Harrisburg Magazine November 2022

By the time you’ve received your November issue in the mail or picked up a copy at one of our many distribution locations, it’s likely to be on or about Veterans Day. So, it’s only appropriate that this month we feature three articles by our Arts & Entertainment Editor, Christina Heintzelman, focusing on soldier-turned-civilians, including: Jerry Flanagan, founder of JDog Junk Hauling & Removal and JDog Carpet Cleaning & Floor Care; author Eugene Mosely (“Footprints of the Montford Point Marines”) who has been working tirelessly to bestow muchdeserved honors upon his late father, Thomas; and, last but not least, the scores of vets who have received care during the Lebanon VA Medical Center’s 75 years of existence. To all those who have suffered and, even more importantly, overcome “the wounds and scars of war,” we salute you!

November is also the month when holiday shopping officially begins, which is why, before you head out to the mall on Black Friday, you may enjoy reading David Morrison’s look back at downtown Harrisburg shopping – as it was 75 years ago. Let it serve as a reminder that the city of Harrisburg, and its surrounding East & West Shore communities, continue to feature many unique shops and services, so before you consider sitting down in front of that cold computer keyboard on Cyber Monday, why not shop local instead.

Speaking of local … this month’s Barista’s Choice profiles Linglestown native Kate Stoak, who not only is a creative coffee brewer, but also an up-and-coming novelist; November’s Influencer journeys to the State House to meet Executive Director of the PA Legislative Black Caucus, April Ashe, a Harrisburg High grad who

“The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.” - Douglas MacArthur

PHOTO BY CHRISTINA HEINTZELMAN Honoring Empty Place at the Table for MIA at the Lebanon VAMC

says “anything is possible” when it comes to future political office; four local visual artists are profiled in Christina Heintzelman’s continuing series about 2022’s Simply the Art honorees; and Roxy’s Café, a favorite breakfast haunt for Harrisburg residents and Capitol employees for decades, is the subject matter for the debut of Christina’s new Toast of Harrisburg feature. Another must-see is photographer Will Master’s montage of some of our area’s most scenic covered bridges!

On the literary side, Jim McConkey’s short story, “Justin Case,” takes a tonguein-cheek (or perhaps a “bite my tongue”) look at bureaucratic red tape; poet Carla Christopher writes about the “Green Circle” of “joy and compassion, innovation and peace”; Brad Maurer’s The Cercus takes a bug’s eye view of the 2022 election cycle; and satirist Bill Roddey skewers the foibles of modern society with more Off the Cuff one-liners.

Don’t forget our columns! Alex Brubaker’s By the Book previews works by local authors that make for perfect holiday gifts; in Postcards From … author Steven G. Williams advises how to best go traveling with friends; Barbara Trainin Blank looks ahead to what’s “on stage” during the holiday season in Theatre Thoughts; Andrea Reed tells you to “gobble up the good fats” this Thanksgiving

in Nourishing Bites; Kristen Zellner pays tribute to animals who have served our country in For the Love of Pets; HACC’s Robert Stakem honors local veterans who continue to serve in Tailboard Talk; Film & TV historian Kevyn Knox chooses his Most Influential Directors of All-time in Cinematic

Ramblings; and, finally, in The Finance Hound, Bryson Roof provides tips on handling stock market declines.

Remember to “give thanks” to friends and family this month – and also to those who have served and protected our freedoms!

RG

The Cercus reserves all reproduction rights, including the right to claim statutory copyright, in the above published Work. The Work may not be photographed, sketched, painted, or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the express, written consent of The Cercus.

BUTTERFLIES AND BUTTERFINGERS

Kittens playing inside mittens.

Long sloppy kisses that linger Enough to make you smitten.

A smile with a wink and a nudge. Tanned after eatin’ chewy fudge.

A light handheld laced with fingers.

Sweet barbecue chicken tenders.

A yard bobbing with birds peckin’ For worms after rain I reckon. A stroll around the house neked.

Aspiring Writer Loves Roasting, Brewing – and the “Characters” - at St. Thomas Roasters

Story By Randy Gross rgross@harrisburgmagazine.com

Photos By Paul Vasiliades

It’s often said that life is like a book, layered chapter upon chapter. Which is not only apparent but appropriate for young Kate Stoak, a Central Dauphin High School and Penn State grad, who is developing her craft as a writer while happily living the latest chapter in her life as the Roaster and Head Barista at St. Thomas Roasters in her native Linglestown. While on the job, she says she loves “getting to meet and know a lot of people and be a part of their day-to-day lives.” But it’s more than just the community ties that she finds rewarding.

“We have a reality show here,” jokes owner Geof Smith, “that could be written up and embellished a little bit.”

“Oh yeah,” agrees Stoak, “Lots of writing material. Like, with the community aspect, there are so many good things. But there are some interesting characters.”

Pre-Covid, Stoak dreamt of using her English and Comparative Literature degree as a means to finding a job in publishing and editing. “And then, post-Covid, it’s kind of a little bit up in the air right now,” she says. “I want to write my own novels, but I know with social media trends and everything like that, it’s really hard to get someone to pick up your novel if it’s not a viral idea. So, that’s a little intimidating … but it’s on the horizon.”

In the meantime, you can find Stoak using her creativity to whip up some drinks with plenty of “character,” including: (pictured) her personal favorite, the Apple Caramel Latte; and a Cold Brew, which she prefers with simple syrup and a little bit of cream. Yearround favorites at St. Thomas include the Milky Way Mocha and fresh-brewed coffees like the Linglestown Blend. During the month of November, Stoak expects the Maple Spice Coffee and Brown Sugar Latte to return as popular sellers. All the coffee beverages go great with a delicious pastry from Desserts

Apple Caramel Latte and Cold Brew

by Melissa (the Cinnamon Swirl Cake comes highly recommended); or, for something savory, Stoak claims she’s been eating the Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Croissant “every single day of her life” (she laughs, adding “probably just a year-and-a-half now.”)

Already with seven years of experience as a barista under her belt, Stoak only graduated from PSU a year ago. As chapters go, the current one seems like a perfect fit for her. Her book is far from completed; she has many chapters – and novels – to go.

Kate’s Dossier

Words of advice to home coffee brewers.

If I had to offer any advice to people brewing at home, it would be to remember that coffee can be an extremely individual and personal experience - there’s no shame in being someone that likes sugary coffee with lots of milk or cream in it. I used to, and still sometimes do, drink a lot of the specialty drinks on our menu here; the OGs that worked at St. Thomas when I was just a customer will remember my obsession with the frozen

Apple Caramel Latte. The older I get, the more I appreciate a good black cup of coffee, but if I’d started there seven years ago because I felt pressured by coffee purists, I might be in an entirely different job field now. If you’re brewing at home, find some good quality, fresh, local coffee and just experiment until you find what works for you. I love an athome cold brewed coffee that’s probably been sitting for a little too long on my countertop.

Is there anything – or anyone – who inspires you as a Barista?

Obviously, my boss, Geof, and not just because he pays me to say that. I love that he started St. Thomas Roasters when he was 40 and not fresh out of college. He’s got so much life experience from working in a corporate environment that’s really made him a great leader and someone to learn from. Beyond him, definitely some of my former coworkers, Darryl and Jae.

DRINK OF THE MONTH

Classic Cold Brew (16 oz.)

1 16 oz cup filled with ice 6 oz of cold brew concentrate 2 oz water to dilute

½ oz of simple syrup (substitute French vanilla or something exciting, if it’s a good day)

Splash of cream or milk of choice

Barista, Kate Stoak - St. Thomas Roasters

Coffee Roaster

St. Thomas Roasters, continued from Page 7 Darryl was the roaster here before I moved up to the position and I always admired how much work he put into educating himself about the growing processes even after he went home for the day so he could be as knowledgeable as possible in the shop. It’s something I try to challenge myself to do now that I have the opportunity to have a hand in our coffee’s quality. Jae hasn’t worked here in probably three or four years, but we still go on coffee tours together a few times a year even though they live in New Jersey now and, clearly, I’m still a Linglestown local. We create itineraries and see how many cups of coffee we can drink in one day, but it’s more about the experience of visiting other local businesses and roasters and getting to talk to the people that work there.

Favorite coffee or blend of coffee. My favorite coffee that we carry here would have to be either the Tanzanian Peaberry or Indian Monsoon Malabar. As far as hot coffees go, they can’t be beat in my book. I drank the Indian for my entire first semester of college, nearly every morning, and never got tired of it. I prefer cold coffee, so I like the St. Thomas blend that we use for cold brew in the shop. At home I mostly brew whatever we have extra on hand at the shop, so there’s no going wrong.

Recommendations of two or three kinds of coffee to try. If you’ve never tried a coffee from here, I always recommend the Linglestown Blend. It’s such a well-balanced and full-bodied medium

roast that I think would suit a lot of coffee drinkers’ tastes. If you’re a little bit more confident in roast preference, I always say to go with our dark roast Kenya AB, medium roast Costa Rica Tarrazu or Indian Monsoon Malabar, and light roast Tanzanian Peaberry.

Favorite coffee-fusion drink to mix.

I love a good dirty chai latte. I don’t drink them very often, to preserve the special-ness of them, but I like it with two shots of espresso and sometimes oat milk for extra luxurious texture. They’re fun and easy to whip up even when we’re busy. Other than that, I love making a cold brew in the shop. We keep our cold brew concentrate in a mason jar and dilute it per drink, so it makes me feel a little bit like a scientist.

Most commonly ordered drinks during your shift(s).

I work the morning shift most often, so we get a lot of standard brewed coffee drinkers who are looking for an easy drink to grab on their way to work, but I love getting to make lattes in the first few hours after opening, before we get our big morning rush. There’s something relaxingly methodical about pulling the shots and steaming milk and getting to sort of rely on muscle memory.

Philosophy on coffee brewing and/or the enjoyment of coffee. I think I included this in my advice section, so this is a bit redundant, but I always think that coffee drinking and prep should be an individual experience. For me, I do brew coffee at home sometimes, but I prefer

to go out to a local business and really get to enjoy the environment. I like black coffee sometimes, but I also love trying new flavor syrups or experimental drinks and learning what I like that way. There was this place I went to on a coffee tour that did an espresso tonic with lemon juice and while I probably wouldn’t order it again, it was neat to try a creative drink that someone else came up with.

Is Barista your day job? If not, what else do you do for a living?

Right now, this is it for me. I can’t express enough how fortunate I am that I have the privilege to make enough money doing the job that I love. I think that being a barista for the past seven years has been invaluable to my experience in this community. I see so many people day-in and day-out that have become acquaintances and friends. Eventually I would love to use my English and Comparative Literature degrees a little bit more than I am currently. I write in my free time with some mild success at the moment, but I would like to dedicate more energy and care into those avenues as I get older.

During a typical week, what days/shifts can you be found at St. Thomas Roasters?

Typically, I’m behind the counter or roasting Tuesday through Sunday from opening time to late morning, early afternoon-ish. When we’re training a new employee, I sometimes make appearances in the afternoon as well, so there’s a fair chance to find me almost any time of day. 7

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Wrap up these books by local authors for the holidays!

November typically brings the biggest books of the year from the biggest publishers. As the holidays approach, publishers line up their biggest investments to hit the shelves in tandem for the money-making season. This year is no different, and while there’s plenty to love on the national level (we see you, George Saunders and Celeste Ng!), we wanted to highlight a few local authors that should make a splash for holiday shoppers.

“And Yet” by Kate Baer

Kate Baer is a #1 New York Times bestselling poet, an Instagram sensation, and most importantly, a local author to the Susquehanna Valley. In her second full length collection, Baer firmly positions herself in the company of Dorianne Laux, Mary Oliver, Maggie Nelson, and other great female poets of our time. Baer will be having her book launch at the Fulton Theatre in Lancaster on November 8th, where she’ll be in conversation with podcast host Nora McInerny. Check her out on Instagram @katebaer and make sure to pick up a signed copy of the book at the Midtown Scholar Bookstore.

“Our Friend Hedgehog” by Lauren Castillo

Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator and Harrisburg resident Lauren Castillo is no stranger to success. Her books regularly receive major awards, prizes, and climb the ranks of nationwide bestseller lists. In her second book in the Our Friend Hedgehog series, Castillo delivers a beautifully illustrated, heartwarming tale for young readers (and those young at heart, too). Our Friend Hedgehog: A Place to Call Home cements Castillo as one of the country’s most dazzling young authorillustrators, and Harrisburg is lucky to have her as one of our own.

“Ghosts Come Rising” by Adam Perry

We might have just left spooky season behind, but Adam Perry’s middle grade novel Ghosts Come Rising is suitable for any time of the year. Perry delivers a heartfelt work of historical fiction set in the 19th century featuring spiritualism, a spooky commune, and a suspenseful plot that will leave readers on the edge of their seats. Perry, a Lancaster resident, is an up-and-coming middle grade author to keep your eye on.

