Inside the view...

Place to Visit 1

Schedule of Events 2

Member Spotlight 4

New Members 5

After Hours 6

Jim’s Corner 8

Place To Visit for October The Chamber and Visitors Bureau

staff spent a day visiting historic Penn’s Cave and Wildlife Park, located just east of Centre Hall on route 192. Our visit originated in the Visitors Center where we departed for a one hour cave tour followed by a 90 minute Wildlife Park Tour. Neither one involved much physical exertion, the cave tour is via a flat bottomed boat and the wildlife tour is on a safari bus. The cave is a half mile long, the only water cavern on the east coast. This limestone cavern is a stunning example of nature’s flawless beauty and color. Well enlightened guides will share the history of the cave, its owners and its 124 years as a visitor’s site. Arriving at the far end of the cave, visitors will enjoy a ride around Lake Nittany with its abundant water fowl, including a pair of swans, before returning to the cave for the journey back to the entrance. A camera is absolutely a must. Plan a lunch break in the Visitors Center Café before embarking on the much newer Wildlife Park bus tour. The entire property is 1500 acres divided into an 850 acre working farm and the balance wildlife park. Some of the highlights include bobcats, elk, white tailed deer, huge black bears, gray wolves, bison, Texas longhorn steer and wild mustangs. We witnessed the debut of two of a liter of five young gray wolves that the owners had bottle fed for weeks prior to introduction into the fenced in public viewing area. This destination is less than an hour from Lewistown, providing a tremendous opportunity to explore nature and wildlife in our beautiful natural woodlands and countryside. Visitors come daily from all over the world and we have this magnificent treasure in our very backyard. Highly recommended for visitors of all ages.

222 Penns Cave Road Centre Hall, PA16828 Phone: 814.364.1664

www.pennscave.com

The Festival of Ice is coming to town—and it’s bringing a bundle of holiday cheer for all to enjoy as Downtown Lewistown is transformed into a winter wonderland. The largest Christmas time event in the Juniata River Valley premieres on Thursday, December 3rd. The streets will come alive with twinkling lights, horse-drawn carriage rides, vendors, entertainment, children's activities and, of course, the ice! Once again, the First Night® State College Ice Sculptors will create beautiful ice sculptures throughout the Downtown Lewistown streets. This is the ultimate event of the year to partner with your business name. Take this ―cool‖ opportunity to pro-mote your business along with the Festival of Ice. The biggest benefit is the joy you bring the thousands of at-tendees, including all the school groups, senior citizens groups and special needs visitors. Share in the glow that each and every visitor takes away from the event and remembers all year long. On behalf of all the citizens of our beautiful Juniata River Valley, we sincerely Thank You!

G e t C o n n e c t e d . . . w w w . j u n i a t a r i v e r v a l l e y . o r g D i s c o v e r O u r G o o d N a t u r e !

RECURRING EVENTS Belleville Sale & Livestock Auction -

Wednesdays – All year (unless a holiday) in Belleville 7am-3pm.

Amish & Mennonite baked goods, produce, quilts, antiques, livestock, and wares. Large Flea Market and

food vendors. 717-935-2146

Tri Valley Farmer’s Market - June - October. Thurs. & Sat. (9am–

12Noon.) downtown Lewistown in S. Mall on E Market Street. Fresh

produce & baked goods.

October EVENTS Lincoln Caverns - Oct 9 –31. Fri & Sat Nights - 26th Annual Ghosts &

Goblins Haunted Cave & Trail Celebrate 26 SPOOKTACULAR

ears. Sat. daylight tours: Haunted Cave & Natural Cave. (Fri 6 PM –

10 PM, Sat 11 AM – 10 PM)

HarvestFest - Celebrating 25 years - Oct 2&3

Fri. Oct.2nd - Touring Friends

Downtown Lewistown Cruize-In. www.touringfriends.com

Paint our Town Pink! - October 4th-26th - Pink ribbons will be donated

by Pink Connection and will be hung and taken down by their members

and volunteers. If you, or your business or organization is

interested in participating in this event, obtaining breast cancer

information for your customers, or contributing towards Pink

Connection’s efforts to promote breast cancer awareness, you may contact Angie @ 242-2886 or Patty

@ 248-0752.

American Red Cross Classes - OCT 5: STANDARD FIRST AID. 6-10PM. $30.00. OCT 29: ADULT CPR/AED.

6-10 PM. $30.00. ALL CLASSES ARE HELD AT THE COMPASS CENTER, 31 SOUTH DORCAS

STREET, LEWISTOWN PA TO REGISTER: 1-877-807-7003

Bridal EXPO - Oct 11 at Lewistown

Country Club. 2-5pm

SCORE Central Pennsylvania - economic symposium, Tuesday,

October 13, 2009, Celebration Hall, State College, PA. John Vincenti at

814-234-1794

Mifflin County Green EXPO 2009 - Sponsored by PA Cleanways of

Mifflin County & Mifflin County Solid Waste Authority - Oct 17th, 10am – 5 pm at the Mifflin County Youth Park Reedsville. For more information or to register contact: Pam Sechrist -

PACleanWays of Mifflin County PO Box 63 Mattawana, PA 17054

pammiff@acsworld.com (717)899-6701

Wine & Food Tasting Fundraiser for the Pink Connection - October 23rd

held at Seven Mountains Wine Cellars.

Briar Rose Halloween Event - Oct

24 6-9pm. Pumpkin carving, Prizes, Haunted horse & Wagon rides, free

balloons for kids, and lots more. 717.667.6795

Penn State Learning Center

Science Lab Open House - Oct 26 5-7:30pm, 152 E Market Street -

Lewistown

Halloween Parade - Wed. Oct 28 Downtown Lewistown, PA

Penn's Cave's Special Halloween GLOW TOURS! - Oct 30th & Oct 31st. 5-9p.m. Reservations are

required, as space is limited! Call (814) 364-1664 to request a

brochure & for more info -or- visit http://www.pennscave.com/

specialevents.php

November EVENTS Farm City Banquet - November 10th

@ Penns Valley Retreat Center 717.248.6713

Central PA Regional Business &

Industry EXPO - Tuesday, November 17, at the Bryce Jordan

Center.

Christmas Open House IN Big Valley—Nov 28-29

December EVENTS

P a g e 2 O c t o b e r 2 0 0 9

STONE ARCH PLAYERS

PRESENT AGATHA CHRISTIE

MYSTERY In dense fog near the South Welsh coastline, a stranger runs his car into a

ditch and arrives at a nearby house. Inside, he finds the murdered body of a former big-game hunter. The dead man’s beautiful wife is near the

body with a gun in her hand. Is she guilty or is she trying to protect someone? Appearances are deceiving in Agatha’s Christie’s The Unexpected Guest, the Stone Arch Players’ first offering of their 2009-2010 community theater season at the Theatre-in-the-Park in Derry Township Community Park near Burnham. Performance dates are Friday and

Saturday, Nov. 6-7, 13-14, and 20-21 at 8pm; and Sunday, Nov. 15 and 22, at 2pm. Directed by Thiry Olbrich, this popular whodunit features Colette Hartzler, George Baumer, Pat McKnight, David Wright, Linda Swartz, Ron Patterson, Teresa Williams, Joe Kraybill and Christopher Brannen. Tickets are $8 and go on sale to the general public starting Monday, Nov. 2, at 7pm. For more information, visit www.stonearchplayers.com or call 248-2224.

CONGRATULATIONS -

Cable Provider of

the Year: Nittany

Media! Congratulations to the Hain Family, owners of Nittany Media on being voted Cable Provider of the Year by the Broadband Cable Association of Pennsylvania. Officials were quoted as stating that Nittany Media was selected to receive the award due to its successes in being both progressive and innovative. Harry started the company on August 26, 1956, the very same day he shipped out to serve in the military. Harry’s wife Anna took over the reigns of the twelve customer business until his return. Today Nittany Media serves customers in Juniata, Perry, Mifflin and Snyder Counties. Over the years the cable channel offerings have continually increased and so have additional services. Today Nittany Media also supplies broadband internet service. The Hains have given back to the communities they serve in many ways including making broadband internet connections available to local schools so they can offer distance learning opportunities. In addition to Cable Operator of the Year, the Broadband Cable Association of PA also gave out eight Pride Awards. Nittany Media walked away with two of them as well.

Thanks to the Hains for growing and investing in the Juniata River Valley!

G e t C o n n e c t e d . . . w w w . j u n i a t a r i v e r v a l l e y . o r g D i s c o v e r O u r G o o d N a t u r e !

P a g e 3 O c t o b e r 2 0 0 9

Don't Miss Out! Sign up TODAY! Become a Sponsor or an Exhibitor The Central Pennsylvania Regional Business &

Industry Expo will be held on Tuesday, November 17, at the Bryce Jordan Center on the campus of The Pennsylvania

State University. The Regional Expo, being managed by the Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County (CBICC), will provide chamber members the opportunity to promote their products and services to businesses and consumers from throughout the region. There are many opportunities available for sponsorships! CLICK HERE for more details.

Goose Day 5k Run organized by the Juniata Valley Striders.

The Lewistown Rotary Club chose to step up and reach out to the luncheon crowd by making their weekly lunch meeting at Standard Steel’s Birch Hill Supervisors Club available to guests and opted to

serve a full course goose dinner prepared by Reedsville Seafood Company, Ewing & Company. Dr. Larry Schardt of Chamber and Rotary fame was the featured speaker. 89 people attended the Rotary luncheon.

PCI Insurance Luncheon There were 18 chamber members in attendance at the PCI Insurance luncheon held at the Waterfront Tavern on September 16th. Mr. John Jones, our Regional Account Executive with Pennsylvania Chamber Insurance, a division of the PA Chamber of Business & Industry, presented a workshop on Con su me r D ri ven & Consumer-Directed Health Plans. Those in attendance were

encouraged to ask their specific insurance questions. If you have any questions for John you can reach him at (814)234-1407 X5901, or e-mail him at jpjones@pciinsurance.com, and yes, he does make house calls!

511PA Launched It’s official. PennDOT has launched the brand new 511PA 24 hour “Travel Info To Go”. The new service provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, regional tourism information, and links to transit agencies and major airports. The service is available by call-ing 511 from cellular phones and landlines or through the internet by visiting www.511PA.com. and it is free. The 511PA roadway network includes all 1,759 miles of interstate including the Pennsylvania Turnpike, as well as major roadways in Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Information will be as current as possible and Penn-DOT will use their network of over 440 live traffic cameras to monitor conditions in addition to tradition information gath-ering systems. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) designated 511 as the nationwide three-digit telephone num-ber for traveler information. Pennsylvania joins 35 states that have already established 511 services.

G e t C o n n e c t e d . . . w w w . j u n i a t a r i v e r v a l l e y . o r g D i s c o v e r O u r G o o d N a t u r e !

P a g e 4 O c t o b e r 2 0 0 9

S o u t h H i l l s School of B u s i n e s s a n d

Technology is celebrating ten years of educational outreach from its downtown Lewistown locations on West Market Street and South P l a z a D r i v e . Currently 93 students are enrolled locally where four different two year Associate Degree programs are available. Forty years ago Paul and Maralyn Mazza created the school in Centre County to serve the needs for specialized skills. Since then over 6,000 students have graduated and are leading successful careers. Paul and Maralyn continue to uphold their mission of “Teaching People, Changing Lives”, in their four fully accredited campus locations: State College, Lewistown, Phillipsburg and Altoona. Today they offer a total of 15 degree and diploma programs in areas of health, business, legal and technology. Maralyn Mazza recently retired as director of overall operations; however she is still a regular visitor to all four branches. Paul continues to serve as President. Together they own the educational entity. G l o r i a Runk served as L e w i s t o w n Director from 1 9 9 9 u n t i l recently when Barbara Harer was promoted from Director of the somewhat s m a l l e r P h i l i p s b u r g c a m p u s t o Director in Lewistown. The Mazzas opened the Lewistown location in 1999 on South Plaza Drive in the Foss Jewelers building. In 2001 they expanded by purchasing the Tom Johnson Shoe Store building from Jim Tunall, utilizing the first floor space for classrooms. Recently they expanded classrooms into the lower level as continual growth takes place. Our congratulations to South Hills School of Business & Technology on the 40th anniversary of their founding and on the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Lewistown Campus.

Farm City Month Celebration In celebration of Farm City month, the Chamber is partnering w i t h t h e s e v e r a l l o c a l organizations to plan special events for the business & farm communities. These events are designed to strengthen the partnership between those who produce our food and fiber and our local business community. Our ultimate goal is for each to walk away from the experience with a deeper understanding and respect for the other. The first event will be the Farm City Banquet and this year’s banquet will be held Tuesday, November 10th at the Penns Valley Christian Retreat Center at 6:30 pm. Roast Beef Dinner with all the trimmings - $13.00 for adults & $6.50 for children 4-10. They will be available for purchase in our office. Speaker for the evening will be Jay Lauren & Wanda Yoder with the meat canning project. Master of Ceremonies is Tom Walker with Penn State Cooperative Extension There will also be organized tours opened to the local farm & business communities; one visiting a local farm and the other a local industry. Harrop FARM TOUR will be on Saturday, October 31 at 10:00 a.m. Located on 1131 Siglerville Pike in Milroy, PA. The downtown Lewistown Monument Square area will also be theme decorated.

G e t C o n n e c t e d . . . w w w . j u n i a t a r i v e r v a l l e y . o r g D i s c o v e r O u r G o o d N a t u r e !

Monday November

9 t h 5 :30 - 7 :30pm

NEXT AFTER HOURS: This is your opportunity to pre-view one of a kind artwork, carefully selected gift ware and home décor just in time for your holiday gift giv-

ing. Eight artists show and sell their work from the shop and many of them also represent other gift lines as well.

Cost: $5 Members $10 Non-Members Please email, fax, or

phone-in your reservation by Monday, November 6th

P a g e 5 O c t o b e r 2 0 0 9

Please join us in welcoming our new Chamber Member by patronizing their businesses! Their membership

reflects their integrity as a responsible business owner and demonstrates their commitment to the community.

Elmcroft of Reedsville

Penn State Small Business

Development Benefit Management

Group, Inc. Central PA

Workforce Development

Company Beward Pharmacy

Port Royal Borough Perry County Times,

Advance Publications

Dan Bennett - State Farm Insurance

Abuse Network, Inc. Common Ground

Magazine George K. Mohler Yoga Massage &

Bodywork Center Oliver Township

Supervisors International Peripheral Systems Best Western Nittany Inn Milroy Goin' Postal

Kavazea Designs Metzler Forest

Products, LLC Squire Brown's, LLC Black Horse Tavern

Valley Ag & Turf

H A P P Y A N N I V E R S A R Y !

Have You

checked Your

Website Listing?

To ensure that your business is represented properly to visitors and

residents, please review your listing information at www.juniatarivervalley.org

to ensure it is correct. If you see that there are modifications to make, please email

jvacc@juniatarivervalley.org your changes.

Lewistown Home Health and Hospice: The Bridge 400 Highland Avenue Lewistown PA 17044

Becky Connolly Phone: (717)242-5000

Fax: (717)242-5009 Email: bconnolly@vnahs.com

Lincoln Caverns

Patricia Ann Dunlavy 7703 William Penn Highway

Huntingdon PA 16652 Phone: (814)643-0268

Fax: (814)643-1358 Web: www.lincolncaverns.com

Email: ann@lincolncoverns.com

PA Army National Guard

Recruiter Katie J. Carrico

28 Armory Lane Lewistown PA 17044

Phone: (814) 937-6665 Fax: (814) 248-3814

Web: www.nationalguard.com Email: katie.carrico@u.s.army.mil

G e t C o n n e c t e d . . . w w w . j u n i a t a r i v e r v a l l e y . o r g D i s c o v e r O u r G o o d N a t u r e !

Dr. Alan Gordon & the Mifflin County Surgery Center in conjunction with the National Ambu-latory Center Day sponsored an open house for the public on August 13th. Pictured above is chamber president Jim Tunall presenting Dr. Gordon with the center’s membership plaque.

P a g e 6 O c t o b e r 2 0 0 9

2009 after hours:

October 21st - Mifflin County Historical Society

November 9th - Dairyland Gift Shops December 2nd - Holiday Gathering hosted by

Diehl’s Florist

2010 after hours:

January - Wilson’s Gift & Jewelry February - Penn State Continuing Education

March - Squire Brown’s, LLC April - After Hours EXPO

May - Metzler Forest Products June - Central PA Dock & Door

July - South Hills Business School of Lewistown August - Embassy Theatre

September - Walnut Springs Racquet Club October - Paint the Town Pink with Mary Kay

November - OPEN December - Holiday Gathering hosted by

Quillas Creek

September 29, 2009 - Goose Day The Juniata River Valley’s v e r y o w n h o l i d a y celebration was very

unique and special this year. Goose Day has been cause for a chamber luncheon gathering for literally decades. This year the tradition was interrupted as redirection of focus went to an official Goose Day networking event at Fike Brothers Carpet One in Yeagertown in the evening, from 5:30 to 7:30. The “After Hours” appealed to 100 guests. Good luck and great wealth were assured to one and all who attended one or both events. The Fike Brothers family and staff provided an exciting, entertaining and educational evening with food stations at various locations throughout the Michaelmas themed showroom. Our friends from Shade Mountain Winery were present serving the official beverage of St. Michaelmas Day: Blackberry Wine. Cakes were prepared at the Mifflin Juniata Career & Technology Center culinary department. Some very lucky attendees, in the spirit of Goose Day, won valuable door prizes. A special guest greeter was Goldie the Goose, courtesy of WKVA

Radio and Nittany Media.

G e t C o n n e c t e d . . . w w w . j u n i a t a r i v e r v a l l e y . o r g D i s c o v e r O u r G o o d N a t u r e ! G e t C o n n e c t e d . . . w w w . j u n i a t a r i v e r v a l l e y . o r g D i s c o v e r O u r G o o d N a t u r e !

E-MAIL BROADCASTS It is certainly no secret that the Juniata

River Valley Chamber of Commerce offers free e-mail broadcasts as a member service. We are now into our fifth year of extending this popular service to our members at no cost. We have received rave reviews from users as well as from the recipients. Some days the requests are overwhelming. It has reached a point where we must enact a policy as to how we handle the requests. First, we do reserve the right

to reject any request due to content and we exercise full editorial privilege. We will alter a flyer or an attachment if it is too large for our system to efficiently handle. We won’t guarantee that we can meet a specific delivery date; how-ever, we shall try our best whenever possible. We require flyers be sent to us as a PDF, ready for attachment to a memo of introduction and broadcast. Please get your information to us a few days in advance and state what day you most prefer we send it. If at all possible, we would like to have it a week in advance. We cannot send more than three broadcasts on any given day. Our chamber and visitors bureau broadcasts are always top prior-ity. We will send flyers out on a first come, first served basis. The earliest date and time gets the first position. Members are limited to four free broadcasts per year. The timing is up to each member’s seasonal issues. Broadcasts are intended to introduce new features, major product introductions or special events concerning your business or organization. We are not here to compete with our media members.

P a g e 7 O c t o b e r 2 0 0 9

G e t C o n n e c t e d . . . w w w . j u n i a t a r i v e r v a l l e y . o r g D i s c o v e r O u r G o o d N a t u r e !

Anniversaries come and anniversaries go. Some are milestones and some are brick walls. Some are reasons to celebrate, others are cause for

trepidation. Most are enablers for reminiscence. October is the forty year anniversary of my arrival in Mifflin County. Prior to the summer of 1969, I had never heard of the Juniata River Valley or the Juniata River or General Frank McCoy or the Kishacoquillas Indians or the American Viscose or Ben Mason or McMeen’s Department Store or Goose Day or ham pot pie. My arrival is bookmarked in the annals of history as the year of Woodstock, bell bottom pants, velvet bow ties, the Smothers Brothers, Tiny Tim, Richard Nixon, the Boeing 747, the end of the Viet Nam War, “A Boy Named Sue”, Butch Cassidy, Voices, the Green Stamp Store, $1.00 a pound T-bones, Mets beat the Orioles in the World Series and the unofficial Lewistown greeters

were: Russell Walters and Styron Rickenbaugh. It was an amazing era for retail. Lewistown was building towards All American City status. Three department stores were prospering. Men had eight choices as to where to purchase a shirt. Women had even more opportunities for clothing and accessories. Three “Five & Dimes” were humming along. Every block seemed to house a jewelry store and banks and savings & loans were headquartered in the downtown employing several hundred employees with lunch hours. Monday and Friday night shoppers jammed the parking lots and the metered street spaces and pedestrians filled the sidewalks. No one complained about paying for parking, they just wanted to find a place to park. The chamber of commerce was made up of mostly downtown businesses and local industry. Shoppers came from great distances. At days end a list of addresses on checks in the cash register would reveal customers from Juniata, Perry, Snyder, Huntingdon, Centre counties in abundance. We were a shopping Mecca. Shopping centers were small and far away and home to chain stores primarily. Customers developed close relationships with merchants. Service was every bit as important as price, or maybe more so. In 1969, high school graduates were afforded employment without additional education at many area industries. The American Viscose ran three shifts a day, seven days a week and employed close to 4,000 people. Standard Steel employed over 1,500. Many graduates saw these as lifetime career opportunities. The county was in conflict concerning a planned one county high school, Penn Highlands. An organization was formed to “Save our Schools” called Voices. In the next school board election the majority was replaced by Voices candidates and the four county high schools were retained. In a very short time that plan proved to be too costly and two of the more rural high schools closed. Here we are forty years later and we are facing the very same issue, merge or not merge, one county high school or two. Our total population hasn’t changed significantly since 1969; however, our student population has continuously declined to less than 60% of what it was then. Our population is aging and our young people are not having as many children per family. If this trend continues, a one county high school will eventually be mandated by the Pa. State Board of Education. Yes, there have been many changes in the past forty years in the Juniata River Valley. There have been big changes in all small town America communities. The important things that have not changed are our “Good Nature” and our “Good Nature”. This is one of the most beautiful places in the world to live. Our mountains, streams, wide valleys and forests contribute to that beauty. Couple what nature bestowed upon us with some of the friendliest, hard working, compassionate people on the face of the earth and you have the formula needed to encourage dropping roots, dealing with change and contributing to the well being of one another.

Let’s just say, I wouldn’t have it any other way, in any other place, at any price. Thanks for allowing me to be a part of this wonderful region for forty years. I hope to continue to celebrate anniversaries right here in the Juniata River Valley for decades to come. God provides the “Good Nature” of our land, but, each and every one of you provide the “Good Nature” of our people.

J i m ’ s C o r n e r

Contact Us: Historic Courthouse - One West Market Street - Lewistown, PA 17044 Hours: Monday through Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm Phone: 717.248.6713

Fax: 717.248-6714 Email: info@juniatarivervalley.org Web: www.juniatarivervalley.org

Directions: Off of 322 W. take the PA-655

ramp toward Reedsville/Belleville, Turn Left onto PA-655 S. Dairyland Gift Shops are on left (just look for the really big

cow).

Cost: $5 Members $10 Non-Members

Please email, fax, or phone-in your reservation by

Monday, November 6th Juniata river Valley Chamber of Commerce

Phone: (717) 248-6713 Fax (717) 248-6714 E-mail: jvacc@juniatavalleychamber.org

Company Phone

Name Name

Name Name

Name Name

Method of Payment: ____ Pay at Door ____ Bill Me (Checks payable to JVACC)

Monday

November 9t h

5 :30 - 7 :30pm

This is your opportunity to preview one of a kind artwork, carefully selected gift ware and home décor just in time for your holiday gift giving. Eight artists show and sell their work from the shop and many of them also represent other gift lines as well. The Dairyland gift shop and its staff will be bedecked with all things Christmas. You are also invited to visit the Giving Tree. All the Dairyland artists will be contributing handmade ornaments to decorate this store tree. All ornaments will be for sale with every penny of each purchase going to the ComPASS Center/MJ Special Needs Center in Lewistown. You will also be given the opportunity to get in touch with your creative side while making your very own unique, make-and-take craft! Sal-Lees’ will be providing the refreshments for the evening.