Mifflin County Valleys & Towns Progress

Mifflin County Progress 2022 The Sentinel Valleys and towns

REEDSVILLE RENAISSANCE

Community makeover mixes small-town atmosphere with new business success

BY GREG WILLIAMS Sentinel reporter gwilliams@lewistownsentinel.com

REEDSVILLE — After opening the Briar Rose Bed and Breakfast in Reedsville, owner Lisa Ever etts debated if Reedsville was the right place for her business.

Everetts came close to shutter ing the business and putting the property up for sale.

“We had wished us to stay here, but guests would come here and there was really nothing for them to do,” said Everetts, who opened the bed and breakfast with her husband, Jim in April 2006. “We needed a really good restaurant and a gas station.”

Within a year or so, the Ever etts saw a dramatic turn of events that saw the Revival Kitchen and Sheetz open.

“Those things happened, which is what we wished for,” Ev eretts said. “It was like we won the lottery.”

Everetts held themed events at her business but was frustrat ed. “We used to do all this stuff and not get anywhere,” she said of Halloween parties and pump kin-carving. “To see what’s hap pened now is amazing. We’ve dreamed for 20 years for Reeds ville to be like this. We have plac es to send our guests.”

Today, the bed and breakfast is booming with reservations — so is Reedsville.

Everetts’ guest list is filled with VIPs. “We’ve had people you can’t believe,” she said. “The rich est men in the world stay. We’ve had entertainers and some other people you wouldn’t believe stay here.”

She didn’t name drop, but she did say world travelers have also frequented the bed and breakfast. They’ve have also been doctors, businesspeople, wedding parties, families and football fans. Guests have traveled from Italy, Swe den, Belarus and New Zealand to name a few.

“We’re bringing people in from out of the area,” Everetts said. “They stay here and can walk to our adorable town now. They’ve walked down to (Seven Mountains Wine Bar and) Stone fly (Café) or we’ve sent people to Toot’s Place, Revival Kitchen or the wineries.

“It just looks adorable, and peo ple are talking about Reedsville a lot,” she added. “We’ve always been able to bring in people here, but we needed to have something for them to do.”

There’s also a new gazebo in Brown Township, which was do nated by Kay Groninger in memo ry of her husband Larry. The an nual Apple Festival at Bender Park and Big Valley Harvestfest at the youth park also brings in crowds.

“There’s tons of stuff to do,” Everetts said. “We’re in a time period where small towns seem

like they’re going by the wayside. This town is flourishing. It’s like a boom and it’s really cool to see little towns and little businesses coming back. To see people fixing up things and more positive changes, we’re really happy with all of it.”

Trending the right way

Michele Lasher, owner of Mi chele’s OIP Restaurant and Piz za, has seen a lot of businesses

come and go since she bought her eatery in 2008.

After some lean years, she said, “Business is pretty good. Things are improving in Reeds ville — all for the better.”

Lasher said a downward trend started with the school mergers when fewer sporting events were held in Reedsville. “We’d get a lot of business from that,” she ex plained.

There were also events that left the area, including the Blue grass Festival that left the Miff lin County Youth Park. Business es, like Michele’s OIP, benefited from those crowds. It took some time, but she said newer businesses have come to the area. Geisinger built its 65 Forward Health Center, a

Ready ForAutumn Gatherings?

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Sentinel photo by JEFF FISHBEIN Main Street in Reedsville, looking toward Manns Narrows.

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year

TOM LAUB Lifestyles editor

tlaub@lewistownsentinel.com

LEWISTOWN — Gaug ing progress in some pro fessions is as simple as cal culating numerical data. Monthly sales figures or a QB rating can be easily measured by simply ana lyzing the numbers.

For educators, the pro cess is much more com plicated. Teachers and administrators alike must include the human element when addressing issues pertaining to young people at a formative stage in life. Students are not numbers or equations.

Today’s educators must be more hands-on to deal with societal issues that affect everyone, including kids in school. The world is a more complicated place. Events once never thought possible have become reality.

Vance Varner, super intendent of the Mifflin County School District, understands today’s world and the importance of put ting himself on the front lines as schools and stu dents within the district face the challenges of to day’s youth.

Varner began his du ties as superintendent on Sept. 11, 2021. In the past year, he has been actively involved in helping the school district recover from the upheaval caused by the COVID pandemic while dealing with safety concerns, teacher and bus driver shortages, and a growing list of issues fac ing the district.

