Recently in Made in York Category

Developers are eyeing the Martin-Parry Corporation complex in West York, Pa., later occupied by Keystone Weaving Mills, for revitalization projects. This photograph comes from former West York Mayor Charles A. Slenker's "Remembrances of West York Borough." (See additional photo below.) Also of interest: Did York Silk ever operate a silkmaking factory in West York? and How one spot in York County, Pa., tells much about what's going on around there and York factory's lines ranged from Moneybak black silk to boys pajamas and Is this a York County farm truck or is it just a wagon with a motor?.

The complex of brick buildings on West York's south side has shipped everything from trucks to textiles.

And now, like so many other former factory buildings in the York area, some of those buildings might be converted into apartment houses or condos.

The complex, orginally the Milton D. Martin Carriage Works along the York-Gettysburg Turnpike, made horse-drawn conveyances in the 1890s.

That name Martin might sound familiar. That's the same M.D. Martin of Martin Library fame... .

Carla Reinecker submitted this aerial view of the Cape Horn Road and East Prospect Road intersection in eastern York County. Longstown, that is, the intersection that can be located today as the crossroads between Heritage Hills Golf Resort and Wisehaven hall. She placed the photo at circa 1948. Viewers in increasing numbers are submitting historic photos to the Your Photos section of ydr.com. Other aerial photographs of interest: Just try to resist this memory-tugging photo of North York's White Oak Park and Just try to resist this memory-tugging aerial photograph of York Whitehull Airport and York Valley Inn and Playland and ... and So, can you find long-gone Springwood Park in this aerial photograph?

The York Daily Record/Sunday News' Buffy Andrews told about that special window with a special person behind it who would hand out warm candy at Manchester's Katharine Beecher Co.

It turns out Buffy wasn't the only youngster who knew about that special window.

York countian Ned Heikes sent this e-mail:

A Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information photographer captures 28-year-old Gerald Smith assembling 37 mm gun mounts at York Safe & Lock. The caption stated: "Assembling weapons for Victory to be used by the armed forces." Also of interest: Torpedo, bomb loader, made in York, Pa., turns up in Tennessee museum and York County's BAE links BMY and Bofors and battered vehicles in Bair and Jeep prototype has York County WWII roots.

York County's Harry Smith, Jr., is challenging the common association of the older part of Harley-Davidson plant solely with the Navy.

The photograph above, showing Gerald Smith making 37 mm anti-tank gun mounts, makes his point visually.

Many companies have occupied the western buildings on present-day Harley-Davidson's industrial campus, including York Safe & Lock, Blaw-Knox, Naval Ordnance Depot and AMF.

But that old plant is most commonly known for its manufacturing of Bofors anti-aircraft guns late in World War II.

Drawing on memory, Smith wrote that construction on the Springettsbury Township plant started in 1941 under the authority of the U.S. Army Ordnance Department... .

The Avenues Neighborhood Association has re-published the 1984 "Northwest York" booklet. That publication, issued in 1984 to celebrate that York, Pa., neighborhood's 100th anniversary is packed with information on well-known York County people and instititutions that started in The Avenues, an area synonymous with Northwest York. For example, a forerunner to Memorial Hospital started there. This drawing on the cover is courtesy of historian/artist Jim Rudisill, who called that neighbhood home. It shows one of the two pavilions at Farquhar Park, part of Northwest York. This structure no longer stands. For details about the $10 booklet, contact: Mary Anne Bacas, ma@bacas.com. The Avenues Neighborhood Association snail mail address: 663 Madison Avenue, York, Pa. 17404. Also of interest: Industrialist Thomas Shipley's 'enduring monument' in York did not 'endure' and S. Morgan Smith and P.H. Glatfelter, with businesses on the edge of The Avenues, head list of York County industrial movers and shakers and Spring Garden Band: 'It's like being in the room with history' .

A mixed bag of neat stuff ... .

When the York Daily Record/Sunday News' Buffy Andrews edited my column on the availability of Katharine Beecher candy, a former York County-made delicacy, at the York Township Cracker Barrel, she related a story about her good experience with Beecher:

I wrote it up for the newspaper (1/31/09):

The factory where Katharine Beecher Co. made candy in Manchester for half of a century had a special window.

Or else special people working near that window.

For when Buffy and other youngsters knocked on the
pane, something special happened.... .

The team at Spring Grove's E.C. Smith Enterprise Steam Bakery are shown at the turn the 20th century. Pictured in this photo along Main Street are, from left, R. Lloyd Senft, Edward C. Smith, Jacob Mathias, Wesley Shue and Edward Shue. (See photo of the bakery's baseball team below.) Spring Grove museum displays horse gas mask and more and A leading York County name: 'Keeping it in family is the Glatfelter way' and Is this a York County farm truck or is it just a wagon with a motor?

York's Ed Smith is seeking information on Smith's Bluebird Bakery baseball team that played in the Spring Grove area in the 1930s.

His hunt is a bit personal.

He has a photo (see below) of the team that shows five Smith brothers, all kinsmen of Ed. And one brother, Benton, wasn't there when the photograph was taken... .

Robert N. Senft had just been inducted into the service in this August 1943 photo. He is pictured with his wife, Ethel. Senft spent much of his life in York County, Pa., mostly in Zion View, Conewago Township. (See additional photo below.) Also of interest: In the WWII fight, in York County and abroad and 'Little Johnny' called from York for Allies in World War II and Beacon helped spot whereabouts of Zion View.

York County's role in World War II was so sprawling that I thought much about how to frame it in my research for a book on that topic.

After running across a nearly full set of York Corporation newsletters, at the York County Heritage Trust's Book Blast, I had gained a record about how one influential industry, and its employees, ventured through World War II.

Then I went on the lookout for particular employees who could help tell the story.

I found a hero, Red Lion's Thomas Frutiger, who survived the Bataan Death March in the Phillippines only to die at war's end on a Japanese hell ship as they transported the lieutenant and other POWs to Japan... .

A quality control expert at York, Pa.'s Classic Caramel, now part of Camp Hill, Pa.-based Warrell Corp., checks a piece of Slo Poke candy to make sure the packaging is closed with a proper twist. Warrell also produces candy under the Katharine Beecher name - a brand that started in York County's Manchester borough. (York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News photo.) Also of interest: Katharine Beecher: 'Legacies,' Part I and York Peppermint Patties: 'York became synonymous with dark chocolate and peppermint' and OLLI's theme song: 'Don't stop thinking about learning'

An e-mailer gave this heads up:

Katharine Beecher's name appears prominently in a candy display in York Township's Cracker Barrel.

I took notice.

The Beecher name is legendary in a York County that is big on candymaking... .

Zachary Witman, accused of killing his brother, carries documentation for his defense into the York County (Pa.) Courthouse in 2003. He was convicted but legal proceedings concerning his case continue in county and appellate courts. A post that includes information on the Witman case, was the most accessed single post on Yorktownsquare.com blog in 2009. Also of interest: Major York County historical moments through the centuries and York County's top 10 news stories in 2006 and Who were most prominent 20th-century sports heroes in York and Adams counties?

Viewers of this blog, Yorktownsquare.com, have seen recent posts on the top news stories from 2009 and the past decade, 2000-2009.

But what posts have been the favorites of Yorktownsquare.com viewers in the past year?

You can view the following list and, if interested, click on the links to see those making up the top 10 (after, of course, the Yorktownsquare.com home page which received the most):

The fire that destroyed most of 111-year-old Shenberger's Chapel United Methodist Church in February was one of the top news stories in York County. Also of interest: Major York County historical moments through the centuries and York County's top 10 news stories in 2006 and Who were most prominent 20th-century sports heroes in York and Adams counties?

Members of the York Daily Record/Sunday News staff have put forth a list of top 10 York County news stories from last year.

And they've provided an interactive page for readers to record their own most memorable moments of 2009.

"Create a keepsake before 2009 is forgotten," a headline states.

Here's the list:

What goes around... . Church and Dwight placed this advertisement in a York (Pa.) Hospital Benefit Cookbook, published before World War I. That circa-1916 cookbook has been reprinted and is for sale for $10 at the York County Heritage Trust. And Church and Dwight have located a plant in York County's Jackson Township, a highlight of 2009 in which Harley-Davidson's leave-or-stay decision dominated community conversation. Here's hoping that Arm & Hammer be around York County in 2116. Also of interest: Jackson Township, Arm & Hammer's new home, again in the middle of things and York County chainsaw artist about Harley carving: 'I had an inspiration for the bike and America' and Re-printed cookbook filled with 'tried and tested' York County, Pa., recipes.

A mixed bag of neat history stuff ... .

Wayne Grove of Malvern, Pa., who was writing after reading a November article at a Grove family Christmas party. It concerned a suspected pirate in his family tree ... .

