Lititz Record Express

              S E R V IN G T H E W A R W IC K A R E A F O R M O R E T H A N A C E N T U R Y
THE
104th Year ESTABLISHED APRIL 1877 AS THE SUNBEAM
CONSOLIDATED WITH THE LITITZ RECORD 1937 Lititz, Lancaster County, PA. 17543, Thursday, August 1 4 ,1 9 8 0 15 CENTS A COPY; $5.00 PER YEAR BY MAIL
WITHIN LANCASTER COUNTY 22Pages-S*o.Ä /
H a rris V a rie ty S to re R e tu rn s T o M ain S tre e t
Busy stocking thousands of items to be found in Harris' variety department
store are Ed Harris, left, and Helen Good, of Lititz, an 11-year-employee.
Has the cycle of small­town
retail merchandising
made a complete circle,
returning to the friendly,
easily accessible variety
department store that an­chors
a downtown business
district?
Ed Harris, son of one of
Lancaster County’s pioneer
small town variety store
merchants, thinks so.
After an absence of nine
years from the variety
department store business,
the name of Harris is return­ing
to downtown Lititz on
Thursday, August 21.
The decision to reopen the
Lititz store was based on two
major factors according to
Harris.
“With the price of gasoline
continually rising, shoppers
again are beginning to see
the economy in shopping the
Supervisors Upset Over Decision
County P lanning Com m ission
Endorses Rothsville Housing
Despite opposition from
residents of Rothsville and
adverse reaction from the
Warwick Township Board of
Supervisors, the Lancaster
County Planning Com­mission
(LCPC) Monday
night, in a vote of 7-1, gave
its endorsement to the
proposed subsidized housing
oroiect in the old Rothsville
sci oi Duiidmg in Rothsville.
While some projects
r ce td rt strong en-cr
s« enr jm the county
planners. and from social
~ge me < id to comment
on the proposals, the
Rothsville School apartment
proposal received only
lukewarm endorsement,
largely because of questions
raised by the Warwick
Township supervisors.
The supervisors told the
Lancaster County Planning
Commission they foresee
problems if the abandoned
Rothsville School is con­v
erted into 15 rent-subsidized
apartments as
proposed by a Lancaster-based
housing corporation.
The supervisors said that
at a public meeting held July
24 Rothsville area residents
B i k e ,
In a letter dated August 5,
William Hazlett, secretary
of the Warwick Township
Board of Supervisors, made
an initial effort to get
together with represen­tatives
of Ephrata Town­ship,
Akron Borough,
Ephrata Borough, Lititz
Borough, Lititz Bicycle
World and Hen and Daves
Bicycle Shop, to measure the
interest in using the old
Reading Railroad bed for
recreational purposes.
expressed concern that there
might not be enough water
available in the area to meet
the needs of both existing
residents and the 15 families
that might move into the
renovated school building.
The Hqusing Development
Corporation is seeking a
$498,750 federal loan, plus a
$94,989 federal grant, to
finance the renovation of the
former school into apart­ments.
The county planners en­dorsed
the proposal noting
“the serious need in Lan­caster
County for affordable
rental housing,” but the
planners also urged that an
engineering study be done to
determine the adequacy of
the water supply.
The lone vote against the
Rothsville School project
was cast by David S. Hoover,
a planning commission
member from East Cocalico
Township.
Warwick Township
supervisors, in their letter to
the LCPC expressing their
c o n c e rn s ab o u t the
feasibility of the Rothsville
School apartment project,
said residents were con­cerned
th a t “ outside
elements” might be “forced
into their community” and
that no public transportation
was available to the school
site.
The planners said that
state fair housing laws
prohibit any landlord from
giving preference to people
of a particular race, ethnic
origin or from a certain
geographic area.
And with i j e to i e
public transportation issue,
the planners note that me
prospective tt j i j ju t
have to be able to aiford
their own transportation.
