Columbia/Hellam/Wrightsville townlively.com
OCTOBER 9, 2024
SENIOR
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXV • NO 32
living Look Inside
Lending a hand at the Columbia Dream Center BY CATHY MOLITORIS
Inside Columbia Presbyterian Church at the corner of Fourth and Locust streets, dreams are becoming reality. The Columbia Dream Center staff members and volunteers are working hard to provide opportunities for people in need through a variety of programs, and their efforts are flourishing.
“We have jammed a lot of stuff into this church,” explained Jenn Hollinger, outreach coordinator for the center. “We used to have a separate building for our shelter, but now everything we do is under this roof. We do not have one square inch of extra space.” The Columbia Dream Center hosts a food pantry, provides shelter space for men and women, serves free lunch on weekdays, See Dream Center pg 2
Heather Beury (left) and Tim Snyder with the library pass at Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery
L
ast s cho ol ye a r, K ay l a Wilkinson was working on a homeschool lesson about Pennsylvania with her sons when she had a lightbulb moment. The board member of Columbia Public Library took her boys to Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery, 219 E. Main St., Lititz, for a tour and thought perhaps the pretzel bakery and the library could collaborate so more people could enjoy the hands-on tour. She brought the idea to library director Heather Beury, who worked with Sturgis general
manager Michelle Curtis and owner Tim Snyder to create a pass that can be checked out of the Columbia Library entitling up to four people to a free tour of the bakery. “Michelle brought up the idea of the collaboration to me, and I thought, ‘I go to the library all the time,’” Snyder said. “It’s a good idea.” The Columbia library introduced the pass in September, and it will be available to check out from the day after Labor Day through the day before Memorial Day each year. It’s valid for up to four admissions and although it
is housed in Columbia, it may be checked out for one week through any branch by anyone with a valid Lancaster County library card. “ The pass gives them a 25-minute historic tour and a pretzel twisting exercise,” Curtis said, explaining that the Sturgis bakery dates to 1861 and is the oldest commercial pretzel bakery in the country. “They get to hear the history of Julius and how he started the bakery. They get to twist a pretzel and learn the significance of the shape and the meaning behind it. They also get to learn all of the traditional processes we use.”
Lantern Tour will bring history to life BY CATHY MOLITORIS
W hen River town Theatre Productions presents its annual Haunted Lantern Tour, expect a mix of history and spookiness. “This year’s tour is very unique in the fact that it’s not as lighthearted and lively as our themes have been in the past,” said Sara Mimnall, owner of Rivertown Theatre Productions and producer and director of the tour. “While there are moments of comedic relief, the tour has a very mournful vibe.”
T he tour, called “ T he Afflicted,” will be offered on Fridays, Oct. 18 and 25; Saturdays, Oct. 19 and 26; and Sunday, Oct. 20. Tours will run every half hour beginning at 6:30 p.m. with the final tour stepping off at 9:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 8 p.m. on Sundays. Attendees will meet at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 616 Locust St., Columbia, and will travel through Mount Bethel Cemetery. “The title and theme of this year’s tour, ‘The Afflicted,’ really
See Pretzels pg 8
See Lantern Tour pg 5
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BY CATHY MOLITORIS
Volunteers prepare items for the Columbia Dream Center’s food pantry line.
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Collaboration draws pretzels and the library together