2 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2022 4 INTROSPECTION 5 POEM 5 THE CERCUS CARTOON 6 BARTENDER’S OR BARISTA’S CHOICE 10 BY THE BOOK 10 NOURISHING BITES 11 THE FINANCE HOUND 12 THEATRE THOUGHTS PRESIDENT/CEO Darwin Oordt doordt@harrisburgmagazine.com DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Darcy Oordt darcy@harrisburgmagazine.com DIRECTOR OF MARKETING / SIMPLY THE BEST Chris Aloia caloia@harrisburgmagazine.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Robert Baranow rbaranow@harrisburgmagazine.com Jo Ann Shover jshover@harrisburgmagazine.com MANAGING EDITOR Randy Gross rgross@harrisburgmagazine.com ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Christina Heintzelman cheintzelman@harrisburgmagazine.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Laura Reich lreich@harrisburgmagazine.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Richard Eppinger reppinger@harrisburgmagazine.com WRITING & PHOTOGRAPHY INTERN Markeshia Wolfe CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Justin “Bruce” Bruce Dimitri John Diekewicz Christina Giaquinto David MichaelMorrisonHooverKeithSnow CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS Allison Juliana Brad Maurer CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Dimitri John Diekewicz Will Masters Paul SALESVasiliadesOFFICE 717.233.0109 4309 Linglestown Road, Suite 115 Harrisburg, PA 17112 VOLUME 28 NO. 9 SEPTEMBER 2022IN THIS ISSUE ... 18 4224 Harrisburg Magazine® is published monthly at 4309 Linglestown Road, Suite 115, Harrisburg, PA 17112. Phone: 717.233.0109; harrisburgmagazine.com. Subscriptions available. Send change of address forms to Benchmark Group Media, 4309 Linglestown Road, Suite 115, Harrisburg, PA 17112. This issue or any part thereof may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from Harrisburg Magazine®, Inc. Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, photographs and disks if they are to be returned, and no responsibility can be assumed for unsolicited materials. All rights in letters sent to Harrisburg Magazine® will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright purposes and as such are subject to a right to edit and comment editorially. Name and contents ©2022, Harrisburg Magazine, Inc. Printed by Freeport Press, Freeport, Ohio. 12 TAILBOARD TALK 14 FOR THE LOVE OF PETS 14 CINEMATIC RAMBLINGS 16 POSTCARDS FROM… 17 POEM 18 #HBGMAG INFLUENCER 22 SHORT STORY 24 EDUCATION – A PASSPORT TO THE FUTURE 32 HISTORIC SCHOOL BUILDINGS 36 7 TIPS FOR BACK-TO-SCHOOL 37 VANGO! 38 HANDS OF TIMELESS TRADES 42 ARTFUL INSPIRATIONS 45 STB GALA FOOD SPONSORS ON THE COVER Wandering & Wondering with Steven G. Williams. See the story on page 18. HARRISBURGMAGAZINE.COM @HARRISBURGMAGAZINE
SEPTEMBER 2022 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE 3
f you’re like me, the words of the good “doc” ring so true this month. Because it’s so hard to believe that summer has “flewn” so swiftly and, for me personally, anything Suessical makes me harken back to my childhood visits to Martin Library’s Children’s Room in downtown York, where I spent many an hour selecting the maximum number of books to check out (six, if I remember correctly). September is definitely a time for reflecting on educational influences both past and present, and hence I give a shout out to my own mother, for turning me onto reading at an early age. Our Influencer of the month, author Steven G. Williams, also gives credit to his parents (among other people) for a successful career path. Family trips set the stage early on for the Harrisburg School Board VP and Afterschool education advocate’s expanded world view, and his fantasy fiction books “Skadi” and “Thyra” are moving the CD High grad ever closer to his goal of being both a full-time writer and role model for future writers.
4 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2022 Introspection
Other seasonal offerings this month include a preview of the Susquehanna Art Museum’s brand-new vehicle for their VanGo! Museum on Wheels; “7 Tips for an Organized & Stress-Free Back-to-School Season” from professional organizer Christina Giaquinto; contrasting fall poems by Michael Hoover and Keith Snow; and “The Late September Fog,” a poignant short story from first-time author Justin “Bruce” Bruce. Also, be sure to check out Brad Maurer’s latest The Cercus cartoon, which provides laughs at the expense of
Another business that exemplifies duty – in this case to a higher calling - is The Cracked Pot Coffee Shop in Mechanicsburg, where this month’s Barista’s Choice selectee, Annika Stockbauer, ably assists owner Emily Schmidt in her mission to give youths who’ve aged out of the foster care system a chance to succeed. Be sure to stop by during one of Stockbauer’s breaks from Messiah Univeristy to witness her latte art craftsmanship first-hand!
Parenting – and specifically house-parenting – has been an integral part of the innovative Milton Hershey School, and Christina Heintzelman paints a stellar portrait of an educational institution that has lived up to the stellar principle laid out by founder Milton way back in 1910: specifically, the moral obligation to share the fruits of success with those less fortunate. In an apt sidebar piece, Heintzelman interviews artist and MHS teacher John Davis, who splits his time between creating his own art and helping others to unlock their creative potential.
“How did it get so late so soon? It’s night before it’s afternoon. December is here before it’s June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?” – Dr. Seuss I
It’s clearly gotten “so late so soon” for many historic school buildings in the Greater Harrisburg region – but in an unexpectedly good way, as David J. Morrison chronicles in his in-depth article about the preservation and repurposing of “halls of learning” ranging from Tech High to Simon Cameron Elementary School. And freelancer Dimitri John Diekewicz takes us from times past to timeless, with a profile of several businesses that have endured the passage of time, including Summerdale Shoe Repair, where long-time proprietor Eural Cleveland devotes himself dutifully to both his craft and his customers.
PHOTO BY WILL MASTERS Wildwood Park in Harrisburg
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Now get out and enjoy those autumn leaves!
RG Between Railroad and Riverboat* beside belly dancers and barbecue, beyond bands, bands, and more bands.
On Labor Day weekend, on an island in the middle of the Susquehanna overlooking Harrisburg city. Festival folks wandered through ... Usually pausing but sometimes stopping to see poets battle wind, humidity and noise from everything listed above and more ... Armed with mic and ancient speaker semi-sheltered by small gazebo they read and recited narratives and spoken word, prose and linear pieces. Their voices sang out they chanted and ranted and rambled, cajoled and kidded and the shifting audience smiled and orkibitzednodded with approval and theyandAndunderstanding.forthatsmallstipendreadon... *Words spoken by Rick Kearns, Harrisburg Poet Laureate. Keith Snow, a local creative, has been a writer and performance poet since 1999. He constantly strives to be a better husband and father. Poem/Keith Snow
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. every gardener and homeowner’s current “enemy #1” invasive pest. Don’t forget our columns! Film & TV historian Kevyn Knox reassesses the greatest films of all time in Cinematic Ramblings; Andrea Reed embraces the benefits of a balanced breakfast in Nourishing Bites; Kristen Zellner details the ways to keep pets free from ringworm in For the Love of Pets; Stefan Hawkins’ By the Book recommends some good “back to school” reads for young students; Bryson Roof provides tips on building a financial “dream team” in The Finance Hound; Barbara Trainin Blank previews fall offerings at local stages in Theatre Thoughts HACC’s Robert Stakem highlights some suicide prevention resources in Tailboard Talk; and in Postcards From … author Steven G. Williams chats with fellow travel writer Sherry Knowlton (“Beyond the Sunset, Volumes 1 & 2”).
SEPTEMBER 2022 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE 5
Mid Stream
By Keith Snow
Bartender’s or Barista’s Choice
It was 10 am on a Wednesday morning when Stockbauer sat down for an interview. The parking lot was full, as were the inviting front porch and inside dining area, despite it being that “in-between breakfast and lunch” time. Though employed at The Cracked Pot since May of 2021, Stockbauer was quick to open up about her family’s role in the coffee shop’s early days.
The Mocha Latte
Story By Randy Gross rgross@harrisburgmagazine.com
Though not a foster child herself, Stockbauer’s family is foster care certified, so
“I actually grew up like five minutes away from the shop,” she recalls. “My dad was talking to Emily whenever it first opened, and she kind of told him about the mission, and so my family actually came over and we helped paint the building, and we actually wrote Bible verses on the walls before we painted it, which was really nice. And then, four years later I was hired, so that was kind of a cool timeline.”
Photos By Paul Vasiliades
Flaws are a blessing, love for the community the norm, at Mechanicsburg coffee shop
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f the business model for a new coffee shop was like the recipe for a new coffee fusion drink, it might go something like this: start with a sufficient number of ounces of some of the best locally-sourced coffee in Central PA; add a couple pumps of “love thy neighbor” syrup – just enough to make everyone who visits feel welcome; then pour in some “cream of the crop” youths who have aged out of the foster care system and give them a chance to succeed. The end result? The Cracked Pot Coffee Shop in Mechanicsburg, a non-profit founded by Emily Schmidt that has been mentoring and supporting young adults while serving up some of the finest breakfast and lunch fare in the area for the past five years. Named for the parable about a cracked water pot that discovers its flaws are actually a blessing, The Cracked Pot Coffee Shop and its warm and friendly staff provided completely flawless service on a hot and very humid August morning. And no one was warmer, or friendlier, than our selected barista for September, The Cracked Pot’s head barista, Annika Stockbauer.
Stockbauer and The Cracked Pot team definitely are adept at making all visitors feel loved on a daily basis, and she credits the coffee shop’s intentionally “community-focused” environment as the reason why she loves her job so much. “I love the community and just how friendly we can be as co-workers, with not only each other, but also our customers. We have regulars who come here every single morning, Monday thru Friday. We know their drinks by heart, and we can joke around with them and just have fun.”
Having fun is an understatement for Stockbauer, as she enjoys the creativity of her position to the max. “I love being able to create different drinks and different flavors,” she beams. “I’ve been able to make all of our specials for the past few months, in my role as head barista … and that’s been really fun, kind of coming in after hours and experimenting with different things. I also really like latte art and learning how to do that. I’ve definitely grown in that over the past year, and it’s been really fun to make people a little extra happy when they get their latte.”
On this occasion, Stockbauer mixed up a pair of favorites, both of which put her artistic talents on full display: a delicious Mocha Latte and a playful Cupcake Latte. In the coming months, look for seasonal staples like the Pumpkin Pie Latte and the Snowball Hot Chocolate to make a return.
Barista, Annika Stockbauer - The Cracked Pot Coffee Shop
SEPTEMBER 2022 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE 7 (Created by Annika Stockbauer) 2 oz of Espresso 2 pumps hazelnut syrup 2 pumps maple syrup Oat milk Directions: • Use 20g of Espresso to pull a double shot • Add 2 pumps of hazelnut syrup and 2 pumps of maple syrup to a mug • Steam 12 oz of oat milk • Add double shot and oat milk to your mug Enjoy! The Cozy Cabin Latte DRINK OF THE MONTH See The Cracked Pot Coffee Shop on Page 8
she has been on board with The Cracked Pot’s mission since day one. “A lot of people will look at that population and be like ‘oh, they’re cracked, they’re broken, they can’t really function in general society,’” she exclaims, “when in reality, all of us are cracked or broken. And just because of your situation or your childhood it does not mean that you are not loved and cherished by God, and that you should not be loved by the people around you.”
Currently a combined social work/dance major at Messiah University, Stockbauer’s ambition is to eventually make full use of her degrees in a dance therapy setting. But, echoing a countless other number of baristas Harrisburg Magazine has met, she truly values the skills she has acquired at The Cracked Pot.
The Cracked Pot Coffee Shop, continued from Page 7
Annika’s Dossier Words of advice to home coffee brewers. I would say to keep experimenting to really find the coffee taste that you love! I am all for trying different flavor combinations, even if they seem a little strange at first. Coffee is a staple part of so many people’s routines, I fully believe that it is worth the trial and error in order to truly enjoy your coffee.
Editor’s note: because coffee has become as – if not more - popular than alcoholic beverages, Harrisburg Magazine decided several months ago to accept nominations for both worthy bartenders and baristas.
“I don’t think drinks and being a barista is something I’d ever want to give up. I do find a lot of joy in it … it’s almost therapeutic, going through the process of making lattes and stuff.” She continues, “but I also know that everything has its season, and if it’s time for me just focus on other areas of my life, I’ll also be open to that.”
One of my first managers at The Cracked Pot, Danielle Byler, always encouraged me to experiment with coffee drinks, from latte flavors to Espresso with sparkling water. Another past coworker, Megan Waardenburg, taught me the basics of latte art, an area of coffee that I simply adore. Finally, the executive director of The Cracked Pot Coffee Shop, Emily Schmidt, has shown me how the love of Jesus can be spread through coffee and community!
Favorite coffee or blend of coffee. My favorite coffee is the Colombia beans from Necessary Coffee, which is based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Colombia is a medium roast and has notes of toasted nuts and fruits. I love this coffee because it pairs well with many fruity syrups and is not overwhelmingly acidic!
