To Narnia and Back: The king of beasts comes to Harrisburg.

October 31, 2019 | by Tara Herweg-Mann

If you think you’ve seen all Gamut has to offer, Melissa Nicholson is about to shake up your conception of the professional theater group.

In recent years, Gamut’s season opener in downtown Harrisburg has tended toward adult-themed works by Shakespeare, Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams. This year, Executive Director Nicholson has something different in mind. She is at the helm as Gamut presents Joseph Robinette’s adaptation of C. S. Lewis’ perennial favorite, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”

Admittedly, this writer hasn’t read C.S. Lewis’ works, opting instead, in my youth, to read about a fantasyland called Sweet Valley. However, should anyone make a reference to Narnia, Aslan the lion, the White Witch or that tricky wardrobe, I know exactly what they mean. Such is the ubiquitous presence of Lewis’ creation in popular culture.

I sat down with Nicholson, and we spoke about the show and how her production team was planning on staging such an ambitious fantasy.

First of all, Nicholson has surrounded herself with skilled artisans to help realize her vision for the show.

Her costume designer, Stephanie Jones, outfitted Gamut’s Young Acting Co. when they ventured into otherworldly locales in “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” Specialty prop designers Scott and Jen Kilander, both of whom have worked for Gamut extensively in the past (perhaps you remember the metal beam that bent so easily in “R.U.R.,” the handheld puppets that populated ancient Rome in “Julius Caesar,” or the very realistic-looking severed head brandished at the end of “Macbeth”), have designed a puppet maneuvered by not one, but three actors portraying the titular lion, Aslan. (James Mitchell, last seen in Narçisse Theatre Co.’s production of “Waiting for Godot,” gives Aslan his voice, and student actors Kaylee and Kassidy Kramer help in his physical portrayal.) Dan Burke, the fight choreographer, is again bringing his brand of “safe violence” to the Gamut stage, and I am told that there is a battle that involves every cast member, save two.

“We’re not denying the theatricality of the whole play,” Nicholson explained. “We’re not putting on a magic show.”

What that means for those in attendance is that, in the customary way of Gamut’s Young Acting Co., rather than trying to hide the machinery of a show, things like set changes will be executed by ensemble members of the cast in full view of the audience. The climactic encounter between Aslan and the White Witch (played by Amber Mann) is also steeped in the type of sorcery that is reserved for the theater—but I’m sworn to secrecy as to how they’re going to pull it off. (I’ll just say this: it sounds amazing.)

Speaking of the Young Acting Co., it should be noted that this production blends the traditions of the Young Acting Co. with those of Gamut’s Mainstage offerings. The cast is made up of adult professional actors, student actors who have worked with or studied at Gamut in the past, and brand-new faces, old and young. If you’ve never seen Melissa Nicholson working with young actors, it is a sight to behold. She draws rich performances from students at all levels of skill. Gamut’s most recent Young Acting Co. production, Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” led by an 8th-grader in the bard’s second-largest written role, could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any Shakespearean production in the mid-Atlantic. That Nicholson is finally turning her hand to Gamut’s Mainstage should give theatergoers in our area even more incentive to see the finished product.

Nicholson hopes that, with a short running time (about two hours), families will be encouraged to come to Gamut as a unit to see “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” Though the books may be marketed toward young readers, the story itself explores themes that resonate with all ages—loyalty, family and the struggle of good versus evil. The journey to Narnia and back is sure to raise questions in young viewers and provoke discussions among audience members. That theater of any kind can be a catalyst for critical thinking and fruitful conversations is, if you ask the artists themselves, one of the chief reasons they create their art.

“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” opens on Friday, Nov. 15, at Gamut Theatre in downtown Harrisburg, and runs Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 8. There is no performance on Saturday, Nov. 16. Friday and Saturday performances start at 7:30 p.m., with the box office, Capital Blue Cross reception lobby and Peggy’s Pub open to the public starting at 6:30 p.m. Sunday matinées start at 2:30 p.m., with box office, lobby and bar open at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are available at www.gamuttheatre.org/tickets.

UPCOMING EVENTS
AT GAMUT THEATRE GROUP
www.gamuttheatre.org
717-238-4111

“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”
Dramatized by Joseph Robinette from the story by C.S. Lewis
Nov. 15 to Dec. 8
No show Nov. 16
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.
Sundays at 2:30 p.m.

Where He’s Supposed to Be: Following a health scare, Harrisburg Fire Chief Brian Enterline re-committed to his own well-being, as well as the city’s.

October 31, 2019 | by M. Diane McCormick

“What are you going to be doing in 2000?”

Brian Enterline’s sixth-grade yearbook asked that question. He said he would be a Harrisburg firefighter.

“I bought a house in the city, and the (firefighting) test came around in 1999, and I got hired by Chief Konkle in 2000,” Enterline said recently.

In that interview, Konkle asked where Enterline expected to be in 15 years. Enterline said, “I eventually want to sit where you’re sitting.”

“And you know, eventually I ended up here,” said Enterline, named acting chief in October 2013 and full chief one year later.

This is the story of a fire chief who sees the community as his boss. Who grew up to the sound of sirens from the neighborhood fire station. Who suffered a massive cardiac arrest and is channeling that scare into healthier lifestyles for himself and city firefighters.

Most Valuable Thing

In an office displaying a fraction of his firefighting memorabilia collection, Enterline shared a typical firefighter’s story.

He’s a Highspire boy who grew up near the fire station. He joined at age 16, segueing to Harrisburg as a volunteer, until the day he was hired as a professional. Working through the ranks, he rode “every seat in those fire trucks.”

