Nearly 50 years ago, teenage brothers John and Tim Bishop hunted pheasant together on a plot of land across the street from their Old Kennett Road home.
Last Saturday, the Bishops spent the afternoon admiring the rolling, rural scenery of the same plot of land, now protected as part of the Kennett Township Land Trust’s Stateline Woods Nature Preserve.
It was the site of a reunion of the four Bishop siblings – including sisters Carey and Amy – as well as 15 others who grew up around Old Kennett Road. They gathered there to catch up and remark on the importance of preservation, said John Bishop.
“With all the development that’s occurred, Chester County retains its rural flavor, and that’s why the preserve is so meaningful,” he said.
John had read about the newly-preserved land and decided it would be the ideal spot for a family reunion, which soon grew to a gathering that included old friends and neighbors. He came all the way from his home in Savannah, Ga., and said the land looks virtually the same as it did nearly a half century ago.
Driving on nearby Nine Gates Road on the Delaware side of the state line is a different story – big homes have eliminated much of the rural character of the area, he said.
Despite the rain, the group enjoyed walking around beautiful grounds where they spent their youth, said Tim Bishop, who lives in Landenberg.
It was the land that really drew the crowd to the reunion, he said: some hadn’t seen each other in decades, but an appreciation of open spaces is something they all still have in common.
George Scarlett, of Kennett Township, said he was drawn to the reunion because he grew up on the property – it belonged to his grandfather. He fondly recalled riding horses and trap-shooting on the land and said it was a great spot for the old friends to reunite.
“Preserving that land is the best thing that could’ve happened,” he said.