8 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2022 NOMINATE A BARTENDER OR BARISTA! harrisburgmagazine.com/submissions
Ok hear me out...a white chocolate dirt chai. I know it sounds like a lot but trust me!! At The Cracked Pot, we brew our loose-leaf Masala Chai from Passenger (the mother company of Necessary Coffee). This tea, packed full of spices, mixed with a little milk and the creamy sweetness of white chocolate... somehow it tastes exactly like gingerbread. So, if you are missing Christmas these days, give it a try!
During a typical week, what days/shifts can you be found at The Cracked Pot?
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Recommendations of two or three kinds of coffee to try. I highly recommend the coffee mentioned above, Colombia from Necessary Coffee. Another classic that I have to suggest is the Stowaway blend from Passenger Coffee. Although we no longer feature this coffee at The Cracked Pot, I always loved this one! It is not as floral as Colombia and leans more towards notes of cocoa. Favorite coffee-fusion drink to mix.
Is there anything – or anyone – who inspires you as a Barista? So many people I have worked with in this field have inspired me!
I am a full-time student at Messiah University, working towards a dual degree in social work and dance, so that is my current focus during the semesters. On breaks from school, I’m at The Cracked Pot full time!
Because I am working around my school schedule, my shifts tend to change from semester to semester, but this fall I will be at The Cracked Pot from 10am-2pm on Tuesdays/Thursdays, Friday afternoons, and Saturday mornings!
The Mocha Latte & Cupcake Latte
Most commonly ordered drinks during your shift(s). I would say the two most common drinks (besides just a regular coffee) would be our Home Sweet Home Latte, and a Black Americano. Philosophy on coffee brewing and/or the enjoyment of coffee. Personally, I am a big fan of being able to truly enjoy coffee! I tend not to be as focused on the notes of the coffee itself, but how to pair the coffee taste with other flavors that immediately produce a smile. I know many hardcore baristas are insulted by the idea of adding flavors and therefore ruining the integrity of the coffee, but my end goal is to make sure that whoever is drinking the coffee I serve is enjoying it! Is Barista your day job? If not, what else do you do for a living?
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I’m adamant about parents being involved with their kids’ education. As we heard since we were kids, they are our future. We were once the future of this nation, so it’s only right we make sure that all children love one another, accept each person’s beliefs, and actually take the time to listen and understand. I think it all starts with a great book. So here are a few that can get the conversation going at home and open the door to being more inclusive in our communities and schools. 7
My sons are all under the age of fifteen, so I want to always let them know that it’s okay to be the different kid in class, or to allow the “different” in class to be their friend. I believe everyone’s experience in school varies from kid to kid, and I never want my sons to be the bully, or a follower because they don’t want to be bullied. And with them living in the social media age, the internet is forever. I think these books are great starters for any kid of any age as ones to read and give them hope for a great school experience.
the summer begins to come to an end, we have to take the time to reflect on how so many amazing new books debuted over the last few months. This was a great summer to read and discover new books or reread old ones. I took this summer as a chance to catch up on older books, while browsing through a few new authors. Also, being a father, I found new books for my sons to enjoy. I love that my sons enjoy reading just as much as I do. The joy in finding out that they read in their own luxury time was fantastic. I took the last couple of weeks to research books that I thought my sons would like to read throughout the school year, and I love the joy of possibly reading a chapter with my sons one day. Right now, we’re doing small books until they’re a little bit older and can comprehend a tad bit more. Even so, one of my sons is already very interested in Dog Man by Dav Pilkey. I wanted to give my sons some books that would encourage a great school year, while prioritizing their efforts around the house and merging homework into their day to day lives. The books I was able to locate (below) will give them an idea of how fun school can still be even if they’re not having the best time. You by Peter H. Reynolds Stephen Curry: The Children’s Book: The Boy Who Never Gave Up by Anthony Curcio
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Stefan Hawkins was born and raised in Harrisburg. He opened Good Brotha’s Book Cafe in Januray 2021 and has been leading a Good Brotha’s Can’t Read Book Club since last summer.
• Fourth Grade Weirdo by Martha Freeman
fter a long night of fasting, breakfast is our first meal of the day. Whether we are getting ready for school or the workday, eating a balanced breakfast gives our bodies the energy we need to be alert, focused, and energized throughout the day. The recipe for a balanced breakfast includes three key ingredients—a carbohydrate, protein, and healthy fat. By grouping these three “macronutrients,” we ensure our bodies receive the right nutrition to get us through the day.
I Wish My Teacher Knew: How One Question Can Change Everything for Our Kids by Kyle Schwartz
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Carbohydrates are our bodies’ preferred source of energy. Our bodies digest carbohydrates, creating glucose, an energy molecule. In addition to energy, the fibers found in carbohydrates promote digestive health and help us feel and stay full. While simple carbohydrates are more easily digested, unless we are about to go out for a quick run, choosing a complex carbohydrate will provide us with the most benefits. Complex carbohydrates include whole grain cereals, toasts, oatmeal, and more. We can typically replace at least half of our all-purpose flour in recipes, such as pancakes, waffles, or muffins, with whole wheat flour. Alternatively, we can include fresh, whole fruit such as a banana, berries, or oranges as your carbohydrate at breakfast. Pairing our carbohydrate with protein improves satiety at a meal and slows down digestion, helping us stay full. Our bodies can only digest so much protein at one time and protein is not stored the same way as extra carbohydrates. By spacing our protein intake throughout the day, starting with breakfast, we are giving our bodies a constant supply to build and maintain bones, muscles, and skin. Proteins at breakfast can include Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs, beans, turkey bacon or turkey sausage, and nut butter. Including healthy fat as a part of our breakfast helps us feel full longer as fats digest more slowly and provide a slow supply of energy. Fats help us absorb Vitamins A, D, E, and K and are important to hormone production. Healthy fats are known as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and are associated with a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, and blood pressure. Diets high in “good” fats have been found to help increase LDL or “good” cholesterol. Typically, these are your fats from plants, including avocados, olive oil, canola oil, nut butter, nuts, and seeds, plus fatty fish. Our first meal of the day has a long-lasting effect throughout the day. If you aren’t used
School Bell Rings
Start Your Day Strong: Benefits of a Balanced Breakfast
Nourishing Bites/Andrea Reed
10 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2022 By the Book/Stefan Hawkins
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This School Year Will Be THE BEST! by Kay Winters From Your Teacher: On The First Day of School by Shannon Olsen I Got the School Spirit by Connie Schofield-Morrison First Day Jitters by Sharmane Duren Grady
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Ivividly remember my first appointment with a prospective client as she finalized her divorce. We’ll call her Sheila to protect her identity.
SEPTEMBER 2022 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE 11
Jack of All Trades – is a Master of None Sheila was hoping that I would be able to resolve all her issues in one meeting. As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner, I have advanced training in financial planning, retirement income planning, investment planning, income tax planning, estate planning, and insurance planning. I am very comfortable helping individuals navigate life transitions, but I firmly believe that a jack of all trades is a master of Duringnone. our first meeting, Sheila outlined her goals and priorities. As I drafted her financial plan, I started by helping her develop a team of professionals to handle specific items. While Sheila had a divorce attorney, she needed an estate planning attorney to update her Will and assist with naming new beneficiaries so that her ex-husband didn’t inherit her assets. During the marriage, they used TurboTax, but she wasn’t comfortable filing her own taxes, so I helped her find a cost-effective Certified Public Accountant (CPA). We recently celebrated our one-year client anniversary. Sheila was all smiles when she said, “I feel like I have a team fighting for me!” The real benefit of the advisory team is that she has an accountant who’s closely monitoring IRS regulations. The IRS is still putting out memorandums about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts, which passed in 2017. Sheila’s CPA periodically reaches out to me to get updated figures on capital gains, dividends, and interest to make sure Sheila isn’t underpaying her quarterly taxes.
If you follow the Finance Hound, you know that I am in favor of saving money as much as possible. Just please make sure that your near-term savings aren’t going to cost you a lot of money and aggravation in the future.
Beware of Online Resources
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.
It seems as though there isn’t enough time in the day to get through all your tasks. This is often compounded in times of transitions, uncertainty, and stress. Beware of the advisor that claims they can do it all. There is a cost to convenience, often at the expense of quality. I absolutely love my dermatologist; she has an amazing bedside manner, and I really trust her. That being said, she will not be my first call if I need neurosurgery—expertise matters.
TurboTax can be a very cost-effective tool, but it is only as good as the user’s knowledge of the IRS’s 1040. Errors can result in IRS letters, audits, and underpayments that result in penalties and/or interest charges.
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Personal Finance/Bryson Roof
The Cost of Convenience
The internet can be a great resource for research and education if used appropriately. However, be mindful of discounted services online.
Sheila’s attorney is keeping close tabs on changes to the law, and as a result revised her power of attorney to ensure it complies with the 2015 legislation passed by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth. Additionally, her attorney is closely monitoring the impact on beneficiary IRAs due to the passing of the SECURE Act, which was passed in 2022.
to eating breakfast, start small by pairing a carbohydrate with a protein or fat, such as a banana and peanut butter, avocado toast, or cottage cheese and fruit. If you simply don’t have time for breakfast in the morning, look for grab-and-go options, like Greek yogurt and a handful of walnuts you can eat when you arrive at work or during your first break. If you are already eating breakfast, evaluate your choices and make sure you are creating a balanced breakfast. As you work towards starting your day with a balanced breakfast, practice being aware of your energy and see what differences you notice!
Sheila is organized and had prepared a detailed agenda to discuss multiple financial matters ranging from immediate concerns about housing and paying monthly bills to longer-term planning concerns like taxes and estate planning. During our first meeting, we started building her Advisory Dream Team.
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.
Building a Financial Dream Team
Likewise, LegalZoom can be a cost-effective tool, but the software is limited to the user’s knowledge of the Commonwealth’s probate, incapacity, and guardianship laws. Incorrect software utilization can result in children going through orphan’s court, assets transferring to ex-spouses, or the state making decisions over your medical treatment.
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In Mary Chase’s comedy Harvey, Elwood P. Dowd insists on bringing his friend by that name to all his sister Veta’s social gatherings. Trouble is, Harvey is an imaginary six-and-a-half-foot-tall rabbit. At a sanitarium, Elwood and his invisible companion have a strange influence on the doctors, and soon Veta realizes Harvey isn’t so bad after all. September 9-11 and 15-18. Hanover Little Theatre. hanoverlittletheatre.com.
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• Be there: Listen without judgment, which can help individuals feel less depressed, less suicidal and less overwhelmed.
• Keep them safe: Remove access to weapons and medications.
elcome, September! The weather is cooler, and theatre offerings more plentiful. Oyster Mill Playhouse, from September 9-25, offers Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie: Amanda Wingfield is a faded remnant of Southern gentility now living in a dingy St. Louis apartment with her son, Tom, and her physically disabled and debilitatingly shy daughter, Laura. The father left home; Tom supports his mother and sister with a job he hates. When Amanda convinces Tom to bring home from his workplace a “gentleman caller” for Laura, the illusions the three have created to make life bearable collapse. Directed by Michael Hosler. oystermill.com
Gamut Theatre Group presents I Don’t Speak Spanish by local playwright David Ramón Zayas. Following a Mexican American family line across the past 100 years, the play — based on true historical events — seeks to reframe that title statement in the context of generations of struggle with assimilation, race, and class. September 24-October 9. gamuttheatre.org
It was a hit movie that played up John Travolta’s surprising dance moves but it also became a musical. Saturday Night Fever runs September 23-November 12, at Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre. dutchapple.com. 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. Stakem
National Suicide Awareness Month
Editor’s note: Public safety professionals often hold informal discussions on the back bumper or tailboard of an ambulance or fire truck. Hence, the column’s tagline, “Tailboard Talk.”
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In Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple – The Female Version, Trivial Pursuit replaces the poker of the original play, and the Pidgeon sisters are replaced by the Constanzuela brothers. But the hilarity is the same. At Little Theatre of Mechanicsburg, September 2-18. ltmpa.com
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• Follow up: Ongoing contact is important for suicide prevention, even after hospitalization or specialized care.
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In its Studio Theater, Open Stage presents Jolene: A Dolly Parton Song Cycle, September 8-10. There is also a special outdoor performance at Italian Lake Park Pavilion on September 11, 6 p.m. Experience the beloved hits of the country legend from Tennessee, Dolly Parton. Recommended for ages 10 and up. openstagehbg.org Amadeus, meaning “beloved of God,” was Mozart’s middle name. It is also the name of a Broadway play (and movie) featured September 8-17 at Ephrata Performing Arts Center — a fictionalized story of faith, jealousy, genius, and revenge court composer Antonio Salieri feels toward a crude young Mozart — and one of music’s great rivalries. epactheatre.org
• Ask: Speak in a caring way. Research has found that talking about suicide may reduce suicidal tendencies.
• Help them connect: Provide a network of resources and individuals for support and safety.
