Local - Brenda Lee Free

The Many Places We Call Home

Several years ago I gave a Pecha Kucha presentation at Tellus 360 in downtown Lancaster about protecting the places we love, places I consider sacred. Places I consider home. As I've been scouring Lancaster county for just the right veggies and plants to fill my gardens, I'

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Brenda Lee Free's Guide to the #ExtraGive

It's the annual Extraordinary Give hosted by the Lancaster County Community Foundation stretched by at least $300,000. The day to give is Friday, November 20th. It can be overwhelming to go to the website and see all the various nonprofits in need of donations, so here'

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Hippocamp - a writers' camp that includes the novice

I recently asked Donna Talarico, founder and publisher of Hippocampus Magazine and Hippocamp - A Conference for Creative Nonfiction Writers, the benefits that novice writers would find in attending her upcoming camp which is next week right here in downtown Lancaster, PA. I have friends and readers from all levels

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Pecha Kucha Presentation - Unearth: Restoring my spirit protecting the lands of my birth

Below is the breakdown of my presentation at Tellus 360 tonight for their Pecha Kucha event. I hope to have video up of this soon, but in the meantime, here are my thoughts and photos: Good Evening, I’m Brenda Lee Sieglitz and I’m here tonight tell you about

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Social Justice

Social justice has always seemed extreme to me. Something I wouldn't do. I'd sign petitions, like or follow the social media outlets of causes I believed in; I still do. It's a comfortable way to feel involved without being extreme, without putting myself in

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Fighting a Pipeline, Letting Go of Grief, and Celebrating a Book

Understatement of the Year: It's been a chaotic 2 weeks. 2 Tuesdays ago I passed 2 anniversaries: that of funding my Kickstarter publishing project and 6 years since losing Kevin. [embed]http://instagram.com/p/utg6-hNWAX/?modal=true[/embed] Amongst the emotions of that anniversary I become deeply

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Enola Low Grade Trail

My husband and I have thoroughly enjoyed biking the Enola Low Grade Trail in Manor township on the weekends. While I dream of one day biking the entire way to the Martic township railroad trestle, where it ends until renovations are completed, today we completed over 6 miles round trip

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You Cannot Destroy My Safe Place

"Some religious institutions and belief systems resists and distrust the suggestion that nature and spirit are related. Suspicious of environmentalism as an ersatz religion, they perceive a creeping, cultural animism. This belief, which runs deep in American culture, is perhaps one of the least acknowledged but most important barriers

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Standing Up

I walked down there tonight. Down to the covered bridge that will be within feet of the pipeline construction zone if the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project is approved by FERC. I stood there, with my dog, imagining what it would look like with a 125-foot wide swatch of land is

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Pipelines Hinder Corn Crop Yields

Shared with Permission from Kevin L. Brown with the Bradford County Conservation District: We are far from doing any official work on pipeline effects on crop yields. However, I have had several calls inviting us in to look at what has already happened on several farms. I think that you

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FERC Comment on the Atlantic Sunrise Expansion Project

Reference: Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC Atlantic Sunrise Project Docket No. PF14-8 Atlantic Sunrise ID is PF14-8-000 My home is located within ¼ - ½ mile from the re-route that has been proposed in West Hempfield Township, Lancaster, County, by Williams Partners for the Atlantic Sunrise Expansion Project. The map details

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Beauty in my Backyard

As the fireflies move it's as if they're floating up from the blades of grass, Shining their light in a flicker of a second before disappearing against the green. The orange of the tiger lilies burst forth from the tangled mess of leaves at their base.

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West Hempfield Pipeline Meeting Notes

Last evening I was pleasantly surprised to find nearly 50 people at our local West Hempfield Township meeting in Lancaster County, PA. I had been working with Ron Youtz, township manager, for several weeks, determining the best time to hold a Q&A session for residents regarding the Atlantic

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Saturday Book Signing at Midtown Scholar Bookstore

I hope many of you will be to join me at the Midtown Scholar Bookstore in Harrisburg, PA from 2-4 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday June 28. Copies will be available for sale, and I will happily sign your copy. A portion of the proceeds will support Sarcoma related nonprofits and

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Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline - Learning How to Fight

A pipeline is trying to come through my county. It's going through the heart of where I was raised, and will also be skirting through the township where I now call home. I see it creating a much bigger divide than just the project itself. Landowners who need

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The Perfect Moment at the Post Office

I stood in line a bit sheepishly, taking up all of the postal worker's time. Before me were over 40 envelopes stuffed with my memoir, ready to be shipped out to my supporters all over the US and Canada. A woman came in and I looked at her

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The Power of Community - Guest Blog by Tim Kreider

A few years ago I heard the story like everyone else in the area: a boy and his parents murdered in their home. No one knew who had done it. It sent chills down my back. When I heard the boy responsible for the murders was a teenager, I felt

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We All Have a Cause

I often wonder if the things I am passionate about are good enough. Who else cares about National Parks as much as I? At one point, Edward Abbey would've beat me out, but he's dead now. When I think about the fact that I've

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You Never Know Who You Will Meet

After trekking to Philly and back for work, I wasn't sure I was feeling settled and creative to be able to attend the Writers Support Group I helped to launch at our local library (Mountville Public Library). I had only made it to 1 session myself, and the

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Went Missing

Wed morning my Great Uncle John was found dead in a field. It sounds solemn, but the way he was found there, makes me wish, hope, pray, that he thought he was going to sleep. After hearing the news that he had gone missing Tuesday afternoon all kinds of worry

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"How to Use a Runaway Truck Ramp" - Review and Book Giveaway!

I meagerly followed Shawn, Maile, and their 4 children's journey cross the United States via their blogs, but that didn't prepare me for the internal struggles they dealt with day in and out as they shared in their new book, "How to Use a Runaway

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From Shy to Share - How She Found Confidence in Faith - Guest Blog by Jess G.

I have known Jessica most of my life - from Pioneer Clubs at Pequea Brethren in Christ to Youth Group, School and our Marching Band days, we've spent a lot of time together. I haven't seen Jess since that time, though, and when we became friends

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Inkling Media - Social Media, Marketing in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

On a snowy evening I met with Ken Mueller at his home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to discuss his social media venture, Inkling Media. Mueller evolved into the social media/marketing business via a combination of accounting, FBI interest and radio. Three venues that have little to do with one another,

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Review: Square One Coffee in Lancaster City, PA - Roasting for the Future

Josh and Jessica Steffy are the owners of a small coffee shop in the Eastern section of Lancaster City, Pennsylvania. As missionary leaders for YWAM (Youth With a Mission) in Scotland, they traveled all over and got to sample some of the finest coffees on earth. For them, coffee creates

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Hammerstroke & Fire - Metal Jewelry in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania

Wendy Edsall-Kerwin first discovered her love of jewelry and metals while in art school. After school she wandered away from her hobby until her own wedding brought her back in order to handcraft her jewelry for the big occasion. It took a few more years, moves, and some dedicated class