A Tale of Two Cities: In central PA, history is destiny

March 30, 2023 | by Lawrance Binda

Illustration by Rich Hauck.

By all accounts, David Morrison is an optimistic guy.

His good nature was on full display recently as Historic Harrisburg Association marked its golden anniversary, having formed in 1973 to salvage and save the city’s Victorian-era built environment.

Before a large group assembled in HHA’s home, an 1893-era bank building in the heart of Midtown, a beaming Morrison kicked off a celebration of half-a-century of historic preservation.

“This is an unprecedented turnout,” he told over 100 people, describing the standing-room-only crowd as a “symptom of our success.”

And, indeed, he’s correct. HHA, along with a select group of activists, city officials and enlightened developers, has helped preserve large swaths of Harrisburg, including some of the city’s most historically significant structures. They deserve all the credit and kudos we can offer.

Unlike Morrison, though, I’m not really an optimistic guy. I’m not exactly a hard-bitten pessimist either, but no one would describe me as a ray of sunshine.

So, yes, I see what the preservationists see—a wonderfully restored Shipoke, rejuvenated Midtown and Uptown neighborhoods, seeds of hope in Allison Hill.

But I also can’t shield my eyes from how much has been lost. For all its impressive preservation, Harrisburg still suffers from a plague of empty lots, urban highways, dilapidated buildings and slumlords who just don’t give a damn.

Recently, a friend and his wife took a trip to spend the weekend in Lancaster. They returned with rave reviews for the Red Rose City: the dining, the shopping, the galleries, the crowds, the restored, walkable downtown.

When they told me of their little adventure down Route 283, they didn’t get the response they expected. Instead of curiosity, I gave them sass.

“Don’t talk to me about no freakin’ Lancaster!” I snapped.

I quickly told them that I was only joking—I also like Lancaster. But I explained that they were hardly the first people to sing the city’s praises to me.

They then asked the inevitable follow-up: Why is Lancaster so much more, um, vibrant than Harrisburg?

There’s a lot to unpack there, I responded. Lancaster has had less crippling floods, almost no population loss. Historically, it was less dependent on the doomed steel and railroad industries, and its civic leaders, investors and business class didn’t abandon the city when times got tough.

But, to me, Lancaster’s renaissance (the “Best Small City in America,” according to WalletHub) has been greatly aided by the fact that its Colonial and Victorian-era urban fabric remains largely in tact. This may have not seemed like an asset during the demo-crazed 1970s, but it is one today, as many people are drawn to historic downtowns and neighborhoods—like Lancaster’s—to dine, shop, socialize and settle in.

In contrast, Harrisburg is more like a big smile that’s lost a bunch of its teeth. For every Pancake Row (saved), there’s a Penn Harris Hotel (lost). For every Tracy Mansion (saved), there’s a Telegraph building and State Theatre (lost and lost). Downtown has become such a jumble of styles, periods, surface lots and parking garages that, looking at a postcard from a century ago, I can hardly tell it’s the same city.

Moreover, if I were a Lancaster city father, I would declare every Feb. 21 to be a municipal holiday. For on that day, in 1810, Gov. Simon Snyder signed legislation moving the state capital from Lancaster to Harrisburg.

Imagine, if you can, the heart of historic Lancaster ripped out to build a ring of half-empty office buildings, a huge park no one uses, a bunch of surface lots and garages and a dangerous, six-lane urban highway. That’s what happened in Harrisburg. One of its oldest, densest neighborhoods—29 acres worth—was flattened to expand the Capitol complex, and once-quaint Forster Street was turned into a six-block facsimile of the PA Turnpike.

People have told me that, without the state Capitol, Harrisburg would have nothing. I don’t buy that argument. Certainly, Harrisburg would have developed differently, but it’s impossible to know exactly how. My guess is—smaller, denser, retaining far more of its 19th-century fabric, like Lancaster or York or Carlisle, positioning it better as it emerged from its post-industrial funk.

But I don’t want to give in to too much pessimism. Yes, Harrisburg has lost a lot, but much has been saved, thanks to Historic Harrisburg and others who have dedicated themselves to historic preservation.

Since I’ve been in the city, some 15 years, numerous buildings that seemed headed for the wrecking ball have been restored and put back into use. Heck, I work in one, I get my coffee in another, and buy most of my groceries from a third. For all the damage done, Harrisburg still has a lot going for it and, in fact, hasn’t looked this good in many decades.

During the January gubernatorial inauguration, one out-of-town reporter remarked favorably on her visit to the city. She tweeted, “I was surprised by how charming Harrisburg is.”

Reading her comment, I smiled. I thought of all the work that has gone into saving Harrisburg—and all the work that still needs to be done.

Lawrance Binda is publisher/editor of TheBurg.

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Pioneer, Powerhouse: For 100 years, Hettie Simmons Love has broken barriers, set standards

March 30, 2023 | by M. Diane McCormick

Hettie Simmons Love. Photo by Dani Fresh.

Michelle Obama. Barack Obama. Ben Crump. Martin Luther King Jr.

Honorees for U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr.’s 2023 Black History Month ceremony were naming their most-admired African American activists. Then centenarian Hettie Simmons Love took her turn.

“I don’t really understand how anybody can not be an activist in this time and age, that we all have an opportunity to be who we want to be, to encourage our children to be what they to be, and to provide for them so they can become the people they want to be,” she said to amens and applause.

The life of Hettie Simmons Love has taken her from the segregated South to Philadelphia to Harrisburg. To a growing circle of admirers, she is now known as the first African American to earn an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

To friends and colleagues who gathered last fall for 10 cakes’ worth of 100th birthday celebrations, she is a treasure and an inspiration. Hettie Love was denied opportunities to apply her prodigious skills professionally, but on her own and in partnership with her husband, the late George Love, she enriched the Harrisburg community by contributing her talents to her church, her service sorority and education.

Hettie lives in the same hilltop, mid-century modern home in Swatara Township that she and her husband bought when they came to the Harrisburg area in 1978. She and her daughter, Karen Love, sat down with me and shared her life story.

