In a year filled with the unexpected, one of the certainties of 2021 was that the Community Courier was filled with good news stories about people in the community, schools and local nonprofit organizations, as well as notable events that took place locally.

In May, readers met Scott Davis, a 2021 graduate of Octorara Junior-Senior High School, who created a time capsule that will be opened in 50 years. Items placed in the decorative cherry box, which Scott handcrafted in the school woodshop, included a school facemask that was worn during the pandemic, hand sanitizer and a blank COVID-19 vaccination card. Also included was an issue of the Community Courier newspaper.

Parkesburg, which once had its own professional baseball team called the PICO Ironmen, celebrated its baseball history with a Baseball Festival at Minch Park in the summer of 2021. The event, which featured old-time baseball games, was presented by the South Eastern Pennsylvania Travel Baseball Association (SEPTBA). The Ironmen team was created by Horace Beale Jr., president of the Parkesburg Iron Company (PICO). His team played at PICO Field, known today as Minch Park, where it faced players like Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Casey Stengel.

People who were highlighted in 2021 included Jed King, the head football coach at Octorara Junior-Senior High School, who was named the Coach of the Year for Section 4 of the Lancaster-Lebanon (L-L) League; Heather Furlong, who was named the new school principal at West Fallowfield Christian School; and Father John Van de Paer, who previously served at Our Lady of Consolation (OLC) Parish in Parkesburg and who turned 100 on Nov. 29.

Community groups were also active in 2021, including the Parkesburg Lions Club, the Christiana Lions Club, the Parkesburg Area Business Association (PABA), the Parkesburg POINT youth center and the Parkesburg Action Committee (PAC).

The area's three local libraries - Atglen Public Library, Moores Memorial Library in Christiana and the Parkesburg Library - continued to offer programming in 2021 despite limitations caused by the pandemic. The Moores Memorial Library started a new and unique program where children can visit regularly with the library bunny. APL continued its renovation of a new building that will open as its new location in 2022, and teenager Armen Caravantes started a community garden program at the Parkesburg Library.

Plans for Parkesburg Borough's 150th anniversary celebration began in May of 2021. The community-wide event, which will be held on Friday to Sunday, May 20 to 22, will include a large parade, fireworks and activities in Minch Park. To learn more about the sesquicentennial celebration, visit http://www.facebook.com/ParkesburgSesquicentennial.

Parkesburg said goodbye to Thaddeus "Bud" Wilde, who was known as a community icon. Wilde passed away at the age of 89, and a parade was held in his honor in January 2021 that included fire trucks from Keystone Valley Fire Department (KVFD). Wilde was a fourth-generation funeral director and once served as the KVFD fire chief.