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HIGHWAY PROMISE: LATER START, EARLIER FINISH, FEW DELAYS
The Route 117 resurfacing project may be getting a slightly later start
this month, but officials expect to finish it up early and avoid most of
the traffic tie-ups that some may be dreading.
“I don’t think there’ll be many delays,” says borough
chief Bill Care, who’s working closely with the contractor, Burkholder
Paving of Ephrata. “There’s no call for road closings. At least
one lane will be open at all times, and all the work here in the center
of town will be done by mid-May.”
The in-town efforts will include new storm sewers, stabilizing stream banks,
clearing and drainage—work that’s scheduled to be finished May
16, just before the official start of Mt. Gretna’s busy summer season.
Crews will then concentrate on portions of the highway that lie east of
town to Rte. 72 and west of Timber Bridge to Colebrook.
They expect to have everything done by Aug. 4—two weeks before the
Aug. 16-17 art show, traditionally Mt. Gretna’s busiest time of the
entire year when anywhere from 13,000 to 20,000 visitors pour into town
for a weekend of parties, family get-togethers and serious art shopping
under Chautauqua’s century-old trees.
First work will probably be visible around Feb. 11 as crews begin using
the construction site trailers set up near the roller rink. Once efforts
in the central part of Mt. Gretna are completed, paving operations will
move to outlying areas May 28 to June 11 with signs and guardrail installations
scheduled June 16-30. Final cleanup work will be done between July 1 and
Aug. 4,
THE CRISIS NOBODY NOTICED
It was perhaps more a matter of what didn’t happen than what did.
Undoubtedly, other concerns at the time took precedence. Among them: the
business of keeping cottages habitable during those three bone-chilling
days in December when Mt. Gretna endured its longest electrical outage in
recent memory. As temperatures plummeted, oil-burning lanterns suddenly
switched roles from ornamental to essential, wood-burning stoves struggled
to heat entire homes, and anxious residents peered late into the night through
unlit windows for a sign—any sign—of headlights from a Met Ed
truck.
Amid the turmoil, few people on the south side of town noticed that, although
light switches were useless and furnaces grew cold, somehow water—miraculously—still
poured from their kitchen faucets. Even days into the ordeal, the water
never stopped.
Ordinarily, the link between electricity and water is something that most
of us seldom think about. But consider this: water gets pumped from wells
or reservoirs. And what runs the pumps and keeps water flowing is electricity
– a fact that those using private wells know all too well.
Yet the circuitous flow of water to those whose homes and cottages were
built a century ago is even more complex. Some readers may recall that six
years ago, on New Year’s Day, the water stopped altogether for 69
homeowners in Mt. Gretna Heights. For 80 years before that, Heights residents
drew their water from a deep and dependable well. Day after day, year after
year it did its job faithfully. But on that first day of 2002, the well
collapsed. And people there suddenly were without water to drink, bathe
or—more seriously—supply hydrants if fire broke out.
Emergency actions soon followed. Firemen connected a 1,500-ft. hose from
the main Mt. Gretna water supply to the Heights. And for the next five months,
residents subsisted on rations that cut their daily water use by half. When
a new well finally began flowing at 50 gallons per minute, everyone rejoiced—and
then immediately set about the task of making sure that another such failure
in the future wouldn’t leave them stranded.
Mt. Gretna has three main water systems—in the borough (which encompasses
the Chautauqua), the Campmeeting and the Heights—all of which use
wells. The idea of connecting them had been considered in 1980, when Army
engineers studied the possibility and advised that an interconnect system
would cost about $100,000. That was a frightening sum in those days, and
equivalent to roughly $240,000 in today’s dollars. The projected cost
stopped plans for an interconnection right there. And until the Heights
well collapsed 20 years later, the idea lay dormant.
Yet few things focus the concentration of entire communities more sharply
than the last remaining drop from a spigot. The 1980 plan suddenly took
on renewed urgency. And, typically, Mt. Gretnans found a way to get the
job done at a cost far below the original estimate. About $30,000 in 2002,
equivalent to something like $14,000 in the early 1980s.
Once the Heights residents linked their system to the Mt. Gretna Authority,
Campmeeting residents soon did the same. That tied all three water systems
together.
Meanwhile, officials decided to add one more ingredient—a generator
that would cost around $18,000. They planned to install it alongside the
most dependable well in the entire system, Well No. 3, near Lafayette Avenue.
But was a generator truly needed—especially at that cost? Do power
failures really last for days at a time? Wouldn’t reservoir levels
be adequate for short periods without electricity? Good questions all. Yet
the planners decided to go ahead anyway and made the generator investment.
But not until last December was it used. Not until then did the area’s
interconnected system—with all the planning, all the theories—get
its first test.
In the borough, Bill Care’s crews were wary. Emergency plans called
for immediate actions, shutting down some reservoirs and activating others.
Scott Cooling and Joey Wise kept an eye on the pumps throughout long nights
as trees fell and ice-coated limbs crashed across power lines in one of
the worst ice storms Met Ed had seen in the past 20 years.
And all during those nights without electricity, while Mt. Gretnans huddled
under piled-on blankets in cottages absent their traditional holiday glow,
the system worked: Beautifully. Exquisitely. Such terms don't come naturally
to people who look after municipal water systems. But they probably describe
what those responsible for keeping those systems going surely felt. Throughout
the longest nights of December, the water continued to flow.
And, just as they had hoped, nobody noticed.
NOSTALGIA IN A PLACE WHERE TIME STOPS
When they asked Stacey Pennington, owner of Cleona’s Resource Island
store for teachers (and kids, too) to sponsor a talk about animals at the
Hall of Philosophy nearly two years ago, she could scarcely have realized
how much her life was about to change.
“We simply came out for the day to set up tables with animal books
and stickers from the store. Although I’d been to Mt. Gretna before,
it was the first time I’d really gotten a taste of what happens here
in the summer,” says Stacey, a Myerstown native, Lebanon Valley College
graduate and herself a former teacher.
She and her mom returned the next day with her two boys. They visited the
playground, then stopped in at the Jigger Shop for ice cream. “It
was one of those moments,” she says. “We looked at each other
and said, ‘This is an incredible area.’”
By the following April, her parents had bought the former “caretaker’s
cottage” on 2nd Avenue in the Campmeeting. By July, an aunt and uncle
from New Hampshire had also bought a place here. Shortly afterward, the
whole family was spending leisurely days on their porches—and mulling
over possibilities for a business that might go into the former gift shop.
“As we talked, everyone looked at me and said, ‘You could do
that.’” Suddenly, Gretna Emporium—a store for “nostalgic
items" and other interesting things for families to do together—was
born.
Stacey and her husband John, a Mechanicsburg native who works for the postal
service and for the past 13 years has helped keep things running at their
Cleona store, haven’t yet settled on all that their new venture will
encompass. But she hints at what’s to come: “I’d like
it to be an intriguing, nostalgic shop for both Mt. Gretna residents and
people who visit each summer. I want to make it inviting for people who
are just coming by to watch a play, or bringing their grandchildren over
for ice cream, to come up on the porch and discover things that involve
the whole family.” she says.
She’s aware, of course, that everybody is into computers nowadays—even
her own boys, soon to be 5 and 8. “But at the cottage last summer
there was "no computer, no TV—just sitting out on the porch and
playing games with the kids. Sometimes that gets lost in the family,”
she says. “Everybody’s busy—I am, too. But it’s
nice to just sit and play with your kids. That’s why I love selling
things that get people to. . ."—pausing as she searches for the
right word—“that get people to just stop.
“I think that’s also what I love about Mt. Gretna,” she
says. “It just makes you slow down—and stop.”
STUFF YOU WON’T READ ANYWHERE ELSE
[] How do you know there’s a fire company breakfast coming up Mar.
2?
Clue No. 1: If it’s March, July or November—those are the months
when you’ll always find breakfast at the fire hall on the first Sunday.
Clue No. 2: If you’re looking for the one place in town where all
your friends will be between 8 a.m. and noon, this is the place.
Clue No. 3: Follow Dale Grundon. He’s usually first in line.
The pay-what-you-want, eat-what-you-want feast includes pancakes and sausage,
eggs, potatoes, pastries, coffee, and juice—all for a donation you
stuff in a fireman’s boot upon entering the door.
[] Who’s this year’s Summer Calendar cover artist? All the arts
council committee will say so far is that it’s a woman, “a fantastic
person” but not yet widely known as a painter. That suggests, of course,
she’ll be making her debut this year as Mt. Gretna’s calendar
artist.
Meanwhile, as the annual intrigue builds around a publication that everybody
waits for and nobody wants to be without, the deadline for submitting entries
is fast approaching—Feb. 19 if you want to proofread your item before
it’s published, Mar. 1 if you don’t. And if you live some distance
away and wish to receive a copy by mail, send $1.40 to Mt. Gretna Arts Council,
P.O. Box 513, Mt. Gretna, PA 17064. The calendar is usually published a
week or so before the gala summer premier on Memorial Day weekend. Like
to advertise in this year’s edition? Call Jim Burchik, 964-3834.
[ ] Yes, there will be another end-of-season party at the lake Aug. 23,
a popular annual event started four years ago by sponsors (and Lindy Hop
enthusiasts) Ceylon and Karen Leitzel, who first learned the dance style
from Lindy Hop legend Frankie Manning himself. They not only thoroughly
enjoy the event but also turn proceeds over to community organizations such
as the fire company, Heritage Festival, the Bible Festival, United Methodist
Church, a choral group and Lawn Ambulance.
[] Gretna Theater producing director Larry Frenock added two more gold medals
to his collection this week. Both came at the Pennsylvania Figure Skating
competition where he won in both the Adult Artistic and Adult Bronze Men’s
categories. Enroute to the U.S. Adult National Figure Skating Competition
(where, at age 51, he earned silver and bronze medals last year), he’s
now getting up at 5:30 each morning to practice for the Adult Sectionals
competitions in March.
[] Erin Hannigan, who grew up along Timber Road and, as a teenager, scooped
ice cream here for four summers, has been named principal oboist of the
Dallas Symphony Orchestra. The Dallas Morning News says hers is “a
sound of breathtaking beauty.” She appeared locally in 2003 as part
of Gretna Music’s winter series. In the audience: a sizeable contingent
from the Jigger Shop.
[] How many more weeks of winter? Only Penny, the Penn Realty Groundhog
knows for sure. She’ll be out along Rte. 117 tomorrow morning—with
coffee, donuts and warm greetings.
BIGGEST NEWS OF THE MONTH!
In ordinary towns, this might not be big news. But Mt. Gretna is no ordinary
town.
Although everybody who winters over probably already knows it, at least
half of this newsletter’s readers—including snow birds sunning
themselves down South or toasting in warm western meccas—will be delighted
to read that a new breakfast spot opens Feb. 28.
Damien and Mariano Orea are ushering in a breakfast menu at the Mt. Gretna
Pizzeria every day of the week, from 7 to 11 a.m. And, of course, they’ll
also be open every day until 8 p.m., with their regular Italian offerings.
Eggs, omelets in favorite styles, French toast, pancakes, homefries and
other tasty side dishes round out the breakfast menu—one they introduced
briefly last year, winning rave reviews.
Their March special: two eggs, homefries and toast for $2.45.
As for their regular Italian favorites, Damien once told us what Mt. Gretnans
like best—and he’s got them all in a nearly 100-item finger-licking
lineup that includes pepperoni pizzas, cheese steaks, lasagna dinners; Italian
and smoked turkey subs; cheeseburgers and California burgers; tuna and grilled
chicken sandwiches.
You name it, they’ve got it (tel. 964-1853). And Damien and his dad
have been hard at work since they opened a year and a half ago, winning
their patrons’ business—as well as their respect.
ON A COLD NIGHT IN JANUARY WARM HEARTS ABOUND
Every so often, Mt. Gretnans get a chance to show how much they appreciate
their volunteer firemen. That opportunity came again last month—a
fundraising dinner to buy a generator for emergency shelter in the newly
expanded fire house. Final costs to install the unit came in at $13,900,
a bit more than originally estimated, but, especially for older residents
duirng power failures, it's essential.
Planners hoped maybe 100 or so folks might turn out for an Italian Night
dinner. But during a three-hour period, over 180 stopped by—enjoying
pasta and meatballs with friends, exchanging good-natured banter as they
waited for tables to clear in a jammed-packed hall, and stuffing checks
and cash donations into a firefighter’s boot at the door.
Those who attended contributed more than $4,200, some of it in $100, $500
and $1,000 increments. Others from out-of-state who couldn’t attend
but read about the effort sent checks, boosting totals so far to over $9,000.
Said Joe Shay, the fire company’s VP, “We were amazed.”
STUFF THAT’S GOOD TO KNOW
[] Ginger Pryor, who’s lived among the trees along Mine Road for the
past 25 years or so, says the sound of cracking limbs and falling branches
that awakened her on the morning of Dec. 16 left no doubt about what would
be her next project at the Penn State Extension Office: “I knew we’d
see trees uprooted, limbs shredded, and multi-trunked trees split,”
says Ginger, a staff horticulturalist.
She quickly turned out an article—“Assessing and Recovery of
Ice-Storm Damaged Trees”—especially to help Mt. Gretna area
homeowners decide what to do about trees damaged by the three-day storm.
For a copy, stop by the extension office, 2120 Cornwall Rd. (Tel. 270-4391).
Or drop her an e-mail request: gmp4@psu.edu
[] Photographer, artist and man-about-town Dale Grundon calls it “the
best ice skating on the lake in years” and has pictures to prove it
at http://www.MtGretna-PA.com.
[] Gretna Theater's local auditions are coming up Mar. 15, with plenty of
roles for both talented adults and children in a lineup that this year includes
large-cast shows such as “Shenandoah” and “The King and
I.” The auditions begin at noon in the Mt. Gretna fire hall. Details:
www.gretnatheatre.com/auditions.htm.
[] Violinist Adele Anthony returns to Gretna Music tomorrow night to complete
her 2- concert cycle of Bach’s partitas and sonatas for unaccompanied
violin. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. at Elizabethtown College’s
Leffler Performance Center. A pre-concert talk by WITF’s John Clare
starts at 6:30.
[] Looking for Mt. Gretna artwork even though you’re miles away? You’ll
find plenty of choices online at http://www.mtgretna.com/artscouncil/LocalArtist.html.
That’s the colorful new website for artists and artwork inspired by
Mt. Gretna. And if you know of an artist whose works ought to be included,
drop a note to Jessica Kosoff, edandjess@verizon.net.
[] Campmeeting president and Hershey Foods scientist Dr. Jeffrey Hurst has
co-published another article in the Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences—perhaps the world's most widely-quoted scientific journal.
He was part of a team exploring the remarkable uses early humans made of
cacao beans. Among their discoveries: Before it was used for chocolate,
the cacao bean was first used to make alcoholic drinks for feasting, entertaining
and community celebrations in 1000 B.C.-- 500 years earlier than anybody
had thought. No wonder Jeff's talks on chocolate at the community library
each summer are so popular.
SECRET ATTRACTIONS
In an age of DVDs, HDTV and TiVo, what is it that attracts Mt. Gretnans
to the Hall of Philosophy on a hot summer’s night?
If you said “Old Time Movie Night” you’re right. But that’s
only partly why people stroll into a hall where fans, not air conditioning,
remind folks they're in a building constructed a century ago.
To be sure, one big reason is the films themselves—“Wuthering
Heights,” “Stagecoach,” “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”
and “Babes in Arms”—all part of this summer’s lineup.
Another lure are lively talks by people like film buff Ted Martin, whose
Campmeeting cottage resonates with authentic 1930s furnishings and who helped
develop this year’s theme: "The Golden Year of Movies—1939,"
the year Technicolor first splashed across the screen.
But we think the real reason for those Wednesday nights-in-July pilgrimages
to the hall has more to do with something folks first felt 80 years ago.
Technical innovations aside, nobody’s yet come up with a way to beat
the fun of sitting among friends, watching good entertainment and munching
popcorn, says Kathie Erdman, a member of the films committee. That, and
a favorite refrain she’s heard again and again over the years, “They
just don’t make movies like this anymore.”
NUMBERS
12 Different bird species—everything from Red-bellied Woodpeckers,
Carolina Wrens, and Pine Siskins to Dark-eye Juncos—spotted in a two-hour
walk by the Mt. Gretna Bird Club. The newly formed group has begun meeting
at the Governor Dick Nature Center every Friday morning at 9 a.m., weather
permitting. Afterwards, they often amble over to Le Sorelle Porch and Pantry
Café.
Like to join them? Contact Sid Hostetter and Evelyn Koppel (mtgretnabirdclub@hotmail.com),
who’ve just moved to Mt. Gretna from Philadelphia. They love birding,
walking in the woods with others who enjoy nature, and are hoping to meet
new friends. He’s a retired science teacher who has spent many years
in birding and finds it a popular pastime for “a fairly large group
of folks.” Their first hike, in fact, attracted 12 fellow birders,
all eager to walk, watch and learn.
