Weekend Roundup with Sara Bozich

October 31, 2019 | by Sara Bozich

Happy Weekend!

Happy Halloween! We’re taking Bo trick-or-treating if the weather cooperates. Our local fire company visits local neighborhoods and gives out pizza, so that is high on the list. On Saturday, please join us at Greystone Brew House for a Halloween Happy Hour benefiting The MS Society! FREE; no tickets required. Food and drink specials, live music, cornhole tournament, FREE oracle readings, and more fun! Tomorrow kicks off my Extended Hunting Widow Status, so please entertain me with memes or whatever.

What are you doing this weekend?

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Be My Neighbor: Four popular Camp Hill businesses now share a roof at the new Neighbors & Smith development.

October 31, 2019 | by Susan Ryder

Four businesses once a stone’s throw away from one another now share the same, new digs—the Neighbors & Smith building on Market Street.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of this project, said Kim Over, owner of Underneath it All, a 35-year Camp Hill business. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

With the buzz of a circular saw announcing new construction through the walls, Over said that her shop solves “brablems,” by supplying and custom fitting bras, swimwear and lingerie for women of all shapes and sizes—literally. They can help women from size AAA to P.

“This business is so few and far between,” she said. “We have women that drive three hours to come here.”

After finding that perfect fit, women can head up to Little Black Dress.

In its urban industrial setting, customers can try on what Lisa Bedway DeCalvalcante described as, “casual, every day, affordable women’s clothing.”

She said that, when opening LBD she, “tried to fill a niche in the market.”

“Unique items you don’t find at the local mall, but not so high-priced that they were out of most people’s reach,” she said.

The new space has more floor space to display brands like Prana, Vineyard Vines and Lysee leggings, to name a few. In addition, Bedway DeCalvalcante plans to open a new store, LBD Kids, in March.

What about the new building’s effect on Camp Hill?

“It’s extremely positive,” she said. “It’s a well-executed, forward-thinking concept.”

She cited the LED lighting, heated sidewalks and electric car charging stations as three of the development’s progressive and modern features.

Next door sits One Good Woman, the popular purveyor of specialty coffees, tea, food and gifts.

Co-owner Michele Koch said that their whole bean and ground-to-order coffee is roasted and delivered weekly by a Maryland roaster.

“That’s the key that sets our coffee apart,” she said.

Tea drinkers can choose from 120 varieties of loose-leaf tea, including an assortment of chai, black, green, white, matcha and herbal teas.

In the One Good Woman Café, new to this space, employees will brew any of its coffee or teas, which can be enjoyed with locally sourced baked goods like the oat cakes from Short & Sweet 2.0.

Shoppers can sip their hot beverage as they head downstairs and browse through the Live in Color Boutique, a cozy nook that previously had resided a few blocks down the street. Patrons entering the store may be greeted by the golden doodle, “Charlie,” one of a number of “store dogs.”

The shop “features seriously distressed furniture,” said Kristen Aldinger, general manager, who, along with Bronya Schmoyer, a former art teacher, is responsible for transforming furniture into refreshed pieces.

Some pieces they purchase and paint, with their individual styles. Others pieces are brought in by customers.

“People will come in and say, ‘This was my grandmother’s. I don’t want to get rid of it, but it doesn’t match my décor. Can we change it so I can keep it in my family?’” Aldinger said.

Along with furniture, the store holds pottery, gift items, unique pet offerings, many of which have been created by local artists.

Schmoyer described Neighbors & Smith as a “very welcoming business environment.”

“We’re kind of newbies on the block, and they are sending people down here,” she said.

Being a part of Neighbors & Smith has helped business, she said.

“Even being two blocks apart, maybe somebody who was shopping at one [store] doesn’t want to get into their car to go to another, or doesn’t want to walk, or can’t physically walk,” Schmoyer said. “Now, it’s like we’re right here.”

Other businesses will be “right here” in phase two of the Neighbors & Smith project, which will include a hair salon and restaurants.

Whether shopping for gifts, looking for that perfect fitting bra for under your new outfit, or meeting someone for coffee, Neighbors & Smith in Camp Hill has all of those options under one roof.

“Market Street is open for business, “said Bedway DeCalvancante.

Neighbors & Smith is located at 1801 Market St., Camp Hill. For more information, visit www.smithlandusa.com/nas and the websites and Facebook pages of the businesses mentioned in this story.

What the Who? Cindy Lou breaks bad in new holiday comedy at Open Stage.

October 31, 2019 | by Rachel Landon

“Such an innocent I was. Oh, the ignorance of youth.
Then life starts to unfold and you get kicked in the tooth.
…See? My loathing stems from a deep-rooted place
In a town known as Whoville, where I can’t show my face…”

Around 1988, my mom successfully recorded most of Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” on our BETA VCR.

