Harley-Davidson workers examine a tentative agreement between the company and the union Friday morning at the York (Pa.) Expo Center. Also of interest: York workers traditionally have made big, heavy things and York County chainsaw artist about Harley carving: 'I had an inspiration for the bike and America' and All Made in York posts from the start.

York, Pa., is locked in mortal battle with Shelbyville, Ky., over who will win rights to assemble Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

Harley's union in York is viewing a tentative contract with the company that is considered key to retention of work in its current Springettsbury Township plant.

A pundit in the York Daily Record/Sunday News newsroom pointed out an interesting twist.

Harley workers were perusing their new tentative agreement in and around the Toyota Arena.

So workers who proudly make these venerable American-made bikes were finding out about a piece of their financial futures at a venue sponsored by a Japanese automotive manufacturer... .

York City School Board's study of the future of the 1930-vintage Phineas Davis school leads to the question.

Who was Phineas Davis?

I give a brief summary adapted from "Never to be Forgotten":

The Cookes house, one of York County's oldest structures, is shown in a photograph from about 1890 to 1900. New owner Michael Helfrich is laboring to learn more about the history of the historic house, on the bank of the Codorus Creek in York City. Also of interest: Two hundred years after Thomas Paine's death, the pamphleteer is due a marker in York and Worker saved key historical surveys from Glatfelter pulping machine and York's housing stock not that revolutionary.

A major mystery surrounds the Cookes House, the 1761 stone structure that is easily overlooked to the rear of Martin Luther King Jr. Park in the western part of York.

Did Thomas Paine live and work there when the Continental Congress met in York in 1777-78? ... .

Allen J. Smith, seen here inside his restoration, shows the caboose he worked on for years so that, 'It's better than new.' The rail car wil be moved from New Freedom to Wellsboro and Corning Railroad in Tioga County. (See York Daily Record/Sunday News' photographer Paul Kuehnel's video of the caboose below.) Also of interest: What it was like aboard the Stewartstown Railroad and Mason-Dixon Line hugging New Freedom playing host to a new museum and Is mystery railroad the old Shrewsbury narrow gauge?

Yorkblogger Scott Mingus fielded a query from a reader about the origin of the name Pickett Road in Washington Township.

Scott explained that it likely didn't come from the presence of Gen. George Pickett's men in the Gettsburg Campaign in the Civil War summer of 1863... .

In 1995, Mark Spotz spits during his arrest after a killing spree, which started after an argument over a gerbil. He is one of eight defendants who committed crimes in York County who is on death row. (See details below.) Also of interest: A list of traumatic, painful incidents that rocked York County and Witman murder among York County's most notorious crimes and Exonerated death-row inmate Ray Krone of York County hopes book will open eyes about capital punishment.

Even investigating police officers shed tears at the trial of what history will remember as the torture death of a 2-year-old York girl with a video game cord.

On Monday, a jury agreed to the death penalty for Harve Lamar Johnson in connection with his fatal beating of Darisabel Baez, his girlfriend's daughter on April 6, 2008. In addition to the video game cord, Johnson's weapons included one of the girl's hiking boots and his fists. The girl died at Hershey Medical Center the next day.

York Daily Record/Sunday News court reporter Rick Lee provided those details as well as the following concise summary of this horrific case:

The Stewartstown Historical Society is looking for photos of side streets in the southeastern York County, Pa., borough. This is a rare shot of such street, showing the intersection of present-day Route 851 and West Pennsylvania Avenue in Stewartstown. This photo came from the estate of John Denney of Columbia. Also of interest: 'Yesteryears' Stewartstown-area York County sites - Part I, 'Yesteryears' - Part II and German POWs: 'They worked cheaper than We did'.

The Stewartstown Historical Society is working on a new photo book, similar to the the 'Yesteryears' books it published a few years back.

The group is getting lots of photos but not many showing Stewartstown's side streets.

Early photographer Oram Bell took many shots of Main Street, but if he moved with his camera off the main drag, none of his work is known to exist.

Society member Doug Winemiller provided this information and photograph and went on to explain a rare photo of one side street, pictured above... .

Milkweed pods are opening about now around York County, Pa. They're largely ignored nowadays, but in World War II they were coveted. Also of interest: All World War II posts from the start and World War II torpedo, bomb loader, made in York, Pa., turns up in Tennessee museum and Explosions heard around York County after World War II-era 'experts' give canning advice.

For years - decades - York Daily Record/Sunday News photographer Bil Bowden has captured visual moments in and around York County.

In the last post, his work is displayed after he visited remote Wildcat Falls along the river road, north of Wrightsville.

Now he has grabbed a milkweed pod opening.

Of course, there is a story from history - World War II, to be specific - surrounding this little-noticed plant, and my "In the Thick of the Fight," gives a summary:

The Wildcat Falls Hotel is marked as such in this undated photo. The falls (see photo below) was a popular picnic destination. Its water rushed down a York County, Pa., hillside across the Susquehanna River from Marietta in Lancaster County. The river road is at left. Also of interest: The things you learn from reading local history and Opportunities in York County to feed your sense of discovery and Absorbing photo and overlay shows locations of six Susquehanna bridges.

York Daily Record photographer Bil Bowden was doing some sleuthing recently, looking up the once-popular-but-now-little-known Wilcat Falls area, north of Wrightsville.

A picnic area and hotel once operated there, and among other tourists, people crossed the river from Marietta to enjoy the destination... .

This nameplate is affixed to a York, Pa.-made World War II vintage bomb/torpedo loader acquired by the Tennessee Museum of Aviation. To see a photo of this American Chain and Cable-made truck, visit: Torpedo loader turns up in Tennessee museum. Also of interest: Jeep prototype has York County WWII roots and York-made vehicle welcome to retirement home in York, Pa. and All Made in York posts from the start.

The Codorus Valley Chronicles, the newsletter of the Codorus Valley Area Historical Society, always contains neat stuff.

In the November edition, Bob Shaub, editor of the newsletter for this Jefferson-based group, wrote about the value of artifacts made of tin, tied to a program on collecting old tin advertising:

"Little thought was given, let's say from the 1940s back, that tin cans, tin advertising signs would some day be collectible.The containers and signs were thrown away the same as we throw away the plastic containers and cardboard signs today... .

George F. Kennan helped set U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War and won a Pulitzer Prize. He also purchased a farm in eastern Adams County and was known to many folks in the East Berlin, Pa., area. Also of interest: Hanover's Cold Warrior J.W. Gitt's mansion: 'You can look down and see the town laid down before you' and York still twinning with France, Germany after 50-plus years and Cuban expert and York editor Jim Higgins: 'He was just another journalist ... with opinions'.

The late "Green Acres" actor and World War II war hero Eddie Albert wasn't the only celebrity with East Berlin ties.

Historian George F. Kennan served the Allied cause in World War II as a diplomat in European capitals.

He was winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Twice.

He promoted the policy of containment to prevent the spread of communism via the "domino effect." Some believe that policy led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War in 1989.

He's the topic of a popular book "The Hawk and the Dove: Paul Nitze, George Kennan, and the History of the Cold War".

And he also owned a farm in the East Berlin area of Adams County... .

Ron Herman's sunglasses reflect the statue honoring veterans of the Vietnam War at the York (Pa.) Expo Center unveiled on Oct. 3. Also of interest: Map aficionados will love bird's-eye view of York County and Vietnam vets wall moves York countians and All Vietnam War-related posts.

For about 20 years, the total of those who died in the Vietnam War has stood at 101.

The bronze tablets on the front of the old York County Courthouse reflected that total, for example.

And actually, that number is correct.

But with work on the new York County Vietnam War Veterans Memorial, that total has been reduced to 85, and that's the number included on the York Expo memorial.

Why the difference?

