Lititz Record Express

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101st Year ESTABLISHED APRIL, 1877, AS THE SUNBEAM
|CONSOLIDATED WITH THE LITITZ RECORD, 1937| Lititi, Lancaster County, PA. 17543, Thursday, December 15,1977 15 CENTS A COPY; S5.00 PER YEAR BY MAIL
WITHIN LANCASTER COUNTY
28 Pages-N©. 38
Christmas Calendar i Ï
r■
Thursday, Dec. 15
7:30-9 p.m. - Special Christmas
Party for members of the
Lititz Historical Foundation,
at the Johannes Mueller
House. Old-fashioned mead
and cookies will be served,
and entertainment will
include Early American
music. T radi t i onal
Christmas decorations will
be displayed.
Friday, Dec. 16
1:30 p.m. - Christmas Meeting
of the AARP featuring “The
Joys of Christmas in Song” ,
at St. Matthews Lutheran
Church in Lancaster.
Saturday, Dec. 17
1- 2 p.m. - Children’s Sunday
School Christmas party, at
the Brunnerville United
Methodist Church.
2- 3 p.m. - Santa Claus to visit
Old Penryn Fire Hall.
7:30 p.m. - Christmas Caroling
by the Young Adult
Fellowship of St. Luke’s
United Church of Christ,
held after meeting at the
home of Peg and Jesse
Roberts Jr., 162 Front St.
Sunday, Dec. 18
9 a.m. - Children’s Christmas
program at St. John’s
Lutheran Church,
Brickerville.
9 a.m. - Christmas program to
be presented by the
primary department of St.
Pa ul ’ s Evangel ical
Congregational Church of
Rothsville.
9:15 a.m. - Sunday School
Christmas program at St.
Paul Lutheran Church of
Lititz, in the church social
hall.
9:15 a.m. - Annual Sunday
Church School Christmas
program at Emanuel
Luther an Church,
Brickerville.
9:15 a.m. - "The Stable Mouse
and the Miracle” play to be
presented by the children
of the Lititz United
Methodist Church as their
annual Christmas program.
10:10 a.m. - Christmas
program at Hopeland
United Methodist Church,
presenting “ A Child Shall
Lead Them” .
10:45 a.m. - Handel’s
“ Messiah” to be presented
at St. Paul Lutheran
Church of Lititz. All are
invited.
4 p.m. - Christmas Cantata
“ The Light O'er
Bethlehem” , at the Salem
In lliis Issue
United Methodist Church in
Rothsville. Program to be
presented by the Senior
Choir, Youth Choir, and
primary children.
4 p.m. - Christmas Festival by
the Senior Choir and Joy
Singers of the Lititz Church
of the Brethren. Marian
Shatto will be the violinist.
The event will be followed
by the Advent Tea.
until 9 p.m. - Display of the
Christmas Putz at the
Ernest Shenk home,
following the Lititz Church
of the Brethren Christmas
program and advent Tea.
7 p.m. - Christmas Candlelight
Service at St. Paul’s
Evangelical Congregational
Church of Rothsville.
7 p.m. - Annual Birthday Party
for Jesus at Grace Brethren
Church in Lititz.
7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. -
Christmas Candlelighting
Service at Coleman Chapel
in Brickerville.
Monday, Dec. 19
7-9 p.m. - Santa Claus to visit
the Brickerville Fire Hall.
All children invited.
Tuesday, Dec. 20
7:30 p.m. - Middle School Choir
Christmas show in school
auditorium. All are invited
and admission will be free.
Wednesday, Dec. 21
9 a.m. and 1 p.m. - Lititz
Elementary School
Christmas Program in
school cafeteria. Play to be
presented, entitled “ The
Christmas Lits” . All are
invited.
Friday, Dec. 23
7-8:30 p.m. - Christmas
Caroling by the children of
St. James Church,
Christmas party to be held
afterwards.
7:30 p.m. - Community
Christmas Carol Sing in
front of Lititz Mutual In­surance
Building, led by
Lititz Heritage Choir.
l i l M l i l l l Landfill Fight
Costing Citizens
Unexpected $2600
» K s s s fe æ M
•V*« t * -
A close look at the putz created and presented
by Tim Shenk and Eric Ober, Lititz, reveals the
care the boys took to make their miniature world of
the Christmas story as authentic and realistic as
possible within the framework of their own
imaginations. Special effects such as the
shepherds’ flickering fire, the "descending angels"
and the moving shepherds and Wise Men provide
touches of realism that add to the enjoyment of
each scene. The sign above the door to the inn in
the background is written in Hebrew and means
“ hotel."
Boys’ H om em a d e P u tz A liv e
W ith T ru e S p ir it o f C h ris tm a s
By Bonnie Szymanski
Surprisingly, the word
“putz” has little, if anything,
to do with a religious
display. It’s a German word
Ober Case Is Reheard,
Decision Due Dec. 22
Business Directory
Church News
Classified Ads
Editorial Page
Sports Section
Social
26
15
18,19
4
6,7,8
12,13
The Elizabeth Township
Zoning Hearing Board met
on Monday, Dec. 12 for the
second time this year, to
hear the case filed by I.
Luther Ober, a township
supervisor who is seeking to
build a carport at his home.
The first hearing had been
held in August, when the
board granted approval of
the plan as long as the lines
of the carport did not extend
past the existing building.
Ober had already paid a $50
fine for building before the
« "J LITITZ
RETAILERS
ANNOUNCE
CHRISTMAS
TURKEY
WINNERS
I »
The Lititz Retailer's Association has an­nounced
the 18 winners of Christmas Turkeys,
given away this past weekend as part of the
“ Shop Lititz First” Christmas activities
sponsored by local merchants. The winners,
named below, were selected at random from
those who registered in local stores this past
weekend.
Each winner is being notified by mail and will
receive a certificate redeemable for a 12-14 lb.
turkey from Bob’s Save Rite Market.
The winners are: Julie Boiles, 2011/2 N. Broad
St.; Peg Brehm, 111 Swarthmore Drive;
Frederick Brubaker, 105 Chestnut St.; Clyde
Davidson, N. New Street; Donna L. Eckert, 211
Meadow Valley Road; Mrs. Louise Hawthorne,
345 Front St.; Harry C. Hoffman, 233 S. Broad
St.; Joseph H. Klos, 72 Front St.; Ruth Ann
Martin, 559 Hackman Rd.; Sue McCaffery, 305
N. Elm St.; Mrs. Barbara Moore, 4 Farm Lane;
Noah Mumma, 2065 Main St.; James Rathkey,
208 E. 3rd Ave.; Linda Rosini, RD 4; Carolyn
Shenenberger, 220 N. Walnut St.; Charles
Tomlinson, 425 S. Broad St.; Patsy Witmer, 40
Clay Road; and Mildred Yoder, 549 Golden St.
yn I
»I
hearing had been held, and
he later filed with the
Lancaster County Court of
Common Pleas in order to
appeal the board’s decision
on the building restrictions.
The case was remanded to
the zoning hearing board for
rehearing when the county
court decided that the
records from the first
hearing were “inadequate”,
and the rehearing was
scheduled for Monday, Dec.
12.
At Monday night’s hearing
Ober was the only witness as
he spoke before zoning
hearing board members,
Charles Strohm, Wilbur
Graybill, and Dale Diehm.
Representing the board was
James H. Thomas.
Ober was represented by
Wayne G. Hummer, and
serving as representative for
the township supervisors
was Louis J. Farina.
Ober stated that he had
bought the home in 1949, and
that based on measurements
of the property the home did
not meet standards later set
by the zoning hearing board.
His attorney argued that
since the home was a
“nonconforming structure”
the standards set for any
additions or changes would
be different than for homes
that already met the stan­dards.
