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Vintage Christmas

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Stacey Toomey loves anything that brings what she calls “character” to her home. “I love old, repurposed and vintage … any and all of it,” she says. “I like that there are stories connected to old things.” Most of all, she loves “the thrill of the hunt.” 

At holiday time, the neutral color scheme that defines Stacey’s living room is accented with the color green – courtesy of various-sized trees, plants and greenery. The room is illuminated by candles, string lights, lamps and a vintage chandelier.

Stacey’s strategy for holiday decorating centers on formulating a plan that she describes as “Christmas but not necessarily Christmas.” To carry out that strategy, she likes to use color, texture and lighting that not only convey the spirit of the holidays but keep her home looking warm and cozy throughout the winter months. 

“Red is my favorite color lately, so that’s been a theme for the last few years,” she explains. Pops of red bring a seasonal note to the neutral color scheme that defines the interior of the house. “I’m just drawn to red when I’m shopping,” Stacey says of such finds as mid-century Skotch Koolers that were once a picnic necessity, vintage thermoses, plaid blankets and throw pillows that add just the right amount of the color to the décor. Natural elements such as fruit (pomegranates and apples) and berries are also utilized. Texture is introduced via the plethora of faux trees – in all shapes and sizes – that add a holiday touch, as well as subtle sparkle throughout winter. “Wherever there’s a gap, add a tree!” has become her mantra. 

“This year, I’ve decided to decorate my potting shed for Christmas,” Stacey says of the she-shed her husband, Ron, built for her. “Ron’s creative in his own right,” Stacey shares. “I offer ideas and he knows how to make them work.” Well, make that with the exception of one idea. A few years ago, the idea occurred to Stacey that she could make her dining room more festive by bringing patio-style string lights indoors and have them radiate from the vintage chandelier. “He just didn’t get my vision and said it wouldn’t look right,” she recalls. “He kept avoiding the subject, so, one day last year I came up with a plan and did it myself. He was surprised to see it done when he got home from work!”     

Stacey, who works at Henrys’ Farm and Greenhouses in Holtwood, begins thinking about Christmas in October. By the second week of November, she is in full decorating mode. “I really like to intermingle the seasons,” she says of having Halloween transition into Thanksgiving and Christmas blend into the winter season. By early February, she is ready to welcome Easter and spring. Summer is devoted to the stunning gardens that define the property. 

An old church pew that Stacey painted holds textured throw pillows and a furry throw. The window sill is lined with poinsettias that echo the living room’s neutral color scheme.

While Stacey and Ron live in a modern-day subdivision, a first-time visitor would be taken aback once they pass through the front door. It appears you’ve stepped into a period farmhouse. “Just about everything is thrifted or secondhand,” she points out. “I like that eclectic, cozy look.” By mixing and constantly editing her finds, Stacey has cultivated a design aesthetic that is anything but predictable. 

She credits her mother, Debbie Rhoads, for her creative energy. “My mom loved to decorate. Christmas was a big deal at our house,” she says of the fond holiday memories she has from her childhood. Sewing was another of her mother’s fortes. “I just remember my mom always having something going on from a creative standpoint,” Stacey says. Debbie still loves Christmas and uses her talents to create personalized stockings for new family members. 

Stacey formulates the ideas for DIY projects and Ron helps to execute them.

As for creating new memories, this mom of three is following in her mother’s footsteps. In October, Stacey carried out the role of designing her son’s wedding that took place on a farm in North Carolina. As the wedding and reception employed a vintage theme, Stacey was in her element. “I spent a year collecting vintage glassware that we used on the dining tables,” she explains. She is looking forward to Christmas and making it special for her 1-year-old granddaughter. “It will be so fun this year!” Stacey says. 

Stacey’s other idea of fun is shopping for vintage décor and accessories for her home and garden. She names Facebook Marketplace as her go-to source for just about anything. For in-person shopping, she loves to stroll through Tollbooth Antique Marketplace in Columbia. “I find so many treasures there,” she says. 

A small sitting room/office at the front of the house is always the last to be decorated. “I use whatever I have leftover to decorate it,” Stacey says. Last year, the “dusting of snow” theme utilized flocked trees and wreaths, snowflakes, ice skates, white houses and a furry throw.

In October, a friend invited her to go to the famous Lucketts Spring Market in Berryville, Virginia, that features more than 200 of the best “vintage hip” vendors on the East Coast. The market, which is held in the spring but was postponed until fall this year, is an outgrowth of The Old Lucketts Store, which is home to more than 35 dealers specializing in vintage. A Holiday Design House is held in November/December as well. “I’ve been wanting to go for years and a friend happened to have an extra ticket,” she says of her good fortune. Also on her radar are the Brimfield Antique Market in Massachusetts and The Original Round Top Antiques Fair in Texas. 

On the Cover: Kirk Zutell photographed Stacey Toomey’s dining room that exemplifies her talents for incorporating finds and DIY projects into her home’s décor.

Oh, yes. There is one more goal on her to-do list. “I’d love to buy an old house,” she says. 

Follow Stacey on Instagram @Stac.2me. 

The open shelves in the dining room are filled with vintage Skotch Kooler items, thermoses and other finds that bring a touch of red to the room.
Greenery, a basket filled with pinecones, miniature houses and bowls filled with fruit (including red and Granny Smith apples and pomegranates) provide the kitchen with holiday colors and seasonal warmth.
The door to the sitting room/office was a DIY project. The door was found in a friend’s shed, while the track was discovered in the basement of Stacey’s parents’ house. “It was a total freebie,” she says of the project.
The staircase is lined with stockings Stacey’s mother, Debbie Rhoads, has made over the years for family members. “She’s an amazing seamstress,” Stacey says of her mother.
Paper bag stars were a DIY project last year. (Plenty of tutorials are available online.) “They can also be cut to resemble snowflakes,” Stacey says. She so liked the results that she used pink and white bags to make decorations for a baby shower.
This forest scene is composed of Stacey’s collections of vintage deer, bottle brush trees and houses. “I’ve been collecting houses for years,” she says. Birch elements, greenery and clear bubble lights complete the scene.
Even the powder room receives the holiday touch with the addition of a faux tree, a seasonally scented candle and a framed vintage greeting card that reads, “May Santa Claus be good to you this Christmas.”
Elements of red create a welcoming tone at the front entrance of the Toomeys’ home. Stacey spray-painted a pair of old boots and filled a Skotch Kooler and Swiss letterbox with greenery, birch and pinecones. The stenciling on the floor of the porch was a DIY project.
The patio at the front of the house was decorated for the holidays with a faux fireplace that was positioned in front of a windowbox that Stacey filled with grasses and greens. The fireplace mantel was topped with clay pots filled with greens and berries. Stacey spray-painted the chair and added seasonal elements to the large container gardens.

Opa! Options Abound! Yorgos Restaurant & Lounge

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’Tis the season to celebrate! If a holiday dinner is on your schedule or you feel like welcoming the New Year with music and dancing, this downtown destination offers three floors of dining and entertainment under one roof. 

In 2017, an eight-month renovation project transformed both the interior and exterior of the building the Katsaros family purchased in 1989.

The family-owned-and-operated business opened in 1989, when George and Ekaterina Katsaros purchased the iconic Zimmerman’s Family Restaurant at the corner of Orange and Queen streets in Lancaster. A second generation, including sons Antoni “Tony” and Gus, have made the business a family affair. “I grew up in the business doing whatever I could, like washing dishes,” Tony recalls. 

Not only are there two generations involved in the business, but its customer base extends across several generations, as well. “We have a lot of long-time customers; some have dined with us ever since we opened,” George says. “We have some customers who came here with their parents and now they’re coming in by themselves or with their families.” 

The restaurant’s founder and namesake, George Katsaros (right), with his son, Tony, who grew up in the business. Kefi’s color scheme pays homage to the Aegean Sea and other elements of Greece.

Over the years, the restaurant has gradually evolved via several renovations and expansions. The 2007 renovation included a name change from Zimmerman’s Family Restaurant to Yorgos Restaurant & Lounge. The name Yorgos is a nod to the family’s Greek heritage. Yorgos is the Greek form of George, making it a fitting choice when the family renamed the restaurant. During that renovation the first floor dining area was completely gutted and revamped. Hardwood floors and a U-shaped bar were installed. Several large-screen TVs are scattered throughout the area. 

The restaurant closed for eight months in 2017 for extensive renovations that resulted in adding second and third floor dining areas, including the rooftop deck. The kitchen was also shifted to the lower level and an elevator was installed to provide access to all of the floors. 

In the past year, a carry-out bottle shop was added to the rear of the first-floor restaurant and lounge, and a set of folding glass doors, which open to a few sidewalk tables, was added to the front of the restaurant. “The glass doors really open up the restaurant. I wanted to add them for a while; I’m glad we finally did it,” George says. 