Brittany Murphy, the young Hollywood actress who died recently, was a star of the movie 'Girl Interrupted,' filmed, in part, in southwestern York County, Pa.'s, Hanover. That serves as a reminder of another film 'For Richer or Poorer,' filmed, in part, in southeastern York County's Muddy Creek Forks. Both were produced in the 1990s. Here, a York Daily Record story tells about extras used in the Muddy Creek Forks' filming. The movie, featuring Tim Allen and Kirstie Alley, told about a high-flying husband and wife hiding among the Amish. At the time of the filming of the flop 'For Richer or Poorer,' real Amish people were just then moving across the Norman Wood Bridge from Lancaster County to southeastern York County and form a sizeable community today. Although York County is hardly a hotbed for Hollywood filming, a fair of York countians have gone on to stage or screen fame. Background posts: Who was Norman Wood (of bridge fame)?, Horse, buggy, one-room school make county comeback, Amish: 'We are making a commitment to forgive.'

A mixed-bag of neat history stuff ...

York County has long been known for its woodworking, particularly in the form of furniture making.

So, we often receive queries about people who have a prized piece of York County-made furniture that they want to know more about.

The fine work of Ebert Furniture, formerly of Red Lion, is one such maker.

This recent comment by Guy Bair on the post Red Lion's Ebert Furniture: From bedroom suites to gunstocks is typical:

York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News photographer Jayson Plotkin asked several York County folks to imitate the unimitable New York Wire factory steam whistle. And he captured them on video. But all kidding aside, was the early Christmas Day 2009 concert the famed whistle's last concert? Also of interest: All New York Wire whistle posts fromt he start and The world's loudest music without amplification from a non-musical instrument and New York Wire's musical factory steam whistle - by the numbers.

Sponsor Susquehanna Heritage Gateway Area has done an effective job of raising the question about whether this year's New York Wire factory steam whistle concert will be the last one.

That would be a shame if it is. Combined with the Glen Rock Carol Singers annual stroll through the streets of that southern York County town, the factory whistle concert gives the county two odd, but lovable Christmas traditions.

Then, too, the whistle concert attracts many folks downtown and brings in some national exposure for York each year... .

York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News photographer Paul Kuehnel insightfully captures a mixed message facing motorists heading into York from the east. Consultant Roger Brooks is among those advocate a return to two-way traffic on East Market Street, in part, to avoid such confusion at this important gateway. Also of interest: York's one-way street pattern put in place to combat post-World War II traffic congestion and Web site filled with nostalgic Lincoln Highway photos, postcards and All Lincoln Highway posts from the start.

A mixed bag of neat stuff:

Those not able to stay up until midnight on Christmas Eve can hear a New York Wire's factory steam whistle rehearsal from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., Thursday, Dec. 24.

Those wide-eyed folks who can hear the whistle or travel to York's downtown to witness this rite of the holiday season will be entertained by a 30-minute concert, 10 to 15 minutes longer than usual.

That treat comes because the Susquehanna Gateway Heritage Area says the poor economy and the need for a new coordinator may bring an end to this popular holiday tradition... .

Paul McCleary holds Larry Gordon, who was a resident of the Hellam (Pa.) Township's Horn Farm in the 1950s. Route 30 would later run between where he is standing and the barn and the house. A non-profit board is developing this working farm into an agricultural education center. Less than a decade ago, county officials were eyeing it for development. (See additional photo below.) Also of interest: 'It's so sad to see such a great piece of architecture fall down' and All farm and field posts from the start and York County agrarianism vs. industrialization.

Harley-Davidson, always a newsmaker in York County, sparked a green storm in 2000.

That came when the company was a contender to occupy the Horn Farm, a county-owned site in eastern York County's Hellam Township.

The York County Industrial Development Corporation proposed in May 2000 what its exec David Carver called the "the project of the decade."

The project called for a 300,000-square-foot Harley-Davidson plant that would be home to 1,400 employees... .

The circled area in this aerial photograph of the Harley-Davidson plant in Springettsbury Township, Pa., shows the location of munitions pits excavated in 2004. (See additional photograph below.) Also of interest: Three views of York's Naval Ordnance Depot/AMF/Harley-Davidson plants and All Harley-Davidson posts from the start and Hiker finds remote foundation in York narrows.

Harley-Davidson's recent thumbs up or thumbs down decision on its future in Springettsbury Township was big news in York County. (It's thumbs up.)

But the plant has made headlines for years, really since its older part was built in World War II.

U.S. presidents have viewed it as an opportune place to visit. There's been a good deal of labor-management fighting.

Almost forgotten was an event about five years ago in which the Springettsbury Township site made headlines for no reason of its own. An issue formed behind what Harley's predecessors left behind.

A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' munitions team moved in after suspected munitions were uncovered as Harley officials surveyed land for possible parking sites... .

Shrewsbury (Pa.) Township's Leon Saubel shows a bottle of Foust whiskey, still filled with whiskey, from his collection. He collects Foust products because they were distilled near where he lives and the items are attractive, according to a York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News story. The William Foust distillery, which started operating outside Glen Rock, was a village in itself. Only a smokestack, deteriorating superstructure and houses remain of this once-bustling company town. It is perhaps York County's best-known ghost town. The stack serves as a reminder that the whiskey-making industry was a major cash producer in 19th-century agricultural York County. Also of interest: With all those stills, the York County hillbillies? and Cigarmaking Red Lion on top of York County and Brewer Hannes' bout with an aged hermit.

Alcohol and tobacco use, the sin taxes they produce and the goofy state store system and other such government intervention often makes headlines.

So I pulled together several past blog posts into a York Sunday News column that explores the topic of whiskey, beer and tobacco production in York County throughout history.

In my research, the date 1907 kept appearing.That was the date Carrie Nation came to York decrying alcohol and tobacco use.

That was about the high point of cigarmaking in the county, as well as whiskey making. The onset of Prohibition dampened the distilling of spirits in large quantities about a dozen years later.

So, here's an advance look at Sunday's piece:

A York Chamber of Commerce publication in 1950 touted its role in bringing defense contractor Bowen & McLaughlin to York. That company and others - Lyon Metal Products, Cathy Suit Company, Nelly Ann Dress Co. and Masell Manufacturing - helped soak up post-World War II unemployment, according to "The Record of the York Chamber of Commerce in the First Half of the Twentieth Century." Bowen & McLaughlin, now BAE, continues to undertake military work in its sprawling complex in West Manchester Township. Also of interest: York County's BAE links BMY and Bofors and battered vehicles in Bair and Jeep prototype has York County WWII roots and All Made in York posts from the start.

Harold N. Fitzkee Jr. served as York County's public defender in York's race riot era of the late 1960s.

He thus represented Gazette and Daily journalists - on the scene of the riots and just doing their jobs - who were arrested by over-eager police.

By 1970, Fitzkee had become York County district attorney.

"The Gazette, thus, lost its advocate in court," I wrote in a local newspaper history in 1996. "But after J.W. Gitt retired The Gazette and Daily's name in 1970, Fitzkee renewed his connection with the newspaper. He now owned it."

Fitzkee brought two investors with him: Elmer M. Morris and Wentworth D. Vedder... .

Harley-Davidson workers examine a tentative agreement between the company and the union at the York (Pa.) Expo Center. (See colorful Harley mural below.) 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... .

Phineas Davis' coal-burning locomotive "The York," in the foreground of the West Market Street mural, points to the transition in the 1800s from York County, Pa., agrarianism to industrialization. (The photo used by the artist of this mural is posted below.) Also of interest: Susquehanna River, shallow and rocky, fends off 19th-century navigation attempts and Don't know much about York County history? and Often forgotten: Achievements of people named on building facades.

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":

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... .

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:

This image was used to promote Weaver Organ and Piano products made in York, Pa. This card appears to be 1920s vintage. (See sales pitch set to verse on the card's back below.) Also of interest: Junior Curators exhibit: The name of Lefty York of York, Pa., lives on and The organ: 'It is a whole orchestra in itself' and All Made in York posts from the start.

Dan Meckley III's father was an exec at Weaver Organ & Piano Co. for years before its closing in the 1950s.

So history-minded Dan III has made sure the York community has a musical legacy of that venerable's company's products at the York County Heritage Trust's Historical Society and Agricultural and Industrial museums.

Recently, Dan put forth advertising cards - actually, miniature handbills - touting the company's organ and pianos, made at its four-story factory on North Broad Street.

Some of the cards are targeted to families, who kids would make prospective users. Others were targeted to upscale market. Those in his collection addressed women suggesting that they were decision-makers on the purchase of pianos and organs... .

Amy Staub submitted this photograph for publication in the new book Capture York. It shows her grandfather, Franklin Armold, and his wife, Lillian while out for a motorcycle ride in the 1920s. Also of interest: All presidential visits from the start and Washington Township, Jefferson Borough, Madison Avenue. How about an Obama Street in York County? and Yo, Yoe never was Yohe.

Years ago, Sam Snyder, Yoe borough council president, garnered a box of letters at a York County auction.

The writer?

Chester Alan Arthur.

That turned out to be Chester A. Arthur, future president of the United States... .

This artist's rendering shows the original ACCO Chain plant in York, Pa., built in 1916 and 1917. Peerless Chain Co. in Minnesota purchased the chain side of ACCO Chain & Lifting Products, then in York Township, in 2006. The lifting products side remains in York. The building now housing York's Cable House apartments was part of the East Princess Street manufacturing complex. 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.

York County - and the stuff made here - just shows up everywhere. For example, in Sevierville, Tenn., in the foothills of the Smokies.

The Tennessee Museum of Aviation has acquired a World War II bomb and torpedo truck, a small bomb loading machine, that was made in York, Pa. (See photo below.)

The truck was dated 1943 and manufactured by Manley Manufacturing, a division of American Chain and Cable, widely known as ACCO.

The following is taken off the vehicle's data plate:

When this Evening Sun in Hanover, Pa., photo was produced in 2008, about 16,000 pounds of potato chips per hour rolled off the lines at Utz Quality Foods' High Street plant in Hanover. Earlier this year, a deal in which Snyder's of Hanover would acquire cross-town snack food producer Utz Quality Foods fell through. Also of interest: Chipmaking of the potato kind has deep roots in York County and Who makes the best potato chips in York County, Martin's or Utz? Or someone else? and York Barbell's tall, heavyweight lifter has long helped put York County on the map.

I've written previously that York County manufacturers have historically made BIG, HEAVY THINGS.

York Barbell, of course, is Exhibit A, almost by definition.

Some lines of the old Pfaltzgraff pottery were known as stoneware and plates are rock-like in weight - wonderful rocks, I might add.

York Safe & Lock made vaults and other such equipment whose bulk kept their contents safe... .

The landmark silos at the Ohio Blenders York, Pa., complex are coming down and the Northwest Triangle project's condos, shops and office will go up in their place. That's the Codorus Creek, at right.(See related photo below.) Background posts: Map explains York, Pa.'s $50 million redevelopment area and York County agrarianism vs. industrialization and All farms and fields posts from the start.

The silos that mark Ohio Blenders can be seen as symbols of York County's agriculture.

So their demolition to make way for badly needed new and rehabbed buildings can be viewed as bittersweet, another storm to wash out carefully planted seeds in a longtime farm economy.

But those tall icons are not easily plowed under... .

Dover, Pa.'s, Baughman Memorial Works has been around since 1875, spanning five generations - with a 6th generation working his way in. Donald Baughman told a recent meeting of the South Central Pennsylvania Historical Society that the business is the oldest of its type in York County, Pa., and one of the oldest in Pennsylvania. This photograph came from the Baughman Web site. Background posts: Dover's Baughman Memorials craftsmen: 'Sum up decades of living in a few letters and numbers' and Each month, three free history presentations offered to York countians and York County's Pinchgut vs. The Gut.

Donald Baughman provided a high-tech look at his hands-on cemetery marker business at a recent South Central Pennsylvania Genealogical Society meeting.

But that hands-on business is become increasingly high tech.

Don Baughman's (pronounced "Bockman") Powerpoint presentation showed the evolution of his business from the hand etching of names and dates into whatever fieldstone was available to color etching of elaborate scenes on the sides of granite markers.

The presentation indicated a change in York County, as elsewhere, in which public demand causes a change from a one-size-fits-all-approach to business to a smorgasbord of services. And it shows a change in affluence. People can now afford such choices.

Some notes from his presentation:

This photograph in the office of Dover, Pa.'s, Baughman Memorial Works shows the business in 1910. The company's founder, Nelson H. Baughman, is at right. (See present-day photo below.) Also of interest: Each month, three free history presentations offered to York countians and York County's landscape, buildings, landmarks can serve as a classroom and Dover forges blacksmith shop.

Baughman Memorials is an iconic York County business that, in fact, produces icons for others.

Owner Donald Baughman will talk to the South Central Pennsylvania Genealogical Society about his family roots in Dover, and how the cemetery monument industry has changed throughout the generations with updated technology and more efficient ways of crafting memorials. So says a news release from the genealogical society, sponsor of the free, public presentation on Sunday, Oct. 4.

The release gives further details:

York, Pa.'s, Martin's Potato Chips are randomly sampled salt and moisture content, as seen in this York Daily Record/Sunday News file photo from 2004. Also of interest: York County, Pa. made big, heavy things - and was immensely proud of it and Chipmaking of the potato kind has deep roots in York County and York's Central Market sells steak ... and sizzle.

Universal York blogger June Lloyd keeps chipping away, er, profiling potato chipmakers around York County, Pa.

She just did the El-Ge/Eagle/Frito-Lay plant, west of York.

But here's the thing.

The topic of potato chips often sparks a fun debate that diverts attention from the
weightier issues facing York County and the world.

The discussion about who makes the best chips usually is framed this way:

Conewago Township (Pa.) chainsaw artist Brad Heilman carved a sculpture of a Harley-Davidson bike out of a 15-foot-tall pin oak trunk near J & J Cycle Barn, visible from Interstate 83 north of York. Here, Joe Sciarrabba, owner of the cycle shop, tidies up after the carving. (See another chainsaw sculpture below.) Other posts of interest: York, Pa. made big, heavy things - and was immensely proud of it and AMF-Harley in York, by the numbers and AMP's and AMF's alphabet soup spilled in same York County town .

Chainsaw art pieces carved from trees are growing in popularity around York County.

The newest comes from Brad Heilman, perhaps the most prolific artist. He carved a Harley-Davidson bike emerging from an oak stump visible from Interstate 83.

His work is drawing a lot of honks from passing motorists.

Whether history will bless this form of art as the years pass remains to be seen... .

A Martin's Potato Chips employee fills a seasoning hopper at the company's Thomasville-area plant in this York Daily Record/Sunday News file photo from 2004. Martin's makes one of York County's iconic products. (See additional photo below.) Also of interest: York's Central Market sells steak ... and sizzle and Richard Nixon's visits seared into York countians' minds and 20 questions and answers to prove your York County smarts

Over at Universal York, blogger June Lloyd has a mini-series going on potato chip making in York County.

For example, she links Hanover Foods Bickel's and Bon-Ton potato chips: Potato Chips Go Back a Long Way in York County... .

Matthew Garrett Collins served as general manager of York Silk Manufacturing Co.'s two factories in York's east end at the turn of the 20th century. The fortress-like Hay Street building that stands today has made a mark on the memories of York countians and catches the eyes of thousands of motorists a day. Also of interest: About York Silk's boss: 'Mr. Collins was regarded as one of the big men in this community' and Did York Silk ever operate a silkmaking factory in West York? and How one spot in York County, Pa., tells much about what's going on around there.

There's something about that York Silk Manufacturing Co. building that sparks memories.

Several folks have written after posts and my York Sunday News column explored the building now known as Hudson Park Towers.

The silkmaking factory's product lines changes through the years from Moneybak black silk popular 100 years ago to boys pajamas and other nighwear in the 1950s... .

As usual, JoAnne Everhart has the most concise memories.

Excerpts from here comments follow:

York (Pa.) Silk Manufacturing Co. operated two factories in York's east end at the turn-of-the-20th-century. This drawing, from York County Heritage Trust files, shows the silkmaker's factory at Vine (State) Street and Wallace Street. The factory no longer stands. Background posts: How one spot in York County, Pa., tells much about what's going on around there and The York/Adams day that birthed memories of falling stars and silkworms and All Made in York posts from the start.

Was the old Leinhardt Brothers Furniture company in West York ever a silkmaking factory, specifically York Silk Manufacturing Co.?

Reader Bob Lookingbill posed that question after reading posts about the York Silk factory that forms part of the York skyline today.

I wrote back that York Silk, at least in the early 1900s, operated only two factories - both in York's East End.

One was Hay Street's Diamond Branch, with its two towers and smokestack... .

This view from the penthouse of the Glen Rock Mill Inn shows the heart of Glen Rock. It's quiet here, but the borough has played host to many newsworthy events. The borough is celebrating its 150 anniversary next year. Background posts: AMP's and AMF's alphabet soup spilled in Glen Rock and Google Images bring life and times of Glen Rock's Cliff Heathcote, a trick shot artist, other York County, Pa., memories and Parade Music Prince Roland Seitz: From Shrewsbury to Friday Night Lights.

Glen Rock is going down in history as a town with the most histories written about it.

In recent years, the Glen Rock Carolers have updated their already thorough history, which is also a history of the town.

Earlier this year, Bob Ketenheim published a postcard history book covering Glen Rock's plentiful hills and dales.

Next June, the borough will celebrate its 150th birthday, and yes, the committee heading that effort is publishing a book... .

This drawing, from York County (Pa.) Heritage Trust files shows York Silk Manufacturing Co.'s Diamond Branch at the turn of the 20th century. The Hay Street building has been converted into the Hudson Park Apartments, but it remains a visible part of York City's skyline. Also of interest: After WWII success, Farquhar sells assets to out-of-town outfit and Who will lead the York area in the future? and Who are York's most influential citizens?

You can't miss York Silk Manufacturing Co.'s fortress-like imprint on York's skyline.

How did that landmark building get there in the first place?

A picture may be worth 1,000 words, but this York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News photograph tells a story covering a century. This photo by Paul Kuehnel shows, background, the dual towers of the old York Silk Manufacturing Co., bookending its single smokestack. It is now an apartment complex. A Sheetz Convenience Store is going up in the now-demolished neighborhood, foreground, at the Interstate 83 and Route 30 intersection. Unknowingly, the photographer set up a contrast between today's growing York County service industry and the decline of large-scale smokestack factories in the past 100 years. (See photo below of houses coming down.) Also of interest: Interstate 83 has strangled York crossroads neighborhood and Rutter's store offers snapshot of change in York County and All Made in York posts from the start.