He remains upbeat, posi tive, and extremely candid when it comes to discuss ing the school district’s quest.

“I truly want to lead the district in the relentless pursuit of excellence,” Var ner said recently. “I want to be a superintendent who is out and about with the students and employees. Someone that parents and community members feel comfortable approaching to speak with at events.” Out and about with stu dents may be an under

statement. His Facebook, Instagram and Twitter ac counts are filled with pho tos, videos and postings of student activities and achievements. From the senior prom and varsity sports to story time at the elementary school level, Varner is a constant pres ence offering enthusiastic support, and oftentimes taking part in the activity.

“I’m 24/7,” he said. “That’s the way I want to be. I want to be the No. 1 ad vocate of the Mifflin Coun ty School District. I can do that by involvement with the students.”

The students are the most important compo nent. Their safety in and out of school is top priority according to 80% of par ents.

“School safety and se curity is an ongoing focus within the district,” Var ner said. “Effective this school year, the school dis trict increased the number of school resource officers (SROs) in the schools from three to four.”

The preventive mea sures implemented after a few decades of school violence have impacted more than just the physical well-being of students.

“There is a common trend in education across the nation where school systems are seeing an increase in the number of students (K-12) seek ing assistance for mental health,” Varner said. “Us ing state and federal grant funding, the district has been able to add support for the mental health stability of our students. The dis trict employs four licensed social workers, two schoolbased therapists and a mental health coordinator, as well as school counsel ors and school psycholo gists to support the needs of our students.”

Fiscal concerns are a key issue in every school district with state and fed eral funding at the center of most conversations. The solar array project within the district is a cost-saving measure implemented to offset electrical usage. At Indian Valley Center, cost

faces district’s challenges

savings could total $6,400 per year with total taxpay er savings of $585,000 over a 30-year term. The solar panel project at Mifflin County High School could produce more savings.

“The project behind the high school is tentatively set to be completed and on line prior to winter,” Var ner said. “It is projected to save the district $9 mil lion in energy costs over 30 years.”

The past year has brought shortages of edu cators and bus drivers in the school district, prob lems facing other districts in Pennsylvania as well.

“We are experiencing a decrease in the number of teacher applicants apply ing for open teaching po sitions throughout grades kindergarten through 12,” Varner said. “This is not just a Mifflin County is sue but an ongoing issue in Pennsylvania as well as across the nation. In the last decade, the number of newly certified Pennsylva nia teachers dropped from roughly 15,000 a year to 5,000 last year.”

The busing issue was al leviated somewhat through the summer months but not enough to account for the school district’s usage. Mifflin County utilizes 110 buses and vans to trans port students more than 10,000 miles a day.

“Student transportation is a very large task,” Var ner said. “There is still an ongoing shortage of school bus drivers at the local and state level. Fortunately, there have been individu als from our community who worked over the sum mer months to obtain their CDL to start driving buses. Right now, all of our school runs are covered, but we do not have all of our athlet ic runs and field/activity trips covered.

“The district still needs additional bus drivers and substitute bus drivers. If anyone is interested, please contact one of the local bus contractors and they will help provide the necessary training.”

Sentinel photo by TOM LAUB

Vance Varner, superintendent of the Mifflin County School District, in his office.

Residents look to spur growth in Armagh Township

GREG WILLIAMS Sentinel reporter gwilliams@ lewistownsentinel.com

MILROY — Small towns, like Milroy, might be on the verge of a renais sance. Vincent Brown wants to make certain his town doesn’t miss out on the opportunity.

Economic and demo graphic trends might help small cities and towns to make a comeback this decade, according to a recent article by one ur banist planner and urban designer.

Although some prom inent economists and thinkers are pessimis tic of the prospects for these cities and towns, a number of trends are pointing in the opposite direction.

Brown recently joined the Armagh Township Community Group, a non-profit organization that raises money to ex pand the activities avail able in the community in 2017.

A volunteer, Brown handles their social me dia. He and nine others in the group do their part to help make the communi ty an even better place to be.

“We have made some progress,” Brown said. “It’s been slow, especial ly due to the pandemic; however, now that that has not become as big of an issue as it was, we are seeing more progress and raising the funds needed to move forward.”

Brown has seen new businesses open their doors in Milroy: Fro zen Spoon, a new cream place; and Milroy Deli. That growth gives those in the group hope for the future.

