Recently in Local landmarks Category

Betty Bury Harmon, here at the York Fair, looks at herself in front of her family's hamburger stand in an old fair book. "They just developed it," Harmon said about her father and his brothers. "They came up with the sauce, and it hit." Each year, York Fair offers Bury's burgers at a stand where Harmon's recipe - still secret - is served as well as at a second unrelated stand. But versions of the secret Bury's recipe are available in homes across York County and will be deployed on scores of grills today. Background posts: Lighthouse marks site of landmark Dover Township soft pretzel stand and Interstate lined out Melvin's swan song and Just try to resist this memory-tugging photo of North York's White Oak Park .

Hits on York Town Square posts for Bury's Famous Hamburger recipes escalates this time of year.

People probably around the world are looking to see whether to try out their own Bury's recipe this Fourth of July or experiment with one of the many variations in the public domain - some documented on this blog.

Joe Bury operated a chain of hamburger stands touting a secret recipe for the red sauce that covered his delicious burgers, firmly sealed into the memories of local residents.

So, to avoid all that searching, here are some leads to recipes which purport to be Bury's:

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

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

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

You couldn't buy a copy around town.

But now you can... .

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

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

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

Library officials have put that out to community.

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

Those are not just any doors... .

A reader has noticed changes in Downtown York's look over the years. (See photo of same scene, with floodwaters, below.) Background posts: Reader searching for Tropical Storm Agnes photos to use in children's tour and Author: 'York's streetscape features almost every style and era of American architecture' and At one time, York's five-and-dimes lived up to their names York County ... 'A smorgasbord of architectural styles'.

Joe Stein (jstein3@comcast.net) has a wonderful curiosity about his hometown of York.

He noticed changes in York's streetscapes over the years, specifically the addition of trees.

Here's a recent e-mail from Joe:

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... .

The parlor of the Bonham House, now a York (Pa.) museum, is shown here. The 19th-century house was remodeled in 1933. The York County Heritage Trust-operated attraction was recently featured in the local magazine 'Spaces.' (See additional photos below.) Background posts: Artist Horace Bonham captured everyday life and From 'Spaces': Dempwolf's Ashcombe Mansion in Cumberland County: 'I spent a fortune on this house. It's crazy' and Also from 'Spaces' - Women's Club of York: 'No one knew it really looked like this' .

Horace Bonham was a 19th-century York County Renaissance Man.

He was a lawyer and newspaper owner and artist, among many other things.

His work with the brush seemed to be his consuming passion, and his work is shown today at Washington, D.C.'s, Corcoran Gallery in Washington and at his former residence in York's East Market Street.

'Spaces,' a York County homes magazine published by the York Daily Record/Sunday News, visited the Bonham House and will tell its story in an upcoming edition through words and photos:

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... .

Downtown York, as it looked during the heyday of the southside Shady Dell - and counterpart White Oak Park on the northside - in the 1960s. (See photo from site below.) York's Shady Dell for sale: 'People don't like to see their past vanish' and York-area full of memory-spawning landmarks and Interstate lined out Melvin's swan song

Tom Anderson, aka Shady Del Knight, e-mailed to note that his Web site "Shady Dell Music & Memories" is packed with stories and information about the southside York teen hangout.

And it will celebrate its first birthday next month.

This site lead-in summarizes how Anderson, who grew up in York County, is populating the site:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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... .

Have you driven on Taxville Road in West Manchester Township and been startled by the figure of a Civil War soldier carved out of what used to be an oak tree?

Wonder what's going on there?

Fellow blogger Scott Mingus explains that wooden soldier and his dog stand outside the Civil War-era home of Dr. Jacob Eisenhart... .

The former Hudson building on York's South George Street is now home to Junior Achievement's Exchange City, a program that teaches students about American enterprise and entrepreneurism. The former car dealership housed many things, including a farmers market, before it was restored to its original appearance earlier this decade. Background posts: York's Crispus Attucks Center had intriguing start and Stetler Dodge transition indicative of other York-area changes and Dempwolf's Old Man Winter in York: 'It should last another hundred years'.

Take your pick of the memories linked to the old Hudson car dealership in the 600 block of York's South George Street.

It has been used for so many things, including a replacement for the demolished York City Market in the 1960s.

We'll provide two views in this post.

E-mailer JoAnne Everhart (jeverhart1@comcast.net), a sharp observer of the city, brings us back to the building in the decade following the late 1950s. And then York Daily Record account tells about events surrounding its re-opening as Junior Achievement's Exchange City.

First from JoAnne: ... .

Earlier this decade, work on the old Hudson building at 610 S. George St. had progressed so that the newly stained brick on the building's right, or north side, stood out compared to its yet-to-be-completed front. At one time, the former car dealership also served as a farm market, specifically a replacement for the old York City Market after it was demolished. Background posts: 'I still have my memories ... of the bustling downtown York business district' and Often forgotten: Achievements of people named on building facades and Susan Byrnes: Putting a health passion into action.

E-mailer JoAnne Everhart (jeverhart1@comcast.net) was in elementary school when the York City Market house was demolished in the 1960s.

But she remembers it well to this day.

Here is her excerpted story about the grand market building with its enormous tower: ... .

This photograph shows bridge supports running alongside Veterans Memorial Bridge, sometimes called the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge. An urban legend persists concerning the 1930 Veterans Bridge. Background posts: A rehabbed, lit up Columbia-Wrightsville bridge: 'It'll really be a dramatic view' and A 7th bridge? Pedestrian walkway may span Susquehanna River some day and Almost ... a double deck bridge across the Susquehanna River.

A worker constructing the new bridge connecting Wrightsville with Columbia fell into freshly set concrete. His body was never retrieved, and he is entombed in a bridge support to this day.

Jim Fahringer has raised this on-again, off-again claim in a comment to the recent post: Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge celebrates quiet birthday... .

The City Market loomed large over the southeastern part of York. One reader believes its location is often misidentified. Background posts: York's Penn Street Farmers Market, nearing 150 years old, seeks to replant for new customers and York-area picture book not your typical coffee table publication and York County ... 'A smorgasbord of architectural styles'.

"All the time I read about the location of the City Market it is always at a different spot," a York reader wrote in an e-mail.

I wrote back to say that my recent identification of the now-demolished York covered market's location having been to the rear of the Voni B. Grimes Gym was accurate. I was trying to locate the former site of the Dempwolf-designed market relative to an existing landmark.

The e-mailer said he would send photos showing where the market was located.

This he did... .

Spring Garden's Hess School is seen after it was renovated into a private residence in the 1950s. The family of Col. William Beckner, prominent local Civil Defense coordinator during World War II, occupied the former Rathton Road schoolhouse at that time. (See additional photo below.) Background posts: Plaques offer historic insight into 'The Swamp,' before Sovereign Bank Stadium drained it and How one York County school district emerged from 1950s merger and One-room school reunions preserve educational culture of thousands of York countians.

York Town Square reader JoAnne Everhart appears to have answered the question of why the former Hess School in the 400 block of Rathton Road ceased to operate as a school.

Martin Beckner, who lived in the school after it became a private residence, had wondered what happened to the school between 1926 and 1936, the year it was renovated.

The short answer, according to Joanne Everhart: When the Springdale area was consolidated into York City, Hess School students started attending Jackson Elementary.

Here's Joanne's excerpted response, which includes wonderful insight about the lives of students in those days:

The Hess School on Rathton Road in Spring Garden Township is pictured here in 1926. (See two "after renovation" photos below.) Background posts: How one York County school district emerged from 1950s merger and Northeastern York County's Paddletown: Children paddled back and forth to visit grandma and All YT Square posts on one-room schools.

It's a simple equation.

Old schoolhouse + sweat equity = Lovely private residence.

Col. William H. Beckner of York purchased the old Hess School in 1936, and renovated it into a home in 1937.

