Recently in York County online 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.

John Wright House

Dianne writes: "John Wright, Jr., built this ferry house and tavern about 1736 on the western shore of the Susquehanna River to meet the needs of westward moving travelers. Up to 150 to 200 wagons would line up in Columbia to await Wright's Ferry, often waiting several days before crossing to the west bank, now Wrightsville. The early Wright's Ferry consisted of two dugout canoes fastened together with carriage wheels. Cattle were were led across the River with the canoeist holding the rope for the lead animal, guiding others to follow. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is privately owned." Read more about Wrightsville's past in Jim McClure's York Town Square blog post, There's more right with Wrightsville than wrong.

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!

Reader Jo took this photo of the 39th annual apple butter boil held at the home of a friend of hers in October. I was invited - again. I missed it - again. It's becoming a fairly irritating tradition! What does apple butter have to do with this post? Read on.

I don't normally do this, but I am hoping to engage in some gratuitous self-promotion here on the blog and get some feedback from you, loyal readers, in the process.

Here's the deal:

I have four "big things" going on online right now - two on the blog here, and two elsewhere. Here, in no particular order, they are:

1. Next week, I'll be guest-blogging for a good virtual friend and fellow Yorker, Debbie Jordan Kravitz, a professional organizer. I'll make sure to post a link when my post is up over there, but rest assured - if you're a neat freak like me, I think you'll love it!

2 and 3. I've got two new "blog series" ideas that I'm going to kick off as soon as possible - hopefully by the end of this month. I've gotten great response to series posts like yorkisms and what stores used to be. The two new series are also going to be occasional and, hopefully, very reader-interactive.

They are:

First, an ABCs of York County. I'll be taking suggestions each week for York County icons that begin with a particular letter, then we'll post a poll and let everyone vote for which gets to "own" that letter. Just think about it. Is S for Shoe House or Scrapple? And is A for apple butter, like that seen above, or the Accomac Inn? This should be fun.

Second, we'll do Names Around Town. Who was A.B. Farquhar and why did we name a park after him? Who is Norman A. Trimmer, for whom my daughter's school is named? (I don't even know the answer to that second one - yet!) We'll find out together, and again, I'll be taking suggestions as well as working through some good sources, like names in county parks and schools.

4. Finally, I am just finishing up something cool for the newspaper's Web site - a new user-submitted photo gallery. This is a great way for you to share your photos, whether you're in York now, from York but living elsewhere, or just a friend of mine with cool pictures. Hahaha! This is another case where I'm asking for your help! Remember the apple butter boil picture above by Jo? Well, she's helping me out by filling up the gallery with some of her great photos before its official launch. I'd love for ALL my readers to do the same. Just go here, click on "Submit photo," and fill out the form. And, of course, let me know if you have any problems or questions!

So what do you think? Willing to stick around with me for some more fun blog adventures? I'm really looking forward to it!

I'm still celebrating the Game 1 Phillies victory in the World Series. I hope that, by the time you're reading this on Friday morning, I'll be celebrating another!

So, while I'm off partying and cheering, here's a look at some interesting sites featuring Yorkers:

· Chris on the AT is Chris Sheaffer's log of his hike southward on the Appalachian Trail - all 2,167 miles. Chris is a 2002 Central York High School grad. Read more about his undertaking here.

· A magazine for professional truckers honored a Windsor man, Jim Waltemyer, for 37 years of safe, accident-free driving. He hauls Federal Express freight.

· Speaking of vehicles, if you haven't seen the work of Prueitt and Sons auto restoration of Glen Rock, you're missing out. They do amazing things. Check out their "In Progress" photo gallery.

· Here are the memories of many Yorkers about S&H Green Stamps. Expect more from me on that subject in a future post, but in the meantime, if you remember those, leave me a comment!

Have you spotted news about Yorkers elsewhere? Let me know, because I'd love to feature it on the blog. And, it bears repeating - Go Phillies!

Check out this awesome Wall Street Journal article about composting - including worm composting, with worms provided by a Spring Grove business!

Here's video of the composting process, including the worms at work:

What do you think? Are you into composting at all? (Hubby is!) But what about the worm aspect? I kind of draw the line there...

The Pennsylvania Dutch Heritage Group locally is very active and has a great newsletter. One of their issues earlier this year included several sites related to the Pennsylvania Dutch language and culture.

- The Pennsylvania German Society
- The Kutztown Folk Festival, which is held each year to celebrate "Pennsylvania Dutch Folklife and Fun."
- Kutztown University's Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center
- Hiwwe-Wie-Driwwe, written 99 percent in Pennsylvania Dutch, offers audio lessons in the language. (Check them out on the right under "Webclass.")
- German-Pennsylvanian Association
- Pioneers and Patriarchs focuses on Pennsylvania Dutch History, Genealogy and Culture.
- Pennsylvania German Board, a message board in and about "Dutch"

And I would be very remiss if I didn't mention, again, the amazing "Nau loss mich yuscht eppes saage! En Blog uff Deitsch" by "Der Douglas." You might remember it from my post earlier this year.

Check them out, and let me know what you think, or if you know of any other sites like this. I'm in the process of adding these to our list of history and tradition resources online, so if you have more, I'd love to hear about them.

A couple of quick good reads about Yorkers elsewhere - yes, we occasionally leave the comforts of home!

From "The Scribbler" column by Jack Brubaker of Lancaster Newspapers, Ann Pettigrew, a York woman taking the train out of Lancaster, heard an unusual "bird" - or rather, a recording of one being played from a nearby billboard.

From the University of Delaware's UDaily, Fran and Ralph Bowers of Felton headed to the university's annual Coast Day on Oct. 4. The event is designed to teach visitors about Delaware's coastal resources and the work of the college's environmental department. "We're big beachcombers and we still learned a lot," Ralph Bowers said.

Have you spotted news about Yorkers elsewhere? Let me know, because I'd love to feature it on the blog.

Just a quick post today to call your attention to some other local blogs I'm reading:

Food Fight, in which assistant sports editor Lyzz Jones talks about life in a family with food allergies - something I know A LOT about. I've got several, and my best friend's son, who lived with me for some time, has pretty much the opposite allergies. A house full of food marked "NO JOAN" and "NO BRAYDEN" was really something, I can tell you!

Anyway, Lyzz is just getting started with the blog, but she's doing a great job. If you or someone you know does have food allergies or sensitivities, please check it out. It's really a great help.

And York At Heart, by regular York Sunday News columnist Gordon Freireich, talks about something I'm obviously passionate about - life in York County, from a different perspective than mine! :)

Check them out. I really hope you'll like them.