1830s: December 2007 Archives

Lewis Miller drawing showing himself, George Kuntz, and Dr. George Shaffner in a sleigh accident in 1831. Miller is retreiving Dr. Shaffner's wig.

There were no automobiles 130 years ago, but people still managed to accidentally harm themselves by other means of transportation--buggies, wagons, sleighs.... Many of the worst local accidents involved trains and resulting loss of body parts.

Some of the less gory accidents, as reported in the Gazette in late fall/early winter 1877 follow:

The image of Liberty is very familiar to present-day U.S. Mint sculptor and engraver Don Everhart, whose Statue of Liberty design graces the back of the mint’s presidential dollar coins.

We also recently learned that Everhart, a York County native, had the honor of meeting the Dalai Lama. Everhart was selected to create the Dalai Lama’s likeness on the face of a gold medal, authorized by an Act of Congress and presented to the Tibetan leader in recognition of his work for world peace.

Everhart has sculpted and engraved many coins, calling to mind Hanover native Christian Gobrecht, who was also employed in a similar capacity by the U.S. mint and created the famous Seated Liberty image used on several coins, starting with the dollar in 1836.

See below for my 2005 York Sunday News column on Gobrecht: