Community First Fund Statistics

Since 1992, $60,000,000 has been financed and 1,140 loans were awarded through Community First Fund.

80% of loans were made to low-income individuals and made in low-income communities

• 4,723 jobs were created and retained

• 758 units of housing were financed in low-wealth communities

• 46% of loans were made to persons of color

• $10 million in loans were made to community social service organizations

• 35% of loans were made to women-owned businesses

• 1.9 million square feet of real estate was acquired and rehabilitated

• 3,768 children were enrolled in child care centers financed

• 98% of all loans have been successfully repaid

Source: 2013 First Community Fund Annual Report

PA Common Core: Myths vs. Facts

Myth: Adopting common standards means bringing all states’ standards down to the lowest common denominator. This means that states with high standards are actually taking a step backward by adopting the Common Core.
Fact: The standards are designed to build upon the most advanced current thinking about preparing all students for success in college, career, and life. This will result in moving even the best state standards to the next level. In fact, since this work began, there has been an explicit agreement that no state would lower its standards. The standards were informed by the best in the country, the highest international standards, and evidence and expertise about educational outcomes. We need college- and career-ready standards because even in high-performing states, students are graduating and passing all the required tests but still need remediation in their postsecondary work.

Myth: These standards amount to a national curriculum for our schools.
Fact: The Common Core is not a curriculum. It is a clear set of shared goals and expectations for what knowledge and skills will help our students succeed. Local teachers, principals, superintendents, and others will decide how the standards are to be met. Teachers will continue to devise lesson plans and tailor instruction to the individual needs of the students in their classrooms.

Myth: The standards will be implemented through No Child Left Behind (NCLB), signifying that the federal government will be leading them.
Fact: The Common Core is a state-led effort that is not part of No Child Left Behind or any other federal initiative. The federal government played no role in the development of the Common Core. State adoption of the standards is in no way mandatory. States began the work to create clear, consistent standards before the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which provided funding for the Race to the Top grant program. It also began before the Elementary and Secondary Education Act blueprint was released, because this work is being driven by the needs of the states, not the federal government.

Source: Common Core State Standards Initiative

Apple Country

The Apple of Tourism's Eye

By Karen Hendricks + Photography by Casey Martin

Good Intent Cider

“People are falling in love with our wineries & we hope they’ll fall in love with our cider makers as well,” says Carl Whitehill, director of communications for Destination Gettysburg. 

Whitehill says cider making fits in nicely with current niche trends such as wine and craft beer, as well as foodie tourism. He’s encouraged by the impact that Adams County’s cider makers have made so far and sees potential for additional growth. “We seem to be on the front end of the cider trend… we can tout it to our visitors, and it’s very trendy and impressive to tourists because our cider makers are doing a great job with it.” 

“The apple industry gives visitors a broader experience beyond the Civil War,” Whitehill explains. “The battlefield and Civil War will always be the big attraction, but the apple industry has provided us with a reason for visitors to do other things and lengthen their stay. It’s a great little break from history, to drive into the country and visit wineries.” 

Whitehill says Destination Gettysburg is reshaping and diversifying its marketing strategies as a result of Adams County’s successful wineries and cideries. “We are trying to market agri-tourism as an experience that links everything together. The Gettysburg Wine & Fruit Trail is an example. We want visitors to go into Northern and Western Adams County and visit farmers markets and wineries, to see the fruit and taste the wine…Adams County is a rural county, but we also have a lot of culture. The cideries and wineries are providing that culture.” 

To learn more about Adams County's apple cider producers, check out the September/October 2014 issue of Celebrate Gettysburg magazine.

Apple Cidery Events Schedule

SEPTEMBER 6

WHOOPIE PIE FESTIVAL

Hershey Farm Restaurant & Inn

240 Hartman Bridge Road, Ronks, Pa.

whoopiepiefestival.com

SEPTEMBER 6-7, 13-14, 20-21, 27-28 & 

OCTOBER 4-5, 11-12, 18-19, 25-26

PENNSYLVANIA RENAISSANCE FAIRE

Mount Hope Estate & Winery

2775 Lebanon Road, Manheim, Pa.

www.parenfaire.com

SEPTEMBER 13-21

DAY OUT WITH THOMAS

Strasburg Rail Road

301 Gap Road, Ronks, Pa.

www.strasburgrailroad.com

SEPTEMBER 19-20

TAILGATING FESTIVAL

Kitchen Kettle Village

3529 Old Philadelphia Pike, Intercourse, Pa.

www.kitchenkettle.com

OCTOBER 4

26TH ANNUAL BRIDGE BUST

462 Veterans Memorial Bridge, Columbia, Pa.

parivertowns.com

OCTOBER 11-12

56TH ANNUAL HARVEST DAYS

Landis Valley Museum

2451 Kissel Hill Road, Lancaster, Pa.

www.landisvalleymuseum.org

OCTOBER 18-19 & 25-26

HAPPY HAUNTINGS

Dutch Wonderland

2249 Lincoln Highway East, Lancaster, Pa.

www.dutchwonderland.com

Haunted Hanover

Residents Surrounded by the Supernatural

By Brendan Raleigh + Photography by Noel Kline

One night, DeAnna Simpson felt a strong presence that she could not see on her steps, followed by the sound of running footsteps toward her. Suddenly, she felt a thrust of hands on her shoulders, and was pushed off the steps to the bottom ledge. She suffered a hairline fractured coccyx.

DeAnna Simpson’s house in Hanover is a far cry from the old, dilapidated mansions of today’s horror movies. Its cozy front porch and colorful, well-maintained garden make the small brick house the very image of your typical suburban home. However, the stories that emanate from the house are anything but ordinary.

Simpson, along with her husband Tom and their daughter, moved into the residence in 2007 without the slightest idea of the terror and anguish that it would exert on them over the next seven years. Though Tom was initially against buying the house, DeAnna’s inexplicable fascination with it led him to overlook his doubts and consent to the purchase.

While touring the house, DeAnna noticed that small, orb-like particles would repeatedly show up in the pictures she took of the house’s interior. Attributing these to dust particles from the curtains or hardwood floors, the Simpsons thought nothing of it. But, the experiences became stranger immediately after the purchase, first in the form of what DeAnna calls “the shadow man,” a dark, towering figure that showed up in her pictures directly after the move-in, and has continued to emerge time and time again since then.

While touring the Simpsons' home, photographer Noel Kline captured this flame, which was not visible when the photograph was taken, in the dark basement.

“We had just signed for the house, and I was in the home alone taking pictures to send to my family in Kentucky,” recalls DeAnna. “Later, as my husband and I were looking through these pictures, I noticed this man’s face looking through the kitchen door, looking at me. It started that quickly.”

Civil War Trust Seeks to Save Lee’s HQ

By Brendan Raleigh 

You’d think that the Headquarters of Gen. Robert E. Lee would be one of the top tourist attractions in Gettysburg. After all, the decisions made in that building significantly altered both the outcome of the Civil War and the future of the United States. But unfortunately, the charm of the historic building has been marred substantially by the commercial development surrounding it, preventing it from reaching its full potential as an historic landmark.

And that’s why the Civil War Trust, a Washington-based non-profit group, embarked on its quest to purchase the Headquarters, restore it to its 19^th century glory, and preserve it for future generations.

“The Lee’s Headquarters site is the most hallowed of grounds,” says Civil War Trust President Jim Lighthizer. “And the opportunity to preserve it is the best way to appropriately honor the legacy of those who gave the last full measure of devotion on that fateful July day.”

“The Headquarters are one of the most historically-significant, unprotected battlefield sites in Gettysburg, and possibly the nation,” agrees Jim Campi, the Trust’s policy and communications director. “It was the nerve center of the Confederate army for much of the Battle of Gettysburg.”

The neighboring Quality Inn and Appalachian Brewing Company are often perceived as disruptive toward the site’s potential for an authentic Civil War atmosphere. Since the two businesses declined to renew their leases this past year, the Trust was given its opening to purchase the Headquarters and four acres of battlefield around it.

Financially, it’s a pretty hefty undertaking: $5.5 million to purchase the building and another half-million to demolish the modern structures and restore the historic structure. However, with more than $4.4 already raised and committed thanks to the government grants, private sector dollars, and a sizable gift from FedEx Corporation, the people of the Civil War Trust are confident they will succeed in their endeavor.

“Within the first three weeks of the campaign, we had already raised 25 percent of our goal,” says Campi. “If the fundraiser is successful, we'll be able close on the property probably next year. And then we’ll be able to move forward with our goal of making it look as much as possible like it did on July 1, 1863.”

If the Trust purchases the site, they will first have to assess the historic site and the historic buildings before beginning the process of tearing down the non-historic structures and restoring the landscape. The current museum would remain, at least until the site is turned over to the National Park Service, as the Trust plans to do.

“To watch the property be transformed from commercial real estate to a restored historic site, a place of reverence and remembrance, will be a true privilege,” says Lighthizer. “We will all soon be able to stand on this ground and be transported back to those three days in July that shaped our nation so significantly.”

Civil War Trust has performed similar ventures in both Gettysburg and Antietam, but this undertaking is by far their most ambitious, and potentially their most significant. To donate to the Civil War Trust’s quest to save General Lee’s Headquarters or learn more about the cause, visit the fundraiser’s page.