“It gives you a look at every job position when you’re making decisions at the top,” he said. “I’m able to relate to each position because I was there.”

As chief, he managed the “ripple effects” of Harrisburg’s financial crisis and previous decades of neglect—gutted fleet, sagging facilities—even while being a “good steward of taxpayer dollars.”

“My personal philosophy has always been that government is here for the protection of the citizens,” he said. “And if I don’t have the resources—in people, equipment, stations and tools—then I’m failing what government’s main mission is.”

For Enterline, it starts with the mental and physical health of “our most valuable thing”—the city’s firefighters.

Weekly, they see trauma that most people might never experience in a lifetime. Responding to the shock when a retiree took his own life, he and the city firefighters’ union are learning to recognize warning signs and refer firefighters to any help they need.

And then there are the free yearly physicals to be offered in partnership with UPMC Pinnacle.

“Both from a health standpoint and from a family standpoint—and I know that my wife would agree, my kids would agree—you become ingrained in the fabric of the fire service, and sometimes your family unit suffers,” Enterline said. “It’s something I’ve learned since having my heart attack.”

A cardiac arrest at age 43, he said, “was not on my list of things to do.”

It was March 20, 2018. He was cutting wood and dismissing thoughts that he didn’t feel well, “because I’m the person that fixes everything.”

Fifteen minutes after driving himself to the hospital, his heart stopped, and doctors were opening a fully blocked artery.

“They had to do a little CPR to get me back,” he conceded. But recovery was “fairly miraculous.”

That was a Monday, and he walked out of the hospital—well, hopped out of the protocol-ordered wheelchair the second he cleared the doors—on Thursday. He started running more. He expects to do some 5Ks and hopes to run the Harrisburg Marathon.

Across the Landscape

Enterline likewise needs to manage Harrisburg’s often-bumpy political lines. He makes sure that he “listens to everybody, no matter what side of the aisle they’re on—or 12 sides of the aisle we have in today’s society. I work for every one of them in some way.”

He maintains a consistent message by focusing on his primary constituents—the city’s paid and volunteer firefighters—and the citizens they protect.

As an example, he developed a fruitful partnership with downtown developer Harristown when he visited a rehabbed, up-to-code rowhome and suggested that future projects have sprinkler systems.

Enterline remembered it as a “bumpy” start. Harristown President and CEO Brad Jones recalled “a nice moment in time when we got a chance to have a nice discussion and get on the same page.”

Harristown has sprinklered every project since, and the department now provides early input into all projects. Enterline is “very visible,” Jones said. “He’s a very popular, engaging advocate for the city and its safety.”

Harristown Senior Vice President Sharon Hassinger said that Enterline keeps public safety paramount but also makes the effort to recognize real-life issues—for instance, standing on the rooftop of one Harristown project to hammer out a solution for a problematic fire escape.

“He looks across the landscape of the entire city,” Hassinger said. “He sees a group of businesspeople who are trying. So, he would rather help them find a solution than have them walk away.”

On any day, Enterline might be dealing with state officials or homeless Harrisburgers. All have “the same brain and beating heart,” he said. Call him on the phone or stop him on the street, and you will get his full attention, said city resident Evelyn Hunt.

Last summer, Hunt called to complain about an unsanctioned fireworks display so splendorous it lacked only “Francis Scott Key there to write, because we had bombs bursting in air.” Enterline took his time explaining the changes in state fireworks laws that have bedeviled firefighters statewide.

Enterline is “an asset to the city of Harrisburg,” modeling a respectful, responsive tone that the entire department follows, Hunt said.

Enterline’s wife, Kellianne, teaches at Harrisburg Christian School. His 15-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter are “avid soccer players.” His 8-year-old daughter is “phenomenal at gymnastics.” He hopes to teach his children that, “people are people are people.” That, and, “You’ve got to work hard to be successful, because success doesn’t just come to you by sitting in a chair and waiting for that success to show up.”

The thank-you notes stored in Enterline’s credenza—thank you for helping my family, thank you for letting my child come to the fire station—tell him he’s where he’s supposed to be.

“When you have that community caring about you enough to send you a thank-you card, that just solidifies everything that we’re doing,” he said. “Well, not everything’s right. But the majority is. What we’re doing is absolutely the right thing because people are seeing the fruits of our labor.”

But You Can’t Park Here: The gang circles the block.

October 31, 2019 | by Lawrance Binda

Illustration by Rich Hauck.

We all know the metaphor about the slow-motion train wreck—a disaster that everyone can see coming from far off but can’t seem to do anything to stop.

So, traveling northbound, I give you the new federal courthouse, quickly rising up in Midtown Harrisburg.

And, traveling southbound, I give you Harrisburg’s evergreen problem—parking.

Ka-boom.

Eventually.

I don’t consider myself much of a prognosticator. Heck, I got caught up in both the tech crash and, a few years later, the housing bubble. But even I can see this train wreck a’comin.

Back in 2010, the U.S. government, after years of searching, announced it finally had selected a site for its new federal courthouse—a slab of blighted land at the edge of Midtown.

As I recall, most people rejoiced at the news. On a chilly April morning nearly a decade ago, local pols and activists declared this to be the “right site,” one that would serve as a catalyst for redevelopment in the area and that didn’t require the wholesale destruction of a downtown neighborhood to accommodate the courthouse’s substantial security footprint.

After a shove from Harrisburg’s congressional delegation, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) finally broke ground last year, and the building is now taking shape at N. 6th and Reily streets.

All good, right?

That’s what I thought until about a year ago, when the city government began to fret about parking around the new courthouse, which is slated to open in early 2022.