My York Sunday News column (9/6/09) ties to Labor Day and the changing landscape of York County:

Southbound motorists on Interstate 83 crossing the Route 30 overpass can see an intimidating building with two towers prominent in York's skyline.

York County doesn't have many fortresses, and the building's high smokestack gives it away as an old factory.

That's one of York Silk Manufacturing Co.'s two turn-of-the-20th-century factories. The company became widely known for its specialty, Moneybak black silk, according to York County Heritage Trust documents... .

The First National Bank of Glen Rock's building has long been an anchor in the borough's downtown. It was constructed in 1912, and this photograph was taken two years later. Bob Ketenheim nicely captures Glen Rock, Pa.'s, past in his recently published "Around Glen Rock," part of Arcadia Publishing's "Images of America" series. Background posts: Google Images bring life and times of Glen Rock's Cliff Heathcote, other York County, Pa., memories and Mystery of Glen Rock-area's Narrow Gauge Road deepens and Glen Rock hilltop farm: 'You cannot stay stressed here for long'.

Bob Ketenheim's "Around Glen Rock" contains numerous interesting photos that individually tell the story of this southern York County's borough history.

And sometimes photos in this book, working in tandem, tell perhaps unintended but rich and revealing stories.

One photo, for example, shows a proud Wesley C. Koller driving his brand new Stanhope make of automobile into Glen Rock on Manchester Street in 1900... .

Pennsylvania Furniture Co.'s William Henry Hubley is shown in this newspaper clipping from a York County Heritage Trust file preparing a dresser for a coat of varnish. The West York-based fine furniture manufacturer operated for about 70 years after its founding in the 1890s. By 1949, the company had manufactured more than 100,000 bedroom suites. Background posts: These antiques bear the York, Pa.-made Pennsylvania Furniture Co. label and Red Lion's Ebert Furniture: From bedroom suites to gunstocks and Bethlehem Furniture Co. woodworker carved JFK statue.

Pennsylvania Furniture Co.'s fine woodworking continues to intrigue local folks and those with the long-defunct company's bedroom suites around the world.

Who made this wonderful furniture?

I found a 1949 newspaper clipping about a Renaissance man, William Henry Hubley, who then typified York County craftsmen.

Here's what the article said about the wordworker:

AMF York produced the Ski-Daddler, a power sled, which the company indicated was popular at that time. "Ski-Daddler is used for racing, exploring, carries skis and is a great asset to all 'round winter sports fun," the York (Pa.) Chamber of Commerce's "Greater York in Action" reported. Other posts of interest: York, Pa. made big, heavy things - and was immensely proud of it and AMF-Harley in York, by the numbers and AMP's and AMF's alphabet soup spilled in same York County town .

Harley-Davidson is examing four locations as possible relocation sites for its motorcycle production lines from York.

Those sites will provide an option for the company to consider alongside keeping the plant in York, a decision expected before year's end.

Nervous York community leaders are wise in talking about a Plan B. What if Harley moves? ... .

That would be devastating, of course.

This story, from an unspecified paper as found in Jere Carl's scrapbook at the York County (Pa.) Heritage Trust, spins together a strange tale about the night when the sky over York and Adams counties seemed to be falling. Background posts: Iron-mine-turned-into-party-spot turned into York County park and Site filled with wealth of York County geological info and Quarrying in Delta-Peachbottom.

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

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

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

Malissa Hilliard, of Lower Windsor Township, participated in a recent road rally to keep Harley-Davidson in York. The 1996 Sportster, foreground, was made there. Harley linked up with another York County staple - chicken corn soup - recently in the southeastern part of the county. To see how chicken corn soup is prepared, see photo below. Background posts: All Harley-Davidson posts from the start and All York Eats: Hogmaw and such posts from the start and All Made in York posts from the start.

Blogger June Lloyd has managed to tie together two York County icons - chicken corn soup and Harley-Davidsons.

The link is akin to York-area industry and Chanceford Township agriculture gladly shaking hands.

Here's a hint how she made the link... .

A silo in a neighboring farm overlooks BAE's West Manchester Township (Pa.) plant, where rows of Bradley vehicles are ready for action, in this 2005 York Daily Record/Sunday News file vehicle. (See additional photo below.) Background posts: Jeep prototype has York County WWII roots and All Made in York posts from the start and From Bofors to bikes, Harley plant top hog.

BAE Combat Systems is known for the number of zeros in the defense contracts it frequently pulls down.

And it's known for the York County-made Hercules Recovery Vehicle that pulled down the statue of Saddam Hussein during fighting in Iraq.

But motorists could drive by the farmland between York and Spring Grove and not know this major defense contractor is operating in nearby Bair Station.

Here are some facts about the company, gleaned from BAE Systems history-rich Web site and my "In the Thick of the Fight":

In 1931, York Cone Co. made, well, cones, as this invoice from York County Heritage Trust files indicates. But it later became widely known as maker of the York Peppermint Pattie. Background posts: 20 questions and answers to prove your York County smarts, Part II and Katharine Beecher of Beecher Candies fame: 'Legacies,' Part I and York, Pa.: 'It's a midsize city with an interesting history'.

E-mailer Allison W. Bitzer threw me for second.

She wondered about the location of the York Cone Company factories in York.

York Cone Company. York Cone Company.

Oh yes, the original makers of York Peppermint Pattie... .

Pennsylvania Furniture Co.'s Sumner Street factory in York, actually West York, was erected in the early 1900s and became the home for long-lasting bedroom and dining room suites. Background posts: Red Lion's Ebert Furniture: From bedroom suites to gunstocks and York-area woodcarver, furniture maker made life-size JFK statue. But where is it now? and Springetts collector attracts 'Antiques Roadshow's' Kenos and Of York antiquarian Joe Kindig III: 'He is generous with his knowledge'.

E-mailer David Degroot is looking for a few good facts about York, Pa.'s venerable Pennsylvania Furniture Co.

"My wife and I bought an antique bedroom set," he wrote. "One of the pieces has a small sticker on the back indicating that the furniture was manufactured by the Pennsylvania Furniture Co. in York, PA. My guess is that furniture was manufactured in the early 1900s."

Furniture-making was a big business in York County in those days, and Pennsylvania Furniture was one of the most successful. The county was home to plentiful hardwood trees, and its location on transportation routes spawned wagonmakers, riflemakers and manufacturers of other hand-made wood products.

The York County Heritage Trust's file on Pennsylvania Furniture contains several documents. (One bore the photo above.)

Here are some salient facts gleaned from those documents:

The York Airport can be seen running along Roosevelt Avenue in this 1957 photograph. The track at center is the York Fairgrounds. From that reference point, find Roosevelt Avenue and follow it out. Find where it bends. You'll see a runway at top center. (See additional links to aerial views of York County sites below.) Background posts: Museum exhibit brings back early days of high fliers and Map aficionados will love bird's-eye view of York County and Absorbing photo and overlay shows locations of six Susquehanna bridges

After seeing views of the old York airport in a previous post, eagle-eye Joe Stein found an aerial view of the York Airport in 1957, still there along Roosevelt Avenue a year after it closed.

I've always placed the sprawling airport near the Sylvania Plant along Roosevelt, which appears to be a relatively close landmark designating its northern part.

John F.M. Wolfe, in "Profile of Aviation," gives the following facts about the airport, which sported two grass runways, including one 3,000-foot strip:

Springettsbury Township's Harley-Davidson plant is seen during shift change in January 2009. (See additional photos below.) Background posts: All Harley posts from the start and All York Safe & Lock posts from the start and All Made in York posts from the start.

It began during wartime and the old plant in Springettsbury Township has never really been at peace.

It's had a long series of owners since York Safe & Lock built it. Harley-Davidson occupies it now, but for how long?

It's had labor strikes. Celebrity visits. Presidential praise.

Just three years ago, George W. Bush was there, touting its great American qualities... .

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

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

Arson is suspected.

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

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

This mansion at Lauxmont Farms was built by the farm's founder and York Safe & Lock's owner S. Forry Laucks (see photo below), one of the most prominent of the Laucks family that will celebrate its 300th anniversary in America next year. Today, the mansion is owned by the Kohr family. Background posts: With hot controversy cooled, Highpoint offers Susquehanna River view for the ages and Bad economy turned York Safe & Lock toward lucrative defense work and And now starring actor ... Jakie Devers?.

Descendents of the Casper Glattfelter family have much to brag about as a successful York County family.

They meet every year at Glatfelter Station to renew acquaintances.

Now comes another prominent local family - the Laux family with a planned reunion next June in York. That reunion will celebrate the family's 300 years in America.

The family has set up a Web site, which bears interesting information. It addresses the Laux family and all variations of that name.

Did you know Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer has Loux blood? ... .

A copy of the York (Pa.) Daily Record front page from almost 37 years ago tells about Tropical Storm Agnes' fury. The newspapers look, or design, has changed dramatically since then. (To get a look at the new look to be unveiled Thursday, see photo below.) Background posts: This all appeared in The (York, Pa.) Gazette and Daily on June 1, 1949 and In the shadow of disaster: York County and its newspaper tested 30 years ago and Suicide story: York hotel proprietor 'found a package that had contained about a quarter of a pound of Paris green'.

