The "Get It Twisted!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a story in my Reader's Digest magazine that told of the loops of a popular snack that tell a warm, winding tale.  The tale of the pretzel's enduring popularity crisscrosses a medieval monk with a modern mall mogul, with a lot of twists and turns in between.  It was in 610 C.E. when a monk in northern Italy braided ropes of bread dough to resemble crossed arms in prayer.  He baked the treats until golden and gave them as rewards to his students at the monastery.  That known shape became popular with the bakers in Europe during the Middle Ages and Germans especially took to the art of pretzel twisting.  The pretzel sign in front of a business in the Middle Ages  was a symbol that you could find fresh-baked breads inside the business.  Pretzels were once so special that medieval painters would dab a few on the table of the "Last Supper."  Germans brought a passion for pretzels to the New World, especially to Pennsylvania Dutch country, which is a misnomer for Pennsylvania Duetsch.  The state were I live produces roughly 80% of the pretzels sold in the United States today.  The country's first commercial pretzel bakery opened in 1861 in nearby Lititz, PA, outside of Lancaster, my hometown!   Its founder was German-born Julius Stugis who claimed to create the first hard pretzels - made crisp so they could be stored for long periods without going stale.  The Sturgis family still makes hard pretzels in nearby Reading, Pennsylvania.  Hard or soft, pretzels go with just about anything.  The twisting shape tale can't be compete without homage to "Auntie" Anne Beiler, who started selling hand-role soft pretzels in 1988 in a Pennsylvania farmer's market to help fund her husband's dream of providing free family counseling services for their community.  Auntie Anne's is now the largest hand-rolled soft pretzel in the world, with over 1,700 locations. Now for a cameo from actor Adam "Shappy" Shapiro.  The Philly native became pretzel vendor to the stars during the pandemic, when he perfected a Philly-style soft pretzel and offered it from his Los Angeles driveway to friends.. His pretzel pop-up became a Hollywood hit - and a bona fide business.  Shappy pretzels were given out at the 2023 Academy Awards, and Kristen Bell, Ryan Seacrest and Tyra Banks all professed their love for the treat.  There is no twist ending here.  Just an abiding admiration for a doughy delicacy with Old World traditions, all wrapped up in a bow.  PS - I still make trips to my nearby Lancaster Central Market in downtown Lancaster, PA. on occasion to get fresh pretzels that have just been made and placed in bags for sale.  The smell is unbelievable and the taste is out of this world.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Through The Viewfnder...The Art of Photography Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading my local newspaper's article titled "Through The Viewfinder - Exploring The Art Of Photography.  Every week my local newspaper publishes a small article titled "Through The Viewfinder."  It shows an image taken by one of the newspaper's photographers.  It may be an image that goes with one of the day's stories or might just be a special photograph that the photographer wanted to show to the newspaper's subscribers.  Each photo is explained as to how it was shot and what method was needed to take the photo.  The camera's ISO is given as are the shutter speed and f/stop.  The photographer's image is usually shown under the photo with any comments they might have for the reader.  Most times it is about a half-page in size.  This weeks "Through The Viewfinder" photograph goes to Suzette Wenger who has been on the staff for many years.  When I was still teaching photography at Manheim Township High School, I would invite Suzette, as well as many of the other great photographers, to visit my class and explain the reason for taking the photos and exactly how they determined the settings for the photograph.  I enjoyed the class as well as the students who were listening to the presentation.  Today's story tells of an Eastern black Swallowtail in its fifth instar phase stage.  I'm not so sure I can explain what that was, but at least I understood the settings on the camera that were used and why she used the settings that she did.  She also told how the image was processed,  Today's Image was processed withSkylim software.  She selected 20 each of saturation and vibrance, 20 accent AI and 15 structure from the filter packs that are available.  She then cleaned up some dust spots and performed dodging and burning, along with cropping the photo in Photoshop.  For those not familiar with photography terms...that's OK.  The nomenclature was given for those learning what everything is in the field of photography.  I always enjoyed when one of the newspaper photographers visited and spoke to my class.  I made sure to take notes, since at times they gave information that I hadn't known....believe it or not.  Today's photograph was a colorful image of an Eastern black swallowtail in its second instar stage.   Suzette told the class that she had been watching these critters for the last month or so as they try to annihilate her parsley plants.  She didn't have the heart to get rid of them, but they trashed my food last year, and I didn't want to lose my crop again. My classes always looked forward to visits from the photographer at the local newspaper, since they talked about just about anything and everything and tried to explain how you have to go about taking the photograph.  To be honest...I enjoyed the talks just as much.  A big "Thank You" to all the photographers at the newspaper who talked to my classes when I was still teaching.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

This image was made by Suzette with a Nikon D6 body and a 105 micro lens.  The ISO was set at 1600, the shutter speed was 1/125th of a second and the f/stop was set to f/16.  As much as I hate them, a tripod was used to enable a sharp image.  A speed light was employed via bouncing the light from a light gray shed that was behind the subject.  This helped to fill in the shadows.  If the image isn't real sharp, it is because I took the picture with my camera from the newspaper and not my own camera.  If what you are viewing on your computer isn't real sharp, it is because I had to go through so many steps to show you the image.  

The Gillian's Wonderland Pier In Ocean City, N.J. Story

It was an ordnary day.  Reading in my morning newspaper about Jack Brubaker, "The Scribbler", visiting Gillian's Wonderland Pier in Ocean City, NJ.  The Scribbler celebrated his 10th birthday on June 8, 1954, by scoring a hole-in-one on the final whole of the Tee Time Miniature Golf Course on the boardwalk at Ocean City, New Jersey.  A hole-in-one entitled a golfer to a free game.  It was the best birthday present ever.  On Monday, the Scribbler stood at the entrance to Tee Time, listening to an attendant complain about the imminent closing of a business that opened elsewhere on the boardwalk in 1930 and relocated next door to Tee Time in 1965.  That is Gillian's Wonderland Pier, at Sixth Street and the Boardwalk.  Gillian's was closed for the day Monday, but in mid-October it will close forever!  The Scribbler has missed his last shot at riding on one of the carousel's herd of horses or up and down with the caterpillar roller coaster.  The Wonderland Pier and its most memorable component - a 140-foot-tall giant wheel, the most distinctive feature of the city's skyline - is three weekends away from succumbing to the reckless claws of change.  This is not news.  LNP carried the story about the losing of the attraction last month.  But, the Scribbler was here to tell you that being onsite - and especially not being able to go inside on a weekday - magnified the sense of loss, a sentiment many Ocean City residents and visitors have expressed on social media.  "As a kid you looked for the Ferris Wheel while going over the bridge (into Ocean City)," recalls one Facebook user. "Then you knew you were at the shore.  Such excitement!  Please save the wheel!"  Thousands of Lancaster County residents, including yours truly "The Ordinary Guy", knows exactly what that commenter means.  Ocean City was Lancaster's preferred summer beach for many years.  Practically everyone went there in the middle decades of the 20th century - before Ocean City, Maryland; Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and other resorts drew some families away.   Gillian's Wonderland Pier is closing because Jay Gillian, the city's mayor, sold it to Eustace Mita, owner of Icona Hotels in nearby Avalon and Cape May.  Many Ocean City residents fear a new hotel will displace Wonderland Pier.  "This is something that can't be replaced.  It's a place the whole family could enjoy," one observer told the Scribbler.  He was staring up at one of the eight fairy-tale artworks on the front of the building.  Humpty Dumpty falling off a wall.  The Scribbler's sister, Judy Brubaker Veser, has taken her grandchildren for rides on the Ferris wheel and remembers riding it with her father.  "It was my favorite ride when I was little, and Daddy was the one who'd go up with me," she recalled.  "He would always rock (the gondola) like crazy when we would stop on the top to let riders off at the bottom.  I'd scream my lungs out, and he'd swing it harder."  Last Monday, Ted Greenberg, who covers the Jersey Shore for NBC10 in Philadelphia, filmed the Ferris Wheel and interviewed boardwalkers, including the Scribbler.  He observed, somewhat wearily, that this was his fifth news segment about the end of Wonderland Pier.  At the Tee Time Miniature golf Course, where the Scribbler snagged his hole-in-one 70 years ago, everyone seemed to be having a good time, including the operator who groused about impending loss of business at the end of the boardwalk.  But, he did say, "It didn't have to be this way.  It's all about the money!"  Isn't it always!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Dear Scribbler...I will miss it as much as you will.  I loved the rides and the fun at Wonderland Pier.  LDub.  PS - I noticed that you are 3 months older than I am.  How's it feel to be an old guy?  

Gillian's Wonderland Pier

Remembering Lancaster's Day As The Capital! Story

It was an ordinary day.  For one day, 247 years ago, Lancaster was the nation's capital.  And LancasterHistory is ready to host a celebration - with trivia, a scavenger hunt and a special song - in remembrance of this historic day.  On September 27, 1777, Lancaster served as the capital of the fledgling nation. The designation occurred as the Continental Congress came to rest in the city after being forced to make a hasty retreat from the British forces who were occupying the then-capital city of Philadelphia.  Lancaster's capital city claim was only temporary.  The following day, the members of the congress decided to put the Susquehanna River between themselves and the British army, and moved on to York.  York remained the capital for nine months, until June 27, 1778.  But, for that one day, Lancaster was the capital.  In 2011, (after some informal petitioning from Lancaster resident Matt Johnson) former Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray declared September 27 Capital Day in Lancaster.  This year, Lancaster-History is hosting its first Captal Day celebration.  The event, which doubles as a fundraiser for the local history organization, features family-friendly fun including live music, trivia, yard games, craft-making sessions and self-guided tours of the museum.  The evening kicks off with a performance by musician Leo DiSanto who will perform "The Capital Day Song," written by Johnson.  "It will be a fun, quirky, good time," said Annie Week, the development and events coordinator at LancaterHistory.  But besides being fun for the whole family, the event will be educational.  Adam Zurn, founder of the local history and adventure game website Unchargtered Lancaster, will host a short presentation, as well as a scavenger hunt.  "I'm currently elbow-deep in trying to figure out what members of Congress were actually in Lancaster on that fateful day," Zurn, a technology teacher at Lampeter-Strasburg School District, wrote in an email.  "I'm, about 95% sure Hohn Adams (the future second president) was there."  Zurn said that, while conducting research, he read Adams' diary, which talks about him leaving Philadelphia on Sept. 19.  Then, on Sept. 25, Adams makes the following entry: "Rode from Bethlehem through Allan Town, Yesterday, to a German Tavern, about 18 Miles from Reading.  Rode this Morning to Reading, where We break-fasted, and heard for certain that Mr.Howes Army had crossed the Schuycill.  Coll.Hartley gave me an Account of the late Battle, between the Enemy and General Wayne.  Hartley thins that the Place was improper for Battle, and that there ought to have been a Retreat."  "If you plot these locations on a may, you can see he's making a straight line from Lancaster," Zurn said.  Here's a tentative schedule of the Capital Day Celebration events:  5:30-6:30 p.m.: Music by Viv Live Strings and a special performance of "The Capital Day Song" by Leo DiSanto.  6:40 p.m.: "On This Day in History:  Five-Minute history" with Adam Zurn of Unchartered Lancaster.  6:45-7:45 p.m.: a Lancaster county-themed game of trivia with prizes.  And...so the story ends!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Lancaster County Courthouse on September 27, 1777

The "Teacher Wins Big On "Wheel of Fortune" Story

It was an ordinary day,  Opened my newspaper and there at the bottom of Page 1 was something I had been wishing for my entire lifetime.  Guy by the name of Scott Aukamp, who is a teacher in the School District of Lancaster, won $62,000 and a trip to Barbados.  Oh, if that had only been me!  His story said that before he competed on "Wheel Of Fortune," he had a dream he was on the show and had won $62,000 and a trip to Costa Rica.  Hey...his dream wasn't too far off!  The Smith-Wade-El Elementary second-grade teacher, who lives outside of Reading, PA, competed on "Wheel of Fortune" in June, and the episode aired this past Tuesday night.  Prior to applying to the show, Aukamp and his oldest son, Mitchell, were watching "Wheel of Fortune" earlier this year, and Mitchell commented how good at the game he was.  "Wheel of Fortune" has been part of Aukamp's life for nearly 40 years, so by that time he was well practiced.  He applied for the game show on a whim in March and didn't tell his friends or family.  But, when he got an email from a Zoom call, he finally told everyone.  Nearly a million people apply to be part of "Wheel of Fortune" yearly, but only around 600 actually get to be on the show.   That's a 0.0006% chance of making it!.  But, Scott was one of the lucky ones.  Before going on the show, he downloaded the "Wheel of Fortune" app and practiced with nearly 500 games.  He researched the most common consonants and vowels, and learned everything he could about the set and odds of winning.  "It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, an he didn't want to blow it.  Aukamp's episode aired during the show's "Teacher Week," which featured teachers as contestants.  When Aukamp got to the bonus round, he knew he had won the bonus prize only, when he looked at the dial puzzle.  "I thought I had it before I guessed the letters," Aukamp says.  He was thinking, "I'm either going to look really good or to look really bad here."  But then everything started lighting up, and he realized he got it.  The puzzle he solved was "Waiting my turn."  Aukamp kept the secret for more than three months, but it was finally revealed Tuesday night.  Aukamp hosted a watch party at Spring Home Brewing Co. with some of his co-workers, lifelong friends, neighbors and family members.  As for Aukamp's plans for the money, which he says he won't receive until January, he plans to put some toward his son's education and perhaps a family vacation or work around his house.  "It's just a dream come true!" Aukamp says. PS - You can watch the video of Aukamp's bonus round victory at Lancaster.news/Wheel-of-Fortune-Teacher.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Scott Aukamp on "Wheel of Fortune"

The "A Night Of Adventures In The Caribbean"

It was an ordinary day.  The story in the newspaper read: NIGHT ADVENTURES - Adventures abound under the stars, on land, on water and under it, too.  Astrotourism, travel devoid to stargazing and other celestial activities, is booming, spurred on, in part, by DarkSky International, which seeks to protect the night skies from light pollution.  The non-profit organization, based in Tucson, Arizona, has designated 220 dark sky areas around the world since its grassroots founding in 1988, and has recently started the DarkSky Approved Lodging program.  "Viewing our starry night sky has connected humanity throughout the ages nd allowed us to form a deep connection with the cosmos," said Susan Serven, DarkSky's communications director.  "Now it's seen as a growing potential economic driver, as well."  There are 5 nocturnal adventures that will add a strong dose of awe to your next vacation.  FULL MOON GOAT HIKE.  Bradley mountain Farm, in Southington, Connecticut, has been a daily farm for two centuries.  But, it's only in the past five years that the owner, Annelids Dadras, brought goats and humans together under the full moon.  An excursion, about a half mile, meanders along a forest trail, past a pasture where guests can see the rat of the herd, and eventually arrives at a large lake, where participants are rewarded with a view of the full moon bouncing off off its surface.  While it is acknowledged that it might sometimes feel a little spooky traversing the land in the dark, the goats bring a sense of playfulness.  "People have so much fun with the goats, they say, 'Oh, I forgot it wa about the moon.'"  NIGHTTIME RIVER FLOAT.  Across the country, in Sunriveer, Oregon, Suriver Resort, a 3,300-acre property situate within an international dark sky designated area, includes 6 miles of water frontage on the Deschutes River.  This wide, flat body of water is where a fulll moon river float takes guess for a 2.5 hour paddle in a kayak or canoe.  Our skies are so dark at night that it makes stargazing just so impressive." said the resort's director.  Five or six guides ensure safety and point out celestial spectacles overhead.  "The night sky is really the focal point," Borrows said.  "You're going to see shooting stars on a clear night, and you're going to see the Milky Way."  Even though up to 30 people can join, the vibe remains reflective, the sound of paddles hitting the water adding to the serenity of the night sky.  But when the float wraps up buck at the marina, reflective shifts to festive as guests sip hot chocolate, baking in the glow of a fire pit and the moon above.  Dark skies are inherently beautiful,  filled with glittering stars and dusty, spiraling galaxies.  It's spectacles like these that inspire people to journey to Sedona, Arizona, another designated dark sky community.  It's also whine of Enchantment Resort's most popular programs is stargazing.  It's one thing to see the majesty the cosmos, but to be able to take it home with you is also extraordinary. That's the idea of the night sky photography classes offered at Keweenaw Moutain Lodge on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, yet another international dark sky designed area.  NIGHT SNORKELING.  Many travelers book trips to the Caribbean with plans to snorkel through the sea's clear waters.  Travelers to Secret Bay, a secluded 22-villa resort on Dominica, might have the opportunity to see creatures that others don't, by enjoying the experience at night.  Secret Bays boat captain, Don Mitchell, known as Captain Don, takes up to seven guests nightly to a location he has scoped out for optimal conditions.  With divinq lights in hand,  everyone jumps in and explores.  In addition to creatures like lobsters, squid and octopus, guests may see the occasional barracuda or scorpion fish.  After about a half-hour of snorkeling, the show continues when Mitchell and the guests extinguish their lights and behold another spectacle; bioluminescence, tiny underwater plankton that, stirred u  p by the activity, create an ethereal blue glow, mimicking the cosmos about.  It was another extraodinry day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Cat Is Home after 800-MIle Trek Story

It was an ordinary day.  When a cat dashed into the woods of Yellowstone National Park during a camping trip in June, his California owners, Benny and Susanne Annuiano, thought they'd never see him again.  The couple searched for five days through the woods near their campground at Fishing Bridge RV Park, but never found their 2-year-old male siamese cat, Rayne Beau, pronounced "rain-bow."  Susanne Anguiano said that Rayan Beau's sister, Starr, started to meow through the screen door of the trailer.  Eventually, when the couple made the tough decision to drive home to Salinas, California, Starr, who had never been away from her brother, meowed all the way back.  "Leaving him was unthinkable," Susanne Anguiano said.  "I felt like I was abandoning him."  But almost two months later, Rayne Beau was found wandering the streets of Roseville, California, three hours north of where the Anguianos live and more than 800 miles away from Yellowstone National Park, as first reported by the news station KSBW.  When a worker from a local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals notified the couple that rescuers had identified Rayne Beau from his microchip, Benny Anguiano said they were shocked that the cat had made it back to California.  The couple met Rayne Beau and his sister when they were 11 weeks old and decided to foster and then adopt them.  During their search at Yellowstone, Benny Anguiano said a campsite worker told him that there had been grizzly bears and coyotes spotted around the area, and that their cat was likely to have been eaten by one of the forest's predators.  After hearing this, Benny Anguiano convinced his wife that it was time to leave.  When the couple reunited with him, they said Rayne Beau had lost 40% of his body weight.  He was restless in his carrier, but once they released him in the car, he calmed down.  "He just looked at me, and then he put his head down and just fell fast asleep." Susanne Anguiano said.  "He was so exhausted."  The couple said Ryan Beau has been back home since early August and was doing well.  Susanne Anguiano is hesitant to travel with her cats again, but if she does, they won't be so far away form home.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Rayne Beau, 2-year-old Siamese Cat.

 

The "Any Day Now, Expect A New Star' Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a story in an old newspaper titled "Any day now, expect a new star."  The sub-head read...Temporarily, thanks to a dim body that flares up in a nova every 80 years."  Story was written by Anthony R. Wood who writes for The Philadelphia Inquirer.  So....with a name like that....his story must be interesting! (Yeah...I know, my name has an 'S" on the end of it).  Anyway...here's the story...

Any night now, the astrophysicists tell us, a new star will appear in the night sky - about as bright as the North Star - the result of a cosmic explosion in a distant constellation millennia ago. NASA scientist Rebekah Hounsell has called it "a-once-in-a-lifetime event that will create a lot of new astronomers out there."  Once you see it, however, don't get too attached to it.  The so-called recurring nova star, T. Colronae Borealis, which periodically mutates into an earth-size hydrogen bomb, will flame out in less than a week.  But, if you're around, you'll get another shot at seeing it at the beginning of the 22nd century.  Precisely when the nova, affectionately known as T CrB in the astronomical community, will be visible is unclear, astronomers say, and nailing the timing is a bit more complicated than predicting what time the sun will rise.  It could be sometime this month, maybe even this week, or maybe not until winter.  But the evidence is unmistakable that it will appear soon.  Astronomers know the explosion has occurred because it happens about once every 80 years, and looking into their backward crystal balls, they have observed that T CrB has undergone a signature loss in star power that has preceded previous cataclysms.  The nova - not to be confused with a self-destructing supernova - was last observed in February 1946, and before that, in May 1866.  A German priest, Abbott Burchard of Upsburg, sighted it in 1217, according to astrophysicist Brady Bradley, an emeritus professor at Louisiana State University.  The priest described it as "a faint star that for a time shone with great light."  Edward Sion, astrophysicist at Villanova University, said that mentions of the nova also appear in the Middle Ages writings of Chinese and Korean observers.  The new star poses no threat to us.  It is 3,000 light years from Earth, which explains the lag: Light travels about 5.9 trillion miles annually.  By comparison, the light from our star, the sun, beamed from a mere 93 million miles away, gets here in about 6 minutes.  The nova is a "white dwarf," the lesser half of a binary system in which two stars are bound together by gravity.  Its partner is a "red giant" that leaks hydrogen to its partner, the white dwarf.  "It's almost like a perfect storm," said Sion.  The white dwarf is an Earth-sized core of a dead star that is unimaginably hot, perhaps exceeding 180,000 degrees Fahrenheit, by NASA's estimate.  When enough hydrogen accumulates on the white dwarf, the result is a nuclear explosion that NASA says is 10 times stronger than the annual output of the sun.  Said Sion, "Every 80 years, the white dwarf says 'enough accreted mass already!'  I'm going to blow up!"  The result is that T CrB becomes visible to earthlings, who call such stars nova, Latin for "new."  Where in the sky can you find the "new" star?  To find the nova, follow the tail that trails the "scooper" of the Big Dipper.  That will lead you to Arcturus, one of the brightest stars in the sky.  Just to the east of Arcturus is the Northern Crown constellation, of which T CrB is a member.  The nova will be just below the apex of the constellation's little arc of stars, visible to the naked eye, Sion said.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.       

A Nova

Earning The "Joe Kurjiaka" Yearly Trophy" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading an article in the sports section of my daily paper when a name from the past surfaced in the midst of a high school football game story.  The name was Joseph Kurjiaka who had worked for many years in the Manheim Township High School District Office before moving to the same job at nearby Hempfield High School.  Joe was a good friend when he worked at Manheim Township School District.  At the time I taught Industrial Arts at the high school level with Graphic Arts (printing) being my favorite subject to teach.  I also worked summers in the print shop making stationery, envelopes, etc. for all the different schools in the district as well as the District Office.  Joe worked in the District Office and brought me quite a few District Office printing jobs during summer months.  I got to know Joe quite well during those many years at Manheim Township.  Then he was offered a job at neighboring Hempfield School District, and since he lived in that district, decided to switch positions from one school to the other.  Manheim Township missed him dearly, since he was a fantastic worker in all that he did.  Well, Joe died quite a few years later, but when the fall football season came around, someone thought it would be great to give the winner of the yearly football game between Manheim Township and Hempfield a memorial Trophy named after Joe.  Well, that was 14 years ago when the trophy was first given out to the winner of the football game between the two teams.  Recently, Manheim Township and Hempfield played their yearly football team.  It is always a big game between two of the largest and best teams in Lancaster County.  Well,  Township roared to a 5-0 record when they beat Hempfield with a commanding score of 38-0 in Neffsville, PA, the home of the Manheim Township Blue Streaks.  They now hold an 11-3 yearly lead in the Joe Kurjiaka trophy  hardware series between the bitter rivals.  So...how would Joe feel about that?  I'm sure Joe would be happy for the MT Blue Streaks, but just as sad for the Hempfield Knights.  Being that I taught for 35 years at Manheim Township, I was proud to claim the win once again in Joe's name.  Joe and I had been good friends when we both worked at Manheim Township, especially since I did much of the in-house printing for the district on the printing presses in my Graphic Arts shop.  I'm sure Joe is misssed by both school districts as well as all those who got to know Joe while working side-by-wide with him.  But...I must admit that I'm not sad when Manheim Township beats Hempfield during the fall football season even though my Grandson Caden graduated from Hempfield a few years ago.  Always was, and still is, one of the biggest games of the year for both teams.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.        

The "Is This A Trend That Will Happen More Often?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just opened my front door, stooped over, and picked up my daily newspaper from the side of the door.  I love the delivery method that my newspaper man has used since we moved to Woodcrest Villas.   I don't even have to step outside the front door to be able to retrieve the paper.  No need to get dressed or to put on a jacket to retrieve the paper.  Well, the newspaper today was loaded with quite a few really good stories that kept me reading for almost two hours.  One such story was titled "GOP officials to stump for Harris in Manheim Twp."  The subhead read:  "Campaign event today with federal lawmakers and former county party chair part of such to attract Republican voters!"  And, this is in an area of Pennsylvania that is predominately Republican!  The short article read:  The presidential campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to host a group of past Republican officials at an event today in Manheim Township.  Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and former Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh are slated to appear at The Barn at Stoner Commons, 605 Granit Run Drive, to stump for the Democratic Party's presidential ticket.  "These brave, nationally prominent Republicans are touring the battleground states in support of Kamala Harris because they know that our American democratic system and the rule of law are at stake," Ann Womble, Pennsylvania co-chair of the Republicans for Harris coalition and a former chair of the Republican Committee of Lancaster County, said in an email invitation for the event.  Womble and her co-chair, former Congressman Jim Greenwood, also will appear at the event, which is part of a broader push from the Harris campaign to appeal to Republican voters disillusioned with former President Donald Trump.  Democrats launched their Republicans for Harris coalition in August and have since opened a campaign office in nearby Ephrata, which has historically swung for GOP candidates and is expected to again this year.  So... what do you think?  Could you ever vote Democratic?  Will you push that GOP button no matter what?  Years ago I began to do research on each of the candidates that were running for any particular post.  Found out all the the highlights and lowlights of each...and then tried to come up with the best candidate for me!  I have voted both ways, Democrat or Republican, many times, but recently have stayed away from all the Hoopla!  I usually vote for the person who is the most wise candidate....not the one with the wisest mouth!  For me this year...well, it is a no-brainer!  Any idea whom the one with the biggest mouth might be?  Might you feel the same way?  If so...vote against him...ooops, I mean against them!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.      

Wheatland, The Country Resdence of the Hon. James Buchanan

It was an ordinary day.  Scholars have explored many complicated questions about James Buchanan, Pennsylvania's first President.  Did he fail to prevent a civil war?  And, was Buchanan, a lifelong bachelor or gay?  But, a recent talk at LancasterHistory sought to answer another question:  What did his yard at Wheatland look like back then?  Stephanie Celiberti recently dug into the landscaping side of Wheatland in a sold-out talk hosted by Friends of Tanger Arboretum, a group that works with LancasterHistory to care for and conserve the grounds surrounding Wheatland.  As a museum associate at LancasterHistory, Celiberti's spent five years developing programming and tours for Wheatland an managing the site's historic collections.  She stitched together the landscaping research through receipts, documents and media reports about Buchanan's gentleman's farm - a place where someone farms for pleasure instead of profit.  The property at the corner of what's now Marietta and North President Avenues can be traced back to a 480-acre farm owned by the Hershey family, Celiberti says.  In 1848, Buchanan purchased a 22.5 acre parcel with a stately brick home.  The $6,750 price adjusted for inflation is $276,660. "For a house of Wheatland's size, 22.5 acres of land and a couple of out-buildings," Celiberti says. "You could never buy that in today's economy for that price, right.   So, it's quite a sizable deal for what Buchanan is getting.  LancasterHistory now owns about half of Buchanan's property.  During his time there, farming was a hobby, not something for income or the main source for the kitchen, Celiberti says.  He also embraced the idea of enjoying nature with trees, shrubs and walkways through grass.  Around the time Buchanan settled into the White House, Wheatland had a fence along Marietta Avenue with a horseshoe-shaped, tree-lined path leading to the house.  We know this thanks to a print Buchanan commissioned and sent to newspapers, an 1857 version of an Architectural Digest "Open Door" video tour.  Details emerge in reports from newspaper journalists visiting Buchanan: the entryway, a grassy pasture to the right and a wheat field to the left.  In modern times, the short turf grass in front of the house has been replaced with taller fescue grass, a nod to the past.  More horticultural clues can be spotted in a window screen painted by Philip Kraus and fitted into Buchanan's rail car as he traveled to his inauguration.  Here, there are two tall pine trees framing the front door at Wheatland.  Buchanan's favorite place on the property was the frog pond, next to the driveway and Marietta Avenue.  In his time, a willow tree sheltered the spring-fed pond.  He liked it so much, he once said he wouldn't mind coming back as a frog here after death.  Behind Wheatland was a grove of hickory and oak trees visible from the back porch.  The backyard also had edible plants in a "large and excellent" garden )as he described in a letter) to add to kitten's produce.  Gardeners lived on site and took care of the plants, harvested, weeded, mowed lawns and maintained walls and tools.  Edward Bolger, an Irish immigrant, started his work at Wheatland in 1849.  He planted a strawberry patch in a space that now has a carriage house.  Later, Buchanan wrote about another gardener, Thomas Costello, who tried to leave to start his own farm.  Buchanan convinced him to stay a few more years.  He was replaced by Charles Smith, who tended to the garden until Buchnan's death in 1868.  We know the gardeners' names, yet finding what they painted has been difficult.   Celiberti's pieced together the list of plants through newspaper reports and records (such as a receipt for seed potatoes.). Buchanan collected wine and enjoyed Madeira wine and sherry, so it's not a surprise he grew Malaga grapes behind Wheatland, probably around the carriage house parking lot.  Another story of Civil War soldier's childhood memories brought a tale of scaling a fence and picking pears from a president.  Otherwise, there are plenty of possibilities for crops that filled the garden.  Buchanan invited people over for sauerkraut dinner and enjoyed a tomato from time to time, Celiberti says, yet there's no proof cabbages or tomatoes grew at Wheatland.  Celiberti's research continues and behind Wheatland, living history grows with potatoes, cabbage and herbs, a mix of plants that were grown and could have grown during Buchanan's time.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  The following art drawing is of Wheatland, the Country Residence of the Hon. James Buchanan, situated near the City of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

PIAA Adds Girls Football!

It was an ordinary day.  And YES...you did read my title correctly!   I find it hard to believe, but following the footsteps of girls wrestling, which saw its historic first season in the state a year ago, the PIAA (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association), officially announced that girls flag football has been sanctioned as an official, state championship sport, following a PIAA Board of Directors meeting this past Wednesday.  "We're thrilled that we can offer another opportunity for girls to participate in interscholastic athletics," PIAA President Frank Majikes said via a news release.  In recognizing the National Federation of High School Associations (NFHS), we will be initiating development of a girl's flag football rules book in January 2025.  This will allow us to develop our process to host a championship."  The PIAA, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles worked "in tandem" over the past three seasons to grow the sport of flag football at the youth level, causing the PIAA to designate girls flag football as an emerging sport and kickstarting the process for sanctioning.  The release states that girls flag football needed 100 participating teams across the state for sanctioning, and that the Eagles helped form 65 teams in Eastern Pennsylvania, while the Steelers brought 36 into the fold in Western PA to hit the mark.  Both teams' owners reacted to the news via the PIAA's official release.  "This is not just an important day for the Eagles and Steelers, but for the sport of football and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," Eagle CEO Jeffrey Lurie, said, "When we launched our girls' flag football league ini 2022, we set an ambitious five-year goal to get the sport sanctioned in our state.  Now, here we are three seasons later and two years ahead of schedule.  The sport's organic growth is a credit to the participants, administrators, coaches, officials, and parents who helped raise the profile of girls' flag football.  We thank the PIAA for their leadership in recognizing a sport that has the power to unlock new pathways and opportunities for girls of all ages in every community."  "We are exited to see such a groundbreaking moment for the future of girls' flag football," Steeler president Art Rooney II said.  "It has been great working with the Eagles to accomplish a sucessful ruling that will now give the chance to compete at a state level.  We look forward to seeing how girls' flag football continues to grow in Pennsylvania and worldwide." As for me and my opinion, well I believe that the sport of flag football is still too violent for females.  There is no way I would have wanted my daughter to have played flag football while in high school.  Wait until you see how violent even girls' flag football can become, and maybe you may not want your young girl to participate.  I'm so glad I never had to go through with making the decision for my daughter.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Mud Bowl Celebrates 50 Years Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about all the college football players who aspire to play in bowl games while professional players dream of playing in the Super Bowl, while a bunch of amateurs in New Hampshire just want to get muddy!  On Sunday, a three-day sloppy muddy mess wrapped up the Mud Bowl which was celebrating its 50th year of football featuring players trudging through knee-deep muck while trying to reach the end zone.  For these athletes, flaying in mud brings out their inner child.  "You're playing football in the mud, so you've got to have a smile on your face," said Jason Veno, the 50-year-old quarterback of the North Country Mud Crocs, who described mud as an equalizer.  "It's just a different game in the mud,  I doesn't matter how good you are on grass.  That doesn't matter in the mud."  The annual event takes place at Hog Coliseum, located in the heat of North Conway.  It kicked off Friday night with revelry and music, followed by a Tournament of Mud Parade on Saturday.  All told, a dozen teams with men and women competed in the tournament in hopes of emerging as the soiled victor.  Ryan Martin said he's been playing mud ball for almost 20 years and said it's a good excuse to meet up with old friends he's grown up with.  "You get to a point where you're just like, I'm not going pro or anything, so I might as well feel like I'm still competing day in and day out," he said.  He acknowledged that the sport has some lingering effects - mostly with mud infiltrating every nook and cranny of his body.  "It gets in the eyes, You get cracks in your feet.  And, you get mud in your toenails for weeks,"  he said.  "You get it in your ears too..  You'll be cleaning our your ears for a long while.... you'll be blowing your nose and you'll get some dirt and you're like, oh, I didn't know I still had that there."  Mahala Smith is also sold on the camaraderie of the event.  She said she fell in love with football early in life and has been playing the sport since first grade.  She joined a women's team for tackle football in 2018 and played a few years before she was invited to play in the mud.  She said the weekend was a treat.  "It's like a little mini vacation and everyone's all friendly," she said.  "People hang out at the hotels and restaurants, people camp, we all have fires and stuff, just like a nice group event."  Even though it's fun, the teams are serious about winning.  And the two-hand touch football can get chippy on the field of play, but it's all fun once the games are over.  Many of the players were star high school or college athletes, and there had been a smattering of retired pros one of the years, Veno said.  The theme was "50 Years, The Best of Five Decades."  Over the years, the event has raised more than $1 million for charity, officials said.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The Mud Bowl!

"The 10 Rules For Bank Robbers"

It was an ordinary day.  Reading an article titled "Rules for Bank Robbers."  According to the FBI, most modern day bank robberies are "unsophisticated and unprofessional crimes," committed by young, male, repeat offenders who apparently don't know the first thing about their business.  For instance, it is reported that in spite of the widespread use of surveillance cameras, 76% of bank robbers use no disguise, 86% never study the bank before robbing it, and 95% make no long-range plans for concealing the loot.  Thus, this advice is offered to would-be bank robbers, along with examples of what can happen if the rules aren''t followed.  Rule #10 its probably the best advice.  

1. Pick the right bank.  You are advised that you don't follow the lead of the fellow in Anaheim, California, who tried to hold up a bank that was no longer in business and had no money.  On the other hand, you don't want to be too familiar with the bank.  A California robber ran into his mother while making his getaway.  She turned him in. 

2. Approach the right teller.  Granted, this is harder to plan. One teller in Springfield, Massachusetts, followed the holdup man out of the bank and down the street until she saw him go into a restaurant.  She hailed a passing police car, and the police picked him up.  Another teller was given a holdup note by a robber, and the tellers father, who was next in line, wrestled the man to the ground and sat on him until authorities arrived.

3. Don't sign your demand note.  Demand notes have been written on the back of a subpoena issued in the name of a bank robber in Pittsburgh, on an envelope bearing the name and address of another in Detroit, and in East Hartford, Connecticut, on the back of a withdrawal slip giving the robber's signature and account number.

4. Beware of dangerous vegetables.  A man in White Plains, New Oak, tried to hold up a bank with a zucchini.  The police captured him at his house, where he showed them his "weapon."

5. Avoid being fussy.  A robber in Panorama City, California, gave the teller a note saying "I have a gun.  Give me all your twenties in this envelope."  The teller said, "All I've got is two twenties." the robber took them and left.

6. Don't advertise.  A holdup man thought that if he smeared mercury ointment on his face, it would make him invisible to the cameras.  Actually, it accentuated his features, giving authorities a much clearer picture.  Bank robbers in Minnesota and California tried to create a diversion by throwing stolen money out the windows of their cars.  They succeeded only in drawing attention to themselves.  

7. Take right turns only.  Avoid the sad fate of the thieves in Florida who took a wrong turn and ended up on the Homestead Air Force Base.  They drove up to a military police guardhouse and, thinking it was a tollbooth, offered the security men money.  

8. Provide you own transportation.  It is not clever to borrow the teller' car, which she carefully described to police.  This resulted in the most quickly-solved bank robbery in the history of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

9. Don't be too sensitive.  In these days of exploding dye packs, stuffing the cash into your pants can lead to embarrassing stains, not to mention severe burns - as bandits in San Diego and Boston painfully discovered.

10. Consider another line of work. One nervous criminal in Swansea, Massachusetts, fainted when the teller told him she had no money.  He was still unconscious when the police arrived. And, so the story goes!  Best to stay out of banks when you have no money!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Huge King Penguin Chick Draws Fans Story

It was a ordinary day.  Reading about a huge king penguin chick named Pesto, who weighs as much as both his parents combined, has become a social media celebrity and a star attraction at an Australian aquarium.  Weighing 49 pounds at 9 months old, Pesto is the heaviest penguin chick the Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium has ever had, its education supervisor Jacinta Early recently said.  By contrast, his doting parents, Hudson and Tango, weigh 24 pounds each. Pesto's global fame has grown with his size.  More than 1.9 billion people around the world had viewed him through social media, an aquarium statement said.  He ate more than his own substantial body weight in fish in the past week: 53 pounds, Early said.  The veterinary advice is that that quantity of food is healthy for a chick approaching adulthood.  His growth will plateau as he enters his fledging period.  He has started to lose his brown feathers and will replace them with the black-and-white plumage of a young adult. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Pesto, a huge king penguin chick

The "Lighting The Way" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading an article in my September/October copy of "The Saturday Evening Post."  Perhaps you too subscribe to this wonderful magazine.  The story began with...When America's last Coast Guard lighthouse keeper hung up her old-fashioned bonnet last year, the movement marked the end of an era.  Sally Snowman, who was 72 when she retired in December, had cared for the 308-year-old Boston Lighthouse, which is perched on Boston Harbor's little Brewster Island, since 2003.  Sometimes she donned homemade, 18th century garb for her work, which included offering public tours of the rocky, wind-staffed island - more utilitarian moods found her zipped into a Coast Guard-issued jumpsuit instead.  For 15 years of her tenure, she lived year-round in the island's 1884 Light Station Keeper's Quarters, at times riding out whiteout blizzards and fierce storms that raked the two-acre scrap of land with 20-foot waves. "I say I have salt water in my veins, and not blood," says Snowman.  "I've had a connection to lighthouses since I was yea high to a caterpillar, growing up in Boston Harbor."  Though the Boston Light was fully automated in 1998, congressional law stipulated that the landmark, which was the very first light station established in colonial America, remain manned.  The verb doesn't quite fit Snowman, who was both the first and the last female keeper of Boston Light.  She will not be replaced.  "Will I miss it?" Snowman asks.  "Yes I will."  If snowman's retirement is the poignant coda to lighthouse keeping by the U.S. Coast Guard, it comes amid a transformation of the country's coastlines that's been unfolding for decades.  Though lighthouses remain essential navigational aids for boaters, they no longer require the live-in keepers who tended lamps and rowed to aid boaters caught in deadly squalls.  And so, from Michigan beaches to Maine's scatter-shot bays, government-owned lighthouses are going to a new generation of keepers.  Since 2002, in a program run by the General Services Administration in collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Park Service, more than 150 lighthouses have been sold off or given away to nonprofits, friends associations, and private citizens.  If plenty of would-be lighthouse keepers are eager to step into the breach left by the Coast Guard, perhaps it's because the signal lights still tug at something enduring in the American spirit.  Lighthouses remain some of the country's most beloved landmarks.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The distinctive red and white candy-striped West Quddy
Head Lighthouse - one of more than 60 that dot Maine's
Atlantic Coast.  This particular one was depicted by artist
Stevan Dohanos for the September 22, 1945 Post Cover.

Why The Battle At Antietam Made Gen. Reynolds Grumpy & A Grumpy General & Another Spooky Nook Origin Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about the Battle of Antietam and why it made General Reynolds grumpy!  General John Fulton Reynolds, Lancaster native and rising officer in the Union Army during the Civil War, was not present at the pivotal Battle of Antietam, Maryland, on September 17, 1862.  His absence, apparently, made him grumpy.  Jake Wynn, a "public historian" who lives in Frederick, Maryland, recently found a curious anecdote among the papers of Gilliard Dock, a Harrisburg businessman during the war.  Wynn discuses the anecdote in a new online post, referred by Lew Jury.  In September 1862, Dock was living in Harrisburg with his family.  Ass confederate forces threatened to invade Pennsylvania, Dock joined an emergency militia.  Dock's company, stationed on the Maryland-Pennsylvania border, saw no action but "heard distinctly the dull roar" of the fighting at Antietam.  A few days after the battle, Dock encountered Reynolds, who was commanding all of the militia units defending southern Pensylvania.  This assignment apparently displeased Reynoldd because he had missed the main show at Antietam.  Doc's colonel had offered him to obtain water at a nearby farmhouse, but Reynolds intercepted him, asking "'where in hell' I was going,"  Dock recanted.  When Dock told him his orders from his colonel, the general replied, "Well, I am General Reynolds, God Damn you, and I order you back to your company."  Dock complied.  A Confederate sharp-shooter killed Reynolds the next summer at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Gen. John Fulton Reynolds

When it comes to the origin of unusual place names, there may be no end.  A few years ago  the Scribbler provided three possible origins for the name Spooky Nook, a road that runs through the Hempfields.  One reader said the name came from the old plank "Spuk Haus" at the corner of Spooky Nook and Shenck roads in East Hempfiel Township.  He said the fellow who lived in that house raised sheep.  The sheep would bleat at night.  Some people thought they were ghosts.  A seond source said a tree outside the greenhouse across Spooky Nook Road from the "Spuk Haus" made "an eerie sound" when it's branches screeched against the glass.  The third source said a firefighter on a passing train saw a reflection in the windows of the "Spuk Has" and remarked to the engineer, "That's a spooky place."  Take your pick!  Or choose Alternate Number 4, newly arrived.  Jacob M. Conley, who lives in Columbia, grew up in the Old Order River Brethren Church.  When he was about 20 years old - nearly six decades ago - Conley drove a car for an aging bishop, Jacob L. Horst, of Elizbethtown.  "I don't remember how we got on the subject," Conley relates, "but I vividly remember him telling me where the name 'Spooky Nook originates from."  Horst told Conley the farmer who owned the Field that contained the corner between the railroad tracks and the present Spooky Nook Road, kept a pile of posts in the field next to the road, on the Landisville side of the tracks.  East Hempfield School N 18, a one-room public school, stood about a half mile south of the post pile.  After school, some boys ran ahead and hid behind the posts.  When the girls walked by, the boys jumped out from their "nook" and "spooked" them.  "That's how the corner got its name," Conley asserts.  So now you know the true origin of the name "Spooky Nook" - that is, until the next true story comes along.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

USA Today Lauds Local Corn Maze

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a local newspaper articled titled "USA Today lauds local corn maze!"  The story told me that the newspaper rated Cherry Crest Adventure Farm in Ronks, PA as 2nd-best in the nation!!  The story read....You don't have to leave the county to have a wonderful time getting lost in an award-winning corn maze.  Cherry Crest Adventure Farm, at 150 Cherry Hill Road in Ronks, Pennsylvania placed second for Best Corn Maze in the USA Today 10 Best Readers' Choice awards this year.  The initial selections for Best Corn Maze, and other USA Today Readers' Choice picks, are made by a panel of experts.  Readers then vote on their favorites.  Cherry Crest was voted the third-best corn maze from 2021 to 2023, and was voted the best corn maze in 2020.  This year's corn maze theme is "Cattle on the Farm" and features a design of a Highland cow.  The farm has several mini Scottish Highland cows on site, including a baby calf named Patsy.  The maze has 2.5 miles of walking paths.  Treworgy Family Orchards' maze in Levant, Maine took top honors this year.  For more information about Cherry Crest Adventures Farm, visit cherrycrestfarm.com.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Cherry Crest corn maze..."Cattle on the Farm!

Remembering "The Village's" Top Moments

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about "The Village", one of the longest-lived nightclubs in Lancaster, PAs' history.  It ended it's nightclub era in December of 2022 - or so it seemed.  The club was then sold for nearly $2 million to an investment group that targeted the property for redevelopment.  How sad!  But now the 205 N. Christian St. Club - which was in operation for nearly 70 years, through three generations of co-ownership by the Photis and Patounas families - is about to be reborn.  To celebrate the relaunch of The Village, here's a look at several moments from the original club's history, as seen in the LNP archives.

