Ephrata,Pa (Reading, Lancaster, Harrisburg: attorney, house, movie theater)

[vetteforme]

Does anyone have any information about this Town,Ephrata in Pa.we are thinking of moving there from California..any help sure would be appreciated..thanks

[mjk1093]

Search the forum for "Ephrata" and "Lancaster." Good luck. Prepare for some culture shock.

[trlstreet]

Ephrata is smack in the middle of a still largely rural (yet growing) section of Lancaster County. Ephrata is about 10 miles north of Lancaster (a great small city) and 20 miles south of Reading. Ephrata has the feel of a larger small town, with a nice business district. If considering Ephrata, I'd also take a look at Lititz (a little more touristy and yuppie-fied though). I live in York County, I love Lancaster County but am wary of the sprawl.

[eastwestgal]

I live in Ephrata right now, born and raised here but I also have the extra benefit of having liveed on the west coast in sunny California for half my life. I tend to move cross country back and forth between the two states. Guess I like a little bit about both, hate a little bit about both.

Ephrata is considered to be one of the nicer small towns in Lancaster County. Lititz and Leola and many others are also nice. What I like about Ephrata is that I can take my dogs for a walk after midnight and never worry about getting mugged. You tend to get to know your neighbors (sometimes whether you want to or not! LOL) and though culture shock might be a bit of a problem the first year if you're not from Pa., you soon get over it if you're friendly and willing to learn. It's true, there are STILL times when some of the mentality of some folks here drive me insane, but these are small town people, not many are college educated, many are set in their ways. You just have to get over that and live your own life.

The nice things are that Ephrata has several amentities that the other towns do not, such as a double movie theater, large modern rec center, two outdoor pools for summer swimming (season passes are about $55 or pay $3 a day), pretty streets with lots of trees, and Cocalico Creek runs through the town and park with walking trail, food pavillions and our own Playhouse in the Park with some great plays every year. Several typical "dutchie" style restaurants are available or nearby (sorry, no haute cuisine, though in THIS area!), the schools are fairly good and everything is close by, Lancaster city and all its malls, shopping, etc are withiin 10 minutes away.

Hope this gives you an overview, I'll be happy to answer any other questions if needed. Good luck on your move!

[BrunetteGirl18]

Originally Posted by vetteforme

Does anyone have any information about this Town,Ephrata in Pa.we are thinking of moving there from California..any help sure would be appreciated..thanks

I live a little bit out of Ephrata, but I've been there 100 times. It's a really nice community!!

[KoZmiC NinJa]

I love Ephrata !!!
I would go to the biker breakfasts at tha VFW from Lanco and
just stare at the cool old architecture. Whatever that
big old abandoned building was up on the hill I was very sad
when they tore it down.
The Green Dragon, too...

[pspdick]

Ephrata is a wonderful small town. Coming from Cali., you'll be amazed.
The people are very standoffish [at least the natives are]. You don't need to live in Ephrata to enjoy the culture. Lititz, Mannheim, Hershey, and so many other cities close by would be just as delightful.
Everytown has episodes, but for the most part, that part of the State is extremely calming. It's a pity that it has to be so close to Harrisburg.
A few years ago a United States Attorney named Jonathan Luna, from Baltimore, was kidnapped and taken to a place near Ephrata where he was beaten, tortured, stabbed dozens of times, shot several times, and left for dead. Before he died, he managed to write "mvrtha" in his own blood on a stone in a creek bed. The first trooper on the scene was from the Ephrata barracks. He discovered the word "mvrtha" written in blood on the stone. When the white shirts arrived, they were told to wash "mvrtha" off the stone and bury the rock.
The trooper that discovered the "mvrtha" stone objected to the cover-up. He was found shot to death in his very own Ephrata State Police barracks.
The murder of U.S. Attorney Luna was ruled a suicide even though he had been stabbed 36 times, shot several times, tortured and almost drowned, and his car pushed on top of him as he lay in the creek. The State Trooper who found the "mvrtha" stone was shot to death in the barracks after he complained to the PA. Attorney General about the cover-up.

The reason that I say all this is that you are never as safe as you think you are. If you had happened along that scene as it was going down, you would have surely been killed as well.

This has never been reported in the press, but you'll remember a massacre at an Amish School House in Nickel Mines last year. The words "mvrtha" and "mithra" were found written in blood with a smiley face in blood next to it.
The Governor and the State Attorney General put a gag on it.

Welcome to Pennsylvania.

[kitty71]

Originally Posted by eastwestgal

Several typical "dutchie" style restaurants are available or nearby (sorry, no haute cuisine, though in THIS area!)

Oh, but there is! What about Lily's on Main? In the the Brossman building (the theater) ? I have had some very avant-garde cuisine there - of course, unfortunately the prices reflect this It is a very nice art nouveau style cafe... lunches are cheaper than supper.

The Lincoln House as well has some quite exotic fare such as ostrich and swordfish - and the ambiance is quite nice there too.

I have also heard about The Log Cabin - one of the most expensive restaurants in the County... it's near Brownstown in the middle of nowhere, but it's supposed to be really good too.