About this blog
I've been editor of the York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News for 8 years and managing editor of the newspaper for 15 years before that. So, York Town Square explores the rapidly changing world of journalism. And I studied York/Adams' history in graduate school, have written six books about these fascinating southcentral Pennsylvania counties and serve on the York County (Pa.) Heritage Trust board. So, this blog deals with regional history. Often, journalism and history meet here. They're part of a continuum anyway. My hope is that this site intrigues readers on both accounts in giving a daily dose of journalism/history. Or history/journalism. Contact me at jem@ydr.com or become friends on Facebook or follower on Twitter, @JamesMcClure.
Category Archives: Local landmarks
Revised map of York, Continental Square provides snapshot of how far we have come
York consultant C.S. Davidson’s reimagined map is an almost 80-year update of a hand-drawn map of York’s square in 1933. (Click on this map to enlarge or see larger version below. Also see original map below.) Also of interest: A 1960s … Continue reading
Transforming scrap metal into meaningful art in York, Pa.: Linked in with neat history stuff, Feb. 18, 2012
The Industrial Plaza of York has been around since the 1990s, but it now has a sign, unveiled this week. The sign, showing gears and cogs, is made from repurposed pieces of scrap metal. It’s a visible ‘sign’ of consultant … Continue reading
Posted in All politics is local, Archives, all posts, Events, For photo fans, Linked in/neat stuff, Local journalism & Web, Local landmarks, Made in York, Mail bag, Nostalgia & memories, People, York celebrities
Tagged Buffy Andrews, Gary Heiland, Mrs. Linke, Robert B. Fortenbaugh, Ruthe Craley, York Corporation, York County Industrial Plaza, Yorkco
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11 questions and answers to prove your York County war smarts
Springettsbury Township’s Lee Davis peruses military coats in the ’Front Porch to Front Lines: York County Goes to War’ exhibit at the York County Heritage Trust. The quiz below can be used by exhibit goers to sharpen their eye for details. … Continue reading
Posted in Archives, all posts, Events, Explanations/controversy, For photo fans, Genealogy/research, Local landmarks, Nostalgia & memories, People, Unsung/obscure sites, War, Women's history, World War II
Tagged Front Lines, Front Porch, Jeannette Zinn, Korean War, Leon Gilbert, Road to Remembrance, Rosie the Riveter, Vietnam War, Voni B.Grimes, World War I, York College
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Farmer with about 6 years of schooling never missed Meet the Press: Linked in with neat history stuff, Feb. 16, 2012
Codorus Valley Chronicles carried an informative article in its February edition about York County Labor Leader Richard Boyd’s bid for a State Senate seat some years ago. The photo, from this newsletter of the Codorus Valley Area Historical Society, shows … Continue reading
Posted in Abe Lincoln was here, All politics is local, Archives, all posts, Linked in/neat stuff, Local journalism & Web, Local landmarks, Mail bag, People, Small-town life, York Revs/pros
Tagged Abraham Lincoln, Codorus Valley Area Historical Society, Codorus Valley Chronicles, Dick Boyd, East Berlin, Eddie Albert, Gene Crumling, George Kennan, Glen Rock, Holtwood Dam, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
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Check out these old York County, Pa., photos of interest on Pinterest
Do you know what this building is? (Hint: The flat spot beside and apparent power lines beside it give some leads.) See answer below. This photo is an image that Buffy Andrews of the York, Pa., Daily Record/Sunday News posted … Continue reading
York City Hall touts Colonial history, but city is mainly Victorian: Linked in with neat history stuff, Feb. 12, 2012
This longtime York Federal/Waypoint/Sovereign Bank Building on York, Pa.’s, South George Street is being transformed into York’s City Hall. The city’s choice of this visible venue presents an interesting cultural irony. The Colonial-style building promotes York City’s 18th-century past particularly … Continue reading
Posted in American Revolution, Archives, all posts, Events, Explanations/controversy, For photo fans, Linked in/neat stuff, Local journalism & Web, Local landmarks, Mail bag, People, War, World War II
Tagged Chris Doleman, Gordon Freireich, Greg Gross, James Smith, OLLI, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, Victorian-era architecture, Victorianism, York City Hall, York County Heritage Trust, yorkblog.com
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Part II, Good night in Glen Rock: Dinner and a movie and the American dream
The Glen Theatre in Glen Rock was built as a band hall 99 years ago. That was the day that many towns in York County, Pa., sported community bands, since replaced for parades and community concerts by high school bands. … Continue reading
Posted in Archives, all posts, For photo fans, Genealogy/research, Local landmarks, Music and musicians, Nostalgia & memories, People, Small-town life, Uncategorized, Unsung/obscure sites, York celebrities, YorkEats: Hogmaw & such
Tagged Conewago Township, Glen Rock, Glen Rock Historic Preservation Society, Zion View, Zion View Band Hall
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Good night in Glen Rock: Dinner and a movie and the American dream, Part I
The Glen Theatre in Glen Rock, Pa., will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2013. It is the last operating movie theater outside of York City. This photograph, courtesy of the Glen Rock Historic Preservation Society, was taken circa 1940. (Click … Continue reading
Posted in Archives, all posts, For photo fans, Local journalism & Web, Local landmarks, Music and musicians, People, Small-town life, Unsung/obscure sites, York celebrities, YorkEats: Hogmaw & such
Tagged Glen Rock, Glen Rock Historic Preservation, Glen Rock Music Association, Roland F. Seitz
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Scenery before the Conowingo Dam impounded the Susquehanna: Linked in with neat history stuff, Feb. 8, 2012
This wide panaramic photograph shows the Conowingo Dam area in Maryland before the dam was built in the mid- and late 1920s. The pond on the Susquehanna River created behind the dam flood Peach Bottom in York County, Pa., and … Continue reading
Posted in Archives, all posts, Books & reading, Civil War, Explanations/controversy, For photo fans, Linked in/neat stuff, Local journalism & Web, Local landmarks, Mail bag, Nostalgia & memories, People, Small-town life, Unsung/obscure sites, War
Tagged Battle of Gettysburg, Bill Kreiger, Bill Scott, Billy Graham, Blake Stouch, Cononwingo Dam, Eugene Boyer, Lutheran Theological Seminar, Susquehanna River
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York County slate mining 21st-century style: Linked in with neat history stuff, Feb. 6, 2012
Slate mining was a primary occupation among the Welsh in southeastern York County, Pa., from about 1850 to World War I. But here Joey L. Wildasin of Joey L. Wildasin Slate Roofing mines slates in a different way. He … Continue reading
Posted in Archives, all posts, Delta Welsh quarryman, Farms & fields, For photo fans, Genealogy/research, Linked in/neat stuff, Local landmarks, Longtime York families, Mail bag, Nostalgia & memories, People, Small-town life, Uncategorized
Tagged Codorus, Codorus Township, Delta, Emig family, Jefferson, Joan Concilio, June Lloyd, Ken Ludwig, Peach Bottom, slate mining, Trinity United Methodist Church, Welsh
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