It's River Rescue Carnival Time Again!

This blog was originally written for the 2012 New Cumberland River Rescue Carnival.  I've been seeing a lot of visitors coming to this page for information.  So here is the basic information and links to more information about the 2013 New Cumberland River Rescue Carnival.  Please be sure to check out the blog entry I wrote and photographs I took of the 2012 carnival.  Have fun at the carnival!

2013 New Cumberland River Rescue Carnival Information

July 31, 2013 thru August 3, 2013
Beside Hillside Elementary School
6th and Brandt Avenue
New Cumberland
Hours 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM.

Food starts at 5:00 pm.  Rides start at 6:00 pm

Links

New Cumberland River Rescue Fundraising Webpage.
 New Cumberland River Rescue Facebook Page.

2012
One thing you can depend on happening every summer is the New Cumberland River Rescue Carnival.  By late July, the rides start showing up in the field below Hillside School.  As soon as those ride trucks show up, my kids start bugging me about when we are going.  Each day, as we drive by on Brandt Avenue, we take notice of the progress made, and eagerly await our chances of winning a gold fish or a stuffed animal.  The thought of funnel cakes, fries and ice balls make our mouths water.  We can almost hear the laughter of the children and the buzzing carnival rides.

This year the carnival takes place Wednesday, August 1 through Saturday, August 4.  The food stands open at 5pm.  The rides open at 6pm.  Everything closes down at 10:30pm each night.  The carnival is open rain or shine, but will shut down in the event of lightning.  Wristband night is Wednesday, 8/1, and the cost is $15.  On Thursday, 8/2, you can get a strip of tickets for $15, and rides will only require one ticket instead of two.  The carnival is located in the field below Hillside School, along Brandt Avenue and Beacon Hill Road.

In the meantime, take some time and a few dollars, and head over to the River Rescue Carnival.  You are sure to have fun, riding the rides, playing the games, and running in to some old friends you probably haven't seen in a while.  And of course, the proceeds go to support New Cumberland River Rescue.  They are loyal and diligent in their service to our community.  Last September, during the big flood, they went above and beyond the call of duty for New Cumberland, and other mid state communities.  Please, show your appreciation and support by attending their carnival.

NOTE:  Please be sure to check out photographs from the 2012 Carnival on our 'Photographs 7/2012-12/2012' page.  The link is above this entry.  Thank you.

Memorial Day Ceremony & Parade 2012

Today, New Cumberland did a great job honoring our soldiers, the fallen, those who came home, and those still serving.  Thanks to all who organized, participated, and show up to watch.   My words cannot do the day justice.   I'll just let the photographs tell the story of Memorial Day 2012 in this little town we call New Cumberland. 

 

New Cumberland Circa 1922

I was cleaning out my attic, and I came across a bunch of old posters that my husband had saved from his younger days.  I started unrolling them to see what they were.  I found the much younger Rolling Stones, quite a few Budweiser Girls, and then I discovered something that looked a little out of place.  This was a different type of poster, the paper was a better quality, as well as longer and wider.  I unrolled it, and much to my amazement, I found this treasure.

1922 Map of New Cumberland Borough

A 1922 map of New Cumberland.  It belonged to my husband's grandfather.  It shows the boundaries of the borough in 1922.  There are some interesting differences.  It looks as if the original northern border ran along what is now Beacon Hill Road and Sixth Street.  Also, as you can see, there were no housing plots or streets in the area between Fifth and Beacon Hill Road.

Area above Brandt Ave between Fifth Street and a Private Road (that road is now known as Beacon Hill Road.)

Look closely along Sixth Street, you can see a chalk mark for the original Borough Line.

While most street names appear to the the same as they were 90 years ago, one street name has been changed.  What is now known as Poplar Avenue, was listed as "Popular Avenue" on this map.

Poplar Avenue used to be Popular Avenue.

Another difference is in the area at Market & Third.  On this map, that area has grass plots.  Now that area is used for parking.

Parking areas on Market street used to be Grass Plots.

Borough Park was not yet in existence yet as of 1922.  The topography of the that area and Yellow Breeches Creek has been changed since this map was made.  I heard that the landscape of Borough Park had been  altered at some point, and this map seems to confirm that.  As you look at the map below, you can see that the Yellow Breeches was split into two.  That upper branch of the creek goes through what would probably be the ball fields today.

Area that is now Borough Park.

Also, if you look at the picture below, you can see that the neighborhood next to borough park had not been plotted out for houses yet.

Neighborhood above Borough Park

Another contrast is the area of Hillside Road and Hillside Drive, both of which run above Poplar Avenue.  Originally, it was laid out as one street know as Hillside Avenue.  This avenue ran parallel to Poplar to the creek side border of the borough. The landscape of the area probably prevented them from completing this street as planned, as Hillside Road pretty much runs right into the side of a hill.  Now, we have Hillside Drive which juts up over that hill off of Hillside Road.  The original parcels along Hillside Avenue appear to be much larger than those plotted currently along Hillside Road.

 Hillside Road and Hillside Drive have replaced the planned Hillside Avenue.

The area now known as Memorial Field appears like it was originally divided  with residential lots, but later it was changed to designate that area "Play Grounds."  Those playgrounds are now known as Memorial Field.  You'll notice that the "Play Grounds" were as smaller area, too.  Rosemont Avenue originally ran straight through Memorial Field, crossed over Fifth, and eventually intersected with Poplar. Somewhere along the way, someone decided to make the playgrounds larger and eliminate a good portion of that street.

Originally, Memorial Field was much smaller and Rosemont Avenue was much longer.

It's pretty interesting coming across a piece of history like this.  This map allows us a little glimpse back in time to how things used to be and makes us wonder how some things got changed.  Below is a map of how things actually are in the same area of New Cumberland in 2012.

2012 Map of the same part of New Cumberland.

2011 Year in Review Part 1 January-July

As I look back on the year, there have been many newsworthy events here in New Cumberland.  Listed below are some happenings that I recall.

January  Unfortunately, the first major event of the year was the discovery of Trisha Edelman's murdered body in a Fifteenth Street apartment.  Police allege that Adam Trump  murdered her elsewhere and moved her body to his New Cumberland apartment. Trump sits in the Cumberland County Jail awaiting trial for criminal homicide, criminal homicide of an unborn child, possession of a firearm and theft by unlawful taking.

March  After 3.1 million dollars and 16 months of renovations, the historic Iroquois Hotel celebrated it's grand reopening in March.  The building was converted into senior housing and retail space.  The hotel, which dates back to 1906 , fell into disrepair and was most recently was the site of a Meth lab bust in 2005.  In it's rehabilitated form, it houses low income senior citizens and retail space.

Iroquois Hotel, New Cumberland, PA 2011

April-May-June  The spring storms rattled our nerves and set the tone for the next several months.  These violent storms were just  a warning for what was to come later in the year.  The local parks like Borough, Memorial field and others were soaked.  Many baseball and softball games, as well as other outdoor activities, were postponed or canceled.  Some storms had us hiding in our basements and had the Yellow Breeches Creek spilling out over her banks.  By the end of the spring, we had thought we had seen the worst of it.  Little did we know what was in store for us later in the year.

The baseball fields at Borough Park were soaked in 2011.

April through present brought us more noise from the skies, but this time in the form of helicopters.  People first started noticing the military helicopters flying low last spring.  The choppers are part of National Guard training exercises taking place at Capital City Airport.  While things seemed to calm down in May, the noise picked up again in September.  Things have calmed down once again, and we hope for the residents affected, it stays quiet.  New Cumberland and the military have a good, longstanding relationship. The National Guard has tried to adjust their flight plans as to not bother the residents as much, and that action is appreciated. 

Military Helicopter flying over New Cumberland, PA

June and July brought us an unusual sight.  "Clown nose man," as he came to be known, started appearing on our streets and created quite a stir. A young man wearing a red clown nose and carrying a plastic toy gun roamed our streets.  Some claimed he was harmless, while others alleged he attacked cars and pointed his toy guns at children.  With so much violence in the news, New Cumberland residents didn't seem too patient on waiting it out to see if this guy was harmless or not.  After much discussion and controversy,  he soon disappeared from our landscape. 

July A pedestrian was struck by a car on Bridge Street.  I hope the man who was hit is recovering and wish him well.  It was an unfortunate reminder to drivers to slow down and keep an eye out for pedestrians as well as a reminder to pedestrians to use crosswalks and not to assume a driver sees you or will stop.

July thorough September. The long awaited demolition of the Old Hillside school started in Mid July and was finally completed late September.  The building served as a the site for education, activities and friendships from 1956-2011. This old building held many memories for both children and adults.  It was sad to see it go.  For more photo's of Hillside Elementary, before, during and after demolition, go to the Facebook page Hillside Teardown 2011

Hillside Elementary School awaiting demolition.

Partially demolished first floor at Hillside Elementary.

Partially demolished second floor at Hillside Elementary.

Tearing down the multi-purpose room at Hillside elementary.

The old Hillside Elementary site.

This just covers the a little more than first half of the year.  Next week, I will cover August through December.

Did I miss an event?  Do you wish to add anything?  Please share your remarks and memories in the comments section.  Thanks for your support and please click an advertisement to support this page while you are here.