“Count Each Breath” by Maria James-Thiaw

Maria James-Thiaw is a legend in Harrisburg. From her dynamite poetry readings to her electric on-stage performances, James-Thiaw has been a hit in the local poetry scene for years. In Count Each Breath, James-Thiaw delivers another major work of poetry exposing a health care system built on bias and inequity, and a system of policing that snatches our sons and daughters from our arms.

“The Year of the Monster” by Tara Stillions Whitehead

In The Year of the Monster, Messiah University Professor Tara Stillions Whitehead delivers a multi-genre (and mind-bending) work of literary fiction. With a background in filmmaking, Stillions Whitehead aims to subvert the toxic cultural narratives endorsed by popular media and the institutions that profit from stigmatizing historically oppressed groups. Mixing traditional storytelling with purposeful experimentation, Stillions Whitehead balances prose, script, and hybrids on the fulcrum of classic truth: Monsters and monstrosity are not strictly teratological horrors. Whitehead is a force on the page and the stage, and we can only hope she continues her work in experimental fiction.

“Brain Death” by John Benedict

John Benedict has returned with his fifth medical thriller, and his enthusiastic fans couldn’t be more excited. Set in Pennsylvania at a nearby hospital, Benedict weaves a suspense narrative with heartpounding results. Benedict, a resident of Hershey, delivers another fiction work with medical authenticity. 7

Alex Brubaker is the manager of the Midtown Scholar Bookstore and director of the Harrisburg Book Festival. Previously, he was the editorial assistant at Rain Taxi Review of Books and the exhibit coordinator for the Twin Cities Book Festival. He is a graduate of Millersville University and now lives in Harrisburg.

Gobble Up the Good Fats

Not all of the fats in our foods are bad for our health. While all fats are macronutrients, which means they provide our body with a big dose of energy, they are not all equally beneficial for our health. We need fats for important functions such as absorbing fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, and as a source of fatty acids for our brains. However, there are several different kinds of fats. Although most foods contain a mix of different types of fats, the main fat that

they contain is how they are categorized. We can start building healthy habits this holiday season by gobbling up the good fats and limiting the others to our favorite treats.

The fats from nuts, seeds, vegetable oils, and seafood are known as unsaturated fats and boast heart-healthy benefits. These fats can help raise “good” cholesterol and reduce our risk of heart disease. Eating healthier fats can help us feel full and stay full longer. One of

Nourishing Bites/Andrea Reed

the easiest swaps we can make is to cook with plant-based oils, such as olive or canola oil. While you may not be ready to swap out the butter for a plant-based spread on your roll, you can replace all, or just some, of the butter with a plant-based oil in many recipes. For example, you can swap out some of the butter in your sweet potato casserole, stuffing, or mashed potatoes for olive oil. When it comes to dressings, we can opt for a neutral-flavored oil like sunflower oil or add a bit of a nutty taste by using walnut oil while providing our bodies with an important source of fatty acids. Fall is the perfect time of year to toss pumpkin seeds onto a salad or roasted pecans into a side dish. For a healthier take on sweet potato casserole, try cubing and roasting the sweet potatoes in olive oil and topping with roasted pecans.

Saturated fats are those from animal sources, like meats and butter, as well as tropical oils such as palm or coconut. These fats typically appear solid at room temperature. Eating too many of these fats poses the risk of raising our “bad” cholesterol which increases our risk of heart problems or diabetes. Limiting our saturated fat begins with choosing lean cuts of meat. When we are serving up holiday classics,

such as turkey, simply remove the skin to reduce the fat by half. Chilling our turkey drippings allows us to remove the hardened fat from the top before making some of that savory homemade gravy. We can reduce overall fat by choosing to grill, roast, or bake vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts, instead of frying.

Eating healthier does not mean we have to give up our holiday traditions. By making a few simple swaps, we can still enjoy our favorites and ensure we are getting the most out of the fats in our diet. Let’s make it our goal this season to focus on the good fats. 7

Andrea Reed, MPS, RDN, LDN, is a freelance dietitian with a background in agricultural sciences. Growing up in the outdoors of Pennsylvania inspired her to include agricultural education in her nutrition counseling and is the focus of her writing. To find out more about Reed Nutrition visit https://reedrdn.com.

Weathering the Storm – How to Handle Stock Market Declines

The S&P 500 index declined 23.87% for the first three quarters of this year. During the same period, the Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond index posted a negative return of 14.61%. In no uncertain terms, the financial markets haven’t been kind to us. But what’s the best course of action moving forward?

Should you ride it out?

Are you tired of hearing friends, family or an advisor telling you to ride it out? Do you ever wonder why an advisor recommends a strategy? In the May edition of the Finance Hound, I wrote about behavioral finance and investor behavior while attempting to time the market. Putnam Investments concluded that by missing just the top ten performing days during their 12/31/2006 to 12/31/2021 research, investor performance was cut in half.

The biggest challenge investors face is determining when the top ten performing days of the market will be. March 23, 2020, was the bottom of the S&P 500 Covid-19 pullback. The three following trading days resulted in a 11%+ return with March 24 having a 4.4% return and March 26 having a 5.2% return. If we hop into our time machine and return to March 24 with the knowledge we have now, we might have made a different decision. But at the time, did we know anything about a vaccine status? Did we know if hospitals were equipped to manage the increased demand and a potentially higher patient load? Did we know if brick and mortar stores that relied on foot traffic would be able to avoid bankruptcy? There were a lot of uncertainties, yet the stock market started to recover. Therefore, advisors recommend having a long-term vision and weathering the storm. The stock market is a forward looking, highly efficient market and investment performance is often determined by the amount

of time spent in the market rather than ineffectively trying to time entering and exiting the market.

Is this time different?

The facts of this current pullback are different, but we can say that about a lot of market events. The S&P 500 traded at 1,092.54 on 9/11/2001. Remember, this was the first time the United States had been attacked on American soil since 1941. Questions surrounded if we were going to be attacked again and if we were going to war. Was there going to be a draft? How long would the stock market closure last? We had the tech bubble burst in the early 2000s (the dot com boom) where the Nasdaq declined over 70%. We had the Great Recession of 2008/2009 which was the worst economic decline since the Great Depression. We had multiple debt debates, government shutdowns, the Fiscal Cliff, Sequestration, and the US Debt being downgraded for the first time in history. There was even a nuclear reactor meltdown in Japan in 2011. Yet, these days the S&P 500 is still going strong, closing at 3,585.62 on 9/30/2022.

History has proven that the stock market, like life, is full of bumps in the road. The key to successfully investing is keeping your eye on the horizon and not getting stuck in the minutia of daily updates. 7

Bryson J. Roof, CFP®, is a financial advisor at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Harrisburg, and has been quoted nationally in various finance publications including CNBC, U.S. News & World Report, and Barron’s.

The Finance Hound/Bryson Roof

As December Approaches, So Does Holiday Fare

Local theaters are gearing up for a festive month of stage presentations:

Gamut Signature Fall Play Theatre presents Innocent Merriment; or, An Evening with Gilbert & Sullivan! Music by Arthur Sullivan, lyrics by W. S. Gilbert, November 5-27. Gamut’s TMI Improv session is on November 17. Gamuttheatre.org.

Open Stage shows Who’s Holiday!, by Matthew Lombardo, in its Studio Theater. Featuring Rachel Landon as Cindy Lou Who. A wildly funny and heartfelt adults-only comedy about a woman who met the Grinch one Christmas Eve and the twisted turn of events her life has taken since. November 26-December 22. And don’t forget the theater’s popular annual production of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, December 3-23, featuring Nicholas Hughes as Scrooge. Openstagehbg.com.

The Laramie Project comes to Oyster Mill Playhouse. In October 1998, a 21-year-old University of Wyoming student named Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, severely beaten, and left tied to a fence in a prairie outside Laramie because he was gay. Playwright Moisés Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theater Project made six trips to the city, conducting more than 200 interviews with residents, and constructing a moving theatrical experience. November 4-20. Oystermill.com

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a three-time Tony-nominated musical comedy with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Presented by Theatre Harrisburg at The Whitaker Center, it’s the timeless tale of a dreamer, his 11 brothers, and the father who set it in motion. Told entirely through song, it leads the audience through the story via a narrator, children’s choir, and colorful troupe of actors. November 4-20. theatreharrisburg.com

Irving Berlin’s classic songs — including “Blue Skies,” “How Deep is the Ocean,” and the beloved title song — highlight White Christmas, coming to Fulton Theatre. Based on the often-shown film of the same name, this heartwarming musical is brought to dazzling life onstage.

November 17-December 31. Also at The Fulton is A Christmas Carol, based on the perennially popular Dickens story. Coldhearted Ebenezer Scrooge encounters spirits of Christmases past, present, and future to undergo a change. The Victorian setting is peppered with pop culture references, and a holiday sing-along brings cheer to all ages. G-rated. November 26-December 23. thefulton.org.

’Twas the Night Before Christmas’ by Ken Ludwig, prolific (mostly comedic) playwright from York, comes to Little Theatre of Mechanicsburg November 26-December 11. The wild adventures of a mouse, an elf, and a spunky girl who won’t take no for an answer. Ltmpa.com

Saturday Night Fever continues through November 12 at Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre, while Elf the Musical plays November 18, 2022 –January 8, 2023. Based on the hit movie, Elf introduces a young orphan named Buddy, who accidentally crawls into Santa’s bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole. Raised by elves and at first not realizing he’s human, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father and true identity. dutchapple.com

The Playwrights Alliance of PA (PAPA) is proud to present Plays on Devonshire, an evening of dinner and one act plays, Saturday November 19, at Colonial Park United Church of Christ, 5000 Devonshire Rd., in Harrisburg. Dinner starts at 6:00 PM, showtime at 7:00. Tickets are $25 and include dinner and the show. For ticket reservations and meal preferences text 717991-4735 or email Pam at pamelabarndt137@ gmail.com. Plays contain some adult language. 7

Barbara Trainin Blank is a freelance journalist, book author, editor, and playwright. She grew up in New York City in a house rich in the arts, which are a major focus of her writing. She lived in Harrisburg for 24 years and continues to contribute to regional publications.

Recognizing Veterans Who Continue to Serve

During Veterans Day observances each November, we are reminded of the sacrifices made by military veterans. For some, those sacrifices continue as they serve in their community’s public safety organizations. This month, we interviewed three military veterans serving in first responder fields in Central Pennsylvania.

Because of its paramilitary nature, military veterans often transition to careers in law enforcement. Jamie Kopinetz, a full-time law enforcement coordinator at HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, is an example. He served in the Army Reserves for nine years and deployed to Iraq in 2003 before

becoming a full-time police officer. Kopinetz said he developed a “sense of service” and recognized that serving “something bigger than self” started in the eighth grade, when he was introduced to law enforcement in an Explorer Post. Kopinetz, who recently retired from the Hummelstown Police Department, continues his service to this day as an instructor and mentor to new police recruits.

Military veterans also transition to fire and rescue or the emergency medical services (EMS) field. Larry McCarter, a HACC EMS instructor, enlisted in the Army and was deployed to Vietnam. When McCarter returned

Theatre Thoughts/Barbara Trainin Blank

Tailboard Talk/Robert Stakem

from Vietnam, he joined AT&T, retiring as a satellite operations team manager with the disaster recovery team. In his civilian work, McCarter responded to natural and human-caused disasters, including the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11. McCarter set up communication systems, allowing responders and civilians to communicate with loved ones when other systems failed. He became an emergency management technician (EMT) so he could help his team if anyone was injured on those deployments. Upon retiring from AT&T, McCarter became a paramedic and served in the Harrisburg region for many years. He continues his service today by instructing the next generation of EMS professionals at HACC.

Carlos Patiño-Quiroz has served with the United States Army for 17 years, and is currently in the Pennsylvania National Guard. During his time in the military, Staff Sergeant Patiño-Quiroz held several leadership positions while supporting combat support hospitals and ground combat units. He recently completed a tour of duty supporting Operation Inherent Resolve in various locations in the Middle East with the 28th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade. During this deployment, he was able to apply his expertise and save a military-working dog who suffered from cardiac arrest. For his actions, Patiño-Quiroz was awarded a Distinguished Air Medal and an Army Commendation Medal. He graduated from HACC’s Nursing Program and returned to HACC as adjunct faculty after completing a Master’s Degree in Nursing Science. He is currently faculty for HACC’s Paramedic and Pre-Hospital Registered Nurse programs and is a full-time flight

nurse for STAT Medevac. Patiño-Quiroz also holds several national nursing certifications in critical care, advanced cardiac medication and emergency and critical care transport. Patiño-Quiroz is currently completing a program in adult gerontology acute care nursing.

