Results tagged “York Corporation” from York Town Square

When this Evening Sun in Hanover, Pa., photo was produced in 2008, about 16,000 pounds of potato chips per hour rolled off the lines at Utz Quality Foods' High Street plant in Hanover. Pending approval by the Federal Trade Commission, Snyder's of Hanover will acquire cross-town snack food producer Utz Quality Foods. Also of interest: Chipmaking of the potato kind has deep roots in York County and Who makes the best potato chips in York County, Martin's or Utz? Or someone else? and York Barbell's tall, heavyweight lifter has long helped put York County on the map.

I've written previously that York County manufacturers have historically made BIG, HEAVY THINGS.

York Barbell, of course, is Exhibit A, almost by definition.

Some lines of the old Pfaltzgraff pottery were known as stoneware and plates are rock-like in weight - wonderful rocks, I might add.

York Safe & Lock made vaults and other such equipment whose bulk kept their contents safe... .

The Orange Car's name, seller of fresh fruit, has been on the former Western Maryland railroad station, since 1938. Background posts: Collector searching for Western Maryland Railroad memorabilia and Jackson Township, Arm & Hammer's proposed new home, again in the middle of things and York County railroading: 'Something that gets into your blood'.

Dick Boyd writes in his memoir "The Bridge" about an oft-repeated experience growing up in York County.

"Christmas festivities were held at my grandparents Glen Rock farm and were always very special. One aunt was single and lived there. Each Christmas, she brough us candy, oranges, tangerines, and nuts. ... One year, I counted a hundred differents kinds of fruits, nuts and candy."

The source of such wintertime fruit and other delicacies for years and years around York County was the Orange Car on York's Roosevelt Avenue... .

The (York, Pa.) Gazette and Daily published this advertisement illustration on Aug. 15, 1945 - in celebration of V-J Day. Here, The Chic, 33 W. Market St., observes women's contribution in winning World War II. Background posts: York County sacrificed on homefront and war front - Part I and All WWII posts from the start.

York County did its share on the homefront and war front in World War II.

The York Plan is Exhibit A on the homefront.

And no story captures York County's considerable sacrifices on the war front better than the example of Ross Kurtz.

Notice how matter of factly Ross Kurtz related his considerable injuries sustained in a mortar attack... .

York County industrial leaders turned out in large numbers for a dinner at the Yorktowne Hotel in World War II. The York Plan resulting from their cooperation became a national model. Background posts: All York Corporation/Johnson Controls posts from the start and Industrialist Thomas Shipley's 'enduring monument' in York did not 'endure' and York Corporation played role in Manhattan Project.

York County's homefront and war front efforts well represented what it took across America to win the two-front World War II.

And the best York County offered on the homefront - and it was significant - was the York Plan.

But ask a York County audience about the York Plan and surprisingly few know even the vaguest details.

So, here's a quick synopsis of the plan: ... .

This York Corporation worker had a little fun painting a devil's mask on his hood. (To view the face behind the desk, see photo below.) Background posts: 'Little Johnny' called for Allies in World War II and The bomb: 'And yet it stopped the war' and Nazis murdered downed airman from York County, Part IIII.

York's George Anderson made America laugh during the dark days of World War II.

He donned a York Corporation welder's hood bearing a devil's face.

And someone snapped a photo.

The image then appeared in about 700 U.S. newspapers during the war... .

The colorful former York Corporation/Borg-Warner plant on West Philadelphia Street in York is home to Buchart Horn/Basco Associates. (See how that crane or a similar overhead crane was operated in photo below.) Background posts: York, Pa. made big, heavy things - and was immensely proud of it, Carriage house dome: 'What's there will last for 100 years ... 200 years' and 'Little Johnny' called for Allies in World War II.

The 445 W. Philadelphia Street complex often just referred to as Borg-Warner was in severe disrepair in the 1990s.

Long ago, the two air conditioning/refrigeration plants known as "The Yorks" consolidated at the Grantley site, best known today as York International and Johnson Controls... .

York (Pa.) Ice Machinery Corporation, later York Corporation and today owned by Johnson Controls, served as a catalyst for the York Plan. Yorkco chairman William S. Shipley headed the York Manufacturers Association, which promoted the sharing of machinery and manpower to land large World War II defense contracts. Here, condensers are lined up on Yorkco's shop floor. Background posts: York made big, heavy things and was immensely proud of it, The bomb: 'And yet it stopped the war' and 'Her words helped win the war'.

Continuing the series of iconic photos - photos that capture layered moments - from York County, Pa.:

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: ... .

Harvey Bradley, who built his York company, Bradley Lifting, from scratch has sold his company to an out-of-town outfit. Here, Bradley is seen with a giant hook in 2007. His company fabricates the block that the hook will be hung from. Background posts: Glatfelter, Farquhar, Shipley: Insights from local greats, Who will lead York in the future? and Samuel Small tops community contributor list.

Harvey Bradley is a living example of some of York County's past captains of industry.

He started with few resources, except perhaps the most important, an entrepreneurial spirit. He built big things... .

This flag at York Corporation's West York plant shows that 24 Gold-Star employees lost their lives in World War II through V-E Day, May 1945. At that point, 1,148 had served in the military. Robert W. Zercher, branded a terrorist by his Nazi executioners, was one of those 24. Background posts: Zercher, I, Zercher, II, Zercher, III and Zercher, IIII.

Swiss resident John Meurs has picked up on York Town Square posts about York County resident and downed World War II airman Robert W. Zercher.

Meurs provided additional details about the capture of Zercher and another airman by the SS in Apeldoorn, Holland, and their subsequent execution along with members of the Dutch resistance. Their bodies were displayed around the Dutch city with signs saying "Terrorist."

Meurs wrote: ...

This artwork was the header for a York Corporation poster detailing employees serving in the military in World War II - and those who died. This was distributed in "Shop News," a newsletter for employees at home and in the military. The right part of the header stats that 991 men and women had served to date. The six stars indicated that six employees had died in uniform. Background posts: Zercher, I, Zercher II , Zercher III and 'Little Johnny' called for Allies in World War II.

York's factories kept employees up to date about those who were serving in uniform in World War II and those who had died.

No one did it better than York Corporation, previously known as York Ice Machinery and later as Borg-Warner, York International and Johnson Controls York.

But Yorkco could not keep up with a fast-moving war... .

Scattered throughout the 25-acre http://www.ordmusfound.org U.S. Army Ordnance Museum in Aberdeen, Md., are howitzers, tanks and guns, like this 8-inch gun. A plaque under the gun tells about the 243rd field artillery battalion, which used the weapon in World War II. The museum is located just a short drive from York County's southern border. Background posts: Gurgling all the way from Texas to New Jersey and York/Adams residents contributed to the war.

With Pearl Harbor's anniversary just observed, it's a good time to recount York County's contributions to World War II.

Here is a listing, by the numbers:

Col. Paul W. Tibbets, with the B-29 Superfortress bomber the Enola Gay, the plane he piloted in dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on during World War II. Tibbets, who had named the plane after his mother, died recently in Columbus, Ohio. Background post: Publishing legend Gitt vocal about nuclear power.

York countians helped with parts of the Manhattan Project. And at least one York countian saw the destruction wreaked by the second bomb, the one that hit Nagasaki.

Lt. Paul Hyde, a York Corporation employee, was navigating a Coast Guard-manned landing craft that was greeted with a tench as his craft moored in Nagasaki's harbor....

My book "In the thick of the fight" described this scene: "Soon after Pearl Harbor, York (Pa.) Corporation President Stewart Lauer stood on a truck bed to tell workers the world was embroiled in a war of ships and machines. And a modern war machine can't keep going without refrigeration. That speech and others in York Corporation's shop marks Yorkco's commitment to stick to the knitting -- cooling and refrigeration equipment for the Allies. Although the company did produce ordnance, the refrigeration it produced -- for example, to preserve food on big ships crossing great oceans -- aided the war effort." And one other project made a difference in the war: Yorkco was involved in the Manhattan Project. Background post: "Little Johnny" called for Allies in World War II and Her words helped win the war'.

The death of Enola Gay pilot Paul Tibbets prompts York County connections to the atomic bomb:

- Jack Yeaple was aboard the U.S.S. Indianapolis when it went down after a Japanese torpedo attack. The Indianapolis had just dropped off atomic bomb parts and was on to another mission. Yeaple was perhaps the last York countian to die in World War II... .

Four-foot-tall "Little Johnny" is shown with 250-pound Charles Chester Stine during a visit to York Corporation during World War II. York Corporation played role in Manhattan Project and All Johnson Controls/York Corporation posts from the start and York County sacrificed on homefront and war front to aid Allies in World War II.

Hedy Lamarr made a well-publicized visit to York Safe & Lock to promote war bond sales in 1942.

A lot of people remember that visit.

York Corporation, another giant defense contractor, also brought in a celebrity to raise morale and investment in war bonds.

That was "Little Johnny" of Philip Morris cigarette fame... .

York native Jacob L. Devers, third from left, surveys Hitler's home in Berchtesgaden, Germany. Devers' men helped capture this hideaway, 'Eagle's Nest.' From left, Sgt. John Turnipseed, from Devers' staff; Gen. Wade H. Haislip, commanding general of the 6th Corps, and Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, 101st Airborne Division, join Devers. Ken Burns' is exploring heroes like these in "The War," broadcast at 8 p.m. today and Tuesday at 9 p.m. Wednesday on WITF-TV (Ch. 33) and WMPB-TV (Ch. 67).

The airing of Ken Burns' "The War" prompted me to write a primer on local World War II highlights in the York Sunday News.

I included my two favorite local stories as part of that piece, titled "York/Adams residents contributed to 'The War.'"

The first one brings together the type of contributions to the "Arsenal of Democracy" by farm and factory:

Factory space is so scarce in York that one small businessman, Charles Coffey, set up a machine shop in the end of City Market, where farmers still sold their wares. He crafted parts for York Safe & Lock machines that, in turn, made armor plates.

The City Market, now demolished, was the largest and most ornate of the five covered market houses in York.

This was, indeed, an example of farm and factory literally working together... .

Forry Laucks, the original owner of Lauxmont farms now part of a park controversy, was himself controversial.

The contrarian owner of York Safe & Lock was a Democrat in the 1920s and 1930s when many York County factory owners were Republican. He was a pioneer at getting government contracts for defense work during buildup to World War II, but it took W.S. Shipley from York Ice Machinery and York Corporation, to mold such collaborative efforts into the York Plan.

He was at home on the farm and factory. He had a downtown residence as well as his Lauxmont mansion.

He loved York, but spent much time in New York.

Fortune published a profile, "Up to Lauxmont," shortly before Laucks' death in 1942, which captured a bit of the Laucks' legend. An excerpt follows: ...

York Corporation, later York International and Johnson Controls, made essential machinery for the production of plutonium as part of the Manhattan Project.

So reports longtime Dallastown resident Charlie Raab, who worked as a metallurgist for York Corporation during World War II. The Manhattan Project produced the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945... .