Phantom of the Theater: Edgy, progressive plays help people “dare, discover, dream.”

April 29, 2016 | by Lori M. Myers

Photo courtesy of Kate Acquaviva.

In 2009, they were the new kid in town, the Phantom Theatre Company, and they boldly dove into an already crowded pool of Harrisburg theatrical options—Theatre Harrisburg, Gamut Theatre, Open Stage of Harrisburg and others on the west side of the river.

Around the same time, other groups popped up, too, and many came and went, but Phantom hung on. After several years of thinking they had their own building then losing it because of zoning changes, it survived. And, while it’s currently without a permanent home, Phantom is making its own kind of music—from pop opera to an upcoming production of “West Side Story.”

“We felt there was a gap to be filled for more current, edgy shows and the audiences they draw,” said Wendi Dobson, president of Phantom’s board of directors. “We wanted to offer more to the community, including workshops, cabarets and full productions, particularly some of the more contemporary, thought-provoking shows that aren’t often seen in this area.”

Years ago, the theater’s schedule started with “Bare: A Pop Opera,” and a bunch of creative types and theater-lovers came out to lend a hand to make this area premiere a reality. The production was so successful, said Dobson, that Phantom was able to donate 20 percent of tickets sales to the Trevor Project, a crisis intervention organization for young people.

“We are very community-oriented and make an effort to give back and support other organizations, as well,” Dobson said. “In the past, our shows have benefitted Toys for Tots and Homeward Bound Animal Rescue.”

Phantom currently does more family or mainstage productions, which include adults and school-aged children. It also does youth productions—like “Honk! Jr.” and “Godspell Jr.”—so kids with stars in their eyes can get a chance to tread the boards and see what it’s like to perform. Both were successful productions, but Phantom wanted to up the ante.

So, in February, Phantom was the first area theater to present “Heathers the Musical” at Gullifty’s Underground, and, last month, hosted the Macaulay Triplets, a singing group from New York. In July, they’ll stage their big summer production, “West Side Story,” with auditions this month. Then, in August, there will be a student internship production of the play, “Punk Rock,” and, in December, a “Classic Crooners” cabaret.

“We often will offer students an opportunity to assist with directing, stage managing, set design or other areas they are interested in learning,” Dobson said. “We are always looking for college students who wish to build their experience not only in theater, but in areas such as marketing, website design, fundraising and public relations.”

The Very Best

Dobson had a love of theater as a young girl and, she admits, an obsession with Broadway shows, in particular.

Drama club fueled that interest, as did her years of dance, voice and both professional and community theater experiences. But the real fire sparked when her two daughters became involved in the local theater scene. Dobson put in her time painting sets, running concessions, ushering, costumes, make-up, helping backstage, assisting directors and wrangling child actors.

“This is also how I met most of the other people who are involved with Phantom, including co-founder Melinda Lafferty,” Dobson recalled. “We have surrounded ourselves with and learned from some of the very best theater people around. All of our board members have connections to the performing arts, and we all share a passion for bringing shows to life.”

Though a phantom lacks physical structure, this company has been on a quest to establish a solid, brick-and-mortar presence, a feat that takes money and patience. To build its dream theater, Phantom will be embarking on a capital campaign. Until that day, it will have to make do by producing shows in various venues on the east and west shores.

“Our goal, once we have a home, is to provide more educational opportunities, such as workshops, summer camps and internships and to produce a full season of musicals, plays, special events, cabarets, youth theater and much more,” Dobson said.

Dobson has put her heart and soul into this company and hopes that the theater’s mantra, “Dare, Discover, Dream,” will be shared by its audiences now and into the future.

“I want everyone to leave our performances taking a piece of it with them,” she said, “whether it is a favorite show tune stuck in their head, a really funny, laugh-out-loud scene, a poignant moment, or a thought-provoking message that inspires them to make a difference.”

To learn more about Phantom Theatre Company, visit www.phantomtheatrecompany.org.

Susquehanna Charm: This year’s HYP Home Tour drifts into Shipoke.

April 29, 2016 | by Rachael Dymski

Say the word “Shipoke” and several thoughts may cross your mind.

History. Beauty. Sometimes tragedy.

For those who live there, Shipoke also means home and neighbors. Some of the oldest houses in Harrisburg line the narrow, winding streets of this compact, close-knit community.

This month, the HYP Annual Home Tour returns to Shipoke, showing off its architecture, décor and classic charm.

“We’ll give out programs at the beginning of the tour, which give a description and introduction to the home,” said Laura Evans Cullison, co-chair of the Harrisburg Young Professional’s city living committee. “We’ve partnered with the Dauphin County Historical Society to add a historic element to the tour.”

At press time, 14 homeowners had agreed to open their doors for the tour, but more homes may be added, she said. Restaurants Passage to India and Los Tres Cubanos also will take part.

In most cases, entire houses will be open, and homeowners will be present to answer questions. Volunteers also will be stationed at each location.

City Living

Shipoke was the site of one of the first permanent European settlements in our area.

An English trader, John Harris Sr., settled on the banks of the Susquehanna in 1719 and, for many years, Shipoke was the location of the family farm. In the 1840s, the Harris family began selling off parts of the land, giving rise to the residential neighborhood. For years, the community was working class and a transportation hub, with many residents employed by the Central Iron and Steel Co. By 1950, the population of Shipoke had climbed to nearly 3,000 people.

