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¡CONSOLIDATED WITH THE LITITZ RECORD, 1937' Lititz, Lancaster County, PA 17543, Thursday, Sept. 25,1975 10 CENTS A COPY; $4,00 PER YEAR BY MAIL
WITHIN LANCASTER COUNTY 18 PAGES-No. 27
Apartment
Lot Sizes
Approved
A new section of the zoning
ordinance, reducing lot size
requirements for apart­ments
that now exist within
the borough limits, was
approved by Boro Council
during a public hearing last
Thursday night.
The motion to adopt was
made by Councilman Bill
York and seconded by
C o u n c ilm a n D o n a ld
Stauffer. There was no
discussion on the issue. The
Council voted unanimously
to adopt the ordinance, with
the exception of Councilman
Lester Bingeman, who was
not present.
Under the new ordinance,
land containing an apart­ment
house already exisitng
in a residential R-l District
may be subdivided into lots
containing a minimum of:
12.500 square feet for two
dwelling units;
17.500 square feet for three
dwelling units;
22.500 square feet for four
dwelling units;
27.000 flquar* t$$t tor flvg
dwelling units:
5.000 square feet per
dwelling unit for six or more
dwelling uints.
The Zoning Ordinance
formerly required 12.000
square feet for a house in an
R-l District if served by
water and sewer facilities.
Jerry McCreary, 7 Apaloosa Dr.,
Lititz, holds thank you letter he
received Monday from Jacqueline
Kennedy Onassis. McCreary found
l i t i t z Record Exp re ss Photo
the former First Lady’s wallet in a
New York taxicab last week, and
returned it to her through a police
precinct.
There was no stipulation for
apartments in an R-l
District.
The new ordinance makes
these regulations for sub­dividing
existing apartment
buildings in a residential R-S
(single dwelling) District - a
minimum of:
18.000 square feet for two
dwelling units;
27.000 square feet for three
dwelling units;
30.000 square feet for four
dwelling units;
35.000 square feet for five
dwelling units;
6.000 square feet per
dwelling unit for six or more
dwelling uints.
Former requirements in
an R-S District were 12,500
square feet per house, if
served by sewer and water.
Blast Victim
Sues for
*30 Million
Mrs. Betty Young, former
Lititz woman who was
critically burned in an ex­plosion
in her home in July
1974, has filed a $30 million
suit against three firms.
Mrs. Young, 47, now living
in Lancaster, instructed
attorney William A. Atlee Jr,
to file the suit in
Philadelphia federal court
against:
Robertshaw Controls Co.,
Richmond, Va., which
manufactures water heater
controls.
Rheem Manufacturing
Co., New York, N.Y., which
m a n u f a c tu r e s w a te r
heaters.
Texgas Corp., Albany,
N.Y., which distributes
bottled gas.
Ten million dollars is being
requested from each
defendent.
The suit stems from an
explosion on the afternoon of
July 11,1974 in the basement
of Mrs. Young’s home on
Front Street, When she and
her son, Jacob, tried to
relight the pilot on a hot
water heater. The explosion
came from a cistern in the
basement, where gas is
believed to have ac­cumulated.
The leak has been at­tributed
to a faulty safety
valve on the water heater,
according to local fire oc-cials.
In This Issue
Business Directory 14
Church News 12
Classified Ads 16,17
Editorial Page 4
Sports Section 6,7
Women's 10,11
Finds Wallet in Taxicab
Jeriy McCreary Gets
Letter from ’Jackie’
By Peggy Frailey
Well, Jerry McCreary
really did get his letter from
Jackie!
The local salesman who
found Jacquelyn Kennedy
Onassis’ wallet in a New
York taxicab last Wed­nesday
(Sept. 17) and had it
returned to her received a
handwritten thank you note
from the former First Lady
on Monday.
The two-page letter,
written in Jackie’s own light
airy script, was on two pages
of pale blue Tiffany
stationery, with “Onassis -
1040 5th Ave. N.Y.C.”
scrawled across the back
flap. The address was
engraved in tiny letters at
the top of each page, and
Tiffany was engraved on the
back of the envelope, very
discreetly under the flap.
From a distance it looked
like any other pretty blue
writing paper, but up close -
well, it sure looked like the
real thing!
Here’s what the former
First Lady wrote to Mc­Creary:
“Dear Mr. McCreary,
“There are no words to
thank you for all the trouble
you went to, for your kind­ness
and care and rectitude
in going to the police and
giving them the wallet which
you found in a taxicab.
“I only wish that I could
have met you - to thank you
in person.
“I was in despair when I
realized that 1 had lost my
wallet. You can imagine the
trouble it would have meant -
to get another drivers license
- credit card -
"I realized it was gone
when my son asked me for
the money for his bus pass - 1
Just couldn’t believe I had
lost it - and I was so upset.
