Manheim Township townlively.com
JANUARY 15, 2025
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health
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
At Overlook Activities Center, hockey’s on a roll
VOL XL • NO 33
City shares bike program with Manheim Township BY JEFF FALK
They’re two wheels, a set of handlebars, some energy and a little bit of balance. They’re exercise machines, avenues for recreation and alternative forms of transportation - a means to
BY JEFF FALK
O
n the one hand, it’s about playing a beloved sport and revisiting the days of youth. On the other, the pickup roller hockey program promotes staying young and remaining healthy. Sponsored by the Manheim Township Recreation and Park Planning Department (MTRPP), pickup roller hockey is one of the few organized programs out there designed to address the physical and mental health of adults, especially men.
wellness
get from point A to point B. An initiative of the city of Lancaster, the Bike It Lancaster bike share program is redefining the bicycle, its usage and its role in the community. “The overall purpose of the program is to encourage active See Bike share program pg 5
“They’re guys who just really love hockey and love the game,” said Jeff Green, an MTRPP program manager who’s overseen the pickup roller hockey program for the last eight years. “Ice skating is much different than roller or inline skating. It’s an avenue. These guys are friends, and they’ve gained friendships through pickup roller hockey. They’re just average guys. They come when they’re able to, and it’s open to everyone.” By nature, pickup roller hockey is very informal and laidback. Individuals 18 years old and older simply show up at Overlook Activities Center’s Roller Skating Rink, 301 Golf Drive, Lancaster, on Sundays between 7 and 10 a.m. Following a warm-up period, Green divides the group of individuals into teams of six to eight members. The teams play against
City of Lancaster special events manager Yazmin Way returns a bicycle to a Bike It Lancaster station. Roller hockey enthusiasts compete in a recent pickup game at Overlook Activities Center.
one another in an alternating fashion, for a designated period of time - for as long as 12 minutes - usually without keeping score. Pickup roller hockey is played at Overlook Activities Center from early December to the middle of March when many of the more formal local outdoor roller hockey leagues are on sabbatical for the winter. There is a fee involved with playing pickup roller hockey at Overlook. “It’s pickup hockey at an indoor facility,” said Green. “It’s a very old-school type of just show up. People get a good workout and a good skate in. I enjoy playing here because you are playing for fun. It’s very good exercise.” Roller hockey is different from
ice hockey in that each side consists of four skaters and a goalie, a ball is used in the place of a puck and the playing surface is wood instead of ice. Players at Overlook are required to wear gloves, helmets and shin pads for safety. “I wouldn’t consider it competitive,” said Green. “It’s recreational. Everybody’s paying the same, and we’re all there to have fun. We have some guys who are really good. A lot of the guys are regulars, but we make everyone feel welcome.” On any given Sunday, between 20 and 22 individuals show up to play roller hockey. The players hail from Manheim Township, East Petersburg, Ephrata and
The story of Stan BY ANN MEAD ASH
The influence that the late Stan Deen had on New Holland - as a teacher, a director, and a member of the community - is well known. Stan, who passed away in July of 2016, founded Garden Spot Performing Arts (GSPA), the Garden Spot High School (GSHS) auditorium is named for him, and, according to Mike Ressler, chair of the New Holland Area Historical Society (NHAHS) board of trustees, “Everybody (who knew him) has a Stan Deen story.” However, it was a chance
See Roller hockey pg 2
meeting between NHAHS founder Steve Loewen and Nate Deen, who was taken in by Stan as a GSHS student and on whose life with Stan the soon-to-bereleased film “Brave the Dark” is based, that has resulted in an exhibit called “The Remarkable Mr. Deen.” The display will take up the main room of the NHAHS Museum, 207 E. Main St., New Holland. No end date has been set for the exhibit. Nate and Loewen were both at a movie at Penn Cinema in early 2024. Their short conversation in the lobby led to lunch and to Nate visiting a car show Loewen See The story of Stan pg 3
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“It’s about the friendships you grow through hockey.”