Recently in Harley-Davidson Category

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.. .

Joe Paterno and President George H.W. Bush stumped at a Northern York County fundraiser for U.S. Senator Arlen Specter in June 1992. This shows part of the York Daily Record's coverage of the event. Background posts: Presidents visit York, alive and via funeral trains and York native to captain new carrier USS Bush and Bill Goodling: Jerry Ford might have been the most important president he served with.

Joe Paterno regularly visits York County for recruiting trips, fundraisers or political appearances.

Not political appearances for himself, of course.

But primarily for two former presidents named Bush... .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

President Reagan visited Springettsbury Township's Harley-Davidson plant in 1987, the first of a series of chief executives to mug at the York County, Pa., plant. That's Harley employee Eric Myers on the bike. Presidential visit No. 1: Mr. Reagan goes to Harley, Presidential visit No. 2: Clinton hugs Harley and Presidential visit No. 3: Bush makes like Bono.

Continuing the series of telling York County, Pa.'s, history through images: ... .

York (Pa.) Ice Machinery Corporation, later York Corporation and today owned by Johnson Controls, served as a catalyst for the York Plan. Yorkco chairman William S. Shipley headed the York Manufacturers Association, which promoted the sharing of machinery and manpower to land large World War II defense contracts. Here, condensers are lined up on Yorkco's shop floor. Background posts: York made big, heavy things and was immensely proud of it, The bomb: 'And yet it stopped the war' and 'Her words helped win the war'.

Continuing the series of iconic photos - photos that capture layered moments - from York County, Pa.:

Plans are moving ahead for an October reunion of 1960s bands that played at White Oak Park. Meanwhile, memories of the park continue to flow to York Town Square. Background posts: Stadium will be site of The Oaks music reunion, York-area full of memory-spawning landmarks and White Oak Park welcomed Blaw-Knox workers .

For many years, Jane Heller's grandfather, Oliver Lease, ran White Oak Park, that nostalgia-inducing recreational center located in the area where the Masonic Lodge now sits, along the Susquehanna Trail, north of York.

Jane shared memories of "The Oaks" via an e-mail conversation: ...

This big World War II mobile siege gun represented the legacies of two industrial giants. Neighboring factories S. Morgan Smith Co. and York Corporation jointly constructed the gun, which could lob 240-pound shells at targets 30 miles away. Background posts: Glatfelter, Morgan Smith head industrial legacy list and 'Little Johnny' called for Allies in World War II.

In a recent York Sunday New column titled "Contributors bring history to life (see below)," I muse about how York County factories historically have made big things and worked hard to tell the world about them.

I tied it to the recent sale of Bradley Lifting, which made big, heavy devices that helped lift big, heavy things.

I went on a riff like this: ... .

Harvey Bradley, who built his York company, Bradley Lifting, from scratch has sold his company to an out-of-town outfit. Here, Bradley is seen with a giant hook in 2007. His company fabricates the block that the hook will be hung from. Background posts: Glatfelter, Farquhar, Shipley: Insights from local greats, Who will lead York in the future? and Samuel Small tops community contributor list.

Harvey Bradley is a living example of some of York County's past captains of industry.

He started with few resources, except perhaps the most important, an entrepreneurial spirit. He built big things... .

This photo shows two quad (that's eight guns) 40 mm anti-aircraft Bofors made at Blaw-Knox Special Ordnance Division plant during World War II. Those guns were America's best defense against Japanese suicide attacks late in the war. Today, the York Safe and Lock-made Blaw-Knox plant is incorporated into Harley-Davidson's sprawling complex. Background posts: AMF-Harley in York, by the numbers and York Safe & Lock worker recalls chat with Hedy Lamarr.

The York Safe & Lock / Blaw-Knox Special Ordnance Division / Naval Ordnance Division / AMF / Harley-Davidson plant near the Narrows north of York has always been associated with robust output.

That's why it has been visited by admirals and U.S. presidents.

But how robust is robust?...

