I moved to Lititz when I was in fourth grade and I lived there until I got married, about 11 years later. My parents lived there about 60 years until dad recently died. As much as I would have liked to move back, it was never the Lord's will that this would happen. But as we returned last Friday for the annual Fourth of July parade, I realized again how great a town Lititz really is and how much I miss it. Here are my top ten reasons for saying that.
(1) It has great traditions - the Fourth of July parade is extra special as are other parades (Memorial Day, Halloween, etc.), the Candlelight Ceremony, fireworks, and especially the Trombone Choir and the Moravian traditions at Easter. It still maintains a community band (see picture).
(2) It has a rich history dating back well over 200 years. It was a key location in the Revolutionary War and even General Sutter who started the California Goldrush is buried there. Historical sights and markers can be seen throughout the town and very old tombstones can be found in the Moravian Cemetery.
(3) It has great architecture with many restored homes and buildings. It has many streets lined with houses with big front porches. Even the alleys are fun to explore with their old garages and apartments. I miss Sunday afternoon walks throughout the town.
(4) It has great facilities with excellent public and private schools, top notch athletic facilities, a community rec center and swimming pool, churches, a great library, museums, a wonderful park, retirement homes, and much more.
(5) It has a wonderful downtown with many small shops for antiques, specialty items, food, etc. and even an Inn. It is fun just to be able to walk around and explore. You can even stop to make a pretzel at the Sturgis Bakery.
(6) It has a religious heritage that was established by the early Moravians who settled there. While it is not immune to today's liberal agenda, the effects of this heritage are still seen in things like the Christmas Nativity display found in the town square each Christmas season. And few communities still allow churches to use chimes to broadcast hymns daily for the community to hear, but Lititz does.
(7) It has a weekly newspaper that covers the town news each week and promotes the community and school activities. I wrote for this paper for about six years while growing up and it is something special that few towns have been able to maintain in today's economy and technology.
(8) It has great community spirit. It may be hard to understand this unless you've lived there. But, Lititz folks support their local merchants, their community events and especially their athletic teams. Thousands turn out for their annual Craft Fair and Art Fair. I have now spent most of my life in a college community where such spirit does not exist and I really miss that. It is a special feeling.
(9) It has a chocolate factory and residents live with the daily smell of the chocolate. Many don't realize how special that is until they move away and miss that delicious smell. And Wilbur Buds just are a special treat.
(10) It is still my hometown. No matter how long I am gone from Lititz, memories of a great time in my life still frequent my thinking. I was blessed to be able to grow up there.
Now you might ask, why don't I move back. We never did move back because our present home was much more convenient to where I worked and and it is close to where we worship and serve. The one drawback to living in Lititz is the traffic, especially on 501. Sometimes it takes a long time to get in or out of this growing borough. Area highways have not kept up with the growth. We did seriously consider moving back when we had to sell my dad's house, but at this point it makes much more sense to stay here. Our next move will probably be to a retirement facility or to heaven. And as nice as Lititz is, it just doesn't compare to heaven.
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