Results tagged “Columbia” from York Town Square

Visitors pose at York County, Pa.'s Wildcat Falls, an unsung landmark on the west bank of the Susquehanna River. Frederic H. Abendschein, in the recently published "Columbia, Marietta, and Wrightsville," wrote: "A popular summertime destination, both local and out-of-town tourists would take a ferry from Marietta to cross the Susquehanna River over to the York County side to reach the falls and the nearby hotel." This photo came from that work, from the presses of Arcadia Publishing. (See additional photos below.) Also of interest: The things you learn from reading local history and Opportunities in York County to feed your sense of discovery and Absorbing photo and overlay shows locations of six Susquehanna bridges.

For years, York County's Wildcat Falls, north of Wrightsville, was a getaway for people on both sides of the Susquehanna River.

People would arrive at the falls via ferry, crossing the river from Marietta. They would cross over the stream near the falls on a narrow wooden bridge and use stairs and handrails going up the hillside parallel to the falls.

They would dine on a nearby deck and enjoy the cool breezes... .

This roadside giant went up at Shatzer's Fruit Market in Franklin County's Hamilton Township this week. It's an example of roadside architecture, evident for years along the Lincoln Highway and Route 30, to attract attention to stops for motorists. Background posts: Mahlon Haines got in trouble at Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge and Old Lincoln Highway pulled 'Americans out of the mud' and Landmark Modernaire Motel built in Lincoln Highway's heyday.

A modern-day Roadside Giant has been birthed along Route 30 near Chambersburg.

Students at the Franklin County Career and Technology Center assembled an super-sized replica of a 1921 Selden apple truck, complete with crates of produce on the bed, according to the Chambersburg Public Opinion.

It's dimensions?

Eleven feet tall and 26 feet long.

Such oversized structures have been part of old-road architecture for years.

York County's Shoe House, near both Route 30 and the old Lincoln Highway, is a York/Adams example.

This tourist attractions are fighting to stay standing... .

This photograph shows bridge supports running alongside Veterans Memorial Bridge, sometimes called the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge. An urban legend persists concerning the 1930 Veterans Bridge. Background posts: A rehabbed, lit up Columbia-Wrightsville bridge: 'It'll really be a dramatic view' and A 7th bridge? Pedestrian walkway may span Susquehanna River some day and Almost ... a double deck bridge across the Susquehanna River.

A worker constructing the new bridge connecting Wrightsville with Columbia fell into freshly set concrete. His body was never retrieved, and he is entombed in a bridge support to this day.

Jim Fahringer has raised this on-again, off-again claim in a comment to the recent post: Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge celebrates quiet birthday... .

York artist J. Horace Rudy's stained glass window oversees Easter flowers at York's First Moravian Church in 2006. Background posts:York Moravian's Putz is an unsung, well-sung annual attraction, New York Wire factory whistle concert: 'We'd stand out on our driveway to hear it' and St. Mary's Church product of 19th-century York County language wars.

If someone wanted to, he or she could visit a local museum, attend a lecture or cultural event or take a tour virtually every day in York County.

I make that point in a York Sunday News column, in which I point out a recent Saturday that First Moravian's Putz was open for viewing and whistemaster Don Ryan gave a lecture on his New York Wire Cloth factory whistle prowess.

What are some pieces of historical information one brings away from such visits? ...

Butch Reigart of Columbia, Lancaster County, portrays der Belsnickel. The character was prototype of Santa Claus, abeit with a paradoxical well-intentioned mean streak. Background posts: York County group preserving Pennsylvania Dutch language, heritage, PS Harrisburg grad school: 'Set my feet even more firmly on the path into the world of Fraktur' and Hex book: How powwow doctors plied their craft.

"It was always fund on Christmas to have a visit of the 'Belsnickels.' They burst into the scene all dressed up and scattered popcorn and candy on the floor for us kids to get. If any of the older folks tried to pick it up, the Belsnickels would hit them over the back with a whip... ."

That quote from a York countians found in Georg Sheets' "Facts and Folklore of York County, Pennsylvania," pretty well sums up the carrot-and-stick approach of der Belsnickel, a forerunner to a much kinder and gentler Santa Claus... .

In honor of this presidential election year, and adorned with red, white, and blue swags, banners, and flags, the National Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia, Pa., is presenting "Time in Office: An Exhibit of Presidential Timepieces" opening Friday, April 18. (Updated from an earlier post). Pictured here is George Washington's pocket watch. Background posts: Upcoming events should attract York/Adams history buffs and Local man tells about goofy encounter with Gerald Ford

Columbia's National Watch and Clock Museum is again looking to be timely.

Ahem, the Lancaster County, Pa., museum cast a net to find presidential watches and clocks to tie into the presidential election year in 2008.

The museum has obtained James Monroe's pocket watch and clock and the timepiece that sat on Gerald Ford's Oval Office desk... .