The Beckner family sold the 416 Rathton Road building in the late 1960s

William Beckner's son, Martin, regrets that he did not talk to his father about the old school when the colonel was still alive.

Martin Beckner is looking for one piece of information, in particular... .

This photo combines the beauty and the grit of the Susquehanna Trail. This ice is colored gray with road grime along the Trail in William Kain County Park. Background posts: Hames made in Shrewsbury Township's Hametown fueled early American horsepower and Once popular Ganoga Bridge now lightly used York County landmark and Whatever happened to York County's Hungerford?.

The Susquehanna Trail enters York County in Fairview Township in its northern tip and exits in Shrewsbury Township at the Mason-Dixon Line.

It's beauty is well-known, and it still serves a pleasant Sunday afternoon drive.

But last Sunday, later in the day, its dangers emerged.

A boy was killed after he was struck by a hit-and-run vehicle in Springfield Township.

The hilly, curvy, still heavily traveled road has long been a source of accidents.

What is the Susquehanna Trail - often called the "Trail" - and where does it run?... .

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

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

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

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

The face of 'Old Man Winter' on the side of famed York, Pa., architect John Augustus Dempwolf's own house was so deteriorated that it could not be saved. So, Mark Derrig, sculptor, and Ken Oatman, mason, created a replica. Dempwolf windmill graced north bank of York's Codorus Creek in 1870s and Fawn Township's magnificent Centre Presbyterian Church worthy of a looksee and Dempwolf architects built York's skyline, history.

John Augustus Dempwolf designed his own home on South George Street in York in 1886.

Historian and fellow blogger Scott Butcher wrote in "York, America's Historic Crossroads" the he also designed several other homes occupied by neighbors.

"Designed in the Queen Anne Style, one of the most notable features of the building is the ornamental facade featuring 'Old Man Winter,' he wrote.

Well, "Old Man Winter" has suffered frostbite on many occasion since, and he was very long of tooth... .

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... .

Mindi's Place at Market & Penn Street Farmers Market is the primary eatery in York, Pa.'s, west end markethouse. The market is the oldest of five covered markethouses that operated in York. Background posts: There were 5, count 'em, 5 York markets and The ornate, but now-demolished York City Market House in living color and Don't know much about York County history? Part III

They had a growing population and no market to service those folks plus farmers in that end of York, west of the Codorus Creek.

So they created what is today called the Market and Penn Street Farmers Market.

And today, the market is again trying to solve a problem... .

This Hanover wayside marker is among such recent additions to the state's Civil War Trails program. It observes the contributions of women in treating casualties from fighting on the streets of the town on June 30,1863 - the Battle of Hanover. (See text for that marker here.) Background posts: Signs point to York, 'Prize of the Confederacy,' and other York/Adams Civil War wonders and Living historians bring spotlight to York's Civil War story and Civil War nurse: 'Dogs of war in our midst'.

A little-known statistic about the Civil War's Battle of Hanover is that Union and Confederate forces suffered more than 300 casualties - dead, wounded and missing.

That is the worst carnage ever sustained on York County soil.

The 300-casualty number is a stat that may fail to resonate. But how about this from a new wayside marker in Hanover? ...

Locating information on the old Rosedale Mill near Railroad borough was relatively easy.

But a request from Linda Mier (linda.mier@patni.com) for information on a farm called "Rosedale" in York is more elusive to hunt down.

Linda e-mailed that the Freeland family owned the farm in the 1930s-1940s through the early 1950s.

Vincent (Vinny) Freeland, who used to live at Rosedale and is currently ill, is a good friend of Linda's sister.

"My sister is trying to find a picture of the farm, his family, or both to give to him as a surprise," Linda wrote.

Linda, who works in New Jersey, provided more information on Vinny and Rosedale: ...

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

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

An e-mailer posed a readily answerable question:

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

In 1825, John Elgar constructed the iron vessel in York shops near the Codorus Creek. He labored at a factory that Phineas Davis later made famous for crafting what is considered by some to be the first successful coal-burning locomotive.

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

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

The log-and-mortar George Heiss House, near Railroad, Pa., was built about 1830. It was disassembled in 1993 with the hope it would be restored nearby along the York County Heritage Rail Trail. Background posts: Hames made in Shrewsbury Township's Hametown fueled early American horsepower and Old Shrewsbury house disappearing hand-hewn log, square nail at a time and Is mystery railroad the old Shrewsbury narrow gauge?

The Shrewsbury Area Preservation Society disassembled the log George Heiss House in 1993 with the idea to rebuild it as an attraction.

Whatever happened to the restoration efforts?

The "Codorus Valley Chronicles" provided the answer in its May edition:

This graphic from the "Recapture the Riverfront" booklet shows Martin Luther King Jr. Park. The Cookes House, where Thomas Paine reportedly stayed, sits to the left of Penn Street in the west corner of the park. It's now in private hands. Background posts: Helen Reeves Thackston's name lives on and Worker saved key historical surveys from Glatfelter pulping machine and York's housing stock not that revolutionary.

Carl Huber's recent e-mail raises a good question.

The 200th anniversary of pamphleteer Thomas Paine's death is coming up.

Are there any historical markers in the York area observing his time here during the American Revolution?

The short answer is that there are none... .

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... .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Such as the wind... .

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... .

Event-goers examine hand grenades mounted in a 1941 Willys Overland General Purpose Vehicle. The Jeep was among the military and police vehicles on display outside the York Police Museum on the first block of West Market Street in 2004. Police Heritage Museum Director John Stine told the York Daily Record/Sunday News that the event was created "To bring attention to the downtown and the museum." Background posts: Conewago crossing near Manchester a hot spot, literally, for years and Nazis murdered downed WWII airman from York, Part V and Longtime district justice: 'You can wait for my book' and Errant pickup driver knocked on-duty fire policeman out of his shoes.

Last week, former York countian Brian Joseph Buss died when his air tanker plane crashed into a Utah mountain range en route to fight a wildfire.

And Dallastown graduate and Navy Airman Gatlin Scott Green died while working on a ship near Singapore.

These heroes who died in the line of duty may soon be forgotten by the general public... .

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... .

Bowman's Hill (New Hope, Pa.) Wildflower Preserve reps enjoy Shenk's Ferry Wildflower Preserve in Lancaster County recently. Backgrounds posts: York County still home to unvarnished beauty, On York County parks, Susquehannocks and carved river rocks and With hot controversy cooled, Highpoint offers Susquehanna River view for the ages.

Man has converged on the Shenk's Ferry glen that houses an impressive wildflower preserve for four or more centuries.

American Indians built lodges near this southern Lancaster County site, and their European successors built a plant to make charcoal, consuming trees by the thousands. They mined iron ore and built a dynamite factory, site of a blast that killed 11 men in 1906.

Today, Grubb Run flows through a culvert under railroad tracks at its west end.

A larger culvert allows the creek to run through another railroad embankment in its east end. That tunnel is known locally as "The Culvert." ...

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

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

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

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

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." ...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He thought it would be interesting, Argento wrote.

Argento told about one such interesting incident:

These ornate iron pieces atop the York Elks porch are the type of fine metal work adorning the organization's 233 N. George St. building. (See related image below.) Background posts: York County ... 'A smorgasbord of architectural styles' and York County's connection to the French Quarter and Collector searching for Western Maryland Railroad memorabilia and When the bridge over the Codorus moved

My recent post - Plaques offer historic insight into 'The Swamp,' before Sovereign Bank Stadium drained it - provides a historic look at York's Arch Street area.

But for those parking at Small's Field, north of Codorus Creek, or in the downtown area, south of the creek, their stroll to the park affords many landmarks scrutinize.

My York Sunday News column for July 1, 2007, covers interesting sites as one moves into or out of The Swamp... .

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:

Students at the Second Arch Street Public School are ready to celebrate May Day in 1952. The old one-room school, then used as a church, was torn down to make way for the children's play area of Sovereign Bank Stadium. Background posts: Season 2 of York's long comeback campaign, York has Brooks Robinson statue. Where's Baltimore's? and Sovereign Bank Stadium posts from the start.

