June 2007 Archives

Brad LeVault, a ranking officer at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, is a Spring Grove native. Background posts: York has produced its share of high-ranking naval officers and Book gives positive view about forgotten general Jake Devers.

Those who believe all roads lead to York got further evidence if they read the weekend York Sunday News story about one of the top guys at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.

Brad LeVault is from York County, specifically Spring Grove.

In an interview, the nine-month vet of Gitmo declined to speculate about reports that the White House plans to close the military base.

"I always say, I get paid to take orders," LeVault said.

Our story described Gitmo and made an interesting comparison between that site and Spring Grove of yore:

Historic York's Karen Arnold stands amid items salvaged from old buildings in and around York. The organization's Architectural Warehouse moved earlier this year from North George Street to Prospect Street.

For researchers doing history in York County, Historic York Inc.'s vast files on important buildings is a reliable repository to draw from. The staff there are accessible and welcoming.

The organization has been operating an architectural warehouse for many years and recently moved to a new site, 465 Prospect Street.

In a Saturday open house, Historic York is ready to show off its wares ... .

Tyco Electronics employee Brett Berwager, a Tyco Electronics employee, leaves work last week after the company said it would close its East Berlin plant, the only one remaining in Adams County.

AMP Inc., and successor Tyco, are legendary worldwide for making electrical connectors.

And it came out in reporting on the East Berlin's Tyco plant shutdown last week that AMP's connection to York going back to 1941 is broken.

At one time, AMP operated about a dozen plants in York County. Soon, some work will move to a leased plant in Emigsville, but that will move to Asia.

AMP's connection to York County began in 1941.

Curtis Musselman, head of the barn preservation project, photographs the Starr Pottery Barn near Abbottstown, Pa. Thomas and Dianne Starr live and work in the 1850s stone-and-brick barn, which is an example of one way a barn can be preserved. Those seeking a community of barn enthusiasts and preservationists should read below.

Debbie Lynch has been told that her 150-year-old barn is the oldest and largest in the Felton area.

She is casting around for help in keeping it up:

"It's a very large beautiful barn that's in desperate need of repair. We put all of our money, a few years ago, into a new roof....but we need to do the foundation before it falls down. We've had many contractors just happen to stop by wanting the old wood, it has cedar beams. The barn is approximately 60 foot tall, 60 foot long and 30 foot wide. An old bank barn with so much character."

She noticed the York Sunday News ran a barn restoration story and was seeking contact information. Here's information for her and others to at least get into contact with those who care about such historic structures:

"This is where the York Tri-State team plays in the summer time," the writer noted on the front of this postcard. But where was this?

Deb Hummel, a York Daily Record/Sunday News copy editor, found this postcard in Maryland.

It's the home of the York White Roses, but maybe old-timers would know where it was located. The background buildings suggest it might have been at the York Fairgrounds... .

This one-room school stood at the corner of Springwood and Camp Betty Washington roads until it was demolished to make way for a highway improvement project this week. At one time, York County played host to about 300 one-room schools, tops in Pennsylvania. See photograph of demolished school below..

Sixteen one-room schools operated in York Township before post-World War II consolidation spelled their demise.

Many became private residences or businesses after that. Now, one such former private residence is no more.

The Ore Valley School, forerunner to the mammoth Ore Valley Elementary School, was torn down this week to make way for improvements to a treacherous intersection.

A York Daily Record story quotes former student Karl Schaefer: ...

A Life magazine artist captured the York White Roses in this 1941 painting. This scene is probably at York's Martin-Parry field. After World War II, the York White Roses played its games at Memorial Stadium, constructed to honor those who died and served in the war. It was at Memorial Stadium that Brooks Robinson made his major league debut on June 3, 1955.

I took a swing in a York Sunday News column about the night that Brooks Robinson broke into professional baseball. That was the night that P.A. announcer George Trout got his name wrong and the newspapers had him as second baseman "Bob" Robinson for the next two weeks.

But I particularly like the anecdote from shortstop Curly Holtzapple, the other half of the double play duo with Brooks, that I included with my column:

A. Reginald Fink conducted the Zion Reformed (now UCC) Sunday School Orchestra in 1927. Fink became the first conductor of the Youth Symphony in 1957. This photograph appears in the recently published book: "York Symphony Orchestra, Seventy-Five Years."

The York Symphony Orchestra, with George King Raudenbush taking the baton, debuted April 18, 1933, at the William Penn Senior High School Auditorium.

"Musicians, board members and their wives laid siege to the community to sell tickets for that first concert, even to the extent of hawking them on street corners," a new book on the symphony states. ... .

Steve Young, a dam operator with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, walks along Indian Rock Dam. The dam regulates the flow of the main branch of Codorus Creek into the City of York. The dam, which sits 83 feet above the stream, could not completely contain the creek's waters when Tropical Storm Agnes hit in 1972. The dam was constructed in the early 1940s in response to flooding in 1933 and 1936.

Hurricane Agnes, a tropical storm when it hit York County, reigned and rained 35 years ago.

The storm accumulated some big numbers, as found in a York Daily Record story:

Ettie Lambert was one of thousands of York countians affected by Tropical Storm Agnes. The remains of the furniture from her flooded home lay on the sidewalk.

It started as a light rain, 35 years ago.

It ended in death and destruction.

That was the force of Tropical Storm Agnes.

It caused at least four deaths in York County and destroyed property valued in the millions.

In its aftermath, York and other hard-hit parts of York County struggled to rebuild. York City government accepted outside federal aid in large amounts for about the first time. Urban homesteading flourished. But still, the city lost at least 5,000 people in the 1970s.

Could it happen again? Dan Meckley, who has studied the Codorus, says statistically chance are high that it will.

Here's a day-by-day accounting of the rain totals, in inches, from 35 years ago:

Harry Saltzgiver, Lewis Strubinger and Horace Strine were killed April 6, 1904, in a fire that destroyed an industrial building in York. This image appeared in the book 'History of the York Fire Department 1776-1976.'

The nine firefighters who died in South Carolina bring to mind the fire in York County's past that exacted the greatest toll on the men battling it.

A blaze at the six-story York Carriage Works building on April 6, 1904, claimed the lives of three firefighters.

Heroic actions saved the lives of two others, as a York Daily Record story from 2004 reports:

Christopher Cassel is a York College alumnus, class of 1998, who produces and directs documentaries.

He's working on a pilot for a Hallmark Channel series called "Only in America" and is considering York as a location.

He's looking for information, but more on that in a second.

Here's how Christopher describes the project:

Jennifer Hall, of the York County Heritage Trust, takes photos of the damage inside the Golden Plough Tavern after a truck crashed into the front of the building, dating from the 1740s. Click on following background posts: Of bars, beds, bugs and backpacks in Ye Olde York, Pa. and York's Golden Plough soul window said to have allowed spirit of dying to escape and Truck driver delivered broadside to Golden Plough, but left scarcely a scratch.

A truck damaged York's historic Golden Plough Tavern, perhaps the city's oldest building ... .

Richard Kraus said he misses the sounds and smells of his old home, especially the creosote odor from the fireplace. He was surprised to learn it's still there.

First comes a longtime resident of the Elmwood Mansion telling credible stories about ghosts in that wonderful York landmark.

As discussed in previous posts, Ann Niess wrote an intriguing book about growing up in the mansion. (Excerpt: My whole family, and later on Edward Strickler and his family, all witnessed a shadowy figure of a hoop-skirted woman ... . I am very aware that you as the reader will have your own interpretation of what I relate. However, I experienced it and can only describe what I thought I saw and how I felt.")

Now, York Daily Record writer Frank Bodani explores the Elmwood Mansion with a more recent resident, Richard Kraus. And he also told stories of apparitions.

All this attention has caused Ann Niess's book to sell out at its two local vendors: the Memorial Hospital Gift Shop and the York County Heritage Trust Museum shop.

But extra copies are being printed.

Ghosts aside - and they should be far aside - Niess believes the house gives meaningful lessons about America, as she wrote in a recent letter to the editor:

The very endurance of the house exhibited by all of the past interfacing events it had been subjected to, it can be compared to the "American dream" theory that substantiates our very American culture. Despite the ravages of time, wind and weather, the very bricks and mortar it was made from, it still "stands tall", and on its own. This trait is displayed by its long perseverance over adversity and circumstance, and to have evolved to its present status by becoming a useful structure for public service. We as Americans inherited this same legacy. We stand tall with our belief that in our very solid goodness of will and determination, we will overcome what ever will threaten our Americanism. We will persevere over adversity, and retain our identity. The very existence of the Elmwood Mansion exemplifies this Americanism theme.

Meanwhile, enjoy Frank's article on the mansion: ...

Greg Vojtanek brings acting experience to his role with the York Revolution. Central York High School's Mark Zortman is keeping a running list of those with national acting credits. Background posts: Hanover native Ann Roth explains how she designs costumes for Hollywood and Many national stars first performed on YLT's stage and York native Steve Zirnkilton's 'Law & Order' voice known to the world and Cameron Mitchell, Craig Sheffer, Dixie Chick born here .

Greg Vojtanek, marketing manager for the York Revs, is bringing Hollywood experience to make each home game an event.

Vojtanek appeared in "Princess Diaries II," as George, the lip reader. He was also in a deleted scene (available on DVD) in "Raising Helen," as a security guard/stage manager. He had a brief walking scene with Kate Hudson.

He has appeared in commercials and soap operas before switching to promotions in organized baseball.

"I just said, 'I think I want to work in baseball.' I don't know why. I have no idea what came over me," he told the York Daily Record in a recent story.

He is another in a long line of people with York links to work as actors on stage or screen.

Mark Zortman of Central York High School keeps a running list of those who have gone on to big things... . (This supplements past posts on this blog.) ...

Thomas E. "Lefty" George is captured in this 1955 cartoon, appearing in Jim Hubley's book "Off The Record." Brooks Robinson was in York County for a cup of tea before going to the O's, but George captivated local fans with his antics for years.

Brooks Robinson was to become the most famous player ever to take the field for the York White Roses.

But Lefty George, who played into the 1950s, was the best-known during his playing days in York.

Writing about George in a column that originally ran in 1986, former York Daily Record sports editor Jim Hubley wrote about the eccentric lefthander: ...

While checking out Patriot Days activities at York County Heritage Trust on June 22-23, look for the case exhibit on the York White Roses. ...

The minor league teams in the late 1960s in York weren't very good. And minor league baseball had run its course until revived this weekend.

But a large crowd one day came to York's Memorial Stadium to see a game played on an artificial turf infield. It would become the first outdoor game to be played on Astroturf. The turf, installed free for experimental reasons, remained in place for about 10 years before softball cleats tore it up.

Here is a York Daily Record story from a few years ago telling the story of the pioneering turf:

Lt. Col. Phil Aubel of York stretches out the center of the American flag on display Friday night in center field at Sovereign Bank Stadium. The York Revolution's new ball park is full of connections to the American Revolution.

To continue to tie the past with the present, I again explained in a York Sunday News column the link between the American Revolution and the York Revolution baseball team playing in its first season.

I adjusted the column to show James Smith, York's Declaration of Independence signer, attending a York Revolution game, assuming he came back to live today.

Indeed, from young Alexander Graydon's account, Smith would have enjoyed such a festive occasion.

Graydon, attorney-in-training in 1773, found lawyer Smith fond of the bottle and bursting with whimsical humor: ,,,

York County's Hinkey Haines and Babe Ruth teamed up in 1923.

Major League Baseball Hall-of-Famer Brooks Robinson and former lefty Ken Raffensberger appeared in a York Daily Record roundup of athletes who touched York County in some way.

The 2006 story provides an impressive list of links between the world of sports and the county of York:

When Ken Raffensberger, York County-born former Cincinnati Reds' pitcher, died in 2002, sports editor Chris Otto linked the left-hander with the White Roses.

After a long major-league career that included the hurling of four one-hitters, Raffensberger almost finished as a Baltimore Oriole.

After playing with a team in Havana, Cuba, in 1955, he returned to York and played with the White Roses.

"That was the year Brooks Robinson played here and the Orioles came up for an exhibition game. I pitched and we whupped them something awful (13-1)...," Raffensberger explained in 1986. "I figured that game might earn me a contract with the Orioles but they had committed themselves to a youth movement."

About that exhibition game, The Gazette and Daily wrote that the Roses, "humiliated the so-called big league club." ... .

Lorann Jacobs works on a clay model, part of the Brooks Robinson statue she is sculpting for the plaza named after the former York White Roses and Baltimore O's star outside Sovereign Bank Stadium in York.

Sculptor Lorann Jacobs had to check some facts before her work on the Brooks Robinson statue, to be unveiled this summer at York's new baseball stadium.

She tried to verify Robinson's number when he played for the York White Roses in 1955.

Even Brooks couldn't remember his number. (An old photograph with No. 36 written on it suggests that might have been his number.)

She went with the famous No. 5 he wore as an Oriole, and the number he donned in both the White Roses' and Revs' jerseys that he wore in festivities before the Revs home opener Friday night... .

Brooks Robinson poses in a White Roses uniform in 1955. He graduated from high school in Arkansas and immediately joined the York team, where he started his professional career.

George Trout was at the mic before the York Revs' first game at the new stadium.

Brooks Robinson was on the field as part of a tribute to former York White Rose players.

Trout recounted the story of how he introduced Brooks, then in his first professional season in 1955, as "Bob."

The shorthand version of the story is that young public address announcer Trout needed a first name to go with the B. Robinson he was introducing.

The official scorer said it must be "Bob," and Trout went with it.

Here's Jim Seip's longer version, from a 2005 interview with Trout :...

Sovereign Bank Stadium

I put forth in a column timed to the opening of York's baseball stadium that this could be a pivotal moment for the community.

Fans reach out to touch the bat offered by a Rev.

The York Daily Record/Sunday News' Jim Seip has been covering the York Revolution baseball team for months now.

He wrote the most incisive story of how the Revs came into being at the time of the team's first game in Bridgeport, Conn., on May 6.

Here's an excerpt:

Residents enjoy a show at the portable York Drive-In. The developer of the former Stony Brook Drive-In site is looking for reminders of the theater's glory days.

Any doubt that York County loves its history?

In recent months, we've posted calls for memorabilia from White Oak Park and York County Park System. The Glen Rock Carolers are publishing a history book. The York Symphony, celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2007-2008, has just published a book.

Now the developer of a senior citizen apartment building at the site of the former Stony Brook drive-in is seeking memorabilia from the old theater... .

York Daily Record/Sunday News photograph Jason Plotkin produced this still image of the laying of sod at Sovereign Bank Stadium. For Plotkin's slide show on the work, see below.

In a previous post, we linked to York Daily Record/Sunday News photographer Paul Kuehnel's tour of the Hex murder house in East Hopewell Township.

A newpaper photographer taking video?

Our shooters are increasingly carrying their video cameras with their still cameras. Sometimes, we send two photographers to a scene, one to shoot videos and the other stills for the newspaper.

The fact is that the newspaper has become a news center, the Web unties its publication cycle from the printing press. Now, we can compete - and beat - radio and TV.

Our folks have come up with some good stuff. Here's a brief tour:

The goddess Victory is part of the handle to U.S. Grant's silver and gold sword. The former Union general in chief's initials are monogrammed in diamonds. This sword, estimated to be worth $2 million to $2.5 million will be auctioned in Gettysburg, June 24-25. The story of the sword appeared in the York Sunday News in June, another in a long line of Gettysburg stories. Background posts: Gettysburg statue damage spawns memories of Ellsworth Zouaves and U.S. Grant dines at Mick E. Dees.

The York Daily Record/Sunday News regularly covers Gettysburg battlefield news with the idea that not only will Adams County readers eat it up, but so will our primary circulation base in York.

When you add stories from our sister paper, the Hanover Evening Sun, to our regular story lineup coming from Adams, it's a heavy lineup of high-interest news to thousands of readers.

Many appear in our history section or in this blog's Civil War archives.

The following represents a short list of recent Gettysburg/Civil War stories produced by the Daily Record/Sunday News or the Hanover Evening Sun:

The Picket", Hanover's Civil War equestrian statue, sits in the middle of the town square in this undated postcard. The statue, since relocated on one of the square's angles, was a favorite subject of penny postcards.

A reader noted that the Penny Postcards from Pennsylvania site lacks entries from York County.

How do we get more folks to submit their postcards to publicize York County's wonderful past? she wondered... .

The Murals of York two-panel presentation of Jacob L. Devers.

York native Jacob L. Devers is an all-but-forgotten four-star World War II general.

That could come because he wasn't flashy and didn't mug for the press in the same mold as George Patton and certain other fellow generals.

But primarily his lack of prominence today comes because Ike Eisenhower did not rate him highly... .

This is a section of East Market Street's York Fair panel, the widest of the murals. If you can't go on the walking tour of the Murals of York, see this virtual tour and also this colorful spread of all 18 panels.

You'll get a chance to hear first hand about those colorful Murals of York by attending free tours starting Saturdays through Labor Day.

I've used these 18 large-scale murals and 13 mini-murals regularly as illustrations in this blog and in the York Daily Record/Sunday News. They do a wonderful job of telling York County's story - from wars to everyday life and show how the community has advanced in including minorities as part of that narrative. (See below.)

Representatives of the York County Heritage Trust, curator of the large-scale panels on the walls of buildings will conduct the tours... .

Nelson Rehmeyer, victim in the Hex murder of 1928, is seen in this family photo on his East Hopewell Township farm.

On Thursday, the media was granted access to the house of Nelson Rehmeyer, victim in the Hex murder case.

York Daily Record/Sunday News photographer Paul Kuehnel was there with both video and still cameras.

Paul nicely captured the scene in his video.

Caryl Clarke reported from the scene and came up with a message from victim Nelson Rehmeyer's great-grandson: "Whatever befell this small, turn-of-the-century German farmhouse came from the outside, not from within."

We wish those behind the effort to showcase the house the best of everything.

But we will put up this precaution in our Sunday Viewpoints section in Scott Fisher's opinion piece "Hex house to offer tours":

Nelson Rehmeyer, victim in the Hex murder case, is seen in an inset to this photo of his house where the crime took place. Courtesy of Ross McGinnis.

J. Ross McGinnis, long-time attorney with York's Stock & Leader firm, simply did a wonderful job in his "Trials of Hex" of telling the story of the Hex murder.

The story line is simple: A trio set out to remove a hex on one of them cast by a practitioner of powwow, later described as a witch. In the process, the practitioner, Nelson Rehmeyer, was killed. The three assailants were convicted in York County Court in 1929.

To give some flavor for McGinnis' admirable work, I've excerpted the opening lines of his 454-page book:

The Glen Rock Carolers plan to update their history this year with publication of a book. Advance order forms for the publication are available at Wetzel's Market, Peoples Bank, CommunityBanks, the Arthur Hufnagel Public Library or by calling 235-1444.

A group known for their all-night strolling songfests through the streets of Glen Rock plan to publish a 160th anniversary book.

The Glen Rock Carolers Association will incorporate history and pictures from 1972 to the present into previous published work.

Each copy of the book costs $25, and it will be available in November.

York Daily Record/Sunday News photographer Bil Bowden captured the group with his pen in 2005:

For decades, not much was written in York County wrote about the Confederate invasion of the county and other pieces of the county's Civil War story.

At the risk of oversimplification, that's the cost of surrenderingYork without a fight. People got lost in the ignominy of the surrender and turned their research pursuits elsewhere.

Anyway, writers have hit stride, and it's about time.

In fact, the public will have a chance to meet several writers of Civil War books, including yours truly, as part of the a Patriot Days Weekend on June 23. ,,,

J. Ross McGinnis, a lawyer and York County native, wrote the book on the Hex murder trial.

His "Trials of Hex," is a readable compendium of primary source documents and analysis. His book, published in 2000, is out of print, but available at York County libraries.

McGinnis, who has been speaking on the Hex murder for years, provides this insight in his foreword:

Five quick notes about the Hex murder of 1928, back in the news because of the proposed opening of the site of the notorious York County powwow killing: ...

The Nelson Rehmeyer's Hex murder house in North Hopewell Township will regain its 1928 appearance with plans for tours this summer. For developments on the plan to open the Hex murder house for tours, see 'Hex plans surprise officials'.

The southern York County house where the world-famous Hex murder occurred in 1928 will soon be open for tours.

That was the house where an assailant, seeking to end a spell cast by a powwow doctor, and two other men killed the practioner of white magic.

The burn spot where the trio set Nelson Rehmeyer's body ablaze remains on the floor of the house.

The promoter's Rehmeyer's Hollow Web site breathlessly states:

This was the site of the infamous murder of the "Witch of Rehmeyers Hollow" also known as the Hex murder. After years of whispers, mis-information and ghost stories, the home of Nelson Rehmeyer will be opened as an historical exhibit in the summer of 2007. The exhibit will tell the true and complete story of local legend and Pow Wow doctor Nelson Rehmeyer known as the Witch of Rehmeyer's Hollow. His murder in 1928 was a media sensation much like that of O.J. Simpson or Anna Nicole Smith is in our time. The exhibit will show actual items owned by Rehmeyer on the night of his death. Visitors can take the tour and turn back the clock to the night when 3 men came for a book and left with blood on their hands thus sparking the trial of the century here in York County. The exhibit will be open to the public by scheduled tours and special appointments only. An admission fee will be charged.

Equivalent to Simpson's and Smith's proceedings? Not so sure. Newspapers and occasional radio stations were the only media of that day. But the trial is referred to locally as the most noticed before the circa 2000 York race riot proceedings.

Anyway, in a story titled "Infamous home to open", the York Daily Record provided other details about the planned museum:

Workers put up the walls of the model blacksmith shop in Dover's Ketterman Park.

Call it a recycling project.

The Greater Dover Historical Society has salvaged stuff from an old blacksmith shop in Dover and assembled it in a reconstructed model at Ketterman Park.

The park is located on Butter Road behind Dover Elementary School.

To get a view of how the project evolved, see the slide show at www.ydr.com/history.

The shop is yet another example of history coming alive. For a listing of other unknown or little-known treasures posted on this blog, search for the following in this blog's archives: ...

(Courtesy, York County Heritage Trust)

My York Sunday News column suggested that the York Revolution baseball team tantalize - and educate - fans with American Revolution facts during games.

I included several possible questions with that column.

Here is a sampling:

You never know who you're run into when you're out giving speeches.

I was at West Manchester's Country Meadows recently doing a presentation on York County and World War II.

A resident at the assisted living place stood up and proceeded to tell the audience about meeting Hedy Lamarr during her visit to York Safe & Lock, now occupied by Harley-Davidson, in 1942. (See Hedy Lamarr's visit to York long remembered.)

C. Clark Julius sat beside her during a program to drum up War Bond sales. He conjectured that he must have been a big giver to have received such an honor.

I asked him what he remembered about the beautiful actress, and he immediately said that she talked a lot -- the whole time in fact... .

That's a curious thing to remember about Hedy Lamarr... .

Curt Goodling of Dover provided this photo, taken March 10, 1952, of Hoover School in Dover Township, under direction of Harvey Linebaugh. One-room schools closed during the 1950s as consolidation created new multi-room buildings.

It's a sure bet that if we ask for memories of one-room schools, York Daily Record/Sunday News readers deliver.

We did so again recently for the article Memories of one-room schools and received way more than we could run in the newspaper. We'll post them on our one-room school section of our history site, www.ydr.com/history.

The fact is that one-room schools touched scores of York countians living today. The county led the state in one-room schools before World War II with 285. A large population -- and a large but scattered rural population away -- contributed to this. So did the enticement of plentiful farm and factory jobs, which did not demand high school education. (For additional discussion, see way of life.)

To give a sample of a yet unpublished letter, here are Richard Snyder's memories of the still-standing Raab's School in York Township (His last sentence refers to corncob college. Somehow one-room schools, privies and the lack of toilet paper in those days always emerge from memories):

In the late 1980s, Richard M. Nixon walked a trail in the county park near Jacobus named in his honor. York Barbell founder Bob Hoffman donated land for the park in 1968. After the visit, Nixon donated $5,000 to the park and regularly contributed until his death in 1994. Richard Nixon had roots in York County. His parents moved to a Menges Mills farm in 1946 and stayed there eight years. Richard visited his parents several times in that interval.

In preparation for its 40th anniversary in 2008, York County parks, set to celebrate its 40th anniversary next year, is seeking submissions in the creation of a "History of York County Parks" book.

That means any memorabilia, pictures, documents, stories or artifacts linked to the parks from their beginning... .