In 1972, Tropical Storm Agnes took a toll on the neighborhood, as did other floods and the extension of I-83. Nonetheless, Shipoke has continued to survive and evolve. Today, it is one of the most desirable locations in Harrisburg, known for its restaurants, art, gardens and Victorian townhouses.

The home tour also coincides with the 250th anniversary of the John Harris-Simon Cameron Mansion, first built by John Harris Jr. in 1766 on a hill overlooking the Susquehanna.

Participating homeowners seem excited to show off their houses. Kathy Vander Woude, who will be opening her house on Front Street, looks forward to visitors seeing her living room.

“I love to sit in a sunbeam at the front window and view the river,” she said.

Her house, originally built in 1889, features a beautiful piece of stained glass acquired from a Shipoke church demolished in the 1972 flood.

She and her husband Todd moved to Shipoke in 1991, then to their current house in 2000. They were drawn to the Shipoke area because they wanted a neighborhood that was walkable and close to shops and restaurants.

“Todd and I moved here from the Fan District in Richmond, Va.,” she said. “We were looking for a neighborhood that would be close to many things.”

This is Kathy’s third time with the HYP Home Tour. Her motivation for participating?

“I want to show people that this is a family home,” she said. “Many couples choose to leave the city when they have children. The neighborhood has been our family, and it was wonderful raising the girls in it.”

The Home Tour also acts as an incentive for prospective buyers to look inside the city limits. Proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the HYP “Home in the City” program. The program provides $1,000 grants to HYP members buying a home in Harrisburg.

The home tour benefits the city in more ways than one.

“It exposes people to beautiful homes, restaurants, and artists in the area, and it brings together the neighborhoods involved,” said Evans Cullison. “The home tour brings awareness to the benefits of city living.”

The HYP 18^th Annual Home Tour takes place on May 21, 1 to 4 p.m., with an after-party from 5 to 7 p.m. For ticket and event information, visit www.HYP.org or call 717-831-0726. Sponsorships are still available. Interested parties should contact Derek Whitesel at 717-831-0726 or [email protected].

All Hail the Mud Queen: Step into her realm–and throw away your worries.

April 29, 2016 | by Rebecca Oken

In the heart of Linglestown, sunny Mud Queen Pottery welcomes all comers with classic jazz music and the smell of the holidays, even months later. Handmade clay pieces of all shapes, sizes and designs line the shelves, and a quick walk through leads to four potter’s wheels in the back of the studio.

On a spring-like Saturday, Beth Wagner and Deb Lytle sat over wheels with the Mud Queen herself, Audra Doughty, their hands coated with wet, gray clay. They were throwing—potter’s lingo for making clay pots on a wheel—for the first time.

“Your hands are the boss of the clay. You’re letting the clay be the boss of you!” Doughty told Wagner.

Pottery has been in Doughty’s life since childhood. Her father’s mother and mother’s grandmother both worked with clay, and Doughty remembers being mesmerized by the wheel throwers as a kid when she did slipcasting, a process where a liquid clay base, or slip, is poured into molds.

Doughty wouldn’t discover her passion for pottery until many years later, though. She inherited her grandmother’s kiln when she passed away, but it sat in her garage for 10 years. Her daughter, now a junior in college, did a project in high school about pottery, and the two took a class together for it. The first piece Doughty made sits in the studio among many of her other handmade pots, holding various tools.

Excited she finally had an excuse to use the kiln, she bought a wheel two weeks into her first class. “Grandma’s kiln was in the right place,” she said. “I knew I was going to do something like this.”

Doughty eventually acquired two more wheels and began giving lessons out of her basement. She didn’t like having to take students through her home to access her makeshift studio, so, when a like-minded friend discovered “the perfect place,” she told Doughty she had to come see it.

“This place was a mess. It was so gross and rundown,” Doughty said. “They completely gutted the whole building according to how I needed it set up.”

Two years and hundreds of students later, the Mud Queen still reigns.

Second Nature

Wagner and Lytle were attending their first of four, three-hour Saturday classes at Mud Queen, and they already had gained a newfound respect for the craft.

They completed several pots during their first lesson, each one an improvement on the previous one. Still, the retired teachers joked they had a long way to go.

Encouraging, patient and lighthearted—with just the right amount of critical—Doughty acknowledged that pottery is not as easy as the professionals make it look.

“It’s a lot of technique, and it’s a lot of awkward movements,” she said. “You don’t normally move your hands in the ways that you need to move them here. Then when you get it, it’s like second nature.”

Each piece begins as a basic cylinder, Doughty said, so her students always start there. They then learn how to move the clay into other shapes and types of pots using their hands and a number of other tools.

Doughty switched between Wagner and Lytle to give individual instruction, her hands-on approach helping them understand the subtle, unfamiliar movements. Never overbearing, she guided their hands with hers as they learned new positions and let their pieces take unique shapes as the students learned.

As a result of putting too much pressure on a section of the wall of her piece, Lytle accidentally ripped off the top half of her work-in-progress.

“At this point, I encourage you to sort of play with what’s left,” she said. “It also teaches you to see what you can get away with and what you can’t.”

At Wagner and Lytle’s second class, their pieces, having been wrapped in plastic for the week in between, will have dried to the leather-hard stage, where the clay is harder but still workable. All imperfections are smoothed out at this stage, and this is also the time when designs are made in the clay using a number of techniques.

Useful Things

The majority of the pottery for sale at Mud Queen is Doughty’s—from ivy-etched mugs to curvy vases to multicolored vessels for oil. In the kiln room, the shelves are full with her pieces waiting to be fired.

“I create what I like,” she said. “I’ve done a lot of research in looking at other potters’ pots. I don’t make anything that I want somebody to put up on a shelf. I like useful things, so I make useful things.”

Classes are offered in four-week or eight-week blocks, and more advanced potters can pay a flat monthly rate for studio time. Once a year, students can set up tents in the shop’s backyard and sell their own pieces.

As a member of the Linglestown community—she lives a mile and a half from her studio—Doughty knows Mud Queen is about more than just her passion as a potter.

“So many of the new businesses here, we’re all in the same mindset, trying to really bring a little bit more energy, a little bit more art,” she said. “And a little more interaction between people.”

Mud Queen Pottery is located at 1342 N. Mountain Rd., Linglestown. For more information, call 717-652-1000 or visit www.mudqueenpottery.com.

Honest Bride: “Wedding Doll” part of this month’s Jewish Film Festival.

April 29, 2016 | by Sammi Leigh Melville

The Jewish Film Festival approaches once again.

As usual, there is an incredible lineup of films, including Israeli director Nitzan Giladi’s newest film, “Wedding Doll,” a movie whose protagonist will charm the socks off of you with her honest vibrancy.

Hagit (Moran Rosenblatt) wants to be a bride. There are two reasons you can be sure of this fact. One, the little dolls she makes from the materials at the toilet paper factory always have little, white toilet paper dresses and veils, and, two, because she will tell you.

Hagit wears her heart on her sleeve—and her smile, and her fear. This is something that Omri (Roy Assaf), son of the factory owner, loves about Hagit. They are secret lovers, enjoying their time together when Omri’s father leaves the cutting floor, and they meet out on the cliffs every night when she’s supposed to be in bed.

But Hagit has a mental deficiency and is unable to understand why Omri may not want to tell people about their relationship. There are quite a few things she doesn’t understand, actually, and her overprotective mother (Asi Levi) has sacrificed her entire life to keep her out of harm’s way—an act that prevents both of them from really living life. Hagit desperately wants her independence, a task that proves difficult when she learns that the toilet paper factory soon will be closing, and she will lose her job.

The film vacillates between adorable and vastly uncomfortable, as some of Hagit’s interactions keenly reflect society’s perception of people like her. And though every mother-daughter relationship contains some amount of struggle, Rosenblatt and Levi’s on-screen chemistry really draws out the brutal truth of the situation. What results is an incredibly real and applicable character sketch of a girl with disabilities—and a beautiful one at that.

“Wedding Doll” will make you not only laugh, but also deeply feel Hagit’s sorrow and joy throughout its 82 minutes. It’s definitely a film you shouldn’t miss. It will play this month as part of the Harrisburg Jewish Film Festival at Midtown Cinema.

For more information about the Harrisburg Jewish Film Festival, see the story in this month’s issue or visit www.hbgjff.com.

Midtown Cinema
MAY SPECIAL EVENTS

The Late Shift with Zeroday
“Fight Club”
Saturday, May 7, 10:30 p.m.

Classic Film Series
“Chariots of Fire”
Sunday, May 8, 6 p.m.

Down in Front!
“Samurai Cop”
Friday, May 13, 9:30 p.m.

Jewish Film Festival
May 19-26
Various times, check the schedule

3^rd in the Burg $3 Movie
“A League of Their Own”
Friday, May 20, 9:30 p.m.

Faulkner Honda Family Film Series
“Space Jam”
Saturday, May 21, 12 p.m.
Sunday, May 22, 2 p.m.

15^th Anniversary Series
“Bend It Like Beckham”
Saturday, May 28, 8 p.m.

Who Works in Harrisburg? Our mapping project shows where commuters come from—and where they’re going.

April 29, 2016 | by Paul Barker and Stephen Cline

Who works in Harrisburg?

Last year, when the city proposed a hike in the local services tax, from $1 to $3 per week, the age-old distinction between the capital’s residents and commuters reared its head.

The tax affects everyone who works in the city, regardless of where they live, with the exception of people below a set poverty threshold. But because an overwhelming number of the city’s workers commute, the local services tax is often branded a “commuter tax”—it’s one of the few means Pennsylvania’s third-class cities have of taxing people who work within their borders, but don’t live there. According to numbers provided by city hall, commuters paying the tax would outnumber residents by a ratio of 5 to 1.

How you view this statistic probably says a lot about how you view the relationship between the city and commuters. To some, it demonstrates how much the city depends on commuters for revenue—not only in the form of taxes, but in the money they spend on lunch at local restaurants and happy hours at local bars. “This mayor needs to keep in mind, all the revenue is coming from commuters,” one young commuter, who worked as a valet at the Hilton Harrisburg, told me in regards to the proposed hike back in December. “I hate to say it, but not much is coming from the residents.”

To others, it demonstrates how deeply people living outside the city depend on it as the region’s economic center and source of jobs.

This month, TheBurg teamed up with Stephen Cline of Urban 3D Modeling to help readers visualize the resident-commuter relationship in the form of an interactive map. Using data from OnTheMap, a U.S. Census Bureau program, Cline divided the city into nine neighborhoods and linked the number of jobs in each to the locations from which workers commute each day to reach them.

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When you click on a neighborhood, you’ll see the total number of jobs, along with the distribution of city residents who hold them (in purple) and commuters (in yellow). Each circle on the map corresponds to an individual census block, the smallest unit available in the census data. Each circle’s size is proportionate to the number of workers who live on a given block and work in the selected neighborhood.

OnTheMap combines state employment data with demographic information collected by the federal government. It’s not a perfect representation of actual employment numbers and commuting distances. The source records cover about 95 percent of private sector jobs, plus most civilian federal jobs, but they exclude members of the military, U.S. postal workers and the self-employed. The program also uses “synthetic” data methods to keep workplace and residential information confidential. According to the Census Bureau, the OnTheMap data are “statistically analogous to actual worker counts and locations but not exact.”

For the interactive map, Cline grouped the jobs into nine city neighborhoods, based roughly on the zoning code and generally accepted geographic boundaries. Four of these neighborhoods—Uptown, Midtown, South Harrisburg and Allison Hill/Harrisburg East—are primarily residential, with an assortment of employers sprinkled among their living places. Employers in these areas include the businesses along 3^rd and Maclay Streets in Midtown; the PinnacleHealth Polyclinic Campus and the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education Uptown; Pennsy Supply and Paxton Street’s strip malls and auto dealers in South Harrisburg; and the Derry Street commercial corridor and the public schools in Allison Hill.

Most of the jobs, however, are in the areas we labeled as Downtown, the Capitol Complex and the Industrial Corridor. Our Industrial Corridor is the primarily non-residential district straddling Cameron Street between the Harrisburg Area Community College campus to the north and the Amtrak station to the south. It encompasses a range of employers including Capital Area Transit, HACC, Goodwill, Dayton Parts, K&D Factory Service and Consolidated Scrap Resources. The Capitol Complex captures the almost exclusively public administration jobs of the statehouse and state agencies, while Downtown adds lobbying, banking, and law and advertising firms, along with a high concentration of food and entertainment jobs, to the tally of additional state workers.

For some, the map and the census data may simply give statistical confirmation of something already observed while living or working here. (I’m thinking, for example, of the long lines of cars on 2^nd and Forster each weekday between 4 and 5 p.m., waiting to cross over one of the bridges out of town.) But there may also be some surprises. It’s interesting to see the numbers of people who travel long distances to the city for work. I was also surprised to see that, in 2014, some 15,000 Harrisburg residents are estimated to have commuted to a job outside the city (a fact not reflected in the graphic, but available from the OnTheMap tool).

Most people, during their travel to and from work, probably don’t think of the municipal boundaries they’re crossing. But in a distressed city like Harrisburg, the border matters. When an employer creates jobs or relocates them to the city, is it any wonder that officials see dollar signs? Starting last September, the state Department of Human Services began moving its employees from a building just outside the city, on the State Hospital grounds, to the so-called Verizon Tower downtown. The floor-by-floor move-in, which continued through last month, will eventually bring nearly 800 workers to town.

The lease negotiations were led by the city’s state advisors, who, in an April 5 update to the Commonwealth Court, pointed to some of the benefits of the move. Among other things, they said, the new employees “will increase Local Service Tax to City by approximately $42,000 per year.”

River Saver: Bill Cornell has dedicated his life to the Susquehanna River–and he’s just getting started.

April 29, 2016 | by Phyllis Zimmerman

Every morning when Bill Cornell wakes up, he looks out the window of his Wormleysburg home, and it’s there.

Some days, it’s flat and placid; others days it’s windswept and wavy. Nonetheless, the Susquehanna River is always there, just across the road from his front porch.

“Our river is truly a national treasure, something we need to save and protect,” said Cornell, a past president of the Harrisburg Riverboat Society.

Cornell’s river reverence involves more than just words. He is founder and director of the Susquehanna River School, a floating classroom for students of all ages focusing on the history and natural wonders of the Susquehanna, which runs a total of 444 miles between Cooperstown, N.Y., and the Chesapeake Bay.

He also initiated the Save Our Susquehanna, or SOS, campaign, an effort involving like-minded people, businesses and non-profit entities seeking greater protection of the river.

For Cornell’s work with SOS, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission recently awarded him its first-ever “Resource First Award.”

“Bill was an easy choice for this award,” said John Arway, the Fish and Boat Commission’s executive director. “He’s been a staunch supporter of the bass in the river. ‘Resource First’ is shorthand for our mission. It really means ‘protect, conserve and enhance our community’s resources.’”

It’s Not Enough

Two years ago, Cornell launched an SOS online petition drive to encourage state officials to clean up, save and protect the Susquehanna River.

The effort’s main goal is getting the state Department of Environmental Protection to list the river as an impaired waterway “so that real clean up can begin,” as the SOS website states. It also suggests using funds from a fracking severance tax for cleanup and protection of the river and its tributaries.

“After 20 years, I came to realize (the Susquehanna River School) is not enough,” said Cornell, explaining why he started SOS.

Arway was so impressed with Cornell’s SOS that he initiated a sister branch of the operation through the Fish and Boat Commission last June. The commission’s goal is to raise $50,000 in private donations that it plans to match. So far, $30,000 has been raised, Arway said.

The Fish and Boat Commission’s SOS project has several goals, including identifying possible contamination sites and working with willing farmers and colleges and universities to test soils and reduce nutrient and sediment runoff into the river. This could control nuisance algae blooms that produce low oxygen levels and high pH conditions harmful to young bass.

Another goal is to work with physicians and hospitals throughout the river basin to keep pharmaceutical drugs and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals out of the river because of the harmful effects on fish.