It turns out that GSA typically offers on-site parking only for its most senior staff—in this case, its judges. Nearly everyone else has to depend upon, in the words of the federal government, “market-based parking solutions.”

So, here we have an almost $200 million construction project, an amount that, incidentally, could buy entire neighborhoods in Harrisburg, without enough parking for most full-time staff, for jurors, for visitors. The courthouse needs some 500 spaces, but is being built with just a few dozen on site. Whose idea was this?

Each city is different. Harrisburg is not Boston or Philly or another place with robust mass transit and countless “market-based parking solutions.” For that matter, Midtown Harrisburg isn’t even downtown Harrisburg with its numerous parking garages, thanks to former Mayor Steve Reed—the Johnny Appleseed of structured parking.

Midtown parking is already stressed, especially within two blocks of the new building, which is as distant as court officials want to be from their hundreds of privately owned spaces, according to a request for information issued last March.

Meanwhile, Harrisburg itself can’t help much. The city’s recent financial crisis prevents it from accessing the bond market. Therefore, it can’t borrow the $10 million or so needed to build an adequate parking garage.

It’s too bad, too, because Midtown desperately needs more parking. So, a municipal garage could have done double duty by offering more parking to an area that gets busier by the day. The city even knows where it would like to put one, on a blighted block just west of the site—if only it could.

Let me be clear: I fully support the new courthouse where it is located. I think that the corner of N. 6th and Reily is indeed the “right site,” and early indications are that the project—though still just a bunch of steel girders sticking into the sky—is already helping to revitalize the area.

But I find it unconscionable that a project of this size, cost and importance could be built without a solid plan of how people are going to, you know, get to it.

That responsibility falls on GSA and its tenant, the U.S. courts. Parking should be regarded as much a part of a project’s critical infrastructure as the roof, the courthouses, the offices, the halls and the bathrooms. Sure, the federal government may have the ability to dictate its own rules—and it evidently doesn’t want to offer parking. However, that doesn’t change the reality that, to do business in this new, beautiful, secure building, people will need to reach it.

Perhaps, in the end, some kind of parking Clark Kent will throw off his glasses and come to the rescue. Or maybe a solution will be cobbled together through a combination of smaller surface lots, downtown shuttle buses and, I don’t know, e-scooters.

However, there’s no escaping the fact that this massively expensive project was undertaken with the vague hope that someone, somehow, would deliver enough parking for it. And, as I’ve said numerous times before in this column, hope is not a strategy.

Lawrance Binda is editor-in-chief of TheBurg.

Like for Local: Harrisburg influencers share what’s good around the city.

October 31, 2019 | by Maddie Conley

Shantell Robertson

Shantell Robertson always had influence.

She went from being a police officer to working in the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office—she had the uniform and the badge. However, she decided to trade that in and try a different type of influence, one that required a lot more skirts.

Before heading to her full-time job at the Pennsylvania Automotive Association in Harrisburg, Robertson gets up at 6 a.m. to work on her blog, “Get Your CHIC On,” over a cup of coffee. She may be writing a blog post or uploading photos to her Instagram account. Later, during her lunch break, she might continue editing her post. And once Robertson leaves the office, she heads home to make calls with local businesses or drives to a photo shoot for a product she’s endorsing.

“It’s like another full-time job,” she said. “It’s more than a hobby. It’s a side hustle.”

Blogging took off in the early 2000s and has continued to evolve. Now, according to marketing site Izea, about half of people online read blogs. However, as trends shifted and audience preferences changed, many bloggers have turned to social media as their primary communication tool.

Influencer marketing in the United States can be traced back to the 1920s with Coco Channel’s influence on fashion and in the ‘80s with Michael Jordan’s endorsement of Nike, reports Social Media Today.

In 2010, bloggers and influencers got a new platform with the launch of Instagram. With celebrities like Kim Kardashian spearheading the trend on this platform, using social media to build or represent a brand became the norm.

Now, with many people checking their social media multiple times a day, bloggers like Robertson have a way to reach a consistent audience locally.

“Get Your CHIC On” is a lifestyle and fashion blog that Robertson describes as “feminine chic, yet classic and sophisticated.” She posts content for more than 13,000 followers almost every day, whether it’s on her blog or on Instagram as a story or static post.

Robertson’s content features fashion from local and national brands, as well as health and beauty products. While the photos may look effortless to some, she admitted that, for each picture posted, anywhere from 50 to 100 pictures didn’t make the cut.

Robertson explained that the income from her blog and Instagram posts is small, but she does occasionally make money from sponsored posts for companies such as Nordstrom, Athleta or Rent the Runway. For smaller local businesses, Robertson will participate in partnerships where she may receive a free meal or a discount code for her followers in exchange for posting a picture of their product.

Contrary to many influencers, for Robertson, money is not the driving factor behind what she does.

“I love the creative process of it,” she said. “I love the relationship-building, and I love helping other women.”

On the Grind

Jehava Brown

Mom blogger and Harrisburg resident Jehava Brown has been writing about parenting, faith, travel and style on her blog Onlygirl4boyz for three years. After reading blogs that inspired her, she wanted to provide encouragement to others. But that wasn’t her only goal. From the beginning, she knew she wanted to make her blog a business.

Within six months, Brown was making an income through business deals with brands to advertise their products. She worked her way up and now works with brands like Gatorade, Soma, Walmart and Amazon. Brown’s blog has become a full-time job that earns her an equivalent income, she said. Not only is she making money, but, through a partnership with Disney, Brown, her husband and their three boys have gone on cruises free of cost.

Along with the advertisements and sponsored posts, Brown posts content about motherhood, travel and her faith, filling a gap she sees in the blogging world.

“There’s a disparity of minorities in this market,” she said. “There’s not a lot of minority mom bloggers. That’s why I’m unique.”

She also realized that, for many of her white blogger friends, their audience is primarily white, and, with her black blogger friends, theirs is black.

“My audience is 50/50, which I think is really cool,” Brown said. “People are saying, ‘I relate to you,’ no matter what race they are.”

#Delicious

Corinne Foster

Blogging isn’t all business.

Harrisburg food blogger Corinne Foster—known on Instagram as Foster the Foodie—just wants to help people eat good food on the cheap. A recent college graduate and new to the area, she hoped to find the best places to eat in the city, within a lower budget.

She began by creating an extensive Excel spreadsheet listing local restaurants, bars and bakeries to keep track of her new favorite Harrisburg spots. As the file grew, it quickly evolved into something she knew she needed to share with others. Here, her social media account was born.

“I want to help people find things that aren’t Google-able,” she said. “It’s cool that people are taking my advice.”

The Foster the Foodie audience is in the 20s to 30s age range, a group similar to herself—young people looking for a good meal that’s also a good deal. In addition to Harrisburg eateries, Foster has shared with her followers her favorites from Lancaster, York and Lititz.

Foster has promoted local restaurants like Iron Hill Brewery, Ann’s Cupcakery, Café 1500 and a slew of stands within the Broad Street Market. She also has partnered with businesses, like Sweet 717 in the market, to do product giveaways, which provide the vendors and herself more publicity, while giving back to her audience. Often, she receives compensated meals, but pointed out that she never promotes restaurants she wouldn’t eat at herself.

“I wouldn’t want this to be a business,” she said.

Heart Harrisburg

Bree Whitelock

Working with local businesses is the foundation of Bree Whitelock’s blog Cherishburg—a guide to all things Harrisburg.

But as invested as she is in the city now, that wasn’t always the plan.

“I didn’t intend to end up in Harrisburg,” she said.

But, after graduating from Messiah College and landing a job at WebFX, a tech and marketing firm on Front Street, Whitelock gained an appreciation for the city she now called her home. A self-declared optimist, she saw all that local business in the city had to offer and wanted others to, as well.

“If I’m going to be working and living here, I don’t want these places to close,” Whitelock said.

In 2017, she piloted her blog, Cherishburg, to promote local business, but also to use as a creative outlet for herself. She wrote about local restaurants, places to volunteer and other quirks Harrisburg has to offer.

It wasn’t until this year that Cherishburg really took off. Whitelock’s Instagram page for her blog gained a large following that is interactive and responsive to her daily musings about the city they also call home.

“The best thing is the connections with other people or other businesses that I would have never met before,” she said.

For most of her content, Whitelock doesn’t receive payment, other than a compensated meal or experience, but that doesn’t matter to her. Fostering positivity within the city is her top priority.

“It was never about me to begin with,” she said. “It’s about the city, and it always will be.”

Under the Influence

Get your thumbs ready to follow and like the local influencers mentioned in this story:

Get Your CHIC on: @shantellrobertson, getyourchicon.com
onlygirl4boyz: @onlygirl4boyz, onlygirl4boyz.com
Foster the Foodie: @fosterthefoodie
Cherishburg: @cherishburg, cherishburg.com

Shoo Fly Surprise: For Thanksgiving, Rosemary goes native.

October 31, 2019 | by Rosemary Ruggieri Baer

In the early 1970s, I read in the New York Times about a newly published cookbook that I sought out and have treasured ever since.

It is called “The Grass Roots Cookbook,” written by Jean Anderson, at the time a freelance writer and a contributing editor to Family Circle Magazine. If you check Amazon, the “Grass Roots Cookbook” can be yours for $4.19.

Jean Anderson traveled the country, not to visit restaurants but to sit down and talk with real cooks from the heart of America. In her introduction, the author advises that the recipes contained therein were often those she found scribbled on notepaper and passed down from generation to generation. There are no “mixes” or prepared ingredients like “phony whipped cream from an aerosol can.”

There are recipes from the South like sweet corn pudding, country ham with red-eye gravy, and Carolina coleslaw. From the Plains and Southwest, we can learn how to prepare chicken in salsa and creamed shredded cabbage. I have loved making zucchini stuffed with sausage and one of my all-time favorite desserts, Marsala peach pie. Both recipes are from the Napa Valley.

But some of my best-loved recipes in this cookbook originate from an area very close to home—Lancaster County. Anderson offers wonderful recipes from Pennsylvania Dutch country including the very best red beet (pickled) eggs, pea soup with rivels and chicken potpie. But my favorite recipe is for shoo fly pie.

Thanksgiving is coming. Pumpkin pie is a staple on my holiday table. But I always look for additional dessert items, such as cranberry apple pie, pecan pie or a small mince pie, which I love (I am usually alone in that love.) I was thinking that, this year, perhaps shoo fly pie would be perfect. It is arguably sweet but absolutely delicious.

The recipe that follows is what is known as a “wet-bottomed” pie, which means that it has a thick layer of molasses and corn syrup. I have tried many shoo fly pies from various bakeries and farmers markets. Most are dry and more like cake. None is as good as this one.

Lancaster County Shoo Fly Pie

Ingredients

1 unbaked 9 inch pie shell (I make my own, but a prepared one is fine)

“Bottom Part” Ingredients

¾ cup dark corn syrup
¼ cup molasses (I use “light”)
1 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, lightly beaten

“Top Part” Ingredients

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cold butter cut into small cubes
2/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine corn syrup, molasses and water, stir in baking soda.
Beat a little of the molasses mixture into the beaten egg, then stir back into the mixing bowl.
With a fork or pastry blender, mix together flour, butter and sugar until the mixture has the texture of coarse crumbs.
Mix 1 cup of the crumbs into the molasses mixture and pour into the unbaked pie shell. Scatter the remaining crumbs on top.
Bake in a pre-heated, 400-degree oven for 25 minutes until the crust is lightly browned and the filling puffy.
Remove from the oven and let cool before cutting.

This pie will fill your kitchen with wonderful fall aromas. It is not a low-calorie dessert and so, if not for Thanksgiving, maybe try it for a soup and salad Sunday night dinner. A little piece is a delight with a cup of tea on a blustery November day. I guess fewer people are doing much of their own baking anymore, based on the lines I see at the bakery. But this pie is not hard to make, and it’s a true taste of Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine.

Let me know if you need a recipe for pickled eggs!

Musical Milestone: Homeland Hospice marks 10 years of serving the community.

October 31, 2019 | by Phyllis Zimmerman

It’s something that Mark Twain once said was as certain as taxes. Others have described it as entering another room, switching vehicles or mounting a common, inevitable path.

Whatever your views are about the end of life, chances are that it’s not the same as your neighbor’s—or even your own family’s.

It’s been 10 years since Homeland Hospice initiated its end-of-life services for terminally ill patients and their families in central Pennsylvania. Today, the hospice care service, a community outreach of Harrisburg’s Homeland Center, tends to more than 200 patients every day in 14 counties.

The hospice is comprised of 14 full-time case managers, two medical directors, certified nursing assistants, social workers, counselors, chaplains and a crew of volunteers.

To mark its 10th anniversary, Homeland Hospice is holding a live-performance fundraiser called “Guitars, Gifts and Gratitude,” scheduled for Nov. 10 at Scottish Rite Theatre in Harrisburg. Scheduled musical artists include area native and Nashville recording artist Ben Gallaher, as well as Buffalo Mountain Bluegrass Band, which features fiddling siblings Autumn and Canyon Moore from Perry County.

For musical artist Gallaher, performing at “Guitars, Gifts and Gratitude” truly hits home because Homeland provided services to his grandmother, said hospice Director Deb Klinger.

“Our (hospice) program just continues to evolve,” said Klinger, who’s been with the Harrisburg-based care service for six years. “As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, we are afforded the opportunity to provide additional services, such as hair, nails, art and music therapy. We also provide massage therapy.”

There are regular home visits from medical professionals certified in hospice and palliative care, a nurse case manager on call 24/7 and spiritual counseling. End-of-life care is provided wherever a patient resides, including nursing facilities.

Hospice is intended for terminally ill patients who have been diagnosed with six months or less to live, but services can be extended beyond six months if necessary.

Patients’ families aren’t overlooked either. Homeland Hospice offers in-home caregivers up to 32 hours each calendar month of solitary respite.

“Caregivers can do whatever they want during those hours,” Klinger said. “It gives them time to refresh and regroup.”

Homeland Hospice also offers bereavement counseling for families up to 13 months after a loved one’s death. The free service also is available to the general community, as well as Homeland families, said Noelle Valentine, one of the hospice’s two bereavement counselors.

“We always follow up to see how the (surviving) family is doing,” she said. “Everyone is feeling a mix of emotions, but sadness is usually the most prevalent. Everyone’s grief is different. It’s people trying to cope and make sense of where their life is.”

Fundraisers like “Guitars, Gifts and Gratitude” are important to the hospice program because the Homeland organization spends almost $3 million annually on charitable and benevolent care. Patients and their families are never charged for costs not covered by insurance, and no one is ever asked to leave due to a lack of funds.

“We have a very low overhead,” Klinger said. “Our goal is to turn it back toward our patient and therapy care. Our goal is to make the patient as comfortable as possible.”

Months prior to the concert, Homeland Hospice initiated a guitar sponsorship fundraiser similar to the “Cow Parade,” which was conducted around 15 years ago throughout the Harrisburg area to raise funds for Whitaker Center. Wendy Shumaker, director of marketing, said Homeland continued to accept reservations for guitar sponsorships past an initial deadline due to popular demand.

“People are embracing this,” she said. “As long as they can get guitars to us three or four days prior to event date of Nov. 10, we are okay with that.”

“Guitars, Gifts and Gratitude” takes place Nov. 10 at Scottish Rite Theatre, 2701 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg. Doors open at 12:30 p.m. Performances start at 2 p.m. For information, visit www.homelandathome.org.

Sharp Dressed Man: Step out in style with Michael Boyd.

October 31, 2019 | by Stephanie Kalina-Metzger

Michael Green

When’s the last time you heard someone described as a fashion plate, dressed to the nines, or looking like they stepped out of a bandbox?

If you’re unfamiliar with those old expressions, you’re not alone. The day when it was a matter of pride to put one’s best sartorial foot forward seems to have come and gone—that is unless you ask Michael Green, owner of Michael Boyd Menswear, who can provide you with a whole roster of clients who believe otherwise.

The businessman’s keen interest in the fashion industry started many years ago.

“I’ve always loved fashion from a young age, when I used to join my father when he was shopping for clothing,” said Green, who parlayed his passion into a paycheck, opening up H. Michael’s Men’s Shop in York in 1982 and going on to open Michael Boyd in 2001.

He operated both stores until closing the York store in 2005.

For 17 years, Green conducted business in Harrisburg before contemplating a move. When he learned that the property at 2205 Market St. in Camp Hill was available, he jumped at the opportunity to join the burgeoning business area that seems chockablock with boutiques.

“I think this area offers great potential and realized that 60 percent of my clients hail from Camp Hill and Mechanicsburg,” he said.