“When the police returned
it late that night - we were all
so amazed and happy -
“Now I am glad that I lost
it - because your honesty and
effort is a moving example to
children - to everyone - and
you gave us the privilege of
seeing that -
“With all my deepest
thanks - most sincerely,
Jacqueline Onassis”
Meanwhile McCreary, who
lives at 7 Apaloosa Dr., has
been the center of a small
storm of interest from news
persons. The Associated
Press called him Monday,
told him he could “rest
assured it would become
world wide news.”
“ Is it that good?” Mc­Creary
asked him.
“Man, you’re talking
about a former First Lady! ”
the newsman replied.
The AP radio service
called him to make a tape of
his account of finding the
purse. A New York radio
station also called him.
Even columnist Earl
Wilson wrote a short clip
about it in last Friday’s
“New York Post,” although
he didn’t mention McCreary.
He said that “Jackie Onassis
lost her wallet and Julie
Rizzo told her her wallet had
been found.”
McCreary found the purse
- a black leather Gucci clutch
type wallet (with Gucci
stamped on the inside)
lying right smack in the
middle of the back seat of a
taxi he took while on one of
his frequent sales trips to
New York. He had gotten
into the cab about 5:45 p.m.
last Wednesday (Sept. 17)
and says it’s obvious the taxi
driver never even knew the
purse had been left there.
When he opened the purse
and saw who had left it
behind, his first thought -
what else? - was to return it
in person.
He got out of the cab, made
a phone call to the Midtown
North Precinct police station
on 54th Street, between 8th
and 9th, and told the
policeman who answered
that he had found a purse in a
taxi and wanted to return ii.
“ Oh, yeah?" the
policeman replied. “We get u
lot of them,”
McCreary tolu him this
was a very special purse.
"Yeah, that’s what, they a(!
say," the policeman cour­iered.
“ This one belongs to
J a c q u e lin e Kennedy
Onassis.”
“Holy (deleted)," the
policeman responded. And
then, “Call me back in ten
minutes.”
When McCreary called
him back in 10 minutes, the
policeman informed him
that, “Me and 7,000 other
guys have been talking this
over,” and proceeded to tell
him the alternative ways the
matter could be handled.
The one that seemed best, he
said, was to try to get Jackie
to come down to the statiop
to identify the wallet.
This sounded good to
McCreary - and to some of
the policemen who were
already combing their hair -
so he took the wallet to the
police station. However, the
officers hadn’t been able to
locate Jackie. She was - as
all the world seems to know
by now - attending a concert
with Peter Duchin and his
wife, and then having dinner
with Frank Sinatra at the 21
Club.
So McCreary left the
wallet with a police
lieutenant - who was, believe
it or not, a Lieutenant
Kennedy. In return the
police gave McCreary a
formal receipt of what he
had returned, itemizing the
contents of the purse:
8 $20 bills.
1 $5 bill.
9 $1 bills.
1 Massachusetts drivers
license.
2 credit cards - Master
Charge and Air Travel Card.
5 quarters.
6 dimes.
3 nickels.
3 pennies.
McCreary came home
Tuesday evening from a long
day at his job and answering
calls from news people,
unfolded the light blue letter
from Jackie that he had
carried with him all day,
turned on the television to
see if his adventure had
made the six o'clock news,
and announced he had
decided to frame the letter.
Has fame affected the
Jerry McCreary family?
Well, judge for yourself.
When this reporter left, the
kids were watching
television, Mrs. McCreary
was trying to salvage a late
dinner and telling her
husband, “No, you’re not
going to call Jackie Onassis
and invite her to lunch next
week,” and the phone was
ringing again. Not the New
York Times, though. It was
someone from the Rec
Center calling about a fund
drive. Ah well, back to
reality.
Bobst Awards Discontinued The Bobst Awards, long a highlight of Warwick High
School’s commencement exercises, have been discon­tinued.
Elmer Holmes Bobst, who established the awards in
honor of his father, the late Rev. I. Walton Bobst, has
notified the school district that he is terminating the
awards as of the 1975 graduating class, because of his age
and his retirement from the business world.
Bobst informed the school district superintendent of his
decision by letter, stating that the awards would ter­minate
with those given to the 1975 graduates.
Bobst established the awards In 1947-48, stating they
were to be given without restrictions other than that
recipients were not to be addicted to alcohol or drugs. The
amount of the awards was increased over the years,
reaching their highest and present amount four years ago,
when they were increased from $4,000 to $5,000.
Each year three graduating seniors have been selected
by a committee consisting of two members of the School
Board, the president of the Ministerial Association, the
president of the Recreation Board, and two senior high
school teachers appointed by the superintendent.
