Columbia/Hellam/Wrightsville
townlively.com
FEBRUARY 2, 2022
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXII • NO 50
Serving Up Hope BY CATHY MOLITORIS
In March of 2016, Carol Heth was on a bus heading to New York City when inspiration struck. Having participated in an outdoor farm-totable dinner, Carol thought she could take the idea one step further. “I said, ‘How about if we do a dinner in the field on our property and at the same time, we help some people who are going through health hardships?’” she recalled. By April of 2016, Carol had rounded up a team to help bring her vision to life. By June, the group had three potential beneficiaries of the dinner and by the fall, the first meal was held. “I Sophia Vayansky (left) and Hope Byers with an interactive map in Columbia Crossing’s new exhibit
Sharing Columbia’s Stories scrapbook of Columbia’s history is on display at the Columbia Crossing River Trails Center, 41 Walnut St., but this is no ordinary scrapbook. It’s an interactive one, and you can help to fill it. “Columbia’s Storied Places” highlights the town through newspaper clippings, photos and personal stories of residents. One wall is dedicated to a display about the riverfront as well as a section about Columbia’s downtown. “The riverfront was really the hub of business for Columbia, and Third and Locust streets were the heart of downtown,” explained Hope Byers, Columbia Crossing director. Another wall features displays on public education and churches, and the last wall showcases an interactive map, where visitors are encouraged to add their own memories of Columbia and mark the spot where these memories happened. The idea for the exhibit came about after Byers and program coordinator Sophia Vayansky realized how often people came into the center asking about the buildings in town. “Columbia has a lot of
headline is ‘ Weasel Bests Cat.’ That was news at the time.” Advertisements showcase what was being performed at the Columbia Opera House, which was destroyed by fire in 1947, and an article describes a local pastor’s experience marching in Washington with Martin Luther King Jr. When the exhibit is finished, Byers and Vayansky plan to create a digital map of the stories, accessible on the center’s website. The center is also selling copies of “Images of America: Columbia, Marietta and Wrightsville,” which features some of the photos from the exhibit as well other photos and stories. Vayansky encourages people to continue to submit materials for the exhibit. “We want to make this meaningfully curated by the community,” she said. “This is an opportunity put these stories down permanently to share with others.” The center will host a series of lectures to complement the exhibit. The first one will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 23, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and will focus on the history of the opera house. For more information on the exhibit, visit https://susqnha.org/ columbias-storied-places/.
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beautiful buildings,” Byers said. “This exhibit is a way for us to tell the history of those buildings, but not in a sterile way just focusing on the architecture. We’re using newspaper clippings, photos and stories to bring these places to life.” Vayansky said people who visit the center often relay stories of their childhood growing up in Columbia. “This exhibit is giving people an opportunity to share those stories,” she stated. “This is important local history, and we want to hear these stories.” Stories on the interactive map relate everything from big events, such as the time John F. Kennedy came to town, to smaller ones, such as when someone felt an earthquake at their house or when a family visited A&W Root Beer for a treat. Byers and Vayansky spent hours combing through newspaper archives and working with both the Columbia Historic Preservation Society and LancasterHistory to find material for the exhibit, and they unearthed some entertaining news. “One article tells the story of a fight between a weasel and a cat in front of the Market House,” Byers commented. “The
Carol and Pete Heth
Celebrating Life Along The River BY CATHY MOLITORIS
There’s a rich history in the towns surrounding the Susquehanna River, and Rivertownes PA USA wants to preserve it. “Our mission is to cultivate art, heritage and recreation in the towns of Columbia, Marietta and Wrightsville,” said David Haneman, president of the nonprofit organization. See River pg 3
See Hope pg 2
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BY CATHY MOLITORIS
wasn’t sure how it was going to go or what we’d be able to do to help the recipients, and I thought it was a once-and-done thing, but it wasn’t,” she stated. Having raised more than $5,600 for each of the first year’s beneficiaries, Carol knew she was onto something. Seven years later, the nonprofit Lancaster County Field of Hope has not only held annual dinners each fall to help people who are facing unexpected medical issues but has expanded to raise funds throughout the year. “To date, we have helped 26 recipients and their families, and we are just shy of giving $235,000 away to individuals,” Carol remarked. Carol and her husband, Pete, are no strangers to helping others. Throughout the years, the lifelong Lancaster County residents, who live in Columbia, have organized fundraisers for friends who needed help. They also open the kitchen at their