Pequea Valley SEPTEMBER 17, 2025
SERVING OUR COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
REACHING MORE THAN 7,160 HOMES
VOL LXI • NO 39
Library To Celebrate 50th With Jubilee BY ANN MEAD ASH
“( T he Intercourse Librar y) star ted in 1975 in the little schoolhouse,” stated Catherine O’Sullivan, director of the Intercourse Library, of the history of the organization. The schoolhouse O’Sullivan spoke of is still located at the corner of Route 340 and Evergreen Street in Intercourse. In 2007, the library moved to its present location at 31 Center St., Intercourse, and that will be the setting for the organization’s Golden Jubilee, which will celebrate the 50th anniversary. The event, which will feature wine tasting, hearty hors d’oeuvres, and desserts, will be held on Saturday, Oct. 4, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. A silent auction, including a number of items, and live music will be part of the event. The Jubilee recalls an annual Organizers of the Intercourse Library Golden Jubilee (from left) Mary Alice High, Michele Lichty, Kathy Bolton, See Intercourse Library pg 8 and Barbara Thompson display quilts that will be part of a silent auction at the event.
JUNE 11, 2025
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXI • NO 25
“Swing!” Will Connect Audiences With Their Mojo BY JEFF FALK
Swing music. And the performers of Servant Stage. What possesses the power to “Swing originated in the 1920s bring a tap to your toes, to put and was popular in the 1930s and a bounce in your step, to bring a ’40s,” said Johnathan Bauer, who snap to your fingers? founded Servant Stage in 2013. See “Swing!” pg 8
Gathering a Village
Local residents watch birds during a recent East Lampeter Township recreation department activity.
Local Recreation Promotes Healthy Work-Life Balance
ast Lampeter Township is 12 months into its grand recreation exper iment. Time for an update. While results have been mostly mixed, some positive and quantifiable progress has been realized. But much work remains in the new recreation department’s mission to get the word out and provide activities that appeal to a majority of East Lampeter Township residents. “I always feel like we can be doing more and reaching more people,” said Lisa Cleveland, who as recreation director makes up East Lampeter Township’s one-person recreation department. “Growth
is not resting. Am I happy where we are in the time we got here? Yes. Do we have more work to do? Yes. The opportunities are endless, so there are always things that are going to be new.” Since officials made the commitment to provide recreational opportunities to the township’s citizens on May 28, 2024, by hiring Cleveland as recreation director, the newly formed East Lampeter Township Recreation Department has instituted a number of programs and activities, some of which have been well received. The department has provided community events like movie nights, a fall festival and an Easter egg hunt; youth events like Hero Hang-Out, Touch-a-Truck
and a summer playground program; fitness and yoga programs; and educational programs like a bird walk and Exploring the Night Sky. This spring, the department introduced a community gardens program that allows individuals and families to rent plots of land at Community Park for growing vegetables, plants and flowers. Twelve of the 16 available plots are currently being utilized. The recreation department has also placed a strong emphasis on promoting and utilizing township facilities like Community Park, Flory Park, Lafayette-Tower Park and Gibbons Park at Nolt’s Mill, as well as fostering relationships with like-minded community partners.
LCWG Is Made Up of a Bunch of Do-Gooders
BY JEFF FALK
Good is universal, timeless and objective. Because it mirrors God, good is good. The Lancaster County Women for Good (LCWG) group knows some things about the concept of doing good. It’s part of the all-volunteer organization’s mission, purpose and reason for existing. “We use that word a lot, ‘good,’” said Anna Horst, the chairperson of the five-member board that oversees LCWG’s operations. “It’s
See Recreation Department pg 4
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in our name. I think it’s safe to say our connections and providing nonprofits with resources is part of the good we aim to do. I think there are a number of nonprofits in Lancaster County who have amazing missions. They’re real people trying to help real people. They are problems that a majority of us would agree need to be solved. Maybe we need to be more clear by what we mean by ‘good.’” LCWG, which does not operate from a physical office or building, conducts more than 15 membership events each year, including
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Pequea Valley High School First Choice Career Center coordinator Jared Erb oversees the junior mentoring program, which pairs students with local business people to help develop job skills.
“Our mission is to help every person be able to take steps toward their First Choice (Career Path),” said Jared Erb, First Choice Career Center coordinator with Pequea Valley High School (PVHS). “There’s this notion about a destination, and once you get there, you have reached your first choice,” said Erb. “(But) I think this is a direction rather than a destination.” That mission has led Erb to gather 64 mentors from the surrounding business community to work with current junior class members at PVHS. Beginning in September, students and mentors will meet monthly for breakfast and follow a specific plan to See PVHS pg 3
BY CAT SHANNON
Matt Dorgan took heartbreak and turned it into hope and healing. On Dec. 3, 2020, his 15-year-old daughter, Brianna, died by suicide after a long struggle with mental health. “Her passing shook us to our core,” he said, noting that close friends rallied around him but he knew he could not just simply See Building Bridges pg 4
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Cast members perform a musical number from Servant Stage’s production of “Swing!”
In your mailbox & online BY JEFF FALK
Building Bridges for Brianna Inspires Hope
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