The Spark

ExtraGive in Lancaster is a day-long giving event that supports the work of nonprofit organizations in Lancaster County. ExtraGive is the region’s largest day of online giving, presented by Lancaster County Community Foundation and supported by High Foundation and Murry Foundation. It benefits more than 400 participating nonprofits that support issues and causes ranging from children and families to health and affordable housing, environmental and farmland preservation to arts and culture, and much more. Asia Tabb, the host of The Spark, interviewed Patrick Morrison, Director of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Cori Jackson, Communications Manager of the Ware Center, Brook Lenker, Executive Director of Keystone Trails Association, and Sam Bressi and Tracy Cutler Executive Vice President of the Lancaster County Community Foundation for their involvement participating in Lancaster's ExtraGive. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Around this time next week, many people will be preparing to eat turkey on Thanksgiving Day. The Edge Farms is located in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania. The Farm offers tours, educational programs, a live turkey farm and more. Black Edmonds of the Edge Farms shared what goes into day to day raising a turkey. “Turkeys are very, very social animals. So, one of the things we have to do is make sure that the space that they're in is well contained. So, we generally use electric fences because we move our turkeys and they move very regularly over pastureland, “said Edmonds. Alexandria Ferris of the Edge Farms says there are many benefits of purchasing poultry straight some the producer of the food. “Turkeys are often one of the most antibiotic filled foods that is in the grocery store, you know, across the industry. Yes. And so, again, with accountability, you want to know how the animal was raised. Our animals are all raised on pasture, and they are not given antibiotics, you know, broad spectrum or, you know, except in specific cases where an individual animal has an individual need and then they're often, you know, we separate them out because there are people who say, I don't want any antibiotics if they're not needed. And that's just something to keep in mind because many times if you grab an industrially produced turkey off of the shelf at the grocery store, if you were to test it right then and there, there would be antibiotics present in its meat “said Ferris. CLICK HERE or listen to the podcast to learn more about The Edge Farms. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Remember the inmate who “crab-walked” over a fence at the Chester County Prison in the summer of 2023, capturing the nation’s attention as he remained on the run for 2 weeks? Local schools and businesses were forced to close, and people remained off the streets. Journalist and author of “A Killer At the Door,” Bruce Mowday sat down with The Spark host Asia Tabb to share more in depth about the dramatic escape and eventual recapture of convicted murderer Danilo Cavalcante. Listen to the podcast to hear the conversation. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Grammy and Tony Award winner Leslie Odom Jr. is ushering in the holiday season on The Christmas Tour, which he will be performing at the Hershey Theatre Dec 17. He will be performing holiday classics, and selections from his Christmas album Simply Christmas and The Christmas Album. For Odom Jr. Christmas is one of his favorite holidays and he’s hoping to share that experience with the audience during his tour. “Christmas means family. Christmas means rest. You know, as Americans, we work. We work hard. And there's something about Christmas, too, Like a day or two after New Year. That's like the only time as Americans that we really allow ourselves to rest and push the pause button. People are not expecting you to answer your email right away, your text messages right away. So, it means pushing the pause button, you know, and focusing on family.” Leslie is a Pennsylvania native and is looking forward to performing in Hershey. “It's been a long time. You know, Pennsylvania holds such dear memories for me. I grew up in Philadelphia, of course, I went to college in Pittsburgh. My summer job was to intern on the House floor. You know, I was a page on the House floor in Harrisburg, so you know it. I am looking forward, as usual, to touching down in Pennsylvania and to having those that those rush of memories. I've got dear friends coming to the show in Hershey, and I want those memories around me at the holiday time. You know, it's really special.” CLICK HERE to see more about Leslie Odom Jr.’s upcoming tour. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Asia speaks with Dan Tomaso about what we can expect for upcoming weather on this weekly weather segment. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children in Dauphin County has sworn in eight new volunteers. Nearly 400 children are in foster care in Dauphin County, and the advocates work to ensure the safety of abused and neglected children in the county. Now that the new volunteers have been sworn in, the program in Dauphin County has 40 advocates. Will Foster, Executive Director of the CASA Program in Dauphin County says this will positively impact the youth in foster care. “It's really wonderful. Our program in a very short amount of time has gotten to the 40 mark for volunteers. And as I said earlier, it's a 1 to 1. So that means at least 40 children in our system are having a 1 to 1 experience. And that impact goes even beyond that, because some of our counselors have 2 or 3 kids, one has four. But that's the special circumstance that just gives a few more kids an extra set of eyes and ears that that can help them, “said Foster. Maurice Knight is a newly sworn volunteer with CASA. He has served 23 years in the Military and during a National Night Out event in Lower Paxton Township, he spoke with someone within the program and wanted to give back to the community. I like to see the fruits of the labor, so I'm looking forward to meeting the child or teenager that I'll be paired with and then watching them get through and hopefully, you know, lead to a successful life, “said Knight. CLICK here to apply to be a volunteer. CASA in Dauphin County is also asking for donations for their virtual giving tree which will benefit the children in foster care. The virtual giving tree is the agency's one and only annual fundraiser. "They can donate a certain amount of money or however much money that they would like to donate and they can put a little message up or a picture up and then people can go on and read the stories. And it's pretty a pretty amazing fundraising event that we do, "said Foster. CLICK here to donate to the virtual giving tree. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A recently engaged law now allows college athletes, and even some in high school, to benefit financially by allowing the use of the athlete’s Name, Image or Likeness, we’ll examine the emerge of NIL deals, with representatives of law firms and Public Relations agencies which deal in this relatively new field. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Asia Tabb speaks with Kelly Primus, The Deputy Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs about alcohol and the holidays — tips to stay sober and how to support your loved ones during the festivities. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We talk with three members of the World Affairs Council of Harrisburg who recently attended an international conference focusing on the future of Democracy. They’ll also be in Washington DC later this month for the Councils of America National Conference. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Doherty Petri School of Irish has over 100 students that has danced in over 200 performances locally in Pennsylvania and as far as Ireland. The mission of the school is to help everyone reach their highest potential ass an Irish Dancer no matter what age, level of natural ability, or level of commitment. Six Irish dancers who train at the Doherty Petri School of Irish in Lancaster will join the group Riverdance to perform at this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. 17-year-old Isaiah Pujol is one of those six students that will be seen in front of millions of people. “My gosh. I'm so happy because I don't think I've ever been in anything as big as this. And to be able to get the opportunity to do something well as big as the Macy's Day Parade is just something fantastic to me, especially with Riverdance as well, “said Pujol. Jase Lawrence has been performing since he was 3.5 years old. He will also be performing with Riverdance for the parade. He shares how he has been preparing for the parade. “Basically, the parade is a show. It's not a competition you're not repeating for first place. So, you still are working very, very hard to lead up to it. But it's. It's not, it's not the same as you would do for a competition like in a show. You would like you would like to be practicing like your dancers, trying to keep your arms in and like, true your feet keeping that turn at all. And in competitions you would try to do like all of them. But in shows you're not doing like you're dancing; you're doing the dancing like they have for you. So, you're preparing differently, but the preparing going up to it is a little stressful. But once you get into the groove of things, you really just like go straight forward, attack it, right it, “said Lawrence. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's edition of The Spark Weekly. November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Stephanie Williams was a nurse and stopped her employment when she had her daughter in 2015. In 2021, she had a persistent cough that turned out to be lung cancer. Also on the program: Girls on the Run is a national organization that empowers and strengthens the social, emotional, physical, and behavioral skills for young girls in grades third through eighth. There’s more than 175 chapters in the United States and seven in Pennsylvania. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Valley Forge National Historical Park encompasses much of the site of the 1777-78 winter encampment of General George Washington. It is often called the “most celebrated encampment.” Adam Gresek, Director of Visitor and Community Engagement at the historical camp explained why this camp was so impactful. “So, Valley Forge was the winter encampment of 1777 to 1778. Lasted for six months from December 19th of 77 to June 19th of 78. And actually, it was one of eight encampments throughout the winter. But it's probably the most memorable and the most legendary and which is the big reason for that is probably it was the most transformative encampment of the Revolutionary War. The Continental Army marches in as one army and marches out as almost as a completely different army in many ways.” The Valley Forge Historical Park is currently preparing for a huge event on December 14. “It commemorates the arrival of George Washington's army to Valley Forge. It's a nighttime event. You can see the soldiers, you know, wrapped up in four winters, starting to set up their shelters and everything. And you can learn about what it was like for the army when they arrived.” Listen to the podcast to hear more about the people of the encampment and their impact for generations to come. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our journalist roundtable segment for Friday, November 15 included reporters Sydney Roach from WPSU in State College and Sarah Schinto of WVIA in Pittston to discuss stories of interest they've been working on, as well as stories they're working on now. Sydney shares about her most recent report about a Jersey Shore Area Elementary School to close at the end of the year. Sarah shares about her recent story on NEPA workers among beneficiaries as U.S. Labor Departments recovers one billion dollars n lost wages. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve all felt the impact of rising prices, but you might be surprised to learn that one in nine people in Central Pennsylvania face food insecurity, including one in seven children. Plus, 58% of our neighbors who seek charitable food have a paying job. Joe Arthur Chief Executive Officer with the Central PA Food Bank says food insecurity is at an all time high in Central Pa. "We thought that four years after the pandemic started that we would be in a better position with respect to hunger. And that's not really the case. We're actually serving as many people now, actually a bit more in terms of individuals coming for help than we were even in 2021 at the height of the pandemic. So unfortunately, with inflation and many of the other challenges, challenges hitting families, we're at this really high level of need and we're really just trying to make sure the public understands that." WITF is proud to partner with Weis Markets, the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and you for our Annual Day of Foodraising on November 14. For each dollar you contribute to WITF today through November 14, Weis Markets will match it – up to $35,000 – with a donation of food to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank CLICK HERE to donate. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Historic Haines Shoe House can now be rented as an Airbnb. The home is located at 197 Shoe House Road in Hellam Township. It was once a honeymoon suite, ice cream parlor, and tourist attraction. Originally, the home was built in 1948 as a way to promote a shoe business by Mahlon Haines. Naomi Brown purchased the property in 2021 and turned it into a short-term rental. “I grew up driving past it many, many times as a lot of people did, who lived throughout this region. And it was just, you know, a really interesting kind of quirky property. And when the opportunity came about for us to purchase it, I just couldn't say no.” The rental has three bedrooms, one bath, and a living room with a kitchen. Brown made sure to preserve as much history as possible during the renovation period. “Well, it was really our desire to try and preserve as much of that history as possible. So, when we when we changed the use, we really tried not to change anything fundamental if we if we didn't need to. So, it still has the original kitchen cabinets from 1950s. It has a very custom arched bench in the dining room that was originally for that particular layout. It has a lot of original flooring, all the doors, a lot of features or just that's originally what was there, and we wanted to preserve that. One very unique aspect of the shoe is that it actually has stained glass windows that have shoes as part of the glass inset, and the front door has a stained-glass window with the face of Mellon Hanes, who's the gentleman who built the shoe house. So, a lot of very unique windows, which we did restore several of those to make sure they're here for the long term.” Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Girls on the Run is a national organization that empowers and strengthens the social, emotional, physical, and behavioral skills for young girls in grades third through eighth. There’s more than 175 chapters in the United States and seven in Pennsylvania. Jennifer West is the Executive Director of Girls on the Run Lancaster. Each year, about 2,000 participants and 600 volunteer coaches come through the program. West brought the organization along with her friend Carrie Jonson to Lancaster in 20009. “At the time, we both had girls in third and fifth grade. Carrie Googled girls’ self-esteem and running and thought, my gosh, this is something that Lancaster needs. This is something our girls could benefit from. Let's get it started. So, we went through the process of getting approved to be a council, which took about a year. And in the fall of 2009, we started with 25 girls. Then we grew to about 170 or 90, and then we grew to over 300. And it has just snowballed since. And it's been absolutely amazing how Lancaster and Lebanon have welcomed us.” The overall goal of this program is to build confidence, so they develop vital life skills. During a ten-week season, the girls meet twice a week for about a hour and a half after school. “We talk about healthy habits and teamwork and resilience and conflict resolution, how to be a good friend, because in third grade you're really figuring out what is it like to be a good friend? What qualities do I have that I can give to somebody else? And then what qualities am I looking for in a good friend? And we talk a lot about being unique and being individual because as girls get a little bit older, they tend to look at those around them and think, wow, I, I want to be like her. I want to look like her. I want to dress like her, whatever it is. And we say that you are uniquely you and you are just who you are supposed to be. And let's celebrate that and let's really figure out who that is.” Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Maternity Care Coalition is a organization that began in Philadelphia to advocate for the wellbeing of pregnant people and infants. Samina Bristow is the Associate Vice President of Programs for MCC. “We started in 1980 as a coalition. And we were really concerned about the high infant mortality rates in the Philadelphia community. And we learned a lot from that work early on. And what we found was that many families were having challenges with access to services. Barriers in terms of accessing services, lack of resources.” MCC provides many services to those in need such as home visiting, childcare, behavioral health and so much more. They also bring services straight to their participants with their mom mobile. “So, there is a vehicle, and it is known as the mom mobile. And that really started because we really were like beating the pavement, right. As a grassroots organization, meeting people where they were in a community. So, popping up at street corners, engaging in conversation. And people started to recognize us in the community. And we developed our model bill because essentially at that time we were, you know, serving women and children. Right? Really focused on ensuring that people birthing people had healthy outcomes. So really wanting to target pregnant women.” Those interested in becoming an advocate with the Maternity Care Coalition can visit them on their website. There’s many opportunities with the non-profit for those wanting to lend a helping hand. “There are a number of opportunities available if someone is interested in coming and, you know, becoming an advocate, be an employee by NCC. But there's also two volunteer opportunities. There's internship opportunities. You know, we encourage people, you know, to get involved where they see themselves, right? Like there could be an event, there could be, you know, sharing of information, right? So, advocacy and being an advocate looks different for each individual person. And we want to we want you to find where you find your avenue and we want you to be, you know, change agents of that. Right? So, sharing information is another way that someone can really advocate and support us and meeting our mission and also to build an awareness.” Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mister Ed’s Elephant Museum & Candy Emporium will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in February. The museum is famous for its one-of-a-kind candy, fudge, and pretzels. Nicole Bucher is the third-generation owner and chocolatier of the museum. Nicole and her husband Isaac purchased the shop in 2014. “My grandfather started the business in 1975. He was kind of an unusual character. And I guess one of the fun things about our business is how much it has evolved over the years. When he first started, he had, you know, fun things from the 70s like cold creatures, like Pennsylvania, coal things, souvenirs and just unusual things that you would find at a tourism stop. So, but what he noticed is that Candy was really popular, and he also had this kind of wacky small elephant collection. He threw it in the store, and it got a lot of attention. So, he started focusing on the things that made money and got interest, “said Nicole Bucher. In addition to the items sold in the stores, Nicole and Isaac give back to the community through various fundraisers. “We have a fundraising program that allows local organizations to raise money through fudge pretzels and cinnamon glaze nuts. And we also did, we brought back a bunch of events. And so we have four large free community events throughout the year and one is our Easter egg hunt. Santa Claus comes to the store. We also have a pumpkin party and a s'mores event in our store, and those are all free to the public, “said Isaac Bucher. For their 50th anniversary they’re working on a mural and are looking for the community’s support. “I'm working with an artist right now. I am a big proponent of community arts, and we're working on a mural that our customers will be able to help us paint and we're going to install it on our property. And it's all going to be based on my grandfather and his dream he had. His mind was full of colorful notions, so it'll definitely be colorful and pay homage to what he's built, “said Nicole Bucher. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Strasburg Railroad is the oldest continuously operating railroad in the United States, charted back to 1832. Eric Conner, Vice President of Guest Experience and Stationmaster says in a few years the railroad will be celebrating bicentennial “We are more than just a steam train ride through Amish country. We have a variety of dining events, food and beverage events, special events including civil war days, haunted rails and tales of Christmas and Easter events, and obviously the day off with Thomas. So we are a tourist attraction in the heart of Amish country, but we are more than just a steam train. We're also a family of family friendly attraction that has a a wide variety of different offerings, “Said Conner. Around 1954 the railroad was struggling until the year 1960 when investors came together and decided to revive steam for passenger operations. “So, in 1960, Labor Day of 1960, the Strasburg Railroad brings back steam for revenue generating passenger service. So, think of it is all the major railroads are getting rid of steam. Here's this small railroad in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, bringing steam back. Plus, they're located in the heart of the Amish country, which was the booming tourist attraction in the late 1950s and 1960s. And so here we have this dichotomy of Amish country. People are coming flocking in to see the Amish, and there's a steam locomotive running, which at that time a lot of the parents and the kids grew up with steam, “said Conner. Today, staff at the Strasburg Railroad works to educate their guests about its history through festive events. Terron Quailes Director of Entertainment says they aim to do historical things will make them fun. Right now, they’re preparing for their Christmas season. “I just want to announce that we will be having our very first Christmas piece of this season that will kick off Saturday, November 30th. And that comes with a 5 p.m. train ride followed by a family style dinner that will take place in Lefevre Hall, which will include a brass band that will play for the mayor as well as a meet and greet with Mrs. Claus, and then stay on the lookout for all of what we have for 2025, “said Quailes. CLICK HERE to see upcoming events. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Asia Tabb speaks with Dr. Troy Moritz and Lung Cancer Survivor Stephanie Williams about the importance of checking for lung cancer, treatment options and plans, as well as what lung cancer really is. Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.