Lititz Record Express

              T H U R S D A Y , O c t o b e r 1 5 , 1 9 9 2
Lititz Record Express
116TH YEAR Two sections LITITZ, PENNSYLVANIA 30 Pages- No. 26 30 cents
Photos by Lorin Beidler
, LIVERPOOL ORATORIO — Members of the Warwick Band visual ensemble (above) and trumpet
section (below) performed at the band’s annual community exhibition Monday night. The exhibition gave
' the community a glimpse of what the band’s competition routine — set to the music of former Beatle Paul
McCartney’s “Liverpool Oratorio”— looks like. For news on the Warwick Marching Band’s recent compet­ition
successes, see the story on page 20.
Penn Twp. debates purchase of
former Manheim elementary
Municipal operations need more space
KATHRYN I. SHREINER_____________ __
Special to the Record
The possible purchase of Fairland Elementary School
was on the agenda for citizens of Penn Township at an
OcL 8 meeting.
- An offer to buy the school for municipality use had
been made on behalf of the township, to Manheim Centr­al
School District, by Darly J. Lefever, township
secretary-treasurer, and Harold W. Diffenderfer, super­visors
’ chairman, Lefever said. The offer had been
rejected by the school board.
Both Fairland and White Oak elementaries are current­ly
for sale; they have been replaced by the Doe Run
Elementary School which opened this fall.
Comments both pro and con were discussed regarding
the purchase of the Fairland school, which was con­structed
in 1951 and opened in 1952. Supervisors have
been discussing the possibility of purchase, since it may
be cheaper to buy and adapt the unused school building
that to undertake construction of new offices. A new
municipal office has been talked about for the past five
years.
iOne citizen asked the board why it was bothering to
meet, since it seems to want to buy the building anyway.
Another mentioned that the purchase hinges on long­term
economics, and, if the building will be needed in
five to ten years, it should be purchased.
Township offices are currently overcrowded with per­sonnel;
Lefever noted at the meeting that “We don’t have
enough space, so the file cabinets are in the garage.” The
necessity for parking, and the desirability of keeping
police headquartered in a central location were also
discussed.
When supervisors were asked their personal views on
the Fairland Elementary School purchase, Lefever
responded that he wants to be involved in the future of
Penn Township, and that he has enough sense to not
spend taxpayers’ money foolishly. The school may be a
wise purchase now cost wise, he said, and would take
Penn Township into the 21st century, space wise.
Diffenderfer also noted that he wants to be “fair and
honest,” and that something will definitely have to be
done down the line, ideally without leveling new taxes.
J.S. Bruckhart, vice chairman of the supervisors, said
that he “personally can’t see it for myself, citing a
township-wide mailing which indicated a lack of support
for the school’s purchase.
When cards were mailed to PennTownship residents,
asking them if they favored the municipality purchasing
the unused White Oak Elementary and Fairland Elemen­tary
schools, 558 residents said no, while 96 said yes.
“If the township needs additional space,” Bruckhart
said, “I’d like to see it done here when it gets done, and I
prefer the police (in a) central (location).”
He also noted that some township residents recently
had to shoulder the cost of sewer laid in Penn Township,
adding that it was a cost some residents could not afford.
Diffenderfer ended the meeting by noting that supervi­sors
will consult with the school board; another public
meeting on this issue has not been announced.
Penn Township supervisors meet the second and
fourth Mondays of each month, at7 p.m., in the township
building on Penryn Road.
Wilbur Chocolate is sold
to multi-national Cargill
Wilbur Chocolate Co., a well-known
firm based in small-town
Lititz, has hit the big time.
The company was purchased last
week by multi-national Cargill Inc.,
the nation’s biggest private com­pany,
from Empire of Carolina.
Cargill’s purchase price for Wil­bur
was reportedly $42 million cash
for the company’s stock, and an addi­tional
$9.1 million to cover bank
debt.
Wilbur officials last week said that
they do not expect this change of
ownership to have any immediate
impact on its employees. Company
President William Shaughnessy was
not available for comment this week;
he was quoted earlier as saying that
the new owner is “a company of
unquestionable financial strength
and market reputation, with a very
high level of integrity.”
Lititz has had a chpcolate com­pany
within its limits for nearly 100
years; the Kendig Chocolate Co. was
chartered here in 1900. Subsequent
purchases changed the firm first to
Ideal Cocoa and Chocolate, then to
Brewster-Ideal, Wilbur-Suchard
and, finally, Wilbur. Cargill’s purch­ase
makes it Wilbur’s third owner in
six years. Empire of Carolina took
over Wilbur in the late 1980s; that
firm had been preceded in ownership
by Clabir Corp. Clabir’s subsidiary,
AmBrit, had purchased Wilbur for a
reported $42 million in 1986.