Although his business may seem anachronistic to some, Green has survived by evolving with the times.

“I recognize how retail has changed for men and how the dress codes are different,” said Green, who went from about 1,000 square feet in Harrisburg to about 350 square feet at the new location. “We’ve become very casual over the years.”

Among the curated selection of sportswear and dresswear are made-to-measure suits and sport coats with labels like Samuelsohn, Gran Sasso, Raffi, Emanuel Berg, Gimos leathers and denim from Italy sold under the Michael Boyd label. With the transition to cooler weather, Green is also carrying cashmere scarves, throws by Johnstons of Elgin and candles by We Took to the Woods.

He puts a lot of thought into everything that appears in his store, but makes it clear that fabric is what excites him the most.

“This store is all about the fabric—the industry and technology are evolving,” he said, handing over a soft-as-silk pair of slacks.

“That’s wool,” he informs, adding that the suits he sells are superior to those sold off the rack. “They promote ease of movement, they lay well, and they keep their shape.”

Green works on appointment for those who want his undivided attention.

“I’ll offer them a fine wine or bourbon, and we’ll go to work to create a look based on their needs,” said Green, adding that he would be loath to let anyone leave without looking short of spectacular. “When they leave here, they become a walking billboard for my store.”

David La Torre said that Green has a keen eye and a listening ear.

“He will discover what you like to wear and will never sell a shirt that doesn’t fit correctly,” he said.

La Torre, founder of Harrisburg-based La Torre Communications, puts a priority on buying local and said that Green is a valuable asset to the area.

“Twenty or 30 years ago, there were stores all over Harrisburg that provided this service,” he said. “Mike is the only one left, and he carries some of the best brands from around the world.”

La Torre travels quite a bit for work, but buys most of his clothes from Green.

“He knows exactly what I want and knows that many men don’t wear suits or ties anymore, and that’s all right with him,” he said.

Davis Mathews of New Cumberland is similarly complimentary.

“He completely renewed me,” said Mathews, who works for an international company and frequently travels to Europe and Asia. “Our dress etiquette in the United States is quite different and, as an individual in an executive position, I’m required to dress a certain way both on and off the job.”

He explained that nice jeans and a tucked-in shirt paired with a blazer is de rigueur when off the clock in those regions of the world. He also mentioned how his eyes were opened when he saw how he looked in front of a global delegation.

“I work out quite often and off-the-rack clothes just look goofy,” he said. “Michael asked me to invest in one made-to-measure suit, and I was sold.”

Mathews also likes buying his jeans from Green.

“You can’t find them anywhere,” he said. “You can wear these jeans, and they feel like you’re wearing expensive slacks. The level of comfort and confidence I have while wearing these, especially after sitting on a plane from 15 to 16 hours, is unsurpassed.”

For Green, it’s all in a day’s work.

“I love fashion,” he said. “I love coming to work every day and working with my clients and creating looks for them. I get a great feeling when I see the smiles on their faces because they see just how transformative the right clothing can be.”

Michael Boyd, Exceptional Men’s Clothing, is located at 2205 Market St., Camp Hill. For more information, visit www.michaelboydmenswear.com.

Kneaded in the Community: Making pizza, building a home around Harrisburg.

October 31, 2019 | by Maddie Conley

Jesus Alejandrez

Most Fridays, real estate agent Brent Hill isn’t selling houses, but pizza.

He began working at Giovanni’s Pizza in Linglestown about 12 years ago, making deliveries to earn an income while he worked on his real estate license.

A few years later, Hill sold his first house as a licensed agent. But, surprisingly, he didn’t quit his job at Giovanni’s. Over the years, he had developed a close friendship with shop owner Jesus Alejandrez.

“I don’t think you could get a better boss,” Hill said. “He’s so nice. He would give the shirt off his back for you. For somebody that literally came from nothing, he has no problem giving away what he gets.”

From Scratch

Thirty-three years ago, Alejandrez came from Mexico to the United States. He was only 13 years old when he hopped on a border-bound bus with some cousins and friends, only a small wad of cash to his name.

“That’s how I start my—I call it an adventure because really I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said.

Three weeks after arriving in California, Alejandrez made it to Mount Joy where he stayed with a brother who was already living there. The same night he arrived, he started washing dishes at the Keystone Restaurant—what is now Gus’s Keystone Restaurant on W. Main Street. He worked there for about four years before moving to Lititz to work at another restaurant.

Alejandrez would go home to Mexico to visit family every now and then, and, on one occasion, met his wife Gabriella, whom he brought back to the United States.

Eventually, Alejandrez was sold a pizza shop business in Uptown Harrisburg. He finally owned his own restaurant, but didn’t realize just how hard it would be.

“When someone sells you a food business—it’s because it’s not doing good,” he said. “Because, if it’s doing good, they’re going to ask you for a lot of money. But I didn’t have no experience at all, so I bought it.”

He maxed out his credit cards just to pay utilities and rent.

“I made a lot of mistakes in the beginning because I didn’t know how to manage money,” he said.

At about that time, Alejandrez found the first quarter-sized bald spot on his head. The doctor told him it from was high amounts of stress—the reason patches of his hair were disappearing. Finances had been tough, but losing his hair? He needed a release, so he started playing soccer to relieve some tension after work.

“That hour that we played, that was the time that I could at least forget a little all those problems, all those phone calls from the collection companies, all that stuff,” he said.

The Boss

These days, things are different. Alejandrez now gives business and financial advice to other people—friends and family just beginning their business journeys as he was years ago.

“He’s looked at from everybody as the boss,” Hill said. “Every friend and family member goes to him for advice.”

