Lititz Record Express

              - m*
THE HESS
SE RH\C THE WARWICK AREA FOR MORE THAIS’ A CENTURY
105th Year ESTABLISHED APRIL 1877 AS THE SUNBEAM
CONSOLIDATED WITH THE LITITZ RECORD 1937 Lititz, Lancaster County, PA. 17543, Thursday, April 2,1981 20 CENTS A COPY. $6 00 PER YEAR BY MAIL
WITHIN LANCASTER COUNTY 28 Pages-No. 1
I
A rtist's drawing of the completed structure shows the blending of the old and
new so that the two are inseparable.
"Our Growing Landmark"
Lititz Mutual Holds Open
House, Addition Completed
by Mildred Spear
Lititz Mutual Insurance
Company, "Our Growing
Landmark", is a business
that can be seen to be built as
solidly as rock.
Bulwark of the Lititz
downtown scene, the newly
completed addition, com­prising
15,000 square feet in
three stories encased in a
perfectly matched stone
facade, will be "on show" at
an invitational open house,
April 10. Henry Gibbel,
executive vice president,
said there had been over 400
responses to the invitations
from as far away as Georgia
and Missouri.
The addition itself was
carefully true to the original
buildmg which was erected
in the 1940s and which
contains a wealth of detail
and craftsmanship. The
stone walls of the original
building are easily two feet
thick, and that as well as the
deep window sills have been
faithfully reproduced in the
new section.
The massive stone walls of
the 1940s structure, have
been used as exposed stone
interior walls in the new
board room and in several
other offices. Stairways are
built on inside walls to allow
as much natural light as
possible into the various
departments.
The overall feeling of the
Lititz Mutual intefior, is one
of spacious, comfortable
working areas that offer
privacy without enclosing.
The entire atmosphere
shows the considerations
and foresight in the plan­ning,
which took about two
years before actual labor on
the addition started.
The interior is an energy
efficient, business efficient,
climate controlled layout
with the latest capabilities.
The Company
Lititz Mutual is the
company behind the in­surance
policies that protect
a lm o s t one h u n d re d
thousand people from loss to
their homes, farms, business
and institutional properties.
As one of the 100 largest
mutual insurance companies
in the nation, the company
services extend to property
owners and agents in eleven
states and the District of
Columbia.
, The home office, the
landmark on Lititz Square,
is the hub and com­munications
center of the
Company with financial and
operational procedures
carried out and maintained
for thousands of policies, on
the spot. It is the service
center for more than 500
professional agents, as well
as the support personnel
those agents need.
The company has grown
since its inception in 1888, to
a multi-million dollar
business insuring property
in towns from Pennsylvania
to Florida and westward to
Missouri and Kansas. The
growth chart for a forty year
span shows a leap from
$582,000 in 1941 to $16,578,000
in 1981 m Policyholders
Security Accounts.
Officers of the company
include, Jacob H. Ruhl,
president; Henry Gibbel,
executive vice president and
secretary; John R. Gibbel,
vice president; and Stanley
E. Honig, treasurer.
Company directors in­clude
Clyde W. Horst, New
Holland; Jack S. Watson,
Lititz; W. Hensel Brown,
Lancaster; Paul G. Hess,
Lititz; Ruhl, Henry Gibbel
and John Gibbel.
Independent agents
provide the services of Lititz
Mutual in other locations.
History
A "pen and ink ledger by a
few men with a desire to
protect their neighbors from
financial loss from fire”, the
September 1888 charter was
the culmination of five
months of organizing.
On May 1, 1888, 25 Lan­caster
County citizens met at
Lititz to form a new Mututai
Fire Insurance Company,
with secured prospective
subscriptions for insurance
m the amount of $510,000 to
back it. The official title of
the company was "The
Agricultural Natural Fire
Insurance Company of
Lancaster County.
Many of the By-Laws of
the company have never
been changed, and are as
applicable today as they
were ninety three years ago.
The primary purpose of the
organization was the mutual
protection from financial
loss by fire of farm property
in Lancaster County. Farm
underwriting is still a major
portion of the Lititz Mutual
business.
The Addition
Construction of an addition
to more than double the size
of it’s headquarters was
approved by Lititz Mutual
Insurance Company Board
of Directors in July of 1978
and following that decision
the David Lynch &
Associates firm of Lan­caster,
was retained as
architect for the project.
Much time and thought
was put into exploring of
schematic and design work
for the 15,000 square foot
addition which m design and
construction would match
the architecture of the
existing h e ad q u a rte rs
building built in 1940. The
original building contains
12,700 square feel.
(Turn to Page 20)
Zartman Podge Low Bidder
Borough Council Accepts
Bid For New Police Car
Lititz Borough Council
Tuesday night approved the
purchase of a new police car
from the low bidder, Zart­man
Dodge of Lititz. The
new car will be a Dodge
Aries K-car police cruiser at
a cost, with trade in, of
$5,380.
Council also tentatively
approved the opening of
West Sixth Street from South
Spruce Street to Woodcrest
Avenue. The street will run
through the new Crosswinds
development.
West Sixth Street would
become the development’s
main artery. Final approval
is contingent on a study of
storm water runoff.
In other business, Council:
• In order to alleviate
flooding around Long and
Bomberger Home Center, 45
N. Broad St., agreed to pay
half the cost of laying pipe.
The project's total cost is
$3,875.
• Approved Officer Leroy
Emmerich request to attend
a two-day seminar entitled
"Arson Detection and
Control” at a cost of $2 per
hour for off-duty attendance.
The seminar will be held at
Millersville State College
April 8 and 9.
Campaign Articles
To Be Published In Thee Issues
The Record Express
will again accept
campaign articles by
the candidates in the
primary election May
19, and will publish
these in the April 23,
April 30 and May 7
issues of the paper. No
articles will be printed
in the May 14 issue.
Any candidate who
cares to submit one
article commenting on
his or her qualifications
and views on issues.
The articles should be
typewritten, double-sp­aced,
and should not
exceed two 8V2 x 11 inch
pages. They must be
submitted by the Friday
before the desired date
of publication.
They should be ad­dressed
to Editor, Lititz
Record Express, 22 E.
Main St., Lititz, PA
17543.
• Revised the subdivision
applicatiop fees, making
both; the ■ basic application
and construction rates $50
and the per unit cost $7.50.
• Hired Luther Styer as a
water meter reader. Styer
will read the meters in the
evening and Saturday
mornings. Residents may
ask to see his borough
identification card.
• Approved the hiring of
personnel for the swimming
pool. Council announced that
the Lititz swimming pool
season will run from June 11
to September 7. The pool’s
hours will be 12:30 p.m. to
8:30 p.m. Monday through
Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 8
p.m. on Sundays.
• Approved an increase in
the employee voluntary
contribution to the municipal
employee pension fund.
Employees may now con­tribute
up to 10 percent.
• Appointed James Eby,
Lincoln Avenue, to the
borough Sewer Authority.
He replaces William Hand,
who resigned.
• Approved the in­stallation
of a box to the
front door of the borough
offices, 7 S. Broad St., for
water and sewer payments
and police fines.
• Announced the borough
offices will be closed Good
Friday, April 17.
• Approved the purchase
of seven American flags for
the light standards from the
Valley Forge Flag Co. for
$163.76. (
• Permitted the Lititz
Fire Company to close Pine
Lane and West Main Street
for its festival May 8 and 9.
• Announced the Lititz
United Methodist Church
contributed $100 in lieu of
taxes and m support of
Borough services. This was
the church’s third con­tribution.
• Announced the Lan­c
a s te r County Com­missioners
approved the
Liquid Fuels Fund Budget
for 1981 and the allocation
amounting to $12,576 to the
Borough of Lititz.
• Announced the PP&L
rate increases are 12.13
percent increase for mer­cury
lights and 12 percent
increase for incandescent
lights.
• Announced that taxes,
including real estate, per
capita, occupation and oc­cupational
privilege, taken
in from Jan. 1,1981 to March
25, 1981 amounts to $67,000.
(Real estate transfer taxes
received for the same period
amounted to $12,600.)
No Decision Handed Down
Judge Bucher Hears
WTCCESS Civil Suit
Months of discontent by
the Warwick Township
Citizens Committee for an
Equitable Sewer System
l WTCCESS) came to a head
last Thursday morning when
the 900-member citizens
group tried in Lancaster
County Court to get Judge
Wilson Bucher to grant them
a preliminary injunction
against the sewer project.
The group was also seeking a
continuance to postpone the
hearing.
Robert G. Sharkey, 326
Owl Hill Road, Lititz, Carl
W. Myers, 128 Mayfield
Drive, Lititz, and George
Downey, 620 Owl Hill Road,
Lititz, co-chairmen of
WTCCESS, acted as trustees
ad litem for the citizens
group with Sharkey being
the spokesman for the group.
Sharkey told Judge
Bucher that WTCCESS was
not represented by legal
counsel, having had to
dismiss their attorney, O.
Howard Mummau, because
of a lack of funds. Sharkey
said their costs had tripled
and blamed it on the
maneuvering of legal briefs
by the attorneys for the
Warwick Township
M u n ic ip a l A u th o n ty
(WTMA), William Crosswell
and Jan P. Paden. Crosswell
denied the allegation and
told Judge Bucher the
lawsuit was "brought" in
bad faith, was facetious and
is harassment." Crosswell
also contended that as tar as
briefs that were filed, they
were in no way intended to
• • break "the citizens group.
Judge Bucher told
Sharkey, "You c a n 't
practice law without a
license. Bucher did
however allow Sharkey to
take the stand and present
evidence but told him he
would be unable to question
or cross-examine any wit­nesses.
Bucher refused to grant
WTCCESS a preliminary
injunction and did not give
the group a continuance to
postpone the hearing. He did
give the citizens group 10
extra days to file briefs.
Bucher noted that one of
the awkward problems
concerning the suit is that
WTCCESS is not in­corporated.
"You gentlemen
are not attorneys and 1
cannot allow you to act as
lawyers, ’' Bucher said.
Sharkey told Bucher that a
le g a l a id g roup in
Philadelphia was interested
in representing the group.
After Sharkey took the
witness stand he began
reading from the nine-page
civil suit that the citizens
group brought against the
WTMA, Garden Spot Con­struction
Co. of Lancaster
and Lisbon Contractors Inc.
of Danboro, PA. George D.
Alspach, of Alspach and
Ryder, 232 N. Duke St.,
Lancaster, is the attorney
tor Lisbon Contractors, and
David 1. Davis, of Harmon
and Associates, 33 N. Duke
St., Lancaster, is the at­torney
tor Garden Spot
Construction Co.
Some of the complaints
alleged against WTMA by
WTCCESS are that:
• At the time of action by
the Authority in acting upon
contracts and authorizing
their letting, none of the
members of the WTMA had
ever taken an oath of office.
• Contracts are lacking
the mandated provisions
requiring the use of United
States steel.
• The bonds issued for the
construction of the system
were issued to pay a rate of
interest in excess of that
which was permitted at the
time of their issuance under
the Municipality Authorities
Act.
• The Authority has
ad o p te d r e s o lu tio n s
assessing fees for the costs
of construction and the
service of the system that
are violative of the
Municipality Authorities Act
and which are unfair and
unreasonable.
• The sy s tem was
designed m a manner which
increased the initial cost of
the entire project by in­cluding
unimproved areas ot
the township and not in­cluding
some developed
areas.
Additionally, there were
several charges against
Lisbon. They included:
• Failure to wait an
adequate time before
repaving road surfaces over
open sewer lines.
• Failure to control
s u b c o n tr a c to r s from
removing or damaging trees
and shrubbery on residential
property.
• F a ilu r e to give
residents notice ot planned
blasting operations.
• Failure to take proper
precautions in the placing ot
blasting materials.
(Turn to Page 15)
In this issue
Editorial 4
Sports Section 6,7,8,9
Classified 13,14,15
Social 18,19
Church 24
Business Directory 26
Set April 8th
The monthly meeting
of the Lititz Retailer’s
Association has been
scheduled for the second
Wednesday of this
month. The April
meeting will be held
next Wednesday, April
8th at 7:30 P.M. at Wells
Warwick House.
All area businessmen
are welcome and invited
to attend.
L ititz R ecord Exp re s s
C elebrates 10 5 th Y e a r
The Record Express
is beginning its 105th
year of publication this
week.
The p a p e r was
founded by as the
Sunbeam by John G.
Zook, and originally was,
a monthly publication,
nine by 12 inches in size.
Zook continued as editor
for many years with
offices at 22 E. Main St.,
location of the present
Record Express.
Its name was changed
to the Lititz Express m
1881. Meanwhile, the
Lititz Record had been
founded elsewhere by
Frank Buch in 1877 and
merged with the Ex­press
in 1937,- becoming
the Record Express.
A new format was
adopted at that tune,
with the paper ap­pearing
in one section,
instead of two and
sometimes three sec­tions
as before.
In the Dec. 2, 1971
issue, a new masthead
was in tro d u c e d ,
designed by Mrs.
George R. Garrett for a
contest conducted by
the papers.
With the Jan. 10 issue,
1974, the paper took on
still another new look
with new, easier to read
type.
In October of 1977, the
paper marked its 100th
a n n iv e r s a ry by
publishing a special
historical issue.
Ralph Buch suc­ceeded
his father as
owner of the Record,
eventually selling out to
Edward Fulweiler and
James R. Johnson. They
in turn sold the merged
paper to William Young,
who was publisher and
editor for nearly 25
years.
In January 1962 the
paper was acquired by
Robert G. Campbell, the
present owner and
publisher. Under his
supervision, the paper
converted from letter
press to the offset
printing process with
the Sept. 23,1971 issue.
A n n u a l A m b u c S h o w S a tu r d a y
' S u g a r ! ’ ' S u g a r ! ’ ’ S u g a r ! ’
By June Smith
Why not treat your
"Sugar” to a sweet night out.
Just a few more days to
decide — and won’t you be
sorry you missed it when you
hear how good the 22nd
Annual Lititz Ambuc
musical was?
You save Saturday nights
for your bath? Come Friday
- or skip the bath just this
once. An extra splash of
cologne will do. Sit in the
comfort of the Warwick High
School and auditorium this
Friday or Saturday. The
show starts at 8 p.m., but
those of you who have come
to our productions know we
fill up early.
This tickets are still $3 for
the general section and $4 for
the reserved area. Sorry, no
discounts, even though you
have seen all of our shows,
(maybe we could find a few
Purple Hearts —)
The show is probably new
to many of you. Remember
“Once Upon A Mattress”
three years ago? No one
knew that one either, but it
was one of the funniest we’ve
ever done. We feel “Sugar”
is just as funny and is sure to
draw a few guffaws from
even the most serious person
in the audience.
Picture Chicago in the
early thirties - the curtain
opens on Sugar Kane (Carla
Ritter) and the girls singing
"When You Meet A Girl In
Chicago”. These girls are
members of Sweet Sue
(Turn to Page 2)
Dressed as Josephine, Dennis Ritter, left, and Daphne, played by Jim Nagle,
seem to be enjoying themselves too much!