William Shakespeare, Arden, and me

Mark and I loved Arden on our first visit in May 2009*, could envision ourselves living here one day, but it may not have gone further than that had it not been for Arden's Shakespeare culture. Of our kids, one is an Anglophile and the other is an actor. Their Venn diagram of commonality doesn't include much, but you will find Shakespeare and Monty Python among their few shared interests.  Because Arden boasts the oldest outdoor Shakespeare theater in this country and has a history of summer Shakespeare productions that spans a century, we were curious about their latest endeavor, The Comedy of Errors. So for our second visit to Arden, in June of 2009, we brought the kids. Anything to foster healthy sibling interaction.

Shakespeare isn't just another quirky pastime for an arts community; it is central to the culture in Arden. This village was founded on the principles of Georgism and the Single Tax. Arden founders, sculptor Frank Stevens and architect William Price, met and honed their ideas of Utopia while members of Philadelphia's Single Tax Society. One facet of this society was the organization of a Shakespeare Club within the group. What does Shakespeare have to do with Georgism and the Single Tax? Performing Shakespeare was the training ground for competent public speakers. As they performed, the members were gaining poise and comfort in front of an audience. Their ultimate goal was to create great orators to spread the message of Henry George to the masses. Shakespeare productions became so central to architect William Price's life that when he built his family home in Overbrook, PA, he made the third floor into a theater to accommodate performances.

When Price and Stevens actualized their dream of a utopian village near Wilmington, Shakespeare was at the heart--literally. They created an outdoor theater for performances off of the center of the main green.  The Field Theater exists today in almost the same form, with its simple boulder backdrop and circular bench seating, that it had when it was created in the early 1900's, though these days, it does boast better lights.

Arden can even trace its name and motto to Shakespeare's writing. I knew about the name. Arden Forest is the setting of the play, As You Like It, which is performed every tenth year in Arden. In the play, the characters exchange notes by tree-mail, posting letters on the trees of the forest. When we came to Arden for the second year (2010) to see the play, we went for a hike in Arden Forest and were thrilled to see life imitating art. All throughout the forest, notes were left for friends. Some were hanging from the trees with baggies protecting the words. Others were in jar or tins. We saw love notes from one dog to another. We were quite enchanted by it all. Even more impressed by this touch than we had been by the towel folding at Disney Resorts.

As for the motto? I hadn't realized that "You are welcome hither" was Shakespearean until I went to see this year's production of King Lear.  I groaned when I heard it spoken. I should have known! I like the fact that Arden is constantly surprising me with little tidbits of its Shakespearean history. The Craft Shop Museum (a building constructed in the Elizabethan style of architecture--another nod to Shakespeare's England) is featuring a historical retrospective of costumes. I have got to get over there to see them. I was awed by this year's costumes, all sewn by volunteers. I was one of the helpers last year and was privy to some of the behind-the-scenes process. The attention to detail is remarkable. With few sets to speak of (the aforementioned boulder), costuming becomes an even more important aspect of storytelling.

These days the shows feature professional actors along side some of my amateur neighbors.  (I really shouldn't discriminate. Some of the professionals are my neighbors as well.) It has been fun to meet some of the Ardenites we had been watching in plays all those years. They were more welcoming than rock stars, but we were still a little star-struck. As evidence,  I offer an example from my Time Hop, a Facebook post from four years ago, "Maren [my actor child] made a friend at the pool; the girl who played Miranda in The Tempest last night. Of course."

I know I have just scratched the surface of the ways the Shakespeare has influenced village life--and by default--me. I hope this blog post opens me up to even more tidbits. I love connection. Speaking of which, our son travelled down from Lancaster County specifically to watch King Lear with us. If Shakespeare can keep our kids tethered to us, I will have another reason to be grateful for the Great Bard.


* Of note--my novel Summers at Blue Lake contains a scene that takes place at an outdoor Shakespeare performance and perhaps influenced Arden resident Cynthia Dewick to tell me that I would love Arden and offer her "Little House" up to us for the weekend. Cynthia read my book because a mutual friend of ours picked it up for their book club to read. In February 2008, I attended the book club in Newark, DE, and met Cynthia for the first time.

Gone to the Dogs

An Arden Pug

We first understood how Ardenites felt about their dogs when we came down to Arden in 2010 see the Shakespeare play As You Like It. Arden showcases this play every ten years because this is the play that gave the village its name; Arden Forest is the setting of As You Like It. In the play, characters leave notes for one another in the forest.  Think Tree-mail. As we always did, Mark and I hiked in the forest with the kids while we were here. During the run of the play, the people of Arden left notes for one another all over the woods. Some of the epistles hung from branches in plastic baggies. Others were in containers, glass jars and metal Altoids containers. And some were just tacked to trees. But the most delightful of the notes we witnessed were between two dogs who obviously used the woods for their liasons. I'm not sure which dogs they were. Had I known we would move down here three years later, I would have paid closer attention.