Alejandrez realizes his business is still small. He sees other business owners that have more money and bigger restaurants, but he’s happy. He’s providing for his three boys and making a living. His hard work has made a difference.

“We have a house. It’s not paid off yet, but I have a bedroom for each of my kids,” he said. “When we were living in the mobile home, it was falling apart.”

Alejandrez recalled the days in the trailer park, cutting the end of his son’s wooden bed to make leg room as he got taller.

But as the kids grew and Giovanni’s grew, the family’s finances also grew. They were able to buy their first house from none other than Alejandrez’s good friend Hill—that first sale he had those nine years ago.

Close to Home

Alejandrez eventually sold his Uptown shop, and started his current business in Linglestown, which has been around for about 11 years now.

He works there for 13 hours a day, sometimes seven days a week. His son, Giovanni, works with him, as well. The restaurant has the typical foods you expect to find in a pizza shop, but with a few nods to his home country thrown in, such as tacos, quesadillas and burritos. Alejandrez also owns Giovanni’s Pizza and Bakery in Steelton.

Many customers are regulars who come back for the food and the service.

“He’s a very friendly guy,” said Taryn Miller, a weekly customer. “They make sure they give you the best service they can.”

Hill said that he talks with Alejandrez on a regular basis. He pointed out that, with all the current discussion around immigration, “this hits close to home.”

It’s been a long time since Alejandrez was drinking from park water fountains and buying 30-cent packs of crackers just to put something in his stomach. Now, he runs a restaurant packed full at lunch and helps others reach their goals like he did.

“Life taught me,” he said. “Now, in this town, this pizza shop is known.”

Giovanni’s Pizza is located at 1027 N. Mountain Rd., Linglestown. For more information, visit https://www.orderstart.com/giovannispizzalinglestown#.

From the Ashes: A historic Allison Hill firehouse was condemned. Then Jason Lloyd set his sights on it.

October 31, 2019 | by Maddie Conley

Jason Lloyd doesn’t mince words when asked about the condition of a unique building he purchased in 2010.

“Whatever the most horrible place you could think of, it was worse than that,” he said.

He is referring to the historic, red-brick Allison Hook & Ladder Building and, for Lloyd, a Harrisburg firefighter himself, restoring the circa-1909 building became both an obsession and a labor of love.

“There was never any grand plan,” he said. “It was just to save the building.”

Fast-forward nine years, and, today, the landmark on the 300-block of S. 14th Street has been fully restored and is back in service of the Harrisburg Fire Bureau.

The building remains privately owned, but four volunteers, constituting the revived Allison Hook and Ladder Co. No. 2, are now attached to it—though they actually respond to fires from the bureau’s modern, fully-equipped station on N. 16th Street.

“We want to help the community and put some firefighters back on the street,” said Allison Co. member Steve Austin.

Fire Bureau Chief Brian Enterline said that he was happy to see the volunteer company back and ready to return to the community.

“They have a strong link to Harrisburg fire history, and it made sense to bring them back on board,” he said.

Too Much History

In the early 1900s, Allison Hook and Ladder Co. No. 2 was founded.

At the time, it was common to have many stations, even in a small city like Harrisburg. Horses were used to pull fire engines, and communication was slow, so communities relied on firefighters located nearby.

Allison Hook & Ladder No. 2 was formed to fill this need for the Allison Hill community. Around 1908, the lot on S. 14th Street was purchased and, within a year, the two-story brick station was constructed.

The firehouse had a large number of volunteer firefighters and ran a two-piece hose and chemical wagon, as well as a ladder truck. Over the decades, the building was used for firefighter training and union meetings, in addition to serving as an active station.

But, starting in the 1950s, Harrisburg’s once-bustling stations began to fall into decline.

The city once had 14 firehouses, many volunteer-based. But, increasingly, Harrisburg’s volunteer ranks dissipated, and the force became almost fully professionalized.

Eventually, the city’s firehouses consolidated into just four and, today, there are only two working stations. Allison Hook and Ladder officially shut down in 1980. Since it was not of use to the Fire Bureau anymore, the building was sold back to the volunteer Allison Hook & Ladder Co. for $1.

Over the years, the firehouse served mostly as storage space and became dilapidated. The once-bustling firehouse was full of dirt, animal feces and trash. Windows were busted and boarded up and walls were crumbling. The historic structure was condemned.

Despite the building’s condition, Lloyd felt pulled to it.

“I said, ‘I don’t know what it will cost, I just want to save the building,’” he said. “It’s just too much history to let go.”

In Your Blood

It took 10 years of writing letters to the Allison Co. before Lloyd was offered the building.

Company President Barry Buskey explained how the volunteer group hadn’t been active for many years. Therefore, they had to reorganize simply to vote to sell the building. With no other ideas or plans for the station, they took a chance and sold it to Lloyd for $12,800 in 2010.

Thus began the second part of Lloyd’s long journey.

The 62,000-square-foot firehouse had a unique stamp tin ceiling, the original chief’s office, a spiral staircase, gear locker, four pole holes and a bedroom and meeting room.

The only problem was that you hardly could see any of it.

It took about three months of gutting the place and almost nine months of dry-walling just to get started on the renovation.

“It’s pretty much just been the firefighters working together to resurrect this place,” Lloyd said. “Once you come here and see this and get involved, it gets in your blood.”

Lloyd and other firefighters have put in years of labor, often after work or on the weekends, with most of the money coming straight from Lloyd’s overtime pay.

In the restoration, Lloyd wanted to keep the building as close to the original firehouse as possible. While much of the structure was gutted, the historic doors and wood trim remain. The upstairs bedroom was redone, but looks similar to the original. The meeting room was revamped to be a hangout space, including a bar with a back made from an old gear locker topped with antique fire helmets. Lloyd was also able to locate the fire truck that used to run out of the station and bought it, as well.

