Columbia/Hellam/Wrightsville
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JULY 13, 2022
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXIII • NO 21
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Bats In The Basement BY CATHY MOLITORIS
Chris Raudabaugh demonstrates letterpress printing.
The original entryway for Brenneman’s Feed Mill, now part of Art Printing
100 Years Of Printing History the owner, and by 2017, he was looking to move the business out of Lancaster city. He learned that the here is a deep history in building on Locust Street was for this building,” said Chris sale. “It was S&G Printing at the Raudabaugh, owner of Art time, so it was already set up as a Printing, located at 131 Locust St. print shop,” Chris recalled. “It was a in Columbia. The building makes perfect fit.” the perfect site for the printing Chris admits he was anxious about business, which also has a deep moving a longtime company, but his history - it celebrates its 100th wife, Amy, was excited. “As soon as I anniversary this year. saw this building, I wanted it,” she said. She was drawn to the building’s unique architecture, history and reputation as a haunted site. Constructed in 1804 for Samuel Miller, the building also housed the Columbia Bank and Bridge Company and was a stop on the Underground Railroad, Chris said. “It’s been said members of the Union Army had meetings here to discuss the burning of the bridge,” he noted, referring to the well-known local event often recognized as a turning point of the Civil War. Brenneman’s Feed Mill moved into the building in the late 1800s. In the 1920s, the Baker Toy Company moved in, followed by Chris and Amy Raudabaugh are in the process of restoring their building to its S&G Printing before Art Printing took up residence. original charm. BY CATHY MOLITORIS
The building’s long and colorful history has led many to believe Amy and Chris included - that the premises are haunted. Chris has been alone in the building when the dial on his grandmother’s old-fashioned radio has moved, or clock hands have spun. He’s heard footsteps upstairs, and he tries to avoid the building’s third floor, which he deems “creepy.” Amy said she has photographic evidence of ghosts, and as recently as mid-June, she was nudged down a step by an unseen force. The spooky atmosphere of the building makes it the perfect location for Ghost Tours on Locust, which also operates out of the site. Art Printing serves customers throughout Lancaster, York and Harrisburg, with three types of fullservice printing: letterpress, offset and digital. Chris is a jack of all trades in the company, doing everything from printing and binding to deliveries. “I like to get out to see my customers,” he said. “How many companies do you know where the owner hand-delivers the product?” Looking to the future, Chris and Amy plan to continue to renovate the building, restoring it to be historically accurate. In the meantime, they are enjoying being a part of Columbia. “Columbia is a growing town,” Chris said. “Great things are happening here.
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“Art Printing started in 1922 on King Street in Lancaster,” Chris noted. It moved to the Cabbage Hill neighborhood in Lancaster in the early 1970s. After graduating from Conestoga Valley High School, Chris worked for several printers before walking into Art Printing one day in 2000. The business wasn’t hiring, but Chris made a case for himself, and he got the job. By 2004, he was
Every three hours, an alarm goes off in Rosemarie Curcio’s house. It lets her know it’s time to feed the pups. But, these aren’t the kind of pups you may be picturing; instead, they are baby bats, and at the moment, 10 of them live in a bat nursery in the basement of Curcio’s Marietta home. For more than 30 years, Curcio has been rescuing and rehabbing bats. “I’ve always been interested in wildlife,” she said. Originally from New York, she volunteered at an animal rescue but didn’t focus on bats until she spent time in bat boot camp at Bat World Sanctuary in Texas over two summers, and she found her true calling. “So much focus is on the ‘glamour’ species that need help - the wolves, the bald eagles - bats are the ugly ones,” she remarked. “I’m always for the underdog. I’m fascinated by bats.” She began caring for bats in her New York City apartment - without telling her landlord - and when she retired from teaching special education, she relocated to Marietta in 2009. See Bats pg 3
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Business Directory . . . . . .3 Family Fun Fest Slated . . .4 Celebrating A Milestone . .4 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . .6 House Of Worship . . . . . . .8
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