A York (Pa.) Daily Record photographer captured the late actor Eddie Albert - Oliver Wendell Douglas in the 1960s sitcom 'Green Acres' - in East Berlin, Pa., in 1997. Albert received a Bronze Star in that eastern Adams County town for his heroics in the Pacific Theater in World War II. Also of interest: Nazis murdered downed WWII airman from York and York County sacrificed on homefront and war front to aid Allies in World War II and War memorials stand proudly in towns throughout York County.

York Daily Record/Sunday News writer Jeff Frantz has told a touching story about York's Robert Kressler, who was killed in France in combat in World War II.

For years, his sister, Jeanne Stefanowicz, 82, of York, did not know how he was killed.

He wrote how the Purple Heart Hall of Honor in New York answered that question. (Please read this excellent story The death of Pfc. Kressler: A call, and an answer to find out the details.)

This post, looking ahead to Veterans Day, is about another hero - a high-profile hero - who fought in the Pacific Theater. He held a local link in East Berlin.

That hero was the late Eddie Albert, aka Oliver Wendell Douglas, TV husband of Eva Gabor and foil of Arnold the Pig... .

Participants in the York County, Pa. Teachers' Institute in the 1928-1929 school year received this notebook to write down insights gained in these city and county training sessions. (See additional photo below.) Also of interest: One-room school reunions preserve educational culture of thousands of York countians and Former Temple head product of York County schools and All school days category posts from the start..

The annual Teachers' Institute for York County city and county teachers was a longtime rite of fall.

With this multi-day in-service program for teachers came a booklet, courtesy of Dan Meckley's collection. The black-and-white notebook raises several interesting items of historical note.

First, the institute has separate dates for York City teachers and county teachers.

Part of the reason for this might have been relevant instruction for grade-level classrooms in the city versus country one or two-room schools in which all grades were grouped.

Advertisers were eager to get their messages to the recipients of the notebooks, teachers from the three-corners of York County... .

Dianne Bowders submitted this view of the York House or Billmeyer House, part of York, Pa.'s, First Presbyterian Church campus. In the post "Some of York County's famous buildings", Yorkblogger Joan Concilio tells about a new user-submitted gallery available at http://ydr.inyork.com/ydr/gallery. "I was really excited to see some people who I don't even know starting to submit ... ., Concilio wrote in her increasingly popular Only in York County blog. Also of interest: Postcards tell story of York County community and My Capture photo book available (containing additional photos by Dianne Bowders) and York County book 'All in One Room' ready for readers.

People are talking about the possible demise of Phineas Davis school.

The York City School District is examining the future of 1930s-era building.

"I went to Phineas Davis when it was a junior high from 1964-1966 where I made lifelong friends. These were the best years of my city education. The sports, cheerleading, the teachers & the competition between Smith & Hannah Penn - these were the best times," Sandy (Shorter) Fake wrote in commenting on a York Town Square post that told a little about 19th century inventor and school namesake Phineas Davis... .

The World War II model aircraft collection of York County, Pa., aviation enthusiast and author John F. M. Wolfe will be on display at the annual York County Veterans Day breakfast Wednesday. (See event details below.) Wolfe's favorite model? A miniature of the PV-1 Lockheed "Ventura." He served as a crew member of that medium bomber in World War II. Also of interest: Where was York County's earliest documented airstrip? and York Airport memories spawn even more recollections about old York-area airfields and It's a bird. It's a plane. It's cigars with wings dropped by York-based promoters.

The player pianos produced by Weaver Organ and Pianos in the 20th century formed the home entertainment centers of that day.

We learned that last post: York, Pa.'s Weaver Organ and Piano Co.: 'Guaranteed to give permanent satisfaction'

Weaver closed in 1959, but there are successor musical instrument makers in York County today.

Bluett Brothers Violins has been making instruments for 25 years in York.

Enjoy a video, produced by York Daily Record/Sunday News photographer Paul Kuehnel, of that music maker below: