Tidbits and Gossip
• Those pursuing their wanderlust over the summer might’ve missed the Main Line’s more notable successes and misdemeanors. But don’t lament. Everything you want to know is right here—or at least all that’s fit to print.
• Two Main Line colleges had strong showings in the Princeton Review’s annual higher education survey released last month. It asked 115,000 students at 361 top colleges to rate their schools on everything from teachers to pot smoking. And while, thankfully, no local campus excelled in the latter, Bryn Mawr College ranked No. 2 in the “Dorms Like Palaces” group, while Swarthmore College came in at No. 6 in Best Overall Academic Experience and No. 9 in Best Value. On the minus side, poor Drexel University received several low marks, including a No. 1 ranking in the “Campus Is Tiny, Unsightly or Both” category.
• In the “What I Did on My Summer Vacation” category, Havertown’s Brendan Hansen, 2004 Olympic silver medalist, topped his own world record in the 100-meter breaststroke, logging a time of 59.13 seconds at the U.S. Summer Nationals in Irvine, Calif., on Aug. 1.
• In late July, a local paper reported that a “wealthy Main Line woman” was facing trial for assaulting her housekeeper. Apparently the housekeeper was physically and verbally attacked for not properly cleaning out the refrigerator. We’ll pass on recapping the sordid details, but the next time you wonder why affluent suburbanites get such a bad rap, you’ll have your answer.
• Pat Croce’s in the spotlight yet again, making the rounds at area bookstores promoting his new book, Pirate Soul, A Swashbuckling Journey through the Golden Age of Pirates. Catch him at 1 p.m. Oct. 14 at the Chester County Book & Music Company in West Chester and at 7 p.m. Oct. 26 at Borders in Rosemont.