It would have been interesting to see this batter slide in his business suit in this photograph taken at a Blaw-Knox Special Ordnance Division picnic on July 29, 1945, at White Oak Park, north of York. Blaw-Knox succeeded York Safe & Lock near the Codorus narrows, east of the park site. AMF and Harley-Davidson followed Blaw-Knox at the plant. The park also accommodated dances with live bands in the 1960s. Background posts: Memories about 'The Oaks' pile up, Wanted: Old photos of teen hangout White Oaks Park and The Dell: 'It was like family'.

The promoters of a compilation CD of bands that played at White Oak Park Dances in the 1960s has a release date.

Oct. 18, 2008.

In an e-mail, Phil Schwartz wrote:

"The release of the CD is being timed to coincide with an even bigger event: a White Oak reunion... ."

Blaw-Knox Special Ordnance Division employees mug for the camera in 1944 in a rally to raise morale - and production - during World War II. The Navy sold the plant to American Machine and Foundry in 1963. Today, Harley-Davidson occupies the plant. 'Hog' label linked to Harley for 80-something years and 'Harley's Journey a Good Ride'.

AMF - the forerunner of Harley-Davidson in York - is back in the news.

The Brunswick Corp. bowling pin manufacturing plant in Antigo Wis., is closing.

That leaves QubicaAMF in Lowville, N.Y., as the last manufacturer of bowling pins in the United States... .

John Burke Jovich meets former Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey in 1972. Background posts: President Buchanan's fall reflected his presidency, LBJ: In small towns, girls are fonder; dinner pails fuller and Presidential visit No. 1: Mr. Reagan goes to Harley.

John Burke Jovich has met eight American presidents so far.

And that's not all.

Here is another feat listed by this student of the presidency who lectures, writes and consults on the presidency and who calls York home: ...

American Machinery and Foundry, best known to York County as occupant of the former York Safe & Lock factory after Naval Ordnance Plant and before Harley-Davidson, started in Hanover and became an international company. Its first plant was located on East Middle Street in Hanover until it burned down in 1903, leaving a ruin shown here in this August 1967 AMF newsletter. Background post: From Bofors to bikes, Harley plant top hog, Where was the arsenal on Arsenal Road? and Glen Rock marked site of AMP/Tyco's first Pa. plant.

AMP, now Tyco, opened its first Pennsylvania factory in Glen Rock.

AMF started in Hanover. It became best-known as the owner of the former York Safe & Lock plant, which later became Naval Ordnance Plant. Among other products that AMF made at its new plant after 1974 were Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

And AMF had a plant in Glen Rock, too

AMF and AMP in the same town.

Imagine trying to explain to relatives a change in job from one to the other... .

This was the first graphic or photograph to appear with a York Town Square post, accompanying York Market House No. 5 - Carlisle Avenue Market, revisited in April 2006. Incidentally, that the present-day Dreamwrights building was built as a farmers market still surprises folks. Background posts: There were 5, count 'em, 5 York markets and Don't know much about (York market) history?.

The year 2007 saw visitors to this blog increase exponentially over the previous two years we've been posting.

We hope you are enjoying each day's history lesson. The numbers, increased commenting and e-mails suggest you are.

A list of best, first and most popular posts at this blog follows:

You never know who you're run into when you're out giving speeches.

I was at West Manchester's Country Meadows recently doing a presentation on York County and World War II.

A resident at the assisted living place stood up and proceeded to tell the audience about meeting Hedy Lamarr during her visit to York Safe & Lock, now occupied by Harley-Davidson, in 1942. (See Hedy Lamarr's visit to York long remembered.)

C. Clark Julius sat beside her during a program to drum up War Bond sales. He conjectured that he must have been a big giver to have received such an honor.

I asked him what he remembered about the beautiful actress, and he immediately said that she talked a lot -- the whole time in fact... .

That's a curious thing to remember about Hedy Lamarr... .