Hummer also stated that
complications arose because
the Ober home, located at
the intersection of Rt. 501
and Brubaker Valley Rd.,
could be said to have two
front yards, which made it
difficult to determine what
laws controlled additions to
the present structure.
Ober then stated that the
carport was about 19 feet
wide, and about 24 feet long.
He added that the carport
extended about six feet past
the present building of his
home.
Louis Farina, attorney for
the supervisors, questioned
Ober on the reasons he had
for requesting that he be
allowed to build the carport.
“Do you want to keep the
carport because it would be
a hardship to remove what
(Continued on Page 2)
shortened from the word
“ putzen,” meaning a
decoration.
Jane King, secretary at
the Lititz Moravian Church,
expanded on that definition
by explaining that in old
Europe, a putz was actually
a collection of items put on
periodic display in a home.
Later, the custom of
displaying these collections
took on a re ligious
significance; the European
Moravians began presenting >
a series of appropriately
arranged Biblical figures
during the Christmas season
to represent the events
surrounding the birth of
Christ.
Mrs. King suggested that
these early Moravian
displays may have been an
offshoot qf the Medieval
Catholic Church’s custom of
placing scenes at various
“stations” to depict the
Easter Passion or the
Christmas story for the
illiterate masses.
The putz was brought to
America by the Moravians
and, as such, has been kept
alive mainly through
Moravian representation.
That is, until Tim Shenk,
14, and Eric Ober, 15,
decided to build a putz of
their own.
In all fairness, it must be
noted that the original Lititz
“non-Moravian” putz was
the creation of John Shenk,
now 22, and later Kevin
Shenk, 17. John still offers
his brother and Eric ideas
and encouragement for their
own putz.
John’s putz, as is the
younger boys’, was modeled
on the Moravian one the
families enjoyed each year
at Christmas time.
But unlike John, Tim and
Eric have made their
creation into an almost year-round
project.
Start In Summer
In August, they begin work
on the small figures, tiny
buildings, lighting effects
and background design.
They write the script,
using about seven different
sources including the Living
Bible, the Good News Bible,
and the Childrens Story
Bible, then tape the
narration against musical
background on a reel to reel
tape recorder.
Working after school and
on weekends, they create
lighting effects using
equipment purchased at a
discount from Hans Heilman
before he moved to
Colorado. Men as well as
angels are constructed from
tissue paper rolls.
Special effects are devised
so the angels may descend
from “ He aven” and
shepherds and Wise Men can
actually move along a track
across the moss-covered
landscape. Even the
waterfall is a miniature
reality as water is pumped
down a tiny stream bed.
During the 15-minute
presentation, Tim and Eric
work switches hidden
beneath the long table which
holds the little scenes, each
one an important, part of the
story of Christ’s birth.
From Isaiah’s pronoun-
(Continued on Page 2)
The Save Our Soils
Committee of Penn and
Elizabeth Townships have
been working hard to cover
an unexpected $2600 bill for
the printing of bound
v o lum n s of h e a rin g
testimony required by the
Commonwealth Court.
The SOS Committee is
appealing a county court
decision that it must permit
a sanitary landfill along
Penryn Road. Reportedly,
the the appellate court
requires that any party
appealing a decision have all
previous testimonies, etc.
reprinted and rebound ac­cording
to specifications set
by the court. The court also
stipulates how many copies
must be printed.
The committee already
had $1300 from donations in
its treasury, which covered
half the bill. And in the past
month, another $700 has
come in donations from
persons in te re ste d im
keeping the land in question
in agriculture.
The committee is now
asking for donations from
the public for the remaining
$600 to finish paying off the
bill.
According to Scott Shenk,
a committee official, any
organizations or groups who
want to learn more about the
proposed landfill situation
and what the committee is
doing to fight it, may contact1
the committee and request
that members of it show a
group of informative slides
and answer questions.
