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Phineas Davis' coal-burning locomotive "The York," in the foreground of the West Market Street mural, points to the transition in the 1800s from York County, Pa., agrarianism to industrialization. (The photo used by the artist of this mural is posted below.) Also of interest: Susquehanna River, shallow and rocky, fends off 19th-century navigation attempts and Don't know much about York County history? and Often forgotten: Achievements of people named on building facades.

York City School Board's study of the future of the 1930-vintage Phineas Davis school leads to the question.

Who was Phineas Davis?

I give a brief summary adapted from "Never to be Forgotten":

The Stewartstown Historical Society is looking for photos of side streets in the southeastern York County, Pa., borough. This is a rare shot of such street, showing the intersection of present-day Route 851 and West Pennsylvania Avenue in Stewartstown. This photo came from the estate of John Denney of Columbia. Also of interest: 'Yesteryears' Stewartstown-area York County sites - Part I, 'Yesteryears' - Part II and German POWs: 'They worked cheaper than We did'.

The Stewartstown Historical Society is working on a new photo book, similar to the the 'Yesteryears' books it published a few years back.

The group is getting lots of photos but not many showing Stewartstown's side streets.

Early photographer Oram Bell took many shots of Main Street, but if he moved with his camera off the main drag, none of his work is known to exist.

Society member Doug Winemiller provided this information and photograph and went on to explain a rare photo of one side street, pictured above... .

Milkweed pods are opening about now around York County, Pa. They're largely ignored nowadays, but in World War II they were coveted. Also of interest: All World War II posts from the start and World War II torpedo, bomb loader, made in York, Pa., turns up in Tennessee museum and Explosions heard around York County after World War II-era 'experts' give canning advice.

For years - decades - York Daily Record/Sunday News photographer Bil Bowden has captured visual moments in and around York County.

In the last post, his work is displayed after he visited remote Wildcat Falls along the river road, north of Wrightsville.

Now he has grabbed a milkweed pod opening.

Of course, there is a story from history - World War II, to be specific - surrounding this little-noticed plant, and my "In the Thick of the Fight," gives a summary:

The Wildcat Falls Hotel is marked as such in this undated photo. The falls (see photo below) was a popular picnic destination. Its water rushed down a York County, Pa., hillside across the Susquehanna River from Marietta in Lancaster County. The river road is at left. Also of interest: The things you learn from reading local history and Opportunities in York County to feed your sense of discovery and Absorbing photo and overlay shows locations of six Susquehanna bridges.

York Daily Record photographer Bil Bowden was doing some sleuthing recently, looking up the once-popular-but-now-little-known Wilcat Falls area, north of Wrightsville.

A picnic area and hotel once operated there, and among other tourists, people crossed the river from Marietta to enjoy the destination... .

George F. Kennan helped set U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War and won a Pulitzer Prize. He also purchased a farm in eastern Adams County and was known to many folks in the East Berlin, Pa., area. Also of interest: Hanover's Cold Warrior J.W. Gitt's mansion: 'You can look down and see the town laid down before you' and York still twinning with France, Germany after 50-plus years and Cuban expert and York editor Jim Higgins: 'He was just another journalist ... with opinions'.

The late "Green Acres" actor and World War II war hero Eddie Albert wasn't the only celebrity with East Berlin ties.

Historian George F. Kennan served the Allied cause in World War II as a diplomat in European capitals.

He was winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Twice.

He promoted the policy of containment to prevent the spread of communism via the "domino effect." Some believe that policy led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War in 1989.

He's the topic of a popular book "The Hawk and the Dove: Paul Nitze, George Kennan, and the History of the Cold War".

And he also owned a farm in the East Berlin area of Adams County... .

Participants in the York County, Pa. Teachers' Institute in the 1928-1929 school year received this notebook to write down insights gained in these city and county training sessions. (See additional photo below.) Also of interest: One-room school reunions preserve educational culture of thousands of York countians and Former Temple head product of York County schools and All school days category posts from the start..

The annual Teachers' Institute for York County city and county teachers was a longtime rite of fall.

With this multi-day in-service program for teachers came a booklet, courtesy of Dan Meckley's collection. The black-and-white notebook raises several interesting items of historical note.

First, the institute has separate dates for York City teachers and county teachers.

Part of the reason for this might have been relevant instruction for grade-level classrooms in the city versus country one or two-room schools in which all grades were grouped.

Advertisers were eager to get their messages to the recipients of the notebooks, teachers from the three-corners of York County... .

Dianne Bowders submitted this view of the York House or Billmeyer House, part of York, Pa.'s, First Presbyterian Church campus. In the post "Some of York County's famous buildings", Yorkblogger Joan Concilio tells about a new user-submitted gallery available at http://ydr.inyork.com/ydr/gallery. "I was really excited to see some people who I don't even know starting to submit ... ., Concilio wrote in her increasingly popular Only in York County blog. Also of interest: Postcards tell story of York County community and My Capture photo book available (containing additional photos by Dianne Bowders) and York County book 'All in One Room' ready for readers.

People are talking about the possible demise of Phineas Davis school.

The York City School District is examining the future of 1930s-era building.

"I went to Phineas Davis when it was a junior high from 1964-1966 where I made lifelong friends. These were the best years of my city education. The sports, cheerleading, the teachers & the competition between Smith & Hannah Penn - these were the best times," Sandy (Shorter) Fake wrote in commenting on a York Town Square post that told a little about 19th century inventor and school namesake Phineas Davis... .

This artist's rendering shows the original ACCO Chain plant in York, Pa., built in 1916 and 1917. Peerless Chain Co. in Minnesota purchased the chain side of ACCO Chain & Lifting Products, then in York Township, in 2006. The lifting products side remains in York. The building now housing York's Cable House apartments was part of the East Princess Street manufacturing complex. Also of interest: Jeep prototype has York County WWII roots and York-made vehicle welcome to retirement home in York, Pa. and All Made in York posts from the start.

York County - and the stuff made here - just shows up everywhere. For example, in Sevierville, Tenn., in the foothills of the Smokies.

The Tennessee Museum of Aviation has acquired a World War II bomb and torpedo truck, a small bomb loading machine, that was made in York, Pa. (See photo below.)

The truck was dated 1943 and manufactured by Manley Manufacturing, a division of American Chain and Cable, widely known as ACCO.

The following is taken off the vehicle's data plate:

York Hospital started sprawling along the hillside south of York, Pa., from its earliest days after its move from West College Avenue in 1930. That move marked its 50th year of operation. Now, the hospital's parent is reaching into Harrisburg. This week, officials at WellSpan said they would explore a merger with PinnacleHealth of Harrisburg. This photograph comes from longtime York Hospital surgeon Ray Kehm's book "The Birth of a Surgeon." Also of interest: Doctor wrote about oxygen use to aid 'average country practitioners' and Spanish flu epidemic in York: 'People died one right after the other' and Civil War hospital: A master's thesis waiting to be written and West Side Sanitarium, later West Side Osteopathic and later Memorial Hospital born in The Avenues in York.

"One winter day in December 1879, a man named Small acted upon a not-so-small idea and began the serious planning that would before long culminate in a hospital for York, Pennsylvania."

So began the preface of Florence La Rose Ames' "That Sovereign Knowledge," a history of York Hospital's first 100 years.

A hospital was needed in post-Civil War York County... .

Visitors pose at York County, Pa.'s Wildcat Falls, an unsung landmark on the west bank of the Susquehanna River. Frederic H. Abendschein, in the recently published "Columbia, Marietta, and Wrightsville," wrote: "A popular summertime destination, both local and out-of-town tourists would take a ferry from Marietta to cross the Susquehanna River over to the York County side to reach the falls and the nearby hotel." This photo came from that work, from the presses of Arcadia Publishing. (See additional photos below.) Also of interest: The things you learn from reading local history and Opportunities in York County to feed your sense of discovery and Absorbing photo and overlay shows locations of six Susquehanna bridges.

For years, York County's Wildcat Falls, north of Wrightsville, was a getaway for people on both sides of the Susquehanna River.

People would arrive at the falls via ferry, crossing the river from Marietta. They would cross over the stream near the falls on a narrow wooden bridge and use stairs and handrails going up the hillside parallel to the falls.

They would dine on a nearby deck and enjoy the cool breezes... .

York County, Pa., Civil War author Scott Mingus has added another book to his growing list of titles: "The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign, June-July 1863." This 315-page book covers this famous Confederate brigade during the during the Gettysburg Campaign, including its two-day stay in the York area. For locations to purchase the book, contact Mingus at scottmingus@yahoo.com. Civil War book: 'When flames brilliantly illuminated the sky over the Susquehanna River' and Books probing York County in the Civil War come in strong, sudden onslaught and The Four YorkBloggers write.

In his recently published "Louisiana Tigers," Scott Mingus tells the wonderful story of Gen. Jubal Early meeting the widow Zinn in western York County's Big Mount.

"Are you goin' to destroy us, are you going to take all that we've got?" she asked Early.

Early replied: "No madam, and to give you the best protection possible, I will stay with you, with my staff, and no one shall trouble you."

Early then visited one of his brigade commanders, John B. Gordon, at nearby Farmers.

When he returned at about 9 p.m., Mrs. Zinn had saved a supper of 15 varieties of food - meats, vegetables, coffee and milk... .

York, Pa.'s Martin Library honored Emanuel A. Cassimatis for library and community involvement at a recent ceremony. The event also served as a fundraiser for the library's endowment fund, used to purchased new books. (See list of past honorees and Cassimatis' favorite books below.) The Cassimatises: 'Builders and Heroes,' Part I and William Penn Senior High School Hall of Fame honors a host of York County achievers and York's Martin Library asks community: What to do with those old doors?.

Retired York County Judge Emanuel A. Cassimatis was meeting with the president of Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of the International Tribunal of Children's Rights. It was the Friday following the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001.

During introductions, the president express his sympathy to Cassimatis, as a U.S. representative, for the tragedy.

"You know," he told the group, "we are all bound by a universal consciousness so that when something happens to one of us, it affects all of us."

Cassimatis told that story in receiving an award from Martin Library. This member of York's pioneering Greek family then summarized its meaning and what it says about community involvement... .

The York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News and MediaOnePa has released a new York County area picture book, "Capture York." The book is packed with user-submitted photographs. Melanie Wallace took this cover photograph. For details, visit www.captureyork.com. (See additional photo below.) Also of interest: Horse, buggy, one-room school make York County comeback. and The Four YorkBloggers write and Postcards tell story of York County community .

Here's a chance to see an Amish school up close.

The GFWC New Holland Area Woman's Club is hosting its 11th Annual 'HOLIDAY TOUR OF HOMES' Nov. 14,10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The Lancaster County tour includes 8 homes and an Amish School. Tickets are $10 in advance; $12 on tour day.

Proceeds benefit community and charitable organizations including ELANCO Library, Liberty Fire Co., New Holland Recreation Center, New Holland Park Summer Arts Program and the park playground, New Holland Rescue Squad, Garden Spot Soccer League, and Garden Spot Little League. For tickets and further information, call 717-351-9995.

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Joseph N. Gallagher of York, Pa., found this Gazette Almanac in his grandfather's belongings. His grandfather was the late Rev. Norman Ort, founder and minister of West York's Four Square Gospel Church. Also of interest: York County newspaper gets new wardrobe, some nips and tucks and 1874 York Daily: Is it worth anything? and Newspaper's founding date hard to pin down.

Joe Gallagher found a prize among the stuff his late grandfather Norman Ort left behind: a Handy Almanac Encyclopedia and Year Book, dated 1916.

The guts of the 142-page softcover book contained national information for those relatively quiet moment before the deadly years of American involvement in World War I and the Spanish influenza epidemic.

The cover, inside title page and back cover were custom printed to tout The Gazette of York, Pa., then operating out of its 35-37 E. King St. plant.

There's a story there... .

Ophelia Chambliss' art has been widely exhibited at York, Pa.'s, Crispus Attucks Community Center, the York County (Pa.) Heritage Trust and elsewhere around York County. Here, her art is available for all to see in Murals of York-fashion outside York County borders - in Harrisburg. The mural, titled "Mending Hearts, Minds and Communities" is part of neighborhood revitalization and community projects. The wall space was donated by Christina and Bluett Jones on the side of their gallery (Gallery Blu) at 1633 North Third St. This is the debut mural for the Susquicentennial Commission's "Painting the Town" project, as part of Harrisburg's 150th anniversary celebration in 2010. Also of interest: Civil rights heroes stand out at Bradley exhibit and Linked in with neat York County history stuff - Oct. 15, 2009 and If you want to see the Murals of York up close ... .

From the mailbag and Web: A mixed bag of links to a bit of everything around York County:

A tiny group of Episcopalians converged on a tiny chapel in the tiny Adams County town of York Springs.

"They prayed and meditated on Scripture in a one-room brick chapel on Main Street -- the parent church for Episcopalians west of the Susquehanna," York Daily Record/Sunday News reporter Melissa Nann Burke, wrote. "A rotting sign out front reads: 'Christ Church Episcopal, Colonial English Parish founded 1746.'"

The congregation dates back to the 1740s, and the structure standing today in York Springs dates to the 1830s. Read more at Episcopalians take pilgrimage to past.

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Lee Schwan's Web site includes a bunch of compelling photos from northwest York, Pa.'s Yorktowne Homes, built as housing for defense workers in World War II. Schwan wrote in an e-mail, published in a previous post, that he hopes someone writes about living in Yorktowne in the 1940s and 1950s. Background posts: Just try to resist this memory-tugging photograph of northwest York, Pa. and World War II-era Yorkers welcomed nondescript housing and Linked in with neat York County history stuff - Oct. 10, 2009.

From the mailbag: A mixed bag of links to a bit of everything around York County:

- York County history enthusiasts should keep their eye on e-Bay for bits of history. An e-mailer pointed out that copies of The Morning Journal are available on there. The York Dispatch published this short-lived newspaper during a short-lived strike by workers of competitor The Gazette and Daily in 1970. The Gazette came back after that strike as the York Daily Record, owned by District Attorney Harold Fitzkee and partners who had purchased it from J.W. Gitt. That comeback spelled the demise of The Morning Journal... .

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An article in the Fall 2009 edition of Albright Today profiles York County, Pa.'s, George Spangler. Spangler resides in the Albright Care Services' Normandie Ridge Senior Living Community in West Manchester Township. Also of interest: No church/school conflict here: Manchester church to shore up deteriorating school and Roundtown in Manchester Township, York County, Pa.? Where did that come from? and Pottery put the other Foustown - the one in Manchester Township - on the map and A West Manchester village center that up and moved.

George Spangler remembers growing up on a farm that straddled the then-dirt
Bull Road in Manchester and West Manchester townships.

His family farm was pretty typical of those in York County in the 1920s. Turkeys, chickens, corn, wheat and hay were the staple products.

An old barn, built with pegged and hand-hewn logs, came with the farm. But one feature made this farm and barn different from most. The barn's "soul box," a small door in one of its sides, became a tourist draw... .

The fields around York, Pa.'s, Veterans Memorial Park were used for farming in this mid-20th-century photograph. (Below, see photo of that area today.) Also of interest: Brooks Robinson - and stories about his York, Pa., pro debut - enduring and Great Balls of Fire, York's Memorial Park to spin back to 50s and Opportunities in York County to feed your sense of discovery.

In its earliest days, the York White Roses played at Memorial Stadium in Spring Garden Memorial Park. That's where Brooks Robinson made his professional debut.

Today, the sports complex is known as Bob Hoffman Stadium at Veterans Memorial Park.

But whatever its name, the local chamber of commerce accepted credit, in the booklet "The Record of the York Chamber of Commerce in the First Half of the Twentieth Century," with helping to keep organized baseball in York... .

This photograph shows the administration building of the original York (Pa.) Airport along Haines Road. It is now a private residence, although it looks vastly different. Background posts: Where was York County's earliest documented airstrip? and York Airport memories spawn even more recollections about old York-area airfields and It's a bird. It's a plane. It's cigars with wings dropped by York-based promoters.

Recent York Town Square posts have examined the Roosevelt Avenue airport in west York and the Valley Airways field in east York.

We've even looked at what the local student of aviation John F.M. Wolfe views as the earliest documented airstrip.

But what about the original York Airport, the one that many remember operating on the Kindig Farm along Haines Road? ...

Starting after World War II until the mid-1950s, York (Pa.) Airport operated along Roosevelt Avenue. It then moved back to its previous - and current site - near Thomasville. For part of that era, a second York-area airstrip bookended this west York landing area in east York, near the current location of Wal-Mart in the old York Mall. Also of interest: Ho, ho, ho - uh, Santa, hold on, The Grumbachers: 'Builders and Heroes,' Part III and For 15 years, old Kelsey Airstrip atop York Township hilltop flat spot for local pilots.

The booklet "The Record of the York Chamber of Commerce in the First Half of the Twentieth Century" is filled with wonderful photographs of the York area at mid-century.

Its emphasis on airports tied to the York chamber's role as an advocate for the business community.

The booklet explains that the proximity to Harrisburg Airport was then shorter than the commute time of most major cities to their fields, particularly when the "new express highway," Interstate 83, was finished.

Indeed, that's true today... .

This photograph from a mid-20th-century York (Pa.) Chamber of Commerce publication shows popular landmarks of that day. In the lower right part of the photo, that's what is known today as the Playland pool beside the roller skating rink. Both are gone. That's York Valley Inn, long since dismantled and moved to Susquehanna Memorial Gardens, across the Lincoln Highway from the pool. And surrounding the inn is the York Valley Airways, later York Whitehull Airport. The old Valley Canvas building, then part of the airport, stands today. The airport land is now occupied by the old York Mall, now Wal-Mart. Also of interest: First York Airport's administration building stands today and Just try to resist studying this memory-tugging photograph and U.S. 30 Drag-O-Way, Part III: 'We would watch the dragsters on trailers head for Thomasville'.

Gerald A. Young, 76, considers the time he spent around the York Whitehull Airport as a youth as a fun but important time for him.

George Whiteley III - of the Dentsply Whiteley's - flew out of the East Market Street airport.

"George was a great influence on me," he said in a recent phone conversation... .

Yorktowne Homes in northwest York are seen soon after their World War II-era construction. This aerial view by J. David Allen, who took many such bird's-eye photographs in those days, appeared in a York (Pa.) Chamber of Commerce publication in 1950. Notice the rural nature of this section of York, often associated today with the Fireside Park neighbhorhood. Also of interest: Map aficionados will love bird's-eye view of old York Fairgrounds. and York's Roosevelt Avenue airport large enough to play host to air mail pick up, corporate travel and Just try to resist studying this memory-tugging photograph.

Yorktowne Homes were built to provide housing in the
World War II years for workers flocking to York's bustling defense factories.

The post Yorkers welcomed nondescript housing tells this story.

A York Chamber of Commerce publication covering initiatives of that organization during the first 50 years of the 20th century tells more about these houses, still standing east of Roosevelt Avenue.

According to the publication:

A Pennsylvania National Guard helicopter takes off from a field near the then-York Township, Pa., municipal building and York Area Regional Police Department in 2004. Helicopters flown by the Guard's Counter Drug Program help police spot marijuana plants. This is not the first time that aircraft flew from land in that vicinity. Other posts of interest: First York Airport's administration building stands today and Just try to resist studying this memory-tugging photograph and U.S. 30 Drag-O-Way, Part III: 'We would watch the dragsters on trailers head for Thomasville'.

Gwen Ferree Wise was curious about Spry's old Kelsey Airstrip, located at the present site of the York Area Regional Police Department and township park.

She could not immediately remember an airport operating from that site.

A mud slide caused this train accident on the Ma & Pa Railroad at the Ben Roy Station between Red Lion and York. Also of interest: Collector searching for Western Maryland Railroad memorabilia and Old Baltimore tunnel an intriguing reminder of the 'Ma' in Ma & Pa Railroad and What it was like aboard the Stewartstown Railroad.

Hundreds of miles of railroad lines operated in York County since tracks from Baltimore reached York in 1838.

Thousands of trains have rolled along those tracks.

Sometimes, they stopped rolling.

They halted with a crash.

So, history has recorded the deadly Good Friday, 1920, train wreck near Glen Rock... .

York, Pa.'s, arch-laden Centre Square was lit up as it never had been before in this photograph of York County's 150th birthday celebration in 1899. This scene was captured in the York Daily-published book, "York and York County." Also of interest: York's Bradford pear trees: 'Beautiful arch of blooms ... followed by the snowstorm of petals' and York-area picture book not your typical coffee table publication and Author: 'York's streetscape features almost every style and era of American architecture'.

The descriptions sounds like a review for a 21st century sci-fi movie:

"The result was a scene which might well have led an alarmed burgher of 1749, had he unexpectedly witnessed it, to rub his bewildered eyes in astonished inquiry as to whether it was the upper or nether world to which he had suddenly been transported."

Those words described York's well-lit Centre Square in 1899.

Folks in those turn-of-the-century days when electric lighting was in its infancy just never had experienced such a moment, much less York's first settlers 150 years before... .

A movement in York County, Pa., to legalize marijuana for medical and industrial purposes is growing. Here, a York Daily Record/Sunday News photograph from earlier this year shows Charles Homan, resident of Manheim Township in the county's southwestern section, supporting the legalizing of marijuana for such use. Also of interest: Jackson Township again in the middle of things and Tobacco usage: Rooted in York County's past and York County cigars: 'They contained a vast amount of nicotine'.

This weekend's Mary Jane Fest is an unusual event in York County.

A very unusual event.

The two-day festival at Elicker's Grove in Jackson Township will promote medical and industrial uses of marijuana.

This serves as a reminder about a report in a York magazine in 1933 that came in the early stages of the use of marijuana in York County. Then as now, law enforcement officials were vocal against marijuana use... .

This view from the penthouse of the Glen Rock Mill Inn shows the heart of Glen Rock. It's quiet here, but the borough has played host to many newsworthy events. The borough is celebrating its 150 anniversary next year. Background posts: AMP's and AMF's alphabet soup spilled in Glen Rock and Google Images bring life and times of Glen Rock's Cliff Heathcote, a trick shot artist, other York County, Pa., memories and Parade Music Prince Roland Seitz: From Shrewsbury to Friday Night Lights.

Glen Rock is going down in history as a town with the most histories written about it.

In recent years, the Glen Rock Carolers have updated their already thorough history, which is also a history of the town.

Earlier this year, Bob Ketenheim published a postcard history book covering Glen Rock's plentiful hills and dales.

Next June, the borough will celebrate its 150th birthday, and yes, the committee heading that effort is publishing a book... .

The original part of the Friends' meeting house in Warrington Township, Pa., was erected in 1769. The Northern York County congregation doubled the building's size in 1782. It's one of three such Quaker-built structures standing today across York County's northern tier. Background posts: Of Pennsylvania's conscientious objectors: The 'other side' of the Civil War and Quaker horticulturalist Jonathan Jessop was 19th-century York County Renaissance man and Gladys Rawlins, 'Black History Profiles.'

"Welcome to those attending our meeting for the first time," the church bulletin said.

Well, it wasn't exactly a bulletin, but a half-page explanation of what transpires at the Warrington Friends Monthly Meeting at this northwestern York County building.

And it wasn't exactly a church either. It was a meeting house, or meeting, home of the Warrington Friends Monthly Meeting. That would be a Quaker Meeting, a lovely stone structure visible to all amid beautiful scenery on Route 74 between Wellsville and Dillsburg.

The term "Meeting" is used by Friends to designate their place of worship as well as the worship service itself," the explanation or statement said.

For those who wonder what Quakers do in their service, here's the order of the Warrington service:

-

The village of Spry in York Township, Pa., is the home of Goodwill Fire Company, which supplied the ladder truck so that Almar the Professional Idiot could demonstrate his escape from a straight jacket. Almar kicked off the Dallastown Halloween Parade about a decade ago and was captured in this York Daily Record file photo. (See additional photos below.) Background posts: 19th-century mines gave Ore Valley its name and York County one-room schools: 'That's when things were good' and Forgotten York Valley Inn may be rediscovered.

Bonnie Stiles has provided family information that confirms details in a previous York Town Square post about the toll gate that operated at Leader Heights Road and South Queen Street in Spry.

The gate pivoted up and down on the west side of Queen Street, across the street from present-day Tollgate Village.

"When my paternal great-grandmother (Estella Mae Markey Sechrist) was alive she told me she used to run the 'toll gate' on S. Queen Street," Bonnie Stiles wrote.

"Apparently her husband, my great-grandfather (Norman Sechrist) ran a wagon from Red Lion to York every day. They claim he had something to do with tobacco."

Those were the days, less than 100 years ago, when toll roads still radiated from York... .

The First National Bank of Glen Rock's building has long been an anchor in the borough's downtown. It was constructed in 1912, and this photograph was taken two years later. Bob Ketenheim nicely captures Glen Rock, Pa.'s, past in his recently published "Around Glen Rock," part of Arcadia Publishing's "Images of America" series. Background posts: Google Images bring life and times of Glen Rock's Cliff Heathcote, other York County, Pa., memories and Mystery of Glen Rock-area's Narrow Gauge Road deepens and Glen Rock hilltop farm: 'You cannot stay stressed here for long'.

Bob Ketenheim's "Around Glen Rock" contains numerous interesting photos that individually tell the story of this southern York County's borough history.

And sometimes photos in this book, working in tandem, tell perhaps unintended but rich and revealing stories.

One photo, for example, shows a proud Wesley C. Koller driving his brand new Stanhope make of automobile into Glen Rock on Manchester Street in 1900... .

About 50 airports or airstrips have operated in and around York County, Pa., since the 1920s. Kampel Airport in Warrington Township is one of the grass airstrips still in operation. In this York Daily Record/Sunday News file photo from 2006, Bill Luther has just received a ride in a Boeing Stearman PT-17 for his 85th birthday. Luther trained during World War II to fly Boeing Stearman PT-17s. Other posts of interest: First York Airport's administration building stands today and Just try to resist studying this memory-tugging photograph and U.S. 30 Drag-O-Way, Part III: 'We would watch the dragsters on trailers head for Thomasville'.

Aircraft still land and take off from many of the 50-something airports that have operated in and around York County.

The York Airport is the best known example.

Some of the airports are now plowed under... .

After various moves over the years, York Airport landed in Thomasville and so have thousands of planes. This one landed near the field in 2002, and the pilot and passenger walked away from the crash. Background posts: First York Airport's administration building stands today and Just try to resist studying this memory-tugging photograph and U.S. 30 Drag-O-Way, Part III: 'We would watch the dragsters on trailers head for Thomasville'.

Post a blog item on York-area airports - operating and defunct - and people e-mail with fond memories.

There just seems to be pent-up interest in those old airstrips, perhaps because one has to squint to see where they once operated. And it's fun to try to figure buildings standing today that were used for airport operations at one time.

If you want a full dose of all things about airports in York County, consult John F. M. Wolfe's spiral-bound booklet "Profile of Aviation, York County, Pennsylvania," first published in 1998... .

The United Brethren Church built two-story cabins when it opened the Heidelberg Township (Pa.) campground in 1896 for churchgoers to stay overnight or weekly. Penn Grove Campground later operated as Camp Pamaveda and is known today at Penn Grove Retreat. All but one of the wooden structures, sometimes called tents, have been torn down, and campers to this southwestern York County facility now sleep in newer cinderblock cabins. The corner of the tabernacle, an open air pavilion for worship services, is seen at right. The campground was a stop on a recent tour of religious sites in York and Adams counties. Other posts of interest: Abe Lincoln, Gwyneth Paltrow passed through Porters Sideling and Conewago Chapel steeple worker wondered if he'd ever get up there: Now, 'Here I am' and Pamadeva. Get it? Pennsylvania. Maryland. Delaware. Virginia..

The 10-mile line between York County's Spring Grove and Adams County's Edgegrove bears a rich vein of history.

Spend five hours mining that vein with three knowledgeable students of history, and you come away with a clarity about how much you don't know about this fascinating region.

Actually, those students are longtime teachers about York County's history: Jim Rudisill, Luther Sowers and June Lloyd.

On a recent Saturday, Rudisill served as tour guide, equipped with his 14-stop itinerary neatly handwritten on lined notebook paper... .

A teen tries to guide her putt past the horse statue at Putter's Paradise in Manchester (Pa.) Township. An e-mailer to York Town Square wondered when miniature golf arrived in York County. (See additional York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News file photo below.) Other posts of interest: York-area full of memory-spawning landmarks and Playland plays nostalgic note for York countians and Western York County home owner seeks info on old toll house.

"A crazy question popped into my head today dealing with entertainment in York County," an e-mailer wrote.

"When did miniature golf come to York and what were some of the early popular venues?"

Dates like that are tough to track down.

So I asked history enthusiasts at the York Daily Record/Sunday News Exchange bulletin board.

I received two responses:

AMF York produced the Ski-Daddler, a power sled, which the company indicated was popular at that time. "Ski-Daddler is used for racing, exploring, carries skis and is a great asset to all 'round winter sports fun," the York (Pa.) Chamber of Commerce's "Greater York in Action" reported. Other posts of interest: York, Pa. made big, heavy things - and was immensely proud of it and AMF-Harley in York, by the numbers and AMP's and AMF's alphabet soup spilled in same York County town .

Harley-Davidson is examing four locations as possible relocation sites for its motorcycle production lines from York.

Those sites will provide an option for the company to consider alongside keeping the plant in York, a decision expected before year's end.

Nervous York community leaders are wise in talking about a Plan B. What if Harley moves? ... .

That would be devastating, of course.

The Murals of York program was well under way at the time of the 250th anniversary of York County (Pa.) in 1999. So the Murals of York committee commissioned its painting as a summary of the main events that made up the celebration. Background posts: York vs. Lancaster, Pa: The American War of the Roses still rages and The day west bankers looked forward to tax time and York, Cumberland counties longtime companions.

"The 10th anniversary of York County's 250th anniversary"? Isn't that like saying the 48th anniversary of my 1st birthday?"

So wrote a commenter on a recent York Daily Record/Sunday News story on the 260th anniversary of York County - and the 10th anniversary of the mammoth 250th celebration in 1999.

The commenter is right that it's a bit like a celebration about a celebration.

But the 1999 celebration is still remembered by many. Even if the 10th anniversary isn't significant, the 250th was, indeed... .

A rescuer holds a Chinese passenger by his pants as he tries to transfer to a small boat from the grounded freighter Golden Venture June 6, 1993, off New York City. About 40 passengers were detained in York County Prison for more than three years awaiting disposition of their cases (Associated Press photo). A dozen years after their release, a book discusses their plight. Background posts: 'York: A Key City in the Keystone State' and York's Chestnut Street fortress bad symbol of York's past and All famous York visitor posts from the start and .

Reviewer Alex Kotlowitz got it right in assessing Patrick Radden Keefe's "The Snakehead, An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream:"

He notes that Keefe writes that America has suffered a kind of bipolarity when it comes to immigration throughout history... .

Earlier this year, native York countian Judy Druck Routson released a book on her family. The Drucks were early on the scene in York County, Pa. Springettsbury Township's Druck Valley borrows its named from the family. Background posts: York County villages bear memorable names and About phone pole playground at Rocky Ridge: 'Children's heads got caught in between the logs' and Long Level and Pleasureville fielded bands?.

When you think about Druck Valley, you think of Rock Ridge County Park.

And when you think about Rocky Ridge, you think of the nearby region colorfully known as "The Glades."

More on that region in a second.

First, what of the settlers in that part of present-day Springettsbury Township?

Ball Mason jars, around for 125 years, can be used for many things. In this Kansas City Star photo, tea lights flicker in the jars. In fruit- and vegetable-rich York County, Pa., the jars remain staples for canning, their use for decades. Background posts: 21st-century Victory Gardens might morph into Stimulus Gardens and 20 questions and answers to prove your York County WWII smarts and Pennsylvania Dutch-speaking York County residents often conversed with German POWs and Jamaican fruit pickers worked York County orchards in World War II .

Five brothers named Ball started production of fruit jars in 1884, with John Mason's 1858 invention in mind.

Three years later, they moved their plant to Muncie, Ind., and their Ball Mason jars became a standard part of American homes.

This 125th anniversary of the jar brings to mind time of a government snafu when canning was most needed - the days of World War II... .

George Shumway's book on the Schreyer family of Hanover, Pa., shows York countians as major makers of 18th-century rifles. The book is available at York County libraries. Background posts: Springetts collector attracts 'Antiques Roadshow's' Kenos and Northwestern York County flag expert: 'I was interested in my nation's heritage' and York Hospital doc: Expert on antique surgical saws, antiquated procedure of bloodletting.

When people talk about Kentucky long rifles around here, they usually qualify them as Pennsylvania long rifles.

For example, when Denver, Pa.'s Dan Morphy Auctions sent a news release about a sale of a collection of long rifles set for today, it called them "Pennsylvania-made pre- and post-Revolutionary War era long rifles."

The release later put "Kentucky" in quotes.

And the auction house gave further explanation:

Philip K. Eberly's "Susquehanna Radio, The First 50 Years" tells about the early years of radio in York County, Pa., and southcentral Pennsylvania. The 1992 book is available at York County libraries. Background posts: 101 Ranch Boys play on in York County memories and Old WSBA station: 'Another part of history has gone' and Carly Simon at WSBA: 'What do you want to hear?'.

In his book on the nationwide Susquehanna Radio Corp., the late Philip Eberly answers questions and provides insight locally into the 1940s and 1950s when radio was the hot media.

For example, what does WSBA stand for?

Actually, Eberly's "Susquehanna Radio, The First 50 Years" isn't clear on that point:

Leonard Zinn, Hall-of-Fame steel guitarist, sets to work. Zinn played for the 101 Ranch Boys, a group that helped launch WSBA Radio in York County. Philip Eberly tells about the Boys and other radio personalities in "Susquehanna Radio: The First 50 years." Background posts: 101 Ranch Boys play on in York County memories and Old WSBA station: 'Another part of history has gone' and Carly Simon at WSBA: 'What do you want to hear?'.

Philip Eberly, who died recently, left a legacy on the early days of York County radio as a WSBA and Susquehanna Broadcasting salesman, sales manager, station manager, vice president and general manager.

So says a recent York Daily Record/Sunday News article (8/07/09).

But his most lasting contribution might be his 1992 book "Susquehanna Radio: The First 50 years." (Available via the York County Library System.)

That work tells about WSBA and Susquehanna Broadcasting's early years up to 1992. That empire grew into a media group that grew into stations in San Francisco, Houston and Dallas before it was sold in recent years to Cumulus Media.

For example, an interesting book section tells about the company's venture into TV... .

"The Picket" stood in the center of Hanover's Center Square for years. It has since been moved to a corner of that intersection. This image comes from Scott Mingus' blog "Cannonball." Mingus will give tours tailored to specific areas of York County, with proceeds going to the York County Heritage Trust. (See additional photo below.) Background posts: Stack of books on York County's Civil War past getting higher and The Four Bloggers write and 'One of the shells found its mark'.

Civil War author, lecturer and blogger Scott L. Mingus, Sr. will lead personalized guided tours of various sites in York County linked to the Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania in 1863.

For a free-will donation to the York County Heritage Trust, Mingus will present customized tours... .

Thomas V. Chatman Jr., a pioneer in York's (Pa.) black community, passed away this week. Background posts: Mattie Chapman, first black elected county official profiled, Pioneering women in state politics and 10 years ago, York's exclusive Lafayette Club became less exclusive.

Tom Chatman, York's first black chief of police, died this week, and Mike Argento's obituary story quite rightly details his accomplishments on the road to that office.

"He endured, back in his days as a patrolman and later a detective, the most vile racial epithets from bigots and being called an Uncle Tom by members of his own community," Argento wrote.

To boil down a list of Chatman accomplishments, he became York's police chief within 10 years after the York race riots ended. The practices and policies of York's police department contributed to those terrible summers of 1968 and 1969.

With the spotlight on this pioneer, it seems right to repeat or three-peat his place in this sampling of minority and female "firsts" in York County's past, many of which have occurred since 1970:

In this York (Pa.) Daily Record file photo from 2005, June Grove is seen in Brogue's St. Luke Cemetery. Her ancestors are buried there along with Revolutionary War veterans George Keener, 1757-1841, John Stermer, 1760-1855, Henry Tome, 1754-1846. Background posts: 'Painting pastor's' work survives devastating southeastern York County blaze and On York County parks, Susquehannocks and carved river rocks and How many Amish have crossed the bridge from Lancaster to York County?.

Information in a post on fellow blogger Joan Concilio's Only in York County site gives a possible explanation for why the Chanceford Township village of Brogue is often called The Brogue.

The short answer is that it was a shortened version of someone saying "I'm going over to the Brogue Hotel," a landmark there for years.

But where did the village name of Brogue come from?

June Grove knows more about the Chancefords (which includes Lower Chanceford Township) than anyone... .

Pennsylvania Furniture Co.'s Sumner Street factory in York, actually West York, was erected in the early 1900s and became the home for long-lasting bedroom and dining room suites. Background posts: Red Lion's Ebert Furniture: From bedroom suites to gunstocks and York-area woodcarver, furniture maker made life-size JFK statue. But where is it now? and Springetts collector attracts 'Antiques Roadshow's' Kenos and Of York antiquarian Joe Kindig III: 'He is generous with his knowledge'.

E-mailer David Degroot is looking for a few good facts about York, Pa.'s venerable Pennsylvania Furniture Co.

"My wife and I bought an antique bedroom set," he wrote. "One of the pieces has a small sticker on the back indicating that the furniture was manufactured by the Pennsylvania Furniture Co. in York, PA. My guess is that furniture was manufactured in the early 1900s."

Furniture-making was a big business in York County in those days, and Pennsylvania Furniture was one of the most successful. The county was home to plentiful hardwood trees, and its location on transportation routes spawned wagonmakers, riflemakers and manufacturers of other hand-made wood products.

The York County Heritage Trust's file on Pennsylvania Furniture contains several documents. (One bore the photo above.)

Here are some salient facts gleaned from those documents:

The York Airport can be seen running along Roosevelt Avenue in this 1957 photograph. The track at center is the York Fairgrounds. From that reference point, find Roosevelt Avenue and follow it out. Find where it bends. You'll see a runway at top center. (See additional links to aerial views of York County sites below.) Background posts: Museum exhibit brings back early days of high fliers and Map aficionados will love bird's-eye view of York County and Absorbing photo and overlay shows locations of six Susquehanna bridges

After seeing views of the old York airport in a previous post, eagle-eye Joe Stein found an aerial view of the York Airport in 1957, still there along Roosevelt Avenue a year after it closed.

I've always placed the sprawling airport near the Sylvania Plant along Roosevelt, which appears to be a relatively close landmark designating its northern part.

John F.M. Wolfe, in "Profile of Aviation," gives the following facts about the airport, which sported two grass runways, including one 3,000-foot strip:

A World War II B-17 bomber sits at the York Airport in Thomasville in October 2001. Andy Rusnack, seen here, a World War II veteran, flew in a B-17 exactly like this one shortly before he was sent overseas in 1942. "It sure takes you back," Rusnack said. Background posts: First York Airport's administration building stands today and Just try to resist studying this memory-tugging photograph and U.S. 30 Drag-O-Way, Part III: 'We would watch the dragsters on trailers head for Thomasville'.

A former York countian e-mailed after looking into a query from someone about an aircraft that wrecked near Winterstown or Red Lion some years ago.

"Didn't find that, but ran across this link about the old York Airport," he wrote. "I never knew we had an airport on Roosevelt Ave."

I had written in a past York Town Square post - Museum exhibit brings back early days of high fliers:

Spring Garden Township resident Thomas W. Clarke, seen here in his military days, has written his World War II memoir 'George S. Patton's Typical Soldier.' Background posts: York County sacrificed on homefront and war front and All WWII posts from the start and 20 questions and answers to prove your York County WWII smarts.

"Then we got into the rain of shells and had to hit the ground," Thomas W. Clarke wrote in his recently released memoir.

He continued:

"They would land on the right, then the left, or in front of us. What a helpless feeling it was, just to lie there and take it! It was then that I realized what an insignificant and unimportant bit of this universe that I was. What did it matter to the world, whether or not the next shell landed on my head and blew me to hell? But I lay there, pressing myself into the ground and praying that it wouldn't."

Wally Clarke wrote many things about his time in European combat in World War II... .

York's Citizen's Committee to open the Municipal Swimming Pool placed an advertisement to draw attention to a meeting after the city closed the pool in the late 1940s rather than allow blacks entry there. Background posts: Cartoonist made York newspaper owner's views an art form and York Town Square reader: 'I never knew about the White Rose Amusement Park' and Reader searching for Boys Club Pool photo.

The Pennsylvania Human Rights Commission is investigating the case of a private club outside Philadelphia that allegedly revoked an agreement to allow minority campers from the Creative Steps Inc. group to swim in its pool.

About a week ago, young minority campers from Creative Steps went to a Philadelphia-area pool to swim.

Patrons of the Valley Club made racial remarks and removed their own children from the pool, the camp's executive director told USA Today.

That has created a controversy, and rightfully so... .

This 1995 photograph shows the burned out Thonet Industries complex two years after the fire, one of the largest in the past two decades in York County. Background: Colonial York, Pa.? No, try Victorian York, Pa. and York County ... 'A smorgasbord of architectural styles' and Fire-damaged Women's Club of York restored.

The question is going around. Was the Chestnut Street rowhouse fire this week the largest ever in York and York County?

It was a big one, displacing 61 people from 26 families who had lived in the 16 damaged rowhouses. The short answer is that a fire in 1856 took out an entire York city block including 17 buildings of mixed uses.

Undoubtedly, the largest fire in York County was the burning of the covered bridge across the Susquehanna River during the Civil War.

U.S. militia set the bridge on fire in 1863 to prevent the Confederates from crossing the river and taking Harrisburg from the east. Some might split hairs and note the bridge was part of Lancaster County, as is the river. But the blaze took out numerous buildings in Wrightsville, too.

But if we're talking about peacetime fires, there's a long lineup to consider.

Here is a sampling compiled from my "Never to be Forgotten," and York Daily Record/Sunday News files:

Scott Butcher's "Gettysburg Perspectives" is a 100-page paperback book with more than 100 photos. So it's packed with images. This is the York author's latest in a series of such books on Central Pennsylvania. Background posts: York-area picture book not your typical coffee table publication and Author: 'York's streetscape features almost every style and era of American architecture' and The Four YorkBloggers write.

Fellow blogger Scott Butcher has two new books out and more coming.

His books are photo-intensive, which in itself makes a valuable contribution. The photos provide wonderful visual information. But the writer and architectural historian in Butcher means that his captions are packed with reliable information.

Without further delay, here is info on Butcher's latest work:

This photo from Jim Hubley's "Off the Record" points out an unusual cellar door in the sidewalk outside Bear's Department Store between Market and George streets. "Frequently," Hubley wrote, "pedestrians would be started by the slowly opening cellar doors and the surprising emergence of the freight elevator." Hubley's book particularly focused on downtown life in York City. Background posts: Escaped bovine makes York newspaper headline and York's first mayor Daniel K. Noell named one of his sons and Longtime York sportswriter Jacque Tracy: 'He enjoyed writing features about athletes and coaches'.

When longtime York Daily Record/Sunday News columnist Jim Hubley died a little more than a year ago, people were asking around about how to get his book "Off The Record."

The book, available at local libraries, was out of print.

You couldn't buy a copy around town.

But now you can... .

York's Martin Library CEO Bill Schell dates Martin Library's old doors to 1935, the year the library first opened. Here, they rest on the floor inside Martin. Background posts: York County libraries offer serendipity - and have done so for decades and Colonial York, Pa.? No, try Victorian York, Pa and York County library site brings together links for local research.

For years, some people struggled to open those weighty mahogany doors leading into Martin Library.

Their replacement with lighter doors leads to the question of what to do with the older ones.

Library officials have put that out to community.

The best answer is: Keep them. Or at least make sure they're publicly displayed somewhere.

Those are not just any doors... .

Earl Shaffer chat with fellow Appalachian Trail hikers north of Harpers Ferry during his last through hike in July 1998. Other hikers recognized the celebrity Shaffer during this hike, which came on the 50th anniversary of his first through hike - the first such on the Appalachian Trail. West Manchester book contains valuable gold coins' and Who were most prominent 20th-century sports heroes in York and Adams counties? and Highpoint offers Susquehanna River view for the ages.

West Manchester resident Earl Shaffer was out of the service after Army Signal Corps duty in World War II.

And he was ready to "walk the Army out of my system" on the Appalachian Trail.

"Late in 1947 I had seen an article in an outdoor magazine entitled 'The Long Trail's Challenge,' " he wrote in in his book "Walking with Spring." "It said that no one was known to have hiked the entire Trail in a continuous journey, though many had tried, and such a trip might actually be impossible."

Shaffer proved it was possible with the first through hike in 1948, a second hike the other way in 1965 and a 50th anniversary hike in 1998. He was then almost 80 years old.

This information comes from a Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History news release, telling about the opening of an Earl Shaffer exhibit next month... .

James O. Lehman and Steven M. Nolt published "Mennonites, Amish, and the American Civil War." The 2007 book explored the Mennonites and Amish response to the Civil War. Background posts: Stack of books on York County's Civil War past getting higher and 'One of the shells found its mark' and Unsung farmhouse loud symbol of a shaping moment for York.

York County resident Jonathan R. Stayer, who is also head of the reference section of the Pennsylvania State Archives, has called on local Civil War researchers to remember those who sought exemption from military service on grounds of conscience.

York County's conscientious objectors numbered 156 in 1862, he e-mailed, sixth highest among Pennsylvania's counties.

"Even tiny Adams County was home to at least 129 conscientious objectors," he wrote. "The reason? Both counties were (and are) home to significant communities of Mennonites and Dunkards (Brethren), and to a lesser extent, Quakers."

He called attention to James O. Lehman and Steven M. Nolt's "Mennonites, Amish, and the American Civil War," which local Civil War blogger Scott Mingus has since reviewed.

Here are excerpts from Stayer's e-mail:

Jefferson's newsy Center Square, as it appeared in the early 1900s. Interestingly, roads around the southwestern York County square were first paved only about 80 years ago at a time when many roads around the county were getting their first asphalt coat. Politically active townsman Jenkins Carothers made good use of this square. Background posts: Washington Township, Jefferson Borough, Madison Avenue. How about an Obama Street in York County? and Historical marker to soon point to Jefferson square's famous visitors and Accidental death hits York County family - again and Laurice Elehwany wrote with Jefferson in mind.

Charles H.Glatfelter is one of those prominent Glatfelters featured in last post: A leading York County name: 'Keeping it in family is the Glatfelter way'.

The retired Gettysburg College history professor's work on any topic is invariably the most reliable reference a historian can use.

So when he writes a controversial politico from Jefferson in his 1966 history of that borough, you know it's something to build from.

That's what I did in writing about the colorfully named Jenkins Carothers and his actions in and around Jefferson's historic square, actions that provide lessons for today.

My York Sunday News column (6/14/09), written to tell about an upcoming Civil War market dedication, focused on the mad hatter Carothers... .

In this 2000 photo, Spring Grove players workout in their former football stadium, with the Glatfelter paper plant looming large. The team now plays in new digs - Papermakers Stadium - located near the new high school. (See related photo below.) Background posts: Private, public interests built Lake Marburg for manufacturing, recreation and Worker saved key historical surveys from Glatfelter pulping machine and White Woman of the Genessee captured 250 years ago in York County.

Glatfelters have been making news around York County for, well, more than 250 years.

Perhaps the most prominent Glatfelter is the Spring Grove papermaker. And just in the past few days, that Glatfelter was in the headlines because of a wonderful piece of land the company donated in Adams County and an air tank that ruptured (no one was injured) at its mill.

When Harry Potter climbs back into the news, it's certain to bring back ties of the Glatfelter as the maker of the pages that people so devotedly turn.

But the descendants of Casper Glattfelter - Glatfelters, Gladfelters, Glotfeltys, Clodfelters and Clotfelters - are known for more than papermaking... .

York, Pa.'s, Edgar Fahs Smith Middle School is a favorite site for crowds to gather to watch July 4 fireworks at the York Expo Center. Background posts: York County ... 'A smorgasbord of architectural styles' and Smith students watched skies in WW II and Sports books focus on York High Bearcat boys.

Edgar Fahs Smith Middle School and McKinley Elementary School were the first two York City schools to close because of swine flu concerns.

The name of McKinley is easily traceable to the President William McKinley, who had York County roots.

But Edgar Fahs Smith. Who was he? ... .

York, Pa., attorney Jeffrey C. Bortner is the author of the newly released "Commentaries For Lawyers and Ilk." The book is available at York County libraries. Background post: Essayist profiles champion for the blind and At the blind center: 'The bees have been enjoying this garden, too.' and York County census hike spawns more lawyers.

As the title "Commentaries For Lawyers and Ilk" suggests, longtime York County attorney Jeffrey C. Bortner's new book is filled with lively views and news about the local legal community.

For example, in commenting on how the quadrupling of the number of judges has outstripped population growth since 1950, Bortner opines:

"This grossly disparate growth reflects the unfortunate need for more arbiters to resolve the disputes, enforce the Statutes and clarify the regulations which increasingly characterize, if not paralyze, today's America."

In reviewing books, I like to look for information that an author brings forth that may not be widely known.

Such was the case in Bortner's presentation about Judge Ray P. Sherwood, who served on the local bench from 1928 to 1958... .

Sgt. Major Robert Myers was the director for the regimental band of the 46th Pennsylvania, which performed in 2006 in York. Patriot Days in York will feature such living historians again this year. Background posts: Books probing York County in the Civil War come in strong, sudden onslaught and History-making evening on rebel occupation of York could turn into daylong symposium and Rebs' short York visit creates long memories .

The forum on the Civil War in York County last year might have been the first such get-together to discuss that controversial story.

That 2008 symposium was not designed to focus on the town fathers' surrender of York to the Confederates.

But questions from the audience, in particular, took it that way.

Better to discuss such controverted events than to ignore them, as York has done with its Civil War story until the past 10 years.

Speakers at this year's forum - set for 7-9 p.m. on Thursday, June 25 - will explore impressions from the North and South as the Confederates marched across York County June 28-30, 1863... .

Dr. Harold Neibert participated in the famed rescue of the now-world-famous Lipizzan horses from Czechoslovakia in World War II. Here, he shows pictures of the horses he cared for. Background posts: York County sacrificed on homefront and war front to aid Allies in World War II - Part I and York County sacrificed - Part II and Pioneering aviator Aline Rhonie another York native who made U.S. headlines.

York County veterinarian Harold Neibert cared for rescued World War II Lipizzan horses, ancestors of the entertainers of today.

Look for a takeout on those noted horses in an upcoming edition of World War II Magazine.

A writer for that magazine saw the York vet helped save famed Lipizzan horses post on this blog and is in the process of getting in touch with him.

"I'm writing about the rescue of Austria's Lipizzaner horses at the end of World War II for the magazine I edit, World War II," Karen Jensen wrote in an e-mail... .

When you see something with June Grove's name on it, you know the research is sound.

So, her latest work is certain to move York County historical enterprise ahead.

Columnist Lori Badders wrote about Grove's latest work in the Weekly Record, circulating in the southern part of York County.

Grove's research is concentrated in that area.

Badders wrote:

This map from York County Heritage Trust archives shows a branch of the main trolley line between York and York Haven ran from Manchester to Mount Wolf. Bradley Rentzel writes in his "History of Mount Wolf" that the trolley line ran from 1903 to 1937. The Mount Wolf depot sat next to the Market Street bridge near the Northern Central Railway-Pennsylvania Railroad crossing. Background posts: Wolf Man. Wolfchester. No, the Village of Mount Wolf and Caeserville, named after ex-slave, flourished as lumber center and When York County undertakers served as woodworkers ... and vice versa.

For years, newspapers were delivered to York County's hinterlands via trolley car.

In particular, I remember reading Bradley Rentzel's account about their delivery to Mount Wolf.

"The first trolley car arrives at 5:30 a.m. from York with one or two workmen who head for the Wire Cloth plant," Rentzel wrote in "History of Mount Wolf." "A paper carrier picks up a bundle of papers, The York Gazette, which he immediately starts distributing. The first stop is at the Henry B. Hoff home."

What I never connected, until recently, was how the trolley got to Mount Wolf. The main line ran through Manchester, some distance away.

Then I noticed a map of the trolley system in York County, and a brief perusal showed a trolley spur exiting the main line at Manchester and terminating in Mount Wolf... .

David Kushner's "Levittown" tells the story of the York, Pa.'s Bill and Daisy Myers and the discrimination they faced after moving into a new house in Bucks County's Levittown in 1957. Background posts: Future Yorker Daisy Myers' harassment in Levittown part of NYT mag article and York's and Levittown's Daisy Myers: Rosa Parks of the North and A short test of your York black history knowledge and Mattie Chapman's barrier-breaking legacy apparent in York County 30 years later.

In her memoir "Sticks 'n Stones," Daisy Myers wrote about her family's terrible confrontation with discrimination after buying their dream house in the new, all-white Bucks County suburb of Levittown in 1957.

She told about that experience, and brought readers up to date about the family's later years after moving back to York, her husband Bill's hometown.

Author David Kushner did what journalists call a "write through" in telling the Myers' Levittown story. The 2009 work draws from - and expands upon by bringing in many other sources - Myers' 2005 memoir... .

This photo from John Wright restaurant in Wrightsville, Pa., is undated but it must come from the late 1920s because the Veterans Memorial Bridge opened in 1930. Notice the now-dismantled older bridge to the left and the temporary, construction bridge on the downstream side. Background posts: Wrightsville's overlooked attractions and When did Wrightsville ferry service end? and Nature had its way with short-lived York Furnace Bridge in southeastern York County.

A recent York Daily Record/Sunday News story on the restoration of lighting on the old Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge, known as the Veterans Memorial Bridge, brought applause from a commenter.

|"To me, the decision to restore the bridge is a no brainer," he wrote. "Let's do it!"

He also raised the question about when tolls were lifted from the Depression-era structure which carried the Lincoln Highway across the Susquehanna River:

Mayor E. S. Hugentugler, York's mayor during World War I, faced a difficult job at a difficult moment. York's new mayor next year will face staggering challenges, but perhaps miniscule when compared to those faced by Hugentugler. Background posts: York's first mayor Daniel K. Noell named one of his sons, well, 'York' and York mayor Brenner brought order during tumultuous times and For decades, York's underground comfort stations spelled relief.

Mayor E. S. Hugentugler had the map of Germany written on his face.

A German-American mayor in a largely German-American area could have been particularly suspect in those days of the Great War, World War I, when such counties were not trusted because of purported sympathy for the kaiser.

The mayor tried to assure outsiders that the city was behind the war by what would be considered heavy-handed tactics today. (Indeed, they were heavy-handed measures back then.)

According to "Never to be Forgotten," he banned anti-war meetings, organized an anti-spy group and a task force to guard York County's industrial plants... .

Challenger Tom Kearney, left, and Stan Rebert square off in a Rotary forum earlier this month. The forum was streamed live via the York Daily Record's Web site, www.ync.com/ydr. (Stan Rebert conceded defeat in the primary to Tom Kearney at about 10:30 p.m. on primary day. Unless he faces an unexpected challenge in November, Kearney will be York County's 11th D.A. in the past 60 years.) Background posts: York County Dems slumped, GOP prospered in 1980s and Noted York family produced Pa. Supreme Court justice and For years, York countians part of major court cases

If Tom Kearney unseats Stan Rebert to win the Republican primary today, he will have displaced a York County institution.

Of course, Kearney is an institution himself, handling the defense of many of the highest profile capital cases in the past two decades.

It's a battle between York County's most prominent defense counsel vs. its top law enforcement officer.

Whoever wins, the district attorney's office has housed some of York County's highest profile lawyers for decades.

The following were York County's district attorneys since 1950, according to Georg Sheets' "Lawyers and Leaders":

This story from the York Daily Record on May 31, 1992, tells about a York County junkman's find of evidence in the murder case of Susan Reinert in 1979. One of the defendants in this dramatic case, Jay C. Smith, died last week. Background posts: West York ritualistic suicide forgotten by many, but investigators remember anand Longtime district justice: 'You can wait for my book' and Witman murder among York County's most notorious crimes.

The crime story made headlines in Pennsylvania for years.

Joseph Wambaugh extended the case's international reach with his portrayal in the 1987 book "Echoes in the Darkness."

The case spawned a TV mini-series.

And a York County man played a role in the case.

"Jay C. Smith, 80, the former Upper Merion High School principal convicted of a teacher's shocking 1979 murder, then freed from death row by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 1992, died Tuesday," the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Smith was implicated in the murders of Upper Merion teacher Susan Reinert and her two children and sent to death row.

And the find of the York County junkman helped free him... .

This drawing of the iron-hulled steamboat "Codorus" by William S. Stair appeared in "Greater York (Pa.) in Action." The flat-bottom boat was launched for a northward Susquehanna River journey from the Accomac area. Background posts: Murals of York get another colorful panel and How Sam Lewis State Park sightseers view Highpoint's dome and For years, York countians have eyed amazing, destructive Susquehanna River ice jams.

Wish all questions from York Town Square readers were this easy.

An e-mailer posed a readily answerable question:

"Exactly where was the location where the first iron steam boat was built?"

In 1825, John Elgar constructed the iron vessel in York shops near the Codorus Creek. He labored at a factory that Phineas Davis later made famous for crafting what is considered to be the first successful coal-burning locomotive. (In 1831, Davis gained a $4,000 award from the Baltimore and Ohio Steam Railway for building "The York," the first successful coal-burning locomotive steam engine in the United States.)

A historical marker at West King and South Newberry streets in York marks the site on the shops, demolished long ago.

This excerpt from "Never to be Forgotten," tells more:

This aggregation of Web sites provides a look at York/Adams (Pa.) history in perhaps unprecedented detail. Background posts: York County Heritage Trust Archives/Library extends offerings to research family tree and Peeking into Pa.'s attic and Availability of microfilm an oft-posed question.

For years, the York Daily Record/Sunday News has considered history part of the journalistic enterprise.

Journalists regularly draw on the work of historians.

And vice versa.

With so many resources to learn about history out there, we've been working to help readers - and ourselves - make sense of them.

So, we've aggregated links to many local history sites into just one list. (If we've omitted any, let us know.) To see this list ... ,

June Lloyd wrote the book on a form of fraktur used to illustrate York County, Pa., birth and baptismal certificates in the 1700s and 1800s. A sample is found on the her book's cover. "Faith and Family" is available at the York County Heritage Trust. Background posts: PS Harrisburg grad school: 'Set my feet even more firmly on the path into the world of Fraktur' and The Four YorkBloggers write and Nature had its way with short-lived York Furnace Bridge in southeastern York County

Former York County Heritage Trust Archivist June Lloyd is looking for folks who have early American birth and baptismal certificates.

She compiling a database of these works of fraktur, known as taufscheine.

June told an audience at the Heritage Trust's Second Saturday program over the weekend that she has records of 1,500 such certificates and regularly adds to that total as she learns of them.

The following is a sampling of the points she made on this Pennsylvania Dutch (German) practice of commissioning such art to mark these important passages:

Sarah Byrn Rickman's book "The Originals" covers women of the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron in World War II and contains a profile on York native Aline Rhonie. Background posts: York County sacrificed on homefront and war front to aid Allies in World War II and York County WWII nurse: 'You know, it was the biggest war ever, and they needed nurses' and 'Her words helped win the war'.

Her name was Aline Rhonie Hofheimer and later Aline Rhonie.

But a biography says that for some unknown reason, everyone called her Pat.

The Warren Township (N.J.) Historical Society begins the biography with:

"Pioneer aviatrix, socialite, company president, horsewoman, wartime pilot and artist, Aline Rhonie Hofheimer lived an exceptional life, one that only now, over 40 years after her death, is being chronicled by aviation historians."

And she was born 100 years ago, on Aug. 16, in York, Pa... .

Two aging Civil War veterans flank a Lincoln impersonator in this photo from York County Heritage Trust files. The black veteran is thought to be John Aquilla Wilson, who enlisted in the United States Colored Troops, 32nd Regiment in 1864. Background posts: 'One of the shells found its mark' and Black soldiers from York County served in 'Glory' unit - Part I and 'Glory,' Part II.

Will descendants of Civil War vet John Aquilla Wilson please make yourself known?

That is the request from sponsors of a public rededication ceremony of four Civil War cannons at 2 p.m. Saturday at Hanover Junction.

According to my "East of Gettysburg," "Quil" Wilson lived in the New Park area of southeastern York County where he died at the age of 101 in 1942. He was buried in the Fawn AME Cemetery.

He enlisted as a 15-year-old in the 32nd Regiment, Volunteer Infantry, a black unit and became of scores of black soldiers from York County to serve in Northern forces.

Bob Rudy of event sponsor The Sons of Union Veteran of the Civil War (SUVCW) , Camp 33 (York), asked relatives to contact him at bob@bobrudy.com.

The big guns might have a familiar look to connoisseurs of cannons... .

A worker with Continental Signs cuts the weights off the familiar statue along Interstate 83 in 2002. The 13-foot-tall, 1,000-pound statue has signaled the York Barbell building since the 1960s. Wind disabled the motor that rotates the statue north of York, Pa., and once workers dug into that problem, they noticed other damage to the statue. (See additional photo below.) Background posts: Former Mr. America Jules S. Bacon passes away and John Grimek lifted up musclemen of York, Pa. and All York Barbell posts from the start.

Ask people outside York County if they've ever been there, and some will say:

"Yes, I've passed through. That's the place with the weightlifter."

That identifiable symbol of York and its iconic company York Barbell looks indestructible.

But even a 13-foot man with a steel frame skeleton covered with tough fiberglas has to withstand much.

Such as the wind... .

John D. Fair's book "Muscletown USA" gives insight into the role played by Bob Hoffman of York Barbell in the use of steroids in sports. Background posts: Who were most prominent 20th-century sports heroes in York and Adams counties? and Richard Nixon's visit to his namesake park sparks memories and York, Pa. made big, heavy things - and was immensely proud of it.

Major League Baseball again is exploring allegations that Alex Rodriguez use steroids as a member of the New York Yankees.

When steroid abuse makes the headlines, that raises the question about where steriod use in professional sports began - or at least came into steady use.

There's solid documentation that the answer is York, Pa... .

John G. Coulson's "Hanover Raiders, Minor League Baseball in Hanover, Pennsylvania" tells about the life and times and players in the Blue Ridge League. His work nicely adds to the repository of the names of major league players who hailed from or played in York and Adams counties. Background posts: Before the York Revs came the Hanover Raiders and Big league baseball fans from everywhere remember Gene Crumling and York County sports a miniature Cooperstown.

At the moment of the Atlantic League York Revolution's home opener for season No. 3, it's a good time to review former major leaguers with York roots as well as those who were here for a cup of coffee.

Atlanta Braves superscout Paul Snyder is from York County. So is Greg Gross. And Jim Spencer. And Gene Cumling. And Ken Raffensberger.

Robert Rohrbaugh might be the region's next major leaguer.

York Town Square just profiled Eddie Plank, the great southpaw 300-game winner.

Just when you think you exhausted the pool of York/Adams countians with Major League Baseball ties (click here for another long and impressive list) who were born here or lived here, you run across another batch... .

The Orange Car's name, seller of fresh fruit, has been on the former Western Maryland railroad station, since 1938. Background posts: Collector searching for Western Maryland Railroad memorabilia and Jackson Township, Arm & Hammer's proposed new home, again in the middle of things and York County railroading: 'Something that gets into your blood'.

Dick Boyd writes in his memoir "The Bridge" about an oft-repeated experience growing up in York County.

"Christmas festivities were held at my grandparents Glen Rock farm and were always very special. One aunt was single and lived there. Each Christmas, she brough us candy, oranges, tangerines, and nuts. ... One year, I counted a hundred differents kinds of fruits, nuts and candy."

The source of such wintertime fruit and other delicacies for years and years around York County was the Orange Car on York's Roosevelt Avenue... .

Cassandra Small, daughter of leading York County mechant P.A. Small, left behind the most complete and revealing first-person account of the Confederate occupation of York. (See photo below of a Small played by a living historian.) Attorney James Latimer (see photo below) also wrote letters about the rebel invasion in late-June 1863. Their writings appear on virtual exhibit. Background posts: Panel explores the Confederates' pre-Gettysburg occupation of York and Rebs' short York visit creates long memories and Burial site reportedly found for rebel officer who occupied York.

As the York County Heritage Trust prepared to construct a Civil War exhibit about five years ago at its 250 E. Market St. museum, some folks at the York Daily Record/Sunday News were working to put that exhibit on the Web.

The idea was that museum patrons could view the exhibit in person, and virtual patrons could benefit from it online.

Today, both exhibits remain intact and contain some hard-to-get content... .

Eddie Plank, a Gettysburg native, won more than 300 games in his Major League Baseball career, the first lefthander to do so. Plank ended his career with 327 victories. He entered the majors in 1901 and retired in 1917. He became a hall-of-famer in 1946. Background posts: Story answers much about great athlete Hinkey Haines, including origin of his nickname and Southpaw could be next York/Adams major leaguer and Baseball's Methuselah played for White Roses.

A Gettysburg restaurant recently has themed native son and baseball Hall-of-Famer Eddie Plank.

"Gettysburg is a town that lives on the dead, their legends, speeches and actions.
Most restaurants, gift shops and museums have themes that deal with the borough's famous battlefield and presidential history," blogger Pat Abdalla wrote under the headline, Finding a niche with Eddie Plank.

"Restaurant owner Bill Wills, however, has found a different niche in Gettysburg's history: Eddie Plank, a legendary baseball player who was born and lived in the town."

This attention on Plank brings to mind a review of an article in "National Pastime" on Plank.

That York Sunday News article (7/25/04) debunked some myths about Plank, the first southpaw to win more than 300 games in the majors... .

York native Jeannette Zinn died while serving with the YMCA in war-torn Europe in 1918. Background posts: From war bonds to pets and people and Spanish flu epidemic in York: 'People died one right after the other' and Easter in York County, 1919: Sadness, joy, hope.

In the months following World War I, Jeannette Zinn was feted as a war hero.

One source in the York County Heritage Trust files lists her as the first woman from York "to give her life for the great cause of freedom."

It's not clear if that means in all wars up to that point or in the Great War, as World War I was then called.

Clearly, women provided tremendous aid in previous wars. Cassandra Small Morris became ill, for example, after caring for Gettysburg wounded.

But she survived.

Unfortunately, not much is known about Jeannette Zinn... .

The Modernaire Motel, built in 1949 to serve Lincoln Highway motorists before the Route 30 by-pass went in, sits at a prime spot on East Market Street at Mount Zion Road. Patrons used to enter the motel, according to Lincoln Highway expert Brian Butko, on the art deco building's rounded corner. But later, the entrance was moved to the side. Background posts: York County ... 'A smorgasbord of architectural styles' and Just try to resist studying this memory-tugging photograph and Coca-Cola out in Springetts... self-storage space is real thing and Change flattens Stony Brook's drive-in, humpback bridge.

Richard E. Zimmerman Sr. was a war hero and banker, well known around town.

And his recent death reminded York County folks of how he was best known - as longtime owner of the Modernaire Motel on East Market Street.

York Daily Record/Sunday News writer Mike Argento noted (4/10/09) that Zimmerman's stint in banking including time as manager of the Round Bank, now M & T's Queensgate branch.

Zimmerman left banking in 1966 to take over the round-sided Modernaire.

He thought it would be interesting, Argento wrote.

Argento told about one such interesting incident:

This clip from The (York, Pa.) Gazette and Daily observes what happened on the war front "over there" in World War I. It shows part of a roll call of the 195 or more York countians who died, including George Woods (left), fighting with a machine gun unit. While those in the military were battling the Germans, the Spanish flu and other deadly diseases in France, their families back home were struggling against the flu virus, as well. Background posts: World War I bond drive: Spanish 'Flu bug, no more than Hun, was not going to tarnish York's perfect patriotic record' and York's Spanish flu epidemic of 1918: 'It remains one of the darkest periods for White Rose residents' and Easter in York County, 1919: Sadness, joy, hope.

York Hospital had no ambulances except a horse-drawn carriage in 1918.

That was particularly problematic in this year of the pandemic Spanish flu.

"(B)ut even if there had been one, it could not have taken all of the stricken to the hospital; there was simply no room for all of them there," Florence La Rose Ames wrote in "That Sovereign Knowledge."

That history detailing the hospitals first hundred years starting in 1880 made several points about the homefront flu battle:

The Fourth Liberty Loan drive during World War I was under way in York County and so was the Spanish flu, as this newspaper ad states. Background posts: Single shell killed two York countians in World War I and Well-known doctor, York, Pa.'s Edmund Meisenhelder, beat back flu and York's Spanish flu epidemic of 1918: 'It remains one of the darkest periods for White Rose residents'.

In the fall of 1918, leading York businessman Grier Hersh had a problem.

He faced a fourth Liberty Loan drive goal of $8.7 million. Those funds would be used to prosecute World War I.

He planned for church bells to ring a 7 p.m. each night to remind citizens of that goal. Military planes would drop "propaganda bombs" on the city.

"But all these well-laid plans came to naught," Carl E. Hatch and Joseph Hicks wrote in "World War I: York, Pennsylvania's Response."

The Spanish flu hit York... .

The William Penn Senior High School boys ....

... and York Catholic's state title runs are detailed in forthcoming York Daily Record/Sunday News' books. For details on these books or accompanying DVDs, visit www.inyork.com/booksales. Background posts: Will Autumn Lau gain top area basketball scoring record? It's possible. and Red Lion's Scott Fitzkee ranks as York/Adams Greatest Athlete and Other YAIAA-related posts.

A York Daily Record/Sunday News editorial put the recently passed local basketball season into perspective:

"This has been one of the best YAIAA hoops seasons in recent memory. Today, the York Catholic girls are playing for another state championship, potentially the team's fourth in a row. To reach the title game, York Catholic had to beat another YAIAA team, Delone Catholic.

Saturday night, the William Penn boys will play for a state title; the city team hasn't played for a state championship since 1949.

York County could have two state championship basketball teams, a remarkable achievement.

... We can all take some pride in the accomplishments of these student-athletes. And we can learn some lessons from them... .

The York County Heritage Trust's genealogy section offers a trove of information for those researching their families. Background posts: A researcher's roll through the microfilm and For genealogists, researchers searching York County families, facts and York County genealogical research: An exhausting endeavor.

A subscription to the deep and helpful ancestry.com site demands a costly subscription not within the reach of everyone.

But those using the York County Heritage Trust Archives/Library can access it at no charge... .

Clair Good worships during a Stony Brook Mennonite Church Easter service at sunrise at Lower Windsor Township's Samuel S. Lewis State Park overlooking the Susquehanna River. Background posts: Easter stories of sacrifice & selflessness and Pre-World War II Thanksgiving holds lessons for York countians today and Henry Laurens' Christmas in York Town: 'I will not quit my post, although I ... fear that I may perish on it'.

I penned an editorial in today's (4/12/09) York Sunday News tying themes of Easter with world events during difficult times 90 years ago.

Interested in your thoughts:

A York newspaper story headlined "Joyful Observance of Easter Festival" on Saturday, April 19, 1919, set the stage for services the next day.

It was full of meaning to Gazette and Daily readers.

And for readers 90 years later... .

The demolished building in foreground is the bath house for Springwood Park near Yoe in the aftermath of the Flood of 1933. According to the booklet 'Picture Memories, York Flood 1933,' Mill Creek's waters carried the structure 100 feet off its foundation, and it broke into two sections when it struck a telephone pole. Half of it is in the swimming pool, at left. Nothing is left of Springwood Park, but the still-standing house, right, helps locate it. The house is identifiable today by its distinctive second-story windows. Background posts: Old Ma & Pa Railroad trestle may again carry passengers - on bicyles - some day and 19th-century mines gave Ore Valley its name and One-room schools: 'That's when things were good'.

The pool's sloping sides and cold, cold water make it memorable.

That was the 125-foot by 75-foot Springwood Pool along the road by the same name in York Township, between Chapel Church Road and Yoe.

It operated from the 1920s until 1954... .

York County Academy on North Beaver Street is seen in 1922. It was the earliest forerunner of York College of Pennsylvania. The historic building, which also served as York County USO headquarters in World War II, was demolished in the 1960s. Today, a parking lot across from St. John Episcopal Church covers the site, but the academy's old gymnasium still stands in the back corner of the lot. York County Academy and York Collegiate Institute later merged and their successor became four-year York College of Pennsylvania in 1968. Background posts: Old King's Mill-Smurfit Stone site giving way to information age and Central Pennsylvania histories make smart part of summer reading stack and New York College book provides insight into school, community.

YorkCounts: The percentage of high school students planning to attend postsecondary institutions is up in most York County school districts.

Background: With people often foregoing high school degrees historically, it follows that the percentage furthering their education after high school would be low.

That helps explain why York has never been considered a college town and the fact that no full college held classes here until 1968... .

Dr. Philip A. Hoover's 1994 book is full of insight about 20th-century life in York County. Background: Tobacco usage, YorkCounts quality-of-life indicator: Rooted in York County's past and High school graduation, YorkCounts indicator: Rising after a low start and York County group preserving Pennsylvania Dutch language, heritage.

Teen pregnancy is a problem in York County, although the rate is falling, according to a recent YorkCounts report.

But it's long been a problem in York County. And the rate was fueled from the three corners of York County.

Here's the quick skinny, as found in my recent York Sunday News column (3/29/09):

John Wilkes Booth attended school in York years before he gamed infamy for assassinating Abraham Lincoln. Background posts: James A. Garfield: 'York was the capital of the United States when congress was on wheels' and Piece of John Wilkes Booth's body to be shown in Philly and Abraham Lincoln was here.

Those attending the recent Treasures of the Trust were treated to two photographs that served as a reminder of an infamous former resident here.

The photographs at this York County Heritage Trust-sponsored event captured John Wilkes Booth (a cropped version is shown above) and the school he attended in York for a short spell in 1853.

An exhibit booklet said this of Booth and his school: ...

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A new book will soon run off the press highlighting the West York football's district championship season in 2008. Background posts: Is West York's Brandon Real the best local running back ever? and Red Lion's Scott Fitzkee ranks as York/Adams Greatest Athlete and York athlete series: 'Arguably the best girls' volleyball player the area has ever seen'.

"The story of the West York football program's coming of age began with a 57-13 loss back in November 2006.

"Those Bulldogs, under first-year coach Ron Miller, entered the District 3 Class AAA playoffs with a respectable 7-3 record and a formidable foe ahead of them: the Manheim Central Barons, owners of 15 District 3 titles since 1989.

"The result was not surprising. West York got whupped. Whupped good. The Barons outrushed West York 378 to 3.

"But the Bulldogs had received a great, up-close look at what they wanted to become."

That was how York Daily Record/Sunday News' sports editor Chris Otto began the introduction to the newspaper's latest book-length work "Friday Night Bulldogs."

What they would become is district champs... .

Jonah Lehrer's second book has been compared to Malcolm Gladwell's bestselling "Blink." He has York County ties. Background posts: York author's works adapted to the big screen: 'Legacies,' Part Last and Cameron Mitchell, Craig Sheffer, Dixie Chick born here and 'Weekly Reader's' founder Eleanor Johnson, 'York Legacies,' Part III.

A considerable part of Jonah Lehrer's considerable gray matter originated in York County.

He is the son of York native Jean Hively.

The Columbia grad and Rhodes Scholar writes books that make national headlines.

His first book "Proust Was a Neuroscientist" gained notice in the New York Times Book Review, as has his brand new second work, "How We Decide."

A Malcolm Gladwell disciple? ...

Luther D. Summers mugs for the camera from a spot on a White Rose Amusement Park roller coaster support. He's about 90 feet up. Background posts: Great Balls of Fire, York's Memorial Park to spin back to 50s and Reader searching for Boys Club Pool photo and The 'Little Courthouse,' like longtime York square neighbor 'Teapot Dome,' still stands tall.

Gloria Miller saw the iconic photograph of the roller coaster of the former White Rose Amusement Park in the post Good grief, how long has that pool been there? and wanted to know more - or see more.

"I never knew about the White Rose Amusement Park. But would like to know more about it or pictures, anyone have pictures of it? My grandparents were farmers and we didn't move to York city till 1949. I was 6 years old by then. This is the first time I ever heard about it," she wrote in a comment on the post.

The photograph of the roller coaster, formerly located in the vicinity of Ferguson school near York's Farquhar Park, that appears in the "Good grief" post is the most common one used to give a glimpse of the memory-spawning park. It appears in the booklet "Northwest York" as well as Jim Hubley's "Off The Record."

The above photo of Luther Summers is also from "Northwest York," which gives information that Gloria might enjoy about the old amusement park: ...

This part of the York City map of 1888, from the booklet "Northwest York" gives a view of what became known as The Avenues. North Hartley Street, the address of the earliest forerunner of Memorial Hospital, can be seen at bottom, left. Background posts: Industrialist Thomas Shipley's 'enduring monument' in York did not 'endure' and Glatfelter, Morgan Smith head industrial legacy list and Spring Garden Band: 'It's like being in the room with history' .

Memorial Hospital's plans to move from the east side of York to the former Hawk Lake golf course on the north side are well known.

And many people alive today remember when Memorial moved from the west side to its current location along Interstate 83.

But before the West Side Osteopathic Hospital and Dr. Edmund Meisenhelder's West Side Sanitarium operated, where was the hospital located? ...

A meteor shower amazed - and frightened - York countians in 1833. But it left behind nothing like the meteorite found in 1907 in the Shrewsbury area. Here, the Perseid Meteor Shower shower visit the skies in a photograph published in the York Daily Record/Sunday News in 2004. Background posts: Iron-mine-turned-into-party-spot turned into York County park and Site filled with wealth of York County geological info and Quarrying in Delta-Peachbottom.

Dillsburg is experiencing more than its share of earthquakes recently.

According to one count, about 325 tremors were reported in the Dillsburg area between Oct. 3 and early February.

But such natural phenomenons are not new in York County.

A natural event - the Leonid meteor shower - scared thousands in 1833... .

The original Outdoor Country Club stands in The Avenues in this photo from the publication, "Northwest York, 1884-1984." Background posts: On Eisenhower's Country Club of York golf round: He turned in a 'commendable score' and Exploring ornate Springdale, sunken ballroom, golf course and all and Why is Hanover Country Club in Abbottstown? and 'Lady Linden', of York's Avenues neighborhood, gets full makeover

Many people know that the Country Club of York grew on fertile land now covered by York College of Pennsylvania.

But where did the York-area's other major country club - the Outdoor Country Club begin? Some might think its was birthed when it took over the Country Club of York's property when that group moved to its current location.

Actually, the Outdoor Country Club began in 1892 in the trolley suburbs now called The Avenues, according to the booklet "Northwest York" ... .

This illustration, from the York Daily Record/Sunday News and drawing from the title of the popular Civil War book, shows in broad brush the Confederate advance across York County in late June 1863. Wrightsville became the east-most point of the Confederate thrust. Scott Mingus' "Flames Beyond Gettysburg" explores Gen. John B. Gordon's Confederate raid to the Susquehanna River. He will address the Confederate advances through the county at 7 p.m. today at the York County Civil War Roundtable and at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Greater Dover Historical Society. Background posts: Signs point to York, 'Prize of the Confederacy,' and other York/Adams Civil War wonders and Poster highlights the life of a Civil War soldier and Pro/Con: Should York's leaders have surrendered to the rebels?.

Scott Mingus is on the speaking trail telling the story of the Confederate invasion of York County as detailed in his recently released "Flames Beyond Gettysburg."

And he's doing some neat stuff on his blog, Cannonball, part of Yorkblog's suite of history bloggers.

For example, it fuels one's sense of discovery when you learn of a new place to explore or are reminded of something you've long wanted to check out... .

York County industrial leaders turned out in large numbers for a dinner at the Yorktowne Hotel in World War II. The York Plan resulting from their cooperation became a national model. Background posts: All York Corporation/Johnson Controls posts from the start and Industrialist Thomas Shipley's 'enduring monument' in York did not 'endure' and York Corporation played role in Manhattan Project.

York County's homefront and war front efforts well represented what it took across America to win the two-front World War II.

And the best York County offered on the homefront - and it was significant - was the York Plan.

But ask a York County audience about the York Plan and surprisingly few know even the vaguest details.

So, here's a quick synopsis of the plan: ... .

Visitors to the York County SPCA view this portrait outside the human society's meeting room. Why is Esther Yeagley's so honored? Pre-World War II Thanksgiving holds lessons for York countians today and Loretta Claiborne's achievements bring spotlight her way and York County historical war deaths top 1,000.

Another in an occasional series of the people behind the names on the building facades and portraits hanging in public places... .

Dr. John Yeagley passed away years ago but people still remember him around York. Among other things, he was the chief of public health during the terrible polio outbreak of 1941. He received a bio in the 1999 publication "Heroes and Builders."

But reminder of Esther Yeagley's community contributions is possibly more visible than any her husband left behind. Her portrait hangs in the very public SPCA shelter in Manchester Township.

The SPCA's "Pet Gazette" gives background about the woman on the painting: ...

John Grisham, seen in this 2006 Associated Press file photo, wrote York, Pa., into the narrative of his most recent bestseller 'The Associate.' Background posts: York author's works adapted to the big screen: 'Legacies,' and Worker saved key historical surveys from Glatfelter pulping machine and York's contribution to 'The Four Chaplains' still gains attention and Author with local ties writes 'precocious and engaging' book .

There's just something about York County that gets it into the news.

Many of its residents have gone on to fame.

Or fame finds York.

The late author John Updike, for example, referred to York several times in his 1971 book "Rabbit Redux," part of his famed "Rabbit" series. He placed his lead character, Harold C. "Rabbit" Angstrom, in a fictional town near the non-fictional Reading and put him in situations that tested his ability to relate to people of other races.

In that connection, he wrote in the actual race riots that had just taken place in York.

"Nex day, Friday," he wrote, " the papers and television ware full of the colored riots in York, snipers wounding innocent firemen, simple men on the street, what is the world coming to?"

Sometimes, fame comes to York.

John Grisham has written about York before.

But in "The Associate," York is the hometown of the main character. And, as it turns out, Grisham has been to York... .

For years, a hame was displayed on a sign in Leon Saubel's front yard in the Shrewsbury Township (Pa.) village of Hametown. The display has been taken down. Background posts: Codorus collector exhibits collection of conveyances - wheels and sleighs and 'I didn't know a peach tree from an apple tree, but we learned quickly.' and Trees commemorate World War I I vets.

In putting up the recent post on a Hametown one-room school and its upcoming reunion, it occurred to me that viewers might not know how the school's host village received its name.

Hametown between Shrewsbury and Loganville on the Susquehanna Trail was a major center for the making of hames.

Hames, along with collars and traces, form the pulling part of a horse's harness. (Other parts of a harness - a bridle, for example - relate to guiding the horse.)

J. Emory Seitz, whose great grandfather founded the village's hame-making factory circa 1850 defined a hame in a 1970 letter: ...

