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Popular farm stand, arts and cultural institutions cope with flooding aftermath

Betsy PriceCulture, Headlines

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Pieces of the SIW farm stand are scattered over the parking lot and road.

Update: This article has been updated to reflect SIW stand opening Saturday with limited produce, no electricty. 
A popular farm stand and area art and historical attractions have been dealing with the aftermath of flooding caused by Ida as the remnants of the hurricane swept through Wednesday.
SIW Farm Stand at 4317 Creek Road in Chadds Ford was destroyed, with flood waters scattering goods and tables and tipping over the main market shed. The stand draws a lot of fans from northern New Castle County.
Hagley Museum & Library said Friday that some of its roads and buildings also flooded, forcing it to indefinitely delay the opening of its latest exhibit.
The Brandywine River Museum of Art property looked like a lake in drone video and buildings flooded, but all the art was safe, a Facebook post said.
SIW, which stands for Stepped in What, is run by farmers H.G. and Kim Haskell. Open from early spring through Halloween, it sells flowers, its own produce and a variety of cheese, sweets and other products from regional producers.
Its Facebook pictures showed the facility wiped out. A post said the stand was cleaning up and looking for an alternate site.
Its fans were rallying to aid as SIW shifted some of the produce to its satellite farm stand at Richardson’s in Hockessin, which was open Friday. On Saturday morning, SIW announced on Facebook that it would open the Creek Road stand with limited products, but patrons would need to pay cash because there would be no electricity.
“GET THEE TO SIW in the next week and support the HELL out of them,” said chef Robert Lhulier, co-owner of the new Snuff Mill Restaurant, Butchery and Wine Bar at Independence Mall, on Facebook Friday. “They’re there for us. Let’s be there for them.”
One patron, Sam Anderson created a Go Fund Me page, which brought thanks from SIW. His post said that the Haskells home was flooded with 5 feet of water.
“This farmstead, so beloved by the surrounding community for offering the finest fruits, veggies and pantry items as well as for their ‘Field to Fork’ dinner series and for local restaurants is really important to the Haskell family and to many people they employ,” Anderson’s post said. “These funds will be used by the Haskells to rebuild their farmstead.”
Hagley Museum, the site of the du Pont family’s first gun powder mills, had roads flooded, with water getting into some of the buildings.
Until the site knows the extent of the flooding and damage, it put on hold indefinitely the grand opening of its $2 million new permanent exhibit, “Nation of Inventors,” originally set for Sept. 13, said spokeswoman Laura Jury.
“As the water recedes, we’ll begin to conduct a flood assessment to determine damage,” she said.
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Bronze sculpture ‘Miss Gratz’ at Brandywine River Museum of Art was mostly submerged by flood waters.

The Brandywine River Museum of Art in Chadds Ford, best known for its Wyeth family works, posted video of the flooding in the area. The main building looked like an island in the middle of a lake.
It said in a Facebook post that while its artwork and staff were safe, the property and buildings suffered extensive flooding.
A frequently shared photo showed one of their bronze garden sculptures, “Miss Gratz” by J. Clayton Bright, with water up to her eyeballs.
The organization asked anyone who wanted to donate to its emergency relief fund to do it here.

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