A Job Fair will be held on Thursday, February 28, from 5 to 8 PM at Columbia High School. Contact Amber Mirza, Recruiter Supervisor, at (717) 509-5613 x277 or amirza@jobs4lancaster.com if you have questions
In 2003, Rep. Joe Pitts took up the cause. By then, with interest, the claim had grown to $170 million dollars. According to the Star News, August 31, 2003, he joked that he would push Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to include payment for Columbia’s lost bridge in reparations to rebuild war-damaged bridges in Iraq “just for fun.” However, White House Office of Management and Budget spokesman Trent Duffy replied that the claim had expired and added, “The bridge might have to be counted, with bravery, as Columbia’s contribution to liberty.”
As we posted earlier, Edgar Allan Poe wrote for the original Columbia Spy in a series of columns titled “Doings of Gotham.” In the book An Old Turnpike Road, author Jacob L. Gossler recounts that the Columbia Spy paid Poe $5 per column, each of which was a letter on the goings-on of people in New York and Philadelphia.
Of the amount, Gossler recalls:
“We thought this a moderate compensation, but it was really extravagant in comparison with, as we afterwards learned, the salary of ten dollars per week that he received for editing the Magazine, which, at the time, after the North American Review, was the most popular, and considered the highest literary authority, in this country.”
At the time of his association with the Spy, Poe already had a worldwide reputation, and his poem “The Raven” had just been published to great acclaim. The Spy‘s editors therefore thought publishing Poe’s letters would garner greater attention for the newspaper.
According to Chris Vera, president of the Columbia Historic Preservation Society, Gossler’s book is rare due to the limited printing for friends and family, although the Society has a copy in its collection.
A digital copy can be found HERE.
Victorian Hair Weaving Workshop
Sunday March 10 at 1 p.m.
Mount Bethel Cemetery Cottage
700 Locust Street
Columbia, PA
Step back into the Victorian Era and Create your own Hair Flower
The workshop will teach participants how to construct a customary Victorian hair flower, used to commemorate the dead. Supplies will be provided to complete a simple flower. If you elect to bring your own swatch of hair, it must be at least 10 inches in length and the diameter of a pencil and placed in a zip lock bag. You may opt to make your hair flower into a pin or display it in a glass or wooden box (available for purchase). Start your family heirloom today!
About the instructor: The workshop will be led by Civil War re-enactor Lucy Cadwallader, from York County. While researching her hobby, Lucy became interested in Victorian hair art and mourning customs. For thirteen years Lucy has been perfecting the art of hair jewelry; human hair intricately woven into bracelets, earrings, rings, and necklaces. Hair flowers were created into wreaths and proudly displayed in Victorian parlors. Lucy has made and repaired hair wreaths, she also owns a vast collection of original Civil War jewelry artifacts.
The cost is $35 per person. Advance registration is requested.
Contact
Jane Moore
(717) 575-9760
jmoore1115@gmail.com
The original Columbia Spy newspaper (formerly the Columbia Spy and Literary Register) ran from 1830 until 1920, when it merged with the Columbia News, according to the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore HERE.
More information on the Columbia Spy, with an archive of years 1850-1870 is available HERE.
The Columbia Borough Fire Department held its recognition banquet on Saturday, February 16, to honor local fire department members. It was the first such banquet since Columbia Borough’s 2015 fire department consolidation. CBFD President Mark A. Fritz was Master of Ceremonies for the program, which included a memorial for deceased members led by Lisa M. Splain and Regina A. Fisher, and remarks by Mayor Leo S. Lutz and Fire Chief Douglas J. Kemmerly. Pastor Mark A. Kopp of St. James Lutheran Church led the invocation and benediction.
Eric C. Swanson of the York City Fire Department was the banquet’s guest speaker. Swanson, who graduated first in his class at the State Fire Academy in Harrisburg, has 18 years of experience with the York City Fire Department. Swanson is one of two survivors of the March 2018 York City building collapse in which two colleagues were killed. A report on the tragedy and its aftermath is HERE.
William L. Meyers III, a 10-year veteran of CBFD, was named the department’s first Outstanding Firefighter of the Year. Meyers has been active in the department since May 2009, starting as a junior firefighter. In 2017 alone, he responded to over 38% (288) of all emergency calls. Meyers is currently Secretary of the Fireman’s Relief Committee, where his duties include maintaining records for audits by the PA Auditor General office, and keeping meeting minutes and receipts. He also currently sits on the Apparatus Committee, which has designed two new fire trucks for the department.
Emily M. Braungard was named Outstanding Junior Firefighter of the Year. Braungard has been a member of the junior firefighter program since September 2016. During the past two years, she has completed classes that included Hazardous Materials Operation, Fire Ground Support, Exterior Firefighter, CPR, and in-house training. She has responded to 25% of the calls in 2018, representing 188 emergency incidents. Braungard has also assisted with other activities, including parades, the annual open house, fire prevention programs, and fundraisers.
Ronald L. Manley was named Outstanding Fire Police Officer of the Year. Manley has been volunteering for over 30 years in the Columbia Borough Fire Service. He has responded to 134 emergency incidents, 18% of all calls in 2018. Manley directs traffic around emergency scenes in all types of weather and has attended numerous training sessions, including Basic Fire Police, Advanced Fire Police, Traffic Control Procedures, and Hazardous Material Awareness. His job includes not only emergency incidents but also events in and around Columbia Borough, such as the Columbia Bridge Bust, National Night Out, the Columbia Arts and Crafts Show, 5K runs, motorcycle rides, and Columbia High School football games.
Fatih “Mike” Sivri, owner of Black Olive Diner, received the Outstanding Local Business Award. Black Olive, at 15th Street and Lancaster Avenue, opened in August 2016, and Mike has helped the fire department by offering food on extended incidents, monetary donations, and individual member discounts on meals. In December 2017, Mike gave a donation to the fire company, which Columbia Spy reported on HERE.
The Columbia Borough Fire Department also presented an Outstanding Local Business Award to Ben Gorman of Gorman Distributors at 12th and Manor. Gorman has accepted deliveries, picked up shipments, and loaned equipment to the fire company.
The fire department presented Andy Haines and HDS Specialists the Outstanding Local Business Award for responding at all hours to ensure all doors are in working order. Haines and HDS Specialists have provided superior service to the fire department for many years.
Three firefighters received recognition for Top Training Hours for 2019: Kevin A. Keyser (383 hours), Jonathan R. Riggs (204 hours), and William L. Meyers III (161 hours).
The Top Responders for 2019 were Mark A. Fritz (424/756), J. Michael Zercher (407/756), and Kevin A.Keyser (358/756).
Columbia Spy 