9 NI —_— Congratulations Arlen Donegal’s Arlen Mummau was the only wrestler from this end of the state to place in the Pennsylvania AA wrestling tournament. He took second place in his weight class, and came very close to winning the championship bout. The team banquet was held last week (see page 6). SUSQUEHANN SUSQUEHANNA TIMES & THE MOUNT JOY BULLETIN Vol. 79, Ne. 11, March 21, 1979 C1) TR RALPH M 3NYDE BR. Dez? BOX 3040 MOUNT JOY, PA MARIETTA AND MOUNT JOY, PA ames WR FIFTEEN CENTS What is killing the Mount Joy Rec Club? Larry Gainer by Shelby Chunko The two-year-old Mount Joy Recreation Association is falling apart. Public apathy, a lack of facilities, and legal liability for personal injury are the three major reasons for the pending dissolution of the Association according to Larry Gainer, the founder and president. ‘““My goal was recreation for all ages in Mount Joy,” Gainer said in a recent interview with the Susque- hanna Times. ‘1 thought the Recreation Association would really go. I tried, but it just didn’t.”’ Gainer said he talked to many young adults in the Mount Joy area before he formed the Association in January, 1977. ‘‘Everyone said, ‘Yeah, Larry, it’s a good idea. Mount Joy needs something like that.” But when it came to doing the footwork and organizing activities, nobody wanted to do it. Just a couple of us did all the work. There was a lot of interest but no support. I don’t know why.” Gainer said he had ‘‘a lot of hope’’ when he started. He wanted to introduce a wide variety of recreational activities into the commun- ity, including volleyball, jogging, biking, horse- shoes, badminton, racket- ball, ping pong, and soft- ball. But, he says, even those few people who were willing to donate their time and energy to the program became frustrated over the lack of proper facilities. For example, the Recrea- tion Association investigat- ed the possibility of using the facilities at Donegal High School but were unable to pay what they considered to be an exorbitant rental fee—a fee, they were told, the state requires the school to charge. ‘“We pay for the school, but we can’t use it,” Gainer commented. ‘Last year we used River- view for volleyball and this year Maytown, but the ceilings are too low for adults.”’ Gainer said the the only decent ballfield in this area is Kunkle Field in the Mount Joy Borough Park. Although the Borough owns the field, it is main- tained and used by the Mount Joy Athletic Association. He added that the ball diamond at Sico Park gets flooded out every Spring and is ruined. The few remaining softball dia- monds are ‘‘too small or too rocky,” according to Gainer. The parks currently open to the public in Mount Joy include the Borough Park, Sico Park, and small playgrounds for children at Westview and on Donegal Springs Road. Gainer pointed out that the Florin area of Mount Joy does not have any parks at all. Gainer and others have discussed the possibility of an indoor recreation facil- ity, but the idea has never become a reality because of a lack of funds to build a new building and the lack of an existing structure that could be converted. During the interview, Gainer cited several law- suits brought against other groups, stemming from personal injuries incurred on public property, as another major reason why the Mount Joy Recreation Association (and other local civic groups) are becoming increasingly hesitant to assume responsibility for recreational facilities. “We want to offer a service at no charge to the commun- ity, but liability insurance is very expensive.’ Gainer pointed to Hliza- bethtown as having the type of recreation program he had hoped he could bring to Mount Joy. “There,”” he said, ‘‘The school facilities are in use every night, all year ‘round, providing recrea- tion for all ages. They offer things ~ like macrame, [continued on page 5] Rose Patterson [left] and Debbie McKain at work in the greenhouse of Appley’s Glass Gardens. Debbie will be a full-time employee. She lives in E-town. Marietta flower shop to re-open Appley’s Glass Gardens on the S-bend in Marietta will reopen next Monday under new management— Rosemary Patterson. Rosemary (or Rose, as she is called—she is kidded about both forms of her name, which are the names of plants) is a recent Magna Cum Laude grad- uate of Temple University with degrees in Horti- culture and Landscape Design. About four wecks ago she heard that Appley’s was available. and decided to go into business for herself there. She was uncertain, at first, that she was ready. But on the advice of ‘‘the best business adviser in the world’’—her father—Rose decided to take the plunge. In the last few weeks, she says, ‘‘I’'ve never worked so hard.” Starting a business, she quickly found out, is no bed of roses. There have been a million and one things to take care of— remodelling, arranging ad- vertising, talking to sales representatives, getting phones installed, dealing with red tape, and buying supplies of everything from flower vases to scotch tape. When the shop opens again on the 26th, it will sell both fresh and dried flowers, cards, floral gifts and accessories. Flowers by wire will be available soon after the opening date. All through school, Rose worked in flower shops, for a time managing a store near Philadelphia. While working for others, she learned every aspect of the flower business. She work- ed in greenhouses, design- ed arrangements, answered the phone, and even scrubbed floors on occa- sion. After talking with her father about starting her [continued on page 5]
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