Publisher’s Letter

Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa … the season of gift-giving and charity, Santa and lights, friends and family is in full swing. It’s a County Lines Christmas! We have holiday happenings, house tours, gift ideas, plus suggestions for seasonal theater fun in Shannon Montgomery’s “’Tis the Season for the Stage.”

Join Heather Reiffer as she recounts how George and Martha Washington celebrated their Christmases — including eating Christmas pie and a great cake — in “Love, War and Christmas Past” in Brandywine Stories.

For gift-giving, we continue to suggest shopping small. Shannon Montgomery helps with “A Season of New Finds in West Chester” for one-stop shopping in the borough. And for book lovers, Shelley Laurence has suggestions for kids, cooks and everyone else on your list in “Books for the Holidays.” Or for someone who doesn’t want another thing, our “Giving Back Gift Guide” has ideas for giving, not buying, when you donate to local nonprofits in someone’s name.

For a quick holiday getaway with all the wonder of Christmas, but less of the hassle of travel, consider Lancaster County, Jim Thorpe, Chesapeake City and Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Find plenty of seasonal fun in my article, “Holiday Getaways … In Under Two Hours.”

Food and drink fans will enjoy recommendations in Liz Tarditi’s “Firelight & Brandy” for the warmth and luxury of brandy or cognac. And for something simple and restorative, Liz offers “Sanctuary in a Bowl,” a selection of hearty soup recipes in our Brandywine Table feature for when we need a quiet moment in a busy season.

Other articles will inspire you to help the monarch butterflies — in “Measuring Monarchs” — dream about a new home — “Luxury Lakeside Living”— and be prepared to cut your own tree — “Tips to CYO Christmas Tree.”

Finally, check out our Best Local Events section for more to discover in the Brandywine Valley this month.

Perhaps you already have County Lines delivered to your mailbox. Save it for future reference. At CountyLinesMagazine.com, you can read the December issue online. At Issuu.com, you can read the digital issue. Or click “Get A Copy” on our website to find locations to pick up your own print copy.

We hope you’d like to subscribe to County Lines. Do it on our website or call 610-918-9300. For single issues, try Wellington Square Bookshop, Main Point Books, More than Books, Bookish Notions or Reads & Co. Bookstore. Visiting an advertiser is also a great — and free — way to find copies!

We hope you enjoy this issue. From all of us at County Lines, best wishes for the merriest of holidays and the happiest New Year!

Thank you for reading.

Ed Malet, Publisher

610-918-9300

A Season of New Finds in West Chester

The holiday season is always magical. This season, West Chester’s retail landscape shines especially bright with new shops joining longtime favorites. Find gifts for treasure hunters, fashionistas, green thumbs, modern goths and everyone else on your list.  As you wrap up your shopping, enjoy knowing your gifts came from local shops, chosen with care by people who call this place home.

George & Martha Washington: Love, War and Christmas Past

It was a cold Christmas Eve when George Washington rode up the thickly wooded, winding road leading to Mount Vernon. The day before, he had resigned as General of the Continental Army. Like most of the exhausted, but free, nation, the Washingtons were overdue for a peaceful holiday. The war had stretched across eight years and through Chester County’s fields, testing the Washingtons as much as their soldiers. By war’s end, the promise of peace and the chance to spend Christmas together was finally restored.

Measuring Monarchs

Every fall, monarch butterflies travel thousands of miles to spend the winter in the mountaintops of central Mexico. Last winter, the population swelled, occupying over four acres, doubling the previous year. Experts believe it was due to favorable weather, unlike previous years, when there was drought and major storms. The question remains, what can be done to sustain this growth? The answer is complex. Planting native milkweed can help, but it’s not enough. Planting a diversity of species is necessary. And you can help track the progress.