Greater Hershey Area ALSO SERVING HUMMELSTOWN AND MIDDLETOWN
townlively.com
SEPTEMBER 22, 2021
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
VOL XXXIV • NO 12
MARA Names Recreation Manager, Offers Programming BY FRANCINE FULTON
“I want MARA to be the biggest and the best and, with that said, still offer quality programs,” said Nate Diegel, the new recreation programs manager for Middletown Area Recreation Alliance (MARA). “I want our mission and our vision to stay true. I want to serve the people in the community and be that premier (organization) in the recreation industry.” A silent auction will be held as part of the Hershey History Center’s 24th annual Preservation Gala on Oct. 2.
Hershey History Center To Host Tour, Gala BY FRANCINE FULTON
he spirit, perseverance and resourcefulness of Italians who immigrated to the United States and lived and worked in the Hershey area will be celebrated during La Festa Italiana, to be presented by the Hershey History Center. Events will begin on Saturday, Sept. 25, when the history center will host its annual Preservation Tour. This year’s tour will highlight where the Italian immigrants worked, including the quarries and later the chocolate factory, as well as the music and food that they enjoyed and where they worshipped. Attendees will ride trolleys for the tour, which will depart from the history center, 40 Northeast Drive, Hershey, at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. “As they drive around, (they will hear) stories about the town and there will be actors who illustrate the stories,” said history center executive director Nikki Soliday. “Our guests will be able to get off the trolley and experience part of the story we are telling. There may be food samples. We did a tour last
See MARA pg 4
Nate Diegel
FIA Receives Recognition, Plans Banquet Friends In Action International (FIA), a nonprofit organization located in Middletown, recently received a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, an independent charity evaluator. Only a quarter of the 1.5 million charities rated have achieved this status. In 2022, Friends In Action will celebrate its 30th year of “supporting mission work in areas of limited infrastructure by using construction projects and practical service to speed the Gospel to those who have never heard.”
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Church Schedules Food Truck Event . . . . . . .2 House Of Worship . . . . . . .3 Symphony Plans New Season . . . . . . . . . . .4 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . .10
See FIA pg 3 R075009
and a brand-new tour focusing on different features of the Italian (community),” noted Soliday. The 2020 tour will visit the village of Swatara Station and the Italianowned businesses throughout Hershey, with a stop at the Italian Lodge. The new tour will visit the original St. Joan of Arc Church and convent and the quarries. The events are held in keeping with the mission of the Hershey History Center, which is “to preserve, promote and interpret” the heritage of the local community. “Every year we take our preservation event and create a theme that is tied to Hershey’s history,” Soliday explained. “One year it was focused on (the town of) Hershey (in) Cuba, which once produced sugar (for the Hershey chocolate factory). Another year we wrote, directed and produced a documentary on the Hershey Bears, and we premiered the documentary during the gala.” A link to purchase tickets for the gala and the tour can be found at www.hersheyhistory.org or www .facebook.com/hersheyhistory.org. For more information, call the history center at 717-520-0748.
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
PRSRT STD ECRWSS U.S. Postage Paid Engle Printing Co
POSTMASTER: PLEASE DELIVER SEP. 22, 2021
Postal Patron
HCC
T
year, and when we stopped at the Hershey Italian Lodge, they got to play bocce. “ At the history center, there will be a variety of activities to enjoy. Guests will learn about winemaking and stomp grapes, play Italian card games and listen to Italian music. An Italian lunch will be included for all tour participants. The following week, on Saturday, Oct. 2, at 6 p.m., the Hershey History Center will present its 24th annual Preservation Gala at St. Joan of Arc Parish, 359 W. Areba Ave., Hershey. Highlights of the gala will include authentic Italian cuisine, live Italian music by Crooner Rich and a silent auction. An Italian Mass at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church will precede the gala at 5 p.m. The annual awards presentation will also be held during the gala, which recognizes homeowners and businesses that preserve their properties and buildings in keeping with their original design and architecture. Because of the pandemic, the tour took place in 2020, but the gala did not. “There will be two tour scripts - one from last year
Diegel is a graduate of Temple University, where he earned a degree in sports and recreation management. He is currently studying online at Slippery Rock University to earn a master’s degree in business administration. His previous experience was at Greater Elizabethtown Area Recreation & Community Services (GEARS), where he began volunteering as a teenager and worked his way up to program coordinator. In his new role with MARA, Diegel has a goal to provide a thriving recreational program that will positively impact the community and include events for people of all ages. Diegel explained that MARA is a joint partnership between Middletown Borough, Royalton Borough, Lower Swatara Township and Middletown Area School District. “We are serving those communities, but we also serve people outside the district that want to take our classes and participate in the things that we offer,” he said.
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