Morgantown/Honey Brook townlively.com
JANUARY 1, 2025
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL XXXII • NO 48
Make a difference as an English tutor in the new year BY FRANCINE FULTON
Glenn Ritter (left) of Honey Brook, and his wife, Lin
passing the Pennsylvania state licensing exam for architecture. Glenn was licensed in February of 1970. He next worked for Leon Altemose until he was laid off and began his own firm in 1975. Among many buildings, Glenn designed a five-story building for the elderly in Souderton and a library at Westminster Theological Seminary. In 2004, Glenn was living in Harleysville, when his car was hit head-on by another car, and Glenn was taken by helicopter to the Lehigh Valley Hospital trauma unit. His injuries were serious, and Glenn spent several days in
Terri Potrako, executive director of the Volunteer English Program ( VEP) in Chester County, has a message for Chester County residents interested in volunteer opportunities. “If you are looking for more ways to help in the new year, please consider becoming an English language tutor,” she said. VEP, which has served the county for more than 38 years, is a nonprofit organization that provides free one-to-one tutoring for adults looking to improve their English language skills. Tutors can help students with tasks such as taking part in a job interview, speaking with a doctor or helping their child with his or her homework. Tutors also help students understand American culture. Tutors and students are asked to make a yearlong commitment to the program. A teaching background or knowledge of another language is not necessary to become a tutor.
See Trains pg 5
See Volunteer tutors pg 4
Glenn Ritter’s train layout in his home, which has been part of a community Christmas tour in the past.
A love for the Lord, buildings and trains
I
n 1947, when Glenn Ritter of Honey Brook was 6 years old, his parents bought him a new set of Lionel trains. Each year, the train cars ran under the family Christmas tree. Glenn’s aunt and uncle owned a model train store in New Jersey, so he grew up collecting and running model trains. By the time he was 9 years old, Glenn knew he wanted to be an architect, and at the age of 11, he accepted Jesus as his Savior. Glenn recalled that after finishing his homework on Oct. 22,
1952, he opened his Bible and was confronted with God’s truth. Glenn prayed to receive Jesus and immediately experienced a warmth and a feeling of peace. The memory still brings tears of joy to his eyes. In 1961, he attended a Billy Graham crusade, where he rededicated his life to Christ. Raised on a farm in Worcester Township, Montgomery County, Glenn lost his father at the age of 15. After graduating from Norristown High School, he attended Drexel’s day college course in Civil Engineering. “ T hat was the closest (the
school offered) to architecture,” said Glenn, who noted that his mother had $5,000 to help him through his first year of school. “I transferred to evening college of architecture so I could work during the day,” said Glenn, who completed architectural drawings for a firm in Ardmore to help put himself through school. Glenn worked for a number of Philadelphia-area architectural firms, including Howell Lewis Shay and Associates and Anthony T. Rienzzi. He then moved to Richard Martin & Associates, where he designed apartment buildings until
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