Blaw-Knox's Naval Ordnance Depot, successor of York Safe & Locks, was one of the newsmakers that occupied a spot in Codorus narrows north of World War II-era York. The area where the creek cuts through the hills has long been a site of activity in York County, including home of current occupant of the old Naval Ordnance building, Harley-Davidson. Here, servicemen from Philadelphia's Naval Incentive Division "inspect" Twin Bofors, 400 mm anti-aircraft guns, with the aid of some women workers. (For a look at Quad Bofors, see photograph below.)

An e-mailer responded to my recent column on the Codorus narrows with some memories:

Living away from York for many years, I particularly enjoy reading
your excellent historical pieces on my hometown.

Your recent piece on the Codorus Narrows brought to mind a visit home
a few years ago, when I woke to the sight of excavation on the
hillside directly west from our family home. The hill, long being
gobbled up by a quarry on the creekside had been scraped clear for a
townhouse development to the east and south... .

Hedy Lamarr stumps for bond sales at York Safe & Lock's ordnance plant in 1942. Those buildings make up part of Harley-Davidson's Springettsbury Township complex.

Hedy Lamarr's visit to York Safe & Lock's naval ordnance plant in 1942 was one of many landmark events occurring at that site.

"I came here to sell war bonds. You came here to see what that 'dame' Hedy Lamarr looks like. Hitler and Hirohito are not interested in that," she told the crowd... .

The owner of Round the Clock Diner is developing this neighborhood across the road. What will go in is not yet known.

The struggling residential neighborhood southeast of the Interstate 83 and Route 30 intersection will someday be smooshed to make way for something else. See wrecking ball.

Perhaps it was inevitable that the stranded neighborhood would wither. I-83 severed its connection with North York, and it's surrounded by highway, businesses and the Codorus Creek.

Driving its uneven streets, the neighborhood is a bit like a village that time forgot. Roads that previously ran into North York dead end at the interstate. An uninviting walkway or drainage culvert or some such tunnels under the highway... .

Employees of the Blaw-Knox Special Ordnance Division plant, succeeded years later by Harley-Davidson, took over White Oak Park for a company picnic on July 29, 1945. For years, the park, located north of North York, served as a popular meeting place.

Keystone Record Collectors' Phil Schwartz is working on a project to remaster music from groups that appeared at White Oak Park, called "the Oaks."

The park, located in the vicinity of the Masonic Temple north of York, was a popular post-World War II picnic place and early 1960s teen hangout.

Schwartz explained that the groups - the Del-Chords, Exciting Invictas, El Dantes - often made "demos," and much of the music was never released. The working title of the CD project is "White Oak Park-Battle Of The Bands."... .

Dr. John C. Bieri put on a magic show for Naval Ordnance Division workers at White Oak Park. One account states that he pulled rabbits out of hats, changed the color of flowers, converted a flag into dozens of flags, spilled candy from empty boxes and made boxes, tables and chairs disappear.

Prompted by a reader's query, a previous York Town Square post asked for photos of White Oak Park. See: Fun in North York

Well, I found some.

The park was a picnic grounds and a hangout for teens and concerts in the 1950s and 1960s. It was located in the vicinity of the Masonic Lodge, north of York.

I ran across these two photos and six others in a Blaw-Knox Naval Ordnance Plant publication. The plant now forms part of Harley-Davidson See recent H-D posts.... .

Workers produced Bofors anti-aircraft guns at the Special Ordnance Division plant, now part of Harley-Davidson's complex, during WWII.

Decades before market leader Harley-Davidson operated out of its Springettsbury plant, another top-of-category company occupied the complex.

First, it was York Safe & Lock and later Blaw-Knox Special Ordnance Division, and their prime product was Bofors guns. You know, Ack-Acks, the guns on ships that you see in World War II movies.

The 40-mm anti-aircraft guns represented the Navy's response to Japanese Kamikaze planes.

The double- and quad-mounted York County-made guns are credited with bringing down Kamakaze planes at a rate of 32 a minute in Pacific Theater fighting.

Some facts about Bofors, according to a Naval Ordnance Plant publication, February 1946: ...

Norman Goss, an employee at Harley-Davidson's Springettsbury Township facility, sports two Harley tattoos: The company's bar-and-shield logos appear on his back and on his right arm. 'I don't know of any other brand where people take the logo and tattoo it on their arm,' Mel Campbell, York advertising exec, said in 2005. 'That kind of loyalty . . . you don't find that in any other product.' See previous Harley posts at H-D archives .

Think Harley-Davidson, and you think Hog or Hawg.

Where did that connection come from?

It started in 1920 when a pig, the Harley racing team's mascot, was carried on a victory lap after each race won by H-D's team of cyclists.

Six decades later, the brand was reinforced when Harley inaugurated Harley Owners Group - Hog.

The owner's group, the largest cycle club in the world, was started to put Harley in touch with users.

Honda tried it, but failed, in part, because its executives didn't ride with users, Peter Reid wrote in "Well Made in America."

Which brings us to former Harley CEOs Rich Teerlink's account of the time he was leading a big ride and forgot to fill up the gas tank, common for novice riders... .

:

President Bush sought - and gained - permission from Joel Toner, left, to start a Harley. Bush observed that Toner had a cool job. Toner said: "I agreed and said, ‘Yeah, I think I got one of the greatest jobs in the world.’”

Unlike his predecessors Reagan and Clinton, President George Bush got on the hawg during a visit on Aug. 16, 2006 to Harley-Davidson's York plant.

Some bullet points about his visit:

Scene setter from York Daily Record: "At Harley-Davidson’s Springettsbury Township plant, George W. Bush might as well have been a rock star. Donning sunglasses similar to ones worn by U2 front man Bono, President Bush strutted into the motorcycle maker’s Softail plant Wednesday afternoon for a two-hour foray. He stopped to sign an autograph, frequently shook hands with workers and later straddled a shiny blue-and-white Softail Deluxe, revving the engine to workers’ screams and hollers." ...

A hug to remember: Bobby Ramsey, chief shop steward for Harley-Davidson’s York plant, embraces President Clinton after introducing him. Clinton spoke before more than 2,000 employees.

President Bill Clinton enjoyed what amounted to a pep rally during his November 1999 visit to York’s Harley-Davidson plant.

Some bullet points from his visit, attended by 2,000 employees: ...

In 1987, Ronald Reagan visited the Harley-Davidson motorcycle plant in Springettsbury Township. Plant employee Eric Myers, right, is sitting on the motorcycle. Employees remember Reagan's charisma during the visit.

Harley-Davidson workers in York have struck the company three times since 1969.

Still, three U.S. presidents have visited York's Harley plant in the past 20 years to, among other things, seek a political advantage by linking up with the venerable American cycle company.

Some bullet points from the first of these presidential pilgrimages:

(Foreground) Arthur Davidson's image is superimposed over a street scene depicting an early motorcycle shop on Beaver Street in downtown York.
(Upper left corner) A motorcycle enthusiast participates in the Jefferson Hill Climb, held in southwestern York County.
(Upper center) Two employees work on motorcycle gas tanks in this factory scene from the 1950s.
(Upper right corner) Elvis Presley enjoys a Hog.

News reports sometimes refer to Harley-Davidson as a York County icon, part of the company's greater brand as one of the last of the mighty American manufacturers.

The company, currently undergoing labor strife, is a vestige of York County's industrial might.

The H-D tracks are so deep in county soil that the cyclemaker earned a spot in the pantheon of 18 murals colorfully dotting downtown York. In fact, 'Harley's Journey a Good Ride' was one of the first of the large-scale panels... .

John F. Kennedy campaigns in 1960 for the presidency in York. (See list of known presidential visits below.) Background post: Ted Kennedy's visit to York comes almost 50 years after JFK's and Hillary Clinton's rally site in York, Pa., a little odd.

There is a telling story about President James Buchanan, who regularly passed through York County on his way to his home, Wheatland, in Lancaster County.

