Recently in Bad weather Category

Moisture seeping into the Goodridge House, a budding Underground Railroad museum, damaged restorative horse-hair plaster -- recently finished as part of a renovation. Also of interest: Freed slaves living north of Mason-Dixon Line often faced return to bondage and Research needed to unearth Underground Railroad in York County - Part I and Research needed to unearth Underground Railroad in York County, Part II.

The cash-strapped Goodridge Freedom House & Underground Railroad has sustained a setback.

Moisture has undone some of the restorative work on the East Philadelphia house, former home of the 19th-century ex-slave-turned-businessman William C. Goodridge... .

When heavy snow caused the recent collapse of this Shrewsbury Township (Pa.) barn, the owner of the old barn successfully sought the recovery of an antique sleigh. Sleighs such as this one were common means of transportation in winters around York County. Also of interest: Is this a York County farm truck or is it just a wagon with a motor? and Codorus collector exhibits collection of conveyances - wheels and sleighs and The Acme Tongue Carrier of Hanover, Pa.: Are there any around today?

York County's best-known sleigh story did not involve Santa Claus. Rather, it evolved from an encounter between Battle of New Orleans hero Andrew Jackson and a thrifty York countian.

As the story goes, Jackson became angry when advised of the proposed $50 taxi ride in the sleigh. The price from the Shrewsbury Township sleigh owner came down to $30, and Jackson was in good humor during a short stay in York.

A sleigh made the news recently when the owner of a collapsed barn asked for its rescue. The barn, coincidentally, was in Shrewsbury Township... .

Winter storms - indeed, most big news events - produce memorable images. For the Blizzard of 1996, it was the York Ice machine sitting on Susquehanna River ice in Long Level, Pa. - Ice upon ice. This spray painted illustration might fill that bill for the winter storms of 2010. The illustration in this York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News photograph serves as a visible indicator that a car sits beneath this Red Lion snow mound. Also of interest: A host of bad weather posts and For years, York countians have eyed amazing, destructive Susquehanna River ice jams and York County newspaper staff powers coverage through blizzard, electrical shutdown.

A mixed bag of neat stuff... .

With two feet of snow on the ground, here's a chance to think about summer and the prospect of riding or walking between York and Hanover on a rail trail.

The York County Rail Trail Authority received an update of the prospects of putting down such a recreational trail on the old York/Hanover trolley bed.

Some findings, according to a York Daily Record/Sunday News story (2/11/2010):

York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News' Paul Kuehnel captured 'Blizzard People' in coverage of this week's Blizzard of 2010. His coverage was just part of a large effort by the newspaper's staff to cover this major news event. Other noteworthy meteorological events from York County's past: York County residents passed through fire and water, or water and fire, in 1822 and For years, York countians have eyed amazing, destructive Susquehanna River ice jams and York County's 'uncommon,' deadly snowfall of 1772: 'The poor animals struck through'.

The Blizzard of 1996 spawned the introduction of ydr.com, the York Daily Record/Sunday News Web site.

And this week's "Snowmageddon" caused the news organization to innovate even more.

Such was the topic of my upcoming York Sunday News column.

After all this coverage, the feeling of many in the newsroom reflected the next morning's headline: "Enough Already":

The column follows:

Amy Staub shared this photo, from a family photo collection, of a Parafax gas company truck delivering fuel after the blizzard of March 1958. She submitted this photo on the Your Photo section of ydr.com. (See additional photo below.) Also of interest: Past meterological events in York County - Hailstorm broke 'fully 10,000 panes of glass' and 'Pumpkin Flood' inundated properties of early York countians, but 1817 high water killed 10 and York County residents passed through fire and water, or water and fire, in 1822.

A mixed bag of neat stuff... .

For those wanting to know more about people of York County - York County's Builders, Contributors and Heroes - considering enrolling in a class I'm teaching as part of the OLLI continuing education program at Penn State York.

The class is set from 9 a.m.-10:30 a.m., Wednesdays, from Feb. 17- March 17.

I had the privilege of presenting in the first series of classes offered under the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program about two years ago. This class is a repeat of that one, with some additional material.

This Lewis Miller drawing shows flooding on Codorus Creek in York, Pa., in 1817 that broke loose bottles from a brewhouse upstream. Miller notes that a young man jumped in and brought them to shore at old George Hay's meadow at South Queen Street. Miller did not say what happened after the bottles were fetched. That flood was the most deadly on record in York County. Also of interest: A list of traumatic, painful incidents that rocked York County and Tropical Storm Agnes savaged York County with more than 15 inches of rain and What is the probability of another flood in York?

Another in a short series of past, significant meteorological events, tied to this winter's big snows.

Many York countians remember the devastating flooding in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972.

Some seasoned citizens can recall that the overflow of the Codorus Creek and other streams in York County in 1933 caused such extensive damage that Depression-era channel work and Indian Rock Dam construction came as a result.

The flood of 1884 is marked in history books because of the extensive debris deposited by high waters on Small's Field, north of York.

The 1822 flood, wreaking relatively minor damage compared to others, made the history books because of the prolonged drought thereafter.

At least three other floods made the history books for different reasons... .

Dover (Pa.) Township property owners moved their sheep from a pen near the Conewago Creek amid fears of the creek flooding, leaving only this barred rock hen, a rooster and a few other birds in the yard. These remnants of Tropical Storm Cindy in 2005 interrupted York County's dry spell by dumping 2.1 inches of rain on York County. In contrast, not far from this scene, in the drought of 1822, farmers raised turnips on the bed of the Conewago. Also of interest: York County's 'uncommon,' deadly snowfall of 1772: 'The poor animals struck through' and For years, York countians have eyed amazing, destructive Susquehanna River ice jams and Tropical Storm Agnes savaged York County with more than 15 inches of rain.

Another in a short series of meteorological events, tied to this winter's big snows... .

No weather events had stumped York County more than the water and fire of 1822.

Simply, nature did an about face in the course of six months, as the following excerpt from "Never to be Forgotten," indicates:

York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News photographer Jason Plotkins went high, atop the West King Street parking garage, to get this view of this weekend's Nor'easter. That's the old Central School and York City Hall is at right. Also of interest: The York/Adams day that birthed memories of falling stars and silkworms and Dense 'The Shrewsbury' meteorite named after York County town where it was found and In 1889, 'Bona Fide Earthquake' rattled York County.

The great snow of 1772 that caused the near extermination of York County's deer herd at the hands of greedy hunters was not the only unusual meterological event of years past.

Some of the events are well known:

The celebrated high water and ice jams of 1832 knocked out the first Columbia-Wrightsville bridge spanning the Susquehanna River. A windstorm - actually a cyclone - took out a successor bridge in 1896.

But less heralded acts of nature are found in the history books, specifically John Gibson's "History of York County," published in 1886.

This photograph, from York, Pa.'s, 225th anniversary book in 1966, serves as a reminder that York County has always had its share of big snows, like the current nor'easter. Also of interest: Readers tell about those blizzards of 1993, 1996 and For years, York countians have eyed amazing, destructive Susquehanna River ice jams and Ice upon ice pic tells chilly tale of York County's 1996 blizzard.

York County's earliest history books highlight one particularly devastating snowfall.

The nature of the snow made it deadly for deer and no doubt other wildlife. But it also left a shortage of venison for decades - perhaps a century - thereafter.

John Gibson's 1880s history of York County tells about the "uncommon" fall of snow locally in January 1772 - 3 1/2 feet.

Then came a heavy rain which froze, forming a thick crust... .

This story, from an unspecified paper as found in Jere Carl's scrapbook at the York County (Pa.) Heritage Trust, spins together a strange tale about the night when the sky over York and Adams counties seemed to be falling. 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.

A July fireball has sent searchers looking for pieces of the meteorite in York and Lancaster County.

But that single falling star was nothing like the 1833 Perseid Meteor Shower that made York/Adams residents think that the world might be ending.

A 1902 newspaper clipping tells the impact of the meteor bursts. And it gives a glimpse of a local industry - silkmaking - then at its height:

An ATF agent and Spring Garden Fire officials investigate the ruins shortly after the explosion at York International on Feb. 2, 1998. The York Daily Record reported that four compressed air tanks, measuring about 25-feet long by 4-feet wide, exploded. One tank flew through the roof of the Grantley Road plant's Building 9 in Spring Garden Township. The tanks contained pressurized air and refrigerant. The mixture was used to test air conditioners at the plant. Dennis Stough, a 42-year-old welder, was killed. Twenty people were injured, including five police officers who suffered from chemical inhalation. (See aerial view of the damage below, also courtesy of York Daily Record/Sunday News.) Background posts: All York International/Johnson Controls posts from the start and Deadly York fire: 'There never was a more horrible one' and Hanover Civil War story stop: 'Mother Loses Two Sons to War'.

A fire that consumed 16 rowhouses and displaced 61 people in York City last week led to a York Town Square blog list that gave a sampling of the worst fires in York County history.

Arson is suspected.

That raises the question about peacetime examples of crime and trauma on York County soil, in addition to those wrenching fires.

Here are links to a sampling - just a few of many - of those painful moments:

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):

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.

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... .

This view, courtesy York County Heritage Trust, shows York looking south toward Webb's or Shenk's Hill in 1852. The Harrisburg road, now North George Street crosses the Codorus Creek Bridge on its way into Centre Square. Small Field lays to the left of the bridge bordering the creek. Hikers and bikers will get a better view of Small Field in the next few years when the 5.5-mile rail trail extension is completed between Manchester Township's Rudy Park and York's downtown.Background posts: When the bridge over the Codorus moved, WWII rocked towns across York County and There's oil in those New Salem hills.

Bob Riese of Spring Garden Township doesn't understand some things about York County.

So he wrote a letter to the editor published recently with the title "Things I don't understand."

Maybe others don't understand either. So I'll take a stab at his questions:

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? and York County's 'uncommon,' deadly snowfall of 1772: 'The poor animals struck through' and Ice upon ice pic tells chilly tale of York County's 1996 blizzard

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... .

Skiiers pass the boarded-up-tight Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center during the blizzard of 1996. This blizzard dropped up to a yard of snow in York County. The blizzard of 1993 was just about as severe. Background posts: York County's top 10 news stories in 2006 and One-room schools evoke multiple memories.

Memories of the York County blizzards of 1993 and 1996 are posted at http://www.ydr.com/remember as part of a audio/video/newspaper series on poignant moments in personal, local and national history.

The York Daily Record/Sunday News and its Web site will collect oral histories from Vietnam and World War II vets, among other memories... .

Steve Young, a dam operator with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, walks along Indian Rock Dam. The dam regulates the flow of the main branch of Codorus Creek into the City of York. The dam, which sits 83 feet above the stream, could not completely contain the creek's waters when Tropical Storm Agnes hit in 1972. The dam was constructed in the early 1940s in response to flooding in 1933 and 1936.

Hurricane Agnes, a tropical storm when it hit York County, reigned and rained 35 years ago.

The storm accumulated some big numbers, as found in a York Daily Record story:

Heavy rains earlier this summer caused flooding in many parts of Pennsylvania, but York County was spared. The last major flooding occurred after Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972.

So what is the probability of rising water again topping the levees in York?

Daniel G. Meckley III, an engineer by training, takes a stab at that question in a 2000 paper he prepared for a local organization, the Y'sJ's.

Meckley writes:

Statistically, it is high... .