Recently in World War II Category

Doris Kearns Goodwin was in York in November about her book, 'Team of Rivals, The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.' At the end of her speech, she gave tips to assess presidential candidates. Background posts: Goodwin cites York countian's story to tell about Gettysburg Address, Follow the leader... George Leader and Presidents and presidential candidates have visited York for decades .

Doris Kearns Goodwin counseled a York County audience recently on qualities to look for in a presidential candidate.

Her well-received visit raised the question about who would follow her in an annual or bi-annual fundraiser for the York County Heritage Trust... .

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:

Katharine Beecher started a small candy company in the 1930s. Defense contracts in World War II helped her company, as it did many York County businesses. Katharine Beecher's son, Henry Beecher, kept the business in the family for 22 years after his mother's death in 1952. In 1974, he sold the factory's assets to Pennsylvania Dutch Candies. Today, the company, now in Cumberland County, still bears her name. Background posts: "Little Johnny" called for Allies in World War II and Edith Barber: 'She wanted to save humanity'.

A small road called Butter Mint Lane in Manchester explains the product made in the factory on that road.

Manchester was where Katharine Beecher Candies operated for decades before owner Pennsylvania Dutch Co. arranged for its move to Camp Hill in 1999.

Katherine Beecher, who started the business in her kitchen in 1930, became one of the most visible female industrialists in York County in the middle years of the 20th century... .

With a one-arm wave as the other firmly grasps the ladder, Santa greets the crowd before his entry into York's Bon-Ton in his annual visit to York.
Background posts: The Grumbachers, Builders and Heroes and York scores another first: Wal-Mart's entry into Pa.

This photo captures post-World War II York, the day of the Big Three - Bon-Ton and its competitors, Wiest's and Bear's. (People often say, don't forget Sears and Jack's and Gregory's and McLean's and ... )

Santa parked his sleigh outside York County in those years. He flew into the area by plane and, later, by helicopter. He was ushered by fire truck to the Bon-Ton where he entered the store's third-floor window... .

Sidney Poitier smiles while making his way to the podium at the Valencia Ballroom in 2002. Poitier was the guest speaker of The Junior League of York's "In The Spotlight" Speaker Series. For more on the Valencia, see below. Background posts: Original WSBA station hands mic to demolition team and Valencia Ballroom became cool place during Depression.
You're sitting in the living room surrounded by visiting loved ones.

And the talk perhaps turns to York County, its strengths, weakness and befuddling quirks.

And you want to show your smarts about this complex, often perplexing county, which boasts of a bottomless fund of history.

So began my most recent York Sunday News column:

So to help you strut your intelligence, we continue what we started last Christmas and come up with another 20 questions for you to pose (search on this blog for additional details) ... .

York County's Yeagley family produced multiple generations of physicians. Their community service earned them a spot in "Builders and Heroes," a publication coming out of York County's 250th Anniversary. Background posts: The Cassimatises and Wolf would join long list of Yorkers to gain political posts.

Making house calls might have cost Dr. John Dibert Yeagley his life.

But that wasn't the first time he took such a risk. He was the leading public health authority dealing with York County's polio epidemic of 1941....

This page from "In the Thick of the Fight," profiles several of the 25 York Corporationemployees who died in uniform in World War II, according to "Shop News," Yorkco's newsletter. A researcher has shared additional information on the death of Robert Zercher, alphabetically last on the list of those who died. Background posts: Book blast produced Mother Lode and Dealing with POW camp, loss of life among York County's WW II sacrifices.

"I know from my research, most of the time, the story of what happened doesn't end when they were shot down, it is only the beginning."

So says ace researcher Jim Marsteller, expert on the 392nd Bomb Group.

Marsteller, jimbob@cyberia.com, also noted that more US servicemen died in the Air Corps than the Marine Corps. And while completing the required 30 missions, the chance of being killed was 71percent.

He noticed a short profile of an airman from York, Robert W. Zercher, who was killed in action.

Another researcher with the bomb group started digging for more information on Zercher, son of
Frank and Ella Zercher of York.

What Annette Tyson found is fascinating, according to this edited e-mail she sent Marsteller:

Scattered throughout the 25-acre http://www.ordmusfound.org U.S. Army Ordnance Museum in Aberdeen, Md., are howitzers, tanks and guns, like this 8-inch gun. A plaque under the gun tells about the 243rd field artillery battalion, which used the weapon in World War II. The museum is located just a short drive from York County's southern border. Background posts: Gurgling all the way from Texas to New Jersey and York/Adams residents contributed to the war.

With Pearl Harbor's anniversary just observed, it's a good time to recount York County's contributions to World War II.

Here is a listing, by the numbers:

Pearl Harbor survivor Francis Brandstedter was the only Pearl Harbor survivor to attend the recent annual breakfast in York observing contributions of vets who fought at this initial World War II battle and The Battle of the Bulge. Background posts: American War Mothers monument captures attention and USO column attracts memories.

At a recent Pearl Harbor anniversary observance, survivor Francis Brandstetter recalled the Japanese attack that Sunday morning in late 1941.

"At first we thought it might be the Navy holding maneuvers because Hickam Field was right next door to Pearl Harbor," he said. "But we soon found out it was the real thing." ...

This newspaper clipping shows six sons of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis C. Zimmerman who served in the military in World War II. A seventh son, Richard V., later served. The Zimmermans were one of the largest contributors to the estimated 20,000 men and women who served in the military from York County in the war. Background posts: The first in (World) War (II) and Perhaps the last in (World) War (II) ....

Eight sons of John F. Bennett of Hanover served in World War II. A ninth member of the family entered at war's end.

All came back.

Charles E. Williams of York was one of six brothers in the Henry H. and Geraldine Williams family to serve in World War II. He died in Italy shortly before V-E Day.

Those were the largest number of siblings to serve in World War II that I found in researching my "In the thick of the fight". ...

The Civil War-era U.S. Army General Hospital became a major site for treatment because of its proximity to Virginia and Maryland, where many battles took place, and its location on a major rail line. Here, convalescents pose in one of the hospital wards at the Penn Park complex. The military hospital is an example of a York County history topic awaiting study. Background posts: Civil War nurse: 'Dogs of War in our midst' and Not all rebel wounded suffered after Gettysburg.

Many people use New Year's to kick off historical research projects.

My York Sunday News column Looking for a local history research project? probed several topics ripe for research focusing on York's Civil War-era military hospital.

The following is a sampling of topics from York County history awaiting further exploration or publication of existing research:

Ben Chen, who was smuggled to America aboard the freighter Golden Venture, later became owner of a Springettsbury Township restaurant. He was among a group of Golden Venture passengers, detained for about four years in York County Prison, who remains in the region. The Golden Venture detainees are part of a series of immigrant groups who have called York County home over the years or who stayed in York "for a while" then moved on. Background post: Tips for genealogical research and York's Chestnut Street fortress bad symbol of York's past.

Sue Chehrenegar was born in York County and later moved from the area.

She has relatives here still and retains a strong interest in her native county.

She is a writer and has penned stories on York County, including a recent short history of York for www.lifeintheusa.com ... .