And then there was the pug. The first time we were in Arden, Mark and I took a grand looping walk around the three villages and encountered a pug in a fenced in yard. Being pug lovers, we stopped to talk to its owner about her dog and life in the Ardens. That interaction was very warm and inviting. We were strangers, but it didn't matter. When we moved here four years later, we tried to figure out who it was that we had talked to and where this house was. All our memories from our first visit were fuzzy because we had met so many people and had so many new experiences. A couple of weeks ago, I was out walking with the Misty Morning Walkers, and we had strayed from our usual route in order to explore one of the forest paths. When we came out of the forest, there it was--the pug house. Except this time there were 4 or 5 Frenchies in the yard. Linda told me that they used to have a pug. Then she told me who lived at the house. Mystery solved. Our pug owner was no other than Pat Morrison, wife of the newly elected Ardencroft Town Chair. I can't wait to relay the story to Pat when next I see her and tell her that she was one of the friendly faces who convinced us that the Ardens were the place to be.

Dogs have great stature in the Ardens. At an appointed dog park hour people bring their dogs to the Green to play. Folks let their dogs off leash to bound around on the forest trails, much to the chagrin of the Safety Committee and a vocal few on the Ardenistas Facebook page. Another Facebook page exists so we can introduce our pets in case someone spots a dog or cat on the loose. We have identifying pictures with which to compare. The most heartbreaking sign of Arden's love of pets is the fact that animals get dumped in the Ardens with the hope that they will be adopted and cared for.

I have an interesting perspective on dogs, having an elder pug who thinks he is an all-terrain dog at home and a walking gig with a year-old Golden who is as trail-ready as they come. It makes for many different kinds of interactions. I've even tried walking both of them together in Arden Forest in the iciest of conditions. This led me to carrying the pug, letting the golden off leash so he wouldn't pull me over on the ice, and looking desperately for one of those famous Arden shortcuts out of the forest. Spoiler alert: we found one, and I survived the undertaking.

I know that we villagers are not alone in our love for dogs (and cats). The love of a pet is universal. Perhaps this compassion for animals is more visible because of our open green spaces, the closeness of the community, and the fact that we have a forum for grumbling about and defending the off-leash dogs on Facebook. But what I do know is that Eli (our pug) feels very welcome hither.

Getting to Arden

Arden Welcome Sign

Roughly thirteen months ago, my family and I moved to Arden, DE, from Lancaster County, PA, where, with the exception of my college years, I have lived my whole life. It was a big change for all of us. My daughter, who turned sixteen shortly after we moved to Arden, had never lived anywhere but the home we had just sold. While our son was getting ready to leave for college, she had to contend with a new school.  We chose to come here, in part, because my husband’s job landed us closer to Philadelphia, and this move would cut his commute in half.  But why did we specifically choose to come to Arden? To begin to answer that question, I enter into evidence, a blog entry I wrote five years ago in June of 2009.

A few weeks ago, Mark and I were invited to stay in the community of Arden, Delaware for the weekend. This is a community that was set up as a stab at Utopia under the heading of the single tax. In the years since its founding, it attracted many artists, free thinkers, and civically minded people. How can we describe the visit beyond saying that we both looked online at real estate following our weekend there?
The weekend didn’t start out too well. Mark was supposed to get off work at 12. He told me to meet him at his workplace because he was already halfway to Arden. I met him, but he didn’t actually get out of work until 1:45. I was not a happy camper and neither was he, so we started out our weekend a little on the aggravated side. But we did hit Chaddsford winery on the way down and got a few sample pours to help smooth the edges before arriving at friend Cynthia’s place. The cottage where we were to stay and her property in general were adorable. Something out of a fairy tale–Snow White, but with a better design sense. After visiting with Cynthia in her garden over drinks and snacks, she called up all these artists who lived in the community—spur of the moment—and asked them to let us see their studios, which they did with an abundance of hospitality. We also took in a play. Footloose. Mark and I felt a bit guilty about going to a play that didn’t feature our daughter or any of her acting chums. It felt wrong to go to get tickets where we know nobody. Turns out the guy playing the Reverend in Footloose played Max with Maren in Sound of Music. We stalked him after the show. Even more funny—he was the roast beef carver for the dinner theater. We didn’t recognize him when he was carving our meat.
The next night we went to a community dinner. They have them every Saturday night. BYOB. Community announcements. Their community is so charming. So walkable. We explored every niche, and just about every trail. We took our picnic to a rock in the stream in the woods. We had subs from Capriotti who did some of Biden’s Inaugural feast. Thanksgiving on a bun: Turkey, mayo, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. Our other sub was hot pastrami, cheese, Thousand Island dressing, and coleslaw. We washed it all down with wine. I hope we can take the kids there to see Shakespeare in their dear little 100 year old 100 seat outdoor theater. Jonah is getting his first taste of Shakespeare this year and he LOVES it. And you already know of my little theater girl. We also went on a home and garden tour on Sunday.
All of this left me questioning what it was I want in community. Arden, Delaware is a heck of a place to start that conversation.

I have to admit, that after living here a year I am deeply embarrassed at some of my adjectives. Dear. Charming. Adorable. I suppose I can forgive myself knowing how enchanted I was and how different it seemed from the experience I was having back in Pennsylvania. So here I present the fairy tale. The dream. And in living here, I find many complexities that cannot be summed up in a sentence or even a blog entry. My hope with this blog is not to demystify Arden so much as to share what it is like to have a daily life and creative practice here so that others may find ways to bring bits of Utopia (whatever that means to you) into your own life. It exists, if not always in the way you think it does.