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CONSOLIDATED WITH THE LITITZ RECORD 193 7 Lititz, Uncaster County PA, 17543. Thursday, June 13,1985 25 CENTS A COPY $7.00 PER YEAR BY MAIL
WITHIN LANCASTER COUNTY 28 Pages-No. 10
Independent Church Buys
Rome Mill Restaurant
Lancaster Evangelical
Free Church which has been
meeting at the Lititz Ree
Center since February 1981,
is looking forward to a new,
permanent home.
According to Pastor Dan
Elliott, members are hoping
to finalize an agreement to
purchase the former Rome
Mill Restaurant property by
mid-July.
“It’s a big challenge, but
an exciting one too” , said
Elliott Tuesday afternoon 65-
member congregation’s
plans for a new home. He
noted that the 65-member
congregation toured the
property this past Sunday
and that everyone seemed
optimistic and excited.
About 80-100 worshippers
currently attend services.
The congregation which
held its first worship service
Jan. 6, 1980, at Neffsville
Fire Hall, plans no major
renovations to the Rome
Mill. Pastor Elliott noted
that after minor repairs and
clean-up the group hopes to
move possibly as early as
August.
“We have been looking for
a place of our own for a year
or two, before this op­portunity
came along. We
have enjoyed Lititz and have
been made to feel at home by
everyone, especially those at
the Rec Center. The Rec
Center staff serves as a very
positive statement for the
Lititz community, he
asserted.
The Evangelical Free
Church was stated in Min­neapolis,
Minn., and has its
largest concentrations in the
Mid-West, but is beginning to
grow throughout the East,
according to Elliott. The
Lancaster congregation
began as a Bible Study group
meeting at various places,
including Lancaster Bible
College, about six months
before it held its first Sunday
service in 1980.
Richard L. Dennis, 1608
Rothsville Rd., a member of
the congregation, is planning
to buy the house on the site
as well as approximately one
acre of land. According to
his wife, the house will be
used as a private residence.
The couple expects set­tlement
to be completed by
the end of July.
The mill on the property is
being purchased by antiques
dealer Jeffrey B. Herr, 312
E. 28th Division Hwy., for
$55,000. In an interview
Tuesday afternoon, Herr
disclosed that he expects
settlement to be completed
by June 21 or earlier. When
settlement is complete, he
plans to install electricity
and to move furniture from
two warehouses into the
facility.
According to Herr, he will
open the new antiques shop
probably six days per week
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and
possibly Sunday afternoons.
His wife and step-brother,
Kevin Devlin, will operate
the store with the help of
three or four parttime
employees while he does
most of the travel and
buying.
The Rome Mill Restaurant as it appeared in a 1981 Record photo.
Burger King Scheduled
For August Opening
Work has begun on the new
Burger King restaurant
which will be built on the
former parking lot of the
Stauffers of Kissel Hill near
Owl Hill Road.
According to Ray Chrobot,
v ic e p r e s id e n t and
operations manager of
Twoton, Inc., the cor­poration
which is building
the facility, the restaurant is
slated to open the first week
of August.
The restaurant will em­ploy
about 45 to 60 full and
p a r ttim e em p lo y e e s,
Chrobot said.
“We will probably begin
interviewing in the middle of
July,” he said.
Clearing of the ground
began June 3, Chrobot said.
The restaurant, which will
seat 87 and have parking for
72 vehicles, will be built in a
“solarium” style.
Twoton, Inc. purchased
the property from Stauffers
in late 1984.
Chrobot s a id the
re s ta u ra n t will have
driveway access on to both
Route 501 and Owl Hill Road.
“That will enhance the
flow of traffic,” Chrobot
said.
The Lititz restaurant will
be managed by Ed Cullen, a
10-year employee of Burger
King who previously
managed a restaurant in
Easton,
Chrobot said he expected
to serve between 3,500 and
5,000 people per week at the
new location.
Two-hundred and thirty-seven graduates
received their diplomas at the 29th annual
commencement program at Warwick High School
on June 5. Commencement exercises were held in
the gym due to inclement weather. (See additional
pictures on page 16.)
Ruth Marks Top Award Winner
Warwick Graduates 237
In a ceremony marked by
humor and poignancy, 237
seniors graduated from
Warwick High School June 5.
The graduation was held
indoors in the gymnasium
because of threatening
weather.
Ruth Marks, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Harry Marks,
122 Church Road, Rothsville,
was the top award winner.
She received six awards,
including the valedictorian
award, and the outstanding
English and outstanding
science student awards. She
by Bonnie Szymanski
Sally Moore, a freelance
writer from Boiling Springs,
was in Lititz on Tuesday and
Wednesday, interviewing
local residents and visiting
sites in preparation for a
travel article on Lititz for the
Philadelphia Inquirer.
Sally, who was chief media
and public relations person
for the state Bureau of
Travel Development for five
years before striking out on
the freelance trail only a
month ago, recently ap­proached
the Inquirer’s
travel editor, Mike Shoup,
with her idea for a timely
f6dtUF6
“With all the flap about
‘Witness’ and the Amish, I
thought it was a good time to
do a non-Amish piece about
the area,” she said Tuesday.
