Discover Our Good Nature!

Discover
Our
Good
Nature!
Discover
Our
Good
Nature!
Discover
Our Good Nature!
Juniata River Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau
Discover Our Good Nature!
Photo by Nathaniel Thierwechter
The Reisinger Family Practice
Dr. Gene W. Reisinger and his wife Sue saw a need for a
family practice in the Juniata River Valley that would focus
on wellness and whole health. They wanted their practice
to be a comfortable, friendly, home-like environment. They
believed that to be as physically healthy as possible, the
psychological, social, emotional and spiritual needs of each
patient must be addressed. They began their practice a year
ago and have recently added James C. Hornberger, PA-C to
their staff bringing the total number of employees to nine.
Their practice is equipped with the latest
technology and affords their patients the opportunity to be referred to the hospital of their choice since they
are not attached to one specific facility. They offer their patience 24 hour coverage with a staff member
always on call. Their services include: Acute & Chronic Illness, Physicals (School, Work, CDL, Medicare,
Adult, Well Child, etc.), Pre-operative Medical Clearances, Immunizations (Adult & Pediatric), Circumcisions,
Allergy Injections, Lab Services, (Blood draws processed at a local hospital or sent to Atherotch).
If you are looking for a faith-based, general practice healthcare corporation whose
purpose is to provide quality medical care in a friendly, Christian environment,
this is the practice for you!
Reisinger Family Practice, 14229 Route 35, Richfield, PA
17086, P: 717.694.9909 or 855.694.9909,
www.reisinerfamilypractice.com
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Owner Jim Ream gave us a tour of his new
LARGER location! It is loaded with a wide variety
of outdoor sports equipment and features a Hi-tech,
Indoor Video Archery Range. Stay tuned for
further improvements coming soon including a 70
Foot Batting Cage! For all you fishermen out there
he also stocks live bait! Check out all the details
including store location & hours at
www.vso-pa.com!
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The Sunshine
Connection
To say our trip to Sunshine
Connection was eye-opening
would be a gross understatement!
Our staff was literally rendered
speechless, and any of you that
know us, know that is a rare occasion! Marlin Spickler,
along with his staff of volunteers and employees, are
making a tremendous difference in the Juniata River
Valley! Not only are they providing jobs for local
residents with disabilities, they are also providing a safe
place for their individuals to socialize, create, relax and
enjoy hot meals and snacks. Their Recycling Center is
vast, covering thousands of square feet! This work
environment provides the opportunity for the individuals
to work and feel productive which in turn improves their
self-worth. As we toured the facility, we were amazed to
see the quantity of employees as well as the quality.
When we stopped at work stations along the way to talk,
they were very eager to explain their part in the recycling
process. They work closely with UNIQUESource®, an
organization whose mission is to partner with member
agencies such as Sunshine Connection, to identify,
market, and deliver products and services that create
employment opportunities for individuals with
disabilities. Also at the facility is a large thrift store. In
this store, their individuals work hard to wash every
single item that enters their store. Their store hours are
8-5 Monday-Saturday at their 518 S. Juniata
Street location.
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Sunshine Connection Recycle
Center Information:
Where: 518 South Juniata Street
When: Monday-Friday 8AM—4 PM
Saturday 9 AM—3 PM, Sunday—Closed
What They Accept: Cardboard-Plastic Bottles-Aluminum
Steel-Brass-Car Batteries-Tin CansMagazines-Newspapers-Copper-Glass
They will pick up or you can drop off in
the rear of the building by the docks.
Phone: 717.242.4755
Your donation is tax deductible & donation receipts are available
upon request.
They are ALWAYS Accepting Donations!
Let’s help them help others!
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May We Have Your
Attention Please?
“The View” will be changing delivery dates starting with the October issue. This will be the transition issue
from monthly to quarterly. For the past nine and one half years we have delivered a newsletter every
month, 114 issues.
We have concluded that we may have over saturated the membership wants and needs, especially when
coupled with two or three email broadcasts per business day. Hence our decision to join many of our
business partners and most other chambers by publishing four newsletters per year: October, January,
April and July.
We shall continue to research and deliver an extensive calendar of events and introduce new chamber
members on a monthly schedule. Any other urgent news we shall deliver on an “as needed” basis via email.
Your input is always of utmost importance. Please email or call us if you have opinions on these changes.
Our goal is to follow the wishes of the membership. 248-6713 or [email protected]
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As our chamber continues to grow, the amount of free email broadcasts becomes competitive. That is, with a first
come- first served policy in place and a comfort limit of three per day, we need to set some boundaries.
Graphic design takes time. We do not have a dedicated employee assigned this task. We have stated from the
infancy of the broadcast program we need a “ready to ship” PDF & JPG of your announcement, event or offer. If we
have to design it, we need a longer lead time. A minimum of a week is needed to fit this design service
into the work schedule.
