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I hate to iron clothes and I do as little of it as possible. On the other hand, I don't like to wear wrinkled clothing, so sometimes I do break out the steam iron. I remember when people actually ironed sheets. One older neighbor fascinated me because she ironed everything, like socks. I think she even ironed towels and washcloths.

The ad below, from the June 21, 1863 People's Advocate, brought this all to mind. As far as I'm concerned, this is another example of the good old days being vastly overrated.

People's Advocate Masthead, June 21, 1853

Politics are just as popular as ever. Now we can get out political fix on 24-hour cable channels and the internet as well as regular radio and television stations and the newspapers. Trouble is, except for the printed newspapers, which last for a while and can be microfilmed for longevity, how are we going to have a record of today's politics in the future?

I recently quoted the York Democratic Press to show what an interest our forebears took in political matters and how partisan many of the papers were. Another York County newspaper of the 19th century, the People's Advocate, tried to cover a wide range of interests, as you can see by the masthead above.

Click here to read about the Democratic Press.

The illustration might be a little small, but it says:

We are bombarded with ads today for Christmas gifts, in print, on television and online. In 1840 York county residents managed to get their shopping, which was much sparser than ours, done with few ads to entice them.

Still, York entrepreneur William Goodridge managed to cram a lot of merchandise in the brief advertisement he ran in the York Democratic Press during November and December 1840.

Truth in advertising? The item below from the May 11, 1911 York Gazette looks like a news item, but the further you read, the more it sounds like an advertisement for Quaker brand remedies. Perhaps it's both--you decide.

Republicans try to get out the European vote with absentee ballot info.

This post is about making history instead of reporting on it. And make history we will, whatever the outcome of the imminent presidential election.

Earlier this month, while wandering the cobblestones of the beautiful old city of Prague, I was stopped short by the sight in the photo above. My first reaction was that there can't be that many Americans in the Czech Republic that it would be worthwhile to have a rolling signboard advocating absentee balloting.

Then I realized, given the close proximity and relatively small size of many European nations, one painted automobile could cover quite a bit of area. When you think of all the American military personnel, business people, and tourists in Europe at any give time, reminding them of absentee voting doesn't seem like a bad idea.

Tom Thumb ad illustration makes him look really small.

I recently noted that people in York County have always seemed to turn out in droves for whatever entertainment came to town.

In May 1849 the biggest little sensation to hit the circuit appeared at the York County courthouse. He was none other than Tom Thumb, nicknamed "The Little General," and being promoted by the fantastic showman P.T. Barnum.

The lengthy ad in the York Gazette described the little man as one "Who has been received with the highest marks of ROYAL favor by Queen Victoria, and all the principal Crowned Heads of Europe, and who has performed before 6,000,000 or persons during the last six years..."

What would we do without ice cream? Even though it was served previously, the popularity of ice cream increased in America in the 1840s. Perhaps this was because Nancy Johnson invented the crank-type ice cream freezer about that time.

According to the Gazette advertisement below, York provided a ready market in May 1845 for the cold, sweet concoction. Thomas Gray would even cater your ice cream party.

Dentistry came into its own in the 19th century. According to the American Dental Association website, Samuel Stockton began manufacturing porcelain teeth in 1825. Amalgam fillings were introduced in America in the 1830s, and cohesive gold foil fillings became practical about 1855. Probably best of all from the patients' point of view was the development of various means of anesthesia in the 1840.

York dentists kept up with the times, according to two 1840s ads below from the York Gazette:

In the past I have written about some of the outrageous claims for cures made by York County manufacturers of tonics and by animal doctors.

Click here to read about Caldwell's cure-all tonic.

And click here to read about Heffner's medicine for your cattle, horses, and swine.

Doctors practicing on humans weren't any less immoderate in their claims, as shown by the ad below from the April 18, 1816 York Gazette. At least Dr. Delasell had long office hours.

After recently posting the article on the 20 horse power York-made Pullman’s win in a 1908 hill climb, I was curious to see what the car looked like.

Click here to read about the hill climb.

The newspaper article didn’t say if the winning auto was a 1907 or 1908 model. Since the race was in early 1908, I went to a 1907 Pullman catalog in the York County Heritage Trust Library/Archives.

The factory turned out three 20 horse power models that year. I’m including illustrations below from the catalog of all three models, along with specs and price. Which do you think beat the competitors up the hill?