Coincidentally, it was Arway who snapped the notorious photo of a locally caught smallmouth bass bearing a large cancerous tumor in November 2014, an image that went viral. The Susquehanna’s young bass population has been plagued over the last decade by illness and elevated mortality rates due to river contamination, he said.

“The stuff that’s really hurting our rivers now you can’t see,” Cornell observed. “This used to be a bass fishing hot spot. Now it’s catch and release.”

Warming Up

Besides SOS, Cornell may be best known for starting the Susquehanna River School, a river-based environmental classroom that operates during the summer.

“The best way to learn about this is to get out on the river,” Cornell said. “It’s not something that’s taught in our schools.”

In fact, the River School was developed for Harrisburg school students, but now is open to anyone who wants to learn about the river.

“This is the longest river in the eastern United States,” Cornell said. “It has a tremendous history. Archeological digs have uncovered all sorts of artifacts. It proved that Native Americans lived on the shores of our river 10,000 years ago.”

Until now, all of the River School’s 75-minute cruises have taken place aboard the Pride of the Susquehanna riverboat, but that is scheduled to change in June, Cornell said. Earlier this year, the Riverboat Society purchased a sister boat from the Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio. Cornell found the 34-foot Sea Ark aluminum launch for sale on eBay.

“This can operate in 13 inches of water,” said Cornell. “It will be used for eco tours because it can go to places that the riverboat can’t.”

He then paused a minute to reflect on this new chapter of river exploration.

“I’m excited as all get-go,” he said. “I’m 63. I’d like to think that, at an age when other people would be consumed with retirement, I’m just warming up.”

To access Bill Cornell’s Save Our Susquehanna petition, visit www.sospennsylvania.org.

For information about the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s Save our Susquehanna program, visit www.fishandboat.com/sos.htm.

For information about the Susquehanna River School, call 717-234-6500, visit www.harrisburgriverboat.com/riverschool or email [email protected]. You also may visit the Facebook page: The Susquehanna River School.

River Dance: There was a time when Harrisburg tripped the barge fantastic.

April 29, 2016 | by Olivia Cunningham

It’s May, which means that the Harrisburg riverfront again comes alive with walkers, bicyclists and runners, with summer festivals not too far behind.

The waterfront, though, was once a hub of nightlife, as well. A century ago, local entrepreneur George K. Riest launched his first dance boat, testing whether city residents wished to mingle and dance on the river. They did, in large numbers.

What began as a boat equipped with a small dance floor soon expanded to a former coal barge outfitted with a band shell at one end, a nightclub at the other and a dance floor in the middle. A 1940 article in the Harrisburg Sunday Courier reported that the boat, which launched every year on Memorial Day, carried thousands of dancers up and down the Susquehanna during summer months.

According to anecdotes and newspaper archives, the boat was docked at the foot of Locust or Market streets. For a dime, revelers could dance the night away. The dance barge would go up to either Harris or Reily streets, a distance of about a mile, and float back. When the water was low, it instead would moor off of City Island. Smaller boats might drift closer to better hear the music, which would be provided by one of the fashionable orchestras in the area, led by the likes of Dan Gregory, Kay Kyser, Ted Brownagle or Red McCarthy.

Kansas City musician Andy Kirk described the experience of performing on the barge in his 1989 book “Twenty Years on Wheels.”

“On one of our dates, we were afloat,” he wrote. “We played on a barge, Reese’s [sic] Houseboat, on the Susquehanna River. We’d start at 8 o’clock in the evening, move out into midstream, then return at 9:30. We played at the pier before shoving off, and after coming to port while passengers came on and got off.”

Harrisburg danced on the river for several decades. Riest operated the barge until 1934. The USO took it over during World War II and ran a “floating club” at the foot of Locust Street each night, the Courier reported.

Riest, an avid riverman who sponsored the Kipona boat races for 25 years, died in 1940 at the age of 46.

“He was best known as the proprietor of the string of boathouses that remained docked along the riverfront off Locust Street throughout the summer months and for the operation until 1934 of a popular river dance boat,” The Evening News reported in his obituary. “The greater part of his life was spent on the river, and he was one of the originators of recreation on the Susquehanna.”

The boat is remembered fondly, if infrequently. The Dauphin County Historical Society’s records consist of a slim manila folder with five sheets of typing paper, and most memories are anecdotal.

Rabbi Carl Choper first heard about the dance barge from a 100-year-old woman in the course of his work as a chaplain at the Jewish Home of Greater Harrisburg.

“She started telling me about life for young people in the 1920s in Harrisburg,” Choper said.

She told him that the youth of the city would gather in Riverfront Park or at the three local dance halls: the Madrid, the Casino and the Coliseum.

At least one romance was kindled aboard the barge. Ken Frew, a historian at the Historical Society of Dauphin County, said his parents first noticed each other across the dance floor. His father was playing trumpet in the Dan Gregory band, and his mother was out dancing with her girlfriends. Later, they were introduced at one of the dance halls downtown.

Fae Morrison, 88, remembered only photos and her husband’s stories of playing the piano on the dance boat with his band, Al Morrison Music.

“I was a little girl at the time, and I knew there was a boat, but I wasn’t allowed to go. I was too young,” said Morrison, who said she was 10 or 12 at the time the boat was popular. She and Al, whom she describes as “one of Harrisburg’s favorites,” were married in the 1950s.

According to historian Erik Fasick’s recent book “Harrisburg and the Susquehanna River,” the barges also sometimes held events for children, including trips to the beaches on City Island and “kiddie hour dances.”

