August 2007 Archives

Community members watch the creation of the 90-foot mural sponsored by New Freedom Heritage. The mural tells the story of the former Charles G. Summers Jr. Canning Factory. Those working on the mural project a picture on a wall of the former cannery. This allows volunteers to trace the drawing so it can be painted in later.

The Murals of York are not the only series of large-scale panels telling the history of York County.

New Freedom's second mural is going up on a building wall in that southern York County borough.

The New Freedom Heritage, a citizens' group aiming to foster civic pride, preserve the town's heritage and enhance its cultural character, has sponsored the mural.

A York Weekly Record story on the murals states:

Former major leaguer Gene Crumling inspects his plaque during the recent opening of the York County Sports Hall of Fame.

Sandy Noel left a query on a previous post Lineup full of sports stars with York County links.

It was one of those everyday riddles people like to solve.

Here is Sandy's query:

"My father, Luther James Brenneman was inducted to the Central York County League, Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992. He was an infielder and played for North York. He would have played in the late 40's, early 50's. I received a plaque with his name on it, and I am trying to get more information about it."

If you know, please contact Sandy at sjnwhatever@comcast.net.

But those with sports questions have another resource. The York Area Sports Hall of Fame has a new home. So the museum at Insurance Service United office at 224 N. George St. in York might be a place for Sandy and others with sports questions to start. The folks there might not know it but might be able to point inquirers in the right direction.

A York Daily Record story on the museum follows:

Bob Kinsley rides Mexican Wave through the Howard Tunnel on the Rail Trail. The tunnel is one of the oldest in the United States.

The tunnel was constructed in 1836-1837 through a hillside between Glatfelter's and Brillhart station. Trains used the hole in the hill to reach York for the first time in 1838. After trains reached York, that started a flow of raw materials to the port of Baltimore and other destinations in the South... .

The portion of the York County Heritage Rail Trail near Glatfelter Station is ideal for both hikers and bikers.

A major movement is spreading across York and Adams counties.

Old railroad and trolley rights of way as well as an old canal footpath are being converted into rail trails - a major recycling program.

The Heritage Rail Trail County Park is the most prominent, but here are some other extensions or separate trails inventoried in a recent York Weekly Record story:

Paul Nevin traces a thunderbird carving with a wet sponge to make it show up better in the midday sunlight. He told the York Daily Record/Sunday News that the best time to see the Native American-carved prehistoric rock art is in the fall and in the early morning or evening, when the sun is lower in the sky.

We'll let Bil Bowden's photographs wet your interest in the petroglyphs carved centuries ago in rocks in the Susquehanna River.

And read Jennifer Vogelsong's story about the efforts by Paul Nevin, a Hellam Township man to tell others about the carvings and their connection to Native American cultures.

Here are some bullet points about the carvings, unsung York County-area landmarks (for additional such little-known landmarks, search this blog for "unsung."):

York's downtown post office on South George Street is built in Classical Revival or Neoclassical style, according to Historic York. York's postmaster said the idea of moving out of that building has been approved, but there's no funding to move anywhere yet. Comment below if you have ideas about how that site could best be put to use, if the post office moves out.

Did you notice the York Daily Record/Sunday News story on York's historic post office?

If you're walking around York looking at historic sites, check out the post office lobby.

It's like a step back in time. Well, to about 100 years ago.

For that post office's predecessor, see the postcard view of with the post Could York bus drivers also point out historic sites?

The story, "Future of city post office in limbo," follows:

The Hex murder case in 1928 was strange to begin with, involving witchcraft and faith healing and a world-wide audience and teenage defendants and so on.

So it shouldn't be surprising that government's denial of the murder site in spooky Rehmeyer's Hollow as a museum would be strangely disappointing.

Although one could wonder whether the museum site would have been presented with historical integrity, explaining powwowing and this famous case would have heightened interest in York County history. It was a project with merit.

Perhaps something could be salvaged - an exhibit at the York County Heritage Trust or Historic York's Architectural Warehouse, as two examples.

Or perhaps the historical society in Stewartstown could become involved at the Rehmeyer Hollow site.

Two others reacting to the North Hopewell Township action are worth repeating here.

First, Ross McGinnis, author of the "Trial of Hex":

Scott Mingus writes about the Confederate occupation of York County in the most recent edition of Gettysburg magazine.

Public reaction to the Confederate invasion of York was all over the map because emotions and political views of the citizenry were all over the map.

People were in disagreement over the surrender of the largely undefended town to the 6,000-plus invading Confederates in late-June 1863, in the first place.

And when the grimy, often shoeless soldiers marched into town, their entry was met with markedly different reactions.

Some people cried as the enemy camped throughout the town. Others openly socialized with their captors. Some hid behind closed shutters. Some reluctantly complied to the rebel requests, particularly their requisition of large quantities of food, clothing and money. Some complied out of expediency.

In an article in the most recent edition of Gettysburg Magazine on the occupation of York, Scott Mingus uncovers reactions not published up to this point:

St. Patrick's Church in York as seen in 1976, the year of its 200th anniversary. Notice the base of a steeple to the right of the main entrance, left of center. To see a drawing of how the church would look with a steeple, see below. (From the book, St. Patrick's Church, York Pennsylvania)

Did you ever notice that the ornate and beautiful St. Pat's in York does not have a steeple?

The church's 200th anniversary book in 1976 handles the absence of a spire, pointing to the transcendence of God, this way:

Cartoonist Walt Partymiller placed J.W. Gitt in an elite group of American newspaper publishers in this tribute after the longtime Gazette and Daily publisher died in 1973.

J.W. Gitt consistently pointed to the founding date of his newspaper, The Gazette and Daily, at 1795.

That date came out again in the publication of Mary Allienne Hamilton's new biography of Gitt,
Rising from the Wilderness.

The problem with that date - or any year - for the founding of the predecessor to the York Daily Record is that it can't be definitely determined.

In doing Gazette and Daily and Daily Record history, I've tried to consistently use what is certain: the earliest existing copy of The Gazette is dated May 20 and numbered "14." (A copy of that edition is available at the York County Heritage Trust.)

If it published weekly and you count backwards, the first edition would have come off in early 1796. But weekly newspapers did not always publish weekly in those days.

What is more certain is that the Daily Record and Gazette, taken as a whole, is among the top 15 oldest newspapers in America. And one of Pennsylvania's oldest businesses. And perhaps York County's oldest business, although feel free to challenge that.

But there's no claim that publication of any York newspaper has been continuous. A large gap in publication occurred, for example, between about 1807 and when the German language Gazette came back in English-language form in 1815.

Anyway, here is a chronology I prepared of Gazette/Daily Record history:

E-mailer Jack Stuckey has raised several good questions about the Confederate occupation of York in late-June of 1863.

I'll put up some of the questions with answers: ...

We last left Felton's Debbie Lynch looking for preservation aid for her barn.

Well, she's still looking for counsel.

Adams County has a program to aid owners of historic barns, but she's come up short so far in York County.

The farmhouse she lives in is more than 150 years old, and she has been told that the
barn is older than the house. The barn is well over 100-feet-long and 60-feet
tall. Two years ago, Debbie and her husband took all of the money that they had saved and put a
roof on one side at a cost of more than $6,500.

"This is a bank barn and that was the tall side!" she wrote.

More from Debbie: ... .

Artist Lewis Miller captures members of the black community celebrating after receiving news of the Emancipation Proclamation. (Courtesy, York County Heritage Trust.)

Underground Railroad enthusiasts will have two opportunities to learn more about that network that led many fugitives to freedom through York and Adams counties.

Organizers of the Goodridge Freedom House in York plan an Emancipation Proclamation Celebration from 2-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8. Ex-slave William C. Goodridge's former residence on East Philadelphia Street is being developed as a museum. When completed, it will be officially known as the William C. Goodridge Freedom House and Underground Railroad Museum.