Phyllis Chisler's rendition of Hametown School serves as the focal point of the cover of Joseph D. Boose's book on the one-room school. The painting was entered in the York County Painter's contest of York County one room schools in 1963. Background posts: The Outhouse Rules - York County, circa 1935 and Northeastern York County's Paddletown: Children paddled back and forth to visit grandma and One-room school reunions preserve educational culture of thousands of York countians.

Gov. Rendell has called for the state's 500 districts to implode into 100.

This is not the first time a call for school consolidation has gone out.

In post-World War II York County, 32 districts merged into 15, according to the booklet "York County: An Overview."

What actually happened in the 1950s when all this consolidation took place?

York artist Lewis Miller's depiction of a Christmas tree is part of the York County Heritage Trust's collection. The Trust, largest holder of Miller drawings, has just introduced a new Web Site. The Miller art pieces are the crown jewels of the Trust's collection. Background posts: Don't know much about York County history? Part I and The Four Bloggers write and Stack of books on York County's Civil War past getting higher.

Looking to learn more about your house?

The York County Heritage Trust's newly designed Web site lists resources to check out.

The site's extensive listing of such resources starts like this: ...

Former U.S. President William Howard Taft spent some time with Thomas Shipley in his home in "the Avenues" part of York during his 1915 visit to York. Background posts: During York visit, former President Taft glad to be in 'this great hive of industry' and Washington Township, Jefferson Borough, Madison Avenue. How about an Obama Street in York County? and Teddy Roosevelt in York: 'I know York county farmers are prosperous. Their barns are bigger than their houses'

Fellow blogger June Lloyd provides a wonderful postcard view of a William Howard Taft visit to York in her post: President Taft Addresses York Crowd from Back of Train.

Information with the post card suggests he made his address in 1909. It must have been the stop Taft referred to in his 1915 visit when he said in a speech to the York Manufacturers' Association that he had previously given a short speech from the back of a train to a local audience.

But the 1915 visit was of longer duration, and it included time at Thomas Shipley's house at Linden and West York (now Roosevelt) avenues... .

The Shipley home was fit for an ex-president... .

Brian Brown, project supervisor of the newly opened Manchester Township's SPCA told the York Daily Record/Sunday News in 2006: 'These dogs are going to be living good.' York-area residents began organization of the SPCA in 1925. Background posts: Pets and animals in York County history and Perrydale's bovine: 'She's a wonderful, laid-back cow' and Landmark dog guards picket.

Dover's Sara Bretz is a retired teacher who wants to instruct others about the SPCA's story.

She's embarked on a project to learn the SPCA's history, spending hours in the York County Heritage Trust Archives. She hopes to compile her history into a publication.

She's found that organizing members of the group first met on March 31, 1925. Harry A. Harris brought the group together.

An annual report for 1931, issued by president Joseph H. Mosser, summarizes the SPCA's goals in those years:

Crispus Attucks Association's Cindy Leiphart can be seen in a room in the former home of William C. Goodridge that was reportedly used to hide fugitive slaves as part of the Underground Railroad. A hole in the floor above the room was formerly covered by a trapdoor. Background posts: Stack of books on York County's Civil War past getting higher and Research needed to unearth Underground Railroad in York County - Part I and 10 years ago, York's exclusive Lafayette Club became less exclusive, Part III.

The life and times of William C. Goodridge's former slave who became a successful 19th-century York businessman were filled with controversy.

He and his family developed national applause despite - or maybe because of - these obstacles.

I made that point in an upcoming York Sunday News column (3/01/09) and urge readers to get behind efforts to create a Goodridge Freedom House and Underground Railroad Museum in Goodridge's former residence.

In addition to honoring this community leader, the museum could become a center for studying York County's still-obscure Underground Railroad history... .

Union engineer Herman Haupt quickly rebuilt this bridge near Hanover Junction after invading Confederates burned it in late June 1863. This Library of Congress photo appears in the just-released "Flames Beyond Gettysburg," which tells about the Confederate raid. Background posts: Stack of books on York County's Civil War past getting higher and The Four Bloggers write and 'One of the shells found its mark'.

OK, those seeking copies of Scott Mingus' "Flames Beyond Gettysburg," the comprehensive look at Confederate Gen. John B. Gordon's raid to the Susquehanna, can pick one up at the York Emporium. The York County Heritage Trust and other booksellers now have supplies of the book, too.

That's the first public sales point for the book, although they can be ordered directly from Mingus at scottmingus@yahoo.com... .

A multiple-deck headline in The York Dispatch on Tuesday evening, Oct. 6, 1891, tells how a man took his life. Such detailed stories were common in that day. Background posts: West York ritualistic suicide forgotten by many, but investigators remember and Abraham Lincoln's 'melancholy' and The bad, and yes, the good of the Great Depression in York County.

With nostalgic thoughts about newspapers of yesteryear in mind, readers sometimes pose two questions about modern newspapers:

Why are there so many typos today? And why are papers today so sensational?

The first concern can be addressed by taking a scroll through newspaper microfilm. There they are, typos on most every page. In those hot lead days, it was difficult and expensive to change typos, even if they were caught in advance.

And as for sensationalism, the above headlines lead off a blow-by-blow story about how a York man poisoned himself to death, typical of the day... .

Ken Stough, left, instructor for the Pennsylvania Dutch language classes, talks with Butch Reigart during a class at Providence Place near Dover. Reigart, formerly of York County, is teaching an upcoming Lancaster-based Pennsylvania German course. Background posts: Der Belsnickel of the Pennsylvania Dutch: 'He looked scary and carried a sack of presents' and Classes offer rare op to learn Pennsylvania Dutch and York County group preserving Pennsylvania Dutch language, heritage.

People are fascinated with Pennsylvania Dutch language, a dialect of German spoken for decades - centuries - in York County and other parts of Pennsylvania.

Today, the dialect is most prevalent among the Mennonite and Amish, the latter a growing population group in southeastern York County.

According to a news release, the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society is offering 10-week classes in the Pennsylvania Dutch language and culture... .

This video, part of the York Daily/Record Sunday News 'Remember" oral history series, provides memories of the Great Depression. Background posts: It couldn't happen in York County? Women were trampled in Depression-era labor unrest and Pre-World War II Thanksgiving holds lessons for York countians today and Destructive flood of 1933 struck York County 75 years ago.

Thirty-five years ago, Charles Bloomfield wrote what is still the most authoritative scholarly work on the Great Depression in York County.

Anyone who has dealt with the 1930s in any depth is familiar with Bloomfield's work, available for inspection (but not check out) at the York County Heritage Trust.

Who is Charles Bloomfield? ...

This old Prospect Hill Cemetery gate frames Civil War Soldiers Circle, where many who died at the U.S. Military General Hospital in Penn Park were buried. Lila Fourhman-Shaull tells about some of the noted Civil War-era residents who were buried in the cemetery in her "A Walking Tour of Civil War-Era residents at Prospect Hill Cemetery, York, Pa." Background posts: Navy SEAL Neil C. Roberts: 'In this simple grave ... lies a national hero' and 'He said his farewells to his family ... ' and Not all rebel wounded suffered after Gettysburg.

Scott Mingus' recent "Flames Beyond Gettysburg" is another book exploring York County's role in the Civil War.

Since 2000, various presses have produced these works touching on the county and the Civil War or exploring that era:

John V. Jezierski's "Enterprising Images, The Goodridge Brothers, African-American Photographers, 1847-1922" is the most comprehensive look yet at William C. Goodridge and his family. Background posts: Underground Railroad expert: 'We cannot alter past ignorance, but we can resolve not to repeat it' and York's Goodridge House listed as site on Underground Railroad network and Research needed to unearth Underground Railroad in York County - Part I.

The evening is billed as an interactive time with ex-slave-turned-businessman William C. Goodridge played by former-York-City-Councilman-turned-living-historian Wm. Lee Smallwood.

The audience will get the chance to interact with Goodridge from 6-8 p.m., Friday, Feb. 20, at the York County Heritage Trust, 250 E. Market St.

And so will I.

I'm slated to interview him as part of the evening... .

Flames shoot from a grill atop a pier from the bridge that the Union Army burned in 1863 to stop the Confederate advance. Two subsequent bridges used those same now-empty piers. In recent years, re-enactors have simulated the burning of the bridge as an observance of this milestone in local history. Scott Mingus has penned a history, 'Flames Beyond Gettysburg' that tells about that moment when Confederate Gen. John B. Gordon's raid reached the west bank of the Susquehanna. Background posts: New Lincoln blog category introduced to honor Abe's 200th birthday and History-making evening on rebel occupation of York could turn into daylong symposium and Mayor of York, Pa.: 'We are no longer unprotected'.

Scott Mingus writes many memorable stories in his new book on the Confederate occupation of York County.

But he provides one quote that creates an image that will never leave your mind.

Here's what one Union cavalryman later observed about the rebels' charge at the bridge linking Wrightsville and Columbia in late June 1863:

"One old negro to whom was entrusted the duty of igniting the fuse sat very coolly on the edge of the pier, smoking a cigar."

The best place to start in researching York County (Pa.) Pfaltzgraff pottery is "Pfaltzgraff, America's Potter." The book tells the story of the former York County pottery makeer from its founding in the early 1800s through 1989, the date the book was published. It's available via the York County Library System, www.yorklibraries.org. Background posts: Who are York County's most influential citizens? - Part II and Pottery put the other Foustown - the one in Manchester Township - on the map and Original WSBA station hands mic to demolition team.

The Pfaltzgraff arm of Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff made pottery of all shapes and sizes for all kinds of uses for decades and decades.

Page through the book "America's Potters," and you'll see pottery used for Christmas ornaments, cookie jars, ash trays, laundry sprinklers and door stops.

But nothing in there about dragons, a point of query by Julie Patterson... .

This scene showing the burning of the Wrightsville Bridge in 1863 is the focal point of the cover of Scott Mingus' newest book. Background posts: Unsung York County asset: Actual, virtual historical community with hustle and Books probing York County in the Civil War come in strong, sudden onslaught and Signs point to York, 'Prize of the Confederacy,' and other York/Adams Civil War wonders.

Fellow blogger Scott Mingus' new book is the most thorough micro-study yet of the Confederate expedition to the banks of the Susquehanna River in late June 1863.

That raid included the controversial surrender of York, which Mingus covers in detail... .

This York Corporation worker had a little fun painting a devil's mask on his hood. (To view the face behind the desk, see photo below.) Background posts: 'Little Johnny' called for Allies in World War II and The bomb: 'And yet it stopped the war' and Nazis murdered downed airman from York County, Part IIII.

York's George Anderson made America laugh during the dark days of World War II.

He donned a York Corporation welder's hood bearing a devil's face.

And someone snapped a photo.

The image then appeared in about 700 U.S. newspapers during the war... .

The once-beautiful Ganoga Bridge, the span that divided Boy Scout Camp Ganoga into two parts, may be coming down.

And at least one area preservationist is not happy about it.

Barb Raid of Historic York wants PennDOT to leave the old structure standing when its replacement eventually opens to traffic.

And the owner of the old campgrounds says its replacement will be unremarkable architecturally.

The old bridge bears many interesting features including the remains of 12 lamp posts in honor of the Scout Laws... .

Pro Football Hall of Famer Raymond Berry signs items at a January 2009 reception in York. Author Steve McKee includes Berry as part of his memories of the Baltimore Colts in his Da Capo Press book, "My Father's Heart." Background posts: 'When people are looking back into Pa. basketball history ... it's great' and Lineup full of sports stars with York County links and Playland plays nostalgic note for York countians.

How do you tie together such York County icons as York Area Sports Night, Gino's, York Catholic basketball and the Baltimore Colts?

Well, Steve McKee deftly did so in the following excerpt from his "My Father's Heart," soon to be released in paperback.

Here's an excerpt from the nationally distributed book, published in the York Sunday News (1/18/09):

A rusting fence surrounds the empty Smurfit and Stone building on Kings Mill Road in 2005. York College of Pennsylvania is acquiring the site, so those weeds are set for extermination some day. Background posts: Author: 'York's streetscape features almost every style and era of American architecture' and York-area picture book not your typical coffee table publication and Fourth-generation member of Glatfelter paper family dies.

A historic house - the Philip King house - stands on the Smurfit-Stone Container site that York College of Pennsylvania is acquiring.

Fellow blogger Scott Butcher writes about the 427 Kings Mill Road house in his "York's Historic Architecture."

According to Butcher, the mill was constructed near the confluence of Tyler Run and Codorus Creek... .

This photograph showing Sen. Harry S. Truman during his 1944 visit to York County, Pa., came from longtime York Daily Record columnist Jim Hubley's "Off the Record." Truman was in York for a political speech. As for street-level memories of this respected president, he left none behind. But many other presidents have, as recounted below. Background posts: Richard Nixon's visit to his namesake park sparks memories and York-area woodcarver made life-size JFK statue. But where is it now? and This working list details presidential visits to York and Adams counties.

York Sunday News columnist Gordon Freireich (1/23/08) has issued a challenge for York countians.

We have places named after many of the 44 U.S. presidents.

Maybe York County should be the first county in the nation name a street after President Barack Obama.

He brought back research from a 1996 column that showed streets and places with presidential names taken from our nation's chief executives.

It will reinforce with viewers here how much this county draws on its past:

Noted 19th-century York, Pa., artist Lewis Miller captures George Washington in this drawing that is part of the York County Heritage Trust's collection. The trust is displaying presidential artifacts in connection with the inauguration of President Barack Obama at its 250 E. Market St., York, museum. Background posts: Additional posts on presidential visits and Where was Thomas Jefferson when Congress met in York? and President of Congress Henry Laurens kept Congress together in Valley Forge winter.

For example, post-Civil War presidents often visited the battlefield in Gettysburg, and most got there by rail before the days of air travel. They sometimes would travel unannounced on the Northern Central Railroad, later the Pennsylvania Railroad, to Hanover Junction and then head along the line from there to Gettysburg.

Hanover's Mother Smith -- Mrs. M.O. Smith -- joined presidents Abraham Lincoln, Herbert Hoover, Calvin Coolidge and Franklin D. Roosevelt on the rostrum during presidential speeches in Gettysburg.

"I would not compare the men or their remarks," she told a newspaper after other media had pestered her for such. "I feel it my patriotic duty to refrain from comparing any one president with another."

Indeed, the Northern Central Railroad probably carried many chief executives through York County in the dead of night, unknown to local residents.

Here is a sampling of visits to York and Adams counties from those who occupied the White House (search on this blog for additional information):

The Ma & Pa Railroad is such an intriguing historical attraction in York County that it's easy to forget that Maryland is part of its name - that the line has a busy past south of the border.

Baltimore Sun writer Jacques Kelly provided a reminder in a Jan. 18 piece about the re-use of the former Ma & Pa tunnel in Charm City.

For more information on the Ma & Pa Railroad, click here.

Georg Sheets' 'York County: To the Setting of the Sun' includes this Bill Schintz photograph of Jimmy Carter's visit to Lewisberry in 1974. (To see a list of other visits by presidents or presidental candidates, click here.) Background post: Former York countian has hand on Lincoln dollar, too and Abe Lincoln stopped at Hanover station:"We want to preserve history ... so it doesn't disappear' and York-area woodcarver made life-size JFK statue. But where is it now?.

Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter visited Lewisberry in northern York County in 1974.

York photographer Bill Schintz recalls Carter attended a rally at a barn... .

This windmill, seen here in this photo from the York County Heritage Trust, operated in the 1870s in the Jefferson Avenue area, north of the Codorus Creek in York. Background posts: Dempwolf architects built York's skyline, history and What was famed architect John Dempwolf's own house like? and Fairmount fit for Roger, Anita and Pongo, Perdita.

But an early attempt in York County to harness the wind came with construction of a windmill of the type normally associated with Holland.

That structure went up near present-day Jefferson Avenue between Beaver and North George streets... .

First Lady Barbara Bush gives high-fives outside Crispus Attucks Community Center. She visited in 1988 and 1992. 'These youngsters have had an experience that a lot of kids in this country wish they had ...,' CA Executive Director Bobby Simpson said, 'It's something they will remember the rest of their lives.' Background posts: In 2008, 8 top candidates or their families campaigned in York County and A short test of your women's history knowledge and Hillary Clinton apparently closer to middle than Obama in minds of York County Dems.

Many U.S. presidents or candidates for the presidency have appeared in York County since the 1790s.

But what about the First Ladies?

Just for starters, Hillary Clinton made it twice. First, as a prospective First Lady and then as a candidate herself.

Barbara Bush visited as prospective First Lady and then as actual First Lady.

Both times, she visited Crispus Attucks Community Center.

Both times, she visited CA's day care center.

In her 1988 visit, she viewed CA's many programs as a pilot that the rest of the country should emulate.

In 1992, she urged those in day care to set realistic goals and "never, ever, drop out."

