» Front and center: For the second year in a row, Jennie Eisenhower will serve as Conestoga High School’s theater director. Granddaughter of Richard M. Nixon and great-granddaughter of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the actress and Conestoga alum has been involved in the program since 2007. Along with directing the school’s annual performances and steering the drama and dance clubs, Eisenhower initiated its involvement in the regional High School Theatre Critics program. Next spring, she’ll play Fruma Sarah in Fiddler on the Roof at the Walnut Street Theatre.
» Presidential ties: Louis DiCocco and his siblings—all partners in Havertown’s St. Jude Shop— are still basking in the glory of their role in helping President Barack Obama choose a gift for Pope Benedict XVI earlier this summer. Its Liturgical Arts Studio already had constructed the chair used by Pope Benedict at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., during his visit last year. For his latest papal project, DiCocco found the stole that had been draped over St. John Neumann’s remains for 18 years. Neumann was crucial to the growth of the U.S. Catholic school and parish system. DiCocco drove the stole from Philly to D.C., hand-delivering it to government officials.
Have an inside line on some juicy gossip? E-mail associate editor Dawn E. Warden at dwarden@mainlinetoday.com.
