Manheim Central JULY 16, 2025
JULY 26 TASTE OF MOUNT JOY CRUISIN CUSINE CAR SHOW 11:00 A.M. TO 2:30 P.M.
AUG. 9 PLEIN AIR QUICK DRAW Presented by Mount Joy Area Historical Society
8:00 A.M. TO 2:00 P.M.
OCT. 24 DOWNTOWN SPOOKTACULAR Presented by Mount Joy Area Chamber of Commerce
DEC. 6 WINTERFEST
2:00 P.M. TO 5:00 P.M.
VISIT
Mount Joy
Growing Connections at Hoffer Farm O
VOL LXVI • NO 25
Lancaster’s Forgotten Major League Legacy
BY CAT SHANNON
BY CAT SHANNON
livia St. Clair’s role at Pleasant View Communities is not one that typically comes to mind when thinking of the retirement industry. Since September of last year, St. Clair has served as farm manager of Hoffer Farm, the on-site small-scale farm in Manheim that is home to a few alpacas, goats, sheep and chickens as well as a robust hydroponics growing system that yields a wide variety of vegetables. St. Clair, who grew up in Harrisburg and graduated from Penn State with a degree in plant sciences, brings with her extensive experience in farming. She worked at a farmers market and orchard in high school, but discovered her passion for agriculture in college, where she became a proponent of local, sustainable food and educating others about how to grow it themselves. “You can explain the feeling to someone, but it’s unmatched to see the joy on someone’s face whenever they plant a seed and then get to be rewarded by the plant whenever it produces the fruit, flower or vegetable,” she said. “It’s a one-ofa-kind and special feeling.” She was drawn to the role at Pleasant View - the first of its kind at the site - for many reasons. It will allow her to teach others while also learning from the people she works alongside. “I am most excited to start growing things and getting an actively producing farm up and running!” she said. “There are so many opportunities to establish educational opportunities and get people involved, so I’m excited
financial support as well as regulations will be the visible obstacles that we will be encountering and trying to overcome,” she said, adding that she has a team of dedicated people helping her achieve her goals for the farm. “We have a master plan that we are chipping away at, but we have some preliminary plans that are in the works right now.” Those plans include building three high tunnels that will allow seedling growth and provide a season and production extension, as well as developing high-density orchards and educational gardens. In the time she’s been on-site, St. Clair has taken an active role
In the heart of Lancaster city, land at the junction of Juliette and Frances avenues hides a secret, and it’s one that local resident Jeremy Raff is determined to bring back into the light. Nearly a century ago, the site housed Rossmere Base Ball Park, where some of baseball’s greatest talents played, but their stories have long gone untold. In the 1920s, Rossmere hosted the Harrisburg Giants, an Eastern Colored League team led by center fielder and player-manager Oscar Charleston, whom historians rank among the greatest baseball players of all time. Alongside him were teammates like Rap Dixon, a talented outfielder and all-around powerhouse, and Clarence “Fats” Jenkins, a dynamic leadoff hitter who later starred in basketball and earned a spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. T hou g h Jack ie Robins on broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947, Lancaster had hosted major league-level Black baseball decades earlier - a fact often forgotten until Major League Baseball officially recognized Negro League statistics as major league records in 2020. Also largely forgotten was the role Lancaster city played in promoting Negro League games. From 1925-27, the Giants played 20 exhibitions at Rossmere and several league games with thousands of fans in attendance. The players thrilled crowds with feats like their triple steal in the eighth inning of their first league game at Rossmere on April 26,
See Hoffer Farm pg 3
See Legacy pg 4
Olivia St. Clair with some furry friends at Hoffer Farm
to see how I can impact the lives in the community. … There is so much potential for this space, and I feel so honored to be allowed to steward the land.” She also enjoys being a part of an industry that’s small but important. “Farmers make up less than 3% of the working world, so it means so much more as a young woman farmer to have a hand in creating something powerful that will serve the community,” she stated. She knows the role also presents a few challenges, included getting the farm fully operational. “Navigating the funding and
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