Photo by Curt Werner

Madeline (Schnabel) Schmid moved to Dillsburg to be closer to her daughter and is active in the Dillsburg community.

Staff Report

As part of Women's History Month and FemaleVeterans Day, Dillsburg and the surrounding communities proudly recognize our women in the military.

More than 70,000 Pennsylvania women are serving in the various branches of the armed forces, with more than 600,000 veterans in this state, alone.

One of our own local residents, Madeline (Schnabel) Schmid, uniquely represents the sacrifices and selflessness of the women of the WWII Greatest Generation. Madeline joined the Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service) one month after her 20th birthday in 1943. Assigned to Hunter College in Brooklyn, NY, for Basic Training, she was then sent to Fleet Marine Base and Naval Training Hospital in New River, North Carolina.

From North Carolina, Navy Pharmacist Mate 2nd Class Schmid was sent to the Naval Hospital in Seattle, Washington, in January 1944. Later, she was transferred to the Occupational Therapy School at the Naval Hospital in Mare Island, California. She was trained to help rehabilitate the men returning from the Pacific Islands who were amputees. This was a very emotional but uplifting experience because of the unbelievably positive attitude of the majority of the men.

New coach, lofty goals for Northern softball team

Andy Sandrik

When Messiah softball player Emily Quatrale graduated from the Falcons program, she had aspirations of playing at a higher level.

Those dreams, however,were taken away in January when Quatrale went under the knife for Tommy John surgery. Quatrale says that her playing days are now "out of the picture."

The good news for Quatrale is she's found away to remain close to the game: Coaching the Northern softball team. Quatrale has no coaching experience, but she finds herself with a talented group of girls who are willing to help their new leader learn on the go.