections was negligible.  Repairs will begin shortly, and we hope to welcome you back to the museum in the fall for our new exhibition Images from the Ardens: 1900-1960.
 
Many thanks to the museum volunteers and community members who helped out including: Jamie Jamison, Peter Slattery, Beverly Hawkins, Lindsey Sherwood, Liz Jones-Minsinger, Keith Minsinger, and Barbara Macklem.
 
 
The Past Has a Future in The Ardens
​

​Due to the 4th of July holiday the Museum will be closed Sunday the 4th.  Please enjoy these photos of Independence Day celebrations from the past!

One of the nicest features of the Archives Collections at the ACSM are the many tributes and articles written by unnamed folk about their favorite neighbors and friends.  One of these pieces, by an unknown friend, provides a beautiful portrait of Jimmie Ware.  The writer details Jimmie’s many accomplishments and her special qualities.  Among these are Jimmie’s reputation as a Gardener Extraordinaire.  She is remembered in her straw garden hat who could “… coax the most recalcitrant of plants to accept a home in her garden.”  The author continues with memories of Jimmie’s strong black coffee served at community breakfasts, of her participation in theater and music activities, her involvement in many political causes, and the loss of her son James during World War II.  All these qualities provide a picture of a most remarkable individual.  

  Prior to arriving in Arden, she was a student at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in Philadelphia.  Her Mother, Marian Von Wattenburg was reported to have been a member of several professional acting groups, so the younger woman’s interest in the theater probably came from an early age.  Just what drew her to the Ardens is not known, but her life in the community mirrors the lives of so many who made the villages the special places they are today.​

     
Edith “Jimmie” Ware arrived in Arden in 1906 – almost at the very beginning of the communities now known as the Ardens.  Very little seems to be known about the origin of her very boyish nickname, but the woman herself was an admired artist and a valued friend and neighbor.  She was only 18 when she moved to Arden and was soon involved in the weekly Shakespeare performances that took place in the Field Theatre. In 1917, she married Hamilton D. “Buzz” Ware.  According to her 1983 obituary, “…the pair became outstanding leaders in the comprehensive cultural development of the village…”  The wedding must have been a grand Arden celebration – among the gifts they received was a set of silver teaspoons and a silver mug, made by village silversmith Margaret Wood.  The family grew to include daughter Joan in March 1919 and twins James and John in December 1924.
 
Notwithstanding all her activities, as well as raising a family; Ware found time to paint.  In a review of her show at the Warehouse Gallery in 1968, Betty Burroughs (a newspaper columnist who also lived in Arden) wrote that many of Ward’s watercolors showed her love of the nature.  There were pansies, pussy willows, and apple blossoms; as well as seascapes from Maine.  The column also quotes Joan Ware Colgan, Ware’s daughter, discussing the abstract paintings that appear in the show.  Colgan explained that her Mother disliked the early abstract work when she first saw it and framed her color-splattered paint cloth as a rebuff to those artists.  Burroughs reported that even Ware’s abstracts found acceptance due to her “…fine sense of color.”  Ware’s work continues to be treasured in many homes in the Ardens. ​

Almost everyone knows the name Frank Stephens and the role he and Will Price played in founding the communities we now call the Ardens.  We know Stephens to be a proponent of Henry George and his economic ideas, a sculptor, and the founder of several other single-tax enclaves.  Today, however, few of us remember the extensive amount of writing he did – and not all of it in support of the single tax movement.
 
In 1935, after Stephens’ death, a collection of his poems was published in the book, Some Songs.  These poems cover a wide variety of themes.  There are birthday greetings, campaign songs, memorials, and even 13 poetic advertisements for the Arden Forge. The book also included essays about Stephens written by his friends. The book has long been a favorite among Arden Folk and indeed the Museum has a number of copies.
 
As the weather warms and the evenings grow longer, the following stanza from “The Day’s End” seems like a fitting way to remember Frank Stephens and all he has meant to the Ardens.
                       
​                        Would I might see and know the days,
                        As in some wonder-mirror clear,
                        That, alien, exiled as I stray,
                        Beyond those Hills of Far-away
                        Still lies the Land of Always-near.

It's no great surprise that Frank Stephens, a lover of Shakespeare, the founder of Arden, and an artist, would have a way with words. 

​Enjoy this poem "To Eleanor" from Some Songs:

O! Heart--hold closer by me, for this life
Hath really neither breadth nor height nor depth
Other than love; and all material forms
That hedge us round and seem to bound our world
Are rough daubed scenes upon whose little stage
We play this tragic comedy of life--
That mirrors forth some larger world beyond--
Only the purpose, born of love, is real.