This walking tour highlights some of the rail-related and other historic sites that marked the stadium area.

For example, the outer stadium fence that parallels the outfield fence tells about: ... .

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... .

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

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

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

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

Tom Fadely of Fadely's Auto Masters on West Market Street in West Manchester Township, is seen near a mural of the former Lincoln Highway Garage in 2004. Fadely was an admirer of the landmark garage, demolished to make way for a convenience store. York County artist Gary Gladfelter painted the mural, which reflects the cross-town Springettsbury Township garage in the 1930s. (See pictures of the garage from 1939 and 1950 below.) Background posts: Photo of trolley on Lincoln Highway passing through York's Continental Square and U.S. 30 Drag-O-Way, Part III: 'We would watch the dragsters on trailers head for Thomasville' and All Lincoln Highway posts from the start.

Check out a Lincoln Highway Web site, destined to be a repository for photos and postcards of the old coast-to-coast highway that passed through the heart of York County.

The road today in York County is known as Route 462 or Market Street or Route 30 or even sometimes the Lincoln Highway.

There's some York County material in there including a nifty map of the highway between Lancaster and Gettysburg... .

Workers construct a platform under the Susquehanna River's Norman Wood Bridge in the summer of 2008. The platform aided painters working on the bridge, a dizzying height above the river bed. Background posts: How many Amish have crossed the bridge from Lancaster to York County? and Bridge painters stalled: 'Everybody's looking for the eagles ... nobody has seen any' and For years, folks have eyed amazing, destructive Susquehanna River ice jams.

Scott Mingus made a quick aside that said much during a speech to the York County Civil War Roundtable in March.

John B. Gordon's Confederates marched in late June 1863 to the bridge spanning the Susquehanna River between Wrightsville and Columbia.

That bridge was the only one standing between Harrisburg and the Maryland Line.

Just a few years earlier - in 1857 - wind and ice had knocked down a bridge at York Furnace in southeastern York County... .

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... .

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... .

Conewago Township's Rudy's School, then a private residence, sustained damage in this 2006 fire. Education in these one-room schools ended before high school, contributing to low high school graduation rates years later. Background posts: One-room school days fascinate history fans and Little school house in Hanover: A story of the circus and coal room and 18th-century mines gave Ore Valley its name.

A YorkCounts report indicates that most York County public school districts have shown gradual improvement in graduation rates.

Still, the 2000 Census shows that one out of five York countians do not have high school degrees.

Don't blame that entirely on the York City School District, where graduation rates fall in low 60-percent range (and improving.) ...

York Daily Record/Sunday News photographer Bil Bowden captured this wonderful image of the soon-to-be-relocated Star Barn in Dauphin County. That star measures 14-feet across. (See additional images below.) Background posts: Gettysburg-area National Register homestead gives snapshot of pressures facing farms and Horn Farm: 'A very special living history memorial to those hardy ancestors' and 'It's so sad to see such a great piece of architecture fall down'.

Dauphin County's Star Barn, so familiar to motorists, will move to its new Lebanon County home this summer.

Which raises a question.

How do you move a barn of that size?

The barn's Web site gives the answer... .

Starview United Brethren church -- now a United Methodist Church -- as it looked in 1914. A cigar factory, ubiquitious around turn-of-the 20th century York County, is seen at left. The church is now a United Methodist congregation. Background posts: York Daily Record columnist Jim Hubley's last piece: 'Good luck weeding out tobacco' and Mother Goose teaches York County history lessons and York County cigars: 'They contained a vast amount of nicotine'.

Ten-year-old YorkCounts has again added to community discussion in teeing up 38 quality-of-life measurements.

Important, that is, because if issues facing York County aren't tracked, it's difficult to assess progress.

Indeed, several indicators in the March 20 report show that the quality of life is improving in the county.

But, of course, while some categories work, others need work.

A vast amount of work.

To tackle many community issues, the YorkCounts coalition and other local leaders are facing decades of decisions that affect the quality of life today for better or worse.

So, I've provided brief historical background on six indicators, which we'll explain in this and future York Town Square posts, to show how the past and the present may link up.

First, tobacco usage in York County:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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:

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

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

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

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

The decorative white rose from the facade of the White Rose Bar & Grill came down recently, to be replanted at nearby Sovereign Bank Stadium. Background posts: Revs will easily pass 1969's full-season attendance stats and Baseball's Methuselah played for White Roses and 'That's a stupid question;' Brooksie played second base.

The 12-foot-long white rose that hung above the main entrance of the White Rose Bar & Grill in York is no more.

It will be moved to a prominent place at Sovereign Bank Stadium.

The ongoing presence of a giant white rose somewhere in the White Rose City makes sense.

But how many people know the story of why York, Pa., is named the White Rose City? ...

The proposed Vietnam Veterans Monument, to honor those who died in the Vietnam War, will be located in the left angle of the triangular parcel where the carnival is located in this photograph at the York Expo Center. The rest of the land in the triangle will be developed into a park, according to a Vietnam Veterans Memorial Committee spokesman. (See list of known York countians who died in the war below.) Background posts: Map aficionados will love bird's-eye view of York County and Vietnam vets wall moves York countians and All Vietnam War-related posts.

The proposed monument planned at the York Expo Center to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Vietnam War is well-deserved and much overdue.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Committee's painstaking efforts to gather all the names of those who died for inscription on the upright granite part of the monument have spawned another benefit.

Their work is effectively calling individual attention to those who served - and died... .

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... .

A Revolutionary War prisoner of war camp grew up near the present 204th Street in New York City. York County history spokesman believe a local camp, Camp Security in present-day Springettsbury Township, was constructed in similar fasion. Terraces used in such camp are visable today, the spokesmen say. (Photo courtesy of New York Historical Society.) Background posts: The Four Bloggers write and PS Harrisburg grad school: 'Set my feet even more firmly on the path into the world of Fraktur' and Opportunities in York County to feed your sense of discovery.

When fellow blogger and York Sunday News columnist June Lloyd tackles a topic, you know you're getting the latest, best research on an issue.

The former York County Heritage Trust archivist has put up several posts linked to current events that merit a lengthy look: ...

The Western Maryland Railroad 'Head House' is part of redevelopment plans in the Northwest Triangle of York. The 1,600-square-foot building maybe transformed into commercial or retail space. (See additional photo below.) Background posts: Blue caboose in Red Lion? 'Yes sir - it's gonna be red' and Mystery of Glen Rock-area's Narrow Gauge Road deepens and Northern York area strawberry part of Neapolitan county.

Three railroads met in York in its 20th-century industrial heyday - the predecessors, successors and extensions of the Northern Central, Ma & Pa and Western Maryland railroads.

Despite that, York was never viewed primarily as a railroad town in the mold of, say, Altoona or Enola. That's probably because it was not located on the mainline of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

That said, the Northern Central Railroad with its direct ties to Baltimore and Harrisburg was pretty darn important... .

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... .

The information booth at the former visitor center for Gettysburg National Military Park was at time a place of bustle. Now it awaits demolition with the rest of the old building, expected in the next three or four weeks. Background posts: Two developers have plans for a relocated Gettysburg Cyclorama building and Half dozen groups probe acquisition of Gettysburg's retired Electric Map and Gettysburg Cyclorama critics: Reviews ranged from 'huge dinosaur' to 'I was captivated'.

A commenter on a inyork.com/ydr story on the upcoming demolition of the old visitors center at Gettysburg National Military Park raised a good point.

Hold an auction to offset part of the $800,000 in projected demolition costs. A photo of the information desk (above), for example, shows framed pictures that people might want for a souvenir.

But perhaps the park service should go one step further... .

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

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

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

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

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

Only a bridge pier remains today of the trolley line from York to York Haven, cut back to North York on June 1, 1932. The pier sits near the once bustling Cold Springs Park and Elm Beach. Background posts: Conewago crossing near Manchester hot spot for years and Conewago crossing, Part II and Big Conewago serves as physical, symbolic divider of York County culture.

Sue Shiflett of East Berlin is looking for photographs of Elm Beach, the popular swimming spot on the Conewago Creek near Manchester.

The beach - actually a concrete deck extending from the bank - operated on the north side of the Conewago across from Cold Springs Park, destination for trolley excursions.

"My great grandfather, Fred Spiese, operated a swim suit rental and restaurant at Elm Beach," she wrotes.

Today, Elm Beach is abandoned and Cold Springs Park developed. A silent pier from a long-one trolley bridge stands guard... .

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... .

Longtime Cross Mill operator Harry Cross is seen in this file photo in the York Daily Record/Sunday News archives. Cross transferred ownership of the mill to York County in 1979. (See photo of the mill-turned-museum below.) Background posts: Philip King house jewel of old York paper mill site and Felton landmark: 'The mill at one time was gossip central' and Glen Rock Mill Inn: 'They are happy to see it open again'.

York County history enthusiasts Ray Kinard and Terry Koller have embarked on the project of visiting York County grist mills.

So far, they've visited dozens.

The gold standard for studying York County mills is the massive work of Grant Voaden, an inventory of 300 mills found in the York County Heritage Trust archives.

Kinard has a copy of a Voaden inventory, but the document does not have the precise location of the mills.

That would aid the K-Team's tramping... .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bill Fissel looks over the Vietnam Veterans Memorial sculpture at artist Lorann Jacob's Dallastown studio. The finished work will be displayed at the York Expo Center. Background posts: War memorials stand proudly in towns throughout York County and Sculptor molds York's past for posterity and Who's your candidate for the next York statue?.

Vets promoting a monument to commemorate the sacrifice of 101 or more York countians in the Vietnam War are within $50,000 of their goal.

The statue will greet the thousands who attend functions at the York Expo Center, the old York Fairgrounds, each years.

In that respect, it will be separated from counterpart statues in downtown York observing World War II and Korean War vets.

But the Vietnam statue will have a major asset in common with its counterparts... .

Several years ago, artist Lindsey Keeney gave this view of American Revolution prisoner-of-war Camp Security in present-day Springettsbury (Pa.) Township. British prisoners were detained inside the 15-foot stockade, and some would have lived in huts on the hillside. Background posts: Camp Security: 'The camp consisted of log huts and a large stockade' and POW Camp Security site: 'There's a lot of history waiting to be discovered' and Old house boasts all kinds of historic hooks.

Developer Tim Pasch has introduced a housing plan for land once covered by POW Camp Security called "The Plantation."

So the debate over the hallowed ground - reportedly the last American Revolution POW site not yet developed - boils down to this:

- The developer has located the Camp Security site and won't build on it.

- Preservationists say the camp site has not been identified, and 30-plus acres of open space simply won't cover it... .

Camp Ganoga hasn't operated since 1945, but the old Strinestown-area Boy Scout camp continues to evoke memories. Here, a group of Scouts sits on the Camp Ganoga waterfront - Conewago Creek. Background posts: Old Ganoga Bridge: 'It is a highly unusual sight in York County' and Once popular Ganoga Bridge now lightly used York County landmark and Big Conewago serves as physical, symbolic divider of York County culture.

Mixed-race gatherings weren't an everyday sight in York County in the first half of the 20th century.

In collecting photos for my black history book "Almost Forgotten" at the York County Heritage Trust, I was a bit surprised to see photos of white and black campers at old Camp Ganoga on the Conewago Creek.

I asked around about that... .

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

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

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

A caboose made its way from Lancaster to the yard of Markey Trucking near Dallastown, Pa., in January. Eventually, it will be moved to the Red Lion Train Station Museum. Background posts: Old Baltimore tunnel an intriguing reminder of the 'Ma' in Ma & Pa Railroad and Ma & Pa rabbit trains: 'I hope they thoroughly hosed out the cars.' and York County railroading: 'Something that gets into your blood'.

Red Lion is named after a tavern - a tavern that still stands but has morphed into a private residence.

So things tilt toward red there - the high school team colors, for example.

When a blue caboose destined for the restored Ma & Pa Railroad Station in Red Lion arrived in the area, it was natural for a news reporter to ask about any future paint job... .

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

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

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

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

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

Is the tall man with the stovepipe hat, center background, President Abraham Lincoln at Hanover Junction? That's been long debated. But hundreds will gather at the Junction station from 1-7 p.m. today. Check out www.yorkcountyparks.org or call 840-7440.

About a year ago, it ocurred to me that I was blogging a lot on Abraham Lincoln's links to York County.

His influence in York County was - and is - great... .

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

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

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

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

Two statues at the York Post Office play on a Thanksgiving theme. Here, sculptor George Kratina of Brooklyn, N.Y., shows a father and daughter 'Singing Thanksgiving.' (See photo of second statue below.) Background posts: Of dinosaurs and big blue mailboxes and Railroad Borough: 'Probably no other town in America has a horse heaven' and Could York bus drivers also point out historic sites?

The York Post Office continues to reduce operations in the downtown.

It has a new facility in the York County Industrial Park, way away from the downtown. (Add that to the nearby unemployment office, and it's interesting how the federal government is one of the major supporters of sprawl.)

No doubt the South George Street post office eventually will be emptied out. Some articles in the York Daily Record have speculated on future uses for the landmark building - as a new city hall or for a restaurant... .

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

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

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

The Farmers Market at Penn and Market in York sustained damage after a driver ran into it in 1992. Efforts are under way to reinvigorate the markethouse, the oldest of five such markets in York. Background posts: Don't know much about local market history? and There were 5, count 'em, 5 York markets and York's Central Market sells steak ... and sizzle.

A grass roots group is forming to strengthen the oldest York markethouse, the Penn Street Farmers Market.

To the eye, the markethouse, constructed just after the Civil War, has struggled in recent years.

Among other things, the group is pushing a niche product that was the mainstay of York's five covered markets since they started cropping up in the last half of the 19th century - fresh food... .

Dauphin County's The Star Barn will someday find a new home in Lebanon County. Background posts: Barn owner: 'You cannot stay stressed here for long' and Horn Farm: 'A very special living history memorial to those hardy ancestors' and Gettysburg-area National Register homestead gives snapshot of pressures facing farms.

Last time we checked in on The Star Barn, preservationists were not ready to release the site of its new home.

Indeed, the York Daily Record/Sunday News urged its relocation to the Horn Farm, a budding agricultural museum in Hellam Township.

Too bad it's not coming to York County.

But at least it's not going to fall down.

According to the York Weekly Record, the 1872 barn that many folks see on their way to Harrisburg International Airport is slated to be relocated to a Lebanon County site... .

Here's the Weekly Record's short story (1/3/09), part of a larger spread on area barns:

The Dempwolf-designed City Market, with its 140-foot tower, stands sometime before its 1960s demolition in the block bordered on two sides by York, Pa.'s South Duke Street and East College Avenue. Background posts: Striking architecture lined York's South Duke Street and York Market House No. 2 - The architecturally striking City Market and There were 5, count 'em, 5 York markets.

Fellow blogger Scott Butcher has posted a wonderful color drawing of the landmark City Market that does the best job I've seen of communicating the beauty of this markethouse... .

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

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

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

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

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

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.. .

Vandalism at the Peace Light Memorial, one of Gettysburg's most honored landmarks. Background: Donations help to repair damaged Gettysburg statues and Headline: 'Beards on Parade at Gettysburg (Battle) Field' and York County historical war deaths top 1,000.

In a letter to the editor, C. Earl Witmer of Spring Garden Township tied together recent vandalism on Gettysburg's Eternal Peace Light Memorial and the special memories held by many local residents toward the landmark.

