Columbia/Hellam/Wrightsville townlively.com
DECEMBER 11, 2024
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXV • NO 41
Blue Christmas Vigil will offer healing and peace BY CATHY MOLITORIS
The holiday season is often a time of celebration, but for many, it can also bring up feelings of grief, sadness and loneliness. To acknowledge these emotions, the Columbia Catholic Mental Health Ministry will host a Blue Christmas Vigil. This reflective service filled with prayers, music and comforting words is designed
to bring peace, healing and hope. It will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 20, at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 409 Cherry St., Columbia. Open to everyone, regardless of religious background, the service will provide a sacred space for individuals who are mourning, experiencing emotional pain or supporting a loved one who is suffering. Whether you See Vigil pg 2
Chris Cauler shows off a drive-in theater in the Lower Susquehanna Valley Modular Railroaders display.
All aboard for fun at Columbia train displays BY CATHY MOLITORIS
complete with a light-up concession stand and movie screen. Upstairs, the display features the miniature town of Columbia along with other area attractions and scenes. It’s been housed at the Columbia Historic Preservation Society for decades, and it’s located in the former sanctuary of a church built in 1850. Stainedglass windows provide a colorful background for the display, which features HO-scale trains. Like Cauler, volunteer Dan Martin of the Columbia and Susquehanna Model Railroad loves watching the faces of visitors when they come into the room. “I see a lot of open mouths and a lot of people going, ‘Wow! I never expected to see anything like this,’” he said. “Some people will stay here and look for a considerable amount of time at the town of Columbia.
A church service at Holy Trinity Catholic Church
Powering up hope and fighting food insecurity BY CATHY MOLITORIS
While touring a shelter at Columbia Presbyterian Church last year, Tony Lewis had an aha moment. “We walked through downstairs, and they said, ‘This is the Power Packs area,’ and I was like, ‘What’s a Power Pack?’” Tony recalled. “And that’s how it started.” Tony and his wife, Helen, soon learned more about the Power Packs Project, a Lancaster-based nonprofit that provides free food
and a recipe for a meal weekly to families in need. They were determined to bring the program across the river, and in March 2023, Power Packs began supporting students in Eastern York School District. Still, the couple was not content to stop there. They expanded the program to include The Giving Table, supplementing the Power Pack distribution. Along with bags of food, Power Pack families can choose nonperishable food and other items from the table when they pick up their packs.
See Train pg 2
See Food pg 3
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here’s a detailed replica of Columbia as it looked a hundred years ago located upstairs at the Columbia Historic Preservation Society. It’s just one part of what you’ll discover at the Columbia and Susquehanna Model Railroad - and that organization is one of two train groups using the space at 21 N. Second St. in Columbia. The lower level holds an elaborate display by members of the Lower Susquehanna Valley Modular Railroaders. Both displays will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays through Jan. 5, 2025. The displays provide entertainment for visitors and an opportunity for club members to share their passion for the hobby. “I love all the details in the
display,” said Chris Cauler, treasurer of the Lower Susquehanna Valley club. “I remember as a kid putting my trains up under the Christmas tree. Now we get to be bigger kids as adults but come and run trains. It’s the best.” Cauler, who has extensive train layouts set up year-round in his own home, said his favorite part of the open houses is seeing the reactions of people when they walk in the room. “Sometimes, I’ll hand a remote to a kid and let them try running the train themselves,” he said, noting that one of his favorite parts of the display is a newly constructed mountain section that features an underground hobo camp. “We’re continually adding to the display.” Other unique features of the lower-level exhibit include a drive-in movie theater,