The German Village becomes "The Village".  The Village nightclub initially occupied a location on the south-east corner of Chestnut and Christian Streets.  Constructed in the early 1930s, the building originally housed the popular German Village restaurant - with the Rathskellar bar in the basement.  On April 17, 1953, the venue took on a new identity as a nightclub called simply The Village.  Throughout the 1950s and into the 1960s, The Village hosted a variety of local and touring bands, especially in the nascent rock 'n' roll an R&B genres.  The Kit Kats, Little Duck and the Drakes and the Flamingos were among the countless bands that drew packed houses in the early years of The Village.  The Rathskellar continued operations under new ownership, however, and was known as a gay-friendly establishment in the 1960s.  It was closed in 1968, shortly before the Tally Ho opened as Lancaster's premier gay nightspot.  A year later, The Village itself would be demolished. In the late 1960s, the trend of urban renewal came to Lanaster, as numerous old buildings - apartment houses, movie theaters, shops and bars - were read to make way for multi-level parking garages and the former Lancaster Square , now known as Binns Park and Ewell Plaza.  Lost in that demolition effort was the original location of The Village.  A period of legal wrangling between the club's owners and the city preceded the old venue's demise, but eventually the building was torn down to make way for the Duke Street Parking Garage.  For two years Lancaster was Village-less - but that dry spell ended on August 4, 1971 when The Village re-opened at its new location at 205 N. Christian St., where it would continue operations for the next 50 years.  The new building with its new state-of-the-art sound system retained the layout and feel of the original spot across the street, but with a massive change to the sound system, dance floor and lighting rig.  The design was by Richard Long, who also designed sound systems for nightclubs around the country, including the famed Studio 54 in New York City.  The lighting setup was described in the Sunday News as "unlike any thing experienced thus far" in Lancaster's nightlife history.  The sunken dance floor was covered with 64 translucent plastic tiles with sound-sensitive lighting mounted below them so the light-up floor would pulse in different colors along with the music.  Storbe lights were mounted all around the floor, and a variety of colored lighting rigs hung from the ceiling, bathing dancers, performers and the walls with color washes and projected images.  A more traditional cut-glass "disco ball" - though this was well before the rise of disco - supplemented the display, as did kaleidoscope projectors and a series of psychedelic black-light murals.  And...I must admit I never stepped foot in the place.  By this time I was married with a few children and just didn't have the time or effort to take a trip in town to see the place.  Plus my wife would have been extremely upset had I done so.  And...I wouldn't have blamed her!  Well, longtime Lancaster County residents might recall The Village as a hotbed of celebrity sightings in the 1980s.  From "Witness" stars Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis to basketball player Charles Barkley and pop star Cindy Lauper, the club seemed to constantly generate rumors and headlines about visiting celebs.  The most famous surprise celebrity event at The Village was surely the night of June 21, 1984, when Bruce Springsteen strolled into the club and amiably chatted with fans and signed autographs while the local band, "The Sharks", played on stage.  

Bruce Springsteen as seen at "The Village"!

The New Jersey native and his E Street Band had been at Clair Brothers in Lititz trying out a new sound and lighting system for an upcoming tour.  About 200 were in the club that night when, shortly after mid-night, The Sharks abruptly cut their last set short to make way for Springsteen.  The Boss - and the rest of his E Street Band jumped onto the stage, grabbed The Sharks' instruments and launched into "Out on the Street" as the crowd went wild.  What followed was a 35-minute, six-song set that became legendary in the annals of Lancaster County nightlife with cassettes of the performance circulating among local fans for years afterward.  I'm sorry to say I never got one!  (a sidelight here would be to tell you that Roy Clair, one of the Clair Bros. and I went to Millersville State Teacher's College together and built Hi-Fi stereo sets together in the woodshop class we both were in together).  A year later, Village mainstays "The Sharks" achieved national recognition thanks to a music video shot partially at the club.  "On My Own," a black-and-white video featuring footage of the band at various local landmarks including The Village, was entered into MTV's "Basement Tapes" competition, in which bands from all over the country competed in multiple rounds, with the winner getting a special prize, a major-label recording contract and plenty of recording equipment.  The Sharks won their preliminary round in January 1985, and clinched the final in June of the same year.  The Sharks nabbed $30,000 worth of gear, plus the cost of a big-budget video to be placed into regular rotation on MTV, plus that contract with Elektra - Asylum Records - and they became the biggest band ever to come out of Lancaster County.  Throughout its existence, The Village always hosted not only live bands and DJs, but also other nigh time events such as "Go-go" dancers, Bodybuiding contests, Male exotic dancers., and Drag shows.  Anything that would draw a crowd of people looking to have fun was fair game for The Village calendar.  The Village continued as a vital part of Lancaster's entertainment landscape, hosting local favorites and touring acts throughout the '90s and into the 21st century.  And,...that light-up dance floor is still there today.  Might I see you there in the future?  Just kidding!!  You may enjoy the place, but it's a bit to rowdy for me anymore.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.      

Why The Battle At Antietam Made Lancaster's Gen. Reynolds Grumpy! Story

It was an ordinary day. Gen. John Fulton Reynolds, Lancaster native and rising officer in the Union Army during the Civil War, was not present at the pivotal Battle of Antietam, Maryland, on September 17, 1862.  His absence, apparently, made him grumpy.  Jake Wynn, a "public historian" who lives in Frederick, Maryland, recently found a curious anecdote among the papers of Gilliard Dock, a Harrisburg businessman during the war.  Wynn discusses the anecdote in a new online post, referred by reader Lew Jury.  In September 1862, Dock was living in Harrisburg with his family.  As Confederate forces threatened to invade Pennsylvania, Dock joined an emergency militia.  Dock's company, stationed on the Maryland-Pennsylvania border, saw no action, but "heard distinctly the dull roar" of the fighting st Antietam.  A few days after the battle, Dock encountered Reynolds, who was commanding all of the militia units defending southern Pennsylvania.  This assignment apparently dispels Reynlds because he had missed the main show at Antietam.  Dock's colonel had ordered him to obtain water at a nearby farmhouse, but Reynolds intercepted him, asking " 'where in hell' I was going," Dock recounted.  When Dock told him his orders from his colonel, the general replied, "Well, I am General Reeds, God Damn you, and I order you back to your company."  Dock complied.   A Confederate sharpshooter killed Reynold the next summer at the Battle of Gettysburg.  When it coms to the origin of unusual place names, the may be. no end.  In a 2013 column, the Scribbler provided three possible origins for the name Spky Nook a road that runs through the Hempfields.  One reader said the name came from the old plank "Suk Haus" at the corner of Spooky Nook and Shenck roads in East Hempfield Township.  He said the fellow who lived in that house raised sheep.  The sheep would bleat at night.  Some people thought they were ghosts.  A second source said a tree outside the greenhouse across Spooky Nook Road from the "Spike Haus" made "an eerie sound" when its branches screeched against the glass.  The third source Sid a firefighter on a passing train saw a reflection in the windows of the "Spuk Haus" and remarked to the engineer, "That's a spooky place."  Take your pick.  Or choose Alternative Number 4, newly arrived.  Jacob M. Conley, who lives in Columbia, grew up n the Old Order River Brethren Church.  When he was about 20 years old - nearly six decades ago - Conley drove a car for an aging bishop, Jacob L. Horst, of Elizabethtown.  "I don't remember how we got on the subject," Conley elates, "but, I vividly remember him telling me whee the name Spooky Now" originates from."  Horst told Conley the former who owned the field that contained the corner between the railroad treks and the present Spooky Nook Road kept a pile of posts in the field next to the road, on the Landisville side of the tracks.  East Hempfield School No. 18, a one-room public school, stood about a half mile south of he post pile.  After school, some boys rn ahead and hid behind the posts.  When the girls wake by, the boys jumped out from their 'nook" and "spooked" them.  "That's how the corner got its name," Conley asserts.  So now you know the true origin of the name "Spooky Nook" - that is until the next true story comes along.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "Day The Music Died" Story