Many senior citizens were children or teens when they witnessed the dedication ceremony on the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Many remember meeting vets of the conflict, which suggests how young our country really is. People today have actually shaken hands with Civil War veterans.

Here are Earl Witmer's memories:

This replacement sign now stands near the former site of Camp Security, an American Revolution prisoner of war camp, in Springettsbury Township. Background posts: POW Camp Security site: 'There's a lot of history waiting to be discovered' and Signs point to York, Pa., 'Prize of the Confederacy,' and other York/Adams Civil War wonders and Windows into York blog offers Springettsbury's Schultz House datestone update.

Vandals meant the theft of a sign in 2007 marking the site of a former British POW camp for bad.

But Friends of Camp Security reacted for the public good... .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Several years ago, the Smurfit-Stone site was cleaned up in preparation for the minor league ballpark that later became Sovereign Bank Stadium on a cross-town York, Pa., site. Here, demolition work is taking palce along Grantley Road in Spring Garden Township. Background posts: New York College book provides insight into school, community and Researcher leaves detailed files on more than 300 York and Adams mills and American pastime vs. American dream playing out in York, Pa. and Worker saved key historical surveys from Glatfelter pulping machine.

A commenter on a recent York Daily Record/Sunday News story about the former King's Mill site put its history into perspective:

"That mill had been making paper since John Adams was our second president. And some of the equipment in there, a few of the steam dryers, were actually original or close to it."

That's about right.

York College is buying that site - known today at the Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. - that loaned its name to King's Mill Road... .

Babe Ruth's autograph is shown on a piece of Hotel Penn stationary owned by West Manchester Township resident Jason Showvaker in 2006. Showvaker obtained the stationery from another collector. Background posts: Story answers much about great athlete Hinkey Haines, including origin of his nickname and York turned its eyes to Joe DiMaggio and Adding to York baseball timeline: Revs ready for 'second helping'.

His late grandfather saw them play there.

"I saw your article which included a picture of the park from July of 1945. Was any baseball ever played there? Whatever info you could provide would be appreciated,"
he wrote.

We'll turn the question of the Babe's appearance at the White Oak Park ballfield, north of York, to any fans out there to respond.

Here's some help.

York Daily Record columnist Jim Hubley wrote an account in 1995 of the Babe's visit to Eagles Park for the game that Jim Fickes' grandfather probably recalled:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Workers are dismantling the Felton Mill after it was discovered to be unstable and concerned many in that southeastern York County borough as a fire hazard. (See additional photos below.) Background posts: Glen Rock Mill Inn: 'They are happy to see it open again' and Part of York County's past, Biesecker Mill, goes on the auction block and Pioneering sisters operated York County grist mill near Cross Roads.

The Felton Mill draws draws attention to the heyday of those water-powered buildings on nearly every stream of size in this region.

Thanks to the efforts of researcher Grant Voaden, more than 270 York County mills and 50 in Adams County are documented.

His work rests in a four-draw filing cabinet at the York County Heritage Trust archives, 250 E. Market St., York... .

This drawing captures the scene of a Buchanan stop at York's Railroad Station. That station is the predecessor of the current rail station, known for years as the home of Blattner's photo studio. (To see a list of other visits by presidents or presidental candidates, click here.) Background posts: Giving York news, sports junkies their fix, Part II and In York County and beyond, presidential races have produced rages through the ages and Wheatland Mansion tour: 'We don't know if President Buchanan used the tub'.

James Buchanan's Wheatland Home in Lancaster County meant that he was a frequent rail passenger through York County before, during and after his presidency.

His Democratic politics lined up with York County's - he formerly represented the county in the U.S. Congress - and he would often stop to call on his allies.

He made such a visit the day after his presidential term ended on March 4, 1861, in the days before the onset of the Civil War.

It's not obvious from the outside but this longtime southeastern York County, Pa., landmark, the Felton Mill, is coming down. York Daily Record/Sunday News photographer Paul Kuehnel tell the story via video. Background posts: Old Shrewsbury house disappearing hand-hewn log, square nail at a time and 'It's so sad to see such a great piece of architecture fall down' and Old Ma & Pa Railroad trestle may again carry passengers - on bicyles - some day

Even the man who operated the old mill in Felton isn't grieving the fact it's coming down.

It's a fire hazard, Donald Grove said of the old landmark of Civil War-era vintage.

Still, it's sad to see York County's old buildings coming down one by one. Or in the case of the Felton Mill, piece by piece.

A York Daily Record/Sunday News story (1/14/09) tells of its pending demise:

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... .

Hanover's Eichelberger Performing Arts Center is the heir to Eichelberger Senior High School. Background posts:Historical marker may soon point to Jefferson square's famous visitors and York freedman Aquilla Howard chosen to honor slain Abraham Lincoln and Abandoned Codorus railroad not just any abandoned railroad.

This is a story with many connections, centering around a southwestern York County businessman by the name of Eichelberger and how history has considerably shortened his name.

Hanover Junction, about 10 miles south of York, is so named because the rail line to Hanover met the Northern Central Railroad there.

The Hanover Branch was the line Abraham Lincoln took on his way to and from Gettysburg where he delivered his famous address.

A force behind the Hanover Branch for many years was Abdiel W. Eichelberger, who some believed looked like Lincoln.

By the way, with a name like Abdiel, you can see why Eichelberger went by A.W... .

York Little Theatre moved to the former Elmwood Theater, its current location, in 1953. This photo was taken after renovations to the Belmont Street building in the 1960s. YLT celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2008. Background posts: Bomb group seeks Cameron Mitchell's WWII info and Add another to list of entertainers with York links and Former Hobbit House resident: 'We loved that house and the Elmwood neighborhood'.

It's a quirky little area, Spring Garden Township's Belmont Street.

It's sandwiched in there between and around the Elmwood Mansion and two Interstate 83 interchanges.

Melvin's, a hamburger stand and popular hangout, was nearby, before the interstate knocked that down.

Indeed, the interstate helped redefine the neighborhood.

In recent years, it's become lost, as retail, entertainment and residential options have moved farther out.

A York Daily Record/Sunday News editorial (1/09/09) used Belmont Street as an example of what happens to an area that sprawl leaves behind:

The Hanover Theater renovations are party completed, but now on hold. (See additional photo below.) Background posts: Young Alan Alda performed along the Codorus? Researcher checking that out and Carrie Nation in York: 'If you keep smoking those things ...' and Ella Fitzgerald's show was 'memorable, not Memorex'.

In the recent post Dallas Theatre perking along, but Stewartstown's Ramsay Theatre: 'It is really in bad shape', an e-mailer lamented the deterioration of the old movie theater in that southeastern York County town.

Well, another venerable old building in Hanover was also in bad shape until recent years. An investment group had been pouring money into the Hanover Theater until it suspended renovations pending evidence of a downtown revitalization plan, according to the Hanover Evening Sun.

The Hanover Theater opened in 1928 and operated as the State Theater for years... .

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

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

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

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? ...

First Moravian Church brought S. Morgan Smith to York as its pastor and his prominent family lived here for years. Steve Zirnkilton, a descendant and York County native, is known to millions. Background posts: How come few in York know about S. Morgan Smith anymore? , Samuel Small tops York, Pa. community contributor list, Cameron Mitchell, Craig Sheffer, Dixie Chick born here.

Pastor-turned-entrepreneur S. Morgan Smith left a world-wide legacy by spawning the forerunners of Johnson Controls, Precision Components, Voith Siemens Hydro and American Hydro.

But a member in his family line, Steve Zirnkilton, is known to many more.

Or at least his voice is.

That's the voice of York native Zirnkilton that is spoken at the beginning of the TV show "Law & Order." ...

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? ...

Lewis Miller captures York County forming a funeral procession in 1834 to commemorate the death of the Marquis de Lafayette, who died in France the month before. The marquis fought for America's independence from Britain's tyranny. In an ironic twist that suggests something less than equality, a York club named after the nobleman gained its first female member about 15 years ago and its first black member in 1998. (Drawing courtesy of York County Heritage Trust.) Background posts: 10 years ago, York's exclusive Lafayette Club became less exclusive, Part I, Part II and Marquis de Lafayette captivates folks even today.

As perhaps the most prestigious private club in York, the Lafayette Club can serve as a bellweather of the community.

So it's interesting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the club's integration. And as I outlined in the York Sunday News column When the Lafayette Club was integrated, a fundraising event at the East Market Street club earlier this year to aid the William C. Goodridge Underground Railroad Museum spells a bit of redemption for the private organization... .

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

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

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

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

Jim Miller runs The Miller Carriage and Wagon Museum at his Codorus Township home. Its collection includes long years of collecting wagons, carriages and buggies. Background posts: Is mystery railroad the old Shrewsbury narrow gauge?, Vermont promotes Podunk, but York County has its Sticks and The Acme Tongue Carrier of Hanover, Pa.: Are there any around today?.

York County has long had a love affair with wheels.

As the first county in Pennsylvania west of the Susquehanna River, its borders would naturally contain roads pointing to all compass points, crossing and veering off by themselves.

With the roads, came wagons. Farm wagons. Conestoga Wagons.

With increasing affluence, came buggies. And carriages. And coaches

And to produce all these wheeled conveyances, came wagon makers - large and small.

And then automakers.

Jim Miller who name is given to Codorus Township's The Miller Carriage and Wagon Museum has been collecting wagons and buggies and carriages for years... .

A local developer is turning the Noss House, which once stood atop list of the city's most endangered historic place into apartments. (See additional photos, including one of the room that allows entry to the house's trademark turret, below.) Background posts: Dempwolf's Ashcombe Mansion: 'I spent a fortune on this house. It's crazy', Author: 'York's streetscape features almost every style and era of American architecture' and The real big York County house that little false teeth built.

Strike York's Noss House from the most-endangered list.

Phoenix Property Management has purchased the 382 W. King St. Queen Anne-style structure and is turning it into apartments - or, actually, back into apartments.

According to a York Daily Record/Sunday News story, Herman Noss, operated of a nearby lumber and woodworking business in the 1800s, constructed the house.

That's about right because the structure features elaborate hardwood floors, large windows and moldings from its original construction.

Mahogany is the wood of choice... .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 post card view shows the "The Little Courthouse" sitting in its longtime home in Farquhar Park. It's sometimes called the "Statehouse," but that name is misplaced. The original Statehouse sat next to the Colonial Courthouse in York's Centre Square for about 50 years. Background posts: Display marks how York County courthouses evolved, Going to market a longtime York County pastime and Charles Dickens' coach from York to Harrisburg: 'A kind of barge on wheels'.

The trolley kiosk, affectionately called Teapot Dome, that sat in York's Continental Square for years has drawn plenty of attention recently as it is undergoing renovations.

It's involved in a similar journey taken about a decade ago by its longtime Continental Square partner, the Little Courthouse... .

Bill Kirk, left, a former York White Roses coach, looks on as Curly Holtzapple, center, greets Brooks Robinson before the York Revolution's first home game at Sovereign Bank Stadim in June 2007. Filmmaker Brian Plow tells the story of how the stadium came into being in "Home." Background posts: Will Sovereign Bank of York stadium name fame lose its crown?, Map explains York, Pa.'s $50 million redevelopment area and Phillies in York via 30-ft. TV: 'Isn't going to the ballpark the best part about a baseball game?' .

The title of Brian Plow's documentary film "Home: The American Dream, the American Pastime and Urban Renewal in York, Pennsylvania" is long but its exploration of the return of baseball to York is far from ponderous, moving quickly.

But if viewers want an even quicker version of this full-length documentary, the filmmaker prepared a condensed version for the York Daily Record/Sunday News Web site, www.inyork.com/ydr:

A York Daily Record/Sunday News story about the film (9/13/08) follows:

Ben Shank, a timber framer from Orrtanna in Adams County, stopped at York's Golden Plough Tavern in the summer of 2008 to study the building's framing. The window at waist height is a soul or spirit window. Background posts: Truck driver delivered broadside to Golden Plough, but left scarcely a scratch, Proposed 'Creation of a Nation' museum name glib, but lacks grounding and Stone structures tell York countians how their ancestors lived.

A small window is cut into the wall of a small room behind the old bar area of York's Golden Plough Tavern.

If tour guides didn't point it out, this so-called soul window would scarcely be noticeable.
Indeed, its function as an outlet for the spirit of sick or dying people to escape to heaven may be mythical.

The York County Heritage Trust's Linda Neylon said visitors to the Golden Plough from Germany have heard of these soul windows:

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

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

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

And it wasn't deadly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dave Herman of the Kinsley Education Center shows the old trolley kiosk that sat for years in York's Continental Square. Kinsley is renovating the kiosk and found that its copper roof could not be saved. The cost of a new roof will be $8,000. The door, windows, glass and some of the framework at all originals. (See video by the York Daily Record/Sunday News' Paul Kuehnel below.) Background posts: Hanover trolley bed work seen as 'springboard to accelerate future phases of the trail', Research offers insights about York County's trolleys and From war bonds to pets and people .

Last time we looked into the old trolley kiosk, Teapot Dome, it was in the shop.

Well, it's still in the shop awaiting funding to replace an $8,000 copper roof.

A recent York Daily Record/Sunday News story on its status brought comments typical of those who look at such costs either as a waste of money or an investment in our heritage... .

An errant motorist ran into this steel bridge on Ridge Road at Bentz Mill Road in Washington Township in the northwestern tip of York County, causing the bridge to collapse. York Daily Record/Sunday News photographer Paul Kuehnel captured this unusual photo. Background posts: PennDOT not selling the Brooklyn Bridge but lesser structures on market , York County photo collection adds to historical record and Once popular Ganoga Bridge now lightly used York County landmark.

Take another of the picturesque steel bridge off of the books in York County.

A driver who allegedly had too much to drink struck a half truss bridge over the North Branch of the Bermudian Creek near the Adams County line recently.

Truss bridges are the Tinkertoy type with overhead steel beams... .

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... .

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

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

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

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... .

Welsh miners from the southeastern York County village of Coulsontown worshipped at the nearby Slate Ridge Presbyterian Church. Clearly, some of the slate they mined found its way into the church's cemetery as headstones (the darker markers), rather than the primary use for the stone - roofing shingles. (See additional photos below.) Background posts: Delta-Peach Bottom slate shingles: 'Nothing works as good as this' , Southeastern York County made for Sunday drive and Site filled with wealth of York County geological info.

When settlers legally moved into York County after 1730, they often constructed their homes out of the most-readily available building product.

Mostly, that was wood, and many of the log homes still standing around the county have long been covered with protective siding. But of course, most 1700s and 1800s log structures are long gone or are disappearing even today.

In 2007, a truck crashed into a wall behind where the York County Heritage Trust's Linda Neylon is standing, forcing the landmark to close for repairs. The repaired historical site opened a couple of weeks later. Background posts: York's housing stock not that revolutionary , Hillary Clinton's rally site in York a little odd and Proposed 'Creation of a Nation' museum name glib, but lacks grounding.

Shortly after a driver motored into the 200-plus-year-old wall of the Golden Plough Tavern in 2007, York County Heritage Trust workers gathered shattered logs and scraps of wood with an eye toward restoration.

The landmark's side was badly damaged, but the truck's driver missed not only the statue of Marquis de Lafayette on his way from the street but also significant artifacts inside the building.

Simply put, it was a clean break... .

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

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

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

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 gazebo on Reservoir Hill overlooking York has been the scene of many events, including wedding parties and folks with jacknifes who deface this historic structure by carving in initials. Background posts:
This Smoketown now rests on York County lake floor, Mile-a-minute weed's York County origin questioned and Rainmaker's visit indicated much awry in York.

