Columbia/Hellam/Wrightsville townlively.com
MAY 8, 2024
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXV • NO 10
Spring Fling will feature yard sale, food and more BY CATHY MOLITORIS
On Saturday, May 18, the parking lot at Wrightsville Hope United Methodist Church will be full of activity. The church, located at 404 Hellam St., will host its annual Spring Fling beginning at 8 a.m. T he event will feature a
rummage sale, a plant sale and lots of food, said Donna Ream, a member of the Spring Fling committee. “The food is always good, and everybody eats well,” she said. “We have homemade baked goods and candy. We have hot dogs, hamburgers and sausage sandwiches with all the trimmings. We have See Spring Fling pg 4
Mark Stewart stands outside the future home of the Underground Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
perfect place,” said Mark Stewart, a member of the Underground n the mid- to late 1800s, a Railroad Center of Columbia “conspiracy of good” perme- (URCC), a nonprofit organization ated the streets of Columbia as citizens helped freedom seekers navigate the Underground “When people walk out Railroad. William Wright, one of of this museum, I want the town founders and a fervent them to tell everybody abolitionist, is often credited with helping to establish the path they know, ‘You won’t to freedom for people escaping believe what I just slavery. Now a group of people saw.’” is working to bring history to life through the Underground Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. T h e p r o j e c t l a u n c h e d i n spearheading the project. “Far December, with a tentative from it. But it was the place opening date set for the end of where people made a stand, often at extreme personal risk, 2026. “Antebellum Columbia wasn’t a and said, ‘This stops here.’ Those
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individuals committed to an ideal and did the right thing during one of the bleakest times in our nation’s history. To me, that is a story worth telling.” The museum will be located at 331 Locust St., in a building constructed in 1900 that originally housed a Woolworth’s on the first floor and a Masonic hall upstairs. The 8,000-square-foot attraction will feature informative and interactive exhibits that tell the story of the people who worked to help freedom seekers. Although plans are just getting underway for the museum, Stewart has high hopes. He envisions the first floor full of exhibits telling t h e s t o r y o f U n d e r g ro u n d Railroad activity throughout
Fundraiser will celebrate art and books BY CATHY MOLITORIS
There will be something for anyone who loves books or art (or both!) at Art in the Park and Books in the Basement. C re a t e C o l u m b i a a n d t h e Columbia Public Library are coming together for the event which will be held on Saturday, May 18, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the library, 24 S. Sixth St., and in Locust Street Park in Columbia. As Janette Toth-Musser of Create Columbia explained, the nonprofit organization decided
to hold its art event in conjunction with the library’s annual fundraiser for the first time. “This brings attention to both organizations,” she said. “The library fundraiser will be a book sale from the library’s basement, along with silent auction items like special books, artworks and the ever-popular homemade cakes. The library will benefit from the sale of these items.” In the park, a variety of artists will set up stands displaying traditional and abstract art. The Columbia School of Music
See Museum pg 3
See Fundraiser pg 2
For MOTHER, Beautiful Flowers!
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 8-6 Closed Sunday 717-872-9311
Stop in, treat your senses!
Perennials • Plant Now! Cool Season Veggies Azaleas • Lilacs • Evergreens Berries • Shrubs • and Lots More! POSTMASTER: PLEASE DELIVER MAY 8, 2024
PRSRT STD ECRWSS U.S. Postage Paid Engle Printing Co
Postal Patron
C WM
BY CATHY MOLITORIS
Inviting people to Spring Fling are (from left) Bonnie Shaffer, Barbara Stoner, Phil Lehman and Donna Ream.
400 Long Lane At Marticville Road (Rts. 741 & 324S)
717-872-9311
www.cherryhillorchards.com
R106730
Underground Railroad Museum in the works