Lititz Record Express

              T H E R E S S
SERVING THE WARWICK AREA FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY
101st Year ESTABLISHED APRIL. 1877. AS THE SUNBEAM
1 CONSOLIDATED WITH THE LIT1TZ RECORD. 1937| Lititz, Lancaster County, PÂ. 17543, Wednesday, November 23, 1977 15 CENTS A COPY; $5.00 PER YEAR BY MAIL
WITHIN LANCASTER COUNTY 24 Pages No. 35
T h e ir P ra y e r s W e r e A n sw e r e d
Mi k e y H a r tr a n f t G e ts
A S e c o n d C h a n c e A t Life
Travis Mills Sold To Fab,
Plant Will Renaio in Lltitz (Editor’s note: One year
ago, Dean and Linda Har­tranft,
33 S. Locust St., were
told that their 11-month old
son, Mikey, has hemophilia,
the dreaded “bleeder’s
disease.”
The story of the young
couple’s heartbreak, and the
battle they prepared to face
in protecting and caring for
their baby, was published in
the Lititz Record Express as
Linda herself wrote it. It was
one of the first newspaper
articles ever written and
published in Lancaster
County by the parent of a
hemophiliac child.
The article drew such wide
interest from readers
concerned about Mikey’s
disease that the Record
Express is publishing the
following article, also
written by Linda Hartranft,
telling a much happier story
about her son’s condition.)
By Linda Hartranft
It seems impossible that
only a year has gone by since
we found out that our son
was a hemophiliac.
A year ago I didn’t even
want to think about the year
ahead of us. I really didn’t
think we’d make it.
Yet, ironically enough,
we’re now looking forward to
a verv meaningful Than­ksgiving,
and to what will
probably be our most
beautiful Christmas ever.
Unlike most people, Dean
and I won’t have to look
under the tree for our
present. We received our
Christmas gift in July. It
wasn’t wrapped in ribbons,
but it was one of the most
beautiful gifts we’ve ever
received.
It was the results of a
blood test which had been
done on our son, Mikey.
Results that confirmed what
the doctor suspected some
time since Mikey had been
diagnosed a hemophiliac.
The first blood test which
indicated the diagnosis of
severe hemophilia had been
a mistake.
Our son is a hemophiliac,
but his disease is mild, which
means that Mikev’s life no
longer includes living from
crisis to crisis. He will have
an almost completely nor­mal
life.
It’s strange the way things
work out sometimes. For
eight months we lived
believing that our son had
severe hemophilia. We knew
Schools Will
Dismiss Early
Schools will dismiss
early today (Wed­n
e sd a y ) fo r the
Thanksgiving holiday,
and remain closed
Thursday and Friday,
resuming at regular
hours Monday. The
High School will dismiss
at 1:15 p.m., the Middle
School at 1:20 p.m. and
the elementary schools,
at 2 p.m. today (Wed­nesday).
f e
One year ago, 11-month old Mikey
Hartranft was diagnosed as a
hemophiliac, a “ bleeder” , who for
the rest of his life would have to be
protected not only from surface cuts
but also from internal bleeding.
Today the picture is brighter for
Mikey and his parents, Linda and
Dean Hartranft, 33 S. Locust St.
Mikey has been re- diagnosed as a
mild rather than a severe
hemophiliac and will be able to live an
almost normal life. “ Although we still
worry about Mikey, we’re learning to
trust God to help us with him,” says
his mother, above in picture.
that by running and playing
like other boys, Mikey would
bleed and need infusions of
clotting factor. We padded
furniture and Mikey’s
clothes, and held our breath
every time he fell.
Every day was spent
waiting for the time Mikey
would need his first infusion,
and yet I wouldn’t trade
those months for any other
time in my life. Because
without living through the
experiences of those eight
months, I wonder if we’d
realize just how lucky we
are, or how much of a
blessing Mikey really is.
We’ve shared a lot with
Mikey this past year. I think
we’ve just about gotten used
to seeing him with black and
blue marks.
Of course, like all toddlers,
Mikey would fall and cut his
lip from time to time. We
learned from experience to
keep popsicles in our freezer
for just those times, since ice
helps to stop bleeding.
I’ve stopped apologizing to
visitors for my messy house.
Looking after Mikey seemed
to be a full-time job. I
remember walking Mikey
for hours in his stroller the
week he had an ankle bleed,
as that was about the only
thing that seemed to keep
him content.
We kept ice packs in our
freezer and ace bandages in
our cupboard, and yet for
some crazy reason it all
started to seem normal.
The monthly meetings for
the hemophiliacs and their
families were something we
always looked forward to. I
guess it helped to know that
there were others who
shared the same problems.
Becoming involved with
some of the hemophilia
campaigns proved to be good
for me. As I became more
and more involved, I started
to feel less and less like a
victim of this disease.
Although I stumbled
halfway through it, I spoke
to the Lititz Lions Club on
hemophilia, and was thrilled
by' their generous con­tribution
to our research.
Banner Day was coming
up and I needed a Lititz
group to collect for us on that
day. I was invited to speak to
the Lititz Youth Ministry
group, which I did and they
agreed to help me.
I was a little surprised
when they offered a prayer
for Mikey and the other
hemophiliacs. Their prayers
touched me in a way I didn’t
know was possible. I left the
meeting puzzled by the way I
felt. I didn’t know what it
was, but I did know that I
envied the faith they had.
They were so sure God would
hear their prayers and
answer them.
(Continued on Page 15)
Trav is Mills, Inc.,
m an u fa c tu re r of knit
fabric , located on West
Lincoln Avenue, is in the
process of being sold to Fab
Industries, Inc., to remain in
Lititz and to be operated as a
Jacob Reiff
Pleads Guilty
Jacob Reiff, Lititz R^,
arrested by federal U.S.
Treasury agents in April for
allegedly selling firearms
without a license, pled guilty
on Wednesday, Nov. 16, to
the indictment in the
Philadelphia Federal Court,
Eastern District Penn­sylvania.
Reiff’s attorney, Anthony
Kilkuskie, Ephrata, said
sentencing would take place
in December, but he
declined to speculate on the
severity of the sentence.
Reiff, presently free on his
own recognizance, was
charged in April following
several months of in­vestigation
by special agents
of the Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms division of the U.S.
Treasury Department which
culminated in an early
morning raid on the
Rothsville farmhouse where
Reiff, father of 13 children,
lives with his family.
Confiscated in the raid
were 133 rifles, shotguns and
handguns valued at $30,000.
Reportedly, prior to the
arrests and subsequent
charges, an undercover
agent had purchased
inexpensive handguns,
known as a “Saturday Night
Specials,” from Reiff on
more than one occasion.
At the time, Reiff admitted
selling “a few guns to dif­ferent
fellows” and trading
“to dealers,” but he ex­pressed
shock at the federal
agency’s intervention.
subsidiary to Fab Industries
under Travis’ present
management.
An agreement in principle
for the transfer of all stock to
Fab was reached earlier this
month. The transfer is ex­pected
to be completed by
Wednesday, Nov. 30.
Employees at Travis have
been notified of the pending
sale. Those who were laid off
in the last few weeks are to
be recalled next week so
that the plant can go back
into full operation on
Monday, Nov. 28, Joel
Schecter, company official,
said.
He said the temporary
layoffs were ordered to bring
down inventory to meet
certain targets by the Nov.
30 date. The plant is closed
this week for inventory
purposes.
Schecter said that jobs,
pay rates, seniority, and
benefits will continue at
their present level, and that
he and his wife, Lynn
Schecter, and Dick Travis
will continue to run the
company. It will be a sub­sidiary
of Fab Industries,
with operations going on as
they did before.
“I want to make it clear
for my wife and myself that
our hearts and souls are in
this company and we want to
keep the business in this
town,” Schecter told the
Record Express.
“The facilities of Fab
■ Industries are similar to the
ones we have here. It is a
good match in companies
because we are not com­petitive,”
he said.
He added, “We’re excited
about the opportunity we will
have to grow, and we’re very
satisfied with arrangements.
This change will help us to
maintain continuity of the
company.”
The agreement in prin­ciple
between Travis Mills
and Fab industries is subject
to the evaluation and
verification by Fab of
Travis’ financial condition,
including its assets and
liabilities, and among other
things, to the negotiation of
agreements satisfactory to
the parties and the approval
of Fab directors.
Under the agreement, Fab
would indemnify certain of
the selling stockholders of
Travis against certain
contingent liabilities of such
stockholders relating to the
operations of Travis, in
co nsideration for the
transfer to Fab of all the
outstanding capital stock of
Travis.