Jeremy Saul, a captain with the Harrisburg Bureau of Fire and a hazardous material specialist with Pennsylvania Task Force One, became a firefighter at a young age when he says “helping people became a calling to me.” He served in the Army and then the Pennsylvania Air National Guard from 1999-2019, while continuing to serve his local community as an EMT and firefighter. After leaving the military, Saul graduated from HACC’s Fire Academy and was hired by the Harrisburg Bureau of Fire. In his role with the task force, Saul most recently deployed to Florida to help those affected by Hurricane Ian.

Each of these individuals exemplifies a life of service. As Saul said, “This calling to serve is like no other because although there is a rewarding feeling, it takes sacrifice.”

Sacrifice and service. These are just two of the tenets we should be thankful for this month as we honor military veterans and those who continue to serve today.

Robert Stakem is executive director of the Senator John J. Shumaker Public Safety Center at HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College.

Animals of Service

In honor of Veteran’s Day, we will celebrate and pay tribute the people who served in our armed forces. We will share stories of triumphs and hardships and listen to the people who helped support our freedom and bettered the lives of the people of our country and beyond. As we celebrate our veterans, it is fitting to pay homage to the animals whose mission was to assist, protect, befriend, and comfort our service people in the barracks, on ships, on the battlefield, and at home.

Cats, dogs, horses, elephants, camels, mules, dolphins, and pigeons are among the menagerie of animals that played important roles in the lives of service members. From performing specialized tasks to providing companionship, these animals were once - and some continue to be - assets to the armed forces.

In the world wars, military dogs carried messages and wires for radios, and were sent onto battlefields with medical equipment for injured soldiers. Horses and mules transported ammunition and heavy equipment and provided transportation for soldiers. Pigeons, flying at speeds of up to 60 mph, delivered coded messages from the battlefront. Their speed and flight altitude made it difficult for snipers to pick them out. Dolphins were trained to search for and mark the location of undersea mines, either floating from an anchor or buried in the seafloor. Using bio sonar, dolphins are highly adept at object recovery, finding lost naval swimmers and alerting the Navy of the presence of enemy watercraft.

Today, dogs are used in all branches of the armed forces. Bombsniffing dogs save thousands of lives by detecting explosives and warning humans before they are detonated. Search and rescue dogs are tasked with the duty of finding survivors and bodies of the deceased. Other canines receive specialized training in tracking, patrolling, protection, and attacking. Military dogs are fellow warriors

and receive the same quality of medical treatment and care as their human counterparts.

Cats, too, play a special role in the military, though they don’t get as much recognition. Our feline friends have historically been used to keep rats and mice out of vital food supplies and prevent the rodents from chewing on wires and destroying expensive and important equipment. Cats that stray onto the barracks are often kept as companions, providing comfort and boosting the morale of soldiers.

Off the battlefield, dogs continue to support veterans and help them cope with life after military service. The Dog T.A.G.S. Program in Mechanicsburg is a volunteer operated service dog program that trains dogs belonging to veterans to become their personal service dogs. Veterans who are diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are eligible for their services. At Dog T.A.G.S, professional dog trainers provide training to meet the specific needs of each veteran. Alpha Bravo Canine, located in Philadelphia, professionally trains and gives service dogs to military veterans who fought in overseas battles and sustained a disabling injury. There is no cost to the veterans for either of these programs. This Veteran’s Day, if you wish to offer support to our veterans and their service dogs, both organizations are 501(c)3 non-profits and accept donations from the public. 7

Kristen Zellner owns Abrams & Weakley General Store for Animals, est. 1986, Central PA’s first health food store for pets. She helps customers keep their pets healthy through better nutrition.

Let’s face it. Every artist, in every art form, no matter how original they may be, has been influenced by those who came before them. It’s no different in the world of cinema. Some filmmakers, like Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, and Wes Anderson, freely admit such a thing. I’m sure others do, too. Tarantino proudly boasts that he has stolen from everyone. But which filmmakers of the past were the most influential? Here are my choices for the five most influential directors of all-time.

Alfred Hitchcock (of course) – So many of today’s directors have been influenced by this legendary filmmaker. Just watch Spielberg’s Jaws , which is basically an homage to Hitch. Martin Scorsese. David Fincher. John Carpenter. David Lynch. Gus Van Sant. Directors like M. Night Shyamalan and especially Brian DePalma have practically

made a living out of being modern day Hitchcocks. Even directors such as JJ Abrams and Roland Emmerich were influenced by Spielberg, so they are basically Hitchcock once removed. And pretty much every modern-day Japanese and Korean horror master was deeply influenced by Hitchcock, especially Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho, and Cary Joji Fukunaga.

Stanley Kubrick – Possibly even more influential than Hitchcock. Take a look at the films of Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Christopher Nolan, Wong Kar-wai, Nicolas Winding Refn, The Coen

Cinematic Ramblings/Kevyn Knox

The most influential directors of all-time

Brothers, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Edgar Wright, Gaspar Noé, Danny Boyle, Steven Soderbergh, Michael Mann, David Gordon Green, Lars von Trier, Frank Darabont, Robert Rodriguez, Ridley Scott, Tim Burton, Darren Aronofsky, Sam Raimi, Oliver Stone, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro, Denis Villeneuve, and Quentin Tarantino and you can see the deep Kubrickian worship in every last one of them.

Akira Kurosawa – I have a friend who says that if it were not for Kurosawa, we wouldn’t even have modern cinema – and he may be right. All of his many many films have been influential, but just Seven Samurai alone is responsible for every action movie that came after it. From Star Wars (which was directly influenced by Kurosawa’s Hidden Fortress) to the movies of Michael Mann and John Woo, Francis Ford Coppola and John Carpenter, and pretty much every one of the Marvel Universe movies. Escape from New York was an homage to Kurosawa in many ways. Even movies like The Matrix, Ocean’s Eleven, and all the James Bond movies are direct descendants of the great Kurosawa.

Jean-Luc Godard – Not many people outside of cinephiles even know who this great French director was, but his influence can be seen everywhere. The films of Wes Anderson would be nothing without Godard, one of his biggest influences. Everyone from Jim Jarmusch (Stranger than Paradise was basically a retelling of Godard’s Breathless) to Steven Soderbergh to Wong Kar-wai and Hal Hartley owe Godard a debt of gratitude. Haskell Wexler’s Medium Cool and Arthur Penn’s Bonnie & Clyde were directly inspired by Godard back in his New Wave days. I could probably list 99% of today’s directors if I had the space to do so.

Anyhoo, that’s it for this month’s column (as I am out of space) so I’m going to go now – and without even mentioning Chaplin or Welles or John Ford. See you at the movies. 7

Kevyn Knox is a Writer, Artist, Pop Photographer, Film & TV Historian, Pez Collector, and Pop Culturist. He has written film reviews for FilmSpeak, Central PA Voice, and The Burg. His reviews & other ramblings can be found on his blog, www.allthingskevyn.com.

Postcards From… Traveling with Friends

When you visit somewhere new, you force yourself to adapt to different cultural norms, which provides for a degree of empathy with others. You grow because of the experience and society grows because now one more person sees themselves as part of something bigger. The power of travel is that it can change the world one person at a time. However, it does not have to be one person at a time. It can be multiple people at a time. I fully endorse solo traveling, but I also fully endorse traveling with friends and experiencing this growth together.

Recently my wife and I took a trip to Croatia with some close friends (I recognize that is a privileged statement) and while there, we learned about the history of the country, met the folks who live there, ate the food, swam in the waters, took a “Game of Thrones” tour in Dubrovnik, and simply lived in the moment in a country that was new to each of us. I think it is safe to say, we all walked away from that trip with a greater appreciation for that part of the world and the people who live there. The bonus of us traveling together is that we can continue to reflect on those experiences together as opposed to individually, had we done that trip by ourselves. We formed memories that will bond us for years. And just from a basic-needs standpoint, we were able to share the responsibilities of planning and paying for the trip.

I will caution you that just like when folks discourage living with your friend because it could end that friendship; the same applies to traveling. Before you commit to jaunting through Europe with some friends, spend a weekend together to get a feel for how you each travel. I am not everyone’s cup of tea because I am very go, go, go. For someone who likes to relax, I may not be the best travel partner. But even if you do travel differently, if you are understanding of each other’s differences, then you may still make good travel partners. Like I said, spend some time together beforehand to know if it will work for a longer trip, because the experience and the exponential growth from traveling together is completely worth it.

I have some news: these past few months writing the “Postcards From” column for Harrisburg Magazine have been, just like traveling, an awesome experience. I appreciate Randy Gross for giving me a platform to share my travel insights. He really gave me a lot of creative freedom in that regard and I’m extremely grateful. I won’t say goodbye because this is not the end, but I will be putting this column on hiatus

for a short while. I appreciate everyone who read this column. I hope you learned some stuff and that you keep on seeing the world and having new experiences. 7

Steven Williams is an avid traveler, amateur cook, and fantasy author. He serves on the Harrisburg School Board and is the Associate Director for the Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool/Youth Development Network. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania with his wife Danielle.

GREEN CIRCLE

By Carla Christopher

The busy middle of day is crossover lines where calendar grids and road dividers intersect. Autumn moon and fading summer sun join in the early moments of curvy morning then gather in the ripples and waves of ripening night.

Gather with me inside the circle of each day, where together we bend and shape the shifting lines of life so that we can regard each other, hold each other, remain connected through and in the static of our work and travel.

Journey with me as the bridge between morning and day, day and evening.

Dance with me along the lines of growth and journey, fade and fall. Build shape upon shape that we may be joy and compassion innovation and peace, line and wave, gathered bravely inside life and love’s circle. To be shaped by each other is cause for gratitude.

Carla Christopher is a former Poet Laureate of York, former Board President of Nathaniel Gadsden’s The Writers Wordshop, and winner of the Life Esteem Ministries Imani Lifetime Achievement Award. A Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion trainer, Carla currently serves as Assistant to the Bishop in Charge of Justice Ministries for Lower Susquehanna Synod (Central PA Region) ELCA Church Offices based in Camp Hill, PA.

April Ashe: A Meditation on Public Purpose & Personal Responsibility

Story By Randy Gross rgross@harrisburgmagazine.com

Photos By Paul Vasiliades

“I wanted to be a brain surgeon! My biggest passion, you could say, is ‘why people think the way that they do, why do we do what we do!’”

April Ashe grew up in Hodges Heights, roughly 10 minutes away from Hershey. A long time ago, her grandfather, Elmo Hodge, purchased the very ground she would eventually run and play on – over 137 acres in all – but it was far from a selfish real estate transaction. “He did it for underserved African American families,” recounts Ashe, “and he allowed them to purchase land and build their own house right on top of the land. So, it was a win-win for everyone.”

Ashe’s very close-knit, large family (two brothers and two sisters) traveled a lot when they were young, but their roots have always remained strong in the Harrisburg area. She attended Southside Elementary,

Central Dauphin East Junior High, and graduated from Harrisburg High in 2003. Through it all, Ashe developed a strong desire to succeed, most likely an inherited combination of the best DNA traits from, respectively, her father and mother: Charles Edward Ashe, Jr., a hard-drivin’ truck driver; and Wendy Haigood, a Senior Legislative Assistant and ubiquitous presence in the PA State House for more than twenty years.

Like a lot of kids, Ashe’s earliest career aspiration was a bit ambitious for her age, and directly connected to her playtime activities. “I would have the doctor’s kit that you would have with the stethoscope,” she recalls with a laugh, “and I would go around trying to analyze everyone’s brain and behaviors – it was crazy. But I actually wanted to be a brain surgeon.” However, when she got older and saw real blood for the first time, “that dream went completely out the window!”

Behind it all, bubbling just below the surface, was Ashe’s ongoing passion for wanting to understand “why people think the way they do.” Without a doubt, it’s the factor that has guided Ashe in pursuing a career as a legislative assistant, research analyst, and opportunity-innovator for the underserved in her community. And it is also why she has been selected as our Influencer for November.

“I felt that, if we don’t give back to the community, are we truly serving our community. And do we love our community?”

Ashe’s career started long before her graduation from Clarion University, with an internship with the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, under the chairmanship of State Representative Ronald Waters in Philadelphia –her first real opportunity to step with both feet into the waters of community-based politics. “I worked with his office on prison reform, and we worked on education issues,” she says, “and that kind of sparked my passion for wanting to get involved with politics and government and being more involved with my community and how it operated.” After graduation, she served a two-year stint as a residential specialist for Keystone Human Services, helping those with intellectual disabilities with their everyday life. It was a formative experience for her, one that she links to her high regard for a famous local model community. “It was kind of like Milton Hershey,” she recalls. “He built the community based around the values that he held dear and saw in other communities.”

It was a period when she was developing another strong passion: for serving the underserved. “A lot of it was just about my own experiences in life and what I saw. I have experienced a lot,” she continues, “from racism, to being underserved in various job placements, and just how society rules itself. I wanted to be an intricate piece to some kind of change.”

An opportunity to become a bigger piece of that change was right around the corner.

“I came back, and my mom called me, and she said ‘they have a position open. Fill it out, bring that application – now!’”

It’s often said that when people chase their dreams, the road will lead them back home again. Nothing could be truer for Ashe.

Knowing that her daughter wanted to serve her community in a bigger capacity – and that she also yearned to be in the Capitol – as soon as Ashe’s mother heard of a position opening in

the PA House, she got on the phone.

Ashe remembers: “She just was like ‘hey, look, it’s there for you, go after it,’ and she positioned me and gave me those skill sets … and that’s one thing I love about my parents. They pushed me to live my dream.”

“Coming back here [to Harrisburg] I put in the application, and they just so happened to call me back,” she continues, “and I started working with Representative Jake Wheatley [out of the Allegheny County district], and he helped to really mold me in understanding law, understanding how committees work, how the research works, and he gave me a position as his legislative assistant.”

Ashe would move onto the positions of Committee Legislative Assistant for the Commerce Department and Research Analyst for the Finance Committee (also under Representative Wheatley) and Research Analyst for the Professional Licensure Committee before landing her current job as Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus. Along the way, she would be instrumental in establishing the Democratic Internship Program (“Harrisburg needs the young people and the young voices to stand up, to speak out,” she declares, “so I want to make sure they’re equipped”); and has somehow found time to also serve as Chief Operations Officer for The Bridge: Eco-Village (“Garry Gilliam [The Bridge founder] has been a phenomenal leader in the community,” she praises, “as far as taking an abandoned building and modeling it after Milton Hershey’s concept”). On a daily basis, in between responding to innumerous phone calls and emails and

attending countless meetings and traveling to speaking engagements around the state, she keeps her eyes on the prize of a consistent goal: “I help a lot of small businesses get the answers that they need through the red tape of state and different departments.”

With side projects like a yoga studio and a business called UnBottled Expressionz which offers handmade scrubs, soaps, and body butters for purchase, it begs the question: “how does she stay so centered?” Her response is swift and emphatic: “I do rooftop yoga at my house. And I meditate. So, in the morning time, I purposefully do that, so that way I can set the intent for the day – and set exactly where I want my energy and vibration to go.”

“It gives me such satisfaction knowing that we can be a solution, where there is no solution. That we can be of help, where there is no help.”

Ashe firmly believes that “if you want to make change, you get in the fight.” Her fight has long been trying to bridge the gap between community and government and bring trust back where it was lost. Now pursuing her master’s in educational psychology (yes, she finds time to go to school, too!) her hope is to use her degree “to create educational programs for different organizations so that they can get the funding that they need.” Content with her multi-tasking career, she nevertheless is used to being asked whether she intends to run for political office.

“You’re like the fifth person who has asked me that recently,” she

April Ashe, continued from Page 19

responds with a laugh. “I will say this: anything is possible. I haven’t written it off. But that feeling, that rollercoaster feeling every May election, every November election, I don’t know how I can take that.”

If Ashe does eventually decide to run for a statewide or national position, she knows that she’ll have the words of her truck driving father (“do what you love, and love what you do”), and her long-time legislative assistant mother (“I don’t care what you do, just be the best”), to guide her.

That, along with the spirit of her late grandmother who, along with Ashe’s mom, are the “two pillars” who have uplifted her since she was young.

“It’s just a matter of who they are as women,” she says, fending off a tear. “We have it so rough as women, and then as black women. My grandmother, she was in a prison ministry for over 20 years, and she traveled this entire Commonwealth visiting the prisons, ministering and just being a support system for others … you could say I get that from both sides of my family.” After a thoughtful pause, she continues, “so, they have been the most influential people in my life. And I would not be who I am if it wasn’t for them.” 7

I had a hunting accident. I was hunting for a Butterball to bag at the supermarket when I tripped over a feminine hygiene product display and had to be rushed to a spa for an emergency facial.

The latest addition to the Spice Girls from the 90’s is Pumpkin Spice Girl. And rapper Eminem has shorted his name to M&M.

There’s that moment in life when you realize you’re more like Wile E. Coyote than the Roadrunner. Beep! Beep!

The world is my oyster: slimy, slippery, and snotty. I’d like the world to be my banana split with sprinkles please.

Justin Case

Story By Jim McConkey Illustration by Allison Juliana

Justin Case prepared for every contingency—carried ID, always had phone change, emergency numbers, spare keys, Band-Aids. He dressed for three seasons, was fully insured.

One autumn day, Justin was abroad in the city when he heard his name. The voice sounded familiar, but the street was crowded, and no one had stopped or was looking at him. He heard it again. In the deep shadow of a boarded-up doorway, he discerned a bearded, disheveled figure sitting back on a dilapidated guitar case. Shockingly, its visage was grinning at him.

“Hey, man,” the words came from an orifice so ringed with whiskers that no lip seemed to intervene between mustache and tooth. “It’s me. Jason.”

Justin peered at him. Jason?

“Jason Reinbeau.”

Recognition flooded Justin’s brain. Jason Reinbeau had been his best high school friend. They had played chess, mooned over girls, formed a musical duet, shared books, discussed poetry, argued religion and politics. So inextricably linked had they been that classmates called them “J-Troop.” But Justin had trod the paths of academia while Jason struck out alone, and the two lost touch.

Jason was in shocking condition, gaunt and emaciated. How long since he’d eaten was anybody’s guess, but it was even longer since he’d bathed. Nothing else would do but to take him home, feed and bathe him, burn his old clothes, and give him new ones.

Jason epitomized the oriental ideal of karmic acceptance. “It’s really beautiful,” he said. “You hang out there and the most amazing things happen. You wouldn’t believe the people you meet. God really does provide. I know you wouldn’t think it, but I’ve had a life you couldn’t buy for love nor money. Spare changing . . . People taking you in . . . One day you’re wallowing with the ‘scum of the earth’—some real princes there, too—the next you’re schmoozing with the creme de la creme.”

“Right,” thought Justin—reflecting, perhaps ruefully, on his own cloistered life—“leeching off people who work for a living.”

Jason’s gift for song had grown, and he spent hours serenading Justin’s condo. Mysteriously, he disappeared each day and tracked back in with money—not much, but enough to relieve Justin from supporting him completely. He said he’d signed with a temp agency, but Justin suspected he was panhandling.

Rifts began to open, as inevitably they must. While Justin was the soul of order, Jason found virtue in letting dishes pile in the sink. The living room floor around the couch he crashed on became littered with magazines, pizza boxes, and dirty clothes.

Life had not prepared Justin for this assault on his equilibrium.

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s passed, and the two were so at odds that the split was inevitable. Early one evening, Jason announced his return to the streets. The weather was balmy for the season, though wet snows had left the streets a slushy morass.

Now, as Justin straightened his living room for what he hoped would be the last time, he flipped on the early news. The forecaster announced a cold front with snow and high winds that would send temperatures to below zero by morning. Jason, he was sure, was utterly unequipped for that. Justin drove out looking for his friend, but the city was big. After

two hours he gave up.

The next afternoon the phone rang. It was Jason. He was in a donut shop across town. Could Justin come and get him? Justin drove through the frozen city. The temperature on a bank sign read minus two degrees. For the next couple of days, Jason seemed distracted. Occasionally his whole body would jerk, and he would emit a sharp, “Ah!” Finally, Justin asked what was wrong.

“It’s my feet,” said Jason. “Can’t believe the pain.”

“What’s wrong with them?”

“They’re raw as hell.”

“Let me see,” Justin ordered.

Jason removed his shoes, still damp from the slushy streets. His feet were swollen, blistered, and red. Here and there were spots of deep purple. “You’ve got to get to a doctor,” said Justin. “I’ll cover it.”

Wet shoes in sub-zero temperatures had led to third-degree frostbite. The purple spots were gangrene. Amputation loomed.

Justin prepared to do the needful thing—dive into the bureaucratic tangle to get public assistance for his friend. The early steps were easy. He talked to the hospital social worker, who helped him fill out an application and told him to visit the local social services office. If they approved the application, Jason would qualify for medical benefits.

Confident that his government would make it up, Justin invested generously in Jason’s short-term welfare. A month went by, two months, and no word from social services. Justin made inquiries, and was told not to worry, that things took time, he would be contacted. It looked good, though. Jason’s history of unemployment and the amputations seemed certain to guarantee disability income and reimbursement for his medical expenses.

At last, a notice of a “Disability Determination” appointment arrived. It detailed certain documents Jason needed, among them proof of his lack of income.

It needs to be told that in those days of budgetary constraint, a brilliant scheme had been devised to reduce what were known as “entitlement” programs. A person’s word no longer sufficed—no problem for those honestly in need, right? The measure had been hailed by liberal and conservative alike. Even Justin had voted for the candidate who supported it, and sure enough certain entitlements declined markedly. Justin was about to find out why.

He wheeled Jason into the office, explained who he was, who Jason was, and why they were there. Jason handed over the application. The case worker perused it with professional disinterest. Her name was Anita Witt, Nita to her friends.

“You haven’t filled in last year’s income,” she said.

“That’s because there wasn’t any,” said Jason.

“OK, $0.00,” said Janet. “Let me see your tax return.”

“I don’t have one,” said Jason. “You’re not required to file if you make less than $600. I made zilch. That’s less than $600.”

“OK, let me see your pay stubs for the last three months.”

Jason looked her in the eye. Justin stared with mouth agape. “When you have no income,” Jason tried sounding patient, “you don’t get pay stubs. I didn’t make any income. I don’t have pay stubs.”

“Well,” said Janet, “you have to show me something. Otherwise, we can’t process your application.”

Justin couldn’t contain himself. “What in cripes name do you want? A sworn statement from every employer in the state saying Jason didn’t work for them?”

“Oh, you don’t need to go that far,” Nita replied helpfully. “Pay stubs or a tax return will do. Or,” she added thoughtfully, “receipts for your last three months’ living expenses. Car payments, mortgage or rent, utilities. Something. Anything at all, really.”

“He lives with me!” Justin sputtered. “He doesn’t have a car. Or a mortgage. Or utilities. Or rent! There’s just food, which I haven’t exactly itemized by the mouthful.”

Nita’s gaze dripped ennui. “Well, you’ll have to show us something,” she said. “Otherwise, we can’t help you.”

“What the hell do they think?” Justin raved as they left. “If you don’t have bills, you don’t exist?”

Jason survived rather better than Justin did. Being a nonperson seemed to amuse him; Justin, on the other hand, mortgaged his condo and cashed in his 401(k). Jason got prosthetic feet, took up handicapped sports, and became a top contender on the amputee ski circuit.

The government mailed Justin a certificate proclaiming him one of the storied “Thousand Points of Light.” But he faced a philosophical crisis of the first magnitude. His government had demanded something not tried since Aristotle demonstrated its logical impossibility—prove a negative. This outrage could not go unanswered. He filed a complaint

lathered in sarcasm, neglecting no opportunity of referring to Nita Witt as Nit Wit.

As luck would have it, the complaint passed under the nose of a supervisor with his own grudge against Nita—her refusal to indulge him in office hanky-panky—and he used the complaint to deny her a scheduled promotion. Naturally she appealed, and so doing obtained a copy of the complaint.

Her anger went first to the supervisor, but she soon saw who the real culprit was—Justin Case. He hadn’t just aired a grievance; he had called her a nitwit—slandered her carefully nurtured good name. She would mortgage her house, sell her car, to take this scoundrel down in court.

How this played into his hands astonished even Justin Case, the master anticipator. Prove a negative? In American jurisprudence, the burden of proof is on the prosecution—the party filing the charge. Yes, Justin had called her a nitwit; Anita proved that beyond all doubt. But, in front of Judge Judy on national television, she was utterly, completely, and irrevocably unable to prove she wasn’t one. 7

Jim McConkey graduated from The George Washington University with a journalism degree. The Peace Corps reoriented him toward more “constructive” pursuits, and he made carpentry the means of support for his writing. He authored Krishna Unhinged, a Peace Corps Memoir; and his short works have appeared in places as varied as The Old-House Journal and Cat Fancy magazine. He lives in Hershey with his wife, Diana, a poet and former journalist herself.

75 Years of Excellence Serving Our Veterans: Lebanon

VA Medical Center

Story and Photos By Christina Heintzelman cheintzelman@benchmarkmediallc.com

In memory of my father, Master Sgt Charles D. Boyer, Pearl Harbor Survivor stationed at Wheeler Field and a recipient of services through Lebanon VAMC

Our military men and women have risen above and beyond John F. Kennedy’s historic words, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” And, in response to their services to our country, the Lebanon VA Medical Center has turned JFK’s challenge into the prime example of what our country can do for returning military veterans.