Rivertownes PA USA helps promote Wrightsville, Pa.'s many attractions. Here, Claire Storm, Rivertownes' president in this 2003 photograph, surveys one of the town's stone kilns. Background posts: York County, Pa., Civil War hero grandmom of Gore Vidal, Wrightsville's overlooked attractions and Absorbing photo and overlay shows locations of six Susquehanna bridges.

Wrightsville is a lot like Dover.

More goes on in those turnpike towns than one would think... .

Glatfelter makes a multitude of paper products including metallic labels for beer bottles and colored pencils, books and playing cards. Harry Potter books are printed on Glatfelter paper. Background posts: Glatfelter, Morgan Smith head industrial legacy list and Glatfelter, Farquhar, Shipley: Insights from local greats.

Four sons of Spring Grove paper mill owner P.H. Glatfelter II went off to fight in World War II.

William L., a York Corporation employee, did not come back, a plane crash victim. Along with York rabbi Alexander D. Goode, of Four Chaplains fame, W.L. was the most prominent York countian to die in the war.

Three sons came back, P.H. III, Ted and George... .

The Samuel Runkle house is shown in this photo from the new publication "Yesteryears in Southern York County." The caption notes that this photograph shows six people. Can you find them? Background posts: Southeastern York County made for Sunday drive and Yesteryears, Part II.

A new book, "Yesteryears in Southern York County," is well worth its $20 cost.

The pictorial book contains more than 200 photos of life from the past in Fawn Grove, Gatchelville, New Park, Stewartstown, Rinely, Cross Roads and Winterstown.

The photos have a lot to say about yesteryears in those parts ... .

This photograph is part of Dr. Harold Neibert's collection and was taken during his work with Lipizzaner horses during World War II. Neibert helped to rescue the horses in the 1940s. He owns Yorkshire Animal Hospital in Springettsbury Township. Background posts: German POWs: 'They worked cheaper than we did' and York County veterinarian's link to World War II Lipizzan horse rescue captures interest .

Harold Neibert is a vet from York and a vet from York.

He's a veteran of World War II, where he exercised his training as a veterinarian to help bring 40 Lipizzan horses from the former Czechoslovakia to American control.

Some of the Lipizzaner Stallions that perform worldwide today - and in York County recently - may have come from those herded by Neibert, according to the following York Daily Record story:

Col. Paul W. Tibbets, with the B-29 Superfortress bomber the Enola Gay, the plane he piloted in dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on during World War II. Tibbets, who had named the plane after his mother, died recently in Columbus, Ohio. Background post: Publishing legend Gitt vocal about nuclear power.

York countians helped with parts of the Manhattan Project. And at least one York countian saw the destruction wreaked by the second bomb, the one that hit Nagasaki.

Lt. Paul Hyde, a York Corporation employee, was navigating a Coast Guard-manned landing craft that was greeted with a tench as his craft moored in Nagasaki's harbor....

My book "In the thick of the fight" described this scene: "Soon after Pearl Harbor, York (Pa.) Corporation President Stewart Lauer stood on a truck bed to tell workers the world was embroiled in a war of ships and machines. And a modern war machine can't keep going without refrigeration. That speech and others in York Corporation's shop marks Yorkco's commitment to stick to the knitting -- cooling and refrigeration equipment for the Allies. Although the company did produce ordnance, the refrigeration it produced -- for example, to preserve food on big ships crossing great oceans -- aided the war effort." And one other project made a difference in the war: Yorkco was involved in the Manhattan Project. Background post: "Little Johnny" called for Allies in World War II and Her words helped win the war'.

The death of Enola Gay pilot Paul Tibbets prompts York County connections to the atomic bomb:

- Jack Yeaple was aboard the U.S.S. Indianapolis when it went down after a Japanese torpedo attack. The Indianapolis had just dropped off atomic bomb parts and was on to another mission. Yeaple was perhaps the last York countian to die in World War II... .

The missing historical marker that marked the spot of Camp Security is missing. The sign stated: 'Stockade built in 1781 by Col. Jas. Wood on land of Daniel Brubaker. British Troops of Burgoyne's army imprisoned here guarded by York County militia. The camp was about a mile to the south.' Background post: Camp Security memories tucked inside memoirs.

The presence of the missing Camp Security marker is a story in itself.

The marker is one of more than 15 American Revolution-related markers dotting greater York.

The prevalance of these markers underscores the area's rightful love affair with its Revolutionary War past. In contrast, the number of markers pointing to Civil War sites is one or two.

It could be three, but a Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Web site says that a marker pointing to Gen. Jubal Early's march through the Weigelstown area is also missing.

Thus, these signs can be viewed as artifacts that, taken as a whole, point to the way the community sees itself. That surrender to the invading Confederates in those pre-Gettysburg days of 1863 is long remembered - or maybe intentionally forgotten.

But what is not as easily explained is the dearth of World War II markers... .

This is all that remains of the former WSBA radio building along the Susquehanna Trail in Manchester Township. Susquehanna Real Estate, the building's owners plan to build a business center at the site. For more on the demolition, see story below. Background posts: 101 Ranch Boys hooked musician and Story on famed 101 Ranch Boys spawns memories.

The original home of WSBA Radio is no more, knocked down for commercial development.

The colonial-design building was the original home of York's second radio station, occupied upon its completion in 1942.

Some facts about WSBA, gleaned from Philip K. Eberly's "Susquehanna Radio, the First 50 Years:"

Paul Wolfgang, far left, celebrates V-J Day on Aug. 14, 1945 in York's Continental Square. He joined thousands of York County residents in a massive national V-J celebration, marking the war's end. The largest county assembly occurred in York's Continental Square. Here, holding a special V-J edition are, from left, L. Allen Wolfgang, Richard E. Wolfgang and Lloyd E. (Pud) Wolfgang. Paul Wolfgang went on to a long career as a teacher and principal in the York Suburban School District and a York County Heritage Trust volunteer. Background post: Perhaps the last in (World) War (II) ....

A flurry of books published during the year-long festivities surrounding York County's 250th anniversary in 1999.

In the midst of all that, one book was largely overlooked.

That was Paul Wolfgang's "York County History in Print."

Gen. John B. Gordon commanded a brigade of Confederate troops who marched across York County's heartland to the banks of the Susquehanna River in June 1863. Background post: Some hugged rebels, others hated captors during York raid .

The previous post, Where did Gen. Gordon accept York's surrender? touches on Gen. John B. Gordon's overnight stay at Jacob Altland's farmhouse in Farmers.

The farmhouse is intriguing because it was the location that housed a famous general, one of the Confederate Army's top ranked military commanders by war's end. But it's an important, albeit unsung, symbol locally as the site where York's surrender was consumated.

My introduction to "East of Gettysburg" explores the significance of the farmhouse as a symbol of York County's Civil War story that is just being told and the importance of the surrender in shaping the way York County sees itself:

Four-foot-tall "Little Johnny" is shown with 250-pound Charles Chester Stine during a visit to York Corporation during World War II. York Corporation played role in Manhattan Project and All Johnson Controls/York Corporation posts from the start and York County sacrificed on homefront and war front to aid Allies in World War II.

Hedy Lamarr made a well-publicized visit to York Safe & Lock to promote war bond sales in 1942.

A lot of people remember that visit.

York Corporation, another giant defense contractor, also brought in a celebrity to raise morale and investment in war bonds.

That was "Little Johnny" of Philip Morris cigarette fame... .

This drawing of the "Hill" mansion, originally the home of two generations of Glatfelters of paper mill fame, is typical of the content of The Ripplet, publication of the Spring Grove Area Historical Preservation Society. St. Francis Prep started in the mansion in 1946, and declining enrollment caused it to close in 1989. A fire damaged the mansion in 1990, and The Western Hemisphere Cultural Society, a conservative think tank, has occupied it since 1993. Background post: Spring Grove Museum displays horse gas mask and more.

"Persons should not be too modest," The Spring Grove Ripplet noted in 1905. "Send in the little items that will apprise your friends of their comings and goings. They look for them, and we are happy to print them."

That came from the original Spring Grove Ripplet, which operated from 1897 to 1922. It was the only newspaper ever published in Spring Grove.

The present-day Historical Ripplet, newsletter of the Spring Grove Area Historical Preservation Society, was founded in 1987, and is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Like its predecessor, it's full of happenings in the community, past and present.

For example, the 10th anniversary edition of the Historical Ripplet tells the story of John W. Senft, aka Johnny Ripplet. Notice how many points of York County history this piece crosses ... .

This Farm Security Administration photograph from 1942 shows a York Safe & Lock worker listening for defects during the grinding of a powder chamber for a thirty-seven-millimeter gun. "Site of this production is a former lock and safe company now converted to manufacture of weapons for victory," the photo's caption states.

The recent Floorola and past York Safe & Lock posts have drawn on a wonderful repository of Depression- and World War II-era photographs from the Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information archives.

These are among the most famous documentary photographs produced. And FSA photogs covered York County and elsewhere in Central Pennsylvania and Northern Maryland ... .

George Trout has many signed baseballs from the York White Roses, prime occupants of Memorial Stadium in the 1950s and 1960. Trout was the public address announcer for the White Roses in 1955. When he couldn't confirm the Roses' newest player - a 'B. Robinson' - Trout announced 'Bob Robinson' as a substitution. Memorial Stadium will always be associated with Brooks Robinson's professional debut.

York city is planning a "Great Balls of Fire Car & Truck Cruise In" at Veterans Memorial Park later this month.

The event will take a step back into the '50s, when the city assumed ownership of the park.

When was the park built? ...

A Floorola Products employee, a former weaver and repairer of looms, assembled small parts for gun mounts.

Al Savard, sav4940@comcast.net, works for Motion Industries, owner of the old Floorola Building at 560 Maryland Avenue.

He read my York Sunday News column that touched on World War II's York Plan and is seeking information on Floorola.

The company is a good example of a local factory that effectively retooled for defense purposes and benefited from cooperative agreements with other York companies to score large defense contracts - the York Plan.

I included some information and photos on Floorola in my World War II history "In the thick of the fight" and Georg Sheets had a brief explanation about the company in his "Made in York:"

POW Johann Schleicher of Austria, shown in this photograph, made this wood carving during his imprisonment at Camp Stewartstown in York County during World War II. It was the discovery of this carving that fueled York County resident Margaret Shaub's search for the creator, culminating in the invitation to several POWs to return to Stewartstown in 1992.

Wrightsville's Robert L. Arnold remembers losing a job to the German POWs doing seasonal work in 1944 and 1945 in southern York County.

I was 11 years old, living in Jacobus, and along with three of My Brothers picked
string beans for the Hungerford Canning Factory," his note began, in response to a recent York Sunday News column.

A bus traveled along the trail from Violet Hill, south of York, picking up kids in the towns along the way.

The rest, in his words:

York native Jacob L. Devers, third from left, surveys Hitler's home in Berchtesgaden, Germany. Devers' men helped capture this hideaway, 'Eagle's Nest.' From left, Sgt. John Turnipseed, from Devers' staff; Gen. Wade H. Haislip, commanding general of the 6th Corps, and Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, 101st Airborne Division, join Devers. Ken Burns' is exploring heroes like these in "The War," broadcast at 8 p.m. today and Tuesday at 9 p.m. Wednesday on WITF-TV (Ch. 33) and WMPB-TV (Ch. 67).

The airing of Ken Burns' "The War" prompted me to write a primer on local World War II highlights in the York Sunday News.

I included my two favorite local stories as part of that piece, titled "York/Adams residents contributed to 'The War.'"

The first one brings together the type of contributions to the "Arsenal of Democracy" by farm and factory:

Factory space is so scarce in York that one small businessman, Charles Coffey, set up a machine shop in the end of City Market, where farmers still sold their wares. He crafted parts for York Safe & Lock machines that, in turn, made armor plates.

The City Market, now demolished, was the largest and most ornate of the five covered market houses in York.

This was, indeed, an example of farm and factory literally working together... .

I've previously posted on yorktownsquare.com about how the York County Heritage Trust's Book Blast solved a puzzle for me.

I was trying to figure out a way to frame the massive amount of World War II material available into a story line for a local book on the topic. I ran across a box of war-era "Shop News," the company newsletter for York Corporation, now Johnson Controls.

Yorkco's people would become my framing device.

Anyway, the result was the book "In the thick of the fight", and I've been grateful to Lila Fourhman-Shaull and her annual used book sale ever since.

The Book Blast is now under way, and here are the particulars:

Mayor John L. Snyder was controversial in his second stint as York mayor in the 1960s for his K-9 corps and his support of a rainmaker to end a long drought. His first years as York's World War II mayor also brought controversy, particularly his support of a noise ordinance.

York City Council's current flirtation with a noise ordinance to reduce vehicular noise and enhance quality of life has a precedent.

Late in 1944, York Mayor John L. Snyder vexed many constituents.

He wanted to ban playing radios, phonographs, jukeboxes, musical instruments, singing or making any noise between midnight and 7 a.m.

Such noise was disturbing the sleep of weary war workers and was aimed primarily at the big band sounds played at public places.

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.

Before the Internet, there was a scoreboard to keep news and sports enthusiasts up to date.

But before the scoreboard, there was a light bulb.

Columnist Jim Hubley recently wrote about a scoreboard outside The Gazette and Daily's building that updated the public between newspaper publishing cycles.

That brought to mind a newspaper story I read from the late 1800s about a way of notifying folks between newspaper cycles about the winner of, I believe, the 1896 presidential race between William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan.

A light atop a tower on a tall building in York would flash a certain color assigned in advance to one of the candidates if he won.

People could tell that their guy won or lost by standing on their front porch.

People always have been hungry for the news.

Here's Jim Hubley's scoreboard column:

Still on York New Salem, officially known as New Salem Borough.

While looking at a list of those killed in World War II a few years ago, I notice several from that borough on the list.

OK, many towns sustained heavy losses in World War II, as did York County overall with a count of 570 or more.

But the names coming from York New Salem did not strike me as the German names generally found in that part of York County. To be sure, William J. Rohrbaugh was one of at least five to die from the borough.

Consider the names of the other four men from New Salem who died in uniform: Joseph Latrovich, Edward L. Matyas, John Tittnick, Frank E. Zyak.

It's a small sample, but I'm wondering if the nearby Glatfelter paper mill attracted Eastern European families and a pocket settled in York New Salem. Any insight out there?... .

Esther Paules

Esther Paules , of Windsor Township, can remember horses hitched around York's Continental Square - then Centre Square - when it was unpaved.

Unpaved roads weren't unusual in the city in those days. Even in 1942, only 35 miles of York's 90-mile road system were paved.

Sunday she celebrated 100 years during a party at Locust Grove United Church of Christ.

And on the topic of animals on Continental Square, consider this story of a wayward cow, according to "In the Thick of the Fight:" ...

Gen. Jacob L. Devers meets with President John F. Kennedy about his work as chair of the Battle Monuments Commission, one of Devers' assignments after retirement from the military in addition to creating the U.S. Army Field Band. Devers was impressed with Kennedy's astute questions after Devers submitted his final report and showed his prickly relationship with Ike Eisenhower: "Now Eisenhower, if you'd gone in there under the same conditions, he'd have done all the talking and he never would have found out what you came in for." (York County Heritage Trust photo). Background posts: Gettysburg's Ike and Manchester's Henry and York native Jacob L. Devers' name still in service at Fort Knox, Ky.

History came together at Farquhar Park on Sunday.

The U.S. Army Field Band played at the landmark bandstand in the landmark park.

Gen. Jacob L. Devers of York is sometimes called "the father of the band," according to Michael Markey's book "Jake, The General From West York Avenue."

And Jakie Devers grew up not far from Farquhar Park, on what is now known as Roosevelt Avenue.

Markey explains that Devers in the post-war period contacted military conductor Chester Whiting to direct a new musical unit that would act as a public relations vehicle for the Army... .

Tyco Electronics employee Brett Berwager, a Tyco Electronics employee, leaves work last week after the company said it would close its East Berlin plant, the only one remaining in Adams County.

AMP Inc., and successor Tyco, are legendary worldwide for making electrical connectors.

And it came out in reporting on the East Berlin's Tyco plant shutdown last week that AMP's connection to York going back to 1941 is broken.

At one time, AMP operated about a dozen plants in York County. Soon, some work will move to a leased plant in Emigsville, but that will move to Asia.

AMP's connection to York County began in 1941.

York native Jacob L. Devers is an all-but-forgotten four-star World War II general.

That could come because he wasn't flashy and didn't mug for the press in the same mold as George Patton and certain other fellow generals.

But primarily his lack of prominence today comes because Ike Eisenhower did not rate him highly. That's curious because Devers led two armies through the French Riveria to occupy Hitler's left flank in France as Omar Bradley's forces occupied his center and right a couple of months after Normandy. Further, Devers' armies locked arms with Patton's forces as they swept across the Rhine and southern Germany.

Now comes military historian Mark Perry, who has some good things to say about Devers. In his Partners in Command, Perry writes that George Marshall penned the names of generals he respected in a black book in case the day came for a second world war. George Patton's name was in the black book. So was Mark Clark's. And Bradley's. And Eisenhower's. And Devers.

Perry wrote:

This is a section of East Market Street's York Fair panel, the widest of the murals. If you can't go on the walking tour of the Murals of York, see this virtual tour and also this colorful spread of all 18 panels.

You'll get a chance to hear first hand about those colorful Murals of York by attending free tours starting Saturdays through Labor Day.

I've used these 18 large-scale murals and 13 mini-murals regularly as illustrations in this blog and in the York Daily Record/Sunday News. They do a wonderful job of telling York County's story - from wars to everyday life and show how the community has advanced in including minorities as part of that narrative. (See below.)

Representatives of the York County Heritage Trust, curator of the large-scale panels on the walls of buildings will conduct the tours... .

Five quick notes about the Hex murder of 1928, back in the news because of the opening of the site of the notorious York County powwow killing: ...

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... .

Curt Goodling of Dover provided this photo, taken March 10, 1952, of Hoover School in Dover Township, under direction of Harvey Linebaugh. One-room schools closed during the 1950s as consolidation created new multi-room buildings.

It's a sure bet that if we ask for memories of one-room schools, York Daily Record/Sunday News readers deliver.

We did so again recently for the article Memories of one-room schools and received way more than we could run in the newspaper. We'll post them on our one-room school section of our history site, www.ydr.com/history.

The fact is that one-room schools touched scores of York countians living today. The county led the state in one-room schools before World War II with 285. A large population -- and a large but scattered rural population away -- contributed to this. So did the enticement of plentiful farm and factory jobs, which did not demand high school education. (For additional discussion, see way of life.)

To give a sample of a yet unpublished letter, here are Richard Snyder's memories of the still-standing Raab's School in York Township (His last sentence refers to corncob college. Somehow one-room schools, privies and the lack of toilet paper in those days always emerge from memories):

The American War Mothers monument in York, right, rear, honors those who served, died and achieved in World War II. It is an overlooked York County landmark.

A photograph published with my column on Sunday, 'A Memorial Day tour of, well, memorials,' brought a nostalgic response from a reader.

Linda Just wrote about my tour of York's military statues, particularly Penn Park's American War Mothers marker: ...

The Baltimore Sun did a long story of a York man and World War II casualty,
Russell Abendschoen, whose remains will be buried in Arlington Cemetery.

Long, but compelling.

Here's an excerpt:

The story of how Abendschoen's remains were uncovered and identified is as complex as any mystery novel. The characters include a boy with a metal detector, an elderly Dutch priest, historians, scientists and an account clerk for the Ohio Department of Transportation. These people contributed their passion and expertise, and, in the case of two, their blood, to bring Abendschoen's remains from a faraway field to a hero's grave.

"It just blows your mind," says DeEtta Scott, a distant relative whose DNA was used to help identify Abendschoen's bones. "Even though we didn't know him, we're pretty proud of him."

The Army Air Corps technical sergeant was the third World War II military man whose remains were recovered in recent years.

The others: ...

A previous York Town Square post detailed several monumental historical York County events occurring in late June.

Congress' departure from York County in 1778 was one. The Confederate Army's invasion in 1863 was another.

Now, we've discovered two more... .

The Four Chaplains, part of the Murals of York program operated by the York County Heritage Trust, is one of 18 large panels on the side of buildings in York. For additional details on this panel, see Murals of York .

The legacy of the Four Chaplains lives on.

First, Newsweek used the heroic sacrifice by the four World War II chaplains as part of its lead-in to a story on the military chaplaincy. The magazine ran a postage stamp depicting York Rabbi Alexander D. Goode and his three colleagues who gave up their lifevests and seats on life boats to their fellow men in uniform and went down with the S.S. Dorchester in 1943.

An article headlined 'Chaplains: The Calm in the Chaos' stated: ...

Springdale Mansion anchored York's south side from when it was built at Congressman Charles Barnitz's residence in 1828 to when it was demolished in 1954. See drawing of the mansion's carriage house below. (Photos courtesy, York County Heritage Trust.) Background post: Former Hahn mansion: 'I thought it would make the most spectacular funeral home' and About Davy Crockett at Springdale Mansion: 'He is the biggest fool I ever saw'.

Spingdale Mansion figured prominently as part of a York tour presented in my York Sunday News column. See 'A Sunday drive through York's past'.

Some additional details about Springdale that I did not include because of space:

-- The Springdale estate, under Grier Hersh's ownership, expanded to 400 acres from Boundary Avenue to Violet Hill.

-- York's first golf course was part of that estate. York College later was built on part of that golf course.

-- York Hospital sits on land that was formerly part of the estate.

-- Charles Pechenek acquired the Springdale property from the Hersh estate in 1945, and remodeled the carriage house into his own residence.

-- He demolished the now-deteriorating mansion in 1954.

-- Fully built up, the mansion included 40 rooms.

-- Here's a description of the mansion's ballroom, from a Springdale booklet at the York County Heritage Trust:

Artist Lewis Miller produced these drawings (and one below) and 19 others of York County residents in the 19th century who were former German soldiers fighting for the British in the Revolutionary War. Descendents of these Hessians live in York County today. (These drawings courtesy of York County Heritage Trust.)

Jonathan Stayer, profiled in a recent post State Archives, made a interesting contribution to York County history in his 1988 master's thesis. Its title explains why: "The Hessians of Lewis Miller: Assimilation of German Soldiers in America After the Revolution."

Artist Lewis Miller captured a group of these German mercenaries on paper, and Stayer researched and wrote about them. Today, Stayer heads the reference section of the State Archives, part of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Generally, these "Hessians" were deserters from the German armies, who found their way to York County, according to Stayer. Some of them, such as Leonard Baumgardner, served in Armand's Legion of the Continental Army after leaving his German unit.

Some of the Hessians stayed behind at war's end and, aided by a predominant German culture, assimilated into the fabric of York County life.

One of the most prominent Hessians, Frederick Valentine Melsheimer, a chaplain, became a noted McAllister's Town - later Hanover - minister. He gained national stature in entomology for his study and collection of insects... .

This is the earliest known extant copy of the German-language Die York Gazette. The York Daily Record points to this newspaper as its forerunner.

I was working on a chronology for Mary Alliene Hamilton's biography of longtime newspaper owner J.W. Gitt when I dealt with an inconsistency for the 100th time.

Gitt consistently dated his Gazette and Daily to 1795. I've never been able to discover a source for this. The best I've ever been able to do is just state when the first surviving Gazette was published. That was No. 14, dated May 20.

Counting backwards, that would place the first publication in early 1796, assuming weekly publication. But short of additional evidence coming forward, who knows if the German-language newspaper consistently published weekly? (Anyone out there have additional evidence?)

The wonderful fact is the York Daily Record is one of America's oldest newspapers -- in the top 15 last time I checked.

So, you can see how I dealt with it below, as well as other key years in the Gazette and York Daily Record/Sunday News' history:

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... .

Charles E. Williams was one 570 or more men in uniform who died in World War II, probably the highest county death toll in any war. He was one of six brothers to serve in uniform in World War II. An American Legion post on East Princess Street honored him by taking his name.

The tally of deaths of fighting men in uniform in Iraq with York County ties thus far stands at a dozen.

Add Neil C. Roberts, who died on a ridge in Afghanistan, and the War on Terrorism count stands at 13.

How does that count compare with casualties in other wars? The total far surpasses the thousand mark.

Civil War: No count ever made, but historian Charles Glatfelter wrote that more than 6,000 York countians served in uniform. The death toll probably was in the hundreds. At least, the casualty numbers had enough community impact that an orphanage was built after the war - the Children's Home of York.
World War I - 195
World War II - More than 570
Korean War - 63
Vietnam War - 101
Persian Gulf War - 1
(For a list of names on the county honor roll for these wars, see appendix in my "In the Thick of the Fight" available at the museum shop, www.yorkheritage.org.)

Here is a list of those with local ties killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom since March 2003: ...

Cameron Mitzell, better known as actor Cameron Mitchell, was York County born and raised.
In fact, people alive today remember him and his father, the Rev. C.M. Mitzell, who held pastorates in the county.

Well, an out-of-county resident is looking for some details about the "High Chaparall" star's war record.

Lt. Col. (Ret.) Eddie Deerfield is editor of the 303rd Bomb Group (H) Association's Hell's Angels newsletter.

He writes:

"The obituaries for actor Cameron Mitchell, aka Cameron McDowell Mitzell, who was born and raised in Dallastown, say he served as a bombardier during World War II. Do any Daily Record articles identify the military unit in which he served, the combat theater, the missions he flew, etc.? I need any details for a newsletter I edit for my fellow World War II veterans. I flew 30 missions as a radio operator/gunner on B-17 bombers in the 8th Air Force. Appreciate any help. Our web site is www.303rdBG.com."

A previous York Town Square post tells about the actor's visit to his home county in the late 1950s: Stand-in stole show in YLT's "Inherit the Wind"

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: ...

Re-enactor portrays Lafayette
under Washington's gaze.

Shivers from a chilled audience at the unveiling of a statue of the Marquis de Lafayette in York last week might have overshadowed insightful comments from France's consul general.

Jean-Pierre Allex spoke of the generations-long interplay between France and America building on a foundation between best friends Lafayette and George Washington.

That relationship included French support in the American Revolution and delivery of the Statue of Liberty. America reciprocated by sacrificing thousands of lives on French soil during two world wars. (This included the deaths of maybe 200 fighting men from York County.)

But, almost in passing, the diplomat made a powerful point... .

York County's Dennis Mohr holds his hand over his heart as the final casket is carried in for a late-June 2006 ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. Mohr’s brother, Cpl. William G. Mohr, was among the WWII soldiers laid to rest six decades after they died on New Guinea.

When Chester A. Griffith Jr.’s body was recovered in 1951, surely people in York County thought he would be the last World War II soldier who died in uniform to be brought home.

It was six years after the war ended, when the B-17 pilot’s body, and the remains of two comrades who had died in the same crash, were recovered.

Griffith’s plane went down in an air attack in Germany in July 1944.

His body was interred in a national cemetery in Louisville, Ky.

He would be among more than 570 York County servicemen who died in World War II. (See related posts that are part of this York Town Square series on WWII sacrifices: http://www.yorktownsquare.com/2006/12/bataan_survivor_persevered_as.php, http://www.yorktownsquare.com/2006/12/the_first_in_war.php#more, http://www.yorktownsquare.com/2006/12/post_6.php#more.

But Griffith would not be the last discovered... .

Anne Frutiger received this telegram about her husband's death in the Philippines.

Still on the topic of World War II sacrifices by York countians in uniform:

Lt. Thomas L. Frutiger, in the Philippines with MacArthur when the Japanese invaded after Pearl Harbor, survived:

-- The incessant and deadly Japanese assault.
-- The grueling Bataan Death March.
-- Incarceration in at least two POW camps from mid-1942 to late in 1944. The son of a Red Lion cigarmaker owed his health, in part, to his ability to roll smokes for other prisoners and guards.
-- Reportedly, a friendly fire attack on the first Hell ship taking him and other Allied survivors toward slave labor in Japan.

If Eugene B. Bubb was the first York countian to die during World War II, the next question is who is the last? (See previous post at http://www.yorktownsquare.com/2006/12/the_first_in_war.php.)

That’s hard to establish, but Yeoman 3rd class Jack T. Yeaple certainly was one of the last to die, among the 571 county residents who gave their lives.

