By: JOHN CRAWFORD Record Express Correspondent, Staff Writer

Photo by Preston Whitcraft
Children of the American Revolution were in Lititz Sunday to honor 110 soldiers buried along East Main Street.Photo by Preston Whitcraft
Children of the American Revolution were in Lititz Sunday to honor 110 soldiers buried along East Main Street.

They came to Lititz as patriots, wounded in service to their fledgling country in battles such as Brandywine and Germantown.

General George Washington had commandeered the Moravian Brothers House in Lititz to be used as a hospital in December of 1777 and the soldiers began arriving on Dec. 19.

“A total of four hundred and fifty sick and wounded soldiers of the Continental Army and a few Hessian prisoners of war were cared for in the Brother’s House until August 28, 1778 when the hospital was discontinued,” wrote Ron Reedy in his history of Lititz.

From those numbers, another number arose — 120.

That was the number who succumbed to a combination of wounds or camp fever during their stay. Of those, 110 were buried together, outside the young town’s limits while the other ten, presumably officers, were sent elsewhere.

All present Lititz Scout troops (including Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts), their leaders, all previous Scouts and leaders and the general public are welcome to attend the last event at the Scout Cabin in Lititz Springs Park on March 3 at 10:30 a.m.

Any members of Troop 2 and 3 that built the cabin in the 1920s and used it for several years as their meeting place are encouraged to attend.

A short ceremony will take place, including a troop flag ceremony, Scout oath and law, short history of the cabin by Park Board President Ron Reedy, and comments and reflections by previous Scouts and others. A closing encirclement of the cabin will done by all present.

The cabin will be open for all to walk through. If there is inclement weather, the event will be held under one of the pavilions in the park.

By: ANGELA CABEZAS Record Express Staff, Staff Writer

Gloria and Alex Novachek show off their matching wedding bands, united for the first time since Gloria's ring was lost more than 20 years ago.Gloria and Alex Novachek show off their matching wedding bands, united for the first time since Gloria's ring was lost more than 20 years ago.

What started as a childhood hobby became the means for a Valentine’s Day miracle last week after Mike Straub, a metal detector enthusiast from Akron, recovered a wedding band lost in Roland Park more than 20 years earlier.

Mike’s interest in metal detecting was inspired by father, who enlisted his son’s help searching for old coins.

"He got me started when I was little," Mike said. "Dad would sweep back and forth with the detector, and I’d dig. I remember we started at the beach because sand was easier for me to dig through. Then about 10 years ago I started doing it my own, but I never found anything but modern coins."

"I always used to tease him," said Jamie, Mike’s wife. "He gets a (metal detecting) magazine, and people publish their finds. There’s always big rings on the cover, and I always said, ‘Why don’t you ever find me a ring like that?’ It’s been our long joke."

John Lieb and Jill HockerJohn Lieb and Jill Hocker

I wish that everyone could experience what it’s like being an exchange student in a foreign country — alone, but totally surround by new things.

Then they might be able to understand how it feels to have friends on every continent of the world (minus Antarctica, of course), or that loneliness can just be time to get to know yourself better, or that maybe the way we do things isn’t the best or only way.

My past five months in Germany have been a bit of an emotional roller coaster, with ups and downs. I’ve been ignored by all the girls in my class because of rumors. I’ve accidentally boarded a two hour train to Hamburg instead of the 10 minute train to my small village. I’ve stayed up until four in the morning swapping stories at crazy AFS camps. I’ve danced the night away in discos.

I’ve even been asked, "If you’re from America, why aren’t you fat?"

I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not.

Inside Friends of Lori Biechler are planning a fundraiser. Details on page A7. What is the local connection to Pensupreme? Find out on page A7. Find out what the students at Linden Hall are writing about these days. Page A16. WHS swimmers won six gold medals last week. Read all about it in this week’s sports section, on page B1.

By: JACQUELINE WATSON Record Express Correspondent, Staff Writer

Photo by Stan Hall
Twenty-two officers with the newly-formed Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Department took their ceremonial oath of office during a meeting in Clay Township last Thursday night.Photo by Stan Hall
Twenty-two officers with the newly-formed Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Department took their ceremonial oath of office during a meeting in Clay Township last Thursday night.

Twenty-two police officers in one room; that doesn’t happen often.

While the new Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Department — representing Warwick, Penn and Clay townships — has been up and running since Christmas, the public oath of office ceremony wasn’t held until Feb. 9, during the department’s monthly meeting at headquarters in Clay Township. Judge Joseph Madenspacher officiated.

"I don’t know about everybody else, but I feel pretty safe right now," Madenspacher said. "It is the police that are not just protecting us, but basically creating order where there would otherwise be lawlessness and anarchy."

Friends and family, along with Aiko from the K-9 unit, were in attendance.

Fire & Ice is here!

"Every event within the event is at an all-time high for sponsors and participants," says Dawn Rissmiller, co-founder and co-organizer. "It’s getting bigger and bigger every day."

Rissmiller and Tammy Boltz started Fire & Ice with Lititz Women in Business seven years ago, hoping it would take off and bring people downtown in the winter months.

"It really has become a highlight of the year," Rissmiller added. "We had people calling us back in July for room reservations and details to make sure they had the right weekend."

Thirty-one locations will have ice sculptures this year. Designs include a rooster, dump truck, pine tree, dragon ballet slippers and a giant angel throne … and that’s just a sampling. Live sculpting is also a big part of the event, with six sculptures being erected Feb. 17 during the Friday Night Block Party.

The block party starts at 5 p.m. with food, games and a variety of entertainment.

Inside Warwick’s Matt Engle scored the winning shot against Cedar Crest on Feb. 3, with less than one second left. Check out the sports photo page on B2. Crooner Tony Farina will be singing for Lititz next week. For this and more library news, see page A4. Rotary Travelogue returns to Warwick High School this weekend with a trip to the English Channel. Details on page A13.

By: LAURIE KNOWLES CALLANAN Record Express Correspondent, Staff Writer

Photo by Stephen Seeber
Lititz's annual Fire & Ice Festival will go on as planned, opening Feb. 17, but organizers are hoping for cooler weather. The warm winter has already forced them to scrap their ice skating party. The community rink behind Lititz Springs Park (above) had to be dismantled last week.Photo by Stephen Seeber
Lititz's annual Fire & Ice Festival will go on as planned, opening Feb. 17, but organizers are hoping for cooler weather. The warm winter has already forced them to scrap their ice skating party. The community rink behind Lititz Springs Park (above) had to be dismantled last week.

Faced with the warmest winter in recent memory, organizers for the annual Fire & Ice Festival in Lititz are hoping for chillier days as their three-day event approaches.

The festival, Lititz’s first big community event of the year, is set for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 17-19.