14 Age of Mt. Gretna United Methodist Church organist and choir director
Ryan Brunkhurst, featured Jan. 30 in the Harrisburg Patriot-News. “We
recognized his talent, so we wondered, how can we use it,” said pastor
Janet Steger. “We’re a very different community.” Added
choir member Cheryl Burke, “If you close your eyes when he’s
playing, it sounds like a cathedral.” See
http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/120166351127290.xml&coll=1&thispage=1
140 Digital applications already received from artists vying to get into
the 34th annual Mt. Gretna Art Show Aug. 16-17. The deadline isn’t
until April 1, and artists now submit their entries electronically, via
the ZAP online system (see http://www.mtgretnaarts.com/index.html).
Show coordinator Linda Bell is impressed with digital images she’s
seen so far. “There’s some very nice stuff there.”
3,000 Miles that Lancaster Avenue cyclist Robin Smith will ride this June
in the Race Across America (RAAM), "the world’s toughest bike
race."
Robin will be one of 250 contestants, and part of a four-person team (two
women, two men) riding non-stop from Oceanside, Calif. to Annapolis, Md.
in about seven days.
Supporting them will be a 14-man crew that includes a bike mechanic, massage
therapist and drivers of four vehicles. Her team hopes to raise about $180,000
for charities including the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition, a fibromyalgia
group, and Hershey’s Vista school for autistic children among others.
For sponsorship details, contact her at robin@geigerloria.com
The RAAM event attracts top ultra endurance athletes from around the world.
(Robin was chosen after completing the “Nightmare Ride”—200
miles in a single day—last year.) Her team will work in shifts, with
the women riding 30 minutes each for four hours, then resting the next four
hours as the men continue the round-the-clock race. They’ll ride over
the Rockies and through higher elevations near Pittsburgh and the mountains
of West Virginia. When they reach Pennsylvania, husband Shawn Harbaugh and
other Mt. Gretnans will be there to meet them in towns such as Hanover to
cheer them on. Says Robin: “That will be huge.”
SYLVAN PARADISE
Something tugs at the heart when people find they must give up their homes
and cottages in Mt. Gretna. Bowing to the realities of advancing age, family
circumstances or job requirements, they do move, of course, but usually
with reluctance. And often with regrets that echo months, sometimes even
years, later.
We recall receiving a note from a woman in Florida who had once lived here.
She was a writer, a single woman pursuing that solitary craft most days
alone in her cottage, leaving occasionally only to go to the store for groceries
or to stop by the post office. Picking up the mail every day wasn’t
a necessity, of course. But she made it so, for on many days that was her
only contact with people.
A year or so after she left, she sent us a note, describing the unexpected
joy of being in a new post office and having someone—a lady she’d
met in church—call out to her while she was standing in line to mail
a package. It was a post office she rarely visited because her mail now
came to a small cluster mailbox outside her Florida apartment. “I
suddenly realized how much those daily trips to get my mail in Mt. Gretna
had meant,” she said. “Here, except on rare occasions like that
one, nobody knows my name.”
So strong is the pull of Mt. Gretna that some people, even when it’s
time to move, never really move away. Reenie and Joe Macsisak, the former
gift shop owners, needed a smaller place to look after . Last fall, they
moved across town to the apartments, opposite Soldiers Field. Since we had
also switched locations about the same time, Reenie and I found ourselves
talking one morning about others who had moved—yet stayed put—pleasantly
anchored by the magnetic force that often envelopes Mt. Gretnans.
Our list of people who’ve moved from one side of Mt. Gretna to the
other quickly became, for a town so small, surprisingly long. It also included
people who’ve simply moved down the street, or from one neighborhood
to the other. Arline Althouse, a former Chautauquan, now glimpses the sun
coming up over Mt. Gretna from a different vantage point, along Valley Road.
Others who’ve made a similar switch include Bob Andrews, the former
deli operator who once lived in the Heights. Also, Bob and Mary Ann Krause,
Dave and Darlene Eckert, Edie and Stan Hollinger, Eleanor Lynch (who moved
from the Heights when daughter Karen was only two), and Fran Bova, a former
Campmeeting resident. Joyce Ebright gave up her historic “carousel
house” alongside the Playhouse to build a new home, but not far away,
in Timber Bridge. Then there is Lynn Phillips who, before she was married,
owned a cottage along Brown Avenue and now lives in Conewago Hill with her
husband, Dr. Ed, a former school superintendent at Cornwall-Lebanon. Others
include Peg Byford, Peggy Seibert, Sandy Roman, and Fay Sides.
