Dauphin County organization advocating for foster youth launches holiday fundraising campaign

November 30, 2021 | by Maddie Gittens

Local officials joined Dauphin County Court Appointed Special Advocates members to launch their “Giving Tree” campaign.

It’s “Giving Tuesday” today, a day that encourages generosity and supporting a good cause.

Dauphin County Court Appointed Special Advocates (DC CASA) is hoping that, during this season, the community will consider supporting their mission of assisting local foster youth.

“Let us launch this season of giving by lighting up the lives of local foster children,” said Lori Serratelli, DC CASA board president.

CASA utilizes trained volunteer advocates to help local judges make placement decisions for foster children that are in the child’s best interest.

On Nov. 29, the organization launched its month-long “Giving Tree” fundraising initiative with a tree lighting ceremony outside of the Linglestown American Legion Post 272.

Through Dec. 31, DC CASA is asking residents and businesses to make monetary contributions to the organization to support its advocacy work. Donors can add an ornament to CASA’s virtual Christmas tree on their website.

According to CASA, there are around 300 children currently in foster care in Dauphin County. It costs the CASA program about $1,500 a year to recruit, train and supervise each volunteer who works directly with a foster child or sibling group.

Children with a dedicated advocate do better in school, are more likely to graduate from high school or earn a GED and are more likely to be placed in a permanent home, the organization said.

“When we started our inaugural Giving Tree Campaign last December, we had six volunteers working with four families operating out of a one-room, basement office,” said Corey L. Korinda, executive director of DC CASA. “In just one year, we have grown to 14 volunteers working with nine families! Thanks to donations from local businesses and individuals alike, we have essentially doubled our impact in 2021 – moving even more foster children closer to a safe, permanent home.”

Sponsors for the “Giving Tree” campaign include Mid Penn Bank and Enders Insurance.

“Protecting children from abuse and neglect is a community responsibility,” said Heather Hall, market president at Mid Penn Bank.

To donate to Dauphin County CASA’s “Giving Tree” campaign, visit their website. Businesses interested in sponsorships can contact Lori Serratelli at 717-540-9170 or at [email protected].

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Harrisburg School District to offer free flu shots to community

November 30, 2021 | by Maddie Gittens

Lincoln Administration Building

The Harrisburg School District is offering families a way to stay healthy over the winter.

Students, families, staff and community members can receive a free flu shot at a clinic that the district and UPMC will hold.

On Dec. 1, from 3 to 5 p.m., flu vaccines will be offered at the Lincoln Administration Building at 1601 State St.

Anyone six months and older is eligible for the vaccine. Parents/guardians must be present for minors to get vaccinated. Adult identification is required.

No appointment is needed and walk-ins are welcome, according to the district. Parking is available in the rear parking lot.

Face masks are required.

According to a statement by the district, “flu vaccines protect against several influenza viruses that research suggests may be most common during the upcoming season. Influenza is a potentially serious disease that can lead to hospitalization and sometimes even death. Flu vaccines are safe and effective and have been given to children, adults and seniors citizens for decades.”

For more information, visit the Harrisburg School District’s website.

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Friendly Fight: Montrose Park residents mostly kept to themselves, until they united for a common cause

November 30, 2021 | by M. Diane McCormick

Residents at Montrose Park community block party.

On a crisp autumn afternoon, mums brighten the charming homes of Montrose Street.

Two girls step off the school bus and head home. Pickup trucks halt respectfully at the four-way stop signs. An elderly homeowner leans on a rake, chatting with the mailman.

Welcome to another idyllic day in Montrose Park.

One of Harrisburg’s original suburbs has long been a haven of serenity, but now, residents say, their unified opposition to a proposed development has refreshed their sense of community. The disputed project’s outcome remains in doubt, but all agree that they are forging new friendships and neighborly ties.

“I’m starting to meet people who I didn’t know where they lived, and now I do,” said long-time resident Jeb Stuart. “I’ve been to their homes. I’ve had them to mine. It’s been a really cool thing, where the neighborhood has come together around the banner of Montrose Park as an identity.”

“It’s a perfect case of ‘adversity brings a community together,’ because that’s what has happened,” agreed resident Ray Davis. “There’s good that has come out of all of this.”

The Alarm Sounds

The last of the pre-Great Depression mansions of Harrisburg line the Susquehanna Township portion of N. Front Street. Today, many are offices. Behind this grand façade are the leafy, pre- and post-war blocks of Montrose Park, just over the city line.

The Susquehanna Township neighborhood was born when the Herre brothers, local contractors, sold lots and built homes for their workers. When the Jewish Community Center moved from Midtown Harrisburg to Montrose Park in the 1950s, many Jewish families followed.

Montrose Street forms the spine of the neighborhood. A narrow, vacant, star-crossed lot occupies the Front Street end and juts into the residential area. Like a toothless smile, this lot stands out for what was lost—a substantial home built in the 1920s and demolished in 2014.

In spring 2021, lot owner Riveroaks Associates and developer Linlo Properties proposed developing the site as a medical office building, including a dialysis center. Riveroaks and Linlo sued neighboring property owners on Front Street for relief from decades-old deed restrictions.

Linlo Properties partner Lowell Gates defended the use of the site for dialysis—easily accessible and only minimally impactful on traffic, he told TheBurg—and said he revised the building’s design to suit Front Street’s historic vibe.

In the residential blocks, however, neighbors sounded the alarm. Traffic, parking, flooding, medical waste were all cited as concerns. They perceived a mismatch with “Sustainable Susquehanna 2030,” the township’s comprehensive plan.

On Aug. 27, the Susquehanna Township Board of Commissioners unanimously rejected requested waivers and the entire proposal. Riveroaks has appealed, so the proposal remains in play.

Banded Together

The yard signs were unlike anything ever seen in these sedate parts, spiked along curbs like hobnails on a boot:

“They said nobody walks here.”

“Don’t sue your neighbors.”

“Save Montrose Park.”

Then there was the change.org petition and the resident appearances at township meetings. A new Facebook group, Friends of Montrose Park, rallied neighbors with updates.

By August, in the midst of the fight, new-ish resident Debbie Tramontin and other movement leaders had a stress-relieving idea. Why not hold a block party? Close Montrose Street. Set up tables. Haul out the grills. The morning of the event, neighbors “were popping in and out of my driveway saying, ‘Do you need tables? We have more chairs,’” said Tramontin. “Someone pulled up and brought a tent.”

Lifetime Montrose Park-er Tim Patterson joined the gathering just by stepping out of the Cape Cod home designed and built by his father in 1937. As the party ended, he told Tramontin, “This is the first time I ever sat in the middle of Montrose Street and had lunch.”

“I said it half-jokingly,” he said now, “but it’s true.”

Whether longtime homeowners or new, residents agree: Montrose Park has grown closer—a change from the neighborhood where “other than the guy next door or the family across the street, you really didn’t know your neighbors,” said 20-year resident Linda Louden.

At the block party, Louden met an elderly neighbor looking for a walking partner. They now walk the streets of Montrose Park as they “jibber-jabber about everything,” she said. They swap recipes and talk about grandchildren. When Louden was getting estimates for a new roof, they critiqued roofs of the houses they passed.