Cargill has been established even
longer; the 125-year-old company is
employed primarily in trading grains
and processing agricultural products.
Privately owned, Cargill last year
earned $351 million, with revenues
of $49.1 billion. In all, the firm repor­tedly
owns 47 businesses that
employ 63,000 people in 54
countries.
Dr. Horne, Lititz historian,
educator, minister, dies
F o r m e r C o u n c i l
m e m b e r w a s ‘M r ,
L i t i t z 9 t o m a n y
The Rev. Dr. Byron Home, former
pastor of the Lititz Moravian Con­gregation,
former headmaster of Lin­den
Hall and preeminent authority on
Lititz history, died Oct. 8 at Mora­vian
Manor, where he lived with his
wife of 65 years, Sadie Dietz Home.
He was 91.
Home will long be remembered
for his service to the Lititz communi­ty
— service that gained him the
titles of “Mr. Lititz” and “Sir Mora­vian”
throughout his life.
Bom in Quakertown, the son of the
late Elvin and Florence Kirkpatrick
Home, Dr. Home came to Lititz in
1932 to become pastor of Lititz Mor­avian
Church, a post he held until
1941. He became headmaster of Lin­den
Hall in 1947, serving there until
his retirement in 1969.
It was during his tenure at Lititz
Moravian and Linden Hall that
Home first became interested in the
history of his adopted town. His
interest would lead him to translate
many of the German journals and
diaries dating from the early days of
Lititz that were stored in the Lititz
Moravian Archives. Many of the
journals were recorded by former
Lititz Moravian pastors and com­munity
leaders, and his efforts gave
him unique insights into the history
of the community. He soon became a
primary source for Lititz historians.
Home was instrumental in plan­ning
Lititz’ bicentennial celebrations
in 1956, serving as the chairman of
the organizing committee. After the
event, he and several fellow bicen­tennial
planners went on to found the
Lititz Historical Society, which
would eventually evolve into the
Lititz Historical Foundation. He
served as the the society’s first
president.
He was also instumental in the for­mation
of Lititz’ historical district in
the 1950s, the first of its kind in Pen­nsylvania.
He was played a large role
in getting Lititz added to the National
Registry of Historic Places, as well.
He was a longtime member of the
Moravian Historical Society.
Home’s historical insights were
(Turn to Page 20)
Dr. Byron K. Horne
Next year-round
meeting is set for
Monday, Oct. 19
The fourth meeting pf the Warwick School District Year-Round Educa­tion
Study Committee, and the first meeting for the 1992-93 school year,
will be held Monday, Oct. 19, 7 p.m., in the Warwick Middle School
Auditorium.
The chairpersons for the four subcommittees (Family and Community
Issues, Fiscal and Physical Plant Issues, Student Issues and Teacher
Issues) have been contacting representatives of schools now operating on a
year-round schedule, and asking them how they responded to the questions
Warwick subcommittees have raised thus far.
The main portion of Monday’s meeting will be devoted to a review and
discussion of these areas. In addition, several new committee members,
including five Warwick High School and Middle School representatives,
will attend their first meeting that night.
A reminder to local residents that registration to be a member of one of
the four subcommittees will still be open the evening of Oct. 19 at the
meeting, or by calling the Office of the Assistant Superintendent at
626-3717.
Photo by Kathryn I. Shrelner
Penn Township residents turned out last Thursday to make their views on school purchase known.
The W a rw ic k golf team
topped off its season by finishing
; 6th in the Lancaster Lebanon
; League championship last
week. Last weekend, two War­wick
golfers, Erik Krushinski and
Chris Randisi qualified for the
District 3 tournament. For more
information, see the story on
page 11.
Rothsville firemen teach
fire prevention, safety
Each year in observance of
National Fire Prevention
Week, members of the Roths­ville
Fire Company take time
to visit area schools, teaching
young people the principles
of fire prevention and safety.
True to form, they did so again
this year. Read more on page
20.
THIS WEEK IN THE RECORD EXPRESS
Two Warwick golfers qualify for district play
T - '
W a r w i c k b a n d w i n s b i g
i n C o c a l i c o c o m p e t i t i o n
The Warwick Marching
Band notched its first first
place finish of the fall compet­ition
season, taking top hon­ors
in the Cocalico Kaleido­scope
’92 band competition in
Denver last Saturday evening.
For more information, see the
story on page 20.
THE INDEX
Business 15
Church 18
Classified 26-29
Editorial 4
Lunch Menu 6
Manheim 19
Obituaries 2
Out of the Past 4
School News 6
Social 22-23
Sports 8-11
WEATHER: Cloudy and warm
Thursday^fair Friday, chance of
showers Saturday.