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RAY 5 BOX 3040
.D. PA. 17552
MOUNT JOY,
1 1IVIES
UEHANN
SUSQUEHANNA TIMES & THE MOUNT JOY BULLETIN
MARIETTA AND MOUNT JOY, PA —_
SUS
Vol. 79, No. 3, January 17, 1979
Joe and Grace Shaeffer
having the time of their life
Some people don’t know
what to do with themselves
after they retire.
Joe and Grace Shaeffer,
127 Park Avenue, Mount
Joy, however, have had an
opposite sort of problem
since Joe retired in 1972 as
Mount Joy's postmaster—
“What do we want to do
most?’’ Joe says he has to
say, ‘‘no,”” to a lot of
invitations and requests he
and Grace receive.
Joe is President of the
Mount Joy Area Leisure
Club, Treasurer of the
Rotary Club, President of
the Mount Joy United
Drive, editor of the Rotary
newsletter, active member
of the Mount Joy Area
Historical Society, the
Theodore Burr Covered
Bridge Society, teacher of
the adult class at Chiques
United Methodist Church,
stamp- collector, curator of
his own historical museum,
etc.
In almost all of his
activities, Grace is his
collaborator, and when
necessary, his ‘“‘corrector.’”’
~ Joe gives lots of public
lectures, but when he does
Grace usually accompanies
him and does not hesitate
to interrupt and correct any
misstatements of fact Joe
might make. The audience
is thus assured of hearing a
not only fluent but also an
absolutely accurate report.
One of the topics that
Joe talks on is ‘‘Retire-
ment,’”’ and he knows what
he’s talking about.
Many of Joe’s talks are
about Mount Joy history.
Joe is a native of Mount
Joy (Grace is from Salunga)
born, he thought for most
of his life, on October 18,
1905. It was not until Joe
started travelling in recent
years and had to get a
passport that he finally got
a birth certificate and
found out that he had been
born on October 15, not the
18th.
It is only since 1970 and
especially since his retire-
[continued on page 8]
Distinguished Service Awards
banquet to be held soon
The Mount Joy Jaycees
will hold their annual
Distinguished Service A-
ward Banquet Saturday,
January 27th at Hostetter’s
Dining Hall.
There will be a social
period from 6:00 to 6:30
P.M. and dinner will be
served at 7:00.
The ‘‘Distinguished Ser-
vice Award’’ will be
presented to a young man
for outstanding contribu-
tions to the community, as
well as other awards of
recognition to deserving
persons.
The Mount Joy Joycee-
ettes also will present their
‘“Woman of the Year’
award to a deserving
“woman of the community.
Entertainment will be
provided by a new musical
group ‘‘Andante.” Kath-
lene Milovanovic, Carol
Witman, Sharon and Re-
becca Zimmerman daugh-
ters of Mr. and Mrs.
Harold Zimmerman of
Mount Joy.
Master of Ceremonies for
the banquet will be Harold
K. Keller, a local Century
21 real estate agent and
auctioneer.
The public is invited to
attend the banquet.
Tickets are $5.00 per
person. For reservations
call Bob Hoffer 653-5958.
- cations would
Marietta Borough Council
New pumper truck and flood law
are topics of discussion
Buying a new pumper for
the fire company, and the
legal threat to Marietta
posed by the new flood-
plain regulations were the
big issues at the last
meeting of the Marietta
Borough Council, held on
January 9th.
Council president Reuter
was absent, so mayor
Flannagan took the presi-
dent’s chair until vice
president Harold Kulman
arrived several minutes
late.
The bids submitted for
a new pumper were opened
and read by the mayor.
Two companies had sub-
mitted offers in the low
60’s thousand dollar range.
Whether or not to buy
was the question. Council
man Zuch advised getting
more information before
buying, others felt that an
examination of the specifi-
suffice to
reach a decision. (The
specs ran 15-20 pages for -
each firm).
Pioneer Fire Company
chief Ken Geesey was on
hand, and spoke up in
favor of buying right away.
If other companies were
interested, they would have
bid, he said. Solicitor Rick
Umbenhauer said the bids
had been advertised in
three major papers, includ-
ing one in Philadelphia.
The firemen have been
working with company
representatives and others
for about a year, the chief
said, and know what they
want and what is available.
He also said that the
present pumper is in bad
“shape: the front end is out
of line and the windshield
keeps popping out. The
repairs are expected to cost
about $1300, which he felt
is less than .the amount
that might be saved by re-
bidding.
Spokesmen for the two
bidders: both said that
pumper costs, in line with
general inflation, are rising
at 10-12% a year.
Councilman Kulman said
that, since the bids had
been opened and made
public, the two present
companies would be at a
disadvantage in future
bidding.
““We know what we need
here in the borough,’
added chief Geesey. He
said the firemen had
studied the situation.
Zuch asked if the fire
company had contacted
|continued on page 5]
Umbenhauer reports
on flood law
Marietta Borough Coun-
cil received a report on the
federal Flood Insurance Act
at the last Council meeting.
Ken Ross, president of
the Marietta Restoration
Associates, spoke up dur-
ing the ‘Public Hour.”
He talked about the new
flood law and its effect on
Marietta’s future. He said
that the borough has two
choices: appeal the hydro-
logical study done by the
federal engineers, or get
more of the town declared
‘*historic,’’ which would
make the law void.
Ross said it would take
about two years to get the
federal Historic District
expanded. Citing the mass
of data which must be
gathered to obtain the
historic status, he said,
““The task is mammoth.”
Ross also announced that
a town meeting with
congressman Bob Walker
will tentatively be held on
January 19th, at 7:30 PM,
in the Community House.
‘‘[Mariettans] should make
our feelings known,’ he
said.
Borough solicitor Rick
Umbenhauer spent. about
twenty minutes outlining
the situation. for the
Council. He has been doing
legal research for about a
month on the problem.
There are two flood laws,
Umbenhauer stated. One
creates a flood insurance
program and the other an
administration, under
HUD, which poses the
current threat with its
“*floodproofing’’ require-
ments and 50% rule.
(Under the rule, houses
damaged by half of their
cash value must be torn
down, and no more than
half the cash market value
of a building can be put
into it in the way of
structural improvements).
Until now, Marietta has
been a part of the
“‘emergency’’ administra-
tion, but the town will soon
be forced into the regular
program. If the borough
does not cooperate and join
the program, all federal aid
will be cut off, residents
will be left unable to buy
flood insurance, and if a
flood - does come, the
borough would be liable to
lawsuits from the residents.
(This last statement was
not made by Umbenhauer,
but _ was culled from
another source.)
State, not federal, law
says the borough must join.
The process of being
forced to join the program
is in its early stages. Next
month, Umbenhauer said,
the ‘‘final meeting’ of the
borough with the FIA
(Federal Insurance Admin-
istration) will be held.
[continued on page 5]