His practice was to leave his conveyance and walk across the mile-long covered bridge connecting York County and Lancaster. One trip in 1859, he slipped, fell, got up and, unfazed, continued his walk.

Some would say there was a certain poetic justice in his fall. His inability as president, and as a particularly weak president to boot, to hold the union together ultimately resulted in the Civil War and the rebel army's visit to York County in late June 1863. The very bridge itself slipped into the Susquehanna River after Union troops torched it to stop the Confederates from crossing.

After his fall, Buchanan returned through York "in excellent health and fine spirits," a newspaper reported. Too bad, many Americans then believed, that he didn't depart from office with his country in similar circumstances.

Buchanan's links to York made his excursions through the region public, even down to coverage of his slips. But it's impossible to pin down a complete list of prospective, actual or former presidents who visited York and Adams counties.

Here is a sampling of visits to York and Adams counties from those who occupied the White House:

The massive fire at Adhesives Research was one of the top York County stories in 2006.

The York Sunday News ran this list, compiled from the newspaper staff, of the top stories of 2006.

Take a gander at the following and see what you think:

Eric Wise, a reader with many interests, picked up on York Town Square posts on York Safe & Locks. ("York Safe & Lock faltered after founder's death;" "York safes durable, beautiful.")

They reminded him of his grandfather's story about the streets of post-World War II Tokyo: ...

S. Forry Laucks' name has appeared in several York Town Square posts, in part, because he was such a player in early 20th century York County.

His legacy includes:

-- Harley-Davidson uses part of his York Safe & Lock plant to make motorcycles. That particular plant made Bofors, the main anti-aircraft gun used on Navy ships in World War II. Ask any Navy vet from that era about Bofors.

-- His Lauxmont Farm, overlooking the Susquehanna River, is a current point of controversy between those who want to develop parts of it and those who want to turn it into a park.

But that's not all of his legacy: ...

It’s a white-glove event that intrigues every year. The York County Heritage Trust’s “Treasures of the Trust" brings to public view items from its collection not currently on display.

It featured a range of items, including stuffed animals sent by Harold E. Miller to his daughter, Jean, shortly before the soldier was killed in World War II Europe.

Roy Young, a former York Safe and Lock worker, had donated a 37 mm M-51 tank shell manufactured at this major World War II defense plant, now home to Harley-Davidson.

Those attending also saw Fiebing’s Saddle Soap, used to care for saddles and harnesses of horses used to pull fire equipment in turn-of-the-20th-century York. The soap kept the leather from drying out.

And all kinds of other neat stuff, plus tours of storage areas. ...

Windsor Park, sandwiched between Loucks Mill Road, North Sherman Street and Route 30, is an intriguing part of Spring Garden Township.

It’s easy to drive by the streets leading into the development without even knowing it’s there.

Windsor, Windsor Township, Lower Windsor Township. Windsor Park is at least fourth on the list of best-known Windsors in York County... .

The explosive Adhesives Research fire a couple of weeks ago near Potosi brings a question about how the Springfield Township crossroads got its name.

Fifty years ago, John D. Kilbourne, Historical Society of York County director, put forth an answer.

He had received an inquiry from a Wisconsin resident, who was trying to link mining with other towns in the Americas called Potosi. Kilbourne wrote back that iron ore mining occurred in the 1880s in the township, and the Potosi Post Office was established there in 1901.

Jerry Ambrose wondered recently about why York’s stretch of Route 30 is known as Arsenal Road.

I wasn't aware of a true arsenal ever being there.

I checked with a local historian, and she confirmed my best thinking.

During World War II, York Safe and Lock, later operated by the U.S. Navy and Blaw-Knox, made Bofors anti-aircraft guns. These guns were widely used on Navy ships. (Part of the Harley-Davidson plant now occupies this building,)

A second explanation might come from the U.S. Army Reserves facility near Route 30.

If anyone can enlighten Jerry — and me — on this, please post.