“We’ll be happy to meet
w ith th em , an sw e r
questions, or do whatever is
necessary to inform them
and get their support,”
Shenk said.
He said that anyone who
wishes to make a con­tribution
to help pay for the
legal costs of the appeal may
send a check to SOS Com­mittee,
P.O. Box 215,
Penryn, Pa. 17564. Persons
can also call Shenk or
committee chairman James
Bachman for information.
Residents of the two
townships have been in
action for over a year now
fighting a sanitary landfill
which a Harrisburg firm,
R.E. Wright Associates,
plans to install along Penryn
Road, in the midst of both
housing developments and
farm land.
Residents have protested
that the landfill site is too
close to Hammer Creek, that
the area is too full of springs
and limestone to avoid the
danger of well pollution, that
the added traffic of garbage
trucks will be hard on their
roads and a danger to their
children, and that the land­fill
itself will generate dust,
odor, rodents, and a general
decline in property values
around it.
The zoning boards of both
townships refused to permit
the landfill, but R.E. Wright
appealed these decisions,
and won his case with the
county court.
The citizens are now ap­pealing
this decision with the
Commonwealth Court.
24 Years On School Board Not Enough
For Ray Groff -• He May Run Again
By Peggy Frailey
Raymond Groff, veteran
school director who lost a
Republican nomination for
re-election in the primaries
last spring after 24 years on
Warwick School Board, is
neither basking in leisure
time nor glad to be free.
“I still don’t have any
spare time,” he said, nod­ding
at a loaded engagement
calendar hanging on his
kitchen wall.
“But I’d be on the Board
still if I had my way. I didn’t
have my fill of it yet,” he
said. “I waited too long to
decide (to run for re-election).
Yes, I miss it, and
I may run again in two
years.”
Groff was the only can­didate
for a six-year term on
the Board who didn’t cross­file
on both Republican and
Democratic tickets in the
primaries.
“That was my mistake,”
he said.
He had considered a write-in
campaign this fall, but
gave up this idea at the last
minute.
He attended his last
meeting as a Board member
in November, and when the
School Board holds its
regular monthly meeting
Tuesday night, it will be the
first time since 1954 that
someone else will be sitting
in Ray Groff’s seat at the
Board table.
Outspoken
One of the most outspoken
members on the School
Board, Groff has been in the
thick of many a battle in the
last 24 years, often standing
alone on an issue, but usually
waging a good fight to the
end. Sometimes he won,
sometimes he lost, but he
always came back for more,
any battle scars received
kept out of sight.
“I can’t bear a grudge,”
he grins. If someone wants to
apologize, “I’m ready to
forgive and forget,” he says.
There have been a good
Raymond Groff and his wife, Betty,
sip coffee in their kitchen while they
talk about Groff's 24-years on
Warwick School Board. Although
defeated in last spring’s primaries,
Groff says he hasn't had his “ fill” of
School Board yet, that he may run
again in two years.
number of things to “forgive
and forget” over the years,
Groff readily admits,
describing himself as a
person who says what he
thinks, and has had a run-in
with most of his associates at
some time or other.
“But I don’t have any
enemies. At least I don’t
think so,” he adds, noting
that most of the ruffled
f e a th e r s h av e been
smoothed out sooner or
later.
First Election
Groff won his first election
to the Rothsville High School
school board in 1954 after a
door to door campaign all
over Warwick Township. He
had run in 1952, but was
defeated that year by Rev.
Richard Hackman.
“The first meeting I at­tended,
we sat on the steps of
Lititz Elementary School
and voted on where to build
the new high school,” he
said.
The Warwick Union
jointure had already been
approved by then, and the
three boards involved -
Lititz, Rothsville, and
Elizabeth Township - were
meeting together to decide
whether to build on the
Moravian property on West
Orange Street or the Risser
farm on Route 501 North.
“I was timid then (“Can
you imagine him being
(Continued on Page 2)
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