Pan-seared Chilean sea bass (with sautéed mushrooms, grape tomatoes, capers and Kalamata olives) is simmered in garlic and white wine. Accompaniments include rice pilaf and fresh broccoli. From bartender Chris Hess: A Blue Citrus Crush martini composed of whipped vodka, lime, lemon and orange juices and Blue Curacao.

Each of the two dining venues – Yorgos Casual Pub on the first floor and Kefi Mediterranean Taverna on the second floor has its own atmosphere and menu. Tony says Yorgos, which seats 50 at the bar, high-tops, tables and a banquette, is more casual, with the menu’s focus being pub fare. Kefi is more upscale and the menu emphasizes Mediterranean cuisine. It seats about 70 and has its own bar. The third element – the rooftop venue, Little Mykonos – features indoor/outdoor dining and seats about 60 inside and 30 outside. It’s also home to music and dancing and is serviced by its own bar. “There’s an incredible view from the rooftop area. It’s great for parties,” Tony says of holiday gatherings, rehearsal dinners, showers, small weddings and other special celebrations that are held in the space. It’s also a great spot to watch Lancaster’s fireworks and New Year’s Eve activities. 

A second-floor storage area was transformed into a Greek-inspired taverna, while the third floor was reclaimed to function as a music and entertainment venue.

Last year’s pandemic regulations prompted outdoor dining to be extended into the winter months. At Yorgos, guests could dine on the rooftop in heated “bubbles.” George says the bubbles will be in service again this year. “They create an intimate dining space,” Tony says. “It’s really a different experience to be in one of the bubbles when there’s snow on top of them,” George adds of the ambiance the bubbles create.

Yorgos’ pub-style menu features soups, appetizers (starters), burgers made with Certified Angus Beef, paninis and sandwiches, flatbreads and entrées such as fish and chips and pasta primavera. Greek salads and entrées are available, as well. There’s even a kid’s menu. Breakfast is served daily until 1 p.m.

Broiled crabcakes are accompanied by a cocktail Chris calls a Yorgos Hennessey. “We put our own spin on the classics,” he says of the restaurant’s specialty cocktails.

Kefi’s menu features salads (including a grilled Greek salad), appetizers such as fried eggplant and fried calamari, and entrées such as pasta, steak, fish and seafood. Greek specialties such as Psari Plaki (baked halibut), Paidakia lamb chops and Mediterranean chicken also define the menu. “We’re known for our Greek items. We use family recipes and recipes we’ve developed over the past 32 years,” Tony says. 

One of Yorgos’ and Kefi’s signature items is avgolemono, a classic Greek soup made from chicken, lemon and rice. George says it’s been made in-house by Ekaterina since the restaurant opened. Another Greek favorite is saganaki, a Kefalograviera cheese flambé that’s made table-side. Desserts include a Greek favorite, baklava.

The ground floor’s pub-style atmosphere makes it a favorite destination to enjoy an after-work drink.

The Greek fare pairs well with Ouzo (an anise-flavored apértif), Greek wines or beer. The cocktail list is expansive. The beverage menu and carry-out bottle section also offers a variety of beer, craft brews and flavored malt beverages. Adult slushies are also available to-go.

The rooftop “bubbles” that debuted last year will be back in service this winter. Photo courtesy of Yorgos.

Yorgos Restaurant and Lounge is located at 66 N. Queen St. Yorgos’ hours are 8 a.m.-2 a.m. daily. Kefi’s hours are 4-10 p.m., Monday through Sunday. Little Mykonos’ hours are 5 p.m.-close, Monday through Sunday. Reservations are suggested and can be made online via the restaurant’s website or through OpenTable. Carry-out is available. For details, call 717-394-6977 or visit yorgoslancaster.com, Facebook and Instagram.

Charcuterie Saves the Holidays … And a Business

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With the holiday season in full swing, you might find yourself needing options for a drop-in open house or a last-minute party. A quick and easy solution comes in the form of charcuterie boards, a spread of food typically presenting various cheeses, fruits, cured meats, olives and nuts. More than an appetizer of preserved foods rich in flavor, charcuterie boards helped to save a local business and can help you save a party.

The Savory Gourmet

Every time I walk through the door of The Savory Gourmet in Lititz, Bill McMahon cannot help but exuberantly share the shop’s latest cheese additions. Bill and his wife, Missy, are usually on hand to assist customers with their purchases. The shop not only offers cheeses from all over the world, but it carries a substantial range of unique meats, including venison, elk, lamb and Kobe-certified beef from Japan, as well as exotic selections such as alligator, boar, python and rattlesnake meat.

The husband-and-wife duo purchased the 13-year-old business from John Peris in 2017. “Missy had the vision,” says Bill. “I came home from work one night and she said, ‘The Savory Gourmet is for sale. Let’s buy it.’ I said, ‘What! Are you crazy? I already work!’ She said, ‘Let’s think about it.’ We went to bed that night, got up the next morning and she said, ‘What do you think about it?’ I replied, ‘What do I think about what?’ She said, ‘The Savory Gourmet!’ Then, I made the mistake of saying, ‘Let’s go talk to John.’ It was the equivalent of taking your 6-year-old to go and see a puppy,” says Bill.

To see the McMahons in their element – their exuberance is as though someone forgot to tell them they’re at work – is a sight to behold. “It’s just fun,” says Missy. “The people are fun. Nobody comes in cranky. They’re coming into a cheese store; they know you’re going to feed them samples. If it’s a good day, we’re pouring them something to drink to go along with those samples.” 

The world of cheese has also provided the McMahons with an education. “What surprises me is just how complex the cheese world is,” says Missy. “Nobody will ever live long enough to taste every cheese but I’m trying, I’m really trying! Not only do we love the international cheeses, but there is stuff to be found in this country that you would not believe. There’s cheese from Indiana that’s off the charts. We have so many talented farmers and cheesemakers in this country. Give it a chance, it’s gorgeous,” says Missy.

Owners Bill and Missy McMahon outside their store, The Savory Gourmet, at 51 North Broad Street in Lititz. The McMahons traded spaces with next-door neighbor, Renewal Kombucha, in order to gain more retail and display space.

Saving the Gourmet

Bill and Missy recently swapped spaces with their next-door neighbor, Renewal Kombucha, in order to gain more retail space. Twenty-one months ago they would not have dreamed of needing more space. In March 2020, when COVID-19 arrived in the United States, The Savory Gourmet faced uncertainty. According to Missy, “We were shut down for about two or three weeks at the very beginning, and Bill was like, ‘We’ve got to find a way to make this work.’ The first week, we dropped cheese off at the police department, the hospital and with EMS workers,” Missy recalls. “We didn’t want it to spoil. After that, he came up with the cheese board idea. That was all him. That was the solution to staying alive during the pandemic.” Bill credits the idea to “desperation,” explaining, “Mission one was to get rid of it. Mission two was solving the question, where do we go from here? We needed some kind of take-out option.” Thus, the idea of the cheese board, whose popularity caught on instantly. 

A common thread among businesses pivoting during the pandemic has been the repackaging of established goods and services in new ways. On paper, these changes might not look drastically different but a small shift can have brilliant results. With a tremendous selection of cheeses, meats and side items for pairings, all of the ingredients were already there for Bill and Missy to use. They found their answer at the intersection of everything they do in creating a charcuterie board. In that act of desperation, they formulated a new product offering, a service that provides new food experiences for their customers. “They’re here to stay,” Bill reports. “People order them for graduations, birthdays, gatherings and for dinner.” According to Missy, survival also relied on pick-up and delivery options. “We did curbside, we did deliveries – we still do deliveries,” she notes. 

Bill and Missy’s 1950 Dodge half-ton pickup truck can often be seen parked in front of the shop and at events around town.

When the shop could welcome customers, parameters were put into place. “The hardest part was the six months [this year] we didn’t have sampling. Trying to describe what a cheese tasted like without being able to say, ‘Try this, it’s amazing,’ was frustrating,” says Bill. 

“We want customers to taste [the food],” says Missy. “You can’t buy good cheese without trying it. Can you imagine if you spent money on good cheese and then you hated it? I want you to walk out of here with something you are excited about.”

Bill McMahon, cheesemonger, offers samples to curious customers at the counter.

Dessert Charcuterie Boards

A charcuterie board might seem best-suited as an appetizer but swap out savory foods like prosciutto and olives for sweets and you have a marvelous dessert course. If you’ve never tried it, give it a go. Yet again, it requires nominal preparation once everything is procured, allowing guests to graze on small bites that will allow them to experience a wide range of flavors at their leisure. 

Assembling your own charcuterie board starts in the kitchen – who doesn’t have a board or oversized plate stashed away? Hint: Boards, such as those available at The Savory Gourmet, make great gifts.

