The Spark

Our journalist roundtable segment for March 7 included Diane McCormick of The Burg, and Sue Gleiter of Pennlive. During the segment, we discussed a recent town hall meeting where Harrisburg residents voiced their concerns and heard plans about the restoration of the historic Broad Street Market.

Listen to the podcast to hear the conversation. 

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Two local filmmakers set out to tell stories about Harrisburg that transcend boundaries of race, class, gender and geography. The result is the film River City Stories, which is screening this week at the West Shore Theater in New Cumberland. WITF's Rachel McDevitt spoke with the film's creators Paul Hood and Wallace McKelvey.  According to McKelvey, he loved the City of Harrisburg, and wanted to portray that in a film.

“I just feel like there's so much more to the city that people think is there. And with River City Stories, we're trying to show the world that there's more to Harrisburg than just a downtown core, said McKelvey.

Hood echoed McKelvey’s sentiments on his love for the area.

“There's so much vibrancy here that we don't always appreciate, whether you're a local or whether you're an outsider, you don't fully comprehend the complexity of our culture, the way that it can at once be segregated, but also mix together and overlap. And it's reflected in the way the film is structured, where you have a really diverse group of characters who kind of ebb and flow through these stories where one character will be the protagonist of one and then show up later in the story that has a different perspective, different lead character, because we all interact. We all share this space together. And I don't think we always appreciate that, “said Hood.

The idea for River City Stories was born in the middle of the COVID pandemic, where folks were socially distanced and isolated.

“We just talked, we just talked, and all these ideas came, and we had a really cool like system. So, we would sit and just have a conversation and then we'd pick out the things that were interesting in those conversations and we'd task each other with going off and working on a script. So, we would do that, we did that for like almost a year and by the next time we met like a year later, “said Hood.

The film is screening Friday, March 7 and Sunday, March 9th at the West Shore Theater in New Cumberland. It will also be shown at Zootropolis in Lancaster on May 16th and 18th.

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The documentary The Philadelphia Eleven tells the powerful story of eleven women who in 1974 shattered barriers by becoming the first female priests ordained in the Episcopal Church – challenging tradition, defying expectations, and paving the way for future generations. Margo Guernsey, Director and Producer of the Philadelphia Eleven, felt it was important to tell their story.

“I felt like a little bit like I'd been punched in my gut and been told a story that having been an avid student of American history, both in high school and college and getting a master's degree in history and have never heard, it felt like a story that had gone untold in ways that was a disservice to all of us and that I wanted to pursue telling that story, “said Gurnsey.

She began working on the film in 2015 by making connections with the women that are still currently with us so they could tell the story from their experience.

“They're getting older. And so, it also meant that it was really important to connect with as many of them as quickly as possible because this was 2015. So not quite yet the 50th anniversary of the ordinations but still pretty far along. But having them tell their own story was always at the very top of our list of how to approach the storytelling of this moment in history, “said Gurnsey.

Rev. Nancy Wittig, one of the Philadelphia eleven, recounts the day she was ordained.

“I think there was a great deal of anxiety in the air. We knew that we were going against tradition, and we didn't know what was going to happen. I think all of us knew at some level that there would be a lot of anger about it and that we would just have to withstand it, “said Witting.

Rev. Cater Heyward on the other hand was extremely excited.

“Well, I was mainly excited because I mean all of us had been helping planet and we had some sense of what we hoped would happen and the bishops who were ordaining us had been perfectly wonderful and being accessible to us and helping us talk through what it was we were doing and what they were hoping for. and the 11 of us, we had not all known each other. I mean, I think each of us had probably known somebody among the 11, but none of us had known everyone, so. We had just begun to get to know each other, and that was a wonderful thing too. And we knew that there was some risk involved. We had been told that there had been threats against the church and against us. But we were also assured that every possible precaution had been taken to make sure that we and the entire congregation would stay safe. And so we were grateful for that, “said Heyward.

The documentary airs Monday March 10 at 9 p.m. on WITF TV.

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Homelessness is a complex issue with many causes from economic hardship, housing shortages, and unexpected crisis. The Stronger Together Impact Project brings together officials from various governmental agencies to the issue of homelessness, seeking new solutions to an issue with a variety of causes.

The Stronger Together Impact Project was created by Sonia Pitzi, Director of Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness and Lincoln Area Intermediate Unite #12, and Chris Kapp, Coordinated Entry Systems Regional Manager for the Cumberland County Housing and Rehabilitation Authority. Listen to the podcast to hear the entire conversation.

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Avian Flu has been impacting Pennsylvania’s farms for nearly two years now. The virus has had a major impact on poultry farmers across the state. According to the Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding, it is very devastating to farmers after their farm has been hit by the virus.

“Nobody wants to do what these farms are required to do. You have to put flocks down. But you have to contain and suppress the virus as quickly as you can. It's the first principle of eliminating this virus, is to contain and suppress it, “said Redding.

For poultry farmers, this is their livelihood. They wake up every single day to tend to the flocks, and it’s financially and emotionally challenging while dealing with avian flu. "These farms are now without a paycheck. It's difficult for them to go for some time. That's part of the challenge when you quarantine and restrict and then have to test. It could be two months; it could be three months without a paycheck. And the state stepped in, and I'll talk about that. And then of course, just sort of the social and emotional impacts of what these farmers are doing in the families, “said Redding.

Over the last few years, there’s been 35 confirmed cases of bird flu in the state. The Department of Agriculture has been working to protect farmers during this challenging time.

“We've done a lot of testing. So, we're working our way through it, but it's a long process, as you can appreciate. Once you have a positive and you go through the prescribed actions, we have to take on farms and for that farm to get back in business. And of course, our consumers are seeing the impacts of that in the marketplace with the price of eggs is one example, “said Redding.

As of now, the 2025-26 Legislative Budget Hearings have been taking place. Secretary Redding shared if there were any updates on budgeting for the surveillance.

“So, the legislature and the governor established a recovery fund that we've been able to sort of put aside some dollars and that has $61 .5 million in it. And that is to cover testing and recovery. So that testing recovery I think is what you call surveillance. So, we're doing that testing all the time. A lot of questions this year from the legislature because we did something really important and that was, we reallocated some money that had been for high path avid influenza to our food nutrition programs, knowing what we're seeing in the demand at the food banks as an example, and helping out with some innovation. So, all the money stayed within agriculture, but we did that knowing. that we had a recovery fund that had a significant and healthy cash balance. And that's credit to the governor and really the judicious use of those monies to help our producers, “said Redding.

 Grant Guilbon, Regulator Affairs Specialist for the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau also was a part of the conversation. Listen to hear more of the podcast.

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The Keystone Indoor Drill Association (KIDA) is one of the oldest organizations of its kind in the country, serving the region since its inception in 1981. The organization sponsors competitive events for Indoor Color Guard, Percussion, Dance, and Winds.

“Back in the day, we used to also have a competition with majorettes and drill teams. We don't have any of those anymore, but we're, you know. very, very strong with our members for Color Guard and Indoor Drumline, “said Matt Carraher, President of KIDA.

There are similarities and differences between marching bands and indoor drills that includes percussion and ensembles.

“So, the easiest way to say it is if you take a marching band and you take away everything except the drums and then mix it together with Cirque du Soleil and then put it in a gym, that's what indoor drumline is. So, it's not just playing the drums or drumline the movie from 20 years ago. It's not just that. We call it pageantry because it's there's choreography, there's dancers, there's props, there's crazy costuming, there's big sound systems, there's lighting, there's all kinds of things that go into it.”

KIDA has over 100 participating schools and independent organizations from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.

“You know, our big goal and... as an organization is just to make sure that we're fostering the environment of growth for these students and creating a great experience for them. And that's really our goal is we want our events to be a great experience for these students to have a performance outlet and have something that they really look forward to, the audience really looks forward to, and they can do some really cool things.”

Listen to the podcast to hear the entire conversation. 

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March 4th is National Marching Band Day, a day to march forth and celebrate the vibrant tradition of marching bands across the nation. To celebrate, we spoke with Directors of two of Pennsylvania’s premiere marching ensembles-Dr. Matthew Brunner from the Temple University Diamond Band and Dr. Brad Towsend, Director of the University of Pittsburgh Varsity Marching Band.

For Brad, he knew early on he wanted to pursue a career in music as a high school band director. But that changed when he took a school trip to the University of Pitt for Pitt Band Day.

“They came out, pulled out all the stops, man. They played the over to 1812 and they had cannons. And when the game started, they sat the bands, the high school bands in the end zone. And there's a tunnel that the pit band came running out of, which I'd learned later is called their run cadence. And I was like, that's it, right there. That's what I got to do.”

Brads collegiate career kicked off with the Temple Diamonds, before becoming the Band Director at Pitt.

“I did direct the Diamond Band for six years and taught in the music education department there. And I made a big move across the country to Oregon State. was there for 11 years. And I've been here at Pitt for the last 12.”

Matt was introduced to the band while his uncle was in the Ohio State Marching Band. His grandmother even made him a little marching band uniform for him when he attended the games.

