Recently in Events Category

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... .

Mount Wolf's Ciara Coombes danced to kick off the York County Heritage Trust's Civil War Celebrity Tea, part of Patriot Days activities in 2006. Patriot Days 2009, last weekend, kicked off this year's Civil War observances. Numerous such events today-Sunday are part of observances of the 146th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. Background posts: Site places readers in the footsteps of the Civil War in York County and beyond and Poster highlights the life of a Civil War soldier and Hanover Civil War story stop: 'Mother Loses Two Sons to War'.

The calendar this year - the 146th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg - coincides exactly with the calendar in 1863.

That means that July 1 this year is a Wednesday, and that is the day fighting began. On Saturday, July 4, 1863 - Independence Day - a defeated Confederate army retreated toward the Potomac.

So, a particularly packed lineup of events in both York and Adams counties is scheduled this weekend.

Here's the list, courtesy of the York Daily Record/Sunday News:

This newspaper advertisement touts Gen. John B. Gordon's return to York to deliver a speech. The friendly, enthusiastic crowd welcomed the general-turned-politician. (See photo of Gordon below.) Background posts: York County Civil War hero grandmom of Gore Vidal and Civil War affected women in York County - and vice versa and Years after Civil War, (a) Longstreet steps onto York County soil .

The head of this hypothetical invading force was gentlemanly, but this did not keep his men from stealing the cars and other property from many York countians. Further, he damaged other property - catalyzing the destruction of an expensive Susquehanna River bridge and trampling valuable crops in fields. He killed at least two defenders of the county and shaped the way York viewed itself for years.

Would we welcome him back as a hero? ... .

Red Lion's new year is traditionally ushered in with the raising of a huge cigar, reminding folks of the area's past might as a cigar manufacturer. The fiberglass cigar, held by a lion character, weighs 100 pounds and is 8 feet, 3 inches long. The borough's cigarmaking history is certain to be a topic of discussion in a tour of its streets on Tuesday, June 30. (See photos below of Red Lion's cigarmaking culture of the past.) Background posts: It couldn't happen in York County? Women were trampled in Depression-era labor unrest and York County cigars: 'They contained a vast amount of nicotine' and Red Lion's Ebert Furniture: From bedroom suites to gunstocks.

A guided walking tour through Red Lion, sponsored by the Kaltreider-Benfer Library, is set for 6:30 p.m. June 30... .

This 2004 aerial view of the undeveloped Camp Security site shows the encroachment of development on every side. Friends of Camp Security and other groups are trying to raise support for site preservation. Background posts: Camp Security memories tucked inside memoir and Story revives memories of oft-forgotten York County POW camp in World War II and York-area developer: 'I think we have gone way above and beyond to preserve Camp Security'.

The public will get a rare opportunity to view artifacts Saturday (6/27/09) from a past archaeological dig at Camp Security, the Revolutionary War POW camp site that might be covered over with houses.

A limited dig in 1979 uncovered pottery shards, buttons and gold coins... .

Two York County natives, Maj. Gen. David F. Wherley Jr., pictured here, and his wife, Ann, were killed in this week's Washington, D.C., metro crash. Background posts: All York County celebrities posts from the start and All York County people posts and All York County war posts.

The collision of two Metro trains in Washington, D.C., this week claimed the lives of two former York countians, Maj. Gen. David F. Wherley Jr and his wife, Ann.

They graduated from York Catholic High School in 1965.

A York Daily Record story (6/24/09) reported that David Wherley, retired commanding general of the D.C. National Guard, was a prominent official after the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks.

"He dispatched planes in the airspace over Washington, D.C., armed with live ammunition, according to his brother, Clark Wherley of York," the newspaper reported... .

Elmer Ferlow recalls watching a man drown during the fury of Tropical Storm Agnes. Memories of the storm and its deadly aftermath are recorded as part of the York Daily Record/Sunday News "Remember" oral history series, where this video first appeared. (See flood photos below.) Background posts: 'Picture Memories' booklet: York County Flood of 1933 worst of record up to that point and Reader searching for Tropical Storm Agnes photos to use in children's tour and In late June, things happen in York County and What is the probability of another flood in York?.

The list of events from York County's past explored in an oral history series printed in the York Daily Record/Sunday News and then posted in a Web archive continues to grow.

Actually, they're not real oral histories, as academics define them, with a rigorous Q & A format.

But you'll find a rich repository of audio, video and written memories at the Remember site.

So far in 2009, local residents have given their memories of the 2008 election, Golden Venture, Invasion of Iraq, cigar factories and high school dances.

Today, the series covered Tropical Storm Agnes, the 1972 storm that dropped more than 15 inches of rain on York County.

We'll tell the story here in a series of submitted photos that were published in the newspaper (6/22/09):

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... .

This old post office represents the past in Franklintown, on the former main way between Baltimore and Harrisburg. (For a view of the new, see photo below.) To locate this small, changing borough, Warrington, Carroll, Washington and Franklin townships all meet east of town. Background posts: Franklintown second cousin to neighboring Dillsburg and Birthday borough Dillsburg: 'Seems to be York County's wild child' and Flag expert: 'I was interested in my nation's heritage'.

Northwestern York County's tiny Franklintown borough has been in the news because of earthquakes in those parts.

But the town regularly made it in national headlines from 1982 to 1994 when its books contained a law that all residents had to own guns.

Townsmen even appeared on Donohue to talk about their ordinance.

Today, towns statewide are considering adopting law that lost and stolen firearms are to be reported to police within 72 hours.

That's controversial, but not as much so as the never-enforced, mostly symbolic Franklintown law... .

This roadside giant went up at Shatzer's Fruit Market in Franklin County's Hamilton Township this week. It's an example of roadside architecture, evident for years along the Lincoln Highway and Route 30, to attract attention to stops for motorists. Background posts: Mahlon Haines got in trouble at Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge and Old Lincoln Highway pulled 'Americans out of the mud' and Landmark Modernaire Motel built in Lincoln Highway's heyday.

A modern-day Roadside Giant has been birthed along Route 30 near Chambersburg.

Students at the Franklin County Career and Technology Center assembled an super-sized replica of a 1921 Selden apple truck, complete with crates of produce on the bed, according to the Chambersburg Public Opinion.

It's dimensions?

Eleven feet tall and 26 feet long.

Such oversized structures have been part of old-road architecture for years.

York County's Shoe House, near both Route 30 and the old Lincoln Highway, is a York/Adams example.

This tourist attractions are fighting to stay standing... .

The grassy Center Square in Jefferson has been a gathering place for years. That monument in the background is a rare statue in York County devoted to those who served in World War I. A historical marker will be dedicated at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 27. The Codorus Valley Area Historical Society is sponsoring the dedication that will observe this Civil War event, set for Center Square. Scott Mingus will be the guest speaker. Background posts: Washington Township, Jefferson Borough, Madison Avenue. How about an Obama Street in York County? and Abe Lincoln stopped at Hanover station:"We want to preserve history ... so it doesn't disappear' and Abandoned Codorus railroad not just any abandoned railroad.

When a new Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission marker observing Confederate and Union troop movement through Jefferson is dedicated later this month, it will mark just one of many times the southwestern York County borough and its square have made history.

Squares, by definition, are places where townspeople gather and do good things or dumb things - or places where outside forces do things to a community.

But not all town squares are equal.

And Jefferson's Center Square is more than equal, among many in York/Adams.

For example: ... .

This York (Pa.) Gazette story from Aug. 29, 1901, tells about the first night baseball game played in York - and probably York County. Special rules were put in for this game. Background posts: Sons of Union vets seeking relatives of Civil War soldier from U.S. Colored Troops, 32nd Regiment and York's American War Mothers monument captures interest and Adding to York baseball timeline: Revs ready for 'second helping'

Officials are looking for ways to give York's Penn Park new life.

The relatively light use of the city park today can shroud its heavy use throughout history.

For example, it was the place where freedman from the South headed upon reaching York, north of the Mason-Dixon Line.

It housed a large Civil War military hospital.

And, on a lighter note, a ballpark, complete with grandstand, home of a Penn Park team, operated there. It was there that York's first night baseball game was played in late August 1901... .

This York Daily Record/Sunday News graphic represents the location of the series of earthquakes that have been felt in northeastern York County in the past year. So far, the impact of the earthquakes have not been as severe as "A BIG GROUND SWELL" that shook York County in March 1889. Background posts: Northern York area strawberry part of Neapolitan county and Photographer tramps to far reaches of York County and Franklintown second cousin to neighboring Dillsburg.

Recent Dillsburg-area earthquakes have been mere rumblings compared to the most memorable quake to hit York County - in 1889.

The multi-deck headline in the York Gazette on March 9, 1889, tells the story:

"A BIG GROUND SWELL"

"York Shaken by a Bona Fide Earthquake"

"A Tall Local Sensation"

"Bricks Fall From Chimneys And Dishes Rattle"

"BUILDINGS VIBRATE"

"Pianos Emit Weird and Mysterious Sounds"

"The SHAKE AT OTHER POINTS"

"Windows Rattled at Gettysburg - Lancaster and Old Berks Feel the Shock - Baltimore Touched"

"OTHER POINTS FEEL THE TREMOR."

The Gazette reported that the streets were deserted, but as soon as it was felt, men, women and children rushed shrieking into the street... .

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... .

This York County Heritage Trust photo shows two Navy men with York County roots. Richard M. Watt, Sr. and Richard M. Watt, Jr. Watt Sr. helped investigate the sinking of the "Titanic" and his son reached rear admiral rank and was at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. (See additional "Titanic" - related photo below.) Background posts: Naval Reserve officer, a York High grad, to become admiral and York native to captain new carrier USS Bush and Gitmo second in command hails from York County.

York County has not one, not two but three links to the Titanic, brought back into the news last week when the last survivor of its 1912 sinking passed away.

The story of Richard M. Watt Sr.'s role in investigating the sinking is told in the York Town Square post York has produced its share of high-ranking naval officers, based on research by fellow blogger June Lloyd.

That post features a book cover photo of an Army man, Gen. William B. Franklin.

His family leads to the second and third links to the Titanic.

According to excerpts from "Never to be Forgotten":

Some things never change. Here's the Gazette and Daily's Walt Partymiller's take on June 1, 1949, about adventures and challenges facing high school and college grads. Background posts: Cartoonist made York newspaper owner's views an art form and Newspaper's founding date hard to pin down and Further education plans, YorkCounts quality-of-life indicator: Post-high-school prospects rising.

That happened recently when I was looking for what happened 60 years ago, on June 1, 1949.

History has a beginning and will have an ending and has meaning. None of this circular stuff. But sometimes recurring themes just keep popping up, as I was reminded on my scroll.

Some summaries from The Gazette and Daily for that date that might interest you:

The Little Courthouse, seen in York's Centre Square during World War I, served as a center for war bond sales and promoted the bonds in a way that today might be considered politically incorrect. An effigy of Kaiser Wilhelm II is seen in the left foreground. For a small sum, donors could drive nails into the German leader's head. For decades, York's underground comfort stations spelled relief and York's 221 E. Princess St. home to telling ironies and Pastors denounce first Sunday newspaper publication.

York's mayors have dealt with many serious matters of state since the Borough of York became the City of York in 1887.

E.S. Hugentugler, for one, suspended civil liberties to shore up suspicions about German-American York when America was "over there" battling the Germans in World War I... .

Edwin S. Shneidman, author of 20 books, wrote broadly about suicide prevention. The York, Pa., native died recently in Los Angeles. Background posts: All posts about celebrities with York links and All posts about others with York links.

Edwin Shneidman was one of America's foremost experts on suicide.

But little is known about the local roots of this York, Pa.-born psychologist with a worldwide reputation... .

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... .

Nineteenth-century artist Lewis Miller captured 49ers from York, Pa. Background posts: There's oil in those New Salem hills and Iron-mine-turned-into-party-spot turned into York County park and Site filled with wealth of York County geological info.

49ers from York?

Fellow blogger June Lloyd, who has extensively researched 19th-century California prospectors from York County, took a look at those local folks suffering from gold fever.

She blogged:

"By April 1849, sixteen other York County professionals and craftsmen had organized themselves into "The California Company" and were equipped and ready to sail on the ship Andalusia from Baltimore." ...

This renovated trolley kiosk gained an official unveiling on a recent rainy day, appropriate because of the shelter it has provided against the elements for years in York's (Pa.) Continental Square. (See photo of the kiosk during its trolley-era days below.) Interestingly, the red RabbitTransit bus in the background is the successor to a bus system that helped put the countywide trolley system out of business. Background posts:The 'Little Courthouse,' like longtime York square neighbor 'Teapot Dome,' still stands tall and Copper top of York Square's 'Teapot Dome' needs to be recharged and Great Depression not only pinched in York County, it punched.

The trolley kiosk, so familiar to York countians in York's Continental Square, is back after months of rehab.

"Teapot Dome," as it's been called for years, will have no particular function. City officials say it perhaps will give police officers shelter from the rain... .