The early 20th century was a period of growth and development for Harrisburg’s riverfront, and Riest’s business sense served him well. The boat’s popularity coincided with city efforts to improve the steps at the foot of Locust Street and the walkways near the river, the Sunday Courier said.

The Susquehanna is still a focal point of recreation in Harrisburg. These days, however, sports—both individual and professional—hold sway over nightlife, making it difficult to believe that, for decades, an old coal barge carried happy dancers up and down the river.

Musical Notes: Steamy Spring–It’s time to break a sweat.

April 29, 2016 | by Andrew Dyrli Hermeling

In May, the first truly hot days of the year arrive in Harrisburg. When I hit the streets to go to the Broad Street Market during the day, or when I head to a local show at night, I know it’s likely that I’ll break a sweat.

When it comes to music, there are a lot of ways to work up a good sweat. The speedy finger picking and near-shouted vocals of bluegrass conjure up images of hot Appalachian summers. The soulful sound of bluesy chords is reminiscent of the balmy Delta. And sensual and romantic vocals sung over a bass-y beat seem best suited for hot, dark nights. However, know that whichever direction you choose, May in the Burg is a good month to moisten your brow to some excellent music.

COLEBROOK ROAD, 5/7, 8PM, ABBEY BAR, $7/$10: For all of you who think that bluegrass is an old-timey genre, Colebrook Road is out to prove you wrong. While many bluegrass bands rely on old standards to show off their chops, these local boys have made a name for themselves through a combination of incredible musical deftness and a penchant for original composition. Formed here in the midstate, they have taken their talents on the road and garnered praise from some of the leading bluegrass critics and festivals, including winning the 2016 D.C. Bluegrass Union’s Mid Atlantic Bluegrass Band Contest and the 2015 Podunk Bluegrass Festival Band Contest in Hebron, Conn. This month, they take the stage at the Abbey Bar to release their newest recording, “Halfway Between,” joined by featured guests Mountain Ride.

SHAWAN & THE WONTON w/BUZZARD LUCK, 5/14, 8:30PM, RIVER CITY BLUES, FREE: In conversation, Shawan is an unassuming young woman. But, when she starts to sing, her voice drips with a soul that is beyond her years. It doesn’t hurt that she’s backed by an incredibly talented band, inflecting her R&B intonation with jazzy keys and slick saxophone grooves. She’s become something of a local hero, never turning down a show and giving every performance her all. This month, she’ll be joined by York’s equally bluesy Buzzard Luck. The three-piece has mastered the jammy electrical blues that inspired classic rockers such as the Rolling Stones and Led Zep. Combined, both bands are guaranteed to get the crowd moving.

KATE FAUST w/ESKIMO WAV, 5/20, 9PM, STAGE ON HERR, $5: Kate Faust is an electro-backed sensual singer akin to Purity Ring or Niki and the Dove. She discovered her voice while singing in choirs as a student in Catholic school. Now, she sings over polyrhythmic, click-y beats and soft synth pads. Her music is dark but not heavy, romantic but not saccharine. She has a big voice that can be reined in for quieter moments, yet sours when left unrestrained. She hails from Philadelphia and has started to earn the praise of that city’s music critics, including WXPN and Philly’s City Paper. She is touring in support of her new EP “Eros” and will be joined by Eskimo Wav.

Mentionables: Jackson Howard, 5/8, Stage on Herr; Davey O., Suba Tapas Bar, 5/14; Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, 5/20, Whitaker Center; Southern Culture on the Skids, 5/27, Abbey Bar; The April Skies, 5/28, Stage on Herr

April News Digest

April 29, 2016 | by Lawrance Binda

Road Plan Revealed

Harrisburg last month unveiled a plan to make major improvements to 6^th, 7^th and Division streets.

City Engineer Wayne Martin, along with consultant Craig Bachik, presented the results of a study to improve traffic flow and safety along those three major city arteries, a plan that includes adding traffic circles, building pedestrian bump-outs and increasing green space.

Martin said the plan was designed with pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists in mind, in that order.

The study was funded by a $27,000 grant from the Harrisburg Area Transportation Study, with an $8,000 matching grant from the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA). It came about because PennDOT requested a study before the city proceeds with a plan to return N. 2^nd Street to two-way traffic from Forster to Division streets, said Martin.

The proposed improvements include constructing a series of roundabouts at busy intersections, including at N. 7^th and Division, N. 7^th and Reily and on N. 6^th Street in back of the Broad Street Market. Division Street would be redesigned as a boulevard, with a strip of green space in the middle of the road.

The proposal was created with input from “major impactors” along those roads, such as PHEAA, D&H Distributing and Vartan Group, said Bachik of New Cumberland-based Navarro & Wright Consulting Engineers. Neighborhood groups were not consulted, but the public will be able to have a say once the plan is presented to City Council this month, he said.

The improvements would cost about $30 million, said Martin, though the work likely would be done in pieces as transportation funding was secured.

Besides easing traffic, the improvements would help beautify the corridors, while boosting pedestrian safety, especially on N. 7^th Street near PHEAA, said Martin.

City Nominates 2 for CRW

City Council last month considered two city residents nominated by the Papenfuse administration to the board of Capital Region Water.

Garvey Presley Jr. and Charla J. Plaines appeared before council April 19 to discuss their qualifications to serve on the five-member board.

A confirmation vote was scheduled for April 27, after press time. If confirmed, Presley would fill one open seat while Plaines would fill a seat currently held by Bill Cluck.

