Page 8 - The Hunt - Summer 2020

EDITOR’S LETTER
A Summer LIikeNoOther
n light of the unprecedented spring we’ve en masse. Yet the great outdoors are still experienced due to the COVID-19 crisis, readily available to us—and it’s tough to beat making any predictions for the months summer in the Brandywine Valley.
ahead would be a rash proposition at best. Our goal at The Hunt is to provide some measure of consistency and comfort in these uncertain times. We’ll continue to celebrate life in the Brandywine Valley, while understanding that it could be some time before our lives return to the new normal.
So far, that new normal has meant the cancellation of many of the annual outdoor events we look forward to, including the Willowdale Steeplechase, Point-to-
Point at Winterthur and
the Radnor Hunt Races. Looking ahead, it appears that it will be quite some time before we can again socialize
One hopes it will be a summer of recovery for small businesses like Chester County’s Pickering Feed & Seed and the Cracas family. Their nightmare began on April 3, when owner Jim Cracas was hospitalized with COVID-19. The 51-year-old had been in good health and
was known for working 10-hour days. Within hours of being admitted, he was on a ventilator in the ICU.
Enter Jim’s 24-year-old son, Matt. Fresh out of Penn State University, where he majored in marketing and management, he’d been involved
in the 40-year-old family business since he was a little boy. Matt had his own bout with COVID-19, recovering at home in about a week. He returned to work just before his
father was hospitalized, quickly devising safety protocols for customers and employees, handling accounting duties, even working
his way through the daunting CARES Act application process for payroll protection.
Matt’s dad was hospitalized for 11 days. He’s still recovering, and he hopes to be back to work full time this summer. We’re rooting for him—just as we are for the entire region.
Hobart Rowland Editor-in-Chief
6 THE HUNT MAGAZINE
summer 2020
Matt Cracas
TESSA MARIE IMAGES
ED WILLIAMS