Garden Spot townlively.com
APRIL 23, 2025
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXI • NO 18
Keeping New Holland colorful BY ANN MEAD ASH
I
Randy Fisher, an employee of 10-8 Emergency Vehicle Service, has volunteered to water planters as part of a New Holland Business Association program to help beautify the town.
BY CAT SHANNON
“If you’re looking for a getaway that’s within driving distance of home, this is the perfect place to find it,” said Wendy Royal, organizer of the PA Family Travel Fair. “Come here and see what’s right in your backyard.” The PA Family Travel Fair will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 3, at Spooky Nook Sports Complex, 75 Champ Blvd., Manheim. The event will feature free entry and free parking.
Organized by Where & When Pennsylvania, a free seasonal travel magazine, the PA Family Travel Fair will spotlight more than 50 vendors. “ We will have destination marketing organizations from all over the state,” Royal shared. “Probably the farthest one is VisitErie or Warren County, but we have representatives from across Pennsylvania, from northeast Pennsylvania to Bucks County and the Laurel Highlands.” Several of the vendors have participated in the fair since its See PA Family Travel Fair pg 4
“It’s neat to see how people come together.” a responsibility that is handled by volunteer employees from 10-8 Emergency Vehicle Service and Keystone Quality Motors, sister companies located in New Holland. “We ask for volunteers from employees,” explained Tanner Horst, general manager and co-owner of Keystone Quality Motors, who noted that he works with Ralph Hess of New Holland Radio Shack, who currently oversees the planter program. “We get
two crews to help place and pick up (the planters).” Volunteer employees also see that the flowers continue to bloom all summer long by handling watering duties. Those watering duties are made easier using a 1981 Mack Engine that was once a Garden Spot Fire Rescue truck and is now owned by 10-8 proprietor and former New Holland fire chief Larry Martin. “(In 2016), when (fellow members of) NHBA mentioned there was a need for someone to water the planters, we thought, ‘Hey, we have this fire truck, and we could donate our time,’” reported Horst. “It’s a way we can help.” According to Horst, the engine was easily outfitted for the watering job. “We don’t use any pumps,” he explained. “The water is gravity fed from the tanks, and there’s a hose connected to it.” Two volunteer employees work together - a driver and a waterer. “We hop from pot to pot,” said Horst, who noted that usually See NHBA pg 9
Little Free Library invites visitors to take a book, share a book BY FRANCINE FULTON
“I have read my whole life; I have always been a bookworm,” said Kelly Hersh, who is the steward of Captain’s Bookshelf Little Free Library (LFL), which was recently installed at the family home in Mohnton. “This LFL first came to life almost 10 years ago at our old house, but it never had an official name. We finally … set it up here
in Twin Valley, and I decided it needed an official name. I named it after our German Shepherd, Captain, who is one of the lights of our lives.” As part of the LFL initiative, visitors are invited to “take a book or share a book.” In addition to books for children, young adults and adults, Captain’s Bookshelf LFL also contains a little drawer of gifts that are free for the taking. “It is little Kelly Hersh, shown with Captain, is the steward See Little Free Library pg 2 of Captain’s Bookshelf Little Free Library.
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Find your next adventure at the PA Family Travel Fair
f you are driving on Main Street in New Holland this summer in late afternoon or evening and you get behind a fire truck moving slowly in the area between Kinzer and Hoover avenues, maybe take a deep breath and ride along patiently behind them for a bit. The team is just doing its part to keep New Holland beautiful. Almost two decades ago, the New Holland Business Association (NHBA) decided to add a little color to the town’s sidewalks during the warmer months. Since that time, more than 60 planters filled with a variety of blooms and accents have lined Main Street during the warmer months. Each year, sponsoring businesses and organizations purchase a membership for a fee that covers the placement of the planter, planting, and watering, as well as a nameplate with the name of the sponsor on the side. Sponsors need not be located in New Holland
to order a planter, since NHBA members come from Earl Township, East Earl Township, and the borough of Terre Hill, as well as New Holland. Setting out those planters following Mother’s Day each spring and bringing them in around the time of the New Holland Fair is