Results tagged “Spring Grove” from York Town Square

Spring Grove, Pa.'s, Ford dealership - then owned by Pierce Stambaugh - was a mainstay in its downtown in this 1934 photograph. Marley Gross Ford, which occupied that site for decades, just recently closed its doors. Also of interest: Spring Grove museum displays horse gas mask and more and A leading York County name: 'Keeping it in family is the Glatfelter way' and Is this a York County farm truck or is it just a wagon with a motor?.

There goes another small-town or old-time automobile dealership.

This time, it's Marley Gross Ford in Spring Grove.

The passing of these dealerships is corresponding with the growth of businesses that handle numerous brands in several towns or even across state lines. Apple Automotive Group is an example of that.

This change is not necessarily bad. It's just different... .

The Spring Grove (Pa.) Public School, left, was dedicated in 1898 and enlarged in 1921, right, as seen in this photo from "The Spring Grove Years." Who are the two luminaries in those round fixtures, photo at right, on this Dempwolf building's side, on either side of the arched entryway? Background posts: John Luther Long: Miss Saigon's York County connection and Each month, three free history presentations offered to York countians and York countians major makers of Kentucky, make that Pennsylvania, long rifles.

Recent posts have reviewed various sung and unsung sites in the Spring Grove-Hanover- McSherrytown area. (See Mining a rich vein of southwestern York County's religious history, Part 1 and Part 2.)

But the tour of southwestern York County that spawned those posts touched on non-religious questions as well.

Here are three: ... .

St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Hanover, Pa. also serves as a mini-museum. One exhibit is this beautiful 19th-century altar. Other posts of interest: Abe Lincoln, Gwyneth Paltrow passed through Porters Sideling and Dutch vs. English? York County debate still perking in 1920s and People of varying religious groups founded York County.

"The 10-mile line between York County's Spring Grove and Adams County's Edgegrove bears a rich vein of history."

That's how my last York Town Square post about a long tour of southwestern York County sites began.

Here are some specifics about that visit in question-and-answer format, which showed great diversity in the religious sites visited: ... .

In a March 10, 1995, story, The York Daily Record tells about the then-upcoming "The Brady Bunch Movie," written by former York countian Laurice Elehwany. Background posts: Cameron Mitchell, Craig Sheffer, Dixie Chick born here and Artist Jeff Koons came back to York for a show and Add another to list of entertainers with York links.

"Until she was 13, Laurice Elehwany lived a few miles outside Spring Grove. She swam in Lake Pahagaco. She ate cotton candy at the York Fair. She directed her neighborhood friends in skits she devised. And she watched 'The Brady Bunch' on TV. Today 30-year-old Elehwany lives in Hollywood and writes screenplays. She achieved her first success three years ago with 'My Girl.' Now she can also lay claim to the current hit 'The Brady Bunch Movie.' "

That's how a York Daily Record story in 1995 introduced local-girl-made-good Laurice Elehwany.

The recent Jefferson Carnival reminded me of Elehwany, successful in Hollywood but almost forgotten around York County.

She small-town setting in "My Girl" was based on her memories of Jefferson borough in southwestern York County, according to the Daily Record... .

Nancy Bivens, a former York countian, is looking for a county locale that created many childhood memories.

She e-mailed:

"The place was owned by Tom and Roxanne Johnson (Johnston) not sure which spelling is correct. It was named Tow Bow Motel (again not sure of the spelling)... .

In this 2000 photo, Spring Grove players workout in their former football stadium, with the Glatfelter paper plant looming large. The team now plays in new digs - Papermakers Stadium - located near the new high school. (See related photo below.) Background posts: Private, public interests built Lake Marburg for manufacturing, recreation and Worker saved key historical surveys from Glatfelter pulping machine and White Woman of the Genessee captured 250 years ago in York County.

Glatfelters have been making news around York County for, well, more than 250 years.

Perhaps the most prominent Glatfelter is the Spring Grove papermaker. And just in the past few days, that Glatfelter was in the headlines because of a wonderful piece of land the company donated in Adams County and an air tank that ruptured (no one was injured) at its mill.

When Harry Potter climbs back into the news, it's certain to bring back ties of the Glatfelter as the maker of the pages that people so devotedly turn.

But the descendants of Casper Glattfelter - Glatfelters, Gladfelters, Glotfeltys, Clodfelters and Clotfelters - are known for more than papermaking... .

The Gazette and Daily reports on Vice-President Richard Nixon's short visit to York in the buildup to the 1960 president election against John F. Kennedy. For a working list of past presidential visits, click here. Background posts: Richard Nixon in York, No. 1 and Richard Nixon, No. 2 and Richard Nixon's visits seared into York countians' minds.

When Richard Nixon campaigned in York County in the final days of the election season in 1960, some in the crowd of 5,000 had met him before.

In fact, a former Menges Mills neighbor who couldn't make it to the York train station rally received a staged phone call from Nixon's wife, Pat, to say hello... .

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 page from The Gazette and Daily tells about President Franklin D. Roosevelt's appearance on his train's platform on its way through York in late May 1934. (To see a list of other presidential visits, click here.) Background posts: York-area woodcarver made life-size JFK statue. But where is it now? and Teddy Roosevelt in York: 'I know York county farmers are prosperous. Their barns are bigger than their houses' and Headline: 'Beards on Parade at Gettysburg (Battle) Field' .

President Franklin D. Roosevelt traveled through York County by train at least two times in the 1930s.

He waved from his private car but did not appear on the platform as he headed through Hanover to give his own Gettysburg Address at the Adams County battlefield on May 30, 1934. Crowds also lined the tracks in Menges Mills and Spring Grove to catch a glimpse of the president.