“She’s a very sweet, adorable 84-year-old, and she’s in pretty darn good shape,” said Louden. “I made a new friend, and she’s getting more walking done. It was really great, and it all came from our little block party.”

Eclectic and diverse in people and architecture. That’s what 35-year resident Sam Levine loves about Montrose Park. He and his wife moved there from Midtown because they needed more room without losing that city feel.

Residents have long known their neighborhood is unique, but the dialysis center controversy “made people realize we’re taking something for granted,” Levine said. “Everyone kind of banded together with the cause that they wanted to preserve the special-neighborhood feeling we have.”

If you’re a developer hoping to avoid organized opposition, you might want to steer clear of professional neighborhoods in state government towns. Montrose Park contains an office park’s worth of expertise: engineers, planners, attorneys. There are health care administrators, communications pros, historians, security consultants.

“We’ve begun to feel we have this body of knowledge at our fingertips,” said Tramontin. “If you have a question about almost anything, I can probably give you the name of a person in our neighborhood who has knowledge around it.”

Davis noticed the Montrose Park brain trust when residents spoke at township meetings.

“There is a tremendous amount of really knowledgeable people—knowledgeable about different things,” he said. “We have somebody who is an expert in stormwater management. We have someone who’s an expert in the medical aspects of what they were trying to do. There’s someone knowledgeable about engineering and flooding.”

Then he added perhaps the most important part.

“I never knew that,” he said. “I didn’t know a lot of these people.”

We’re All Neighbors

Today, the yard signs remain.

Although the fight is now in the courts, Friends of Montrose Park plans vigilance, said Tramontin. Residents might take turns attending Susquehanna Township meetings, prepared to issue alerts about the proposed development and anything else affecting the livability of Montrose Park and beyond, such as sidewalks that take people to work, school and worship.

“We want to be listening not just for our neighborhood but all over the township,” Tramontin said. “Not everybody is going to have time to go to meetings, but when they know what’s happening, they do really care and want to be a part of it.”

When Montrose Park residents talk about their neighborhood controversy, the term “silver lining” comes up.

“Once a neighborhood comes together, it has a brand and a commonality to it,” said Stuart, who lives in the Front Street home built by his grandfather in 1927. “This is kind of a watershed event, and, hopefully, we will coalesce and bond together in the future—not just because of controversial projects but just because we’re all neighbors.”

Even conversations among the daily dog walkers are different, Davis said.

“You know people well enough, so you have some common ground to talk about things other than the weather,” he said.

The first block party set the stage for a new sense of community, and there are probably more to come, said Tramontin.

“We didn’t talk much about what was going on,” she said. “We just had fun. We decided that whatever was going to happen with respect to (the development), we are going to work hard to keep our neighborhood wonderful and keep people together as a community and have fun no matter what.”

This story has been updated.

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Heart & Soul: Chef Keith Taylor brings his passion project, spotlighting soul food, to Harrisburg

November 30, 2021 | by Maddie Gittens

Chef Keith Taylor. Photo courtesy of Ali Waxman.

Chef Keith Taylor has been all over the place.

He studied culinary arts and worked at several high-profile restaurants in New York City. He served as a chef at Disney’s Grand Floridian Beach Resort in Florida. He also worked for the former Meadowlands Arena in New Jersey, creating menus for the venue that once housed professional basketball and hockey teams.

Even with all of that experience and traveling, when Taylor visited Harrisburg for the first time, he fell in love.

“I knew nothing about Harrisburg,” he said. “But when I saw the Capitol building, I was like ‘wow.’ But what was more intriguing to me was that I saw new business.”

Taylor toured H*MAC and decided to set up shop in the kitchen, bringing his newest venture, Zachary’s BBQ & Soul, to the city.

Harrisburg isn’t just another location—it’s the flagship location for Zachary’s, Taylor explained. He has high hopes to make Zachary’s a nationally known soul food chain, what he believes will be the first of its kind.

Read over the menu for Zachary’s, and you might feel your mouth begin to water at the sound of buttermilk biscuits, barbecued pork ribs and maple mashed yams. But the food is more than just delicious cuisine to Taylor—it’s family, and it’s American history.

“Soul food is something to be shared,” he said. “This food is love.”

At the Forefront

Taylor grew up in a “food-centered family,” one part Caribbean, one part Southern with a generous dash of Italian influence from his hometown of Nutley, N.J. He grew up around a range of flavors, including lots of soul food.

Taylor later attended Cornell University for hotel administration, but fell in love with cooking.

“I didn’t want to be a suit. This is my power suit,” he said, gesturing to his white chef’s coat and hat.

In addition to Disney and those New York restaurants, Taylor worked for HEI Hotels, overseeing operations at 23 properties—a dream job. He even made appearances on reality cooking shows and said that he and roving celebrity chef Guy Fieri are buddies.

But Taylor began to realize that he was ready to pursue a new passion, even if it wasn’t as glamorous as his previous high-profile positions.

“I had nothing left to prove,” he said. “I decided to showcase the food of my parents and my hometown.”

Taylor set out to bring the “most underrepresented” food, soul food, to the mainstream for consumption.

He explained how cultures that immigrated to the United States brought their foods with them, most of which have now been commercialized. For example, Italian food is served at places like Olive Garden and Carrabba’s, and Chinese cuisine is at P. F. Chang’s and Panda Express.

“But the food that is at the foundation of America, the only indigenous American food, is the food that is made by African American slaves who have been in America since 1619,” Taylor said. “Why is it not at the forefront? It was never once celebrated like the other foods.”

That’s why Taylor created Zachary’s, named after one of his sons. He has crafted a menu that showcases the best of soul food— jambalaya, dirty rice, baked mac and cheese and Hoppin’ John, among other dishes.

“If I have to be the soul food messiah, I will be,” he said.

Little Renaissance

When John Traynor, co-founder and creative director of H*MAC, tasted Taylor’s food, he thought, “This could really work.”

For the past five years, H*MAC has been trying to figure out how food fits into its business. Most music venues stick to serving quick and easy fast food—chicken tenders, fries, etc.—but Traynor said that they had a different idea. Unlike other venues, H*MAC would be open throughout the week. So, they wanted a fuller, more unique menu.

While they had food before Zachary’s opened, they had trouble getting the word out that they weren’t just a venue, but a restaurant. When Traynor heard what Taylor was looking to do with Zachary’s, he knew this was a partnership that he couldn’t pass up on.

“What I loved was the fact that it was soul food barbecue and his take on it,” Traynor said. “It brings diversity in the food culture.”

He added that customers have loved Taylor’s brunches and special event menus for shows.

“Besides the culinary, he’ll bring a lot to the community,” Traynor said. “He’s all about community outreach.”

Zachary’s and H*MAC are running an internship program for people interested in culinary arts. As young as high school students are accepted, Taylor said. They will train under him and his sous-chef.

Taylor also makes it a point to create a positive environment in his kitchen.

“Everybody is an equal,” he said. “The dishwasher is not more important than the cashier. The cashier is not more important than the cook, and the cook is not more important than the dishwasher.”

And his wages support that. All employees start at $15 an hour, he said, and all tips are pooled.

“Gracious hospitality is at the core of what we do,” Taylor said.

As Zachary’s continues to grow, with locations planned to open soon in Allentown and Norristown, Taylor holds onto that value. Ultimately, he hopes to see the business bring recognition to soul food—a cuisine that he believes has been underrepresented.

