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 2008
Can York’s longtime claim as ‘Detroit of the East’ be proven?
This 1917 Pullman light delivery truck, owned by the Laugerman family and restored by Paul Vaughn, won Best in Class among York-built cars in a past Concours D’Elegance, an annual vintage car show that serves as a York County Heritage … Continue reading
Codorus Valley preservation group promotes history of other towns, too
This ticket to the nation’s Centennial celebration of 1876 is part of Robert Shaub’s collection. It was recently printed in the Codorus Valley Chronicles, a monthly publication of the Codorus Valley Area Historical Society. The newsletter wraps up the society’s … Continue reading
What’s a privy? a woman asked. ‘It’s an outhouse,’ came the answer.
Kenneth Johnson poses in the original outhouse on an Adams County property he has remodeled. Outhouses can still be seen dotting the York/Adams countryside. For those trying to keep historical accuracy in remodeling old farmhouses, they’re an integral part of … Continue reading
Jamaican fruit pickers worked York County orchards in World War II
About 2,500 German POWs spent their days in orchards and canneries and their nights in Camp Stewartstown, seen here in this Stewartstown Historical Society photo, in the World War II summers of 1944 and 1945. These tents are located on … Continue reading
U.S. 30 Drag-O-Way, Part III: ‘We would watch the dragsters on trailers head for Thomasville’
This was the scene at the 2005 Musclecar Madness event at the York Expo Center, an event inspired by weekend racing at the York Airport – the U.S. 30 Drag-O-Way. The dragstrip operated from the late 1950s to 1979. Background … Continue reading
Historical marker may soon point to Jefferson square’s famous visitors
When some people think about the southwestern York County borough of Jefferson, they think Jefferson Hillclimb. Codorus Valley Area Historical Society is seeking a historical marker to tout that region’s history, too. Here, a cycle tries to scale the 300-foot … Continue reading
Don’t know much about York County history? Part I
The York Daily Record/Sunday News produced this Murals of York booklet in 2000. It’s available at no cost at the York County Heritage Trust, 250 E. Market Street, York. Its contents, complete with a walking tour of the murals, is … Continue reading
POW Camp Security site: ‘There’s a lot of history waiting to be discovered’
Camp Security, in present-day Springettsbury Township, probably resembled this British prisoner-of-war encampment in Charlottesville, Va. Some prisoners from this camp moved to Camp Security in 1781 when Cornwallis’ redcoats moved northward into Virginia. Later, other prisoners from Cornwallis’ surrendered command … Continue reading
WW II air raid siren: ‘The plan is to get it to work’
This World War II air raid siren sat atop the Yorktowne Hotel in York for years. York County Heritage Trust preservationists will soon begin work to restore it to working order. Background posts: Air raid siren discovered atop Yorktowne Hotel, … Continue reading
Coulsontown’s Welsh miners’ cottages: ‘Once they’re gone, there’s nothing else like them’
Volunteer Tom Sadler repoints the walls of Welsh quarry worker cottages in Peach Bottom Township. ‘It’s good for them to be preserving this history for the future generation,’ he said. By them, he means two-year owner Old Line Museum in … Continue reading
