Lititz Record Express

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124TH YEAR 28 Pages- No. 18 LITITZ, PENNSYLVANIA 30 Cents
INSIDE
□ Business
Moving business
Lititz Office Products, a long­time
fixture in the downtown, will
be expanding and moving to a
new facility outside the borough.
Find out more about this on
Page 18.
PocketChange
New downtown business
owner Donna Robinson, who re­cently
opened her Pocket
Change gift shop, is featured in
an article on Page 19.
□ Church
More park
Lititz United Methodist
Church is in the process of work­ing
out a lease agreement with
Warwick Township that would
add 2.25 acres of land to the
Linear Park along Market Street.
Page 16.
Multi-media
Lititz U.M.C. is also involved
with multi-media services, and
during the past year, the church
has discovered that participa­tion
has doubled. Find out more
on this interesting contemporary
service on Page 16,
□ Entertainment
Dulcimer concert
On Tuesday, Mary Gabriel and
Marvin Zook will perform a con­cert
featuring a hammer dul­cimer
and acoustic guitar at the
Lititz Public Library. For more
details on the performance, see
Page 22.
Faire returns
The Pa. Renaissance Faire re­turns
to Mount Hope Estate and
Winery for its 20th season on
Aug. 18. Page 22.
□ Also Inside
Craft Show will
be biggest ever
RICHARD REITZ
____
i l p V V
Photo by Richard Reitz
The renovated memorial fountain at Lititz Square is most impressive at night, when colored illumi­nation
and spouting spring water offer an impressive sight for passing motorists on Routes 501 and
772.
L o n g t i m e c o m i n g
Last major Square
renovation was ’54
Movie Night
The Lititz Jaycees Movie Night
in Lititz Springs Park last Friday
was a hit with local families. Will
there be another one this
season. Find out more on Page
21.
□ Social
STEPHEN SEEBER_________
Record Express Staff
LITITZ — The new and im­proved
borough square quietly
made its debut last Friday night.
The $10,000 renovation includes
new plumbing, new electrical wir­ing,
submerged color illumination,
a working water fountain, land­scaping
by the Lititz Women’s
Club, and reinforced anti-big rig
curbing around the perimeter.
Park board volunteers put the
final toi I c il | oject last
week, a r t Di l C II park board
president, couldn't be more
pleased ' il the t i It
“This i ilit l i mjor reno­vation
al 111 Sq i a t n c ■ the early
1950s, and it "looks great,” Croll
said following Tuesday’s park
board meeting at the train station.
“It’s an important historical part
of Lititz.”
Fixing the curbing, which had
been crushed by tractor-trailer
trucks trying to maneuver through
the intersection, was a big part of
the cost and there is no guarantee
that repairs won’t again be needed
within a few short years.
Croll said the curb costs came in
at just under $4,000 because the
board decided to purchase a more
durable grade of concrete. Due to
the number of nicks the curb takes
on a daily basis, the board original-
Reeord Express Editor
LITITZ — One of the biggest
craft shows on the East Coast is
about to get even bigger.
The 22nd Lititz Rotary Craft
Show will feature 800 vendors in
1,060 spaces in Lititz Springs Park,
along Broad Street from Lincoln
Street to Orange Street, and
stretching along East Main Street
from Broad to Locust Street.
“This is going to be the biggest
show we’ve ever had,” said Robert
Martin, organizer of the event
since it began in 1979. Last year
there were 900 spaces available to
vendors.
It was also the first year that
Broad Street was closed to traffic,
which raised some concerns about
traffic flow and emergency vehicle
access, but ultimately worked out
much better than anticipated. Now
that they know that closing Broad
Street worked out fine, Martin said
they were able to add over 100 new
spaces without increasing the size
of the show.
“And we still have about 500
vendors waiting to get in,” Martin
added.
However, those patient souls will
probably have to wait for someone
to give up their space if they want
to become a part of future shows.
Martin expects this to be the last
time the show expands — at least
by such a dramatic amount.
He said they have been working
closely with local police to prepare
for security and traffic issues for
the event.
Vendors will begin rolling into
town on Friday afternoon, and
Organizers rec­ommend
parking
at Bonfield E le­mentary,
where a
shuttle bus will
take patrons to the
craft show.
many will be setting up for the
show during the night. Though the
show runs from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.,
Martin said it is not unusual to see
shoppers perusing the stands as
early as 7 a.m. — with vendors
ready and willing to make a sale.
And with over 800 vendors, vari­ety
will be plentiful, with every­thing
from wooden furniture to
slate signs to wind chimes, and
other creative baubles and hand­crafted
gifts.
Parking in Lititz is a challenge
on almost any day, let alone during
a show that attracts an expected
attendance of 40,000 on one day
alone. But Martin said that patrons
should be able to find spaces for
their vehicles, either at the high
school, along streets in town, or out
near Bonfield Elementary School
on Oak Street.
Once again, the Rotary will
sponsor a shuttle bus that will pro­vide
an easy connection to the
show from Bonfield Elementary
and other parts of town along the
route.
More CRAFT SHOW on A-4
Brindley joins patrol
with Warwick police
RICHARD REITZ
Photo by Stephen Seeber Express Editor
Fixing up the Square was a good father-son project for Kurt
(foreground) and Bob (background) Herzer. They were a big part
of the park board effort to breathe new life into the 50-year-old
monument.
ly wanted to install a protective
steel guard at the northwest corner
of the Square. According to Jim
Nuss, park manager, PennDOT
denied the board’s request, making
concrete the only option.
Within a few minutes of sharing
the news of PennDOT’s denial
with the Record Express, Nuss
watched as yet another large rig
crested the brand new curb while
trying to turn left at the Square.
While one corner may present
continual problems for those in
charge of Square maintenance, the
rest of the monument is once again
in tip-top shape to honor the mem­ory
of Dr. P.J. Roebuck and his fel-
More SQUARE on A-21
WARWICK TWP. — A new
police officer will join the Warwick
Township Police Department at
the end of this month.
On Aug. 2, Warwick Township
supervisors approved the hiring of
Matthew Brindley, 27, as a pa­trolman
for the department.
Brindley lives in Warwick
Township with his wife. He has
been a resident of this area since
1991. He is currently employed as
a patrolman with the Penn Town­ship
Police Department, where he
has served for the past four years.
He will officially join Warwick po­lice
on Aug. 28.
“I like the progressiveness of
this area, and of this police depart­ment,”
Brindley said.
He is a graduate of Penn State
University, with a bachelor of sci­ence
degree in administration of
justice. His hobbies and interests
include hunting, fishing, weightlift­ing,
football, baseball and ice hock­ey.
Warwick Police Chief Alfred
Olsen is looking forward to Brind­ley’s
arrival on his police force.
“Matt is well qualified and I am
sure that he will fit in well with the
More NEW OFFICER on A-21
Some have meaningful attachment to Lititz eyesore
Penryn sales
It was another successful and
popular day of fun and bargains
last Saturday in Penryn, as resi­dents
flocked to the yard sales,
auction and picnics that united
the community. Kathryn
Shreiner’s story and photos
begin on Page 15.
□ Sports
Talkin’baseball
In the first of a three-part
series, columnist Tim Reedy
talks about playing on a local
“field of dreams.” Page8.
Sload honored
Ivan “Mick” Sload, who offi­cially
retired as a teacher and
coach this past year, was hon­ored
recently by the Warwick
Athletic Department for his 34
years of tireless dedication to
the school.
□ Index
Births.................................. 14
Business........................ 18-19
Church........................... 16-17
Classified.......................23-27
Editorial / Letters..................4
Arts/Entertainment.............22
Obituaries.................. 12-13
Out of the Past..............20-21
Police/Fire Log.................. 2-3
School News.....................6-7
Social............................ 14-15
Sports..............................8-11
Couples who tied the knot at Orange and Broad are not necessarily married to preserving the church
STEPHEN SEEBER_________
Record Express Staff
LITITZ — While the borough
moves forward on seeking demoli­tion
bids for the old church at
Broad and Orange streets, many
local residents see the towering
Gothic brownstone that once was
St. Paul Lutheran Church as much
more than an eyesore. They see it
as the sanctuary that housed the
exchange of their wedding vows.
For many, the memories of Holy
Matrimony in what is now a con­troversial
building have been some­what
spoiled by the lack of upkeep.
And it is because of the former
church’s current condition that so
many would like to add the razing
of the structure to their memories.
Here is what four couples who
were married in the church be­tween
1948 and 1955 have to say:
• Rufus and Marian Burkholder
— During a phone interview, Mari­an
asked her husband if he wanted
to put in his two cents. After a
brief pause, she returned to the
phone and said, “He doesn’t care.”
For her, the old church where
she and her husband were married
on Oct. 16, 1948, it’s just an eye­sore
and it bothers her to see it in
such a state of disrepair.
“Something else should be done
there,” she said. “It should go.
“St. Paul moved from there
many years ago, and (tearing it
down) wouldn’t bother me at all.
It’s a beautiful building and the
BEFORE — This is how Reba and Dick Oberlin remember St.
Paul Lutheran Church at Orange and Broad streets. Their wedding
was held in the church’s grand sanctuary on May 27,1951.
AFTER — This is same view of the sanctuary today, nearly half
a century after Reba and Dick exchanged vows. Their 50th anni­versary
may very well be marked by the church’s demolition.
stone is gorgeous, but now is the
time.”
In Marian’s opinion, a little park
with a few benches and trees
would be just perfect for the inter­section.
“And a widened street,” she
added. “And maybe a plaque of
some sort would suit. Not anything
expensive, just altractive.”
• Reba and Dick Oberlin — For
the Oberlins, there are just too
many fond memories to let go of
the old church, regardless of its
current condition.
“My family moved to Lititz
when I was six, and we transferred
to St. Paul,” Reba recalled. “All
my growing up memories were es­tablished
in that building.”
As far as she’s concerned, if the
borough is not going to widen the
intersection the church should stay
up and be restored.
“There is too much history
there,” she said. “I really think
they (Borough Council) should try
to preserve it.”
In addition to their wedding day
— May 27, 1951 — the Oberlim
witnessed the baptism of their two
children at the old church.
Ultimately, Reba wishes that the
St. Paul congregation would have
More WEDDINGS on A-21