A newspaper's appearance can go out of style, just like clothes.

So about once a decade, as it turns out, the York Daily Record has made style changes, called a redesign.

The newspaper will make such a change in Thursday's edition, as I explain in a York Daily Record/Sunday News column today. That column begins: ... .

The whereabouts of this York County, Pa.-made statue has been unknown locally for years. But it recently became public, on eBay of all places. (See photo of the artist and statue below.) Background posts: Wago Club prez: 'You've gotta respect the (snapping) turtles' and Church's landmark: 'A man named Beech carving a beech tree, it seemed too perfect' and Why did JFK lose to Nixon in York County?.

The Craigslist ad read like this:

"Life-size basswood statue of John F. Kennedy, carved by local woodcarver Walter S. Langhine. Included with the statue are letters to and from Jacqueline Kennedy. Email to above address or phone calls accepted at 717-793-0650 or 717-235-2543. Best offer."

Langhine's hand-carved statue of JFK had been missing in plain view for years.

Most recently, it has been in the JFK memorabilia collector Clyde Smith's New Freedom basement, York Daily Record /Sunday News columnist Mike Argento discovered.

Smith is moving to smaller quarters, Argento wrote, so JFK has to go.

And hence the ad... .

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

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

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

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

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

Such as the wind... .

John D. Fair's book "Muscletown USA" gives insight into the role played by Bob Hoffman of York Barbell in the use of steroids in sports. Background posts: Who were most prominent 20th-century sports heroes in York and Adams counties? and Richard Nixon's visit to his namesake park sparks memories and York, Pa. made big, heavy things - and was immensely proud of it.

Major League Baseball again is exploring allegations that Alex Rodriguez use steroids as a member of the New York Yankees.

When steroid abuse makes the headlines, that raises the question about where steriod use in professional sports began - or at least came into steady use.

There's solid documentation that the answer is York, Pa... .

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

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

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

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

This video, part of the York Daily Record/Sunday News, "Remember" oral history series captures the cigarmaking industry - a major employer in small towns throughout York County. Background posts in 'Remember' series: In the shadow of disaster: York County and its newspaper tested 30 years ago and Great Depression work: 'It was the largest thesis in the history of the history department' and Readers tell about those blizzards of 1993, 1996.

People don't think of the rival boroughs of Red Lion and Dallastown working together.

But 84-year-old Flo Neff unwittingly informed viewers of the York Daily Record/Sunday News "Remember" series about an early 20th-century form of regionalization.

It involved the ubiquitious cigarmaking business, the most recent topic in the series.

Here is her transcribed audio clip: ... .

The (York, Pa.) Gazette and Daily published this advertisement illustration on Aug. 15, 1945 - in celebration of V-J Day. Here, The Chic, 33 W. Market St., observes women's contribution in winning World War II. Background posts: York County sacrificed on homefront and war front - Part I and All WWII posts from the start.

York County did its share on the homefront and war front in World War II.

The York Plan is Exhibit A on the homefront.

And no story captures York County's considerable sacrifices on the war front better than the example of Ross Kurtz.

Notice how matter of factly Ross Kurtz related his considerable injuries sustained in a mortar attack... .

York County industrial leaders turned out in large numbers for a dinner at the Yorktowne Hotel in World War II. The York Plan resulting from their cooperation became a national model. Background posts: All York Corporation/Johnson Controls posts from the start and Industrialist Thomas Shipley's 'enduring monument' in York did not 'endure' and York Corporation played role in Manhattan Project.

York County's homefront and war front efforts well represented what it took across America to win the two-front World War II.

And the best York County offered on the homefront - and it was significant - was the York Plan.

But ask a York County audience about the York Plan and surprisingly few know even the vaguest details.

So, here's a quick synopsis of the plan: ... .

For years, a hame was displayed on a sign in Leon Saubel's front yard in the Shrewsbury Township (Pa.) village of Hametown. The display has been taken down. Background posts: Codorus collector exhibits collection of conveyances - wheels and sleighs and 'I didn't know a peach tree from an apple tree, but we learned quickly.' and Trees commemorate World War I I vets.

In putting up the recent post on a Hametown one-room school and its upcoming reunion, it occurred to me that viewers might not know how the school's host village received its name.

Hametown between Shrewsbury and Loganville on the Susquehanna Trail was a major center for the making of hames.

Hames, along with collars and traces, form the pulling part of a horse's harness. (Other parts of a harness - a bridle, for example - relate to guiding the horse.)

J. Emory Seitz, whose great grandfather founded the village's hame-making factory circa 1850 defined a hame in a 1970 letter: ...

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

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

So far, they've visited dozens.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This York Corporation worker had a little fun painting a devil's mask on his hood. (To view the face behind the desk, see photo below.) Background posts: 'Little Johnny' called for Allies in World War II and The bomb: 'And yet it stopped the war' and Nazis murdered downed airman from York County, Part IIII.

York's George Anderson made America laugh during the dark days of World War II.

He donned a York Corporation welder's hood bearing a devil's face.

And someone snapped a photo.

The image then appeared in about 700 U.S. newspapers during the war... .

Ruth Myers, left, and Ruby Myers, right, twin 5-year-old Thomasville-area sisters sit in a Chase quarter ton pickup truck 1948. At that time, the truck was 50 years old. This photo was published in The (York, Pa.) Gazette and Daily in June 1948. Background posts: Codorus collector exhibits collection of conveyances - wheels and sleighs and Can York's longtime claim as 'Detroit of the East' be proven? and Hart-Krafts of York, Pa.: 'Most of the trucks were used and abused'.

The photo from 51 years ago shows a truck of 50-year-old vintage. Or is it a just a farm wagon with an engine jury-rigged on it?

Well, early automobiles evolved from wagons and that explains why York County had so many automakers in the first 20 years of the 20th century. As a region with many major roads going back to its earliest years, York County played host to hordes of travelers and, thus, had many wagon makers.

The photo caption told the news of E.A. Krug's purchase of the quarter-ton pickup truck... .

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... .

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

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

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

That's about right.

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

The (York, Pa.) Gazette and Daily reports on Warren G. Harding's visit to York in 1920. The pending visit was relatively low key, spread by word of mouth just hours before the stop. Background posts: During York visit, former President Taft glad to be in 'this great hive of industry' and In 1934, FDR made rolling visit to York and Teddy Roosevelt in York: 'I know York county farmers are prosperous. Their barns are bigger than their houses'.

Presidential candidate Warren G. Harding gave a brief speech during a stop at York's railroad station in September 1920.

He opened his speech by introducing his "boss" - his wife Florence - to the cheering crowd of 1,000... .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This Grandpa' s Knob wind tower in Vermont has links to York County. Background posts: 20 questions and answers to prove your York County WWII smarts, Who were York County's most influential citizens? - Part I and How come few in York know about S. Morgan Smith anymore?

This blog has featured several posts on York pastor-turned-entrepreneur S. Morgan Smith, his company, his family and his church.

One of his company's successor's, Voith Siemens, is best known today for its water turbines - massive machinery that equip the world's largest hydropower dams.

York Sunday News columnist Gordon Freireich shows (12/14/08) the company stretched from waterpower to wind before windmills became popular in America as an alternative energy source:

York artist J. Horace Rudy's stained glass window oversees Easter flowers at York's First Moravian Church in 2006. Background posts:York Moravian's Putz is an unsung, well-sung annual attraction, New York Wire factory whistle concert: 'We'd stand out on our driveway to hear it' and St. Mary's Church product of 19th-century York County language wars.

If someone wanted to, he or she could visit a local museum, attend a lecture or cultural event or take a tour virtually every day in York County.

I make that point in a York Sunday News column, in which I point out a recent Saturday that First Moravian's Putz was open for viewing and whistemaster Don Ryan gave a lecture on his New York Wire Cloth factory whistle prowess.

What are some pieces of historical information one brings away from such visits? ...

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

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

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

Or at least his voice is.

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

Young Don Ryan practices on the New York Wire Cloth factory steam whistle with his father, Marlin Ryan, in the 1950s. Don inherited the title of whistlemaster from his father and now his own sons are apprenticing to play the early Christmas Day concert. Background posts: World War II-era air raid siren discovered atop Yorktowne Hotel, Musical factory whistle drowns out N.Y. Wire's WWII feats and The world's loudest music without amplification from a non-musical instrument.

Whistlemaster Don Ryan's enthusiasm for his instrument - the factory whistle at New York Wire Cloth -impressed his audience at a York County Heritage Trust presentation on Saturday.

He explained the ins and outs of the century-plus-old whistle with an adjustable valve that permits him to play carols shortly after midnight on Christmas Day each year.

That concert draws hundreds of people - maybe even thousands - to the East Market Street area of York. That part of town simply bustles.

So, why not hold a mid-summer concert and play patriotic songs? ...

York Safe and Lock's S. Forry Laucks, second from right, is shown in this clipping from 1906. He was part of the initial slate of officers of the York Manufacturers' Association. They are, from left, John C. Schmidt, president of Standard Chain Co. and Schmidt and Ault Paper Co.; Thomas Shipley, York Manufacturing Company; Laucks; and Francis Farquhar, A.B. Farquhar Co. Background posts: The old-time York County community bank: 'They know me by sight and voice', York, Pa. made big, heavy things - and was immensely proud of it and New Freedom station houses alien safe.

