Home Care In Elverson, PA

ELVERSON, PA — Adding to its investment in Chester County, Comcast this week announced it is expanding its smart, fast and reliable fiber-rich network to hundreds of additional residents and businesses in the borough of Elverson. Additionally, the expansion to Honey Brook Borough is now complete – reaching an additional 2,000 residents and businesses.

Soon, Elverson will have access to the full suite of Xfinity residential and Comcast Business services, including residential broadband Internet speeds of up to 1.2 gigabits per second (Gbps) for residences and up to 100 Gbps for businesses.

“We, in Elverson, are thrilled to welcome Comcast to our town to provide residents and businesses with a choice when selecting their broadband provider,” said Mayor Esther Prosser. “I see competition as good for Elverson, and Comcast will provide that, helping to make our greatest square mile a more attractive place to live and work.”

“We are proud to continue investing in Chester County,” said Dennis Mathew, Senior Vice President, Comcast Freedom Region. “Through our network expansion work, we’re able to bring our reliable network to more homes and businesses and provide them with the Internet speed, security and functionality that keeps them connected.”

Residents can check Welcome2Xfinity.com to see if their address is included in the expansion project. If so, they can fill out a form to have a Comcast representative contact them for more information on service offerings or visit your local Xfinity Retail Store in Wyomissing, Pottstown or Exton. Residents who are currently served by Comcast can visit Xfinity.com or call 1-800-XFINITY to inquire about service, or learn more about the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides eligible households with up to $30/month toward their Internet and/or mobile service ($75/month on Tribal lands). The credit can be applied to any tier of Xfinity Internet service, including Internet Essentials, along with mobile service through Xfinity Mobile.

Residential customers in these areas will be able to take advantage of Xfinity’s full suite of Internet products, including:

For local businesses, Comcast Business offers a suite of connectivity, communications, networking, cybersecurity, wireless and managed solutions to help organizations of different sizes prepare for what’s next. Powered by the nation’s largest Gig-speed broadband network, and backed by 24/7 customer support, Comcast Business is the nation’s largest cable provider to small and mid-size businesses and one of the leading service providers to the Enterprise market. Comcast Business has been consistently recognized by industry analysts and associations as a leader and innovator, and one of the fastest growing providers of Ethernet services.

From 2017-2021 alone, Comcast has invested nearly $20 billion to evolve and grow its national network and has built 50,000 new route miles of fiber into its network. This includes expansion to many new areas across Greater Philadelphia, New Jersey and northern Delaware. And Comcast customers have been able to enjoy speed increases at no additional cost, the most recent of which was announced earlier this year.

Comcast is also deeply committed to advancing digital equity in the communities it serves. The company has installed six Lift Zones in Chester County, providing free WiFi service to help these community centers promote digital learning. Lift Zones are part of Project UP, Comcast’s comprehensive, 10-year, $1 billion commitment to help build a future of unlimited possibilities and the continuation of the company’s long history of giving back to communities where it provides service and where its employees live and work.

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For the latest news on everything happening in Chester County and the surrounding area, be sure to follow MyChesCo on Google News.

For two magical weeks every summer, the field explodes into bloom. Thousands of sunflowers blanket the landscape in vivid shades of yellow, their petals aglow in the afternoon sun.

In tiny Elverson, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it border town in Chester County, the field is a sight to behold — and photograph. Striking and romantic enough to be the backdrop for marriage proposals or the cover of engagement announcements, it’s also a charming setting for family photos. And it’s an Instagrammer’s dream, so camera-ready it has its own hashtag.

Last month, Country Living Magazine named it one of the top sunflower fields in the country, welcome recognition for a field that brings the tiny town nearly 100,000 visitors each year.

“This weekend, I’ll probably have 15,000 people here,” said Rick Frey, 55, who planted the one-acre plot — improbably — to attract customers to his nearby car wash. Frey never envisioned its popularity would soar.

Visitors have come from California, Oregon, Ohio, Florida, Virginia, and upstate New York, he said: “Over the course of the month, we’ll probably get close to 100,000 people.”

The trickle of tourists starts in late July. There are the nature photographers, the parents and kids, the college students, the couples, the out-of-towners, and the passersby who got turned around on the highway and ended up here, this field of radiant sunflowers.

And it’s free. The Freys don’t seek donations, although if people insist, they ask them to send money to a local animal shelter.

“It’s put Elverson on the map,” said Doug Wachenfeld, whose deck overlooks the field.

The sight is a standout, a head-turning burst of color in a mosaic of farmland. And to think, it started with a car wash.

In 2010, seven years after Frey and his wife, Joey, opened Please Wash Me, a fully automated, two-port operation surrounded by cornfields in a borough of 1,300 residents, business was not exactly booming. For one thing, a nearby cornfield had grown close to 10 feet high, blocking the view of the car wash from the road.

The Freys needed more customers, so they thought of a gimmick.

Once, on the way home from a trip to the mountains, Frey saw a sunflower field stop traffic. So he bought some seeds.

“I didn’t put a lot of thought into it,” he said. “I just thought I’d give it a try.”

Now, every summer, when the flowers are at their peak, the field is a blur of cameras and folks navigating their way into the middle of the field, jostling for the best view.. People are there starting at 5 a.m. to snap pictures of dewy petals against the sunrise. They’re there at night for the dusky blue shots. The afternoon is nonstop.

On a recent day, Desiree Foja and Andrew Dayrit, in town from Los Angeles, stopped to pose for photos.

“We’re staying in Philadelphia,” said Foja, 28, who has dated Dayrit, also 28, for the last three years. “And I looked up ‘sunflower fields.’ We rented a car today just to come here.”

Their car was one of dozens in an adjacent parking lot, with every spot filled.

“Two hours ago, the cars were lined up on this side of the road," Frey said, pointing to pavement not meant for parking, “all the way to Route 23. It’s crazy. The weekend will be chaos.”

The car wash, just a few yards away from the field, was quiet, a lone car pulling through every now and then.

“I don’t make a lot of money,” Frey said of the car wash. “Someday, I’ll sell it and that’ll be my retirement. But I’ll tell the next owner they have to plant the sunflowers.”

This Saturday evening kicks off a new, three-night summer concert series in the northern Chester County countryside called Magnifest, featuring music and praise with local musicians and artisans.

“We felt the Holy Spirit,” says Beth Riordan, one of the festival organizers.

Riordan said the idea for the festival came to her earlier this year when she prayed with two friends one Sunday evening in the chapel at St. Issac Jogues Parish in Wayne.

While in prayer, Riordan, who is involved with music ministry at her parish, says she asked the Holy Spirit what he desired for musicians.

She felt guided to bring together local musicians and create a summer music festival at St. Mary of Providence Center. Located in Elverson, the facility is managed by the Daughters of St. Mary of Providence as a group Retreat Center and an independent living center for seniors.

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The name “Magnifest” was suggested by the center’s management director, Sister Brenda McHugh.

Riordan said the festival itself “came together only a few months later with a full lineup of local musicians willing to donate their talents and energy to St. Mary’s and their mission.”

The event is designed “really to give praise to God,” said Riordan, who hopes Magnifest will engage neighbors and all Christians, not only Catholics.

The Magnifest concert series begins on Saturday, July 31 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the grounds of St. Mary of Providence Center at 227 Isabella Rd, Elverson, PA 19520. It continues Saturday, Aug. 7 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 14 from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. each evening.

The August 14 concert will celebrate the Vigil of the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary with a talk about St. Maximilian Kolbe (known for his profound devotion to Mary) by transitional deacon Andrew Lane at 7 p.m. Afterward, local singer-songwriter Gus deSimone will perform an original work inspired by Kolbe.

A Vigil Mass for the Solemnity of the Assumption will be offered at 7:30 p.m. by Father Stephen DeLacy, the newly appointed vicar for the archdiocesan Office of Faith Formation for Youth and Young Adults.

Eucharistic adoration will follow the Mass.

Riordan said the event received significant support from the Knights of Columbus Council 13141 at St. Elizabeth Parish in Upper Uwchlan. The council will provide the event’s food and refreshments, including hamburgers, hot dogs, snacks, drinks and ice cream.

Online advance tickets can be purchased on the event’s website at https://stmaryprov.org/ for $10 per person, ages 8 and over. Tickets can also be purchased at the event for $15 per person, ages 8 and over. For special youth group pricing, email magnifest@stmaryprov.org.

The July 31 concert will feature performances by local singer-songwriters Jule Copa, Pawel Machura, Randall Tan and Jack Terzian.

For a full list of performers, see the event’s website at https://stmaryprov.org/

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TIMONIUM, Md. — The beef world may be ready for a change.

Angus, Charolais and Herefords continue to dominate, but unusual breeds are gaining popularity.

“You look around at any beef show and you see the same thing,” said Ashlyn Morelli of Howling Springs Farm in Elverson, Pennsylvania. “I like the difference between Highlands and other beef breeds.”

