upper bucks free press • december 2013

2 • Upper Bucks Free Press • December 2013

What’s Going On in Upper Bucks?November 28 – “Happy Thanksgiving!”

November 29

Christmas Tree Sale begins at Trumbauersville Fire Co, 142 N Main St, (Mon to Fri 4pm-8pm) (Sat/Sun 9am-8pm), 267-372-2976 or bucks58fire.com

Sign up now to participate in the Souderton Holiday Parade on Dec. 7, email for details at: [email protected]

November 29 to December 8

Pearl S Buck Treasures & Traditions Holiday Craft Show, details at 215-257-5390

November 30 & December 1

Kraussdale Alpacas 11th Annual Open Farm, 10am-4pm, free admission, 5169 Kraussdale Rd, East Greenville, info: 215-541-1778

Now to December 6

Annual Toy Drive for Pennridge FISH, details/drop-off sites at 215-257-5390

December 1

Live Nativity at Jerusalem Evangelical Lutheran 3pm-5pm, all are welcome, live animals, free refreshments, near Rte 563 & Lawn Ave, Sellersville, 215-257-9423

Breakfast w/Santa, 8am-1pm at Springtown Fire Co, 3010 Rte 212, Springtown. $7/adult, $4/ages 6-10, free 5 and under

“Make A Joyful Noise-Two” Concert, 3:30pm at Christ UCC, 101 N Main, Trumbauersville, info at 215-538-0142

Youth Winter Track & Field, 1:30pm-3pm at Upper Perkiomen Middle School, Pennsburg, ages 4 to 18, info: [email protected]

December 1 & 8

Cantata Choir of St. John’s UCC per-forms “Make His Praise Glorious” Advent music, begins 7pm, Rte 212 & Main St, Richlandtown. All are invited, free-will offering taken

December 3

Sellersville Winterfest / Tree Lighting, 6:30pm-9pm, details at 215-257-5390 or pennridge.com

December 4

30th Annual Festival of Lights Dedication Ceremony w/Holiday Entertainment & Tree Lighting, 7pm at Grand View Hospital main lobby, more info at 215-453-4381

Pennridge Chamber Annual Breakfast Mtg & Election for 2014, JT Bankers Saloon & Eatery, 309 S Main St, Sellersville, reg. by Nov 29 at [email protected], $25/pp, networking 7:45am, buffet 8am

December 6

“Holiday Dinner Dance” at Pennridge Community Ctr, 146 East Main St, Perkasie, 215-453-7027

Christmas in Quakertown, Downtown Triangle, 6pm. Tree lighting, ice sculpting, alpacas, Santa by fire truck, Food, Carolers, Crafters, etc. quakertownalive.com

December 6, 7, & 8

4th Annual Holiday Craft Show (Fri 4-8pm) (Sat 9am-4pm) (Sun 4-8pm) at Quakertown Train Station, also bake sale, nut sale, raffle, etc. Proceeds benefit local charities

Kringle Christmas Shoppe (Fri 1-8pm) (Sat 10am-4:30pm) (Sun 12:30pm-4:30pm) at Latvian Baptist, 1142 Apple Rd, Applebachsville. 30+ artisans, free adm, music, cookies, raffle baskets, 610-346-8581

December 7

Annual Cookie Walk & Craft Sale 9am-2pm at Eastern Upper Bucks Senior Ctr, 8040 Easton Rd, Ottsville. Cookies, homemade soup, and lottery winners announced, 610-847-8178

Pictures w/Santa, 10am-2pm at Milford Twp Fire Co, 2185 Milford Sq. Pike, Milford Square. Details:267-718-1742

Generations 2013 “5K Reindeer Run” - start time 8am, 259 N Second St, Souderton. Registration info at generationsofiv.org

Souderton Tree Lighting 6pm in hollow on Main St after the parade, music, food, crafts, Santa & Mrs Claus, [email protected]

Perkasie Tree Lighting 5pm-8pm at 7th & Market, live music, heated tent, Mike Greer, Pennridge Faculty Brass, Ring the Raf-ters barbershop quartet, 215-257-4989 or perkasieoldetowne.org

Perkasie Carousel (last chance this season to ride), www.perkasiehistory.org

Christmas at the Y, 10am-1pm, photos w/Santa, Little Shopper’s, Balloon animals, etc. 215-536-YMCA

Pancake Breakfast w/Santa at Grand View Hospital’s Cafeteria in Sellersville, seatings at 8, 9, & 10am. $5.50/adult, $3.50/kids 2+, free under 2. Reserve at 215-453-4084

Soup Day 11am-2pm (or sold out) at Dublin Fire Co, Rte 313, Dublin. Eat in or take out, sandwiches & hot dogs also available

2nd Annual UBACE Craft Show at Perkasie Owls Club, (vendors needed), call Amy 215-767-6646 or [email protected]

Holiday Bazaar 9am-3pm at Marlborough Elem. PTFS, Rte 29, Green Lane. 50+ craft tables, Santa, raffle table, bake sale, etc. Food available at cafe, (r/d Dec 14) Info: 215-541-7299

Christmas Cookie/Candy Sale 9am-12noon, Salem United Methodist, 3365 Main St (Rte 412), Springtown, 610-346-6112

December 8

Christmas House Tour (starts at McCoole’s Arts & Events 3pm), tour homes 4pm-8pm, $15/pp, $12/seniors, 215-536-2273 or quakertownalive.com

11th Annual Worldwide Children’s Memorial Candle Lighting, 6:30pm at First UCC, 151 S 4th St, Quakertown, info: 215-536-0173 (leave message) or email: [email protected]

December 9

Family Fun Night by Girl Scouts, 5pm-8pm at Friendly’s, 1465 W Broad St, Suite 29, Qtwn. Troop gets 10% of proceeds, kids can make an ornament & get a fun patch for $5 donation. Girls & boys welcome.

December 11

Pennridge C of C Holiday Mixer 5pm-7pm, hosted by Pearl S Buck Intl, 520 Dublin Rd, Perkasie. 1835 PA farmhouse, festively decorated, come see all the trees, 215-257-5390

December 12

Upper Bucks SPCA Open House, 5pm-7pm, 60 Reservoir Rd, Quakertown, Info: 267-347-4674

December 13

Telford Tree Lighting 7pm in Marketplace at Telford Station, refreshments, carol-ing, & Santa arrives in a firetruck. Pictures w/Santa can be taken & emailed in time for the holidays, [email protected]

December 13, 14, & 15

Pictures w/Santa at Trumbauersville Fire Co, 142 N Main St, (Fri 5pm-9pm) (Sat 10am-6pm) (Sun 12noon-4pm), bring your child or pet, $10, info: 267-374-5890 or visit: bucks58fire.com

December 14

Annual “Quakertown Cares” fundraiser breakfast, 7:30am-11am in Qtwn High School cafeteria, 600 Park Ave, Qtwn. Food, music, entertainment, presentation of colors by area veterans, $5/pp

Breakfast & Photos w/Santa for kids up to 8 yrs old, 9:30am-11am at Quakertown Center, 1020 S Main St, Qtwn. Must RSVP 215-536-9300, seating is limited!

Dublin Holiday Gathering 5:30pm-9pm at Dublin Firehouse, details at 215-257-5390 or pennridge.com

3rd Annual Christmas Bazaar 9am-5pm at Zion Evangelical Lutheran, 2966 Old Bethlehem Pike, Zionsville. (vendors call Lisa 610-739-5309)

Relay for Life Holiday Homemade Cookie Sale 9am to sellout at Pennsburg UCC, 775 Main St, Pennsburg, $7.50/lb

December 15

Holiday House Tour, 12noon-5pm (8 unique properties) begins at Spinnerstown Schoolhouse, 1580 Sleepy Hollow Rd. $20/tkt, also baked goods, coffee, cider, crafts, model train layout. 215-541-9070

December 21 – First Day of Winter

December 25 – “Merry Christmas!”

December 31

“New Year’s Eve Party” at Benner Hall, 1260 Cherry St, Richlandtown, tickets $80/couple, reserve by Dec 21, 215-536-6716

“New Year’s Eve Party” at Pennridge Community Ctr, 146 East Main St, Perkasie, 215-453-7027

January 1 – “Happy New Year!”

December 2013 • Upper Bucks Free Press • 3

QUAKERTOWNAamco

A-Plus Mini MarketBorough Hall

Bottom Dollar FoodsBeer City

Brick’s SalesClassic Staffing

Chick Fil-A Dominick’s Pizza Downtown DogsEarl Bowl Lanes

Embers CafeFirst Niagara BankFirst Savings Bank

Flashpoint AcupunctureFrank’s Pizza

The Free Press Bldg.Giant (Qtwn Plaza)The Grundy House

Hampton InnHoliday Inn

Independence CourtJames Michener Library

John’s Plain & FancyLiberty Thrift Store

McCoole’s RestaurantMcDonalds

Melody LakesMoyer’s Shoes

Pep Boys Philly Soft Pretzel Factory

Quaker CleanersQuakertown Family Restaurant

QNB BankQuaker CleanersRedner’s Market

Roma PizzaSal’s Pizza Randa

Seven-ElevenSine’s 5 & 10

Spinnerstown HotelSt. Luke’s Hospital

Swann’s PantryTom’s Help Desk

Upper Bucks Sr. CenterUpper Bucks SPCAUpper Bucks YMCA

Upper Bucks ChamberWells Fargo Bank Yum Yum Donuts

TRUMBAUERSVILLEBorough Hall

Fino’s La CantinaSpor’s General Store

SELLERSVILLEA & N Diner

Grandview HospitalHidden Meadows

Roy Ann DinerSuelke’s Roadstand

Village Market

PERKASIERep. Paul Clymer’s Office

Dam Good CafeEmil’s Diner

Giant Food MarketsLandis Food Markets

Mirage Hair SalonOlde Towne Convenience

Pennridge ChamberPierce Library

QNB BankRevivals Restaurant

TELFORDGrundy Manor

Indian Valley LibraryLandis Supermarket

Lisa’s Pizza

SOUDERTONCare & Share Shoppes

GenerationsMain Street Java

Mr. B’s at Calvary ChurchQNB Bank

Vincent’s Pizza

COOPERSBURGCoopersburg DinerGiant Food Markets

The Inside ScoopQNB Bank

Turkey Hill Minit MarketWeis Markets

SILVERDALEGreen Street Barber Shop

HARLEYSVILLELandis Supermarket

Also available at some local post offices and lots of other high

traffic locations.

Have a suggestion for a place you’d like to see the Free Press?

E-mail [email protected].

Where Can I Get my Free Press?

Have something you’d like to share with your community? Send us the details!

[email protected] • fax: 215-839-3421 • 312 W. Broad St. Quakertown


by thomas van moore(Last month, I highlighted the Newman-Murray

music from the early part of the 20th century up to the birth and early careers of the second generation of family musicians. This final piece picks up there)

How good was the older (Pete, Elmer-Julie, Sophie) Newman-Murray country sound from the 1930s into the early 60s? “Much bet-ter than you hear on the recordings of all the songs they did those many decades ago,” said Charley Newman, now 73 years old. “The re-cording equipment back then did not give them their due instrumentally or with the quality of their voices.”

Sophie played the guitar and Julie the mando-lin and each had beautiful voices. Pancake Pete played the guitar, banjo and stand-up bass (fiddle) and was well-known as a yodeler. He was also an expert with his movie camera. Elmer played fiddle and clarinet and was the emcee. Elmer passed away May 3, 1969 at 62 years of age, Pete March 8, 2000 at 83 years, Sophie on May 18th 2010 and Julie September 23, 2012 each at 97 years of age.

Maybe the two best voices of the younger crew were the harmonious sounds coming out of Danny Newman and cousin Maryeva Newman Stevenson’s vocals. To hear Danny sing “Desperado” with just his acoustic guitar and no mic was an occasion that invited mist-ing. Unfortunately, eight years ago he suffered a paralyzed vocal chord. The clarity and timbre from his earlier days is now past tense. But back in the day Danny and Maryeva usually sang lead in the foursome’s vocals.

Maryeva also had outside groups wanting to match that voice to their microphones. Said Charley, “She had the most (marketable/musi-cal) offers of any of us. And she could handle big band and pop stuff besides country. What a voice.”

Her brother Kenny talks of her with rever-ence. “Her first breath, well she was singing,” he said of her 1940 birth moment, “that’s what the doctor said. A tomboy, she’d ride her horse ‘King’ all morning and afternoon, interrupted only by the noon meal. She was sweeter than a truffle and tougher than a truck stop breakfast steak.” A country and western gal? Her son was named Zane Grey Stevenson and was born on her grandfather Pete’s birthday (November 10). When she relocated to Eldon, MO in the mid-60s, she worked for the Miller County judicial system division court, retired and was then called back to help straighten things out. She became an avid, high-scoring bowler and Midwestern sports fan. Her husband Bill lost his life due to a bronc-riding rodeo accident in 1972 in Vernon, Texas.

Kenny, of course, also played guitar. Fact is, he went maybe a little further than the other Newman males in one regard, tackling challeng-ing jazz instrumental licks. Most people would not know that this country & western-raised family was introduced to other musical forms

in the 50s. As cousin Charley said, “Our Aunt Sophie took us to New York City to The Cafe Metropole (a jazz club on 48th, near Times Square) in the 50s to hear great jazz perform-ers. We heard Dizzy Gillespie and Cozy Cole there. We listened to opera, Vaughn Monroe and other non-country musicians through the records she had.”

Cousin Charley called Ken, “a guitar player’s guitarist. He made all his inroads play-ing country jazz-not rock ‘n roll.” After leaving the local area in the mid-60s, Kenny sold com-mercial bulldozing/construction equipment in the Midwest before moving to Florida 15 years back. His mom and dad had moved back to Eldon, Missouri at that time also and were buried there. On one occasion, back more than 30 years ago, a very well-known country-rock ‘n roller who had 11 straight Top 20 singles in the mid-fifties called Kenny to bail him out of a Midwestern jail. The jailer’s key did not fit.

Ken has always loved horses and to this date, still educates people to understand the impressive animals better. Like Maryeva and Danny he had lots of interest in the equines. He still travels nationwide to work/pacify them.

Danny played six string guitar and mandolin and, like Charley, could switch over to other stringed instruments. Each played lead or rhythm axes and both were songwriters. But brother Charley kept menioning how good his brother’s

voice was. “I’d compare his voice to any singer out there. He did not have that ‘twang’ (country nuance) in his singing.” On one occasion, in the mid-60s when the band Danny played in was in a Philly recording studio, 919 Sound, they did a couple takes of a song that he wrote called “My Heart The Clock.” The recording engineer, hearing Danny’s background harmonizing, re-placed the group’s long-time lead singer with the

sweetness of Danny’s signature voice as lead and that’s what was put on tape. The producer of the recordings was Kit Stewart, the late leader of the Jamie recording group The Kit Kats.

Opined Danny, “At an earlier time in my life I wanted to go into music as a five-nights-a-week job. When I played full-time (Wednesday-Saturday) I tried to keep my (Ametek) US Gauge responsibilities less physically demanding.” Later, his frequent Friday and Saturday night gigs made his lifestyle more restful. Danny had played with the local Bill Clinton & The Troubadours Band (country) from 2008-2012 and Charley played three of those years. Danny was also musical director for a Saturday night two hour country radio show out of Seargentsville, NJ “Heartlands Hayride” on WDVR (89.7) from 2000-2005.

Still, Danny, the understater says, “I think about it (Sleepy Hollow) almost every day. The performers at Sleepy Hollow were entertainers you didn’t get to see except in the movies and on The Grand Ole Opry. Those guys would play Saturday night on The Opry (Nashville, TE) and be at Sleepy Hollow the next day. That was be-fore interstate roads. They drove all night (to play here).” About the whole experience, Danny confessed, “I thought that my (Sleepy Hollow) life was to be that way the rest of my life.”

Brother Charley said “The recording stars that we featured were the same type people as anyone you would meet, no pretense at all. “They were just normal people to us.” But through time, the onslaught of television started to affect Sleepy Hollow’s attendance as the calendar pages turned through the 50s and early 60s.

Charley, unlike Danny’s Sellersville job of over 40 years with one company, volunteered, “I never really had a job that interfered with my music.” What he had was a great ear and almost perfect pitch. Brother Danny called Charley “one of the best rock ‘n roll guitarists in this area.” In the Sleepy Hollow days, Charley pri-marily played steel guitar. And, like Danny, he spent many years on those four-five night gigs or weekend stages, out front, covering the rock and roll hits of the day.

But Charley, always ready to smile and crack a joke, says “I was a show-off.” What he was, was a natural front-man, a guy who the micro-phone always moved towards. When he went to Nashville in the early 60s he was a prime talent to perform like/maybe in a way replace the older, nationally admired Little Jimmy Dickens. They had similar talents. Dickens was very comedic, a good musician and singer, one who voiced all types of country tunes including novelty bits. Born 20 years before him, Charley had one up on Jimmy. Dickens was smaller, just four feet-eleven inches tall.

Charley eventually packed that red axe and left the area in the early 60s and did not return for good until the mid-70s. Rumors were that he didn’t do a good job of staying in touch with his parents. When he did call home on one occasion, his father Elmer picked up the phone and gave it to wife Julie. “It’s your son Charley” he said without conversing with his younger offspring.

Prior to leaving eastern PA, he played with ‘The Rooftoppers’ after briefly coming back from Nashville when his father Elmer suffered a 1964 heart attack.

He then quickly ventured west to Des Moines, Iowa and was a partner in the Red Scobee Music Store while playing with ‘The Cavaliers’, a strong local band that added horns to the group’s guitar strings. The entire group is in the Iowa Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. After Charley’s business partner became too ill to work in the company, he dissolved the business and moved back east to play with brother Danny in a rock ‘n roll group. The name? ‘Elmer’s Kids,’ natch. Danny had also played a few years earlier with the local and well-respected ‘John L. Soulivan’ band.

One Charley Newman-written song-record did receive lots of local exposure, “Rubber Spiders In My Coffee” recorded by Philadelphia Phillies’ first baseman Tommy Hutton in the mid-70s. The engineer in the studio was Howard Eskin, present local sports talk show host and television personality. With buddy Danny on guitar, the piano player was the very talented, the late key-boardist Paul Mann of Quakertown.

Ironically, Charley did spend a period of time without showing any love to his six-stringer. For a long spell in the late 70s, into the 80s, “I just got angry at my guitar, I didn’t pick it up,” he says. Other than that time (the temporary parting of the strings), he always had a hand in acoustic and more frequently amplified axes and micro-phones. “As much as I pretended to be a country musician,” he reviewed, “I played and was a rock ‘n roller. And that’s what I teach at Fretz’ (Music Center in Souderton).”

So here we are, 50 years after the early morn-ing fiery, invasive interloper that dissipated the magic. Five of the eight musical notes in the fam-ily ballad have been erased, silenced, blackened in a sense. But unanswered or at least unwritten is the recall of one whose feet were said to not be a part of this rural property, the firm soil that supported so many shoes and cowboy boots worn by those national music legends in another time-warp period. Was Elvis there?

The story goes like this. After Newman close friend, Netherlands born, Presley agent Colonel Tom Parker bought out Presley’s contract from Sam Phillips and Sun records in 1955 he stopped representing Eddy Arnold and Hank Snow and concentrated on the 20 year-old kid with the rockabilly sound and blue suede shoes. So Parker brought Elvis to Sleepy Hollow once, but not to perform-- to check out the scene there in the summer-fall of ‘55. At that time, Elvis was transitioning from the more southern, regional-ized rockabilly sound at Memphis’s Sun Records over to this new rock and roll vibe and into the grooves of the RCA label--where Parker had stroke and Mr. Presley brought post-Johnnie Ray white soul.

In a conversation with Pancake Pete the week before Parker showed up with Elvis, the Colonel told Pete that he was bringing the biggest act of a lifetime to the ranch the following weekend. Said Parker, “Remember the name, Elvis Presley!”

Pete’s reply, “Who’s she?”Tom moore can be reached aT [email protected]

Newman-Murray Part II: The Music Continues

(left-right) Charley and Danny Newman as they are today. photo by thomas van moore

World War II Vets Honored at LuncheonVeterans of military service got together November 23rd at Rockhill Mennonite Community for a Veterans Appreciation Lunch. Special recognition was bestowed upon the 6 WWII vets in attendance. (center photo) Willard Fluck accepts his certificate of recognition from VFW Post 11322 Commander Paul Gerhart. Numerous WWII vets that have since passed were also recognized with the chiming of a bell.(left photo) Penny Templeton (Air Force, Desert Storm), Jim Templeton (Army, Vietnam; Air Force), and 5 year old granddaughter Christine Ingram, all of Quakertown, look at some of the relics of past wars with WWI & II reenactor Rob Ross of Springfield Twp. photos by christopher betz


Ongoing Community ActivitiesChristmas Tree Sale by Boy Scouts at Living Memorial Park, Landis St & Rte 309, Coopersburg. Dec 7/8, Dec 14/15, & Dec 21/22 (10am-4pm), Fraser Firs $30 & $35

Lottery Calendar Sale, $20/donation ben-efits T’ville Fire Co, daily drawings of PA Lottery from 1/1 to 6/30 can win $20 to $200/day. Info: [email protected] or bucks58fire.com

Now to December 30 – Pearl S. Bucks Intl Annual Festival of Trees, details at 215-257-5390 or pennridge.com

Community Outreach Fundraiser “Gingerbread House Contest” at Good Earth, 23 Main St, Coopersburg. Buy a kit/$6.99 and bring your masterpiece back week of Dec.1-7 for two wks of voting ($1/vote) Prizes for 1st, 2nd, & 3rd places. 610-349-1340

All Veterans invited to join Forrest Lodge VFW, 2118 Old Bethlehem Pike, Sellersville. Call Frank 215-679-7770

PetSmart Adoption Day is 2nd Saturday each month, 11am-3pm, PetSmart, 620 N.West Blvd, Quakertown, 215-538-2843 or lastchanceranch.org

Last Chance Ranch Volunteer Orientation, 1st Saturday each month, 10am-11am in front of Horse Barn, 9 Beck Rd, Quakertown, 215-538-2510 lastchanceranch.org

Singles Connection for adults meets Thursdays for social evening, 7pm at Silverdale Brethren in Christ Church, 165 W. Main St, Silverdale. 215-593-9995 or email carolonline1@ verizon.net

Doylestown Singles Soc. Intermediate Bridge Club meets every Tues. 7pm at a private resi-dence in Doylestown. Info at 215-340-7604 or [email protected]

Support Groups & Medical Resources

Sisters U Monthly Meetings 7pm-9pm the third Thurs every month at Stella’s, 200 N Main St, Sellersville, info: [email protected]

SOS Bereavement After Suicide – Family Support Group meets @ St. Luke’s Quakertown Hospital twice monthly, info/details call 215-536-5143

Brain Injury Family/Spousal/Partner Support Group 6pm-8pm the third Monday every month at First UCC, Church Parlor, 4th & Park Ave, Quakertown, 215-538-3488 or 610-558-1326

Bikers Against Child Abuse of Bucks County meets 11am the second Sunday every month at Hilltown German Sportsmen’s Club, 1622 Hilltown Pike, Hilltown. For info, email: [email protected]

Caregiver Support Group meetings last Thurs. of every month, Independence Court of Quakertown, 1660 Park Ave, (meal provided), RSVP: 215-541-9030 to attend a meeting.

Upper Bucks Clinic, free medical care Mon & Wed 5:30pm-8:30pm to uninsured low-income residents of Upper Bucks Co w/no medical insurance & meet income eligibility guidelines. Info: 215-538-4774

Alzheimer’s Assoc. Support Group, 3:30pm-5:00pm, meets 2nd Thursday every month, Phoebe Richland Health Care Ctr, 108 S. Main St, Richlandtown. Free, more info: Social Services 267-371-4517

NOVA (Network Of Victim Assistance) Support Groups, Information, Guidance, Hotline 800-675-6900 www.NOVABucks.org

Overeaters Anonymous meets every Thursday 10am-11am, West Swamp Mennonite Church, 2501 Allentown Rd, Quakertown, No dues, free babysitting. www.oa.org or Bob 610-762-3779

Alcoholics Anonymous meets every Sunday at 7pm, Grand View Hosp. info at 215-923-7900

Bedminster Nar-Anon meets Tuesdays 7:30pm-8:30pm, Deep Run West Mennonite, 1008 Deep Run Rd, Perkasie, for family/friends of those struggling w/addiction, [email protected]

Doylestown Nar-Anon meets Wednesdays 6pm at Summit Behavioral Health, 702 Hyde Park, Doylestown. Call 215-589-7111 for directions and info.

A Woman’s Place (support for domestic abuse/violence) 24-hour Hotline 1-800-220-8116, www.awomansplace.org

Kiwanis meetings 2nd & 4th Wednesdays of each month, 12:30pm at Dominick’s Pizza, Quakertown

Quakertown Rotary Club meets (1st & 3rd Tues 7:30am at John’s Plain & Fancy Restaurant) (2nd, 4th, & 5th Tues 6pm at Spinnerstown Hotel)

Networking & Civic GroupsKiwanis meetings 2nd & 4th Wednesdays of each month, 12:30pm at Dominick’s Pizza, Quakertown

Quakertown Rotary Club meets (1st & 3rd Tues 7:30am at John’s Plain & Fancy Restaurant) (2nd, 4th, & 5th Tues 6pm at Spinnerstown Hotel)

Business Networking International (BNI) meets every Thursday 7am-8:30am at John’s Plain & Fancy Restaurant in Quakertown, membership info: James Dodson – [email protected]

Community MealsFree Community Dinner third Wed. of month. 5:30pm-6:30pm, Christ Community Bible Church, 1830 N. Ridge Rd, Perkasie, 215-257-7318

Free Community Meals 6pm at Richland Friends Quaker Meeting on second, fourth & fifth Weds. every month. Mill Rd & Main St off Route 309, Qtwn, 215-536-0395

Community Meal-every third Thursday of the month, 5:30pm-6:30pm, First UCC, 4th & Park, Qtwn, 215-536-4447

Free Community Dinner third Mon. of month, 5:30pm-6:30pm, Presbyterian Church of Deep Run, 16 Irish Meetinghouse Rd, Perkasie, 215-249-3689. Call before 3pm w/questions of transportation needs

BingoBingo at Richland Twp Fire & Rescue every Tues. doors open 5:30pm, 64 Shelly Rd, Qtwn. 215-536-7226

Bingo at Great Swamp Fish & Game every Sat. night, open 4pm, games 6:30pm, kitchen open. Free coffee, 2650 Schukraft & Camp Rock Hill Rd, Qtwn, 215-536-8820

Bingo at Plumsteadville Fire Co. every Monday, opens 5:30pm, games 6:30pm (refreshments avail.) 5064 Stump Rd, 215-766-8250

Bingo at Sellersville Fire Co. every Thurs. (except July) opens 5:30pm, 2 N. Main St, 215-257-4028

Bingo at Tylersport Fire Co. every Tues. opens 5pm, games 6:40pm, 125 Ridge Rd, 215-257-5900

Bingo at UB Senior Ctr first Thurs. every month, $50 Jackpot! 12:15pm-3pm, 2183 Milford Sq. Pike, 215-536-3066

Bingo at Red Hill Fire Co Social Hall 3rd Sunday every month, opens 12noon, games 1pm-4pm, 82 E 5th St, Red Hill

Cash Bingo at Green Lane Fire Co every Wed., Main St, Green Lane, opens 5:30pm, games 6:40pm, 215-234-8567

Downtown Dogs to Host Free Christmas Brunch

Craig Farmer, proprietor of Downtown Dogs American Restaurant on West Broad Street in Quakertown will be hosting a free Christmas brunch on December 25th from 9:00 am til 1:00 pm. He encourages any-one who doesn’t have family available on Christmas, as well as those in need of a good

hot meal, to visit his restaurant that morning.Craig is a long-time resident of our area

who feels it is important to “pay it forward” to those in need in our community. Farmer says,“I hope that this brunch can help, even in some small way. Nobody should be alone or hungry on Christmas.” Kudos to you, Craig!


AuctioneersMy experiences with

Public Sales or Auctions started when my dad took us boys along to a public sale outside of Richlandtown being held on the farm of Preston (Press) Sloyer, a fellow worker of my dad’s

at the Milford Square Pants Company back in the late 1940’s. Press Sloyer had convinced another fellow worker who had the gift of gab to be the auctioneer. Back then you didn’t need an auctioneer’s license. That worker was Jimmy Mohr of Milford Square. As it happened this was the first of many auctions that Jim would hold. Last January (2013) Jim still auctioned off a pie at our annual Grundsow Lodge meeting. Jim Mohr, “Henne” Hottle, Carl Schaffer, Clarence Schwenk, and Joe Matso were the local auctioneers at this pe-riod of the mid 1950’s and 1960’s. Later on in life I attended auctions in Fogelsville held by Ralph Zettlemoyer. Down at the Farmer’s Market we had Herbie’s auction which in the early days was held on the back of a truck in back of the long market building. Later on he moved into the building on the south side of the market. Joe Matso and Jim Mohr would auction everything from fruits, vegetables, and eggs to chickens, ducks, geese, and cattle every Wednesday. When I sold cars for Ray Hager, I would take a different used car down to the auction with me and then buy eggs for the whole staff at Hager Pontiac/Cadillac.

Each auctioneer had his own personal style of auctioneering and approach of striking down the final bid. Jim Mohr would know how to hang on to the bid until that last bid was coaxed out of the buyers that showed interest. Carl Schaffer would start getting angry because of all the side chatter, In many cases I found that I could get a good buy if he showed that anger. You see, the angrier he would get he would do the opposite of Jim Mohr; he would strike down the bid quickly, and sometimes if you hesitated you lost the item. A sharp buyer would pay close attention and therefore pickup some good bargains in these moments of frustration. Henne Hottle was from the real old school and sometimes he would start speaking the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect dur-ing the “Fendue”. Ralph Zettlemoyer had a rhythm of crying the auction and being able to coax the best price before “striking it down” without drawing out the bidding. From time to time Ralph would sing “The Auctioneer Song” at horse riding functions. He was really good!

Back at the turn of the century (early 1900’s) my wife Nina’s grandfather, Milton Seas, would “cry” auctions in the area. This was in the day when many auctioneers took on the

honorary title of Colonel. I am known for my talks of a local rebel of 1799 known as John Fries (pronounced “freeze”) who rebelled against a direct tax to help expand our naval fleet. He also was a local auctioneer; thus starting my interest in the auctioneering field. Auctioneers were always an integral part of the Pennsylvania Dutch society. It was important to dissolve estates after the husband passed on. Later it was important to sell off the household items after the surviving spouse passed away. We still have these estate sales, but I regret to say they are not as numerous as they were “Back in the Day.”

Many young couples would buy their used furniture at these sales when they would first get married. Now most young couples buy new on the easy term plans we have today. Most people seem to move a lot more than back in the day and when they break up housekeeping they usually don’t have enough for a giant sale as they had back in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Many of those sales were held after a couple lived in the same house or farm for 40 to 60 years and as good Dutchmen, saved many things that could be used for “something- someday”.

When you went to the auctions back then, a clerk wrote your name and then would give the auction sheet to the receipts clerk, who in turn would write it on a slip to be added up at the end of the sale. Today you get a number and everything is tabulated and billed by com-puter. Many auctioneers would not know all the names of the people as they did “back in the day”.

Yes, I bought many historic and collectible items after standing at auctions with my buddy Sam Kile as well as my dad and later on my wife. Some have increased in value and of course some have lost their value because of modern life styles in furnishings. The experi-ences of attending these auctions, the education in learning what things were used for, and the sometime amazing prices for items sold will always be special to me.

It wasn’t just going to buy stuff—it was a community meeting and cultural experience that dated back to the early Pennsylvania Dutch heritage. Today I still attend auctions for special historical items I want, but it just isn’t the same as it was in the period of my younger days.

If you get a chance, attend a local auction and experience this type of buying. We still have local auctioneers who are very knowl-edgeable of what they are selling and you will experience historic items exchanging hands for future preservations. Remember, as Jim Mohr used to say, “It worked the last time they used it!”

Christmas in My Hometown

Soon, it’ll be getting to look a lot like Christmas around Quakertown. The Downtown Christmas Tree lighting is on December 6, the Christmas House Tour is on the 8th. (They’re great festivals. Everybody…try to get there).

The borough will be dragging all the streetlight decorations out of the attic over at the old power plant and be hanging them up and down Broad Street. Stores will be putting holiday displays in their windows and stocking up on popular junk. Familiar Christmas music will soon be playing in the background everywhere. It’s been pretty much the same thing in my hometown since the Fifties, which is as far back as I can remember.

I’m more cynical now, though; and, my buddy Jon Roberts is gone, so the stuff looks a lot cheaper and faker. Most of the decorations are plastic these days. We’ve got fire ordinances and a green aversion to hacking branches off of pine trees then throwing them in the dump after New Year, so they have to use plastic. Also, people are a lot richer and more extravagant than they were back when I was a kid. I still have the ‘cheap’ hangover. That’s probably the reason half my colored roof lights burn out be-fore the season’s over. But, have you seen the price tag on that Santa in his sleigh with eight tiny reindeer that lights up, rocks back and forth, and blares “Ho, ho, ho!” and Christmas carols? Extravagant!

Sometimes, I’m the absolute Grinch and pres-ent a vehement argument that it’s just a waste of time, money and electricity to decorate and light everything up (especially when the wife makes me untangle the big ball of lights and climb up on the roof). “What’s this got to do with Christmas?” “Our string of lights will look silly next to that place up the street with the rocking, singing Santa Claus and the strobe lights.” “We got the lights at the Q-Mart for a buck a string. They’ll just burn out in a week, anyway.” I al-ways argue, but it never works.

I’m also a pragmatist, though. My fam-ily ran a fair-sized business in Quakertown for several generations (Hinkel and Biehn Shoes). The decorations and festivities of the season help businesses. People are running around with pockets full of money to spend (or credit cards, more likely, to spend money they don’t have yet). Businesses have to lure them in and trick them into spending their money there. My grandfather, Toby Hinkel, thought shoes made great Christmas gifts. Maybe they did during the depression, but not so much in the age of Barbie, G.I Joe and Mister Machine, so some-times I was a little disappointed when we went up to their place on Christmas afternoon.

At least the government has outlawed the religious aspects of Christmas. Some of those nativity scenes were really expensive, and it al-ways made me feel a little guilty when I walked by the one in front of the Trinity Lutheran Church. Especially when I was on my way home from Sine’s 5 & 10 with a fighter plane model kit

I’d bought with the money my other grandfather always sent me (now, he was a practical man). I hated thinking about peace on Earth and good will toward men while I was building the Red Baron’s tri-plane, or some other war machine, or when I was playing with the toy hand grenade and cap pistol I’d gotten for Christmas (I think they’ve outlawed them now, too).

I know most people, especially the borough road crew, hate the thought, but I hope we have a white Christmas; that we get a foot or two of snow on Christmas Eve. There’s nothing like a blizzard with the parks and yards covered with an unbroken field of fresh, powdery snow sparkling and glistening in the street lights and holiday decorations. It makes me think of the Feast of Stephen (whatever that is). You know: “while the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even.” Of course, as a Quaker, I don’t do anything special on Christmas Eve so I don’t have to try to get to a midnight mass in the stuff. There is an ulterior motive, too. I have a season ski pass to Bear Creek (that’s Doe Mountain to you older folks). A couple of feet by Christmas would be great. Global warming usually has them closed down by April. [Hey, I wonder if the spotlights on that rocking Santa display con-tribute to that].

I’ve got one granddaughter and a grandson on the way, but they’re out in Southern California (if you think it never rains there, you’re wrong, but good luck with a white Christmas). “Christmas is for the kids” a lot of people used to say, ex-cept my Granpop Hinkel (‘They all wear shoes!’ was his motto). Since the only kids left in my family are so far away, I have trouble getting into the holiday spirit some years. So, even with my Grinch-like cynicism, I’m looking forward to strolling down Broad Street this year when it’s starting to look a lot like Christmas. I need something to get me out of this depressing rut.

I’m going to hang out at the street fest before the Christmas Tree lighting. I’m going to look in every store window and see what I’d buy if my credit card wasn’t maxed out. I’m going to stop in some places and see what tricks they use to persuade me to buy something. I’m actually going to look for people I know, or even just recognize, and say “Hi.” There really does seem to be a lot of smiles this time of year, even though the sun is setting early, the minimum payments are going to take a jump, it’s cold out and a snow could screw up the works.

The whole idea of the December holiday comes from ancient times. People watched the sun get lower and lower. They figured it was doomsday. A few days after they noticed it was getting higher again, they threw a party. “There’s going to be future life, baby!” You can see how Christianity and other religions latched onto that idea. I don’t have as much of a future as that little boy my daughter will be carrying around till May, but I guess I should celebrate anyway.

read more wriTings by Jack schick aT searchwarp.com and soulofwiT.com

by michele buono

Setting up the Christmas crèche, also called a putz, is a tradition in many families this time of year. For the Barndt family of Quakertown, the tradition began when Eli was born sixteen years ago on Christmas Day. Now at over 500 pieces, the crèche contains not just the expected Nativity scene, but also a farm, vil-lage marketplace, wedding chapel, the Magis’ camp, and other vignettes of life in Bethlehem.

All of the figures and accessories are Fontanini and Eli’s mother, Ruth, says that pieces are getting more difficult come by these days. But don’t tell Ruth to find the pieces online, it’s more personal and serendipitous to find them at small gift shops in the area and while on family trips.

The first pieces of the now voluminous col-lection were of the traditional Nativity stable scene and a musician character named “Eli” given to Eli when he was just a baby by his grandmother and uncle. “Eli” is still Eli’s fa-vorite piece in his collection.

Eli, who will be 16 years old this December 25, still looks forward to setting up Christmas crèche, which dominates a room in the Barndt family home. The entire family helps with un-wrapping each individual piece, but it’s Eli’s job to arrange the elaborate crèche as he sees fit. This year it took almost ten hours to com-plete this year’s layout. Ruth remembers the

one year that they didn’t set the putz up until Christmas Eve. “We’ll never do that again,” she says with a small laugh.

Christmas Crèche Grows with the Years

‘‘One can never have enough socks. Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn’t

get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books.’’ - DumbleDore


A Novel (but Good) Idea for a Holiday Gift

Do you have family members or friends on your gift list this holiday season? And, are you once again wondering what to give them? Well, you might think about giving them something

that will help them for years to come: help in creating their own my Social Security account.

It’s imaginative, practical, and potentially very valuable. Here’s why.

For many people, there is no gift as precious as time. And, when they weigh the value of time spent waiting in line in a government office, or time spent with friends and family after quickly conducting Social Security busi-ness online, they will be grateful indeed. And the gift of helping them apply for a my Social Security account has all the variety of a holi-day candy sampler. After creating a my Social Security account at www.socialsecurity.gov, a person can:

•get an instant, personalized estimate of future Social Security benefits;• apply for retirement, disability, spouse’s, and Medicare benefits;• check the status of a benefit application;• change address and phone number, if receiv-ing monthly Social Security benefits;• sign-up for direct deposit of Social Security benefits;• use our benefit planners to help better un-derstand Social Security options when planning for a financial future;• request a replacement Medicare card; and• apply for Extra Help with Medicare prescrip-tion drug costs.

Wow! That’s a pretty impressive package for the holiday gift-giving list. So be creative. Visit www.socialsecurity.gov and share the gift of potential time-saved with a relative or friend.Tom reiley is The social securiTy disTricT manager in allenTown. do you have quesTions abouT social securiTy maTTers? email Tom aT [email protected].

Perkasie Hosts America’sOldest Community

Christmas Tree LightingRocking holiday music, food and fun will be

the order of the day when Santa Claus arrives to light the Perkasie Borough Christmas tree on Saturday, December 7.

Sponsored by the Perkasie Olde Towne Association, the traditional ceremony is the oldest of its kind in the United States, beating Philadelphia, New York City and Washington, D.C. by at least a year. Since 1909, Perkasie residents have gathered in the town square to celebrate the holiday season with an outdoor tree lighting ceremony that typically draws thousands of people.