The final recipients of the award, members of the class
of 1975, were Barry Sipe, 400 Sutter PL, Mark Mentzer,
Lititz Rl, and Larry Huber, Pine Hill Road,
Police, Boro Council Continue
Negotiations, Arbitrators Named
Arbitrators have been appointed by Lititz Boro Council
and the Lititz Police Department for current negotiations
on an agreement on salaries and benefits for next year,
although Council is still hopeful that the negotiations will
not have to reach the arbitration point.
Edward G. Reese of Lancaster, a former member of
Boro Council, has been named arbitrator for the borough.
His appointment was ratified during a special public
Suspected Burglar Shot
In Satisfactory Condition
Charles Smith, 24, Stevens, has been taken out of in­tensive
care and is in satisfactory condition at the Lan­caster
General Hospital after being hit by a shotgun blast
during an attempted burglary of Mann’s Grocery, 304
Lexington Road.
Lloyd L. Mann, owner of the store, told Warwick
Township and Ephrata state police that he fired the 12-
gauge shotgun into his store about. 6 a.m. Saturday, Sept,
20 when he saw someone moving about inside.
Smith was hit in the shoulder and back by the blast.
The shooting is still under investigation by the Ephrata
state police. As of Tuesday aftemoqq, no charges had
been made against Mann,
meeting held by Council last Thursday night. He was
appointed “in the event that arbitration becomes
necessary,” Boro Manager David Anderson said.
George J. Schrader’, Jr., 522 Longfellow Dr., Lancaster,
has been named arbitrator for the police department.
Under state law an “impasse” or “stalemate” must be
declared in collective bargaining if the parties have not
reached a settlement or written agreement within 30 days
after negotiations start. A request for arbitration must
also be made at least 110 days before the start of the next
fiscal year.
Negotiations started July 21 and the 30 day period ended
Aug. 20.
Anderson said the borough received a letter on Sept, 11
stating that the police department had appointed.an ar­bitrator.
“In the meantime, the borough representatives and
police department representatives will continue to
negotiate in good faith and hopefully will be able to arrive
at an amicable agreement in the near future,” Anderson
said in a special news release.
Councilman Bill York, a member of Council’s
negotiating team, stated last Thursday night that
negotiations are still going on, with another session
scheduled for tonight (Thursday).
“We’re hopeful that there will be an amicable set­tlement,”
York told Council, adding that “if we don’t get
anywhere in two or three weeks, we probably will have to
go to arbitration.”
Jorg Is Back
"Old” AFS Student
Surprises Host Family
by Bonnie Szymanski
Jorg Homberger is back in
town.
Jorg was AFS-student-in-residence
during the 1972-73
school year at Warwick High
School. Popular with
students and teachers alike,
Jorg has corresponded with
some of his American
friends in the interim since
leaving Lititz in July 1973. It
was to see those friends and
his host family, Dr. and Mrs.
Charles Eshelman, 237 S.
Broad St., that he flew from
Frankfort Saturday.
He surprised the
Eshelman family by
arriving at their front door
unannounced. Thrilled by
the unexpected visit, the
Eshetman’s gazed upon a 20-
year-old youth strongly
reminiscent of the 17-year-old
Jorg they knew when he
lived with him. Changed in
appearance — he is serving
in the German army and no
longer wears his hair long as
h*e *d*id* *w*hil*e *a*tte*n*din*g
Woman
In Crash A woman driver was taken
to Lancaster General
Hospital Wednesday at
approximately 10:30 a.m.
following an accident on
rain-swept Route 501, in
front of the Jim Grove
residence, a scene of
frequent crashes.
At press time, police were
not able to release the name
of the woman, who was the
only person In the car.
Warwick Township Police
Chief Paul Haines said the
woman is believed to have
been heading south. She
struck a PP&L pole on the
west side of the highway and
ran down over the bank of
the road. The chief said she
appears to have received a
broken right arm and
lacerations of the mouth.
X,UUR, Record, Hxprehg Photo
A serious - minded youth, Jorg
Homberger can punctuate his con­versations
with the most appealing
smiles imaginable. In Lititz for a
surprise visit, he plans to see many of
his old classmates from Warwick High
School, class of 1973, before leaving
to go back to Germany and another
year in the military on October 5.
Warwick High School — Jorg
remains his same out-going,
easy-to-talk-to self, the self
that won him so many
friends during his year in
Lititz.
Admitting that his trip was
anything but well-prepared,
he said he packed his bags as
soon as he got back from
training camp last week and
found a two week pass
waiting for him.
Said Jorg, “Saturday I was
in Germany, Sunday I was in
Carson City (where he went
via a bus from San Francisco
to visit an old friend),
Monday I left there and . . . ”
And, Tuesday, he was in
Lititz.
His trip from the West to
Lititz was eventful, if not
easy. After landing in New
York on a plane he had taken
from Reno by way of
Chicago, he traveled to
Philadelphia where he spent
the night in a bus terminal
waiting to leave for Lan­caster.
[Continued on Page 9|