So the winner for the best F of York County is…
Fastnachts! This was suggested by, well, just about everyone who reads regularly. (Not surprisingly.) Jo, though, I singled out in an earlier post, because she normally gets her fastnachts from her family in Juniata County.
She has an interesting thought about this local tradition, though, that made me glad it was selected as the “F” winner, despite me secretly rooting for Fitzkee’s Candies, which my family used to sell at our candy stand in the market. Even Hubby didn’t stand up for it, but he had a good reason: “I really wanted to go with Fitzkee’s, because fastnachts are not unique to York County. But the bottom line is that fastnachts are a bigger part of our culture/history/identity, so they win my vote.”
Anyway, back to Jo, who wrote: “After I wrote on the blog I got to thinking that the donut making all these years is akin to the apple butter making. These traditions have a way of continuing on and on until enough participants die off that there’s no longer a sufficient number of hands to carry on. The cousins, myself included, are now the “older generation” of the family as all of our parents are deceased, which means none of us have any living aunts or uncles. Our children (the younger generation) are too into themselves and their own interests to understand the significance of a fastnacht and could care less about carrying on traditions. If you notice in photos of donut makers around York, most have white hair!”
Well, then, I’m glad we’re supporting the tradition on the blog! My friend Tracey, another of my somewhat younger generation, is also a supporter; she writes: “Holes in fastnachts? Blasphemy! Mom would always go get the plain and the sugared (not powdered) and we’d eat some plain, and I’d rip a hole in one with my finger and use a small spoon to shove some Smucker’s black raspberry jam into them. YUM!”
I never tried that, but I will for sure this year!
Now it’s time to start voting for your favorite G and to post comments with suggestions for the best H for next week’s poll, if you haven’t already. We need some suggestions; we were a little “THIN” on Gs!
My name is Joan and I'm a lifelong Yorker. Throughout high school and college, I swore I was getting out of here as soon as possible. Now, a few years later, I can't think of anywhere I'd rather be. I love my town. And, as a local editor, I hear every day how much you love your towns, too. So please, connect with me and let's share what makes life in York County great. I'm here to help you enjoy this place as much as I do!
My entry for the letter “h” is Hanover Junction. During the Civil War, Hanover Junction was strategically important. Besides being a railroad junction, it was a major telegraph dispatch station during the war. Confederate Cavalry, the 35th Battalion Virginia Cavalry or “White’s Comanches,” occupied Hanover Junction on June 27, 1863, and destroyed some railroad property at Hanover Junction before moving north to York. Fortunately the railroad station and the Hotel survived the raid. Wounded from the Battle of Gettysburg traveled through Hanover Junction on the way to hospitals in larger cities. On November 18, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln briefly got out at Hanover Junction on the way to Gettysburg to dedicate the Soldiers National Cemetery. He also came through Hanover Junction on the way back to Washington on November 19, 1863. Lincoln’s funeral train, on its way from Baltimore to Harrisburg, passed through Hanover Junction on April 21, 1865 at 5:55 PM.
H has to be Harley Davidson…