“ The Inquirer buys
everything on speculation,”
she stressed, noting that
though Shoup was receptive
to her idea, “Nothing is
graven in stone.”
also received a $250
scholarship from the
Warwick E d u c a tio n
Association.
The theme for the orations
was “What We Have
In T h is Issu e
Editorial 4
Sports Section 10,11,12
Social 18,19
Church 24
Business Update 25
Business Directory 26
Although “Mike insists on
detail,” Sally, a seasoned
travel writer, feels confident
about the editor’s ac­ceptance
of the article.
She said she had been in
Lititz several times in the
past, and when she decided
to begin freelancing, she
contacted Shoup, “certain
there was a good story
here.”
On Tuesday, Sally visited
first with Dr. Byron Horne,
described by the writer as
‘ ‘ most informative. ’ ’
“We had an extremely
long interview,” said Sally,
adding that Dr. Horne had
shown her the museum and
archives and had given her a
detailed account of the
relationship between the
Moravian Church and the
community.
Following a trip to the
Pretzel House to talk with
the Tshudys and, later, a
sampling of the Warwick
House’s renowned Chocolate
Bar, she spent Tuesday
afternoon “shooting” photos
Gained.” Maureen Mc-
Caffery spoke on “Friend­ship,”
Jodi Long on
“Responsibility,” Glenna
Bailey on “The Future,” and
R uth M ark s on
“Knowledge.”
In her address to her
classmates, Marks told them
that “cold facts are in­significant,
it is what we do
with them that is im­portant.”
She said that “knowing
where each letter and
symbol lies on a computer
keyboard is meaningless
of the borough.
During a Tuesday evening
telephone conversation,
Sally spoke of plans to in­terview
Alan Price, chair­man
of the Fourth of July
celebration in Lititz Springs
Park, and Barry Sawyer,
director of the Moravian
Church senior choir.
Wednesday morning was
to begin with a visit to the
Wilbur Chocolate Company,
where the Buzzards would
undoubtedly show her
around the candy store and
factory. She planned to step
next door for lunch at the
Sundae Best Ice Cream
Parlour.
Sally said she hoped to end
the day with an interview
with Jean Doherty, director
of the Moravian Trombone
Choir.
“I’m planning to get the
story to Mike early enough
for the Fourth,” said Sally,
indicating she knows her
chances of finalizing the sale
will be greater with a
holiday slant.
unless we can use the
machine to facilitate our
work.”
“And until we can develop
good paragraphs,” she
added, “a thesaurus might
prove more useful as fuel for
afire.”
She said that “realizing
that Isaac Newton at one
time discovered three basic
laws of gravity only proves
that we can remember
stories about apples falling
on people’s heads. When we
use those laws of gravity to
send a satellite into orbit or
It seems clear, though,
that Sally’s articles don’t
need any extra sales
stimulus. Her background
includes five years of writing
features about Pennsylvania
for the Bureau of Travel.
Development on subjects
that range from amusement
parks to Pennsylvania
barns. Only last year she
wrote a feature vignette
about Lancaster’s Central
Market that is still being
picked up by travel-oriented
publications.
And as a featured
columnist for two years at-the
Philadelphia Inquirer
(she wrote a weekly ski
column), Sally has writing
credentials that speak for
themselves.
Nevertheless, freelancing
can be a frustrating and
uncertain business. But
don’t worry, Sally; if the
Inquirer doesn’t want your
story on Lititz, the Record
will be glad to take a look at
it. ..on spec, of course.
build a city in space, we
demonstrate our wisdom,
not merely our knowledge.”
In a poignant moment
following the presentation of
the awards, class president,
Don Landis, read a brief
poem in memory of Marilyn
Mellinger, a classmate who
was killed in an accident
sev e ra l weeks before
graduation.
High School Principal
Steve Iovino challenged the
graduates to live up to the
words of “We Are the
World,” and d is tric t
superintendent, Dr. John
Bonfield, told them to “be,
the best that you can be. ”
During the presentation of
the diplomas, a number of
the students slipped a
marble into the hand of
school board president,
William G. Owens, sup­posedly
in response to
rem a rk made during
graduation practice that
some of the students had
“lost their marbles. ’ ’
The occasional sound of
marbles falling on the gym
floor caused ripples of
laughter in the crowd.
In addition to the awards
presented to Marks, other
awards presented were:
•The Outstanding Business
Student - Beth Keener,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Robert Keener, a $100
savings bond from Farmers
First Bank and an engraved
pen from the Future
Business Leaders of
America Club.
•Lititz Lions Club Academic
Awards - a $50 check and a
plaque to the top graduate in
the areas of English, math,
social studies and science.