Cluck, an environmental attorney whose five-year term expired in January 2015, urged council to think twice before replacing him, pointing to Capital Region Water’s financial turnaround and investment-grade bond rating under his tenure.

His plea seemed to find favor with some council members, such as Westburn Majors, who served with Cluck on the board before taking office this past January. “I think it would be a complete disservice if we don’t keep him,” Majors said.

Yet Mayor Eric Papenfuse, who is empowered to nominate board members with the advice and consent of council, said it was time to add fresh faces to the board to achieve greater diversity in membership and help with community outreach.

Plaines, a reentry coordinator at the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, said she felt her skills were suited to making sure diverse voices in the community were more fully engaged in the authority’s decisions.

Presley, an equipment operator at the Derry Township wastewater treatment plant, said he had been interested in environmental work for most of his life and that his employment history made him a “natural fit” for the board.

Recovery Plan Brought to Vote

City Council scheduled a major vote on an updated Harrisburg recovery plan last month, setting the stage for the most comprehensive agreement to date on the mix of tax policies, personnel goals and government reforms needed to stabilize the city’s finances.

The state has asked the city to adopt the 115-page update in time for negotiations with its police and municipal employees unions, whose current labor contracts expire at the end of the calendar year.

An affirmative council vote would mark the first time the body has endorsed a comprehensive recovery plan, as opposed to the piecemeal votes for related legislation while the city was under state receivership in 2013.

The updated plan would count on increased revenue from a local services tax hike affecting residents and commuters and would have the city weigh a home rule charter initiative that could make recent earned income tax hikes permanent.

It would also direct a greater portion of any money recovered in lawsuits over incinerator-related borrowings to paying down the city’s current debt load.

The vote was scheduled for April 27, after press time. But Fred Reddig, the city’s coordinator under Act 47, said he was “optimistic that the plan is going to move forward” and that his team would be able to take it to court for approval.

Demolitions Begin

Harrisburg began razing condemned houses last month, vowing to accelerate the pace of demolitions.

The city is on pace to remove about 30 blighted structures this year, far more than in recent years due to a beefed-up sanitation staff. In past years, demolitions were often delayed as workers were pulled off jobs to assist in trash pickup.

Most demolitions are slated for properties in the Allison Hill and Uptown neighborhoods. In all, Harrisburg has several hundred condemned properties.

March Home Sales

The spring real estate market was off to a solid start in March, as sales ticked up compared to last year.

Regionally, sales totaled 647 units in March, 10 more than in the year-ago period, according to the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors (GHAR). The median price was down slightly to $155,000, but average days on the market plummeted to 86 from 106 last year.

Sales rose to 233 units from 202 on a year-over-year basis in Dauphin County. They fell slightly in Cumberland and Perry counties.

The median sales price in Dauphin County fell a bit compared to last March, to $136,000 from $139,000, though rose by about $5,000 per unit in both Cumberland and Perry counties, to $179,950 and $139,950, respectively, said GHAR.

So Noted

Harrisburg last month was awarded a $155,522 federal grant to help reduce crime in the Camp Curtin neighborhood. The Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Grant will allow the city and several community partners to launch an initiative to lessen crime as part of a larger revitalization effort in the area, according to Tri County Community Action.

Harrisburg Area YMCA has purchased the historic Millers Mutual Group building at Forster and Front streets for $750,000. The Y made the purchase mostly to acquire land for more parking for the East Shore Y next door, but also plans to move its headquarters into the building, according to a joint press release. Millers Mutual stated that it will lease back the building from the Y until it can relocate to larger offices.

Park Harrisburg began booting vehicles last month to better enforce parking penalties on motorists with three or more outstanding warrants. The parking operator long planned to start a booting program, but was delayed until it could develop technology that would allow it to access city parking records, said the company.

Journal Multimedia, a homegrown, Harrisburg-based company that publishes the Central Penn Business Journal, was purchased last month by industry behemoth GateHouse Media, the owner of hundreds of daily, weekly and specialty newspapers. In addition to its flagship publication, Journal Multimedia publishes Central Penn Parent, Lehigh Valley Business and several other titles. It also has related custom publishing and events businesses.

Changing Hands

Briggs St., 225: S. & C. Aichele to B. Brock, $179,500

Brookwood St., 2619: R. Santangelo to B. Sweger, $57,500

Derry St., 1323 & 1325: U. Patel to T. & K. Yameogo, $85,000

Duke St., 2435: J. Smith to F. Zeray, $45,000

Fulton St., 1738: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development & Information Systems Network Corp. to PA Deals LLC, $65,250

Green St., 1925: W. Gonzalez to B. & A. Christensen, $216,500

Green St., 2416: F. Seidlich to J. & P. Manjon, $150,000

Green St., 3113: C. & B. Stone to B. Baker, $159,900

Green St., 3121: J. Meadowa to 8219 Ventures, $70,000

Logan St., 1619: L. Blanton & R. Parr to C. Grim, $89,000

Manada St., 1924: B. Vazquez to P. & T. O’Connell, $36,000

Market St., 1912: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development to Rogue Enterprises, $36,500

N. 2^nd St., 2215: V. & J. Books to T. & J. Whye, $229,500

N. 2^nd St., 2615: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development to TBF Properties LLC, $75,000

N. 2^nd St., 2842: Arthur A. Kusic Real Estate Investments to T. Cook, $60,000

N. 3^rd St., 3005: D. Bartolet to G. Dutson, $40,000

N. 4^th St., 3015: D. Travitz to F. Gresson, $86,000

N. 5^th St., 1738: CNC Realty Group to M. Meads, $85,000

N. 6^th St., 3138: M. Naranjo to J. Crossett & M. Hochstetler, $50,000

N. 15^th St., 1328: L. Mitchell to A. Rodriguez, $38,000

N. Front St., 805: Millers Capital Insurance Co. to Harrisburg Area YMCA, $750,000

N. Front St., 1013: M. Santalucia to B. Rota, $148,000

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 206: J. Feather to C. Wilson & K. Thompson, $85,000

N. Front St., 1525, Unit 604: Riverview Manor Association LP & Brickbox Enterprises Ltd. To D. Baker, $230,000

Paxton St., 1000: Sutliff Enterprises & K. Damitha to PinnacleHealth System, $3,600,000

Rose St., 933: F. Clark to GKX LLC, $235,000

Showers St., 581: R. Ross to M. Terry, $97,000

Showers St., 624: K. Hood to K. Kearn, $86,000

S. 13^th St., 243: E. & A. Martinez to N. Srayi, $32,000

S. 18^th St., 1117: Vanderbilt Mortgage & Finance Inc. to J. Frias, $30,535

S. 29^th St., 630: P. Over to J. Guzman, $46,600

State St., 124: C. Smith to TKP Investments LLC, $175,000

State St., 1520: Federal National Mortgage Association to A. Moore, $31,000

Susquehanna St., 2136: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development to L. Marrazzo, $31,125

Swatara St., 2142: G. & J. Trump to R. Chowdhury & A. Nasrin, $49,500

Verbeke St., 232: K. Bentzel to Afterkey Property Solutions LLC, $60,000

Wyeth St., 1406: PA Deals LLC to J. & Y. Oskam, $113,900

Harrisburg property sales for March 2016, greater than $30,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.

Greens Season: Celebrate spring with some tender veggies.

April 29, 2016 | by Rosemary Ruggieri Baer

May is here and, every year, I am happy to leave the damp chill of March and April behind.

There’s no guarantee about weather, of course, but hopefully some warmth has returned, and farmers markets are finally showing signs of seasonal produce. Tender sprigs of homegrown asparagus, sweet green onions, sugar peas and pod peas are sneaking in amid the piles of squash and kale. By this time of year, my husband groans every time he sees another sprig of broccoli on his plate. And I am ready to celebrate spring in my kitchen.

May is a lovely time in Italy with warm, sunny days (especially in the south) and cool nights. There are no sunflowers yet, but bright red poppies dot the Tuscan and Umbrian countrysides. On the culinary side, many dishes focus on the bounty of the young growing season.

Asparagus and artichokes make their way into risottos, soups and pastas. Fresh herbs like rosemary and oregano are beginning to send out green and tender sprouts to be used on savory meats grilled over an open spit. Fennel, with its tender green fronds, flavors fish and salads with its strong taste of licorice. Young spinach leaves are perfect for egg fritattas.

In spring, Italians eagerly anticipate the arrival of fava beans, broad beans that resemble limas. Like asparagus, artichokes and peas, they are used in many recipes. But they require some effort to prepare—first extracting the beans from their pods and then peeling the skin that covers each tender bean. I have never been able to find fresh fava beans, so, for the recipe that follows and others like it, I substitute frozen baby lima beans, which are almost always available—and not like those of your youth!

Be on the lookout for two things for your spring recipes: “homegrown asparagus,” the thin tender spears prized by chefs, and the smallest baby peas you can find. The recipe below is a wonderful mix of spring vegetables mixed with baby arugula. It is spiced up with red pepper flakes and smoked cheese: scamorza, mozzarella or cheddar. (Scamorza is an Italian cow’s milk cheese shaped like provolone but similar to mozzarella.)

Cucina Italiana’s Primizie Verdi
(Green Spring Salad)

Ingredients

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/3 cups tiny frozen lima beans
½ pound green beans trimmed and halved crosswise (use the thinnest beans you can find)
1 ½ cups baby peas (if using frozen, do not thaw)
6 asparagus spears (look for tender thin to medium stalks) cut in quarters
7 cups loosely packed arugula
1 1/3 cups shredded smoked scamorza, smoked mozzarella or smoked cheddar cheese (use the largest holes of a box grater)

Recipe

In a small saucepan, combine oil and red pepper flakes. Heat over medium-low heat until the oil is warm and bubbles slightly. Remove from the heat to cool.
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil and cook the baby lima beans according to package directions. When cooked, remove the beans from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and transfer to a colander. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking and keep the limas bright green.
Add the green beans to the same water and then add the asparagus and cook 2 minutes more. Drain into a colander and let cool.
Place the arugula in a large, wide serving bowl. Add all of the cooked vegetables and ¼ teaspoon salt (sea salt if you have it) and half the shredded cheese.
Strain the red pepper oil through a small fine strainer over the salad and toss altogether.
Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

This is not your usual salad. The combination of bright green vegetables, smoked cheese and a zing of red pepper can be the centerpiece of a spring dinner. All you need to accompany it is a grilled chicken breast or steak, warm Italian rolls and a light, chilled Pinot Grigio or Orvieto.

These same spring vegetables (minus the arugula) can also be tossed with pasta, additional olive oil and some crushed garlic for a lovely pasta primavera. No cream sauce is needed. Enjoy spring’s bounty, which is so fleeting. Eggplant, tomatoes and zucchini will be here soon!

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