Recently in Only in York County Category

I was really excited to see some people who I don't even know starting to submit to our new user-submitted photo galleries!

One woman, Dianne Bowders of York Township, posted a really interesting set of photos of buildings around York County, complete with detailed captions, so I thought I'd share them with you.

Ye Olde York Valley Inn

Dianne writes: "Ye Olde York Valley Inn was originally built between 1738-1747 in Springettsbury Township. The early stone inn was located 2.5 miles east of York near the site of WalMart along the Lincoln Highway/Route 30. George Washington and the Marquis de LaFayette were among its early visitors. Proprietor rules for the inn included that no more than five could sleep in a bed, and that boots were not to be worn while in bed. In 1962, a large portion of the stone inn was moved from its original location to Susquehanna Memorial Gardens in York Township where it serves as the cemetery office." Read more on Jim McClure's York Town Square blog post, 1730s York Valley Inn may outlast its namesake.

Billmeyer House

Dianne writes: "A front view of the beautiful Victorian Italianate York House or Billmeyer House, built by Charles Billmeyer in 1863. The house is part of the First Presbyterian Church complex. Thirty-five years ago the Church petitioned to tear down this blighted landmark. The restoration began after a prolonged battle between the Church and York's Historic Architectural Review Board who refused to grant permission to destroy the home. The home now stands as a beautiful testament to preservation." I've seen this spelled both Billmeyer and Billmyer - not sure which is now accepted! For more on it under any name, read Jim McClure's York Town Square blog post, Colonial York, Pa.? No, try Victorian York, Pa.

Dritt Mansion

Dianne writes: "Historic Pleasant Garden, or the Dritt Mansion/Zimmerman Center for Heritage, was built about 1738, the year when settlers streamed across the Susquehanna River. The land was first owned by Thomas Cressap and a log fort was constructed near this site (1729) to prevent settlement on the west side of the River. The Georgian style mansion, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is located about 3.5 miles south of Wrightsville at Long Level and is now owned by the York-Lancaster Heritage Region. On the first Friday of each month, the Susquehanna River Art exhibit is open for viewing." Read more about the Dritt family on Jim McClure's York Town Square blog post, Native Americans help clean up Dritt family cemetery in new York County park.

Wallace-Cross Mill

Dianne writes: "Built in 1826 in East Hopewell Township, the mill once operated 24 hours a day, seven days per week. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places it is now part of York County Parks and Recreation and is open for tours during part of the summer and on special miller days. The miller's house sits on the hill above the mill." Read more about the mill on Jim McClure's York Town Square blog post, Pioneering sisters operated York County grist mill.

Thank you, Dianne, for sharing these photos! Have any of my readers been to these places? Cross Mill in particular is on my "Top 10" list to visit next summer, and I'd love to hear about your experiences there or elsewhere, so leave me a comment!

Betty, a 6-week-old buffalo, took a few minutes recently before deciding the winner in the buffalo patty drop. (Daily Record/Sunday News photo by Kate Penn)

Read the story from Oct. 5 here, complete with a look at Betty the Buffalo declaring a winner.

Really. Only in York County!

Katie Portner, 8, of Dover gets ready to chomp a piece of broccoli. The samples were offered during the Broccoli Bash at the farmers market on Saturday. (Daily Record/Sunday News photo by Jason Plotkin)

Everyone had a great time, and the market was packed, reports Linda Birmingham, marketing committee chairwoman for the York Historic Farmers' Market Association.

If you want to help Linda and her group promote the market, the York Historic Farmers' Market Association holds regular meetings that you're welcome to attend! The next one is 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28, at Union Lutheran Church, 408 W. Market St. - right across from the market. (Use the Penn Street door to enter.)

If you're lucky, you might find me there. My mom and I attend occasionally, when schedules permit, and we're very supportive of the group's efforts because we love the market so much!

Never let it be said that Yorkers are squeamish people. Hey, we eat pig stomach. And we also play games with animal droppings!

I've heard of plenty of games of "cow patty bingo." You divide a field into squares; each person gets a square; and wherever the cow, uh, goes, whoever has that square wins.

Well, not to be outdone, Northeastern High School's Bobcat Foundation has taken that favorite and jazzed it up.

As part of a large fundraiser event on Sunday, Oct. 4, they will hold a Baby Buffalo Patty Drop and golf shoot-out.

At 1 p.m., they'll set a baby buffalo loose in the field; wherever her "patty" drops, the person who bought that square will win $500! Members of Northeastern's golf team will then hit balls into the field, and the squares those land in will give their owners $250 (for second place) or $100 (for third place.)

Want to buy a square? Call Kim Brenner-Zirkle at 266-3667, ext. 10274, or visit www.nesd.k12.pa.us. Anyone can play, and you don't even have to be present to win. Commenter friend Mark might even be able to play from Austria! :)

Other events during the day include a car show and exhibition autocross, in partnership with the York County Corvette Club, in the parking lots at Northeastern High School and Northeastern Middle School. That event is 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 4, with car registration from 9 a.m. to noon and award presentations at 3 p.m., according to the school's news release. You can register in advance by calling Joanne Gohn at 577-3133 or e-mailing Iam4marlin@aol.com.

Brenner-Zirkle adds that the high school marching band will also perform, and food will be served throughout the day (though hopefully not bison burgers!!)

Proceeds will benefit The Bobcat Foundation, the nonprofit organization that supports the Northeastern district.

So who's in? Grab your square and wait for the other "eww" to drop!

Hubby took me for a "fair date" tonight. Best date ever!! He won me a Kit-Kat and Starburst playing the candy spinner game, and then... I introduced him to the infamous Boxall's I Got It... and I won!

I chose a very lovely new lasagna/roasting pan as my prize.

Other cool trivia: Among the other contestants/spectators were Congressman Todd Platts and his family. (And I'm happy to say someone in his family won a prize a few rounds before me, too.) Only in York County indeed!

You might have seen this already, but if you haven't... you should. It's the full, produced version of the video from the "flash mob dance" in downtown York a few weeks ago. (I especially like this version because I could see one of my friends, an awesome dancer who was one of the hundred plus who took part in this event. Some of the other videos, I couldn't see her!)

Here's reporter Erin McCracken's story and video from the mid-August event, if you missed the hype at the time.

Well, no one bit on my "pop quiz" when I posted earlier this week about free bowling.

That's OK, I want to show this off anyway, because it's cool. When we were there a while ago, here is what the Colony Park Lanes North "bowling pin backdrop" looked like:

Now, take a look at how it looked more recently, in two parts:

It's been Yorkified! This part features a Harley and the Bobb Log House Golden Plough Tavern - oops, messed that up; thanks to commenter Bill for the fix! And you can see Central Market's tower in the background. And the part below shows the York Fair in the distance, and the Colonial Courthouse.

How cool is that? I don't know if it was done for a particular event (I know there is or was a big PBA event this month), or just to brighten it up, but I hope it stays. It's pretty cool. Has anyone else seen it?