Columbia/Hellam/Wrightsville townlively.com
MAY 15, 2024
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXV • NO 11
Marking Memorial Day in Columbia BY CATHY MOLITORIS
Keeping the town green BY CATHY MOLITORIS
“We’re a lighthearted group that enjoys gathering to work.” The group’s mission statement is to provide volunteers to assist with the maintenance and improvement of Columbia’s parks and public spaces, Groff shared. The majority of the group’s work occurs in the spring when the volunteers perform cleanups. “Sometimes, we’re asked to assist with something, but more often,
we’re proactive and make the initial contact especially with areas where we’ve been helping for many years now,” he explained. “In February, we have our only meeting of the year, and it’s for the purpose of annual reports, planning and elections.” Projects of the Columbia Park Rangers are often funded by the project site or the borough. The group supplies its own gloves and tools, which members purchase along with plants and mulch for some work sites. Funds are raised for the rangers through a flag project the group took over when the Columbia Jaycees folded. “We ask businesses and organizations for a small annual donation for us to put American flags in sidewalk sleeves downtown on holidays, elections, etc., through the year,” Groff said. Over the past two decades, the Columbia Park Rangers have made an impact on the town,
See Memorial Day pg 2
Underground Railroad Museum in the works BY CATHY MOLITORIS
In the mid- to late 1800s, a “conspiracy of good” permeated the streets of Columbia as citizens helped freedom seekers navigate the Underground Railroad. William Wright, one of the town founders and a fervent abolitionist, is often credited with helping to establish the path to freedom for people escaping slavery. Now a group of people is working to bring history to life through the Underground Railroad Museum
of Pennsylvania. T he pro j e c t l aunche d in December, with a tentative opening date set for the end of 2026. “A n t e b e l l u m C o l u m b i a wasn’t a perfect place,” said Mark Stewart, a member of the Underground Railroad Center of Columbia (URCC), a nonprofit organization spearheading the project. “Far from it. But it was the place where people made a stand, often at extreme personal risk, and said, ‘This stops here.’ Those individuals See Railroad pg 2
See Green pg 2
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f you appreciate the green spaces in Columbia, you have the Columbia Park Rangers to thank. “ We do all kinds of landscape-related work, including e d g i n g , we e d i n g , p r u n i n g , raking, mulching, tree trimming, and planting,” said Jeffrey Groff, president of the group. “We’ve installed park benches and painted. We co-chair the annual Arbor Day event with the Columbia Shade Tree Commission.” The Columbia Park Rangers formed more than 20 years ago after Bill Kloidt and Groff, both former members of the Columbia Jaycees, realized a community need. When members age out of the young-adult-focused Jaycees, they are expected to take their experience with the group out into the community, Groff explained. Kloidt approached
Groff with the idea of the rangers. “Parks and public spaces were in need of attention, and he wanted to form an organization to address that,” Groff recalled. “After several organizational meetings, the Columbia Park R angers became official in March 2001.”
Manuel Acuna
Manuel Acuna will be the speaker and the parade grand marshal. Born in Los Angeles, Acuna joined the Marines directly out of high school. He was stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina before being called to service in Beirut, Lebanon. “I was there during the time of the bombing that took 243 Marines and Navy personnel,” he recalled. “Then I
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The Columbia Park Rangers work in Janson Park.
Since World War II, Columbia has hosted a Memorial Day parade. At one point, the small town featured the largest parade marking the holiday in the country, said parade organizers. While the scale of the parade may be reduced some, the spirit behind Memorial Day events in Columbia remains strong. Columbia will kick off its Memorial Day events at noon on Monday, May 27, with a performance from the Bainbridge Band in the gazebo in Locust Street Park, 550 Locust St. At 1 p.m., a ceremony will begin. The ceremony will feature community members and local dignitaries who will honor the holiday. “There will be a reading of the Gettysburg Address, remarks from Mayor Lutz, a main speaker … and a prayer by deacon Henry Reese,” said Bob Herman, one of the event organizers.