Lititz Record Express

              WEDNESDAY, July 3, 1996
Record Express
120TH YEAR 28 Pages- Mo. 12 LITITZ, PENNSYLVANIA
Go,
Once
F o u r t h !
again, Lititz
is the place to he on
Independence Day
RICHARD REITZ
Record Express Editor
LITITZ SPRINGS PARK —■
Get ready! ■
It’s as synonymous to Lititz as a
New Year’s Eve in Times Square, or
a St Patrick’s Day in Boston.
It’s a Fourth of July in Lititz
Springs Park. And it’s bound to once
again be a blast.
“We’re ready to go,” said festival
organizer Ronald Reedy, adding,
“We hope to offer good weather.”
Heavy, unrelenting rain postponed
last year’s celebration, but when it
was held four days later, on July 8,
they were able to bring the crowd
back, attracting well over 12 ,(XX)
celebrants to Lititz Springs Park.
R e ed y e x p e c ts b e tw e e n
12,000-15,000 to attend this year’s
festivities •— the 179th consecutive
Independence Day observance in
Lititz Springs Park.
It will include many of the tradi­tions
long associated with the celeb­ration,
but there will also be some
features new to the Fourth of July in
Lititz.
The theme of this year’s event is
“Life’s Celebrations,” Reedy said,
and will be the subject of the third
annual Photography Show and
Contest.
The top three winners in the adult
and youth categories will receive
$75, $50 and $25 cash prizes. The
photographer selected Best of Show
will receive $75.
July 3
Events officially kick off tonight
with the annual Fourth of July para­de,
sponsored by the Lititz Lions
Club, beginning at 7 p.m.
After an 89-year absence, a band
from the Philadelphia Mummers will
be strutting in the Lititz parade.
Highlighting a procession that will
include the Vision Quest Drill Team
and many other marchers and perfor­mers
will be the colorful award-winning
Quaker City Siring Band.
A Mummers band joined the-bor­ough
to celebrate the Fourth during
its Industrial Parade of 1907, but
since then, there have been no signs
of any of the flashy bands in Lititz.
The parade will wrap-up at the
band shell in Lititz Springs Park,
where the Quaker City String Band,
led by Captain Robert Shannon Jr.,
will perform on stage for the crowd.
There will be a small fireworks
display at 9:30 p.m., following the
show.
In the event of inclement weather,
there is no make-up date scheduled
for the parade and concert, Reedy
said.
July 4
The traditional pealing of church
bells throughout town at 6 a.m.
Thursday will ring in the 179th
Fourth of July celebration.
At 9:30 a.m.,' the championship
game of the Lititz Lilacs Softball
Tournament will be played on the
AMBUCS field. See related story,
page IDS,
Throughout the day, there will be
food concessions, games and rides
arourd the paik, while clowns Choc
Chov Jsox an: Howie wti: entert? m
youngsters with their balloon
sculptures.
Something old will be something
new at the park this year. There will
be a Civil War encampment near the
cabin above the stream, featuring
Company E. 30th Pennsylvania Vol­unteer
Infantry.
Going back even further in our
nation’s history, the park will host a
Revolutionary War encampment as
welt on the north side of the stream,
near the pavilion. The soldiers will be
representatives from the German
R eg im en t o f P e n n sy lv a n ia
volunteers.
Among the children’s games will
be: 2 p.m. — Panning for Gold, ages
12 -under, at the stream near the
arched bridge; and at 4 p.m. — Pea­nut
Scramble, ages 3-10, on the north
side of the stream.
Hammercreek Exotics will once
again bring adorable and unusual
animals to the park for the Petting
Zoo. Pony rides will also be offered
throughout the day.
Entertainer John Bressler returns
as master of ceremonies, and will be
performing at 2 p.m. and again at
7:30 p.m. in the band shell. See
related story.
The popular Baby Parade, spon-
(See Events, Page ID4)
Photo by Richard Reitz
SHOW CHOIR WILL BE ‘KEEPING THE DREAM ALIVE’— One ofthe many highlights of this year's Fourth of July Celebration in Lititz Springs
Park will be performance by the award-winning Warwick High School Show Choir, led by Deb Kline. Members of the vibrant, colorful group are:
(front row, kneeling, left to right) Colin DiGarbo, Jon Kenn, Mike Yoder, (middle row, i-r) Chris Gerlach, Jessica Weinstein, Jaimie Standish, Jolene
Risser, Erin McCoy, Rachel Moury, Steve Nikoloff, (back row, l-r) Jason Fleager, Jeremy Groff, Kate Scibal, Christine DiNovis and Kathryn Mutch-ier.
Missing from the photo is Kevin Boll.
B a b y p a rad e adds to
h is to ry o f ce lebra tion
JILL IVEY
Record Express Staff
LITITZ SPRINGS PARK - For
the 10 th consecutive year parents
will dress up their children in cos­tumes
(i cling a Fourth of July theme
and parade them in the Lititz Springs
Park.
Once again, the Baby Parade will
be part of the celebration this Thurs­day
in. the park.
According to a Historical Review
in a past Fourth of July program, the
baby parade was started in 1937. It
had three divisions, and was
“enjoyed by both young and old.”
1959 was the last year for the baby
parade. That is, until the park board
decided in 1986 to bring back the
once popular event.
According to Lititz Women of
Today member and co-chairperson
of the parade Barbara Gertie, a deci­sion
was made to bring back events
from past years. The baby parade was
one of them. She said the club
became involved with the event
because of Park Board president,
Ronald Reedy.
“When he started reviewing
things, he came to our group and
asked if we would sponsor it,” said
Gettle,
Record photo by Richard Reitz
WHO WILL BE CROWNED?—The 55th Pageant of the Queen of Candies will begin at 9 p.m. at the band
shell. Members of this year’s court are: (sitting, left to right) Carolyn Davis, Mandy Peifer, Melissa Marks, Eri­ca
Widder, (standing, l-r) Kaye Bucher, Katie Van Kirk, Julie Sanderson, Jolene Risser, Alison Darras, Janell
Fausnacht, Melissa Tabb and Emily Adams.
She said that every year they get
more and more children participating
in the parade.
“The past couple years we’ve had
in the mid 30’s,” she said, “I expect
we’ll have at least the number we’ve
had in past years.”
Gettle said that participation
depends on how easily parents can
come up with an idea that fits into the
theme.
“Every year we have a number that
really do the red, white, and blue
theme,” said Gettle, adding that the
patriotic colors tie in with the overall
Fourth of July.
The theme, which Gettle said
always has something to do with the
Fourth of July, changes every year.
This year the theme will be “I’m
Spending the Fourth of July in Lititz
Springs Park.” Gettle said that in pre­vious
years the theme has been the
same as the park’s theme for that
year.
According to Gettle, there is no
limit to the number of ideas people
can come up with. She said that last
year they had everything from a
depiction of Desert Storm to Uncle
Sam.
“I’m very interested with the ideas
of floats people came up with,” said
Gettle. “People really use their
imagination in coming up with
ideas.”
Registration for the baby parade is
free and will be held at 2:30 p.m. near
the bandshell. Once the child is regis-
(See Baby, Page ID2)
Those lost
traditions
STEPHEN SEEBER
Record Express Staff
LITITZ SPRINGS PARK — As
the borough prepares for its 178th
Independence Day celebration this
week, local residents, as well as thou­sands
of out-of-town visitors, will
flock to the park for what is expected
—A day filled with fun, food, music,
the crowning of the Queen of Can­dles,
and extraordinary fireworks.
These are all longtime traditions in Bresslpr, who has performed for
y ^ numerous town celebrations, said
(See traditions, Page Jj j ./ that rarely do other towns have the
combined talent of Tail Towers and
: Clair Brothers to add to the event.
In addition to his show, Bressler
will also be the emcee for the day’s
Collectables....... .................. ID4 events. Bressler, who has stand-up
Lititz Bi-Centennial...............ID2 comedy in his background, said that
Lititz Lilacs............................. IDS emceeing is nothing new to him. He
Special Editorial................. 4 said that he enjoys talking to people
A Special Letter........ .......... ID2 and is fascinated by where people
Photo by Richard Reitz
Popular entertainer John Bressler will be returning to Lititz Springs
Park for the Fourth of July celebration .He will be the master of ceremo­nies
throughout the day, and will perform at the band shell at 2 p.m. and
7:30 p.m.
Bressler at home
during Lititz fest
JILL IVEY
Record Express Staff
LITITZ SPRINGS PARK - One
man show John Bressler may travel
throughout the United States, but he
considers Lititz his home.
For the past four out of five years,
the Berks County resident has per­formed
at the Fourth of July celebra­tion
at Lititz Springs Park.
He said that the first year he was
scheduled to perform, it rained, and
he was unable to make the rain date.
Last year the celebration once again
got rained out. Bressler said he
almost missed the rain date a second
time, but rearranged his schedule so
that he could perform at what he calls
a “unique celebration.”
come from to see the Lititz
festivities.
“I feel like a host for the county,”
said Bressler. “It adds a different
dimension to performing.”
Bressler recently finished record­ing
a new compact disc titled, “Basic
Black and White.” Bressler, who just
hired a publicist, said that his biggest
project right now is taking the show
nationally for what he loosely calls
motivational entertainment
“I’ve done this for 16 years,” said
Bressler refering to his solo act. “I’m
very happy.”
Bressler also does corporate moti­vational
speeches for companies
such as AT&T and XEROX. He said
that later this year, he will perform at
the California State Fair in
Sacramento.
Although last year Bressler per­formed
in 20 states throughout the
United States, Lititz Springs Park
will always be his destination on July
4th.
“Lititz Springs Park is just a beaut­iful
place,” said Bressler, who
remembers going there on the Fourth
of July as a child. “I don’t know that
there are many other places I’d be on
the Fourth.”