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: July 2007
York County will long remember Abe’s visit here
Is the tall man with the stovepipe hat, center background, President Abraham Lincoln at Hanover Junction? The world might never know. But a stone Abe (see below) will soon adorn a garden near the station. For years, people have pondered … Continue reading
Shrink wrapping in Electric Map’s future; Gettysburg tooth heads south
An Adams County Historical Society rep will return this Confederate soldier’s tooth to his family. The Electric Map is staying, but the Civil War soldier’s tooth is leaving. A recent story in the York Sunday News explained that the familiar … Continue reading
York County photo collection adds to historical record
This photograph from the Fred Yenerall collection shows the now-demolished Detters Mill covered bridge crossing the Conewago Creek in Dover Township in 1965. The bridge support in the middle was unusual for covered bridges in York County. Judy Thomas called … Continue reading
Amishman: ‘We are making a commitment to forgive’
Donald Kraybill told Rotarians recently that though Amish forgiveness linked to Nickel Mines shocked the outside world, this is a “standard forgiveness” explained in the Lord’s Prayer that is silently said often during the day in English and German by … Continue reading
York Hospital doc: Expert on antique surgical saws, antiquated procedure of bloodletting
York Hospital’s Dr. Douglas Arbittier shows a 1730s-vintage saw used to amputate limbs. He has demonstrated saws from his collection on the History Channel program. Also of interest: Arbittier’s private medical museum in York County: ‘I can almost feel the … Continue reading
Where do you go for one-stop queries about York County, Pa., history?
John Robinson of York New Salem believes the community needs a Web site or resources that people can query with questions and at least get pointed in the right direction. Well, we might not have a single entity with expertise … Continue reading
Posted in Archives, all posts, Explanations/controversy, Genealogy/research, Local landmarks, Mail bag, People, Quizzes & (fun) tests, Small-town life, Wheels of York
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LDS church digitizing Rev War records
Bob Kerr of Madeira, Fla., visited the York County Heritage Trust library recently to research his family who lived in Adams County, from the mid-1700s until they migrated to Ohio in the early 1800s. The library is a center for … Continue reading
York New Salem resident: ‘I told you I was a little nutty’
John Robinson of York New Salem wrote York Sunday News columnist Gordon Freirerich remembering days growing up in a small town in Dutchess County, N.Y. And he draws some comparisons to York New Salem – officially New Salem borough – … Continue reading
LBJ in Dallastown: In small towns, girls are fonder; dinner pails fuller
Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson visited Dallastown in 1966 to help observe that borough’s 100th anniversary. Some York countians took special note of Lady Bird Johnson’s recent death. They met her when she and her husband, President Lyndon Johnson, visited … Continue reading
In bucolic Adams County countryside, royal body sat in the sun
Baron de Beelen travels to church in York. Years later, the Belgium businessman was buried in Adams County’s Conewago Chapel. (Lewis Miller drawing courtesy, York County Heritage Trust.) Conewago Chapel surely would be near the top of any list of … Continue reading
