Garden Spot townlively.com
JANUARY 22, 2025
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXI • NO 5
Hams, hoagies, cheesesteaks and radios BY ANN MEAD ASH
W
hen Ralph Hess, president of the Red Rose Repeater Association (RRR), talks about the Winter Field Day the organization participates in yearly, he describes a comfortable atmosphere where the food is as important as the radio chatter. “The crowd favorite last year was that we deep-fried two turkeys,” recalled Hess. “Food is always high on the list of priorities at Red Rose events.” The 2025 event, presented by RRR as a participant with the Winter Field Day Association, will be held at the Welsh Mountain Community Center and Park, 564 Sandmine Road, New Holland. The group of amateur radio enthusiasts, known as hams, will begin to set up antennas at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25, and activities will officially begin at 11 a.m. Winter Field Day will end at 4:59 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 26. The event is held for more than
Red Rose Repeater members Jason Bachman (left photo) and Mark Shenk (right photo) try to make contact with other ham radio operators at the 2024 Winter Field Day.
24 hours to include radio operators from all time zones. Newly licensed and inexper ienced operators as well as those with an interest in the hobby are encouraged to attend. There is no cost to participate, food is provided, and visitors are welcome to drop
in anytime and bring sleeping bags or cots if they plan to stay overnight in the center. “There are hundreds of clubs and thousands of participants,” shared Hess, who added that there are more than 50 licensed ham radio operators in the New Holland ZIP
code and more than 1,500 in the county. Dating back to the 1930s, Winter Field Day is an annual event that brings together amateur radio afficionados to converse during the final full weekend in January. Winter Field Day gives hams a chance to hold field
operations in remote locations and to contact others all over the world. The Winter Field Day Association advocates for ham radio operators to practice portable emergency communications during winter weather because the low temperatures, snow, and See RRR pg 6
A few good women needed “The role of volunteers is to give students a safe space, interact with them, and get to know them,” said Sarah Ortiz, youth center manager with CrossNet Ministries. “Let (youth center night attendees) know they matter and they are seen,” she stated, adding that building relationships with local youths is one of the main goals of the program. Ortiz has overseen the CrossNet Ministries Youth Center, 110 W. Franklin St., New Holland, for nearly two years. Part of her
BY ANN MEAD ASH
job is to organize and hold youth center nights held each Wednesday and Thursday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. In that capacity, Ortiz is in need of volunteers - she likes to have several male and female volunteers to work with the 12- to 18-year-old youths who attend. In that respect, she is dealing with a rather unusual problem. “We have enough male volunteers,” reported Ortiz. “We are in deep need of female volunteers. It’s very unusual.” Currently, one female volunteer and Ortiz are the only women present on youth center nights. “Our female volunteers from
When the New Holland Farmer’s Day Association, organizers of the New Holland Fair, purchased the building at the corner of Roberts Avenue and Franklin Street in 2009, the board knew an elevator might be needed at some point, but other facility requirements rated a higher level of importance. More than 10 years later, fair president Paulene Redding knew that in order for the building to be used year-round to benefit the community, adding an elevator was essential. In 2022, Redding The elevator shaft is measured to accommodate the new elevator.
See New Holland Fair pg 5
R114254
See CrossNet Ministries pg 8
JANUARY 9TH - FEBRUARY 15TH POSTMASTER: PLEASE DELIVER JAN. 22, 2025
PRSRT STD ECRWSS U.S. Postage Paid Engle Printing Co
Postal Patron
GDN
BY ANN MEAD ASH
Going up?