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: May 2011
When York County, Pa., undertakers served as woodworkers: Linked in with neat York County history stuff – May 31, 2011
Bob Etzweiler, patriarch of York, Pa.’s Etzweiler Funeral Home, tells about the days when funeral businesses supported next-door furniture stores and vice versa. The last such funeral home/furniture store combo closed doors in York County in the late 1990s. (See … Continue reading
Part IIII: Navy SEAL Neil C. Roberts: ‘In this simple grave … lies a national hero’
A picture of Navy SEAL Neil C. Roberts is placed on his gravesite in York, Pa.’s Prospect Hill Cemetery. In a ceremony honoring Roberts, the first military man with York County links to die in the War on Terrorism, the … Continue reading
Who was York’s first elected female mayor? Linked in with neat York County history stuff – May 27, 2011
Elizabeth Marshall, the first elected female mayor of York, remains in the public realm. Here, the 92-year-old talks with a visitor at West York, Pa.’s, Community S.E.N.I.O.R.S. center. Marshall testified last week before a U.S. Senate panel about legislation that … Continue reading
Red Lion cigar factory goes on the block, Booger Hollow Stogies and all
Red Lion’s Van Slyke and Horton cigar factory, believed to be York County’s last functioning cigarmaker, auctioned off everything this week. Even cigar bands, with weird names. ‘Booger Hollow Stogy,’ one visitor said. ‘That sounds pretty good to me.’ Here, … Continue reading
Now, here’s a peaceful place. Linked in with neat York County history stuff – May 27, 2011
Melanie Pancho submitted this photograph from York County, Pa.’s West Manchester Township to the Your Photos section of ydr.com: ‘Lovely old graveyard behind the West Manchester Mall on Loucks Rd.’ Some members of the Pfaltzgraff family of pottery fame are … Continue reading
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Trivial pursuit: Six degrees of separation involving the Father of York County, Pa., golf Grier Hersh?
Three hundred golf balls pour onto the green at the Country Club of York as part of a June 2007 fundraiser for the Susan P. Byrnes Health Center. (Each ball received a number, and the one landing closest to this … Continue reading
Remember this arch from York County’s 250th anniversary? Linked in with neat York County history stuff – May 24, 2011
Remember this piece of York County, Pa.’s, 250th anniversary in 1999. That’s Terry Downs under the arch he designed for the celebration. That Triumphal Arch, seen here at Penn Park, is a miniature replica of four such temporary paper mache … Continue reading
York, Pa., postmaster: ‘The statues were made for the post office. We want to keep them in the post office.’
Workers move two Thanksgiving statues from the U.S. Post Office in York, Pa. The longtime downtown post office will be closed and operations moved elsewhere in York. The statues reportedly will be relocated in the East York post office. “The … Continue reading
Lifelong learning at OLLI: Good stuff cheap and much more – Linked in with neat York County history stuff – May 22, 2011
Olive Padden, Charmaine Kissinger, Gussie Petron, shown clockwise, are credited as the founders of OLLI – Osher Lifelong Learning Institute – at Penn State York. I’ll tie the fact that these women helped found the local chapter of OLLI in … Continue reading