“We are creating this little renaissance,” he said.

Zachary’s BBQ & Soul is located in H*MAC, 1110 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.zacharysbbqsoul.com or call 717-525-8550.

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Stitch of Kindness: Area knitters remember, help the un-housed

November 30, 2021 | by Susan Ryder

Some blankets were on temporary display last month.

“In 30 years or so, I’ve never had a reaction to a project that’s been this robust,” said Pat LaMarche of the Homeless Memorial Blanket Project.

Knitters and crocheters from about 10 states are providing hand-knitted and crocheted blankets to be displayed at First Evangelical Lutheran Church, Carlisle, as dusk descends on Dec. 21. The display commemorates National Homeless Person’s Memorial Day, stirringly held on the longest night of the year, remembering those who have died while experiencing homelessness.

“It’s the night we remember because, if you live on the street, chances are you are going to die on the street,” LaMarche said.

It’s a hard life. Homeless individuals often die 30 years before their time, LaMarche said.

Some 250 blankets, zip-tied together, will provide a visual reminder of homelessness. On the project’s Facebook page, artists collaborate, announce yarn sales and display their creations. Some include twin- and queen-sized blankets with intricate, delicate lacy patterns. Others have colorful granny squares, and still others feature a hobnail texture.

“This [knitting and crocheting] is a love language,” said LaMarche, whose Great Aunt Martha taught her to crochet when she was 7 years old. “And so that seems to be what this massive blanket has turned into.”

One particularly beautiful piece is a jewel-toned blanket with 18 multicolored circles. The circles contain lovely coordinating, pointed flowers. For creator JP Shaw, a love of crocheting harmonizes with making this blanket.

“It’s a perfect match because that is my hobby, what I do in my free time rather than scrolling Facebook,” she said. “I make something beautiful that someone will appreciate.”

It replaces plenty of scrolling, as each circle takes a couple of hours to complete.

Amy Neurohr crocheted three blankets for the project.

“When you make an afghan for someone, it’s kind of a personal gift,” she said. “It’s not like you went out and bought a blanket at Walmart. It’s a lot more personal.”

Neurohr heads up an effort to collect knitted and crocheted squares from people, sewing them together to form a covering. She created a colorful blanket, which she hopes will make a child happy.

A child isn’t the stereotypical un-housed person, but 2018-19 Pennsylvania public school statistics show that about 31,822 students in the commonwealth experience homelessness during the year.

“I have a vision of a kid getting it,” she said. “I’m just really happy with the bright colors and, you know, wrapping up in it.”

Ways to Help

This event will shine a light—on the darkest night of the year—on the crisis of homelessness, as well as organizations that provide services to the unhoused.

Local agencies will be at the church to inform people what they can do to assist in the work of ending homelessness. An area of the church property will hold a tent camp to give folks a glimpse into the lives of the unhoused. Kings Gap General Store will provide its famous cheese soup, and other types, and Project SHARE and Gilded Door Pantry will provide bread products.

“Wow, hot soup on the street in the cold, staring at this blanket that will [be there until] the next morning, when we disassemble the blanket, will actually be going to someone who is cold and in need,” LaMarche said. “You know, this is a really poignant thing to stand and witness.”

She pointed out that the Christmas season serves as the perfect time to open ourselves up to the suffering of others.

“Dec. 21 is right in the absolute belly of the time when people are saying to their children and their grandchildren, ‘You need to learn more,’” LaMarche said.

Sponsored by the Charles Bruce Foundation, the Homeless Memorial Blanket Project provides not only that opportunity, but a means to take action.

Those with challenges themselves look for ways to help. LaMarche shared a story of an elderly woman living in a long-term care facility who wanted to participate in the project but couldn’t get out to purchase yarn. LaMarche put the word out to the “yarn community” and, poof, there was yarn.

“The woman who dropped the yarn off, her husband died last year,” LaMarche said. “So, she brought the other woman, who she doesn’t know, her husband’s favorite color.”

Thus far, this senior knitter has fashioned four blankets. Another senior, Neurohr’s mother, who prefers to make hats to blankets, is crocheting hats with the goal of providing one for each blanket. They’ve nicknamed her the “Mad Hatter.”

In the end, local agencies will receive the blankets to distribute to those they serve.

“This is also a really big opportunity for people to invest a lot of love into this project,” LaMarche said.

That loves comes in the form of purchasing yarn, providing yarn to others, and using a hobby to offer literal and figurative warmth to people who can surely use it. It also allows the community to enjoy the art it creates and gather to learn about homelessness, all within the frame of acknowledging those who lost their lives while unhoused.

“It’s cool to think that these blankets are going to matter to somebody,” LaMarche said.

The Homeless Memorial Blanket will be displayed on Dec. 21, starting at dusk, at First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 21 S. Bedford St., Carlisle. To learn more about the project or to drop off a crocheted or knitted blanket, go to the project’s Facebook page or contact Pat LaMarche at [email protected].

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Wonderland of Wheels: Lower Paxton neighbors form nonprofit to give away bikes for the holidays

November 30, 2021 | by Karen Hendricks

Facebook, maligned by many, can also turn merry. As a Lower Paxton neighborhood group discovered, it can actually be a vehicle for good.

“Initially, I had the Neighbors of Lower Paxton Facebook group as kind of a neighborhood watchdog, but it blossomed into something entirely different—neighbors helping neighbors,” said longtime resident Forrest Healey, 54.

Back in the fall of 2019, one of his neighbors—a woman who had lost her job— turned to that Facebook page for help as the holiday season approached.

“She was concerned about getting clothes for her two teenage kids—let alone anything else,” Healey said. “People came together—it was amazing to see. They helped her with a new job and gifts, and I was inspired by that.”

His Wheels Were Turning

Holiday kindness, especially toward kids, struck a chord with Healey.

“My father left us when I was 7, and my mother raised us on her own. She had to work nights … but one time we all got new bikes,” Healey said. “And my sister—who worked her way up from nothing—she has bike drives out in [my hometown] Las Vegas.”

With bikes on his brain, he floated the idea on Facebook. What did his Lower Paxton neighbors think about launching a bike drive?

Mike Williams and Tiffaney Horner were two of the first people to respond.

“So much of my career is focused on promoting play in children, and a bike is universal,” said Horner, a mother of three who’s worked with medically compromised children for 25 years. “You don’t ever age out of that essence of play.”

“The gift of a bike represents freedom—the first mode of escape, to jump on a bike and be carefree,” said Williams, a father of three who’s a former special agent with the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, Child Predator Unit.

With the goal of gathering 30 shiny new bicycles and distributing them to families in need—just a few weeks after that initial Facebook post—the grassroots group exceeded expectations and provided 51 bikes for the 2019 holiday season. It was a community effort. Teachers at South Side and North Side elementary schools recommended kids in need. Healy matched donors—and predicted bike sizes—with children.

Much like a bike ride itself, their efforts were exhilarating.

“We were just acquaintances and friends, but somebody said we should form a nonprofit so we went down that path,” said Healey, a self-employed electrician who’s also a father of three. “I’m a little impatient, so we just flipped that switch and went.”

On Their Path

Bike a Better Path formed with Healy as executive director, and Horner and Williams serving as president and vice president, respectively. Additional board members and community volunteers are also essential.

Just like riding a bike, the group got right back on board for the 2020 holiday season. They doubled their goal, setting their sights on 100 bikes. Then the wheels fell off, figuratively. The pandemic hit, along with financial concerns and supply chain issues.

“I would definitely say the need grew, but I was genuinely surprised,” Horner said. “Everyone was affected or impacted by the pandemic, but that actually drew more donors to help where they could.”

Bikes were hard to find. The group had a system for scouring area stores, but most often, they encountered empty shelves.

“It was toilet paper, paper towels and bikes,” said Williams, counting the top three most sought-after items at area Wal-Mart and Target stores, on his fingers.

Still, the group once again exceeded expectations in year two by collecting and giving away 164 bikes.

This holiday season, with their newly minted nonprofit status in place, Bike a Better Path is aiming for 300 bikes. If they hit that goal, they’ll have given 500 kids their own set of wheels within three years.

Families can now submit confidential requests directly online. Healy personally reaches back to each and every one.

“It’s the loss of job, COVID, family dynamics, divorce, all kinds of things,” Healey said. “I’ve spent many a time managing it up till midnight, standing at my kitchen island. It’s basically what I do in all my spare time.”

While first-year requests came from Lower Paxton families, the group now considers requests from a 25-mile radius.

“We all have a soft spot for these kids wherever they come from—we don’t want to say no,” Williams said. “There’s no east shore, west shore rift here. It’s just nice to help those who are less fortunate. There’s no politics, no race or gender issues—we’re just trying to help parents supply bikes for their kids.”

Bike helmets are provided by the American Legion Post 272 in Linglestown, where this year’s distribution days are set for Dec. 17 and 18. That’s when the bikes come out of storage units donated by a local facility. All families receive bike locks, safety rules and a “bike promise” for parents and children to establish rules and responsibility. It takes more than 20 volunteers to make the event run smoothly.

After a year’s worth of work behind-the-scenes—gathering donations, putting bikes together, and hearing about hardships and heartache—there’s magic in the air. Maybe it’s because Bike a Better Path’s mission is “empowering youth through the magic of a bicycle.”

“There’s the excitement and gratitude of the recipients, lots of thank you and tears because they know their child will have a gift,” Williams said. “It takes a village, and this village is an awesome group of people from Lower Paxton Township.”

For more information on Bike a Better Path, see bikeabetterpath.com.

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Executive Exit: A reflection on a mayor’s tenure

November 30, 2021 | by Lawrance Binda

Illustration by Rich Hauck

Back in December 2013, I visited then Mayor-Elect Eric Papenfuse in his transition office, a small, cluttered space just around the corner from city hall.

He was a busy man, squeezing in appointments, hiring staff and trying to learn the workings of the sprawling—and then deeply troubled and indebted—city government.

But he made some time for me that day and gave me an overview of his general goals as Harrisburg’s new mayor. Some of these, I agreed with; others, I didn’t.

Well, life never turns out quite the way you think it will, and the next eight years were filled with many high points and some low ones, too.

In general, I believe that Papenfuse has much to be proud of as he exits the mayor’s office in January. Harrisburg is in far better shape today than when he took office, the city then just emerging from its devastating financial crisis. That said—it’s been a bumpy ride for sure.

I’ve reflected back on what I consider to be the most significant accomplishments—and the shortcomings—of Papenfuse’s two-term tenure. Let’s hit the high notes first.

City Finances. When Papenfuse took office, the city’s future looked bleak. Harrisburg’s financial recovery plan offered some hope, but how would the city ever be able to continue to pay its bills, deliver critical services and whittle down its mountain of debt? It was anyone’s guess. Eight years later, the city has run successive budget surpluses and has plenty of money in the bank. Last year, it even got the state legislature to extend its extra taxing authority, which may be the single greatest achievement under Papenfuse. The fiscal picture is now so bright that the mayor’s latest squabble with City Council is not if the remaining debt can be paid off, but just how quickly.

City Services. As the city’s fiscal picture has improved, so has its delivery of core services. The city’s staff, stripped to the bone during the financial crisis, has doubled under Papenfuse. Does Harrisburg really have an arborist, park rangers, an event planner? Yes, it does. It even went into the sanitation business, extending trash pickup into neighboring towns. Having said that—many key people have left city employment recently, leaving Mayor-Elect Wanda Williams with a big personnel challenge as she assumes office.

Infrastructure. Long-time Mayor Steve Reed loved new building projects, but he often ignored the crumbling streets, sidewalks and sewers right beneath his feet. In contrast, Papenfuse made infrastructure a priority. Over his eight years, much of 3rd Street was rebuilt, the long-dreamed-of, two-way 2nd Street conversion began, and development in South Allison Hill was seeded. Most neighborhoods in Harrisburg saw significant infrastructure improvements, even as Papenfuse tussled with PennDOT over state-owned roads. The mayor brought some sanity back to the redevelopment game, as the city got out of the building business but laid the foundation to make Harrisburg a more hospitable place for residents and for new development. So far, it seems to be working.

Papenfuse had several qualities crucial to being a good mayor—smarts, administrative skills and a commitment to hard work. Unfortunately, he lacked one other skill important for success in the job: good people skills. When he chose to, he did a decent job hobnobbing and glad-handing and doing all those public things a politician needs to do. But often he didn’t want to, it seemed. And to make the situation worse, he appeared more comfortable attacking than appeasing, being pugnacious not gracious. His personal style ended up exacerbating, not solving, many of his problems and, in the end, likely cost him a third term as mayor.

Over the years, Papenfuse publicly feuded with, in no particular order, the county commissioners, the visitor’s bureau, the Civil War Museum, PennLive, Capital Region Water, state legislators, the Dauphin Democrats and the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority. I may have missed a few. He routinely spoiled relationships with people and organizations the city needed on its side, and, as far as I could tell, got little in return from the fights.

However, his two most problematic relationships were also his most important—with City Council and with the community at large.

In Harrisburg, bad blood between the mayor and council is something of a terrible tradition. Mayors Reed and Thompson deemed it beneath them to even attend a council meeting, even though doing so would have helped accomplish the public’s business.

To his credit, Papenfuse made a point to attend every council meeting—that is, until he lost the May primary, when he peevishly stopped. However, he never really formed working relationships or alliances with council members. At meetings, the two bodies often looked like opposing forces and frequently behaved that way. In fact, over time, instead of improving, their relationship grew worse, turning into he said/she said dysfunction.

On Election Day last month, Mayor-Elect Williams stood at the podium in victorious solidarity with most of her fellow council members. For the sake of the city, I hope their relationship remains as strong as it seems now, which would be a welcome break from the past.

Papenfuse’s relations with the community, broadly speaking, weren’t that much better. There are folks in Harrisburg who don’t feel a need to see or shake hands with their mayor. But there are others who definitely do. They want to see him or her out and about, eating tacos on Allison Hill, shopping in Midtown, just walking around, occasionally checking in at the local store, restaurant or salon.

Over the past few years, Papenfuse was an increasingly absent figure outside of city hall. I respected that he put in long hours at his desk. However, public engagement is part of the job and needs to be part of a mayor’s routine schedule. It’s also smart politics, especially if you plan to run for re-election.

In the end, I feel that Harrisburg is better for having had Eric Papenfuse as mayor for the past eight years. He helped settle the city’s troubled finances and build capacity within the municipal government. He entered office at a critical juncture in Harrisburg history and is departing with the city in far better fiscal and operational condition than when he entered. Yes, he should have been more attentive to building and maintaining relationships and, importantly, taken the tumult of city politics more professionally and less personally. If he had, he might’ve been mayor for the next four years. Nonetheless, he can leave office with his head high.

And now the city moves onto a new mayor, a new chapter in its history. I wish Mayor-Elect Williams all the best and much success, both for the people who will work directly for her and for the residents of our shared city.

Lawrance Binda is co-publisher/editor-in-chief of TheBurg.

Illustration by Rich Hauck.

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New Home, Same Family: Harrisburg congregation finds “dream” building, years after losing its historic church

November 30, 2021 | by Maddie Gittens

Pastors Mack Granderson & Martin Romain

Paint was still being rolled onto the walls inside Crossroads Christian Ministry as Pastor Mack Granderson showed me around. It was a fresh white coat that would welcome churchgoers into the space, newly claimed by the congregation.

Granderson proudly walked me through the meeting rooms, sanctuary, the spacious fellowship hall and a room that would become the library. There was still work to be done—there was even talk of knocking down walls for more space. But Granderson and fellow pastor Martin Romain kept saying how perfect the building was.

“God has provided for us,” Romain said. “This is what we deserve after everything we’ve been through.”

In September, I wrote a story on the 10 United Methodist Churches in Harrisburg that were forced to close over two years ago by the local oversight body, the Susquehanna United Methodist Conference. I talked to pastors and congregants of churches that were shut down and how they’ve fared since. In the story, Granderson and Romain shared their experience—the loss of their church, formerly Derry Street UMC in Allison Hill, in the name of consolidation.

It was a time, they said, full of pain and closed doors. They had to leave the neighborhood they were rooted in, and Granderson was even stripped of his license as a UMC pastor.

However, the pastors also shared hope. They expressed gratitude to The Rock Church in Harrisburg for allowing them to share building space while they searched for a new home. When COVID hit, they found joy in meeting for services outside or online. For as many doors that were closed, Granderson and Romain found others that were opened.

And one of those doors just happened to be the entrance to an old Masonic lodge just outside the city in Oberlin, a community in Swatara Township. With a fresh coat of white paint on the walls, this would be their new church home.

“It felt like we were the Israelites in the wilderness,” Granderson said. “But, guess what? Canaan—it’s here.”

New Chapter

Crossroads pastors and members gathered on a Sunday morning in October for their first service in their new building on Harrisburg Street, near the Harrisburg Mall.

Unlike Canaan, the building wasn’t flowing with milk and honey when congregants arrived, but it did have plenty of off-street parking, which may be the modern equivalent for people used to fighting for spots at the former city locations. The pastors pointed that out a few times—50 spots and room for more on the acre of land that came with the building.

Granderson preached the sermon that first morning. It was about Crossroads’ story and everything that changed over the past few years, about how they made it to where they sat now. It was less about the loss and more about the restoration, Granderson said. The message elicited lots of tears. It was needed.

“For everything that’s been taken away from us, I don’t know if there’s anything that can make up for what we’ve gone through,” Romain said. “They can’t repay us, but what we can do is forgive. That was just a part of our journey. Now, we can let that go and move forward.”

They don’t really have an option as their congregation is growing fast. They’re busy. Sundays average anywhere from 100 to 150 attendees, a number that they haven’t seen since their days on Derry Street, before the closure and pandemic.

It’s a diverse group. Some people who attended Crossroads have stuck around, making the drive out of the city to the new location. Others come from Enola, Middletown, Linglestown and other surrounding areas. Still others join their streamed service online, even people from out of state. And then there are neighbors of their new Oberlin location who have come in to check it out.

It’s a racially, culturally and socioeconomically diverse assortment of members—who all are welcome, Romain said. Services are in English and Spanish, something they’re proud to provide.

“The Bible is clear when it teaches that we are to treat everyone with love and kindness,” Granderson said.

Family Ties

Harrisburg resident Cheryl Allen attended Derry Street Church, and later Crossroads, for about 47 years. There are a few other people who have been there as long, she said, some possibly longer.

She remembers when they got news that Derry Street would close. It was difficult.

“I still miss Derry Street. It was a beautiful building,” she said. “But it was more important to keep the family together.”

This family-like bond has been the church’s not-so-secret weapon, the thing that has kept Allen and others, she believes, around through the closure and the pandemic. The diversity of the members only makes the body stronger, in Allen’s opinion.

“We are one big family,” she said. “I love everybody.”

Allen is “thrilled” to be in the new location. She loved the Derry Street church, but doesn’t let the forced exit bother her anymore. Her family is intact—that’s all that matters.

The pastors echoed that sentiment, expressing a renewed realization that a building can’t be their foundation, lest it get pulled out from under them.

“People—that has become the centerpiece of my focus, not things,” Romain said. “Because things are temporary. Our true ministry isn’t the carpet, the paint, the walls or the ceiling. It’s the people—and that hasn’t changed.”

“All of this stuff could disappear, and we would still have a church,” Granderson added. “How do we know? Because we’ve been through it.”

When Crossroads was located in Allison Hill, community outreach was a huge part of their mission. They haven’t forgotten that neighborhood. Granderson assured me that they would still be making connections there. But he’s excited to reach the church’s new neighborhood in Oberlin, too.

“We are going to blanket this community,” Granderson said. “We are going to let people know who we are and what we are about. If you want to be a part of it, you are welcome, no matter who you are.”

Crossroads Christian Ministry is located at 350 N. Harrisburg St., Oberlin. For more information, visit www.thecrossroadsministries.org.

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December News Digest

November 30, 2021 | by Lawrance Binda and Maddie Gittens

Wanda Williams Elected Harrisburg Mayor

Wanda Williams will be the next mayor of Harrisburg, as the City Council president handily beat back a write-in challenge from the incumbent mayor.

Williams, the Democratic nominee, received 4,429 votes compared to 1,920 votes for “write-in candidate 1,” who is presumed to be two-term Mayor Eric Papenfuse. Republican candidate Timothy Rowbottom received 470 votes.

At an election celebration in Uptown Harrisburg, Williams promised to be a “visible leader,” implicitly contrasting her style with that of Papenfuse.

“The residents of Harrisburg finally have an authentic leader, and that’s me—who’s rooted in the community and is going to take input from the community,” she said, before a crowd of cheering supporters.

Williams and Papenfuse also competed in May in a crowded, five-candidate Democratic primary, with Papenfuse losing the nomination for a third term by just 46 votes. In September, he declared that he would run as a write-in candidate.

Williams, who has served on City Council for four terms, will take office in early January. In the meantime, she said that her first priorities are to hire staff, speak with city residents over how to best spend federal pandemic relief money and confer with City Council members.

“It feels wonderful,” Williams said, following her victory. “I want to get in there and get started.”

In the race for Harrisburg City Council, four Democrats won after running unopposed for four, four-year seats. They are council veterans Ausha Green and Shamaine Daniels and newcomers Ralph Rodriguez and Jocelyn Rawls.

For city school board, Democrats Brian Carter, Danielle Robinson, Roslyn Copeland and Jaime Johnsen all won four-year seats. Democrats Terricia Radcliff and Ellis R. “Rick” Roy won two-year seats on the board.

Running unopposed, incumbent Charlie DeBrunner will serve another term as city controller.

In Dauphin County, Republican Mary Bateman won a two-year seat for county controller, defeating Democrat Eric Epstein in a close race. For prothonotary, Republican incumbent Matt Krupp defeated Democrat Anju Singh. Running unopposed, long-time county coroner Graham Hetrick will serve another term.

In the hotly contested race for an open judgeship on the Court of Common Pleas, Republican Jeff Engle defeated Democrat La Tasha Williams.

Market Street Bridge Rehab Planned

A major Harrisburg bridge connecting the east and west shores is slated to undergo rehabilitation.

PennDOT last month began seeking community input on a project that will make improvements to the historic Market Street Bridge.

The bridge spans the Susquehanna River, connecting Harrisburg to Wormleysburg, as well as City Island in between.

PennDOT plans to rehabilitate the historic arches of the bridge. The state transportation agency will also replace the deck and sidewalks on the eastern bridge and construct a new deck and beams on the western bridge.

According to PennDOT, the purpose of the $63.8 million project is to maintain a safe and efficient way to cross the Susquehanna River between Harrisburg and the west shore. The Market Street Bridge is one of the four main river crossings in the Harrisburg area.

A project overview, displays and plans are available on PennDOT’s website for the public to view. The agency hopes to receive feedback from the community through a comment form.

There will also be an in-person open house plan display held on Dec. 7 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Kinsley Hall, 20 Market St., Wormleysburg.

PennDOT is accepting comments on the project until Dec. 22. They anticipate starting construction in 2024.

“It is an important project for commuters and pedestrians, and we strongly encourage everyone to visit the project website or join us for the open house to learn about the preliminary plans to rehabilitate the bridge and maintain safety and multimodal access over the Susquehanna,” said PennDOT Acting District Executive Chris Drda.

Pet Store Opens in Kline Plaza

Harrisburg’s four-legged residents now have a place in the city that’s stocked with items just for them.

Butler’s Pet Feed & Supplies opened last month in the Kline Plaza shopping center on S. 25th Street. The store carries dog, cat, fish and turtle food and supplies.

“We are providing for residents what they are tired of traveling out of the city to get,” said Darryl Butler, who owns the store with his wife Celia. “These are high-quality products that no other local pet store has.”

Butler has over 20 years of experience in dog breeding and training, he said. He specializes in breeding German shepherds. Opening his own pet store has been a dream for the past 10 years and, finally, his wife Celia pushed him to make it happen, he said.

Butler plans to use his experience and knowledge to offer advice and education to customers.

“It’s difficult to know what quality dog food is,” he said. “We are here to educate.”

Butler’s carries over 10 brands of dog food and over five brands of cat food, he said. Additionally, their shelves are stocked with items like leashes, treats, food bowls, litter boxes, pet beds and toys.

Butler also mentioned that they have a scale for customers to weigh their pets and make sure they’re healthy.

“It’s not just about the business side,” he said. “It’s about the passion.”

Grocery Debuts in Uptown Harrisburg

Uptown Harrisburg has a new grocery store, as Market Fresh on N. 6th Street opened its doors for customers.

“This area didn’t have a lot of fresh vegetable and fruit options. We wanted to supply that for the community,” said Camila Contreras, who runs the store with her father Ramon Contreras and his wife Yamelyn Vargas.

Ramon, originally from the Dominican Republic, isn’t new to the grocery industry. He’s owned a handful of corner stores over the past 30 years. Market Fresh is his biggest store yet, he said.

After conducting a market study, the family settled on their Uptown location, noticing the need for a grocery store in the neighborhood, Camila said.

“We realized everything was really far away,” she said. “He [Ramon] saw it as an opportunity to grow and help the community out.”

In addition to fresh meats and produce, the store has aisles full of frozen and packaged items. Camila pointed out the large number of Goya and other Latino food products.

“Because the area is really mixed [culturally], we tried to supply food that catered to everyone in the community,” Vargas said.

Ramon said that he plans to get a sense of what the community would like to see at Market Fresh and is open to taking suggestions from customers.

“It may take awhile to figure out what items people like,” he said. “I hope the community supports me.”
It took the family two years to transform the space on N. 6th Street into what it is today, as the pandemic delayed its opening. Ramon said that he’s proud of his new shop and now sees how far he’s come through three decades in the grocery business.

“I’m really happy,” he said. “Now that I see it done, I feel great. My hope is to offer the best services and quality to the community.”

Surf’s Up, as Beach Club Opens

The Harrisburg Beach Club opened for business last month at the point on City Island.

The beach club is an outdoors venue, with a bar and tables located just outside of the city’s historic bathhouse, near the banks of the Susquehanna River. For the cold-weather season, owners Bryan Donovan and Adam Maust have deployed heaters and fire pits.

The century-old bathhouse, which had been shuttered for decades, is also part of the project. Before it could re-open to the public, the Tudor-style structure required extensive restoration, including renovating the first-floor bathrooms and changing areas.

The owners also made extensive improvements to the outdoor space, including lighting, landscaping and construction of a large bar.

The owners announced their venture in late May, hoping to open in early July. However, various delays pushed the opening into early November.

In order to serve alcoholic beverages, the beach club employs a satellite liquor license from Hidden Still Spirits, a Hershey-based distillery. The beach club also features beer and wine from PA-based producers, as well as coffee from Harrisburg-based Good Brotha’s. The bar has a 10-tap system.

“We’re really excited to showcase the space,” Donovan said. “We’ve put a lot of hard work into it, so we’re eager to show everyone what we’ve done.”

Hours are Thursday and Friday, 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Visit www.harrisburgbeachclub.com.

Home Sales Dip, Prices Jump

October home sales in the Harrisburg area were modestly lower but prices moved higher, according to the latest report on previously owned homes.

For the three-county region, sales totaled 741 housing units, down from 805 units in October 2020, but the median price increased to $229,500 from $209,900, stated the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors (GHAR).

In Dauphin County, sales dipped to 376 units from 385 a year ago, but the median price surged to $210,000 compared to $185,000 the prior October, GHAR said.

Cumberland County saw sales of 330 homes versus 383 in October 2020, but the median price increased to $259,750 compared to $235,000 last year, according to the association.

In Perry County, sales fell slightly to 35 units, a drop of two compared to last October. However, the median price shot up to $239,900 versus $195,700 in the year-ago period, GHAR stated.

Houses also were selling faster than last year, as the “average days on market” dropped to 20 days, compared to 31 days in October 2020, according to GHAR.

So Noted

Church World Service will open a new Harrisburg office to help resettle Afghan refugees locally, it was announced last month. Services will include case management, basic needs support, cultural orientation, health access assistance and job preparation and placement help.

Fltbys opened last month in Midtown Harrisburg, offering a variety of streetwear and branded merchandise. The opening of the shop at 263 Reily St. coincided with a concert by owner and musician KOTA the Friend at H*MAC.

Foose School last month cut the ribbon on its Little Free Library, which allows people to access books 24/7. Students across five classrooms brainstormed ideas for the design, made small models and helped paint the little library, which was then stocked with donated books.

Harrisburg University last month held a signing ceremony to “top off” its under-construction academic building at S. 3rd and Chestnut streets in Harrisburg. The 11-story building, which will house health science and other classrooms and facilities, is slated to open by 2023.

James M. MacLaren was inaugurated as the new president of Lebanon Valley College in late October. He is LVC’s 19th president in its 155-year history, according to the college.

Mark Walsh and Michael Yan are the new co-owners of the Budget Blinds franchise for Harrisburg, Hershey and Carlisle. Shoppers can visit the showroom at 4915 Jonestown Rd., Harrisburg, call 717-657-6110 or visit www.budgetblinds.com.

The Manor on Front Bed & Breakfast last month expanded to the building next door, the historic Mary Sachs mansion. The B&B, located on the 2900-block of N. Front St. in Harrisburg, now includes two neighboring, century-old buildings—“The Mary Sachs,” named for the famed clothier who lived there, and the original “Ledgestone.”

WITF, Hamilton Health and PNC Bank last month opened a new “Family Play and Learn Space” in Hamilton Health’s building in Allison Hill. The play space is intended to benefit low-income families in the Women Infants and Children (WIC) supplemental nutrition program.

In Memoriam

Kathy Possinger died suddenly on Oct. 22, following an accident at her Harrisburg home. Originally from Buffalo, N.Y., Possinger, 44, spent most of her career working in the fields of fair housing and community support, including as executive director of Tri County Community Action in Harrisburg from 2010 to 2015. Afterwards, she held several positions in state government, most recently as a special advisor to Meg Snead, the acting secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. To honor Kathy’s life, her family asks for donations to be made to Tri County Community Action, www.cactricounty.org.

Changing Hands

Bartine St., 1331: F. Rigel to Capital Acres LLC, $85,000

Bellevue Rd., 1911: A&K Investments Partnership LLC to F. Paulino, $125,000

Bellevue Rd., 1956: Equity Trust Co. FBO K. Mangan & E. Peak to M. & P. Pierce, $98,000

Bellevue Rd., 2011: M. Feldman to A. & J. Brown, $80,000

Berryhill St., 1616: A. Reeves to Rivera Realty LLC, $40,000

Berryhill St., 2253: L. Tran & L. Vo to T. Dieu, $58,000

Berryhill St., 2332: J. Mayhew to S. Hoch, $105,000

Berryhill St., 2475: N., A. and K. Williams to L. & B. Reed, $73,000

Boas St., 1509: J. Tracy to A. Trueitt, $32,000

Boas St., 1853: F. & N. Pimentel to L. Portes, $35,000

Briggs St., 1616: W. & M. Snow to D. Chegar & A. Elkhadir, $35,000

Crescent St., 323: C. Patel to M. Olano, $40,000

Dauphin St., 632: L. & L. Gustin to NA Capital Group LLC, $30,000

Derry St., 1252, 1254, 1330, 1627, 1629, 1631 & 1633 and 225 S. 13th St.: A. Himalaya PA Properties LLC & SLK Global Solutions America to 1252 Derry PA LLC, $557,832

Derry St., 1312: A. Himalaya PA Properties LLC & SLK Global Solutions America to 1408 Vernon PA LLC, $739,464

Derry St., 1408: D. Judge to J. DeJesus, $37,000

Emerald St., 217: A. Spinicelli to M. Mtere & F. Laoukili, $94,000

Emerald St., 519: C. Aumuller & P. Carcione to PACC Homes & Development LLC, $52,000

Girard St., 746: B. Simmons to SPG Capital LLC, $57,000

Green St., 1603: T. Moberg to 1603 Green LLC, $210,000

Green St., 1902: B. Garner to M. Richards, $217,500

Hale Ave., 442: C. & C. Terrell to Neidlinger Enterprises LLC, $63,500

Herr St., 1001: Herr Street Investments LLC to 1001 Herr Street Holdings LP, $12,800,000

Hillside Rd., 212: S. Geary to S. Penn, $207,000

Holly St., 1912: Super Fun Real Estate Yes LLC to L. Konrad, $120,000

Jefferson St., 2631: R. & C. Johnson Trust to D. Boyle, $35,000

Kelker St., 315: C. Clymire to C. Nicassio, $120,000

Kensington St., 2249: N. Doan to K. Russ, $120,000

Kensington St., 2328: S. Henry to A. Ryabukha, $72,000

Kensington St., 2433: X. Nguyen to HT Properties LLC, $65,000

Lexington St., 2622: EAM LLC to SPG Capital LLC, $51,500

Lexington St., 2628: C. Stoute to SPG Capital LLC, $52,000

Liberty St., 1430: Ten Point Corp. to D. Boyle, $47,000

Logan St., 1733: D. Dougherty & K. Lyons to J. Wagoner, $140,000

Mercer St., 2453: L. Rossum to D. Silva, $79,900

Mulberry St., 1913: CRS Housing LLC to N. Martinez, $45,000

Naudain St., 1518: W. Kirchenbauer to A. Fulp, $43,000

North St., 259: L. Kirkhuff & J. Carfagno to Pine Asset Management LLC, $165,000

North St., 1850: C. Parkison to E. Locke, $32,405

N. 2nd St., 801: M. Slobodian to D. Jackson, $300,000

N. 2nd St., 1104: J. & M. Bradley to S. & J. Toole, $140,000

N. 2nd St., 2412: J. Wagoner to C. Ruffing, $199,000

N. 2nd St., 2746: D. Dilks & E. Moffit to A. Rao, $309,000

N. 2nd St., 2830: J. Davis to D. Lopko & E. Torres, $199,900

N. 2nd St., 3010: J. McLaughlin & C. Powers to L. Fortini, $180,100

N. 3rd St., 1804: M. & J. Robinson to D. & D. Evans, $201,000

N. 3rd St., 2451: Hornby Zeller Properties LLC to F. Clark, $150,000

N. 3rd St., 3021: D. Ortiz to Innovative Assets LLC, $65,000

N. 4th St., 1923: L. Newton to TKO Rental Properties LLC, $60,000

N. 4th St., 2240: THG of MD LLC to SPG Capital LLC, $45,000

N. 4th St., 3105: S. Diehl to S. Eldredge, $165,000

N. 4th St., 3219: S. Hertzler to B. Chavez, $168,000

N. 5th St., 2610: E. Chattah & Y. Guhl to K. Kaseem, $55,000

N. 6th St., 2713: CC&J LLC to X. Weng, $43,000

N. 14th St., 1201: S. & J. Willoughby to Doceuno LLC, $60,000

N. 16th St., 707: G. Thompson to D. Roebuck, $88,000

N. 16th St., 817: W. & B. Napper to T. Brantley, $92,000

N. 17th St., 705: E&T Enterprises LLC to A. Fergusson, $60,000

N. 19th St., 28: House Cash LLC to H. Rosario, $62,000

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 602: R. Hostetter to LE Real Estate Trust, $350,000

N. Front St., 3109: J. McCarthy to 3109 North Front MB LLC, $157,000

Oxford St., 608: L. Korn to Rich Steel Realty LLC, $50,342

Oxford St., 621: M. Goldberg to K. Cooke, $55,000

Park St., 1820: AMR Ventures LLC to Tinhel LLC, $38,000

Park St., 1821: C. Asare to D. Boyle, $49,000

Park St., 1931: D. Leon to A. Figuereo, $40,000

Penn St., 915: J. Craig & F. Combs to 915 Penn LLC, $107,500

Penn St., 1511: D. Houser & M. Gamber to V. Jones Sr., $192,000

Penn St., 1519: L. Rynard to H. Witwer, $190,000

Penn St., 1807: Wheatland Restore LLC to S. & N. Haverl, $205,000

Penn St., 2147: Meier & Simone LLC to Morbucks Enterprise LLC, $49,000

Penn St., 2315: M. Magaro & R. Barbush to SPG Capital LLC, $51,000

Penn St., 2327: I. Rodriguez to SPG Capital LLC, $60,000

Pennwood Rd., 3228: Stelvid Properties LLC to Equity Trust Company Custodian, $108,000

Raleigh St., 2422 & 2430 and 2419 Ellersie St.: General Electric Service Co. Inc. to Church of God & Saints of Christ, $100,000

Randolph St., 1620: P. King to Venus Properties LLC, $46,000

Reel St., 2619: E. Buckwalter c/o City Limits Realty to Realch LLC, $53,000

Rolleston St., 1140: M. Gonzalez to C. Thompson, $150,000

Rolleston St., 1318: K. & P. Ducarme to G. & A. Ortiz, $140,000

Rumson Dr., 2942: T. Runkle to H. Senat, $116,000

Seneca St., 523: Wofford Enterprises Ltd. to M. & G. James, $88,000

S. 14th St., 312: B. Zimmerman to D. Boyle, $37,000

S. 15th St., 16 & 18: C. Peters to O. Adegoke, $82,900

S. 17th St., 328: S. Atiyeh to M. Sanchez & E. Perez, $75,000

S. 17th St., 1012: C&H Holdings LLC & P. Hollinger to T. Hodge, $175,000

S. 19th St., 1129: T. Stackfield to M. Montano, $129,000

S. 21st St., 960: Y. Casiano & O. Morales to S. & R. Mercado, $64,000

S. 26th St., 808: AIS Property Management LLC to Star Harrisburg LLC, $1,700,000

S. 27th St., 701: J. Frantz to J. & T. McHugh, $200,000

S. Front St., 547: V. & Y. Browning to B. Ward, $140,000

State St., 1849: S. Walwyn to E. Hunt, $65,000

State St., 1918: J. Ward to Dreamland Investors LLC, $60,000

Susquehanna St., 1338: J. Grubbs to Green Scapes Investments LLC, $156,000

Swatara St., 2140: Equity Trust Co. to S. Ginder, $55,000

Vernon St., 1333 & 1408: A. Himalaya PA Properties LLC & SLK Global Solutions America to 1408 Vernon PA LLC, $772,992

Walnut St., 1822: E. Morales & A. Ayala to R. Almonte, $55,000

Wayne St., 1609: D. & J. Shertzer to M. & M. Swart, $88,000

Whitehall St., 1849 & 1851: A. & M. Reuveni to Best By LLC, $250,000

Whitehall St., 2050: M. Murphy to Wheatland Restore LLC, $51,000

Woodlawn St., 2710 & 2712: Fruition Holdings LLC to Preferred Residential LLC, $240,000

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All the Rage: Out with the anger, in with the fun, at Therapy Rage Room

November 30, 2021 | by Gina Napoli

Illustration by Ryan Spahr

By the time March 2020 reared its ugly head, Therapy Rage Room owner Charlynn Robinson had already experienced a string of personal tragedies and major life changes.

After moving and renovating her new kitchen, she took a sledgehammer to the cabinets.

“All that demolition and destruction felt good,” she said. “It gave me an outlet, another way to process.”

Exactly one year later, Robinson established the Therapy Rage Room in Mechanicsburg. The venue has a true party flow and a family vibe, with bold colors that embrace the chaos. You can make a huge mess, destroy everything in sight with provided implements of destruction, and someone else cleans up after you.

“The act of letting yourself go physically feels mentally cathartic,” she said.

Rage rooms are literally and figuratively all the rage.

They are trending hot for both adult and teen pop culture, making appearances on prime time, talk shows and TikTok. Visitors often travel to Mechanicsburg from out-of-state just to have the full rage room experience. Indeed, the importance of maintaining mental health is rising in popularity, although that movement arrived late to the party, in this writer’s opinion.

Some visit Therapy Rage Room specifically to work out their mental and emotional traumas, but most don’t.

Charlynn Robinson

“The majority of customers aren’t angry,” she said. “Most aren’t sure they’ll like it at first. They come with a group, just to be sociable.”

When they emerge half an hour later, Robinson usually hears people say, “I needed that,” or “I didn’t know how good this would feel.”

You and your demo crew can choose the theme for your personalized rage room, which staff will set up for you. You can grab a sledgehammer and smash a room full of furniture. You can swing a baseball bat at an old VCR. There’s even an option to BYOB, which means “Bring Your Own Breakables.”

I have a hutch full of hobnail milk glassware from Great Aunt Jean that’s just begging to connect with the rage room’s set of golf clubs.

Even if you’re not bringing your own smashables, you can leave donations outside the facility, adjacent to the dented car that serves as another party theme. Donations comprise almost 90% of the rage room’s inventory, with the other 10% invested in sturdy safety gear and an array of weaponry. (My favorite weapon is the mutilated frying pan. Andy Capp, anyone?)

When I visited the Therapy Rage Room, I donated an old printer that never worked right and never will, thanks to obsolete software and a thick layer of dust. If you’ve ever seen the cult classic movie, “Office Space,” you know the legendary scene in which the main characters hold a ceremonial smashing of the printer to hardcore rap. My years-long former frustration will now be someone else’s wild Friday night.

“You can bring a picture of your boss, ex-husband, something you’re letting go of,” Robinson said.

Throwing things represents another form of release. You could splatter paint over every inch of the paint room, and coat your date in the process. Black lights make the paint glow for a satisfying ASMR experience. Or you could throw the first scoop of shepherd’s pie in an old-fashioned middle school cafeteria food fight. That idea came from one of Therapy Rage Room’s customers.

If you’re too dainty to grab a paint can or bowling bag, you can participate in passive aggression or watch someone else smash things from the TV in the lobby.

Some special communities of visitors have more to be angry about than most, and they receive a special discount. This includes military, teachers, essential workers, healthcare workers and emergency responders. As a Navy veteran, Robinson feels strongly about giving back to honor the communities who clean up after us.

If only the pandemic were as easy to clean up after as a rage room after a knockdown, drag-out. The staff wipes down all the equipment, launders the coveralls, and tidies the floor with a push broom and a snow shovel.

If you visit the Therapy Rage Room, be sure to book a slot ahead of time so the staff can set up a nice selection of breakables, stock your room with spray paint, or even hang streamers and balloons for your kid’s birthday party (guests aged 5 and older).

“I never ask people why they come here,” Robinson concluded. “That’s personal. If people do want to share their stories, no judgment.”

Therapy Rage Room is located at 5231 Simpson Ferry Rd., Mechanicsburg. For more information, visit www.therapyrageroom.com.

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