Travis has advised Fab
that for the fiscal year ended
Aug. 31, 1977, unaudited
results of operations indicate
that Travis sustained losses
from both continuing and
discontinued operations.
Travis further advised
Fab that its gross revenues
for the fiscal year were
about $39 million, of which
about $25 million was at­tributable
to its continuing
operations.
Earlier this year, Travis
sold its c o n v e rtin g
operations to Putnam Mills,
which then became the L.
Travis Textile division of
Putnam Mills.
Samson B ite n s k y ,
president of Fab Industries,
said the transaction would
be an expansion for Fab into
new markets in the career
apparel, active sportswear
and intimate apparel areas.
The Travis plant has tricot,
raschel and double-knit
machines, along with dyeing
and finishing equipment.
In This Issue
Business Directory 20
Church News 18
Classified Ads 22,23
Editorial Page 4
Sports Section 6,7,8
Social 12,13
Lititz Police Hews
Thief Takes $100 From
kissel Hill School Office
Policy Change
See notice on Page 4
concerning a change in
policy on letters to the
editor.
Lititz police were called to
investigate a burlary at the
Kissel Hill Elementary
School last week. An
estimated $10 0 in cash was
taken from the school office
sometime between Thur­sday,
Nov. 17 and Friday,
Nov. 18, officials reported.
Investigation of the theft is
continuing.
Theft of Tapes
Mark S. Herr, 222 E.
Walnut St., E p h ra ta ,
reported to Lititz police that
at 8:10 p.rn., on November
17, he had just returned to
his car, parked in the Wilbur
Chocolate parking lot on
North Broad Street, when he
discovered that someone had
broken a window and taken
an 8 track tape player and a
box containing 25 8 track
tapes.
Police are continuing the
investigation.
Tires Punctured
On N o v em b e r 17,
sometime between 8 and 10
p.m., the rear tires of a car
parked on the Wilbur
Chocolate lot were punc­tured.
The car is owned by
Richard S. Rose, 25 A,
Hampton Lane, Neffsville.
Criminal Mischief
Melvin Meiskey, 206 S.
Broad St., reported to police
that his car was parked near
his home during the night of
November 18 when a brick
was thrown through the
windshield. The time of the
(Continued on Page 5)
Santa Arrives By Fire Engine This Saturday
Community Thanksgiving
Eve Services Planned
The Lititz area annual Thanksgiving Eve Services will
be held Wednesday evening, Nov. 23, in the Church of God
at 7:30 p.m.
The service will include Mayor Raymond Reedy
reading the proclamation of Thanksgiving. The ministers
participating in the service will be Rev. Paul Kocher
Church of God presiding, Rev. Luke Rau Brunnerville
United Methodist Church preaching on the theme “We
Give Thee Thanks” , Rev. Jacob Frederick Lititz Men-nonite
Church reading the scripture, and Rev. Arlin
Claassen Church of Brethren leading the prayer of
Thanksgiving.
The Church of God choir will present the anthem, “We
Gather Together” . The evening offering will go to the
Lititz Community Chest fund.
The Warwick Association of Churches sponsors this
BULLETIN!
NORTH POLE — The Record
Express learned this week that
Santa Claus has contacted the
Lititz Fire Co. and requested
that they provide transportation
for him when he comes to his
Castle in Lititz this Saturday
morning, Nov. 26. Santa has
asked that a fire engine take
him around the streets of Lititz -
beginning at 9 a.m. so that he
may greet and wave to all his
friends. Following his tour of
Lititz, Santa will arrive at his
Castie at 10:30 a.m. He will
have a gift for all who visit him.
Santa’s castle is in a new
location this year - on Sturgis
Lane Mall, just off East Main
Street.
Watch for Santa on Saturday
Morning and be on hand to
greet him as he arrives at his
castle at 10:30 a.m.
SAHTA’S CASTIE |
I HOURS: 1
S THURS. & FRI. |
| 5 P.M. to 8 P.M. |
| SATURDAY
| 10 A.M. to 3 P.M.
( W j - v H
, F
NEW LOCATION FOR
SANTA'S CASTLE
THIS YEAR . . .
STURGIS LANE
MALL
(Just Off East Main St.)