“My grandmother made me a little marching band; Ohio State Marching Band uniform and we would go down there and every time I would stand there, and I would conduct and it's kind of fortuitous what I was going to do with the rest of my life.”

When Matt went off to college, he set out to study computer science, but switched his major to music and the rest was history.

“I was finishing my doctorate in Indiana at Indiana university in Bloomington and I, um, uh, the job came open and it was open. I saw it posted the year before and, um, you know, then it came open again and I applied for it and they hired me and I've been there for 17 years now.”

Listen to the podcast to hear the entire conversation. 

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The Civic Club of Harrisburg is a service organization that supports and initiates community projects, provides scholarships and offers services to instill civility and create civil engagement within Harrisburg. To celebrate Women’s History Month, the civic club has a special event on March 24th to honor the past and present women shaping the City of Harrisburg.

“So, we are going to be having at the Civic Club of Harrisburg, the Historic Harrisburg Association come and really enlighten everyone about the Civic Club of Harrisburg and how everything began, the story, the lineage, what the audience can expect is a day of history. Things that we don't even take notice of are prevalent within the city of Harrisburg is due to the ladies of the Civic Club of Harrisburg, “said Deena Jangdhari, Director of Event Operations.

Mira Lloyd Dock was an American botanist, environmentalist, and educator. She played a major role in the City Beautiful Movement and was a founding member of the Civic Club of Harrisburg.

“From what she had learned from abroad, there were tree lines, there were places for children to play, there were sanitation systems, all the things that Harrisburg was missing. If you're not familiar back in the, on. 1800s and even earlier before that, they used to dump all of their waste and garbage along the riverfront, which caused a lot of disease and a lot of trash and it just wasn't a pleasant sight, “said Contrena Baltimore, President of the Civic Club of Harrisburg.

Through the City Beautiful Movement, Dock implemented the sanitation system to the City of Harrisburg.

“She was even responsible before the sanitation started of implementing. Trash cans. finding folks for spitting. Little things that we take for granted are things that were so important back then. And our civic club has the seeds of those beginnings that they have helped create for us today, “said Baltimore.

CLICK HERE to see the Civic Club of Harrisburg events.

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Pennsylvania has graced the world with an inordinate number of influential women throughout its history but looking with a sharper lens at four women in particular highlights not just their achievements, but also key trends in the U.S. and Pennsylvania in the 1800’s. Dr. Christine Senecal, Medieval Historian, shared some of the most important women from Pennsylvania whose lives made a positive impact on the world today.

Mary Cassatt was the only American to exhibit alongside the French Impressionists in France. Cassatt’s artwork was very radical for her time, that is still celebrated to this day.

“So, she did many pictures and paintings of women with children, and while that had been a pretty common scene in art, like Renoir did a lot of that, he was an imperious artist, she tended to focus on women, the labor that women did in care taking. So, if you look at a Renoir and you look at, um, like the women with the children, they're both smiling, sort of smiling for the camera, so to speak. Mary Cassatt's women are like tending to the children. And there's a lot of love and affection in her paintings, but also it shows women working. Moreover, there's pictures of women, many women, looking intently at things.”

Nellie Bly was an investigative journalist who was known for her undercover reporting on a mental asylum, her trip around the world, and her advocacy for women’s rights.

“She would throw herself into some news, a kind of important journalistic story. The most infamous or famous of this is a piece she wrote called Ten Days in the Madhouse. Off of the coast of New York, Manhattan, there's an island, it's an island that's now called Roosevelt Island and there was a woman's lunatic asylum, and it was supposed to be really corrupt. Nellie Bly got herself into the asylum. She did it by like going overnight, like she didn't let herself sleep. And so, she looked all crazy. And she checked herself into a kind of like dormitory to get into it and acted really crazy. Once she was in, she was eventually accepted into the woman's lunatic asylum. She was, you know, able to really record the horrible abuses and broke the story.”

Listen to the podcast to hear about Union Organizer Fannie Sellins, and abolitionist Sarah Mapps Douglass.

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On this week's edition of The Spark Weekly.

Winter road treatments help to keep us safe on the roads, however there are some hidden dangers of road salt and our freshwater ecosystem. Dr. John Jackson, Senior Research Scientist of Stroud Research Center, shared how the road salt makes its way into our fresh water.

Also, on the program:

Lisa Zoll is a licensed clinical social worker and owner of Grief Relief in Harrisburg. Grief Relief specializes in grief and trauma therapy for adults and first responders within Pennsylvania. Grief is described as the loss of something significant loss and trauma is an event that causes some significant level of distress and anguish for someone.

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