An Awakening

Hettie grew up in Jacksonville, Fla. Her father’s independent meat market catered to white and Black customers. Her mother bought and renovated houses for renting to Black tenants.

Hettie attended an all-girls’ school, where she was valedictorian. Her brother left to attend the University of Michigan. If he could do it, Hettie thought, so could she.

After graduating from Fisk University in Nashville, she returned home. She worked for an African American life insurance company. Her brother drove her to and from work every day.

It was stifling, but she called that time “an awakening.”

“I’d done a lot of reading, and I felt like the North was the place to be,” she said. “There was nothing to do in my hometown that used what I had. I had no freedom. Back in those days, every job you could get had to be with a Black company because no one else was hiring Black women.”

Wharton accepted her application. The first day on the Penn campus, her brother asked a student for directions. Hettie and that student, George Love, would start keeping company.

Hettie was the only Black person in her class, rarely interacting with her classmates. Three Jewish students befriended her, but they were gone by her second year.

“Having come from the South, it didn’t bother me, because I wasn’t used to talking to white people, anyway,” she said. She found her circle through George and his large Philadelphia family.

“There were all kinds of organizations in the Black community who were glad to accept me,” she said.

Giving Heart

The Loves married in 1948 and raised their son and daughter in Philadelphia. George was the first African American high school teacher in Philadelphia. Hettie did some substitute teaching and co-founded a group of parents who organized family outings.

When the Loves moved to Harrisburg, George made his mark as Pennsylvania Department of Education assistant commissioner, overseeing desegregation efforts. He was also widely admired as a Harrisburg School District teacher and administrator and president of the Harrisburg NAACP chapter.

Hettie became active at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, where she served as treasurer for 22 years. She connected with the local Epsilon Sigma Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha—the sorority she joined while at Fisk—when a member knocked on her door.

“That has been a blessing,” said Karen Love, a retired Susquehanna Township School District teacher and partner with Hettie in community engagement. “The church and the sorority were both a way to network into the community.”

Hettie was “overqualified and brilliant” when she worked as a part-time bookkeeper for RSVP, meticulously tending the accounts, said Trudy Gaskins, of Lower Paxton Township. Their friendship continued through church, where Gaskins recalled Hettie leading an effort to help a new bishop set up housekeeping.

Hettie’s “silent power” is listening, seeing a need, and quietly filling it.

“She’s just a gentle soul, and yet, a strong and powerful woman who was able to maintain her dignity through very difficult periods of her life when she was not able to work within her areas of expertise,” Gaskin said. “She never turned away from doing things that weren’t up to her professional capacity. That takes a woman with a deep, deep sense of self. She never lost her personhood or self-awareness.”

Members of AKA are steeped in lifetimes of community service, said Barbara Thompson of Lower Swatara Township. Since Hettie welcomed Thompson into the local chapter in 1985, the two have promoted literacy, packed purses with toiletries for women’s shelters, and organized heart health events.

“She has such a giving heart,” said Thompson. “She never says no. If you want her to do something, she is always willing to do it, and she’s so positive about participating. As a result, you just love being around her.”

Through all this, few knew about Hettie’s place in history. That emerged after 1990 Wharton graduate Lana Woods learned that her AKA sorority sister had graduated from the school in 1947. Woods’ sleuthing found that Hettie was the first African American, female or male, to earn a Wharton MBA.

Woods organized recognitions, and word got around. Philadelphia-area students wrote and illustrated a children’s book, “Hettie Simmons Love: Penn Pioneer.” Wharton’s first Black female dean, Erika H. James, told Hettie, “I would not be here today if it weren’t for someone like you who paved the way.”

Karen rattled off her mom’s explanations for all the fuss. It’s just because she’s old. They don’t have anyone else to honor. They ran out of people.

Hettie chimed in.

“I don’t understand why you’re here, getting information,” she told me.

“Because you have so much history of this town in you, and you’ve done so much for the community,” I said. How do you explain that we cherish the rare opportunity to personally thank someone who has spent her 100 years on this earth quietly serving others?

Inspires Them

Hettie’s 100th birthday kicked off a round of celebrations. Karen described car parades, readings to schoolkids, and parties in Harrisburg, Martha’s Vineyard and an Airbnb for the family.

In the middle of the litany, Hettie looked at me.

“They just use me to have parties, that’s all,” she said.

Hear that sound? That’s me and Karen still laughing uproariously.

American Literacy Corp. Executive Director Floyd Stokes met the Love family through his literacy advocacy. Hettie was 80 then, “actively volunteering and making an impact in the community.”

“And to do it so humbly,” said Stokes. “It blew my mind. Even more, as she crept closer, closer, closer to 100, and to still see her move around the community the way she has—it’s cliché, but I get tired just looking at her.”

Hettie’s expressive readings to students set an example that they will remember, he added.

“It inspires them,” Stokes said. “If she can do it, then reading has to be something important, and something really, really cool.”

Karen Love appreciates the community’s love and the energy her mother draws from it.

“I learned that I have a mother I have to share, because she’s got so many wonderful qualities, and I’m so grateful that people are embracing her and supporting her,” she said. “Just knowing that other people are aware of her accomplishments helps to motivate them to keep moving, but it also motivates her to want to be here and be a part of the community that she really does love.”

As for Hettie, Wharton pioneer and community stalwart, she sums up her century by looking back—and forward.

“I’ve had a good life,” she said. “I haven’t regretted anything so far.”

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“Quite a Life”: Judge Sylvia Rambo reflects on her trailblazing career, as her name tops the new federal courthouse

March 30, 2023 | by Maddie Gittens

Judge Sylvia Rambo at the new federal courthouse when it was under construction. Photo courtesy of Sarah McGowan.

If destiny has a voice, Sylvia Rambo heard it loud and clear long ago on the school bus to her elementary school.

She was headed from her home at the U.S. Army Carlisle Barracks, where her stepfather was stationed, to the borough’s former Franklin School. Suddenly, she recalled, a voice told her to become a lawyer.