Some news accounts say that the current down economy is pushing up the sale of safes.

According to a York Daily Record story (11/9/08), safe business locally is steady but not explosive. The idea is that when the stock market is down, people want gold and other valuables in "safe" places.

Steady business was not the case in the Great Depression, at least not for York Safe and Lock... .

Dan Meckley's recently compiled memoir is available for viewing at the York County Heritage Trust's archives, 250 E. Market St., York. Background posts: TV show box set 'Terry & the Pirates' to be part of a museum exhibit someday?, Rambo run: One small stream ... so much stress and York Safe & Lock worker recalls chat with Hedy Lamarr.

"I have found trout fly fishermen to be of sterling quality," Dan Meckley wrote in his memoir. "As a group they can be ranked with skiers, squash players, sailors, martini drinkers, and Republicans."

As for worm fishermen?

"On the other hand, worm fishermen can be ranked with snowmobilers, snowboarders, racquetball players, power boaters, beer drinkers and Democrats," he wrote... .

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... .

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

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

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

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

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

The York Daily, York County's first daily newspaper, as it appeared four years after its founding in 1870. Background posts: Solomon Meyer 'forsook the publishing business and betook himself elsewhere', York cartoonist's work helps celebrate peace activism and Newspaper's founding date hard to pin down.

Carl Wire brought a framed copy of the York Daily to the newsroom of successor York Daily Record/Sunday News this week.

If the papers sound alike, there's a reason. The Daily Record drew its name from the York Daily and the York Legal Record after J.W. Gitt retired his nameplate and alter ego The Gazette and Daily in 1970.

Anyway, Ken Wire, Carl's father, for years had displayed the newspaper in his Comfort Barber Shop in York and also in a second shop in Warrington Township.

Carl had a simple question. Is it worth anything?...

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

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

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

This drawing of a specialized farming tool from the early 1900s comes from an advertisement or catalogue put forth by a Hanover firm. Background posts: Who will lead York County in the future?, Going to market a longtime York County pastime and York County farm vs. factory tension relieved in overnight raid.

One hundred years ago, local farmers cared when their horses complained about sore necks.

And they dealt with that problem by treating tongues.

Really... .

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

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

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

This is a clear shot of one of the four remaining original Welsh cottages just north of the Mason-Dixon Line in the Delta/Peach Bottom Township area. The Old Line Museum has begun to restore two of these cottages, built for workers of the slate quarries in the 1850s. Background posts: Coulsontown's Welsh miners' cottages: 'Once they're gone, there's nothing else like them', Digging Coulsontown: 'This is not Indiana Jones' and Time almost forgot Welsh miner's hamlet of Coulsontown.

Ruth Ann Robinson, Old Line Museum, has given a heads up about public tours of Welsh cottages in the Delta area in southeastern York County Saturday.

The tours are set for 2-4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 11.

The day before, a class of anthropology students from Harford Community College will gain training on the ins and outs of professional digs... .

A piece of a boiler from the York Rolling Mill's 1908 explosion flew several blocks before crashing into a home on North Queen Street. The piece went through the roof and hit a dresser in a bedroom, according to a newspaper report. Background posts: 100 years later in York, Jumbo's terrible roar remembered - Part I, Additional York Corporation (York International) stories and Glatfelter, Morgan Smith head industrial legacy list.

The blast rocked York County and beyond 10 years ago.

Four tanks containing a mixture of pressurized air and refrigerant blew up shortly before midnight on Feb. 2, 1998 at York International, now Johnson Controls.

At that time, York College's William Kreiger told the York Daily Record/Sunday News that an explosion such at that at York International is like a truck barreling down the highway pushing air out of its way... .

Ten died in an Aug. 10 industrial accident 100 years ago. The York Rolling Mills explosion appears to be the worst industrial accident in York County's history. Background posts: 1908: 'Boiler Explosion At York Rolling MIlls Kills 9 Men; 20 injured' , Freight locomotive 'telescoped' runaway Stewartstown Railroad car and York County lawmaker fought to aid the blind.

When Jumbo crosses paths with York County history, horrific things happen.

One example came when Jumbo, a traveling circus elephant, fell ill. A account of that memorable night is found in the York Town Square post: The day Jumbo screamed in North York - Elephant story Part II

The other recorded episode involving Jumbo came 100 years ago, when a boiler so named exploded at an industrial site, York Rolling Mill, near the Codorus Creek.

We pick up Teresa Boeckel's account in a York Daily Record/Sunday News story (9/7/08) here:

David Kline works around his Red Lion-area Family Heir-Loom Weavers. He will demonstrate the use of old looms to OLLI Brown-Bag Lunch participants on Oct. 27, one of several such sessions that are part of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute classes this fall. Background posts: York County's landscape, buildings, landmarks can serve as a classroom, OLLI's theme song: 'Don't stop thinking about learning' and Iron-mine-turned-into-party-spot turned into York County park.

That machinery has produced costumes for actors in the films "Amistad," "Gods and Generals," "Gettysburg" and "Cold Mountain."

His Family Heir-Loom Weavers have produced items for nine presidential homes. That resume includes carpets at Abraham Lincoln's home in Springfield, Ill., and George Washington's Mount Vernon home.

But he'll leave the big machinery behind in a Brown Bag Lunch and Learn program in October, part of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute fall lineup... .
. .

Tommy Kono, Coach Tommy Kono at work. The location is unclear but those are York Barbells waiting to go airborne. Background posts: Olympian/lawyer Whitney Metzler comes home to York County, Who were most prominent 20th-century sports heroes in York and Adams counties? and York Barbell blog category.

Who was the greatest weightlifter in York's storied past?

Many believe it was three-time Olympian Tommy Kono.

And make that the greatest in America's past ... .

This panel, part of the Murals of York series, shows the Central Market, one of at least three murals that celebrates York County's agricultural prowess. The murals can be used as an effective tool to teach county history. Free walking tours of the murals, courtesy of the York County Heritage Trust, are scheduled at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. every Tuesday through Saturday until Aug. 30. The tours start at the gift shop behind the Colonial Courthouse, West Market Street, York. Background posts: Don't know much about York County history? Part I, Part II, and Civil rights heros stand out at Bradley exhibit.

The Murals of York can served as a classroom teaching tool.

That's what I told teachers recently in a continuing education course on York County history, offered through Millersville University.

I then provided an overview of county history using the murals, as described in the following York Sunday News column, to be published on July 25: ...

The Murals of York can be used as artifacts to tell a story about the York area. Pictured here is the York Fair mural on the side of the East Market Street parking garage across from the Yorktowne Hotel. There's a certain irony of this particular mural as a celebration of agriculture being located on the side of the garage, overlooking a parking lot. For the last 25 years, York County farmland has been gobbled up to provide housing for commuters from Maryland and elsewhere. Background posts: 20 questions and answers to prove your York County WWII smarts, Resources for York/Adams history junkies increasingly posted on Web, 20 questions and answers to prove your York County smarts, Part III.

When about 20 York County teachers became my students in a recent Millersville University summer continuing education class, I cast about for tools make local history come alive.

I put together a true/false quiz designed to summarize some of the themes of my two-hour primer. (I used it more as a mental execise than a test.)

See how you do, and don't be surprised if my answers resemble sound bytes. Follow the links to go deeper:

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... .

On the evening of Aug. 14, 1945, York County residents joined 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 S. Wolfgang, who provided this photo, is at far left. Background posts: The first in (World) War (II), Perhaps the last in (World) War (II), 20 questions and answers to prove your York County smarts, Part III

The World War II Battle of Okinawa ended 63 years ago on Saturday.

And we're somewhere near the midway point between the often forgotten V-E Day - May 8 - and V-J Day - August 14.

So, here are 20 questions to focus us on York County's contributions to the war that spawned the Greatest Generation:

During a drought in 2004, a land bridge, probably an old farm lane, connected the marina at Codorus State Park's Lake Marburg to Long Island, or Long Peninsula at that moment. The island contained the remains of an old farmhouse and bank barn that made way for the lake. Its waters covered the town of Marburg Flats and part of old Route 216. The lake made news in the drought of 2004 for its dwindling water supply, and the drowning of a teen girl this week propelled the 1,275-acre reservoir back into the headlines. Background posts: 18th-century brownfield now parkland, Is it Pigeon Hills or Pidgeon Hills?, Worker saved key historical surveys from Glatfelter pulping machine.

To fill its massive water demands, Glatfelter paper built Lake Lehman in 1942.

It built Lake PahaGaCo (P.H. Glatfelter Co.) in 1955. It supplemented PaHaGaCo's 1.3 billion gallons with water from the Thomasville Stone & Lime Company quarries.

But the severe drought of 1963 proved that more water was needed. That was a moment that communities even resorted to cloud seeding... .

This photo from the Stewartstown Historical Society might show the result of a 1923 accident on the Stewartstown Railroad, the worst in its history dating back to 1885. With multiple railroads crossing York County, its rail history is filled with accidents (The Great Watermelon train wreck) and near accidents (The unsolved mystery of locomotive No. 1689). Background posts: What was it like aboard the Stewartstown Railroad?, Whatever happened to York County's Hungerford? and Is mystery railroad the old Shrewsbury narrow gauge?

One day in 1923, a car carrying several passengers and crew members becomes uncoupled from a train on the Stewartstown Railroad and drifts down a grade.

A freight train, going at a rapid speed, meets it head on and plows through the passenger coach "telescoping" about two-thirds of the length of the car... .

A slow-moving tractor tows bales of hay along Grandview Road in Jackson Township in 2007. The township has long been agricultural in nature. "The land of Jackson Township is fertile and productive, and its owners are industrious and prosperous," historian George Prowell wrote in 1907. But the township's location along the turnpike - later the Lincoln Highway and Route 30 - and the Western Maryland Railroad also meant it has played host to its share of industry. Soon, an Arm & Hammer plant is expected to operate there. Background posts: Part of York County's past goes on the auction block, York County railroading: 'Something that gets in your blood' and Old Lincoln Highway pulled 'Americans out of the mud'.

Jackson Township, carved from Paradise Township in 1857, is slated to be home to a new Arm & Hammer laundry detergent plant and distribution center.

Though a longtime farming township with a productive limestone and red shale soil, its position along the former York-Gettysburg Turnpike and the presence of the Western Maryland Railroad meant that businesses have long been operated there... .

Sherry Dunbar is a green-coffee specialist at Starbucks' East Manchester Township roasting plant. She smells unfiltered coffee before sampling it. She is a professional coffee taster, and quality control specialists like Dunbar must approve all beans from around the world before they get the Starbucks stamp. Another Starbucks plant to service the southeast U.S. is expected to open in 2009. Background posts: York County farm vs. factory tension relieved in overnight raid, Images explain changes in York County factories, farms and York County agrarianism vs. industrialization, Part I.

The sign at the Starbucks in Chinatown in Washington, D.C., stated: "Brewed at York Plant, roasted 5/13/08."

You've seen them and probably wondered: What's the "York Plant?" ... .

Two of York County's most influential leaders shake hands at York's Susquehanna Commerce Center's opening in 2005. Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff President Louis J. Appell Jr. and York Mayor John Brenner celebrate the occasion. Background posts: Influential citizens, Part I, Who is Bob Kinsley? and First York City Latino councilman temporarily state's top appointed Dem.

York Daily Record/Sunday News readers came through with dozens of recommendations for the most influential people of York County.

The newspaper staff and editorial board added some of their own and came up with a list that is certain to draw scrutiny.

We pondered particularly what to do with Jim Grove, the far-right activist who is effective in the courts in protecting First Amendment rights, even if his abrasive techniques in practicing free speech impair his messages more than promote them. You'll see how we handled his nomination below... .

William C. Goodridge, a former slave who became a respected York businessman, was an influential 19th-century figure in York County. He is on a short list of top newsmakers in York County in the past 250 years. Background posts: List of luminaries from Dover lengthens, How come so few in York know about S. Morgan Smith?, Samuel Small tops community contributor list.

On Sunday, we'll post a sampling of 25 of York County's most influential residents. Actually, there are 26.

The suggestions came from members of the public, York Daily Record/Sunday New staff and the newspaper's editorial board.

As a warm up, we post here a list from "Never to be Forgotten" of a group of 30 influential residents from York County's past... .

Harvey Bradley studies the York, Pa., Bradley-made block that the hook will be hung from. These images, as well as other iconic photos in this series, will appear in the "Connections" section of the York Sunday News on May 25. (See the iconic farm image below.) Background posts: York, Pa. made big, heavy things - and was immensely proud of it, Bradley Lifting's boss Harvey Bradley: 'I'm 81' and Harley newsy in York: 3 strikes, 3 presidential visits, 300 jobs down .

Two more photos in York Town Square's series of iconic images - images that tell a story about York County and its history:

Harvey Bradley built his York company, Bradley Lifting, from scratch. He started with few resources, except perhaps the most important, an entrepreneurial spirit... .

Riders on York County's rail trail glide past the venerable Glen Rock Mill Inn. The mill greeted numerous luminaries passing through the southern York County town when the Northern Central Railroad operated. That included Abraham Lincoln on his way to and from Gettysburg and Lincoln's funeral train. Background posts: Parade Music Prince Roland Seitz: From Shrewsbury Township to Friday Night Lights, Is mystery railroad the old Shrewsbury narrow gauge?, 'Rocks in the Glen' turns into town where things happen

Glen Rock was a mill town from its earliest days and later diversified into furniture making, cigarmaking and a host of other manufacturing pursuits. AMP, the electronic connector manufacturer, opened its first Pennsylvania plant there.

But still, Glen Rock was a mill town... .

Built in 1929, Box Hill Mansion is one of York County's most noteworthy nods to the era of Georgian style. It was featured on the cover of the soon-to-be-published Spaces magazine, published by the York Daily Record/Sunday News. The mansion serves as the focal point for the exclusive Regents' Glen Country Club in Spring Garden Township. (See additional photo below.) Background posts: Glen Rock farm: 'You can not stay stressed here for long', How to accurately restore an old home, A virtual photo tour - and an actual tour - of York County's vintage Schultz House.

A story in an upcoming Spaces magazine gives a little-known fact about the Box Hill Mansion, now on the eve of its 80th birthday.

The brick mansion's walls are solid concrete, designed to control fire, according to the magazine... .

Kaltreider-Benfer Memorial Library is known for a lot of quality public services, including its used book sales. The next Book Nook is set for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 17, at the Red Lion Country Club, formerly Copper Beech. But where does the Kaltreider come from in its name? This is part of a continuing blog series about the sources of names on the sides of York County's buildings.Grange Hall represented past way of York County life, Red Lion's Ebert Furniture: From bedroom suites to gunstocks and Red Lion's towering Fairmont Park off the beaten track.

Historian George Prowell considered cigarmaker D. Frank Kaltreider as the epitomy of a self-made man, starting at the bottom and achieving "sound" financial condition by the age of 29... .

Springettsbury Township's Meadowbrook Mansion looms in the background as riders and horses strike a pose. At the turn of the 20th century, cigarmaker Edwin Myers brough this George revival look to the mansion. Many stories are attached to the site. Tradition has it that invading, horse-hungry Confederates visited the spread in 1863, perhaps in search of the ancestors of the mounts pictured here. This photograph came from a Meadowbrook Village brochure filed at the York County Heritage Trust. Background posts: Property rights foundational in Lauxmont debate, York County cigars: 'They contained a vast amount of nicotine.' and Picturesque steel bridges going way of covered bridge ancestors.

The Canada goose that sought to hatch her goslings near Borders on Whiteford Road provided an opportunity to draw lessons from the former Meadowbrook estate.

I devoted my York Sunday News column (5/11/08) to the topic, which touched on the Dempwolf architects, cigarmaking, the lives of the rich and covered bridges - and the story of Mother Goose:

Walter S. Langhine of Weigelstown, Pa., spent four months carving this wooden statue of John F. Kennedy in 1964. Jacqueline Kennedy's staff supplied him with JFK's dimensions. Background posts: JFK's visit to York a long-remembered event, Bob Yost: 'King of real estate in York County' and 20 questions and answers to prove your York County smarts, Part II

York countian Walter S. Langhine sought to memoralize slain U.S. president John F. Kennedy.

He planned to do this in the way he knew best.

The employee of Red Lion's Bethlehem Furniture Co. was a professional woodcarver. His off-work specialties included cigar store Indians and and full-size horses.

Now, in the year after the chief executive's death in 1963, Langhine would make an image of the late president out of wood... .

This turbine, also known as a runner, was manufactured at Voith Siemens Hydro's West Manchester Township plant in 2006. (See related photos below.) Background posts: Glatfelter, Smith top industrial legacy list, Voith turbine runner legacy of former pastor/entrepreneur, York made big, heavy things - and was immensely proud of it.

A student in my OLLI class at Penn State York wondered why S. Morgan Smith, an industrial giant in the late 1800s, isn't better known today.

The short answer is that no company with Smith connections bears the name of the Moravian-minister-turned-entrepreneur today... .

Marley Boyd helped in a dig area in the of Coulsontown, Peach Bottom Township, Pa. The Coulsontown miners' cottages are in the background. Excavators are looking for answers about how Welsh residents lived in the mid-1800s. (See additional photo and video by Paul Kuehnel below.) Background posts: Wanted: One slate-roofed privy from Delta, Pa., Time almost forgot Welsh miner's hamlet of Coulsontown and 100 years later, Delta clock keeps on ticking.

"Sonic Pixie," a Web commenter on a York Daily Record/Sunday News story on an archaeological dig near the old Welsh miners' cottages in Coulsontown, had it right:

"It is really amazing to see individuals in the community who are passionate about preservation and gaining a greater sense of understanding of who we are and where we came from."

This slate mining village in the southeast tip of York County has to be on a top 10 list of intriguing, obscure sites around here.

The story (4/17/08) titled "Digging local history," follows:

Bob Kinsley takes a weekly outing in this photograph from 1998. Even then, Kinsley was in the middle of plans to build a new visitor's center at Gettysburg (Pa.) National Park. Q&A on new Gettysburg visitor center, old Electric Map, Thousands discover formerly unheralded Howard Tunnel and Glatfelter, Farquhar, Shipley: Insights from local greats.

