Ways to ring in the New Year

From potato chips to bridges to beavers, watch the drop in style

LEWISTOWN -- Lewistown had a way of making even the coldest winter night feel warm. Maybe it was the way the lights along Market Street glowed like fireflies, or how everyone - absolutely everyone - seemed to know everyone.

But on New Year's Eve, the town felt different. Bigger. Brighter. Buzzing.

Every year, people came from all over Mifflin County to watch the gigantic 5-foot by 9-foot Hartley's Potato Chip bag descend from the sky at midnight. It was quirky, it was local and it was theirs.

That buzz has been missing for a few years as the Downtown Lewistown Chip Drop had been shelved. Two Lewistown Borough officials - Mayor Deb Barto and Code Enforcement Officer Katelyn Rauch - figured it was time to resurrect the New Year's Eve tradition.

"We had a lot of people ask for it," Bargo explained. "Since we're just starting out again, it's not going to be as big as we had before."

There won't be fireworks or an art gallery, but there will be music and food for those in attendance as they wait for the countdown to midnight.

"Lewistown is a big borough and the fact that we haven't had anything over the (recent) years," Bargo added. "People came to me to bring it back. Katelyn and I put our heads together to see what we could do."

They posted a survey on the borough website and more than 225 people said they would attend the Chip Drop, if it were resurrected.

The Chip Drop joins Mifflintown's Eighth Annual Bridge the Memories New Year's Eve Event and Midnight Bridge Drop as well as the welcomed return of the storied Beaver Drop in Beavertown.

Holding an event of this magnitude takes a lot of effort. So Bargo and Rauch wanted to start small and hope to eventually build the Chip Drop back up to what it once was over time.

"We hear from residents all the time about bringing it back," Rauch said. "That's why Debbie reached out to Hartley's to bring it back. This year, we decided to run with it."

Starting at 9 p.m. in Monument Square in downtown Lewistown, there will be kids activities and a soup and chili cookoff leading up to the chip drop at midnight. The event features a Hartley's Potato Chip Bag Drop as the clock strikes midnight.

The Lewistown fire departments - City Hook and Ladder and Heritage - will assist with the Chip Drop. The event is open to everyone, so bring your family, friends, and ring in the New Year together.

A giant bag of chips dropping from the sky and fireworks had greeted every new year since 2008 - until a few years ago. There have been other events held with it, including local and regional musicians and entertainers, carriage rides, extended business hours, kids activities and an art gallery show.

Eighth Annual Midnight Bridge Drop

Roxann McGinnes says the Big Apple can have its famous ball drop with its throngs watching, the mayor of Mifflintown prefers the Juniata County's version with its very family-friendly, small-town festive and full of community energy. The Mifflintown's Eighth Annual Bridge the Memories New Year's Eve Event and Midnight Bridge Drop is a local tradition with charm written all over it.

"It's important for the community to get back to doing Hallmark things," McGinnis said of the New Year's Eve event on Wednesday.

It's a fun way to ring in the New Year, and the Mifflintown Bridge Drop has really grown into a signature local celebration.

"We always have a theme, and this year it is the NFL," McGinnis added. "We have life-size homemade nutcrackers at the square in front of the courthouse."

The six nutcrackers are decorated after an NFL team. Of course, two were chosen to honor the Pennsylvania teams - the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles.

McGinnis chose the remaining teams by asking community and business leaders about the teams they followed. There are nutcrackers for the New England Patriots for Mark Zimmerman, of Zimmerman Trucking; Las Vegas Raiders for Borough Council member Richie Zimmerman; San Francisco 49ers for WJAY Radio owner Keith Boreman, who helps McGinnis with social media; and the Dallas Cowboys for her "greatest supporter" and husband, Howdy.

Santa Claus, who showed up in Mifflintown for the tree lighting, is also apparently a Cowboys fan. (Quarterback Dak Prescott must have made Santa's nice list.)

