Conestoga Valley OCTOBER 15, 2025
SERVING OUR COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
REACHING MORE THAN 13,770 HOMES
VOL LXI • NO 43
Kicking Off Salem Hellers’ Supporting Girls and Next 300 Years of Service Women
With Dignity
BY JEFF FALK
A
ONLINE FALL EVENT CALENDAR townlively.com/ events
t Salem Hellers Church, faithfulness is a two-way street. I t ’s a r o a d t h a t church members have been navigating every day for the last three centuries. And it’s a type of faithfulness worth celebrating. “I don’t want to talk about our faithfulness to God,” said Joann Cooper, a longtime of Salem Hellers’ planning committee prepare for the church’s upcoming member of Salem Hell- Members anniversary celebration. ers Church and the head of the planning committee that will be celebrated when Salem Lancaster wasn’t even a city when for the upcoming celebration. “God Evangelical Reformed Church, our church was established, and has been faithful to this church and Hellers conducts its Service of the United States wasn’t even a kept it together. For some reason, Thanksgiving at 3 p.m. on Sunday, country.” Salem Hellers’ Service of ThanksHe’s been faithful in keeping this Oct. 19, at 2555 Horseshoe Road, Lancaster. giving will feature a traditional little church on the hill going.” “The fact that we’re 300 years hourlong worship service enriched That 300-year-old faithful pact between God and the church’s mem- old is a pretty big deal,” said by hymns and anthems from the bers will be just one of the things Cooper. “It certainly is a long time. Salem Hellers choir and musicians
present this idea of history from a familial perspective. The best part of it is seeing the smiles on people’s faces, just seeing families and the interactions of people with each other.” Pathways Hybrid Learning Community will conduct the seventh edition of its annual Heritage Day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18, at the historic
Sarah Zeitler wants to get people talking about some of life’s most basic necessities while making sure everyone has access to them. The Lancaster woman is the local face of I Support the Girls, a national nonprofit that collects bras, underwear and feminine hygiene products for girls and women in need. What began for Zeitler as a simple search for a place to donate gently used bras has grown into a mission she calls both energizing and deeply personal. “I’m very focused on changing the conversation,” says Zeitler, who has two teenage daughters, ages 14 and 16. “Why don’t we talk about pads and tampons? ... I tell my girls, ‘You don’t have to be embarrassed by this topic.’ I want to help people who don’t have access to products most of us take for granted.” Zeitler discovered I Support the Girls in late 2024. When she realized Lancaster no longer had an active chapter, she quickly stepped up. The hyperlocal aspect drew her in. “I like that the bras you’re giving are not going to women in another state,” she said. “ They’re going right back to local women. I also wanted to be sure these bras were going to women in need who were going to use them.” I Support the Girls began 10 years ago when founder Dana Marlowe started the organization in the Washington, D.C., area. From one donated bra, the organization has grown to more
See Heritage Day pg 5
See Supporting Girls pg 3
See 300th Anniversary pg 8
CON
Heritage Day Proliferates History of Learning BY JEFF FALK
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An interpreter demonstrates an 18th-century skill at last year’s Pathways Heritage Day.
Pathways Heritage Day can’t transport visitors back in time. But the event can make history come to life. “If you don’t take advantage of the knowledge of histor y, you’re going to repeat it,” said Ron Schlegel, a Pathways Heritage Day board member and team member. “We’re trying to
BY CAT SHANNON
We’re in your neighborhood! With branches in Bird-in-Hand, Intercourse and Paradise, we’re your hometown community bank.
717-768-8811
www.bihbank.com
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