“It’s an amazing event,” said Cathy Weierbach, president of Perkasie Olde Towne Association, which organizes the tree lighting with support from area businesses. “Everyone enjoys being part of such a wonderful tradition. It’s just another thing that makes Perkasie special.”

This year’s ceremony will feature several activities for the whole family, including a live performance by Mike Greer and Co. Most activi-ties will take place under a huge heated tent next to the tree at 7th and Market streets.

Starting at 5pm, visitors will find a wide vari-ety of attractions leading up to the arrival of Santa Claus to light the tree at 7pm.

The belief that Perkasie began the tradition of a community Christmas Tree stems for a book published in 1954 to celebrate the borough’s 75th anniversary. Under the headline “Perkasie Firsts,” the book says:

“From reliable information, one finds that the idea of a Community Christmas Tree, which is a feature of many towns and cities all over the United States, appears to have originated in Perkasie. The idea was formed in the minds of members of the Order of Owls and put into ef-fect in Perkasie and Sellersville in 1909. In 1914, this feature was taken over by the Chamber of Commerce and is to this date a fixed event im-proved upon each year.”

Colonial Williamsburg had its first community Christmas tree in 1915, according to history.org, the official site of Colonial Williamsburg. This was just three years after the first community Christmas tree was lit in Madison Square Park in New York City in 1912, according to ,adison-squarepark.org..

An article in the Community Christmas sec-

tion, published Dec. 5, 2001, in the Perkasie News-Herald, explains the history of the first tree lighting through the words of Samuel R. Kramer, an early owner of the Perkasie Central News — the News-Herald’s predecessor in the borough.

In the article, correspondence previously pub-lished in the paper from Kramer explains that he got the idea after visiting a neighbor to see their tree, which started him wondering why the beau-tifully decorated trees were hidden inside homes.

The tradition started the following year in 1909, and was improved with the erection of a large tree in 1910, in front of the J.G. Moyer Building, which once sat at Seventh and Market streets. The building was burned in the 1988 fire, but was on the same site as Shelly’s sits today, where the current community Christmas tree is planted.

2013 Perkasie Tree Lighting Schedule:• 5 pm Streets closed, stores and restaurants open, vendors in place.• 5:30 Perkasie Mayor John Hollenbach recites “Twas the Night Before Christmas”• 5:45 Performance by Pennridge School District Faculty & Staff Brass Ensemble• 6:30 Live music by Mike Greer & Co. • 7 pm Santa Arrives by Fire Truck to Light the Tree• 7:15 Live music by Mike Greer & Co.

Special Holiday Events• All-Day Food and Shopping Specials• FREE Perkasie Carousel Rides, 12 - 5 p.m.• FREE Old-Fashioned Horse and Carriage Rides, 5:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.• “Ring the Rafters” strolling barbershop quartet from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.• Doug Kramer’s Nostalgic Holiday Train Display at Perkasie Electric Bldg, 101 N. 7th St, Fri 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. & Sat 12 to 8 pm.

Photos with Santa after the tree lighting at Re/Max440 (7th and Market)

Children who bring a non-perishable food item for Pennridge FISH will be entered in a drawing to help Santa flip the switch to light the tree!

The 2013 Perkasie Star tree ornament will be on sale for $10. The custom-madepewter star comes in a beautiful gift box. A limited supply will be available at the tree lighting. Information: 215-257-4989 or visit perkasieoldetowne.org.

Residents of the Quakertown Regional Area have something exciting to look forward to in the new year.

A new 12-acre passive recreation community park that connects the Quakertown Memorial Park and the Sports Complex, the James A. Michener Branch of the Bucks County Library, and the Quakertown Community Pool is now under construction.

It will feature walking and biking trails; an amphitheatre; concession stand; gazebo; open areas for picnicking, playing and relaxing; flower meadows; a water feature or pond with fountain; and restrooms, among other ameni-ties. To date, the volunteer Park Development Steering Committee has raised nearly half of the $2 million needed to build the park through

donations and grants. This community asset to the more than

36,500 residents of Richland, Haycock, and Milford Townships, and Quakertown, Trumbauersville, and Richlandtown Boroughs will regularly hold public events, live music, entertainment, arts events and more each season.

A variety of naming opportunities and donations are available at all levels. Each opportunity comes with its own list of ben-efits. Visit www.QuakertownParkProject.org for a complete list of sponsorship and donation opportunities.

Park supporters can also join the proj-ect’s Facebook fan page for regular updates: www.facebook.com/QuakertownParkProject.

Amphitheatre,12 Acre Park Under Way in Quakertown


The Ladies of Just Right Fitness recently donated a check of $1259.05 to American Cancer Society, having raised funds through bake sales, a yard sale, business donations, and raffles. Joel Akers, on behalf of the American Cancer Society, commented that local efforts like this one are so important. Just Right co-manager Rita Rothrock was enthusiastic about the donation and the “circle of friends” at the facility. “We support each other and the community.” Tom and Karen Cochrane, owners of Just Right Fitness present the donation to Joel Akers surrounded by the Ladies of Just Right Fitness.

photo by michele buono

Where to Sell Your Unwanted Stuff

I have advised many people that when it comes to selling your unwanted vin-tage collectibles, you have to think outside the box. Why? Many people have the same unwanted objects that

you do and they want to cash in on them with ease, too.

Did you know that party planners and prop shops are two outlets looking for various objects from the world of antiques and collectibles?

Antique PArty Accessories

To cut costs at wedding receptions, baby showers, and parties many brides to be, flo-rists, and caterers are on the lookout for some relatively common vintage items and they are looking for them in big numbers.

For example, vintage white milk glass pieces, decorative teacups used as small floral centerpiece groupings, and old silver plated

trays for food service are coveted by caterers and party planners.

Many grooms will seek out sports collect-ibles, vintage flasks, beer collectibles, and liquor bottles to serve as gifts for ushers and groomsmen in a wedding party. Brides prefer to provide her attendants with vintage fashion accessories like hair accessories (ribbons, bar-rettes, hair bands, etc.), scarves, and beaded or metal mesh purses.

tV Antique trends

When TV execs need an object from bygone days, where do they look? Prop shops—the ones that provide the major movie and TV pro-duction crews with those obscure objects that you see on film—are always looking for items like vintage jewelry, period appliances like avocado green can openers from the 1970s, and vintage clothing and accessories.

Prop shops are often used for period TV shows like Mad Men, The Big Bang Theory, and the new sitcom set in the 1980s, The Goldbergs. You don’t think that Christina Hendricks spends her free time searching flea markets for Jackie Kennedy-esque brooches? and where does Dr. Sheldon Cooper get his ever growing collection of vintage Star Wars collectibles?

When it comes to considering the resale of your vintage collectibles and accessory pieces, consider party goers and production house set professionals.

celebriTy ph.d. anTiques appraiser, auThor, and award-winning Tv personaliTy, dr. lori hosTs anTiques appraisal evenTs worldwide. she is The sTar appraiser on discovery channel’s Auction Kings. To learn abouT your anTiques, visiT drloriv.com or call (888) 431-1010.

White milk glass serving pieces like this covered dish with a rabbit on the lid may be just the favor

for guests at a baby shower.

Notes from American Legion Post 242

by dick helm

The 25th annual Veteran’s Day program is now history. We were very fortunate to have an organizer such as Representative Clymer and his volunteer staff to get the programs together year after year to honor those who served. The three school districts, other lo-cal private schools, and each of the veterans groups from the Upper Bucks School Districts worked hand in hand with our chairperson to give the very best salute to veterans. We thank all participants, the school groups, and all who were attendees in the audience for sharing your honoring our local veterans!

By the time you read this, our Post 242 Youth Drawing will be history. We did see a slight improvement in ticket sales, but the percentage of ticket sales to tickets sent to the members still was a little disappointing. During the winter months, oratory contests and other special youth programs are being offered to our community youth. We hope that our lo-cal school districts present these opportunities

to the different possible participants.Many offer scholarships or seminars (some

in overnight or weekly stays). The money we raise goes towards such events. Our youth are very important to your Post and the subjects of such oratory contests or seminars are based on the spirit of “Americanism” that we so treasure. We also present all correspondence requesting assistance for our community youth in their pursuits to further their education. Those requests are discussed and voted upon for their merit. We have granted monies for such requests in the past and we appreciate any presentations by the student in our meet-ing after their return. Youth are our future! Post 242 is busy throughout the year with these youth programs.

We are planning a few changes in our Memorial Day Parade and Services and hope to improve both so more folks will attend this most important function. Look for updates in future articles between January 2014 and the event in May.

Some time back in the early 1970’s down-town Quakertown experienced a radical change in how traffic traveled through Quakertown Borough. Commuters had to navigate around the new triangular parking lot on Broad Street between Fourth and Third Streets and the new one-way traffic flow on Broad and the new Branch Streets. At the time, this new plan made sense to adjust how traffic traveled through the downtown area.

The present Borough council believes it might be time to change the traffic flow again. Quakertown may soon – that is, within a couple of years – see a major change in how traffic flows through downtown Broad Street. Council is moving forward to study how overhauling the downtown traffic flow will affect the area and if it is financially feasible.

Borough Manager Scott McAlree remarks that “It’s the responsible thing for council to do, to pursue and explore potential traffic con-trols in the downtown area.” He asserts that considering the traffic pattern change shows the commitment of the council to the ongoing economic revitalization of Quakertown. “This is just one part of the continuing effort to revi-talize the borough,” he says.

One important concern is visibility for down-town business, that many of the merchants along Broad Street are not being noticed by the drivers of the approximately 17,000 vehicles passing through downtown Quakertown via Broad Street daily. Increased signage for the business district is a part of the idea to redesign how traffic moves through downtown and boost business visibility.

Traffic Planning and Design, Inc., the firm consulted by the Borough, to study the traffic flow along Broad Street. Last month, they pre-sented council with a concept for a revamped Broad Street traffic flow from Front Street to Fourth Street, including Branch Street.

Currently, Broad and Branch streets are both one-way only, with Broad Street traffic heading east and Branch Street traffic running west with a parking lot separating the streets. The most

radical change would be reconfiguring one-way eastbound Broad Street to a two-way flow. Branch Street would remain one-way, but with added angled parking. Also, the Broad Street intersections at Third Street and Front Street would be reconstructed to calm and control traffic.

Increased signage would help direct drivers to Quakertown’s off-Broad Street attractions and events, such as Relay for Life, the Sarah Parvin Soccerfest, and the new park currently under construction near the library.

Because the downtown Broad Street area is the only passing zone on the larger Route 313, aggressive drivers are a big concern to council when considering traffic-calming options. They will be looking at simplifying traffic patterns and reworking intersections to help make down-town Quakertown a safer, more vibrant place to be. Scholl also mentions that reconfiguring the traffic flow will make the downtown more attractive for future development and business, adding that because of the present configuration some developers are currently reluctant to com-mit to Quakertown.

Councilman Ed Scholl is excited about the idea. He emphasized that the idea to redo downtown traffic flow is a part of the whole idea to revitalize Quakertown. “We are actively looking to improve what we can. We want to help to improve property values and to avoid missed opportunities. We want to improve the downtown experience for the people who live, work, and shop downtown,” said Scholl.

Both Scholl and McAlree believe the proposed plan would raise visibility for the downtown merchants resulting in more business. “We heard the merchants,” says Scholl, “and the added parking and traffic-calming measures will give the downtown more of a village feel. This is also about increasing foot traffic and that means we need to increase pedestrian safety. We don’t want people simply driving through Quakertown to get to somewhere else; we want to be that ‘somewhere else’ where people are going to.”

Quakertown ConsidersDowntown Traffic Changes

$1259 Donation to CancerSociety ‘Just Right’


Turning Kid’s Stories into Books

I Learn to Self-PublishTurning your kid’s stories into a book is a great holi-day gift idea for them. Over the two and a half years I have been writing my blog, ThisKidReviewsBooks.com, I met a lot of kids who write stories and even

whole books. I think it is great that these kids really enjoy writing and a lot of them tell me they want to get their books and stories published. I just self-published my first book. It’s called “The Adventures of Tomato and Pea: A Bad Idea”. It is the first book in a series that I am planning on writing. Here is the descrip-tion: “For years the evil villain Wintergreen had tried to destroy super crime-stopper, Tomato and his side-kick, Pea, and take over planet Oarg. In a plan gone wrong, Wintergreen traps himself along with his arch-nemesis in a runaway rocket ship that crashes on a strange planet called “EAR-TH”. Now these perennial enemies must learn to work together to survive the dangers on this strange world. Hungry birds, enor-mous snakes and the giant inhabitants of EARTH stand be-tween this brawling bunch of aliens and finding a way home.”I self-published my book on CreateSpace.com and I was amazed at how easy it was and that it really wasn’t that expensive. There is no cost to set the book up and you can buy the books “on demand” (meaning you can buy 1 to 1000 copies at any time). I was thrilled when I got an actual paperback copy of my own book in my hands!It is a story I started when I was nine years old. Two years later (after a lot of re-writes and editing), I finally turned it into a 72 -age chapter book, meant for kids ages 5-11) that I now have for sale on Amazon. I did all the re-writing and editing because I wanted to sell my

book so I wanted it to be done professionally. I got a lot of advice from other authors on my book and had a lot of people read it to help me make it better. My experience in self-publishing made me think that a lot of kids would love to have a copy of their book in their hands, not necessar-ily to sell, but to have something to be proud of. I think turning your kid’s work into an actual book is a great idea for a holiday gift for them or for kids to give out to others like teachers and grandparents. For example, my parents just made a picture book my little sister wrote and illustrated called “Do Not Lick A Starfish” into a 24-page paperback full color picture book. The cost of the book they had made for her is less than $6.00. They are plan-

ning to give it to her as a present and I know she is going to love it. Like I said, I pub-lished my book through CreateSpace, but there are a lot of different op-tions out there. LuLu.com, Smashwords.com, and even a local printer are just some places you can check out to turn your kid’s ideas into a real book. For kids who like to illustrate or take photos, you can turn them into books too at sites like Shutterfly.com, Snapfish.com and Apple.com. The sites have templates that make it easy to cut and paste text or pictures into the book in the right format. For my sister’s book, my parents scanned

the illustrated pages and inserted them into the template. You can also choose the size of the book, paper- or hard-back, color or black and white and the type of binding. It is cool that you can customize the book any way you want to make it really special.The whole process of formatting my book in the template, designing the cover (there are stock cover options that are really great to use), and having it printed, took about two weeks. There is still plenty of time to get one done for the holidays!

for more on books visiT Thiskidreviewsbooks.com.

