Results tagged “Emigsville” from York Town Square

The Yorktowne Hotel, left, is one of the projects Emigsville's now-closed HAFA Construction listed on resume of work performed on historic buildings. Here, the Yorktowne is seen, next to the old York County Courthouse, from the roof of the new York County Judicial Center in this 2004 York Daily Record/Sunday News file photo. That's York County employee George Meshew, in foreground atop the judicial center, pointing out that the seven-story judicial center is higher than the Yorktowne, if you don't count the hotel's flag pole. Also of interest: Roundtown in Manchester Township, York County, Pa.? Where did that come from? and 'Skyscrapers' have shaped York's skyline since 1850 and Ten years ago, Emigsville's mighty oak fell.

A York County business, known for its historic preservation, is closing its doors.

Emigsville's HAFA Construction auctioned off its assets earlier this week.

"It was a bittersweet day for all of us," Douglas Kauffman said. He was not personally involved in the family business but his older brother, mother and uncle were its mainstays.

Here are excerpts from an e-mail from Douglas, which also explain the origin of the company's name:

This big World War II mobile siege gun represented the legacies of two industrial giants. Neighboring factories S. Morgan Smith Co. and York Corporation jointly constructed the gun, which could lob 240-pound shells at targets 30 miles away. Background posts: Glatfelter, Morgan Smith head industrial legacy list and 'Little Johnny' called for Allies in World War II.

In a recent York Sunday New column titled "Contributors bring history to life (see below)," I muse about how York County factories historically have made big things and worked hard to tell the world about them.

I tied it to the recent sale of Bradley Lifting, which made big, heavy devices that helped lift big, heavy things.

I went on a riff like this: ... .

This is the touch screen of a computer at the Agricultural and Industrial Museum that links eras of York County's history with rings on May's Oak, the giant tree that fell in Emigsville in 1997. The exhibit enthralled second-grade students during a recent visit to the museum.

I explained in a recent York Sunday News column that a group of second-graders from Lincoln Intermediate Unit's migrant summer school were energized by the hands-on exhibits at York County Heritage Trust's Agricultural and Industrial Museum.

Emigsville.org is a site full of community happenings and historic information. Maps of now-sealed-off caves in that vicinity are typical of the site's contents.

The recent post about Emigsville's May's Oak reminds me what a super community Web site that Manchester Township village is supporting.

If you haven't seen it, check it out, particularly the story nights, in which veteran members of the community tell about the past.

The site's history section is also interesting. That section has wonderful old photos including several, from the Manchester Township Historical Society, below:

Web search technology helps the York Daily Record/Sunday News keep track of residents from York and Adams counties who make news elsewhere.

Various search engines scrape prescribed names of York County towns and turn up local people making news across the nation.

For example, an article from a Vermont newspaper tells about Tom and Nadine Bosley's interest in a "nature-meets-history-meets-technology display" called "Rings of Time." http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060910/NEWS/609100379/1003/NEWS02 The Bosleys, of Thomasville, and other users are treated to a multi-media show telling the story of different periods during the life of a 120-year-old white pine stump.

Actually, the Bosleys did not need to go to Vermont to experience such a history lesson, albeit lower tech... .