My brother and I watched it about 70 times a year, most of those showings outside the holiday season. It’s the perfect Christmas redemption story—misanthropic green monster is annoyed by noisy neighbors and attempts to destroy their celebrations, only to have a change of heart after the Whos down in Whoville join hands, celebrate and sing. Spoiler: the Grinch’s heart grows three sizes, he learns the error of his ways, and he brings their stuff back. They all live happily ever after.

Or maybe not quite?

In the world of contemporary theater, authors have often found great success in asking the question—what happens after the “happily ever after,” and what is the fallout after “the end?” (See “Into the Woods,” “Dog Sees God” and “Clybourne Park” as perhaps the most famous examples.) “Who’s Holiday!” which opens Open Stage’s 34th season, is the story of Cindy Lou Who after her very first encounter with the Grinch on that fateful Christmas Eve.

You remember her, right? The wide-eyed 2-year-old who catches the Grinch in the act of shoving her Christmas tree up the chimney, asking the quavering question: “Why Santy Claus? Why?”

Fast-forward 40-plus years, and the pink pajama-clad toddler is a vodka-guzzling, pill-popping, Spandex-clad hermit who has been ostracized from Whoville. She now lives alone in a hand-me-down trailer at the top of Mount Crumpit. When we meet her, it is the night before Christmas, and Cindy Lou is throwing a holiday soiree. You, the audience, are among the first guests to arrive.

Cindy Lou’s life has become rather complicated after her first encounter with the Grinch, and the 90-minute story that follows is packed with a tale of drug abuse, poverty and starvation, and even murder. That said, this show is most definitely considered a comedy—albeit one packed with a whole lot of cussing, drinking and some highly inappropriate behavior. Oh, and it’s all done in Seuessian rhyme.

This one-woman show, originally featuring the phenomenal Lesli Margherita in the 2017 off-Broadway production, will make its Pennsylvania premiere at Open Stage this month, breaking in the brand-new, 60-seat Studio Theater. This show will also be the first play to open in Open Stage after the massive renovation to the space. It’s a tall order, considering Open Stage will be producing the 20th anniversary production of “A Christmas Carol” across the lobby in the Angino Family Theater at the same time. For those looking for a family-friendly tale of redemption, “A Christmas Carol” is definitely for you. For those seeking an adults-only evening of entertainment, “Who’s Holiday!” is your ticket of choice.

Stuart Landon (my aforementioned brother), who is entering his third year as producing director at Open Stage, will be directing me in this one-person outing. Landon is no stranger to the genre, having portrayed the indomitable Crumpet the Elf in “Santaland Diaries” at Open Stage from 2011-16. Cindy Lou is an exciting and terrifying character to play, and the challenge of bringing this minor Seuss character to life is a daunting one—she is crude, she is crass, and she is a highly aggressive flirt to boot. But despite her tasteless outfits, strident alcoholism and penchant for colorful four-letter-words, Cindy Lou is a complicated Who with tragic past and a heart of gold.

“Who’s Holiday!” is not for the faint of heart, but for those who enjoy irreverent humor, smutty stories, Grinch-themed shots and perhaps even bad Judy Garland impressions. Get your tickets to this twisted Christmas tale premiering at Open Stage this holiday season.

“Who’s Holiday!” runs Nov. 16 to Dec. 28 at Open Stage, 25 N. Court St., Harrisburg. Tickets can be purchased at www.opentagehbg.com or by calling the box office at 717-232-6736. Open Stage’s new walk-up box office hours are Monday through Friday, 4 to 6 p.m., and up to one hour before performances.

Upcoming Theater Events
At Open Stage
www.openstagehbg.com
717-232-6736

“TGIW: Thank God It’s Wednesday!”
Parody readings of your favorite shows from the ’80s and ’90s.
Every Wednesday at 9 p.m. in the Open Stage bar
Nov. 6, 13, 20, 27

“EFF (Erotic Fanfiction) Live!”
Embarrassingly awful readings of fanfiction by local performers.
Every Saturday at 9:45 p.m. in the Open Stage bar.
Nov. 2, 9, 23, 30

“& Anthony”
Jazz classics and standards by pianist Anthony Haubert in the new Open Stage bar.
Nov. 7, 8, 9, 15, 20 at 7:30 p.m.

“Lady Boy Sings the Blues”
Drag clown Mr. Treats takes on their greatest love: musical theater!
Nov. 20 to 29

“Who’s Holiday!”
A raunchy and hilarious one-woman show about the years following “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”
Nov. 16 to Dec. 28

“A Christmas Carol”
The holiday classic returns for its 20th anniversary production.
Nov. 23 to Dec. 29

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.

Happy Weekend!

What are you doing this weekend?

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