They were presented to:
(Turn to Page 16)
Writer Visits Lititz For Philadelphia Inquirer
'Some People Still Don’t Know The Airport Is Here’
by Bonnie Szymanski
Editor’s Note: This is the
second in a two-part series
on the Lancaster Airport. To
c la r ify in fo rm a tio n
presented in the June 6 issue
of the Record, it is necessary
to note that, though the
Lancaster Airport does not
receive any general tax
revenues for its operations,
it does receive some county
revenue sharing funds
(about $40,000 annually,
according to Norman
Lamar, the a irp o r t’s
manager). The airport also
receives federal monies
through the FAA, which is
responsible for approving
the Lancaster Airport’s
masterplan for inclusion in
the National Airport
Systems Plan. Funds are
also received from the
Department of Tran­sportation’s
Bureau of
Aviation. These government
monies, earned from
aviation fuel taxes, are used
for capital improvements
only. The a i r p o r t ’s
operations budget is
maintained entirely from the
airport’s operations profits.
“Nobody’s property taxes or
income taxes are being used
to improve the airport,”
stressed Lamar this week.
Ire l Buckwalter, a
member of the Warwick
Township Board of Super­visors,
acting as the town­ship’s
representative to
Lancaster Airport Authority
meetings, said recently that
he felt the new airport
masterplan, now in its final
phase of revision, is a
“major step backwards,
which, in this case, I feel is a
positive step.”
Like most residents of the
residential and farming
areas surrounding the
airport, Buckwalter thought
the original masterplan,
calling for a third runway
and the acquisition of 300
surrounding acres of prime
farm land, was a threat to a
part of the county it was
intended to benefit.
Norman Lamar, a Lititz
resident who has managed
the Lancaster Airport for
more than a decade,
maintains that the airport,
with its updated masterplan,
provides a major incentive
to industries considering a
move to Lancaster and is a
definite benefit to the
community.
Lamar, commander of a
floating bridge company
during the Vietnam War
and, presently, a major in
the National Guard, has
been flying airplanes for 17
years, he said recently. He
can also pilot helicopters and
seems fond of quoting
statistics that prove flying is
safer than riding bicycles.
Lamar has a bachelor of
science degree from Embry-
R id d le A e ro n a u tic a l
University in Florida. “It’s
the Harvard of aeronautical
colleges,” he laughed, noting
that it’s tough to get into and
leading one to believe it’s
even tougher to get out.
An hour spent with
Lamar, talking about the
airport and air travel in
general, leaves no doubt that
here is a man who genuinely
loves his work. Checking in
with the control tower before
driving onto the rain-slicked
runways, he banters easily
with the traffic controllers.
Norm Lamar, manager of the Lancaster Airport,
plans to initiate a more visible publicity campaign
for the airport in an attempt to change the public’s
attitude about “ expensive” commuter flights. The
Lancaster Airport's daily commuters now connect
with Pittsburgh (four times a day), Philadelphia,
Newark and New York City's JFK Airport.
Pulling around to the back
of the oldest hangar on the
airport property, he points
proudly to what seems to the
non-practiced eye only a
cavernous building with one
whole wall missing. It’s the
original hangar, he says,
built by the WPA. (For those
re ad e rs who do not
remember or who were
absent from history class for
the lesson on the Great
Depression, the Works
Progress Administration
was a major social program
introduced as one of many
remedies for the economic
c o lla p s e th a t had
traumatized the country
during the 1930’s.)
The Lancaster Airport’s
manager has some very
decided ideas about what the
future holds for the old
hangar. He is planning on
refurbishing it as a new
passenger terminal, basing
the new decor on a design
similar to the original. He
said he hopes the project will
be completed in two years.
A major feature of the new
airport will be a restaurant
which, says Lamar, will be
built on the runway side of
the hangar, with windows
overlooking the field and the
movements of the planes.
It’s a feature he hopes will
draw patrons who would
enjoy dining while they
watch the planes land and
depart.
Passenger volume has
been up every month this
year, said Lamar. By April,
more than 28,000 passengers
were moved through the
airport, he said.
There are now 14 flights a
day leaving from the Lan­caster
Airport, heading to
major city-ports like Pitt­sburgh,
Philadelphia, New
York City’s JFK airport and
the Newark airport.
Presently, there is only
one commuter system that
flies out of the Lancaster
Airport. Suburban Airlines
Inc. operates on a scheduled
basis as an Allegheny
Commuter in association
with USAir.
Lamar revealed that he is
presently negotiating with
Henson Airlines, another
commuter service located in
Baltimore.
According to Lamar,
Henson is studying the
Lancaster air travel market
to gauge the economic
feasibility of serving this
area. Lamar said he expects
a decision will be made by
next year.
If Henson Airlines agrees
to begin flying passengers
out of the Lancaster Airport,
the air route would connect
L a n c a s te r with the
Baltimore/Washington Int­ernational
Airport.
Lamar’s optimistic at­titude
about the air travel
market here does not
prevent him from realizing
some of its shortcomings. As
he begins to expand
publicity for the Lancaster
Airport, he will be con­centrating
on trying to
change the public’s atitude
toward commuter flying.
Encouraging general
acceptance of the commuter
plane is a big order in
geographic areas like this,
w h e re p eo p le a re
automobile-oriented. They
think nothing of getting in
the car and driving to
(Turn to Page 13)