Lititz Record Express

              T H U R S D A Y , D e c e m b e r . 2 6 , 1 9 9 6
L i t i t z R e c o r d E x p r e s s
120TH YEAR . 24 Pages- No. 37 LITITZ, PENNSYLVANIA 30 cents |
Silent Night. Holy Night
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Holiday business
is ‘inn’ business
Early deadline!
Please take notice of the
early deadline that will be in
effect for the Lititz Record
Express issues on Jan. 2,
The Jan. 2 issue will
require all news copy, retail
display and classified adver­tising
be received no later
than noon on Friday, Dec. 27.
The issue will be printed on
Dec. 30, and will be received
by subscribers on Thursday,
Jan. 2.
Have a happy and safe
new year!
INSIDE
The studern impact of
the holidays
Warwick senior Amy Leek-ing
found that the Christmas
rush means much more than
just shopping headaches. See
Student Perspective, Page 7.
Also, check out the school
" r r r r r-evm
as well as the high school
honor roll for the first m a rk in g
period.
MC High School Band
receives donation
Participating in the Atlantic
Coast Conference champion­ships
was a valuable but cost­ly
experience for the Manheim
Central Band, but that will be
relieved by a donation recent­ly
received from the Manheim
Rotary Club. Page 20.
—
Photo by Stephen Seeber
SINGING CHRISTMAS CAROLS — Challenged by a blustery Thursday night wind and falling snow, the
large crowd that gathered in the gardens of the Lititz Historical Foundation Dec. 19 managed to keep the
glow of candles alive to the sound of the Moravian Trombone Choir. Above from left, Verna Moseman,
Annette and Ralph Moyer huddle for warmth during the annual community carol sing.
STEPHEN SEEBER
AND RICHARD REITZ
Record Express Staff
This, the fourth in a Record
Express series on holiday business in
Lititz, is a focus on the travel aspect
of the season and how area bed and
breakfast inns have become an integ­ral
part of the local Christmas
economy.
LITITZ — White downtown
retailers do their best to stand strong
against the encroaching commericai
glitz of mega mall development, bed
and breakfast clientele are respond­ing
by making Christmas shopping
an event instead of a chore.
The week between Christmas and
New Year’s is extremely busy for
Werner and Debrah Mosimann,
owners of the Swiss Woods Bed &
Breakfast at 500 Blantz Road. They
say the traditional holiday atmo­sphere
of the Lititz area is part of the
draw for distant travelers.
In fact, the Mosimanns annually
host one Michigan couple that comes
to the borough specifically to partici­pate
in the Retailer Association’s
Hometown Christmas.
This year, four of the seven rooms
at Swiss Woods were filled for
Hometown Christmas visitors from
other states, all of which did some
Christmas shopping in the area.
“People love Lititz,” Debrah said.
“It’s the nicest small town in Lancas­ter
County, and we hear that time and
time again from our guests.”
Wilbur buds and Sturgis pretzels
are two of the most popular stops on
the B&B sight seeing docket. The
Mosimanns also said that people get
a kick out of “discovering” quaint
little stores on their own. It’s shop­ping
and relaxation, an environment
that Debrah said the malls cannot
duplicate.
Two weeks ago, SL Martin’s Press
in New York, N.Y., released its
annual list of the nation’s best inns,
B&Bs, and small hotels. Swiss
Woods was one of two Pennsylvania
bed and breakfast operations to
receive and America’s Favorite Inns
Award, an honor that Debrah said
“validates” what her and her husband
have been doing for the past 10 years.
The Carter Run Inn, at 511 E.
Main St, sits just east of Lititz’s most
vibrant retail activity. Ruth Fry
McKennon, who runs the inn with
her husband Millard, said 1996 has
been their busiest year yet. Christmas
is right on par.
(See Inns, Page 24)
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The birthdays of Christmas
A December 25 birthday is a special one,
according to those who would know best
RICHARD REITZ
Photo by Stephen Seeber
Wearing a firefighter’s uniform, 12-year-old Patrick Straw took a ride
on a Rothsviile fire truck to his surprise birthday party at the Chimney
Corner Restaurant.
A Christmas wish
Make-a-Wish makes holiday
special for local youngster
RICHARD REITZ
Pfp'i : cons for 1997
What does the future hold
in store for the coming year?
Anything can happen, but edi­tor
Richard Reitz takes a shot
at a few predictions, with the
help of his old Magic Eight-
Ball. Page 4.
Pen pals?
A local woman, herself a
writer, recently exchanged
correspondence with popular
thriller writer Dean Koontz, a
former resident of Central
Pennsylvania. See Page 12.
Record Express Editor
ROTHSVILLE —- Before he
could even blow out his birthday can­dles,
a Christmas wish came true for
Patrick Straw of Rothsviile.
On Dec. 18, the 12-year-old son of
Ray and Laura Bowman received a
Compac Presario computer through
the Make-A-Wish Foundation of
Lancaster County.
Patrick is suffering from leukemi-a,
and he said he had another idea in
mind for a wish before deciding on a
computer.
“I was going to go on a trip to Dis­ney
World,” the Bonfield Elemen­tary
School sixth grader said. “Then I
thought about it. I can only go to Dis­ney
World once, but I can keep com­puter
and play.”
While he received a few games to
go along with the computer, he said
he also hopes to soon be connected to
the Internet. And while it is is first
computer, he said he is pretty com­fortable
with using a computer —
and is enjoying finally having one at
home.
The entire cost of the computer
was covered through a donation by
Triangle Refridgeration, located at
3200 Oregon Pike, Leola, said Mar­vin
Glick, administrator for Make-A-Wish.