The gazebo atop York's Reservoir Hill is an obscure landmark that deserves to be discovered.

It just stands there day after day, a local reminder of the internationally acclaimed 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia... .

The former Gettysburg Cyclorama building won't face the bulldozer's blade in December after all. Here, visitors experience the Cyclorama in its final days at its longtime post. Background posts: Gettysburg Cyclorama critics: Reviews ranged from 'huge dinosaur' to 'I was captivated', Poster highlights the life of a Civil War soldier and Old Gettysburg visitors center closes today; new site opens Monday.

National Park Service officials will wait to demolish the old Gettysburg Cyclorama building until a court rules on its fate.

A preservation group, Recent Past Preservation Network, has taken the government to court over plans to knock down the familiar round building that housed the Cyclorama from 1961 until recent years. The circular painting, moved to the new Gettysburg visitors center, was opened to the public in September.

According to news reports, the preservation group thinks the park service should explore alternatives before demolition. The park service maintains it sought all such options in 1999 in preparing a plan for the park.

One wonders what the hurry is to demoliish the building... .

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

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

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

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

This building at East Main Street and Railroad Avenue in New Freedom will soon house a museum detailing this southern York County borough's past. Among other things, the borough, founded in 1873, can boast of resting at the highest point on the old Northern Central Railroad between Baltimore and York. Background posts: Spring Grove museum displays horse gas mask and more, Birthday borough Dillsburg: 'Seems to be York County's wild child' and The American hobo comes to York Springs.

At the current rate, every borough in York County will have a museum or an active historical group some day.

That's a good thing.

Earlier this year, Dallastown opened its museum joining Wrightsville, Red Lion, Glen Rock and many other towns that publicly display their history.

Now New Freedom, right over the Mason-Dixon Line from Maryland, is opening a place to show off its historical artifacts... .

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... .

Adamsville United Methodist Church's Jon Butcher promotes the church's annual apple festival in this 2007 file photo. The church serves as the center of the York Township village of Adamsville. Background: Red Lion's towering Fairmont Park off the beaten track, York County cigars: 'They contained a vast amount of nicotine' and LBJ's, Lady Bird's visit a high point in Dallastown's history.

The village of Adamsville also has been called Pinch Gut and Arbor.

Its location, like its name, is also hard to pinpoint. Maybe it's near Red Lion. Maybe Dallastown. It's actually in York Township, somewhere between Route 24 and Route 214.

One hundred years ago - perhaps because it was near a lot of places - it was bustling with cigar factories and a dairy and a ballfield... .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wachovia's Lisa Walker is dwarfed by safe-deposit boxes at the bank's York headquarters in this 2006 York Daily Record/Sunday News file photo. Background posts: Will Sovereign Bank of York stadium name fame lose its crown?, Often forgotten: Achievements of people named on building facades and Hillary Clinton's rally site in York a little odd.

At one time, hometown banks operated in just about every town around York County.

Spring Grove State Bank, for example, was a mainstay in that papertown for decades.

Glen Rock played host to two banks, almost next door - Glen Rock State Bank and People's Bank of Glen Rock.

Until 2006, East Prospect State Bank was the last of the single-branch hometown banks in York County.... .

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

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

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

But the Susquehanna Trail stretches north of York, too.

To Harrisburg. And to Niagara Falls.

And south of the Maryland Line, too.

To Baltimore. And to Washington, D.C.

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

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

The Indian Steps Museum, seen here in 2006, sits near the Susquehanna River in Lower Chanceford Township. The York County Conservation Society-run museum houses York County's most comprehensive exhibits about the American Indians. For details, call the museum at 717-862-3948. Background posts: 400 years ago, John Smith explored Chesapeake Bay, White Woman of the Genessee captured 250 years ago in York County and John Smith gave Susquehannocks their name.

Controversy over Lauxmont and Highpoint land brings York County's rich American Indian heritage into the spotlight.

Part of the Lauxmont land now in public hands covers the site of a Susquehannock Indian village.

A museum or some other interpretive center near the village would add to the scant offerings in York County devoted to Indian history... .

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... .

Sovereign Bank Stadium rises from "the Swamp" in May 2007. That's the former York railroad station in the foreground and Small Field at top. Background posts: Film weaves threads of York, baseball, stadium and neighborhood change, POW Camp Security site: 'There's a lot of history waiting to be discovered' and Small Field missed a shining moment but could again claim a ray of York County's spotlight.

Writers, including this one, have noted the irony of a baseball team named Revolution playing in a ballpark Sovereign Bank Stadium that touts a monarchy. Such a stadium name in York, proud of its role in aiding and abetting American revolutionaries, adds to the fun.

And one could argue, perhaps loosely, that patriots fought the Revolution to prevent Britains imposition of eminent domain on the Colonies. Sovereign Bank Stadium backers used eminent domain to secure land for the ballpark... .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ashcombe, built in 1891 near Mechanicsburg, served as summer home for the wife of legislator and railroad exec Henry Moser. Its exterior of limestone, sandstone and wood frame iscovered by shingles, stucco and half-timbering. Ashcombe is near the market complex that resembles Brown's Orchards Farm Market in Loganville. It was featured in the October edition of Spaces, published by the York Daily Record/Sunday News. Background posts: The real big York County house that little false teeth built, 'You cannot stay stressed here for long', All Dempwolf posts.

The venerable Dempwolf architectural firm was everywhere in York city 100-125 years ago.

They firm even were associated with Spring Grove and Hanover, having designed the high schools in those towns.

But their buildings were found outside county borders in large numbers. As I wrote in "Never to be Forgotten," the Dempwolf firm was synonymous with architecture in southcentral Pennsylvania and Northern Maryland during the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

Cumberland County's Ashcombe Mansion is one such example.

An article in the October issue of Spaces magazine tells a bit about this area landmark:

The outside dance floor of the Shady Dell has been turned into a basketball court. The main Dell building is in background. (See four additional photos below). Background posts: 'Dell rat' blogs about southside York hangout where owners put out welcome mat, All posts on Shady Dell, All posts on White Oak Park.

Last post on the Shady Dell, its owners revealed that the now-closed southside York teen hangout is for sale.

So York Daily Record writer Mike Argento and photographer Paul Kuehnel visited the old site on the side of the hill off Starcross Road in Violet Hill.

Here is what they found:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reunion contact: Do you know where Paddletown is?

Me: I know about Paddletown Road, near Newberrytown.

Contact: It's at the Paddletown Church hall.

Me: What's the name of the church?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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The colorful former York Corporation/Borg-Warner plant on West Philadelphia Street in York is home to Buchart Horn/Basco Associates. (See how that crane or a similar overhead crane was operated in photo below.) Background posts: York, Pa. made big, heavy things - and was immensely proud of it, Carriage house dome: 'What's there will last for 100 years ... 200 years' and 'Little Johnny' called for Allies in World War II.

The 445 W. Philadelphia Street complex often just referred to as Borg-Warner was in severe disrepair in the 1990s.

Long ago, the two air conditioning/refrigeration plants known as "The Yorks" consolidated at the Grantley site, best known today as York International and Johnson Controls... .

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... .

Ron Trout was just a kid when Camp Stewartstown, next to the Presbyterian Church in that southeastern York County community, operated in the summers of 1944 and 1945. The camp formerly stood in and around the park's ballfield, in background. Background posts: Jamaican fruit pickers worked York County orchards in World War II , Story revives memories of oft-forgotten York County POW camp and German POWs: 'They worked cheaper than We did'.

Clifton Kehr (clkehr@juno.com) persisted through my World War II talk at York's Lutheran Village/Sprenkle recently.

He then via e-mail shared some insight about German prisoners of war, housed in Camp Stewartstown to pick fruit for two summers... .

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... .

