Lititz Record Express

              T H E R E S S
S E R VING T H E WAR W IC K A R E A FO R N E A R L Y A C EN TU R Y
97th Year E stab lish ed April, 1877, a s The Sunbeam
(Consolidated w ith The L ititz Record, 1937) Lititz, Lancaster County, Penna. 17543, Thursday, December 13,1973 10 cen ts a Copy; 94.00 pec yea r by m all
w ith in Lanca ste r County 20 PAGES — No. 38
Everyone Needs Voice in
School Goals, Mearig Says Everyone should be involved in
determining the goals of the
school district, including parents
as well as teachers, the ad­ministration
and the school
board, says Richard Mearig,
newly elected school director.
“I would even welcome a
representative from the Student
Council, or some appropriate
student body, at School Board
meetings,” Mearig said in a
personal interview this week.
There are several steps toward
making sure the school district
provides the best education for its
students, said Mearig, who
commented in a pre-election
statement that his goal was to see
that the taxpayers in the district
“obtain the best possible
Richard Mearig
education for our children with
our tax dollar.”
Maintaining that Warwick is a
“conservative” district, but not
“too conservative,” Mearig said
he would be in favor of looking at
additional expenditures if for
“sound educational programs.”
“We should look for input from
the teachers, the administration,
the school board and the
parents,” he said. “This could be
received through curriculum
committee meetings, where we
would let the subjects of
discussion be known and start
from what we have. We should
involve parents in discussion on
what is the best curriculum—one
approach could be having
representatives of parents
meeting with school board
groups.”
Newly appointed to the
curriculum and personnel
committees of the board, Mearig
recommended an evaluation
process to judge whether elective
courses are receiving interest
from students.
“Feedback can be obtained
from many of the required
courses, too,” he said,” with
students noting what a teacher
has done during the year to add
something to a course to make it
interesting.”
“Teachers should be involved
in assessment of the courses they
are teaching,” he went on. “They
(Continued On Page 2)
Renovations Set
Next Summer at
Local School
■ i i®
Lititz Elementary School, as it appears today from the
corner of Cedar and Orange Streets. The building, once
L ititz Record Exp re ss Photo
the combined Lititz High School and Elementary School,
is up for renovations this summer.
School Board Meets Tues. J " * "
Schools May Open
Later after DST
Warwick’s Reputation Needs
Repaired, Hofferth Says
All of us, from the top oh down,
have lost sight of the real purpose
of our educational program, the
education of our children, and it’s
something we all have to do
something about, new school
director, Wallace Hofferth
stated.
“The kids seem to come second
to anything that happens out
there (at the schools),” Hofferth
said during a personal interview
shortly after he was installed on
the board.
“There are a lot of devoted
teachers, and a lot of discon­tented
ones, who are often good
ones. Why can’t we have a har­monious
situation with the ad­ministration
administering in
line with that?” he said.
“I’m sure the problems are a
lot more complex than they seem
before you actually get involved
with them,” he went on, noting
(that he hasn’t really gotten into
the thick of things yet.
“But you get a snowball ef­fect,”
he said. “You can’t have
happy students without happy
teachers, and that takes an ad­ministration
that will create the
right atmosphere to work in. It
requires a superintendent who
can work with his staff.”
Hofferth maintained before his
election that Warwick’s -
reputation has suffered, both in
and out of the county, not so much
from its educational program,
but as a result of the ad­ministration-
teacher relation­ship.
This was the area that
needed attention, as well as the
School Board’s relationship to the
administration and teachers, he
had stated.
He said this week that his views
are still the same on the subject.
“We are progressive on zoning
and all aspects of government
service, but the whole com­munity
is tarnished by the
reputation of the school district.”
You won’t be able to solve this
by solving individual little issues,
he said. You have to get at the
heart of the matter. We have to
find out just where the real
problem or series of problems
lies, he said. Ultimately,
someone has to bear the
responsibility.
Fire Co. Donations
’16.973 in 6th Week
Donations to Lititz Fire
Company building fund have
climbed to $16,973, fire company
president Richard Keller said
this week.
Now in the sixth/week of the
drive, the contributions are a 31
percent return on letters sent to
all residents of the borough,
Keller said.
Wallace Hofferth
Lititz is unique, he went on, and
one of the finest communities in
the county. But like any com­munity,
it’s going to have aches
and pains, and right now the most
pressing one is the school system-
-which is why I ran for School
Board,” he added.
Newly appointed to the
curriculum and personnel
committees of the board, Hof­ferth
said he accepted these jobs
because “that’s where the most
pressing need is.”
(Continued On Page 3)
A proposal to move all school
schedules ahead by 30 minutes
after daylight savings time goes
into effect, probably the first of
the year, will be brought before
the School Board at its regular
meeting Tuesday night.
Dr. H. Dale Winger, superin­tendent
of schools, said he will be
proposing the schedule change so
that children on early bus runs
will not have to wait for buses in
the dark. He noted that during the
winter months, the added hours
of sunlight will also help cut down
on time loss when school
openings are postponed because
of icy roads.
Dr. Winger, who had
previously initiated discussion on
this among other school districts
in the county, said there is
general agreement in the county,
including the Vo-Tech schools,
and he believes most districts in
the county are going to change
their schedules accordingly.
Field trips will also be on the
board’s agenda Tuesday night. A
new formula for calculating the
cost of field trips, band trips, etc.
in regard to varying rates with
contractors, will be presented.
The board will also be getting
its second hearing on a proposed
policy change that would loosen
up present policy on field trips,
and would allow this year’s
senior class to make an overnight
trip to Boston.
Dr. Winger said he is recom­mending
the proposed policy
change because he feels the
present one is “too restrictive,”
and that he is in favor of deciding
each request on an individual
basis.
High school principal Harold
Swisher and a representative
from a Vo-Tech school are ex--
pected to be present at the
meeting to explain a program
called diversified occupations, or
on the job training, for students
not enrolled in vo-tech schools.
While vo-tech students now
receive this type of training, and
some non-vo-tech students are
involved in work experience
program at the high school, the
district is interested in making
this type of program available to
more students who expect to go
into direct employment after
graduation.
The board’s personnel com­mittee,
headed by William
Owens, is expected to report on a
recent meeting involving a
(Continued on Page 18)
Steering Committee
For CPE Announced
A steering committee has been
named for Concerned Parents
and Educators, and will meet
Sunday to determine in what
direction the newly formed group
will move and to set up an agenda
for the next public meeting, to be
scheduled after the first of the
year.
The steering committee in­cludes
Mrs. Irene Rollman, Mr.
and Mrs. Jack Newell, Richard
Sensenig, Mrs. Robert Kirk, Mrs.
Fran Lyon, and Dr. James
Fricke.
Saturday
Night
Shopping
In addition to evening hours offered
Monday thru Friday for your Christmas
shopping convenience, most Lititz stores
w ill be open Saturday nights, Dec. 15 and
Dec. 22.
SHOP MON. THRU SAT. IN LITITZ!
Penn Twp. Officiais
Respond to Citizens'
Questions on Sewers Penn Township supervisors
fielded a barrage of questions,
dealing mostly with the proposed
township sewer system, during
their regular monthly meeting on
Monday night at the township
municipal building.
“Why hasn’t the township
requested federal funds to help
pay for the sewer projects,” John
Dobosh, Manheim RD4, asked
the supervisors. “Funds are
available and I haven’t been able
to find out where you’ve asked for
any.”
Jacob Brukhart, chairman of
the board of supervisors, told
Dobosh that requests for state
and federal funds were being
handled by the township
engineer, Larry Zimmerman,
who works for the engineering
firm of Glace and Glace,
Harrisburg. “Zimmerman said
that we might be able to get funds
for the initial construction,”
Brukhart said, “but it would take
so long that increased con­struction
costs would just eat up
whatever money we might get
from Washington. Zimmerman
told us, though, that he has
already started the paperwork
for the work that’s to be done
after initial construction.”
Dobosh has assumed the role of
township watchdog, and has
attended the past three or four
meetings with requests for in­formation,
clarification and
reasons for township actions. His
other questions Monday night
concerned the construction of an
airstrip within the township in
violation of zoning regulations.
He was told th^t the airstrip
construction had been stopped.
(Continued On Page 18)
The Lititz Elementary
building, built in 1916' and
renovated in 1938 when an ad­dition
was put on, will undergo
the first stage of more
renovations this summer, with a
completely new heating and
supporting electrical system to
go into the entire building.
The first phase of renovations
will also include revamping the
auditorium to make a large
classroom center, and relocation
of the library in that area.
Bids will go out Feb. 25 on work
for Phase I, contracts will be
awarded April 1, and the project
is expected to be completed by
the end of October.
This was the report given to a
group of citizens Tuesday night
by William Owens and Henry
Martin of the building and
property committee of Warwick
School Board, during a public
meeting called by the School
Board to inform all interested
citizens about the problems at the
school.
Thirty-one persons attended
the meeting, including eight
School Board members, three
principals, the superintendent of
schools and his administrative
assistant, and two represen­tatives
from the press.
The School Board committee
has been working on the project
for a year and a half, a feasibility
study having been done in 1972 by
architects Shenk Seibert and
Smithgall, according to Henry
Martin.
Martin said the need for a new
heating system is critical, noting
that the present ones—one the
original put in in 1916 and the
other a steam heat system put in
in 1956—have had several break­downs
the past year and are
obsolete.
On several occasions, workmen
had to spend weekends working
round the clock to keep the
system operating. Parts are now
hard to get for the ancient
systems, and in some cases must
be specially made, he said.
The electrical system is also in
bad shape, Martin said, ex­plaining
that the present fuse
panels and feeders are
overloaded, the fire alarm
system is outdated, and the total
light system does not meet state
requirements.
Taking over the chair, Owens
In This Issue
Business Directory
Church News
Classified Ads
Editorial Page
Sports Section
Women’s
17
16
19
4
6,7
14
said it’s a case of “phase up or
phase out.”
He said the committee had
considered the alternative of
building a completely new school,
but the cost of this would be at
least double that of renovations.
He also said a new building would
require 17 acres, (the present
school sits on a two and a half
acre plot) and it would mean
taking the school out of its
present centrally located
position, a move that would
require bussing of many
students.
While Owens indicated he did
not expect much more growth in
enrollment at Lititz Elementary,
he said growth at John Beck
(Rothsville) and the Kissel Hill
School could occur rapidly,
especially in light of the new
apratment complex going up in
the Kissel School area and
“rumors” of mobile home parks
to the north of the borough.,
He indicated the board wishes
(Continued On Page 18)
ABC's to Do
'Oklahoma'
March 29,30
Lititz ABC’s have chosen
“Oklahoma” for their 1974
production, with show dates set
for March 29 and 30.
Joyce Loercher and Gary
Hanna will play the leading roles
of Laurey and Curly.
Others in the cast will be Peggy
Stark, Wayne Hummer, Dale
Shelley, Richard Keller, Roy
Yeager, Carl Monnin, Carol
Stout, Charles Hevener, June
Downing, Shirley Flickinger,
Nancy Hartz, Rita Cooper, Susie
Altemos, Janice McCreary,
Stanley Stout, Vance Forepaugh,
Jack Hartz, Larry Altemos,
Gerald Downing, Douglas Stark,
William Flickinger, and Terry
Krisher.
Show director will be Orville
Conn and music director, Don
Trostle, both of Lancaster.