It was an unusual calling, especially given the times. Women were few and far between in the profession, and Rambo came from a low-income family. If she listened to the voice, she’d become the first in her family to graduate college.

“From that time on, I became a straight-A student,” she said. “That became my drive from that point on.”

Those days on the school bus, and later attending law school, feel like a lifetime ago, reflected Judge Rambo, sitting in her large chambers high up in the downtown Harrisburg Federal Building. She will turn 87 this month.

It has been a lifetime of career success for the U.S. District Court-Middle District of Pennsylvania judge of 24 years. Her career has been noteworthy not only for her own achievements but for women across the state and country, as she blazed trails and made history. And she has done it humbly, rarely taking the time to count her accomplishments, simply continuing forward with the work she has always felt destined to do.

“I just kept on going because there were women behind me,” she said. “I just did what I knew I could do and tried to do that well.”

Last June, state officials held a ceremony to announce that Harrisburg’s new federal courthouse on N. 6th Street would be named in honor of Rambo. The courthouse, which held a ribbon-cutting in December, now bears the name, “The Sylvia H. Rambo United States Courthouse.” It’s the first federal courthouse in the commonwealth to be named after a woman. In fact, Rambo is one of only three living female judges to have a courthouse named after her.

“I still haven’t come to grips with it,” she said. “It’s still unbelievable.”

Underdog

Rambo grew up the daughter of divorced parents, a German immigrant mother and a father who she never saw after the age of 2. Her mother later remarried, and the family moved when her stepfather was posted to the U.S. Army War College at the Carlisle Barracks.

After her school-bus-light-bulb moment, Rambo set her sights on becoming a lawyer. She loved reading about Clarence Darrow, an early 20th-century defense attorney who was known for helping low-income workers and the disadvantaged. Rambo was also passionate about supporting the overlooked and underserved.

“I was always concerned for the underdog,” she said.

Rambo went on to graduate from Dickinson College in Carlisle and later from Dickinson School of Law as the only woman of the class of 1962.

She was a minority in her field, but never let that get in her way. She was fiercely driven and independent, but never scolded men who opened the door for her, as some of her female colleagues did, during her time as a public defender in Cumberland County.

“In no way does that take away from your independence,” she explained.

She became the first woman to hold the title of chief public defender in the county. But that would be only one of many firsts to come. She was soon after appointed the first woman to serve on the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas for Cumberland County.

In 1979, Rambo became part of a historic class of federal judges appointed by then-President Jimmy Carter. Rambo, named to the Middle District of Pennsylvania, was one of 23 women appointed that year. For comparison, only 10 women were appointed as U.S. federal judges in the previous 190 years.

She would later serve as the first woman chief judge of the Middle District.

At the same time that Rambo was in the midst of the FBI background investigation process before her appointment, history was being made in another way. She followed the news with her late husband, George Douglas, as the Three Mile Island nuclear plant suffered a partial meltdown.

“I said, ‘I wonder who’s going to get that litigation?’ And he said, ‘I think I’m looking at her,” Rambo recalled.

Douglas was right. Rambo would go on to preside over litigation surrounding the TMI accident for 20 years.

Other cases she handled included mandated special education services for students, the Camp Hill prison riots in 1989, environmental protection issues and sprawling fraud cases.

With each case, she strived to remain as fair as possible, hearing all sides and considering all perspectives.

“I try to treat everyone, no matter who they are, in court, with respect,” she said.

Your Honor

Outside of the courtroom, Rambo loved sports, including basketball and volleyball. She also adored animals and always had German shepherd dogs. Years ago, she owned and rode horses on her property, farmland near Carlisle. She also would cut her own firewood, pointing to a picture in her office of her sawing a log.

Her husband, Douglas, was a trial attorney. And like Rambo, he was always concerned about helping those he interacted with. However, the couple never discussed their cases, unless it was something funny, Rambo added. Her husband was always supportive of her career, and she’s grateful that he didn’t mind that she didn’t take his last name in marriage.

While Rambo said that, for the most part, she was respected as a judge, that wasn’t always the case.

She recalled an occasion when a male lawyer repeatedly responded to her with “yes sir, I mean, ma’am.” She knew it was deliberate and called him to the stand asking, “When you have to respond to a male judge, how do you address him?” He replied that he used the term “your honor.”

“I said, ‘That works perfectly well with me,’” she said. “He got very angry.”

Martin Carlson, magistrate judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, has been a colleague of Rambo’s for years and has witnessed the environment of her courtroom.

“She demands and commands absolute respect,” he said. “She really is the model of what a judge should be. She brings to her work not only a great legal mind, but a great heart.”

Even after a life full of career accomplishments and firsts, Rambo was shocked to find out that the new courthouse, a project she helped lead, would bear her name.

“That courthouse ends up being a lasting monument to her life and career and an inspiration to everyone that there are no limits to what you can achieve,” Carlson said. “It’s a remarkable legacy.”

But Rambo admitted that she hasn’t really thought about her legacy. Throughout her life, she just kept pressing forward and now, as she ages and deals with medical issues, she admits that she’s getting tired.

“People will what think what they think of me,” she said confidently.

At the moment, Rambo is focused on packing up her longtime office downtown, as staff at the federal building will make the move to the new courthouse in the coming months. It’s been a lot of work, she said, but she’s excited. At the same time, she’s considering what the next few years may hold, as she knows she’s approaching the end of her career. She’s loved her work and, though there have been challenges, looking back, she’s satisfied.

“It’s been quite a life,” Rambo said. “I wouldn’t give it up.”

The Sylvia H. Rambo United States Courthouse is located at 1501 N. 6th St., Harrisburg.

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Park Perch: Susquehanna Riverlands is a new gem of a state park with a bird’s-eye view of the river

March 30, 2023 | by Karen Hendricks

It’s a stunning vista overlooking the Susquehanna River.

To the north, the river flows and swirls around the pillars of the picturesque Shocks Mills Bridge. If you stay perched on the rocky outcropping long enough, you just might spy a miniature train below, chugging across the bridge.

A patchwork of Lancaster County fields and farmland ripple into the horizon, on the opposite shore. To the south, the river disappears around a bend, lost in the Hellam Hills of York County, upon which you’re standing. It’s hard to believe this panoramic spot, frequented by hawks and bald eagles, is less than 10 miles from downtown York.

Most people would probably describe the scene as “sweeping.” But most people haven’t seen or even had access to this bird’s-eye view, until now.

New Views

“We had 135 people here for a ‘First Day Hike’ on Jan. 1,” said Nathaniel Brown, park manager. “It was quite a big gathering—more than we expected, especially with the way the road is. It doesn’t usually see that type of traffic, being a relatively narrow, gravel road.”

That’s because the 1,044-acre-park was just acquired from the nonprofit Lancaster Conservancy last September. But the Overlook Trail leading to Schull’s Rock was quickly blazed in November, powered by a Harrisburg-based crew from the Pennsylvania Outdoor Corps. Roundtrip, the hike is just under a mile and a half, from the makeshift gravel parking area.

“We worked quickly, to give people access to those views,” said Brown. “We expect usage to increase as people become aware of the park. But it’s a lot to balance at the moment—trying to keep people happy by giving them access to the new property, letting them satisfy their curiosity, while we make improvements where we can.”

Another major hiking trail traverses the new park—nearly three miles of the 200-mile-long Mason-Dixon Trail.

As the name Susquehanna Riverlands suggests, the park includes a mile of riverfront along the Susquehanna. But that’s not the only key waterway. The park includes a one-and-a-half-mile stretch of the Codorus Creek, flowing through a gorge, into the river. And that section of the Codorus not only includes Class I and II rapids—rare for this area—but history along its banks.

“The creek had a lot of historic uses from the [nearby] Codorus Furnace,” Brown said. “There was a canal that ran the length of the creek to York city, and the metal that was produced was shipped to Baltimore or Philadelphia.”

Establishing Susquehanna Riverlands gives the state a foothold, from which it’s hoped that additional nearby historic sites—such as the furnace—could be added.

“We know the geology informed the history of this site,” said Rachel Reese, division chief for the resource management and planning division of the Bureau of State Parks, under the umbrella of the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).

Diamond in the Rough

Environmental experts, starting at rock bottom, are building the park’s master plan—a process that will take at least a year.

“One of the first things we want to do is a complete inventory and assessment of the area—the physical and recreational conditions, if there are sensitive areas like wetlands, or rare species— we want to know all of that,” Reese said. “Once we have that information, the question becomes, ‘How do you connect visitors to those things, without damaging the things that create the desire for visitation?’”

Reese has long been involved in developing new trails and assets within existing state parks. But she’s “wildly overwhelmed” about the development of Susquehanna Riverlands—and two additional new state parks, Vosburg Neck in Wyoming County and Big Elk Creek in Chester County. That boosts Pennsylvania’s number of state parks to 124—one of the largest systems in the country.

Although every state park contains priceless natural wonders, it’s not without actual cost. And there are financial twists in the parks’ funding story. The price tag of three new parks, $45 million, is being underwritten partly by federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, but primarily by the state’s Oil and Gas Leasing Fund. That’s funding, fueled by oil and gas leases on state land, which has significantly swelled with an increase in Marcellus Shale region leases. Tapping into Marcellus Shale is seen as a controversial practice by many environmentalists.

Additionally, some might question how DCNR—with a documented $1.4 billion of backlogged state park maintenance—can add new parks into the mix.

“Our infrastructure needs received a $75 million down payment in the 2022-23 budget through ARPA funding, and Gov. Josh Shapiro has proposed adding another $112 million to address that infrastructure backlog, from the Oil and Gas Leasing Fund in the 2023-24 budget,” said Wesley Robinson, DCNR spokesperson. “All of that is said to note that we are consciously working to be stewards of public lands so that Pennsylvanians have the best recreation options possible. We will continue to push for investments into our public lands and prioritize critical infrastructure projects as we strategically address the backlog.”

As in nature itself, funding and land use are balancing acts. And pandemic trends turned many Pennsylvanians into outdoor enthusiasts, driving a greater need for recreational spaces, sparking the idea of new state parks.

“This is definitely a unique opportunity that hasn’t happened in a long time,” Brown said. “There were a lot of parks developed in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, but the last park that was built from scratch was Erie Bluffs in 2004. This is a new experience for everyone, from the central office to the field staff here. It’s a lot of work—a pretty heavy lift—but it’s a really cool opportunity to be part of the beginning of a new state park.”

For more information on Susquehanna Riverlands State Park, visit dcnr.pa.gov/StateParks/FindAPark/SusquehannaRiverlandsStatePark.

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Diggin’ It: Earth Day falls on April 22, but the Harrisburg area is down with earthy events all month long

March 30, 2023 | by Karen Hendricks

Wetlands Festival at Wildwood Park.
Photo courtesy of Dauphin County Parks and Recreation.

This month, New Cumberland is ground zero for local Earth Day happenings.

“We’re surrounded by natural resources here—the Susquehanna River, the Yellow Breeches Creek—so Earth Day events feel like a natural tie-in,” said Drew Lawrence of the New Cumberland Collective, a community nonprofit planning month-long celebrations.

Events kick off April 1 with a “Repair Fair” at Weist Hardware. Handy community helpers are willing to fix small appliances, make electrical, carpentry and plumbing repairs, and offer bike and car maintenance. Mending and fixing things are sustainable habits, Lawrence said, that reduce landfill volume.

Earth & Arts

The borough’s signature event is the New Cumberland Earth & Arts Festival, April 16, both inside and outside the New Cumberland Library.

“We came up with different ways to include the arts in environmental messages,” Lawrence said.

For example, festival-goers can learn about sustainable fashion through workshops on thrifting and natural dyeing.

“We’ll have live music that’s very natural—songs about trees and a beat-making performance using cool sounds from nature,” Lawrence said.