Goodridge was a 19th-century York businessman whose home, business properties and rail line are believed to have been part of the Underground Railroad.

In Adams County, Underground Railroad Tours of Adams County will be conducted on Gettysburg Tour Center buses and vans Saturdays through the fall... .

Quickel Church in Conewago Township, built in 1857 and scene of human stampede during a 1907 funeral. (Courtesy, Norma Bear Gates)

The shooting deaths of the Hoover teens causes an overflow turn out for their funeral at Zion View's Quickel Church. (For more on those deaths, click here.)

And more misfortune.

According to "Never to be Forgotten:" ...

Nothing had happened like that in Pleasureville before or since.

It was 100 years ago when two brothers were shot in the Springettsbury Township village.

William E. and Curvin Hoover were wounded about midnight in what was described as a drunken brawl on a Saturday in November 1907.

For six hours, they lay alive, "weltering" in their own blood, according to a newspaper account reported in "Never to be Forgotten."

That occurred, even though some villagers witnessed the shooting... .

Lige White's Comanches were in the vanguard of the Confederate invasion of York County in late June 1863. Here, the mounted unit rides in the vicinity of Hanover. In his new blog Cannonball, Scott Mingus will draw on his research about the rebel movement across the southern tier of Pennsylvania to the Susquehanna River. That research will result in book "Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition," due out later this year. (Courtesy, Hanover Public Library.)

In a recent post , I touted Scott Mingus' new regional Civil War blog, Cannonball.

I wanted to give some for insight into his insight local Civil War matters: ...

The Susquehanna River in the Columbia-Wrightsville area, as seen from Highpoint. That's Lancaster County to the right and York County to the left. From the time it withdrew from Lancaster County in 1749, the mother county has owned the river. Background posts: York County still home to unvarnished beauty and Pennsylvania and water: The river runs through it and Petroglyphs, American Indian carvings, almost forgotten treasure.

Lou Carpenter of York is onto a good project.

He's looking into the boundary of Lancaster and York counties and the reason for it.

It's commonly known that since 1749 - when York was created from Lancaster County - that the new county's boundary started on the west bank of the Susquehanna River.

There are some reports that the boundary is either three-feet from the west bank or where the water reaches three feet deep... .

This 1927-vintage band hall housed the Zion View Band and myriad of other Conewago Township community activities until the 1980s. Most recently, it was home to the York County Racing Club. (See additional image below.) (Courtesy, Norma Bear Gates)

Ask anyone around before 1940 about the Zion View Band Hall, and you'll get a story about the night that hall's furnace exploded - or, as they say in Conewago Township, "blew."

In "More about ...the way it was," Norma Bear Gates tells about the memorable event during the Zion View Business Show in 1940... .

Cassandra Morris Small witnessed the Confederate invasion of York in late-June 1863. Letters she wrote about the occupation to a cousin remain valuable primary sources detailing the rebel occupation in the wake of the borough's surrender. (Courtesy, York County Heritage Trust.)

A group of living historians have been making the rounds in York and Adams counties recently.

As an example, The PA Past Players will be at Brown's Orchards & Farm Market, Loganville, from noon to 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 17.

As part of the Pennsylvania Civil War Trails Program, these historical interpreters have been trained to educate others about this region and the Civil War.

The presence of these characters has special meaning in York County. For years, York's surrender to the Confederates has clouded discussion about the York's area's Civil War past.

In the past 20 years, recognition of Civil War achievements, long overshadowed by the questionable surrender and humilitating Confederate occupation, have been increasingly part of community discourse. These living historians are further evidence of this trend.