The township’s concerns
are basically the same as the
concerns of the residents
who spoke out against the
project on July 24.
According to William
Hazlett, secretary-treasurer
of the supervisors board, the
supervisors are concerned
that if more wells are drilled
for the housing project, other
wells in the area might dry
up. Hazlett said the super­visors
are also concerned
that the developer first
proposed keeping the space
remaining after the 15
apartments are finished
(about 2.8 acres) in open
space but has since raised
the possibility that part of
the open space will be used
for more housing.
Car-Buggy Crash
Melvin R. King, 16, of 109
E. Millport Road, Lititz R3,
was killed when he and four
other Amishmen were
thrown from a buggy driven
by 17 year old Sylvan
Stoltzfus. David Y. Esh, 16-,
of 85 Old Leacock Road,
Ronks, was also killed in the
accident near Bird-in-Hand,
when the car driven by Leon
L. Stoltzfus, 29, of 466 E.
Main St., Leola, struck the
back of the buggy. The three
other passengers were in­jured.
Lancaster State Police
reported that the buggy’s
horse was killed and the car
was demolished. The acci­dent
occurred at about 2:20
a.m. on Route 340 in Leacock
Township a half mile east of
Bird-in-Hand. The three
other passengers in the
Meeting Set to Decide Use
H i k e O n O ld R a i l r o a d
“Since parts of this
railroad bed are in Ephrata
Township, Akron Borough,
Warwick Township, Ephrata
Borough and Lititz Borough,
it seems natural that we all
should be involved,” Hazlett
said in the letter.
Now that the ties and rails
have been removed, the
railroad bed is a natural
cartway connecting the
communities and there are
minimal crossings of heavily
traveled roads. The bed
would make an ideal trail for
hiking or biking from any
point along its entire length,
according to Hazlett. “With
the increasing cost of fuel
and more emphasis on local
recreation, this cartway
could serve many purposes
in linking our communities
together and providing a
safe and scenic corridor of
travel,” Hazlett said.
Hazlett notified the in­volved
townships and
boroughs of a meeting
scheduled for August 19 at
the Warwick Township
Municipal Building, Clay
Road, Lititz, at 7:30 p.m. to
formulate a plan to make use
of the tract. At the time of
the August 5 letter, the
county had no intention of
purchasing the tract.
Interested parties or civic
organizations should contact
Bill Hazlett at 626-8900, or
Bob Walker from the Lan­caster
County Planning
Commission, 299-8333.
The scenic area along the Cocalico Creek
between Rothsville and Ephrata borders the old
Reading Railroad bed which might be used for
recreation purposes. A meeting to discuss possible
uses of the property is scheduled for Tuesday,
August 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Warwick Township
Municipal Building, 315 Clay Rd.
nearby, local variety depart­ment
stores first rather than
drive to a distant shopping
center,” Harris said.
There will be a lots of
familiar faces once the store
at 23 E. Main St. reopens.
Charles Lauer, will be
manager of the variety store
and most of the sales person­nel
will return to wait on
customers.
More than eight decades
ago, his father, Joseph S.
Harris, had a similar idea
but for a slightly different
reason.
Opening a store in Terre
Hill before the turn of the
century and then Ephrata in
1901, the local variety
department store appealed
to customers because most
were limited in the distance
they could travel due to the
“horsepower” that burned
oats and hay. Today, the
“horsepower” has changed
and now burns expensive
OPEC oil and customers
again are starting to rethink
their shopping habits.
“Also, I’ve deplored the
trend of business leaving our
downtowns for outlying loca­tions
in the county,” he con­tinued.
“This has erroded the tax
base of the communities and
the stores aren’t making a
return to the community that
is commensurate with the
support they receive from
the buying public.
“We remember the fine,
friendly relationship we had
with the people of the Lititz
area and this helped in mak­ing
our decision to return.”
Harris’ stores once dotted
the county and nearby area.
Following Ephrata, bran­ches
were opened in Lititz,
Denver, Marietta, as well as
Honeybrook and Myerstown.
A d ev a sta tin g fire
destroyed the Ephrata store
just about 10 years ago. On
the second floor of that
rebuilt building, Ed’s wife,
J a n e t, and M a rlen e
Anglestine, operate Harris’
U p stairs, a specialty
designer women’s wear
shoppe.
Harris recalls how mer­chandising
has evolved over
the years.
“In Ephrata we used to
carry a line of men’s hosiery
called Uncle Sam Work
Hose,” he said.
“They sold for 10 cents a
pair or three pair for a
quarter. We’d sew them
together and hang them
from the ceiling. Customers
could just walk along and
pull down what they wanted.
“Back in those days, mer­chandising
economies to cut
costs was a way of life, too. I
remember the front of the
store was always well
lighted. But if a customer
wanted something in the
back, a light bulb was pulled
on and then off again when
the sale was completed.”
When customers go into
!— ”
the new Harris’ store on
Main Street, they’ll find a
complete and diverse line of
variety department store
merchandise, which is at­tractively
displayed. The en­tire
interior of the store has
been renovated with new
flooring, painting and
lighting. The 4,000-square-foot
retail interior has also
been opened to make it
brighter and more airy for
shopper comfort.
Among the well-known
name brands of merchan­dise
are Healthtex infant’s
and children’s ready-to-wear,
Fruit of the Loom
men’s underware and
women’s p a n ty h o s e ,
Bestform bras, Katz ladies
nightwear and Buster Brown
hosiery.
The Harris’ family still oc­casionally
get calls from
oldtime customers who
recall the Ephrata store.
And well they should.
A lot of little extra services
for customers became
routine at the store. The late
Roland Garver, who manag­ed
the Ephrata store,
became particularly well-known
to area tobacco
farmers. As he distributed
merchandise from Ephrata
to the other branch stores in
the county, he also provided
door-to-door delivery of
tobacco muslin for covering
seedbeds.
The original concept
behind the Harris’ chain of
small town variety depart­ment
stores had to do with
transportation.
Ed Harris recalls his
father had a story about
that, too.
“Dad had one of the first
automobiles in Ephrata,” he
said.
“People would come out
just to see him pass by in
that Rambler. And they had
no trouble seeing him
because it only went about 15
miles an hour.”
Now, the automobile as
personal transportation is in
a different kind of evolu­tionary
change. The rising
cost of operating it is helping
to bring back a merchandis­ing
concept whose time has
come again.
I n T h i s I s s u e
Editorial 4 Church 16
Sports Section 6,7,8 Business Directory 18
Social 10,11 Classified 19,20,21
1^1
Scherenschnitte in frames was one of the highlights of the sidewalk craft
show, and Arlene France is the master at the intricate art of snipping.
Second Annual Show Held
The Art of Crafts
Exhibited In
Kills Lititz Youth
buggy included Benuel King,
16, of Gordonville, in critical
condition at Lancaster
General Hospital; Sylvan
Stoltzfus, 17-A Leasal Road,
in satisfactory condition at
Lancaster Osteopathic
Hospital; and John King, 16,
of Box 250 New Providence,
in guarded condition at
Osteopathic.
According to state police,
both vehicles were east-bound
on Route 340. The
driver of the car told police
he did not see the lights on
the buggy, although police
said there were four red
lights in the back of the
buggy and two headlights,
but it was not known if they
were working. The car’s
speed was unknown. The car
driver is no relation to the
buggy driver.
Born in Warwick
Township, King was the son
of Henry S. and Nancy E.
Riehl King. He worked on
the family farm and attend­ed
the Old Order Amish
Church.
In addition to his parents,
he is survived by six
brothers and sisters, Katie,
wife of Elmer P. Esh, Ronks
R2, and Samuel R., Daniel
R., Rachel A., Henry S. Jr.,
and Ephraim R., all at
home.
He also is survived by
paternal grandparents,
Samuel E. and Rachel L.
Stoltzfus King, Leola Rl;
maternal grandparents,
Ephraim D. and Rebecca S.
Esh Riehl, Leola Rl, and
maternal great-grandfather
Aaron Esh, Leola Rl.
The funeral was held from
the King home, Millport Rd.,
Wednesday morning with in­terment
in Myers Cemetery.
The 14th Outdoor Antique
and Collectible Sale will be
held in the Lititz Springs
Park, on the Saturday of
Labor Day weekend, Aug.
39th from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
This popular event has
become the highlight of the
Labor Day weekend, in this
area, and is sponsored by the
Park board of trustees who
use the funds derived for the
operation of this public park.
Antiques from several
eras including Colonial,
Victorian, primitives and
early 20th century collec­tibles
will be featured by 50
dealers from four states.
The Art of Crafts has been
refined to its zenith, and at
the second annual Lawrence
I. Ruggiano Sidewalk Crafts
Show, exhibitors from as far
away as New Jersey and
Maryland set up their
displays along Main and
Broad streets in Lititz. There
were artisans showing and
selling their wares along the
streets throughout the day.
Sponsored by the Lititz
Rotary Club in co-operation
Volunteer workers from
the Lititz Youth Ministry will
operate the park concession
stand, serving a pancake
and sausage breakfast
beginning at 6 a.m. until
10:30 a.m.
Team members of the
local Slo-Pitch League will
serve chicken barbecue
dinners from 11 a.m. to 6
p.m. Proceeds will benefit
the league. Take-out chicken
also will be offered, with the
barbecuing being done by
Graybill Miller of Manheim.
There will be no admission
or parking charge and
convenient rest-room
facilities are available.
with the Lititz Retailers, the
Craft Show Committee in­cluded
James L. Garrett and
Robert Gibble as co-chairmen,
and Robert B.
Hershey, Robert Luttrell, M.
Waldron Vail, Kenneth W.
Martin, William E. Bell Sr.,
and William N. Young.
The WHS Band opened the
days festivities by marching
from the school, down Broad
St., along Front St., up Cedar
St. and along Main. They
stopped in the center of Main
St. and performed their four
selections then marched on.
Two ch e ck s were
presented to the Warwick
High School Band. Mrs.
Lawrence I. Ruggiano,
presented a check for $100 to
Dale Weller, band director,
and Barbara Brubaker,
student director. Mike
Barnhart, president of the
Lititz R e ta ile rs, also
presented a check for $100. A
donation was also made to
the Moravian Trombone
Choir which also performed.
More than 200 exhibitors
displayed their handworks
and exhibits ranged from
wood working and furniture
to stained glass ornaments,
calligraphy and macrame.
One eye catching display
by Arlene France of Lititz,
was her scherenschnitte. She
had several quite large
Lititz pieces of the intricate paper
cutting. Terry Hemmer had
a display of hand made
bandboxes and explained
that these attractive little
boxes were the forerunner of
our present day luggage.
The custom of the early
1800’s when the gentlemens’
collars were separate from
the shirt, was to store the
stiff white collars, known as
bands, in one of these small
hand sewn boxes. That’s why
they were called band boxes.
When the women’s work
force came into being, the
boxes were used to carry
toiletries and work clothes.
Elaine M. Brady had a
wo rk in g d isp la y of
calligraphy in the Sturgis
Lane area of the show. She
had signs and posters for
sale and for admiration.
Other novel ideas included a
selection of dolls houses and
a bit further along, a
macrame expert was of­fering
tiny macrame plant
hangers for dolls houses.
There were dried flowers,
and live plants, photographs
and woodcarving and the
imagination of the creators
was unlimited. Quilts and
stuffed toys were bright
spots of color.
William Bell, president of
the Rotary Club, fit right into
(Turn to Page 12)
Annual Antique Sale
To Be Held Aug. 30th