The Kutztown Rotary Club wants to thank everyone who came out to enjoy the 2023 Ghost Tour. The highlight this year was the addition of the Stand Theater. A big thank you to Sandy Green and all of Kutztown Community Partnership for allowing us to add a walk through the historic Strand Theater as a stop on our tour. And thank you to Rotary members Peter and Ellen Overcast and all of the K.A.S.P.E.R. group for providing information from their investigation of the Strand to enhance the visit there. And, of course, a big thank you to Rotary member Erin Bailey for her outstanding hosting performance.
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Another stop on the Ghost Tour this year included the Historical Society where Craig Koeller and Brenden Strasser gave some history and ghost stories of the Old Public School building. Make sure you stop by the Historical Society on November 11 for their annual Craft Fair to see the "screaming walls" that Craig told us about. In addition, we stopped at Kutztown University to hear the KU Paranormal Society tell us a story about the ghost of Mary that still haunts the Old Main building. Our last main stop was at the FOE building where we listened to a very scary and entertaining story by Rotary and FOE member Kurt Rohrbach.
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We would very much like to thank the volunteers that made the Ghost Tour possible. This event would not be possible without the club members, community members, and friends that volunteer their time for the 2 nights of the event.
Inside the registration room, Bonnie DeLong volunteered to do Tarot readings and Ginny Ivanhoff did palm readings. Our friends from K.A.S.P.E.R. were there again to provide demonstrations of how they do paranormal investigations.
Other stops on the tour were manned by Rotary members Meghan Reeder and Willem Hordijk and Chopper Foundation members. Tour guides included both Rotary club and community members. And, of course, a shout out to the core Ghost Tour committee members, Tom Kulp, Melissa Kirk, Ellen Overcast, Peter Overcast, Willem Hordijk, Holly Diefenderfer, and Erin Bailey.
Proceeds for the tour will go to help fund organizations in our community, including the Historical Society. We look forward to another amazing, but different, Halloween event next year. Come out and join us at a meeting to see how you can join in the fun. We meet at the Kutztown Tavern most Wednesday evenings at 6:00 for dinner and 7:00 for the meeting. Visit our website to learn more about us. https://kutztownrotary.com/
On September 6th, Jackie Seidman of the Lehigh Valley Women of Adventure came to visit us to talk about their 501(c)(3) nonprofit group that supports women in their personal growth by providing a platform for them to connect and share in outdoor experiences. Jackie started a local hiking group in August of 2022 that had grown to over 3000 women by January of 2023. The group aims to empower women in the Lehigh Valley area and beyond. Their goal is to help women prioritize themselves and their physical and mental health by encouraging them to participate in outdoor adventures with other women with similar interests. Jackie's visit to our club brought in many guests and we all were inspired by the mission of the group. Visit their website here to learn more.Lehigh Valley Women of Adventure (lvwoa.org)
On September 13th, the club welcomed Past District Governor & Women In Action team member Janet Kolepp to present a program called "Women In Action Global Grant in Kenya". Janet described the November 2022 trip by the Women in Action group in the Bethlehem Morning Star Rotary Club to Kenya to meet with partners for a global grant. Through this grant they were able to create hope by improving maternal and child health through training health care workers and modernizing the Ngaremara Health Dispensary in Isiolo County, Kenya. They also came home with more projects in hand and are planning a new trip for this January. This presentation highlighted the Rotary story of how we can connect, identify community needs and utilize grants to provide services and resources that change lives and communities in Kenya now and in the future. Visit our website and contact us to learn how you can help as well.
On September 20th, we welcomed our new exchange student from Denmark with a picnic at Bob and Florita's house. We had a yummy dinner and desserts followed by a presentation by Emma showing us what her life is like back home. We are so happy to have Emma with us this year and we hope she has a fabulous year in the United States.
Members of the Kutztown Rotary Club celebrated a Student of the Month ceremony on October 4th, 2023. One student from each of Kutztown Area High School and Brandywine Heights Area High School is selected by school administrators each month throughout the school year for this award based collectively on academic achievement, school participation, and community contributions. Honored for February were Karis Herrlin from Kutztown and Taylar Rose Merkel from Brandywine Heights. The students addressed the club members at the Student of the Month Ceremony where they
demonstrated qualities of exemplary students. The ceremony occurs during the Kutztown Rotary meeting on the first Wednesday of the month at the Kutztown Tavern, where the weekly meetings for
the club generally take place.