Food trucks, art vendors and a recyclable art contest will add to the festive atmosphere. Booths, talks and bird walks will be offered by the West Shore Wildlife Center and American Audubon Society.

On Earth Day, April 22, Mayor Thad Eisenhower will exert pedal power, for a “Bike the Borough” ride.

Later, Litter

Over the years, volunteers with the Great Harrisburg Litter Cleanup have found everything but the kitchen sink.

Oh wait—as unlikely as it might sound, they actually have found old kitchen sinks, along with old construction materials, plus plenty of bottles, cans and typical litter. You name it, they’ve probably found and picked it up—all by hand.

It adds up. Hundreds of volunteers have removed a grand total of 380 tons of litter from the city over the past 10 years. Last year alone, volunteers properly disposed of 450 tires.

“It’s kind of mind-boggling,” said Charlie Miller, with event organizer Tri County Community Action. “Unfortunately, there’s a lot of illegal dumping that happens in Harrisburg, and this is a chance for residents to reclaim their neighborhood and to communicate that they want vibrant, safe, clean places to work and play.”

This year’s 11th Annual Great Harrisburg Litter Cleanup is set for Earth Day, April 22. The cleanup operates from three locations—South Allison Hill, Midtown and Uptown. The public is invited to participate by registering online, with free T-shirts for early registrants.

“The event is meant to bring residents and friends of Harrisburg together, as a community, to take on litter and be engaged in their city’s beautification,” Miller said.

Barrels of Fun

Sustainability is on tap, April 15, at the 12th Annual Mechanicsburg Earth Day Festival, where rain barrels are star attractions.

“The highest bidders go home with functional rain barrels that are also works of art,” said Susanna Reppert, festival coordinator.

Like a spring ritual, professional artists and area art students transform the barrels with colorful paint.

Rain barrels help gardeners conserve water and reduce water bills, potentially hundreds of gallons’ worth. The auction has another sustainable feature—profits underwrite the event, planned under the umbrella of the nonprofit Downtown Mechanicsburg Partnership.

The downtown festival typically draws 1,800 people for its earth-friendly vendors, entertainment such as drumming, environmental nonprofits and unique community recycling.

Faded American flags, unused prescription drugs, print cartridges and old eyeglasses will be collected by the American Legion, Mechanicsburg Police, Simpson Library and Mechanicsburg Lions’ Club, respectively. Mechanicsburg fifth-graders with the Green Team Environmental Club are accepting Styrofoam, aluminum cans and old markers. Bicycles in any condition are being collected by Operation Wildcat, an organization that supports Mechanicsburg Area School District’s families in need.

“Since the Earth Day Festival is on Tax Day, April 15, you can even bring and shred all your documents you no longer need,” Reppert said. That’s thanks to a booth run by PSECU.

Reppert, owner of longtime downtown business, Rosemary House, is collecting old crayons for The Crayon Initiative, a nonprofit that creates new crayons distributed to hospitals.

“People like the vibe at our event,” Reppert said. “We have a strong ‘zero-waste’ commitment, so there’s minimal waste and trash. People really appreciate that.”

Celebration of Remediation

MycoSymbiotics, a mushroom research lab, was one of the first businesses to occupy offices to The Bridge Eco-Village.

A $40 million project, The Bridge plans to convert the former Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg into an eco-friendly community hub mixing residential units with co-working spaces and a large event space. The school’s former stadium has been transformed into tiered garden beds.

“The Bridge is really the perfect ecosystem and space to show the world that any land can be remediated for the good of the earth and the people,” said Leslie Avila of MycoSymbiotics, organizer of the 2nd Annual Earth Day Fest at The Bridge, April 22 and 23.

Free festival events include a seed swap, live music and community mural painting. Tickets are required for overnight camping and educational workshops, such as how to develop a solar greenhouse.

“There’s been a new awakening—a shift in our consciousness,” Avila said. “Our ways of doing things, culturally, isn’t really sustainable. The Earth Day Fest offers the opportunity for people to learn how to live more sustainably so the earth can be a healthier place.”

Nature Treasure

Many people developed a newfound appreciation for nature amid the pandemic.

“Our visitation spiked—we had 100,000 visitors in March of 2020, and previously we had 100,000 visitors in a year,” said Savanna Lenker of Dauphin County’s Wildwood Park. “The Wetlands Festival gives them the chance to learn more about what makes Wildwood so special.”

Live animals—including turtles and frogs—science experiments, environmental groups, music and food are planned for the 23rd Annual Wetlands Festival on April 29. The family-friendly event is traditionally one of the park’s two busiest days of the year, attracting some 1,500 people. Guided nature walks will help visitors identify the park’s birds, trees and wildflowers.

Additionally, the 11th annual “Art in the Wild,” an outdoor natural art exhibit, is set to open on April 2.

“Our wetlands are very special,” Lenker said. “The park serves as a huge flood control device for the city of Harrisburg because Wildwood Lake absorbs floodwater and prevents it from making its way downtown.”

Digging Deeper

There’s a lot more to learn about the Earth Day events featured in this story:

New Cumberland Collective’s month-long events, including the April 16 New Cumberland Earth & Arts Festival, newcumberland.co
Mechanicsburg Earth Day Festival, April 15, mechanicsburgearthdayfest.com
Great Harrisburg Litter Cleanup, April 22, cactricounty.org
Earth Day Fest at The Bridge Eco-Village, April 22-23, thebridgeecovillage.com
Wetlands Festival at Wildwood Park, April 29, explorewildwoodpark.org/event/wetlands-festival

All events mentioned are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

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April Publisher’s Note

March 30, 2023 | by Lawrance Binda

Each April, I count my blessings.

Back in 2020, we were in the thick of finalizing our April issue when the world came to a screeching halt.

With a pandemic crashing down around us, our long-planned feature stories seemed trivial, at best. Our advertisers suddenly cancelled their ads. Our printer wanted to know if we’d even have an April issue.

I’ll never forget that horrible, sinking feeling when the governor issued his stay-at-home order. What would we do? Like everyone else, we winged it.

We quickly held a meeting and decided, as a staff, that we needed to publish an April issue, despite it all. We cut some stories, dropped a lot of ads, and then decided to publish primarily online, as most of our distribution locations had closed.

In short, it was the worst time of my long journalism career, as well as one of the worst times of my life. I honestly didn’t know if we’d be able to continue in business past that point.

Well, we’re still here—stronger than ever. And that’s why, each April, I count my blessings.

A big part of that blessing is you, our community of readers. To try to survive the pandemic, we accelerated the launch of our new membership program—Friends of TheBurg—and, wow, did you respond!

Because of you, we were able to continue to report, continue to write, continue to publish, continue to offer this news service to the greater Harrisburg area and beyond. I cannot express enough gratitude to our incredible readers and supporters.

Yes, April is the third anniversary of Friends of TheBurg. If you’re a friend, we hope you’ll renew your membership and, if you’re not one yet, we hope so much that you’ll join. Last year, we even felt safe enough to throw our first (and long-delayed) Friends of TheBurg “bash.” It was so successful that we plan to hold another one later this year, so please stay tuned for that.

More good news—winter is over (well, what there was of it, anyway), and spring is coming on strong. Happy April, everyone!

Lawrance Binda
Publisher/Editor

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

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

Flower Fans: Plant passion abounds at Penn-Cumberland Garden Club

March 30, 2023 | by Stephanie Kalina-Metzger

Hosta and daffodil demonstration garden at Adams Ricci Park.

You could hear a pin drop at the latest meeting of the Penn-Cumberland Garden Club (PCGC) as speaker Sandy Lockerman shared her knowledge about the secret lives of hummingbirds.

Lockerman is the only bander of hummingbirds in this part of the state, and both she and her husband have devised a special “trap” to temporarily capture the birds to band them for migration studies.

The room at the Mechanicsburg Brethren in Christ Church was filled to capacity as dozens of club members gathered for their monthly meeting and to hear more about Lockerman’s research.

“We’re going to need a bigger room soon,” remarked Sheri Goff, who wears several club hats—youth activities chair, chair of photography and yearbook editor.

After the talk ended, members formed a long line leading to the kitchen, where a large spread, prepared by members, awaited. Choices included a selection of soups, tea sandwiches made with cucumber, cream cheese and dill and a variety of rich and delicious desserts.

After lunch, members caught up with one another and some even pulled out their purses to purchase pressed flower jewelry that was carefully displayed on a long table.

Goff is part of the 117-member strong organization that encompasses York, Lancaster, Harrisburg and the West Shore. Their mission is dedicated to the promotion of gardening, floral and landscape design, community beautification and preservation of trees, plants, birdlife and natural resources.

Goff, who lives in Camp Hill, learned about the nonprofit group after seeing an advertisement in the newspaper in 2013 and has been a member ever since.

“I walked in off the street,” she said. “You don’t have to know anyone to join.”

Lynn Garrett learned about the PCGC through word of mouth.

“I was invited by a woman I had known at Highmark before I retired,” said the Shiremanstown resident.

Members in attendance that day offered a variety of reasons for joining—from the desire to socialize with those who share a passion for gardening to an interest in community beautification and even floral design, which is what attracted current PCGC President Kay Yniguez.

“I became involved because I was interested in a club that taught floral design, and it turns out that they had a floral designer’s guild,” she said.

According to Goff, the club is affiliated with the Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania and the National Garden Club (NGC), which prepares members for participation in flower show judging and other activities.

“This is just one of four schools offered nationwide by the NGC,” Goff said. “The others are landscape design, gardening and environmental.”

The garden club also has a scholarship fund that awards $1,000 to a high school senior with a related major, such as horticulture, floriculture, landscape architecture and others.

Beautification projects are an important part of the club’s mission, as well.

“We have 17 civic beautification sites in four communities throughout the area that are maintained by our club,” said Goff, whose project is caring for the landscape at the New Cumberland Library.

Additional beautification projects include design, planting and maintaining gardens and containers at the Camp Hill Borough building, Adams-Ricci Park in East Pennsboro Township and New Hope Ministries in Mechanicsburg, to name a few. The club also oversees the operation of 129 raised-bed garden plots at Ames Community Garden in Shiremanstown.

Annual dues are $30 and include a newsletter, which is published five times a year. Goff said that the membership cost is more than worth it for the joy that the organization brings to so many people in the community, both members and non-members.

“For me, the value of the club is the affiliation with state and local organizations, but also learning from fellow members about growing flowers, sharing plants with each other, trading seeds and working in the community to beautify public spaces,” she said.

For more information on the Penn-Cumberland Garden Club, visit www.penncumberlandgardenclub.org.

Upcoming Events

Penn-Cumberland Garden Club will hold its annual plant sale at the Historic Frankenberger Tavern in Mechanicsburg at 217 E. Main Street on May 20 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Among the items for sale will be annuals, perennials, seedlings, herbs, bulbs, shrubs, trees, gardening books and magazines, garden tools, baked goods and more. Proceeds support civic beautification, Natural Disasters USA and Global Partners Running Water.

Also, mark your calendars for PCGC’s annual holiday market and luncheon. This is the 54th year for the event, which is open to the public and held at the Penn Harris in Camp Hill on the Monday after Thanksgiving, starting at 9 a.m.

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

Hammering it Home: Fourth-generation woodworker Greg Johnson crafts small business success

March 30, 2023 | by Karen Hendricks

Greg Johnson’s first project, as he was launching his woodworking business, was for his dog.

He crafted a little wooden holder for Sabache’s food and water dishes. And as the glossy black dog lapped up his water, one of the characteristics of his breed—Chow Chow—was on full display: his spotted tongue.

And that’s how, two years ago, Spotted Tongue Woodworking was born.

Johnson’s vision? To offer handcrafted, fine furniture and custom cabinets—wooden pieces that are both detailed and enduring.

