New Cumberland Noise

When I first came up with the idea to write about noise in New Cumberland, I was looking to vent about my neighbor's wind chimes that seem to wake me at 3 am with their relentless "BONGing" noises.  To be honest, my one neighbor's chimes are so loud, it's like living next to a church and  listening to broken church bells at odd times of the day and night.  Before these neighbors moved in, another neighbor's smaller chimes bothered me a little. However, since the new neighbor's gigantic bonging chimes have been placed about 10 feet from my bedroom window, I hardly notice the subtle tinkling from chimes across the street anymore.

All these wind chimes got me to thinking about other noises that we live with here in town.  I live in close proximity to the fire department, so when the siren goes off, it pretty much drowns out everything.  If I'm having a conversation, I have to stop and wait for the siren to be done before continuing.  Every time a family with a baby moves onto the street, there's always a discussion about trying to get the thing shut off, but to no avail.  It's something we all have come to live with.  My children, and generations of children before them have survived the fire siren, it's just part of life here in the lower part of town.  When my oldest was born, the siren upset him, so we got a creative and renamed it.  We called it the "Hug Siren" and whenever it would go off, we'd get a hug.  Nice little benefit from such a noisy thing. 

New Cumberland Fire Department's Siren

In the past year, the helicopters have been making a comeback and their noise seems to agitate those who live in the higher elevations of the town from time to time.  My husband, who grew up here, tells me that the presence of helicopters today is nothing compared to when he was a kid, and no one seemed to complain.  Since we have not one, but two airports nearby, airplane noise is just another sound we hardly notice in our every day lives.  There are the tiny two seaters buzzing in and out of the Capital City Airport and the big guys making their approach to Harrisburg International. 

One of the helicopters that fly over New Cumberland.

Summertime brings a whole different set of noises. The laughter and sounds children at play is a wonderful summertime noise.  Another pleasant summertime sound is the roar of the crowd from the sports fields.  Occasionally, you'll hear that "bat meets ball" sound or the whistles from the football game to complete the effect.  Other warm weather noises aren't so welcome.  One year, there was a young man who lived nearby, who, at least once a week,  thought everyone in the neighborhood wanted to listen to his music.  It was like he was hosting his own little block party that no one wanted to attend.  Then there's those guys who have the thumping music radiating from their tinted window sportscars.   They are usually the same guys who leave the sound of screeching wheels behind when they pull out of a side street too quickly. Of course, there's the occasional dog barking or a parent yelling at their kids.  Around Independence Day, we have our fair share of fireworks crackling from all directions.

As I was finishing this entry, I opened my back door to let the dog in and I was reminded of another pleasant sound that fills the air of New Cumberland.  The sounds of church bells.  On Sundays, there a several bells that echo through town, but other days, the bells that I hear are coming from Trinity United Methodist Church on Bridge Street.  I'm not sure of the exact schedule of music, but I know we get bells on the hour and songs at certain times of the day.  These are welcome chimes that have a a tune that is pleasing to the ear, and a set reason behind then.  Now, if I could only get the my neighbor's chimes to play a tune, and at normal times of the day to boot

I'm sure there are many more sounds that fill the air of New Cumberland.  What sounds do you hear in your part of town? 

Trinity United Methodist Church on Bridge Street.