Dover/West York: July 2009 Archives

Around lunchtime yesterday, I happened on a flier for the Olde Tyme Carnival and Fireworks at West Manchester Township's Sunset Lane Park, which was taking place from 5:30 to 10 p.m. that night.

Since I knew I'd be home from work by about 6, I made some quick plans to go with my mom and Sarah. Why not, we figured? It's free, after all!

First, I want to say that this drew a HUGE crowd. More, even, than the Dover Fireman's Fair does on some nights. Much like many small-town fairs, it was made up in large part of middle- and high-schoolers looking for someplace to chat and eat, in addition to the usual contingent of parents, grandparents and neighbors.

We didn't get there until close to 7:30 p.m., and we parked several blocks away, along the street. We didn't mind the walk, and it was nice to see so many people come out.

Best thing about the carnival: LOTS of food stands. Mom and I went in for the waffles and ice cream (and Sarah went for ice cream in a dish); Mom also got an old-fashioned cherry vanilla Coke, with the real syrup flavoring, which she enjoyed a lot.

Not-the-best thing about the carnival: We had some trouble finding the games at first, and by the time we found most of them, around 8:20, they had decided to close them down before it got too dark.

That said, we were able to hear a little bit of the band, The Citations, and everyone seemed to enjoy them. And Sarah played one game where you get to catch a pingpong ball in a net for $1, and based on what's on that ball, you win a small, medium or large prize. You guessed it, we got a small. Most expensive bouncy ball ever, but she liked it.

We decided not to fight the crowds for a place to sit to watch the fireworks, and headed home. Less than an hour later, though, we DID get to see fireworks - out our upstairs window, where we had a clear view of all but the lowest sparklers.

Sarah liked that. No crowds, but a great light and sound show. She had some interesting comments, too, for the organizers... she said, "It's really nice that they buy all the fireworks and do that so people can come see it." She also said the band was nice. "They took time out of their day to come there and play music for the people." I was happy to see her so interested in how such an event came together.

I know there are several other town fun fests coming, including Craley Days in early August. If you know of one - please, post a comment. I'd love to tell people more about these events, which are a great way to meet your neighbors.

I love that my blog readers let me know about what's going on in the community! I've had so many event notices lately, and I really appreciate them.

From Jo (not to be confused with Joe from yesterday) comes a reminder to me - that I'm sharing with all of you - that the Greater Dover Historical Society opens its working blacksmith shop to the public from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the second Saturday of every month through October. That means there's one coming up Aug. 8!

At the shop, pictured above, you can watch smithy Ted Ziegler forge hot steel on the anvil. Items Ziegler makes are for sale during the open houses, and proceeds help defray the cost of materials and support the society.

It's definitely worth checking out. I've been promising Jo to get to one for several months; in this case, I'll be heading out of town that day to visit my father-in-law in Rhode Island, but if I get my packing done early (insert crazy laughter here) I would love to stop up. If not, I've still got September and October!

Biz reporter Sean Adkins recently blogged about and wrote a story about York County's "big box" dilemma, in which we have an awful lot of large-scale retail space sitting empty.

Some examples, and I'm sure you can come up with more:

- The old Circuit City in Springettsbury Township
- The former Giant next to the mall in West Manchester Township
- The previous Linens N Things in The Crossroads in Manchester Township

After many jokes with Hubby - who suggests we put a "zombie laser tag" game where the Giant used to be - I have come up with what I think is a decent idea for the space.

Why not turn it into a farmers' market? Many of you know that my family, for years, had baked-goods and candy stands in the Market & Penn Farmers Market.

And while I love the market - and its historic old building - there are a lot of "downs." Some people, whether fairly or unfairly, don't want to visit the city to shop. It's always been terribly hard to park in the market's lot when it's busy. And the building, while a treasure of history, has needed a new roof since before I was born - and it's not exactly a wonder of modern air-conditioning, either. (Try selling chocolates there in the summer - ugh!)

And don't get me started on the city's rules for selling home-cooked food. I fully support the concept of a clean place for food preparation, but from personal experience, there are some technicalities - like, say, needing two completely separate kitchens in your home - that used to be in place that made it nearly impossible for a small business to succeed. I'm not up to date on the current rules, so I can only hope some of this has changed.

Anyway, off that soapbox. Back to the old Giant building.

Assuming it wasn't totally gutted, it would have setups for deli and produce departments, as well as for a seafood vendor. A small luncheonette/restaurant could use the former "cafe" area. Other vendors could fill the center, with neat aisles.

Add in the good lighting, the modern ventilation system, and nice restrooms, and it definitely seems like somewhere I'd spend my time. It's on the bus route, too - so anyone who, say, is used to shopping in the city because they don't have a car, could get here by way of bus! (And if you do drive - there's certainly plenty of parking!)

As an aside, this is an idea that was tried - with mixed success - a bit north of here. For a time, there was a former big-box store in the Colonial Park area near Harrisburg that had been made into a market, and we were vendors there, too. The down-side, besides the somewhat lengthy commute, was the higher stand rent. Hey, that air-conditioning system came at a price!

So do you think a farmers' market could work in the old Giant building? I'm really interested in what you have to say.

Last week, I took the family and headed out to the Dover Women of Today fun fest up in Dover, which you'll remember came as a spontaneous invite from a couple of women I met while selling items online.

I am really glad I met up with these ladies, Brenda and Cheryl. Not only did it give me blog material - for which I'm always grateful - it gave my family a really fun night out and didn't cost us more than a few cents. Oh, and daughter Sarah won a bunch of fun prizes!

I know you'd rather see Hubby's pictures than read my ramblings, so without further ado:

The kids could play free games to win tickets, which could be turned in for prizes. I hate clowns, so I was hoping Sarah would kick butt in the "clown knock off." (She didn't, but that's OK.)

Possibly a bigger money-maker than the club expected was the penny pitch. Sarah won a cute Precious Moments "Friend" mug, which was fine. Thankfully, we didn't bring many pennies, so we did not end up taking home an entire set of mismatched dishes, like some of the families there did. (And that is also OK!)

Sarah's favorite game - in which she won tons of tickets - was a version of Plinko, a la "The Price is Right."

And then there was EVERYONE'S favorite part:

Little alpacas!! These cuties were from Rusty Rocks Farm outside of Dover, and they were just the softest, nicest animals I've ever met. You could pet them and everything. And, of course, we did, because we're total animal junkies.

Now, instead of arguing with West Manchester Township about owning a goat, I think I'd like to figure out how to pass off an alpaca as a pet. C'mon, it's not that much bigger than my dog, just with a longer deck. (And probably smarter!)

I do have one more photo from last Wednesday's goings-on to share, but it's got its own special story, so it'll come in another post. Thanks for reading this far!