My story today tells the story of some of my favorite musicians through the words of Mr. Don McLean who talked about "the Day the Music Died".  Hope you enjoy the story!  The story  begins with.....I was born in 1945, and when I was growing up in New Rochelle, New York, I was ill much of the time with asthma.  I was out of school for weeks at a time. It was horrible, in a way. I didn’t do the schoolwork.  I didn’t know the kids.  But I knew the Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly, and that’s all I cared about.  All the great rock ’n’ roll stars were on the radio: Little Richard, Fats Domino, ELVIS.  I had an obsession with Buddy Holly. I lost myself in music and built this fantasy world around myself. One day a guy I knew showed me how to play three chords on a guitar: E, A and B seventh. Once I had those chords down, I could play almost all the songs on the radio. At the time, folk music was beginning to become the biggest thing. Young people were learning to play guitars and mandolins. Everybody was making their own music. I can’t tell you how perfect and wonderful it was. Young people were innocent. They weren’t cynical.  The only job I had at that time was as a paper boy. On February 3, 1959, I opened the newspapers and saw this news: three rock ’n’ roll stars killed in plane crash. It was as if a mule had kicked me in the chest. I cried, I think, sitting there looking at this.... Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. “Big Bopper” Richardson had died. Buddy was my guy. The whole time I was delivering these papers, I was shocked. I just couldn’t believe it.  I went to school the next day, and I said to the other kids, “Did you know that Buddy Holly died?” The response was, like, “Oh. What time is football practice?” Nobody really cared. That was an indication to me that I was on my own.  I never stopped believing, and I never forgot the power of that moment. I have always kept Buddy in my heart. In those days, you couldn’t find out anything about anybody. There were no books about rock ’n’ roll stars, because they were not thought of as important enough. The only place you could find information was on the backs of their records, so I would go to the House of Music, the record store in New Rochelle, and read the backs of the albums. I remember when The Buddy Holly Story came out, after his death, reading about him in the liner notes on the back. He looked so handsome on the album cover with those black glasses.  The first album I made was called Tapestry. I was making that album in Berkeley, California, and there was a small riot every day we were making it. It was crazy. Things were happening in the country, and it was getting worse. We had assassinations throughout the decade. We had the war in Vietnam and rage against Nixon. The country was in what I later called “an advanced state of psychic shock.”  Around 1970, I was in Cold Spring, New York, working on my second record. I thought: I want to do a big song about America. Dammit! I don’t know where to start. I don’t know what to do. But I have to do this.  I didn’t want to write “America the Beautiful,” although America is beautiful. I didn’t want to write “This Land Is Your Land.” Those songs had been written.  I had my tape machine on, and this song just came out of me: “A long, long time ago, I can still remember how that music used to make me smile.” I went right through to “the day the music died.”  Immediately, I thought, What is that!? It was like a genie had come out of a bottle. I knew that I had this wonderful thing. I had finally captured the thing that was building in me about Buddy Holly for all those years since February 3, 1959. I wanted to talk about all the things that had happened in the country in those years since Buddy’s death. I theorized that Buddy’s death was the moment that was the beginning of all the change. I was trying to write something new about the electric energy and unpredictability of this country of mine.  Five more verses came out of me.  Some of it was biographical.  I wrote about "the sacred store, where I'd heard the music years before."  That was a reference to the house of Music, the record store I went to as a kid in New Rochelle.  Soon, "American Pie" was on the radio.  And, it's still on the radio after 50 years.  It held the record for the longest song to reach No. 1 for almost 50 years, before Taylor Swift's "All Too Well (10 minute version) broke it in 2021,  These days, I don't even think about the 1960s.  I go back to when I was first hearing all this wonderful music on the radio, back when things were exciting and young people were innocent.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

Ohtani Sets A Baseball Record Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading about a fellow by the name of Shohei Ohtani who became the first major league baseball player to exceed 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in the same season during the most spectacular season of a lifetime.  I have followed the sport of baseball since I was a child and have quite a few heroes that I have followed over the years, but not a single one was able to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 basses in the same season. Ohtani accomplished the feat by going deep three times and swiping two bags this past Thursday against the Miami Marlins.  Shohei is a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Ohtani hit his 49th homer in the sixth inning, his 50th in the seventh and his 51st in the ninth.  He finished 6-for-6 with 10 RBIs while becoming the first big league player to hit three homers and steal two bases in a game.  "It was something I wanted to get over as quickly as possible.  And, you know, it's something that I'm going to cherish for a very long time," Ohtani said through an interpreter in a televised interview.  The Japanese superstar reached the second deck in right-center on two of his three homers at Loan Depot Park.  In the sixth inning, he launched a 1-1 slider from George Soriano 438 feet for his 49th homer.  Ohtani hit his 50th homer in the seventh inning, an opposite-field, two-run shot to left against Marlins reliever Mike Baumann.  Then, in the ninth, his 51st traveled 440 feet to right-center, a three-run shot against Marlins second baseman Vidal Brujan, who came into pitch with the game out of hand.  The Dodgers won 20-4 and clinched their 12th straight playoff berth.  "To be honest, I'm the one probably most surprised,' Ohtani said.  "I have no idea where this came from, but I'm glad that it was going well today. Congratulations go out from just about everyone and here's hoping he doesn't hit too many more this year.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Shohei Ohtani

Why Are Yellowjacket Numbers Rising Here?

No, killer bees have not have made their way north into Lancaster County. But, ground nests of native Yellowjacket wasps have appeared in recent weeks in inordinate numbers, cancelling a popular trail run, closing a nature preserve and touching off daily frantic calls for help from frantic homeowners to area pet control companies.  The most reeent victim of the swarms was the cancellation of the 16th annual KTA trail Challenge scheduled for August 28 in the River Hills of southern Lancaster County.  The rugged 25-kilometer event by the Keystone Trails Association attracts trail runners and extreme hikers from around the state and beyond.  This year, nearly 20 had planned on navigating the step climbs, hollows and scenic Susquehanna River views from the Conestoga Trail.  About 70 volunteers were to provide safety measures in the area with little cellphone service.  But, the major fund-raising event for the statewide trails group was canceled after runners training for the run, KTA staff making advance preparations and members of the Lancaster Hiking Club doing trail maintenance, all encountered  yellow jacket nests either on or beside the course.  One woman doing an advance run with a friend was stung and injured herself in a fall while fleeing.  Two KTA staffers checking out the course "said when they got out of their cars they could actually hear the buzzing in the forest," reported Kate Prissy, KTA's manager of events and programs.  Then KTA learned that the Lancaster Conservancy had temporarily closed its popular Kelly's Run Nature Preserve, which the Conestoga Trail runs through, after conservancy staff located 15 Yellowjacket nests.  "That's unheard of," said Keith Williams, the conservancy's vice president of engagement and education.  "In years past, we easily managed this problem with signage and education.  "They're just doing their job and protecting their nest.  The community wants to go out to our preserves, and we need to have the right balance between protecting nature and protecting our community."  Still, KTA hoped to pull off the run by putting up caution signs near nests.  But then a staffer found a cloud of Yellowjackets hovering just above the trail with no way of going around them besides the trail was wedged between steep hillsides.  "That was the deciding factor." Prisby said.  "We just didn't feel it would be wise to have people coming and not knowing what they would be running through.  And it would not be fair to the medical teams."  So what are these insects and why are they exploding in numbers this fall?  Yellowjackets are small wasps with yellow and black bands that many Lancaster County residents encounter this time of the year when they fly purposefully to your soft drink or plate of fruit.  Like all native insects, they are beneficial and reduce populations of insect pests such as earwigs and pollinate plants.  There are more around in the fall because the colony has grown all summer and with food sources drying up, leaving a crowded mass of hungry, agitated bees that fiercely defend nests.  It's said even ground vibrations from someone walking nearby can rigger attacks.  Unlike honey bees that sting only once with a barbed stinger, yellowjackets can zap you with their straight stinger several times.  Worse, when threatened, they release an arm pheromone chemical that puts others in attack mode.  There are records of people being pursued and stung 100 times or more.  The sting of a Yellowjacket is no picnic.  According to the Schmidt Sting Pain Index, the pain from Yellowjackets is like 'W.C. Fields extinguishing a cigar on your tongue." For those allergic to bee stings, medical treatment should be immediate.  One recommended ointment of stings: good old-fashioned mud!  The explosion of yellow-jacket numbers has been noticed across the country.  Calls for help with getting rid of Yellowjacket nests are now coming in every day.  Yellowjackets will go dormant after a good freeze.  Hope for cold weather...and soon!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.