The "Lititz Author Pens New Book For All Ages" Story

It was an ordinary day.  There on the front page of the "Living" section of our local newspaper was an article titled "L IS FOR 'LITITZ'".  Story about Mr. Bill Dussinger who has illustrated quite a few publications including graphic design work for several Lititz events, publications for Hershey Entertainment & Resorts as well as work for the National Football League's Oakland Raiders, now the Las Vegas Raiders.  

The cover of Bill Dussinger's new book.

But, this time he did more that illustrate or design graphics for a publication, he authored his own book titled "Lititz: From America's Coolest Town to Count Zinzendorf."  Bill is a "true blue" Lititz resident, being a relative of the first settlers of Lititz as well as the pretzel-making Stugis family.  So, he decided to author and illustrate a book that would be a great souvenir for tourists to the town of Lititz, a small town to the North of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  The book had to have just the right amount of illustrations as well as history to it to make visitors want to buy it.  

Bill Dussinger

Took him about four years  before he had finished his project.  As a resident of Lititz, Bill lived on Penny Lane and thus was a Beatles fan.  The name of his book reflects his love of the Beatles.  In the Lancaster Newspaper article he tells about making a list of ABCs and filling in all the letters with items and events from his hometown.  Did find it tough to find a word or illustration for a few letters in the alphabet, so he set his project aside for a while.  Then COVID-19 struck and Bill found he had quite a bit more leisure time, so he dug up the book idea again and finished it.  The book is meant to appeal to both adults and children; Lititz residents as well as visitors to his home town.  I have seen several other books which Bill has worked on, and this book really shows Bill's talent as an illustrator.  So, what do you do with letters such as the "Q"?  Well, Lititz is famous for it annual 4th of July celebration and it's naming a "Queen of the Cancles" for it's candlelit ceremony in the town's park.  Sound logical?  Woodstream Corporation manufactures pest control items and would be a perfect match for the "W".  But, wait!  He had already used the "W," so he placed it under "E" for "Eek! A Mouse!"  Every place and item in Lititz aren't illustrated, since he would have needed more than 26 letters for that.  But, he did get the main ones such as "P" for Stugis Pretzels and "C" for Chocolate made by Wilbur's in Lititz.  

Final page in the book.

Even thought he is a resident of Lititz, he still learned quite a bit about the town while working on his book.  The book is a "fun" book with a bit of trivia about Lititz added to it to make it interesting.  Bill's new book is not for sale in stores as of yet, but if you might be interested in a copy, you can contact him on Facebook or email him at bill@plgraphics.com.  Seems he has already sold quite a few copies and I suspect after the story in the local newspaper, he has sold more copies.  His final comment in the newspaper story says he has already begun work on a follow-up book about Lancaster County.  Can't wait for that one!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.