Results tagged “Luther B. Sowers” from York Town Square

The Rosie the Riveter image could suggest to some that women worked outside the home for the first time in World War II. Actually, the Great Depression brought women into the work force in droves, paving the way for their wartime role as a key cog in the Arsenal of Democracy. Women aiding their families made up one-third of York's workers at the height of the Depression in 1933. Here, a woman runs a machine in this undated photo, courtesy of the York County Heritage Trust. Background posts: The real big York County house that little false teeth built, York County expert Dan Meckley: 'I refuse to be politically correct' and Valencia Ballroom became cool place during Depression.

Let's be clear.

Depressions, like recessions, are not desirable.

But history shows that good can come out of bad.

That was true of Joseph in the Bible when Potipher's wife set him up.

It is true in the Great Depression in York County, when many community institutions that delight today cropped up from damaged economic soil.

Can a fraction of this happen again during the current downturn?

The following adaptation from my book "Never to be Forgotten," show the devastation and renewal spawned by the Depression.

The Lions state convention took place at York's Valencia Ballroom in June 1938. This was typical of the scope of the gatherings taking place at the ballroom in those days. In addition to the dancing, the Valencia played host to industrial expositions, business shows and fashion shows. The ballroom continues to play host to dinners and meetings today. Background post about York's contributions to the national entertainment world: Cameron Mitchell, Craig Sheffer, Dixie Chick born here.

Deb Hummel, a York Daily Record copy editor and avid auction goer, showed me the Valencia Ballroom's 10th anniversary book. It celebrated a decade under Tassia family ownership.

Some snippets from the book about the iconic South George Street ballroom:

This garden, planted in the 1990s, adds to ForSight Vision's Spahn Avenue campus. "All I was thinking of was a few tomato plants," the center's president, Bill Rhinesmith, joked at the garden's dedication.(See below for details.) Interesting information on the center's first 75 years has been collected into a booklet written by Luther Sowers and available at no cost at Forsight Vision, 1380 Spahn Ave., York, 845-3889, www.forsight.org. Background post: York County lawmaker fought to aid the blind.

Did you know?

- That the charter for ForSight Vision, formerly the York County Blind Center, was approved by Judge Ray P. Sherwood, who was blind in his later years?

- In a typical year - 1952 - workers at the blind center made 568 brooms and repaired 391 chairs.

- In 1967 - way early in the computer age - a blind worker in the center's workshop temporarily left to take a course in computer programming.

- The center started radio broadcasts in 1976 via a sub-channel of WGCB-FM. The center handed out special receivers, and volunteers read the local newspaper and books... .