Amidst the sea of alcohol flowing from restaurants and bars in Shippensburg is a non-alcoholic bar for people who want to anchor themselves to dry land.
The Harbor, a non-profit located at 55 W. King St., opened in December 2013 as a place for recovering alcoholics, drug addicts and people who simply do not want to drink or be around those who do, said Melissa Mankamyer, founder and director of The Harbor.
“We’re also a place that just seems to accept everybody wherever they are in life,” Mankamyer said.
On Friday and Saturday nights at the Harbor, from 5 to 12 p.m., people sit at the bar in seats cut into wooden barrels, talking with the bartender who serves up milkshakes, coffee, soda and mock tails, which are cocktails without alcohol. Because The Harbor does not sell food, people are allowed to bring in their own food, but no outside drink, Mankamyer said.
Every Saturday is open mic night, and during the day and weekday evenings The Harbor is also a place for community groups to meet — from Alcoholics Anonymous to Overeaters Anonymous. Although mostly rehabilitation groups meet at The Harbor, it is not limited to these types of programs, Mankamyer said.
The Harbor welcomes college students, as well, Mankamyer said, although there are only a few Shippensburg University students who come.
“I think there are a lot of college students who don’t want to drink but feel the pressure to drink … and you don’t get that pressure here,” said Debbie Brimer, a Shippensburg resident and patron of The Harbor.
Mankamyer described The Harbor as a “very low-key” place that customers treat as their own home, dropping off bags at different tables as they go over to talk with friends. There are board games and a pool table that customers are welcome to play.
Fish nets and rope drape the walls while knickknacks are crammed onto a book shelf and the fireplace mantel. A red row boat hangs upside down above the bar, the light bulbs that protrude from it warming the room and the people tucked into the couches and chairs.
Jamie Karpency, a volunteer bartender for The Harbor, lives in Harrisburg but goes to The Harbor several times throughout the week, either for rehabilitation meetings or to bartend on the weekends.
“[There are] a lot of people in similar situations here. It really is a family here. We take care of each other, look out for each other. It’s like that old Irish saying: we’re all friends here,” Karpency said.
Part of the reason Mankamyer founded The Harbor was because she wanted a place that had a non-alcoholic atmosphere and Shippensburg did not provide such a venue, Mankamyer said. As a volunteer minister, Mankamyer said that she also wanted The Harbor to serve the community.
After Mankamyer realized alcohol was bad for her, she stopped drinking and her social life ended because alcohol surrounds so much of everyday life, Mankamyer said.
“Everything that we do is around alcohol, or at least that’s what it was in my life,” Mankamyer said. “When we were angry, we were drinking, when we were celebrating we were drinking, when we were lonely and tired we were drinking, when we were bored we were making up new drinks.”
There are people who can drink alcohol in a healthy way, but for those who cannot, The Harbor provides a safe place for them to socialize, Mankamyer said.
The problem is that people do not have any boundaries to keep habits from becoming addictions, Mankamyer said.
“Addiction gets out of control before you realize that you have an addiction. It affects your job, it affects your relationships, it affects your social life …” Mankamyer said.
For recovering addicts, a bar has too many temptations, which is why people can come to The Harbor, Karpency said.
“If you come here and you need someone to talk to, that person will be here,” Karpency said. “If you need to give your experience, strength and hope to someone who’s struggling, that opportunity is also here for you.”

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