Latest news with #MissJudy
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Bill OBoyle: Shawnee will shine again for Kielbasa Festival
Jun. 28—WILKES-BARRE — It's almost that time. By that, I mean we will soon be smelling the aroma of garlic-laced kielbasa wafting up from Main Street in my hometown of Plymouth, Pa., at the 21st annual Plymouth Alive Kielbasa Festival. The festival is set for Friday, Aug. 8, and Saturday, Aug. 9, in Old Shawnee. My friend, Alexis Eroh, and her Plymouth Alive team are putting the final touches on preparations for this year's event. "The festival is a culmination of year-long planning by our incredibly dedicated Plymouth Alive team," Eroh said. "This year we are saying 'Cheers to 21 Years' and toasting our town, its history and the dedicated people who make it great." One person in particular who will be celebrated is Judy Rittenhouse, the beloved storyteller from the Plymouth Public Library, known to most in town as "Miss Judy." "Judy's dedication to the library and the children of Plymouth is truly unmatched," Eroh said. "Week in and week out, Miss Judy volunteers her time there, planning story times, crafts and summer program activities. She remembers each child's name, reading preferences and favorite activities." With all that said, it is no wonder that Eroh said she and her team are proud to announce Judy Rittenhouse as the 2025 Kielbasa Festival Parade Grand Marshal. Congratulations to Judy! Eroh also reports that local bars and restaurants are gearing up for a busy Kielbasa Festival weekend. She said Plymouth's Main Street will be alive with vendors and attendees stopping in to say "Cheers to 21 years" with their friends and family members who make their annual trips to Plymouth for the festival. "For many establishments, it is by far the busiest weekend of the year," Eroh said. Eroh said Plymouth Alive invites and encourages all our civic organizations to take advantage of the event. She said applications are still available on the Plymouth Alive Facebook Page. This festival takes Plymouth natives — like me — back to those halcyon days when Plymouth and all local small towns were alive with vibrant Main Streets filled with shoppers patronizing many small businesses. That feeling of hometown pride lives in all of us and events like the Kielbasa Festival, the Edwardsville Pierogi Festival and the Pittston Tomato Festival re-ignite those warm feelings of being home again. You're darn right I'm proud I grew up in Plymouth — proud I'm from Wyoming Valley. Proud of this region, its people and its beauty. The Kielbasa Festival reminds a lot of people of the town's Centennial celebration in 1966 — providing the same kind of hometown feel and spirit. The attached picture, provided by Bob Schacht, shows Plymouth's Main Street in 1966. It shows that vibrancy and activity in a small town and it oozes with hometown pride. The Kielbasa Festival takes me back there and I don't even need the Way Back Machine — the feeling of yesteryear is right there every year. In 1966, Plymouth epitomised small-town America. Stores lined both sides of Main Street, and they stayed open in the evenings. The high school's basketball team won the Wyoming Valley Conference championship and copped the District 2 title. There were parades for the opening of Little League and for Halloween, as storefront windows were painted in festive scenes, The town was safe, and it was fun. There was the magnificent school campus with its beautiful brick buildings, winding sidewalks and tall shade trees. And Huber Stadium and its amazing wall and the Plymouth Little League right next to it. Being in Plymouth for the Kielbasa Festival made me yearn to walk the Main Street like it was 1966 again — Golden Quality Ice Cream Store, Shawnee Theater, Mergo's, Rea & Derick, Mitch Plessett's Men's Shop, C. Matus News, Brodmarkel's Store, Al Wasley Jeweler, Joe's Pizza, Octagon Bar, Doc's Sporting Goods, Weil's, Jimeal's, Fainberg Furniture, Dwyer's Lunch, Walt's Servette, Smolok's, Shawnee TV, and many more. Those really were the good old days — and those good old days return when the Kielbasa Festival is held. And "Shawnee Will Shine" once again. Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
82-year-old Wichitan brings in smiles working as a barback
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Bronx Pizza and Pints opened 2 years ago in west Wichita. Not long after opening, they gained an employee that would turn work into a home. 'I'd just come in, and I'd eat or something, and one day, there was tables out there that needed bussed,' Judy Goetzinger said. 'So I just asked Lindy, 'Can I go bus tables?' And she said, 'Well, I guess!' She said, 'Would you be interested in a part-time job?' I said, 'Well, yeah.' Goetzinger is 82 and works at the restaurant bussing tables, cleaning dishes and engaging with customers. 'I enjoy it,' Goetzinger said. 'I enjoy visiting with the people. They make me happy. The kids come in. I like to watch them for their first piece of pizza. We show them how to fold it and eat it instead of cutting it up. I go around and visit with them. Ask them how the pizza is.' 'She brings a lot of people in,' General Manager Paul Guitierrez said. 'People come in to see her quite a bit. I tell her this all the time. I wish I had more staff that showed up and worked as hard as she does at her age. It's unbelievable to watch her work.' She has built relationships with both the customers and her coworkers. 'I laugh with them, I cry with them, I pray for them. You get to know them. I didn't used to be a talker, but it just feels like family here, ya know? It makes me feel good to see a smile on their face when they leave,' Goetzinger said. 'Miss Judy is somebody you can talk to any time you're here,' said Guitierrez. 'Our staff, they, like any other job, we have a lot of staff that goes through certain personal issues and stuff like that, and I constantly see them turning to Miss Judy to say 'Hey!' And I think it's that experience that she's had through life.' Towanda farm has been in the family since 1869 Most people she sees at work call her mom. 'I'm old enough to be their moms, so I enjoy all of them,' Goetzinger said. 'It's family. You work together for so long, so many hours a day it just becomes natural. You care for them when they hurt and when they're sad. It makes me feel good. I'm not just sitting at home loafing. It gives me something to do.' 'This place is really warm when she's here. It's inviting. She's just amazing to work with. I'm fortunate to have her working with us,' said Guitierrez. People come in expecting to see Goetzinger and asking for her. 'Judy is amazing,' employee Angela Purviance said. 'Everybody here loves her. They come in sometimes just to see Judy, I think.' If you would like to nominate a person or business for Positive Connections, fill out KSN's online contact form. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