Also at Gamut is the Popcorn Children’s Theatre production of Rapunzel, September 14-October 8, and TMI Improv, September 16 and on future dates. Another work by Zayas is on stage in September (9-18) at Theatre Harrisburg’s Krevsky Center. It’s his adaptation of Washington Irving’s classic American folktale, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Combining music, movement, light, and shadow, the adaptation tells the story of just how persistent and pervasive superstition can be. theatreharrisburg.com
Theatre Thoughts/Barbara Trainin Blank Tailboard Talk/Robert
September is National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month, with World Suicide Prevention Day on Sept. 10. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), suicide is the “second leading cause of death among people aged 1034.” Prior to 2020, suicide was in the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention now lists suicide as the 12th leading cause of death in the nation. On average, there are 130 suicides per day.
Please note that this column contains content related to suicide.
If you or someone you know are having suicidal thoughts, a newly launched 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline provides free and confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The new lifeline does not replace existing support lines, but in a crisis, 9-8-8 is an easily remembered number – much like 9-1-1 is recognized as the emergency number for police, fire and emergency medical services (EMS). The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recommends the following steps to support someone expressing suicidal thoughts:
Fall offerings at local theatres
SEPTEMBER 2022 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE 13 Please join me and others around the world in raising awareness and sharing resources during National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month. Together, we can make a difference. 7 Robert Stakem is executive director of the Senator John J. Shumaker Public Safety Center at HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College.
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.
Ringworm infections are curable. Treatment is certainly inconvenient and often timeconsuming but, once cured, pets can live a long, healthy life. Patience and vigilance are the key to quicker recovery and the prevention of reinfection.
A couple weeks ago, I received a foster kitten that was infested with fleas. I removed nearly fifty of the little bloodsuckers with a flea comb and gave her a bath. A week later, she had two circular bald patches on her body. Assuming it was due to flea allergy dermatitis, I gave her another bath. The next day, noticing some scaley skin in the bald patches, I got suspicious. The spots looked like ringworm, a highly transmittible fungus that can spread to cats, dogs, and humans. The veterinarian confirmed that it was dermatophyte fungus, commonly known as ringworm, and sent her home with oral medication. Having never dealt with this condition personally, I had some trepidation.
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Other films that have been long time stalwarts of the poll include Antonioni’s L’Avventura, Fellini’s 8½, and Jean Renoir’s The Rules of the Game, the only film to appear on all seven lists. The poll is voted on by film critics, with movie directors starting to get a say in 1992. Each decade, the number of voters increases, with the 2012 poll being the biggest and most diverse of any of them. Well, as you have probably already figured out, the eighth version of this poll will be released sometime this year. Reports say it will be in Sight & Sound’s September issue. Since I write this column a month in advance, the poll results may already be out by the time you are reading this. My guess for the top spot in 2022? Maybe Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey or Ozu’s Tokyo Story. Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather might have a shot, too. Or we could see Kane taking back it’s crown. Or Vertigo could very easily stay right where it is. That’s the fun of it all. It’s anybody’s guess. What are my personal choices you ask? Many pets experience itchy skin this time of year. Fleas, mosquitos, grass, pollen, and lawn chemicals are just a few common irritants that can send a pet into a scratching frenzy. Sometimes, there appears to be no reason for the skin issues, creating a diagnostic nightmare.
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For The Love of Pets/Kristen Zellner Cinematic Ramblings/Kevyn Knox Pets and ReassessingContagiousRingworm:butCurabletheGreatestFilmsofAll-Time
Every ten years, the British film magazine, Sight & Sound, releases the results of their decennial film poll. The first one was released in 1952 and was topped by Vittorio De Sica’s Italian Neo-Realist masterpiece, Bicycle Thieves. Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights and The Gold Rush came in second and third, respectively, followed by the silent Soviet masterpiece of montage filmmaking, Battleship Potemkin. In 1962, Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane took over the top spot and continued its reign in 1972, 1982, 1992, and 2002. In 2012, Welles’ iconic masterwork was finally knocked off its perch by Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo.
Ringworm is a fungal infection caused by the same fungus responsible for athlete’s foot in humans. It can result in itchy, hairless patches on a pet’s skin and sometimes takes months to clear up without proper intervention. Ringworm is a common fungus that can live on people, surfaces, in soil, and on animals. It is very durable in the environment and can stay on any surface, infecting animals and people in a contaminated area months or years later. Ringworm is transmitted when the fungal spores encounter the skin, usually through a small cut. It can be spread by grooming tools, contaminated toys, and bedding, or clothing and hands. The name “ringworm” comes from the circular area of hair loss and scaling that the infection produces. The most common locations for ringworm to emerge include the face, ears, feet, and tail. Kittens, geriatric cats, and those with weak immune systems are most susceptible to developing the infection. Not all animals get ringworm when they are exposed to theThoughspores.ringworm is pervasive, it is easy to cure. However, the effort and duration of treatment make it difficult to eradicate. Pets with ringworm need to be isolated and their living quarters must be cleaned and sanitized every day. They should be bathed with antifungal shampoo twice each week and given oral anti-fungal and topical medication. It can take 2-6 weeks for the infection to subside. To mitigate the spread of the fungus, caretakers should wear washable or disposable protective clothing and gloves when treating pets with ringworm. The fungal spores continually drop off with the animal’s hair and can collect and spread anywhere throughout the environment. Therefore, toys, dishes, floors, and all surfaces should be cleaned daily and disinfected with bleach. Bedding should also be changed daily, washed separately, and dried in the dryer.
SEPTEMBER 2022 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE 15 That’s a damn fine question. Well, since you are so inquisitive, here are my choices for the greatest films of all-time. 1. Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donan & Gene Kelly, 1952) 2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968) 3. The Red Shoes (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1948) 4. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) 5. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) 6. The Rules of the Game (Jean Renoir, 1939) 7. Sunrise (F.W. Murnau, 1927) 8. 8½ (Federico Fellini, 1963) 9. Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954) 10. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955) If one wanted to stretch it out to a top twenty, one might also include: Nicholas Ray’s Johnny Guitar; Spielberg’s Jaws; Arthur Penn’s Bonnie & Clyde, Michael Curtiz’ Casablanca; Chaplin’s City Lights; John Ford’s The Searchers; Scorsese’s Taxi Driver; Hitchcock’s Vertigo; De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves; and Schoedsack & Cooper’s original King Kong. Again, what will the 2022 poll bring to the table? The familiar classics of course, but what else? With a wider crowd participating, from all over the globe, and a more diverse crowd to boot, we could see a change in the old guard. Recent films (and by recent I’m talking the past 25 years or so), that have the best shot at breaking into that top ten are Wong Kar-Wai’s In The Mood for Love, Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life, and Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight. It’s all very exciting, indeed. That’s it gang. See ya 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.
I n 2021. Sunbury Press published my novel Skadi. This was lifechanging because it confirmed that anything is possible. It was equally as neat to engage with a community of writers such as fellow Sunbury Press author, Sherry Knowlton who has a travel memoir coming out this month. Her book is a beautiful journey, so I interviewed her for this column. What inspired your travels? A desire to see all the exciting places I read about as a childcombined with my innate curiosity - made me want to travel. After college my husband (Mike) and I embarked on a road trip around the United States, camping in national parks and forests. That early sojourn hooked us. However, our evolving interests and pocketbook have shaped the type of travel we’ve done over the years. In our twenties, we hiked the Appalachians and the Rockies. In our thirties, we went on more beach trips with our young son. When our son got older, we did more sailing in the Chesapeake, the Caribbean, Greece, and Polynesia. Later we started to prioritize adventure travel. What lessons have you learned and what advice would you give? People around the world are more similar than different. Customs differ, but core values like love of family and desire for economic and political stability are fundamental regardless of where people live. Quality over quantity - Take as much time as your schedule and budget allow to immerse yourself in each new place. The ten-countries-in-ten-days tour might let you check places off your bucket list. By the tenth day though, you won’t remember what country you’re in. Choose an itinerary that lets you wander and explore.
Let’s talk about this memoir. During the pandemic – in response to urgings from others and because travel was halted – I started a travel memoir.
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Postcards From…
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.
You can learn more about Sherry at www. sherryknowlton.com
Travel Memoir Author, Sherry Knowlton
The memoir will come in two volumes. Beyond the Sunset: Volume 1, Travels Outside My Comfort Zone releases on September 13, 2022. Beyond the Sunset: Volume 2, Expanding My Horizons, will release in December 2022. Each is chock full of anecdotes about my travel experiences along with practical advice and personal observations. The first few chapters of volume one unfolds in a more traditional memoir style as I discuss how I came to be a traveler. The remaining chapters are a series of essays on topics as diverse as modes of transportation, wild animal encounters, and people met along the way. I include practical travel tips gained through firsthand experiences and photographs taken by my husband and me. What’s next? My goal is to keep traveling as long as I am physically able to do so. I’m 70 years old and not as nimble as I once was. The decision that my husband and I made to save the more sedate trips for later in life has, fortunately, left us many new roads to travel. We are planning our next trip to Botswana and southern Africa.
Postcards From…/Steven G. Williams
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By Michael Hoover
O imminent Fall, as darker days bloom and vernal vision has been entombed, a white chill enshrouds each fertile womb.
III
Yield us less partition, more fruit of unity— more bread and thread, less fume and boom!
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II
Poem/Michael Hoover
Autumnal Thoughts
O Season of change, soon deep with leaves, you loosen summer’s grip on its greenery to spread your rich palette across the scenery.
O Month of juncture, cryptic time of in-between! Have we become less pathway, more screen? Do we now leave too little for others to glean?
O September, a pox on your paradox of parity!
Pushcart nominee Michael Hoover served as Greater Hanover Area Poet Laureate (2007-2009) and was a co-founder of the literary journal Digges’ Choice. He has one published book of poetry (Better Left Unsaid), and has been published in Fledgling Rag, One Tree, Many Branches of Expression, Absent Photographer, and Mosaic Literary and Art Magazine. Hoover is also a gallery-shown photographer and will soon begin his 50th year as an educator, currently working as an adjunct professor for the School of Education at Mount St. Mary’s University. He is father of three and grandfather of five—all joys in his life.
O Harvest Moon, you fill both heart and head with prospect of plenty while we count the dead, as schoolyards swell with promise and dread.
O Equinox, phenomenon of opposites, you bid us turn away and look ahead— we yearn, we mourn, we learn to let go.
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18 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2022 #hbgmag Influencer
Story By Randy Gross rgross@harrisburgmagazine.com Photos By
As youngsters, kids can’t avoid being asked that oft-repeated question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” But it’s because of naivete that their childhood dreams can often sound fanciful, if not unattainable. Case in point: when Williams was in the 4th grade, he wanted to own a 4-star hotel.
“Somewhere between high school and college,” he recalls, “it really kind of clicked that, full-time, the goal for me is to be an author. President still floats around there somewhere (he laughs), and I think Steven G. Williams Paul
Wandering and Wondering About Life “After” School with Author
Vasiliades
There was also a period in high school when, inspired by Barack Obama, Williams dreamed of being president - another short-lived flight of fancy. Then, things got serious.
EARLY DREAMS
A youthful looking 32, Williams certainly doesn’t convey the personage of a wizened old prophet. Even so, his personal journeys have shown him so much of the world in so short a span of time that he is perhaps better qualified than most to be a mentor to Harrisburg-area youths who, for the moment, may only dream of learning more than just the shape of spoons. It is because of Williams’ broad experiences in areas ranging from state legislature to afterschool programming, fantasy and science fiction writing to, yes, world traveling, that he has been selected as this month’s Influencer
“I don’t know where that came from,” Williams recalls with a smile. “I remember telling my teacher, ‘yeah, I wanna grow up and be a 4-star hotel owner.’ And he would always jokingly reference it during the course of 4th grade.”
“Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.” — E.M. Forster It may be a tired cliché but think about life for a moment as a journey. It could be your own personal one, or a developmental one taken by a child. Now think about the best, most productive way for that journey to teach and mold. Is it purely by reading a textbook? Or is it, as author and travel-enthusiast Steven G. Williams, believes, more experiential.
Williams has been equally proud to have been elected to the Harrisburg City School Board in 2019, for whom he currently serves as
One of four children, the Central Dauphin High School, Shippensburg, and Northwestern University grad credits several people for putting him on an impactful career path. At the top of his list: his parents. “They traveled with me and my siblings when we were young,” he remembers fondly, “and kind of helped me expand my world view. Like, I got to have experiences as a kid that a lot of folks don’t.” Some of the places his mom and dad took him were the Bahamas, at age 10, and then the Cayman Islands when he was a little older. With his passion for travel growing as strong as his passion for writing, he would end up studying abroad. “That’s when my desire to travel and see the world really exploded.”
“My dad was my original publisher!”
“My first story that I remember completing was in 2nd or 3rd grade,” he recalls, “and it was because the teacher’s assignment was to use the vocabulary words of the week and construct a story around those vocabulary words. But I remember the story that I had come up with was about the 4th Little Pig. So, the 3 Little Pigs, and then they had this 4th brother who no one had ever heard of, and he was evil. His name was Evil Ethan, and he wanted to take over the world, and the 3 Little Pigs had to stop him. But that was the first time I remember writing a story to completion.”