The Ardens have a long history of being politically diverse.

In 1950, Don Stephens said about Ardencroft:

“You are welcome hither, for here in Ardencroft we do not ask about a man’s religion nor his beliefs nor do we hold to any theory of racial superiority.”

​This philosophy was a continuation of the spirt of Arden and Ardentown, epitomized in the words of the stile:

                                              "You are welcome hither"

Many Ardenenites have been politically active.  Arden was home to Mother Bloor, a founder of the American Communist Party.  Frank Stephens, who founded Arden, was a Single Taxer who followed the economic and political theories of Henry George and participated in the Delaware Single Tax Invasion of 1896.   ​

On April 27th, 1935, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited the Ardens.  She was visiting WPA projects, of which the cobblestones around the Arden Green are one.  Mrs. Roosevelt was greeted by Marie Holcomb of the local girl scout troop as seen below.

The newly inaugurated 46th President, Joseph Biden, lived for a short time with his family in a rental on Harvey Road in Ardentown.  Maria Holcomb Burslem, niece to the girl scout who gave Mrs. Roosevelt flowers,  remembers President Biden as the local paper boy. 

The Arden Craft Shop Museum has in it's archive a newspaper article from 1986, when then Senator Joe Biden, gave greetings to Charles Pettit on the occasion of his 100th birthday at the Candlelight Dinner Theatre.

In 2020, the museum opened an exhibition called "Equality in the Ardens" which highlights the work of suffragists and other activists from the Ardens in the early 20th century.  This work allowed women across the United States to celebrate the 100th anniversary of casting their ballots in the federal election of 2020.  This exhibition will be transitioning into the museum’s main gallery along with our other current exhibition “15 Treasures”.  Be sure to see both of these through September 2021.

As part of our commitment to telling the history of the Ardens, it is our pleasure to highlight work on the preservation of the historic structures that make up the Ardens.

Rest Harrow was probably built around 1912 and designed by architect William Price.

To learn more about tis restoration by fellow Ardens residents please visit Delaware Today Magazine's website here.

EQUALITY IN THE ARDENS
ARDEN CRAFT SHOP MUSEUM
OPENS NEW EXHIBITION
October 18, 2020
 
 
 
Our new exhibition, opening October 18th, celebrates the traditions of Equality in its many forms in the Ardens.  Of course, nationally 2020 has marked the 100th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, bringing equality to the voting booth, but equality has many forms. In the Ardens we have seen it at work in many ways though out our history.  We look forward to displaying these traditions in the new exhibition.
 
The Covid-19 epidemic, of course, has had an impact on our plans.  We will be open from 1-3 PM and the new show will be on display in the Bernie Schwab Community Room.  We ask that guests wear masks and line-up to enter though the front door – we will monitor the number of visitors.  As you exit through the BSCR, we plan (weather permitting) to offer some limited refreshments and hope that socially appropriate gatherings can be held on the Green.  We will miss our usual opening celebration, but we hope many of you will be able to join us.
 
Our current exhibition 15 Years – 15 Treasures is still on display and well worth a visit.
 
*If you would like to visit the Museum during our regular hours, please send an email to ardencraftshopmuseum@gmail.com at least 24 hours before your visit.  That way we can keep track of the number of visitors.
*We will only be able to receive up to 9 visitors at a time.
*We will be sanitizing all touch surfaces before and after visits.
*All visitors and staff must sanitize their hands before entering the Museum and wear a face mask while inside.  We have hand sanitizer already inside the door.
 
The Past Has a Future in The Ardens
 

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE
FIRST ARDEN FAIR
 
 
The Ardens will be quiet this Labor Day weekend for the first time in many years. As we will not be gathering as a community, it seemed like a good opportunity to look into the history of the Arden Fair.  The Archives Collection at the Arden Craft Shop Museum provided some interesting information and a fascinating look back at this most Ardenesque event.  One of the most interesting discoveries was that there was no record of a previous Fair being completely canceled.  Postponed due to weather, but not canceled.  Even during the war years of the 1940’s the Fair was held.
First – some background information. Most of you know that when Arden was founded in 1900 it was begun as a summer colony.  The residents came from the center-city heat of Philadelphia and Wilmington to enjoy the shaded glens and quiet pathways of this haven from the hustle and bustle of urban life.  Of course, the opportunity to put into practice the economic philosophies of Henry George was the primary impetus for our founders Frank Stephens and Will Price; but the leaseholders they attracted had many different reasons for joining the colony.  It appears that residents first began staying through winter around 1910. That development, plus changes in the Trust document and the founding of the Arden Club in 1908, really gave the village its push into the community of The Ardens we have today.   
So – when was the Arden Fair first held?  Early records are somewhat limited, but the Arden Leaves began publishing in November 1910.  In that issue, one of the articles states, ‘The fair this year differed essentially from its predecessor.  The artistic features were more strongly emphasized…While the returns from the fair did not reach the $500 mark, due largely to a rainy Saturday…” (Yes, rain has always had an impact on the Fair.) The article goes on to say that the money raised will be enough to complete the work on the clubhouse (which we now know as the Gild Hall) without the sale of any additional bonds.  This appears to say the Fair was first held in 1909. As the Arden Club was formed in 1908, acquired the Derrickson Farm barn in 1909, and converted it to a clubhouse in 1910; it would seem that the first Fair was held in 1909.
Several times in the November 1910 article the event is referred to as the Pageant.  In the early years it appears the term Fair and Pageant seem to have been used interchangeably. The term Fall Festival was also used and the spirit of “Merry Olde England” was a frequent theme. The September 1911 Arden Leaves invites the attendees to, “Come All! In finery new or old, bedeck yourselves, set forth the banners of your Gilds, with sheafs (sp)of wheat and flowers gay…”  In the Arden Leaves of August 1912, one of our founders, Will Price, concluded his article with words that ring as true today at they did then, “So whether it be big or little, old or new, lets us cry “Hail to the Pageant.”
A letter from Bertha Brooks in the October 1981 Arden Page, recounts her childhood memories of the first Fair being held on the Arden Green in front of The Inn (formerly at 2314 Cherry Lane) and Cherry Lodge (formerly 2310 Cherry Lane). She said the next year the fair was moved to the Gild Hall, “…overhead hammers were heard, where volunteers were lying the floor upon which we would dance that night.”  She also expresses concerns over the activities in the “beer garden,” but that is another story for another time.
One more piece of evidence for the first Fair being held in 1909 is a marvelous poster, also found in the Archives collection. The words on this hand drawn sign read:

You will always remember
The Western Show of The Wilds at
The Arden Town Fair
Aug. 28 1909
​
The poster also includes the figure of a cowboy – reminiscent of similar drawings done by Frank Stephens.  If you would like to see this object please visit ardencraftshopmuseum.com for a look at this piece of our history.
There are many other stories to be told about the Arden Fair and the Museum hopes to share more of these tales in the future.  (Who can forget the deluge of 2003 when fair evacuation plans were implemented?)  Thru the years many, many different activities have been held during the Fair.  Everything from fortune tellers to pet shows to a Russian Tea to a White Elephant booth; automobile rides were offered as a treat in many of the early fairs, all these events and more have been part of the Fair for many years. During World War II, the time was shortened, the schedule of events was more limited, and adjustments were made as some supplies were not available; but the Fair was held.
This year, however, will be remembered for many other reasons.  We will probably not hear Oh, What A Beautiful Morning over the PA system to open the festivities, the names of those who have died since the last Fair will not be announced, and the Brigadoon atmosphere of a Fair that appears and disappears will not be seen in 2020. The Ardens, however, will be together.  There will be artists and artisans, music and tee shirts and a community – a very special community.

During these hectic times we want to thank those who attended our socially distanced opening for Equality: A Tradition in the Ardens.

For the first time we are using the Bernie Schwab Community Room to showcase an entire new show.  Although we could not have quite the same exhibition opening as usual, it was terrific to have so many friends stop by – in an appropriately social distant manner, of course!   Equality is found in many places and in many activities – you will find them on display at the ACSM.
 
Our current exhibition 15 Years – 15 Treasures is still on display and well worth a visit.
 
We look forward to being open for the Holiday Market on Sunday, November 29th and will have artisan maps available for your shopping pleasure.
 
*If you would like to visit the Museum during our regular hours, please send an email to ardencraftshopmuseum@gmail.com at least 24 hours before your visit.  That way we can keep track of the number of visitors.
*We will only be able to receive up to 9 visitors at a time.
*We will be sanitizing all touch surfaces before and after visits.
*All visitors and staff must sanitize their hands before entering the Museum and wear a face mask while inside.  We have hand sanitizer already inside the door.
 
The Past Has a Future in The Ardens
​