Elizabethtown FEBRUARY 3, 2021
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL LXII • NO 2
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Masonic Village Recognized For Wellness Programs BY CATHY MOLITORIS
Wellness is at the heart of everything that happens at Masonic Village at Elizabethtown. Thanks to that mission, the retirement community recently won the Pinnacle and Beacon awards from the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA) and NuStep for fostering a wellness-centered environment to benefit residents and employees.
John Enterline (left) and David Abel, shown inside a replica of a Woolworth store, are busy preparing the National Christmas Center for its new home in Elizabethtown.
Bringing Out The Joy Of Christmas BY CATHY MOLITORIS
avid Abel describes himself as a visionary. Thanks to his vision, the National Christmas Center will have a new home in Elizabethtown. For almost 20 years, the National Christmas Center operated in Paradise, until owner Jim Morrison closed the business in early 2018. Abel purchased the site’s contents in late 2018, with the plan of opening a new center at Stone Gables Estate in Elizabethtown. The center is scheduled to open in the Barns of Belmont, 1 Hollinger Lane, in a few years. In the meantime, the public will have a chance to see the work-in-progress in its temporary location in Middletown during the Christmas season later this year. “We will be having private viewings by ticket that are open to the public starting at Christmastime,” Abel noted. He anticipates it will take two years to build the center’s new home in Elizabethtown and two years to set up the contents.
See Wellness pg 2
Nancy and William Pearson enjoy the walking paths at Masonic Village at Elizabethtown. The retirement community recently won two awards for its focus on wellness.
Submissions Sought For Mental Health Blog
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Pork, Sauerkraut Dinner Planned . . . . . . . . .2 Business Directory . . . . . .3
BY CATHY MOLITORIS
When it comes to mental health, sharing stories can help reduce stigma, provide support and offer answers. That’s the hope behind a new blog launched on Mental Health America of Lancaster County’s website. The organization created its new website, https://mhalancaster.org, in November 2020, and it launched the blog in January.
VFW Posts Youth Singing Contest . . . . . . . .5 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 House Of Worship . . . . . . .8 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . .9
See Blog pg 5
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birth of Christ, the new center will feature a boys’ toy store full of models, trains, toy soldiers and more, as well as a girls’ toy store featuring elaborate oversized dollhouses dating to the 1800s. Rooms will be dedicated to Lancaster County history as well and will feature an area that replicates storefronts of Columbia from the past. Abel will be overseeing construction of the center in Middletown, which will be built in a way that makes it easy to take apart and transport to Elizabethtown once the new site is ready. “I am a visionary,” he emphasized. “I can see it, but I can’t build it.” Still, he knows what he envisions will touch the hearts of visitors. “We want to highlight the awe and wonder of Christmas and its traditions,” he noted. “People want nostalgia. We are doing this to bring out the joy Christmas brings to children. We want to bring out the joy in the child in everyone, no matter how old they are.”
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“I had visited the National Christmas Center years ago with my children, and I was really sad when I heard it was closing,” Abel stated. “Then I met Jim Morrison, and that got the ball rolling. I believe God ordained that meeting and guided me to make the Christmas Center part of Stone Gables Estate. Our mission is to tell the true meaning of Christmas, so this fits perfectly with that.” In an office building off of Route 230 in Middletown, Abel is busy working with a team of contractors, along with co-curators John Enterline and Morrison, to not only set up the items originally housed in the Christmas Center, but also expand its offerings. “The original National Christmas Center was 20,000 square feet,” Abel noted. “The new one will be 40,000 square feet.” Along with items and displays found in the original center, including a life-size reproduction of a Woolworth store, a vast collection of Santas and scenes depicting the
The ICAA NuStep Pinnacle Award is given to senior living communities in North America that rank among the top five in the Best in Wellness category. The Beacon Award goes to organizations ranked among the top 25 communities. “We had to apply for the awards, including writing a narrative and sending in pictures and publications to support our wellness programs,” said Stacy Schroder, director of wellness and prevention. “We found out we won over the summer, but things were delayed due to COVID, so we were officially recognized in December (2020).” Wellness, Schroder said, is a cornerstone of Masonic Village. “It’s the hub of everything we do,” she noted. “We look at how we can improve the lifestyles of the people who live here as well as the people who work here. ... We want to help everybody be as well as they want to be. We’re passionate about helping employees and residents improve their quality of life.”
Miller-Finkenbinder Funeral Home & Crematory Elizabethtown | 717-367-1543 Thomas W. Ford, Supervisor
Fager-Finkenbinder Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. Middletown | 717-944-7413 Alana A. Ace, Supervisor