He continues, “But there are ways to give back to the world that don’t require you to be president of the United States … obviously, as an adult, I see there are far more ways to do it, which you can even make an argument, might be more impactful.”
When he was a little older, Williams would get caught up in Anime and Manga, coming up with storylines with his buddy, Tom, and then using his burgeoning cartooning skills to create comics. “My dad would then take them to Kinko’s and get them printed,” he says with a laugh.
After eight years of filling various staff positions in the PA legislature, Williams was ready to move on. But the “big picture” skills he had gained at the capitol would help him to excel at two new positions, one his full-time day job, the other an unpaid elected job – and both of them targeted at helping Harrisburg-area youths.
TWO ICELANDIC GENTLEMAN WALK INTO A COFFEE SHOP
Among Williams’ favorite activities as a writer are the book tours and book signings that he gets to plan himself with his publisher, Sunbury Press. “I’ll take on what I need to do to plan these book tours,” he says. “So, I reach out to local establishments like bookstores and coffee shops and say ‘hey, would you be cool with me setting up shop with you all for like two hours,’ and I just sell my book and sign it.”
WHEN “AFTER” BECOMES AS IMPORTANT AS “DURING”
In the former position – Associate Director of the Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool Youth Development Network (PSAYDN) –Williams gets to stress how afterschool options for young students are as equally important as options available during the school day. “After school as an option for young people allows for career exploration,” he maintains. “It allows for them to engage in the arts, and yes, it’s also a means for keeping people out of trouble, in those in-between hours when your parents might not be home, and you’re kind of like, what do you do with yourself. But it’s also a place for them to learn about what the future might look like.”
Vice President. His goals for the city school system (which recently had its receivership status extended for three more years) include bringing a chapter of Youth in Government to the High School (“Harrisburg is right there … the capitol is right down the street … it’s an incredible learning opportunity,” he asserts), and also the bolstering of arts and theatre programs. But, through it all, Williams’ dream of being a published author had never diminished.
Citing “the direct positive impact that we’re having on young people’s lives” as the thing he like’s best about his job at PSAYDN, Williams mentions a recent fruit of his labors. “We had our Advocacy Day at the capitol building back in March, and we brought in students from all across the state to come talk to their state Rep and Senator… and we made it a priority of bringing in students from Harrisburg, because they had not participated in this in the past.”
With his second fantasy fiction book (“Thyra”) released on August 31st, Williams is able to catch his breath long enough to reminisce about his long path toward authorhood.
As he matured and did more reading, Williams would be influenced by a diversity of works ranging from “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” to Anthony Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential.” But, being a fantasy and science fiction writer, Williams is quick to add that “in terms of writing or author influences, definitely Neil Gaiman is someone I look at as inspirational. In fact, I’m watching ‘The Sandman’ right now.”
See Williams on Page 20 that would be cool, like an opportunity to give back. But obviously in today’s political climate it would be incredibly taxing.”
Others who contributed to Williams early success include: Gail McDermott at the Office of Member Services and, later, District Operations and Outreach, for opening that initial door at the PA House of Representatives (“she said ‘hey, Steve, come on, let’s take a chance on you, you’re right out of college, you don’t necessarily have the background that most folks here have, but I’m still gonna take a chance on you because you seem like a smart kid”); former Pittsburgh representative Jake Wheatly (“he took a chance on me being the Research Analyst for the House Finance Committee, and that really opened up the door. Because, like, one of the first things he did was say ‘Steve, let’s go meet the Governor. And that was just profound”); and, last but not least, his wife Danielle (“I feel like we’re partners for each other first and we really are supportive. And I can’t even stress how crucial that is.”)
SEPTEMBER 2022 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE 19
He continues, “I was so blown away. I’m not one who is quick to come to tears, but I definitely was almost about to. I was just proud, man.”
Williams’ wide-ranging travel experiences – and, hence, his enhanced world view – come back into play when asked for words of advice to kids who want to become writers, but don’t necessarily want to go to college. “I would argue that, if writing is what you really want to do, I would pursue something else and then try to find a way to merge that with your interest in writing,” he suggests. “Then, learn the tricks and the trades of writing through other means. I would even say, save your money and go travel the world for a couple years! If you’re gonna spend $50,000 on a degree, if you have it like that, I would take that $50,000 and spend time in Europe, and Asia, and Africa for like two years.”
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“One time, I had written this science fiction story, about this war in space, and since I was working for the legislature, I was kind of thinking of this political realm, and I was like, ‘okay, what if each planet represented a different country and a particular governing style?’ And I sent it off to this small press publisher. And, I had gotten a ‘no.’ I had always gotten ‘no’s,’ I’d gotten used to it. But this time I said ‘why?’ (laughs) I just emailed the guy back and I said, ‘what is it that’s not resonating?’ And he emailed me back actually, like a page-long tirade. I say tirade because there were a lot of mean-spirited comments. Like he said that the office had a collective laugh around one of the scenes in my story, and I was like ‘damn, well okay.’ But, even in the arguably cruel feedback he was providing there were nuggets of good feedback, and that’s what I chose to focus on.”
Williams, continued from Page 19 One signing event, for his first novel, “Skadi,” rises above the rest. “One of the really cool experiences was at Cornerstone Coffeehouse,” he recalls. “When I was signing books there, two gentlemen came in and they were from Iceland. And the book is obviously Norse mythology, which is Icelandic … they came through, and that was one of the coolest experiences during the entire book tour. Because Danielle and I got married in Iceland. Meeting the two gentlemen from Iceland and them buying the book, and then the son went back to Iceland and was like ‘I’m reading it … I’m enjoying it!’ So that was something cool.”
“But the list is long.” 7
PERSISTANCE, PATIENCE, AND THE PURSUIT OF A BUCKET LIST
Steven with Icelanders Geir Magnusson and son Ragnar Geirsson
“For Danielle,” he continues, “I know the top of hers is India.”
As someone aspiring to eventually write full-time, Williams isn’t averse to serving as a role model for younger writers. “As long as they’re looking for it,” he self-cautions. “I don’t want to be preachy, or anything. If you’re looking for advice, I’ll give you the advice.” Seeing as how it took him a decade to publish his first book, Williams offers up two words – persistence and patience – as the most helpful for any writer. As an example of persevering in the face of criticism, he relates an early publishing effort:
And what travel destinations are on the Williams’ bucket list? For Steven, it’s Japan, and perhaps more time in the Nordic countries. “And then,” he adds, “hitting parts of Africa and even some parts of Africa that don’t get spoken about a lot, like Namibia.”
The control panel on the chair went bananas, flashing chaotic pulses of apple red. Miss Betty failed to charge her chair, so the thing rumbled to a wobbly stop. I had zero time to waste, so I bailed on the Betty boat. I shouldered my satchel and forced my fuzzy blue slippers to traverse.
The Late September Fog
I couldn’t breathe worth a damn, and my footwear wasn’t built for this kind of trek. There were tires crunching gravel not far off, which tuned my attention. I heard the hum of the engine and moved to the side of the road, shuffling beside a lonely stretch of hemlocks. The wheels behind me rolled closer and with a grumble.
“Only if you take me to where I need to go. Bowmansdale Bridge, where I took my vows.”
Might have thrown himself off the bed. He bellowed. “Nelson! Come get me!” Nelson emerged in the hallway, charging past me like an Olympian. It was the end of his graveyard shift, and I knew they were short staffed, so playing paramedic was the last thing Nelson felt like doing tonight. Bonnie, the charge nurse, was right behind him, amber curls bouncing like Slinkeys as she ran. I moved my slippers faster when I spotted Miss Betty’s hot rod. Nobody liked Miss Betty. Probably came from some fiery hole in the ground. Her power scooter was ditched in the hallway, and I needed her ride for my plan to succeed. I was certain the harvest moon was looking down upon us, so she very well could turn into a mythological creature and hunt me down. With the charge nurse distracted, the lobby was clear. My eyes were emeralds as I boarded her power chair. I placed my satchel into the metal storage basket and sat. With a few button pushes, the motor thrummed, and I was off. Miss Betty the ice dragon snarled from her den. “Chezko!” I rolled down the hallway at top speed, and cruised through the sliding door, which boomed behind me as it shut. I was a desperado. I cut through empty parking spaces and muscled that machine. At the pace I was going, this cowboy had some thinking time on his hands, so I remembered my lady. Our story began in 1981 on a connecting flight, destination Tahiti. Our seats were side by side, which changed everything. The day we got married, on the car ride over to the bridge, she told me we shared “Empyrean” destiny - a renewing fire that resets and restores. Don’t ask me. The morning air carried a chill with tiny vapor swirls. I directed the wheels to maneuver a secluded road, lined with trees and wooden fences. By the time I entered College Avenue, the machine was drowsy. I passed homes and a couple of American flags and spun over a railroad crossing. I recalled a memory from last time I looked into Ulani’s eyes, when they faded like flowers. Rain trickled down the hospital windows as we put aside empty cups of tea. I touched her hands and listened to her breathe. She said September would reconnect us. Someday.
emingway said all good stories end in death. I say they end in Threeregeneration.months before she died, she wrote me a letter with instructions and told me not to open it until September of 2022. That was thirty years ago. My name is Artie Chezko and I have colon cancer, advanced. I’m in pain, physically and emotionally. I’m stuck in the Forget-Me-Not Senior Living Center, but really, it’s the dying center. I miss the girl I married. Think about her all the time. It was morning and the harvest moon was hovering. I was in my tiny room, sitting on the edge of my hospital bed, looking at my feet, swollen from arthritis. I put on my fuzzy blue slippers and stood up, sending a loud crack down my spine. I crammed my bingo winnings into the bathrobe I wore over pajama pants. From there, I slung my satchel over my back and walked into the hallway with the stained geometric-patterned carpet. Slim’s door was open. He was a big guy - could probably kill a man with his pinky. He was also kind of a mess - crazy hair, liver spots and spider veins. I walked in, holding up the bingo loot.
I need a doctor!” He followed it up with a loud crash, like a thunderhead rippling across a dark purple sky. His“Aaaaaaaah!”alarmsounded.
Story By Justin “Bruce” Bruce; Illustration By Allison Juliana
22 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2022 Short Story/The Late September Fog
“Whew, that’s heavy,” Slim said, tearing a Snickers open and biting it in half. “I’m already feeling like Anthony Hopkins. Academy, here I come.” It was go-time. I left the room and started down that ugly, stinky hallway, past long rows of tangerine doors that were outshined by plasticThat“Aaaaah!”plants.wasSlim, right on cue, screaming like he shoved a paperclip into an electrical “Somebodysocket.helpme!
“So that’s somebody else’s scooter back there with the same Humphrey Bogart“Borrowed.decal?”
“Artie, that’s only four,” he said. “Thought you were bringin’ me five.” “Slim! These are good bars. That’s a 3 Musketeers,” I said, placing them into his hands. “I don’t like 3 Musketeers. Deal’s off.”
“Artie! What are you doing?” It was Nelson, driving the old field trip van. He was a nice kid in his twenties, always fiddled with his librarian glasses, meant well. He looked genuinely concerned. “Come on. Let me take you back.”
“Do you know what it’s like to have colon cancer and Nelson as your only visitors? You at least got a son, Slim. I got nothin’. Come on, I need yourSlimhelp.”softened a little. He saw a white-haired guy with scoliosis standing in front of him with slumped shoulders and sore heart. “Fine, Artie. But you’re not gettin’ my A game, you’re gettin’ my B game.” I pointed right at him. “Knew I could count on ya, Slim. Today is my anniversary and my best gal’s birthday, too. All the same day. I made her a promise a few decades ago, and today it’s fulfilled.”
Didn’t steal. And what does it matter, she’s got the personality of an artichoke.” “Artie. Get in the van.”
Nelson checked his wristwatch. “You’re pretty determined if you went to the length of breaking out of Alcatraz. I’ll give you ten minutes, then we’re headed back.”
H
“You can forget that, Jack,” I said, continuing my walk. He kept pace with me, which was the speed of pouring tar. “Why did you steal Miss Betty’s chair?” “I didn’t steal anything.”
7
Nelson pulled over and helped me into the passenger’s seat, clicking the steel belt around my waist. I felt like a helpless child. Pretty soon, the van was moving again. During the bleakest time of my existence, I sat at Ulani’s grave most days, cross-legged in front of her headstone. Above our names, there were two orange maple leaves carved into the rock, one represented her life, the other mine. She chose orange because it was all things autumn, all things September, and all things clustered around the equinox. It felt like a few seconds melted away, but Nelson had already parked the van and turned it off. The engine made those metallic ticks and clicks. “Artie, that place isn’t actually prison. You could’a submitted a request, I would have driven you.” He helped me out of the van and got me on my feet. I was sore and a little wobbly. “I’m gonna hang back and have a cigarette. Let me know if you need anything.” “Good man.” I took short strides until I reached the red covered bridge. I saw a chunk of the athletic field and parking lot on the other side of the tunnel. The bridge had a familiar aura and I felt it. I remembered Ulani in her champagne gown, eyes glinting like moonstones. I stood in that very spot. I saw the open side portals that revealed the landscape of Yellow Breeches, reminding me of gigantic windows, but without the glass. I removed the envelope from my pocket and tore open the whispering letter of thirty years. Black ink, neat, undoubtedly Ulani’s penmanship. What you see today is real. Huh? What did I see? I didn’t know the answer to that, but after several decades of resisting the urge to open it prematurely, I was expecting something a little more grand. I continued on, doing what I was there to do. I opened the satchel and removed her urn, a tropical mango-bronze thing. I held it in my hands for a moment and then unscrewed the threaded lid. I peeked inside the urn, and it was about what you’d expect. I stepped onto the platform below the ported windows and scanned the Breeches, which signaled to my eyes that I was home. I remembered the trees stretching down the dirt banks, showing off their branches to the sun. I kissed the urn and tipped it gently, releasing a falling ribbon of ashes into the water. It wasn’t particularly dramatic, just a fine gray line that was here and gone. I shut my eyelids and had a quiet moment with meditation. I said some things to her in my mind and had a small cry. I wiped my face a little bit. When I opened them, I took one last glance at where the ashes fell. I saw a glimmer of her face in the water. Her eyes were big and brown, and I saw her cocoa skin glittering against the harvest light. She was dressed the same way she was when we met on the plane. I took a big step back. Impossible. I collected myself with some deep breaths. My palms had a sudden nervous shake. I didn’t see her reflection. Couldn’t have. That was purely a daydream, absurd to think otherwise. I stepped onto the platform again, gazing at the same spot. This time, I saw both of us, side by side, two connected links in a beautiful chain. We had our youth, hope and health. I watched how happy I was in the images, without physical pain. It was like a reflecting mirage where I saw my heart before it was parboiled. I had a full head of brown hair, and I smiled huge in the shimmering cool of the aqua. What kind of reflection was that? It played out like a movie. I watched Ulani place her hands at the sides of my face, giving me a big Tahitian smooch. Those were A-okay. I was so mesmerized that I didn’t notice the thick blanket of fog cooking over the cement floor where I stood. It was a pearly cloud of fluff that was weaving and bubbling into a quilt of spinning mist. I don’t know what I did that day, or what she did that day, but her handwritten prediction was real. There was something mythic in the alignment of the water, the moon, the equinox, and the covered bridge. I didn’t climb a magical stairway and I didn’t see a flash of blinding light, but something happened that September. Nelson darted into the bridge looking for me, but I was gone. He ran up to the portal where I stood moments prior and stuck his face beyond the wooden ledge. No Artie, no urn. He saw only this: two floating leaves from the brightest sugar maple. They were radiantly bright and bobbing several feet apart, skimming the water’s crest. They moved gently, closer and closer like lazy magnets, until finally the two leaves overlapped and become one perfect canvas of orange.
Bruce began writing stories in elementary school. He is a left-handed only child, an INFJ, and a journalist for the Hummelstown Sun newspaper. He’s interested in reading body language and hostage negotiation techniques. His favorite guitarist is Randy Rhoads.
The story of Milton S. Hershey and his school begins with a fundamental principle that Hershey aspired to – creating a vision for the next generation. Although much can be said about Hershey, the chocolate industry he created close to his original birthplace in Derry Township, and Hershey, the town he created out of Derry Church, PA, as a model of affordable living through housing, business, schools, and arts; this story will focus on Hershey’s crowning achievement, a school
Education – A Passport to the Future
“The value of our good is not measured by what it does, but by the amount of good it does to the one concerned.” Milton S. Hershey A History of the School
Milton S. Hershey’s Vision for his School
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In 1905, Hershey and his wife, Catherine Sweeney Hershey, moved back into the original 1826 homestead built by Hershey’s great-grandfather and where Hershey also lived as a child. They remained there until 1908 when their permanent home, High Point Mansion, was built. In 1909, Hershey and his wife, who had no children of their own, See Milton S. Hershey on Page 26
Story By Christina Heintzelman cheintzelman@benchmarkmediallc.com Photos Submitted By Milton Hershey
founded on his principle that one is morally obligated to share the fruits of success with those less fortunate. Milton Hershey’s childhood is not a story of privilege and wealth but rather of a child brought up in a strict home with very limited means. He left home at age 18 to earn a living, at times working as an apprentice in various businesses and then finally working as a salesman of confectionary items in Philadelphia and New York. He traveled to Colorado and worked for a caramel maker, and this is where he learned that milk is what makes caramels soft and chewy. He came back to Lancaster penniless but with a strong sense of perseverance and self-motivation. He created the Lancaster Caramel Factory and developed an interest in using milk in chocolate to make it into a product that would allow chocolate candies to be available as an affordable product to the masses. In 1900 Hershey sold his lucrative business in Lancaster, keeping the right to continue experimenting with milk chocolate, and came back to Derry Church, his hometown, in order to experiment and work with chocolate to mass produce milk chocolate using fresh milk rather than powdered milk as was then used by the Swiss. The first Hershey milk chocolate bar was sold in 1900 priced between 2 cents and 10 cents, with the 5-cent size being the one that became the standard.
School
Milton Hershey School
Milton S. Hershey and students - date unknown
In the 1960’s, the school’s selection of students broadened to include non-white students, and in 1976 the school expanded its definition of orphanhood to include social orphanhood, defined to mean those boys with single or divorced parents. 1977 was a landmark year as for the first time in the school’s history girls were admitted and the first eight of these young girls began their schooling at MHS.
Alger explained that the method of choosing students for the school can be thought of as the idea of concentric circles: children from Dauphin County have priority followed by children from neighboring counties, then from Pennsylvania, then neighboring states and finally from the entire country.
Megan Weber, MHS Media Relations Manager, says that in 2020 Milton Hershey School announced a new initiative to expand the impact and reach of Milton and Catherine Hershey’s vision through the Early Childhood Education initiative called Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning. Initially, the initiative will develop six cost-free Early Childhood Resource Centers in Pennsylvania for economically disadvantaged and at-risk children from birth to age 5. CHS is funded by a limited portion of the annual and accumulated income from the Milton Hershey School. The first center is currently under construction in Hershey, PA, and scheduled to be completed in 2023. The second Center will be in the Midtown neighborhood of Harrisburg with the anticipated opening in 2024. The third location – Middletown – was just announced in July 2022.
Although the school opened in September of 1910, the original Deed of Trust was written in November 1909 when Hershey and Catherine signed over a 486-acre piece of farmland forming the Hershey Industrial School, and every year Founders Day is celebrated in this month with special programing for students and the community. The school has always been operated on Hershey’s background of a strong sense of work ethic coupled with an abiding faith in God. Catherine died in 1915 and in 1918 Hershey put most of his fortune, including his share of the Hershey Chocolate Company, into a trust for the school to allow for the perpetual funding of this initiative.
26 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2022 developed the first Deed of Trust for what would become Hershey Industrial School for boys aged four through eight whose fathers had died. Because of Hershey’s impoverished childhood and what he had seen on the streets of New York and Philadelphia with young boys trying to find work to help their families, he realized that he needed to use some of his wealth to assist these youngsters.
The second home used for students was the Kinderhaus, for the youngest of the boys. Throughout the years, various homes that were owned by Hershey were converted for housing as the school grew. In the 1920’s, it became apparent to Hershey that he would have to start building new homes for the ever-expanding school. Alger considers it to be of upmost importance that Hershey lived for thirty-five more years from the inception of the school, so therefore had an ongoing and direct Milton S. Hershey, continued from Page 24 relationship with the management and growth of the school.
When Hershey opened the Milton Hershey School in 1910, The Homestead became the first residence for the first four students who arrived. George and Prudence Copenhaver devoted much of their lives as the first houseparents and licensed teachers. Word spread quickly through news articles and requests began to come in quickly for more information regarding admittance to the school. Originally The Homestead not only housed these students but also provided classrooms. Susan Alger, Coordinator of School History for MHS says, “The Homestead, where the production of milk chocolate was first perfected, grew to become the home for these boys, and as the industry grew The Homestead changed from a holistic living and working environment to a holistic living and learning environment.”
In 1933, amid the Great Depression, Hershey realized that the need for assistance to young, poor boys in the area was greatly expanding, so a change in the original deed of trust was made. As Alger explains, “We must think of this trust as a living and breathing document like the US Constitution that can change as needs change. To the outside it may look different, but foundationally Milton Hershey’s intent and guidelines will always remain the same.” This change allowed boys aged 4 through 14 to be admitted to the school and the qualifying event could be the death of a mother or a father. In 1934 a junior-senior high school building was opened. In 1951, the school’s name was changed from Hershey Industrial School to Milton Hershey School to eliminate the possibility of the word ‘industrial’ having the connotation of a reform school, as it was then used within the adjudication system for children.
Student Home Life
Ododo Walsh, Senior Director of Home Life and Student Leadership, and an alumna of MHS class of 1998, points out that often when people think of boarding schools, they think of dormitories for students, but MHS doesn’t have dorms. “One of the things that is very unique to MHS is the very heart and core of Milton Hershey’s beliefs that all of the students should live in real homes.” She explains that Hershey did a lot of travelling to various boarding schools, orphanages, and even Girard College, visiting the dorms for their students at that time in the early 1900’s. He came out of it knowing that he wanted real homes for
“Sometimes the personality differences are too great, and students have the autonomy to create roommate exchanges,” Walsh states. She adds, “When conflicts arise, there are already routines and guidelines in place so that everyone knows what the expectations are.”
“We strive to create consistency for our students to get the best possible experience of family life here at Milton Hershey School,” she adds.
The guidelines for houseparents are that they are at least twenty-seven years of age, a married couple, and married for three years. In addition, they must have a valid driver’s license and a minimum of a high school education. “Of the utmost importance is that they must have a heart for the mission and want to help children coming from a challenging background and have a desire to nurture them and help them reach their fullest potential.”
Each home contains up to twelve students and a set of houseparents, who are a married couple, to create the ideal of family living. The houseparents act as regular parents providing all the usual activities found in family living: creating meals, assisting with homework, assigning chores, attending school and other outside activities, and going on trips and vacations together.
Currently there are 180 homes for students and Walsh points out that the school is expanding, and new homes are currently being built to accommodate the additional influx of students to serve as many children as possible.
Walsh adds that the school puts out a nationwide search to find the best people for this life-affirming work. House parent couples can bring up to two of their own children into the home which allows for a wide variety of experiences and opportunities for young couples with their own children, couples who do not have children, and older couples who have raised children and now are empty nesters.
Housing is divided by age and gender into three divisions: elementary division for children grade pre-K through fourth grade, the middle division for fifth grade through eighth grade, and the senior division which is ninth through twelfth grade. Children are housed with no more than three grade ranges between them. If children come from a family system, they can be housed together if they are of the same gender or if there is not a separation of more than three grades between them. Students usually share a room with one other student as a roommate. Houseparents normally make the decision based on personalities of the students to make the best fit possible.
SEPTEMBER 2022 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE 27 his students to live in. She adds, “Our campus looks just like typical suburban community living arrangements with lots of houses filled with families.”
See Milton S. Hershey on Page 28
An online fulfillment system provides full meals delivered to the home. Houseparents can also order ingredients for preparing meals or supplements to the meals within the home if they desire. Houseparents take the lead on deciding meal options, but students also have a voice in the decision.
Rendering of the Catherine Hershey School for early development, Midtown Harrisburg
Students are expected to assist with chores and are taught from a young age that they are capable of doing things around the home.
Walsh states that The Home Life Program is the heart of Milton Hershey School, and the school is constantly searching for house parents to fill this role.
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“It is very important in our school and living environment to teach a strong work ethic, independence, and the understanding that everyone has a responsibility in taking care of their space,” Walsh says.
There is also a curriculum for home life, entitled the Compass Project, that discusses social and emotional needs of students and how to find resolution and common ground when conflicts arise, what the expectations are and how to get help if conflict arises and the student does not know how to resolve things by themself.
There are many systems in place within the Program Support System to assist house parents, and off-site meal prep is one of them.
Students are all informed via spiritual teaching based on the Judeo-Christian religion. Students attend a chapel program that happens on a weekly basis, there are daily devotions, and they can attend different denomination churches in the area with transportation provided by the school.
Education Skip Weber, Head of Divisions, explains that there are three divisions in the school: the elementary division is pre-K through fourth grade, the middle division is fifth grade through eighth grade and the senior division is ninth grade through twelfth grade. “MHS aims to individualize education as much as possible, beginning in the elementary grades, mainly because we have students coming from various backgrounds and different school districts in many different states, so they are coming to us from different learning experiences. Therefore, we cannot use a cookie cutter approach for education. Currently we have students from thirty different states,” says Weber. The model is to give children exposure to new things in elementary school, experimentation with new knowledge in middle school, and then capped off by the senior division experience. MHS uses what is called a back map process to include what the industry recognizes as success, what post-secondary
There are scheduled breaks and vacations throughout the year when students can go home, but for the children who choose to stay at the school, MHS is open and available to students 365 days a year. Programing entitled Year-Round Experiences with various activities are available for students who stay during break periods. “We try to package these programs with fun and learning especially during the summer when we have a much longer break,” Walsh explains.
Although students may not have their own Milton S. Hershey, continued from Page 27 cars on campus, seniors are given access to an automobile once they have a driver’s license, and one of the goals is to have every graduating student earn a driver’s license.
MHS competes in PIAA athletics as the Spartans. They participate in performing arts and other extracurricular activities which are juried and judged, competing in the same way as public schools across the state.
“Our children are being exposed to necessary elements for career focused education as early as the elementary division,” Weber says.
SEPTEMBER 2022 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE 29 schools recognize as success, and what MHS recognizes as success for students within the various curriculums.
MHS assists potential college and trade school students monetarily by accruing scholarship credits based on behavior and academic performance through their high school years. This accrual can amount to $95,000.00 per student. “Our students are truly the beneficiaries of Mr. and Mrs. See Milton S. Hershey on Page 30
The average class size is fifteen students, but MHS caps out around ten students for pre-K, and in some instances in the upper grades there may be class sizes of twenty students. The teaching staff is comprised of 258 full and parttime staff. There are separate school campuses for each of the three divisions. The elementary campus is located on the main campus and close to the elementary housing allowing the children to walk back and forth to school. The middle school has its campus across town on the northern side of Hershey and house parents drive students to and from classes. The senior high school is located on the southern side of town, closer to other academic buildings and the Spartan sports complexes. There is a shuttle system to assist students navigate through the campus areas and to transport students to various off campus activities.
All students are exposed to agricultural, horticultural, and environmental studies through various classes in science and math, but students can specialize in these fields and complete internships in these fields through various Hershey entities where students are able to grow food or produce and then sell or provide these products to the entities.
Megan Weber, Media Relations Manager, states that the MHS CTE (Career and Technical Education)’s twelve pathways prepare their students for careers in many different areas: agriculture, automotive, business and finance, computer science, construction and carpentry, culinary arts, education and human services, electronic media and journalism, engineering and design, graphic communication, health science, and law and public safety.
STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is integrated across all the curricula of the school to ensure that all students are exposed to these topics whether in the classroom or in extracurricular activities based on their interests. “Makerspace classrooms are available in our elementary classrooms to allow students to tinker, play, dream, build, and explore. It is amazing to see the faces of those kids when they create a robot, and they program that robot to go through a maze or follow a racetrack. This is putting learning from their minds into their hands,” Weber states.
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For one hundred-and-ten-years Milton and Catherine Hershey’s legacy, not only for the town of Hershey but, in a larger context, the enrichment of the lives of thousands of young people through the Milton Hershey School, continues to reap its benefit - not just in this locality, but also throughout the country, as these graduates go out and make their way forward into our society. 7
Weber concludes by describing the Graduate Program for Success designed for graduating students of MHS. “We have a very comprehensive alumni organization to support graduating students no matter what their career path might be. There are higher education specialists who travel to the various colleges to assist students, individuals who assist graduates who are immediately going into the work force, and others who assist students who have decided to take a military path career. Students have five years to take advantage of their accrued scholarships and six years to complete their post graduate education. So, in effect, a student graduating from MHS at age 19 could have benefits up until the age of thirty. We continue to provide support because we want to know our students are prepared and have that option of support like a normal family would have. Our support doesn’t end when a student walks across the stage at graduation.”
All high school students must take a year and a half credit of coding, mainly to assist students in learning logic, problem solving, collaboration, communication, and thinking outside the box. “We want to make sure that our graduates have the capabilities to be successful in a number of different areas. We want to make sure we graduate students of high character who understand a high level of work ethic and integrity - who understand teamwork, respect, and collaboration,” he adds.
Megan Weber closes with “Our students are always out and about the community doing internships within authentic work experiences and we want the community to be aware of what we do.” Skip Weber adds, “It is important for our students to know that for all they have received it is their responsibility to give back for the betterment of our local community and the greater Harrisburg area.”
“These methods help to close the gap between the school students and families who may be hundreds of miles away. We’ve harnessed the power of technology to increase and maintain our relationship with families,” Weber explains.
Hershey. Their legacy continues with individuals, students, and families and allows us to resolve many situational issues while allowing parents/ sponsors to continue in a parallel progress with their own educational needs while their students are here at MHS.” Weber continues by saying, “We are proud to be able to offer programs in many different fields to our parent/sponsors knowing that we never take the place of parents, sponsors, grandparents, and other family members. The goal is to partner with families for the successful transition of their child, and our student, for a successful life after MHS.” Programs for parent/sponsors are held on campus and virtually via zoom or teams’ calls.
Skip Weber adds that because of the close connections with all the various Hershey entities, students can receive internships in their specified career fields and earn some additional money through these internships. The school’s goal is to give students authentic work experiences that are tied to their career goals through specific career related opportunities in various industries and businesses.
Weber states, “It is important that students learn financial literacy and they have opportunities to earn an allowance.
High school students have a debit card for an on-campus bank, and they can manage their own money in order to experience what it is like in the real world. Seniors also live in transitional living style apartments and have responsibilities such as paying utility bills and rent along with going to the grocery store and cooking meals. They are responsible for working together to manage funds, so they last an entire month.”
Milton S. Hershey, continued from Page 29
They learn employability skills and social skills while engaging in these studies.”
“Students learn all phases from planting, maintaining, and harvesting the crop and then selling that crop or product to local individuals or industries in our community so that they can complete the full circle.
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Historic Schools Make Good Candidates for Adaptive Reuse
Tech High Becomes Old City Hall
Historic school buildings frequently are good candidates for “adaptive reuse” as residential apartments, as well as for non-residential uses such as offices. There are several great examples in the Harrisburg area where former school buildings, when no longer suitable or needed for educational purposes, have been transformed successfully into new uses.
One of the first projects in Harrisburg to take advantage of this program was the “Old City Hall” apartments at 5th and Walnut Streets. When Harrisburg’s municipal government relocated to the Martin Luther King Jr. City Government Center on Market Square in 1981, the old city hall was acquired by Historic Landmarks for Living (HLL), a Philadelphia-based firm that was an early pioneer of tax credit projects.
The program is limited to income-producing properties, and the IRS defines qualified rehabilitation expenses on which the tax credit may be taken. Owner-occupied residential properties do not qualify for the Federal rehabilitation tax credit.
A 20% income tax credit is available for the rehabilitation of historic, income-producing buildings that are determined by the Secretary of the Interior, through the National Park Service, to be “certified historic structures.” The SHPOs and the National Park Service review the rehabilitation work to ensure that it complies with the “Secretary’s Standards for Rehabilitation.”
The term “adaptive reuse” is common among architects, urban planners, historic preservationists, and the building trades who often see a wellconstructed, often architecturally significant older building as a potential project capable of economic profit, community benefit, or both. Very often, there are significant Federal and state tax benefits that accrue to the project investor. Several of the repurposed schools described here were successfully rehabbed because of their eligibility for tax credits.
Now home to the PA Bar Association, the historic William Maclay mansion for a time housed Harrisburg Academy in its large rear wing.
32 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2022 Story By David J. Morrison Photos Submitted
The Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program was established in 1976 to encourage private sector investment in the rehabilitation and reuse of historic buildings. Administered by the Department of the Interior and the Internal Revenue Service in partnership with State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs), the program has leveraged nearly $120 billion in private investment to preserve more that 47,000 historic properties since 1976.
“The Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program is one of the nation’s most successful and cost-effective community revitalization programs,” says Frank Grumbine, Central PA Community Preservation Coordinator in the Pennsylvania SHPO headquartered in Harrisburg. “These projects create jobs, and they are environmentally friendly, while preserving historic architecture and community identity.”
“Old City Hall” was designed circa 1910 by Harrisburg architect Charles Howard Lloyd to be the City’s Technical High School (“Tech High”), serving this purpose until its conversion into Harrisburg’s “Municipal Building” in 1930. This was prompted by the completion of two new Harrisburg School District high schools at opposite corners of the city in the late 1920s. William Penn High School in Uptown and John Harris High School at the eastern terminus of Market Street (named for the founders of Pennsylvania and Harrisburg, respectively) were both built on expansive land tracts, allowing for athletic fields, parking lots, and room for expansion, all impossible at landlocked Tech High or the old 1892 Central High School in the old Eighth Ward (site of present-day State Museum).
A similar project at another historic school designed by Charles Howard Lloyd is the former Simon Cameron Elementary School at 1839 Green Street in Harrisburg’s Old Uptown neighborhood. It was converted to 35 market rate apartments in 1987 at a time when residential rehabilitation
Lloyd’s design for Tech High twice made it a good candidate for adaptive reuse, first to City Hall, then into “Old City Hall” apartments in 1984. Described as “English Collegiate” in style by architectural historian Ken Frew in his seminal work, “Building Harrisburg: The Architects and Builders, 1719 – 1941,” it retains its elegance in the 21st Century. High-ceilinged classrooms proved to be ideal candidates for conversion into loft-style apartments, creating a stylish mix of sleek modern interior fittings (kitchens bathrooms, closets) with historic architectural details (cornices, doors, and window trim). Old City Hall today is owned by RP Management, whose longtime onsite manager is Angela Russo. “I would say that the attraction to this building can be most attributed to its rich history and old-world charm, says Russo. “The benefits to repurposing Tech High to City Hall, then to Old City Hall Apartments have been two-fold: we are able to preserve a meaningful landmark in Harrisburg’s history while offering residents the opportunity to immerse themselves in its grandeur so that they may continue to enjoy it for years to come.”
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Capitalizing on its prime location one block from the State Capitol and one block from the Harrisburg train station, HLL reconfigured the four-story landmark into 82 upscale apartments. These became especially popular with government officials and lawyers who could commute by train from the Philadelphia area and have a Harrisburg pied-à-terre in walking distance to city destinations - “the best of both worlds,” said Kim Redfield, an early tenant whose job in sales entailed extensive travel.
Simon Cameron School Conversion Sparks Uptown Revitalization
See Historic Schools on Page 34
34 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2022 activity was in its infancy in this part of the city. Built in 1896 with its east wing completed in 1900, the Romanesque Revival styled building was a perfect candidate for residential conversion according to Jeb Stuart, managing general partner of the development team that undertook the project. Despite the unproven track record of major development projects in the neighborhood, Farmers First Bank of Lititz, Pa, stepped up to provide first mortgage financing. An equity partner from New Jersey provided additional funding along with the City of Harrisburg. Further, to entice the equity participation, Stuart prepared the nomination to list the building in the National Register of Historic Places, a step that generated the historic tax credits for the appropriate rehabilitation of the building. Further, Stuart worked with his partner, Harrisburg tax attorney Arnold Kogan, and local historian, Ken Frew, to prepare the nomination to list the entire Historic Schools, continued from Page 33
“The $2 million investment in this project turned out to be the catalyst that sparked widespread revitalization in the City’s now-thriving Old Uptown district, with coffee and bakery shops, restoration of deteriorating structures, and new construction on previously vacant lots,” Stuart notes.
Harrisburg Academy: Many Campuses, Many Stories
The peripatetic Harrisburg Academy, founded in 1784 by John Harris, Jr. in a room of his riverfront mansion, has occupied six locations over the centuries, several of which today are interesting examples of repurposed academic buildings. At the turn of the 20th Century, it was housed at the former William Maclay Mansion at Front Street and Academy Alley. Today, this 1792 Georgian-style landmark houses the PA Bar Association. During Harrisburg Academy’s subsequent stint as a prominent boys’ college-preparatory boarding school in the early decades of the 20th Century, it occupied a sprawling riverfront campus farther up Front Street. At the outset of World War II, the campus was sold to the U.S. military for use as an intelligence school (forerunner of the CIA). Then it became the University Center at Harrisburg, housing Harrisburg satellites of several Pennsylvania colleges and universities. Later still, it was Dixon University Center, headquarters of the PA State System of Higher Education. Earlier this year, the campus was repurposed once again, acquired by the Jewish Federation of Old City Hall apartments, built as a high school, converted first to Harrisburg’s municipal building, was a tax-credit conversion to rental apartments.
Stuart continues, “We used the Rothschild Company of Philadelphia as architect, the same firm that designed the conversion of Harrisburg’s Old City Hall to apartments downtown several years earlier.” He noted that the 13-foot high ceilings and 12-foot-wide corridors were inherent features of the building that made it enticing. He further noted that four three-level lofts were created on the second floor and upward into the empty attic in the buildings’ massive, hipped roof for additional living space.
neighborhood as a National Register Historic District naming it Old Uptown for the first time due to its extensive Queen Anne and Italianate architecture and historic value by tracing Harrisburg’s early growth northward.
In 1939, the Fager School was repurposed as the headquarters of the Harrisburg Chamber of Commerce, serving that purpose until the chamber’s move to its current location at 3211 N. Front Street in 1998.
•
A very early example of a repurposed school is the Fager School building at 114 Walnut Street, across from the McCormick Riverfront Library, built in 1842. In 1920 the school district sold it to the City to become the police station, coincidentally catercorner from the present-day police station at Walnut Street and River Alley. It was repurposed yet again in 1930 when the police station was moved to the rear portion of the repurposed Tech High School which had become City Hall.
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The old Mechanicsburg High School, on Simpson and High Streets, another tax-credit conversion to School House Apartments in the 1980s. It was designed by the firm of Smith & Warner.
“Building Harrisburg: The Architects and Builders, 1719 – 1941,” by Ken Frew, is available for purchase at the Historic Harrisburg Association, 717-233-4646, at the Historical Society of Dauphin County, 717-233-3462, and at various retail booksellers. 7
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Harrisburg, soon to become the Alexander Grass Campus for Jewish Life. (For more on this, see the November 2021 issue of Harrisburg magazine).
The former Lemoyne Middle School on Market Street in Lemoyne is undergoing conversion to apartments to be known as “Schoolhouse Flats.”
David J. Morrison, executive director of the Historic Harrisburg Association, writes occasionally for Harrisburg Magazine and other publications on a variety of local history, architecture, and urban revitalization topics. He may be reached at dmorrison@historicharrisburg.org.
The former Bishop McDevitt High School, at 2200 Market Street near Bellevue Park, vacated when McDevitt moved to a new campus in 2013 at One Crusader Way in suburban Harrisburg, is currently undergoing conversion to a mixed-use complex, “The Bridge Eco-Village.”
Since 1959, Harrisburg Academy has occupied its current campus on Erford Road in Wormleysburg, having become a coeducational day school in 1947.
Other examples of repurposed schools include:
• The Boas School in Midtown, bordered by Forster, Green, Union and Susquehanna Streets. Designed by Charles Howard Lloyd in 1922, it was in service until 1981. Its prime location in Midtown made it an attractive candidate for conversion to apartments.
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• The former William Penn High School in Uptown Harrisburg, placed on the market by the Harrisburg School District about 10 years ago, has been eyed by various developers considering a variety of conversion schemes. A few months ago, the School District Superintendent, Eric Turman, in a talk for the Rotary Club of Harrisburg, said the district was reconsidering the status of William Penn and that it might be “semi-repurposed” for new special high school programs.
36 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2022
he new school year is just around the bend! The back-to-school season can be a hectic time for parents, guardians, and kids alike, as it means everyone needs to be back on a daily schedule and homework, tests, and after-school activities are back in full swing. However, this doesn’t mean the school days need to be filled with stress and anxiety — with a bit of planning now, you and your family can enter the school year organized, confident, and relaxed.
To make this easier, set a daily “bedtime routine” alarm on your phone that indicates when your kids should shower, get in their pajamas, brush their teeth, etc. to get ready for sleep. Then set another alarm to indicate when everyone needs to be in bed. I also recommend keeping all phones, iPads, and portable gaming consoles in a container outside of their rooms, so they won’t be tempted to go on them after their bedtime.
Yes, the kiddos probably loved having sleepovers with friends on random weekdays and staying up until the wee hours playing Minecraft during the summer, but now it is essential to get their sleep schedules back on track. The night before a school day, you don’t want your kids struggling to fall asleep much earlier than they’ve been used to! So, implement an earlier bedtime now so they have time to adjust to the new sleep schedule.
Declutter Your Car Once a Week
Get the Kids on a Weekly Sleep Schedule ASAP
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Christina Giaquinto is the Professional Organizer and Brand Ambassador of Modular Closets (DIY customizable closet units that organize any space in your home). Her work has been featured on sites like Popsugar, Women’s Health, Reader’s Digest, Realtor.com, The Spruce and Yahoo. www.modularclosets.com
7 Tips for an Organized & Stress-Free Back-toSchool Season
Story By Christina Giaquinto
Lay Out All School Outfits the Night Before Isn’t it the worst when one child can’t find their favorite sweater, and another is running around trying to find a missing shoe right before the school bus is supposed to arrive? Eliminate this stress by laying out each kid’s outfit for school the night before. It will only take a few minutes to do and will help the whole family leave the house ready to conquer the day, rather than feeling rushed and full of anxiety. Also, it’s wonderful to have the kids help out with this, as it aids in a sense of confidence and empowerment.
Here are just a few strategies for a stress-free school year:
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In my experience as the Professional Organizer and Brand Ambassador of Modular Closets (DIY customizable closet units that organize any space in your home), I have discovered a number of helpful ways to make the back-to-school season much more organized and less hectic for families.
Set Up an “Out the Door Possibilities” Bin Wouldn’t it be so stressful if your family is getting in the car for the morning drive to school and then it starts downpouring rain? Then it’s time to make a mad dash to find umbrellas and raincoats! However, you can be prepared for any weather scenario if you set up an “out the door possibilities” bin in the garage or mudroom. In the bin, you can include umbrellas, raincoats, rain boots, sunglasses, Chapstick, hats, etc. To be even more prepared, check the weekly weather report each Sunday and fill the bin with items that you know your kids will need on certain days.
Prep Breakfasts & School Lunches the Night Before Making breakfasts and school lunches can easily be the most stressful parts of rushing out the door. That said, prepping them the night before will be a HUGE help in ensuring school mornings are a breeze. You can place cereal boxes, bowls, and spoons on the kitchen table, or set up a makeyour-own toast station on the kitchen counter the night before to prepare for breakfasts. Or mix a big bowl of pancake batter the night before so it is all ready for next morning’s breakfast! To make school lunch prep a breeze, add non-perishable snacks and napkins to lunch boxes the night before.
Keeping your space decluttered and organized truly affects everything from your stress level, anxiety, and mood to your outlook on life. This goes not only for your living space, but also for your car! Trust me, school dropoffs, pick-ups, and drives to soccer practice will be much more stressful if your car is filled with old homework papers, empty sports drink bottles, snack wrappers, stale food crumbs, and other trash. So, make a concerted effort to declutter and clean out your car once a week so it is neat and tidy for the school morning drives. Add a Trash Bin to Your Car Going off the last point, you can help eliminate trash and clutter in your car by placing a trash bin in your vehicle. This will make it easy for the kids to throw away their food wrappers, breakfast leftovers they can’t finish, and other trash that could accumulate on car rides to school or sports practices. Then you can easily empty the bin out once a week when you declutter your car. To keep any funky smells from the trash bin at bay, I also recommend adding in a car freshener that eliminates odors (like the PURGGO car air eco-purifier & freshener) — don’t use a car air freshener that uses strong scents to try to mask odors.
Have the Whole Family Follow an “8-Minute Cleaning” Rule Each Day
Keeping the house clean and organized doesn’t have to be a major endeavor — all it takes is 8 minutes! Set a timer for 8 minutes and get the whole family to put items away and tidy up their rooms until the timer goes off. Whatever you all can put away in 8 minutes is terrific. This is going to prevent your home from getting chaotic. Eventually, this will become a habit, and when it becomes a part of your family’s lifestyle, your home will never get out of control. The goal is not to put every single item away (of course, if that happens, even better) but the goal is to put whatever you can away within that time.
Remember, great sleep hygiene is critical for academic excellence!
Photos Supplied By Susquehanna Art Museum
Susquehanna Art Museum at the Tom and Marty Philips Family Art Center has a brand-new vehicle for their VanGo! Museum on Wheels which is geared up to visit thousands of students at schools and exhibits this fall. The first version of the mobile museum was created in 1992 and the newest edition has been in service since the spring of 2022.
The new VanGo! is a 34-foot custom Winnebago equipped with an onboard museum gallery and annually rotating exhibits. An exciting upgrade is a wheel-chair lift for accessibility. This vehicle visits a wide variety of settings, including schools, libraries, museums, parks, and festivals.
For more information visit www. SusquehannaArtMuseum.org/VanGo or contact Ross Tyger, Director of the VanGo! Museum on Wheels Rtyger@SusquehanaArtMuseum.org 7
In addition to Fuller’s works on the VanGo, there are three more of her pieces on view inside the art museum.
The current exhibition, Nature in Art, features the work of Victoria Fuller, a Pennsylvania native and Chicago-based painter, sculptor, and natural science illustrator. The exhibit includes mixed media sculptures, wall-hanging relief pieces, photo realistic watercolor painting, and acrylic paintings.Theoverarching theme of the exhibit is tied to the title of a mix-media piece, Everything is Connected, which combines intricately painted cubes and sculptures connected by gas pipes.
VanGo!
SEPTEMBER 2022 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE 37
take a walk outside and see how they feel.” In addition to providing the highest standard of shoe service, Summerdale Shoe Repair also has a highly regarded reputation for being very fair in pricing. Cleveland illustrates, “I was once asked by a reporter about my prices, and I said I don’t have to eat steak and lobster every night, beans and cornbread suit me fine. Well, that was printed and would you know people sent me money with notes saying go out and enjoy a steak dinner.” (laughing) Summerdale Shoe Repair is the perfect example of a trusted business that excels in providing dependable service in a brick & mortar establishment.
Hands of Timeless Trades & By Dimitri John Diekewicz
There is also a trade that furnishes a vital service at multiple locations with the maintenance of bricks & mortar as its business. Matt Imes, owner of Your Chimney Sweep in Mechanicsburg shares, “I do mostly residential work, some commercial buildings. I can drive through a residential area and on average see repairs that are needed on about 50 percent of the homes. The first thing hit by weather is your chimney, but there’s more to a chimney than what you see from the outside.” The list of services offered by YCS is quite extensive and covers many areas. Imes describes, “We do a thorough job cleaning chimney liners, but there’s also the fire box, damper, the smoke shelf which builds up with creosote and the smoke chamber which is usually where a fire can develop without regular maintenance. We also clean furnace liners, which people often don’t think about servicing.” A three-man crew consisting of sweeps and a masonry repair person makes house calls to address these and other issues often encountered with furnace systems and chimneys. Imes continues, “We do a lot of crown repair which is the top of the chimney and over time will develop cracks. We pour concrete and create a new crown. And we also do a lot of repointing of bricks. They’re usually good for 20-30 years when we’re finished.”
38 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2022
Goods and services saturate 21st Century society and largely reflect the wants and needs of the modern consumer. ‘Find the need and fill it’ is the motto applied to the creation of new merchandise and marketing these products to the masses while also providing critical upkeep and repairs to these components of contemporary culture. This has been the case dating back to the time when that first ‘wheeler dealer’ introduced the revolutionary round design which was an immediate hit with the cave community and continues to roll on to this very day. As the necessities of living expanded so has the role of skilled craftsmen who make and maintain the creature comforts to which we have become accustomed. The focus of their specialized skills is applied to some of Western culture’s most common features and their fingerprints can be seen in conspicuous places but are often overlooked…. until they are needed. In a fast-paced world on the move, the most essential mode of transportation is and will always be right underneath you: your feet. Equally as important is what you’re wearing on them. This is where fashion and function meet when you hit the street. Situated across from Harrisburg’s Strawberry Square in a modestly sized shop is the man that keeps footwear in tip top shape as you take each step. Eural Cleveland is the proprietor of Summerdale Shoe Repair, and he has a passion for getting people back on the good foot. Cleveland explains, “Shoe repairing is a good old fashioned American trade. It helped build this country. I enjoy repairing shoes. When a customer comes to me with a pair of shoes, I’m already fixing them in my mind. I see the finished product.” His entry into this profession can be traced back to a pair of sharp looking pointed toe shoes that caught his eye while growing up in San Francisco during the late 1950’s/early 1960’s. Cleveland shares, “Back then I wanted these shoes, we used to call them ‘Knobs’, but my parents refused saying they would ruin my feet. So, I got a job cutting grass and bought them myself on layaway. I bought a black pair and a white pair. They were cool. (laughing) After a while they wore down and my parents took me to a shoe repair shop. I didn’t know such a place existed and they replaced the soles and the heels.” This experience proved to be a pivotal moment and made a lasting impact in Cleveland’s life, as he continues, “After High School I was hanging out and really had no direction. My parents told me to get out and go to school or learn a trade. My Dad took me to the trade center where you could train in any trade you can imagine.”
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“At one point I looked down and I see my shoes and that took me back to my ‘knobs.’ I asked if I could learn to fix holes in shoes and such. I would love to learn that. So, I went to school, and I was the best in my class. I really loved what I was doing and still have that same enthusiasm! I do all kinds of repairs. I work on men’s shoes, ladies, orthopedic, dyeing different colors. I will take on any repair. I hate to be beat by anything that doesn’t have a mind … I have a mind.” The interior of his shop houses a lineup of vintage stitching, trimmer and finishing machines that can handle any heels or soles that come through the door in need of mending. The maintenance on these precision instruments is performed by Cleveland himself as he describes, “When I was in school the instructors told me that equipment repair is expensive, so I learned how to take care of them myself. I have some of the best machines in the world.” This devotion to his craft is equally matched with a resolute commitment to his customers before, during and after the work is completed. “I stand behind everything I do. If you have any problems, come and see me. I’m always upfront with my customers. When they come to pick up their order, I just don’t hand them a bag with their shoes. I set the bag on the counter and ask them to try them on and
Imes has owned YCS for the past three years and his entry into this profession Eural Cleveland
Positive word of mouth is invaluable in expanding the reach of any business operation. Another avenue of raising awareness is advertising. In print, through publications, and over the airwaves, effective signaling translates to success. A key ingredient in this media mix is brand identity and this is achieved with enormous effect through the time-tested pattern of signage. Even in this era of rapid messaging with quick edits and accelerated imagery, a strategically placed signboard will stand out while drawing customers in. Appearing on buildings, seen on vehicles, and viewed from multiple vantage points at both eye level and high above, signs deliver visual impact. Incorporating shape, size, color, graphics, logos and lighting, these graphic and eye-catching marketing marquees grab one’s attention. By design, RPM Signs and Lighting in Harrisburg is on a mission to create impressive images for their patrons. Rendered on metal, plastic, various fabrics and on Electronic Message Centers (EMC’s) the end result always makes a bold statement. At RPM the approach to achieving the desired effect can employ several
See Hands of Timeless Trades on Page 40
SEPTEMBER 2022 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE 39 was a chance encounter with an ad. He shares, “I knew the construction trade and things like dry walling and carpentry. For a while I was a laborer for hire and worked also as an electrician, plumber and so on. At the time I was doing additions to homes and such and one day on Craigslist I saw the ad for this sweep business being for sale and purchased it from the previous owner who owned it for about 25Timeyears.”and progress have touched many longstanding industries with routine procedures and chimney sweeping is no exception. Imes explains, “today we hook rods to drills that rotate what we call a ‘witch’s broom’ brush that cleans the flue tile, where years ago you would use an oldstyle wire brush with weights. We also have a two-camera system that shoots straight up and revolves showing us images of the interior areas of the chimney and we can operate that from ground level.” Imes confesses there is one detail of this gritty work that is especially demanding. “My least favorite thing is ‘parging’ a smoke chamber. You’re up close and personal with the chimney and it’s a real dirty job. (laughing) No matter how well you clean a chimney, it’s always a little dirty. But I do the project right or I won’t do it.” YCS applies this direct forward approach to every aspect of their business. “When I look at a job and work out the details of what is needed, I’m very thorough. I explain everything to the client. I don’t skim over anything. After looking over everything, I try to send my estimate one or two days later, so they don’t feel pressured. Then, they have a chance to contact other places if they like. I’m not the cheapest, but I’m not the most expensive. I’m fair and straight with my customers. And I do get referrals.”
40 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2022 methods, and one classic style that continues to captivate contemporary crowds is NEON.
The sight of glowing neon fires the imagination of onlookers and has done so for decades. Some have developed such an intense interest in the radiant artwork that it paved a career path. Becky Schucert is an artist and neon specialist at RPM, and she has been crafting patterns with luminously lighted tubing for years. As she explains, “I was interested in art as a kid and eventually went to Kutztown University for art design. Afterwards, I did things like paint signs for a Renaissance Fair in New York, among other things. Then one day I saw an ad in a sign trades magazine for a course in neon sign making and thought, that’s exciting!
While neon tubing is traditionally produced in three forms - gas, powder, and colored glassadvances in lighting technology have affected the current crafting of neon. Schucert describes, “In 2009 sign supply dealers stopped selling tubing
Hands of Timeless Trades, continued from Page 39 Matt Imes
It was a six-week course in Salina, Kansas. You learned how to bend glass tubing, pump air in tubing, how to use splices when changing colors, etc. It was very intense. It takes tremendous time practicing techniques for neon making.” After graduation, practicing the techniques carried on and brought her back to Pennsylvania. Schucert continues, “I spent a year and a half training at ‘Bright Sign’ in Reading to become competent and I made signs for places like Boscov’s. I was also making neon signs for craft shows on the side. While in N.Y. around 1991 where I had my own shop, I decided to move to Harrisburg and brought all of my equipment. The good craft fairs are here.”
Her reputation for inventive presentation quickly grew and so did the site where her work would be brilliantly showcased. “My timing was great because I caught the beginning of Restaurant Row on 2nd Street and the renaissance of specialty shops. I made signs for Stock’s on 2nd, Neato Burrito, Checkered Past, Hardware Bar. I did repair work for the Alva Restaurant. I’ve had a lot of projects building and repairing.” (laughing)
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Though these specialists currently enjoy success plying their trades to the general public, there is some uncertainty about the future. Eural Cleveland confesses, “My profession is almost dead. It’s on its last leg. The majority of shoe repair men are old folks like me. Maybe 20 years from now or even less, we’ll be gone.” Even with this reality there’s plenty of room for optimism. After all, as long as people require professionals to perform certain tasks, those shoes will be filled, as well as the need. Their mark will continue to be made with other hands. additional information on these specialized services visit: Summerdale Shoe Repair 25A North 4th Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101 717-623-2133 - 601 East Locust Street, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
SEPTEMBER 2022 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE 41 with lead and working with lead tubing is much easier. It will be harder for anyone now to pick up this trade due to the difficulties with lead free tubing. LEDs are also used. Not everyone is aware how extensive LED signage is in use. It’s less expensive. Either way, if a business wants people to know they’re open, they will need illuminated signage and we can provide it.” This absolute mindset is reflected throughout the ranks of RPM and exhibited in every sign they produce.
| 717-400-1300 www. yourchimney.net • RPM Signs and Lighting – 631 South 17th Street, Harrisburg, PA 17104 | 717-214-6831 www.rpmsignsandlighting.com 7 Becky Schucert
Senior Designer Teia Strong shares, “We make signs and banners for all industries. There is a specific place for every type of sign. We have designers, electricians, and concrete workers on our staff. We are self-contained and create, install, and maintain our products. It’s a great group of people and I’ll be here until I retire.”
or •717-889-8916YourChimney Sweep
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42 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2022 Artful Inspirations
Story By Christina Heintzelman cheintzelman@benchmarkmediallc.com Submitted By Artist, John Davis
“Intensity” by John Davis
Mindfulness in Teaching and Art
Opening the Quintessence of Creativity for Others
Teacher, art facilitator, artist. John Davis never took an art class in high school and came to his profession later in life, mainly because of his intimidation toward his own creative process. In fact, he did not delve into art until he was in college. “I graduated with a degree in business from Penn State but took all my electives in art because I felt that I had missed so much. After graduating from college, I spent fifteen years in Corporate America working for AMP in midlevel management. Art went by the wayside.” He did continue with adult education in the arts by taking evening classes at Art Association of Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg Art Center School and Galleries, and other community art programs. But Davis realized climbing the corporate ladder was not what he wanted for his life. “I felt the corporate world did not have the mission I wanted to focus on in my life, which is making the world a better and more meaningful place. So, I jumped ship and applied for a position at Milton Hershey School because I believe so strongly in their mission of serving students with grave socio-economic needs.” He started as a houseparent and held that position for four years. He then worked for a few years as the President’s staff assistant. During this time, he became involved as a board member for Jump Street and Art Association of Harrisburg and was the President of Hershey Art Association. At this point, he started seeing the therapeutic value of arts and focused on that as well. “While in this position, I began to work on various projects with the arts so increasingly became more interested in this field and eventually was hired on as the full time Coordinator of Visual Arts for pre-K through 12.” Davis now wears many hats at MHS as in addition to his position of Coordinator of Visual Arts he has added Art and Gallery Educator, and art teacher at the high school level. “I provide services and coordination for all art related special projects, after school programs, curating gallery shows, community projects and co-advising the National Art Honor Society,” he says.
Davis spoke about an MHS program for career-focused education (CFE), an education tool that allows students, through academic programs, to pinpoint their professional path and focus on one career field. “The results of questionnaires to employers show that they are looking for critical thinking and problem solving as part of a core competency base that employees should have, and study in the arts facilitates these particular skills,” he says, suggesting that an art background will help in most any field.
See Davis on Page 44
Davis’ goal as a teacher at Milton Hershey School is to show his students that they have a natural propensity toward creativity even if they are in doubt about this. “One of my initial questions to students is ‘how many of you think you can’t draw or paint?’ and almost every hand goes up. And then I say, ‘you are going to prove yourselves wrong.’” One of his methodologies in this is his use of the Zentangle method. Zentangle was created in 2004 by Rick Roberts, a multi skilled practitioner with a lifelong understanding of meditation and mindful living, and Maria Thomas, a highly skilled calligrapher and artist. Zentangle is an American method for drawing, which promotes concentration and creativity. The focus of Zentangle is mindfulness, which is a major focus in Davis’ teaching. In addition to Zentangle, he uses the creation of mandalas and painted kindness rocks to assist students in mindfulness during a creative project.
“The course is designed for students to learn the basic principles of art, but it is also a way to teach students creative problem solving and critical thinking skills. When a student asks me ‘Mr. Davis, is this what you are looking for?’ I answer, ‘I don’t know. Is this what you were looking for?’” He then adds, “If a student spills a cup of water on a watercolor painting s/he has been working on, I suggest that we just let it dry down and see what was created because as Bob Ross says, ‘there are no mistakes, just happy little accidents in art.’”
“MHS has collaborated with many community and corporate entities throughout Hershey and many of our mural and other art projects can be seen throughout the city’,” Davis adds.
One of Davis’ current special community projects for MHS is the large mural being installed in the area of Hershey known as the West End Development Area. He is working with Linda Billet, a local well known mosaic artist. This project will include the Hershey community, MHS, Lower Dauphin County, and Hershey High School. The mural will focus on an important topic of today – diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI) - and will be on the side of Cocoa Beanery, a coffee shop located next to The Englewood, a music and food venue which interestingly used to be a large dairy farm barn, supplying milk to Milton Hershey for his chocolate. “This mural will represent kindness and welcoming to everyone in the Hershey community,” Davis states.
“In additional to mindfulness, I focus on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), which is a methodology that helps students of all ages John Davis with his granddaughtersMandala by MHS studentExamples of Zentangle by MHS students “Multipuciano” by John Davis better comprehend their emotions, to feel those emotions fully, and demonstrate empathy for others,” he says. He uses this to aid students in feeling comfortable with themselves and their feelings.
Davis spends some of his free time working in his specialty, therapeutic art, by cofacilitating with a Certified Clinical Trauma Therapist in a therapeutic art program, with the Center for Hope and Healing (CHH) in Camp Hill. CHH is a trauma counseling practice that specializes in treatment for adults and children who have become imbalanced from traumatic responses to distressing and life-threatening events. “I am humbled to be able to teach at this facility because I learn so much from every single client who is willing to participate in the art program.”
“I’m also going to become the art teacher for my three beautiful granddaughters, who, along with their mom, have specifically asked me to do this,” he laughingly adds.
“Porte er Clingnancourt” by John Davis
Davis concludes with stating that Central PA has always had such a strong work ethic that often when someone reaches retirement age it may be unclear to them what other areas of interest they may have other than the job that filled many years. For him, it is important to face retirement knowing that he still has a complete other chapter, or maybe an entire book, of giving to the community through expressive arts.
Toni Shearer, owner and director of the center, has this to say about Davis: “Because of John’s art background and his experience in this type of expressive therapeutic work he has been able to upgrade the quality of the work done by our clients, taking them to a higher level of expression than they may have been able to achieve before taking this program.”
She says that many of their clients are women who have been in abusive relationships and adds that Davis’ kindness and empathy to others has allowed these women to feel safe within the program environment.
Davis says, “I am living my best life right now. I can say that I am doing just what I wanted to do when I grew up – and I believe that I have finally grown up.” He adds that even after he retires from teaching at MHS he will want to continue working as a facilitator to help others unlock their creative potential and find their true self through expressive arts programs.
Davis, continued from Page 43
Davis’ focus in the arts is not what he produces as art to be viewed or purchased but what he can do to open the creative and emotional healing in others. “The bottom line for me is I don’t care if I ever become a well-known artist or even sell my work, my passion is to assist children and adults connect with their expressive side through visual arts to help them find their passion and healing, where applicable, in their own journeys. It is a navigation through life. I’m just the vessel or the facilitator for them.”
There is not just one area of focus for Davis as an artist, as he works in oils, acrylics, watercolors, mixed media, 3-D, mosaics, and drawing. His work, though, always focuses on places he has traveled, the inspiration he felt and how he can interpret what he has seen into how it makes him feel using a representational style of painting. In addition to viewing his art and seeing what he saw, the viewer can also respond through their personal feelings elicited through what he is representing. Davis always does photography or a thumb nail sketch first in preparation for his paintings.
You can find Davis on Instagram artistjohn1961, on Facebook John C. Davis Artist, or at the Millworks in Studio 321. 7
In addition, Davis has an art studio in The Millworks. “I wanted to have an opportunity like this for twenty plus years before it presented itself to me. Originally, I became inspired by the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA. I always thought how cool this would be to be an artist in a place like that, learning from other artists and engaging with the public.” Fast forward and Davis finds The Millworks right here in Harrisburg and becomes one of the original tenants.
SEPTEMBER 2022 HARRISBURG MAGAZINE 45 25 YEARS Calls For a Special Gathering! You are Special to Us! THANKS for being a food sponsor!
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