Small Plays Big in Little League Dixie Baseball

By Mandy Catoe

It takes a bit of conniving to get Larry Small to stand in the limelight.

The Lancaster Dixie Baseball League board members lured Small to the mound to throw out the ceremonial first pitch on March 23, the opening day of LDB’s 61st season. 

After a long, but in no way complete list of what he has given local youth baseball, LDB secretary Jill Laney said, “Mr. Small from this day forward, Field 6 will be named the Larry Small Field.” 

Briceson Hall, 11, returns ceremonial first pitch to Larry Small. Hall plays in Ozone League for 11-12 year olds. Hall who has played on the fields since he was 4 said “I understood what he has done and this was a tremendous honor. I felt that I was lucky that I got to catch it”

Small, 71, has served the local baseball community for 44 years and is still going strong.

He says the kids keep him young.

“I was very humbled and honored,” Small said. “I don’t know what to say. I’m usually the one in the back of everything and I am shocked that my people did this to me.”

Small constantly praises others. He understands and teaches teamwork.

“The gift of baseball is learning to work with other people,” he said. “The best pitcher in the world has to have someone to field that ground ball and throw the batter out.”

In addition to his time, Small shares his money and his faith. He has paid the registration fee for children who wanted to play but had no money. And he prays for all them. 

“We will not turn a child away from Dixie Ball,” Small said. “We never have. We will find a way.”

As a coach, he drafted a little boy with muscular dystrophy to play on his team. On the last game of the season, he did a little conniving of his own to make sure that kid knew what it felt like to make it safely to first base. 

Laney said Small is a reminder of what we should all strive to be.

Once word got out on facebook about the naming of Field 6, many former little leaguers began reminiscing and posting their decades-old Dixie Baseball pictures. 

Small has coached hundreds of little leaguers and affected thousands of kids. The league fields at least 300 kids every year and has had as many as 700 a couple of seasons. 

Every little boy in uniform dreams of making it to the big league. Small insists that they keep their focus on their grades. He coordinates with the school district to insure no games are scheduled the night before major academic testing.

He reminds the dreamers that only a tiny percentage will make the pros.

“Your education is more important than anything you will do,” he tells them.

His players have become lawyers, bankers, ministers, and all-around good young men.

Nearly 30 of the boys he coached played college or professional baseball.

One of the most famous is Pep Harris who pitched for the Anaheim Angels from 1996 to 1998.

“Larry was one of my first pitching coaches,” Harris said by phone last week. “He taught me to stay relaxed, not rush and just throw strikes.”

Harris, who now resides in Irmo, said Small is like family and he was happy to see Lancaster honor someone who gave so much to the youth.

Harris didn’t have a major league photo of himself to share for this story, but five minutes after the phone interview, he sent a text of a team photograph from the 80s. It was the Lancaster County Natural Gas team and a young Harris was standing next to Coach Larry Small.  

A young Pep Harris stands next to Coach Larry Brown in the early 80s.

Found online: Pep Harris in MLB uniform, Anaheim Angels in 96-98.

Robert Howey, sports editor of The Lancaster News, played a little right field as a youngster at Wylie Park. 

He feels Small deserves the honor of having one of the fields named in his honor.

“If Lancaster Dixie Baseball had a hall of fame, Larry would be a first-time unanimous selection,” Howey said.

Small began coaching in 1971 after two years of military service in the army. Forty-eight seasons have come and gone since then. He took four years off to watch his son, Brad, play baseball for Erskine College in Due West, SC. Larry, his son Brad and grandson Blayne all learned the fundamentals of the game on the Dixie Baseball fields at Wylie Park. 

Small and his wife Gayle recently celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary. He still works as a licensed contractor and gets up before dawn to work at his daughter’s restaurant. 

His son Brad is Vice President at First Citizens Bank and his daughter Kelly Gibson owns and runs the South 200 Grill that has been in the family since 1965. The Smalls have five grandchildren.

Larry Small with his wife Gayle and son Brad.

The Dixie Baseball League fields have been quiet during spring break. The games will resume the week of the 22nd. Small will be back at the park, cooking in the concession stand, walking the grounds offering praise and encouragement and high-fiving the kids. 

Small summed up what he has learned and taught for nearly half a century. He took a second, gathered his thoughts and said, “You learn there is more than you in this world.”

 (All photos in this story were supplied. A version was published in The Lancaster News  April 19, 2019.)

AJ's Marc Truesdale Finishes the Boston Marathon

By Mandy Catoe

Local runner Marc Truesdale added an orange Volunteers flair to the 123rd Boston Marathon on Tuesday.
Truesdale, 39, sported the cross country colors of the Andrew Jackson High School team he coaches, completing the 26.2-mile course in 3:18:45. The Kershaw native teaches government and economics at AJHS.
The weather was warm and very humid, with Truesdale battling dehydration, nausea and fatigue at the end.
Immediately after the race Truesdale said, “It was a bad day and a good day. I struggled today, but I finished.”

For the first 18 miles, Trusedale was on pace to finish under three hours. He reached the halfway point with a time of 1:28:40.
Some have described the marathon by saying the halfway mark is at Mile 20 when the body has used up its glycogen stores and the runner feels intense pain in his legs, lower back and hips.

The legendary Boston course has an incline at that critical 20th mile, known as Heartbreak Hill.


Truesdale said when he was running the hills between miles 16 and 21 the heat began to take its toll. He said he thought it was just the terrain and that he would be fine once he was back on level ground, but by Mile 22, Truesdale’s had depleted his physical reserves and had to rely on sheer will.
“Coming down Chestnut Hill which is after Heartbreak Hill, every step was so painful, I had to stop,” he said. “I hydrated, ate an orange slice and poured water on my head and tried to re-gather myself.”
The father of three then spotted his wife, Stephanie and daughter, Charlee, 9, on the side of the course next to their hotel. The Truesdales also have two sons, Denton, 7, and Connor, 4. Denton has been diagnosed with autism.
For a spit second, Truesdale thought about walking off the course into the comfortable room to end his agonizing pain.
“I thought about the AJ top I was wearing and how I was representing my community and all the hard work I had put in to just get here,” he said.
Then Truesdale told his wife that he would finish even if he had to walk the remaing distance.
He trudged ahead and began to slowly jog at a 9-to-10-minute pace and in the last mile he quickened to an 8-minute pace.
“My legs were hurting. Every step was so painful,” Truesdale said.
Near the end, he spotted a photographer and hammed it up a bit.
“I saw that camera and I said I am going to act like I am happy and I am going to smile,” he said. “I put on a show.”
Looking back, Truesdale said he would have been wise to back off his pace earlier to keep “something in the tank” for the final miles.
“It feels great to finish,” he said. “I was humbled by the course.”

The Finisher's Medal

A little perspective
About 30,000 runners lined up to run the 26.2 miles. Truesdale was the 6,251st runner to finish. After he crossed the finish line, there were 24,000 runners still hoping to reach that point and get a finisher’s medal.
The first one to cross the finish line was Kenyan Lawrence Cherono with a time of 2:07:57. The last one was a lady named Red Hilton whose time was nearly nine hours.
One hour and 10 minutes after Truesdale finished the race, a marine, Micah Herndon, nine years his junior, crawled across the finish line.
For a runner, the Boston Marathon is the ultimate goal. It is one of the most challenging marathons in the world.
To run Boston, one must qualify based on age and gender. For Truesdale, that meant he had to run the 26.2 miles in three hours and 10 minutes. He ran the Tobacco Road Marathon in Cary, N.C., in March 2018 in 3:02:40 and came in under three hours (2:57:30) at the Kiawah Island Marathon this past December.

“It’s the holy grail of marathons in the United States,” Truesdale said.  “It’s a bucket list item that I knew I was capable of based on my past running times.”
Support system
Stephanie Truesdale had complete faith that her husband would finish the marathon. She shared her thoughts before the race.
“He has been training tirelessly for years now, while still finding time to coach the cross country team at AJ, be an amazing teacher, and a dedicated husband and father,” she said. “Most of the time that means getting up at 4:30 a.m. and running in the pitch-black dark and returning home in time to help me get the kids ready and off to school.”

Marc, Stephanie, Charlee, Denton, Connor

Marc Truesdale said he owes a lot to running buddies Keith Crapps, Tony Yarborough, Michael Knight, Cole Horton, Brent Stogner, and Jareth Bailey.
Truesdale played soccer until his mid-30s.
As he and his friends began to raise families, he transitioned to running. He has won the last three annual Laps for Lancers, a local 10K. One of his most meaningful victories was when he won the Pacing for Pieces Autism Half Marathon this past March.
“I won that one for Denton,” he said.

(Similar version published in The Lancaster News April 21, 2019. Photos supplied.)

This Moment.

January 19, 2018


This moment.
I'm looking out my north-facing bedroom window just after a beautiful sunrise on this winter morning. Some snow remains on the grass giving my southern heart a slight shiver of delight and gratitude. It's proof that winter didn't pass us by. The scene through my window pane looks like what I see on Christmas cards. I'm grateful for the quiet of this early winter morning. Only my cat and I are awake. He is purring in my lap. The stillness of this moment anchors me to all that matters. The ones I love the most are safe and sleeping. The honking geese flew over as they do every morning. Today I heard them. Squirrels are scampering at the edge of the woods. Cardinals and crows have flown through the cloudless blue sky. I'm blessed with this view of evergreens and bare trees.  Here is what I come back to from wherever I go. It's home. When I question decisions I've made, I remind myself that they led me to this moment of peace.  Jan 19, 2018

-Mandy Catoe-

Psychologist finds quiet in Heath Springs, writes novel about his life

Psychologist finds quiet in Heath Springs, writes novel about his life

Dec. 29, 2017
By Mandy Catoe

Dr. Charles Kaska writes in his den in Heath Springs. He can be followed on Facebook at cpowerskaska, and his book “The Canoeist” can be purchased from Amazon. 

Many people come to Lancaster County these days for high-end jobs and a busy suburban lifestyle.
Dr. Charles Kaska, 74, moved here for peace and quiet.
He and his artist wife, Patricia Gambino, plopped down in Heath Springs five years ago after leaving the Philadelphia suburbs.
He retired after an intense four decades working as a forensic psychologist – interviewing criminal suspects to determine their level of sanity, providing expert testimony in court, and profiling criminals to determine motives and patterns.
The couple wanted seclusion and a slow pace of life that would put them fairly close to her parents, who live on the Grand Strand, and give him time to write his first novel.
“We did not want to live in the fast-paced atmosphere of the Myrtle Beach area, which is too crowded with too much movement,” Kaska said. “So we looked at a map and saw that Lancaster County didn’t seem to have a lot of roads or cities.”
Once they settled down in their new home, complete with a pottery studio and a study, Kaska began writing.

Charles Kaska stands with wife Patricia Gambino in her pottery studio in their home.

His new book, “The Canoeist,” is loosely based on the first 25 years of his life. It reads like an autobiography – the main character is named Charles Kaska – but the author is quick to point out that it is part fiction. He won’t say which part.

Toll of the ’60s

By the time readers complete the nearly 600-page journey, they will come away with an appreciation of Kaska’s resourcefulness, his passion for peace, and the spiritual toll the 1960s had on his generation.
Kaska turned 17 in 1960. The decade included the hope of John F. Kennedy and progressive civil rights legislation, a divisive war, and the voices of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. Before it was over, those three leaders had been silenced by assassination.
The downward spiral of the ’60s was so disheartening that Kaska nearly subtitled his novel “The Whole Thing Went to Hell.”
“The Canoeist” shows the spiritual growth of an idealistic young man finding his way through life by marching against war, serving in the Peace Corps in South America, and coming home to the riots of 1968.
Kaska points to the cover of the novel, which depicts a lone canoeist in a swirl of symbols representing the chaos of his youth.
He took a little time recently to talk about the book and to offer some insight on his life since that disturbing period.
“I think I’ve done my part,” he said. “I think that I haven’t wasted my talents or my opportunities and that I have made a difference, and that is a very satisfying feeling.”
Kaska is trim and fit and moves with the ease of a much younger man. His hair is white, full and neat. His tone, delivery and manner are as steady as the ticking cuckoo clock hanging in his study. He is always on an even keel. His family describes him as loyal, reliable and kind.
His wife says he put his writing aside without complaint to build display shelves for her pottery shows. And he helps wrap each piece of pottery in protective wrap before traveling with her to galleries.

Finding his way

Kaska's childhood photos from the 1950s (supplied)

Kaska was an only child born to unhappy parents of limited means and little imagination in 1943 in Rahway, N.J.
Teachers told him he had little capacity for math and virtually none to learn a foreign language. He proved them all wrong, and by the time he was 35 years old, had earned a doctorate of psychology and was fluent in Spanish.
He graduated from high school in 1961 and attended a local community college for a year before flunking out. He worked odd jobs for a couple years before landing one at Kraft Foods making mayonnaise. That lasted less than a year.
“I was fired for leaving work without official permission,” he said. “I had a cold and couldn’t find the nurse, so I just went home, not realizing what a serious thing that was to do.”
Kaska said his only option at that point was to go back and get more education since he “wasn’t fit for the world of work.”
He enrolled at Monmouth College in 1963. While in school, he organized a relief project for striking sharecroppers in Mississippi, led anti-war rallies and revitalized The Hawker, a fledgling liberal magazine produced off-campus.
“It was a slow downward spiral from there,” he said. “The better The Hawker got, the more the administration got angry.”
School officials were so threatened by the publication’s anti-establishment tone that they suspended him from college in 1966, just before Thanksgiving.

Joined Peace Corps
His expulsion made him eligible to be drafted. He decided he would go to prison if necessary rather than serve, but he had poor hearing and was rejected by the military.
“This was about standing your ground for what you believe in and accepting the consequences for doing so,” he said.
After a three-month trip to California and back, hitchhiking most of the way, Kaska joined the Peace Corps and worked in Colombia, South America. He learned to ride horses on the hilly terrain, speak Spanish, got married and climbed Pico Cristobal Colon, the tallest mountain in Colombia.
Kaska served for 18 months before deciding to head back home. It was the summer of 1968, and Dr. King and Bobby Kennedy had been murdered.
America was blowing up “city by city and killing our leaders one by one,” Kaska recalled.
He resumed his studies at Monmouth College and received his bachelor’s in psychology in 1969.
His parents came to see him graduate, but neither “brought a present or even a greeting card… or wished me congratulations, nor said they were proud…. Neither ever had.”

Since 1969
Kaska said his first 25 years were the most “swashbuckling” part of his life. The two quarter-century periods since have been quieter, but with great emotional and academic achievement.
He earned his master’s degree from Newark State College in 1972 and his doctorate six years later from Rutgers University.
“Achieving the doctorate had not only practical significance for me but also tremendous emotional significance, because…I had earned it at a major university and had done so after all my academic struggles,” he said. “Go all the way back to first grade when I could not do arithmetic. I overcame all that.”
His daughter, Juliet Kaska, was born in 1974. She lives in Los Angeles and owns a group of yoga and Pilates fitness centers.
“The most important and creative thing I have ever done is to bring Juliet into this world,” he said. “There is no question about that.”
Juliet recently got married in South Africa, and Kaska traveled 8,000 miles to walk her down the aisle.

Kaska and daughter Juliet on her wedding day in South Africa last June. (photo supplied).

Kaska’s first marriage ended in the mid-’80s. He met Patricia Gambino in the early ’90s.
She describes their first Valentine’s Day.
“No chocolate and roses for us,” she said. “We were on a winter backpacking trip on Mount Washington in New Hampshire in 1992. It was 10 degrees with a wind chill of minus 40, and winds were gusting up to 60 miles per hour.”
She was exhausted and unsure if she could make it back to camp. She said Kaska carried all his gear and half of hers on the return trip. She collapsed in the tent with her snow-covered boots sticking out. She said he removed her boots, warmed her feet and secured the tent.
“When the chips were down and I was about done, he came to my rescue,” she said. “I knew he was the fellow for me in that moment.”

Reading the classics
Kaska is currently reading the classics and studying western civilization. He keeps a huge globe next to the sofa where he reads, so he can “do more than imagine” where a country is located. He figures he is about 70 percent through the classics.
Kaska has survived the chaos of life with his sense of humor in tact.
“The biggest impediment to my learning has been formal education,” he said. “If they had just left me alone, I could have learned a lot more.”

CBS series ‘Lucky Dog’ brings rescued terrier to Lancaster home

Dr. Robert Devlin, Brandon McMillan with Scout, and Dr. Todd Henderson
Photo by Mandy Catoe

Nutramax new sponsor for Emmy-winning show

By Mandy Catoe
For The Lancaster News
December 10, 2017

Photo supplied

Scout, a frisky 4-month-old poodle terrier, scooted between the legs of Lancaster executives and one TV star at Nutramax Laboratories’ warehouse on Flat Creek Road.
Brandon McMillan, the host of CBS’ Emmy-winning Saturday morning show “Lucky Dog,” was sitting at a conference table with Nutramax CEO Dr. Todd Henderson and veterinarian Dr. Robert Devlin.
The executives in business suits broke out in smiles as they twisted and turned in their chairs to give the black-and-white terrier a pat on his head.
“Scout is a rock-star puppy,” McMillan said.
“Lucky Dog,” now in its fifth season, was in town recently to film its first-ever episode in the Carolinas and to celebrate its new partnership with Lancaster-based Nutramax.
Each week, the show features  McMillan training a rescued shelter dog for an individual or family. The dog develops trust and becomes a lovable pet. Some even become service dogs. The show ends with McMillan presenting the dog to its new owner.
Scout was in Lancaster to stay. McMillan trained him to offer emotional support to a Nutramax employee who is battling cancer and grieving the recent death of her dog.
“She feels a huge void in her life and reached out to us,” McMillan said.  “When she described the qualities she was looking for, I told her I had the perfect dog for her.”
McMillan rescued Scout at 8 weeks from a Los Angeles shelter.
“His previous family dumped him at the shelter because he had fleas,” McMillan said, shaking his head. “He is one of the most stable personalities and confident puppies ever.”
The “Lucky Dog” crew spent the rest of the week privately taping the presentation of Scout to the employee. The production company kept the taping under wraps. The show will air next spring and reveal the moment when Scout begins his new life.

Dr. Henderson gives McMillan a tour of Nutramax
Photo by Mandy Catoe

Photo by Mandy Catoe

Fitting partnership
Nutramax, a family-owned business founded by Dr. Bob Henderson in 1992, moved its veterinary sciences headquarters from Maryland to Lancaster in 2010.
Now in its seventh year in the Red Rose City, it has a workforce of more than 300. It researches, develops and manufactures nutritional supplements for animals and humans.
Todd Henderson said his advertising agency recently suggested that Nutramax sponsor the popular CBS show.     
“My kids watch ‘Lucky Dog’ every Saturday morning, so I was familiar with the show,” Henderson said. “I respected that it was pro-veterinarian.”
The Lancaster-based business reached out to McMillan to see if he was familiar with their products.
The partnership was a no-brainer when McMillan told them he has been giving Cosequin, Nutramax’s flagship joint supplement, to his dogs for the past 20 years.
McMillan said companies frequently ask “Lucky Dog” to promote their products.
“I have said no more times than yes,” he said. “When Nutramax approached us, the hair on the back of my neck stood up, because finally, not only a company whose products I use, but one that backs up what they say, asked us.”
McMillan said he gives his dogs Cosequin in their early years. Rather than waiting for age-related arthritis or stiffness, he puts them on a maintenance schedule, giving them a longer life of activity and good health.
Henderson and McMillan agree the partnership supports their mutual values.
“It’s a good synergy because of Brandon’s values and our medical input,” Henderson said. “We are all in favor of saving these animals from the shelter. It’s a really good partnership.”

Photo by Mandy Catoe

About McMillan
McMillan, 40, was born into a family of animal trainers who were taught by famed lion tamer Gunther Gebel-Williams. Gebel-Williams tamed lions for Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus.
McMillan moved from New Jersey to Los Angeles in 1996 and trained animals for the movies for 15 years. He also trained the pets of various celebrities including Ellen Degeneres, James Caan, Hugh Hefner and Kate Hudson.
McMillan also hosts a documentary on the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week called “Great White Serial Killer,” in which he investigates shark attacks on humans.
In 2011, he trained his first service dog for a disabled veteran who had lost both legs in Afghanistan. After delivering the dog to the double amputee at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., he was hooked. He returned to California and focused on training service and therapy dogs.
He began rescuing and training shelter dogs after hearing that America euthanizes 1.5 million dogs each year because they are homeless.
“It is happening right here in every big city and small town in America,” he said. “That is an epidemic. I figured I could do something about it by training dogs and finding them a home.”
McMillan said he has rescued, trained and found homes for 800 to 1,000 dogs.
That moment of giving the dog to its new owner is still a challenging one for him.
“I have to walk away,” McMillan said. “The best day of my life and the worst day of my life is when I give them to their forever home. It’s the day I smile the most and cry the most.”
McMillan says it is, in the end, rewarding to let the dogs go.
“Seeing the smile on the faces of the people receiving the rescued dogs make it all worthwhile,” he said. “It’s like the famous bumper sticker on the car ‘who rescued who?’ and we know the dog rescued the person.”

SUGARSHINE - Red Rose City's Reggae Band

Sugarshine

By Mandy Catoe

For The Lancaster News

Dec 4, 2017

The Red Rose City was rocking to smooth reggae last Friday night. More than 40 people streamed into Chastain’s Studio Lofts on Main Street to hear Lancaster’s own five-man band, Sugarshine.

The roots reggae ensemble are lifelong friends and range in age from 27 to 44. The members have played in various bands together through the years. But this combination seems a bit magical.

“We knew we had something special,” said Stuart Parsons, 41, keyboard player.

The diverse crowd at Chastain’s loft seemed to agree. A glance around the artsy venue included music lovers of all ages from toddlers to silver-haired seniors. The newly-formed band has already earned loyal fans who stood near the stage and sang every word of “Better Days,” the title track to their just-released CD. And the audience remained through the two-hour set that ended at 11:00 p.m.

The other members of the band are JR Snipes, drummer; Chase Carpenter, bass guitar; Justin’e Hatfield, lead singer/acoustic guitar; and Chris Horton, guitar. They work day jobs and jam at night.

The eight-song debut album is upbeat offering a message of hope. The laid back tunes are easy and catchy. A positive vibe runs through each original song starting with the lyrics of ‘Head Up” which declares to “put all my troubles in my life behind” and “got my head up, I’m feeling fine living my life one day at a time.”

True to the roots reggae genre, the lyrics address real-life issues with an all-inclusive spirituality.

“Reggae music is about the struggle of every day life,” Parsons said. “We can all relate.”

A table next to the stage was covered with CDs and souvenir Sugarshine t-shirts. The prices beat Black Friday’s deals with shirts going for $10 and CDs for $5.

Just before the concert began, Snipes, 44, talked a little about the early success of “Better Days.”  Like every other member of Sugarshine, he stressed that playing for the home crowd is always special.

Carpenter, 27, the youngest band member said “We are trying to keep it happy. Love and happiness everywhere. Good vibes. Everyone needs that.”

Sugarshine has performed at the Benford Brewery, Relay for Life, the Red Rose Festival, and at The Craft Stand’s St. Patrick’s Day festival.

The show was free Friday night in a spirit of Thanksgiving and gratitude for their hometown’s support. Some who attended dropped a few dollars in the tip jar. Others bought the CD as gifts and stocking stuffers.

To the delight of many, the too-quiet for too-long Main Street had two live music events that night. Some people walked back and forth from The Craft Stand to Chastain’s Loft to enjoy the entertainment.

Lancaster resident Carrie Steele visited both venues with her middle-school-aged twin daughters.

“We walked down to hear music on both ends of the block,” Steele said. “I am very proud to see that Lancaster has that going on on Main Street. I think it is wonderful.”

Sugarshine’s joy is contagious. Everyone listening was smiling. The room felt like a home full of friends.

Hatfield said the band hopes to inspire.

“Our goal is to change lives by making people believe in their dreams,” he said. “Whether we hit it big or stay local, this is our dream.”

Sugarshine’s history

Sugarshine formed in 2016 to entertain friends and family at an annual backyard Jamaican Festival started by Horton and his wife, Lisa, who have made yearly visits to Jamaica for the last decade. The festival is modeled after the big Jamaican celebration known as Jerk Fest.

The collection of spices that give Jamaican cuisine its distinctive kick is called “Jerk seasoning” and includes thyme, peppers, cinnamon, ginger, garlic and nutmeg.

“This is the eighth or ninth year for the backyard party,” Horton said. “If it keeps growing, we may bump it up and do a huge food and music festival.”

Parsons talked about how the original songs came easily when the guys began to practice for Horton’s jerk fest.

“Every time we would get together, two or three new songs would emerge until by the time Jerk Fest came around, we had 2 sets of original music,” he said.

Horton said the songs just kept coming.

“All it was supposed to be was a little band for the backyard jerk fest,” he said. “We started rehearsing for that and ended up writing more songs. We were like we can't let this go, we got to keep this going. And now we are into it a year and a half and it is going great.”

 Horton looked around at the fans streaming in prior to the concert and said they hope to move on up to the next level and tour the region.

Then with a laugh he said, “And see if these old men can still do it - our last hurrah.”

The 18-month-old band gets its name from a fun memory according to Hatfield, 30. Years back someone had told them about some moonshine called Sugarshine.

“We bounced around some ideas and remembered that,” Hatfield said. “It was a little different and we loved it.”

Their songs pay homage to their roots, struggles and dreams. In a world that often feels divided, Sugarshine reminds us that we are one.

The Songs

 ‘Back to the Show’ captures the bond the musicians feel for each other. “Catching a vibe with my brothers, got the rhythm to make you move your feet.”

‘Be Alright’ declares that “without dreams there is no point to life and we have found our place on the well-lit stage.”

In ‘Roots,’ the following lyrics, ‘I will follow the light back home. No matter how dark. No matter how cold.’

After the show, a smiling Hatfield said, “When we get together, we become one. One sound, one band, one love.”

The band invites fans to visit their website www.sugarshinemusic.com and follow them on Facebook where they often give CDs away.

Better Days can be purchased at www.boomonerecords.com, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, and Spotify.

  

 Sugarshine’s foundation “Make A Wave” is collecting and donating gently used and new instruments to Lancaster County Students to help the next generation have the gift of music.

“We plan on donating instruments and our time to the Lancaster County School District and music teachers to start a wave in our youth to learn,” said lead singer Justin’e Hatfield.