Taking a Stroll: Treasurers abound in downtown Selinsgrove

Selinsgrove Region

Related Photos

The Snyder County Trust Co. clock was recently restored and now shows the correct time once again. Photos by Cindy O. Herman/For The Daily Item
Brother and sister Josh and Julia Grubb, of the Kind Café. “You need small businesses to give your town some character and some uniqueness,” Julia says
“Good food, good times, good people … come to Selinsgove!” says Barb Moyer, left, with Ann Leitzel and Margaret Shaloka, all of The Mustard Seed.
Sharon Graybill, left, remembers doing her first Christmas shopping in Selinsgrove, at Ebert’s Five and Ten, while Mary Ann Hamilton says Selinsgrove is “a neighborly town.” From left, Graybill, Carol Mengle, Hamilton and Beverly Rich, volunteers at The Mustard Seed.
“People put inordinate amounts of volunteer time in to take care of the community,” says Judy Spiegel, co-owner of J. Kleinbauer apparel, with men’s sales associate Barry Kobel.
“I love Tokyo Diner,” says Susquehanna University student Ally Crawford, left. “I feel safe here,” says SU student Casey Henninger, center. “I like that (Selinsgrove’s) becoming more like a business district, getting more stores,” says Selinsgrove Area High School senior Mikayla Kuhns, right. The girls were enjoying a photo shoot at It’s All About Me Boutique.
The Selinsgrove community embraces its town, says Stacey Martin, owner of The Post and Lintel art gallery and shop.
Firefighters and passersby helped save D.J. Ernst Bookstore when the building next to it burned down in 1990. “Now I donate to the fire company whenever they ask,” Ernst says.
The Stay Sweet Cupcakery is housed at the site of the former Reichley’s Candy Shoppe, home of a “ham and chocolate sandwich,” says owner Tawnie Hotaling. “Everybody loved it.”
Selinsgrove has unique shops, says Jennifer Balinski, a Kutztown University student doing an internship at Peppers: The Artisans’ Collective.
“I always loved thrift stores and yard sale-ing. I have a passion for that,” says Kelsy Clark, owner of the Pink Pin Up Resale Boutique, with her dog, Honey Bunz.
Even the door of the Pink Pin Up Resale Boutique is painted bright pink
“Selinsgrove is a great town to raise a family,” says Candie Beiler, owner of It’s All About Me Boutique.
The Selinsgrove Commons is anchored with a distinctive pergola. In the background is the newly built Rudy Gelnett Memorial Library.
The community really comes together,” says State Farm Insurance agent Chris Kenawell.
Selinsgrove is home of the mighty Seals!

Discussion

February 4, 2013

Taking a Stroll: Treasurers abound in downtown Selinsgrove

By Cindy O. Herman For The Daily Item The Daily Item Mon Feb 04, 2013, 03:17 PM EST

SELINSGROVE — “There are a lot of hidden treasures here,” said Judy Spiegel, co-owner of J. Kleinbauer apparel.

Her appreciation of her hometown sharpens when seeing it through others’ eyes, like the Canadian customers who visited after finding J. Kleinbauer online. With typical Susquehanna Valley hospitality, Spiegel picked them up at Penn Valley Airport and gave them a tour of her town.

“I think in this area we take a lot of pride in our craft,” she said, mentioning Kleinbauer’s own men’s sales associate Barry Kobel, who is “just incredible” at fitting suits. “People work really hard here to attract people to the town.”

“The people of Snyder County are pleasant and hardworking,” said Ed Auman, owner of Rine’s Florist, just across Pine Street Bridge on the Isle of Que.

“It’s a town that constantly wants to improve,” said Margaret Shaloka, a Shamokin resident who taught in Selinsgrove and volunteers at The Mustard Seed thrift shop. “Residents are interested in their young people, and I saw that up close and personal.”

“The town is very beautiful,” said Stacey Martin, owner of The Post and Lintel art gallery and shop. “I think the community just embraces it and loves it. They’re just always trying to make it a better place.”

“People really seem to care,” said State Farm Insurance agent Chris Kenawell.

He mentioned a young client whose older neighbors helped him with yard work and snow shoveling. Now the tables are turned: the older couple is in their 80s and the younger man helps them. Kenawell also mentioned his 11-year-old neighbor, Katie Bucher, who voluntarily shoveled his driveway when he and his family were away over New Year’s.

“That’s the kind of thing that happens in a small town, where people really know each other and look out for each other,” he said.

Jay Muller, director of Re-Creation, a group that sings in veterans’ hospitals, graduated from both Selinsgrove Area High School and Susquehanna University.

“There’s a really big desire to excel here,” he said. “I support downtown (businesses) as much as possible.”

Small-town businesses must support each other, said Julia Grubb, manager of the Kind Café.

“I think small towns are just the coolest things,” she said. “It really shouldn’t be about competition all the time. It should be about the synergy. You need small towns to give your town some character and uniqueness. That’s why we’ve become a destination for people to come to. I don’t know if people understand what’s cool about Selinsgrove. It’s the small businesses.”

“What’s great about Selinsgrove,” said Jennifer Balinsky, a Kutztown University student interning at Peppers: The Artisans’ Collective, “is we have a lot of shops that are very unique that you wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else. Including Peppers, because everything here is Pennsylvania-made.”

“You have all the plazas and the mall,” said Kelsy Clark, owner of the Pink Pin Up Resale Boutique. “But then you get to the town and you have that unique part, too. It’s also nice because it has the college, too. The college girls love (Pink Pin Up). They can trade in their clothes and get a new wardrobe.”

Selinsgrove recently celebrated the opening of the Rudy Gelnett Memorial Library, named after a lifelong resident who bequeathed his fortune to the town. The beautiful brick building stands as a testament to Gelnett’s generosity and the town’s community spirit.

“Residents value their community and what it has to offer,” said Jennifer Johnston, library director.

“I always refer to Selinsgrove as a volunteer community,” said Mayor Sean Christine, citing the volunteer borough council, local chamber and shade tree committee members, and the many others who serve the town in various capacities. “It’s amazing what gets done.”

D.J. Ernst Books benefited from the community’s spirit when the building next door burned to the ground in 1990.

“We had about 20 minutes to get things out of the shop,” Ernst said. Firefighters and passersby sprang into action. “Just people off the street.”

Shane Ulrich, owner of the Country Squire, grew to appreciate that sense of community.

“When you were growing up here you were never left dangling,” he said. “You were never really on your own.”

Unique shops and a strong sense of community — treasures any town would prize.