The process of caring for military veterans has a long history with roots that can be traced back to 1636, when the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony were at war with the Pequot Indians. The Pilgrims passed a law which stated that disabled soldiers would be supported by the colony. Later, George Washington and the Continental Congress in 1780 passed the first act offering pensions to widows and orphans of Revolutionary War soldiers. Land grants gave free land in the public domain to officers and soldiers who continued to serve; or, if they were killed, given to their representatives or heirs. The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) followed the Civil War and at this time set up a fund for the relief of needy veterans and began funding some veterans’ homes, which were later turned over to the government, with the first one in Pennsylvania being the Soldiers and Sailors Home in Erie. The VA draws its history from the second inaugural address of President Abraham Lincoln, which in part states, “… to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan...”

The Veterans Administration was formed in 1930, which elevated the then Veterans Bureau to a federal administration to consolidate and coordinate government activities affecting veterans. The US Department of Veterans Affairs was later created to rename the Veterans Administration, effectively elevating the newly named Department of Veterans Affairs to a cabinet level department during the Reagan administration in 1988.

Our local history of the Lebanon VA Medical Center dates to 1942 and 1943 when the federal government began buying parcels of land in Lebanon, PA, and began construction of the current facility in 1945. The main building was modeled after Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The total cost to build the hospital and additional structures was three million dollars. In May of 1947, the first employees were hired, and the first patient was admitted September 15, 1947. By the end of that day, five patients had been admitted.

The VA Medical Center in Lebanon is responsible for veterans from nine surrounding counties: York, Lancaster, Adams, Perry, Dauphin, Berks, Cumberland, Schuylkill, and Lebanon. But veterans from any part of the United States may use their services if necessary. As Douglas Etter, Chief Communications Officer and thirty-four-year Army veteran says, “So any veteran traveling anywhere in the US can stop by any of the facilities for medical needs they may have including prescription refills.” Lebanon VA also oversees local VA outpatient clinics in various surrounding areas. Other VA services in the area which are not managed by Lebanon VAMC are local vet centers in Harrisburg and Lancaster, and the Indiantown Gap National Cemetery.

Lebanon VA Medical Center

Out of 170 VA medical centers in the country, the Lebanon facility has been named as the best facility in the country for 2020 and 2021 for patient care and experience. Even the newly renovated cafeteria and lounge is ranked as one of the best VA cafeterias in the country.

Lebanon VAMC offers a full range of inpatient and out -patient services including surgery services, dietary/weight management programs, home based primary care, in house primary care teams, specialty care, tele-health appointments, 24 hour emergency department, acute care, ICU, comprehensive rehabilitation programs, orthopedic surgery and care, long term care, hospice, and every other service for medical and emotional needs down to and including support services such as a barber, cafes, recreation and activity center, spiritual/religious services, child care services for employees and the public (depending on available space), and a retail store.

Regarding the ICU unit, which was totally rebuilt two years ago, Etter states, “Shortly after we finished construction on this new unit, COVID hit and the positive thing that happened because of this new construction was that we were able to have the new ICU and also have a separate unit for COVID ICU.”

During COVID, Lebanon VA was the first in the nation to figure out a way of sterilizing N95 masks during the time that PPE was in high demand and short supply because of the global pandemic. Etter states, “The FDA had approved a procedure for sterilizing N95 masks which are normally thrown away after one use. Because PPE was in such short supply, we became the first VA in the country to begin sterilizing and thus reusing N95 masks. It was a rigorous procedure in which not only was the mask sterilized but it was also returned to the person who brought it into us. We got a lot of kudos for doing that, so we expanded the program and began doing it for other VAs.”

Currently the YMCA basketball court at the VA Medical Center has been turned into a COVID vaccine, booster, and testing location serving both veterans and the outlying community.

Lebanon also began initiating programs for employees who were experiencing burnout and exhaustion and took a program within their veteran’s programs called Whole Health and began to offer it to their employees, while additionally creating an employee recognition program to honor their hard-working staff. Lebanon VAMC ranks third in the nation in employee job satisfaction.

Lebanon is the first VA in the country to establish a High Reliability Organization (HRO) department, in which systems are constantly audited for ways in which they can be improved to ensure patient safety and employee satisfaction and recognition. “All of these programs speak

to the culture of the Lebanon VAMC and the goal of management and employees to provide the best care to all patients.” Etter adds.

New construction is always on the move, either by renovating existing buildings and treatment areas, or building new facilities. An example of this is the residential rehabilitation treatment program (RTP) facility built seven years ago for the housing and treatment of veterans suffering from substance use disorder (SUD). The unit has 2 separate buildings with a total of 43 beds in individual rooms. Both male and female veterans are served in this program. It is a national best practice facility, meaning that the rest of the VA centers in the

country are encouraged to follow the guidelines of this program as they set up similar programs in their area. There are 70 different treatment program modalities available to veterans using SUD services, so that each patient can receive individualized assistance during their recovery.

17% of the military population is female so the Lebanon center is expanding its services to women. 47,000 vets are treated at Lebanon VAMC and out of these over 4,000 are female. Considering this, the Lebanon VAMC is currently adding two wings to its current building, one which will include a special space for women’s health care. One of these wings will be completed by 2023.

Services provided by veteran and other church and community groups is of great value to the medical center, including music, bingo, game night, contests, meals and treats, patient visits, small gifts, providing masks during COVID, and monetary donations. “We are so grateful for the outpouring of community support and know that we could not do all of this without community response and commitment. I am so See Lebanon VA Medical Center on Page 26

Lebanon VAMC Cafeteria

Lebanon VAMC Program Room

Lebanon VAMC COVID Vaccine and Booster Clinic

Original employees of Lebanon VAMC 1945

humbled by the generosity of the community,” Etter says.

He also states that only 30% of veterans who are eligible for care use VA medical services because they have not enrolled. He adds that the PACT Act, new legislation that expands VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances, will help provide generations of veterans and their survivors with the care and benefits they’ve earned and deserve. Paperwork for filing for these benefits has been reduced and the hope is that this will spur more veterans to sign up for the medical benefits they are entitled to. In terms of quality indicators, a study done by Rand Corporation showed that in forty-seven metrics of patient care and services, the VA beat the civilian sector in forty-six areas and tied in the other one. Etter points out that the more veterans using VA health services the more funds will be allocated by Congress, thus using these services helps provide more federal money for veterans’ services.

Etter closes by stating, “I want to tell you how proud I am to work here, how proud I am of my fellow employees who genuinely care, genuinely work hard, and genuinely put veterans first. I love walking through the facility halls and seeing the interactions between staff and patients. I love attending events and having veterans come up to me and tell me how grateful they are for the services they received from us.”

And, from Harrisburg Magazine – Thank you Lebanon VAMC and all veteran centers throughout our country. Thank you for all you do to serve those who bravely served our country. 7

The Lebanon VAMC website is www.va.gov/ lebanon-health-care and their Facebook page is lebanon va medical center

The Veterans Crisis Line is 1-800273-8255, Press 1. The main phone line is 1-800-409-8771.

The Montford Point Marines

The Story of a Steelton Native and the First Black Marine Corps Unit in the United States

Thomas Mosley may not be a name that many people from the Harrisburg area are familiar with, but hopefully after reading this story about him, along with the legacy of the Montford Point Marines, he will become a part of the narrative that helps define the service given by courageous individuals who protected the liberty and independence of United States during a time when they themselves were not protected with equal rights in this country.

This year, Steelton Mayor Ciera Dent proclaimed September 17th as Corporal Thomas Mosley Day in the borough of Steelton at a Heroes Appreciation Day Ceremony in the borough. A Certificate of Honor presented by Lisa Iskric, Unit 420 Auxiliary President of American Legion Post 420, was presented to Mosley’s son, Eugene Mosley. Brian Proctor, Steelton Borough Council President, and Council woman Natasha Woods were instrumental in working with Mosley’s son and the Steelton Borough Council to create this ceremony.

In November, Thomas Mosley will also receive his high school diploma posthumously through the program Operation Recognition, which allows Pennsylvania school districts to grant a high school diploma to any honorably

discharged veteran who served in the United States military during WWII, the Korean Conflict or Vietnam War. The creator of this program is Joe Ulrich, a U.S. Marine veteran who served in Vietnam.

Thomas Mosley, born in 1924, was one of 13 children of Henry and Lula Mae Boone Mosley. The family lived in the area of Steelton known as ‘the bottom’ or ‘the alley’. He and his brother, Wilson had to forage for firewood before going to school to assist their family during the depression. He later worked at the Alva Restaurant, and then enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, hoping to earn additional money for his family.

Thomas Mosley was the first African American from Steelton to enter the Marine Corps. He joined the Corps in 1943, the year of his nineteenth birthday. His enlistment was made possible by Executive Order 8802 prohibiting racial discrimination in the defense industry or government, signed in 1941 by then President Franklin D. Roosevelt. This order allowed African Americans to take their rightful places in the military and in the defense industry. The order may have recognized the need to prevent discrimination, but it did nothing to prevent continued segregation.

Recruitment of black men for the Marine

Lebanon VA Medical Center, continued from Page 25

Story By Christina Heintzelman cheintzelman@benchmarkmediallc.com

Lebanon VAMC Recognition Wall

Eugene Mosley

Corps started on June 1, 1942, a year after EO 8802 had been signed. It should be noted that before this time there had only been 13 black men who served in the Continental Marines during the Revolutionary War.

Between 1943 and 1949, approximately 20,000 African American Marines were trained at Montford Point Camp, a segregated facility adjacent to Camp Lejeune. Although blacks were welcome to enter training for the military, servicemen were kept segregated according to race. The Montford Point Camp was overseen by white officers and was fraught with discrimination. Black soldiers from Montford Point were not allowed onto the adjacent Camp Lejeune base unless accompanied by a white officer. Montford Point was deactivated as a recruit training depot in 1949 after President Harry S. Truman’s 1948 Executive Order 9981 ended color bias in the American armed forces.

Valor and courage have nothing to do with color and these Montford Point Marines served with honor, bravery, and distinction in the World War II battles in the South Pacific, including Guam, Peleliu, Saipan, Okinawa, Iwo Jima, and the Solomon Islands. Montford Point Marines handled ammunition, fuel, food, and medical supplies at the front lines; retrieved fallen and wounded comrades; fought on the front lines; and lost their lives in service to their country. They wove the chain back together every time the line was broken from supply caches to the front lines, no matter how dangerous the situation was.

It wasn’t until 2011, 63 years after Montford Point Camp closed its doors, that President Barack Obama signed into law the legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to the Montford Point Marines. The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress and is Congress’s highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. President Obama stated, “Despite being denied many basic rights, the Montford Point Marines committed to serve our country with selfless patriotism.”

On June 27, 2012, the Montford Point Marines were presented the award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., Corporal Mosley being part of this group. It is much to the credit of U.S. Marine Corps Master Gunnery Sergeant Joseph H. Geeter, current president of the Philadelphia Chapter of Montford Point Marine Association, who lobbied faithfully and ferociously for many years before the Congressional Gold Medal was finally awarded to these brave marines of Montford Point Camp.

Corporal Mosley retired from active duty from the Warner Robins Base in Georgia. He remained active his entire life in the issue of civil rights. He was active in the NAACP and met and knew Dr. Martin Luther King and his parents as friends and hosted them when they visited the Harrisburg area.

Mosley played a critical part in bringing buses to the Harrisburg area to transport people to the Civil Rights March in D.C. in 1963. He received the Earl T. Shinhoster award by the NAACP Chapter in Macon, GA, and three years later this chapter created the Thomas Mosley Veteran’s Award. In 2016, the military JROTC wing of Rutland High School in Macon, GA, was renamed The PFC Frank Johnson – Corporal Thomas Mosley Marine Corps Leadership and Education Department, dedicated to him and Frank Johnson, another Montford Point Marine.

Thomas Mosley’s son, Eugene Mosley, a Harrisburg native but now a resident of Philadelphia, PA, began writing Footprints of the Montford Point Marines in 2011. The book is the story told to him by his father, Thomas Mosley, who assisted in the book’s compilation until his death in 2016. Eugene continued interviewing Montford Point Marines, fact checking, and reviewing historical data. He credits his wife, Soonai, for her patience and understanding while he moved forward for eleven years in the writing of this book. Beverly MelasiHaag, President of the South Florida Writer’s Association, worked with Eugene Mosley on the original editing of this book. The book was published in 2022, six years after the death of Corporal Thomas Mosley. Christopher Church was the final editor for this book, which was published by Church’s publishing company, Dagmar Miura.

Eugene Mosley follows in his father’s footsteps by being one of the first black students to integrate an all-white military ROTC high school. He furthered his studies at Temple University in the School of Civil See The Montford Point Marines on Page 28

Mayor Ciera Dent and Eugene Mosley

The Montford Point Marines, continued from Page 27

Engineering. He is an archivist and collector for the permanent exhibition of Thomas Mosley, Frank Johnson and the Montford Point Marines at the Harriet Tubman Museum in Macon, GA. He is a member of the Montford Point Marine Association, which allowed him to reach out and speak with dozens of the original Montford Point Marines who served in WWII, some of whom he made aware for the first time of their qualifications to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, which they were subsequently awarded, some being awarded posthumously.