The nutcrackers were built by Laura Walker, of Mifflintown, and painted by Alicia Colyer, of East Waterford. McGinnis also thanked the borough council, including president Sam Klinger, for their support.

"It's a community event, and everyone is always very accommodating," McGinnis said. "We're doing something to light up the community. Everything is free."

Richard Rush, owner of the Gridiron Pub in Mifflintown, will serve as emcee for the event. The Brown Funeral Home in Mifflintown has opened up their parking lot to allow the Bridge Drop to take place there, since it where the original bridge once stood.

Tim Manbeck and family, owners of Manbeck Construction, store the plywood bridge and transport it to the drop site each year. They also supply a crane to lower the iconic bridge. "Without them, there's no way we could do this," McGinnis said.

The event will feature delicious food, some of which came from Weis Markets in Mifflintown, including ham and bean soup, hot dogs and sauerkraut, coffee and hot cocoa. There will also be goodie bags for kids and party blowers handed out before midnight. The Juniata River Valley Tourism Bureau supplied some giveaways.

Amber Foose-Miller will also be providing music.

"We'll be ready to rock and roll around 10 o'clock," McGinnis said. "Then people can hang out until after midnight."

Beaver Drop back in Beavertown

Bucky the Beaver is back and Beavertown native Rich Wagner couldn't be happier.

"I'm glad they're bringing it back," Wagner said. "When they had it before, we used to go to the fire hall and go inside then when it was time to drop the beaver, we went outside."

Beavertown will once again welcome the New Year with one of its most cherished and unique traditions, the Beaver Drop, on Wednesday, starting around 10 p.m.

The celebration will take place at the Beavertown United Methodist Church, located at 128 Orange St., and promises an evening of community, food, fun and hometown pride.

Attendees can enjoy classic New Year's Eve refreshments provided by the Beavertown Revitalization Organization, including hot dogs and sauerkraut and hot chocolate, perfect for warming up on a winter evening while visiting with friends and neighbors.

Just steps away, the Beavertown Historical Society Museum, located in the borough building at 111 W. Walnut Street will be open from 11 p.m. to midnight. Visitors are invited to stop in and explore local history while waiting for the countdown to begin, an opportunity rarely available late at night.

The evening will also feature entertainment, as Tom Wagner brings along a projector and screen to show a movie or visual presentation during the event, adding to the lively atmosphere as the clock ticks closer to midnight.

Don't forget your camera as there will be a holiday photo backdrop, located under the United Methodist Church pavilion to capture those special family photos, selfies, pictures with friends, or even snapshots with your pets to remember the night.

According to Karen Burns, president of the Beavertown Historical Society, the Beaver Drop started as a Beavertown tradition in 2009. It is now returning after an absence of several years.

The original beaver, affectionately named "Bucky the Beaver," was created by Ronny Wagner, Rich Wagner and Tom Wagner. Inspired by then-Mayor Cloyd W. Wagner, the first Beaver Drop was sponsored by the Beavertown Rescue Hose Co., Beavertown Borough and the Beavertown Historical Society.

At the time, Beavertown was among the first small towns in the area to host a unique New Year's Eve drop. Tom Wagner famously lowered "Bucky the Beaver" from the Hook and Ladder Fire Truck, and each year he also crafted a lighted sign displaying the new year, making the event truly one of a kind.

"It was well attended when they had it," Rich Wagner recalled. "We started off with a uniform that somebody had worn in a parade, but it looked like we were hanging somebody."

That prop was quickly replaced with a beaver, which took less than a week to make. The beaver was crafted from Styrofoam and big blocks. Black flannel was used to make the tail and the body was covered with brown material that resembled fur.

For many years, the celebration was held at the Rescue Hose Co. until the sponsorship ended, but the tradition and the community spirit behind it have lived on. The last documented year was 2018, when it was followed by a fireworks display.

As midnight approaches and the beaver prepares to make its symbolic drop, Beavertown once again comes together to celebrate the past, present and future.