Here's his story:

On July 30, 1945, Yeaple was aboard heavy cruiser “U.S.S. Indianapolis." The ship was moving onto its next assignment in the South Pacific after dropping off elements of the atomic bomb that would later fall on Hiroshima... .

At left, Eugene B. Bubb

The 65th anniversary of Pearl Harbor brings forth the sad story of 19-year-old Pvt. Eugene B. Bubb.

Sad, because he is believed to be the first fighting man from York County to die in uniform in World War II.

News of the York County serviceman’s death reached York within days of the Dec. 7 attack. No details, just that he had died.

His father, a World War I vet, had died earlier in 1941. Eugene Bubb’s 15-year-old sister, Fern, received the telegram.

“We didn’t have the radio on that Sunday. We were visiting relatives in Gettysburg," she said years later. “By Thursday, we hadn’t heard anything, and I thought he would be all right."

But the story doesn’t stop there... .

Gerald Smith works on a 37mm gun mount for use in World War II.

A photo of York Safe & Lock's Gerald Smith illustrated my column in the York Sunday News showing how owner S. Forry Laucks revved up his company to gain World War II defense contracts.

It drew a neat e-mail from Gerald's daughter, Joyce Fix:

http://

Whistle workers practice in advance of Christmas concert in 2004. From left, Don Ryan, Nathan Keeney, Scott Ryan work the controls.

So much attention is given to New York Wire Cloth’s Christmas-Carol-playing steam whistle that the company’s immense contributions during World War II are all-but-forgotten.

Indeed, there’s a current drama going on about whether the York plant’s whistle, billed as producing the world's loudest music without amplification from a non-musical instrument, will blast this holiday season... . http://www.yorktownsquare.com/2006/01/the_worlds_loudest_music_witho.php

Prostitution in York, in the headlines this week, has made big type of front pages for years. http://www.ydr.com/search/ci_4733139

No time was prostitution in York a bigger problem than during World War II.

Veneral disease outbreaks near military bases and defense plants presented problems on an international scale before and during the war. York County was well supplied with both bases and plants, men away from home and ample women ready to ply the world's oldest profession.

Officials saw a crisis brewing with serious downstream effects: Veneral disease was causing absences in defense plants and military camps, thus hindering the war effort.

In York County, prostitution was taking a different, younger, twist... .

Construction workers recently uncovered this stone arch. York's 1890s-vintage train station is seen in the background.

The stone arched vault uncovered in construction of York’s baseball stadium has drawn lots of interest. http://www.ydr.com/search/ci_4683299

Research is under way on the 3-foot-high arch. Conjecture about uses for the vault or tunnel have ranged from ice storage to a tunnel to deliver coal. (Click on Yahoo group at http://www.trainweb.org/rrofyork.)

One email conjectured that the arch was part of the old railroad station, the predecessor to the 1890s station that has housed Blattner photo business for years... .

More than humans and petswent to Europe and the Pacific in World War II.

Backup communications was for the birds.

According to "In the Thick of the Fight," the U.S. Army Signal Corps put out a call for homing pigeons, early in the war:

The corps asked the six or more York County pigeon clubs to inventory how many of the county's 6,000 homing birds would be available for military service.

The military considered pigeons an important part of war communication, when other means of sending messages had broken down. The corps also cautioned the clubs about foreign agents intercepting the birds... .

Arthur Glatfelter lays his hand on the statue of his dog Pal, who served
in the 3rd Marine War Dog Platoon during World War II. The statue
was unveiled during a special Veterans Day presentation.

Philanthropist Art Glatfelter’s goodbyes and hellos with his dog Pal during World War II was touching. http://www.ydr.com/search/ci_4646146 The summary point is that Art went to war and so did Pal.

That relationship will be memorialized for the ages with a Lorann Jacobs’ http://www.yorkblog.com/archives/2006/10/post_69.html statue to sit along the rail trail in York’s downtown.

How pets fare during war is an often overlooked topic.

The following from my World War II book “In the Thick of the Fight" gives a summary:...

Robert E. McClure III

"Flags of our Fathers" was a compelling movie, as memorable as "Saving Private Ryan."

Two related things stood out in this film based on the Battle of Iwo Jima in 1945: First, the film accurately captured the youth of the fighting men. And it gave a glimpse of the pain, fear and danger faced by these young men.

As the son of a soldier seriously wounded on Okinawa, it gave a glimpse of what an 18-year-old fighting on a remote Pacific island faced. And the terror of being wounded. And uncertainties while facing evacuation.

I wrote my father's story in the foreword to my World War II book "In the Thick of the Fight." I repeat it here, as a Veterans Day salute to him and all who have fought in America's wars... .

York Water Company's then-uncovered reservoirs overlook York in this turn-of-the-century photo. The fountain also is no longer there.

On the York County history trail ...

In a visit near the Springettsbury Township site earlier this year, the green field with a rise to its rear just sparkled.

But the site features another point of interest. I stood near the Schultz house, a multi-story structure that is one of the oldest in York County and certain to be part of any park if preservationists prevail versus the developer.

Its history ran through my mind: ...

Want to debate the York County manufacturer of yore who left the most impressive legacy?

Two from the 19th-century immediately come to the top of my list: P.H. Glatfelter I and S. Morgan Smith.

In 1999, Ron Hershner wrote "Cross Roads: A History and Reminiscenses," an insightful story of a York County town.

Now, the York attorney and authority on southeastern York County has turned out the best history of a single county congregation that I've seen with his "Round Hill Presbyterian Church, 250 Years of Faith." ...

If there’s a better done community-level museum in York County than Spring Grove’s, it would be interesting to see it. (This doesn't count the county-wide York County Heritage Trust.)

Museum curators display all sorts of things, even have a gas mask for a horse, circa World War II.

The Spring Grove Area Historical Preservation Society has divided its 7,300 artifacts into three rooms with schools, community and heritage themes.

Here are several items on display in this 3,000-square-foot, all volunteer museum: ...

An e-mailer recently assumed that Cumberland County came out of York County in 1750, in the same way Adams County withdrew in 1800.

Actually, York County was erected from Lancaster County in 1749, and Cumberland County emerged from Lancaster the next year.

This gives York County its long-touted distinction of being the first county west of the Susquehanna River and the fifth formed in Pennsylvania.

The two new counties, sharing a common border, immediately worked to increase their ties... .

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: ...

The Hercules recovery vehicle made famous by pulling down the statue of Saddam is not the first well-known military icon with York roots.

That Hercules vehicle, "Renegade," was assembled in West Manchester Township's BAE plant.

Before World War II, the York-Hoover Body Co. produced a prototype for a military vehicle that could navigate all types of terrain. The company then successfully completed orders for 69 more vehicles.

But, alas, York-Hoover turned down another order for 4,500 sturdy vehicles because it had pledged its resources elsewhere... .

This is the view of the wide stretch of the Susquehanna River from Highpoint, part of York Safe & Lock owner Forry Laucks' Lauxmont estate. Easy access to the river from both the York and Lancaster county sides made the river between Wrightsville and Columbia a crossroads - and a part of many key phases of this region's past. That's the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge in the foreground and the Wright's Ferry Bridge up river. Background posts: When the bridge over the Codorus moved, New Freedom station houses alien safe, The bomb: 'And yet it stopped the war' and Noted photo archive captures York County treasures.

My York Sunday News column "The Susquehanna River runs near it" tells about the life and death of York Safe & Lock's S. Forry Laucks.

What happened to York Safe & Lock after his death in 1942?...

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: ...

Forry Laucks, the original owner of Lauxmont farms now part of a park controversy, was himself controversial.

The contrarian owner of York Safe & Lock was a Democrat in the 1920s and 1930s when many York County factory owners were Republican. He was a pioneer at getting government contracts for defense work during buildup to World War II, but it took W.S. Shipley from York Ice Machinery and York Corporation, to mold such collaborative efforts into the York Plan.

He was at home on the farm and factory. He had a downtown residence as well as his Lauxmont mansion.

He loved York, but spent much time in New York.

Fortune published a profile, "Up to Lauxmont," shortly before Laucks' death in 1942, which captured a bit of the Laucks' legend. An excerpt follows: ...

In two wars, York County has played a reticent host to prisoners of war.

Not surprisingly, York countians fretted over the occupants of both camps — Camp Security in the American Revolution and Camp Stewartstown in World War II. Our military men were fighting and dying in battle with Britain and Germany, respectively, and the government brought enemy prisoners into our midst.

I covered the enormous frustration brought on by Camp Security and the American Revolution in a York Sunday News column. See "Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and history" at http://www.ydr.com/search/ci_4142756

Here’s another example from a diarist in 1783:

“During a visit in Bottstown, I heard much from Bro. John Rothrock and others about the wicked and lewd conduct of the British officers during their stay here, who had exercised a very demoralizing influence on our young people." ...

Two other stories reflect the growing tension between farms and factories in York County's past.

At the height of the industrial buildup to World War II, a runaway steer made a grand entry into York’s Continental Square. It was almost as if the trotting steer was trying to remind folks that agriculture was important to the war effort, too.

Two men in a truck pursued the cow.

“The steer," Police Chief C.P. Gerber told The York Dispatch, “obeyed the traffic rules."

It circled the square in the proper traffic lanes.

The second story is a sad one... .

Late June has marked several hinge events in the York area.

This weekend’s Patriot observance in York http://www.ydr.com/newsfull/ci_3952025 focuses on the Civil War.

Consider the following tightly bunched moments:

I wrote about writing and journalism and history in the York Sunday News on June 18 with the following lead-in note:

"I hate to write," a sage managed to pen, "but love to have written." ...

I was checking the Web to write the previous “York Town Square" post about actor John Baer, when a surprise actor’s name popped up: York County’s Jacob Loucks Devers.

He’s better known as Gen. Jacob Loucks Devers, the highest ranking military officer in a long list of county military achievers. http://w2.ydr.com/story/ww2/71924

Jakie made his Hollywood debut — and finale, except for an Ed Sullivan appearance — by playing himself in “Flying Fortress." http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0222411.

Actually, Devers is just about as little-known in York County... .

York County connections run deep.

Vacationing in my Brandenburg, Ky., hometown recently, I ran across a Devers Youth Center advertisement in a newspaper from nearby Fort Knox.

The ad flagged a number of summer camps at the center: Wilderness enrichment, fine arts, Native American Week summer enrichment programs, among other things.

I wondered whether the youths at the center — tagged as a “place for Middle School Teens grades 6-12 to hang out" — had an idea about the center’s namesake. http://www.knoxmwr.com/Youth/MSTP.asp

Jacob Loucks Devers, a York native, was commander of Fort Knox early in World War II and later went on to earn four stars as the commander of an Army group invading France and Germany. http://w2.ydr.com/story/ww2/71924/?PHPSESSID=094effb346c422a3277c4ed6d51375c9

He was an avid sportsman all his life, quarterbacking his William Penn High School football team. In fact, after the war, he attributed the Allied victory to the teamwork, endurance and leadership qualities developed on America's playing fields.

Then again, some present-day Fort Knox students might have figured out Devers’ achievements.

One of the Devers Youth Center’s camps is called “Smart Girls Camp."

For years, the go-to place to see the Murals of York on-line, with descriptions and walking tour, has been http://w2.ydr.com/history/murals.

Well, try the following link to see the highly readable, high-tech murals presentation: http://ydr.inyork.com/ydr/murals. This new presentation covers all 18 murals, plus it includes updated descriptions.

This large-scale panels dotting the sides of buildings in York are enthralling no matter what technology is used to present them.

And, if you want something to hold in your hands as you tour the murals, I wrote a booklet called "The Murals of York," available at the York County Heritage Trust, www.yorkheritage.org.

Monica Sattazahn, a Red Lion letter writer, reinforced the achievements scored by William Penn High School’s Class of 1941 :

"I truly, truly have to say how much I enjoyed the re-print of “The Remarkable Class of 1941, William Penn". What a beautiful tribute to the “Greatest Generation". I don’t believe I saw it the first time it appeared ten years ago. We must all stop and recall how many classes of 41 – 45 will be celebrating their anniversaries over the next four years. We must not forget these wonderful people who shaped our nation in the last half of the 20th century. Thank you again for calling to mind their gifts and sacrifices that have given new generations a better, stronger nation."

That guest column from June 4, 2006 follows:

My Memorial Day story on Bob and Ethel Senft was one of the most satisfying pieces I’ve written in a long time. http://www.ydr.com/newsfull/ci_3877887

Or actually, I wrote it about two years agao as part of “In the thick of the fight." http://w2.ydr.com/news/ww2 and excerpted it recently for publication in the York Daily Record/Sunday News.

It attempted to give due credit to a common soldier — Bob Senft — and his wife — Ethel — who he left behind to serve his country... .

I was browsing through stacks of books at the York County Heritage Trust’s annual Book Blast a few years ago when I found a long-sought-after piece to a writing puzzle.

For months, I had been looking for a way to tell York County’s sprawling World War II story. So, when I found a box of York Ice Machinery/York Corporation newsletters from that era, I knew I had something I could use to build the story around... .

Recent news service stories told of phony Medals of Honor for sale on the Web. People who have never served in uniform are wearing, making or selling the coveted award.

True recipients of the honor are, indeed, scarce. In my studies of area history, I've only run across two local men in uniform who received this highest of all honors... .

The now-demolished York City Market would have taken top prize for beauty if ranked among York's five indoor market houses.

The market, sporting a Gothic design by York's famed Dempwolf architectural firm, featured a 140-foot-high tower... .

Fairmont Park in Red Lion owes its existence to Highland Park in West Manchester Township, maybe 10 miles away.

The link was the trolley system that snaked throughout the county at the turn of the 20th century.

The Red Lion Centennial Commission's history said popular Sunday excursions to Highland Park sparked some ministers and churches to protest inappropriate activities on the solemn Sabbath... .

Did you know Richard Nixon's brother went to school in York County in a military uniform?

Gold coins such as this can be found everywhere in York County's past.

My past two posts tell of a couple precious moments in the county, specifically in West Manchester Township.

The township enjoys a book telling the story of one-room schools and trolley cars, better than those literary resources found in most other parts of York County.

A committee overseeing the 200th anniversary of the township in 1999 put forth one of the best of all municipal history books: "A History of West Manchester Township, York County, Pennsylvania, 1799-1999."