Karis Herrlin is the daughter of Nate and Anne Herrlin of Kutztown. Throughout high school Karis has been heavily involved in music. She has been an active vocalist in Choir, Select Chorus, Senior County Chorus, District Chorus, Regional Chorus, State Chorus and will be performing in the Kutztown High School Musical “Hello Dolly”. Karis has also played the flute since fifth grade and is currently playing with the marching band. She has been on the NAHS since ninth grade and is a Smart Mentor at her school. She stays busy with her church and is a on the church worship team. Upon graduation Karis plans on getting involved in mission work then go to college to study music therapy.
Taylar Rose Merkel is the daughter of Eric and Alicia Merkel of Topton. Taylar has been very active in singing and performing since a young age. She has participated in Chorus in all four years of high school. She has also been involved in the Chamber Singers and Treble Choir. Taylar has performed at a number of school events like; school lunch, Night of the Arts as well as performed the National Anthem at a wrestling match. She also performed an original song during the Rotary Club’s Student of the Month ceremony. Taylor’s future plans are to go to school in Delaware for photography and hopes to continue singing and writing music.
On September 9th, District 7430 Rotarians helped to supply potatoes for the food-insecure in a 5-county area through the Potato Project. We harvested mature potatoes that we cut as seed potatoes in April. We picked at the 3.5-acre plot at Becker’s St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Richmond Township. Rotarians from Allentown West, Fleetwood, Hamburg, Kutztown, Reading, West Reading-Wyomissing and other clubs joined friends from churches and schools. We all enjoyed hotdogs, fresh-cut fries and juice. We boxed about 12,000 pounds of potatoes that were hauled away by Helping Harvest, the Berks County food bank. Please consider joining us in April 2024 for seed cutting at Becker’s St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 265 Maidencreek Road, Fleetwood, PA 19522.On September 9th, District 7430 Rotarians helped to supply potatoes for the food-insecure in a 5-county area through the Potato Project. We harvested mature potatoes that we cut as seed potatoes in April. We picked at the 3.5-acre plot at Becker’s St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Richmond Township. Rotarians from Allentown West, Fleetwood, Hamburg, Kutztown, Reading, West Reading-Wyomissing and other clubs joined friends from churches and schools. We all enjoyed hotdogs, fresh-cut fries and juice. We boxed about 12,000 pounds of potatoes that were hauled away by Helping Harvest, the Berks County food bank. Please consider joining us in April 2024 for seed cutting at Becker’s St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 265 Maidencreek Road, Fleetwood, PA 19522. Visit our website for more information.
On September 25th, Rotarians from the Bethlehem Morning Star, Kutztown, Warrington, and West Reading-Wyomissing Clubs planted three pollinator gardens at Camp Edmar in Greenwich Township. The District 7430 Environmental Sustainability Team, chaired by Terry Reed, worked with Camp Edmar officers and Edge of the Woods Nursery to make this possible. A District grant through Terry’s own West Reading-Wyomissing Rotary Club funded the project which implements District 7430’s commitment to Operation Pollination. Edmar Director Pete Gottlund calls this a “habitat” and writes, “The plan is to have a “Visit/Work Day” on the first Sunday of the Month from March to November. The Camp and Rotary will together develop an email list of “interested helpers” to send project news and helping info.” Please join us monthly, beginning March 3, 2024.
Along with serving the community, members of the Kutztown Rotary Club like to be social. We do social hour meetings throughout the year, we have movie club meetings at area venues, and enjoy social activities with other clubs.
Some of the events the last 2 months have been movie night at Tom's house to prep for The Wallflowers at KU Presents and Stony Run for movie night, attending Bourbon and Boos. Other events are pictured below.
On September 22nd, we did a group tour at The Wall that Heals in the Kutztown Park, followed by movie night at Setter Ridge to listen to Marie perform,
On October 25, the club celebrated Halloween with a costume party, with prizes awarded by an impartial judge (thank you Kutztown Tavern staff!). Winners included Marie, Ellen, Peter, Joni, and Jim.
Member spotlight this month is Holly Diefenderfer. The following bio was provided by Holly.
I graduated from Kutztown High School in 1980. I am currently a licensed Funeral Director and a retired RN. My husband and I have been married since 1986 and we have two children Paige and Evan. My mom has been a long standing member of the Kutztown Rotary Club and I joined in 2022. I have been involved in volunteering for TOK for many years and have recently joined the Foundation Board and have become involved in the Ghost Tour.
Club Information
Welcome to Kutztown Rotary
Service Above Self
Wednesdays at 6:00 PM
Kutztown Tavern-Club Room
272 West Main Street
Kutztown, PA 19530 United States of America
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