For the holidays, you could opt to assemble a board using an apropos color palette: bright pomegranates, dried cranberries, figs or dates, lingonberry jam, almonds, dark and milk chocolate morsels, chocolate-covered pretzels or nuts, wafers, caramel corn and a garnish of fresh or toasted rosemary. Sweet biscuits, notably biscotti, are a Savory Gourmet inclusion I find to be a brilliant option for a dessert board. They carry Enrico Biscotti Company’s biscuits. Based in Pittsburgh, the company’s owner delivers them personally to Lititz. 

Some cheeses are inherently ready to serve as dessert, too. For example, Lemon Baked Ricotta from Italy, might as well be cheesecake! Pair honey with funky cheeses – like a strong blue cheese – and you have a savory-sweet revelation.

Enjoy a cheese course with a glass of wine, an espresso or my favorite, small pours of amaro (an after-dinner digestif), and the experience becomes richer. 

Internationally procured cheeses are available to sample and take home individually or as part of a charcuterie board.

Elevate Your Experience

To experience the fullest flavor, let the cheese warm to room temperature. Cold cheese is devoid of subtle nuances, making it an utter waste of expensive cheese. The Savory Gourmet recommends letting a charcuterie board sit out of refrigeration for at least 45 minutes, but even longer durations may be beneficial. For dessert purposes, pull cheeses or an assembled charcuterie board from the refrigerator as dinner starts and you should be set for the last course.

The larger space has allowed Bill and Missy to expand their inventory of cheese-related products.

I encourage writing the names of each cheese on a folded card or small piece of paper that can be displayed on or by a cheeseboard. For those who want to research cheese or make note of it for the future, labels make deciphering a name, country and milk of origin easier than fumbling with crumpled stickers on discarded plastic wrap. Especially among folks curious about food (such as yours truly), there are always questions about the origins of cheeses, honey, nuts or fig jam, so it’s easy to lose track.

Cheese Tasting Journals

If you are looking for a fun stocking stuffer or dinner party gift with an experience attached, check out 33 Pieces of Cheese. These tasting journals, which are produced by 33 Books in Portland, Oregon, are printed on recycled chipboard paper and cover such topics as wine, whiskey, cigars, hot sauce, beer and even donuts. A foodie friend turned me onto these with their coffee version a few years ago and I was thrilled to see them at The Savory Gourmet.

Tasting journals from 33 Books – including topics such as cheese, wine and hot sauce – elevate a shared tasting experience and make excellent gifts for food enthusiasts.

Charcuterie Order Information

When ordering a single cheese board, 24-48 hours’ notice is requested. They come standard with a selection of five cheeses based on your preferences, starting at $12 a person, with a minimum serving for four people ($48). The Savory Gourmet is located at 51 N. Broad Street in Lititz. Visit savorygourmetlititz.com for details. 

Zest’s Date Night: Charcuterie Board Building

December 3, 6-8 p.m. 

Participating couples will be given a 20% discount at The Savory Gourmet to purchase three cheeses prior to this hands-on class. Zest will provide the other elements. Chef Hannah will provide instructions on building the ultimate charcuterie board, as well as for some fun and fancy fixings to make it a meal. BYOB. 

For details, visit zestchef.com/cooking-classes.

Lighting Up Lititz

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There are houses across Lancaster County that are must-sees at holiday time due to the elaborate light displays that often include elements such as inflatables, computer animation and synchronized music. One such destination is the home of Dennis and Theresa Cross in Lititz. 

The home of Theresa and Dennis Cross garnered the most votes for “Best Overall” display from the public and was declared the winner of Lititz’s first Holiday Home Decorating Contest in 2020. The contest is open to residents of the 17543 zip code.

The Crosses are native New Yorkers who followed Theresa’s mother to Lancaster County after Dennis retired from the New York Police Department in 1994. “We visited Lancaster a lot and just loved it,” Dennis says. The wide-open expanse that defined their new yard in suburbia allowed them to indulge in their love for decorating … not only for Christmas but for all the holidays. “In New York, we lived in the Glendale section of Queens,” Dennis explains. “We didn’t have much of a front yard and couldn’t decorate too much.” 

When the couple moved to their home in Lititz in 1995, they became regulars at Builders Square, a big-box home store that was located along the Fruitville Pike. They began buying decorations – ranging from lights to inflatables – for not only Christmas but for Halloween, July 4th, Easter, Memorial Day and Thanksgiving. “Thanksgiving is a little hard to find,” Dennis notes. Of course, the main events are Halloween and Christmas. “Last year we didn’t do Halloween because of Covid and the uncertainty about trick-or-treating,” Dennis explains. “Boy, did we hear it! People wanted to know why we weren’t decorated!” 

For the Crosses, prepping for Christmas starts in early October. That’s when Theresa, who works for the Warwick School District, starts checking every string of lights for outages. “She works and works until she finds the bad bulb in a string,” Dennis says. Her least favorite chore is finding the bad bulbs in the light globes that hang in the trees. “My fingers get wrecked working with those,” she reports. As the weeks pass by, the family room becomes filled with lights, extension cords and other necessities that are brought down from the storage space over the garage. 

The Crosses, who launched their collection of inflatables in 1995, love all the holidays. Their home continues to be the gathering place for holiday dinners that include their four daughters and their husbands and nine grandchildren (another is on the way). “We all live within a mile or so of each other,” Theresa says.

“It’s a lot of work but we know how much it means to people,” Theresa says. Because three of their four daughters are nurses at Lancaster General Hospital and the other works in dentistry, the Crosses are keenly aware of the impact the last 21 months have had on people. “If this helps to make people happy, we’re glad to be able to do it,” she says. “It’s rewarding to have people enjoy it. If we can make people happy for just a month, it’s worth it.” 

After 25 years, the Crosses have their decorating routine down to a science. While Theresa takes charge of checking the lights, Dennis goes over the inflatables and other large decorations. “They just don’t make ’em like they used to,” he says. “The fabric is thinner, the strings are flimsy and the stakes are lighter.” He keeps his Builders Square purchases in working order with the help of a welder who fine tunes them each year. As a result, recycling has become part of the process – anything that is beyond repair is stripped of its reusable elements. “I have buckets of stakes stocked away,” he notes. 

Halloween is dismantled on November 1 and by November 9, the trees are being strung with lights and a friend arrives to assist Dennis with installing lights on the highest rooftop. Theresa assumes the job of lining the lower rooflines with lights. Dennis, meanwhile, uses a rebar to create deep holes along the drive and walkways to ensure that the decorations that line them won’t become dislodged. As Thanksgiving Eve – the night of the big reveal – approaches, the inflatables take their place on the lawn. “Except for the New Year’s baby – he comes out after Christmas,” Dennis says. 

Dennis uses a rebar to create deep holes that ensure decorations – such as the snowmen that line the driveway – don’t become dislodged.

To make the lighting process go smoothly – and not overload the electric system – the Crosses have installed outlets throughout the front yard. “Outlets are at every tree and along the driveway,” Dennis points out. “In the early days, we couldn’t use electrical devices – such as hairdryers –
inside the house when the lights were on,” Theresa recalls of having fuses blow. Such calamities led to the installation of a new electrical box and a new electric meter (courtesy of PPL). Seven switches were added beside the front door that allow the lights to be easily controlled from inside the house. “It’s easier to switch them on,” Dennis says. “We’ve probably bought millions of timers over the years.” 

If you’re wondering about the electric bill, it’s not as bad as one might assume. “The LED lights have really helped bring the cost down,” Dennis says. They’ve also learned to become thrifty shoppers. “I now know when stores put things on sale,” Dennis reports. “Each one has a different schedule.” He’ll also track things down online and then drive to the stores where they are in stock. “I like to be able to look things over,” he says. Theresa does her part by perusing garage sales for finds. “You’d be surprised by what you find,” she says. 

The two admit that they don’t know how much longer they can physically handle the work of decorating to the extent they do. Both of them postponed surgeries in order to decorate for the 2021 holidays. “People will get the message when we decide to stop,” says Dennis. “I’m thinking the year we call it quits, we’ll only put up a grinch inflatable in the front yard.” 

A local welder helps Dennis keep his inflatables in tip-top shape.

For the time being, they will continue to welcome those who love to take in lights at holiday time to come by their award-winning display. That honor came last year, when a home decorating contest that was sponsored by Lititz Springs Park and hosted by Laurel Avenue Lights (see sidebar) was held in the 17543 zip code area. Of the more than 1,000 votes that were submitted for “Best Overall” display, the Crosses’ home garnered more than one-quarter of them. 

“They’re doing the contest again this year and when Rich [Motz] invited us to participate, I declined, telling him to give someone else the chance,” Dennis says.  While the Crosses’ home won’t be part of the contest, it will be part of the tour. “It’s fun to watch the people come by,” Theresa says. “All the retirement communities in the area bring their residents by,” adds Dennis. “And, the priest [at St. James in Lititz] always reminds people, ‘Don’t forget to see the lights.’” 

Fans of lighting displays are welcome to visit the Crosses’ display at 583 Crosswinds Drive in Lititz. The display will be on view from November 24 through January 1. Hours are 6-10 p.m.

Lititz’s Holiday Home Decorating Contest 

Another Lititz home has been a show-stopper for the last decade. Now referred to as Laurel Avenue Lights, the endeavor of the Motz family has taken on a life of its own, as it’s become a fundraiser for community efforts and serves as host of the Holiday Home Decorating Contest that is open to residents of the 17543 zip code. 

The Motz residence, aka Laurel Avenue Lights

The contest – now in its second year – materialized when Lititz Springs Park canceled the Fourth of July celebration in 2020. The idea to sponsor a patriotic-themed home-decorating contest was formulated. The contest was so successful that a holiday-themed event took root. More than 20 homeowners participated. 

Sponsored by Lititz Springs Park, Laurel Avenue Lights serves as the host for the contest. Homeowners Rich and Wendy Motz have been decorating their Laurel Avenue home for years and began accepting donations six years ago that are earmarked for a community organization. For the last five years, their organization of choice has been the Lititz Fire Company. Thanks to corporate advertisers and public donations, the Motz family was able to give more than $3,500 to the fire company last year. 

As was the case in 2020, while Laurel Avenue Lights doesn’t participate in the home-decorating contest, it is part of the tour and welcomes visitors to stop by. 

Laurel Avenue Lights is located at 659 Laurel Avenue in Lititz. The lights will be on from 5:30-10:30 p.m. daily from November 27 through December 31. Two 30-minute shows will alternate each evening. The choreographed music prompts the lights and props to move with the music.

For information about the homes participating in the contest (and tour) and to obtain a map, visit lititzspringspark.org beginning December 3. Voting (online) will take place December 11-24. Winners – in four categories – will be announced December 26.

15 Festivities for the Holidays

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After last year’s scaled-down and canceled activities, Lancaster County is ready to celebrate the holiday season like never before. Residents started to decorate their homes as soon as Halloween was history and are itching to gather again for their beloved holiday traditions. Following the indoor dining shutdown that occurred last holiday season, restaurants are eager to have their dining rooms bustling with reunited families and friends. The events that were canceled last year are back and bigger than ever. What follows is just a glimpse of ways to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year in Lancaster County.

1. Shop Local

Skip the shipping fees and delays and opt instead for makers markets and local businesses. Creatively Lancaster’s Makers Market (creativelylancaster.com) will be taking over the former Bon-Ton space at Park City Center on December 4, 11 and 18. Another option is the Local Makers Market at The Shops @ Rockvale (shoprockvale.com/makersmarkets) on December 4. On December 12, Lancaster Liederkranz’s Christkindlmarkt (lancasterliederkranz.com) will feature over 30 vendors alongside traditional German food and drink. During Lancaster Shops Late (December 9), retailers and restaurants will be staying open into the evening.

2. Ride the Rails with Santa

A tradition for over 60 years, the Strasburg Rail Road offers a variety of experiences including Santa’s Paradise Express, Santa’s Christmas Trolley and The Night Before Christmas Train. For details, visit strasburgrailroad.com.

3. Go on a Christmas Cookie Tour

On Fridays and Saturdays through December 18, you can visit with Amish families in their homes and learn about their heritage while sampling homemade cookies. You’ll leave with new friends, recipes and a greater appreciation of another culture. Sponsored by The Amish Farm & House. For details, visit amishfarmandhouse.com.

4. Go Back in Time

 Local high school students bring history to life during the Ephrata Cloister’s Lantern Tours (December 27-30). Visit ephratacloister.org for details. The Lititz Candlelight Tour (December 10) provides guests with a guided tour of the 1792 Johannes Mueller House and a lesson in how Christmas was celebrated centuries ago by the early Moravian community of Lititz. For details, visit lititzhistoricalfoundation.com.

5. Celebrate in the City 

Downtown Lancaster’s holiday season will kick off on First Friday (December 3), with the arrival of Santa, the lighting of the community tree and entertainment from Big Boy Brass. For details, go to visitlancastercity.com. 

6. Visit Dutch Winter Wonderland 

After taking a pause in 2020, this year’s Winter Wonderland – November 20-December 31 – will be the largest in Dutch Wonderland’s history. Enjoy themed rides, live entertainment, cookie decorating, pictures with Santa and over a million lights. For more information, visit dutchwonderland.com.

7. Give Back 

’Tis the season for helping others and there are countless opportunities in our community, one of which is Gifts That Give Hope (December 12 at the Farm & Home Center), where you can give a charitable donation in honor of the special people in your life or shop the marketplace for fair trade and sustainable gifts. For details, visit giftsthatgivehope.org/lancaster.

8. See a Show 

The Trust Performing Arts Center (lancastertrust.com) will present a unique adaptation of the classic The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe (November 27-December 18). For those seeking a non-traditional holiday show, On the Naughty List (December 3-18) by Prima Theatre (primatheatre.org) will be a “mash-up between a holiday concert with a comedic and provoking TED talk,” says founder Mitch Nugent. The Fulton Theatre (thefulton.org) will present Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol (November 30-December 26), which revisits the classic holiday story from the perspective of Scrooge’s old business partner, Jacob Marley. Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre’s (dutchapple.com) production of Miracle on 34th Street (through December 23) is said to melt even the most cynical hearts. At the American Music Theatre, Winter Wonderland is on stage through December 30. This original production features sacred and secular music, gorgeous costumes and stunning sets. Visit amtshows.com for details. At the Ephrata Performing Arts Center (EPAC), the School Edition of the world’s second-longest-running musical, Les Misérables, will fill the stage December 3-31. The kid-friendly School Edition is a bit shorter in length, less violent and the lyrics of some songs are more PG. The cast is composed of youthful actors. For details, visit ephrataperformingartscenter.com.

9. Celebrate in a Small Town 

Christmas in Lititz Springs Park (December 3) will feature a unique holiday performance, a carol sing, the lighting of the Christmas tree and a special visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. Also, don’t miss the Second Annual Holiday Home Decorating Contest in Lititz. Drive around to the various entries (beginning December 3) and vote for your favorites from December 11-24. For details, visit lititzspringspark.org/Christmas. “Friday” events will be held in Ephrata on November 26 & 27; Mount Joy on November 26; Columbia on November 26; Manheim (First Thursday) on December 2; Lititz on December 10; and Elizabethtown on December 10. 

10. Watch Your Favorite Holiday Movies 

Grab a cocktail and watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (December 6) or It’s a Wonderful Life (December 16) at Zoetropolis Cinema Stillhouse (zoetropolis.com). At Penn Cinema, you can rent a “bubble,” which includes three hours in a private auditorium for 25 people and your choice from their holiday movie selection. For details, visit penncinema.com/movie/bubble-rental.

11. Be Awed by the Marietta Candlelight Tour of Homes 

On December 5, you’ll be able to stroll through private homes and historical buildings decked out for the holidays. Outside Old Town Hall, find Santa and Mrs. Claus, who will light the community Christmas tree. For more information, visit mariettarestoration.org.

12. Celebrate the Winter Solstice 

During Lancaster County Parks’ Winter Solstice Around the World program (December 21), discover how other cultures and religions celebrate the shortest day of the year. After the presentation, enjoy a campfire and hot chocolate at the Environmental Center. For details, visit co.lancaster.pa.us/317/public-programs.

13. Visit Stone Gables Estate 

From November 26 through December 30, the estate will offer a plethora of festivities to enjoy. Experience their Christmas Light Drive-Thru, take a ride on the Santa Express, catch dinner and a show or stroll through the new Star Barn Christmas Village. Don’t miss The National Christmas Center, which features 18,000 square feet of nostalgic Christmas décor, storefronts, toys and much more. Visit stonegablesestate.com for more information.

14. Enjoy Lancaster’s Many Dazzling Light Displays 

At the Christmas Spirit Light Show (christmasspiritlightshows.com) being held at Clipper Magazine Stadium through January 1, drive through the mile-long track and enjoy hundreds of thousands of color-changing lights synchronized to your favorite Christmas classics. During Brethren Village’s (bv.org) Bright Lights (November 29-January 2), the senior-living facility will feature over 150,000 lights on their campus. Hersheypark Christmas Candylane (hersheypark.com) will also feature more than 5 million twinkling lights throughout the park until January 2. If you’re looking for an exciting twist, you can zipline through Refreshing Mountain’s (refreshingmountain.com) holiday lights. Longwood Gardens’ (longwoodgardens.org) display of half-a-million lights is always worth the trip to Chester County, as well. 

15. Ring in the New Year With Your Community 

As 2021 comes to a close, towns across the county have boisterous celebrations planned, complete with fireworks, music and the countdown to the New Year. Some even have a “drop,” such as Haydn’s Jug Drop in East Petersburg and the Red Rose Drop in Downtown Lancaster. 

Dig Into Some Gardening Books

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It may be winter, but that doesn’t deter avid gardeners from finding a way to stay connected to the natural world. Many turn to books and spend the winter reading about gardening. If a gardener is on your gift list this season, I’d highly recommend any of the following books. 