YMCA Swim-a-Thon a Splashing Success

by kimberly kratz

With a goal to raise the final $8,000 to fund the installation of a new timing system and scoreboard, the Upper Bucks YMCA Swim Team hosted its First Annual Swim-A-Thon to celebrate its 40th year.

Measuring the event’s success not only in dollars, but also in participation, Head Coach Scott Woods said, “We had 72 of 117 swim-mers take part in the Swim-A-Thon. In addition to the 72 that swam, we received flat donations from an additional 15 members of the team. We now have pledges totaling $8,826.80, of which we’ve collected $6,232.50 [as of November 20, 2013].”

The YMCA Board of Directors approved the purchase of the new components totaling $25,000 with the stipulation that the remaining monies were gathered by November 22, 2013.

Further support of donated time and materi-als for the installation of the system will come from Silas Bolef Company of Norristown, PA, a commercial and industrial electrical construction and maintenance company. “We expect that offer to save us around $1,500 in installation costs,” said Woods.

The new timing system will modernize the facility making the Upper Bucks YMCA pool a more modern, competitive facility with the ability to host higher-level meets where guests will see instant feedback on a swimmer’s per-formance. It will allow the Swim Team to begin hosting high school meets for Quakertown and Southern Lehigh, as well as invitationals and championship meets. For more information about the Upper Bucks YMCA Swim Team, call 215-536-9622, or check the website at www.ubyswimming.com.

Cyber Program Work an “Outstanding Contribution”by erica stein

Nicole Hazelwood received the Blended Schools “Outstanding Contribution” Award for her work with the QCSD Cyber Program. The Cyber Academic Mentor and Course Design Professional Development Coach was surprised by the award at the recent PASCD conference.

The Outstanding Contribution Award rec-ognizes a proactive, passionate person who significantly impacts the development, promo-tion or advancement of online, blended, or mobile learning within the Blended Schools Community.

Todd Silvius nominated her for the award. He highlighted Mrs. Hazelwood’s work ethic and student-centered, passionate approach to helping other succeed. “Nicole has been a val-ued member of the QCSD Cyber team since it began in 2009 and has helped develop multiple policies and facets of the program. Nicole is called on for input, expertise and help by dis-trict and building administration, cyber course developers, cyber course teachers, guidance counselors and, of course, students and families for matters relating directly to and surrounding the self-blend online learning opportunities in our district.”

Over the summer, Mrs. Hazelwood de-veloped a student orientation course for BlendedSchools.net. After seeing the need for increased special education supports in the QCSD Cyber program, she went back to school to earn her PA Special Education Teaching Certification. Now more than ever she is able to provide RtI differentiated supports for an even wider spectrum of students who enroll in the QCSD Cyber program.

Nicole regularly presents at conferences and is a co-presenter for a monthly webinar series hosted on the first Tuesday of every month during the school year at noon and 7 p.m. for parents of cyber enrollments. The webinar shows families how to use their 55 parent ac-counts to support their children working in our online program.

“It’s such an honor to be among the educators that were recognized this year for their contri-butions in the Blended Schools community,” Nicole said. “It’s nice to be recognized for the support I provide to our students, parents, teachers, and administration. This award is re-ally about having a vision, and in Quakertown it’s helpful that my vision for cyber learning is

supported by teachers and administration who work together to find the best learning options for our students.”

Senator Mensch is also hopeful that the leg-islature will pass a bill to reform funding for community colleges, “Community colleges play a fundamental role in providing the edu-cation and training that is needed in order to help fill the job gaps in small businesses and manufacturing,”

The original standard on splitting the cost of community college tuition is into thirds, with student, state, and county equally sharing the cost. However, the cost burden has shifted over the course of the past years with the state covering about 30%, the county approximately 15 – 17%, and the student bearing over 50% of the cost of tuition. “Students are shouldering a bigger chunk of the cost than they should be and this puts an extra burden on the students and their families,” said Mensch.

The Pennsylvania Senate recently passed a series of bills that provide sweeping improve-ments to Pennsylvania’s child protection laws, including two bills sponsored by Senator Mensch. “Pennsylvania’s child protection laws are long overdue for review and update. The recommendations made by the Task Force on Child Protection helped us understand what needs to be done in order to prevent and deter child abuse and neglect. The passage of this bipartisan child protection package is an impor-tant step in this critical process.”

The next step, says the senator, who chairs the Senate Committee on Aging and Youth, is to look at senior abuse, especially financial abuse of the elderly.

We also discussed property tax relief, which is always a hot topic in Pennsylvania. Property tax opponents argue that the tax is unfair as most owners do not earn income on their prop-erty and ever-increasing taxes cause increasing hardship. Mensch sees this issue as strongly tied to pension reform in Pennsylvania. He also feels that simply eliminating the property tax would cause the sales tax to skyrocket, encouraging people to buy less in-state and more online to avoid paying a higher sales tax. It would also put more pressure on the earned income tax and other taxes that would have to be re-evaluated to make up for the loss of property tax revenue. “It’s an unfair tax, but it can’t be looked at by itself,” said Mensch.


~Obituaries~ALFRED W. “BUD” BLOUGH, 96, of Quakertown died October 27 in Phoebe Richland Health Care Center. He was the hus-band of Mildred Helen (Clymer) Blough. They were married 73 years in March. “Bud” as he was affectionately known to his friends and family served more than 40 years as Treasurer of the Borough of Quakertown and 12 years as a councilman. He was also a long-time member of the Quakertown Lions Club. In addition to his wife he is survived by a daughter Judith Johnson and husband Dale, two sons Ronald and wife Lorraine, and John and fiance Carol. Nine grandchildren Susan Jarrett (Kevin), Steve Johnson (Denise), Andrew Johnson, Christopher Blough (Faith) Amy DiNunzio ( Andrew), Ryan and Madelynn Blough, Kelly and Billy Harrison. Six great grandchil-dren Keely Doyle (Daniel), Kellen Jarrett, Jordan and Tyson Johnson, Angela, Makayla Ann, and Rowan Blough. Two great great granddaughters Ruby and Kayden Johnson. Many nieces and nephews. Predeceased by a brother Jacob Merle Blough and grandson Darryl Johnson.

GREGORY “GREG” DEAN WHITE, 54, of Quakertown, died October 27 at his home. He was a lifelong resident of Bucks County. He graduated from Central Bucks High School East (1977); worked for GM in Linden N.J; became a highly skilled carpenter; was member of The Heavy Highway Steel Workers Union Local 15253; and a drummer who played both at church and in local bands. He is survived by his beloved wife of 20 years, Ana “Cookie” (Velazquez); his son Gregory Luis; his broth-ers Jeremiah, Allen “Larry”, Zachary; his sisters Annette (Miller) and Gail (Manz); his father-in-law Angel Luis Velazquez and mother-in-law Ana Maria Velazquez; sisters-in-law, Margie Stevens, Candi Velazquez; Barbara Bryan and Pam White; brother-in-law Irvin Miller and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives, friends, and his loyal canine, Dingo.

PAUL C. KERSHNER, 60 of Coopersburg died Thursday October 31 in his home. Born in Limeport he was the son of the late Charles and Mildred (Lindaberry) Kershner. He was last employed as a truck driver for Chernay Printing in Coopersburg. Paul is survived by two brothers Larry R. of Macungie and James O. of Bethlehem. Two nephews Lee (Dana) of Quakertown and Luke (Arielle) of Macungie.

JAMES H. BLAKE, 70, of Quakertown died November 1 in St. Luke’s University Hospital, Bethlehem. Born in Philadelphia he was the son of the late Warner & Tacy M.

(Gaston) Blake. He retired in 2008 as supervisor analyst in equity research for Credit Suisse.

James was a train enthusiast and an ac-tive member of the Reading Co. Technical & Historical Society. He was also the founder of the Munchkin Railway. He is survived by four daughters Tacy Howell (Dylan), Bevyn Avery (Matt) both of California, Christina Blake of Oregon, and Catherine Blake of Quakertown. A sister Barbara Joan Blake of New Jersey. Four grandchildren Jordyn, Makena, Kalia, and Jacob.

WILLIAM I. HUHN JR., 79 of Quakertown died Friday November 1 in the Seasons Hospice at Phoenixville Hospital. He was husband of the late Shirley L. (Fields) Huhn. He was an electrician for Schulmerich Carillons in Sellersville before his retirement. William was a former member of the former Shelly Fire Co. He also enjoyed hunting and was a member of the Paletown Rod & Gun Club. He is sur-vived by a son William I. III “Bud” (Leslie) of Richlandtown, three daughters Sylvia Huhn and companion Ron Gilbert of Kentucky, Sandee Weierbach (Barry) and Shari Moore (Jerry). Nine grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

ROSE ANN DUSCHL, 95, of Quakertown died November 2 in St. Luke’s University Hospital. She was the wife of the late John B. Duschl. During World War II she was employed at Westinghouse. She was of the Catholic faith. Survived by a son John A., of Quakertown.

CAMERON DONLEY, infant son of Christopher Donley & Theresa Weisbach of Zion Hill, died at birth on November 5, 2013 in Grand View Hospital, Sellersville. In addi-tion to his parents he is survived by a brother Austin Donley. Paternal grandparents Matt and Deanna Donley, maternal grandparents Frederick Weisbach and Esther Madara, and several great grandparents.

HILDA (SANDERCOCK) EVANS, 98, Quakertown formerly of Souderton, died Thurs. Nov. 7. Wife of the late Elmer Evans. Mother of, Robert Evans, Harrisburg.

DAN W. WEAVER, 71, of Quakertown, died November 7 in his home. He was the lov-ing husband of Patricia (Cole) Weaver for 53 years. An auto mechanic, Dan began his career with the former Johnson & Biehn dealership and continued with successors Howie Williams,

Phillips, & Scheitauer, all of Quakertown. He worked for Asplundh, in the former Chalfont manufacturing facility before opening his own business, Dan’s Garage, Quakertown. He was a longtime member of the Upper Bucks Street Rod Assoc. currently serving as Vice President / Secretary and had previously served as President. He was an inspector for the National Street Rod Assoc. Surviving with his wife, son, Danny, wife Jennifer, Quakertown; daughter, Susan Thomas, husband Douglas, Mertztown; sister Janet Drago, husband Tom, Quakertown, grandchildren Noah, Anja and Sydney. He was preceded in death by infant son, Timothy.

JAMES H. MEASE, 87, of Sellersville, formerly of Quakertown, died Thurs., Nov. 7 in Quakertown Center. He was the loving husband of the late Jeanette (Hagan) Mease. He was a member of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Quakertown where he served as an usher. Prior to retiring in 1990 he was a cou-rier for the Quakertown School District for 20 years; previously a butcher for the former Cassel’s Food Market, Quakertown for over 20 years. Jim was a life member of Quakertown Fire Co. #1 and served on the company’s am-bulance service. Surviving son, Donald, wife Marilyn, Quakertown; and grandson Jason. He was predeceased by a brothers, David and Ernest, and half-brother John Diehl.

MARY L. GROSS, 86, of North Wales, previously of Quakertown died Thur. Nov. 7th at home. She was the wife of the late George E. Gross, Jr. She was a member of St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Coopersburg. Mary was a trustee on the Upper Bucks Senior Center. She worked for N. Allegheny County School District for many years as a school bus driver. Surviving, sons, George R., wife Daren, North Wales, Fred, Vineland, NJ; granddaugh-ters, Emily and Allison; sisters Alice, Betty and Alberta. She was preceded in death by a brother and seven sisters.

HAROLD SMAKULA, 83, of Perkasie died November 9 in St. Luke’s Hospital Quakertown Campus. Harold was a mem-ber of the Paletown Rod & Gun Club, and enjoyed working outside. He was a member of St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Bethlehem. Survived by a brother Wasley (Margaret). Two sisters Theresa Nalepa, and Julia Detweiler (William L.) Several nieces and nephews. Predeceased by brother John and three sisters Florence, Laura, and Mary Walter.

HOWARD “BUDDY” SMITH, 69, of Acworth, Georgia, formerly of Lansdale, Pennsylvania, died peacefully November 19, 2013. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 44 years, the late Patricia Lynn Wambold Smith. Howard is survived by his 4 children, The Honorable Melissa I. Baine, wife of Richard J. Baine, Jr. of Trumbauersville, Pennsylvania; David R. Smith and his wife Diane D. Smith of Union, Kentucky; Robin J. Fennelly, wife of Jeremiah Fennelly of Marietta, Georgia; and Robert H. Smith and his wife Danielle Smith also of Kennesaw, Georgia. Howard was born

in Abington, Pennsylvania on November 9, 1944 and was the son of the late Beatrice Smith Gordon. He lived in Lansdale, Pennsylvania for the majority of his adult life until relocating to Georgia in 1992. Howard was employed by Safeguard Business Systems as a Press Operator for over 40 years from 1967 until his retirement in 2008. He worked at both the North Wales, Pennsylvania and Tucker, Georgia facilities. Pop Pop will be lovingly missed by his 10 grandchildren, Richie and Sydney Baine, Dara and Danielle Smith, Courtney and Christopher Fennelly, and Gracie, Logan, Sophia and Colin Smith. Per Howard’s wishes, a Memorial Celebration of his life and Internment will be held at a later date at the discretion of the family.

