House Party: The winning “D” will need to make an A+ effort

November 29, 2023 | by Lawrance Binda

Illustration by Rich Hauck

And then there were seven.

As I write this column, seven Democrats are locking horns, hoping to be the party’s nominee to battle entrenched Republican Rep. Scott Perry next year in the Harrisburg-centered 10th congressional district.

The stampede began back in April, when long-time city council member Shamaine Daniels announced her candidacy. It continued right through late October with a launch by the seventh hopeful, Blake Lynch, Harrisburg’s former police/community liaison.

If Daniels, the 2022 nominee, had hoped to shut down competition with an early entry, the plan didn’t work. But no matter. The more, the merrier, I say.

The pack of Dems, though, does indicate that some believe the 10th district might be ripe for the flipping. The logic goes something like this—the increasingly urban, diverse 10th is too moderate for a Freedom Caucus, MAGA-man like Perry.

Have we heard this before? Yes, we have. Insert Lucy and the football analogy here, as Perry is now running for a seventh term.

Regardless, one of these Democrats, come late April, will get a plurality of the 65,000 or so expected primary votes and thus a shot at the incumbent.

Back in 2022, with just two candidates in the primary, the calculation was quite different and relatively simple.

Daniels bested her sole primary opponent, Carlisle school board member Rick Coplen, by about 5 points in a race largely split along geographic lines—with the victor emerging from the more populous Harrisburg area. But with seven candidates and (in my opinion) no clear frontrunner, the calculation gets mighty complicated.

Yes, there still will be a geographic element at play, though I see both Daniels and Coplen, wisely, trying to expand their reach beyond their home turf. In addition, Lynch, a Dauphin County native, has strong connections in the Harrisburg area, including support among some top elected officials.

Two other candidates boast valuable, broad name recognition throughout the 10th. Before her recent retirement, former TV anchor Janelle Stelson beamed herself into central PA living rooms for decades, while irrepressible gadfly Gene Stilp has dragged his giant inflatable protest pig to the state Capitol for nearly as long.

The two remaining candidates, Mike O’Brien and Bob Forbes, both tout their military credentials as an edge in an eventual duel with Perry, a fellow veteran.

Faced with this fragmentation, what’s a Democrat to do?

My personal opinion is that campaigns matter a lot and that the race will prove this out. The eventual winner will be the person who has out-raised, out-organized, out-strategized and out-hustled the rest of the pack.

This may sound obvious. Of course, good campaigns should be rewarded. However, in my time in central PA, I’ve witnessed more poorly executed, phoned-in efforts than I can count. In fact, I’d say that’s been the rule not the exception.

With such a divided field, the victor likely will be the person who runs best, who gets into the faces of the most voters, most often, by any means necessary. This could be on the air, in print, on the web, through the mail, etc.

How’s your ground game? Call me old-fashioned, but I strongly believe in the power of personal, face-to-face contact: speeches, events—heck, just shaking hands at Harrisburg’s Broad Street Market or York’s Central Market every Saturday.

The effort will need to be relentless. The winner will be the person who’s turned his or her campaign into a grueling full-time job, weekends included, up to and including primary day, April 23.

I know that some of the candidates plan to do just that. A few have even hired professional campaign managers and staff. For south-central PA, that’s serious business indeed.

In the end, I wouldn’t be surprised if a few hundred votes separate the top few finishers. The winner will then need to turn on a dime, re-energize immediately, and make the same exhausting effort for six more months until the general election, because that’s the only way they’ll stand a chance against the deeply entrenched incumbent.

Honestly, if you can’t commit yourself so completely, you should drop out right now and save yourself months of wasted time and needless headaches. A half-hearted effort simply won’t cut it.

In a way, I regret that it’s come to this.

The American system of electioneering is out of control. Ideally, it shouldn’t take fanatical focus, resignation from full-time jobs, millions of dollars and a year of someone’s life for a chance to serve the public as a U.S. House member.

But, in 2024, in PA’s 10th congressional district, that’s where we are. Anyone can say they’re running, but only the most committed will win the prize.

Lawrance Binda is publisher and editor of TheBurg.

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Starting Over: Fleeing war, Ukrainians attempt to make a life in Harrisburg, find help in a church basement

November 29, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

Daria Cherednyk

Daria Cherednyk, 19, remembers getting off the plane in the United States and seeing her grandfather, who was so happy to see her.

She hadn’t visited her grandparents, who live in the Harrisburg area, in six years—the last time she visited the states with her family. However, this time was under very different circumstances. This time, she was alone, and she cried as she pulled her heavy suitcase over to meet him.

“He was happy, and I didn’t understand why he was so happy,” Cherednyk said. “For me, it was a disaster.”

It was August 2022 when Cherednyk came from her home in Ukraine to live with her grandparents. The previous February, Russia had invaded Ukraine, sparking war between the countries and causing tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties over the following months.

When the invasion began, Cherednyk packed a change of clothes and an extra pair of shoes, thinking she’d hide out in a friend’s basement temporarily and then resume life as normal. She remembers being concerned that she didn’t pack her purple shampoo to maintain her blonde hair.

However, in the weeks that followed, her family would flee to Poland for safety for five months before deciding it was best that she take her grandparents up on their offer and go to live with them in the U.S.

She knew she had to go, but she was terrified to leave.

“I arrived alone, without anyone,” she said. “Only me and this big world.”

Cherednyk was one of over 271,000 Ukrainians who arrived in the U.S. during the year following the Russian invasion, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. She and many others came through the “Uniting for Ukraine” program, which has allowed Americans to sponsor Ukrainian refugees, provided that they’re financially supported. Hundreds of Ukrainians, like Cherednyk, made their way to central Pa.

Cherednyk was only 18 when she left her family, friends and her life, as she knew it, behind. She was a first-year college student, had good friends and had a “simple dream” to live and work in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.

It’s been a little over a year since Cherednyk’s life was turned upside down. She recounted all of this, sharing her story from her desk in the basement of Harrisburg’s Market Square Presbyterian Church—the International Service Center’s (ISC) humble headquarters.

Cherednyk now works as an intake specialist for the organization, which assists refugees and asylum seekers in the Harrisburg area.

A small sign for the ISC hangs inconspicuously off the back of the church in an alleyway. If you don’t know where the center is, you’ll miss it, but those who need the help the group provides always seem to find it.

Someone Who Understands

Since 1976, the organization has been assisting migrants and refugees. Executive Director Dr. Truong Phuong, who was a refugee from Vietnam in 1967, started a radio program, “The Spirit of Vietnam,” to help disseminate information to Vietnamese immigrants.

A few years later, Phuong grew the program to provide assistance to Vietnamese refugees who came through Fort Indiantown Gap at the end of the Vietnam War, calling it the Indochinese Service Center, which would later become the ISC. In the 1980s and ‘90s, the ISC helped resettle around 300 refugees who were former prisoners of war in Vietnam.

“When I came here, we had to rely on hard work and our own wits to survive,” Phuong said. “I had my fair share of language barriers to overcome, economic hardships […] and sometimes you face discrimination. I’m in the best place to understand the pain of the refugees and to help them solve their problems, because I went through that.”

Like Phuong, all of the center’s staff are former refugees.

Throughout the years, the center adjusted its services to fit with the need, helping refugees from Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, Congo, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Iraq and many other countries. From 2021 through 2022, the center assisted 125 Afghan refugees, following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

When conflict escalated in Ukraine, the ISC again met the need and, as of early November, has helped 396 Ukrainian refugees.

Cherednyk was one of them. She first visited the center in search of food. The ISC provides regular meals and basic necessities to refugees, but also to community members experiencing homelessness and others in need.

Additionally, the ISC assists with securing housing, jobs, social services and learning English, among other post-resettlement services.

For Phuong, his mission is to help people start their lives in the U.S. “with dignity.” His goal is to get them on the right track until they become self-sufficient and no longer need the center’s services.

While receiving help, Cherednyk was offered a job at the center to help others, like her, in need of support.

“People just need to speak with someone who understands them,” she said. “And they also understand me.”

Kateryna Gmyria

Welcome Home

Kateryna Gmyria, a Ukraine native, has lived in the states for 15 years. She started working at the center after the war started, looking for a way to help. With many of her own family members still living in Ukraine, Gmyria takes the story of each person whom she helps to heart.

“Every person who comes here, I can feel their pain,” she said. “I don’t have 9-to-5 hours. It’s a 24-hour job. I go out of my way to help.”

Gmyria got connected with Olena Agannesian and her son, Arsen Ahannesian, 31, who lived in Shrewsbury, Pa., for a year after fleeing Ukraine and coming to the states through the “Uniting for Ukraine” program in June 2022. The mother and son needed help, Gmyria was told. The family that sponsored them wasn’t able to fully support them anymore, and they felt alone and isolated.

Gmyria drove to pick them up and bring them to Harrisburg, as she worked to find them an apartment in the city.

Lori Fortini, vice president and director of operations for Harrisburg-based developer, WCI Partners, had recently started volunteering at the ISC, along with friends Laura Butcher and Robin Jones. It didn’t take long for her housing connections to come in handy at the center.

A few days after they moved, Olena and Arsen had a furnished apartment ready for them.

Olena Agannesian

Just a year before, Olena had witnessed the horrors of war in her hometown of Kharkiv as bombs flew overhead, forcing her to flee her home. Now, she was walking into her own apartment, with flowers and a card that read, “Welcome home.”

“I cried,” she said, with Gmyria translating. “I didn’t expect someone to reach out and help me out after a year of being here.”

It’s moments like these that let Fortini and Butcher, who serves as a mentor to Cherednyk, know how much volunteering with ISC is making a difference.

“A lot of it is just listening to them and connecting them with resources,” Butcher said. “For us, it can take minutes to say that thing or make that phone call or give that suggestion. But for them, it can change the trajectory of their life.”

Fortini and Butcher have also come to realize just how great the need is in their immediate community.

“Many of them are my neighbors, and I didn’t even know it,” Fortini said.

The volunteers have also started teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) classes for those who need to learn. They stressed that anyone can volunteer and that the help is definitely needed right now.

“If you don’t like what you’re seeing in the news and how you’re feeling about everything, this is something you can do about it,” Butcher said.

Arsen Ahannesian

Moving Forward

For Cherednyk, life is busy since moving to the U.S. Her grandparents have pushed her to keep busy with an ESL course, learning to drive and continuing to pursue her bachelor’s degree online through the university she attended in Ukraine. She has also started studying at HACC to get a degree in web design and development and began taking free courses offered by Harrisburg-based digital marketing agency WebFX.

It’s been a lot, but she’s thankful her grandparents have encouraged her to keep busy. It’s kept her focus off of devastating news from home and feelings of homesickness.

“It took one year to realize that I couldn’t change anything and I needed to move on,” she said. “But it’s hard.”

It’s been over a year since Cherednyk has seen her family, and she misses them immensely. She doesn’t know when she will see them next, but she’s grateful for the friends she’s made here and all that she’s accomplished so far.

“This country helped me grow up,” she said. “After one year, I have friends here, work, my own apartment, my car. I feel really proud of myself.”

Olena and Arsen are feeling much happier since moving to Harrisburg, but have struggled to find work in their professions, a challenge that many other Ukrainian refugees have faced, as well.

Olena was a hairstylist in Ukraine for years, but she has yet to learn to speak English, which has made finding a job in a salon challenging. Arsen was an architect and interior designer with years of experience, but with limited English and without an idea of how long they’ll be able to stay in the U.S., he hasn’t been able to find work in his career field either.

“When I came here, I thought it would be easy. I would apply and have more opportunities, but no,” he said. “I’m trying, but it’s hard.”

The “Uniting for Ukraine” program allows people to come to the states for a two-year “parole” period. So far, the federal government hasn’t said what will happen to refugees when that time is up. Whether there will be a path for them to stay or if they’ll have to leave remains unknown.

Olena and Arsen are about a year and a half into their time here. With possibly only several months left, employers have been resistant to hire them. Cherednyk has less than a year left, as well. For now, they’re all left in limbo, wondering whether to keep putting down roots or to prepare to leave.

In the meantime, Arsen has started working at the ISC, trying to aid others like him. It has helped him feel less alone.

“When you speak with the community, you feel like you’re not alone because they have the same situation,” he said.

On a Friday at the ISC, the basement is bustling. Staff and volunteers form an assembly line as they unload food donations out of a truck, down the stairs and into the center. Many staff and volunteers have their own challenges to figure out, but everyone works together to help their neighbor.

Phuong tries to remind everyone who comes through those basement doors that, despite their situation, they have worth and they belong here. Starting from ground zero and making a life in a new country takes a lot of work, but he’s the perfect example of what can happen.

“No matter where you’re coming from, from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Africa, you have something to contribute to this country,” Phuong said. “Whatever you want to be, you can become.”

To contact the International Service Center, call 717-236-9401 or email Dr. Truong Phuong at [email protected].

Photos by Pavel Serdyuk, a Ukrainian photographer who recently relocated to the Harrisburg area. Find more of his work on Facebook and Instagram at @foto_serdyuk or @PaulSer.photo.

December Publisher’s Note

November 29, 2023 | by Lawrance Binda

At TheBurg, we have monthly planning meetings, and someone always remarks, “I can’t believe it’s (insert month here) already!”

Well, I can’t believe it’s insert month here—I mean, December—already!

Indeed, another year has breezed on by. It seems like only yesterday, we were planning out our 2023 fitness issue, our food issue, our arts issue, etc. That’s how we mark the passage of time here.

December is a month of reflection, of looking back at the year and assessing what might be ahead.

In general, we’re very pleased with how the year unfolded at TheBurg.

As I’ve mentioned before in this space, we began the year with a new partnership team consisting of three long-time staff members and, later in the year, hired a new sales executive. We upped our social media game and took steps to inject new life into 3rd in the Burg.

In addition, for the third straight year, TheBurg was named News Organization of the Year by the PA NewsMedia Association, which also awarded us 24 individual and group Keystone press awards.

Throughout the year, our Friends of TheBurg membership program continued to grow, exceeding 550 members over the four-year course of the program. Thank you so much for all your support!

In connection with Friends of TheBurg, we held two events this past year. In June, we ventured up the river to the Winery at Hunters Valley for a warm, sunny afternoon of picnicking. Then, in September, we held our big (now annual) Burg Bash, packing the King Mansion with 150 or so of our closest friends.

And, yes, we also produced some high-quality journalism, which happens to be our day job. I’m especially proud of our coverage of the Broad Street Market fire and of the issue of homelessness, stories that we published both as daily online news and as magazine features.

At TheBurg, we perceive our mission broadly—to represent the greater Harrisburg area as best we can. As anyone who’s visited our office can attest, we are a very small operation. But we believe we punch far above our weight, deploying our limited resources for maximum impact.

What will 2024 hold? Well, that will have to wait for another column. Like everyone else, right now, we’re busy “wrapping up” the year with some good cheer and maybe a few rare days off. Happy holidays, everyone!

Lawrance Binda
Publisher/Editor

Click here to read the digital version of our December issue.

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Spreading Sunshine: Radiant Hope continues mission to support those battling cancer, opens new location

November 29, 2023 | by Susan Ryder

Joanna Dennstaedt

“Cancer changed everything,” said Joanna Dennstaedt.

Dennstaedt knows firsthand how the disease can negatively impact someone’s life, as she was diagnosed with Stage 3 malignant metastatic melanoma in 2014. But she also understands that there are opportunities for rays of hope to break through what can be a dark time.

To help create more of these bright moments, in 2015, Dennstaedt founded Radiant Hope, an organization dedicated to equipping and supporting those fighting cancer.

Radiant Hope opened its first brick-and-mortar site in Camp Hill in October.

“So now we have a place where people can come and get connected to all of the avenues of support,” Dennstaedt said.

In her sunny, welcoming office, she talked about how the organization was birthed from a care package she received while in treatment.

“So this sunshine package arrived, and that’s where I just felt like, ‘Why am I not doing this for everyone?’” she said.

Dennstaedt and her friends began making care packages for folks who found themselves in difficult times, eventually focusing on those undergoing cancer treatment.

Now, Radiant Hope invites community groups, sports teams, book clubs, civic organizations and anyone who wants to volunteer to have a pack party. Groups purchase the care package items and fill the boxes and water bottles provided by the organization.

To date, Radiant Hope has distributed about 5,000 care packages, each tailored to the person receiving it.

Radiant Hope’s new building allows the organization to expand its services and act as “the local hub for the cancer community,” Dennstaedt explained.

Volunteers assemble care packages.

The facility provides storage and creation space for the care packages and goodie-filled water bottles. Also onsite is space for a wig consultant who works out of the building. Additionally, the nonprofit offers free photography services for families, understanding that pictorial memories are precious.

Radiant Hope also offers respite time for families to escape the hamster wheel of cancer treatment, or to regroup after treatment ends by coordinating weekend getaways.

“We’re finding that sometimes the respite comes after their journey, when they need time to process, to get away, and to breathe,” Dennstaedt said.

Creating Community

Lisa Selan received a Radiant Hope care package during her third round of chemotherapy for metastatic colon cancer—a hopeless time for her. One card changed that.

“I was thinking, ‘Yeah I want to beat this.’ I was up against some pretty dramatic odds, but I had not yet really personalized and solidified the hope in my journey,” Selan said. “I didn’t feel like I had reached a place where I could see hope, and this card, written by number six on the field hockey team at Messiah College, had three simple lines, but one of them resonated with me, ‘There’s hope that God knows the end.’”

That note, and the Chapstick, socks, puzzle books, water bottle, gum and mints, boosted her spirits, and she vowed to get involved with Radiant Hope when she felt better.

Radiant Hope provides water bottles filled with chemo supportive items, like the one Selan received, to infusion centers, so that others can feel that same hug of support.

Now in remission, Selan volunteers at Radiant Hope as an advocate.

“We struggle in society, I think, right now with feeling alone,” Selan said. “When you have a diagnosis of cancer, that just seems to multiply that isolation.”

Jannette Chico-Diaz certainly felt that way. The single mother had little family support and was drowning in the overwhelming experience that is cancer. She was dealing with heightened anxiety and depression and the physical demands of chemotherapy.

“It was to the point that I couldn’t even cook, I was getting so sick,” Chico-Diaz said. “We didn’t have food for Genesis [her daughter]. Miss Lisa is a champion, because she used to bring us food and take us to eat.”

Selan even provided Christmas gifts to Chico-Diaz and her daughter through Radiant Hope’s Holiday Hope program. She also accompanied Chico-Diaz to doctors’ appointments and helped her wade through the medical jargon, taking notes to help clarify everything.

“She was asking all these questions, and I was just sitting down quietly because she knew the right questions to ask to get the right information and because it was a lot of information,” Chico-Diaz said.

During her treatment, Dennstaedt had a village of people taking care of her four children—her husband, family, friends, neighbors and people from church and school. She recognizes that not everyone has that village, so Radiant Hope and its team of 10 is there to help fill the gap.

“You can’t do it alone,” Dennstaedt said. “I feel like the impact of Radiant Hope is so important, that there’s people to surround you. There’s a lot of people that don’t have what I had, so how do we create a community around people that don’t have that?”

While Dennstaedt described her current health as “no evidence of disease,” she keeps the cheerful, yellow package that she received years ago during treatment in her office as a reminder of where she and the organization have come.

Radiant Hope has provided a beauty-from-ashes moment for her, from the crushing blow of diagnosis, to giving her life over to treatment, to fighting her way back to her new normal.

Through it all, she’s realized how willing her community is to help those in need of support.

“People are good at our core and in our hearts. People are so good and they want to help,” Dennstaedt said. “I feel like we just created a place for people to do that.”

Radiant Hope is located at 48 Central Blvd., Camp Hill. For more information, to schedule a pack party or order a care package, visit www.hisradianthope.org.

If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!

Highlighting History: The Homeland Center in Harrisburg learns about its unique founding, shares discoveries in annual calendar

November 29, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

These women helped establish the Society for the Home for the Friendless and were appointed to its original board of managers.

Eighteen women stand behind the history of Harrisburg’s Homeland Center.

In 1866, women from nine city churches, two from each congregation, met to discuss a problem in their community and how to solve it.

The meeting, at that time, was revolutionary for several reasons.

“It was probably unusual for multiple churches and denominations to come together like that, and it was women that led this effort,” said Wendy Shumaker, director of marketing for Homeland Center. “I think that it was probably unusual and necessary all at the same time.”

What they came up with was an institution that would last for decades.

After the Civil War, many women were left widowed and children orphaned. The 18 women decided to do something about it and, in 1867, established a chapter of the “Society for the Home for the Friendless.” In 1870, they built their own facility to house those in need, which is now Homeland Center.

Tasked with fundraising for the building, the group undertook what David Morrison, executive director of Historic Harrisburg Association, called a “significant business venture.”

“They were the visionaries,” Morrison said. “They saw a need, and they came up with a way to address that need.”

Although Homeland Center, now a continuing care retirement community located in Uptown Harrisburg, knew some of this history, staff recently started digging deeper into the story of its formation.

Each year, the center creates and sells a calendar to raise money, and Shumaker needed a theme for 2024. When she brought up the idea of spotlighting Homeland’s history, staff and board members showed enthusiastic support. And so, Shumaker, with help from Morrison, HHA’s board President Jeb Stuart, church leaders and local historians, dug in.

Included in the calendar is information on each of the nine founding churches, the 18 women and the origin of the center.

During the research process, the development team at the center uncovered handwritten notes and meeting minutes from the first time the women gathered. Local historians also found pictures and the full names of the women, who were often only identified by their husband’s names. Among them were Margaretta Brua Cameron, member of Zion Lutheran Church, and Eliza McCormick, member of Old School Presbyterian Church, now Pine Street Presbyterian. The women’s husbands, Simon Cameron and James McCormick, were both prominent Harrisburg figures, as were several of the other women’s husbands.

In order to make the Home for the Friendless a reality, the women needed the help of their husbands to get loans to support the project, as women at the time could not. The men would also make up the board of trustees. However, it was the women who managed day-to-day operations of the organization.

“Those women went beyond the limits of their time and showed that you can be successful,” Morrison said.

While Homeland Center has transitioned from helping widows and orphans to providing care for senior citizens, the mission has remained the same.

“The evolution of becoming what we are today was because of the center responding to the needs of the community,” Shumaker said. “We are still taking care of people and providing excellent care.”

The legacy of those 18 women remains at the center in a very visible way, as the organization maintains a board of managers, made up of 18 women who oversee care of Homeland Center’s facility. This board serves alongside the board of trustees, today consisting of men and women.

The impact of the founding churches is also an important aspect of the calendar, which highlights each of their histories.

Pine Street Presbyterian Church, located on N. 3rd Street, was one of the founding churches of Homeland. However, that piece of history was missing from the church’s archives.

Kenneth Hays, the historian of the congregation, was intrigued by the history, as he knew nothing about the church’s involvement. However, when he found out, it made sense, as the church has always been dedicated to local service work, he explained.

“I was very interested,” he said. “I will definitely put this in the archives now.”

Homeland hopes that from this project will come opportunities to provide history presentations at churches and possibly even a play centered around the story of the women. Shumaker has been inspired to see how many people have been a part of building upon Homeland Center’s and Harrisburg’s history.

“The fact that so many people have come together even for this small project is truly amazing,” Shumaker said.

The 2024 Homeland Lottery Calendars are currently available for purchase. Everyone who purchases a calendar is eligible to be entered into daily drawings for cash prizes of up to $100.

While the calendars will help support the center financially, those involved in the project are just as excited to see how the process has created new partnerships and how the history will continue to connect the community.

“It’s important not to let history slip through our fingers because that history can teach valuable lessons,” Morrison said.

Homeland Center is located at 1901 N. 5th St., Harrisburg. For more information or to purchase a calendar, visit www.homelandcenter.org.

If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!

December News Digest

November 29, 2023 | by Lawrance Binda and Maddie Gittens

Council, School Board Members Elected

Election Day unfolded with few surprises in Harrisburg, as most city offices were uncontested for the general election.

Last month, incumbent Danielle Bowers and newcomers Crystal Davis and Lamont Jones won three, four-year seats on Harrisburg City Council. The Democrats were unchallenged as no Republicans ran in the race.

Likewise, incumbent Treasurer Dan Miller faced no Republican opposition and won another four-year term.

The Harrisburg school board race also was not competitive, as Democrats Ellis R. Roy, James Thompson, Doug Thompson Leader, Terricia Radcliff and Autumn Anderson all won four-year terms running unopposed.

For magisterial district justice, Matthew Pianka won the race for District 12-1-02, with almost two-thirds of the vote. He was unopposed on the ballot but faced opposition from Autumn Fair, who ran a vigorous write-in campaign.

For District 12-1-04 newcomer Mikaela Sloan won running unopposed, as did incumbent MDJ Hanif Johnson in District 12-1-05.

Democrats Flip County Commissioner Board

Democrats last month flipped the Dauphin County board of commissioners, taking an unexpected majority.

Challenger Justin Douglas narrowly won the third seat on the three-seat board, polling ahead of sitting Republican commissioner Chad Saylor by 147 votes.

On Election Day, Douglas held a 42-vote lead, a figure later revised up by more than 100 votes after all provisional and outstanding absentee ballots were tallied. Therefore, next year, Democrats will hold a 2-1 majority on the board for the first time in a century or more.

“I am profoundly grateful to the voters who have proven that local elections wield significant influence and that the voice of the people can bring about transformative change,” Douglas said. “This win is a testament to the power of community-driven politics, and I am honored to be entrusted with this responsibility.”

Otherwise, two long-time incumbents—Democrat George Hartwick and Republican Mike Pries—were both re-elected for four-year terms.

Elsewhere in the county, Republican Nick DiFrancesco defeated Democrat Fred Faylona for treasurer, while Democrat Bridget Whitley bettered Republican John McDonald for clerk of courts.

For recorder of deeds, incumbent Republican Jim Zugay narrowly defeated Democratic challenger Tami Dykes.

In other county races, the Republican incumbents—District Attorney Fran Chardo, Sheriff Nick Chimienti, Controller Mary Bateman and Register of Wills Jean Marfizo King—all won, running unopposed.

Harrisburg “Best Place” for Retirement

The Harrisburg metro is the top place for retirement in the nation, according to a new report.

Last month, U.S. News & World Report issued its annual “Best Places to Retire” in the United States in 2024, ranking the Harrisburg area first among the country’s 150 most populous metropolitan areas.

“It’s great to see a national publication recognizing what we already know, living and working here everyday, that Harrisburg is one of the best places to live and retire in the country,” responded Ryan Unger, president and CEO of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC.

According to U.S. News, Harrisburg took the top spot based on metrics such as affordability and health care.

“While Harrisburg isn’t necessarily regarded as affluent, it has a more affordable housing market and a lower cost of living than many of the East Coast’s larger metro areas,” according to the report.

In all, U.S. News based its ranking on six factors: affordability, health care quality, happiness, desirability, job market ratings and retiree taxes. Affordability was weighted most heavily and, for 2024, was expanded to include the comparative cost of general goods, as opposed to just housing.

Harrisburg moved up one spot from last year, when U.S. News ranked it No. 2 in the nation for retirement. The metro displaced Lancaster, which fell from No. 1 to No. 3 in the 2024 list. In all, Pennsylvania cities took seven of the top 10 positions.

Parent Task Force Formed

Harrisburg is employing the help of local parents to address an important issue.

Mayor Wanda Williams last month announced the creation of a Parent Task Force to discuss youth safety and violence prevention.

“So many of the issues we face in this city start within the walls of someone’s home. In some cases, families don’t even have that much,” said Williams in a statement. “We cannot parent from city hall, but we can be a helping hand and a listening ear, and that is what I want to come out of this task force.”

The task force includes Williams, City Council member and chair of the public safety committee, Ralph Rodriguez, Capt. Russell Winder, who oversees community policing in the Harrisburg Police Bureau, and a representative from the Harrisburg School District. City parents can sign up to participate, as well.

The city held the first meeting last month and will hold successive meetings the second Wednesday of each month, starting Jan. 10, in council chambers in Harrisburg’s MLK City Government Center, 10 N. 2nd St.

At the meetings, parents will be able to speak with city and school district officials to discuss neighborhood and family concerns and to help seek ways to prevent violence, according to the city.

Home Sales Dip, Prices Rise

Home sales in the Harrisburg area slipped in October, but prices went up, in the latest report on previously owned houses.

In the three-county region, 514 homes sold, a decrease from 589 in October 2022, as the median sales price increased to $267,000 from $245,000, according to the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors (GHAR).

In Dauphin County, sales totaled 229 homes compared to 302 in the year-ago period, as the median price rose to $229,000 from $218,500, GHAR stated.

Cumberland County had 242 home sales, a small decrease from 254 last year, as the median price shot up to $321,000 versus $283,000 the prior October, GHAR said.

In Perry County, 34 homes sold compared to 26 last October, as the median price rose to $250,000 versus $229,000, according to GHAR.

The pace of sales was nearly unchanged, as “average days on market” stood at 18 days versus 19 days in October 2022, GHAR stated.

So Noted

EA Media Solutions last month announced its formation as a new media planning and buying agency. The agency is led by two area advertising industry veterans: Jennifer Andren and Yvonne Evans. For more information, visit www.eamediasolutions.com.

Elementary Coffee Co. and Little Amps Coffee Roasters last month released the collaborative “Phoenix” coffee blend, with proceeds helping to benefit the Broad Street Market, which suffered a devastating fire in July. The coffee is available for purchase at the retail locations of both Harrisburg-based companies.

Piper Belles Wood Fired Flatbreads debuted last month in the Broad Street Market’s stone building. Owners Dave and Kaci Shirey offer both traditional and creative pies, including several with smoked meats and homemade barbecue sauces, a specialty gained from their long-time food truck, Piper Belle’s BBQ.

santāl skin held its ribbon cutting in late October at its new location at 3540 Gettysburg Rd., Camp Hill. Owner Natalie Feaster runs the “medical spa,” which focuses on results-driven skin care products and services. For more information, visit www.santalskin.com.

Sprocket Mural Works and Carole DeSoto have been named the 2024 recipients of the Awards for Distinguished Service to Arts in the Capital Region, an annual honor bestowed by Theatre Harrisburg. Since its founding in 2014, Sprocket has mounted over 100 murals throughout central Pa., while DeSoto has supported and volunteered with numerous area arts organizations over many decades.

In Memoriam

Nevin Mindlin, a former candidate for Harrisburg mayor, died last month at age 76 at his home in Fort Myers, Fla. Mindlin was the Republican nominee for mayor in 2009 and then ran briefly as an independent in 2013. Mindlin was a staunch critic of what he perceived to be excessive spending under long-time Mayor Steve Reed and of a plan to monetize municipal parking assets to pay off the city’s deep indebtedness. He also co-founded Debt Watch Harrisburg, a taxpayer-watchdog group active during the city’s financial crisis, and the nonprofit Covenant Community Corp., which supported numerous community projects, especially in Uptown Harrisburg. Originally from Bethlehem, Mindlin lived in Harrisburg for about 40 years before moving to Florida several years ago. He is survived by his partner, Jean Cutler, his three sons and six grandchildren.

Changing Hands

Allison St., 1507: 23 Hickory LLC to Kingston Three Properties LLC, $140,000

Bellevue Rd., 1960: R. Ortiz to Easy Exit Home Solutions LLC, $50,000

Berryhill St., 2432: PA Deals LLC to K. Dodson, $125,500

Boas St., 1928: BSR Rental Trust to S. Nieves & C. Goodman, $135,000

Calder St., 205: Capozzi & Ehring Realty LLC to M. Parker & R. Artuso, $199,900

Capital St., 905: S. Mull to J. Elliott, $182,000

Carnation St., 1729: E. Tesfa to First Choice Home Buyers LLC, $65,000

Cumberland St., 213: W. Hoover & B. Shoemaker to 213 Cumberland St LLC, $173,500

Derry St., 1127: K. Purnell to T. Carberry & T. Versano, $73,000

Derry St., 2131: Global Reach LLC to O. Campoverde, $143,000

Duke St., 2523: T. & R. Scott to G. & T. Haubert, $179,000

Emerald St., 313: G&W Rentals LLC to P. Thomas, $129,900

Emerald St., 518: SPG Capital LLC to Flip Vision LLC, $74,500

Emerald St., 623: SPG Capital LLC to V. Baker, $90,000

Forster St., 1824: S. Orr to Balaci Properties LLC, $81,500

Forster St., 1914: Big Band Investments LLC to L. & L. Morales, $88,000

Fulton St., 1405: S. Orwan to C. Bindzi, $150,000

Green St., 807: T. Wetzel & H. Potteiger to H. Wehry, $270,000

Green St., 1316: R. Massey to Harrisburg Dream Homes LLC, $75,000

Green St., 1625: B. Shoemaker to A. Corby, $255,000

Green St., 1939: A. Koser to K. Hancock, $260,000

Hale Ave., 403: C. & A. Bullock to A. Ranjan, $120,000

Herr St., 1718: M. Imler to A. Middleton, $85,000

Hunter St., 1605: S. Scott to A. & M. Burkhart, $144,000

Jefferson St., 2552 & 619 Radnor St.: Teamsters Local 776 to NASR Consultant Group Inc., $415,000

Kensington St., 2115: T. Mason to T. Thai, $52,000

Kensington St., 2266: H. Alcantara to G. Aponte, $135,000

Liberty St., 1343: SRC Capital LLC to RosaRuth Properties LLC, $62,000

Logan St., 2230: L. Murrell & E. Bey to L. Rivera, $80,000

Logan St., 2345: Enterprise 0 LLC to Ginsberg Holdings LLC, $62,500

Luce St., 2311: C. Dellmuth to Paramount Sol LLC, $105,000

Luce St., 2357: DTJ Associates LLC to T. Nguyen, $125,000

Market St., 2046: Twelfth Root LLC to Annn Investment LLC, $105,000

Naudain St., 1638: M. Holston to A&K Investments Partnership LLC, $70,000

North St., 260: TJC East Properties LLC to A. Sachs, $261,000

North St., 1613: Y. Refae to L. & P. Weeks, $105,000

N. 3rd St., 514: S. Wojdak & J. Malady to MWH North of Liberty LLC, $120,000

N. 3rd St., 1700: SF Rentals LLC to Z. & S. Pelkey, $199,950

N. 4th St., 2138: J. Almonte to K. Chea, $142,500

N. 6th St., 2517: B. Debeljak to A. Spence, $150,000

N. 6th St., 2604: Zion Management LLC to Z&E Holdings LLC, $120,000

N. 6th St., 2656: L. & L. Wade to M. Gomez, $75,000

N. 6th St., 2665: SPG Capital LLC to C. Bowers, $134,900

N. 16th St., 1019: A&K Investments Partnership LLC to A. Disla, $200,000

N. 16th St., 1200: W. Morton to C. Alcantara & P. Rodriguez, $110,000

N. 16th St., 1201: R. Vega to J. Morales, $135,000

N. 18th St., 72: Link Investments Properties LLC & Premier Property Management to Global Reach LLC, $66,000

N. 18th St., 84: D. & R. Requa to A. Levejac, $55,000

N. 18th St., 815: Dobson Family Limited Partnership to J. Warren, $91,200

N. 18th St., 1001 & 1800 Boas St.: Harrisburg School District to Fernandez Realty Affordable Homes LLC, $240,000

N. 19th St., 719: J. Roberts to S. Cyprys, $95,600

N. Front St., 1601: BBHQ LLC to Third Street Realty Co., $625,000

Oxford St., 609: L. Williams to N. Hufford, $120,000

Penn St., 1723: JD CPW 2013 LLC to B. Hall, $175,000

Race St., 556: J. Wheaton to C. Wheaton, $200,000

Reel St., 2734: MS AM Properties Inc. to I. Bah, $140,000

Seneca St., 652: C. & D. McKee to D. Boyle, $58,000

South St., 105: 608 N. Third LLC to J. Unti, $150,000

S. 12th St., 1522: SPG Capital LLC to A. Wood, $95,000

S. 14th St., 309: L. Reyes to 3DSt LLC, $110,000

S. 14th St., 339: A. Araujo to A. Moreta, $90,000

S. 15th St., 27: SRC Capital LLC to E. Rivera, $62,000

S. 16th St., 900: C. Gillespie to P. & B. Singh, $100,000

S. 16th St., 902: B. Owens to JR Soto Construction LLC, $125,000

S. 16th St., 904A: B. Owens to A. Bouhach, $84,000

S. 19th St., 1340: S. Orr to M. Clarke, $135,000

S. 25th St., 602: D. Glatfelter to M. Orea & L. Luna, $110,000

S. 25th St., 732: H. Alcantara to P. Bullock, $155,000

S. Front St., 591: M. Follett to T. Buehler, $265,000

State St., 1410: S. Kochis to SNB Real Estate Solutions LLC, $90,000

State St., 1618: D. & T. Welsh & Habitat for Humanity to R. Tracey, $143,800

State St., 1907: S. Branch to DTJ Associates LLC, $65,000

Susquehanna St., 1716: S. Goodman & R. Xu to E. Helmick & G. Baldwin, $171,000

Swatara St., 2113: S. Orr to A. Spence, $110,000

Swatara St., 2148: N. Cole to J. Colon & Y. Mendez, $115,000

Sycamore St., 1725: M. & N. Bria to W. Winters & C. Deane, $120,000

Sylvan Terr., 134: Enterprise O LLC to Sky Resort Rentals LLC, $60,000

Verbeke St., 226: J. Murison to C. McCoy, $199,900

Verbeke St., 1424: SPG Capital LLC to P. & T. Eiland, $149,900

Whitehall St., 1849: Best By LLC to Zac Penn LLC, $55,500

Wiconisco St., 626: C. Boddie, D. Branch & A. Haygood to M. Morgan, $55,000

Harrisburg property sales, October 2023, greater than $50,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.

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Thrill of the Find: At DaisyAge, what’s old is new again

November 29, 2023 | by Molly Pavlovich

Sandra Sharp

Sandra Sharp has been a collector of clothes through the decades, selling her finds online via Etsy for many years.

Regularly rooting through staple and statement pieces of the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s at estate sales and flea markets, she has had trouble choosing a favorite time or style—handpicking a little bit of everything from bold patterns to classic cuts to frilly details.

“It’s the thrill of the find,” she said.

Now, she’s sharing her eclectic finds with brick-and-mortar shoppers, recently opening DaisyAge, a modern-meets-vintage boutique in downtown Camp Hill.

Dabbling with vintage flea markets when she lived in San Diego, Sharp realized that digital browsing and buying wasn’t the end goal. It lacked the human-to-human elements of discovery and connection—the “eureka” moment, the gleeful glow when a shopper tries something on and can’t imagine walking away without it.

A little more than five years ago, Sharp retired from a career in graphic design and relocated from California to be closer to family, wryly admitting that she lugged with her significantly more clothes than furniture. With newfound time on her hands, she sought and found an open storefront, formerly an antiques store, where her aspirations and assemblage of unique textiles would have the space to grow beyond the digital realm.

“Based upon my interests early in life, I could have gone in the direction of fashion or graphic design, and I went with graphic design, but I always had fashion in my heart,” she said. “So, it’s nice to be able to come back to it and the ‘one-day’ ideas that I’ve carried with me over the years.”

Sharp credits her affinity for well-made garments to what she refers to as her “hobby from a past life,” sewing, which she’s been resurrecting recently. In fact, she’s often found working on a sewing project as customers browse—most recently, pillows.

“I just love the old clothes—the way they’re made, the styles, the fabrics,” Sharp said. “That kind of quality and attention to detail is lacking in many of today’s clothes.”

At DaisyAge, vintage wool garments, silks, genuine leather, velvet and other materials that have stood the test of time fill the shop’s racks with texture and color. Many of these pieces are also made by high-end designers such as Armani and Valentino.

“DaisyAge isn’t a vintage store full of natty items overlooked from decades past,” said Gail Coleman, a local artist and customer. “When you step inside and look around, it’s hard to believe that the items are well-loved and aren’t new, as everything is in excellent, like-new condition.”

Victoria Revene, owner of Refresh by Revene, plans to frequent DaisyAge for interesting clothing and accessories for her clients, helping them reach their home, wardrobe and life aspirations.

“The new owner has brought an inviting freshness to the beautifully renewed interior, breathing new life into an old space,” she said.

Beyond clothes, DaisyAge features jewelry, candles, hats and other one-of-a-kind items for sale, handmade by local artisans and creators across the country. Always in search of something new, Sharp plans to continue fostering connections with customers, fellow small businesses and other lovers and creators of well-made things—bringing community together to enjoy the new, the old and the company of one another.

“I’ve met so many interesting people in the short time since DaisyAge opened,” Sharp said. “Customers come in and chat with me while they shop, and I not only get to tell them about the pieces they’re interested in, but I get to learn about them and their life stories too. I’m loving every minute of it.”

DaisyAge is located at 2136 Market St., Camp Hill. For more information, visit www.shopdaisyage.com.

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Window into Whimsy: Paper Moon Flowers’ grand window displays bring joy, magic for the holidays

November 29, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

2023 Paper Moon display

When Shawn Durborow-Bowersox first considered leasing his Harrisburg storefront, the shop’s big picture windows were a selling point for him.

He saw the potential for beautiful displays like the vintage ones from a bygone era.

Since opening his shop, Paper Moon Flowers, in 2020, Durborow-Bowersox has filled his N. 3rd Street windows with whimsical displays that change with the seasons. There’s hardly a time that Durborow-Bowersox isn’t thinking about how he’ll decorate them.

“I think about it 24/7,” he said. “I like to think outside the box.”

He has a million things to do for his business, but still, visions of spring, summer, fall and winter-dressed windows dance in his head.

This time of year, the displays become even more elaborate as Durborow-Bowersox ramps up the magic.

Christmastime is big for Paper Moon Flowers and very, very busy. For Durborow-Bowersox, there may not be a silent night in sight as he partners with the Hershey Lodge, Hershey’s Chocolate World and the Hershey Story Museum, among other Hershey and Harrisburg locations, to decorate and provide floral arrangements. Visit Chocolate World, and you’ll see the giant Christmas tree that he adorned.

Even so, Durborow-Bowersox’s holiday windows are one of his favorite parts of what he does, and each year his creativity shines.

In 2021, the windows became Santa’s workshop with mechanized elves hard at work making toys. Handwritten letters to Santa swirled around the windows and wreaths and trees lit with twinkling lights filled the background. The following year featured penguins busy building igloos, roasting marshmallows and making snowballs.

This year, smiling mechanized mice in dresses and overalls wrap gifts and one even irons Santa’s pants.

“It’s an art form,” Durborow-Bowersox said. “People love my windows. It brings them joy.”

Behind the Glass

Each window starts out as a doodle in Durborow-Bowersox’s sketchbook.

“Most of all the windows I’ve done are in this book,” he said, flipping through the pages. “At 3 o’clock in the morning, I’ll wake up and think of things or I’ll jot something down when I’m at a red light.”

Most importantly, the displays have to be unique—something that makes a passerby stop and stare.

“I don’t want to be typical because your eye will go right by it and you won’t stop,” he said.

Once he has a plan in place, Durborow-Bowersox will work with a printing company to reproduce his larger-than-life images, like green clover leaves in March and retro Valentine’s Day cards in February.

He will source or make many of the display items himself, like the giant papier-mâché mushrooms that filled the windows one summer.

For Christmas, Durborow-Bowersox works with a man based in New York City who reproduces vintage, often mechanized, characters like those created by David Hamberger Inc., a company that made animated displays from about 1934 to 1996. Those vintage works of art brought holiday characters to life and now inspire Paper Moon’s Christmas displays each year.

For his 2021 Santa’s workshop windows, Durborow-Bowersox passed out blank envelopes to friends, strangers and customers, asking them to write “To: Santa” on the front. He quickly gathered enough to fill the windows.

“It’s a lot of work,” he said. “It’s not just like, here’s my window, boom, done. There’s a little bit of craziness. But it’s my passion.”

The process also takes Durborow-Bowersox months of planning. In fact, he already has next year’s Christmas windows planned.

“I’m always challenging myself to come up with something bigger and better,” he said.

Such Joy

Durborow-Bowersox has always been creative. When he was a kid, Christmas was a happy time of year for his family, as they always decked out their house with holiday décor. These days, he still finds time to decorate his own Harrisburg home.

Behind Paper Moon’s windows is a store that feels just as much like a holiday wonderland as the displays. The snug shop is packed full with flowers, plants, home décor and candles, with plenty of Christmas- and Hanukkah-themed offerings.

When you enter and exit the store, you may even notice the quiet music playing outside, tunes that fit with each season.

Durborow-Bowersox views the windows as a form of advertising for his small business. People love the displays, and they draw customers in, he explained.

But beyond that, it’s his passion.

It takes a lot of time, money and thought to produce the displays, around six each year, but Durborow-Bowersox loves it, and loves hearing from delighted customers.

“People take pictures in front of them all the time, and that’s a compliment,” he said. “It brings me such joy.”

Paper Moon Flowers is located at 916 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit their Facebook page.

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Jolly Job: Local Santas share what it’s like to be the big star of December

November 29, 2023 | by Stephanie Kalina-Metzger

Kevin Williams. Photo by Robert Cornelius.

This month, you may see one sitting on a throne at the mall, handing out gifts at a holiday party or bringing up the rear as the big highlight of the town parade.

They’re professional Santa Clauses, and this is their season for breaking out the custom-made red suits, fur-trimmed hats and black boots.

To the casual observer, these Kris Kringles may seem interchangeable, but they’re not. Each one brings a unique twist to spreading joy during this festive season.

Kevin Williams of Camp Hill started his business, Santa-A-Go-Go, in 2015 and has been enjoying a role where there are few downsides, other than the occasional frightened child or rare skeptic who tugs at his beard, only to discover that it is indeed genuine.

“I grew it out a couple years back, and it came in white,” he said.

Most of Williams’ time is spent attending private parties, senior centers and corporate events, but he also visits children’s homes.

“Parents will sometimes leave presents outside for me, and I’ll put them in my big Santa sack and arrive at the house at a scheduled time before Christmas,” said Williams, who then hands the gifts over to the eagerly waiting child.

Williams reminisced about his own childhood, when Santa would call like clockwork every Christmas Eve.

“That was always fun and, when I visit with children, I realize that I am giving them something they can talk about as they get older and realize what their parents did,” he said.

Williams often dons his Santa suit and rides with the top down and the heat on in his red convertible that bears the license plate, “Ho Ho Ho.”

“People are so happy to see Santa, and I’ll see minivans speeding to catch up, and I’ll watch the back window go down as kids smile and wave,” he said. “It’s just magical.”

Williams was inspired to give back to charity after his wife had a bout with breast cancer. He chokes up when he reflects upon those dark times.

“She went to Johns Hopkins for treatment, so I make appearances there to lift everyone’s spirits,” he said.

His wife’s oncologist is located in Camp Hill and, each year, the office of Andrews and Patel gives him the name of a family affected by cancer. Williams then touches base with the parents to schedule a day to visit after finding out which presents are on the children’s wish list.

“Friends and relatives step in to give us donations because we all know that cancer is expensive, and we purchase gift cards to restaurants to help out,” he said.

Williams said that he meets a wide range of people while making his rounds.

“I was in a senior independent living facility and sat down with a bunch of gentlemen and asked a man in his 80s what he wanted. Quick as a whip, he said he wanted an attractive 60-year-old woman with a liquor store,” he said, with a chuckle.

Not all visits provoke laughter. Williams told of a time when he visited a low-income housing development.

“A kid looked at me and asked for a pair of gloves,” he said. “That caused me to pause and reflect on what we take for granted. That tugged at my heartstrings.”

Traditions

Tom Miller, who operates Massages by Miller in Camp Hill, said that he caught the Santa bug back in 1985 when he worked for Red Lobster, which held Christmas parties for kids.

“I started out borrowing suits and eventually bought my own and upgraded the suits and accessories over the years,” said Miller, who, like Williams, attends business parties, family gatherings and senior living events.

Miller said that he especially loves the smiles that Santa elicits from children.

“It gives them a chance to be kids,” he said. “Because of technology, they used to believe until about age 11, but now you’re lucky if it’s 7 or 8.”

Over the years, Miller has seen changes in gift requests.

“The older kids used to ask for Hot Wheels, trucks and dolls,” he said. “Now, it’s Xboxes, iPads, phones and computers.”

Miller remembers fondly a particular experience, when he was able to hop aboard a fire truck from the West Shore Fire Company for a public Santa visit.

“Riding on the fire truck was a big check off my bucket list,” he said.

Miller chuckles when he recalls one year driving to Syracuse in his Santa suit.

“I stopped at a McDonald’s to call my parents since I was running late, and we had a big snow that week,” he said.

As Miller climbed the snow banks to use a pay phone, a local policeman stopped by to ask if everything was all right. Miller told him that he needed to check in with Mrs. Claus.

“I told him there would be a few extra donuts in his stocking for checking on Santa’s safety, and he laughed and thanked me as he drove off,” Miller said.

One thing that tickles Miller the most is when the kids grow up and continue the tradition.

“The kids that came to see me when I started doing Santa are now bringing their own kids,” he said.

Over the Top

Sean Straining’s first foray into Santa world was a cold call that materialized into an annual event about eight years ago.

“I work as a clown during the year, and someone asked if I’d like to try being Santa,” he said. “I did and I loved it.”

He calls his Santa acting just a little more taxing than his clown gig.

“I am over-the-top jolly, jovial, bigger than the room and not as reverent as the other ones I’ve seen,” Straining said.

Over the years, one thing that’s remained consistent is that younger children, 6 years and under, usually want dolls, cars and Legos.

“At that age, they’re not yet looking for electronics,” Straining said.

He’s also happy when the siblings who no longer believe in Old Saint Nick seem content to hang back and appreciate watching their sister or brother sit on Santa’s lap and list what they want on Christmas morning.

“It’s nice that they don’t ruin it for their siblings,” he said.

Over the years, Straining has learned how to bring the scared children out of their shells.

“I lower myself to their level and allow them the power to come to me,” he said, adding that the gig has given him much joy. “It’s neat, awesome, incredible.”

So, wherever you see the Jolly Old Elf this year, you might just want to give him a wink, knowing that you’ll keep his secret. Just remember that we all possess the power to spread a special kind of joy this magical season—a kind that lives within the hearts of all those who dare to imagine.

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Singing into the Season: T’is the month for professional holiday choral concerts

November 29, 2023 | by Rachel Curry

Gettysburg Choral Society

Even before Black Friday, the swell of a busy holiday season can seem insurmountable.

Fortunately, this month, Harrisburg-area choral groups have an antidote to all the bustle—an hour or two of lovely seasonal song.

“We don’t take time to pause,” said Linda Tedford, artistic director and founder of Susquehanna Chorale, commenting on the state of our hectic lives.

Experiencing choral music that’s beautiful and meaningful, Tedford said, can restore the peace and reflection that people often forget to hold dear as everything buzzes around them.

Susquehanna Chorale is one of the region’s choral groups mounting holiday concerts this December. The 40-voice choir has been putting on professional performances for more than four decades. In fact, the group is a multi-generational affair consisting of youthful voices ages 24 to those much more mature.

For this year’s holiday concert, Tedford has selected a range of music across different time periods of history.

The “Candlelight Christmas” concert series, performed at a trio of locations in Dauphin County, includes classical texts and modern carol arrangements alike.

“The atmosphere, the poinsettias, the beautiful venues and the feeling of coming away from the clutter of the holiday seasons is what I’m trying to achieve,” Tedford explained.

While surrounding the audience by candlelight, The Susquehanna Chorale will perform “Salvation Is Created,” a Russian piece composed by Pavel Chesnokov in the early 20th century. Audiences can also expect “Magnificat” by Charles Theodore Pachelbel (composed in the late Baroque era of the 18th century) and some pieces by American composers, including Gwenyth Walker and Randol Alan Bass.

In contrast to the more serious classical texts, Tedford has included a new arrangement of well-known holiday songs such as “Jingle Bells,” “Deck the Halls,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” among other favorites. The chorale also will feature an audience sing-along for two pieces during the performance.

“I try to emphasize to the singers that the main thing is communication with the audience, communication of the joy of singing choral music, the joy of singing together, and the joy of giving our audiences something that is very meaningful and relevant to today’s society,” Tedford said.

Cantate Carlisle, a choral ensemble spearheaded by artistic director Michelle DiBona Trefren, is putting on its own holiday concert series that nods to Disney’s 100th anniversary. The concerts, taking place at the First United Church of Christ, surrounds the motif, “We see eye to eye when we act heart to heart.” This idea stems from “A Goofy Movie,” which featured the song “I 2 I” and that the chorus will sing in an a cappella arrangement.

“I felt like that was an important message for our community,” Trefren said.

Cantate is balancing the novelty of Disney with classical music, as well as more contemporary carols. “The Many Moods of Christmas” (arranged by Robert Shaw and Robert Russell Bennett), “There Shall a Star from Jacob Come Forth” (from Felix Mendelssohn’s oratorio “Christus”), and “Glow” (composed by Eric Whitacre and commissioned for Walt Disney World’s nighttime show, “World of Color: Winter Dreams”) help make up this lineup.

In its December series, Cantate will feature the tenor bass ensemble and soprano alto ensemble separately, making for a moment when the low voices and the high voices get to be featured independently of one another. The audience, Trefren said, always appreciates this moment. Guest string and wind instrumentalists add to the performance’s complexity.

Further to the south, the Gettysburg Choral Society will present its Christmas concert entitled “Joy to the World!” in the Church of the Abiding Presence on the campus of the United Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg on Dec. 1. Under the direction of John McKay, the 40-voice choir and guest organist Peggy Haas Howell will perform pieces from Robert Shaw, Alice Parker and other composers in a chapel with satisfying acoustics.

If you miss that early-month concert, the choral society will hold another performance a week later, just south of the Mason/Dixon line in the lovely college town of Emmitsburg, Md.

Tedford said that members of her group, the Susquehanna Chorale, give up every Monday night from September to December to prepare for the holiday concerts. This is a common theme among the chorales of the region, all so they can ensure a peaceful, invigorating and worthwhile time for audiences.

“The singers and I take this responsibility as something kind of sacred,” Tedford said.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Cantate Carlisle
“We See Eye-to-Eye When We Act Heart-to-Heart”

Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 3 at 3 p.m.
First United Church of Christ
30 N. Pitt St., Carlisle

www.cantatecarlisle.org

Gettysburg Choral Society
“Joy to the World!”

Friday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.
The Church of the Abiding Presence (Chapel) at United Lutheran Seminary
61 Seminary Ridge, Gettysburg

Saturday, Dec. 9 at 3 p.m.
Basilica of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
339 S. Seton Ave., Emmitsburg, Md.

www.gettysburgchoralsociety.org

Harrisburg Gay Men’s Chorus
“Bring on the Holi-Daze!”

Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.
Heidelberg UCC
47 W. Philadelphia St., York

Sunday, Dec. 3 at 3 p.m.
Unitarian Church of Harrisburg
1280 Clover Lane, Harrisburg

Saturday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m.
Bergstrasse Evangelical Lutheran Church
9 Hahnstown Rd.,Ephrata

Sunday Dec. 17 at 3 p.m.
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
121 Spring St. Middletown

Saturday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m.
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
22 6th St., Lebanon

www.harrisburggaymenschorus.org

The Harrisburg Singers
“Comfort and Joy”

Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m.
St. Joseph Catholic Church
400 E. Simpson St., Mechanicsburg

Sunday, Dec. 3 at 3 p.m.
Trinity Lutheran Church
2000 Chestnut St., Camp Hill

www.theharrisburgsingers.org

Susquehanna Chorale
“Candlelight Christmas”

Friday, Dec. 15 at 7:30 p.m.
Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and Performing Arts
Messiah University
600 University Ave., Mechanicsburg

Saturday, Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Leffler Chapel, Elizabethtown College
1 Alpha Drive, Elizabethtown

Sunday, Dec. 17 at 4 p.m.
Market Square Presbyterian Church
20 S. 2nd St., Harrisburg

www.susquehannachorale.org

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