Elizabethtown townlively.com
DECEMBER 13, 2023
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
Welcome 2024 with a community celebration
Riding in support of veterans BY CATHY MOLITORIS
Fifteen years ago, Tyler Stumpf and his friend Jeff Andrews were sitting around “solving the world’s problems,” Stumpf recalled with a laugh, when they came up with an idea. “We said, ‘Let’s go for a ride on New Year’s Day,’” said the avid motorcycle rider. “A few other people heard about our plans, and we had 11
BY CATHY MOLITORIS
W
hen it comes to celebrating New Year’s Eve, the folks at Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church in Elizabethtown like to do things a little differently. “We count down to the new year at 7 p.m., because that’s the time it’s midnight in Letterkenny, Ireland, which is the sister city of Elizabethtown,” said pastor A.J. Domines.
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participants that first year.” The group decided to raise money with the ride, donating the proceeds to the Lebanon VA Medical Center. “I think we might have raised $400 that first year,” Stumpf said. “This event turned into much more than I ever could have expected.” He’s not kidding. Last year’s New Year’s Day ride featured the most participants ever - upward of 500 bikes and 600 See Riding pg 3
“We also raise a lit star on a flagpole. Our claim to fame here is, everywhere else, they drop something. We do not drop anything. We lift up the star, which is the symbol of Christmas and the Wise Men coming in a few days.” Welcome 2024 will be held in and around the church, 125 E. High St., Elizabethtown, from 3 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 31. “We’ll start with a chicken barbecue from Kauffman’s BBQ,” said Phil Clark, a member of the event committee. The meal will be available to eat in or to go, with tickets available for purchase in advance at the church office or at the door. It will be served from 3 to 6:45 p.m. and will feature a half-chicken, a baked potato, applesauce, a roll and butter and a drink. Additional food options will be served in the church social room
A ride to benefit veterans will feature hundreds of motorcycles.
Honoring Old Glory BY CATHY MOLITORIS
Members of the event committee invite people to Welcome 2024.
and will be offered free of charge. Food will include hot dogs and three kinds of soup - tomato basil, beef vegetable and chicken and rice. Outside, free popcorn and hot chocolate will be served, along with s’mores over a firepit. At 3 p.m., juggler Chris Ivey will perform in the church sanctuary. “At 5:30, we’ll have our Music on High series with a carol sing in the sanctuary,” said music director Kevin Gane.
“People are invited to join in.” Outside, a DJ will provide musical entertainment throughout the event. Bingo will be held in the Lutheran Lodge on-site from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., and a variety of events will also take place at the Winters Heritage House Museum, located at 47 E. High St. The museum will host hearth cooking demonstrations, as well as children’s crafts and entertainment
After more than a year of planning, fundraising and construction, a permanent home for flag retirement is now established in Veterans Grove on the Masonic Village campus. It was the site of a special ceremony in October, when the location was dedicated, and hundreds of flags were retired. “Before this, we were using a cut-off oil drum that (the) maintenance (department) had given us,” said Ben Hoenich, describing the former flag retirement site. “It wasn’t bad; it burned the flags,
but now we have a 12-by-12foot pad, and in the center of it, there’s a pretty serious firepit with stainless steel inserts.” Hoenich, a Masonic Village resident and commander of the York Camp - Heroes of ’76, spearheaded the project to create the site, working with the maintenance department at Masonic Village and AB Landscape & Construction to complete it. At the dedication, members of the National Sojourners Harrisburg Chapter 76 led a ceremony called “When Duty Is Done.” They were joined by members of the York Camp See Honoring pg 2 R101812
See Welcome pg 2
Let us show you the difference a caring neighbor can make. Rothermel-Finkenbinder Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc. Palmyra | 717-838-9211 Travis S. Finkenbinder, Supervisor
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“It’s a great way for families with young children to celebrate without having to stay up until midnight.”
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