She looked skeptically at the best, publicly known recipe for Bury's hamburger sauce - a recipe that reportedly passed muster with Joe Bury himself.

I'll get the real recipe, she said, one that appeared in your newspaper... .

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

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

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

American Journalism Historians Association judging.

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

Judges comments follow:

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... .

That's local conservationist Michael Helfrich arriving at the top of the hill at Samuel S. Lewis State Park in 2006. The dome-like elevation in the background is Highpoint, now a York County Park. At that time, its fate as a development site was up in the air. Sam Lewis park was named after the former Pennsylvania lieutenant governor from York County. Background posts: Where exactly is the York/Lancaster border?, Absorbing photo and overlay shows locations of six Susquehanna bridges and Lauxmont breeds queries of great import - or little.

A recent York Town Square post showed the view from Highpoint now that the controverted piece of land has become a York County park.

Now, we see the view of Highpoint from Samuel S. Lewis State Park.

But wait... .

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... .

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

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

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

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

The Shady Dell, longtime teen hangout in Spring Garden Township, was known throughout York County including an annual visit to the fair. The Dell has been closed for more than a decade and its buildings are deteriorating. Background posts: Shady Dell was home away from home for many York County teens in '60s, 'Dell rat' blogs about southside York hangout where owners put out welcome mat and Nostalgia and memories blog category.

Anyone want to own a York County icon?

Toni Deroche is owner of the house and barn that once housed the Shady Dell.

She has put the hillside site up for sale... .

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

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

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

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

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

This closeup of a cake is part of a York Fair panel, one of 18 that make up the Murals of York. This photo from 2005 shows that this 120-foot by 24-foot mural on the East Market Street Parking Garage is thin up close. (See additional photos below.) Background posts: Don't know much about York County history? Part I, Don't know much? Part II, Don't know much? Part III and If you want to see the Murals of York up close ...

I've blogged that York's East Market Street Parking Garage is an artifact of history because it represented the downtown's futile efforts to stave loss of its retail base to the suburbs in the late 1960s.

I've also blogged that the wide, skinny York Fair mural on the parking garage's side represents a curious juxtaposition because the vehicles parking there are part of the reason that agriculture, celebrated by the fair, is declining.

Further, that mural appears to be in the process of being subsumed by the parking garage's white side... .

The demolition of buildings in 'the Swamp' part of York in August 2006 to make way for the stadium opened a view of Small Field, right, background, across the Codorus Creek. At one time, Small Field was a stadium site option. Background posts: 10 years ago, York's exclusive Lafayette Club became less exclusive, Part I, Old P.A. and S. Small building fit better than successors, Samuel Small tops list of community contributors and 1967 William Penn senior class scored firsts.

Why isn't it Small's Field? he wondered.

Discussion on that point (Reader doesn't understand some things about York County) led to an observation from another reader.

Luther B. Sowers, former assistant city schools superintendent, came across school board minutes showing the moment the field left the family of P.A. and S. Small and landed in the custody of the community... .

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.

Betty Bury Harmon,right, continues to sell her family's namesake burger at the York Fair, one of two stands to do so. York County food-related posts: Before Geno's made news in Philly, Gino's headlined in York, From top dog and hot dogs to dogfight and dog days in York County, Pa. and Interstate lined out Melvin's swan song.

"Does the recipe come with the price?" I asked the woman behind the counter at Johnnie Eagle's stand at the York Fair.

I was continuing my probe for the secret recipe behind that red sauce covering the Bury's burger in my hand.

She declined with a smile.

"You won't get that recipe," a customer behind me in line said.

I might already have it... .

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: ... .

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." ...

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... .

The origin of the narrow gauge that lays behind this sign is up in the air. The term narrow gauge often refers to railroads - often branch lines - whose tracks were closer together, thus supporting smaller locomotives and reducing construction costs. Background posts: Ma & Pa rabbit trains: 'I hope they thoroughly hosed out the cars.', York County railroading: 'Something that gets into your blood' and Northern York area strawberry part of Neapolitan county.

Bob Burns (burns@nfdc.net) is 59 years old and has lived on Narrow Gauge Road in southern York County all his life. And he's not aware of a railroad ever running in that area.

An e-mailer - a railroad enthusiast - raised the prospect that the road took its name from an old railroad as described in the York Town Square post: : Is mystery railroad the old Shrewsbury narrow gauge?... .

Students watch the Electric Map at the former Gettysburg National Park Visitors Center in its final months of operation. Background posts: Gettysburg's vaunted Electric Map to soon stop blinking, Gettysburg Cyclorama, with new shape, set for Sept. display and Shrink wrapping in Electric Map's future; Gettysburg tooth heads south.

The Electric Map, so familiar to visitors of the old Gettysburg National Military Park Visitors Center, is collecting dust in its familar room awaiting the carving knife and storage.

That is, unless one of several groups that have asked about this Gettyburg artifact successfully acquire it.

Seems like this is the last opportunity for someone to acquire it for public use before it is sawed into sections and mothballed... .

Publicity associated with York's East Market Street Parking Garage upon its opening in 1969 pointed to its modern amenities. An often overlooked feature of the garage is its lobby fountain. Here, Linda Oatman and Brad Smith examine the fountain after it was vandalized in 2004. Today, the fountain is dry. Background posts: Don't know much about York County history? - Part II, Stetler Dodge transition indicative of other York-area changes and For decades, York's underground comfort stations spelled relief.

Downtown York boasts of an artifact of history that points to another artifact.

A reader of my recent York Sunday News column (It's not striking, but blocky parking garage tells a story of York) added to the discussion on York's East Market Street Parking Garage.

He noted that an interesting sign is on the building located across from the parking garage on the northeast corner of Duke and Market streets... .

This Schultz House datestone has drawn much scrutiny in recent years, as the construction date of this Springettsbury Township German farmhouse has been questioned. The disputed date is across the top. Background posts: A virtual photo tour - and an actual tour - of York County's vintage Schultz House, Old Schultz House might be younger than its datestone, Camp Security combines history, beauty.

Some architectural sleuthing has set as clear of a date for construction of the Schultz farmhouse as York County has seen thus far.

The date was long established as 1734 or at least somewhere in the 1730s. Recent research has suggested it could have been constructed as late as the 1750s.

Fellow history blogger Scott Butcher has posted a datestone update, based on the review by a preservationist from western Pennsylvania... .

The area around the former Highland Park in West Manchester Township also has been called Smoketown, one of several such locales in York County. Highland Park was an electric park, designed to attract trolley riders on weekends. Background posts:
Carrie Nation in York: 'If you keep smoking those things ...', Growing off-peak trolley ridership in York County: Build a park and Pinchgut vs. The Gut.

How many Smoketowns are there in York County?

That question came to mind in putting together the recent post: This Smoketown now rests on York County lake floor.

I didn't know about that Smoketown.

I was aware that the South Central Pennsylvania Genealogical Society's "Gazetteer of York and Adams Counties" lists two: ... .

The Mason-Dixon Trail passes over Highpoint, in this view to the south. It extends to Havre de Grace, Md., and Chadds Ford, Pa. Background posts: Private, public interests built Lake Marburg for manufacturing, recreation, York Safe & Lock faltered after owner's death and Lauxmont breeds queries of great import - or little .

With all the controversy over Lauxmont Farms, it's easy to overlook the offerings of the county park that's emerged - Highpoint.

Highpoint Scenic Vista and Recreation Area is the official name of the 79-acre park.

Here are a few of its features, other than that view of the Susquehanna River, according to the York County Parks newsletter: ...

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:

This is a typical ration book ubiquitous in York County and America during World War II. The books were a common sight at York's former South Duke Street city hall, put in use for defense purposes. Background posts: The bomb: 'And yet it stopped the war',
Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge celebrates quiet birthday and 20 questions and answers to prove your York County WWII smarts

Over at Windows into York, fellow blogger Scott Butcher moves along the discussion about York's city halls.

In a