The Morelli family — Thomas, Beshka and their children, Ashlyn and Thomas Jr. (T.M.) — started the farm in 2016 after Beshka saw Highland cattle at the Keystone International Livestock Exposition. She decided right then she had to buy one at a Highland livestock sale later that week.

“Tom was coming home from a trip to the mountains the day before and I felt bad, but I told him he needed to get in the trailer because we were buying a Highland heifer,” Beshka said.

They found a heifer at the sale that was quiet and small but had potential. That heifer has helped the Highland herd at Howling Springs Farm grow to 20 head.

In the beginning, the animals were livestock projects for T.M. and his best friend, Mitchell, to show.

Ashlyn was an avid horseback rider, but was at the livestock shows with her younger brother. She soon began showing the heifers and bulls as well.

The Morellis have worked hard to get to establish their place in the agriculture and livestock communities.

While Tom is not from a farming family, he does have knowledge of agricultural practices and has friends who are active farmers in the Elverson area.

In addition to Highland cattle, Howling Springs is home to a few other farm animals. The family also has crop acreage on which they grow hay and rent the rest to a local farmer.

A hardy breed, Highlands can survive in the warmer, southeastern summers with the right amount of care. Originally from Scotland, the cattle have for generations been a source of meat and milk for the small farmers of the high country who lived principally by fishing and subsistence agriculture. The hair of the cattle was useful in spinning yarn.

Beshka is focused on breeding her Highlands to excel in the ring. Her ultimate goal, is a much bigger banner.

“I want the grand champion breeding heifer banner,” she said. “That would be an amazing honor.”

The family shows all over the country in Highland and beef livestock shows, including the National Western Stock Show in Denver, where won grand champion bull with STR Burning It Down in 2018, and reserve grand champion bull with their bred and owned Howling Springs King Maker in the beginning of this year.

At the Mid-Atlantic Highland Cattle Association’s Spring Classic in May, T.M. won grand champion junior breeding heifer with STR Adrenaline, and Ashlyn won reserve grand champion junior breeding heifer with Howling Springs Dream Whip.

Ashlyn also won showmanship accolades, earning the reserve junior showmanship title at the show.

And although the Morellis did not make the supreme champion beef drive at the Maryland State Fair this year, they did not leave empty handed.

With champion and reserve champion honors in the All Other Breeds classes, as well as premier breeder and exhibitor for the AOB show, the Morellis are well on their way to reaching their goals.

Stormy weather will expand across the Midwest, Mississippi Valley, and eastern U.S. through Thursday. Gusty winds, large hail, and strong tornadoes are all possible over the next few days.

A large sector of warm, moist air will be in place across the eastern half of the county today. This will provide plenty of fuel for storm development as a pair of fronts trigger new activity throughout the day.

A long line of storms arcing across the Midwest will slowly weaken as it moves eastward into the Upper Great Lakes and western Ohio Valley this morning. Tornado Watches linger from central Illinois to southeastern Missouri and northern Arkansas.

Additional storms will fire in the Upper Great Lakes and Ohio Valley this afternoon and evening as the advancing cold front slows down. These storms will likely be the most potent of the day, with Enhanced and Slight Risks covering Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. Parts of eastern Illinois, southeastern Missouri, and northern Tennessee are also within the Slight Risk. All modes of severe weather will be possible within these regions, including the chance for strong tornadoes. Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, Ind., Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, and Louisville, Ky. have the best chance to see severe storms today.

As the next storm system develops, the main focus of severe storms will shift southwestward on Wednesday. A large Enhanced Risk stretches from the southeastern Plains to the Lower Midwest and Tennessee Valley. Scattered to numerous severe storms will be capable of producing strong wind gusts, large hail, and strong tornadoes.

The severe storms will shift south and east on Thursday with the advancing cold front. Storms firing across the Deep South, Southeast, and southern Mid-Atlantic will have gusty winds and hail as the main threats on Thursday, with a few tornadoes also possible.

Make sure to know the difference between a watch and a warning should they become issued. A watch means that conditions are favorable for severe weather to occur and to be on alert for any rapidly changing conditions. A warning means that severe weather is imminent, and you should act fast to remain safe.

The best way to remain safe is to stay prepared and informed about your local weather. Have a severe weather kit packed with a battery-operated radio, water and non-perishable food items should you be without power for long periods of time. Also, check the WeatherBug app frequently for any updates on today’s severe weather. Remember, “When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!”