SUS
Vol. 79, No. 27, July 11, 1979
Ee
by Lorna Nolt
Do young men dream of
someday growing up to
become the borough man-
ager of a small central
Pennsylvania community—
much as young men
dream of growing up to
become firemen or lawyers?
No, smiles 26-year-old
Bruce Hamer of his three
months’ old postion as
Mount Joy Borough Man-
ager and Authority Admin-
istrator. Most young men
don’t. And he is no
exception.
Raised in rural-suburban
southwestern Pennsylvania,
Hamer comes to his new job
with an undergraduate
degree in education and
majors in political science
and government. ‘‘I was
planning for a profession as
a teacher,”” he says,
“until my senior year in
college. Job opportunities
didn’t look so good even
then for teachers, and 1
eventually took a position as
a part-time borough secre-
tary. I sort of fell into local
government administration,
you might say.”’
Armed with a nearly
completed master’s degree
in psychology, and presently
involved in studying for a
postgraduate degree in
business administration,
Hamer feels adequately pre-
Bruce Hamer
‘New boro manager
has broad background
pared for his new job in the
Mount Joy Borough offices
on Main Street. “‘It’'s a
public service postion, so
the rewards are sometimes
more than monetary. And
the psychology background
has helped a lot in my
dealings with people—a
large part of my job.”
Hamer and his wife
Georgina, a teacher, live
within walking distance of
the borough offices at 30
West Donegal St. “We like
it here,”” Hamer emphasizes
with a smile. ‘‘The rural
atmosphere and the slower
pace are much like my
hometown in the southwest
part of the state. There's a
different attitude toward
work here than in a city
setting. People take pride in
what they do: they could
sign their names to their
work and be very proud of
doing so. And we get more
done—on a steady basis
instead of in spurts of
not-as-productive activity.”
Getting things done
seems to be the meat of the
borough manager’s day.
And being there in person
appears to sum up Bruce
Hamer’s approach to his
job. He sees himself
mainly as coordinator be-
tween the various commit-
tees of the borough govern-
ment, acting as liason be-
RAL py
R.D,
2 S¥vpen
Susquehanna Times & The Mount Joy Bulletin
MARIETTA & MOUNT JOY, PA.
twen the elected members
of the borough council and
the mayor, and the
appointed planning com-
missioners and the authority
board, as well as other
related committees.
“lI make it a point to
respond personally to bor-
ough projects and prob-
lems,’” Hamer says. *‘I visit
the sites of any public works
in progress and answer any
written complaints by be-
coming personally involved.
I like to know what’s going
on.”
And knowing what's
going on requires an
ongoing and constantly
updated familiarity with the
financial end of running a
local government office.
Support monies come {rom a
one percent wage tax levied
on all borough residents
(half of which is shared by
the school district), a
property tax from all
properties within the bor-
ough, and annual allocations
from both the federal and
state governments. The
latter two are determined by
somewhat complicated
formulas, which have such
factors as, for example,
borough per capita income
and population. State
monies can be used only for
[continued on page 2]
PA. 1758s
QUEHANNA I'IMES
FIFTEEN CENTS
Rev. Philip Lynch accepts call
from Zion Lutheran, Marietta
The Reverend Philip A.
Lynch, Rheems, has accept-
ed a call from the
congregation of Zion Evan-
gelical Lutheran Church,
Marietta.
Rev. Lynch received his
Doctor of Ministry from
Lancaster Theological Sem-
inary, in 1978, and his
Masters Degree in Psyehol-
ogy from Rutgers and has
spent a year in Clinical
Pastorial Education at St.
Elizabeth’s Hospital, in
Washington, D.C,
A native of Camden, New
Jersey, where he was
educated in the public
schools, he graduated from
Haddonfield High School,
Haddonfield, New Jersey.
He attended Gettysburg
College and the Lutheran
Seminary at Philadelphia.
He was ordained by the New
Jersey Synod of the
Lutheran Church in Ameri-
ca, in May 1957.
After serving two congre-
gations in his home state
(St. Luke's Lutheran Church
in Dunellen, and Advent
Lutheran Church in Mount
Ephraim) he moved to
Pennsylvania where he has
been associated with St.
John’s Lutheran Church,
Lancaster; St. Christopher
Lutheran Church, Lykins;
and St. Peter’s Lutheran
Church, Middletown.
His wife is the former
Charlotte Beagle from
Prospect Park, Pa., and is a
registered nurse with a
degree from Millersville
State College and one from
Temple University. She is
currently employed as the
Public Health Nurse Coor-
dinator at Elizabethtown
Hospital for Children and
Youth.
three
The couple has
children:
James, a sophomore at
Shippensburg State College,
David, a senior at Susque-
hanna University and Jo-
anna, a Junior at Elizabeth-
town Area High School.
Lumberjacks to convene here
On September 7th 8th the
annual Greentree Woods-
men’s Festival will host the
Northeastern Lumberjacks
Championship Competition.
The Woodsmen’s Festival is
held at the station of the
sponsoring group, the
E-town/Mount Joy Forest
Fire Crew, near the West
Greentree Church in Mount
Joy Township.
There will be a lot going
on at this year’s festival
besides the Lumberjack
Championship. There will
be a carnival, fcad, rides,
games, Buck Young's Wild
Animal Show, displays of
logging equipment and all
sorts of outdoor recreational
equipment (trailers, boats,
ATV’s, wood stoves, garden
tractors), and many contests
open to the public—log
chopping, sawing, axe
throwing, log rolling, pole
climbing, log joasting, nail
driving (ladies only), and
tobacco spitting.
(To reserve a spot in
competition, call 653-2130 or
stop at the Greentree Forest
Fire Station.)
Mr. Lester Rishel will be
carving 7-foot animal sculp-
tures out of logs with a chain
saw. His creations will be
for competition & festivities
auctioned off on Saturday
night, September 8th.
On Friday at 6:30 PM
amatuer night will start. If
you have talent, phone the
crew to reserve a time slot.
A trophy will be awarded for
the best act.
Again this year there will
be a cake decorating contest
with cash prizes for first and
second place winners ($20
and $10). Cakes can be
decorated with any woods-
man theme and must be
presented at the festival no
later than 9:00 PM on
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