Over the years, he has collected historical items from defunct Harrisburg fire companies, as well as some from the city in general. One room, in particular, holds display cases of old postcards, photographs and other relics he found, mainly through searching online.

“It’s not a functional museum, but there’s a lot of historical stuff in here,” Lloyd said.

This past August, a number of Harrisburg’s historic preservation officials toured the resurrected Allison Hook and Ladder firehouse.

“There are people who go the extra mile because they are passionate,” said David Morrison, executive director of the Historic Harrisburg Association. “Jason has that passion. He has the vision. He has the drive when other people would’ve given up.”

A Lot of Need

With the countless hours that Lloyd and others have put into the firehouse, they hope others can benefit from it, as well. They’ve held block parties for the station’s neighbors, tours for various groups and benefits to raise money for people and organizations in need.

Enterline highlighted how the Allison Co. and the Fire Bureau at large have the same vision.

“Our goal has always been to have community-oriented fire stations,” he said.

Most recently, Allison Hook and Ladder established a community advisory board, which will consist of local leaders, business owners, clergy, educators and others. They will work together on community relations, historic preservation ideas, potential grant applications from public and private sources and fundraising activities.

A main focus is fire prevention education within Allison Hill.

“We want to try and help the community,” Lloyd said. “There’s a lot of need out here, and there’s a lot of good that can be done with the people we have. It’s all just to try and better the Allison Hill neighborhood.”

The Allison Hook and Ladder Co. No. 2 Firehouse is located at 315 S. 14th St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.allisonhookandladder2.org.

Musical Notes: Big Nights

October 31, 2019 | by Kait Gibboney

Every month, the music scene gets bigger and better in Harrisburg, and this month we have some heavy hitters coming our way. In addition, we have some unique local events going on that are a bit different from our classic shows.

The annual “Hooray for Harrisburg” show is on Nov. 23, featuring the Greater Harrisburg Chorus. This performance will include two showings at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. hosted at the Rose Lehrman Arts Center. Local drag clown Mister Treats will perform a cabaret series in the style of musical theater from Nov. 20 to 29 at Open Stage, featuring dance numbers, live singing, lip-synching and a heck of a lot of wigs!

If you’re searching for those heavy hitters I mentioned, look no further, because we have three shows you’re going to be hearing about long after they’re gone.

JIMMY EAT WORLD, 11/12, 7PM, H*MAC CAPITOL ROOM, $30
In Harrisburg’s attempt to catch up with other places with proper, city-sized concerts, organizations like Harrisburg University and venues like Whitaker Center and the Forum have been scoring major artists lately. An old Harrisburg favorite venue, H*MAC new management, new energy and new acts coming through. Internationally known alt rockers Jimmy Eats World are set to play at H*MAC’s upstairs venue, the Capitol Room. Formed in 1993, lead guitarist and vocalist Jim Adkins got together with drummer Zach Lind, guitarist and vocalist Tom Linton and bassist Rick Burch. A few of their singles rocketed them into stardom in the early 2000s, such as the iconic, “The Middle,” and their highest-charting album from 2006, “Chase This Light,” peaked at number five on the Billboard 200. If you want to support music at H*MAC and catch a wave of nostalgia, this show’s for you.

GRACE POTTER, 11/15, 8PM, THE FORUM, $45
Harrisburg University’s not done serving up unforgettable shows for their concert series, and, this time, the legendary Grace Potter is coming to town. Originally part of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, formed back in 2002, she went solo a few years later with her album, “Original Soul.” The breakup of her band and divorce shortly afterwards led to a brief break before putting herself back on stage in 2004. After successfully getting back into the music game while navigating a new marriage and child, Potter formed the Grand Point North music festival in her hometown of Burlington, Vt., in 2011. The festival was created to feature local businesses and draw major musical acts to the area, like performers the Flaming Lips and the Avett Brothers. The Forum is an excellent venue to enjoy Potter’s abundance of talent and larger-than-life stage presence. Tickets are selling out fast, so be sure to snag them before you miss this opportunity.

BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY, 11/22, 9PM, XL LIVE, $30
This is our third heavy-hitter show this month, and, unsurprisingly, it’s at Harrisburg’s hottest venue—XL Live. Keeping with XL’s trend of hosting the hippest hip hop and raddest rappers, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony will make their way to the big stage. From the Ohio rap scene in the early ‘90s, the bone-themed group consists of rappers Bizzy Bone, Wish Bone, Layzie Bone, Krayzie Bone and Flesh-n-Bone. The group hit gold right away with their smash hit single, “Thuggish Ruggish Bone,” off of their very first EP. They even won a Grammy back in 1997 for their song, “Tha Crossroads,” a tribute to Eazy-E, a well-known West Coast rapper who originally signed them to their first record deal. Actually, Bone Thugs is the only group to have worked with legendary, departed rappers 2Pac, Notorious B.I.G., Big Pun and Eazy-E. This is another show you can’t miss around town this month.

Mentionables
Hollan, Nov. 1, Spring Gate Vineyard;
Switch Fu, Nov. 2, River City Blues Club;
Schumann Quartet, Nov. 9, Market Square Presbyterian Church;
Rings of Saturn, Nov. 9, H*MAC Stage on Herr;
Filter, Nov. 16, H*MAC Capitol Room;
Lady Boy Sings the Blues, Nov. 19-27, Open Stage;
Rumpke Mountain Boys, Nov. 22, The Abbey Bar;
Rodrigo y Gabriele, Nov. 30, The Forum

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like

You May Also Like