“Our goal with the re

vitalization fund is to be able to expand the activities available in the community,” Brown said. “Currently, we have short-term plans, includ ing a holiday party at the township building with a Santa meet-andgreet for the children, as well as a lot of long-term vision of restoring the basketball courts at the building with brand-new hardware, updating the walking trail around the building and eventual ly putting in an outdoor stage for live entertain ment.

“We are also planning on expanding our yearly fireworks display to be a full-fledged Milroy carni val,” he added.

There is also a second civic-minded group on Facebook, started by res ident Kaye-Raye Hepler Stuter. A Milroy native who moved back to town in 1991, Stuter created a page called, “Armagh Township Community,” but has since changed the name to “We Love Ar magh Township!” to dif ferentiate the two group names.

“My page was started for the people of Armagh Township to share their love the township that we live in or grew up in,” Stu ter said. “My idea was to promote local activities, local businesses and to encourage improvements in Armagh Township.

“I think our mission is the same: To make Ar magh Township a better place to live,” she added.

Stuter didn’t know about the other group when she started her so cial media page. Nonethe less, she is pleased with the community support for the page.

“I feel like I had a dream and it just fell into place,” Stuter said. “Around Ar magh Community Days, I saw the Reedsville had a page and I wondered why we didn’t have one.

“We recently had two new businesses start up in Milroy,” she added. “I also saw a new business

in Reedsville and I won dered what it was. I got on their page for more infor mation. I started think ing why don’t we have a page.”

Stuter posted a mes sage on her personal page and one of her friends, “Milroy peeps” as she calls them, suggested she start one.

“I thought, I can do this and I did,” she said.

Since June 1, near ly 1,300 members have joined her group page.

Stuter sees a lot of po tential in Armagh Town ship and believes these social media pages bring the community togeth er. She also organized a meeting to announce their first project and dis cuss goals.

“About 20 people showed up with a lot of interest,” Stuter said.

The group’s first com munity project is to beau tify the “gateway,” or entrance, to Milroy, cre ating a welcoming site when entering the town. The volunteers want to plant mums and perenni als and place top soil and river stone in the area.

Stuter’s group is also planning a Care Day where volunteers go out

into the community and help someone in need with yardwork or clean ing up their living space.

Volunteers work on a beautifica tion project at the ‘gateway’ to Milroy. Group members plant ed flowers to welcome everyone entering Milroy near the Veterans Memorial. A welcome sign will be added in the spring. Everything was donated.

hope

BY GREG WILLIAMS Sentinel reporter gwilliams@ lewistownsentinel.com

REEDSVILLE — It’s as if you can still smell the fumes of automobile en gines. As if the attendant bell will ding at any second as a driver stops for gas.

Inside, tradesmen are still working with their hands, doing what they loved and longed for.

The old Sunoco Service Station along Route 522 South, McVeytown, still breathes with life.

The fumes of horsepow er have been replaced with fresh hides, hung in prepa ration for making leather products.

The 1920s service station is the home of Gritwell, which sells hand-crafted leather goods and clothing, which was established in 2015. Owners say its “seeds and inspiration were plant ed generations ago.”

A black and white family picture reveals past gener ations of family members standing in front of the gas station. If that picture could talk the grease-stained overalls and calloused hands would tell many sto ries. Much the same as the leather hides and tools of today’s trade.

The dust-covered work bench has crafted qual ity leather products not matched by the mass pro duction of corporate Amer ica. Operating in a small town offers a simpler way of live.

Setting up shop in a base ment where Gritwell was founded, the owner knew it would take the grit to pursue a dream that was so close yet so far away.

Gritwell opened shop in a 1920s service station in McVeytown, about a mile from the old family-owned station.

Their designs and prod ucts are inspired by early morning drives through the valley and small-town storefronts. The owner used inspiration from their orig inal roots for today’s hand made leather goods.

Handmade isn’t only about the product itself. It’s the entire process: inspira tion, design and concept re finement. This process and a meticulous focus on each detail is what makes Grit well’s product whole – the constant is consistency and quality.

In a competitive industry that craftsmanship has en abled Gritwell to thrive. To the point that the business expanded by moving the re tail aspect of its business to

a new 1,000-foot storefront in Reedsville this month. The manufacturing part of the business remained in McVeytown.

Space — two bays at the service station — was at a premium and with the business wanting to ex pand their upholstery side, which was the original product that was sold there, expansion was the best solution.

“We’re taking the retail out of the workshop,” Grit well’s Joshua Miller said. “It will be half upholstery and half leather goods.”

The leather goods have become successful, so quickly that “a lot of peo ple coming here for leather goods don’t realize about the upholstery,” Danielle Pecht explained. “They bring their high-end classic cars, and they don’t know about our hand-crafted leather goods.”

They admit full resto ration of automotive inte riors is a dying trade. “You don’t see it too much any more,” Miller said.

The hand-crafted aspect of their production process is also rare.

“We do want that quality and hand-made aspect of our business,” Miller said. “Our products are made to

last, and we want our cus tomers to know and appreci ate that.

“We show and emphasize that in every way possible,” he added. “Even in the way we talk to customers. We have products in our retail location that have had years of use to show how they age. We want customers to know they’re getting something quality for the cost.”

Their process is still as rugged as the economy.

“Nothing goes through a mass production process,” Miller said. “Up until cut ting out our leather goods with a single razor blade. Our hands are still making it.”

That is Gritwell.

“People are buying into an experience,” Pecht said. “It’s not something that you come across often. You have to buy into the lifestyle.”

The cow hides hang in both workshop and the new retail space purposefully, so customers get the full ex perience, and to see where each product starts.

“It’s all made right here, which is why we have the hides hanging,” Miller said. “They’re hand-picked from the tanneries. It’s about the experience coming into the workshop. You enter and in stantly love this smell.”

That time-period feel is one advantage that Gritwell has over online competitors.

However, walking into Gritwell’s retail space com pared to another retail shop is vastly different.

“We want them to en joy the entire experience,” Miller said. From seeing the hides hanging and crafts men at work to seeing the leather goods for sale and making a purchase.

Gritwell has tried

thoughtfully to protect that aspect of their business when planning the Reeds ville storefront.

“Just going there and opening was not an op tion,” Miller said. “Part of the experience was coming in here. We had to ask our selves, ‘How do you grow and not lose that.’”

The answer was finding the perfect location, an old hardware store from the

late 1800s to early 1900s. “It has serious historic value,” Miller said. “It’s a blue-col lar shop.

“When you go from a ser vice station to a hardware store, what better way to carry over that vibe,” he added.

Gritwell expects to make some small goods on site — even into the storefront window to “keep the experi ence,” Miller said. “It will be

more refined than the cur rent shop is.”

Despite that refinement, they’ve kept features from the original hardware store. They hope the move from the highway will also gener ate more foot traffic.

“There’s parking, so peo ple can stop and walk in,” Pecht said. “We want to take Gritwell to the next step. We’re hoping to add value to the community.”

Traffic patterns have been altered this year as well to alleviate vehicle gridlock at Mifflin County Junior High School.

“The new traffic patterns and new student drop-off and pick-up locations at the junior high school have been well received by par ents,” Varner said. “The new traffic patterns have helped with traffic conges tion.”

With any job, there are pros and cons. Varner has seen very few negatives in his first year as superinten dent.

“The masking issue that was mandated in Septem ber 2021 was an extremely difficult situation for the last school year,” he said. “Superintendents across the state were frustrated with the lack of consistent information being released from various departments within the state.”

To deal with the daily routine, and the occasional mini-crisis, Varner draws on more than 30 years expe rience in education which began in the Upper Dau phin Area School District in 1991. He came to Mifflin County in 1995 as a science teacher at Indian Valley High School. Varner also credits his FBI training for helping to prepare him for the job.

“Being a former FBI agent has benefited me as an educational leader in the district,” he said. “Two important traits for each position would be profi cient organizational skills and communication skills.

Organizational skills are needed in the role of the superintendent to help bal ance all facets of the job and communication skills are necessary to keep ev eryone informed and to be transparent.”

Varner has seen the con stant evolution in educa tion to meet the demands of 2022 and beyond.

“Over the years, I have seen many changes in ed ucation options and im provements where the dis trict is focusing on raising the bar of all educational programs,” he said. “The school district continues to expand educational oppor tunities in order to provide students with the skills they will need to compete

in the 21st century work place.”

Some of the notable changes include imple menting a strong online learning platform through the Alpha Program and MCO, creating a maker space in each school to pro mote STEM activities, oneto-one technology available for all students in class rooms, the ongoing imple mentation of a K through 12 robotics program, and the installation of smart displays in all K through 7 classrooms. The district’s focus on a career pathways approach to education has resulted in an expansion of our cooperative educa tion program, the creation of many new and exciting classes in English, science, art, mathematics, and tech nology, and a partnership between the Mifflin Coun ty Academy of Science and Technology.

