Lancaster County

If you'd like to spend an afternoon absorbing the rustic, historic and uncommonly lovely phenomenon that is a covered bridge in autumn, you do not have far to go. Pennsylvania, with more than 200 covered bridges, has the most remaining of any state in the union; Lancaster County, with 29, has the largest concentration in Pennsylvania. What, did you think you had to go to Iowa? Madison County, Iowa, became famous for its covered bridges when Robert James Waller set his 1992 novel, The Bridges of Madison County, there, and the 1995 Clint Eastwood / Meryl Streep movie was filmed on location.

Almost 300 years ago, a few dozen Amish families, tired of Catholic persecution in Switzerland, fled to America. They settled in Lancaster County, Pa., and built a prosperous farming community that today numbers around 30,000. Unlike most immigrant groups, the Amish have kept their culture and traditions almost intact. They speak an archaic German dialect, shun modern technology, and don't mix - no outsider has joined the group for almost 140 years. In a convergence of the 18th and 21st centuries, their isolation has created a powerful means for scientists to find the genes that lead to common diseases.

Nominations close Wednesday for volunteer awards The Maryland You Are Beautiful Program, with the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, is seeking nominations for the 2003 Maryland's Most Beautiful People Volunteer Awards. The program recognizes those who give of themselves to better life for everyone in Maryland. This year's theme is "The Power of One," celebrating the impact one volunteer or group can have on a community. Each county and Baltimore solicits local nominations, recognizes those nominees and selects a representative to attend the state ceremony in Annapolis Nov. 12. Carroll County's theme for the program is "Help us find the GOLD: That special volunteer `worth his/her weight in gold' so vital to our communities and county."

Summer concerts What could be more romantic than enjoying music while surrounded by the natural beauty of sunsets and the ocean? This summer, free weekly concerts will be held on the beach at North Division Street in Ocean City, every Wednesday through Aug. 27. Concerts include Opposite Directions, an acoustic rock duo; Randy Lee Ashcraft and the Saltwater Cowboys' country/beach music; and Frank and Patsy doing their "Tribute to Frank Sinatra and Patsy...

On Sunday, July 6, 2003, EDWARD HOWARD SCHULTZ, 61, of Lancaster, PA. He is survived by his wife Janet Ellen Walker Schultz of Lancaster, PA, two sons, Douglas Lake, husband of Marcia L. Staherski Schultz of Lancaster, PA, and William Reed, husband of Christine Wallace Schultz of Dover, DE, two sisters, Dorothea wife of Allen P. Uhlrich of Jarrettsville, MD, and Arlene wife of Thomas Fitch of FL, and two granddaughters. He was preceded in death by three brothers Raymond, Donald and Norman.

CECILTON -- Longtime residents -- "English," as the Amish call anyone who is not of their faith -- have grown fond of the clip-clop sound of horse and buggy as the plain folk make their way on errands around this town of 500. County road crews have installed yellow caution signs painted with the silhouettes of Amish carriages, and merchants grouse a little about horse droppings, but most have nothing but good things to say about their new neighbors....

Dr. D. Holmes Morton was new to Lancaster County, Pa., when he was asked to come see a baby born to an Amish family. The child had a very small head, but looked surprisingly normal in every other way. "I could tell by examining the baby it was not the kind of problem that would get better," Morton said. Since that visit in 1989, Morton has seen about 20 Amish babies with microcephaly, with brains so underdeveloped that there is no chance for survival beyond the first few months. The babies' heads are 10 to 11 inches in circumference instead of the usual 13 to 14 inches for newborns.

Standing in line at Zimmerman's grocery store in Intercourse, Pa., one of the many small towns amid the cornfields of Lancaster County, I chatted with the man in front of me, a middle-aged Amish father with a long salt-and-pepper beard. Like other Amish, he shunned many aspects of modern life. His horse and buggy waited outside, and he spoke to his sons in the German dialect still used by his people. But hearing a beeping sound, I noticed another detail about the man: He was wearing an electronic pager on his waist.

Consider them one of Mother Nature's colorful surprises: pumpkins that are a shade apart from those normally found in the patch. Pumpkins are no longer exclusively orange. The latest trend includes shiny orbs in crayon-box hues like bright red, yellow and even blue. Besides bringing a new aesthetic to seasonal decorating, colored pumpkins also add another dimension to cooking, with subtle variations in taste. "Years ago, I only remember the regular orange pumpkins," says produce manager Allan Levitt of Sutton Place Gourmet, showing off the Pikesville store's eye-catching display of pumpkins and squash.

BIRD-IN-HAND, Pa. - They started with a prayer, closed with "Amazing Grace," and in between feasted on a procession of Katie Fisher's specialties - apricot applesauce, baked chicken, smoked turkey ham, homemade noodles, fresh blueberry pie. The 10 guests, mostly tourists, had gathered around the long table overlooking cornfields and a herd of grazing cows to experience something beyond the well-advertised quilt shops and buggy rides of Lancaster County:...