Commandant Leonard F. Chapman, 24th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, had this to say about the Montford Point Marines: “The footprints of the Montford Point Marines were left on the beaches of Roi-Namur, Saipan, Guam, Peleliu, Iwo-Jima, and Okinawa. Tides and winds have long ago washed them out into the seas of history, but the chosen few in field shoes and canvas leggings also left their mark in the firm concrete of Marine Corps history. And as new generations of Marines learn to march in those footprints, their cadence assumes the proud stride of the men from Montford Point.”

Footprints of the Montford Point Marines can be purchased through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online book distributors. The book is also available on Kindle. Eugene S. Mosley, public speaker and journalist, can be reached via email at takeomos@verizon.net or esmosley529@gmail.com. 7

Saluting a Pennsylvania Veteran

JDog Brands - Creating Business Opportunities for Veterans

Story By Christina Heintzelman cheintzelman@benchmarkmediallc.com Photos Provided By hellomainland.com

According to the Pew Research Center, job placement after military service is an issue affecting nearly 200,000 veterans every year, with only one in four veterans having a job lined up after leaving the Armed Forces.

Jerry Flanagan, a Pennsylvania native living in Berwyn, PA, is one of those individuals who found the civilian job market to be daunting after his return from military duty, but because of his ingenuity and perseverance he was able to not only generate a lucrative business for himself but also create a business model that assists veterans every day of the year. An Army veteran, CEO, and founder of JDog Brands, Flanagan, along with his wife Tracy, founded JDog Junk Hauling & Removal and JDog Carpet Cleaning & Floor Care as a way of creating business ownership opportunities exclusively for veterans and their families.

Flanagan’s story is one of perseverance for himself and his family, but even larger than that it is a story about his much larger goal of

supporting veterans in many different areas as they struggle to acclimate to life outside of the military.

Flanagan served two years active duty in the Army as a wire dog, a nickname used for the tactical switching operator or combat signaler who runs communication lines. His Army buddies called him JDog, hence the name of his future business. He also served two years in the Pennsylvania National Guard as an Infantryman. But after his service, as he tried to transition back to civilian life, he found it difficult to find a job as none of his military skills translated well into the civilian sector.

Without a college degree and with a military background that didn’t translate well into civilian jobs, Flanagan found himself to be eligible only for lower-level jobs. “I came from a low-income background and wasn’t raised with the expectation of having a high-level position,” he says. After some time being a dishwasher for a restaurant, working in a gas station, and a

Thomas Mosley

Tracy and Jerry Flanagan

bouncer in a bar, he got a job as a dock loader for a retail company that specialized in Halloween items and watched the company grow to become a muti million-dollar organization. “I wanted to be that guy – an entrepreneur. I went out on my own, but it didn’t work out as planned.” He then got involved in a business in 2006 that specialized in equipment for kids – swing sets, moon bounces, birthday party paraphernalia for kids. The recession of 2008 knocked the bottom out of his business. “In 2010, I had to file for bankruptcy, I was 43 years old, without a college degree and I was panicked.”

After this setback, Flanagan began to research ‘recession proof businesses’ on the internet and junk hauling popped up. He states, “I said to myself, ‘I have a jeep, I’m a strong guy so I’ll get a trailer and go around picking up people’s junk.” I began doing this in 2011, thinking I’d do this on the side while looking for a job.”

This is where Flanagan’s military values of respect, integrity, and trust came into play. “I had a junk pickup scheduled, arrived fifteen minutes early, cleaned up after I finished, and addressed my customer as ‘sir’. The customer was amazed and asked if I had been in the military. I answered that ‘yes, I had been,’ and he then said I should tell all my customers that I was a military veteran because this was something that would appeal to my customer base.” Flanagan took that customer’s advice, changed his marketing, and created the bulldog logo from Rocky the bulldog, mascot of the 3rd Infantry Division of Fort Stewart Army Base in Georgia. His business became JDog Junk Removal and Hauling, veteran owned and operated, and his phone blew up with calls for his business. Before he knew it, the business became full time, and he no longer was looking for other types of work.

“I was at the VA hospital in Coatesville and went to a job fair and worked out a program where I was hiring all these veterans who were coming back from combat and who were struggling to find work. I formed a relationship with the VA hospital and came to realize that

there were many veterans out there who needed help in finding jobs.” At the same time, Flanagan’s wife Tracy told him that, according to statistics, post 9/11 veterans were facing an unemployment rate of 12% and that perhaps they should consider franchising their business to veterans. After much consideration, Flanagan decided to franchise his business and sold the first franchise in 2013 - and by 2014 had sold a total of five franchises. “At this point I had to make a decision if I was going to be the franchisor of this business or if I would continue being the junk remover myself.” He met with a local investment firm, Julip Run Capital, who agreed to work with him while he and his wife retained majority ownership of their business. The investment firm raised over one million dollars in capital for the growth of the JDog brand. Today JDog has nearly 300 franchises in the U.S. and more than forty in Pennsylvania. Local JDog hauling franchises are in Southern Lancaster County, Lancaster, Reading, York, Hanover, Carlisle, and Harrisburg.

In addition to the junk hauling business, the company has expanded to include carpet cleaning and floor care. “We now can suggest to our customers that after the junk has been hauled, we can clean the dirty See JDog Brands on Page 30

Harrisburg JDog Franchise

Vernon Bingham is the Harrisburg franchisee for JDog Hauling. Bingham went into the army right out of high school in 1999. He was a part of 11 Bravo Infantry and went on a training deployment in the summer of 2001. He came home on a two week leave and the Monday he reported back to duty was the day before 9/11. He was immediately deployed to the Iraq border and in 2016 he was medically retired. After this he became the GM for a JDog location here in PA. He enjoyed the veteran focused business so much that he went on to open his own location here in Harrisburg. Contact Bingham directly at the website www.jdogharrisburg.com.

Jerry Flanagan

JDog Brands, continued from Page 29

carpets and floors that were hidden under the junk. We will even power wash the deck if they have one,” Flanagan laughingly adds. Flanagan states that not only do customers want to hire veteran owned businesses to provide services but that customers also have a deep trust for the former military people who come to their homes to supply those services.

Flanagan states that the three main objectives for the JDog Brand are: most importantly, to provide business opportunities for veterans; get the veteran unemployment rate to under 1%; and finally, through the JDog Foundation, to heal mental health and help prevent suicide. Flanagan states, “If you want to support JDog Brands these are the

three main pillars that sum up our services.” But the services do not end here. There is a JDog Foundation which supports veteran suicide prevention services and higher education programs, JDog Apparel powered by Grunt Style, and a TV series, Operation Hidden Treasures, shown on Discovery Channel and The American Heroes Channel. Veterans can also apply for a job or a franchise or create a strategic partnership with JDog Brands through their own businesses by using the website www. jdog.com or www.jdogbrands.com 7

Theatre Harrisburg

The cast of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” a production of Theatre Harrisburg, Nov. 4 - 20 at The Whitaker Center.

Since 1926, Theatre Harrisburg has been enhancing the quality of life in the Capital Region by providing bold, authentic, relevant and visionary theater experiences and opportunities to people of all ages, abilities, talents and backgrounds throughout Central Pennsylvania. For details on the theatre’s 2022-2023 Mainstage Season (it’s 97th!) visit theatreharrisburg.com

Food & Fun

Photo Credit: Chris Guerrisi

Toast of Harrisburg Roxy’s Café – A Harrisburg Classic

Story By Christina Heintzelman cheintzelman@benchmarkmediallc.com

Aprime location across from the State Capital Complex and a generous, tasty breakfast has made Roxy’s Café a breakfast staple with Harrisburg residents and Capitol employees for more than 25 years.

Almost an ode to Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks, Roxy’s maintains its quaintness and old-time diner vibe right down to the squeaky bar stools, wooden booths, and plentiful servings of tasty, well-prepared food.

In 2012, Armando Martinez purchased the business from former owner Richard Hanna and proceeded to spice up the menu with tastes from Mexican and Latin American dishes. Martinez left his hometown of Brisena, Mexico, as a teenager and after years of working as a chef dreamed of the day when he could own his own restaurant here in the United States. Twenty years later, his dream came true, and he has succeeded in a big way and now owns the Roxy building and is renovating the empty second floor apartments with the plan to create affordable housing in the downtown area.

Roxy’s Café serves both breakfast and lunch

to tantalize your taste buds. There is even a ‘happy hour’ from 10-11 A.M. every day but Sunday, when you can fill up your growling tummy for a mere $6.00!

The staff is friendly and helpful, and it won’t take long for them to begin greeting you by name when you stop by for some delicious

Toast of Harrisburg

huevos rancheros or French toast with a side of bacon, scrapple, or sausage. Tell Geraldo, the breakfast chef, how you want your breakfast prepared and he will cook it to perfection. Stacie and Marilu will keep your coffee cups filled and engage in small talk with you if you like that personal touch with your breakfast.

You can’t go wrong with the quality of the food, the great prices, or the friendliness of the service. Stop in, say hi, and enjoy a delicious and satisfying breakfast in what could become your favorite neighborhood restaurant. And P.S. – lunch is just as good as breakfast!

Roxy’s Café is located on the corner of North and Third Street in Harrisburg. Check out their www.roxyscafeharrisburg.com; Facebook ; and Instagram @roxyscafe274. 7

A hearty breakfast will kick start your metabolism, assisting you in burning calories throughout the day. And given the energy boost you will feel from a breakfast showcasing protein, your energy level will remain high helping with your concentration level. Skipping the morning meal can throw off your body’s rhythm from the fasting/eating cycle. A cup of coffee and a sugary donut might give you that boost from caffeine and sugar, but it is short lived and by midmorning hunger pangs set in causing overeating or an urge for even more sugary treats.

Whether you make breakfast at home or treat yourself to a restaurant meal, the best mix of foods at breakfast are proteins, healthy fats, good carbohydrates, and fiber. Bon Appetit

Is breakfast the most important meal?

Downtown Shopping was a Memorable Experience in Harrisburg’s “Urban Golden Age”

Story By David J. Morrison Photos From Jeb Stuart Collection & Kline Foundation Archives

Seventy-five years ago, holiday shopping in Harrisburg and in other American metropolises, usually meant heading downtown, and it also meant getting dressed up: hats and gloves and fancy dresses for the ladies and girls, and coats and ties for the men and boys.

With the exception of Sears-Roebuck, L.L. Bean, and a small number of other catalog retailers (where shopping by mail meant filling out a form and mailing it with a check), all shopping was entirely an in-person experience. Shopping “online” was of course decades in the future. In 1947, televisions were a rare luxury; if you happened to own one, it was almost as large as a washing machine, with a blurry, black-and-white picture no larger than a dinner plate. Appliance stores placed new model TVs in their display windows, and crowds gathered on the sidewalk outside to marvel

that live pictures actually were arriving through the airwaves from New York or Hollywood.

The notion of waking up in the middle of the night, thumbing through a” device” no larger than a pack of cigarettes — and shopping for anything from sportswear to automobiles and even real estate! — was stranger than the most outlandish science fiction.

Even as postwar America seemed to overflow with limitless modern possibilities, with Depression-era and wartime shortages and sacrifices squarely in the rear-view mirror, the shopping experience of 75 years ago was, by today’s standards, downright quaint and steeped in tradition.

People came into Downtown Harrisburg from all over Central Pennsylvania. If they worked or attended school, they came on Saturdays or on Thursday evenings. If they were “housewives,”

Market Street, Downtown Harrisburg in the 1950s, at night, with neon signs blazing and store windows brightly lit after hours.

they could “go shopping” almost anytime.

CLOSED ON SUNDAYS

Except Sundays. Until 1978, Pennsylvania had some of the tightest “blue laws” in the U.S., restricting Sunday sales of alcohol and automobiles, football, baseball, and other sporting games, hunting and more. Although the blue laws didn’t specifically prohibit retail businesses from operating, the swing of the pendulum was sweeping enough that retailers chose to adhere to the “day of rest,” perhaps seeing no point in opening their doors to scant crowds. Even grocery stores closed on Sundays.

The voyage downtown, therefore, became a grand and special occasion. Moms and Dads filled the family car; and grandmothers brought children “by the hand” on buses. These outings are fondly recalled as memorable experiences. People now in their 70s and 80s recall coming to Downtown Harrisburg during the Christmas season to marvel at the department store window displays.

Before television was commonplace, and before newspaper advertisements could be printed in color, the only way to properly see a retail product was to come to the store. The major department stores, such as Bowmans and Pomeroys on Market Street, or Robinsons at 3rd & Verbeke Streets in Midtown, all deployed professional “window dressers” to create eye-catching displays featuring the latest fashions and the newest toys.

