Oct 9, 201208:06 AMDaily News
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Preparation for a zombie apocalypse begins in Palmyra
When I visited Annville recently, I was very excited to be driving through the nearby town of Palmyra, even if I didn’t have time to stop. One of my favorite protégés in college is from there, so although I knew nothing about the place I always thought very highly of it.
Last week, I decided to spend some time in my friend’s hometown and see everything it had to offer.
Although he warned me that there isn’t much to Palmyra, I had a great experience and enjoyed the busy little place.
My first destination was In the Net, 798 Airport Road, just south of town. This place is awesome for any athlete! It has a huge soccer field inside an old airplane hangar. It has indoor and outdoor fields for soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, football and even baseball and softball.
Palmyra High School uses In the Net’s facilities for some of it’s sporting events (there was a field hockey game going on when I was in town), and it also hosts many other organizations and clubs. The Baseball and Softball Academy is connected to In the Net, and Klick Lewis Arena, an ice rink, is next door.
I stopped by Palmyra Pharmacy, 22 E. Main St. It was a typical small-town general store with a pharmacy and racks of medicinal supplies complemented with gifts, candles and decorations. What stood out to me were the shelves of really cool bear figurines. They also had Christmas ornaments set up along the cards. I browsed the new supply of ornaments—Hallmark has outdone itself this year! I can’t decide if I like the Wile E. Coyote or “Christmas Vacation” moose mug ornaments more—then hit the road to see the town.
Across the street is a little hobby shop, Pastimes on the Square, complete with role-playing games and various supplies for model train sets and other projects.
Down the road is an Army-Navy Store connected to the town’s latest claim to fame, Zombie PX. (Yes, there is a store dedicated to helping people survive a zombie apocalypse.)
Personally, I don’t get the whole zombie craze and can’t understand spending money on supplies to survive a zombie invasion (why not just buy silver bullets for werewolves, too?). But obviously for some people, it’s important stuff. I didn’t get to go in due to quite the crowd at the store (in the middle of the day, no less) but I asked my friend and read more about it to get a better idea of what it’s all about.
The equipment sold at the store—which includes knives, ropes, gas masks, non-perishable foods and water-purification tablets—could be useful in case of a natural disaster or survival situation, so it may be worth a visit if you’re in the market for survival gear. It also sells plenty of zombie merchandise like T-shirts and mugs.
I moved on down Main Street and found myself at one of my personal favorite places I’ve seen: Comics and Paperbacks Plus, 201 E. Main St. Admittedly, I have a geeky side and am a big fan of comic books, so I was very excited to peruse the shelves in Palmyra.
The shop is in an old house and also features romance and mystery novels, in addition to comics and merchandise like T-shirts, figures and posters.
I spoke with owner Ralph Watts, who was the most welcoming person I’ve met while traveling the area. He has been selling comics in Palmyra since 1987.
Watts told me all about Palmyra and showed me a website to find local businesses: greaterpaba.com.
Per his recommendation, I headed back down Main Street to two final destinations. First up was The Annex Furniture and Household Goods Consignment Shop, 50 N. Railroad St. This place was full of old furniture, decorations and antiques.
From there I picked up my car and found the Palmyra Jubilee Store, 235 S. 12th St., a discount store run by Jubilee Ministries. I browsed the selection which ranged from clothes and costumes to DVDs, toys and household products. It had high ceilings and is set up in a former sewing factory and schoolhouse. It’s also a Seltzer Bologna Outlet, which is native to Palmyra. The Jubilee store was very neat and full of great values.
I thoroughly enjoyed Palmyra and its various little shops. There’s a lot more to browse in this town than simply equipment to survive a potential apocalypse.
Kurt Bopp is assistant editor/web for Central Penn Parent. Though he’s resisted so far, he will inevitably buy both ornaments from Hallmark by Christmas.
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