Elizabeth 'Betty' Marshall is seen on primary day Tuesday. The 91-year-old was the first elected female mayor of York. She served one, four-year term starting in 1978. Background posts: Unfortunate incident puts leading York woman back into news and York's 221 E. Princess St. home to telling ironies and York Mayor E.S. Hugentugler clamped down on anti-Great War speech

OK, the York mayoral lineup for the fall will be a faceoff between:

Kim Bracey - Democrat (Bracey gained her party's nod in Tuesday's primary.)
Wendell Banks - Republican
Joe Musso - Independent
Matthew Mann - Independent

One of these candidates will become York's 26th mayor (some have served more than one non-contiguous terms):

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... .

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... .

Brooks Robinson's statue is the key part of his namesake plaza at Sovereign Bank Stadium. The Hall-of-Fame third-basemen, who started his career at second base for the York White Roses, has fought back from a bout with cancer. Background posts: York has Brooks Robinson statue. Where's Baltimore's? and Revs will easily pass 1969's full-season attendance stats and Batter up, pass the hot dog: York relishes the Revolution.

Brooks Robinson's revelation this week that he had been diagnosed - and now cleared - of prostate cancer brings to mind two stories about when Brooksie played with the York White Roses.

Brooks, of course, started his professional career in York in 1955.

And the story has often been told about how public address announcer George Trout introduced him as "Bob" Robinson.

Although Trout soon was informed of his mistake, the two local newspapers kept up the "Bob" Robinson routine for a good two weeks... .

Mayflower descendant Joan Miller is dressed as a Mayflower pilgrim during a 2006 conference. Susquehanna Trail Genealogy Club and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sponsored the event. The genealogy club is holding an upcoming event on blogging and genealogy. Background posts: The Four Bloggers write and York County library site brings together links for local research and Genealogical society speaker to provide tips for 'Finding Lydia's Bottom'

Genealogists flock here because early German immigrants trekked through here or stayed "a while" after their cross-Atlantic trip to America.

Many people are coming here via the Web, too... .

An Associated Press photographer captured Roman Polanski attending a funeral in January in France. Polanski has an unfortunate link to York County. Background posts: All York celebrities posts from the start and All explanations and controversy posts from the start.

Last week, Academy Award winning film director Roman Polanski lost a bid in court for the judge to dismiss a 1978 rape charge against him.

According to Reuters, the Los Angeles judge would not consider the case until Polanski appeared before him. The fugitive director has been living outside the United States after fleeing upon his guilty plea in the rape of a 13-year-old girl.

Why bring all of this into York Town Square?

The 13-year-old had York links... .

The (York, Pa.) Gazette and Daily previewed a performance of the 350th Field Artillery "Black Devil" Band, scheduled to perform at the Orpheum on April 17, 1919. Lt. J. Tim Brymn, led the band. The band's performances impressed a large York audience. Background posts: When York County rolled up its red carpet to people of color and Yorktowne to continue as overnight success and York's 221 E. Princess St. home to telling ironies.

The all-black 350th Field Artillery Band, known as the "Black Devils," drew encores in two appearances in post-World War I York.

"Well, to make a long story short, the Black Devil Band took well in York, and it merited all the praise that it got," a Gazette and Daily reviewer wrote.

That review, in itself, is a bit of an artifact of history, even going beyond the obvious reporting about a performance by a segregated band from a segregated military unit... .

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:

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... .

Gov. George M. Leader signs plans on March 19, 1958, for constructing the dam which formed the lake that became the centerpiece of Gifford Pinchot State Park in northern York County. Legislative aid and brother Henry B. Leader looks on. The location was chosen, according to The Gazette and Daily where this photograph was taken, because it was equidistant between York and Harrisburg. Background posts: Gov. George Leader cleared dam plan and Historians, journalists draw on work of forebears and Central Pennsylvania histories make smart part of summer reading stack.

York County - specifically Newberry Township - was home to the first Pinchot road, a highway program designed in the early 1930s "to get the farmer out of the mud."

That was the start of construction of some 20,000 miles of roads in Pennsylvania designed to aid farmers and to create jobs during the growing Great Depression.

That program took then-Gov. Gifford Pinchot's name, as did the nearby state park that grew under the administration of York County native George Leader.

York County farmers might have felt some conflict at the time of the road program in 1931... .

This Associated Press photo shows Illinois Army National Guardmen receiving medical supplies from the Strategic National Stockpile in preparation for the swine flu. York County, Pa., officials are dusting off swine flu plans of their own. To learn about local and worldwide preparations, visit the York Daily Record/Sunday News special Web page Latest on Swine Flu. Background posts: Well-known doctor, York, Pa.'s Edmund Meisenhelder, beat back flu and All Spanish flu-related posts from the start and All polio-related posts from the start.

York Town Square was giving lessons from history about the potential devastating effect of an influenza pandemic days before the current swine flu attack made the news.

Exhibit A was the Spanish flu of 1918 that challenged people of the world - and coffin-makers in York County - to their core. (See: Spanish flu epidemic in York: 'People died one right after the other')

So the following story from McClatchey News Service came into view as an interesting comparison between 1918 and the current swine flu:

The Gazette and Daily reported a raid of a bawdy house in the Conewago Heights area between Manchester and York Haven in 1918. Preparing for the raid was the easy part. Bringing the proprietors into custody proved to be much more difficult and dangerous. Background posts: Conewago crossing near Manchester hot spot for years - Part I and Conewago crossing - Part II and Conewago crossing - Part III.

The Conewago crossing near Manchester has seen Confederate raiders and contented sunbathers.

Conewago Inn-goers have long sipped prized turtle soup. A 750-pound snapping turtle, carved with a chainsaw, posing in that area can evoke a thought about how many bowls of soup his real-life counterpart would have produced.

For years, children licked ice cream cones from Elm Beach's concession stand. Cold Springs Park played host to picnickers by the thousands.

Trolleys ran near there. Trains too.

And the crossing has long served as the symbolic boundary between York-oriented folks and Harrisburg-leaning commuters.

It's an example how so much has happened at a single point in York County. Multiply that point by thousands and you have a rich history.

And as the following story shows, crime is not just a city problem. For years, newspaper headlines have related rural misdeeds - often with dangerous implications - even in recreational areas such as the Conewago crossing.

The crossing was abuzz after a police raid on a house of ill repute - the "Liberty Bell" - in the spring of 1919... .

This mural at the Windsor Township Commerce Bank branch shows the scene as troops go off to the Great War - World War I - at the Red Lion Ma & Pa Railroad station in 1917. About 200 of the more than 6,000 York countians who served in World War I did not return. Some were victimized by the pandemic Spanish flu bug. (To see full mural, click here. Background posts: Great War hero Jeannette Zinn of York: 'She made the supreme sacrifice' and Old Baltimore tunnel an intriguing reminder of the 'Ma' in Ma & Pa Railroad and Easter in York County, 1919: Sadness, joy, hope.

In my York Sunday News column History's lesson: Prepare now for pandemic, I pulled together several recent posts on the pandemic Spanish flu that caused so much death and despair.

I wasn't aware when I first started posting on the Spanish flu that the swine flu virus was already afflicting scores of people around the world.

I tied the Sunday column into an upcoming pandemic planning session in York, sponsored by the York-Adams Metropolitan Medical Response System.

Here are the nuts-and-bolts of that seminar:

Glenn Grove of Delta is a member the Welsh choir Cor Rehoboth and a tour guide of Welsh burial markers made of slate. Here, he walks through the Slateville Presbyterian Church cemetery. 'Er Cof' is Welsh for 'In Memory.' Background posts: Stone structures tell York countians how their ancestors lived and Delta-Peach Bottom slate shingles: 'Nothing works as good as this' and Old York County town jails: 'They're kind of hidden history'.

Those intrigued by the Welsh in southeastern York County will have a chance this weekend - May 2-3 - to worship and sing with these actual and spiritual sons and daughters of slateworkers.

Homecoming this weekend will be centered in and around the Rehoboth Welsh Chapel.

"Twice a year a Gymanfa Ganu, or Welsh singing festival, is held - on the first Sunday in May and the second Sunday in October," the Delta Welsh Heritage Web site states.

"Visitors come from all over North America." ...

State police horses separate a woman yelling at white supremacists during a January 2002 disturbance in York. Neo-Nazis and other racists traded insults with city residents, anarchists and anti-racist protesters in the aftermath of race riot trial verdicts. Police largely kept the two groups separated. (See related photo below.) Background posts: York's 221 E. Princess St. home to telling ironies and York mayor Brenner brought order during tumultuous times and Images capture hope for racial harmony.

YorkCounts' recent report of quality-of-life indicators assessed one category simply and aptly: "Bias-related incidents are a concern in York County."

The report showed that such incidents are trending down since 1998, but the county average is twice the state's numbers.

For example, the average number of bias incidents reported per 100,000 residents from 2004-2006 in York County totaled 5.5. The state average was 2.6 percent.

Here's a quick assessment of this thorny problem that has long plagued the county... .

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:

Charlie Thomas, a York resident, and his group of 50 years, The Drifters, will perform at 8 p.m. today at Eichelberger Performing Arts Center in Hanover. For details: 637-7086 or www.theeich.org . Background posts: Cameron Mitchell, Craig Sheffer, Dixie Chick born here and Famed doo-wopper from York, Pa. walks down the aisle of heaven and Memories and Nostalgia posts from the start.

"Charlie Thomas is The Drifters," York Daily Record/Sunday News columnist Mike Argento wrote in 2007.

Indeed.

Others have grabbed that name, but Charlie Thomas' Drifters is the authentic oldies group. That's saying a lot. A look at the complex Wikipedia entry for the multi-splintered group make you want to escape from it all up on the roof.

And area residents can see the real thing tonight in Hanover when Charlie and his widely traveled band perform within the borders of York County.

Here's an excerpt from Mike's Nov. 9, 2007, piece on Charlie, a York resident:

This clip, from the York Gazette on Sept. 17, 1901, tells about how President William McKinley's funeral train passed through York without stopping, which was the original plan. Background posts: McKinley, Nixon, Johnson, Obama family trees have York County roots and Trivia quiz: Test your U.S. presidential smarts quiz and All posts on presidential visits.

The York County Courthouse bell tapped out a signal to the church bells.

President William McKinley's funeral train was on its way from Buffalo, where the assassin's bullet took his life, to a state funeral in Washington, D.C. It would be yet another presidential event touching York County's soil.

The church bells received the cue and began pealing mournfully, and that signaled the stopping of factory wheels and the closing of stores.

The whole town could now go witness the train - and they did.

And they expected the train to stop.

Only the train did not... .

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... .

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 pole, 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... .

Joseph M. & Mae E. Jenkins dedicated much of their lives not only to Cub pack 11 and other community activities. A new York County Heritage Trust exhibit celebrates their efforts and Scouting. Background posts: Old York County Boy Scout camp still teaching lessons and Old Ganoga Bridge: 'It is a highly unusual sight in York County' and York's Crispus Attucks Center had intriguing start.

Joseph Jenkins worked in Cub Scouting from its earliest years in York County.

And in fact, from its earliest years in America.

He started his Scout work under Cub Pack 32 at St. Patrick's Church in the 1930s and moved to Cub Pack 11 at Crispus Attucks Community Center in the 1940s.

All his volunteer work culminated in his receiving the coveted Silver Beaver Award in 1963.

Meanwhile, his wife Mae got involved as Pack 11 den mother. She was recognized for his years of service with the Scouter's Award, Scouter's Key, and District Award of Merit.

Not only were the Jenkins integrally involved in shaping the lives of Scouts, but they collected and preserved Cub Pack 11's records and artifacts... .

One of the original rails remains on the old Stewartstown Railroad bed. Background posts: Stewartstown Railroad: 'Truly a unique entity in the state, and possibly, the nation' and 'Yesteryears' southern York County sites and All Stewartstown-related posts from the start.

Doug Winemiller is one of the leading preservationists working to get the Stewartstown Railroad operating again.

In past e-mails, he's noted that many of the original rails are still in place on the line, a shortline that hauled agricultural products between Stewartstown and points east with the Northern Central Railroad at New Freedom.

He included a photo to prove his point... .

In this 2000 York Daily Record file photo, a Dover Area High School student demonstrates the Empathy Belly. The 37-pound unit is designed to simulate a pregnancy, a preventative method to educate about teen pregnancy used in area schools. Background posts: High school graduation, YorkCounts quality-of-life indicator: Rising after a low start and York County quality-of-life groups seeking to regain magic cooperation of York Plan and Who will lead the York area in the future?.

Although York County's teen birth stats are falling, York City's figures have been at or near the top of Pennsylvania's list for years.

In 2006, for example, about 22 percent of the city's births were to teen mothers, top in the state, according to Pennsylvania Coalition to Prevent Teen Pregnancy figures.

This sobering topic came up again when YorkCounts addressed the topic in a recent report.

The teen birth situation got so bad in the early 1990s that the pregnancy prevention officials implemented a plan that added a smile to a serious problem.

It was called the Great York County Sex Out, and it attracted international attention... .

The Tropical Storm Agnes deluge from June 1972, as seen from a photo on the wall in the Indian Rock Dam office. (See additional photos below.) Background posts: In late June, things happen in York County and Great Depression struck four corners of triangle-shaped York County and Reader doesn't understand some things about York County and Agnes, by the tragic numbers.

E-mailer Jay Lawrence is looking for photos of Tropical Storm Agnes, York County's last truly devastating flood.

He wrote:

I've been talking with my grandkids about Agnes and the damage it caused. I been trying to find pictures with no luck. I was hoping you could help me with my search. I would like the pictures so i could take them to spots around town and let them see how high the water was and the damaged it caused.

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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This iconic Associated Press photo shows then-President Jimmy Carter, center, with Harold Denton, left, of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and then-Gov. Dick Thornburgh, left rear, in Three Mile Island's Unit 2 control room on April 1, 1979. Two weeks earlier, the York Daily Record's reporting suggested an accident could happen. (See additional photo, video below.) Background posts: Three Mile Island emergency indelibly written into memories and Availability of microfilm an oft-posed question and Publishing legend Gitt vocal about nuclear power.

The partial meltdown of Three Mile Island's Unit 2 reactor put York countians to the test 30 years ago.

Just check out the oral histories that are part of the York Daily Record/Sunday News' "Remember" series if you need a refresher.

Or read the stories about the accident's impact, with a graphic of what went wrong that March day in 1979.

The York Daily Record was tested, too.

About two weeks earlier, a major reporting project suggested that a major nuclear accident could occur... .

Workers started taking down the old Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center this week. The land eventually will be returned to its 1863 appearance. The former Cyclorama building will remain standing pending outcome of a lawsuit. Background posts: Two developers have plans for a relocated Gettysburg Cyclorama building and Gettysburg Cyclorama critics: Reviews ranged from 'huge dinosaur' to 'I was captivated' and Q&A on new Gettysburg visitor center, old Electric Map.

The former visitors center/Electric Map building at the Gettysburg Battlefield, source of so many memories, is coming down.

The Hanover Evening Sun reported on the beginning of the end of the building (3/24/09):

William Solomon, owner of Pin Oak Lane Farm in Shrewsbury Township, is seen with Deposit Ticket in 2004. Deposit Ticket's offspring earned $1.4 million during the year. Pin Oak was the birthplace of 1992 Kentucky Derby winner Lil E. Tee (see photo below). Background posts: Glen Rock hilltop farm: 'You cannot stay stressed here for long' and Wiki profiles eight with national status bearing Hanover roots and Hames made in Shrewsbury Township's Hametown fueled early American horsepower and Two ornate mansions that Hanover Shoe built.

York County ranks third in the state behind Chester and Lancaster counties for the greatest number of racehorses, a Penn State researcher said a few years back.

"You don't have a racetrack in the county," the researcher said. "It's a bedroom community for those who do."

Bedroom community, yes.

But one of those horses who lived here and left will always have a York County birthplace in its biography.

That's Lil E. Tee, 1992 Kentucky Derby winner, who was put down this week.

These excerpts from a York Daily Record/Sunday News/AP story (3/24/09) tell about this first Pennsylvania-bred horse to win the Derby:

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 caption with this photo identifies community leaders about 50 years ago. It shows heirs of York leaders from the 19th century. For example, Beauchamp Smith is a descendent of S. Morgan Smith and P.H. Glatfelter III is in the lineage of the paper mill founder. Earl Herting, seen here, chaired this community improvement effort, one of many post World War II initiatives.The commission originated with the Chamber of Commerce Committee for 100 for Community Development, Herting wrote in a recent e-mail. Background posts: Who will lead the York area in the future? and Glatfelter, Morgan Smith head industrial legacy list and Samuel Small tops York, Pa. community contributor list.

The York Plan that brought factories together to capture defense work in World War II is the best example from history of a York-area community improvement initiative that worked.

The plan - and York County - became internationally known as a strategy to bring a community together to help supply the Allied war machine.

The York Committee of Safety's efforts to coordinate defense and recruitment strategies in the Civil War is an example of such a community project that did not.

Confederate invaders overwhelmed the town in 1863 after the community mustered only a handful of defenders.

In times of peace, the county has seen numerous other committees designed to pool resources to better the community.

Sometimes, the plans sat on a shelf... .

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... .

The colorful Valencia, seen here in this circa 1937 postcard, played host to dozens of national acts. Background posts: The bad, and yes, the good of the Great Depression in York County and Valencia Ballroom became cool place during Depression and Spring Garden Band: 'It's like being in the room with history'.

Dave Gladfelder was a regular at Big Band events at the Valencia in the heyday of the Swing era in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

It cost between a quarter and 85 cents to get into the York venue, depending on the prominence of the act. If the name was big enough, admission rose to $1.

Paying a little extra, Gladfelter acquired photos of the stars and stuck around long enough to get their autographs.

He collected about 60 photographs, many of them signed.

The collection of the late David Gladfelter will be up for silent auction during the York Book and Paper Fair on Saturday, April 4, in the York Expo Center.

Photos of the Dorsey brothers, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Harry James, Woody Herman are included in the collection... .

U.S. President Harry S. Truman honors Gen. Jacob L. Devers upon his post-World War II retirement. Devers established the U.S. Army Field Band before leaving his high military post. Background posts: Field Band live from Farquhar Park and York native Jacob L. Devers' name still in service at Fort Knox, Ky. and Long Level and Pleasureville fielded bands?

The U.S. Army Field Band is the best-known military band with York links. York native and four-star general Jacob Loucks Devers started that band after World War II.

But the U.S. Air Force Drum & Bugle Corps had more York County members.

So says K.B. Oiler (kblor1@comcast.net), and the writer has contacted the York County Heritage Trust about placing some of the band's artifacts into its holdings.

Oiler provides some facts about the corps: ...

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... .

Former Hanoverian Ann Roth's photograph is seen next to a sketch from 'The English Patient.' She earned an Oscar for her costume work in that film. The Hanover (Pa.) Area Historical Society will display some of Roth's sketches in March at the Warehime-Myers Mansion in Hanover. Background posts: York County continuing ed classes offered for matures who love to learn and Cameron Mitchell, Craig Sheffer, Dixie Chick born here and Young Alan Alda performed along the Codorus? Researcher checking that out.

The Hanover Area Historical Society is exhibiting sketches by famed costume designer Ann Roth this month.

In so doing, the society is taking a step the 20-something historical groups throughout York County should emulate: Embrace popular culture as part of the historical enterprise.

Communities throughout York County have produced dozens of celebrities... .

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:

The York (Pa.) Dispatch reported on a celebrity train passing through York in September 1941. Background posts: From York, Pa. to inside the beltway, politicos, celebrities got no friend and What did Tiny Tim and Richard Nixon have in common? and Sidney Poitier visits Valencia.

York's location on the Northern Central Railroad, later Pennsylvania Railroad, meant many presidents and other celebrities passed through the city.

In the age of steam locomotives, trains often stopped for water. And York's position as the largest town between Baltimore and Harrisburg increased the likelihood of visits.

In 1941, one such celebrity train did not stop.

It carried the controversial celebrities, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor... .

Fastnachts (fost-nokts) await transport to customers at the Stewartstown Senior Center today, Fastnaught Day. (See additional York Daily Record/Sunday News photos below.) Background posts: Classes offer rare op to learn Pennsylvania Dutch - Part II and PS Harrisburg grad school: 'Set my feet even more firmly on the path into the world of Fraktur' and Noted Pennsylvania German art historian will be missed.

In a York Daily Record/Sunday News story today (2/24/09), writer Barb Krebs answered two basic questions about Fastnachts:

Question 1: What is a Fastnacht, in the first place?

Answer: A Fastnacht is a yeast-raised potato pastry that is deep fried like a doughnut. The name fastnacht is German for "fast night," and the tradition of making them began with the Pennsylvania Dutch as a way to use up the lard, sugar, fat and butter that are forbidden during Lent.

Question 2: What makes a fastnacht different from a regular doughnut? ...

Northeastern's Autumn Lau (42) celebrates after scoring her 2,000th point against Dover in early January. She has since become the leading girls' scorer in York County's basketball history. Background posts: York athlete series: 'Arguably the best girls' volleyball player the area has ever seen' and Red Lion's Scott Fitzkee ranks as York/Adams Greatest Athlete and 'When people are looking back into Pa. basketball history ... it's great'.

The York Daily Record/Sunday News story told of Autumn Lau's record-breaking basket against West Perry last week in simple fashion:

"The Northeastern senior converted a bank shot in the paint from the left side to pass 2006 Fairfield graduate Lauren Beckley for the top spot on the YAIAA girls career scoring list. Lau put 20 on the board in the winning effort to increase her career total to 2,275 -- 17 points ahead of Beckley and 113 behind boys career leading scorer Jacob Iati, who set the record playing for York Catholic last season."

Will she pass Iati's mark of 2,388?

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... .

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... .

The (York, Pa.) Gazette and Daily gave prime play to the stop of President Warren G. Harding's funeral train in York. The president was popular then. After his death, the considerable shortcomings of his administration emerged. Background posts: Nixon's 1960 visit to York, No. 2: Dick's stop eventful, newsy and York historian on William Henry Harrison: a 'great and good man' and James A. Garfield: 'York was the capital of the United States when congress was on wheels'.

E.A. Wise flagged the fact that a train bearing Warren G. Harding's body passed through York in 1923.

"I was below the College Ave bridge to avoid the crowded train station," he wrote.

Newspaper coverage indicates York came out in mass to witness the funeral train on Aug. 8, 1923... .

The Gazette and Daily reports on Vice-President Richard Nixon's short visit to York in the buildup to the 1960 president election against John F. Kennedy. For a working list of past presidential visits, click here. Background posts: Richard Nixon in York, No. 1 and Richard Nixon, No. 2 and Richard Nixon's visits seared into York countians' minds.

When Richard Nixon campaigned in York County in the final days of the election season in 1960, some in the crowd of 5,000 had met him before.

In fact, a former Menges Mills neighbor who couldn't make it to the York train station rally received a staged phone call from Nixon's wife, Pat, to say hello... .

Practically every president who has visited York County leaves some memorable mark. That includes Richard M. Nixon's October 1960 whistle stop visit. Notice the headline telling about the mass suspension of Dallastown students. For a working list of past presidential visits, click here. Background posts: Why did JFK lose to Nixon in York County? and JFK's visit to York County a long-remembered event and York Gazette: President Zachary Taylor lost sense of propriety during visit.

Richard Nixon made York part of history in including it along his desperate and well-chronicled 11th-hour quest for the White House in 1960.

His stop has largedly faded from York County's memory, overshadowed by JFK's York Fair visit weeks earlier.

His visit, like most presidential visits to York County, spawned lots of side stories. His confusion of two local candidates, George Goodling and Stanley Gross, is one of them.

His visit also reportedly attracted a cadre of Dallastown Area High School students, which led to their suspension... .

The Gazette and Daily, no fan of Richard Nixon, reported on a gaffe during the vice-presidents 1960 visit to York County. Background posts: Washington Township, Jefferson Borough, Madison Avenue. How about an Obama Street in York County? and Exhibit features artifacts detailing presidential visits to York County and In 2008, 8 top candidates or their families campaigned in York County.

Richard Nixon was on the last stages of a last-ditch American campaign tour in October 1960 when brought his campaign against Democratic challenger John F. Kennedy to York.

On the platform at a York railroad station rally, someone asked him to plug GOP congressional candidate George Goodling.

The vice-president slapped legislative candidate Stanley H. Gross on the back and said, "Here he is, George M. Goodling." ...

In 1949, the Rev. Dr. C. Guy Stambach works on a painting that now hangs in Dallastown's Bethlehem United Methodist Church. A similar painting survived a devastating fire at Shenberger's Chapel, another United Methodist congregation, in Chanceford Township in southeastern York County. (See below for Paul Kuehnel's video and still photos on the fire and the painting.) Background posts: Church's landmark: 'A man named Beech carving a beech tree, it seemed too perfect' and People of varying religious groups founded York County and York's worst blaze struck 150 years ago.

In inspecting their burned out church, chagrined Shenbarger Chapel members are marveling that a painting behind the pulpit survived the blaze.

The painting of Jesus is one of many brought to area churches via the hand of pastor/artist C. Guy Stambaugh.

Coincidentally, the York Daily Record/Sunday News (1/30/09) had run a feature on the Rev. Stambaugh just last week... .

This is a closeup of the Shenbarger chancel painting that survived the blaze.

People leave Harley-Davidson's Springettsbury Township, Pa.'s, plant on the day that workers learned that 300 would be cut from the work force. (See additional photos below.) Background posts: Presidential visit No. 3: Bush makes like Bono, AMF-Harley in York, by the numbers and AMP's and AMF's alphabet soup spilled in same small town.

Since 1942, news has flowed from the Springettsbury Township plant that has housed York Safe & Lock, Blaw-Knox, Naval Ordnance Depot, AMF and Harley-Davidson.

Three strikes (1969, 1991, 2007). Three presidential visits (1987, 1999, 2006). Now 300 to be trimmed from Harley's ranks.

There's more.. .

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):

Nancy Smith, to the left of the president, delivered red roses on behalf of the Girl Scouts to Harry S. Truman during a York, Pa., campaign stop in 1948. Truman made sure that the 11-year-old girl stood near him so she would appear in photographs. This photo is among many that are part of the York County Heritage Trust's collection documenting presidential stops in York. (See additional photo below.) Background posts: Harry S. Truman's first York visit: 'A statesman is only a dead politician' and Crowd to Truman on second York visit: 'Give 'em h---, Harry' and Harry Truman to York countians: 'And you got exactly what you deserved' and Other presidential visits listed.

The York County Heritage Trust, 250 E. Market St., is presenting a case exhibit displaying artifacts linked to presidential visits to York County.

The exhibit, to be unveiled on Saturday, is tied to next week's inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama.

The library at the trust has a large collection of presidential-related artifacts, including newspaper clippings, photographs and campaign posters... .

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:

York artist J. Horace Rudy's stained glass window oversees Easter flowers at York's First Moravian Church in 2006. Background posts:York Moravian's Putz is an unsung, well-sung annual attraction, New York Wire factory whistle concert: 'We'd stand out on our driveway to hear it' and St. Mary's Church product of 19th-century York County language wars.

If someone wanted to, he or she could visit a local museum, attend a lecture or cultural event or take a tour virtually every day in York County.

I make that point in a York Sunday News column, in which I point out a recent Saturday that First Moravian's Putz was open for viewing and whistemaster Don Ryan gave a lecture on his New York Wire Cloth factory whistle prowess.

What are some pieces of historical information one brings away from such visits? ...

Theodore Roosevelt's1906 visit made York County news when The York Dispatch published a rare front-page photo. This marked one of the last times - if not the last time - the Dispatch would depart from a gray, eight-column front page without photos for the next 82 years. The image of another U.S. president, George Bush, prompted a front-page photo in 1988. Roosevelt, just back from dedicating the new capitol building in Harrisburg, rode in an open carriage from York's Centre Square to the fairgrounds where he touted York's growing prosperity. Background posts: Presidential visits listed, York-based historian shakes hands with 8 U.S. presidents and Presidents visit York, alive and via funeral trains

In the buildup to the inauguration of new U.S. President Barack Obama, I'll post numerous entries here about presidential links to York County.

We'll start with the well-attended visit by popular U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt... .

Dem presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign chose an improbable York site for a campaign stop in York in 2008. But hundreds jostled to see her. Background posts: Unsung York County asset: Actual, virtual historical community with hustle, Best of yorktownsquare.com, 2007 and In 2008, 8 top candidates or their families campaigned in York County.

About 100 years ago, a French writer told the year's news in short snippets for a French newspaper.

The York Daily Record/Sunday News did a spinoff of Felix Feneon's "Novellas in three lines" in recapping selected news items for 2008.

For example, as an entry for May 1, the staff wrote:

The lights of the Christmas Putz at York's First Moravian Church are lit one by one as church members narrate the annual show. The entire Putz is illuminated here in 2004. Background posts: How come few in York know about S. Morgan Smith anymore?, John Adams: 'Yesterday the greatest question was decided' and Henry Laurens in York Town: 'I will not quit my post, although I ... fear that I may perish on it'.

In modern American, the word putz brings to mind many things.

But for centuries in Europe, the word Putz meant decoration, a specific Christmastime decoration.

As York's First Moravian shows its Putz, it's the largest manger or nativity scene, or creche, that you've probably ever seen.

The local display includes 15 different scenes telling about the birth of Jesus, highlighted by beautiful choral music, varied narrative voices and lights that walk viewers through the story.

In addition to its size, three other points about the Putz stand out... .

Young Don Ryan practices on the New York Wire Cloth factory steam whistle with his father, Marlin Ryan, in the 1950s. Don inherited the title of whistlemaster from his father and now his own sons are apprenticing to play the early Christmas Day concert. Background posts: World War II-era air raid siren discovered atop Yorktowne Hotel, Musical factory whistle drowns out N.Y. Wire's WWII feats and The world's loudest music without amplification from a non-musical instrument.

Whistlemaster Don Ryan's enthusiasm for his instrument - the factory whistle at New York Wire Cloth -impressed his audience at a York County Heritage Trust presentation on Saturday.

He explained the ins and outs of the century-plus-old whistle with an adjustable valve that permits him to play carols shortly after midnight on Christmas Day each year.

That concert draws hundreds of people - maybe even thousands - to the East Market Street area of York. That part of town simply bustles.

So, why not hold a mid-summer concert and play patriotic songs? ...

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... .

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... .

Willie Hilker shaves a log from the Golden Plough Tavern in September 2007. He was replacing logs in the 1740s structure after an errant trucker smashed into its side. Most the logs were salvaged and reused. Background posts: Stone structures tell York countians how their ancestors lived, A square courthouse in middle of York's Centre Square? and Essayists on war and peace - old and new - write on.

One of the most interesting parts of the Golden Plough Tavern/Gates House complex is a piece that's not original.

It's the bar area... .

This First Thanksgiving marker is a bit off the street in downtown York unlike the other dozen markers that relate to the Continental Congress' visit to York in 1777-78. It's located in a park that offers a bit of sanctuary to the lunchtime sandwich crowd, located between M&T Bank and the East Market Street Parking Garage. Background posts: Where was Thomas Jefferson when Congress met in York?, American Revolution was a young man's fight and York Town Square's American Revolution category .

York County has put forth many interesting claims to fame over the years, some of which are hard to prove: York Fair is the nation's oldest. York was the Detroit of the East. York was the nation's first capital.

Another one of these is that the first national Thanksgiving was spawned from York. There's something to the nuanced claim, but not enough to make it a consensus outside York County... .

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:

West York's Brandon Real looks for running room against Littlestown this season.The senior holds several YAIAA rushing records. Background posts: Who is rightful owner of area boys' basketball scoring record?, York County Tech sports: 'If they took something like that away it really would destroy the school' and 'When people are looking back into Pa. basketball history ... it's great'.

Has West York's Brandon Real scored the best season ever for a YAIAA running back?

York Daily Record Sean McLernon has posed that question in a Line Up Card blog post.

Here's a quick look at Real's stats, according to McLernon and newspaper reports:

Re-enactor Byron Wildasin was among members of the 16th Pennsylvania, Co. G, to support renovations to Hanover's Lincoln monument. The markers tells about the president's stop in that southwestern York County town on his way to deliver the Gettysburg Address. Background posts: York newspaper about Gettysburg Address: 'Mr. Lincoln made a joke or two ...', Historical marker may soon point to Jefferson square's famous visitors and Abandoned Codorus railroad not just any abandoned railroad.

Abraham Lincoln's links to York County are many and too often overlooked.

His train, sans Lincoln, passed through here on his way to the White House after his election. (He had taken another train to D.C. because for security reasons.)

Four years later, his funeral train, with Lincoln, stopped in York on its nation-wide tour.

In between, he changed trains at Hanover Junction, south of York, on his way too and from Gettysburg to deliver his famous address.

And along his way to and from Gettysburg, he passed through York County's countryside, steaming through Jefferson, Smith Station before pausing in Hanover... .

U.S. Mint sculptor-engraver Don Everhart created this design for the new Lincoln dollar. Background posts: Engraver's work keeps his name in circulation, Is Civil War-era cash buried around Hanover? and Engraver's image: Going to market a longtime York County pastime

Last time Don Everhart made the news, the former York countian had designed a John Quincy Adams presidential coin.

This time, he helped make the new Abraham Lincoln dollar, as the following AP/York Daily Record/Sunday News story attests:

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... .

East Prospect's Tracy Winter shows off an antique toy truck at a meeting of the Pennsylvania Dutch Heritage Group. The group meets from 1 to 3 p.m. on the third Saturday of each month at Providence Place, 3377 Fox Run Road, Dover Township. For details, call 266-2910. Background posts: Pennsylvania Dutch-speaking York County residents often conversed with German POWs, Classes offer rare op to learn Pennsylvania Dutch and 'Persons should not be too modest'.

Q. What does the Pennsylvania Dutch phrase "Guder mariye" mean?

A. Good morning.

Q. And Wie bischt du heit?

A. How are you today?

Q. Ich bin zimmlich gut.

A. I am pretty good.

Q. Sitz dich anne un bleib e weil.

A. Set yourself (to there) and stay a while.

The Pennsylvania Dutch dialect and its related traditions are kept alive once at month in York County when the Pennsylvania Dutch Heritage Group meets in Dover... .

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:

George A. Goodling (right) congratulates his son, Bill Goodling, York County's new congressman in 1974. Bill Goodling served in Congress for 26 years before retiring. Todd Platts took his place to continue the Republican lineage from York County in the U.S. House. Background posts: LBJ: In small towns, girls are fonder; dinner pails fuller, Is York County part of Alabama? and Strange pairings could help raise funds in York.

In the General Election in 1974, a changing of the guard, of sorts, took place.

Son replaced father in the U.S. House... .

A two-story-high scoreboard posted on The Gazette and Daily's East King Street building kept sports fans and news junkies up to date on sports and news happenings in the days before radio and TV. One story suggests the scoreboard was recycled as scrap during World War II.

In this day in which CNN can instantaneously project Barack Obama's presidential victory to the world, it's easy to forget another day in which results dribbled in.

The York Town Square post Giving news, sports junkies their fix outlines how 100 years ago, a light atop a York building told of a presidential victory. That was the best form of mass communication... .

When voters knocked Republican Congressman Chester Gross from office in 1948, Gazette and Daily's Walt Partymiller translated the vote into a cartoon. Background posts: York College prof to speak about York's 'Voices from the Past', J.W. Gitt: 'Just say it ... straight out' and Publishing legend Gitt vocal about nuclear power.

When longtime Gazette and Daily cartoonist Walt Partymiller died a few years ago, eulogists paid proper restrict for the man who everyone in town seemed to know.

One person paying tribute said that Partymiller never said a bad word about anybody.

Now, that's a tough reputation to bestow on anyone, much less a newspaperman who was full of opinions... .

The left-of-center Gazette and Daily was no fan of GOP Congressman Chester Gross, who was voted out of office in 1948. In fact, Gross had defeated the newspaper's owner, Democrat J.W. Gitt, for the congressional seat four years earlier. So, for Gitt, Gross's loss would have meant rough justice. Background posts: In York County and beyond, presidential races have produced rages through the ages, York cartoonist's work helps celebrate peace activism and Newspaper's founding date hard to pin down.

On Election Day, 2008, a large voter registration lead would make Republican incumbent Todd Platts the favorite over Dem Phil Avillo for the 19th district seat in the U.S. House. Indeed, early results show Platts is leading .

Sixty years ago, the race went the other way.

Sarah Palin was the last candidate to set foot on a York County stage in the election 2008 season. Here, she speaks to a crowd on Oct. 31 at the York Expo Center. Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge is seen at right. (See photo of Barack Obama's visit to York below.) Background posts: Hillary Clinton apparently closer to middle than Obama in minds of York County Dems, York-area woodcarver made life-size JFK statue. But where is it now? and Bobby Kennedy spoke to Foremen's Club in York about labor racketeering.

The canon is sealed on candidate visits to York for Election 2008.

Chelsea Clinton was the first dignitary to stump way back in April when her mother was still a candidate.

Veep candidate Sarah Palin was the last, appearing Friday, Oct. 31. Joe Biden was the only candidate among the four presidential and vice presidential entries not to show.

Here's the complete list of visits by candidates or their families:

You've heard it.

Maybe you've even said it.

This is the most emotional U.S. presidential election ever. Or political nastiness surrounding this Obama-McCain race has never reached such lows. Or the media has never been more one-sided.

Well, I tried to bash these myths in a York Sunday News column (11/02/08). American politics have always been rough and tumble... .

Mary Breighner discusses a body found in a Peach Bottom quarry in 2004 with her boss, Coroner Barry Bloss. In 2008, Breighner said she retiring. Background posts: York's Wonder Women: The stories of four more movers and shakers, Witman murder among York County's most notorious crimes and Hex murder house visit offers surprises.

York County's Chief Deputy Coroner Mary Breighner talked about her pending retirement recently.

In so doing, she brought up a case that many have forgotten. But the longtime assistant coroner - she assisted Kathryn Olewiler before current coroner Barry Bloss - obviously remembers it well... .

Goldsboro's Greg Gross played for 17 seasons with the Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies, ending his Major League Baseball playing career in 1989. He has strong coaching links with several Phillies playing in the World Series. Background posts: Adding to York baseball timeline: Revs ready for 'second helping', Sol and Brooks lead long York County sports parade and Lineup full of sports stars with York County links.

York County native Greg Gross reminds you of fellow county major leaguer Butch Wynegar.

Gross attended Red Land High School. Wynegar graduated from Red Lion. Their eventful major league careers overlapped... .

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... .

In 2005, Hershey Foods made limited-edition York Pink Patties - York Peppermint Patties with a pink center - in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. At one time, the candy was made in York, of course. But no more. But it is still used as a reference point about York. Background posts: Don't know much about York County history?, Was York's surrender justified? and Events in 1777 helped tip Revolution toward patriots

Michele Norris is a National Public Radio interviewer who has helped to deliver four conversations with York countians about the 2008 presidential election.

Those conversations, titled: 'The York Project: Race & The '08 Vote', are adding insight about America's views on this year's presidential race.

On the NPR Web site, Norris explains why York was chosen... .

President Reagan received a Harley-Davidson jacket during his visit to York County in 1987. Three years earlier, he also received the York Daily Record's endorsement for the presidency. Background posts: Solomon Meyer 'forsook the publishing business and betook himself elsewhere',McCarthy probe could not corral J.W. Gitt and Criticism of Geno's leads to 'commie' claim.

From the late 1700s to well into the 20th century, York County played host to idealogically driven newspapers.

In fact, journalism history reveals that the reason many newspapers - including the predecessors to the York Daily Record and York Sunday News - were created was to promote certain political parties.

Historically, The Gazette and Daily was the Democratic newspaper and The York Dispatch was Republican... .

A national memorial in Washington, D.C., bears the names of thousands of police officers killed in the line of duty. In this 2004 York Daily Record/Sunday News photo, a woman traces the name of an officer. A memorial spokesman said people leave many items for their lost loved ones - police patches, roses, stuffed animals and even beer. Background posts: Deadly York fire: 'There never was a more horrible one', Witman murder among York County's most notorious crimes and 16 York County Good Samaritans honored with Carnegie Medals since 1906.

Curtis Sowers, Henry Schaad and Deputy Edward "Skip" Schroeder Jr. all were York County police officers and died in the line of duty.

Their sacrifice is known by many.

Unfortunately, another local police officer was added to their numbers this week:
Northern Regional's David Tome was struck by a vehicle as he was re-constructing the scene of an accident.

Sometimes, Willis Cole of Fairview Township, at the northern tip of the York County, is added to that short list of heroes. The New Cumberland officer was shot and killed in 1994 after responding to a Cumberland County robbery.

Windsor Fire Police Lt. Douglas L. Rohrbaugh is one law enforcement official who died in the line of duty and is often forgotten... .

The York Revolution take on the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs during a game during the 2008 season at York's Sovereign Bank Stadium. The video board in the background will display an upcoming Philadelphia Phillies World Series game. For more information, please call 717-801-HITS (4487), or visit the Revolution online at www.YorkRevolution.com. Background post: York has Brooks Robinson statue. Where's Baltimore's?, Batter up, pass the hot dog: York relishes the Revolution, Stadium will be site of The Oaks music reunion.

Sovereign Bank Stadium officials are finding good use for their ballpark, home of the York Revolution.

They've accommodated a kickball tournament, a Crop Walk and a Class of '66 William Penn High School reunion.

Now, the stadium will become York's largest TV set this week, as Wednesday's Phillies vs. either Tampa Bay or Boston game will be shown on its video board. There will be no admission cost.

This Oct. 22 game marks a return of the Phillies to the World Series after a 15-year drought... .

A performance of York County native Ken Ludwig's 'Lend Me a Tenor' marks the opening of York College's Performing Arts Center. The center is at least the third large-scale venue for such performances in the York area, joining Penn State York's Pullo Family Performing Arts Center and York's Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center. Background posts: TV show box set 'Terry & the Pirates' to be part of a museum exhibit someday?, 20 questions and answers to prove your York County smarts, Part III and Add another to list of entertainers with York links.

The student theater troupe, The York College Players, will perform "Lend Me a Tenor," by York County native Ken Ludwig.

Actually, Ludwig is half of a duo from the same York Suburban School District family to make international headlines.

Just this week, brother Eugene Ludwig, former comptroller general under the Clinton administration and now in the private sector, testified before Congress on the nation's financial crisis.

And actually, York Suburban has produced another set of prominent brothers:

Russell Moser with Kinsley Industrial directs the move of a 1942 Model 40 locomotive engine into York's Agricultural and Industrial Museum in 2004. According to the York County Heritage Trust, the 44-ton, General Motors-built engine was used during World War II to transport bomb casings. The trust recently unveiled a speakers series called "Saturday Morning." Background posts: One image illustrates two long-neglected subjects in York area , Don't know much about York County history? and WW II air raid siren: 'The plan is to get it to work'.

Those looking for free regular presentations on issues touching on York County history have another opportunity the second Saturday of each month.

The York County Heritage Trust is sponsoring a series called "Second Saturday." ...

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 painting, owned by the York County Heritage Trust, was one of 16 that became part of the 1927 celebration marking the 150th anniversary of the adoption of the Articles of Confederation in York County. Given the war conditions, scarce food and high costs might have meant that the woman and toddler were not as nourished as they appear in the painting. An upcoming York College class will study food, disease and their impact on early York County. Background posts: "York's Central Market sells steak ... and sizzle," and Demolished Red Lion Grange Hall still tells tale of changing York County and Lighthouse marks site of landmark Dover Township soft pretzel stand.

York College is offering a course on how food, health, disease and accidents affected the life span of York countians.

The course, titled "Voices from the Past: A History of York County, 1730 - 1930," picks up pioneers as they first legally settled west of the Susquehanna River and follows their ancestors until just before the Great Depression... .

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... .

The Stewartstown Railroad Co. and preservationists Friends of the Stewartstown Railroad are seeking to raise funds and preserve the historic southeastern York County rail lines and station. Here, Don Matthews of Stewartstown Railroad walks through a rail car earlier this year. Background posts: Freight locomotive 'telescoped' runaway railroad car, Ma & Pa Railroad, Muddy Creek Forks draw fans and Mystery of Glen Rock-area's Narrow Gauge Road deepens.

Preservationists seeking to return the Stewartstown Railroad to excursion service are continuing their work. (See: Stewartstown's historic rail station: 'Hopefully, we get things going soon')

The historical society in the Stewartstown area is presenting a program on the railroad that served Stewartstown, New Park and Fawn Grove to the east and linked to the Northern Central Railroad to the west.

Kurt Bell from the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania will speak at the event set for Nov. 19 at the Stewartstown Presbyterian Church... .

This 1840s zinc tub is a memorable part of the tour of Wheatland, James Buchanan's Lancaster County home. It's not known if the president ever used the tub. (See additional photo below). These photos will appear in an upcoming edition of Spaces magazine. Background posts: Columbia's clock museum set presidential timepiece exhibit opening, President Buchanan's fall reflected his presidency; other chief exec visits and York's Jeremiah Black, former U.S. attorney general, among Democrats resorting to racism.

James Buchanan's Wheatland home falls several bricks short of modern presidential libraries.

The predecessor to Abraham Lincoln in the White House is often rated in the lower tier of U.S. presidents. And the nation mostly fell apart under his watch. And he served before presidential libraries were bestowed to even undistiguished presidents.

Despite these shortcomings, a visit to Wheatland is an interesting and informative way to spend a Saturday morning... .

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.

Tourists visited the rehabbed Cyclorama on the weekend of its grand opening.

Background posts: Half dozen groups probe acquisition of Gettysburg's retired Electric Map, York newspaper about Gettysburg Address: 'Mr. Lincoln made a joke or two ...' and New visitors center gets buzz, but court to rule on old Cyclorama site

The Cyclorama painting is open for a much-anticipated public viewing at the Gettysburg National Military Park.

But early visitors received a special treat in addition to the revamped, round painting.

The visitors center charged $7.50 to see a 22-minute orientation firm and to view the Cyclorama, according to the York Daily Record/Sunday News... .

This 1969 photo shows York Mayor John L. Snyder walking his German Shepard. York police's continued use of K-9 Corps over protests from many in the minority community helped catalyze racial tension in York. Background posts: Images capture hope for racial harmony, School violence struck York County in 1970 and First York City Latino councilman temporarily state's top appointed Dem.

Ironies emerged in the recent opening of the York Spanish community's new center at 221 E. Princess St.

The José E. Hernandez Centro Hispano is located in the former office of York Mayor John L. Snyder.

He's best known for incompetently overseeing York in the racially charged 1960s. Indeed, his administration's policies helped keep the heater of hate plugged in... .

Rickey Cox shows a model of a planned memorial to honor Vietnam War veterans at a York Revolution game in 2007. Dallastown sculptor Lorann Jacobs designed the model and is shaping the monument. Background posts: Of local Jewish WW II group: 'It's a skeleton post. I'm it.', War memorials stand proudly in towns throughout York County, and Wrightville's overlooked attractions.

York County's Vietnam Veterans Memorial Committee is looking for a few good men - and women.

While fund raising for a Vietnam Memorial at the York Expo Center continues, the committee is putting forth plans to unveil the statue.

Committee members are looking for vets from the Vietnam War-era - circa 1962-1975 - to extend invitations to the unveiling ceremony... .

Former York countian and now world-famous artist Jeff Koons created this artwork. Anne Lampe, director of the Demuth Museum in Lancaster, might have broken the code with her explanation: 'The Hoovers are such a social commentary piece. Here are these machines that were made to supposedly alleviate a housewife's chores, but have we really liberated women?' Background posts: Proposed 'Creation of a Nation' museum name glib, but lacks grounding, York County native Jeff Koons' work raises question: But is it art? Part I, Artist Jeff Koons came back to York for a show and Jeff Koons' sculpture brings record for a living artist's work

The display of artist Jeff Koons' work at Versailles, France, has again raised sentiments in his boyhood home of York County about why his art is such a big deal.

One detects dismay and sometimes anger that he gets recognition for work that seemingly anyone can do... .

The body of Navy SEAL Neil C. Roberts was laid to rest at Prospect Hill Cemetery in 2007, five years after he died in Afghanistan at the hands of al-Qaida. Background posts: Hammer-wielding Yorkers helped to nail kaiser's noggin , WWII in York County, by the numbers and War memorials stand proudly in towns throughout York County.

Littlestown's Michael Dinterman, the latest military York/Adams man to die in uniform in Iraq or Afghanistan, was laid to rest on Monday.

Navy SEAL Petty Officer 1st Class Neil C. Roberts was the first of 21 fighting men with local links to die in uniform in the War on Terror.

He was shot and killed by al-Qaida forces after he fell from a helicopter in the Kharwar Mountains of Afghanistan... .

That's a display of a two-headed calf under inspection, part of a York Fair exhibit junior curators put together at the York County Heritage Trust, 250 E. Market St., York. Background posts: One image illustrates two long-neglected subjects in York area, All's Fair blog gives all kinds of insight about York Fair and Common genealogical query: 'Is there still anyone living ... related to this David Miller?'.

The York Fair is over for 2008, but it lives on in an exhibit at the York County Heritage Trust.

"A Fair of Our Own" will run through Oct. 24.

A squad of junior curators assembled the display from scratch, using whatever artifacts met their standards and could fit into a small area.

A York Daily Record/Sunday New story (8/30/08) tells about the exhibit:

This image, appearing on the Class of '66 White Oaks Reunion site, comes from an earlier era but shows the variety of ways that Manchester Township's White Oak Park was used in its heyday. The building here is playing host to a Blaw-Knox picnic. In the 1960s, rock groups played music for hundreds of teen dancers. Background posts: 'Dell rat' blogs about southside York hangout where owners put out welcome mat, York-area full of memory-spawning landmarks, Memories of 'The Oaks' pile - Part I and Other memories and nostalgia posts.

For whatever reason, photos of White Oak Park are rare.

Phil Schwartz found that out when trying to find photos of bands playing at this north York teen hangout in the 1960s. He is producing a compilation album.

Now Homewood Suites on Masonic Drive, whose new footprint covers part of the former Oaks grounds, is collecting photos and other information from the park during its heyday from the 1940s to 1960s. Hotel spokesmen are asking folks with such memories or memorabilia to call 717-434-1800.

In discussing this dearth of photos, some former Oakers mused that perhaps photos were rare because White Oak Park on band nights was a place where (unfortunately)boys were boys and documentation of certain activities might not have been preferable.

This promotional poster shows the types of events at the top of the York Fair's promotional list in 1928. Background posts: 'The lower she sank in the chair', Old-time York bike shop: 'It's like a store that time forgot' and Can anyone locate this ballpark?.

All's Fair, a blog made up of York Daily Record/Sunday News staff postings, is an example of local blogging tied to York County and international events.

The O-Zone was another blog where staffers explored the Olympics.

York Town Square readers will find - an enjoy - a number of York Fair-history related posts, with links back to this blog: ... .

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 War nurse: 'Dogs of war in our midst' and 'Her words helped win the war'.

She might have been the first Army nurse from York County to enlist in World War II.

That was Nellie Scott's reputation during her lifetime and after death, which came Aug. 31... .

This 750-pound snapping turtle dwafs Mike Clancy, president of The Wago Club in East Manchester Township. Chainsaw artist Brad Heilman carved the 7-foot mascot from a white pine. Background posts: Big Conewago serves as physical, symbolic divider of York County culture, Church's landmark: 'A man named Beech carving a beech tree, it seemed too perfect' and York-area woodcarver made life-size JFK statue. But where is it now?

The Wago Club brings together two popular parts of York County's culture: The penchant for chainsaw-carved wooden statues and turtle soup.

Those tree-trunks-turned-into monuments are popping up around York County, as people and groups of people can't part completely with their favorite enormous trees. Rutters has those carvings at the dairy's Manchester Township headquarters. York Township's Aldersgate United Methodist Church turned its copper beech into a carving and that wooden figure was later replaced with one made from cement.

Now the Wago Club might have the biggest one of all - celebrating its taste for snapping turtle soup... .

A piece of a boiler from the York Rolling Mill's 1908 explosion flew several blocks before crashing into a home on North Queen Street. The piece went through the roof and hit a dresser in a bedroom, according to a newspaper report. Background posts: 100 years later in York, Jumbo's terrible roar remembered - Part I, Additional York Corporation (York International) stories and Glatfelter, Morgan Smith head industrial legacy list.

The blast rocked York County and beyond 10 years ago.

Four tanks containing a mixture of pressurized air and refrigerant blew up shortly before midnight on Feb. 2, 1998 at York International, now Johnson Controls.

At that time, York College's William Kreiger told the York Daily Record/Sunday News that an explosion such at that at York International is like a truck barreling down the highway pushing air out of its way... .

Ten died in an Aug. 10 industrial accident 100 years ago. The York Rolling Mills explosion appears to be the worst industrial accident in York County's history. Background posts: 1908: 'Boiler Explosion At York Rolling MIlls Kills 9 Men; 20 injured' , Freight locomotive 'telescoped' runaway Stewartstown Railroad car and York County lawmaker fought to aid the blind.

When Jumbo crosses paths with York County history, horrific things happen.

One example came when Jumbo, a traveling circus elephant, fell ill. A account of that memorable night is found in the York Town Square post: The day Jumbo screamed in North York - Elephant story Part II

The other recorded episode involving Jumbo came 100 years ago, when a boiler so named exploded at an industrial site, York Rolling Mill, near the Codorus Creek.

We pick up Teresa Boeckel's account in a York Daily Record/Sunday News story (9/7/08) here:

This image reflects themes from the upcoming documentary "Home," a documentary on York,Pa., and its new baseball stadium, Sovereign Bank Stadium. The film will premier in York at 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 25 at York College, followed by a question-and-answer session with producer Brian Plow. Background posts: York had Brooks Robinson statue. Where's Baltimore's, Season 2 of York's long comeback campaign and New baseball diamond serves as York cornerstone.

Filmmaker Brian Plow is bringing together the wide-ranging topics of baseball, economic development and those displaced by York's new stadium in an upcoming documentary.

The producer, a Towson University film professor, spent hours in York researching these themes.

York College's Humanities Film Series will be the vehicle to introduce the documentary called "Home." ...

President Lyndon B. Johnson visit to Dallastown in 1966 was a high point in Dallastown's history. Here, Lady Bird Johnson greets some of those who turned out for the Dallastown centennial. A museum honoring the borough's past is set to open Monday. Details: 244-8217. Background posts: LBJ: In small towns, girls are fonder; dinner pails fuller, Bomb group seeks Cameron Mitchell's WWII info and Speeding trolley cars drew criticism.

Dallastown is known for Lyndon B. Johnson's visit in 1966. It was boyhood home of famed actor Cameron Mitchell.

That's where noted sculptor Lorann Jacobs has her studio.

And it was a stop along road from York to Peach Bottom, accommodated rumbling trolley cars and received a spur of the Ma & Pa Railroad.

And it was founded, in part, on the strong hands of basket weavers. But more on that in a second... .

Carroll Swam of New Park is helping disassemble an old log house in the southern York County borough of Shrewsbury, one historic piece at a time. Background posts: York County's landscape, buildings, landmarks can serve as a classroom, How to accurately restore a historic home and Facts don't support wide house door to admit coffins.

A landmark Shrewsbury log house is slowly coming down.

That is the third option involving such a historic log home, disassembler Carroll Swam says. Carefully dismantle it and recycle the parts.

The first and preferred option, the York countian says, is to restore a home. The second is to move it.

This particular 200-plus-year-old structure could not be saved... .

York Daily Record/Sunday News photographer Paul Kuehnel captured this award-winning photo of ice upon ice at Long Level along the Susquehanna River in the blizzard of 1996. That blizzard hit on Jan. 8, 1996, and it dropped 30 to 36 inches of snow. Businesses closed for a week. Municipalities exhausted their annual snow removal budgets in five days. (See additional photo below). Background posts: Susquehanna bridge makeover flowing along, Doctor made house calls in blizzards and Newspaper Web site introduced in blizzard.

"I remember opening my front door of our home and only seeing a couple inches of our antenna of our car."

That's how West Manchester Township's Gary Huber described one of the York County blizzards of the 1990s.

"I also remember no one was supposed to be on the street, because everything was shut down by the mayor. We, the maintenance department of York City schools, were asked to report to work the best way we could. Roads were hardly open, schools were closed for a week, which is about how long it took us to clear all the pavement," he said.

This discussion on snow and ice started when Jim Buckner shared slides of a major Susquehanna River ice breakup in 1959, and images found their way into the York Town Square post: For years, folks have eyed amazing, destructive Susquehanna River ice jams. ...

York countian L.O. Buckner took a 35mm slide of a January 1959 ice breakup along the Susquehanna in the Wrightsville area. (More photos below.) Background posts: Readers tell about those blizzards of 1993, 1996, Temporary river art collection may find permanent home along Susquehanna and Long Level and Pleasureville fielded bands?.

Jim Buckner of New Canaan, Conn., passed along photos of massive ice piles along the Susquehanna River. He gleaned them from his father's collection of York County scenes.

"Although I'm a native Yorker, I've been away from the city for a half century and don't know whether changes in the climate cycle have deleted this spectacular, albeit destructive, event from the county almanac or not," he wrote... .

A large crowd listens to big band music over the weekend at Dills Tavern, part of Dillsburg's175th anniversary festivities. The tavern serviced the plentiful passengers on the Harrisburg and Baltimore Turnpike, as they passed through the notch in the mountains. Background posts: Franklintown second cousin to neighboring Dillsburg, Flag expert: 'I was interested in my nation's heritage', Dillsburg's Jane Alexander pioneering county woman in state politics

The York Daily Record/Sunday News story (8/23/08) called Dillsburg York County's
"wild child."

The 175th-anniversary celebration over the weekend was, indeed, a bright moment in the northwest York County borough.

The wild child comment brings to mind the most celebrated wedding of a townsman - or townswoman.

Anne Dill, 24 years old and the beautiful widow of a descendant of the town's founder, married the distinguished clergyman and Declaration of Independence signer John Witherspoon... .

The restored cyclorama and a copy of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address will be the focus of the official grand opening of the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center, Sept. 26-28. Background posts: Q&A on new Gettysburg visitor center, old Electric Map, Gettysburg National Battlefield produces steady supply of news, Part II Gettysburg Cyclorama, with new shape, ready for September opening.

The majority of York countians in the 1860s did not like Abe Lincoln's politics.

That's evidenced by their support of his opponents in 1860 and 1864.

And most did not like his famous speech... .

David Kline works around his Red Lion-area Family Heir-Loom Weavers. He will demonstrate the use of old looms to OLLI Brown-Bag Lunch participants on Oct. 27, one of several such sessions that are part of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute classes this fall. Background posts: York County's landscape, buildings, landmarks can serve as a classroom,
OLLI's theme song: 'Don't stop thinking about learning' and Iron-mine-turned-into-party-spot turned into York County park.

That machinery has produced costumes for actors in the films "Amistad," "Gods and Generals," "Gettysburg" and "Cold Mountain."

His Family Heir-Loom Weavers have produced items for nine presidential homes. That resume includes carpets at Abraham Lincoln's home in Springfield, Ill., and George Washington's Mount Vernon home.

But he'll leave the big machinery behind in a Brown Bag Lunch and Learn program in October, part of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute fall lineup... ... .

Crispus Attucks' Cindy Leiphart is surrounded by a dirt room beneath the floor in the William C. Goodridge house in York. Fugitives may have used a trapdoor in the kitchen floor to hide in this room, part of the Underground Railroad. Background posts: Research needed to unearth Underground Railroad, Part II, 10 years ago, York's exclusive Lafayette Club became less exclusive, Part II , William C. Goodridge: From slavery to success story

Efforts to turn the home of William C. Goodridge into an Underground Railroad museum are sitting on a siding while sponsors are searching for funds.

But a recent York Daily Record/Sunday News story telling about these funding woes revealed that the site is listed with the National Park Service's National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

That means that there has been some outside-the-county scrutiny of the home of Goodridge - a former slave who became a successful 19th-century York businessman -as an Underground Railroad site.

It appears to be the only site in York County to be so listed... .

The 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg brought back vets from both sides to Adams County in 1938. Many York/Adams residents remember the event 70 years later. This Associated Press photo from an unidentified newspaper shows, from left, Cyrus Stamets, 95, a Union veteran from Richmond Ohio, John W. Turnbough, 94, a Confederate vet from Eldorado, Okla. and Confederate Gen. M.D. Vance. Background posts: Late-19th century Gettysburg photos ready for public, Red Lion doctor treated both Revolutionary War soldier and people alive today and Signs point to York, 'Prize of the Confederacy,' and other York/Adams Civil War wonders.

Sometimes, it seems that everyone in York/Adams visited Gettysburg to observe the 75th anniversary of the battle.

Memories of those grizzled Civil War vets who visited the battlefield in 1938 have firmly settled into the minds of many York/Adams residents living today. You hear about them often... .

When builders dug the Howard Tunnel through a southern York County ridge in 1840, they left room for two tracks. The second track was added after the Civil War.This is one of many interesting facts collected by Scott Butcher and included in captions in "York's Historic Architecture." (Butcher is signing his new book at 2 p.m. Sunday, at the York Emporium.) Because of the tunnel builders' foresight, the rail trail is able to follow the path of one of the old tracks today. The other track is still there for rail use. Background posts: Thousands discover formerly unheralded York County rail trail's Howard Tunnel , No light at the end of this (abandoned) Pa.Turnpike tunnel and York County ... 'A smorgasbord of architectural styles'.

Scott Butcher's new book "York's Historic Architecture" is packed with photos.

But it's also loaded with dates, details and architectural information, including many interesting tidbits about many buildings, well known and not.

Here are five points that are certain to pique your interest:

Did you know ? ...

The Kralltown Road bridge, seen here in 2006, is of the truss construction typical of those PennDOT is systematically replacing. In fact, PennDOT is placing some of them up for sale. Background posts: When the bridge over the Codorus moved, Charles Dickens on his Susquehanna River crossing: 'I was in a painful dream', and A 7th bridge? Pedestrian walkway may span Susquehanna River some day.

I recently turned onto the one-lane Bowers Bridge crossing the Conewago Creek near Manchester and wondered how the rickety but beautiful structure had escaped the wreckers ball. After all, a trolley bridge downstream was no more. And a highway bridge even further down the Conewago was there but no longer used.

As it turns out, PennDOT has caught up with the Bowers Bridge... .

This is a rare photograph of White Oak Park courtesy of J. David Allen & Son Photography. This photo shows vehicles navigating the road to Emigsville near the Oaks' buildings. The traffic islands are there today, placing the Oaks at about the location of the present-day rental units lot where vehicles are stored. Background posts: 'Dell rat' blogs about southside hangout , The Oaks: 'I often look up there ... and think about how nice it was', and Memories about 'The Oaks' pile up.

John Allen is part of the generation that lived during the heyday of White Oak Park, a northside hangout where many local rock groups cut their teeth.

He graduated in York Catholic, class of 1966.

That's the year highlighted in an upcoming reunion at Sovereign Bank Stadium based on a White Oak Park theme.

For whatever reason, photographs of The Oaks are rare... .

York educator Victoria Lyles achieved much, and one of her lasting legacies is her involvement in the founding of York Twinning. Background post: YLT + YSO + 75 years = A1 entertainment, Many national stars performed on YLT's stage and 'Weekly Reader's' founder Eleanor Johnson.

York Little Theatre's Julie Aiken is finishing up work on a book marking York Little Theatre's 75th annversary being celebrated this year.

She came across a woman who seemed to be making things happen across the community in the 1930s through 1950s - Victoria Lyles.

Among other things, Julie found that Victoria Lyles worked with Rabbi Alexander Goode on teaching tolerance in York City schools and was instrumental in desegregating York's schools.

"Do you have any further information about this amazing woman?" she wrote... .

Northeastern Football Association president Joe Griffith is a prime reason why Northeastern Senior High School will field a football team this fall. 'We were the largest school in the commonwealth not to have a football program. That's not a title to be proud of,' he said. To view a four-day series on how Northeastern football came to be, see York Daily Record/Sunday News reporter Sean McLernon's Finally in the game. Background posts: Big Conewago separates Northeastern School District into two, Wolf Man, Wolfchester. No the village of Mount Wolf and New Weekly Records tell about community life.

Northeastern Senior High School will become the 22nd York Area Interscholatic Athletic Association team when the football is teed up on Friday, Aug. 29.

York Daily Record/Sunday News coverage of the addition of this costly sport in tight budgetary also showed that the YAIAA has more than doubled from its nine original teams in 1960.

The following YAIAA chronology, certain to be of interest, was part of that coverage:

Codorus Church of the Brethren in Dunkard Valley is the mother church for members of that denomination in York County. Background posts: Potosi, Pa., linked to mining, Northern York strawberry part of Neapolitan county, People of varying religious groups founded York County.

The stats say that the Church of the Brethren has grown from one congregation - Springfield Township's Codorus church - planted in the fields of a quiet valley 250 years ago to 15 churches in York County today

The figures also show that the number of churches of that Protestant denomination in the county is down by three between 1990 and 2000.

That is probably the reason Codorus and other Brethren groups are trying new things - like this past weekend's Dunkard Valley Live, a Christian music festival with rap groups and such. Surely, this was the loudest moment in this agricultural valley since the introduction of the gasoline-fired combine.

But here's the question that is often asked about the Brethren and their Amish and Mennonite cousins: Why aren't there as many of those groups west of the Susquehanna as there are in Lancaster County? ...

A championship horshoe-pitching team poses at a location now flooded by Lake Redman. Three Lake Redman-related background posts: Mile-a-minute weed's York County origins questioned, Memorial honoring victims of alcohol-related crashes should be visited and Rainmaker's visit indicates much awry in York.

Over at sister blog The Lineup Card, Chris Otto connects the York-based national horseshoe pitching tournament just passed, local horseshoe pitching champions from old and the York County locale known as Smoketown... .

Local architectural expert and blogger Scott Butcher chose Gethsemane Hall as the cover image of his new book, "York's Historic Architecture." Butcher writes that Freemasons constructed the 111 N. Beaver St. building in 1912. It was built after the Masons acquired the next-door, former York Post Office. Background posts: When did York's square turn from Centre to Continental?, The Four Bloggers write and Virtual York offers colorful tour of York's past.

Scott Butcher's newest book will serve as a resource for countless people interested in York County's architectural significant buildings.

The 157-page book is packed with photos and descriptions of private residences, houses of worship, commercial buildings and some structures that have seen many uses.

"From early Colonial taverns and ornate Victorian homes to the postmodern office towers of today, York's streetscape features almost every style and era of American architecture," Scott wrote in a news release.

Here's how I'll use the book: ...

This timetable shows stations on the Stewartstown Railroad during its heyday when it ran from Fawn Grove to New Freedom on the Pennsylvania Railroad. The hub was Stewartstown and thus the railroad's name. Background posts: Freight locomotive 'telescoped' runaway Stewartstown railroad car, Northern York County strawberry part of Neapolitan county and 'Yesteryears' Southern York County sites - Part II.

Preservationists in Southern York County put forth good news recently.

They expect to re-open the Stewartstown Railroad station on a limited basis in late August.

When they do so, they will join similar efforts in nearby Muddy Creek Forks (Ma & Pa) and New Freedom (Northern Central) to restore historic stations or related facilities.

These efforts are far preferable to allowing such landmark buildings to deteroriate and eventually force demolition... .

Camp Ganoga athletic director Don Roehm leads Boy Scouts in exercises in 1921. Scouts trooped about three miles into the isolated camp on the bank of the Big Conewago Creek near Strinestown after disembarking from the trolley in Manchester. This York County Heritage Trust photo was published in the book "On My Honor, 70 Years of Scouting in York & Adams Counties." The Big Conewago is the symbolic divide between northern York County and the other two-thirds of the county. Background posts: Monica Goodling proves that all roads lead to York, Part of Elm Beech still visible and Northern York area strawberry part of Neapolitan county.

Monica Goodling, in the news recently for her practices in hiring federal prosecutors, lived in a region where northern York County met southern York County.

In a forthcoming York Sunday News column, I tell about the Conewago Creek region where she lived and how at least intra-county cultures met on its banks.

The column follows:

This moment in June 2005 marked two milestones. It was the 10th anniversary of the Susan P. Byrnes Health Education Center. And Ellen Dye, right, was the 500,000th student to pass through its doors. Susan Byrnes, left, founded the center, located in the former D.E. Stetler Dodge dealership on South George Street, York. They stand in the dealership's showroom. For State Rep. Steve Stetler, appointed state revenue secretary to replace Tom Wolf on Nov. 12, 2008, is a descendant of D.E. Stetler. Background posts: Often forgotten: Achievements of those whose names appear on facades, Horn Farm: 'A very special living history memorial to those hardy ancestors' and Susan Byrnes: Putting a health passion into action.

The story of Stetler Dodge provides a quick lesson of change in the York area.

D. E. Stetler founded the company in 1914 as a charter dealership for Dodge Brothers automobiles.

The butcher from the Newberrytown area of York County later moved his dealership to York. In 1923, he built the South George Street dealership that operated downtown until 1990. His three grandsons then moved the business to the outskirts of the city near Route 30. Downtown car dealerships just could no longer make it in York - or most anywhere.

Just this week, Stetler Dodge officials said they have sold the dealership, one of about five charter Dodge dealers still operating, to Jack Giambalvo... .

Concert organizer Chris Huber attributes the success of the 1960s northside teen hangout White Oak Park to The Del-Chords. The first night the band played at The Oaks the line never ended. The Del-Chords are associated with southside hangout Shady Dell as well, playing on the jukebox there, according to a new Web site specializing in The Dell. Background posts: Shady Dell was home away from home , Shady Dell: 'It was like family' and The Oaks: 'I would often look up there ...'

Tom Anderson is a native of York County and an avowed Shady Dell enthusiast.

The mention of that teen hangout in Violet Hill, located just south of York Hospital before it closed in the early 1990s, stokes memories, and Anderson has captured those years on his new Web site Shady Dell Music & Memories.

Tom views the site as part personal diary and part tribute, honoring the memory of its owners, the late John and Helen Ettline... .

This panel, part of the Murals of York series, shows the Central Market, one of at least three murals that celebrates York County's agricultural prowess. The murals can be used as an effective tool to teach county history. Free walking tours of the murals, courtesy of the York County Heritage Trust, are scheduled at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. every Tuesday through Saturday until Aug. 30. The tours start at the gift shop behind the Colonial Courthouse, West Market Street, York. Background posts: Don't know much about York County history? Part I, Part II, and Civil rights heros stand out at Bradley exhibit.

The Murals of York can served as a classroom teaching tool.

That's what I told teachers recently in a continuing education course on York County history, offered through Millersville University.

I then provided an overview of county history using the murals, as described in the following York Sunday News column, to be published on July 25: ...

The Murals of York can be used as artifacts to tell a story about the York area. Pictured here is the York Fair mural on the side of the East Market Street parking garage across from the Yorktowne Hotel. There's a certain irony of this particular mural as a celebration of agriculture being located on the side of the garage, overlooking a parking lot. For the last 25 years, York County farmland has been gobbled up to provide housing for commuters from Maryland and elsewhere. Background posts: 20 questions and answers to prove your York County WWII smarts, Resources for York/Adams history junkies increasingly posted on Web, 20 questions and answers to prove your York County smarts, Part III.

When about 20 York County teachers became my students in a recent Millersville University summer continuing education class, I cast about for tools make local history come alive.

I put together a true/false quiz designed to summarize some of the themes of my two-hour primer. (I used it more as a mental execise than a test.)

See how you do, and don't be surprised if my answers resemble sound bytes. Follow the links to go deeper:

This 1917 Pullman light delivery truck, owned by the Laugerman family and restored by Paul Vaughn, won Best in Class among York-built cars in a past Concours D'Elegance, an annual vintage car show that serves as a York County Heritage Trust fundraiser. Background posts: Mechanical museum intrigues newcomers, Where do you go for one-stop shopping on York County history? and When a Pullman automobile became a seesaw.

Was York the "Detroit of the East" or did it just miss becoming "Detroit of America"?

That prospect was raised again in the program for the annual high-end car show Concours D'Elegance held just this past weekend at York College.

The program "Ford and fins" reprinted a short item about York auto industry penned by William H. Shank, the late York resident and noted transportation writer.

"Under slightly different circumstances, York might have become 'Detroit' of America," Shank wrote... .

Bill Stiles and Jere Stahl of York ran their 1966 Plymouth Belvedere in National Hot Rod Association competition and won every national event in '66. The photo was taken in 1966 at Stiles Performance. Jere Stahl received drag racing's Legion of Honor award at Musclecar Madness several years ago. The seventh annual racing event concluded over the weekend. Background posts: U.S. Drag-O-Way, Part I, The night the furnace 'blew' and Wheels of York.

The news stories say that the U.S. 30 Drag-O-Way's 20-year run ended in 1979.

The York Airport's wide, long runway had served area piston-heads well.

As far back as 1972, the dragway had been struggling. It had even resorted to a promotion in which a dozen topless women would make an appearance.

The lure of demeaning promotions had been used in York County before in an attempt to bolster desperate situations... .

Don 'Big Daddy' Garlits, right, was the big star at Musclecar Madness in 2006 at the York Expo Center. He also was the star driver at the old U.S. 30 Drag-O-Way when it operated from in the 1960s and 1970s at York Airport. Background posts: First York Airport's administration building stands today, Vehicle crash ends life of former Indy driver, Museum exhibit brings back early days of high fliers and U.S. 30 Drag-O-Way, Part II: 'The traction at York U.S. 30 has never been better' and U.S. 30 Drag-O-Way, Part III: 'We would watch the dragsters on trailers head for Thomasville'.

The seventh Musclecar Madness, a nod to the old Route 30 Drag-O-Way, concluded this weekend.

That dragway operated for about 20 years - from the late 1950s to 1979 - at the York Airport.

When the dragway was operating, the airport was shut down to air traffic and the dragsters took over. The events often drew crowds of 10,000 spectators or more.

The legendary "Big Daddy" Garlits and other drivers liked it... .

The Shady Dell was a south side hangout for decades before closing the early 1990s. The building is now privately owned on Starcross Road, south of York. Background posts: The Oaks: 'I often look up there ... and think about how nice it was', Stadium will be site of Oaks music reunion, The Four bloggers write.

The Shady Dell was Tom Anderson's home away from home when growing up in the York area in the 1960s.

The 1967 Dallastown Area High School grad now living in Lakeland, Fla., e-mailed some memories of that hangout.

Here are some excerpts from Tom's e-mail (shadell6667@msn.com):

PennDOT has installed 73 of these "wayfinding" signs in York, Adams and four other counties. Twenty-four of the signs are in York and Adams counties pointing motorists to Civil War sites. Background posts: The horrors of the Civil War struck York County right after Sumter, Resources for York/Adams history increasingly posted on Web and Return Camp Security sign: 'No questions will be asked'.

Motorists around here might be noticing a bunch of new signs - Civil War Trail markers - along the road.

They're designed to point people to Gettysburg campaign sites - including the curiously named 'York: Prize of the Confederacy' - that are part of this region's Civil War Trail program.

These sites will become part of tourism efforts already in place in Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina... .

A Miata is submerged a Stewartstown swimming pool after rolling down a hill. (See three more photos below.) The image and accompanying story has attracted widespread Web attention. Background post:
'Yesteryears' Stewartstown-area York County sites - Part I, 'Yesteryears' - Part II and German POWs: 'They worked cheaper than We did'.

A story headlined "Convertible belly-flops into pool" drew the heaviest Web traffic in memory to www.inyork.com/ydr this week.

The elements of the story - an unoccupied sportscar rolling down a hill into a large backyard pool - are patently compelling in themselves.

But the presence of sports cars and pools instead of tractors and swimming holes suggests the changes that are taking place in and around this southeastern York County town of 1,752... .

A new Civil War monument in Hunterstown, Adams County, includes a bust of Gen. George Armstrong Custer and a description of Hunterstown's contributions to history. It is located on the Harding farm, corner of Shrivers Corner and Hunterstown Road. Background posts: History-making evening on rebel occupation could turn into daylong symposium, Public gets Buford's-eye look at Gettysburg battlefield and Is Civil-War-era cash buried around Hanover?.

Many prominent Civil War generals passed through York County.

Jubal Early, John B. Gordon, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Jeb Stuart, William B. Franklin, head the list.

And George Armstrong Custer, a brand new brigadier general, is one of the best remembered, perhaps because he - or his horse - made a lasting mark... .

Ron Gross won a Carnegie Medal winner for intervening during an assault in York in 2003. He's one of a handful of York countians ever awarded the medal. Background posts: York County educator recalls machete attack on 'I survived', War memorials stand proudly in towns through York County and Hollywood discovers heroics of Four Chaplains.

When Hanover's Craig Gouker received a post-humous Carnegie Medal recently, his name was placed on an honored list occupied by only 15 other York countians in the past 100 years.

York criminal defense attorney Ron Gross was the last county resident to be so honored for coming to the aid of a court stenographer under attack on a York street in 2003.

Another Hanoverian, Oliver L. Schmuck was the first. He also died trying to save a fellow student from a Cornell University fire in 1906... .

Voni Grimes greets a small crowd standing in a pouring rain at a diversity and peace rally in April 2006 in York. During the event, York Mayor John Brenner praised Grimes for his efforts to unite the community. Background posts: Two 'connectors' would make York County's list of most influential, A short test of your York black history knowledge and 10 tips to write a book-length project.

This photo did not make it into Voni B. Grimes just-published memoirs, but it typifies the man, who perhaps knows more York countians than any other person.

There's the Bamberg, S.C., born/World War II vet/retired Penn State administrator standing in the rain on a Saturday morning. Only a few turned out for this diversity rally.

A few here and a few there and pretty soon you change hearts. That's how Voni Grimes would see it.

So via his memoirs "Bridging Troubled Waters," this man, who knows so many people, can himself be known... .

After 50 years of practicing law, Jane Alexander's longtime law office is filled memorabilia and 26-year occupant Jake 'the Jerk.' The bird is known to ask: 'May I help you?' Background posts: Who are York County's most influential citizens? - Part II, List growing of high state officials hailing from York County and Strange pairings could help raise funds in York.

York County's second female state legislator has decided to call it quits in Harrisburg.

Bev MacKereth, a four-term Republican legislator, is taking a position as the executive director of the York County Human Services Department.

Interestingly, in a legislative world of long terms, York County's first female state legislator also served a relatively short time... .

An Associated Press photographer captured Whitney Metzler of Dallastown during the women's 400 Individual Medley event at the 1996 U.S. Olympic Trials. Metzler went on to finish in eighth place at the Olympics. Metzler is now an attorney in York. (See photo below.) Background posts: Lineup full of stars with York County links, Olympic gold medalist Scott Strausbaugh another achiever with Dover links and Who were the most prominent York County athletes of the 20th century?.

York County has produced many star athletes, but not that many Olympians in recent years.

There were those decades that weightlifters from York Barbell were kings of that sport. About 40 lifters, coaches or trainers with ties to York Barbell went to the Olympics, and earned 11 gold medals.

And, according to the York Daily Record/Sunday News sports department, Hans Gerhard Boetzelen won a silver in 1932 in rowing (double sculls).

And Robert Sohl won a bronze in 1948 for the 200-meter breastsroke.

And Linda Myers picked up a fifth and seventh places in 1972 and 1976, respectively.

Recently, the county has produced two medalists.

Scott Strausbaugh picked up a gold in canoeing in the 1990s.

And the most recent participant, Whitney Metzler, finished eighth in swimming in 1996.

Now, Whitney Metzler is back in York... .

Motorists on Interstate 83 can see treeless land near Lake Redman. The York Water Co., owner of this water supply lake, has cut down the trees because of their age and mile-a-minute weed damage. An expert gardener once wrote in the York Daily Record that the weed earns its name "Devil's Tail Tear Heart" or "Asiatic Tear Thumb" because the plant's reddish stem is armed with downward pointing hooks or barbs. Background posts: Rainmaker's visit indicated much awry in York, Where did Camp Betty Washington Road get its name?, Memorial honoring alcohol-related accident victims should be visited

That mile-a-minute vine, with supposed York County origins, that is becoming viewed as the kudzu of the east?

Well, its origins are actually are muddy. But it's damage is clear, as evidenced by the damage it's causing to tree and other plant life at Lake Redman.

Teresa Boeckel of the York Daily Record/Sunday News (6/29/08) explored the weed and its supposed origin at a nursery in southern York County:

This Civil War poster can be accessed at http://www.inyork.com/gettysburg. Readers can pan or scroll to read the presentation. Background posts: Gettysburg Visitors Center gets buzz but courts to decide about old cyclorama, Gettysburg battlefield produces steady supply of news and History making evening on rebel surrender of York.

Several things came together to inspire the York Daily Record/Sunday News to produce the poster "A soldier's life."

The opening of the new visitors center at Gettysburg is one. And it's the 145th anniversary of the battle. Interest grows on these fifth-year anniversaries.

And York County's interest in the Confederate occupation is increasing. (See the beefed up York Daily Record/Sunday News Web site East of Gettysburg... .

Confederate Gen. Jubal Early issued this handbill touting his magnanimity in not burning the town. Some people in York saw the address as an attempt to undermine the authority of the U.S. government. Background posts: The horrors of Civil War struck York after Sumter, Chambersburg seminars spread awareness of south central Pennsylvania Civil War history, Was York's surrender justified?

A large crowd attended a panel presentation this week on the Confederate occupation of York - the invasion that commenced 145 years ago today.

A suggestion that seemed to resonate was to hold a daylong symposium on various aspects of the town's surrender and occupation. With more time, we could present a true pro/con on the surrender decision, something beyond the scope of this week's panel.

Stay tuned for all that.

The following (to be published in the York Sunday News - 7-29) is adapted from my opening and closing remarks as moderator of the panel made up of Mark Snell, Scott Mingus, June Lloyd and Scott Butcher:

Brad Smith, dressed as a Confederate corporal, took part in the 2005 dramatization of York's surrender to rebel forces in June 1863. The re-enactment is scheduled again this year, along with a panel presentation on the occupation of York and other Patriot Days activities. Background posts: The Four Bloggers write, Panel to explore pre-Gettysburg rebel occupation and Pro/Con: Should York's leaders have surrendered to the rebels?

The York-area's link to the Civil War has been the topic of extensive research and writing in the past five years.

For decades, the best book-length references on York County in the Civil War - and particularly Jubal Early's occupation of York in the pre-Battle of Gettysburg days of 1863 - came as chapters in W.S. Nye's "Here Comes the Rebels!" and Edwin Coddington's "The Gettysburg Campaign."

So in preparing remarks as moderator for Wednesday evening's panel discussion on Confederate occupation of York (7 p.m., June 25, York County Heritage Trust), I inventoried some of the work done on the Civil War since about 2002.

There's a lot... .

McCrory's was one of leading five-and-dame stores in downtown York in the 20th century. Murphy's, at the left of this picture, was perhaps the most visible on the corner of York's Continental Square. McCrory's longtime Springettsbury Township warehouse will soon have new tenants. Background posts: York County: '... A smorgasbord of architectural styles', Declaration signer's marker mounted in obscurity and Sears: From top dog to hot dogs ... .

McCrory's was one of downtown York's premier five-and-dimes during the city's downtown heyday.

Those stores included Murphy's, Woolworth's, Grant's, Green's and Kresge's.

But McCrory's enjoyed a special relationship with York after Meshulam Riklis purchased the company in 1960 and moved its home office and distribution center to York County in 1963... .

Linda Woodward is feted as William Penn High School's homecoming queen in 1967. She was the first black person crowned as homecoming queen at York High. Background posts: York's first Latino councilman temporarily state top Dem, Last dance. Spring Grove High School building filled with history and Tales of four schools tell about changes in York County education.

The graduation season just passed brings to mind the year 1967 and the firsts scored that school year.

The William Penn High School's senior class elected Linda Woodward as the school's first black homecoming queen.

She headed a parade caravan to Small Field for the homecoming game against Steel High... .

The market sheds in York's Centre Square were intact in this photo, as the Hartman Building, tallest in York, looms in the background. The dating of this photo is a bit elusive because no flag pole is apparent between the sheds. That would place the photo before the early 1860s. But was photography advanced enough in the 1850s to get this shot? At any rate, after the sheds and flag pole came down post late-June 1887, the square was clear and has been so ever since. Background posts: York's western gate: One image says so much, Farm vs. factory tension relieved by overnight raid and Late June has seen pivotal moments in York County history.

By now the story is familiar.

In the middle of the night in late June 1887, someone hooked ropes up to the supporting pools of York's Centre Square market sheds.

The sheds came tumbling down, and so did the symbolic and real impediments to the movement of people and goods through the heart of York. And thus did industrialization and development symbolically gain the upper hand in agrarian and bucolic York County.

The episode has a postlude, as outlined in a 1927 special section in The Gazette and Daily... .

On the evening of Aug. 14, 1945, York County residents joined a massive national V-J celebration, marking the war's end. The largest county assembly occurred in York's Continental Square. Here, holding a special V-J edition are, from left, L. Allen Wolfgang, Richard E. Wolfgang and Lloyd E. (Pud) Wolfgang. Paul S. Wolfgang, who provided this photo, is at far left. Background posts: The first in (World) War (II), Perhaps the last in (World) War (II), 20 questions and answers to prove your York County smarts, Part III

The World War II Battle of Okinawa ended 63 years ago on Saturday.

And we're somewhere near the midway point between the often forgotten V-E Day - May 8 - and V-J Day - August 14.

So, here are 20 questions to focus us on York County's contributions to the war that spawned the Greatest Generation:

This is one of hundreds of propaganda posters designed to raise morale and reinforce defense themes during World War II. Many were colorful and attractive, undertaken by name-brand artists. But this one caused a stir. Background posts: "Little Johnny" helped win the war, The bomb: 'And yet it helped win the war', and Katharine Beecher made candy in World War II.

Propaganda posters appeared in York County and across America in high-traffic areas during World War II - schools, factories, offices and store windows.

As I stated in my history of York County in World War II, "In the thick of the fight," these posters reminded Americans why they were fighting and what the fight was for.

The posters were designed to raise morale. But this particular poster "Wanted! For Murder," raised a ruckus... .

During a drought in 2004, a land bridge, probably an old farm lane, connected the marina at Codorus State Park's Lake Marburg to Long Island, or Long Peninsula at that moment. The island contained the remains of an old farmhouse and bank barn that made way for the lake. Its waters covered the town of Marburg Flats and part of old Route 216. The lake made news in the drought of 2004 for its dwindling water supply, and the drowning of a teen girl this week propelled the 1,275-acre reservoir back into the headlines. Background posts: 18th-century brownfield now parkland, Is it Pigeon Hills or Pidgeon Hills?, Worker saved key historical surveys from Glatfelter pulping machine.

To fill its massive water demands, Glatfelter paper built Lake Lehman in 1942.

It built Lake PahaGaCo (P.H. Glatfelter Co.) in 1955. It supplemented PaHaGaCo's 1.3 billion gallons with water from the Thomasville Stone & Lime Company quarries.

But the severe drought of 1963 proved that more water was needed. That was a moment that communities even resorted to cloud seeding... .

Loretta Claiborne long jumps in Special Olympics competition in York in 2007 - the competition which launched her achievements.

Someone recently nominated Loretta Claiborne as one of York County's top 25 most influential people, in a sampling conducted by the York Sunday News.

The York Sunday News named Claiborne in the top 10 sports achievers in 20th-century York County.

Though only in her 50s, she already has her name on the side of a building on South George Street in York.

But those are just local accolades... .

This image, used as a basis for a large-scale panel in the York County Heritage Trust's Murals of York series, shows Dr. George Holtzapple deploying oxygen to treat a Loganville pneumonia patient. This image appeared in York Hospital's history 'That Sovereign Knowledge.' Tradition has it that this pioneering treatment took place in the house's basement. Background posts: Looking for a local history research project? and Of surgical saws, bloodletting and Brown's in Loganville: 'I didn't know a peach tree from an apple tree, but we learned quickly.'

Lois Stoner, a nurse in York, e-mailed recently wondering why the Loganville house where Dr. George Holtzapple saved young pneumonia sufferer Frederick Gable's life is not marked with a historical monument.

She raises a good point ... .

Hands still bandaged, Principal Norina Bentzel embraces prosecutor Edward A. Paskey after a York County judge sentenced William Michael Stankewicz to 132 to 264 years in prison. Stankewicz was sentenced for his Feb. 2, 2001, machete attack on Bentzel, members of her staff, and students at North Hopewell-Winterstown Elementary School. (See photo of assailant below.) Background posts: All school posts from the start and York County's most notorious crimes and 16 York County Good Samaritans honored with Carnegie Medals since 1906.

Heroic former Red Lion Area School District principal Norina Bentzel appeared on nationally televised Biography Channel's "I Survived ..." this week.

Bentzel fended off the machete-wielding madman William Stankewicz in 2001, minimizing an attack that left two teachers and 11 children injured, but none killed.

This photo from the Stewartstown Historical Society might show the result of a 1923 accident on the Stewartstown Railroad, the worst in its history dating back to 1885. With multiple railroads crossing York County, its rail history is filled with accidents (The Great Watermelon train wreck) and near accidents (The unsolved mystery of locomotive No. 1689). Background posts: What was it like aboard the Stewartstown Railroad?, Whatever happened to York County's Hungerford? and Is mystery railroad the old Shrewsbury narrow gauge?

One day in 1923, a car carrying several passengers and crew members becomes uncoupled from a train on the Stewartstown Railroad and drifts down a grade.

A freight train, going at a rapid speed, meets it head on and plows through the passenger coach "telescoping" about two-thirds of the length of the car... .

When the Harper's Weekly artist captured this scene at York's Camp Scott early in the Civil War, many thought the conflict would be shortlived. Even so, the presence of the camp was no picnic from the beginning. Men died from disease and accidents during drills. And stressed townspeople provided nursing and other resources for the camp and accommodated soldiers in their homes. Background posts: 'One of the shells found its mark'', Both Yanks, Rebs camped at old York Fairgrounds, In search of proof that the York Fair is the oldest.

Despite the pagentry associated in drawings of Camp Scott - the old York Fairgrounds converted to military camp - its presence gave many York County residents early first-hand knowledge of the horrors of war.

Just after the firing on Fort Sumter, the fairgrounds took on a martial air soon after sabotage of the Northern Central Railroad between York and Baltimore and unrest in Baltimore - both by Southern sympathizers - meant Northern troops could travel no farther south.

They settled at the fairgrounds, then southeast of the King and Queen street intersection, the first of tens of thousands to camp and train there. Soldiers slept on straw in sheds designed for livestock... .

Cassandra Morris Small experienced the Confederate occupation of York in late June 1863 and wrote letters to a cousin giving an account of the horrors of the invasion. She will be among the people discussed in an upcoming panel exploring the rebel invasion. Background post: Tale of a headless soldier, Headless soldier regains its noggin and Years after Civil War, (a) Longstreet steps onto York County soil.

For years, the York area virtually ignored its Civil War history.

The wrenching surrender to the invading Confederates overshadowed the hosting of a Civil War hospital, community support of a large basic training camp and the courage of the thousands of fighting men who served and the probable hundreds who died... .

Met-Ed lines follow the old trolley bed between Spring Grove and York. Evidence of such poles and bridge supports are evident today along the line that follows few roads through rural southeastern York County. The proposed Hanover rail trail, which recently moved ahead, would follow this grade. Background posts: York, Pa.'s trolley kiosk, called "Teapot Dome," popular little building, No light at the end of this abandoned (Pa. Turnpike) tunnel, Little school house in Hanover.

Some in Hanover, Pa., believe York, Pa., is in a different county - or country.

And vice versa.

So when the York Daily Record/Sunday News runs a story showing work has begun on the first rail trail link, that's news indeed... .