Octorara townlively.com
APRIL 19, 2023
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL XXXIII • NO 7
Driving tractors to school
Sew Much Love Parkesburg church offers sewing ministry
Octorara students to continue tradition BY FRANCINE FULTON
Sew Much Love members include (from left) Patches DiGregorio, Patricia Nafziger, Judy Lobasso and Sheila Hershey Williamson.
e have plenty to do and (always need more) hands to do it,” said Sheila Hershey Williamson when inviting community members to take part in Sew Much Love meetings, held monthly at Parkesburg Mennonite Church. The goal of the sewing ministry is to make handmade items for people in need, including prayer shawls, blankets, pillowcases for hospitalized children and dresses for girls in Africa. All are welcome to attend the gatherings, which are held on the second Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to noon. in the church’s fellowship hall. Sewers of all experience levels are welcome, as well as those with no experience. “We have non-sewing projects for people who want to help, but sewing is not their thing,” said Williamson.
See Sewing ministry pg 4
Lourdes Dorian (back) and her sister, Blessing, are among the youngest participants in the Sew Much Love group. Both are learning how to sew.
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“This work would be fleece blankets, and the big push now is knotted comforters. If you can tie a knot, you can do a comforter.” The knotted comforters are distributed by the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), a Christian relief organization. “These comforters are sent all over the world and the United States,” said Williamson, noting that 46,000 comforters were shipped out from MCC last year, 22,000 of which went to Ukraine. “They also distribute food, medical equipment (and other items) to wherever they are needed.” The Sew Much Love group started by making pillowcases for patients at Penn State Health Center Children’s Hospital in Hershey, which it continues to do. It also teaches people how to sew. “When we first started, Patty (Nafziger), Jane (Rudewick) and I were just
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See Tractors pg 7
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BY FRANCINE FULTON
In the 1980s, the National Future Farmers of America organization, now called the National FFA Organization, encouraged students to drive their tractors to school as the culmination of the celebration of National FFA Week. Today, that tradition continues. Locally, the Octorara JuniorSenior High School FFA chapter will present “Drive Your Tractor to School Day” on Friday, April 21. Students are being asked to park their tractors on Highland Road across from the high school between 7 and 8 a.m. Tractors will be judged, and the best overall tractor will win a prize. According to Helena Martin, Octorara FFA adviser, the Octorara chapter has held the event in years past, with a break in 2022. “A lot of FFAs around the country still do this,” she stated. “We normally do it during FFA Week, but the weather is not always the best, so we (chose) April before planting season starts when people need their tractors.” Martin said a variety of tractors have been on display in past years, and the machines are visible from the Octorara Primary Learning Center and the Octorara elementary and intermediate schools. “We have had classic antique tractors and super big modern tractors,” she said. “They park across the street from the high school, so the kids can see them coming in. Everyone slows down to watch. It is something to see.” The event provides students of all ages an opportunity to see a tractor close up. “Teachers bring their classes over and look at them,” Martin noted. “(Youngsters) see tractors in a field working, but not up close.”