We have been asked what constitutes a broadcast email. It should be informational, an announcement, a special
event, new services, an additional location. It is not a means to advertise a sale or a price promotion. In other words,
we are not a replacement for radio, newspaper or cable advertising.
Broadcast emails are limited to a maximum of four per year per member, submitted one week in advance of sending,
must be in PDF & JPG form and scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis. Be sure to include your name, address,
contact information, and driving directions in your flyer.
Email broadcasts are a networking tool, the direct audience is over 900 commercial & business computers. We do not
reach out to the general public, however, business people do pass our information on to others; customers, clients,
family & friends and co-workers.
For questions or to get your message out to the chamber membership, contact Rhonda Moore at
[email protected]
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Comcast Business
60 Decibel Road, State College, PA 16801
Local Contact: B.J. Clitherow, Phone: 814.506.7379
email: [email protected]
www.business.comcast.com
123 N. Wayne Street, Lewistown, PA 17044
Local Contact: Robert Long, Phone: 717.248.9485
Email: [email protected]
www.mifflincountylibrary.org
129 South Main Street, Suite J, Lewistown, PA 17044
Local Contacts: Becca Brittain & Brandy Ritchey
Phone: 717.953.9321
Email: [email protected]
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12425 Ferguson Valley Road, Lewistown, PA 17044
Local Contact: D’Ann Mowery,
Phone: 717.447.0220
[email protected], www.tonergarage.com
28 East Market Street, Lewistown, PA 17044
Phone: 717.248.0855,
email: [email protected]
Check Them Out On Facebook!
20 Meeting House Lane #5, Reedsville, PA 17084
Local Contact: Bill & Mimi O’Neal,
Travel Specialists
Phone: 717.543.3134
email: [email protected], www.onealcruisevactions.com
Shade Mountain Naturals
Shade Mountain Naturals
4097 William Penn Highway, Mifflintown, PA 17059
All Natural Spa & Skin Care
Phone: 717.436.8958
45 Serenity Lane, Lewistown, PA 17044
Phone: 717.248.8847, Local Contact: Tamela Hetrick
[email protected], www.shade-mountain.com
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Wednesday, August 27
Larry & Fritz Schardt
Dave Britcher with Jenny & Harv McCardle
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MORE
Monday, September 29
GOOSE DAY at Chestnut Manor B&B
Honk!
Janna Stevens & Amber Grove
Bill & Mimi O’Neal
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Honk!
Scott Knouse & Jim Tunall
2015 After Hours
January-Valley Sports N
Outdoors
February-Sacred Heart
School & Parish
2014 After Hours
March-OPEN
October 22: Glick’s Shoes
April: Geisinger HospitalLewistown
November: 19 Dick’s Home Care
May: Northwest Savings Bank
December: Holiday Gathering
hosted by The Juniata Valley
Winery & Wilson House B&B
June: Locust Grove
There are only a few more
openings, call today to schedule
your Business After Hours Event!
What better way to let the
chamber membership see what
your business or organization has
to offer!
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July-Ohesson Manor
August-OPEN
September-Goose Day
Themed Expo
October-HealthSouth
Mifflintown
November-SUM Child
Development
December-Rich Coast Coffee &
Extrava Market
“Mom & Pop”
Mom & Pop? Now there’s a phrase we’ve
seen in print or heard used a lot in recent years.
It’s the shrinking segment of our business
community. As mass merchants expand and
grow, as internet shopping gains market shares
by leaps and bounds, little old “Mom & Pop”
storefronts continually fly further under the
retail and business radar.
When I choose to reminisce, I drift back to
earlier times, not just years ago, but decades. I
remember a time when my little old hometown
had a prosperous business district entirely
made up of “Mom & Pop” stores with the
exception of two 5 & 10’s and a shoe store
(small regional chain). I knew who owned
every store in the two block long business
district, they were my hero’s. They supported
everything that took place in the community
from school yearbooks to annual celebrations.
I grew up fully aware of the hard work and
dedication merchants invested in their careers.
My Dad worked for what today would be called
a bed & breakfast; a Victorian mansion with 10
rooms and a full restaurant and bar. My Mom
worked for my Aunt Selma in a large Swedish
themed restaurant in the business district.
They both worked long hours for minimal
wages, no benefits, paid holidays or
paid vacations.
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This brings me to the meat of the story, my
amazing Aunt Selma. Married to my Dad’s
oldest brother, (Dad being the youngest of
8 siblings), Selma and Gust married in Kane
and moved to Pittsburgh so Gust could find
employment in the flourishing industries
there. Soon after settling in, Selma gave
birth to Bill and then Mae. While still
preschoolers, Gust died tragically in an
industrial accident. Aunt Selma and the
children moved back to Kane and moved
into the Tunall family home on Janeway
Street with Grandma and my Dad, the only
two family members still at the homestead.