Supplied by the PA Past Players, the following are brief bios of people from history portrayed by the group:

The Zion View Band organized in 1910 and played at countless community events until the 1980s. In 1927, they moved into a new band hall, still standing today. For years, it has been home of the York County Racing Club. In fact, the original band hall is standing as well. It's a private residence at corner of Copenhaffer and Butter Roads in Conewago Township. Here, the band is seen in 1931. (Courtesy, Norma Bear Gates)

An e-mailer notied York Daily Record/Sunday News stories on community bands - particularly Emigsville's and Brodbecks' groups.

The former York countian is now living in the West and wanted to know more about such bands.

The community bands are a piece of York County's past, popular at community events. Their band halls often formed a community gathering place and were used for more than just musical performances.

In the Conewago Township community of Zion View, for example, the community held a business show in the band hall from 1929 to 1962. That hall also played host to dances, card parties, bingo parties and minstrel shows.

In " ... the way it was," Norma Bear Gates' writes that most every small town had a band in the early part of the 20th century.

"Wherever the band played, there most Zion Viewers could be found," she wrote... .

A. Wolf & Son grew along the river new New Holland, later Saginaw, by purchasing logs floating from points north on the Susquehanna and sawing them into lumber. It was typical of the lumber-related businesses flourishing along the river in the 1800s.The lumber mill later moved to a site, seen here, on the Northern Central Railroad which became Mount Wolf.

Jim Wright has some information on Caesarville - located at one time near East Manchester's Saginaw - and is seeking more.

He understood that the site was named for a slave named Caesar.

"This is the present site of the Wago Club. The area has had several names, one being Wago Junction."

He pointed out that a saw mill/lumber company operated on this site in the early 1800's, owned by Daniel Kraber. This mill was connected with the Eib's Landing lumber yard. Eib's landing and Caesarville formed one of the largest lumbering centers in Pennsylvania.

The "Gazeteer of York and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania" sheds additional light on Caesarville, pointing to the settlement as about six houses near the mouth of Rodes Creek where it flows into Conewago Creek... .

Food loaf won't be on the menu of any restaurant that opens in at the old York County (Pa.) Prison on Chestnut Street in York. In fact, it's no longer on the menu at the new York County Prison on Concord Road. Prison officials discontinued it about two years ago. Background posts:Old York County Prison on endangered list and York's Chestnut Street prison bad symbol of York's past.

I was writing an editorial for the York Daily Record/Sunday News on the oft-mentioned prospect of a restaurant going into the old York County Prison, now for sale for $3.9 million.

I suggested the menu would have to fare better than food loaf, served over the years to problem inmates at the county prison.

What is food loaf?

Well, it's today's jail meal, dumped into a blender. Add in flour or corn meal and bake.

I actually tasted some about four years ago when the York Daily Record did a story on the topic. It tasted like corn bread with curious lumps in it, which I didn't want to think about.

The Daily Record's story of this prison menu item with accompanying quotes from taste testers:

Mary Allienne Hamilton uncovered some news in her recently published biography on http://www.yorktownsquare.com/2007/01/gitt_and_his_gazette_sported_s_1.php J.W. Gitt, long-time owner of The Gazette and Daily.

That the left-leaning York newspaper owner from 1915 to 1970 was not a communist had previously been reported based on Hamilton's research and Freedom of Information Act requests. We know that for two reasons: The FBI could not establish such a link even after monitoring Gitt for a couple of decades. And Gitt joined his friend and political ally Henry A. Wallace in resigning the Progressive Party in the early 1950s because of Communist infiltration.

But here was the question: Did Gitt ever appear before a McCarthy-inspired committee?...

Let the countdown begin.

An Associated Press story tells about the approach the 150th anniverary of the start of the Civil War.

That's assuming one figures the war actually began with John Brown's 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry. For those who prefer Fort Sumter, the 150th of that bombardment is only four years away.

The AP story shows how folks today are partaking of Civil War sites, complete with wine tastings, plantation house tours and Shakespeare plays.

The target group is "new seniors," Baby Boomers who won't go to Branson, Mo., via bus. ...

Workers dig trenches near Wrightsville to provide defenders leverage against an anticipated Confederate offense to capture the bridge spanning the Susquehanna River between York and Lancaster counties. But the ditches did little good as the outmanned soldiers in blue folded to the Confederate assault of Wrightsville in late June 1863. Scott Mingus, author of a soon-to-be-published book on the Confederate raid, has begun blogging on Civil War topics at http://www.yorkblog.com/cannonball/ .

Yorkblog.com's newest blog, Cannonball, will feature posts from Scott Mingus on the Civil War.

Scott has written two books on the Civil War already, and he has written a soon-to-be published major work on Gordon's Expedition through Chambersburg, Gettysburg and York on to the Wrightsville bridge in late June 1863.

His day job is in research and development for Glatfelter paper, and he brings those investigative skills and a lively writing style to his history work.

As an example of his thoroughness and precision, this was his response to my query about the strength of John B. Gordon's force as it fronted Wrightsville and its coveted bridge on June 28, 1863:

I've previously posted on yorktownsquare.com about how the York County Heritage Trust's Book Blast solved a puzzle for me.

I was trying to figure out a way to frame the massive amount of World War II material available into a story line for a local book on the topic. I ran across a box of war-era "Shop News," the company newsletter for York Corporation, now Johnson Controls.

Yorkco's people would become my framing device.

Anyway, the result was the book "In the thick of the fight", and I've been grateful to Lila Fourhman-Shaull and her annual used book sale ever since.

The Book Blast is now under way, and here are the particulars:

An e-mailer was hungry for information on his Yoe home.

The owner is looking to repair and restore the house and wanted to know about the structure's history.

Fortunately, the previous owners kept deeds and other ownership information dating back to 1897.

But where else can the owner go to learn more about the home he obviously is proud of?

Historic York stands ready to help with a home version of an antiques road show... .

Mayor John L. Snyder was controversial in his second stint as York mayor in the 1960s for his K-9 corps and his support of a rainmaker to end a long drought. His first years as York's World War II mayor also brought controversy, particularly his support of a noise ordinance.

York City Council's current flirtation with a noise ordinance to reduce vehicular noise and enhance quality of life has a precedent.

Late in 1944, York Mayor John L. Snyder vexed many constituents.

He wanted to ban playing radios, phonographs, jukeboxes, musical instruments, singing or making any noise between midnight and 7 a.m.

Such noise was disturbing the sleep of weary war workers and was aimed primarily at the big band sounds played at public places.

A two-story-high scoreboard posted on The Gazette and Daily's East King Street building kept sports fans and news junkies up to date on sports and news happenings in the days before radio and TV.

Before the Internet, there was a scoreboard to keep news and sports enthusiasts up to date.

But before the scoreboard, there was a light bulb.

Columnist Jim Hubley recently wrote about a scoreboard outside The Gazette and Daily's building that updated the public between newspaper publishing cycles.

That brought to mind a newspaper story I read from the late 1800s about a way of notifying folks between newspaper cycles about the winner of, I believe, the 1896 presidential race between William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan.

A light atop a tower on a tall building in York would flash a certain color assigned in advance to one of the candidates if he won.

People could tell that their guy won or lost by standing on their front porch.

People always have been hungry for the news.

Here's Jim Hubley's scoreboard column:

Jan Weitkamp of York Township shops the Zarfos Furniture Store in Red Lion. Weitkamp would visit the store with her parents and later bought her own furniture from Zarfos. A century ago, her family would have used the store's undertaking services.

George Hay was leader of local volunteer troops in the Civil War.

He was part of the delegation that rode to Farmers Post Office, 10 miles west of York, to surrender the town to the advancing Confederates.

But he is also known today for his civilian occupation. He made furniture - and caskets. He was an early York County furniture maker/funeral director... .

Eric Gearhart stands near what he called the 'hanging hook,' the gallows area in the old York County (Pa.) Prison on Chestnut Street in York. The prison, owned by Gearhart's parents, is for sale for $3.9 million.

So the old York County Prison is for sale with the idea still out there that it could make a nice themed restaurant.

Patrons could eat a meal in any of the 84 cells.

Well, the old fortress actually needs to remain standing for at least two reasons.

First, it's in a prime area between the baseball stadium and Broad Street development plans. It seems that creative use of the structure could provide a prime connector between the two areas.

And secondly, can you imagine the cost to demolish it? And its remains would shorten the limited life of Modern Landfill even more.

A recent York Daily Record story on the proposed sale of the historic building follows:

This is the touch screen of a computer at the Agricultural and Industrial Museum that links eras of York County's history with rings on May's Oak, the giant tree that fell in Emigsville in 1997. The exhibit enthralled second-grade students during a recent visit to the museum.

I explained in a recent York Sunday News column that a group of second-graders from Lincoln Intermediate Unit's migrant summer school were energized by the hands-on exhibits at York County Heritage Trust's Agricultural and Industrial Museum.

Emigsville.org is a site full of community happenings and historic information. Maps of now-sealed-off caves in that vicinity are typical of the site's contents.

The recent post about Emigsville's May's Oak reminds me what a super community Web site that Manchester Township village is supporting.

If you haven't seen it, check it out, particularly the story nights, in which veteran members of the community tell about the past.

The site's history section is also interesting. That section has wonderful old photos including several, from the Manchester Township Historical Society, below:

Love getting questions from readers.

In fact, I wrote a York Sunday News column exploring some recent queries.

Now, we get a couple more: ...

The York County Heritage Trust's Lamar Matthew prepares the May's Oak exhibit at the Agricultural and Industrial Museum in 1999. For photos of its replacement, see below.

The 300-year-old May's Oak, a landmark in Emigsville, fell with a crash during a storm in 1997.

Portions of that mighty oak are part of a hands-on display, complete with a touch screen, at the Agricultural and Industrial Museum.

I discussed the display in a recent York Sunday News column, which covered all the hands-on opportunities for kids at the York museum.

And a newspaper story from 1999 tells about the tree at the time it was unveiled at the museum:

First there was Pavlov's dog and then Bury's hamburgers.

Mention the word 'hamburger' to many York countians, and they'll immediately think "Joe Bury" and then start salivating.

Take York Daily Record/Sunday News columnist Jim Hubley, for example:

Ray Krone, seen in his York County home, was the 100th exonerated death-row inmate. A new book tells about his time in court and prison.

A York Daily Record story about Ray Krone started:

A year ago (2005), Ray Krone revealed his Extreme Makeover to his family, friends and the entire country.

The nation's 100th exonerated death-row inmate had been wrongly convicted twice in the 1991 murder of a Phoenix barmaid.

He became known as "the Snaggletooth Killer" because experts said his ragged teeth matched a bite mark found on the victim.

The ABC TV show "Extreme Makeover" gave him a makeover -- including new teeth -- to erase that image.

Now, a new book reveals more about the falsely convicted Krone, as another York Daily Record story explains:

David Beckham has brought Major League Soccer into the spotlight in his debut with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

He remains a member of England's national team.

England's national team. That's the one that lost to America's entry in the World Cup in 1950.

That 500-to-1 upset is outlined in the book, "The Game of Their Lives," and the movie with the same name.

That upset featured the great play of a York countian, John "Clarkie" Souza.

Here's York Daily Record/Sunday News writer Frank Bodani's 2004 story on York County's most famous soccer player:

Plaintiff Tammy Kitzmiller, seen with fellow plaintiff Steve Stough, is the Kitzmiller in the Dover ID case caption, 'Kitzmiller v. Dover.'

The Dover Area School Board added a mention of intelligent design to its ninth-grade biology curriculum in October 2004.

About three years later, and with an exploration of the case by PBS' "Nova" on the horizon, it's easy to forget the wording of that mention.

So, as a refresher, here is the statement read to classes that caused the internationally famous Dover ID trial: