In honor of the First Responders who rescued senior citizens from the Barclay Friends Nursing Home fire in November, the West Chester community, with the help of The Rotary Club of West Chester, hosted a picnic last Saturday.
The day was Thursday, November 16, 2017. The time was 10:30pm. The Woolman residential building at Barclay Friends Nursing Home on North Franklin Street burned down in a tragic fire. It’s been months since this night, but West Chester has not forgotten how its community came together and helped the residents.
“When I looked out my window, my heart stopped,” says retired West Chester resident, Sarah Finnaren. “I heard people shouting, ‘They need blankets!’ and all of my neighbors were coming out to help them.”
On April 28th from 12-2pm, Jeff Brown of The Rotary Club of West Chester hosted an Honor Picnic at Henderson High School. It was an afternoon for Faith Woodward, Director of Marketing and Admissions at Barclay; Terrence Farrell, Commissioner of Chester County; and members of the West Chester community alike to remember the events of the fire and recognize the bravery of our local First Responders and our neighbors.
“It’s comforting to know that everyone has each other’s back. And nobody had to stop and think before they helped out,” Sarah adds. “That’s what West Chester is about.”
Guests enjoyed a bountiful lunch with crab cakes from The Social, hot dogs from Jimmy John’s, tomato pies and hoagies from Carlino’s Market, and sodas from Spaz Beverage. Despite predictions of cold, cloudy weather, it was beautiful, sunny spring day to honor those who responded to the Barclay fire.
Jeff discusses why it was important for this Honor Picnic to happen.
“This picnic is a commentary on the strength of the West Chester community itself,” he says. “I love the community here!”