Selma may well have been the sweetest
little Swedish widow ever, always a smile,
never a complaint. She took work as a
waitress in a diner in the thriving business
district. It wasn’t long before she was the
untitled manager, taking care of all aspects
of the day to day operation of the business
for the owner.
She continued to live with Dad & Grandma,
saving every penny she could, devising a
plan to open her own Swedish cooking
establishment. She was a master baker, a
creative cook and a charming business
woman. To short cut her journey to the
goal of entrepreneurship, she formed a
partnership with three of her best
associates at the diner, each with a special
skill that made success eminent. The
restaurant opened to great reviews,
became the favorite establishment among
the Swedish population and appealed to
everyone due mostly to Selma’s amazing
pastries and breads and great service.
Continued…
and Musings Continued...
As the months and years passed by, Selma
bought out her partners and moved her family
to an apartment on the second floor of the
building that housed the restaurant. This was
a rather common practice among Mom & Pops,
as well as other professionals such as lawyers,
doctors & dentists.
As Mae & Bill grew up they took more
management responsibilities, allowing Selma
to dedicate her time exclusively to the baking
she not only loved to do, but was so expert at.
She went downstairs to work seven days a
week at 3:00 AM, baking at least 8 varieties of
pies (more on weekends), sticky buns and
donuts. My favorite was her Swedish rye bread
with its molasses and brown sugar
enhancements making it different than
Jewish rye.
When I was ten years old my Dad died and
Mom went to work full time (60 hours a week)
at the restaurant where she continued until
retirement. Selma died when I was in high
school, her daughter Mae continued running
the business until she opted to sell it and retire.
Her brother Bill had relocated to Florida many
years earlier.
New owners didn’t have the dedication or
enthusiasm necessary to prosper; they in turn
sold the business after a short time. Many
others have tried until recently when no buyer
could be found. Today the space
sits unoccupied.
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Aunt Selma was driven by necessity to work,
never allowed the fear of failing to derail her
plan, proved hard work and dedication bring
success.
She accomplished greatness in the aftermath of
the Great Depression and less than a decade
after women’s’ suffrage was passed.
Entrepreneurship was alive in America and so
were small businesses, “Mom & Pops”, the
lifeblood of every community. Change continues
as big business grows, buys up competitors and
now Amazon.com and Alibaba cut deeply into
our purchasing budgets and will soon deliver
using drones.
In the Juniata River Valley, we still enjoy a
significant number of great Mom & Pop
businesses. Please give them consideration
when doing business. As the holidays roll
around, let’s keep it local. Let’s share our
shopping budgets with our neighbors and
friends. The rewards will be great and you’ll
enjoy the satisfaction of being truly appreciated,
all the while supporting jobs. Mom & Pop not
only support our communities, they live, shop
and pay taxes right here in Mifflin and Juniata
Counties.
Richard Calkins Farewell
It is with great sadness we mourn the departure of one of the finest gentleman I have had the pleasure of knowing. I sat down
with him in his office at Calkins Dealership in August, 2007, to interview “Dick” for a “Place to Visit” feature article that appeared
in our newsletter.
“Richard Dick Calkins (the L is silent) is without a doubt one of the most highly respected businessmen in our Juniata
River Valley. His heartfelt philosophy of placing the customer first has been the key to Calkins longevity. It was only
natural that his service department would be such a major contributor to the business’s success.
Tracking Dick’s professional history is cause for a biography. Born in Williamsport, the family relocated following
World War II to Phoenix, Arizona in search of work for his father. Dick was eight years old and found life economically
challenging. They lived in a small trailer as the large Calkins family struggled to make ends meet. He was soon to take
on a paper route, sell newspaper subscriptions door-to-door, peddle fertilizer from the back of a truck, operate a lawn
care service, work in the shoe department of a J.C. Penney, sell advertising in a weekly shopper and become a sales
consultant for a daily newspaper.
Next, Dick climbed the newspaper corporate ladder from ad director to assistant publisher to publisher. In 1978,
longing to get back to his roots in Pennsylvania, he became the publisher of the Lewistown Sentinel. In all his years of
dealing with auto dealers, Dick developed a deep-seated desire to own a dealership of his own. In 1981 he became a
partner in a local dealership and a year later sold his share to be able to purchase Shelley Pontiac, Cadillac, GMC Truck.
In 1994 he added Buick, and in 1999 Subaru. In 2002 he sold the Cadillac franchise to Bill Lake Dealerships.”
Dick went on to talk proudly about the franchises, the employees, and the family. He exuded such pride when talking about
all three. His greatest pleasure was sharing the executive office with daughter Christina. The torch has been passed on to
the next generation. Thank you Dick for all you did for this great Juniata River Valley. Your memory will live forever in each
and every one of us.
Jim Tunall, Executive Director,
Juniata River Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau
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