“I think everyone understands that what you buy at a big box store is going to be lower quality—it’s expedient, and they don’t expect it to last,” Johnson said. “In order for something to last, it has to be made—not just made, but crafted and custom-made.”

And so far, he’s customized a lot. From tables and chairs to vanities, built-in cabinets, a couple of kitchens, and even “a project totally out of left field”—a piano. More about that in a moment.

“I enjoy the diversity of projects—it’s good to mix it up and have a change of pace,” said Johnson, 31, of Mechanicsburg, gesturing toward the custom bathroom vanities he’s currently building for a couple—a husband who’s tall and a wife who, well, isn’t.

Heritage with a Hammer

Johnson laughed at the idea that woodworking is in his genes.

“The Johnson gene is more about being worried about every little detail,” he said. “But on both sides of my family, there is a very strong tradition of woodworking and craftsmanship.”

His Swedish great-grandfather became a well-known New York City cabinetmaker who hand-built pieces for the Pentagon and Smithsonian. Johnson’s grandfather was an English teacher who spent his summers as a woodworker, even building two motorboats and a camper from scratch. His dad became a contractor with an eye for detail.

Then there’s his maternal great-grandfather. A Queens firefighter, he built his Long Island home from reclaimed materials. In the backyard? A hydroponic garden powered by a washing machine.

“Looking back, I realize how incredible they all were,” said Johnson, whose own journey toward woodworking was a winding path.

From Words to Wood

An English major in college, Johnson became a local English teacher (also like one of his grandfathers) for two years.

Running is another one of Johnson’s talents. He’s coached track and cross-country and worked at an area running store. He entered his first marathon—the 2016 Harrisburg Marathon—and won. It’s a feat he repeated in 2017. One summer, he biked 4,500 miles across the country with a couple college friends to raise money for a ministry.

Johnson began pursuing grad studies in exercise science, but had a change of heart, and he also worked with his father as a contractor. When the pandemic hit, Johnson’s wife continued working as a kindergarten music teacher, while he transitioned into a full-time dad and childcare role for their young son.

“When he would take a nap, I started doing projects around the house, collecting tools, and that helped keep me sane,” said Johnson, whose woodworking side hustle took off through word-of-mouth.

Tinkering around in his garage and driveway, Johnson’s talents caught the eye of his mailman, who offered Johnson the use of his woodworking shop, appropriately nestled in the woods. It’s now home base for Spotted Tongue Woodworking and where Johnson reports to work every day as a fourth-generation woodworker.

“He’s a visionary,” said Julia Paladina of Mechanicsburg, who met Johnson through the Harrisburg-area running community and hired him to create a custom kitchen table for her family of six.

“We never had a table that would last or look good,” said Paladina. But the custom white oak table—with seating for 10—that Johnson created “is an art piece—a conversation piece that will definitely become a family heirloom.”

A Grand Idea

HACC music teacher Carole Knisely already had a family heirloom on her hands—a baby grand piano that had outlived its usefulness. She held onto it, nostalgically, and envisioned something even grander.

“My sister-in-law sent me a picture of how to turn it into a bookshelf, and I fell in love with it right away,” said Knisely. “Then, as it turns out, I was biking in my neighborhood, when I saw my neighbor Greg doing woodworking, and I realized a carpenter lived right down the street.”

The rest was history. Almost exactly 100 years after the piano’s manufacturing date of 1922, Johnson delivered it to her home, transformed into a bookshelf.

“It was a challenge, adding cross-braces and figuring out the shapes, angles and curves that preserved the piano while adding shelves,” said Johnson, who gutted the piano’s inner workings, while preserving the ebony and ivory keyboard as the bookcase’s edge.

He had to delay working on the piano until he had space in the workshop. Then, as the project got underway, life intervened. His wife went into labor with their third child, and the Johnsons became a family of five. Laughing, Johnson described how he completed the piano project, in between running home to take care of his young family.

“He works from the heart,” Knisely said. “I’m absolutely thrilled, because when I look at the piano, I see the love of my parents to give it to us, the joy of all those memories playing it for family Christmas gatherings, and now it’s a lovely heirloom to pass down.”

Johnson credits his wife with being “the primary breadwinner” so that he can “pursue his dreams.” And one of the biggest and best confirmations that Johnson has taken the right path in life recently came from the couple’s 3-year-old son.

“When Emerson says, ‘Daddy can fix it,’ it means he understands what I do for a living,” Johnson said. “And that is the most incredible thing.”

For more information on Spotted Tongue Woodworking, visit spottedtonguewoodworking.net. To see Johnson’s videos and photos of the grand piano transformation, along with other projects, check his Facebook, Instagram and YouTube channels.

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Fit for Growth: West Shore Home has quickly expanded from local remodeler to nationwide company

March 30, 2023 | by Phyllis Zimmerman

B.J. Werzyn

When B.J. Werzyn opened the first location of his home remodeling business in Mechanicsburg in 2006, he held tight with an unusually lofty goal for a local entrepreneur.

“I wanted to create a national name since day one,” he recently recalled.

Today, after 17 years of constant expansion, West Shore Home appears to be well on its way to reaching Werzyn’s ambitious vision as the nation’s first home remodel installation chain. West Shore Home now installs high-quality baths, windows and doors in some 36 U.S. markets that crisscross 17 states, with a total of nearly 3,000 employees.

“One of our biggest competitive advantages is that we employ our own installers,” said Werzyn, now 45. “We don’t subcontract out, so we can have that operational excellence. Today, we have over 800 W-2 installers.”

Despite its rapid expansion, West Shore Home’s roots remain squarely in this area. Its corporate headquarters in Hampden Township opened in 2021. Due to rapid growth, it opened its second headquarters in 2022 on Westport Drive in Mechanicsburg.

Werzyn credits his company’s success on a “problem identified.”

“It’s not easy to do home remodeling,” he said. “In fact, it’s a big problem for many homeowners, and it’s an important problem. We provided a solution to the problem. People’s homes are their most valuable possession and the most intimate. It’s where they raise their families and make memories.”

Real Catalyst

Werzyn was introduced to the home remodeling business as a child. His parents owned a window company, offering him a depth of experience when he later started his own business.

About eight years ago, Werzyn decided to expand West Shore Home outside the Harrisburg area. To do so, he hired a consultant with a vision to “create a national footprint with a least 30 markets at that time.”

The company’s first venture outside the region was a greenfield site in suburban Pittsburgh. Following that, in 2018, Werzyn accepted a proposal for buying out a similar company, a move that gave West Shore Home nine new locations in outlying areas.

“That really wound up being a phenomenal acquisition for us, a real catalyst for our growth, and then, 13, 14, 15 more greenfields is how we got to the 36 locations we are today,” Werzyn said.

The company now stretches as far south as Atlanta and as far west as Salt Lake City. Its newest location, which opened in February, is in Oklahoma City. However, that still doesn’t satisfy Werzyn’s ambitious vision.

“I’d like to double this company again and again,” he said. “We hope to have 60 offices by 2025. Now, we’re focusing on going out west. There are still markets available for us in Chicago and Kansas City, to name just a few.”

Across the Nation

Recently, West Shore Home was honored with a 2023 “Top Workplaces USA Award,” a program celebrating organizations that build great work cultures. Winners are chosen based entirely on employee feedback.

That workplace culture includes an emphasis on giving back to the community through public service.

“It’s really important for us to help out the community where we live,” said Kirsten Page, West Shore Home public relations director. “It’s part of why we do what we do—to bring happiness to every home.”

Page said that part of her job involves overseeing the company’s community outreach endeavors at all of its U.S. locations. Food insecurity is a big focus of the company’s charitable efforts.

“For instance, January was Poverty Awareness Month,” she said. “So, we urged all of our branches to donate to local food banks in their communities.”

West Shore Home’s more extensive public outreach effort is serving local veterans’ communities, according to Page.

In February, for example, the company provided U.S. Army veteran Gerald White, of Columbia, S.C., with a new, safety enhanced walk-in shower as part of its West Shore for American Warriors Initiative. The donation helped White, a World War II vet who participated in the Battle of the Bulge, to continue to live independently.

West Shore Home branches across the nation also take part each year in U.S. Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots program. Over the past two years, the company donated more than 6,000 toys nationwide, as well as a total of $20,000 to the organization. The program also aligns with West Shore Home’s mission to support military veterans.

Additionally, the company has supported the United Way, Four Diamonds at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital, Susquehanna Service Dogs, and several additional local and national charitable causes.

“We try to find organizations we can support across all of our branches nationwide,” Page said.

For more information on West Shore Home, visit www.westshorehome.com or call 866-885-0316.

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Panes & Gains: As it builds its business, Renewal by Andersen of Central PA opens a window to charitable giving

March 30, 2023 | by Stephanie Kalina-Metzger

Joe Zisman,Linda Johnston & Tom Zimmerman, at their Veterans Day celebration, pictured with a model tiny home.

Getting back to a sense of normalcy after COVID-19 has been a challenge.

If there’s one thing we learned from the pandemic, it’s that where we “nest” is important to us. Now more than ever, people are investing in their homes with fresh ideas.

As an example, Renewal by Andersen of Central PA, based in Mechanicsburg, had an outstanding year in 2022, partly due to the substantial demand that arose from homeowners wanting to enhance their surroundings or remodel homes they were buying. According to company President Joe Zisman, there is still pent-up demand.

“With the cost of housing being so high right now, rather than going out and purchasing a new home, many people are choosing to upgrade their homes with new windows and doors to keep the elements out and the heat and air conditioning in,” he said.

Zisman said that working for his family’s window business (Ambassador Home Improvements, Inc.) in Pittsburgh helped inspire his passion to help others, stay customer-focused and run a successful operation on his own.

“My dad, Marvin Zisman, was an installer, my uncle was a salesman, and my mom did the books,” he said. “We became partners before he retired in the late 1980s and back then he worked hard for each home improvement project undertaken.”

Joe Zisman opened RBA of Central PA in 2006. Today, he’s a hands-on president whose team understands the importance he places on making both customers and employees feel valued.

“I have a great team, which is very customer-service oriented, and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said. “This includes rewarding our team when they perform well, establishing a “fun committee,” and, most importantly, volunteering in our communities around the region.”

Giving Back

Zisman repeatedly mentioned how his company encourages assisting Harrisburg-area nonprofits, and, indeed, the list of charities it supports is long. It includes Bethany House, American Cancer Society, St. Jude’s, Orange for Owen Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, Coats for Kids, Peyton Walker Foundation, Big 33, Capital Area Dream House, PA Dairymen’s Association, various food banks and Speranza, to name just a few.

This past November, in recognition of National Veterans and Military Families Month, the company contributed $500,000-plus of in-kind donations to Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania to provide windows, doors and labor for its tiny homes project for homeless and displaced veterans across the capital region.

Thomas W. Zimmerman, Jr., co-founder and chair of VOPA, said that a tiny home provides everything veterans need to live with dignity and safety, including a bed, bathroom, shower, desk, sink and counter space, with a refrigerator underneath.

Linda Johnston, general manager for RBA of Central PA, said the company is partnering with other central PA companies to build 15 of these tiny homes, which will be located along the Susquehanna River in South Harrisburg.

“The entire village will serve veterans free of charge,” said Johnston, adding that a 6,500-square-foot community center will be built near the houses on the five-acre site, which, decades ago, was home to a Phoenix Steel Corp. mill.

Zisman said that he is proud of how the company has evolved and grown over the years, as well as its focus on giving back to the community.

“We have worked hard to be able to help so many families here through our work and also through our philanthropic endeavors,” he said. “All of this truly fulfills our sense of purpose, which is giving back to others, so the future looks bright indeed.”

Renewal by Andersen of Central Pennsylvania is located at 4856 Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg. For more information, visit www.renewalbyandersen.com.

To learn more and contribute to Veterans Outreach of Pennsylvania, visit www.veteransoutreachofpa.org.

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