Rehearsals will get underway
the first of the year.
The show is set in the early
1900’s, in Indian territory before
it became the state of Oklahoma.
A love story, it is noted for such
famous musical numbers as Oh
What a Beautiful Mornin’, The
Surrey with the Fringe on Top,
Kansas City, I Cain’t Say No,
Many a New Day, People Will
Say We’re in Love, Pore Jud, Out
of My Dreams, and of course, the
age-old favorite, Oklahoma.
Employees at Morgan Face Problems after Shutdown
By Peggy Frailey
For Walt Strohm and his wife,
Pauline, 19 W. Lincoln Ave., the'
closing down of Morgan Mills will
mean more than just looking for
another job.
Walt has worked at the local
paper company for 45 years, and
although he is 63, he was planning
on working another five years or
so before retiring. His wife has
worked at Morgan almost as
many years as Walt.
For Walt, the end of Morgan
Mills will mean the closing of a
long chapter in his life.
Raised in Lititz, Walt’s entire
career has been the paper mill,
except for six months he worked
in an asbestos plant. He is one of
the old-time employees who was
at Morgan when the new building
went up in 1930. Walt was a
foreman in the yard, where he
spent 22 years before he moved
inside. He now operates a lift
truck.
“I’m used to hard work,” he
said. “I was in the yard when we
used to haul paper bails on two
wheel push trucks. They didn’t
have tow motors in those days,”
he said. “During the Depression,
we never had off-we painted
skylights to keep busy.”
“ I don’t have too many
financial worries,” he explains,
adding that the only real one is a
house he bought three years ago,
after having lived on Broad
Street for 20 years and then on
Liberty for 10 years.
“I’ll go back to work--I can’t sit
around long,” he grinned. “I’m
waiting to see what they do about
pensions, then I plan to take a few
weeks rest before I get another
job.”
For Anna Mary Clair of
Brunnerville, Morgan’s closing
will mean different problems.
Anna Mary, who is 57 years old,
has been working at Morgan for
18 years, mostly operating a
towel machine. Although her
husband has a job, he has a heart
condition and is only working
. part-time.
“I only had eight years go to till
retirement,” Anna Mary ex­plained.
“I’d like to get another
job, but I don’t know if they would
take me at my age.”
Although most of her ex­perience
has been on the
machines, she now does packing
work, explaining that the
machines work on her nerves too
much to do any more of that.
Anna Mae Myers, 40 Front St.,
a 12-year employee at Morgan,
also faces problems with thé end
of her job a few weeks away.
Anna Mae and her husband
have three children to support,
ages 18, 14, and 9.
“The way things are now, you
need two people working to
support a family,” she said.
Anna Mae has always operated
a towel machine at Morgan, and
although she used to do office
work, she isn’t sure she could
pick that up quickly again.
“I’ll probably look for factory
work,” she said, adding that
since she doesn’t drive, she will
have to look for work in Lititz.
Wilbur Sweigart of Akron,
another 12-year employee at
Morgan, presents a happier
picture of the employee
placement problems that the '
shutdown involves.
Wilbur, a 38-year-old bachelor,
doesn’t have too many financial
worries, he says. A machine
adjuster for the past seven years,
he doesn’t expect to have much
trouble locating another job. He
has had a few offers already, he
explains.
Having moved from a machine
operator to an adjuster, he says
he will look for the same type of a
job, although probably not in a
paper mill.
“We’re concerned about all our
employees, but the ones with the
real problems will be the salary
(Continued On Page 5)
Now 63 years old, Walt Strohm of Lititz
planned on working another five years
before he retired. An old-time employee of
Morgan, he has been with the local paper
mill for 45 years, and his wife has worked
t o
# f ,
L ititz Record E xp re ss Photo
there almost as long. Not too worried about
finding another job (he has been offered
one already), he plans to take a few weeks
rest after Morgan closes, and then go back
to work somewhere else.