As I inspect my wall of books that relate to gardening, it occurs to me how much the focus on the subject has changed in recent years. In the ’90s, gardening books were mostly by British authors who enthralled us with their five-foot-deep perennial borders displaying a succession of blooms during the high season. The emphasis was placed on concepts such as “color echoes” and “designing” with perennials. Because of our infatuation with the British style of gardening, tours of England’s celebrated gardens were always fully booked. It took years before we colonists realized that our summers are vastly different and, furthermore, we don’t have 35 estate gardeners on staff to achieve that English-garden look. 

Decades later, we’ve developed our own look that celebrates the diversity of American geography and climates. It is apparent that the focus these days is on naturalistic planting, plant communities and multi-season appeal – after all, we have a wonderful fall growing season that has an equally brilliant color palette. Furthermore, outstanding American writers have emerged. I’d recommend that you add them to your collection of gardening books. 

Kelly D. Norris

New Naturalism: Designing and Planting a Resilient, Ecologically Vibrant Home Garden

Cool Springs Press, 2021 • ISBN 978-0-7603-6819-0 

Kelly Norris is one of the nation’s leading young horticulturists. Currently an independent designer and lecturer, he was until recently director of the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden. His passion is “planting at the intersections of horticulture and ecology.” This is his fourth book. 

In it he advises that we plant our gardens with consideration of the reality of the landscape we have and the community of plants that will flourish there. In the wild, plants grow in populations of related individuals. We need to take a cue from how they grow there to inform us the growing conditions they need. Therefore, Norris urges gardeners to “embrace the nature of [your] place rather than to be on a constant quest to alter it.” The resources in our soil will favor some plants over others. He suggests a combination of native, near-native and non-native plants and describes a garden as a dynamic system rather than a static collection of plants. 

Chapters on such topics as groundcovers, mulch, structural plants and season-defining plants are offered in his conversational style. He is a wise teacher; the book is crammed with friendly advice but he is not hesitant to scold for mulching instead of planting a matrix of groundcovers or for tilling and over-cultivating the soil. 

The second section of this well-designed book, which has great photos by the author, is devoted to plant “palettes.” The emphasis here is on making choices based on functional considerations rather than just ornamental value. Included are valuable lists of plants for evocative planting strategies to achieve a house within a garden rather than the ubiquitous “trimmed skirt” plantings around it. Yes, Latin names are used. Get over it. 

Daniel J. Hinkley

Windcliff: A Story of People, Plants, and Gardens

Timber Press, 2020 • ISBN 978-1-60469-901-2

One of the most widely published and eminent plantsman of our time, Dan Hinkley has created two of the country’s most fabled private gardens and his extensive lecturing, writing and plant exploration have had a huge impact on horticulture. 

His first garden and nursery – located in Kingston, Washington – was called Heronswood. (When his erudite catalogs of specialty plants arrived in my mailbox, all activity stopped.) The story of the sale of the nursery is briefly covered in this very personal book. Mostly it is a conversation relating to the development over the past 15 years of his new garden, Windcliff – undertaken with his architect-husband, Robert Jones – on a bluff on the Kitsap Peninsula overlooking Washington’s Puget Sound. Each year has informed the next as he outlines the joys and challenges in gardening where only 30 inches of rain falls in a year.

Like his lectures, this serious plant-centered book is sprinkled with wit and admissions of failures. Make no mistake, I do not suggest this book is a good source of specific planting ideas – few of the featured plants can be found in local nurseries. Keep in mind, he has explored all over the world to find plants for his nursery and garden. Instead, it is a book to learn design principles and approaches to gardening on different sites. He is particularly interested in foliage and plants that provide movement, balance and repetition in the garden. He talks about “admiration points” and gardening in containers is not overlooked. The photographs are dazzling. 

R. William Thomas

The Art of Gardening: Design Inspiration and Innovative Planting Techniques from Chanticleer

Timber Press, 2015 • ISBN 978-1-60469-544-1

Chanticleer, the 35-acre garden in nearby Wayne, Delaware County, has been called the most creative garden in the Northeast. I’d christen it a magical place. Strolling through it for a few hours is an escape into beauty and pleasure. Indeed, Chanticleer labels itself a pleasure garden. It is not like any botanical garden or arboretum you have visited. Even a reluctant non-gardening travel partner will come away in a better mood! This is the place to get inspiration for ideas to try in your home garden but you’ll need to wait until spring, when it will reopen March 30 and maintain its Wednesday-through-Sunday hours through October. 

Each of the permanent year-round horticulturists has contributed a very personal essay to the book, which is divided into two sections. The first part, Design, discusses how to make the most of a site’s many features and integrate the structures, the garden and themes that tie its areas together. The second part of the book focuses on Plants and explores how they are chosen and matched to the sites and render the visual excitement that makes the garden so special and cohesive. 

The seven horticulturists who contributed to the book are also woodworkers, metal workers and stone carvers. The bridges, plant-list boxes, water fountains and remarkable railings seen in the book were all constructed on-site during the months the garden is closed. All the “handmade” items give Chanticleer a uniquely personalized sensitivity that is sculptural, practical and inspiring. 

The photographs by Rob Cardillo are beautifully reproduced and, equally important, have informative captions.

Douglas W. Tallamy

The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees

Timber Press, 2021 • ISBN 978-1-64326-044-0

By now, almost all area gardeners have read this University of Delaware professor’s book, Bringing Nature Home. His discussion of plants that benefit insects and birds in suburban gardens has won many awards and is now in its second edition. Nature’s Best Hope continued his dialogue on the ways insects interact with plants in our ever-changing planet. 

In his new book, Tallamy focuses on a single genus: the oaks. The book chapters go through a year in the life of an oak, discussing wide-ranging topics – actually everything one would want to know about oaks and the life that depends on them. Acorns, insects, birds, oak misconceptions, growth characteristics and diseases are all covered in Tallamy’s usual science-based but accessible prose. Included is advice on how to plant an oak (start with an acorn) and the best oak choices for our area.

Michael Pollan

This Is Your Mind on Plants

Penguin Press, 2021 • ISBN 978-0-593-29690-5 

Michael Pollan has been writing award-winning books for three decades, beginning in 1991 with his still-relevant Second Nature. He writes about the natural world and food. Readers/gardeners might be familiar with The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, as well as The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World. In 2010 he was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

In 2018 he wrote How to Change Your Mind – widely acknowledged as one of the 10 best books of that year. The book discusses the recently renewed, university-based research into the therapeutic potential of “psychedelic” plants that suggests they can help with depression, addiction, PTSD and the anxiety of terminal illness. It is written in a personal, easy-to-read style that may possibly change how you think not just about psychedelic drugs but also about the human mind. Pollan is a lecturer at Harvard and a co-founder of the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. 

This year he came out with This Is Your Mind on Plants. It is a lengthy, well-researched account of three mind-altering plant derivatives: opium, caffeine (“the most popular psychoactive drug on the planet”) and mescaline. He asks big questions and discusses their effects not only on our brains, but our culture and policies. 

Merlin Sheldrake

Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures

Random House, 2020 • ISBN 978-0-525-51033-8

The largest living organism on Earth today is a fungus in Oregon covering 3.7 square miles beneath the ground. More than 90% of our plants depend on mycorrhizal fungi, which link them in shared relationships. This British author is a professor of biology and ecology at Cambridge University. His book is endlessly fascinating with science-based considerations of all the things you never knew about mushrooms. The illustrations and line-drawings and 100 pages of notes and bibliography add to this well-designed book. Also, his trailer about the book on YouTube is very comical.

Andrea Wulf

The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World 

John Murray, 2015 • ISBN 038535066X

Eleanor Jones Harvey

Alexander von Humboldt and the United States: Art, Nature, and Culture 

(published in conjunction with the exhibition of the same name at the Smithsonian American Art Museum) 2020  • ISBN 9780937311875 

Readers may not have heard of Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), but he was the most celebrated scientist of his time. More things are named after him than anyone else who’s ever lived! There was a recent exhibition about him at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, as well as two years ago at the German History Museum in Berlin. Energetic and charismatic, he was a polymath, explorer, geographer, naturalist and humanitarian. He is considered to be the first environmentalist. During his many years of exploratory travels, he declared respect for all cultures and firmly believed that colonization destroyed valuable cultural knowledge – and sometimes the culture itself. In 1804, after a five-year journey through South and Central America, he made a detour to the United States and met with Thomas Jefferson. Darwin was an admirer and took Humboldt’s books along on the HMS Beagle. His writings influenced Thoreau and Whitman. Wulf’s book is the most engaging and enjoyable book I’ve read in years. 

Many of these titles are available as e-books.

Celebrate the 10th Annual Extraordinary Give!