Still others have moved but stayed in the same areas. Jim and Judy Cassel
simply moved from Timber Road to Valley Road. Deborah Clemens (who’s
moved from the Heights to Campmeeting and now Stoberdale) and daughter Jessica
Kosoff (now a Chautauqua resident) are among those who’ve moved several
times, but nearly always in Mt. Gretna. Then there are Emi Snavely and Carl
Ellenberger, who moved from the Campmeeting and Chautauqua to arrive finally
in their home in Mt. Gretna Heights.
But no one has felt the unrelenting hold more strongly, perhaps, than Chris
and Emily England, who fell in love with Mt. Gretna 12 years ago. As their
family grew and circumstances changed, they’ve lived in six different
locations (all but two of them in Mt. Gretna—on Yale, Harvard and
Lebanon avenues, and briefly in Timber Hills). Although they also have a
home in Connecticut, their full-time residence is now their kids’
favorite—“the round house” in Chautauqua.
Such considerable evidence of just how hard it is to say good-bye to Mt.
Gretna struck the other day when we stopped in to visit Jack Bitner, who
shared with us a photograph and story that now has been posted on the Web
at http://www.mtgretnahistory.org/last_run.php
Perhaps no one has ever had a stronger affection for Mt. Gretna than Jack
himself. The author of “Mt. Gretna: A Coleman Legacy,” Jack
is known to most of us today as the town historian. But as his son reminded
everyone at his 90th birthday celebration last year, his most noteworthy
contributions have been in aerospace engineering.
The photograph that attracted Jack’s interest had been discovered
by Batdorf Avenue resident Steven Layser, who found it on eBay nearly two
years ago. It came from a collection of unrelated photographs in an estate
sale and showed one of the three railroad engines that ran on the Mt. Gretna
Narrow Gauge Railroad near the turn of the century. It passed through town,
arcing its way around Lake Conewago and chugged up the mountain to Governor
Dick. But severe financial losses that rocked Europe’s capitals and
sent shock waves through the rest of the world in 1893 had hit railroad
stocks, including those linked to the narrow gauge railroad here, particularly
hard. So the photograph Jack showed us was of Engine No. 12 making its last
run up to Governor Dick, on a morning in September just after Mt. Gretna
Park had closed for the season.
Pictured in the photo—a small 3x5 black and white print that had been
tucked in a drawer and forgotten—were a boy of about eight and, standing
on a platform at the rear of the train, a man, neatly attired in a suit,
hat and a tie. The man was only 37 years old, seemingly fit and standing
erect. But his proud appearance belied both his physical afflictions and
profound disappointments. Overwhelming financial losses had decimated his
once-vast fortune, an amount judged to have been even greater than that
of J. P. Morgan or F.W. Vanderbilt. A bank he had owned, factories, and
several railroads were collapsing.
Yet on this crisp morning in September 114 years ago, he had summoned a
photographer to the station in Mt. Gretna. He and his young son Robert boarded
the train as its only passengers. They paused briefly, allowing the photographer
to take pictures. Then the whistle blew, the engineer released the brake
and the train climbed up Governor Dick for the last time.
From there, it would be all down hill—for the railroad, for the man,
and for the dream he had nurtured for more than a decade. Mt. Gretna had
been the place where he had invested perhaps only a small part of his considerable
wealth but an enormous share of his extraordinary generosity. Perhaps a
more selfish man would have survived the crisis, a wiser man might have
shielded his investments. But this was, after all, the place he loved best,
a “sylvan paradise,” as Jack Bitner wrote, “where he was
happiest.”
Three months after that train ride to Governor Dick, he would be forced
to pack up and leave, headed for a tuberculosis sanitorium in Saranac Lake,
N.Y., where he would spend the rest of his days. Robert Habersham Coleman,
the man whose dream inspired Mt. Gretna, would never return.
Kindest regards,
Roger Groce
P.S. Thanks to the many folks who help create this community newsletter—answering
our questions, checking our spellings as well as our facts, and passing
along news of interest to Mt. Gretnans near and far. Over half of our readers
live in other cities and states. Many share printed copies with friends
and neighbors who lack access to the Internet. Others simply keep up with
the news from a place they love by checking the online version at http://mtgretna.com/news,
a site our friends at Gretna Computers maintain for readers throughout the
world.