A new farm stand aleady was taking shape Saturday afternoon at SIW in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.
A new SIW farm stand was already being framed Saturday afternoon.
The popular Stepped in What stand on Creek Road in Chadds Ford was washed away Thursday when the nearby Brandywine River rose 21 feet, according to workers. Tables, displays and wares were carried away.
The existing wooden building split into two. One half was shoved by the waters to the far end of the public parking lot and the other across the street and further down Creek Road.
After a lot of cleanup, the farm opened with a smaller amount of produce, but still offered tomatoes, corn, some fruit and Doc Martin lima beans, among other things. The farm stand, owned by H.G. Haskell, also was selling produce at Richardson’s in Hockessin.
Business had been steady all morning into the afternoon, said manager Tobin.
Amy Watson Bish and her husband, Gavin, drove over from Wilmington to pick up some produce.
“We love taking the drive out there and visiting the stand,” she said. “We were saddened to find out that had been devastated by the storm. But as soon as they announced that they were back up, we were happy to go out and support them.”
Business was steady on Saturday, the SIW crew said.
While a Facebook post asked people to come Saturday with cash because the stand wouldn’t have access to electricity, the crew figured out how to rig a system with a solar charger and car battery to take cards, a visitor said.
Tobin and staffer Lisa Cipolla said they were worried about the four houses across from the farm stand. Those homes not only had their basements flooded, but the water rose to the light switches on the first floor, they said.
On Saturday, you could see all kinds of belongings spread out on lawns and driveways to dry.
A couple of blocks from SIW, power crews were working on poles.
Cipolla was helping shift a lot of debris off the site in an old, dirty Radio Flyer wagon, piling up bit by bit and pulling it away.
She said the stand wants to reuse as much as possible.
She and Tobin were amazed to discover a small blackboard with a chalked sign that said, “Masks required unless you are fully vaccinated.”
“That’s supposed to wash off with water,” Tobin said.
Farm stand worker Lisa Cippola discovered a chalked sign about masks in the flooding debris.
Betsy Price is a Wilmington freelance writer who has 40 years of experience, including 15 at The News Journal in Delaware.
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