CLAIRE M. FLOOD, 79, of Quakertown formerly of Sellersville died November 16, 2013 in LifeQuest Nursing Center. She was the wife of Edward A. Flood, Jr. They were married 40 years in June. She was last employed by Delbar in Telford. In addition to her husband she is survived by a daughter Jane Roseboro (Robert), two step-daughters D. Sue Fernandez (Mike Loughrey), and Karen Jett (Thad). Daughter in law Linda Flaherty. Five grandchildren Shawn & Heather Flaherty, Robert, Ashley, and Brett Roseboro. A great granddaughter Ava Yannarella. She was predeceased by two sons John Michael Flaherty and Gregory Joseph Flaherty, and a brother George A. MacNutt, Jr.

M. PATRICIA BOOTH, 98, of Quakertown died November 17, 2013. She was the wife of the late Arthur G. Booth. She was a U.S. Navy Veteran of WW II and a member of the Women’s Memorial Foundation and the Quakertown American Legion Post 242. She was also a member of the Shipmates Unit 120. She attended Ursuline Academy and graduated from Franklin Academy and Staley College in Boston. She was a member of St. Isidore’s Catholic Church in Quakertown where she served as the first women lector. Survived by her children James, Harry, Arthur Jr., Patricia Keller and Mary Dietz. Five grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Howard ‘Buddy’ Smith


ObamaCare and Medicare

All seems stable and well in Medicare as we move into 2014. Even though there was a slight cost-of-living increase for Social Security beneficiaries (1.7%), the Medicare Part B premium will stay the same through-

out 2014 at $104.90 per month. I have received many, many calls from clients

asking how ObamaCare (the Affordable Care Act) fits into Medicare. It’s very important to understand that ObamaCare is for folks under 65. If you are on Medicare, ObamaCare does not pertain to you and Medicare Supplemental Insurance plans, or Medigap, will not be sold in the Health Insurance Exchanges.

Speaking of ObamaCare, the American Medical Association has finally weighed in and here’s a report from a recent AMA conference:

The Allergists were in favor of scratching it, but the Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves. The Gastroenterologists had sort of a gut feeling about it, but the Neurologists thought the Administration had a lot of nerve.

Meanwhile, Obstetricians felt certain everyone was labouring under a misconception, while the Ophthalmologists considered the idea short-sighted.

Pathologists yelled, “Over my dead body!” while the Paediatricians said, “Oh, grow up!” The Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness while the Radiologists could see right through it. Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing and the Internists claimed it would indeed be a bitter pill to swal-low. The Plastic Surgeons opined that this proposal would “put a whole new face on the matter”. The Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but the Urologists were pissed off at the whole idea. Anaesthesiologists thought the whole idea was a gas, and those lofty Cardiologists didn’t have the heart to say no.

If you need assistance with Medicare, whether it be enrolling in Parts ‘A’ & ‘B’ or choosing Supplemental Coverage, please call me anytime.

HowArd PecK owns And oPerAtes senior insurAnce solutions And cAn be reAcHed At 267-923-5281 And srinsurAncesolutions.com

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Some Things Are Never As They Seem

Over the past twenty-five years, there have been five standard styles of hearing aids throughout the industry. Those styles include completely-in-the-canal, in-the-canal, half shell, full shell in-the-ear, and

behind-the ear.These devices were originally manufactured

in analog or conventional technology. The hearing aids were a standard from the early 1970’s through the late 1990’s. The compo-nents connected a microphone to a miniaturize capacitor, trim potentiometers, a circuit that closely matched the patient’s hearing loss, and a receiver. They were popular and inexpen-sive compared to today’s models.

Next up was programmable technology. The outside shell and faceplate of the styles were almost identical to the analog. There were the same components as before, but a special circuit was included that began digital process-ing in a rudimentary form. The sound was still analog, but processing the sound among the assembled components was encompassing computerized persuasion.

Now with the advent of true digital com-puterized hearing aids, the old analog and programmable devices have disappeared. Today’s digital hearing aids are constructed of a microphone, miniaturized computer chip, and receiver. A computer with special software from the manufacturer enables the private practice audiologist to program (tell) the computer chip of the patient’s hearing loss and thresholds across the frequency spectrum, the precise level of technology (entry, mid, or premium), and coordinate a built-in operating system commanding a variety of calculations based on sound input to provide the correct output to the ear.

On the outside of all the hearing aids, re-gardless of technology, they all look the same. However, are very different. The average person sees the same thing on the outside, but is unable to distinguish what is on the inside or how it operates.

The inverse is true in real life. A group of people can be shown an object and everyone

sees something different, when it is actually the same thing. Let me make this relative to you.

I grew up on a 130-acre farm tending to Angus cattle and baling hay. Believe me; I know what a hay field looks like. Walked on it, played on it, mended the fence, broadcast fertilizer, lime, seed, and baled that hay twice each year. I could take a dozen local officials from a town and school board out to a hay field and their opinions would be diverse. One offi-cial could look at that hay field and agree with me (the expert) that is what it is – a hay field. The other eleven may see a piece of property that is a prime example of urban decay full of cancerous blight and completely deteriorated like a section of Detroit after the 1967 riots. Furthermore, they would want to give a cor-porate welfare check in the form of a ten-year tax abatement to get a company to take it. All twelve would agree that it is a piece of land, but differ as to what kind of land it is.

With amplification, we are fortunate to be well into the 18th generation of development. The big six manufacturers are Starkey, Widex, Phonak, Oticon, Resound (Interton), and Siemens. They are in a horse race to have the best device on the market and the handi-capped patient is better for it. Many people have stated to me more than once that they are looking forward to the future in hearing aids. The future was here, but has left us a long time ago. We are experiencing new hearing aid technology no one ever dreamed of.

Ear trumpets first appeared in 1624 and were a fantastic invention because it helped people hear better. At the close of 2013, digital hearing aids are considered a fantastic invention because it helps people hear better. Funny how things are never as they seem, but somehow stay the same.

mr. murphy has had a bilateral mild-to-moderate sensor-ineural hearing loss all his life and is a binaural in-the-canal hearing aid user. mr. murphy has been in practice in pennsylvania since receiving his master of education in audiology from university of virginia in the spring of 1987. mr. murphy is affiliated with a number of hearing related national and international organizations. he can be reached at [email protected] and by phone at 215-804-1111.


Happy Healthy Holidays!

So you made it through Thanksgiving!! Good Job. Now you only have two more holiday weeks to get through. These holidays are always full of sweets and food. This makes for a very difficult time to be “good.” With all

the homemade cookies and pies, it is not aneasy time for a struggling appetite. But who cares, right?

This kind of attitude is not acceptable. Let’s change that right now. You are probably think-ing “How’s he going to change my thinking?” I’m not, but you are. First of all you have to take responsibility for yourself. Next, tell yourself that “you are worth it”. I know it’s only December and we haven’t had New Year’s yet but why wait! Start now! You don’t have to wait for a holiday where you make new promises to yourself that only last a month or so. You can start now by telling yourself I am worth it and I am going to do something about it and I am going to do it now. It only gets harder to change the longer you sit and think about what you should be doing to get yourself into the best shape of your life. Have you ever looked in the mirror and thought to yourself “I wish ...” only to walk away from it feeling let down and depressed? Well why do you want that feeling? There is only one way to over-come this, and that’s to take charge of your own body. You know where you want to be, so be the driver and go there!! Here are a few ways to be successful.

#1 disciPline: Without discipline you have nothing. This is the hardest thing to develop. It is the life style change that is crucial to your overall success. Our daily choices make who we are. When you are craving that snack you know you should not eat, wait five minutes and make a healthier choice. Instead of going home and propping your feet up at the computer or on the couch for hours, go to the park for a jog or walk or go for a bike ride, but just get out and get active. Remember it is all about mind control. You are in control of your ac-tions; now help your body by choosing the right ones to direct you towards your goal and not away from it. Discipline, discipline, discipline, I can’t stress this enough.

#2 consistency: Set up your workout sched-ule like you would a work meeting. Be on time and show up every time. This will increase your chances of reaching your goal.

#3 motivAtion: You need to focus on what your goal is. Why do you want to succeed?

Use that to drive you. It’s not what you do but how you do it. Go into your session ready to give your best effort and then a little more. Get into your mind and “see” yourself completing the task at hand.

#4 “off dAys”: Working out with a trainer may leave you with days you are on your own. When people work with me they generally are with me at least two days a week or more. This leaves you four days for you to stay motivated and active on your own. Remember the first key to success? Discipline! That’s where this comes into play. Get up, Get out, Get active. Don’t quit until you have given your best effort for each day. It’ll only get you that much closer to your goal and that is where you want to be headed.

#5 nutrition: Nutrition accounts for about 50% of your training program. You can’t out train a bad diet. “You are what you eat” is a saying that is so true. If you eat a lot of bad food you will feel and look bad. Your body is a machine and needs the proper fuel to oper-ate. Give it the right quality and quantity and you will begin to feel amazing. Keep a jour-nal! This keeps you honest with yourself and helps you track good and bad days. Make good choices every day.

#6 sleeP: Here is something to think about. Why is sleep so important? Without it, your body won’t rebuild and heal your muscles and bone strength. During your workout, the goal is to break down your muscles. That is what the “burn” feeling is. After the workout, have a small bite to eat, something such as an apple, orange or slice of watermelon. Then get plenty of sleep (7+ solid hours). Remember, disci-pline and consistency. No excuses! Go to bed earlier.

Remember, start now. Don’t wait, it only gets harder the longer you put it off. Keep focused or find someone to help you keep on track. It is in your court now and it is up to you. If you really want to make a change in yourself then don’t wait. A quote that sums it up, “If you are tired of starting over, then stop giving up!”

From your coach at GetReal Training, Have a Happy Healthy Holiday!

corbin williAms, nPti-cPt, owner of getreAl trAining, llc in sellersville, grAduAted from tHe nAtionAl PersonAl trAining institute (nPti). He Also grAduAted from wexford university witH A bAcHelor’s degree in exercise And nutrition. He is A certified strengtH And con-ditioning coAcH And A certified nutrition coAcH. you cAn contAct Him At 215-416-5757 or visit www.getreAltrAining.net

Girl Scouts Senior Troop 2811 celebrated Veteran’s Day with a Flag Retirement Ceremony along with their Rededication with assistance of Veterans from American Legion Post 242 at the St. Isidore Youth Center on November 13. Over 35 flags were collected. A program with poems, singing, and the ceremonial burning of the flags. With the Girls Scouts are (l-r) Bob Helm, Roy Schulenberg and Leslie Walters from the Wallace Willard Keller American Legion Post 242. submitted photo

Girl Scouts Properly Retire American Flags

Lehigh Grad Takes Detour at Wall Street,

Finds Calling in Yogurtby christopher betz

Tyler Walton seemed to have all of his ducks in a row. He graduated at the top of his class at Palisades High School. He went to col-lege to study Finance. He interned at Deutsche Bank. He was near the top of his class at Lehigh University and was now armed with a fresh degree in Finance. Everything he had prepared for was going as planned. Next stop Wall Street. But when the Wall Street oppor-tunity came knocking, Tyler quickly shut the door.

“I realized sort of early on after graduating that I’d really hate working on Wall Street. It just wasn’t me,” recalls Tyler Walton, now age 23, “The stress would’ve been crazy.”

So then where does a sharp, educated, would-be Wall Street finance guy turn if not the Big Apple. Two words: Frozen Yogurt. Well not right away, mind you. There was a lot of soul searching to do on just what would he make of his future.

The spark came in the summer of 2011 while vacationing in Florida with his parents. “The idea came from my mom, actually. She wondered if frozen yogurt is so popular down there and out West, could it be popular in Doylestown?” remarks Walton, “At first I didn’t really think too much of it, but I was a little intrigued.” After some heavy duty re-search over a period of weeks, Tyler decided that it could indeed be a great idea. After all, “this wasn’t the icy stuff that TCBY was sell-ing in the 80’s. Frozen yogurt has come a long way since then!” So he and his father (and now business partner) Ken Walton, a well-regarded local contractor, set out to build a store, settling on a site in the Barn Plaza in Doylestown Township.

Yogurtree debuted in June 2012.“We couldn’t have done it without each other,” says Tyler.

Yogurtree was truly a one of kind, build from the ground up, frozen yogurt shop.

“Everything is totally custom. Concrete counters, real wood paneling, a subdued color palette. We also wanted to be eco-friendly, so we used energy-efficient LED lighting, biode-gradable spoons, and we recycle everything we can,” Tyler explains. “And the yogurt is very high quality, very consistent. The ingredients and the process are both so important.”

Tyler Walton is very pleased with his de-cision to go into the yogurt business. “It’s actually relaxing and exciting at the same time. It’s been a lot of fun and I’ve learned a lot.” Apparently he likes the business enough to have opened a second location just about a year later in Quakertown on September 14th of this year. “This store is much bigger and has a wider audience. We improved the Quakertown store with things we wished we’d have done in Doylestown, like layout and materials.” He and Ken must’ve done something right, as their first month in Quakertown, September, beat the July sales figures of their Doylestown location.

What’s next for Tyler Walton? Apparently no new Yogurtree locations. “I thought I’d want to franchise but I realized it would just be a lot of stress and headaches,” remarks Walton, “I’d like to be a serial entrepreneur, trying new ventures in different industries.” Right now, he’s got his eye on an innovation in the craft beer business. I’m sure we’ll hear about it soon.

‘Serial entrepreneur,’ Tyler Walton, in his Yogurtree frozen yogurt shop in Quakertown, his second location. photo by christopher betz

Veterans Honor Clymerat his 25th Annual

Program to Honor Vets

The military Veterans for whom Rep. Paul Clymer puts on an annual program of recognition and remembrance each Veterans Day, turned the tables on the State Representative on November 11th when they in turn honored Clymer and his assistant Pat Wolf for their 25 years of organizing the public ceremony. Craig Wilhelm, Commander of the Nase-Kraft American Legion Post 255 in Sellersville, presented the awards. photos by christopher betz


There are so many animals waiting to come home for the holidays at the Bucks County SPCA’s Upper Bucks shelter. Can you give the gift of a forever home to a homeless pet?

Junior Mint is a two-year old male that came to the shelter as a stray way back in April. This gorgeous boy has been neutered here and is waiting for a new home. He is active, curious and likes to explore. He is good with other cats and may not be good in a home with dogs. Junior Mint should do well with older children who won’t chase after him. He is litter box trained and tested negative for feline leukemia.

Trinket is a 4 year old Terrier Mix who is such a sweetie pie! She likes to explore new places and get extra attention! She especially likes scratches on her hind legs and being petted under the chin. She is a moderately ac-tive girl, who may become more active once she settles in to a new home and gets comfy! She likes toys and will retrieve them. Tennis balls are her favorite and she likes to carry them around! She is friendly when meeting new people and needs practice walking on a loose leash.

She would be best suited in a home with children around 8 years or older that can take their time with her and help with training. She enjoys being with other dogs, but should meet them before going home and should do well with cats with supervision.

If you are interested in Junior Mint, Trinket, or any of the other pets waiting at the Bucks County SPCA please give them a call at 267-347-4674. You can also visit them online at bcspca.org or at the shelter just off of California Road at 60 Reservoir Road.

Adopt these Pets

Keep Your Dog Safe this HowlidayI haven’t been able to

put up a Christmas tree for a couple of years. The rea-son being dangerous Happy Lab Tail Syndrome. My Labrador Retreiver Shadow always wiped out orna-ments, lights and garland with her very happy, but

deadly, otter tail. I even tried keeping the good ornaments up on the higher branches while saving the less likely to break for the bottom. One year she knocked the entire tree down three times within two days. The first time I put the tree back up I carefully replaced all the ornaments, lights and garland. By the third time I was so annoyed I just threw everything back on the tree and called it done. Needless to say my Christmas guests never commented on my tree that year. Since my Shadow is just a sweet memory I’m going to try putting up a tree this year. My recent rescue, Mizz Ziva, doesn’t have that otter tail. I think I will still take precautions just to be on the safe side.

Here are 10 safety tips from the Association of Professional Dog Trainers:

1. The natural smell of a Christmas tree at-tracts dogs. Pine needles (even artificial) are indigestible. Try keeping your dog away from the tree by using a baby gate in the doorway. You can use low lattice fencing or an Xpen around the tree but be sure to secure it so it can’t be knocked over.

2. Don’t use preservatives in the stand wa-ter. They can be toxic if consumed by your

thirsty dog. Carefully cover the top of the stand with a tree skirt so your dog can’t get to it.

3. Don’t use edible ornaments or fragile, easily breakable glass decorations to trim the tree. Your dog may knock over the tree trying to get to them and your dog may decide they’re toys and cut herself trying to play with them.

4. Don’t use angel hair. It’s made of spun glass and can cause irritation on contact.

5. Make sure electrical cords are out of reach. Chewing on wires may cause burns or pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs), which can be fatal.

6. Don’t use wire ornament hooks that can easily snag an ear or a tail, or, if swallowed, can lodge in the throat or intestines. Instead, fashion loops of yarn, ribbons or light weight twine.

7. Tinsel and gift wrappings can be dan-gerous to your dog’s health and can cause obstruction of the small bowel if swallowed.

8. Don’t leave your dog alone in a room with a burning candle. A careless swish of a tail can be disastrous.

9. Alcohol and chocolate are toxic to dogs. Dark and unsweetened baking chocolate are the most dangerous.

10. Turkey bones are irresistible but can lodge in your dog’s throat or block the intesti-nal tract. Carefully place the string and foil in a secured trash receptacle.

I hope you and your furry chimney watch-ers have a safe holiday season.

mArion c. o’neil cPdt-KA trAiner And owner of molAsses creeK dog trAining, llc

Oh, my goodness! She found the place I hid the Santa hat with the beard! My human bought this last year after Christmas when things are cheaper. I hid it between the boxes in the barn attic

and wouldn’t you know she found it. It makes her laugh so I guess I can put up with it since it makes her happy. We should all enjoy do-ing things to make others happy. That is really what the feeling of Christmas spirit is about. Sometimes the person you love wants to see a movie, play, or game that you really don’t care about. Real love is enjoying making them happy by doing things they enjoy. If it works both ways then they will do the same for you. That is what wearing this hat is like for me. My human does extra things for me and this is my way of doing for her. Please remember

to keep your pets warm during the winter. It helps to leave music or TV on for them when you are not home. That way we will feel like someone is home with us. Merry Christmas to All of my wonderful fans, Love, M.J.

by alison levine

The National ‘No Roof Left Behind’ initia-tive has found sponsorship in Bucks County. Eiseman Construction is now accepting nomi-nations on their website, eiseman.biz/program, for a deserving family to receive a freereplace-ment roof.

Two caveats are: Nominees must own the home they are living in and be a resident of Bucks County. Also, the roof recipient must be current on his mortgage payments.

Nominees will be accepted until December 1st. A team of local volunteers will review the nominees and four will be selected as finalists.

The finalists’ stories and photos will be shown on Eiseman’s web site. From December 3rd to the 17th, the public can vote on the finalist they feel is most deserving. The roof winner will be revealed online on December 19 with an installation celebration will be held shortly thereafter.

Phil and Melissa Eiseman are celebrating 45 years in the roofing industry. “We don’t just work in Bucks County. We live here, shop here and raise our families here. We wanted to let the community know how important they are to us,” says Phil Eiseman. “Giving away a free roof seemed like a logical way to do that.”

One of the most important things for the Eiseman family is community outreach. When a fellow contractor from Detroit, MI told them about the program as a way to thank communi-ties for their support, Phil and Melissa knew it would be a great project for the team at Eiseman Construction. “We are just so excited about implementing a philanthropic program like this at home,” says Melissa. Other local businesses can show their community apprecia-tion as well. “We think it’s a great way to rally the community together,” says Phil Eiseman.

To learn more about Eiseman Construction and the ‘No Roof Left Behind’ program, call 215-345-9159 or visit www.eiseman.biz.

Gifts that Really Matter this Holiday Season Haben Sie Gesehen

“En Alt Frenkische Mutter?”It has been many years, but on April 27,

1968, the Quakertown High School Alumni Association presented a dramatic comedy titled “En Alt Frenkische Mutter” (“An Old fash-ioned Mother”).

The play was in Pennsylvania Dutch. It pre-sented quite a challenge for the actors.

The cast and staff included Elsie Mohr, Helen Eisenhart, Marian Mohr, Evelyn Worthington, Ada Weiss, Joan Mohr, Clarence Hottle, Arthur Landis, Roland Nice, Glenn Haring, Ray Eisenhart, Arthur Mohr; choir members BonnieMohr, Ruth Cressman, Jan Worthington, Ethel Haring, Arthur Mohr, Nancy Hottle, Christian Myers, Debbie Mohr, Leroy Weiss, and Clifford Worthington; stage crew Richard Cressman, Edward Refsnider,

Michael Mandell, Thomas Ondra, Cindi Henry, Sue Knauss, and Donna Wolfinger.

The production was filmed. We have had in-quiries about the film, but have no knowledge of its whereabouts.

It has been many years and many of the cast and crew are no longer with us. WE are seeking any information from surviving family members regarding the film’s whereabouts.

Contact the upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce at 215-536-3211, or the Quakertown Archive Committee at 215-896-1459, if there is information of its whereabouts.

Frank LicopoliArchive CommitteeQuakertown Historical Society


Enjoy the HolidaysThis is the time of year,

right after Thanksgiving, when our stress levels can rise and we can start to feel overwhelmed by the pros-pect of Christmas and what that means to us, to our friends, family and cowork-

ers. Sometimes it feels as though we are being pulled into so many different directions that we just don’t know what to do and may actually create a crisis for ourselves. The key is to plan, delegate and prioritize what is important to you and with your relationships with oth-ers. What is the meaning of Christmas to you? Is it all about the presents? Is it searching for those special gifts? Is it the gift wrapping and writing out cards? Is it the time you spend with your family and friends that you may not have seen all year? Is it preparing and sharing that special meal? Is it remembering those who are less fortunate than us that may need our help? Is it about being one up on everyone else and having to have the perfect gifts? Are we looking for recognition and acceptance from others? Whatever Christmas means to you is going to determine how well you will be able to enjoy the holidays.

We all have lists that we make about whom we are getting gifts for and what we think they may want. Some of us have an idea of how much money we want to spend on each person on our list. So if you start out by ask-ing yourself “what does Christmas mean to me” and depending upon who is on your list what it means to them. You will be able to systematically prioritize the time and energy it will take for your Christmas to be successful.

The problem some of us run in to is that we are so focused on making sure that we please others that we may overspend and may even become resentful about the whole gift-giving. That is why it is so important to be clear about the meaning for you and give love and gifts unconditionally because it is what is important to you. This is not always easy because those of us who worry will wonder if what we have given is enough.

It can be difficult but also empowering to stand in your own light and share your truth with others because what do you have to lose. Those who love you and do not care about the gifts are going to be so grateful to be celebrat-ing the holidays with you!! The holidays are supposed to be about enjoying and sharing with one another and if gifts are involved great! It is beneficial for us to evaluate what we truly val-ue in our relationships with others at this time of year. I am not saying to not buy Christmas gifts but be mindful of how you spend your money and ask yourself why you are giving what you are and that you can afford to be as generous as you want to be because you can; not because you feel you have to and are wor-ried about what others are going to think of you. May you be enriched by all those you love so dear and by all means, “Enjoy the holidays!”

My belief is that “All persons are truly greater than they think they are.”

susan v. brewer is a cerTified life coach and psychoTherapisT in The upper bucks counTy area. she can be reached aT 215-872-4219. visiT her websiTe aT www.balancelife4u.com.

Thanksgiving is almost here. If you have the financial resources to provide a comfortable life for your family, you have reason to be thank-ful. And if you can afford to share some of your “bounty” with charitable organizations, you may want to be as generous as possible — be-cause your gifts may allow you to both give and receive.

By donating cash or other financial assets, such as stocks, to a qualified charity (either a religious group or a group that has received 501(c)(3) status from the IRS), you help benefit an organization whose work you believe in — and, at the same time, you can receive valuable tax benefits.

To illustrate: If you give $100 to a qualified charity, and you’re in the 25% tax bracket, you can deduct $100, with a tax benefit of $25, when you file your 2013 taxes. Therefore, the real “cost” of your donation is just $75 ($100 minus the $25 tax savings).

Furthermore, if you donate certain types of non-cash assets, you may be able to receive ad-ditional tax benefits. Suppose you give $1,000 worth of stock to a charitable group. If you’re in the 25% bracket, you’ll be able to deduct $250 when you file your taxes. And by donating the stock, you can avoid paying the capital gains taxes that would be due if you had eventually sold the stock yourself.

To claim a charitable deduction, you have to be able to itemize deductions on your taxes. Charitable gifting can get more complex if you choose to integrate your charitable giving with your estate plans to help you reduce your taxable estate. The estate tax is consistently debated in Congress, and the exemption level has fluctu-ated in recent years, so it’s not easy to predict if you could eventually subject your heirs to these

taxes. Nonetheless, you can still work with your tax and legal advisors now to take steps to re-duce any possible estate tax burden in the years ahead.

One such step might involve establishing a charitable remainder trust. Under this ar-rangement, you’d place some assets, such as appreciated stocks or real estate, in a trust, which could then use these assets to pay you a lifetime income stream. When you establish the trust, you may be able to receive a tax deduc-tion based on the charitable group’s “remainder interest” — the amount the charity is likely to ultimately receive. (This figure is determined by an IRS formula.) Upon your death, the trust would relinquish the remaining assets to the charitable organization you’ve named. Keep in mind, though, that this type of trust can be com-plex. To establish one, you’ll need to work with your tax and legal advisors.

Of course, you can also choose to provide your loved ones with monetary gifts while you’re still alive. You can give up to $14,000 per year, per individual, to as many people as you choose without incurring the gift tax. For example, if you have three children, you could give them a cumulative $42,000 in a single year — and so could your spouse.

Thanksgiving is a fine time to show your generosity. And, as we’ve seen, being gener-ous can be rewarding — for your recipients and yourself.

Edward Jones, its employees and financial ad-visors are not estate planners and cannot provide tax or legal advice. You should consult your estate-planning attorney or qualified tax advisor regarding your situation.

arTicle submiTTed by bob podraza of edward Jones in quakerTown, 215-536-3635

Sharing Your “Bounty” Can Be Rewarding

Thomas Edison’s assistant, Edward Johnson, came up with the idea of using electric lights for Christmas trees in 1882. Christmas tree

lights were first mass-produced in 1890.

Did you know? An acre of Christmas trees provides the daily oxygen

requirements of 18 people.


Christ Lutheran Church1 Luther Lane, Trumbauersville215-536-3193Pastor: Carolann Hopke9:00am Worship, 10:15 Sunday School Free Drive-in Movies Friday evenings June through August, Handicapped accessible, Family Friendly Church

Grace Bible Fellowship Church1811 Old Bethlehem Pike N., Quakertown215-536-6096 [email protected]: Ron Kohl, Sr. PastorSeptember - May: 9am Sunday School for all ages, 10:10am Morning Worship Service, 6:30pm 2nd & 4th Sundays are small group meetings, 6:30pm 1st, 3rd, 5th Sundays Evening Worship

Good News Church424 Juniper Street, Quakertown215-536-4393 www.gnciv.orgPastor: David Mackey, Jr.Sunday service & childrens church 10:30am Wed. Bible Study 7:30pm. Friendly, Bible-based, Christ-centered, Spirit-led

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church2966 Old Bethlehem Pike, Zionhill215-536-7288 [email protected]: James SaboeSunday School all ages 9:00am, Worship services 10:15am, We at Zion invite all to worship and fellowship with us.

Evangel Assembly of God401 Arch Street, Perkasie215-453-1565 • www.perkasieag.orgPastor: Rev. Gary SaulWhere God’s Love Changes Lives

MorningStar Moravian Church234 S. Main Street, Coopersburg610-282-1908 [email protected]: Lance FoxSunday services 10:00am. Small, friendly Protestant church. Community mission: Serving free dinners once per month. All are welcome. Call for information.

Good Shepherd Church(Episcopal)1634 Hilltown Pike, Hilltown215-822-3930 Pastor: Harper Turney10:00am Sunday Eucharist

St. John’s Lutheran Church4 South Main Street, [email protected] www. sjrpa.orgPastor: Susan SosninSunday morning worship at 9:30am with holy communion first and third Sundays of the month. Sunday school 8:30am

Ridge Valley United Church of Christ905 Allentown Road, [email protected] www.ridgevalleyucc.orgPastor: Rev. Steve MyrenWe are a vibrant, welcoming Family of Faith. Worship: Sundays 9:30am. Ridge Val-ley: Growing Together in God’s Love.

The Gathering (at the Barn)24 Greentop Road, [email protected] www.thegatheringchristianfellowship.comPastor: Tom Daugherty

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church of Applebachsville837 Old Bethlehem Road, Quakertown215-536-5789 [email protected] www.quakertown.net/stpaulsPastor: Rev. David HecklerWe believe in sharing God’s love in joyful service. Come and see. All are welcome.

St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church3668 Ridge Road, [email protected] www.kellerschurch.orgPastor: Robert E. Mitman Worship 7:45 & 10:15am, Sunday School 9am, Koinonia Cafe 8:30pm, Holy Commu-nion 1st & 3rd Sunday, Children’s Church 2nd & 4th Sunday

Emmanuel Episcopal Church560 S. Main StreetQuakertown, PA [email protected] www.emmanuelquakertown.orgSunday services at 8am and 11am, Visitors and new members always welcome!

Church of the Incarnation (Anglican-Episcopal)44 S. 8th Street, [email protected] www.IncarnationQuakertown.orgPastor: Most Rev. Thomas J. KleppingerTraditional worship, Biblical faithSunday 10:30am, Wednesday 10:00am

First United Methodist Church501 Market Street, [email protected] [email protected]: Steward WarnerMission: Share God’s love, Make and nur-ture disciples of Jesus Christ, Have a posi-tive impact on our community and world.

St. John’s Lutheran Church19 South 10th Street, Quakertown215-536-3593 [email protected]: Ray MillerSunday Worship 8 and 10:30am, Sunday School 9:15am. Welcoming, Reaching Out, Serving. Elevator available

Trinity Great Swamp UCC 9150 Spinnerstown Road, Spinnerstown215-679-7710 [email protected] www.tgsucc.orgPastor: David R. Ellis / Matt GorkosSunday worship services 8am (Communion 1st Sunday of month) and 10:30am, 9:15 Sunday School classes for all ages (PreK-Adult) & family activities

Trinity Lutheran Church102 N. Hellertown Avenue, Quakertown215-536-4345 www.trinityquakertown.orgPastor: Lynette R. Chapman 9 am traditional services, 10:15am Sun-day School, 11am contemporary service, Handicapped Accessible, Family Friendly Church, Dynamic Music Ministry, Kidspira-tion Services.

Holy Spirit Anglican Church1133 W. Orvilla Road, [email protected] www.holyspiritanglicanhatfield.orgPastor: Rev. Robert TuttonWe are a traditional conservative Evangelical Christian church.

Pennridge Christian Fellowship720 Blooming Glen Road, Blooming Glen 215-257-7309 [email protected]: Thomas VargisSunday worship 10:30am, Sunday School after song service for infants to age 12. Wed evenings 7pm with prayer, crossroads youth and (Sept-April) boys and girls clubs. Everyone is welcome.

Richland Friends Meeting (Quaker)Main St at Mill Rd & Park Ave, Quakertown215-538-7555 Clerks: Kathy Redding, Jack SchickAbsolute freedom of thought and worship is our faith and practice over 300 years in Quakertown. Join us 10:30am Sundays

Morning Star Fellowship 429 S. 9th Street, Quakertown215-529-5422 Pastor: John Decker www.mstarqtown.orgServices at 9am & 11am, Children’s Min-istry during all services, Student ministry 6pm, Celebrate Recovery Weds 7pm, Divorce Care Thurs 7pm, EastWest Cafe open before & after services. Free coffee.

St. Paul’s United Church of Christ 104 Green Street, Sellersville [email protected] www.stpaulsucc.netPastor: Rev. Patti Thomas8am Rejoice & Praise Worship in Parlor, 9am Sunday School (all ages), 10:15am Worship in Sanctuary, Crossroads 1st Sun-day of month 9am in Fellowship Hall

Upper Bucks Area Places of Worship

by kimberly kratz

Make a Difference. Work for Justice. Change the World. These are the hallmarks of the career of a social worker, and the focus of a recent event on the Perkasie campus of Bucks County Community College.

To help Upper Bucks area students explore the option of social work as a future career, a distinguished panel of local social workers shared their experiences and fielded ques-tions from 25 current students. Moderated by Professor Jennifer Hime, MSW/LSW (who is also a Clinical Case Manager at AETNA Healthcare), the panel included Kathy Bennett, MSW/LSW, the Assistant Director of Bucks County’s Network of Victim Assistance (NOVA), Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia, LCSW, and DeVaron Palmer, a student who is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in social work case management.

Each panelist shared her background and experiences making several notable points for students who are considering social work. Among them, Palmer, who has spent time working with at-risk youth who are either on probation or have been remanded to Children, Youth and Family Services, suggested that it took time for her to realize that some clients are “hesitant of having social workers come into their home, and you don’t always get the results you want.”

However, Palmer said, “I was planting a seed and I was able to give these kids hope.” She explained that sometimes being a social worker requires a person to point out to such a child that it might be difficult to see beyond his or her current circumstance, but that “right now there’s a lot more out there for you.”

Bennett recalled that when she began pur-suing her education in social work, she was asked, “Why do you want to do that? You are never going to make money.” But, she implied that one can make a good living because the field of social work allows so much job flex-ibility in the corporate and non-profit sectors. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the median 2010 annual salary for Social Workers at $42,480 where an entry level po-sition typically requires a Bachelor’s degree.

And Ellis-Marseglia cited her public annual salary as $88,000. She holds a Master’s de-gree which is required for many teachers and clinicians, and often requires an additional two years of education.

Ellis-Marseglia, the first social worker ever to be elected to the Commissioner position in Bucks County, suggested that an important quality for a potential social worker to possess is an innate compassion and empathy for oth-ers. Palmer echoed the point adding, “Be able to meet people where they are. Have patience, and work with others well. When you are look-ing for resources, it helps to know people to help clients make connections. Be willing to extend an olive branch.”

With proper planning, area students who are interested in a career in social work can begin their college program by enrolling in the newly revised Social Work major in the fall 2014 semester. Max Probst, Coordinator of Social Work and an Assistant Professor at Bucks ex-plained that the change will allow students to smoothly transfer into a social work major at 4-year colleges and universities. “At the right transfer school, it is possible for full-time stu-dents to receive their Bachelors of Social Work (BSW) and Masters of Social Work (MSW) in about five years. Right now we are work-ing on meeting the needs of our day, evening, and online students and we are contemplating offering an accelerated program in the near future,” said Probst.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook, careers in social work, which it categorizes as both direct-care and clinical, are expected to grow 25% between 2010 and 2020. For this reason, Bucks County Community College has developed a Social Work program that “focus-es on getting students the education they need to enter into a growing industry,” said Probst. The faculty comes from various backgrounds and provides a range of expertise in different social work fields.

For more information about the Social Work major at Bucks, contact Max Probst, Coordinator of Social Work at [email protected] or call 215-968-8274.

BCCC Offers New Major


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Celebrating the Warmth of the Season in Quakertown

by michele buono

Quakertown Alive! invites you welcome the holiday season at our annual Tree Lighting celebration in downtown Quakertown on Friday, December 6. The fun begins at 6pm with the ice sculpting presentation and vendors First Savings will have a warming station for chilly fingers and toes. Our downtown business district will be adorned with luminar-ies to light the night. Please visit our local merchants for treats and spe-cials. Victorian carolers will provide seasonal music to lift your spirits as they sing their way through the down-town. Santa Claus will be arriving by firetruck at 7pm to take his ice throne and welcome children’s Christmas wishes. After Santa appears and takes

his ice throne, the countdown begins for the lighting of the Christmas Tree.

Once again, donations of imperish-able food items will be accepted for the Quakertown Food Pantry during the Tree Lighting celebration. Please bring your canned goods donation to the East Swamp Church booth located in the triangle parking lot. Over 600 pounds of food was delivered last year to the food pantry by Quakertown Alive! and the Quakertown Fire Department. This season we want to exceed that amount to bless our greater Quakertown area families in need.

An annual holiday tradition contin-ues with the Christmas House Tour on December 8. The tour opens at 3:00pm with a reception of appetiz-ers and hot drinks at McCoole’s

Arts and Events Place. Ticketholders will then proceed to visit the five houses on the tour as well as the Burgess Foulke House, the Upper Bucks Visitors Center, the Richland Friends Meetinghouse. Local artist Jim Lukens will be hosting several of his fellow-artists at his studio on California Road as part of the tour. The Woman’s Club of Quakertown is also hosting their annual holiday craft show at Quakertown’s historic train station on Front Street; all are welcome, no ticket required.

One home that people will be vis-iting on this year’s tour belongs to Mike and Nancy Cygan. Nancy and her friend, Shirley Errickson, have been busily decorating the Cygan home in anticipation of not just the tour, but also an upcoming family gathering. Garlands and bows fes-toon the banister, windowsills, and tables. Carolers adorn the fireplace mantel and the table is set as for a true holiday feast. Shirley has created the mood of a traditional Christmas throughout the house for her friends. Everywhere one turns, there is some-thing new to see. But the Cygan home is just one stop on a tour full of Christmas wonder.

Be a part of a beautiful Quakertown Alive! holiday tradition and get your tickets for the Christmas House Tour at various locations throughout the borough. Tickets are $15 each and $12 for seniors. For more informa-tion about the Tree Lighting and the Christmas House Tour, please visit us at quakertownalive.com or call 215-536-2273.

Shirley Errickson and Nancy Cygan have been busy readying the Cygan home for the Christmas House Tour on December 8. photo by michele buono

Properties of Merit Winners Announced

by michele buono

The 7th Annual Properties of Merit awards were presented on November 13 at a reception held at McCoole’s Arts and Events Place.

The Properties of Merit pro-gram was created for owners to show pride in their houses and downtown businesses. Where other cities and towns have had to cancel similar programs when state money was withdrawn, Quakertown has continued to thrive after local revi-talization group Quakertown Alive! took up the reins to continue moving the program forward. The program also benefits A Brush with Kindness, a program of Habitat for Humanity of Bucks County. A Brush with Kindness helps reinvigorate the appearance of neighborhoods and preserve afford-able housing.

Business AwardPippi & Peanuts, Jan Reese

Founders AwardUpper Bucks Chamber of

Commerce, Tara KingCommunity Award

Lynn KraftPreservation Award

Bucks County Preservationists for the Lofts at Stationview, Mike

Cygan, Dan Soliday, Kenton Bauder

Committee Choice AwardLynn Kraft

Finalist Awardsburgess district

Honoree Diane Montoney 1102 Mill Street

HonoreeBrad and Laura Ratushny321 North Penrose Street

HonoreeCharles and Patricia Quay

1040 Brookfield CirclePeople’s Choice Winner

Betty Worthington923 West Broad StreetmeetingHouse district

HonoreeKent and Linda Groff 222 South 10th Street

HonoreeSara Bailey & Jonathan Golden

706 West Broad StreetHonoree

Guy and Ruth Barndt35 South Main Street

People’s Choice WinnerDouglas and Becki Wilhelm

350 South 9th StreetGrand Prize Winner of this year’s

Properties of Merit program Douglas and Becki Wilhelm

350 South 9th Street

Missy Rose and Jann Paulovitz congratulate Lynn Kraft on his Committee’s Choice Award. photo by michele buono

upper bucks free press • december 2013

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