But on his way back through York, he stood on his train car's platform, waving to a crowd estimated at 10,000 to 15,000 people. The train did not stop... .

This photograph shows the Codorus Creek near Richland Avenue before Depression-era flood-control efforts changed its appearance. (Courtesy of York County Heritage Trust.) Background posts: Destructive flood of 1933 struck York County 75 years ago, It couldn't happen in York County? Women were trampled in Depression-era labor unrest and Bad economy turned York Safe and Lock toward lucrative defense work .

In a previous post Great Depression not only pinched in York County, it punched, I take a poke at the notion that the county somehow escaped the very tough times of the 1930s.

That assertion has come down over the years because no bank in York failed during the Depression.

No banks apparently failed in the city.

But using Charles Bloomfield's Millersville University master's research, I point out that 17 of York County's 46 banks either failed or reorganized.

This discussion caused Warren Miller of Hanover to inquire about which banks did, indeed, fail... .

The Spring Grove Public School, left, was dedicated in 1898 and enlarged in 1921, right, as seen in this photo from "The Spring Grove Years." Its successor building, the Spring Grove Area High School along old Hanover Road, is in its final days as secondary school. Background posts: Spring Grove museum displays horse gas mask and more, 'Persons should not be too modest' and Glatfelter family history is as clear as ... paper .

The Spring Grove Area High School building, vintage 1953, that will give way to a brand new school next year is actually the second, secondary building.

The first building, vintage 1898, stands in Spring Grove and made the news on V-J Day, after news of Japan's surrender marked the end of World War II... .

Historical artist Robert Griffing painted this scene of the capture of Mary Jemison. A print can be scene in the Glatfelter Memorial Library in Spring Grove, Pa. George Glatfelter II donated the print in 1998. Glatfelter paper owns the land where the Jemison family homestead stood in Adams County. 'The White,' Deborah Larsen's historical novel based on the life of Mary Jemison, was the region's 'One Book, One Community' choice in 2005. Background posts: 400 years ago, John Smith explored Chesapeake Bay - 1 of 20 iconic images, American Indians' carvings almost forgotten treasure and Project uncovers hidden American Indian mural.

York/Adams most celebrated direct link with the American Indians that inhabited the region west of the Susquehanna and east of South Mountain happened 250 years ago. (John Smith is not believed to have made it as far as future York County in 1608).

In 1758, Indians captured 16-year-old Mary Jemison in western York County.

French and Indian War hostilities led to a raid in what is now Adams County that led to the Indians carrying away Mary's family... .

Gov. Sir Edmund Andros adorns the cover of the book "Walter Wharton's Land Survey Register, 1675-1679." Andros was an official of New York province at a time that Pennsylvania and Delaware fell under his jurisdiction. The documents that served as a basis for this book were saved by an alert worker at the Spring Grove, Pa., Glatfelter paper plant. Background posts: Vandals strike house where Thomas Paine reportedly labored, Fourth-generation member of Glatfelter paper family dies, Glatfelter family history is as clear as ... paper.

On the ongoing quest to post York County, Pa., references from across the world:

An obscure book crossed my desk the other day, "William Wharton's Land Survey Register."

It contains a reference to Spring Grove's Glatfelter Paper Company... .

Readers love to talk - and write - about one room schools. Here, Pat (Grove) Goodling of Dover sent this photo of her class in Chanceford Township's Clearview School in 1951. She attended the school for seven years. Her teachers through the years were Evelyn Johnson, Lowella McLaughlin and Pauline Trout. 'I have a lot of good memories of my school years at Clearview,' she said. Pictured are, front row from left, Joyce Walker, Judy Runkle, Joan Waltemyer, Elaine Miller, Robert Miller, John Tallarico, David Miller, David Markle, Perry Enfield and John Walker; and back row, Goodling with Carolyn Walker, William Runkle, Frank Tallarico, Robert McDermott, Earl Miller, Max Enfield, Florence Markle and Betty Tallarico. The teacher, Lowella McLaughlin, is also pictured. Background posts: One-room memories flow from readers fingertips, West Manchester book contains valuable gold coins and York County's, Wellsville's one-room schools, by the numbers.

Few topics capture the interest of local history enthusiasts more than the topic of one-room schools.

In fact, the York Daily Record/Sunday News created a Web section All in one room for readers to share their stories and photographs... .

And they're doing so in great numbers, as evidenced by the following samples:

This advertisement in The Ripplet, a weekly newspaper in Spring Grove, touts a longtime York County product. The Ripplet is the only newspaper to publish from Spring Grove, operating from 1897 to 1922. The present-day Historical Ripplet, newsletter of the Spring Grove Area Historical Preservation Society Spring Grove Area Historical Preservation Society, was founded in 1987 and is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Background posts: Spring Grove Museum display horse gas mask and more and 'Persons should not be too modest'.

York countians fought culture and language wars through most of the 19th century.

That was probably not surprising to many people who know that the Pennsylvania Dutch language vs. English debate encompassed homes, schools, churches and communities.

German speakers gradually died off, although some people alive today in York County can speak the dialect.

But what might surprise some is that the debate through the first quarter of the 20th century, as I detailed in a recent York Sunday News column, Language wars nothing new
... .

Brad LeVault, a ranking officer at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, is a Spring Grove native. Background posts: York has produced its share of high-ranking naval officers and Book gives positive view about forgotten general Jake Devers.

Those who believe all roads lead to York got further evidence if they read the weekend York Sunday News story about one of the top guys at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.

Brad LeVault is from York County, specifically Spring Grove.

In an interview, the nine-month vet of Gitmo declined to speculate about reports that the White House plans to close the military base.

"I always say, I get paid to take orders," LeVault said.

Our story described Gitmo and made an interesting comparison between that site and Spring Grove of yore: