About this blog
I've been editor of the York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News for 8 years and managing editor of the newspaper for 15 years before that. So, York Town Square explores the rapidly changing world of journalism. And I studied York/Adams' history in graduate school, have written six books about these fascinating southcentral Pennsylvania counties and serve on the York County (Pa.) Heritage Trust board. So, this blog deals with regional history. Often, journalism and history meet here. They're part of a continuum anyway. My hope is that this site intrigues readers on both accounts in giving a daily dose of journalism/history. Or history/journalism. Contact me at jem@ydr.com or become friends on Facebook or follower on Twitter, @JamesMcClure.
Monthly Archives: November 2006
Prostitution in York busted during World War II
Prostitution in York, in the headlines this week, has made big type of front pages for years. http://www.ydr.com/search/ci_4733139 No time was prostitution in York a bigger problem than during World War II. Veneral disease outbreaks near military bases and defense … Continue reading
York’s Jeremiah Black, former U.S. attorney general, among Democrats resorting to racism
G.A. Mellander and Carl E. Hatch provided this compilation showing Lincoln’s loss in York County 1864 presidential voting. Jeremiah S. Black, former U.S. attorney general and secretary of state, stood before members of the Keystone Club in Philadelphia in 1864. … Continue reading
York Safe restoration ‘once in lifetime’ project
York, Pa.’s artisan Othmar Carli shows off latest restoration project, a 5,000 pound steel safe. Background posts: The bomb: ‘And yet it stopped the war’, Noted photo archive captures York County treasures, Women’s Club of York (another Carli project): ‘No … Continue reading
Booklet detailing Gettysburg war stories available
The rebel advance pushed residents west of the Susquehanna River to Columbia and points east. York County’s Scott Mingus has been working on a got-to-have-for-my-library account of John B. Gordon’s campaign to the Susquehanna River in the days preceding the … Continue reading
Posted in Archives, all posts, Books & reading, Civil War, Events, Explanations/controversy, People, War
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It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s cigars with wings dropped by York-based promoters.
Barnstormer Karl Ort and sales manager Ray Paris used the novelty of aviation to sell their company’s cigars. In the early days of flying, the York-based pair, tooling around in their DeHavilland plane, tossed cigars attached to parachutes to would-be … Continue reading
Museum exhibit brings back early days of high fliers
An Agricultural and Industrial Museum exhibit features a model of York’s first airport. “Air Pirates Attempt to Steal York Plane,” the newspaper headline read. Today, we would call it hijacking, but in the 1930s, it was just a matter of … Continue reading
York countians, newspaper no friend of Abraham Lincoln
In a recent speech marking the anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, author and historian Gabor Boritt suggested that only a handful of newspapers recognized the greatness of Abraham Lincoln’s speech. Well, The York Gazette, the leading publication in York County, … Continue reading
The organ: ‘It is a whole orchestra in itself’
While interest in organ music has waned, Sam Keeney, seen here at a recent concert, has been steadfast in promoting the instrument. Organs and their magnificent musical sounds have been losing popularity in recent years, although 250 people came out … Continue reading
Yes sir, in York County, Pa., it’s pronounced ‘Yorkshur,’ just like pudding
George Hay Kain III If Yorkshire as in pudding is pronounced york-shur, why isn’t Yorkshire as in Springettsbury Township pronounced similarly instead of the local “Yorkshyer.” And Hayshire should be pronounced “Hayshur.” The man who made these points should know. … Continue reading
York’s rail stations scored moments in history
Construction workers recently uncovered this stone arch. York’s 1890s-vintage train station is seen in the background. The stone arched vault uncovered in construction of York’s baseball stadium has drawn lots of interest. http://www.ydr.com/search/ci_4683299 Research is under way on the 3-foot-high … Continue reading
