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February 17, 2016
Volume LXVI-No. 14 Reaching Over 19,300 Homes
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THE KEY TO THRIFTY BUYING
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Clubs Work to Make a Difference
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Automotive
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Birthday Coupon
Page 15
Classified Ad Form
Page 17
Community Calendar
Page 5
Cooking Corner
Page 8
Crossword Puzzle
Page 27
Dining & Entertainment
Page 24
Healthy Living
Page 18
Job Opportunities
Page 10
Obituaries
Page 22
Public Auctions
Page 23
Real Estate
Page 26
School Menus
Page 17
by Jody Hoover
Lions Club International and Rotary International are volunteer service
organizations whose members work
to improve the lives of others in their
own communities, as well as globally.
Each year, working together, the local
Myerstown-ELCO Rotary Club and
the Myerstown Lions Club donate
hundreds of turkeys to local charities.
“This is a joint raffle between both
clubs, it’s a good fundraiser for both
clubs. Also we are able to donate year
after year over 400 turkeys to the area
food banks,” said Mike Bashore, Myerstown-ELCO Rotary Club member.
Carl Wenger has been selling turkey raffle tickets since the 1950s.
Wenger is the oldest and longest serving member of the Myerstown Lions
Club, and has also been a member of
the Myerstown-ELCO Rotary for 18
years. The turkey raffle was originally started by the Lions Club, but a few
years ago Wenger got the Rotary Club
involved in the program. Whichever
group sells the tickets gets to keep the
funds, except what Carl Wenger sells
– around 600 tickets last year – which
gets split between the organizations
“I had it built up to almost more
than the Lions Club could handle on
their own, and I wanted to be sure
there was enough personnel to keep
it going. You get a turkey with each
ticket and then they draw 30 winners.
Many of the tickets are sold to local
businesses and then the businesses
– and many individuals – donate the
turkeys to charities, Wenger said.
“What I like about it so much, and
what really makes it important to me,
is the charities around the area got
about 550 turkeys last year. The turkeys are purchased at a fair price from
Dutchway, and we rent a trailer and
park it at Wengers, and distribute the
turkeys from there. We try to get out
about 1000 turkeys in a week or less.
Larry Wenger is in charge of distribution”.
The turkeys are distributed in November, and beneficiaries included
Sharing Cupboard of Myerstown
Church of the Brethren, Lebanon
Christian Ministries, On Fire Youth
Ministry, Lebanon Rescue Mission,
Food Bank of Bethel, Food Bank of
Hershey, Jubilee Ministries, Salvation Army, Youth for Christ, and Faith
Community Church.
“The Myerstown Lions Club is a
community service organization. We
service Myerstown, Jackson Township, and the Borough of Richland.
We support local organized youth
sports teams, provide awards for outstanding ELCO students, and help to
maintain area playgrounds. We also
do a quarterly highway cleanup – six
miles in the Myerstown and Jackson
Township area, and we have restored
two of the Keystone markers in Myerstown,” said Myerstown Lions Club
Secretary David Strasz.
The Lions have assisted in preparing and serving noon meals at LCCM,
and they provide professional evaluation, transportation, and care for local
visually impaired individuals in need.
The Lions also help to support worldwide International Lions Club missions. The first of the group’s popular BBQ Chicken sales will be held
in May at Smith’s Candies on Route
422.
“The object of Rotary is Service
above Self. The Myerstown-ELCO
Rotary serves the ELCO School District by sponsoring the High School
students of the month, the 4-Way Essay Contest for the ninth grade, providing eight scholarships to attend the
Rotary Youth Leadership program,
and sponsoring a Rotary Interact
club,” said Myerstown-ELCO Rotary
President Gary Gettler.
The first week of February 2016,
Rotary sent a team of 12 Rotarians
and youth to El Salvador to install a
water well. The public is invited to
Continued on page 27
SSAWV Hosts Public Event to Remember the Maine
by Jody Hoover
On the night of February 15, 1898, the battleship
USS Maine was anchored in Cuba’s Havana Harbor. The ship had been sent on a “peaceful visit”
to protect the United States’ interests and evacuate
American citizens if necessary during the Cuban
revolt against Spain. At 9:40 p.m., the USS Maine,
the most powerful ship in the US fleet at the time,
suddenly exploded.
The massive explosion ripped out the ship’s bottom, sinking the battleship. 266 of the 350 men on
board were killed. A Naval Court of Inquiry ruled
that the ship was blown up by an underwater mine.
While blame was never officially placed on Spain,
politicians and the American public believed that
Spain was responsible, and the sinking of the USS
Maine, along with other factors, led to a declaration
of war against Spain on April 25, 1898.
Remember the Maine was the headline in many
newspapers, and a common battle cry used to rally
the fighting troops. In December 1898, the Treaty of
Paris was signed, with Spain renouncing all claim
The battleship USS Maine, the USS
Maine Memorial in Arlington National
Cemetery includes the main mast from
the ship.
to Cuba, giving control of Guam
and Puerto Rico to the US, and transferring sovereignty over the Philippines to the United States.
The exact cause or responsibility for the explosion of the USS Maine has never been established
with full certainty. Some later investigations concluded that the USS Maine may have been destroyed
by burning coal that ignited its ammunition stocks,
and not by an outside act of sabotage.
While the slogan Remember the Maine is familiar to most people, the Spanish-American War is
sometimes called the ‘forgotten war’, being overshadowed by the Civil War and World War I. Members of the Sons of Spanish American War Veterans
are dedicated to preserving the memory of the veterans of the United States Army, Navy, and Marine
Corps, who served from February 14th, 1898, to
July 4th, 1902, in the Spanish American War, the
Philippine Insurrection and the China Relief Expedition, also known as ‘the Boxer Rebellion’.
To commemorate this historic event, a Spanish
American War Roundtable, hosted by the Quinn
Camp of the Sons of Spanish American War Veterans, will be held on Tuesday, February 23. The
event will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Navy Club
at 1501 Lehman Street – near 16th and Lehman,
Lebanon. All interested persons are invited to attend.
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Continued on page 27