Very often the windows also displayed moving objects: a Santa Claus that waved, or a reindeer that turned its head. In some store windows, toy train sets chugged on tracks amid snow-covered miniature villages and

See Downtown Shopping on Page 36

On the Cover: Ladies always dressed fashionably for shopping trips to Downtown Harrisburg in the 1940s. The 200 block of Market Street was the epicenter of sophisticated retailing.

MENTAL GYMNASTICS

Unlock the long leash on your mind And let it loose to stumble and fallCartwheeling and tumbling thru time, When everyone you ever loved at all Was alive, like they’d never died And left you alone and scared. Replacing all the tears that you cried With all the laughter that you shared.

This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but a tweet. YOU SEE, T.S. ELIOT and me.

landscapes. This was strategic mid-century marketing! Attract customers to the store window, then lure them inside.

Some store windows were kept hidden from view by soaping the glass or covering it with brown paper until the scheduled day of an eagerly awaited reveal, usually “Black Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving.

The launch of the holiday shopping season in some cities still includes a Thanksgiving Day parade. The oldest is Philadelphia’s, launched in 1920 by Gimbels Department Store (The Macy’s Parade in New York dates to 1924). This was, first and foremost, an advertising strategy. For decades, the parade would end at the Gimbels flagship store on Market Street, where Santa Claus, always the grand finale of the parade, would exit his sleigh and climb the ladder of a Philadelphia Fire department hook & ladder to Gimbels’ eighth-floor toy department, there to sit on a throne during business every day until Christmas Eve, an irresistible magnet for young children wishing to tell Santa their Christmas list.

After Gimbels closed in 1986, a succession of businesses has sponsored the Philadelphia parade. In 2011, Dunkin Donuts (now simply “Dunkin”) took over the sponsorship in conjunction with TV station 6abc.

In the 1980s, the City of Harrisburg under then-Mayor Stephen Reed revived the tradition of a holiday parade. Typically staged on the Saturday before Thanksgiving,

this year’s parade will be on November 19 beginning at 10 AM.

MARY SACHS, “HARRISBURG’S MERCHANT PRINCESS”

Any discussion of Harrisburg’s retail heritage must begin with an examination of the extraordinary role and impact of Mary Sachs, a brilliant and innovative retailer who was known as “Harrisburg’s Merchant Princess.” The store that she opened in 1918 was an enterprise that set new standards in fashion retailing, while making downtown Harrisburg a shopping destination for some of America’s best dressed women.

Mary Sachs’ impact on the economic and social landscape of Harrisburg and Pennsylvania was huge. An immigrant of four years old and later a struggling shop girl who went on to become the proprietor of a business establishment that grew into dozens of departments and a workforce of 200, with satellite stores in Reading and Lancaster, Mary Sachs was deemed Harrisburg’s most successful entrepreneur of the 20th century.

It can be said that Harrisburg’s “Urban Golden Age” roughly coincided with Mary Sachs’ 42-year reign as Harrisburg’s Merchant Princess, 1918 to 1960. That golden age was shaped in large part by a thriving climate of locally owned downtown retail establishments, many of whose names remain familiar to this day.

These included men’s clothiers such as

Absinthe makes the heart go WTF!

Downtown Shopping, continued from Page 35

The display window of Allan Stuart’s Men’s Shop was always the epitome of elegance.

branches of the Troup family on opposite corners of the square selling pianos,

Reflecting on his father’s career in the men’s clothing business, James Allan (“Jeb”) Stuart III states: “His motto was ‘you can’t have it unless it fits.’ Customers would not see racks of suits to choose from, but conversely my dad would size up the customer and bring out limited selections from the stock room that he would suggest as the best choices for the customer. This assured the customer’s best look while maintaining his store’s regional reputation for the uppermost quality in men’s fashion.”

Although most of the aforementioned retail establishments were within a smaller perimeter than that of a modern shopping mall, Harrisburg nevertheless also had thriving neighborhood shopping districts in Midtown, Uptown and Allison Hill. These were traditional urban commercial streetscapes, pedestrian-friendly, but with scant available curbside parking for automobiles.

Allan Stuart, Byron Crego, Doutrich’s, and Ratcliff & Swartz. Other notable businesses fronted on Market Square: Caplan’s, Goldsmith’s Furniture, and Troup’s Music House. In fact, there were two

musical instruments, sheet music and disc records.

Mary Sachs was known as “Harrisburg’s Merchant Princess.” She was a brilliant businesswoman and an icon of impeccable taste and style.

THE RISE OF SUBURBAN SHOPPING CENTERS

As the 1950s loomed, and more Americans acquired automobiles and used them for everyday errands, the lack of parking became a growing problem for traditional shopping areas. This led to the creating of “shopping centers” whose developers provided for free off-street parking on vast, paved parking lots.

The first such suburban-style shopping center was Kline Village (now Kline Plaza), the brainchild of real estate entrepreneur Josiah W. Kline, who developed large areas at the east end of Harrisburg, near Harrisburg (John Harris) High School. Opened in 1951 on South 25th Street, Kline Village had a branch of Bowmans Department Store, a farmers’ market, and a well-planned variety of specialty shops and professional offices. Today, it is owned by the Josiah W. and Bessie H. Kline Foundation, the philanthropic organization to which the Klines left the bulk of their fortune.

Kline Village was followed in 1955 by the West Shore Plaza at 1200 Market Street in Lemoyne, and by the Uptown Shopping Center at 7th & Division Streets in 1957. A subsequent generation of suburban shopping complexes and enclosed shopping malls followed in the 1960s and 70s: Harrisburg East Mall (1969) and Capital City

Mall (1974). The Colonial Park Shopping Center was reconfigured as an enclosed mall, as was the Camp Hill Shopping Center, only to be reconverted to a “strip mall” a decade or so later.

DOWNTOWN MAKES A COMEBACK

As the retail center of gravity shifted farther and farther away from Center City Harrisburg, the urban core became increasingly devoid of businesses. In the early 1970s, the Greater Harrisburg Movement was initiated as a civic effort to reverse that alarming trend. This led to the formation of the Harristown Development Corp., which built the Strawberry Square high-rise office and retail mall complex in 1976, followed by other projects.

Center City Harrisburg today is again thriving, not because of an increase in retail activity but because of the growing presence of educational institutions –Harrisburg University, Temple’s Harrisburg Campus, Sci-Tech High, and Capital Area School for the Arts – all of which bring students, both commuters and those who need housing. Harristown, under CEO Brad Jones, has adapted to (and managed) this trend, converting old office buildings into apartments, developing International Place as an enclave for international students, and creating the lively SOMA

Downtown Shopping, continued from Page 37

Kline Village, which opened in 1951, was a modern shopping destination boasting plenty of free parking.

(SOuth of MArket) District. All this is making Downtown Harrisburg a cuttingedge destination for human interaction in the 21st Century. 7

David Morrison writes regularly on local history topics. He is executive director of Historic Harrisburg Association, which will present its 49th Candlelight House Tour in Harrisburg on Sunday, Dec. 11.

Culinary Service Team Members Needed!

These respected restaurants are currently adding to their staffs …

Brothers Richard and Joseph Goldsmith, third-generation owners of the family furniture emporium founded by their grandfather in 1881, are seen shortly before selling the business 100 years later.

OVER THE RIVER, AND THROUGH THE WOODS …

You probably won’t be journeying in a horse and sleigh like in the song, and it’s unlikely you’ll need to worry about “white and drifted snow” around the Thanksgiving holiday (hey, you never know!). But our photographer, Will Masters, thought you might still enjoy this nostalgic look at some of Central PA’s most scenic and well-preserved covered bridges.

To Grandmother’s House We Go!

Harrisburg Native Produces Murder Mystery Film

False Pretenses , an indie-produced “Whodunit” murder mystery co-written, produced, and directed by Harrisburg native Andrew Fountain, will premiere on Thanksgiving Day, 7:30 PM at the Regal Cinemas located in Harrisburg.

Fountain has been writing, producing, directing, and acting in films for four years and says, “I wanted this film to be made with an all-Black cast in all the normal roles, not just stereotypical roles.”

The story is about eight friends who gather to learn the identity of the first recipient of a year’s worth of savings garnered through a Caribbean and Haitian cultural wealth building process called sou-sou. The gathering turns deadly, and the seven remaining friends become suspects when it is revealed that each has a reason to steal and kill.

The talented millennial cast provides a look into the life of young, Black people facing everyday challenges in modern day, urban America where families still deal with the generational consequences of a judicial system

that for decades has imprisoned Black men, placing heavy burdens on their family in their attempts to live the American dream.

Veteran performer Gary Anthony Sturgis - actor, musician, writer, director, producer, teacher, and entrepreneur - known for his role as Bar Patron and other characters in the television series America’s Most Wanted, and for his portrayal as a villain in two of Tyler Perry’s biggest hit films, Diary of a Mad Black Woman and Daddy’s Little Girls, adds an extra level of energy in his role in False Pretenses.

Fountain, a 1997 graduate of Central Dauphin East, has served as a producer for several films, a web series, and another feature film, Batsh!t. He produced and directed two short films, No Cash Refund and Queens. He currently lives in Philadelphia and owns his own production company, XII|3Productions.

Tickets for the premiere can only be obtained through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite. com/e/false-pretenses-movie-premiere-tickets408796690907?aff=eand

The movie can also be rented or purchased

through www.falsepretensesthemovie.com YouTube interview and trailer are available on Se’von Interviews Movie Director! - YouTube, False Pretenses Trailer #1 - YouTube. 7

MEET THE WINNERS

Harrisburg Magazine’s Simply the Art

Story By Christina Heintzelman cheintzelman@benchmarkmediallc.com Photos Submitted By Artists

In August 2022, Harrisburg Magazine celebrated the twenty-fifty anniversary of Simply the Best. A decision was made to expand this campaign and create a niche award program to represent artists. Nineteen categories representing visual and performance artists were created and the voting began. Some winners are alumni of previous art related stories in Harrisburg Magazine, but many are new artists not known to us before. Harrisburg Magazine is proud to begin presenting these winners to our readers.

Stephen Michael Haas,

Wwinner in the category of muralist, has created more than thirty commissioned murals along the east coast. Haas has lived in the Harrisburg area his entire life. He says, “My grandfather has a printing company in Lemoyne, Haas Printing Company, and I spent a lot of time there while growing up as my mom worked there and I often went with her. I was always in a work environment, and I learned at a young age to appreciate and establish a good work ethic and create something from the ground up. Being able to do this in a family environment was very special to me.”

Haas has loved art since he was four years old. A dream of his was

achieved when he was accepted through early admission with a scholarship to MICA. He spent a semester there and realized it wasn’t for him due to the potential of a future buildup of student loans. “But because of this experience I learned to think on my feet and that has helped me tremendously in learning to do my own building from the ground up,” he says.

He got into murals as a fluke as he was working on an album – Haas is also an accomplished singer and songwriter – and the owner of the studio told him there would be a price break if Haas did a mural on his wall. Haas

was a member of the local band, Flower Garden, and created the packaging for their first album, Flower Garden. “Although commercially I have done quite well with murals, my first love is painting and illustration,” he explains.

Haas continued accepting art commissions and, when Covid hit, he felt he had to produce more of what was marketable and accept all jobs that came his way rather than being able to concentrate on what he wanted to do. But he did learn a lot in the process. He states, “I have started to get pickier on what I choose to produce. Now is the time to invest in my own business and grow it the way I want.”

Haas works in a variety of media and is solidifying which of those he will concentrate on primarily, but he does know that the path is about painting and illustration. He does not want to be boxed in by a particular genre of art, although he enjoys working in Lowbrow, Outsider, and Pop Art and says, “It isn’t the image that matters to me - it is the message.” He continues by saying, “I remember when I first started, and I took some bland commissions and I felt badly because I wanted to do the art that was important to me. I found myself at odds with myself because I was posting on social media the art which I was creating that I liked to do, rather than what I was being paid to do.

I felt I was being pigeonholed and that I might lose commissions by doing the things that were me.” What was his saving grace was when people would stop him and say, “The stuff you are showing really speaks to me and makes it easier for me to give voice to something I was struggling with.” He went on to say, “I want an understanding of what the psychological part of my art is saying.”

Haas is drawn to the work of George Lucas, Pee Wee Herman, and Mr. Rogers which he mixes with the teachings of Ram Dass, especially Dass’s book, Be Here Now. “I’d like very much to create art that can fuse the spiritual teachings of Dass with the goodness of Mr. Rogers and then add a Pee Wee Herman spin to it,” he laughs.

His parting comment is this: “I really hustled in my 20’s doing a lot of different art and finding out what I didn’t want to do. Now I want to focus the next ten years on doing exactly what I want and building my business in this way.”

Haas’s work can be viewed on his website www.stephenmichaelhaas. com and on Instagram stephen_michael_haas. He shows at Make Space Gallery and currently has a piece of art exhibiting at Art Association of Harrisburg. In addition, there is his public mural art visible in the area, most notably on the Neato Burrito building in New Cumberland and the 5G post in front of the Susquehanna Art Museum - SAM at the Marty.

