1900s: September 2008 Archives

It was 1908. Although their families had been immigrants only a hundred years or so before, some York County people weren't too sure about the new immigrants coming in to work at plants, mills and quarries or to build roads.

These new arrivals weren't of German, English and Scots-Irish stock like them. They were Slavs, Poles, Italians and who knew what.

In the incident below, from the April 30, 1908 York Gazette, York Haven found out that not all foreigners were troublemakers.

Every since humans discovered fire, we have been relying on it for cooking our food, keeping us warm, and lighting our way.

We also know the destruction and tragedy accidental fires can cause. Three items, datelined Hanover, from the April 25, 1908 York Gazette illustrate why fire needs to be treated with respect.

Welsh's Store in 1902 With Dollar Bible Sign.

I still don't understand why some people get upset when notices are published or signs posted in English and another language, usually Spanish nowadays. They seem to think that English is the only language all of us should use. If public notices hadn't been bilingual in Pennsylvania in the past, the ancestors of a great many of the people complaining wouldn't have known what was going on.

A few months ago I listed the publishers of York newspapers in 1837, with more German than English editions. Click here to read that post.

Below are a few more examples, illustrating the prevalence of the German language in York County for over 150 years.