As for positives in his first year, Varner has seen many.

“I have been able to increase community en gagement and visibility from the superintendent position as well as foster relationships with stu dents, staff, parents and community members,” he said. “From the first day, I made it a priority to be vis ible as the superintendent. I see value in being in the schools and part of the edu cational process as well as being approachable. I have received many positive responses by visiting the schools and the classrooms on a regular basis. I want the students to know who their superintendent is.”

Varner’s positive ap proach has had an impact on students and parents alike.

“I believe it is import ant to attend sporting events, band and chorus concerts, pep rallies, art shows, STEM fairs, school plays, band competitions, community events, etc.” he said. “These are the opportunities where I find parents, guardians and community members feel comfortable approaching me to ask questions or even share their personal comments about the dis trict.”

With his first year at the top in the history books, Varner looks ahead to the future and the challenges and goals facing the school district. He sees funding as a potential stumbling block.

“I worry about the lack of necessary state funding for the school district to continue offering a quali ty educational program,” he said. “Our current an nual budget is comprised of approximately 47% of funding from the state. The district would be in a diffi cult situation if there were a major reduction in this revenue source. Increased costs for cyber/charter schools are also a concern. For the 2022-23 school year, the school district has bud geted $3.4 million to cover the costs of Mifflin Coun ty students attending cy ber-charter schools.”

The future of educa tion in the Mifflin County School District is the fu ture of education in today’s world. Varner tends to his role of meeting student needs by focusing on five points; increasing com munity engagement and visibility, building trust, increasing all levels of communication, ensuring all resources are utilized to their maximum efficiency and working with all stake holders within the school system and community. In his own words, “the relent less pursuit of excellence.”

“I am not shy about tell ing people about the great things that are taking place in our district,” Varner said. “If people in the com munity want to learn more about all of the positive things taking place in the Mifflin County School Dis trict, please feel free to fol low one of my social media accounts.”

Facebook: Mcsd V Var ner Twitter: @MCSDVVar ner Instagram: MCSDVVar ner

Brewing success in Reedsville and beyond

BY NICK FELICE President/CEO, MCIDC

Always wanting to sup port our entrepreneurs, I had a recent conversa tion with Ryan Cherry, co-founder and co-owner with his wife Lillah, of East End Coffee Compa ny. Founded in 2017, this husband-and-wife team brought their work ethic and passion to an existing space in downtown Lew istown.

Renovating and recon figuring the storefront, they brought it back to life. Initially focusing on custom-made, high-quali ty beverages, then began partnering with fellow entrepreneurs by hosting their goods on a consign ment basis. This provided an opportunity to outfit the space with tasty treats, unique merchandise and custom art. Beyond provid ing a sales outlet for their fellow local small business es, it brought a positive and decorative atmosphere to the shop.

Seeing the need to con trol their supply chain, and increase margins, Ryan set up a roasting operation for high quality coffee beans. This “value-add process” provided for higher quali ty inputs, enhancing taste, while adding another prod uct revenue stream for their small business.

In November of 2021,

East End opened a new lo cation in Reedsville.

“The community, in which we’re thrilled to be a part, has embraced us with open arms,” Ryan said. “As people have start ed to feel more comfortable going out and have looked forward to participating in events again, we’ve re sumed booking music and art at our main location … The community’s ‘First Fridays’ events have seen very enthusiastic crowds patronizing our establish ment.

“Another small busi ness, Batter and Dough Bakeshop, has recently opened in our building, which has quickly become an asset to us and devel oped a strong following from the community. We continue to work closely with our friends and oth er local businesses such as The Square Cafe and Bakery, The Cookie Jar in McVeytown, The Reeds ville Creamery, Gritwell, Two Brothers Bike Compa ny, Back Mountain Flow er Farm, Homestead Cul tures, Alexander’s Honey, Minehart Maple, Revival Kitchen and others.”

Cherry added, “We have big plans for the rest of 2022 and moving into 2023. We’re getting a much larger coffee roaster, which will be delivered mid-October, and will greatly increase our coffee output. We have also

ty events and catering. See ing growth in these areas, they are becoming a huge portion of our business. Always trying to innovate, we continue to develop new options and services to provide our customers with the best possible cof fee experience. We look for ward to seeing what 2023 has in store.”

During my years of working with many busi nesses, it is exciting to wit ness the passion and drive so many entrepreneurs ex hibit when chasing their dream. I once knew a small business counselor who, when first meeting with a budding entrepreneur, would spend the first 30 minutes of the meeting trying to talk them out of doing it. He’d tell them of the 80-hour work weeks, no personal time, stress, fam ily strain, financial strain, etc. I asked him why he’d take such a negative posi tion, especially after meet ing someone for the first time.

He told me “Nick, if they can’t get past my reali ty-based gloom and doom, then they have no business going into business.”

“You have a point,” I re plied.

The Cherrys’ willing ness to take the financial and personal risk always has me in awe. I expect we’ll see East End Coffee Company around here for many years to come.

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multi-specialty clinic, and Kish Bank also opened a new facility.

Now, the empty store fronts are also filling up.

“Businesses have come and gone here,” Lasher said. “It’s started to pick up now.”

Small town vibe

When Ryan Cherry and his wife, Lillah, were seek ing a home for their second East End Coffee Co. loca tion, they didn’t have to look any further than their hometown.

“My wife and I have lived in Reedsville since 2013,” Cherry said. “Reeds ville has a different feel than a lot of other towns around Central PA — it’s a small town with a country vibe, but it feels oddly cool and modern at the same time.”

After opening their Lew istown shop in May 2017, the couple had been con sidering a second shop for some time and Reedsville seemed like the perfect place to make that happen.

“A friend of ours (Lo ren Kauffman, owner of the Reedsville Creamery) bought the property and all the pieces seemed to fit together, so we moved for ward,” Cherry said.

Through thick and thin, they remain committed to Reedsville as adjustments were made to their busi ness plan. They are ex tremely optimistic about the future of Reedsville, especially since its their home.

“We live here, just a block away frm the shop, so this is our backyard,” Cherry said. “We’re look ing forward to see what happens next.”

While Cherry said the future can feel murky he remains very optimistic.

“Mifflin County has a long streak of harder times, but I think people are becoming more inter ested in the outdoors and outdoor activities, spend ing money locally and sup porting small businesses when they travel,” he said. “The evolution of technol ogy and high-speed Inter net makes it easy to live in a place like Mifflin County while working in a bigger city, which we see a lot of.”

Future looks bright Quintin and Liz Wicks, proprietors of Revival Kitchen, moved to Mifflin County from Colorado in 2015 to be closer to his par ents and open their restau rant.

Reedsville in particular

was appealing as a small town that aligned with their restaurant, Liz Wicks said. “We were looking to open a small farm-to-table restaurant in an agricul turally rich area with a rel atively low cost of living. Our former location was available to rent and it just felt right to make the move to Reedsville.”

The Wicks opened in their original location in July 2015 and moved down the street to their current location in 2018.

Needless to say business has surpassed their expec tations as they are current ly booked through the end of the year, Wicks said.

Like many businesses, they’ve had to make adjust ments along the way, too.

“Every year we evolve as a business to accom modate our guests as well as a quality of life for our selves,” Wicks said.

They are excited to see how Reedsville continues to grow as a destination within and outside the community, county and state.

“We love it!” Wicks said.

“The future looks bright, not only for the new busi nesses in town but also for community projects like the Reedsville Apple Festi val, which just celebrated its sixth year this Septem ber, and the recent streets cape project which brought new sidewalks and lights to the Main Street corridor.

“Walkability, accessibil ity and a variety of estab lishments not only make Reedsville a more desirable place to visit but to live as well,” she added.

Throw in a coffee shop, ice cream stand, wine bar, convenience store and mul tiple dining establishments and “I think Reedsville re ally is an up-and-coming destination,” Wicks said.

More than wine

The Seven Mountains Wine Bar has called Reeds ville its home since 2011.

Owners originally want ed to open a location for consumers in Mifflin Coun ty to easily access their wine and not have to trav el the Seven Mountains to do so. When the previous restaurant moved out of the location that they are in, they decided to open

the Stonefly Café to able to keep the location buy with more than just wine sales.

Thus, the Seven Moun tains Wine Bar and Stone fly Café was born in July 2018.

“I have personally worked at Stonefly since April 2019 and I can say over that time period busi ness has surprised me with how it has grown over time,” says Alyssa Ran dolph, bar manager. “When I started at the café, busi ness was steady but slow.

“Now, there are days that we unfortunately have to turn people away because the restaurant is full,” she added. “To me, I wouldn’t have expected a small café in Reedsville to ever take off the way that Stonefly has.”

For the most part, Stone fly Café has remained the same since it opened.

“We are always trying to adjust and change our menu to what we see our customers like and don’t like,” Randolph explained. “Staffing is occasionally a challenge, but that is just the times we are living in now.”

The biggest change they’ve made is to elimi nate entertainment since the start of the pandemic. That’s drawn mixed re sults.

“We have heard good and bad reviews,” Ran dolph said. “Many people miss the music, but many others are glad that we no longer have it since it made the café very loud.”

Like other business lead ers, Randolph likes the di rection the town is headed.

“Reedsville is starting to look great and become a beautiful small town,” she said. “We love seeing all the change and improve ments around the town! It has become quite the little ‘walking town,’ and we find people just stopping in to check us out and see what we are all about.”

In these uncertain times, the Seven Mountains Wine Bar and Stonefly Café seem to be on solid ground.

“The future feels good for us,” Randolph said. “We are continuing to grow our business and love that we are able to offer great food and wine.

“We see the same fac

es week after week — it’s always good when people are coming back — and new faces mixed in,” she added. “We love hearing people say, ‘We’ll be back’ or ‘We’ll tell everyone we know about you!’ There is still some confusion with people that we are just a wine bar, but once people realize we offer great food, they continue to come back over and over.”

We all scream for …

Loren Kauffman wanted to set up shop in Reeds ville, but he didn’t neces sarily know what business to open.

He did know it was im portant to him to be the only show in town. Thus, the Reedsville Creamery opened in March 2019 be cause an ice cream shop was something that Reeds ville lacked at the time.

The creamery has be come popular in a short time. “It’s been more (suc cessful) than we expected,” Kauffman said.

“We didn’t really know what to expect in the be ginning,” he added. “We had a lot of support from the area, and interest from a lot of people.”

So much so that Kauff man has already expanded the business. A ribbon-cut ting for the Reedsville Creamery Ice Cream Stand took place on July 23.

The secret to Kauff man’s success seems to be maintaining a simple business plan. That in cludes their menu. The ice cream stand offers 12 flavors of hand-dipped ice cream, five flavors of soft serve, hot fudge sundaes and milk shakes.

“We looked at plac es where there were ice cream stands,” he said. “There are a lot of others who are more complex. We think there’s value in a simpler menu.”

That’s where there are 12 flavors available in stead of a longer list. Plus, the ice cream is made fresh and locally from the creamery’s own milk. It has expanded to include specialty burgers and fresh cut fries.

“We’re constantly changing to make it work,” Kauffman said. “There’s a lot more planning than when we first opened. We’ve quickly adapted to what we needed to have.

“We are just taking each day as it comes, the chal lenges as they come,” he added. “You just never know what they are, and you have to be flexible.”

Kauffman couldn’t be happier with the renais sance that is taking place in Reedsville. “All the right things are happening in downtown Reedsville,” he explained. “We have su pervisors who care about the town and the sidewalk project was the kickstart. It blossomed into what we have now. The people in Reedsville can take pride in their town.”

Kauffman feels for tunate that he selected Reedsville as the site of his business.

“Ice cream tends to work anywhere where it’s not,” he said.

As far as Reedsville’s success moving forward, he said, “The key for any town moving forward is that there have to be individuals who care about the town. They have to have a pas sion for doing something.”

Community action group

While new businesses have set up shop, Kay Sem ler, chair of the Reedsville Community Association, said the town has also ben efitted from an improved infrastructure with new street lighting, sidewalks and “Hometown Hero” dec orative banners over the past year.

It’s a far cry from when Semler moved to the area in 1983. Back then, Reeds ville had a furniture shop, restaurant, two bars and a gas station.

She believes the renais sance started with the Brown Township supervi sors securing grants for dif ferent projects. Additional ly, private property owners stepped up to the plate and the community association have become “good ambas sadors for Reedsville.”

That opened the door for new businesses to come to town.

“Beautification is really

what draws people,” Semler said. “With the recent con tributions from the three — supervisors, private proper ty owners and community association — things took off like a bullet.”

Events, such as Reeds ville Community Day and Apple Festival, have helped bring the community to gether.

She also felt the recent pandemic influenced small business owners to fill the vacant Reedsville store fronts.

“We’ve had new business and some that just want to relocate here,” Semler said.

Mayberry, U.S.A.?

You could almost hear the iconic whistling theme song as the words came out of Dave McNitt’s mouth.

“Reedsville is like May berry, U.S.A., everybody knows everybody. There’s no Barney Fife or sheriff,” said McNitt, referring to the popular Andy Griffith Show.

“It’s a really nice thing we have here,” he add ed. “A lot of people went through a lot of trouble to make that happen. It makes you feel good to make the town look nice.”

McNitt included. The Reedsville native, who has lived in the town for almost all of his life, owns 10 rent al properties. He and wife, Sandra, were disheartened at first but have excited about many of the recent changes.

He is proud of the prog ress of the town, including role his properties have played in the rebirth of Reedsville.

There’s a house on Main Street that house a furni ture store and restaurant, which has been vacant for many years. “The front was very unattractive, so we fixed it up,” McNitt said. “We designed a new front and put apartments in the building.”

There’s also the log cab in home near the center of the downtown. It was one of the town’s original houses, he said, which was owned by the Reed family.

While restoring it, “we uncovered the original fireplace, stone walls and beams,” McNitt said. Sid ing was also removed from the exterior, which re vealed the logs.”

Another property near the log home has been ren

ovated. McNitt said it has not had much done to it in years. It also had little curb appeal but is looking much better with new siding and doors.

Finally, McNitt men tioned another property which he fell in love with as a kid.

“We changed the house to look like an English Tu dor house,” he said.

Giving town a ‘lift’

Three years ago, Kirk Rager bought a hydrau lic lift to help him with maintenance work at the 14 properties he owns in Reedsville.

“I’m up on the high lift all the time,” Rager said.

There might be spout ing pulled off one of his properties due to snow, a bird nesting in a window or someplace where they shouldn’t be, a tree needs pruned. His list goes on and on.

“It’s awesome,” he add ed. “People see me driving around town on it and they know I’m working. It’s the best investment I’ve made because I don’t want to get up on a ladder.”

Rager bought his first property on Main Street about 20 years ago. He add ed three commercial spaces and four residential spaces within a short time period and “wanted to make them very nice,” he said.

A few years ago, when Rager heard the sidewalk project was starting, he renovated the outside of the building next to the Stonefly Café. He rented space to the Tribe Five Boutique, an affordable and trendy shop that sells baby clothes, toys and oth er items, women’s clothing and candles.

“I rented to Tribe Five because I was looking for businesses that would have foot traffic,” Rager said. “I really wanted a place that will help the downtown thrive.”

He also has businesses in other buildings, such as Latibule Massage Therapy and B’s Hive hair salon.

Rager also owns seven more buildings throughout the town, including five he bought in the past year.

“We plan on doing some other things to them,” he explained. “Some are still in deep renovation. I bought them because it was a good investment.”

The ones he has finished — at least from the exterior — are easy to see.

“We’ve painted them bold colors like orange, Rager said. “Some stand out colors, but also comple mentary colors.”

He and wife, Christina, live in a seven-bedroom home that was originally owned by the Reed family, who the town is named af ter.

“Every surface in our home has been renovated,” Rager said. “It’s taken us 30 years to do it. It’s just a re ally cool place.

“Without the support of the rest of your family, you

don’t get very far,” he cau tioned.

Rager also believes Reedsville has a lot to offer with public parks and play grounds, which all “serve a great purpose and are all pretty well kept and very well used.”

There are a lot of fine eateries around town.

“If one of them is busy, you can come to another one,” he said. The growing number of businesses has given Reedsville “some pretty good momentum.”

Rager said business and community leaders can’t rest on their laurels.

“We have to keep the pedal down; we can’t let up. The momentum will per petuate itself, but like any thing it takes work.”

Rager is quick to thank Semler and the Reedsville Community Group for their support.

“They’re owed a lot of gratitude for helping to keep this momentum,” he said. “They put a lot of en ergy forth with Reedsville Community Day, the Apple Festival and Santa and car oling at one of the parks. This little town’s got a lot going on here.”

Rager said Reedsville’s proximity to State College and Big Valley has also played a role in its success.

“From a resident per spective, I want to keep housing affordable, but very nice, too,” he said. “I live here and want the town to be the very best it can be.”

Sentinel photo by JEFF FISHBEIN

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