Here's the York Daily Record's (10/6/08) account of that visit:

Red Lion cigarmaker Harry L. Haines represented York County in U.S. Congress for most of the 1930s. Background posts: 34 years ago, Congressman Goodling replaced Congressman Goodling, Who were these congressional visitors to York Town, anyway? and Sixty years ago, Dem upset GOP incumbent for York County congressional seat.

Hinkey Haines' athletic successes sometimes overshadowed his accomplished father Harry Haines.

Harry was a cigarmaker - owner of three factories - and a successful amateur athlete around the region. He was mayor of Red Lion in the 1920s.

And he was York County's Democratic congressman in most of the Depression era.

In fact, those were the days when congressional races were, indeed, races... .

For years, the Ma & Pa's Taylor's Trestle has been forgotten between Red Lion and Yoe. Now a budding Eagle Scout wants to help restore it. Background posts: Ma & Pa rabbit trains: 'I hope they thoroughly hosed out the cars.', Ma & Pa Railroad, Muddy Creek Forks draw fans and Yo! More support for Yoe vs. Yohe.

The summary on the back cover of George W. Hilton's "The Ma & Pa" nicely describes the winding railroad:

"Connecting Baltimore and York, the line had everything needed to endear itself to local residents and rail enthusiasts: picturesque equipment, marvelous scenary, antique passenger trains, handsome small-scale locomotives, and enough curves - 476 - for a railroad many times longer than its 77 miles."

The writer could also have added in "curving trestles... ."

Henry Laurens, president of Continental Congress, was one of a handful of candidates to serve in that body for the entire nine-month period it spent in York County. That service exacted a heavy toll on the South Carolinian. Background posts: Where was Thomas Jefferson when Congress met in York?, Laurens believed to be the first American to be cremated, Who were these congressional visitors to York Town, anyway?

I've written about the sacrifices of Continental Congress president Henry Laurens before.

But for some reason, they seem particularly acute this time of year when his bout with gout during Congress' visit in York was particularly intense.

So I made them part of today's Christmas Day editorial appearing in the York Daily Record/Sunday News:

Henry 'Hinkey' Haines, left, and Babe Ruth were teammates on the 1923 World Series champion New York Yankees. Background posts: Southpaw could be next York/Adams major leaguer, York County sports a miniature Cooperstown and Red Lion's Butch Wynegar ranks bright among York's sports stars.

Henry L. "Hinkey" Haines might have been the most accomplished athlete ever to come out of York and Adams counties.

So contends Frank Bodani, who spearheaded the Greatest Athletes series now running weekly in the York Daily Record/Sunday News.

Certainly, he made the York Sunday News' top 10 list of greatest athletes of the 20th century.

But he did not make the top 10 list of Red Lion Area Senior High School athletes.

The book "Red Lion, The First One Hundred Years" offers a possible explanation for that:

This photograph shows the Codorus Creek near Richland Avenue before Depression-era flood-control efforts changed its appearance. (Courtesy of York County Heritage Trust.) Background posts: Destructive flood of 1933 struck York County 75 years ago, It couldn't happen in York County? Women were trampled in Depression-era labor unrest and Bad economy turned York Safe and Lock toward lucrative defense work .

In a previous post Great Depression not only pinched in York County, it punched, I take a poke at the notion that the county somehow escaped the very tough times of the 1930s.

That assertion has come down over the years because no bank in York failed during the Depression.

No banks apparently failed in the city.

But using Charles Bloomfield's Millersville University master's research, I point out that 17 of York County's 46 banks either failed or reorganized.

This discussion caused Warren Miller of Hanover to inquire about which banks did, indeed, fail... .

Mary E. White became the first black nurse at Memorial Hospital in the mid-1950s. Background posts: York County WWII nurse: 'You know, it was the biggest war ever, and they needed nurses', York's Wonder Women: The stories of four more movers and shakers, Histories attempt to fill blanks in women's, black history and Pioneering York doctor slighted: 'She felt ... her professional status was well established'.

Nurse Mary E. White's story is similar to many professionally trained blacks in York County in the 20th century.

She trained for a profession but experienced problems gaining employment in her field.

Her fourth application for employment at Memorial Hospital worked, as the following excerpt from my York County black history, "Almost Forgotten," states:

Rachel Witmyer, member of a committees that founded the forerunner to Memorial Hospital is seen in this 2005 photo with Ruth Kammer, left, and Memorial CEO Sally Dixon. Witmyer died this week at the age of 97. Background posts: York's Memorial Hospital eyes site at different compass point, Well-known doctor, York, Pa.'s Edmund Meisenhelder, beat back flu and East side Memorial Hospital formerly on west side.

Dr. Rachel Witmyer was part of the team responsible for opening West Side Osteopathic Hospital in 1945.

That hospital was a successor to Edmund Meisenhelder's West Side Sanitarium and a forerunner of Memorial Hospital.

She had opened her own practice seven years before. And other female doctors had preceded her in York County.

Dr. Martha Bailey of Dillsburg was one.

Ruth Kammer's "Inside West Side" names at least two other early 20th-century female osteopaths: Emma E. Donnelly and Rachel E. Walker.

Florence La Rose Ames' "That Sovereign Knowledge," a history of York Hospital, lists Elizabeth G. B. Cannon as an intern in 1939.

So, at least a handful of women had been practicing medicine around the county for years.

But not enough to prevent an incident that dismayed Witmyer one day soon after West Side opened... .

Here's a hint to answer part of York County Smarts quiz, Part IV: This former York County legislator made history when she became the first woman elected to the General Assembly in the 1960s. (See additional photo below). York County smarts quiz, Part I, Part II, Part III.

Since its beginning, Pennsylvania has accomplished awesome results in the civilized arts -- more so than other areas of the United States of comparable size.

So says Philip Klein in his "History of Pennsylvania."

"Every region generates some creative people," he and co-author Ari Hogenboom wrote, "but Pennsylvania produced them by the hundreds."

Why?

Credit it to a diverse population, William Penn's quest for liberty and a varied, resource-rich geographic landscape.

Benjamin Franklin is Klein's Exhibit A of a Pennsylvania who showed original thought coupled with practical experiment.

All this could help explain why York countians have long made their mark on the state and national landscape... .

The Dallas Theatre is equipped with antique movie memorabilia, a pipe organ and heavy lush curtain shrouding the screen. It is one of the few small-town theaters still operating in York County. (See additional photo below.) Background posts: Miata, pool suggest changes in small-town Stewartstown, LBJ's, Lady Bird's visit a high point in Dallastown's history and Ella Fitzgerald's show was 'memorable, not Memorex' .

Dallastown's Dallas Theatre is one of the few functioning movie houses out of several that once dotted York County's small towns. The Glen Theatre in Glen Rock is another.

John Fishburne noticed another of those old small-town theaters - the one in Stewartstown - that is deteriorating.

"It is really in bad shape," he wrote... .

This scene from the 1933 flood shows the old Hotel Codorus, now vastly renovated and the York headquarters for the architectural firm of Dittenhafer & Murphy. That's the Market Street Bridge at right. (See additional photos below.) Background posts: Reader doesn't understand some things about York , Agnes, by the tragic numbers and What's the probability of another flood in York?.

Leon Kohr shared these photos taken during the flood of 1933.

His father drove the family to town in its 1932 Reo to take pictures.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Depression-era flood, another blow to the area during those tough times... .

The Rosie the Riveter image could suggest to some that women worked outside the home for the first time in World War II. Actually, the Great Depression brought women into the work force in droves, paving the way for their wartime role as a key cog in the Arsenal of Democracy. Women aiding their families made up one-third of York's workers at the height of the Depression in 1933. Here, a woman runs a machine in this undated photo, courtesy of the York County Heritage Trust. Background posts: The real big York County house that little false teeth built, York County expert Dan Meckley: 'I refuse to be politically correct' and Valencia Ballroom became cool place during Depression.

Let's be clear.

Depressions, like recessions, are not desirable.

But history shows that good can come out of bad.

That was true of Joseph in the Bible when Potipher's wife set him up.

It is true in the Great Depression in York County, when many community institutions that delight today cropped up from damaged economic soil.

Can a fraction of this happen again during the current downturn?

The following adaptation from my book "Never to be Forgotten," show the devastation and renewal spawned by the Depression.

Educational publishing house WorldScapes has released a book on Special Olympian Loretta Claiborne called "In her Stride." Background posts: Vilma Garcia-Jones remembered as prime spokesman for Latinos in York County, Who were most prominent 20th-century sports heroes in York and Adams counties? and Stetler Dodge transition indicative of other York-area changes .

In a recent post, I suggested that horticulturalist and York Imperial Apple developer Jonathan Jessop should be placed on the list of York County luminaries begging for more research.

Now, I'll take one off.

Loretta Claiborne is one of the important people on that York Town Square list who has long deserved a book-length treatment of her life. The Special Olympian earned a Disney movie a few years ago... .

This trolley in York's Continental Square is shown in the last year that such electrified cars ran in York County. York County's trolley system was already shaky entering into the Great Depression and did not make it through the 1930s. Background posts: York-area picture book not your typical coffee table publication, Smoketown a popular York County name in a century ago, and It couldn't happen in York County? Women were trampled in Depression-era labor unrest.

York County is probably no different than many heritage-minded places in trying to separate out areas in which it is historically different or even world famous.

In a previous post, Did York's Thanksgiving proclamation indeed create America's first Thanksgiving?, I explored one such claim.

I tried to give context to the claim that the first national thanksgiving occurred in York during Continental Congress' visit here. The summary point on this one is that no national consensus exists that recognized this local claim.

Just by way of contrast, a consensus can be found that the first battle of the American Revolution occurred in the Lexington-Concord outside Boston.

In a York Sunday News column (12/7/08), I dealt with another local notion: The Great Depression pinched but drew no blood in York County... .

R.R and Blanche Chronster Vanderer were living in Hawaii when Pearl Harbor was bombed on Dec. 7, 1941. At that time, Blanche Vanderer, a York County native, had been a Hawaiian resident for many years. (See video below of a 2008 Pearl Harbor observance in York County, video by Paul Kuehnel of the York Daily Record/Sunday News). Background posts: Pearl survivor: 'We need to prevent attacks of that nature', Giving news, sports junkies their fix and Bataan survivor persevered as POW.

"We were so used to planes in the air and gun shooting that I always said we would never know the real thing if it would ever happen," Blanche Vanderer wrote from Waikiki after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.

The York native's letter of events on Dec. 7, 1941, appeared in her hometown The Gazette and Daily about a month later, delayed while the censors worked through their stack of outgoing correspondence.

A sampling of other observations:

With fewer jobs and companies pinching, labor unrest erupted around York County during the Great Depression. When a dispute struck a town, everyone was affected including spinoffs to the cigar-making industries, the Consumers Cigar Box Co. (seen here in this York County Heritate Trust photo). Background posts: York County cigars: 'They contained a vast amount of nicotine', Windsor: Home of 'stately old houses that may appear to be miniature castles' and Red Lion's Ebert Furniture: From bedroom suites to gunstocks.

The recent Black Friday trampling of a young employee at a New York Wal-Mart store by rushing shoppers makes one wonder how that could ever happen.

Well, it happened it York County in 1934 under different circumstances.

And it wasn't deadly.

But it hurt, and it was women who were trampled... .

For years, this marker designated the site where Jonathan Jessop developed the York Imperial Apple. With construction of Apple Hill Medical Center on that site, the state Horticultural Association-sponsored marker has been moved inside the medical complex. It sits in obscurity today in the area, quite naturally, of the center's coffee shop. Background posts: Who were York County's most influential citizens?, Research needed to unearth Underground Railroad in York County and 20 questions and answers to prove your York County smarts.

The 1968 book "Greater York In Action" tells the oft-repeated story about how the York Imperial Apple came into being.

In the 1820s, Quaker orchardist/clockmaker Jonathan Jessop received a seedling from a Hallam-area tree that had produced apples that kept all winter on the ground under a blanket of snow.

Jessop grafted a stem from this seedling onto another tree on his Springwood Farm in York Township.

He carried the tree to the Friends' Yearly Meeting in Baltimore and from there members brought the tree to Virginia.

The apple original was known as Jonathan's Fine Winter and later was changed to "Imperial of Keepers" and "York Imperial."

So Jessop became largely known for his role in development of Imperial apples.

That's where this story, which no doubt needs verification and corroboration, has stood for years... .

These distinguished gentlemen served as the board of directors of Delta's Peoples National Bank in 1930. The Depression was hard on banks in York County, too, as several rural banks failed. Charles Arthur Bloomfield gave this scorecard for bank failures in York County during the Depression: eight failures and nine reorganizations. Background posts: Events in 1777 helped tip Revolution toward patriots, Easter stories of sacrifice & selflessness and Bad economy turned York Safe and Lock toward lucrative defense work.

Tough economic times are taking some of the excitement away from today's Thanksgiving festivities.

Some of those facing the tough end of the economy might feel that there's no way out.

History helps show us that we've faced gloomy times before as a nation and have come out the other end generally for the better.

Consider the points made in this Thanksgiving Day editorial (11/26/08) in which I reflected on a moment when the world seemed to be piling on:

This is the cover art for blogger Scott Mingus' forthcoming "Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition." Here, artist Bradley Schmehl captures the burning of the Wrightsville Bridge in late June 1863. Mingus is one of many productive members of the York County historical community. Background posts: Solomon Meyer 'forsook the publishing business and betook himself elsewhere', Best of yorktownsquare.com, 2007 and Resources for York/Adams history junkies increasingly posted on Web.

'Local history scene is a busy one' said the headline on my recent York Sunday News column providing a sample of good work going on in York County's historical community.

The column went beyond all the books and publications that people are putting out... .

Yet another book is out on York County in the Civil War. This is the second book in recent years specifically on the battle, that ended in more than 300 blue and gray casualties. Background posts: The Four Bloggers write, Signs point to York, 'Prize of the Confederacy,' and other York/Adams Civil War wonders and George Armstrong Custer - and his horse - left legacy in York County.

Scott Mingus reviews John T. Krepps' new book on the Battle of Hanover at his Cannonball blog.

"A Strong and Sudden Onslaught" is the latest in about a dozen books exploring York County and the Civil War published since the turn of the millenium.

Such York Town Square posts as The Four Bloggers speak attempt to explain this Civil War book surge.

Here's an updated list of recent publications that touch, in full or in part, on York County in the Civil War:

.

Cyrus Griest, an agent in the Underground Railroad and his wife are buried with other abolitionist Quakers in the Menallen Friends Meetinghouse, Adams County. Quakers in Adams and York counties were known to aid fugitives traveling along the Underground Railroad. Background posts: York's Goodridge House listed as site on Underground Railroad network, Research needed to unearth Underground Railroad in York County, Part II and Amanda Berry Smith: 'God's image carved in ebony'.

Debra Sandoe McCauslin is doing much to put facts behind Underground Railroad legends.

Her most recent efforts have produced a book exploring Yellow Hill, a black community in Adams County that served as a destination point for fugitives who had crossed the Mason-Dixon Line in an attempt to gain their freedom... .

Jim Marsteller took this photo of Centre Presbyterian Church in New Park. Fawn Township residents believe that the church is an accurate gauge of life in the town. 'Things are going on all the time, every night of the week,' he was quoted in a caption for this photo appearing in the Weekly Record in 2007. 'Always something to do at church to spend time with others in our town and praise the Lord at the same time, together as a group, as a community.' Background posts: Stewartstown Railroad: 'Truly a unique entity in the state, and possibly, the nation' , Old Shrewsbury house disappearing hand-hewn log, square nail at a time and 'Yesteryears' southern York County sites - Part II.

Local architectural expert Scott Butcher knew for some time about the wonderful style of Centre Presbyterian Church, within a literal stone throw from the Maryland Line in New Park.

So he made the long trip from York to see the Dempwolf-designed, 1880s-era rural church building and received a treat... .

The woman in this photo, courtesy York County Heritage Trust, is believed to be Isabel Cassat Small. She was the wife of businessman Samuel Small and a philanthropist in her own right. Background posts: Reader doesn't understand some things about York County, Old P.A. and S. Small building fit better than successors and Freedman kisses earth as canalboat crossed Mason-Dixon Line.

Samuel Small, 19th-century York businessman, is at the top of the community contributor's philanthropy list.

I pointed this out in a York Sunday News column (11/17/08), as I've done on elsewhere on this blog.

But Isabel Small, Samuel's wife, was an overlooked and integral part of the Small philanthropy machine, as outlined in the following gleaned from my "East of Gettysburg" and George Prowell's "History of York County:"

Butch Reigart of Columbia, Lancaster County, portrays der Belsnickel. The character was prototype of Santa Claus, abeit with a paradoxical well-intentioned mean streak. Background posts: York County group preserving Pennsylvania Dutch language, heritage, PS Harrisburg grad school: 'Set my feet even more firmly on the path into the world of Fraktur' and Hex book: How powwow doctors plied their craft.

"It was always fund on Christmas to have a visit of the 'Belsnickels.' They burst into the scene all dressed up and scattered popcorn and candy on the floor for us kids to get. If any of the older folks tried to pick it up, the Belsnickels would hit them over the back with a whip... ."

That quote from a York countians found in Georg Sheets' "Facts and Folklore of York County, Pennsylvania," pretty well sums up the carrot-and-stick approach of der Belsnickel, a forerunner to a much kinder and gentler Santa Claus... .

Anglican William White (1748-1836), rector of Christ Church in Philadelphia, and Presbyterian George Duffield served as chaplains to Congress during that body's stay in York Town. Here, William White is seen in a panel painted in connection with the 150th anniversary of the adoption of the Articles of Confederation in 1927. He stayed with a Lutheran pastor named Kurtz in York. Background posts: Research topic: 18th-century helicopter could have aided pastor, Declaration signer's marker mounted in obscurity and York church gained new cupola by 'stealth' .

Anne Eckert Johnson was born in Gettysburg but lives in Richmond, Va.

She is seeking information on the Kurtz family that goes back generations in York County.

Here's a recent request: ...

This panel of Mad Anthony Wayne celebrates his visit to York County during the Continental Congress' visit in 1777-78. This colorful portrait, owned by the York County Heritage Trust, was posted outside (see below) during the 150th anniversary of the adoption of the Articles of Confederation in 1927. A program to celebrate the anniversary of the Articles is set for 2-4 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 16, at the Colonial Courthouse replica, 157 W. Market St. Details: 848-1587. Background posts: Don't know much about York County history? Part I, 'The Commons' plays host to wonderful vintage photos and When did York's square change from Centre to Continental?

Sixteen colorful paintings, measuring about 3.5 feet by 6 feet, decorated downtown York during the 150th anniversary of the Articles of Confederation in 1927.

They were very much forerunners of the 18 Murals of York that today sprawl across the sides of buildings around York... .

York Safe and Lock's S. Forry Laucks, second from right, is shown in this clipping from 1906. He was part of the initial slate of officers of the York Manufacturers' Association. They are, from left, John C. Schmidt, president of Standard Chain Co. and Schmidt and Ault Paper Co.; Thomas Shipley, York Manufacturing Company; Laucks; and Francis Farquhar, A.B. Farquhar Co. Background posts: The old-time York County community bank: 'They know me by sight and voice', York, Pa. made big, heavy things - and was immensely proud of it and New Freedom station houses alien safe.

Some news accounts say that the current down economy is pushing up the sale of safes.

According to a York Daily Record story (11/9/08), safe business locally is steady but not explosive. The idea is that when the stock market is down, people want gold and other valuables in "safe" places.

Steady business was not the case in the Great Depression, at least not for York Safe and Lock... .

Dan Meckley's recently compiled memoir is available for viewing at the York County Heritage Trust's archives, 250 E. Market St., York. Background posts: TV show box set 'Terry & the Pirates' to be part of a museum exhibit someday?, Rambo run: One small stream ... so much stress and York Safe & Lock worker recalls chat with Hedy Lamarr.

"I have found trout fly fishermen to be of sterling quality," Dan Meckley wrote in his memoir. "As a group they can be ranked with skiers, squash players, sailors, martini drinkers, and Republicans."

As for worm fishermen?

"On the other hand, worm fishermen can be ranked with snowmobilers, snowboarders, racquetball players, power boaters, beer drinkers and Democrats," he wrote... .

Scott Butcher has produced a coffee table book filled with photos about York. He will speak on York's architecture at the York County Heritage Trust's Second Saturday program, set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, at the Agricultural and Industrial Museum. His $29.99 book is available via the York County Heritage Trust. Background posts: On Second Saturdays: 'It's really cool that the Heritage Trust started this program', Windows into York blog offers Springettsbury's Schultz House datestone update and Author: 'York's streetscape features almost every style and era of American architecture'.

York County author and fellow blogger Scott Butcher has produced a hard-cover photo book that stands out among such works in two ways.

First, drawing on his wide knowledge of local architecture, he gives detailed descriptions in his "York, America's Historic Crossroads" about the 300 color photos in this recently released book.

For example, he starts in with a description of the house of the owner of King's Mill:

This is the cover of a Visiting Nurse Association history put forth by VNA Home Health, Wellspan. The booklet includes a history and numerous photos of VNA's 100 years of operation. Background posts: York's Wonder Women: The stories of four more movers and shakers, Prostitution in York busted during World War II and York County WWII nurse: 'You know, it was the biggest war ever, and they needed nurses'.

"York's first visiting nurse makes house calls on a bicycle, her skirt undoubtedly flapping in the wind."

That's how I started my entry for 1908 in "Never to be Forgotten" on the Visiting Nurse Association, an organization started to address the health needs of the poor in York.

Now, parent Wellspan has published a booklet in connection with the 100th anniversary of this ride. The book contains historical facts about VNA and is loaded with photos.

This stained glass window from St. Mary's Catholic Church in York was removed in March 2008 for restoration. A historical program on this landmark church is set for Sunday, Nov. 2. (See additional York Daily Record/Sunday News photos below). Background posts: Conewago Chapel steeple worker wondered if he'd ever get up there: Now, 'Here I am' , People of varying religious groups founded York County and St. Pat's: A church without a steeple ... by design .

In the mid-1800s, language wars hit York County's churches.

For example, the debate over whether services would be conducted in English or German caused St. Paul's Lutheran (English) to separate from mother church Christ Lutheran and Trinity German Reformed (English) to separate (at least in part) from what is today called Zion German Reformed or Zion United Church of Christ.

York's Catholic congregation dealt with the language issue in the opposite fashion. The mother church (English) is called St. Patrick's today, but St. Mary's Church was built in 1852 to accommodate German-speaking Catholics... .

This is a creekside view of Ganoga Bridge over the Conewago Creek, near Strinestown. The once-stately bridge connects Newberry and Conewago townships and carries the old Susquehanna Trail over the creek. The name Ganoga, according to local history book, comes from the Indian words "By the water." Background posts: Big Conewago serves as physical, symbolic divider of York County culture, York County still home to unvarnished beauty and Wago Club prez: 'You've gotta respect the (snapping) turtles'.

The worn, lightly traveled Ganoga Bridge today is far from the crisp cement structure of the 1920s to 1950s that carried thousands of vehicles daily over the Conewago Creek.

In fact, sometimes the bridge failed to carry Susquehanna Trail traffic all the way across. Its approaches are oddly banked leading to accidents those living near the Strinestown-area structure remember years later. One resident remembers a crash on or near the bridge involved a large Greyhound Bus.

A Greyhoud Bus out there in the middle of nowhere?... .

In this York Daily Record/Sunday News file photo, a York Water Company official has just inspected a water main break along the Susquehanna Trail near Loganville. This stretch of the trail is still a favorite of those taking Sunday afternoon drives. (See additional York Daily Record/Sunday News photos below). Background posts: Whatever happened to York County's Hungerford?, War memorials stand proudly in towns throughout York County and Trees commemorate World War I I vets.

Mention of the Susquehanna Trail often brings to mind images of South George Street extended between York and the Maryland line.

They think of it as a Sunday afternoon ride to Brown's, with maybe a side trip to Nixon Park to the west or even the Hex murder house to the east or other such excursions.

But the Susquehanna Trail stretches north of York, too.

To Harrisburg. And to Niagara Falls.

And south of the Maryland Line, too.

To Baltimore. And to Washington, D.C.

Or at least at one time, it sprawled from Niagara Falls to D.C.

The York Daily Record published a fascinating story in 1997 (11/13) explaining all of this:

The York Daily, York County's first daily newspaper, as it appeared four years after its founding in 1870. Background posts: Solomon Meyer 'forsook the publishing business and betook himself elsewhere', York cartoonist's work helps celebrate peace activism and Newspaper's founding date hard to pin down.

Carl Wire brought a framed copy of the York Daily to the newsroom of successor York Daily Record/Sunday News this week.

If the papers sound alike, there's a reason. The Daily Record drew its name from the York Daily and the York Legal Record after J.W. Gitt retired his nameplate and alter ego The Gazette and Daily in 1970.

Anyway, Ken Wire, Carl's father, for years had displayed the newspaper in his Comfort Barber Shop in York and also in a second shop in Warrington Township.

Carl had a simple question. Is it worth anything?...

Donald Robinson demonstrates how to split slate near two stone cottages under renovation in Coulsontown. The cottage in the background is one of two private cottages. These four of the Welsh miners cottages stand near Slate Ridge, outside Delta. Background posts: 100 years later, Delta clock keeps on ticking, Wanted: One slate-roofed privy from Delta, Pa. and All posts related to Coulsontown.

Don Robinson eats and sleeps the history of the Welsh, the group of slate miners from the British Isles who settled in the Delta area in the 1850s.

He and his wife Ruth Ann often can be found at the cottages giving tours or looking in on archaeological digs... .

This view comes from the porch of the Gitt Mansion, although its owner, The Gazette and Daily's J.W. Gitt, spent much time in its library. Background posts: Old York newspaper won't die or fade away, Gitt and his Gazette sported same eccentricities and Two ornate mansions that Hanover Shoe built.

He would oversee a left-leaning newspaper that would cause waves locally and across the oceans.

He would play some golf and then catch a trolley back to the tranquility of his Hershey Hill mansion.

There, he would spend evenings in his large library re-equipping himself to fire darts the next day against the Cold War.

A recent edition of Spaces magazine, published by the York Daily Record/Sunday News, explores his evening retreat:

This drawing of a specialized farming tool from the early 1900s comes from an advertisement or catalogue put forth by a Hanover firm. Background posts: Who will lead York County in the future?, Going to market a longtime York County pastime and York County farm vs. factory tension relieved in overnight raid.

One hundred years ago, local farmers cared when their horses complained about sore necks.

And they dealt with that problem by treating tongues.

Really... .

John McDonald opens the old lockup in Seven Valleys, a holding pen for overnight detention, typical of man that dotted towns around Yok County. 'This is really a neat structure,' said Police Heritage Museum's John Stine told the York Daily Record/Sunday News. 'It's plain. But this is what they were, they were plain.' Background posts: Police museum, Web site packed with York County law enforcement info, 'There were only so many cells in that old stone prison', First county prison housed irksome Brits

The Police Heritage Museum, based in York, remains on the huntfor information about the old lockups that decades ago operated in towns throughout York County.

The museum Web site contains capsules of information about some of the lockups.

The most intriguing is an all-slate box in Delta... .

Springettsbury Township's Clair E. Wentz provided this photo of Newberry school students in 1946. Wentz started a school reunion in 1998 and the former classmates plus their counterparts from Roxbury and Beshore schools have been meeting every other year at Paddletown (St. Paul's) United Methodist Church's Christian Education Center. Background posts: Stetler Dodge transition indicative of other York-area changes , Smoketown a popular York County name a century ago and York County libraries offer serendipity - and have done so for decades.

My conversation with the woman scheduling me to speak at a Newberry Township one-room school reunion went something like this.

Reunion contact: Do you know where Paddletown is?

Me: I know about Paddletown Road, near Newberrytown.

Contact: It's at the Paddletown Church hall.

Me: What's the name of the church?

Contact: It's just known as the Paddletown church.

It was as if, everybody knows where that is. No further explanation needed... .

This Newberry Township home, seen in a 2004 photo, was once a one-room school. A sampling of those gathering at a Newberry Township one-room school reunion over the weekend could not identify the building. Can you? The stonework suggests the red sandstone of that region. This photograph appeared in the York Daily Record/Sunday News book "All in One Room." Background posts: Solo teachers in York County one-room schools assigned lots of assistants, 18th-century mines gave Ore Valley its name and Can you identify this mystery school, believed to be in York County?.

"You kind of feel sorry for those who didn't attend," a seasoned citizen commented at Newberry Township one-room school reunion on Sunday.

The sentiment that nothing can really better the education received in the 300 one-room schools in York County is part of the discourse at such reunions.

I spoke at the reunion of those attending Cly, River, Hay Run and Pleasant Grove schools in the Newberrytown region north of the Conewago Creek on Sunday. The afternoon at Paddletown United Methodist Church's community center brought forth revealing information about this educational culture that fell to jointures in the post-World War II years: ...

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This is a clear shot of one of the four remaining original Welsh cottages just north of the Mason-Dixon Line in the Delta/Peach Bottom Township area. The Old Line Museum has begun to restore two of these cottages, built for workers of the slate quarries in the 1850s. Background posts: Coulsontown's Welsh miners' cottages: 'Once they're gone, there's nothing else like them', Digging Coulsontown: 'This is not Indiana Jones' and Time almost forgot Welsh miner's hamlet of Coulsontown.

Ruth Ann Robinson, Old Line Museum, has given a heads up about public tours of Welsh cottages in the Delta area in southeastern York County Saturday.

The tours are set for 2-4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 11.

The day before, a class of anthropology students from Harford Community College will gain training on the ins and outs of professional digs... .

June Lloyd's "Faith and Famiy," informed readers about a type of Fraktur known as Taufscheine, ornately drawn Pennsylvania Dutch certificates of birth and baptism. The York County Heritage Trust converted her master's thesis at Penn State Harrisburg into this colorful 132-page book. Background posts: The four York County bloggers write; Noted Pennsylvania art historian dies and Want to know more about York County history?

For years, York countians have made the 45-minute trip to Penn State Harrisburg's campus to take American Studies master's courses.

June Lloyd, fellow blogger and former head of York County Heritage Trust's archives, did so. She turned her master's work into "Faith and Famiy," a book on a particular type of Fraktur.

Tom Schaefer, a local historical consultant, made the trip and later wrote "Patterns of Our Past," in connection with York County's 250th anniversary in 1999.

I earned a master's there and turned my work into "Never to be Forgotten,"which also was released as part of 250th anniversary festivities.

Ted Sickler, former York Daily Record/Sunday News assistant managing editor, earned his master's and is an ABD student in history at the University of Delaware.

And there have been many more traveling the American studies road.

Now, graduate students can continue graduate work toward their doctorate in American Studies at Penn State Harrisburg. An American Studies doctoral program information night is set for 6 p.m., Oct. 6, in the Morrison Gallery of the college library.

Mary Allienne Hamilton spent many hours in J.W. Gitt's library, pictured here, in researching her Gitt biography "Rising from the Wilderness," published by the York County Heritage Trust (see additional photo below). Background posts: Cuban expert Jim Higgins: 'He was just another journalist ... with opinions', York newspaperman J.W. Gitt rejected Barry Goldwater's ad money and McCarthy probe could not corral York County's Gitt.

Mary Hamilton's "J.W. Gitt and His Legendary Newspaper: 'The Gazette and Daily' of York, Pa." has captured a major national award.

Her biography of this maverick newspaper owner won "Best Book in Media History" in

American Journalism Historians Association judging.

It was up against Harry Reasoner's biography, the press and the early abolition movement and the origins of mass culture, among other entries.

Judges comments follow:

This shows a typical class schedule for a teacher covering multi-grades in a one-room building. Background posts: Reader identifies mystery school building, Hidden Loucks School reflects past way of York County life and Web site packed with life indicators.

One-room schoolhouse enthusiast Bob Weaver shared a class schedule for an unspecified one-room school. (See his previous submission involving rules for teachers: One-room school teachers of yore given limited time to court)

The confusing intersection of the various grades leads to the question: How did the teachers ever teach anything?

Pose that question to anyone who went to a one-room school, and you'll receive a ready answer.

Voni B. Grimes graduated from York's William Penn Senior High School mid-year in 1942. This is his graduation photo. Background posts: New book gives insight into Voni B. Grimes, Who are York County's most influential people? and A short test of your black history knowledge.

Two images among many stand out after a recent walk with community leader Voni B. Grimes.

We walked from his boyhood home to the site of his segregated Smallwood school and back.

The first image came when we gazed across the College Avenue at the former all-white Noell school, now occupied by the Community Progress Council. This College Avenue-Susquehanna Avenue intersection was a dividing point between the best education York schools could offer white pupils and hand-me-down education for black students.

And then a second image... .

Teachers in one-room schools in the 1870s had tall orders inside and outside of their classroom. Background posts: Interesting Web site dedicated to country schools, Can you identify this mystery school, believed to be in York County? and Two tales of four schools teach about change in York County education.

Bob Weaver has done a lot of research on York/Adams one-room schools, those ubiquitous boxy buildings that dotted this region's countryside before World War II.

And somewhere the East Berlin-area history enthusiast dug up a list of teacher expectations from 1872.

The list is so demanding - and intrusive - that I've often wondered if it might be a spoof.

For example, getting shaved in a barber shop could bring frowns from school directors?... .

Nellie Scott, far left, is seen with other nurses waiting to board a train to treat wounded military men in Italy in World War II. Background posts: A short test of your women's history knowledge, Civil