Walk for the Wounded returns to Rose Tree Park May 20
UPPER PROVIDENCE » The 10th-annual Walk for the Wounded and 5k Warriors Run is set for May 20 at Rose Tree Park. The event brings an anticipated 6,000 people from throughout the region to the park to walk, run and celebrate veterans, and to raise funds for those with critical injuries.
The two-mile walk begins at 11 a.m.; registration opens at 10. The family event winds through Rose Tree Park along a route marked with American Flags. Donation and pledge forms are available at www.operationfirstresponse.org. The Warriors 5K begins at 10 a.m.; registration opens at 9. To register in advance, visit www.runsignup.com and search “Warriors 5K.” For information, call 215-237-8101.
Retired Lt. General Ronald S. Coleman of the U.S. Marine Corps is the keynote speaker for the event. A graduate of Darby-Colwyn Senior High in Darby and a retired United States Marine. Coleman advanced in rank to lieutenant general in 2006, becoming the second African-American in the Marine Corps to reach the three-star rank. Participants also hear a personal account how Walk for the Wounds benefits veterans from medically retired Sgt. Carl David Duda, who appeared at the inaugural Walk for the Wounded. Sgt. Duda was severely wounded in 2006 in Bagdad, and was treated at Walter Reed Hospital from 2006 until 2012. Funds raised at the walks have helped his family through difficult times during his recovery.
The event also includes a tribute to Petty Officer 1st Class Michael J. Strange, killed in action in Afghanistan in 2011 and recipient of the Bronze Star Medal with Valor, Purple Heart Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal with Valor, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, and a Presidential Unit Citation.
Special guests at the walk include CBS3 anchor Ukee Washington as master of ceremonies, an appearance by the Phillie Phanatic, a landing by an all-veteran parachute team, and an up-close look Dale Kevin Harvick’s #4 Ford Fusion for NASCAR fans. Activities include rock climbing, zip-lining and free-falling. Bucket List provides live music and there is DJ entertainment from Partytime. Food is available from Nifty Fifty’s.
Event sponsor Operation First Response was awarded the highest charity rating possible from watchdog Charity Navigator for two consecutive years, with 97 percent of all funds raised going to support and services for wounded veterans. OFR hopes to riase $250,000 at the 2017 Walk for the Wounded. For information, visit www.operationfirstresponse.org
Free screenings from Crozer-Keystone
The hospitals of Crozer-Keystone Health System offer free hearing screenings during May in observance of Better Speech and Hearing Month. Screenings are for adults over the age of 18 who are not currently under the care of a physician for existing hearing problems and who do not wear a hearing aid.
Screenings are held in the audiology department of the following locations:
• Taylor Hospital, 175 E. Chester Pike, Ridley Park, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday, May 16
• Crozer-Chester Medical Center, 1 Medical Center Blvd., Upland, from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday, May 18
• Springfield Hospital, 190 W. Sproul Road, from 8:45 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 24
Registration is required and space is limited. For information and registration, call 1-800-CK-HEALTH.
Gardening workshop set for June 3
NETHER PROVIDENCE » Delaware County Penn State Master Gardeners holds its 21st annual Home Gardeners’ School from 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. June 3 at Smedley Park, 20 Papermill Road, Wallingford, from 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Cost is $15 per lectures $20 per workshop. A boxed lunch is available for $10.
The daylong program features lectures by experts, a silent auction and the Master Gardener Marketplace, offering a mix of items including mason bee houses, fairy gardens, garden flags and banners, pet accessories, pre-planted containers, jewelry, and garden tools.
Have a nagging garden problem? Guests can bring their everyday plant and garden questions to the onsite Master Gardener HortLine experts.
Participants can build their own program from the following topics: “Native Spring Ephemerals”; “Pollinator Container Workshop”; “Vegetable Gardening for Everyone,” “Propagation Workshop,” “Native Plants, Pollinators and IPM”; “Growing Vegetables in Containers;” and “Let’s Perk up the Garden!”
For information and registration, call 610-690-2655 or visit http://extension.psu. edu/delaware
Hear Civil War history in Aston
ASTON » Aston Township Historical Society welcomes the public to its quarterly meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 11, at the Aston Township Community Center, 3720 Concord Road. The township history museum is prior to the meeting from 6:15-7.
Barbara Selletti, local historian, genealogist and Neumann University librarian, is the speaker for the evening. Mrs. Selletti paints a vivid picture of Dr. Cornelius C. V. A. Crawford’s life. Dr. Crawford was an Astonian and a Civil War Army Surgeon who just happened to take a bullet meant for Pres. Lincoln in 1864 at the Battle of Fort Stevens. He is buried at the Cumberland Cemetery in Middletown. This lecture was originally scheduled for the February meeting.
Mrs. Selletti is a very active and popular historian. She and her husband, Tony, were part of the effort to save and restore the Lazaretto in Tinicum Township, the World War I remembrance and poppy initiative, promoting period dancing along with teaching genealogy seminars.
The event is free; donations are appreciated. Volunteer opportunies are available with the historical society. Guests with historic photos of Aston Township are asked to bring them for scanning. ATHS unveils its fall lecture at the May 11 meeting.
St. James Alumni Choir updates
St. James Alumni Choir, the Blue & Gray Voices, annoucnes its participation in several May events. The choir sings May 10 at the Delaware County Fireman’s Memorial Service at Lima United Methodist Church.
For Memorial Day weekend, the choir sings May 27 at the Brookhaven Community Center, and on May 28 at the St. James Doghouse in Eddystone for a tribute to St. James alumni who the gave their lives in battle. The tribute is in parternship with American Legion Post 777. The choir concludes its Memorial Day observance with a May 29 performance at American Legion Post 926, Aston.
Edd Paffett, choir accompanist on organ and piano, who holds a masters degree in music education, teaches a music training program for choir members at the Doghouse, home of the St. James Alumni Association. The all male choir continues to seek increased membership. Members do not have to be an alumnus of St. James Catholic High School. Those interested in joining the choir may leave a message with their name and telephone number at 610876-2006.