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Lewis Miller Drawing of Jacob Busser Singing about Wine

You can enjoy a variety of good food and drink in comfort on October 18, no matter what the weather. Because of a dismal weather forecast, the 2009 Oyster Fest will be held at YCHT's Agricultural and Industrial Museum, 217 W. Princess Street. You can keep dry and warm while enjoying oysters, pork sandwiches and shrimp accompanied by fries and apple fritters and washed down with soft drinks, cider, beer or wine.

The York County wine, provided by Naylor Wine Cellars and Moon Dancer Winery, carries on a long tradition of York County vine growing and wine making, as well as the enjoyment of the fruits of the vine.

Artist Lewis Miller captures Jacob Busser singing about wine, surely local in origin, in 1812. Miller records Busser's song, in both English and German, as:

Lewis Miller drawing of Polly Waltemyer Opening Oysters

Ah--fall, when York County thoughts turn to--Oysters. On Sunday, October 18, York County Heritage Trust will hold the 35th annual Oyster Fest at the Colonial Complex, W. Market St. and Pershing Ave. Oyster lovers can have them fried, stewed, or raw. Non-oyster eaters, like me, won't go hungry. Pulled pork sandwiches and steamed shrimp will tempt, along with the traditional apple fritters. Beverages include soft drinks, cider and beer.

The family event with free colonial activities runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Click here for the full schedule.

To get back to Polly Waltemyer, pictured above with a giant oyster--Polly was the cook, and possibly the owner of a York tavern in the early 1800s. Artist Lewis Miller's caption of the drawing reads:

John Hetrick's Strawberry Surprise

Ice cream and oysters have each enjoyed a long popularity in York County eateries. A recent post quoted an 1845 ad announcing the grand opening of Gray's ice cream parlor, and ads for oysters abound. Click here for the ice cream post.

York folk artist Lewis Miller illustrated nineteenth century York County in detail. His drawing above catches a local citizen about to make a culinary mistake at Gray's restaurant. Miller accompanies the illustration with the following explanation:

A few days ago I wrote about York County's continuing love affair with the oyster. Many people will tell you that with good oysters you need good beer.

Breweries abounded over the years in York, as evidenced by the following 1857 advertisement from the Gazette. One hundred fifty years ago, brothers D. W. Barnitz and A. M. Barnitz were turning good York County barley and rye into equally good York County beer.

Click here to read more about the Barnitz family of brewers.

The Lewis Miller drawing above shows a previous generation of the Barnitz family at their brew house with a crowd of Yorkers, carrying empty pitchers, advancing on them. Miller captioned it "The Old Brew house in the year 1801. The[y] made Good Beer."

The ad reads:

We know York Countians have had a long love affair with the oyster. Start digging near the site of any old tavern, such as the Golden Plough, and you are likely to turn up remnants of long-ago oyster shells. Crushed oyster shells might be far under the streets you travel daily, since they were used as an early paving material.

With its proximity and trade orientation to Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay, oysters have always been popular here, especially in the months with an “R” in them. Why are oysters still mostly consumed in those months, September through April? There seems to be several reasons: Oysters reproduce during the summer months, keeping up a good supply of oysters; in the old days refrigeration wasn’t available, leading to spoilage in hot weather; and the quality is said to not be as good in the summer.

We just wish the prices were the same as those in the following Gazette ad for Bozman’s Oyster House on South George Street 110 years ago, in the fall of 1897: