York: February 2009 Archives

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:

York Post Office Sculptures

A recent post on the sculptures inside the front doors of the downtown York Post Office dwelt on their artistic and historical value. I received an email from a friend pointing out their spiritual qualities. Click here for previous post.

She is absolutely right. In fact their qualities of praise and reverence may have helped their sculptors win the competition. See the quote below, from the August 29, 1941 press release from the Pennsylvania State College, announcing their selection: