Youth Reclaimed

There is an old saying that once we have left home and return later in life, it is not our hometown we miss, it our youth!

In 1951 Jay and Ruth Musser purchased a large Victorian home at 214 Marietta Avenue, Mount Joy, PA from the estate of the late Dr. & Mrs. Oliver G. Longenecker. Over the next 40 years the Mussers raised four children in this home. Jay was the Vice President and head chemist for the Kline Chocolate Company in Elzabethtown, Pa. (now the M&M Mars plant). With the children all grown and Mr. Mussers passing, the home was too large for Mrs. Musser. She sold the home and moved to a retirement home in the Hershey area.

After two intermediate owners, Doris and Burt Tyson purchased this intact and private Victorian home in 1997 to turn it into a Bed and Breakfast and also have it as their own home. And so, in June of 1998 it became "The Victorian Rose Bed and Breakfast".

Fast forward to 2010. Early in the year Doris received a phone call from Sue (Musser) Miller. She said that her mother Ruth Musser was going to be 90 years old on August 31st, 2010. She was inquiring about the possibility of renting the entire “Victorian Rose” for the weekend of August 27th, to have a family reunion for Mrs. Musser's birthday. Over the next several months Doris and Sue worked out the details and confirmed the date for Saturday August 28th. The family arrived Saturday afternoon and set up for an outdoor meal on the large porch. They grilled large steaks and had a large assortment of food and beverages. In the evening, for several hours they showed slides of their youth and growing up here. They shared with us some of their deeds and misdeeds.

When they left on Sunday, including Mrs. Musser, they all were ecstatic with the opportunity that most of us will never have, and that is, for even a short period of time they were able to reclaim their youth!

In attendance:
Mrs. Ruth Musser & gentleman friend.
Sue (Musser) Miller and spouse.
Charles “Chuck “ Musser and spouse.
James “Jim” Musser and spouse.
Janet (Musser) Allen and spouse.
Family friend of the Musser girls

Submitted by Doris L Tyson, "The Victorian Rose"