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Lancaster County’s biggest day of giving is right around the corner! On Friday, November 19, the Lancaster County Community Foundation will hold its 10th Extraordinary Give. The 24-hour fundraiser is the most generous per capita giving day in the nation. Since its inception in 2012, the ExtraGive has raised more than $60 million for over 500 organizations.

Last year, in the wake of the pandemic, the ExtraGive pivoted to a virtual celebration and produced the ExtraGive CAST Live, a broadcast that highlighted extraordinary locals, music, live prize drawings and stories from participating organizations. Despite the switch to virtual, the fundraiser brought in $13.4 million from over 30,000 donors.

The ExtraGive will experience another first this year – an outdoor celebration! From 6 p.m. to midnight, there will be a block-party-style celebration at Penn Square in Downtown Lancaster. The event is free and open to the public. Enjoy live music, food pop-ups, donation stations, a beer garden hosted by Spring House Brewing Company and a light show featuring the 14-story Griest Building. Nearby eateries, including Blazin’ J’s, New Holland Coffee Co and Tellus360, will be open until midnight as well.

Extraordinary Give Festivities

In addition to the main event, many organizations are also hosting their own celebrations, fundraisers and activities. What follows is a sampling of some ExtraGive events to consider visiting on November 19.

 

Greenfield Lancaster will host two ExtraGive celebrations to support Aaron’s Acres, Lafayette Fire Company, Lancaster EMS and Power Packs Project. Visit the business center for lunch (11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.) or happy hour (4-6 p.m.) and enjoy complimentary appetizers and beverages, courtesy of The Greenfield Restaurant, while learning more about the benefitting organizations.

 

At Tellus360, Lancaster Rec will present the Lancaster’s Extraordinary Talent Show from 4-6 p.m. The show will feature contestants from all over the county, competing for the chance to win various prizes for their associated organizations. In between sets, attendees will hear from Lancaster Rec and other local nonprofits about their impact in the community.

 

Church World Services (CWS) will be hosting several events throughout the day. They will be hosting a Community Art Show and Silent Auction (7-9 p.m.) at Two Dudes Painting Company. Artwork depicting local refugee’s stories will be on display and available for bidding. During Coffee & Conversation (2-3 p.m.) at Lancaster Sweet Shoppe, enjoy a warm drink and a stroopie and dive into critical conversations with CWS staff who were deployed in August to support initial processing and welcoming of Afghan evacuees. During Tunes and Take-Out at Musser Park (12-2 p.m.), take a lunch break and enjoy music and food from Chef Oliver’s Homage food truck. Read Around the World at Lancaster Public Library (10:30-11 a.m.) will feature a bilingual book reading by the CWS team followed by a fun craft.

 

The Demuth Museum will offer guided tours of the museum (6-9 p.m.), featuring a selection of works from the permanent collection, historic photographs of the artist’s home and the Demuth Tobacco Shop. Tours begin every half hour.

 

At the Courtyard at Eden Resorts & Suites, Allegro Orchestra Lancaster will host a festive reception featuring desserts and cocktails, followed by a 60-minute performance in the round. The event will be held from 7:30-9 p.m.

 

Lancaster EMS & Lafayette Fire Company will be hosting an all-day celebration at the fire company from 5 a.m.-8 p.m. Visitors can enjoy Long Johns from Achenbach’s Pastries, food trucks, small business vendors, live demonstrations, a blood drive, a meet & greet with the Lancaster Barnstormers’ Cylo, live music from WIOV-FM and bingo.

 

Visit New Holland Coffee Company in Downtown Lancaster from 4-9 p.m. to learn more about the Clinic for Special Children. The organization will have a table where you can donate and learn more about their mission. The first 100 visitors will receive a free coaster and coffee.

 

Arch Street Center will host a Tailgate Party in their parking lot from 12:30-6:30 p.m. Attendees can enjoy food, games, music and fire pits.

 

Columbia Animal Shelter will host a party at the shelter from 7 p.m. to midnight. Enjoy food, drinks and entertainment from Columbia School of Music.

 

At Friendship Community’s Shop & Give Event (8 a.m.-6 p.m.), donate to the organization and get 20% off the Gallery’s Primitives by Kathy Collaborative Collection home décor items. Also enjoy light refreshments, door prizes and a giving station.

 

Lancaster Science Factory will host a Family STEM Fair from 5-8 p.m. Families can enjoy a variety of hands-on activities throughout the space, including virtual welding, make-and-take Olaf the Snowman, a bottle-cap mosaic community art project, maker space tinkering and much more. Admission is free.

 

Participate in Lancaster Farm Sanctuary’s Scavenger Hunt for a chance to win a private tour for you and 10 others plus a merchandise set. The sanctuary will place yard signs featuring five of their animals around Lancaster. To enter, find and take a photo with a yard sign, share on Facebook or Instagram and tag Lancaster Farm Sanctuary. Each picture you take counts as one entry. Five entries are possible per person.

 

Ephrata Area Social Services’ Kick Homelessness to the Curb event (starting at 9:30 a.m.) will feature a “homelessness” encampment set up in their yard to raise awareness for homelessness challenges in Northern Lancaster County. A tent, tarp, blankets and reusable dishes will be set up for visitors to experience life outdoors in November. From noon to 5 p.m., Ephrata Area Social Services will also host a block party for the neighborhood featuring a meet & greet with staff, food, activities for children and the opportunity to make a donation.

 

Come hungry to United Way of Lancaster County’s Food Truck Frenzy (11 a.m.-2 p.m.) at their offices. Participating food trucks include Hotbox BBQ, DoughHeads Stuffed Waffles and Bruno’s. Twenty percent of sales will go to United Way of Lancaster County.

 

The Mix will host an Extravaganza (4-8 p.m.) at their Southeast Lancaster City location, featuring live music, a food truck, corn hole, basket bingo and lots of other fun activities for the whole family.

 

At Samaritan Counseling Center’s Extraordinary Thanks (3-6 p.m.) event, enjoy complimentary sweet treats from Sugar Whipped Bakery and interact with staff. The event will be held outdoors in a heated tent at Samaritan Counseling Center’s headquarters.

 

For a chance to win prizes, participate in YWCA Lancaster’s Social Justice Scavenger Hunt (10 a.m.-8 p.m.). The hunt features landmark locations in Lancaster City that had significant impacts on racial equity. You can pick up a map at 10 a.m. at YWCA’s office or get the digital version emailed to you.

 

Eastern Mennonite Missions will host a Drive-Thru Food Drive (4-7 p.m.) in their parking lot. They will be collecting food items for Water Street Mission’s Thanksgiving meal, including turkey, vegetables, butter, salad dressing, cheese, potatoes and more.

 

Penn Manor Education Foundation will host a happy hour at Bert’s Bottle Shop starting at 4 p.m. Enjoy food and beverages while helping to support PMEF’s programs.

 

Support Pitties.Love.Peace during their ExtraGive celebration at Tattered Flag Barrel House (3-9 p.m.). Enjoy beer, food and adorable dogs. Tattered Flag will donate 10% from all food and merchandise sales to the organization.

 

Ephrata Public Library will host a by-donation Pop-Up Book Sale (10 a.m.-6 p.m.) in their multipurpose room.

 

An ExtraGive celebration (12-9 p.m.) will be held at Geneva Bakery Café, supporting Raven Ridge Wildlife Center, East Petersburg Events Committee and Hempfield Power Packs. The family friendly event will feature animals from Raven Ridge, crafts, free coloring books, T-shirts for sale, a movie in the gym, free food samples from Power Packs Project and lots of educational opportunities.

 

Lone Oak Animal-Assisted Therapy and Educational Services will host an art auction (6-10 p.m.) at Zoetropolis Cinema Stillhouse. Featured art will be provided by local artists and children who receive Lone Oak services. Drinks will be available for purchase at the Zoetropolis Booze Van with a portion of proceeds benefitting Lone Oak.

 

Enjoy an evening of wine, hors d’oeuvres and live music at The Janus School’s party (6-9 p.m.) in the Freiman Stoltzfus Gallery. The first 30 people to donate over $150 will receive a signed print of Pennsylvania from Freiman Stoltzfus.

 

Historic Poole Forge will be hosting Hammered At The Forge, which will feature a ribbon cutting ceremony to formally dedicate their new Hammer Exhibit at 3 p.m. At 6 p.m., they will continue the festivities in the mansion with hors d’oeuvres and craft brews from Animated Brewing Company. Also enjoy live music from Shakehouse Music.

 

The Library System of Lancaster County will host a Pop-Up Book Sale on Walnut Street from 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Book sales are by donation. All proceeds will benefit the Bookmobile. They will be accepting reasonably sized book donations. Free hot beverages will be provided.

 

Crispus Attucks Community Center will kick off the ExtraGive with a free Midnight Brunch from 12-3 a.m. They will also hold a Give Back Turkey Giveaway from 3-6 p.m. where they will give away turkeys to their first 100 visitors.

 

Stop by Lancaster Central Market from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and donate $25 or more to be enrolled in their “Build Your Bouquet” passport program. After you make a donation, you will receive a passport that includes 10 stands to visit. Once you collect a stem from each of the 10 vendors, Central Market Flowers or Inspirational Blossoms will wrap your bouquet for you.

 

For more information on events and donating, visit extragive.org.

Local Ghost Stories to Tell This Halloween

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Lancaster County is filled with history at every corner. The land we live on has seen horrific massacres, wartime hospitals and tragic accidents. Some of these lives lost are said to still roam the county in their afterlife. In the spirit of Halloween, we’ve compiled some of Lancaster County’s most haunted places and fabled ghost stories for echoing at your spooky parties or late-night campfires.

Marie Cahill in 1908. She is thought to haunt The Fulton Theatre. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The Fulton Theatre

The Fulton Theatre is a local landmark famously known as the oldest continuously operating theatre in America; however, the dark history and bloody beginnings that the theatre built its foundation on is a less frequented topic. In December 1763, a vigilante gang, known as the Paxton Boys, massacred the last of the Conestoga Indians who were being held in the building for protection following a prior massacre that took place just over a week earlier. The site was later used as a jail, which served the county until 1851. The following year, The Fulton was built on the foundation of the prison. As the Civil War ensued, the theatre was also used as an armory and hospital.

Numerous presences are believed to haunt the theatre today. Several actors and stagehands reported seeing a woman in a white dress hovering around an old spiral staircase. A stagehand once asked what her name was and the ghost replied, “Marie.” Researchers found that an actress named Marie Cahill had performed at the theatre many times.

Another strange occurrence caused a carpenter to run screaming out of the building and refuse to finish his work on the theatre. The carpenter said that he saw a man wearing a light-colored suit, brown shoes and a straw hat. The man approached the carpenter and asked for a cigarette before suddenly disappearing. Other theatre employees have also reported similar sightings.

Prior to the theatre’s 1905 renovation, the gallery was closed to the public due to building codes. A Millersville University professor was running the spotlights for a show when she noticed an older gentleman sitting in the benches. At intermission, she asked the gentleman if he was given permission to sit up in the gallery. He pointed at a young actress on stage and cited her as his granddaughter who he had come to see. However, when the show ended, the man was gone. The professor approached the young actress and told her about what happened in the gallery. The girl said both her grandfathers were dead and had never seen her perform. The professor replied, “Maybe one has now.”

 

Photo courtesy of Bube's Brewery.
Photo courtesy of Bube's Brewery.
Photo courtesy of Bube's Brewery.

Bube’s Brewery

In 1876, German immigrant Alois Bube bought a small brewery in Mount Joy. Over the years he expanded the brewery to include a Victorian hotel. In 1908, Alois died suddenly at the age of 57. Although the brewery closed right before Prohibition, members of his family were able to live in the buildings up until the 1960s. Today, Bube’s Brewery offers dining, lodging, private event space and special events – including ghost tours.

One of the most frequent paranormal sightings is a young woman in a long gown wandering the art gallery. A bartender reported having bottles thrown at him and seeing shadows dart across the lobby. In the Catacombs, multiple women have described feeling something touch their hair or hands.

In 2012, the brewery was featured on SyFy’s Ghost Hunters. During their investigation, the team found ample paranormal activity on the property. The ghost hunters set up an experiment to see if a paranormal presence would blow out an oil lamp. Sure enough, the flame went out despite the lamp containing plenty of oil. During the experiment, the ghost hunters captured a recording of a ghostly voice speaking in German. After translating the recording, they believe the spirit was saying, “blow it out.” The ghost hunters also experienced the sound of a glass shattering at the bar, only to find nothing broken.

 

Augusta Bitner’s monument. Photo courtesy of Tim Freund/Lancaster Cemetery.

Lancaster Cemetery

Lancaster Cemetery is home to a hauntingly beautiful statue that has taken on a life of its own in local lore. The statue honors the life of Augusta Bitner who according to legend, died on her wedding day when she tumbled down the steps after tripping on her gown. Her statue is said to wander the cemetery grounds at night looking for her love that she was never able to marry. Some even claim they’ve seen the statue cry real tears.

However, Cynthia Douts Roth debunked the story of Augusta’s death in a 2009 journal for LancasterHistory. Cynthia found that Augusta married Stanley Hart Tevis on May 3, 1905, in her parents’ Marietta Avenue home. Afterwards the couple moved to Philadelphia. Just after their first wedding anniversary, Augusta fell ill with typhoid and died at the age of 21. Augusta’s death may not be as dramatic as the legend claims, but the eerie statue and the story of a young life cut short – symbolized by the broken column in her monument – still make for a chilling story.

 

Franklin & Marshall Old Main

Built in 1853, Franklin & Marshall’s (F&M) Old Main was built on the site of Lancaster’s old “gallows hill” where convicted criminals used to be hung. According to F&M’s website, towns used to hang its convicted felons from the highest remote point outside of town for all townspeople to see. In that era, the hill where Old Main is now located was farmland and was believed to be the highest point in the city. Hundreds of years later, Old Main’s bell is said to occasionally ring on its own in the middle of the night.

 

The Lititz Springs Inn & Spa, formerly the General Sutter Inn. Photo by Nick Gould.

Lititz Springs Inn & Spa

In our October 2018 issue, columnist Michael Upton explored the haunting tales that have emerged from the Lititz Springs Inn & Spa, formerly the General Sutter Inn. The manager at the time confirmed that they have a number of “little children that are running around.” Visitors have reported catching glimpses of children darting into rooms and the pitter-patter of distant footsteps in empty hallways.

Over a decade ago, Kelly Weaver, cofounder of Spirit Society of Pennsylvania, made a visit to the hotel, determined to prove the existence of otherworldly visitors. While she was downstairs eating breakfast with her husband, she left a recorder running in her room. When she returned, her dog was cowering in the corner. After listening to the recording, even Kelly was frightened. The recording reportedly captured the sound of her dog growling in the supposedly empty room mixed with the laughter of a little girl.

 

Gonder Mansion in 1906. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Gonder Mansion

Located on Main Street in Strasburg, the Gonder Mansion embodies Victorian high style and luxury. Benjamin B. Gonder Jr., who was a big name in the local railroad industry, built the mansion in the early 1900s. According to Uncharted Lancaster, Benjamin lived in the house across the street while the mansion was being constructed, along with his wife, their two children and his sister, Annie. When the mansion was completed, the family moved in, with the exception of Annie who was barred from joining them in the home. Instead, she was forced to stay at the house across the street where she longingly stared out the window at the mansion, struggling to understand why her family rejected her.

Benjamin’s wife, Mary, allegedly found her to be an embarrassment, especially when entertaining guests; Annie had a habit of loudly laughing at things male guests said, especially ones she found attractive.

Annie eventually took her own life in May 1918, just a couple years after Benjamin died of a heart attack in 1916. Annie was buried in the nearby Strasburg Cemetery, but her grave was placed to the far left of the Gonder family plot, and the tombstone was turned away from the rest of the family.

Legend says since Annie was banned from living in the mansion, she now chooses to spend her afterlife there. Some have described sightings of a woman moving throughout the halls. Men – and only men – have reported hearing a woman laughing inside the mansion.

 

Shenks Ferry Wildflower Preserve

The tunnel at the southern entrance of Shenks Ferry Wildflower Preserve on Green Hill Road (which is now closed) is said to be haunted by a young woman wearing a white dress. According to Uncharted Lancaster, the story surrounding the young woman varies. In one iteration, she was murdered in the tunnel, some believe by her husband. Others claim that the woman’s lover died there, and her spirit has lurked in the tunnel for decades, mourning the spot of his death. The most popular version of the story is that a heartbroken bride took her own life at the tunnel’s entrance after being left at the altar. However, according to the late Conrail locomotive engineer, Jack Neiss, an 18-year-old woman was struck by a train directly above the underpass in 1974. Following the incident, railroad crews started reporting a “white angel” dancing on the tracks in the area.

According to legend, if you want to summon the ghost, you are supposed to drive into the tunnel as close to midnight as possible, turn off your car and headlights, put your keys on the vehicle’s roof, walk around the car three times, then get back in and wait for the apparition to appear. After performing the ritual, visitors have experienced trouble starting their car and headlights chasing them out of the woods, as well as lightheadedness among the men in attendance. Note: This section of Green Hill Road is closed, and the preserve closes at dusk.

 

To read more local scary stories, check out Uncharted Lancaster’s Haunted Lancaster series!

A Time to Celebrate … Everything! 

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Way back in 2019 – pre-pandemic and all that 2020 brought us – a Manheim Township couple looked ahead to what 2021 would likely signify to their family: their two 50th birthdays, as well as their 25th wedding anniversary, and their son’s 18th birthday and graduation from high school.  This lineup of events, they agreed, called for a party. And not just any party. A bash!

A color story of white and deep blue was paired with shimmer, keeping the look of the summertime party light and elegant.

Enter Heather Colosi, an event planner and 20-year friend of the couple, who took their vision and ran with it. “We want to have a party. Tell us what to do,” were the marching orders, along with the understanding that “high-level glam” described the couple’s taste. Heather paired their fondness for sleek style, crystal and shimmer with many nods to the distinct personalities of family members.

At home was the preferred party destination, and Heather saw the couple’s expansive four-acre property as the perfect site for a tent for the mid-July celebration. Actually, three tents connected by canopies to keep everyone dry in case of rain served the 240 guests as they dined, danced and were entertained with surprises throughout the evening.

Three tents provided ample space for socializing, dining and dancing.

But first, a garden needed to be grown to provide a lush backdrop for the sparkling-white tents. A gardening enthusiast, Heather planned the garden, shopped for plants and coached the host on his watering and fertilizing skills – a new level of party-planning services! “We also harvested many items from the garden that were used in the cocktails and garnishes for the party,” says Heather.

Unique menu items made the party an expression of the couple’s personalities. From the hostess’ family recipes, Norwegian meatballs were a “must” on the buffet, as was beef stroganoff over rice, a Christmas Eve specialty from the host’s German heritage. Add a chef-attended raw bar, individual salads in glass spheres presented on floating shelves, an elaborate taco bar, a myriad of cakes, desserts, a candy bar and Italian ice, and the feast was fit for both adults and the 30-some teens who joined the party.

Surprise, it’s Christmas in July! Santa, who stopped by for guests’ selfies, poses with party planner Heather Colosi and husband, Michael.

With 16 months to plan, the ideas grew. “We realized that, while we had much to celebrate, so did our guests in this post-Covid world,” says the hostess, who included that thought in the invitation by asking guests to share what they are celebrating and to send photos along with their RSVPs to create a collective display of joy and gratitude.

Teens had their own DJ in the lower level of house, but they also enjoyed dancing to the live music under the tent.

The couple planned a special dance to kick off the evening with a much-practiced swing dance to In the Mood by Glenn Miller. The hostess also wanted to surprise her husband with a song to commemorate their 45-year-long relationship and their 25th anniversary. Gifted with a lovely singing voice, she secretly rehearsed with the Philadelphia-based band and serenaded her love with a sweet-but-sultry rendition of the bossa nova-style Italian love song, Quando, Quando, Quando, from the stage. “It’s very different from cantoring from the choir loft,” she laughs. “But, I pulled it off.”

Friends of the hostess spent months rehearsing a surprise routine, dancing their way from the ’70s to the ’90s in full ’80s-style leg warmers, tie-dye, neon and fingerless gloves. The ice was broken, the dance floor was christened!

Heather wanted to enjoy the party as a guest, so she handed the day-of duties to event-planning colleague Kaci Willwerth and her team at Simple Soiree. As summer evenings often bring, a downpour of rain arrived mid-party. Good-natured guests weathered the storm as the party planners grabbed squeegees to remove any wetness from the dance floor.

The party’s signature drink included an ingredient – rosemary – that was homegrown in the host’s garden.

A menu of late-night bites capped the big night, and guests caught their second wind with a round of sliders, popcorn, pizza, munchies and refreshing chocolate cordials. In the early morning hours, the hostess recalls thinking, “Wow, we just threw a kickin’ party. I have no regrets.” Her husband concurs, saying, “The whole point was to make our friends happy – I think we achieved that.”

Mirrored pedestals on the bar were topped with containers of orchids.

 

The party’s logo was established in the save-the-date and invitation, then was repeated in the ice sculpture, dance floor and welcome signage.

 

A candy bar added a sweet note to the festivities.

How did you do that?

Event Planner – Heather Colosi, Will Do For You Concierge

Catering – The JDK Group

Production Design & Lighting – Shumaker PDT

Band – L.A. Starz, EBE Talent

Invitation Suite and Signage – Persnickety

Day-of Event Coordinators – Simple Soiree

Floral Design – Premier Floral & Landscape

Linens – Special Occasions

Tents – Hess Tent Rental

Candy Bar – House of Clarendon

Cakes – The Bake Shoppe at Oregon Dairy

Photography – Leenie Photography

Duo Dance Instruction – Denise Bostdorf

Group Dance Choreography – Jennifer Miller

Candy Land … the Backstory

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Who hasn’t played Candy Land at some point in their life? For many of us, it represented our introduction to board games. However, it seems Candy Land provides an even deeper link to the world in which we’ve been living for the last 20 months. 

Little did I know that a story about Candy Land-related Christmas decorations would take me down a rabbit hole that relates to the past and the present. It just goes to show that you learn something new every day. 

The controversy over Covid vaccines made me think back to the early ’60s. I remember going to a school building with my family on what I recall were a series of Sunday mornings and downing sugar cubes that contained some sort of medicine. I remember the sugar cubes being kind of tasty. 

That memory prompted me to ask several of my peers if they recall doing that, as well. All of them recalled the ritual and said it was to receive the polio vaccine, which had been developed by Dr. Jonas Salk and his team at the University of Pittsburgh in 1955. More than 400 million doses were distributed in the United States between 1955 and 1962. The vaccine helped to all but eradicate – there was a 90% reduction in cases – the poliomyelitis virus (or polio as it came to be known) in this country over that time period. Today it stands at 99%, which according to the World Health Organization mirrors statistics worldwide, with only Afghanistan and Pakistan being problematic areas. 

The poliomyelitis virus has existed since the dawn of time and has made its presence known in all areas of the world at one time or another. It became especially virulent in the United States during the 20th century, peaking in the ’40s and ’50s, with 1952 being the watershed year with 57,879 cases that resulted in 3,145 deaths. Unfortunately, children were most affected by the virus, which attacks the nerves in the spinal cord, causing paralysis in the legs and lungs. Leg braces and iron lungs were used to combat the damage the virus caused. (The leg braces prompted me to think of the movie Forrest Gump.) One article I read called polio “the most feared disease of the 20th century.” Another depicted it as being a disease that “maimed rather than killed” its victims  – some temporarily, some permanently. As a result, hospitals and sanitariums across the country were filled with children who had contracted the virus. As a kid, I remember hearing people talk about the crippled children’s hospital in Elizabethtown. 

Apparently, the parents of that era were relieved that a vaccine had been developed. For some reason, the virus was most active in the summer, which prompted the closure of swimming pools, playgrounds and other recreational areas. Children were kept indoors and away from their playmates. Oddly enough, I don’t remember any of that – the kids in my neighborhood (Nassau Road) all played together and I don’t recall my parents discussing polio.  

Franklin D. Roosevelt was a victim of polio, having contracted it in 1921 at the age of 39. The virus left him permanently paralyzed, causing him to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. As president, he founded the National Institute of Infantile Paralysis whereby a nationwide effort was launched to provide monetary help for the families that were impacted by polio, as well as fund research to find a cure. The campaign kicked off in January 1938, when Roosevelt invited Americans to support the effort by sending dimes to the White House. That month, 2,680,000 dimes ($268,000) flooded the White House’s mail room, doubling the amount Roosevelt had hoped to initially raise. It is estimated that as many as 7 billion dimes had been donated to the cause by the time the vaccine was developed. The effort, which ultimately became known as the March of Dimes, was an unprecedented success that not only aided the victims of polio but it helped to change the face of philanthropy, as the dime project proved that people from all walks of life could make a difference in the lives of others. 

Have you ever wondered why Franklin Roosevelt’s image is on a dime? Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945. A few weeks later, Rep. James Hobson Morrison (D-LA) introduced a bill that would create the “Roosevelt Dime” in honor of the president’s role in fighting polio. With the passage of the bill, the Treasury Department began designing the coin. The first Roosevelt Dime was minted on January 19, 1946; the dime was released to the public on January 30, which would have been Roosevelt’s 64th birthday. 

That brings us to Candy Land. Eleanor Abbott, a 30-something school teacher, was battling polio in a San Diego hospital in 1948. Surrounded by bored children, she sought to provide them with entertainment through a game she devised that had simple rules and didn’t require counting or strategizing. She theorized that its candy theme would capture the attention and imagination of even the youngest patients. Best of all, it would be time consuming. The children loved Candy Land.  

Friends encouraged Abbott to contact the Milton Bradley Company. The company purchased the rights to the game and had it on store shelves in time for Christmas 1949. The first games included artwork on the board that depicted a boy and girl running happily in the fresh air. The boy wore a brace on one of his legs. 

Candy Land, which was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2005, is now owned by Hasbro. In addition to the traditional board game format, it is available digitally and can be played on a computer or phone. To this day, 1 million Candy Land games are sold annually in various formats. 

As for Eleanor Abbott, she led a life of relative obscurity after leaving the hospital and resided with her sister in the San Diego area until her death in 1988. Legend holds that she donated all the royalties she received from Candy Land to children’s charities.  

– Suzanne Starling-Long

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