So the winner for the best Q of York County is…
Queen Street, suggested by Dianne. This is an interesting road; it runs from near Small Field in York out through Spring Garden and York townships as Route 74 South, veering left at the Y at Iron Stone Hill Road and heading into Dallastown.
Route 74 does stop being “Queen Street” there – turning into Main Street, then Broadway in Red Lion, then Delta Road as it heads out into Windsor and Chanceford townships.
Now it’s time to start voting for your favorite R and to post comments with suggestions for the best S for next week’s poll, if you haven’t already.
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!
The York County famous “Shoe House”
From the web site http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2202
The Shoe House was built in 1948 (and completed in 1949) by Colonel Mahlon M. Haines, the flamboyant “Shoe Wizard,” for advertising purposes. Haines walked up to an architect, handed him an old work boot, and said “Build me a house like this.” Haines owned forty shoe stores in Maryland and Pennsylvania, was a millionaire and an honorary Indian chief, and knew the value of self-promotion. Haines would stand up at baseball games and offer $20 to anybody who knew who he was.
A short drive up Shoe House Road, and that pinkish stucco boot looms up on the left. There’s a shoe mailbox out front, and a boot-decorated fence surrounding the yard. The dog house is shaped like a boot. Every window in the Shoe House is decorated with a stained-glass shoe. The front door frames a stained-glass portrait of the Colonel holding shoes.
The 25-ft. tall, 48 ft. long work boot was constructed near the highway, where drivers could see the giant advertisement for his store. But the Shoe Wizard, a generous man, also wanted to “give back,” as they say, to the community. So he made the shoe available as a weekend vacation spot for 38 elderly couples each year (Yes, the elderly — exactly who we would pick to stay in a 5-level, cramped staircased, low-ceilinged oddity).
Haines also invited lucky newlyweds affiliated with his shoe stores to spend a romantic week in the shoe, served by a live-in butler and maid. And everyone went home with free pairs of shoes. The vacation “king and queen” treatment continued for a few seasons, and then the Shoe House settled into a groove as a local oddball landmark.
Susquehanna River
For the “S” I proudly nomiate “Shady Dell”. thousands of yorkers have found memories of hangin out at “the Dell” as teenagers. wish I had all those “45s” that were in that jukebox over the years.
Sadly, the Susquehanna River is technically not York County, but is Lancaster Co.