Results tagged “Detroit of the East” from York Town Square

Ruth Myers, left, and Ruby Myers, right, twin 5-year-old Thomasville-area sisters sit in a Chase quarter ton pickup truck 1948. At that time, the truck was 50 years old. This photo was published in The (York, Pa.) Gazette and Daily in June 1948. Background posts: Codorus collector exhibits collection of conveyances - wheels and sleighs and Can York's longtime claim as 'Detroit of the East' be proven? and Hart-Krafts of York, Pa.: 'Most of the trucks were used and abused'.

The photo from 51 years ago shows a truck of 50-year-old vintage. Or is it a just a farm wagon with an engine jury-rigged on it?

Well, early automobiles evolved from wagons and that explains why York County had so many automakers in the first 20 years of the 20th century. As a region with many major roads going back to its earliest years, York County played host to hordes of travelers and, thus, had many wagon makers.

The photo caption told the news of E.A. Krug's purchase of the quarter-ton pickup truck... .

This 1917 Pullman light delivery truck, owned by the Laugerman family and restored by Paul Vaughn, won Best in Class among York-built cars in a past Concours D'Elegance, an annual vintage car show that serves as a York County Heritage Trust fundraiser. Background posts: Mechanical museum intrigues newcomers, Where do you go for one-stop shopping on York County history? and When a Pullman automobile became a seesaw.

Was York the "Detroit of the East" or did it just miss becoming "Detroit of America"?

That prospect was raised again in the program for the annual high-end car show Concours D'Elegance held just this past weekend at York College.

The program "Ford and fins" reprinted a short item about York auto industry penned by William H. Shank, the late York resident and noted transportation writer.

"Under slightly different circumstances, York might have become 'Detroit' of America," Shank wrote... .