Middletown Community Day, 325th Anniversary was Huge Success

Rumor has it that Pat McCoy, director of Middletown Township Parks and Recreation, orders up the weather each year for the annual Middletown Community Celebration. And this year she got the order just right as you couldn't have asked for a nicer day! The weather was just one of the highlights as celebrated its 325th birthday.

The day started off with a parade that included many local organizations such as the Boy Scouts, local fire companies, Riddle EMT services, and one of the leaders of the pack and long-time Middletown resident Larry Weathers Jr. The parade, which was sponsored by the Middletown Township Historical Society (MTHS) and , featured over 70 units, and was masterfully orchestrated by my friend and fellow MTHS Board Member Dr. Gary Grove. It was a welcome sight to see young and old since the last one held in Middletown was circa 1981.  The procession made its way from the Granite Run Mall, up Baltimore Pike to North Pennell Road, and then headed North on Route 352 to the location for this year’s event; the

Once all the parade revelers were on campus, a dedication ceremony was held with a proclamation from State Senator Dominic Pileggi marking the 325th birthday. A plaque was presented to Council Chairperson Scott Galloway and Middletown Township Historical Society President Sue Mescanti. The dedication was followed by the singing of the National Anthem from the State Street Miracles, led by Roger Ricker from the , and ended with singing "Happy Birthday to Middletown." Of course you know that cake was to follow!

Now that the formalities were over, it was time to set about the campus, with two grandchildren in tow, and see what fun we could find. Eats, eats, and more eats were a plenty with Chic Fil-A, Wayside Market, Joseph’s Catering, and Pappones Pizzeria just to name a few of the local eateries. There were vendors and local businesses setup at various tables with plenty of give-a-ways for young and old. There were also a number community organizations on hand as well as the local churches. My grandkids delighted in the pony rides, moon bounces, and the ever popular face painting.  Another attraction was the civil war style cannon owned and fired by Dr. John Laskas. I had been fortunate enough to witness one of the inaugural firings of this magnificent piece of hardware and can tell you it is an experience to be seen. The power is immense and leaves one wondering how it must have been on the battlefield of the various skirmishes of the Civil War with hundreds of these being fired. The grandkids didn’t like it so much and a diaper change was in order!

Towards the end of the day I had the pleasure of chatting with a group from the Honeycomb UAME Church, an African American Baptist church they told me was founded in 1852 at the crossroads of Van Leer and Barren Roads. I stopped to look at some of the pictures they had on display and one of them caught my eye. It was of a couple standing in front of a home and the caption read Hedgeview Lima. Now from research of my current home, I know that is once stood on what was called Hedgeview Lane. It was renamed Berry Lane when plans for Glenwood School required condemning some homes and shortening Berry Lane to its current configuration.  As we talked and dropped names, it turns out many members of the church lived in my section of Lima. I enjoyed hearing some stories of people I did not know, but who I was sharing some common ground with. We ended with one of my new acquaintances saying "we're all related in one way or another…we’re all Middletown." And I thought that was great parting thought that summed up the day and the Middletown Community event.