The thick book is packed with hundreds of photographs and stories from a township that always seemed to be in the middle of things, possibly because it is somewhere near the center of the county and straddles key transportation routes... .

Over the years, someone with excess white paint camouflaged the 1880s-vintage red brick Loucks School. That plus other alterations has made the West Manchester Township building hard to identify as a former one-room school

That’s not the only way the building and its surroundings have changed.

A nice-sized audience at the Red Lion Historical Society persevered through my presentation on York’s County’s role in World War II.

Three members of the audience came to my rescue after I called on them to tell some impromptu stories. All three told of the county’s contributions toward the Allied war efforts.

First, I picked on Betty Baldwin to tell about Camp Stewartstown, a prisoner of war camp in that southeastern York County town, that housed about 2,000 German prisoners in the summers of 1944 and 1945. ...

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. ...

Just off York’s Roosevelt Avenue at Fahs Street, people today reside in two-story government-type housing.

The houses clash with the style of their single-unit neighbors in the Fireside area, but motorists passing by have probably grown accustomed to them.

But these houses were anything but nondescript when introduced to York in 1943... .

Maya Angelou, Hank Aaron, Luther Vandross and Rosa Parks were among the many deserving greats profiled at a black history fair Tuesday at Crispus Attucks Community Center.

Perhaps exhibits on these famous achievers were expected.

And I was familiar with lesser-known luminaries — Air Force Gen. Daniel “Chappie" James, the first black four-star general; Dorie Miller, ship's cook third class, who manned a gun during Japan’s Pearl Harbor attack; and Ben Carson, the surgeon who made history with the succcessful separation of siamese twins.

But I had never heard of aerospace engineer Lonnie Johnson of Los Angeles... .

I recently turned a York Town Square post on York’s World War II USO into a column in the York Sunday News.

It drew several responses:

Martha Frankenberry could recall the USO but thought it was across from the South George Street post office.

That would have been the Alcazar ballroom, now Cobblestones.

Large meeting places were in demand during the war, and it’s possible the ballroom was used for large USO dances.

USO activities focused around the old York County Academy on North Beaver Street and the Pennsylvania Dutch Canteen, located in the school’s tiny gym... .

A lot of people have passed through York County over the years.

In the 1700s, it was a crossroads community, serving as a major artery for immigrants - many from Europe - who were heading west and south.

This century, descendants of these settlers find archives in York County valuable resources for understanding their family’s past.

Today, The York Daily Record/Sunday News ran a primer from the Dallas Morning News on genealogical research:

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.

A boiler malfunction caused the cancellation of the York-area annual steam whistle concert in 2005.

But all is not lost. More on that in a moment.

New York Wire Co.'s boiler lost pressure right before the December 2005 show. Steam from the boiler, regulated with an unusual slide on the whistle, enables whistlemasters to play Christmas carols every year.

Some residents are going through withdrawal, but help is on the way. A CD titled "Factory Steam Whistle, New York Wire Co." is available at York's Borders Books.

The CD jacket claims the whistle plays the world's loudest music without amplification from a non-musical instrument. Its sounds can be heard as far away as 10-12 miles when the weather is right.

The CD, dedidated to longtime whistlemaster Marlin L. Ryan, contains Christmas standards: "Silent Night," "The First Noel," "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," and "O Come All Ye Faithful."

Another historical note not found on the CD jacket: The whistle was used as part of the civilian defense alert system during World War II. In those days, any whistle that was loud and could play different notes -- such qualities were scarce in whistles of the day -- proved valuable in alerting the public.

The whistle returned in 2006. For photo and story, see whistle workers.

And, there's more... .

A fight between a developer and preservationists over the Camp Security site in Springettsbury Township has made many York County residents aware of the history of that Revolutionary War location.

Fewer are aware that York County played host to a second prisoner of war camp — Camp Stewartstown in World War II.

More than 2,000 German prisoners camped there in the summers of 1944 and 1945. These detainees came down from Fort Indiantown Gap to work in the orchards and canneries through southern York County. They stayed in tents, within a barbed-wire-enclosed compound at the Stewartstown Fairgrounds, next to the Presbyterian Church.

“There’s no homes built on it yet," Betty Baldwin commented in presenting information about the camp to a gathering at Zion United Church of Christ earlier this month... .

People usually overlook "The Big Inch" because it runs underground.

Few know that this major petroleum pipeline and its smaller neighbor travel across York County on their way to the East Coast.

"The Big Inch" and "Little Big Inch" have been buried under county soil since the World War II years.

The Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge spanning the Susquehanna River quietly passed its 75th anniversary on Veterans Day, Nov. 11.

Many stories surround the 7,500-foot-long structure, in secondary use since construction of the Wright's Ferry Bridge in 1972.

But first its vital statistics:

Wrightsville's history goes back so far -- to the first page of York County's story -- that one would think its sites have been well explained and explored.

But its strategic location affording easy access to the Susquehanna River has meant that it touches wars and most other things historical. This adds up to a lot of stuff to see.

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.

My Sunday column on Flo Snyder’s poetic contributions to Allied war effort in World War II is an example of journalism meeting history.

I came across the young woman’s writings in research on a World War II book.

Sixty years after her writing appeared in York Corporation newsletters, I interviewed her for a York Sunday News column.

The column included material from the past — history work — and information about what Flo Snyder has done up to the present day — journalistic work.

The work of a journalist and historian is a continuum.

It’s just fun to work in both worlds. Or is it one world?

Yorkblog.com features blog-only entries or stories and commentary from the York Daily Record/Sunday News.

A Veterans Day editorial in Friday’s newspaper touts a different twist. We cobbled material originally part of several “York Town Square" entries to form the core of the editorial. It was an early effort here in reverse publishing — writing for the Web and then repurposing that material for the newspaper.

These are early steps into the future, not that we’re sweating the present. York Daily Record/Sunday News circulation was solid on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays, according to the last audited period.

Our blog-entries-turned-into-editorial ...

York Corporation, later York International and Johnson Controls, made essential machinery for the production of plutonium as part of the Manhattan Project.

So reports longtime Dallastown resident Charlie Raab, who worked as a metallurgist for York Corporation during World War II. The Manhattan Project produced the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945... .

So, a re-run of “Desperate Housewives" caused people to channel surf in great numbers Sunday night.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that the doors to a small brick building at the rear of a parking lot across from York’s St. John’s Episcopal Church were pulled back.

This was my chance to see if any remnants of a World War II USO were left in the building, the former gym for the York County Academy... .

Ask any York County audience about the current location of "The Little Courthouse" or "Victory House," and they'll pause and say, "Farquhar Park," or "near Kiwanis Lake."

Well, the 1 ½-story replica of the Colonial Courthouse -- county courthouse No. 1 of 4 -- hasn't rested in the park for years.

The Prospect Hill Cemetery, vandalized last week, is just one of York County's unsung treasures... .

Think newspapers did a better job with spelling, punctuation and grammar in the old days? Read on.

Manchester Township resident Henry Pettit served under famed World War II Gen. Terry Allen in Europe.

He fought in a machine gun outfit. He saw the Dachau concentration camp after it was liberated. He was there to meet up with allied Soviet soldiers deep in Germany.

But one of his fondest war stories was meeting Supreme Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower near Aachen, Belgium... .