THE ISSUE: Itâs Tuesday, which is
not generally the day we take a few moments to highlight the good news in Lancaster County. But Monday was Memorial Day. And we donât want to miss our weekly chance to highlight good news. Some of these items are welcome developments on the economic front or for neighborhoods across the county. Others are local stories of achievement, perseverance, compassion and creativity that represent welcome points of light in a still-difficult time. All of this news deserves a brighter spotlight.
Sing it loudly: Summer music is coming back!
âNearly two years after the last in-person concert of the Longâs Park Summer Music Series closed out the season, the beloved series will return to Lancaster County on Sunday, July 11, with a full lineup of musical acts to provide free entertainment in the park for eight weeks this summer,â LNP | LancasterOnlineâs Kevin Stairiker reported for the May 27 edition.
The word âisseiâ is Japanese for a first-generation immigrant to North America. For the family that owns local restaurant Issei Noodle, that would be matriarch Naomi Pham. In 2000, the Okinawa native immigrated to Camp Hill with husband Robert and four kids in tow. But Naomiâs issei journey is just one piece of the Phamsâ story that spans the Asian diaspora. Twenty-five years earlier, in 1975, a young Robert first came to Camp Hill as a Vietnamese refugee.
In 2008, the couple opened Issei Noodle in Carlisle. By 2013, their oldest son, Andre, and his now-wife Donna, expanded the family enterprise into Lancaster city, starting with a Queen Street walk-up window serving banh mi and bubble tea (followed by a full-service dining room in 2014). As the family celebrates eight years in Lancaster this month, which is also Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, they are also reflecting â on the COVID-19 pandemic, the recent spate of anti-Asian violence and ra