It was provided and installed
(See Make-a-Wish, Page 24)
Lititz girl’s condition
improving after thrown
50 feet in car accident
Warwick wrestlers s o u t h b r o a d s t r e e t —
dominate Man. Twp. By Monday morning, officals at Lan-
Warrlor grapplers demon- caster General Hospital reported that
strafed strength to accompany J essica Gallagher had been moved
its experience, crushing Man- to 1,16 pediatric wing, a sure sign of
helm Township 67-6 in its improvement, after being struck by a
Section One opener. Page 8. minivan on her way to school Thurs­day
morning.
The 12-year-old daughter of Brian
and Marvetla Gallagher, 35 E. Sec­ond
Avenue, Lititz, Jessica was on
her way to her seventh grade class at
Business............................. 18-19 Warwick Middle School with an
Church...................................... ..16 armful of decorations for a Christmas
Classified...........................21-23 party.
Editorial / Letters......................4 She was crossing South Broad
Entertainment 12 Street at Second Avenue around 6:58
Manheim News...................20 a-m-’ t0 Set to class early,
Obituaries....................... 2 2!hen L F°rd Aerost5 - driv®" bJ
Out of the Past...........................5 3f°y W. Kerstetter, 31, of 36 E.
p .. . Market St., Lititz, swerved in an
.................................' ° attempt to miss the girl and clipped
School News...........................6-7 her with the right passenger side of
Social............................ 14-15 the vehicle, throwing Jessica 50 feet
Sports............................. .......8-11 through the air.
Warwick Ambulance transported
her to the hospital, where she was
admitted to the neuro-trama unit in
critical condition.
Lititz Police Sgt. Kerry Nye, who
was on hand for the investigation,
said Kerstetter was within the 35
mph speed limit and had a green
light.
Police are continuing the investi­gation
and ask that any witnesses call
the department at 626-6393.
Police documented a second acci­dent
later that day on South Broad
Street.
At 8:20 p.m., there was a two-vehicle
accident at East Sixth Street
intersection. No injuries were
reported.
According to police, a van driven
by Marianne English, 45, of Lititz,
collided with a car while trying to
make a right turn from the left lane.
Ernest Keysoch, 64, was driving the
car that was hit
Record Express Editor
LITITZ — When Andrew Wen­ger
is asked what day he was bom, he
doesn’t tell them a date.
Instead, the Lititz Elementary
School kindergartener replies, “It’s
on Jesus’ birthday.”
Andrew, who turns 6 on Dec. 25, is
one of many who share a birthday
with one of the biggest Christian
holidays — Christmas.
And since every day is some­body’s
birthday, the law of averages
would dictate ¿hat many would cele­brate
Christmas and their birthday on
the same day. In fact, there are about
a dozen students in the Warwick
School District alone, not to mention
two staff members, whose birthdays
fall on Dec. 25.
While some may think that having
a birthday on Christmas — tradition­ally
two of the biggest gift-receiving
days *in anyone’s year — would
result in a reduction of presents, none
of the four folks we talked to indi­cated
that this happens.
“I like sharing my birthday with
Jesus,” said Andrew, son of Jim and
Kathy Jo Wenger. He also likes that
his Daddy’s birthday — on Dec. 16
— is very close to his.
“We definitely keep it separate,”
Mrs. Wenger said of the birthday and
Christmas celebrations, adding that
she will have three cakes ready, one
for each celebration.
The Wenger’s usually try to come
up with ways to make Andrew’s
celebration special, usually holding a
special party on the weekend before
or after Christmas.
“It’s a birthday that’s a week long
instead of a day long,” Mrs. Wenger
said.
Andrew’s due date was actually
Dec. 25, so Mr. Wenger was con­vinced
that he would not arrive on
Christmas.
“There was no way we thought it
would be on Christmas Day,” he
said. “This was our first baby, and we
knew that the first one never arrives
on the due date.”
Megan Gochnauer was due on
Jan. 1, one day after her father’s
birthday. But instead of being a New
Year’s baby, she arrived a week
earlier.
Megan turns 9 on Dec. 25, and she
thinks it’s neat having a birthday on
Christmas. She also said that her
parents, Dave and Lori Gochnauer of
Lititz, do a pretty good job with her
special day.
Megan, a third grader at Bonfield
Elementary, said coincidentally her
babysitter, Meagan Shuman,
daughter of David and Vicki Shuman
of Lititz and a ninth grader at War­wick
High School, also shares a
Christmas birthday as well as the
same first name. That has given them
a special bond and friendship that
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Photo by Richard Reitz
Some of our neighbors celebrating a birthday on Dec. 25 include:
(front, left to right) Andrew Wenger, Megan Gochnauer, (back, l-r)
Becky Guare and William Garner.
young Megan enjoys.
With her Jan. 1 due date, her
parents thought a shared father-daughter
birthday was possible.
“But now she has her own special
u — --------- -— ^— —
Becky is the best Christ­mas
gift we ever received.
Gary Guare
99
day,” Mom said.
Mrs. Gochnauer added that they
always make sure to keep the birth­day
celebration separate from Christ­mas.
“We never use Christmas wrap
for birthday gifts,” Mrs. Gochnauer
said.
Becky Guare, an eighth grader at
Warwick Middle School who will
turn 14 on Christmas, agreed that
having a Dec. 25 birthday “is kind of
neat.
“Nobody ever thinks that you
would have a birthday on Christ­mas,”
Becky said.
Becky’s father, Gary Guare of
Lititz, said that one way they cele­brated
her birthday was at a “Christ­mas
in July” party at Camp Mack,
where he serves as a ranger.
“We just said, ‘Hey, Becky’s
birthday is on Christmas, so let’s
celebrate it,” he said.
Normally, the Guare’s celebrate
Becky’s birthday on the weekend
before or after Christmas, depending
on when her grandparents can visit.
(See Birthdays, Page 24)