Wthis year’s winner as artistic photographer, has been working his photographic magic since 2015. A native of Harrisburg, Splawn received a camera one year for Christmas, a Canon Rebel T 3i, and decided to do something interesting. “At the time I was

attending Penn State, Middletown Campus, as a communications major but not sure what I wanted to do. I picked up an old copy of Jet Magazine and while looking through it I saw an advertisement of four African Americans with four different hairstyles – it was entitled something like Rows, Fros, Everything Goes. I knew this might be a cool thing I could do and take to another level.” Splawn realized that this could be the way to promote the Black Student Union Club at his campus. He put out a call to all the members that a photo shoot was going to take place and to show up looking any way they chose to present themselves. “A classmate and I rented out the Communications Laboratory because there were beautiful backdrops. We chose the orange backdrop and realized how well it worked with the various skin tones and hair. Students had a great time, and I was blown away by how many chose to participate in this.”

In addition to the original Canon, Splawn has used a Nikon d3200 and his camera of choice now is a Nikon D50. “I usually set the camera on automatic and use a hand hold method as I do mostly street photography and need that spur of the moment access to capturing what is taking place in the moment.” He says that on any given photography day he might do three hundred shots, but of those less than one hundred will be saved after the editing process. Although Splawn works mostly in the Harrisburg area, he is branching out to other communities for his photographic shoots.

Splawn finds the Harrisburg area artists to be open and welcoming. “It really is a close-knit group, and I don’t find there to be competition between artists … we are all there to help each other out. There is a

Jelani June Splawn,

Meet the Winners, continued from Page 45 lot of connection happening.”

Splawn has a huge following on Instagram and says, “I’ve been working on this for seven years and it is my bread and butter.” In addition, he is a freelance photographer for PennLive.

Splawn works for Giant Market currently and says, “I think it is important for people to understand that most artists also have other lives … often art just can’t be your full-time career as you need to be willing to keep yourself afloat financially.” He adds, “I have the philosophy that in order to do what I love I must at times be willing to sacrifice other things for my passion of photography, that is where I put my heart and soul.” He has learned that sometimes it is necessary to take things easier and that it is impossible to always give 110% of yourself every single day in everything you do.

Besides street photography, Splawn enjoys doing night photography in order to record the contrasts in the same scene taken in daytime and again at night. He has been asked to do family photography or posed photography and mentions, “Candid photography is much more fun for me as opposed to posed photography because I feel I can capture the true essence even when working within family groups. In terms of emotions, people are much more comfortable being in their own element rather than being posed in front of a camera.”

In closing, Splawn states, “In art there is no rush, there should be no competition in what you do. You are the narrator in your own story, there should be no pressure. You shouldn’t feel intimidated by others, just do your own thing artistically, keep working at it and make friends along the way.”

You can contact Splawn through Email: Jelani.Splawn@gmail.com, Instagram: @jelly_the_photographer; Facebook: Jelly_The_Photographer.

Wis Harrisburg Magazine’s mixed media artist of the year. In 2021 she was the recipient of Best in Show at Art Association of Harrisburg’s 93rd International Juried Show for her work entitled Pieta II. Her Best in Show win was only the second time she had publicly shown her work, the first time being at Metropolis Gallery in Mechanicsburg. This winning piece, Pieta II is a perfect example of her mixed media style. She explains how she created this piece: “I wanted

to create a pieta from Mary’s perspective, and I thought of her as always represented being mild, calm, and the ideal woman, no emotion except a tear running down her cheek. I created my painting, and I was not happy with it. I took a box cutter and ripped it up.” This is when the real creation took place as she began to put the pieces back together using staples, embroidery thread, and other sewing machine techniques. She then remounted it back on the original stretcher bars. “The other thing that happened was some of the red oil paint I used must have been applied incorrectly because it began to peel off, but it left a beautiful light pink residue on the canvas. I later added in a bit of charcoal, and it became the completed award-winning piece of art.”

“I am freely imperfect in my practice, I believe that if I strive for perfection I feel as if I never quite get it right and it drives me crazy,” she says. She has dashed that idea and realizes that she wants her art to look as if it was made by human hands rather than have an automated, overly clean look. “Art is one of the most human things a person can do. Starting as a child when you hand them their first crayon and they begin to create uninhibitedly,” she adds. Goehring believes deep saturation of colors with bold colors and harsh contrasts really makes any imperfection pop, stating that it is the imperfections that make us human.

She has created two murals for the Simpson Library, Mechanicsburg, Beautify the Barriers project and her art has also been featured on the front and back covers of From the Fallout Shelter, the literary magazine of Penn State, Harrisburg, published during her time at that college.

Goehring says that she picked up art during her time at Mechanicsburg High School and made the decision that she would pursue a degree in art therapy at Arcadia University in Glenside, PA. She was only there for one semester when she became ill with what she thought was mononucleosis but turned out to be an autoimmune disease. “I bounced around a bit as I couldn’t go back to the university. I took some on-line courses through HACC, which was great. As I began to feel better, I decided to go back to school but only take art courses. I started at Messiah College but realized that I could only take one class per semester because of my energy level. I transferred to Penn State Harrisburg and finished up the rest of my Associate Degree, even though I did not take art classes there.” Goehring devotes herself full time to her art now as doctors try to figure out her medical condition.

Francis Bacon, the Irish-born British figurative painter, holds a special place for Goehring. “When I see a Francis Bacon work, I feel as if I am seeing it with him standing beside me,” she explains, “I sense his presence every time I view one of his paintings. I believe that at the end of the day every painting an artist creates is a self-portrait as you can’t erase the little bits of the artist that are left in the work. His use of color is just spectacular.”

Molly Goehring

I believe that at the end of the day every painting an artist creates is a self-portrait as you can’t erase the little bits of the artist that are left in the work.

— Molly Goehring

Goehring says that she practices ‘spaghetti wall theory’. “I am throwing things at a wall and seeing if they stick. I am hoping there will be more spaghetti wall theorists in the future. This is what my art is about as I am leaning into the guessing, going where the art wants.”

Goehring is involved with the Lacuna Festivals, which are part of the Lacuna Studios based in the Canary Islands, Spain. These festivals feature international contemporary art and are held annually. She has shown her work entitled Subtlety digitally during the festival as well as putting together a YouTube video for them: Mistakes Were Made: The Artistic Process Is A Mess - Molly Goehring - Lacuna Festivals Clash 2022. She also created a video for Facebook as a discussion group for Lacuna and was part of Lacuna’s podcast for this event: https://youtu.be/N44FsUEWR7w. You can find Goehring’s art on her website mollygoehringart.com and her Instagram account mollygoehringart. Her art can also be seen at Art Association of Harrisburg.

Wwinner in the miscellaneous art category, is a fiber artist specializing in recycled and upcycled clothing. Harbin’s background and schooling is in business management, and she followed that path until 2018 when she lost

her store management position due to business downsizing. She was offered a severance and at the same time a friend told her about a store front that was available. Her original Savage Habit Exchange store, dealing in vintage clothing, was located on Third Street in the current Urban Churn location. At this point, Harbin was probably ahead of her time with selling vintage clothing. Keeping a brick-and-mortar business was not sustainable, especially when COVID mandates began shuttering businesses. This led her to the upcycled side of vintage clothing because she knew that many of the pieces that she owned which were vintage could have a new life as upcycled and individualized pieces and could be sold online.

Because of her business background she was able to take control over her reinvention into the vintage clothingturned art-inspired upcycled clothing business by building her own website, creating signage, doing setups at popup exhibits, and providing all areas of business management for herself, which she does admit can be overwhelming and exhausting at times.

Harbin states that the most important part of her work - her larger life purpose - is being an advocate for mental health issues and bringing these issues to the broader public. “I have struggled with depression and anxiety for as long as I can remember and recently, after the birth of my child, began suffering from post-partum depression which I have been fortunate to find out is for me a hormone disorder called PMDD.” Art saved her in these moments, as she began putting various messages of hope and inspiration on the clothing she was wearing and using it as a protective armor. But her armor is also a message to others who are silently suffering. “My next collection will include messages of hope, inspiration, and empowerment,” she states. Harbin expresses a sense of belonging, support, and acceptance within the local art community and the creation of an unspoken bond between those who have also dealt with this dark night of the soul.

Harbin’s take on the current trend to recycled and upcycled clothing

comes from the quality of clothing that is often sold. “Retailers push the idea of needing new clothing for every occasion and season and customers are now looking at current clothing to be inexpensive and disposable rather than something worth keeping, so often fabric and

Jeannine Harbin

In June of this year, he began working with Camp Hill Collective Tattoo and PMU (permanent makeup). He goes on to say that each tattoo artist there works independently and creates their specific studio in their own space, making their own schedules and picking and choosing design styles as each artist has their own unique style.

Rosario works mostly in black and gray art but will work in color if the customer desires. Some customers already know exactly what they want recreated for their body art, but most customers come in with an idea that needs to be fleshed out, so Rosario and the client sit together, discuss wants and needs, create the design concept via a drawing, come to a joint conclusion, and then the actual tattoo process begins. “Clients become walking billboards for a tattoo artist’s work so it must be the best work possible with placement and design,” he says

construction quality is missing. Vintage pieces are often of a much higher quality than new clothing and therefore are more sustainable,” Harbin says.

“I started in the streetwear realm of clothing but I’m finding that there are a lot more avenues available out there for what I am doing which have large areas of interest. I do try to keep up with current trends so that I have that appeal to the younger trendy crowd.”

Harbin is working on a new line of clothing, Jeannine Marie Designer, featuring more business, formal, and upscale designs, which are available through her website.

You can reach Harbin at www.

Meet the Winners, continued from Page 47 savagehabitexchange.com for information on custom designs and commissions. Sign up for her newsletter, through her website, to get up to date info on current trends. On Instagram @savagehabitexchange and Facebook Savage Habit Exchange. Harbin also takes part in local pop-ups in the Harrisburg area under her Savage Habit Exchange trademark.

Wwinner of the tattoo artist category, started in his craft at the age of 16, but as he says, “I started it the wrong way, not taking it seriously. I’ve always done art and began air brushing tee shirts when I was in middle school. About six or seven years ago I started doing tattooing professionally and got into good shops and learned to do it the right way.” He goes on to say that working as an apprentice with an experienced tattoo artist is valuable as there is so much to learn about the chemistry of various inks, blood pathogens that may occur if sanitary procedures are not followed, how inks react with skin tones and even the various textures of people’s skin.

A beginner tattoo artist may experiment on themselves, close friends, or family members who are willing to take the chance; or if the artist is lucky, they will have access to synthetic skin and body parts such as legs or arms to practice on. Rosario states, “The human body is the most difficult canvas to work on; it’s living, it moves, and it is not a flat surface - every single body has different curvatures. Even hygiene and diet come into play.”

Another important part of deciding a tattoo design is where the tattoo will be placed on the body. “Unfortunately, the body is not flat and symmetrical so placements must be considered. For example, I wouldn’t put a portrait or a tattoo with a lot of detail on a knee or elbow as it would become distorted every time you bend your knee or arm.”

Sometimes a client may get a tattoo that they later regret. Rosario says that in this instance a tattoo can be removed by a reputable removal artist or can be morphed into a different design. “Coverups are tricky and a coverup artist may not take on every tattoo that needs to be fixed because you are more limited in what you can do as you don’t want to create something that screams ‘coverup.’” Because tattooing is very popular among the younger set, Rosario discusses with them certain choices they might want to make – such as facial tattooing or tattooing the name of someone the client may have only been dating a month. Sometimes these conversations may go on for a while before a decision is made. “I encourage adults to be the person they want to be, live the life they want to live, and understand that unfortunately at times there is judgment or stigma attached to tattoo choices or tattoos placed in certain places, so a client needs to be prepared to accept or ignore negative reactions from others.”

“Aftercare of a new tattoo is very important and various products will be recommended by your tattoo artist. In addition, no swimming or sunbathing for at least two weeks after a new tattoo,” he says.

Rosario suggests that potential clients always ask to see healed photos of a tattoo artist’s work. In addition, he suggests checking out the studio for general cleanliness and making sure that they are following all sanitary procedures.

Rosario states that he is very grateful to have found tattoo art as his vocation. “It is my full-time job and I get to create art every single day. I’ve found my passion and I’ve found my talent. It is my life now. The tattoo community has given so much to me and hopefully I will be able to give just as much back.”

Rosario can be reached at Camp Hill Collective Tattoo and PMU www.camphillcollective.onuniverse.com, Facebook CampHillCollective, Instagram @ renerosariO or by emailing him directly at renerosariobooking@ gmail.com. Or stop in the shop located at 3805 Market St, Camp Hill. 7

Rene Rosario,