Several years ago, prominent York businessman John Schmidt told me at least one reason for builder Bob Kinsley's success.

"He just gets up a little earlier than the rest of us," Schmidt said.

That goes a bit in providing insight to the man behind the question:

Who is Bob Kinsley, the "private" side of the private-public venture that has constructed the new Gettysburg Visitors Center and Museum? ... .

Gov. Sir Edmund Andros adorns the cover of the book "Walter Wharton's Land Survey Register, 1675-1679." Andros was an official of New York province at a time that Pennsylvania and Delaware fell under his jurisdiction. The documents that served as a basis for this book were saved by an alert worker at the Spring Grove, Pa., Glatfelter paper plant. Background posts: Vandals strike house where Thomas Paine reportedly labored, Fourth-generation member of Glatfelter paper family dies, Glatfelter family history is as clear as ... paper.

On the ongoing quest to post York County, Pa., references from across the world:

An obscure book crossed my desk the other day, "William Wharton's Land Survey Register."

It contains a reference to Spring Grove's Glatfelter Paper Company... .

Students are silhouetted against pictures of Civil War-era residents at the York County Heritage Trust as Justine Landis, right, describes the people of York from that period. The York County Heritage Trust is a ready avenue for people to learn about the community, as are the numerous local historical groups dotting the county. Background posts: OLLI's theme song: 'Don't stop thinking about learning', Both Yanks, Rebs camped at old York Fairgrounds and Where do you go for one-stop queries about York history?.

One of the many astute students in my first class on "York's Human Contributions to the World," part of the OLLI program at Penn State York, asked a difficult question today:

How many houses of log construction remain in York County? ...

The Red Lion Grange Hall, the gray building in the background, is surrounded by development in this mid-1990s photograph of the Cape Horn area. Background posts about the Red Lion area: Red Lion's towering Fairmont Park off the beaten track , York County cigars: 'They contained a vast amount of nicotine', Cigarmaking Red Lion on top of York County and Red Lion's Ebert Furniture: From bedroom suites to gunstocks.

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

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: ... .

Bil Bowden captures a placid scene at Three Mile Island, published two weeks before the near meltdown at one of the nuclear power plant's units in late-March 1979. TMI is located in the Susquehanna River, opposite Goldsboro in York County, Pa. Background posts: Publishing legend Gitt vocal about nuclear power, When the rings of trees give history lessons and Readers can view best of Bil Bowden's photos on new blog .

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

This photo, courtesy of J. David Allen & Son, of York, Pa., was taken in the late 1950s. It shows Springettsbury Township's York County Shopping Center in full operation. The shopping center was the first of its type in the York area, and Sears, Roebuck & Co., the large building at right, was the first major retail business to move from York's downtown. PACE Resources Inc./Buchart Horn Inc. used the photo as part of an exhibit at the York Business Expo in 2005. Background posts: Just try to resist studying this memory-tugging photograph, Bury's burger memories far from buried, From top dog and hot dogs to dogfight and dog days in York County, Pa.

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

William J. Fisher, seated, A.B. Farquhar Co. president, and his son, Edward H. Fisher, sold the York, Pa., company to Oliver Corporation in 1951. The farm equipment manufacturer started in 1856 and was one of the prime movers behind the York Plan. Background posts: Who will lead the York area in the future?, Carnegie to Farquhar: '... I am ready to go out and enjoy myself' and Pro/Con: Should York's leaders have surrendered to the rebels?

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.:

York County was blessed with engraver William Wagner, who drew this scene, and fellow artist Lewis Miller, who left a legacy of 19th-century scenes that tell us much about how people lived. The York County Heritage Trust, which owns many pieces by both artists, has published two books on their respective work. Background posts: Late June marks pivotal moments in York history, Striking architecture lined York's South Duke Street and York's western gate: One image says so much.

Continuing, our series of images that say a lot about York County's past, posted in observance of the 400th anniversary of Jamestown's John Smith, first English visitor to this region: ...

Hikers explore the area around the former York Iron Co. Mine in North Codorus Township, now P. Joseph Raab County Park. Guides give occasional tours of this newest county park. One of the guides, Jeri Jones, has published a book on regional geology. (See below). Background posts: What was that Eastern York County pit before it filled with water? and Eighteenth-century brownfield now parkland

Some people attach mining to the soft coal regional of western Pennsylvania or the anthracite area of northeastern Pennsylvania.

It's easy to overlook York County's mines. No piles of slag dominate local towns.

But the county has seen slate mining in its southeastern region. Active limestone mining - dolomite for fire bricks - spans areas of West Manchester. Quarrying for rock to build houses or to form road foundations has taken bites out of mountainsides.

And the excavation of iron ore was one of the most prevalent forms of mining, largely in the 19th-century.

The Yorktowne Hotel recently donated a circa 1942 air raid siren to the York County Heritage Trust. The trust plans to restore it and place it on exhibit. Background posts: Unusual valve gave steam whistle prominence in World War II and The bomb: 'And yet it stopped the war'.

Early in World War II, York-area Civilian Defense officials faced the problem of how to alert an entire community about an enemy air raid.

The numerous factory whistles in place were not designed to reach the entire community. The New York Wire Cloth whistle, with its adjustable valve that allowed it sound varying messages, provided one resource.

Sometime in or after 1942, Civilian Defense officials must have installed a air raid siren on the roof of the Yorktowne Hotel designed specifically to alert a broader area... .

A post-World War II baby boom caused families to spill from York city to form suburbs. The entry of Caterpillar and other industries in the early 1950s also attracted families to that part of Springettsbury Township. These new factories brought in families from out of town, too. And then came the York County Shopping Center in 1956, at 3 o'clock position, to serve families who later lived in Haines Acres, which grew up in the fields, upper right, and beyond. (Photo courtesy of York Buchart Horn and J. David Allen.) Background posts: New book offers astute look into heart of York, York County ... 'A smorgasbord of architectural styles', Coca-Cola out in Springetts... self-storage space is real thing and Before Geno's made news in Philly, Gino's headlined in York.

Gene Schenck of Buchart-Horn Inc./BASCO Associates lent us this irresistible photograph (see enlarged version below).

He was even kind enough to provide a description. I've taken the liberty of adding context to the information (in parenthesis), used as part of a company exhibit at the Business Expo in 2005:

Here's a hint to answer part of York County Smarts quiz, Part III: This York County native starred with Brad Pitt in "A River Runs Through It," a 1992 film about two brothers who grow up in Montana. Background posts: Cameron Mitchell, Craig Sheffer, Dixie Chick born here, Prominent actor Craig Sheffer hails from overlooked Windsor Park,
That's Windsor Park, not Windsor ..., and York City's Eberts Lane actually winsome country road.

OK, another part of a York County Smarts quiz (see Part II) taken from a 1990s orientation exercise used by the York Daily Record to bring new employees up to speed.

See how you do:

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: ...

Eighty years after his death, industrial leader A.B. Farquhar's business prowess is still remembered. The York park that bears his name attests to his community involvement. Now, a national author has remembered him too, including an exchange between Farquhar and Andrew Carnegie. Background posts: Reader seeks Boys Club photo, York: America's First Capital of Golf? and Pastors denounce Sunday newspaper.

A e-mailer pointed out an exchange in David Nasaw's biography "Andrew Carnegie," in which the Gilded Age industrial giant gave York agricultural implement factory owner A.B. Farquhar his comeuppance.

Farquhar mentioned to Carnegie that he was always sure to be in the office by 'seven in the morning.'

"You must be a lazy man," Carnegie replied, "if it takes you ten hours to do a day's work." ....

Tommy Kono was America's best weight lifter in the 1950s. He won eight world titles and went undefeated from 1952-59. Kono lifted for York Barbell, the answer to a quiz question below.
Background posts: 20 questions and answers to prove your York County smarts, Part I, A short test of your women's history knowledge , A short test of your York black history knowledge, Part I, Black history quiz, Part II.

The York Daily Record used this quiz in the mid-1990s to orient new employees. The questions and answers, some tongue in check and often tied into then-recent news stories, will continue to pique interest.

Some may seem easy to veteran York Town Square readers. Consider this a review. Others will seem arcane.

See how you do:

This sign points to the presence of a railroad that started near Glen Rock, Pa., in the village of Centerville. But little is known about what could have been an old logging railroad. Background posts: Railroading: 'It's something that gets into your blood', New Freedom station houses alien safe and York's rail stations scored moments in history.

York Town Square reader Paul G. www.ironequine.com has tramped along a mystery railroad line that he believes is the Shrewsbury Railroad.

But he lacks hard evidence to support that... .

Model builder Paul Schiding talks about the former York airport that was along Haines Road, as former airport flight instructor Jack Hespenheide, listens in this 2006 file photo. The model of the airport remains on display at the York County Heritage Trust's Agricultural and Industrial Museum. Notice the red-brick administration building, barely visible, in the background. Background posts: Museum exhibit brings back early days of high fliers and It's a bird. It's a plane. It's cigars with wings.

A model of York's first airport, started in 1930 on level land in the present-day Fayfield area near Misericordia Nursing Home, presents an intriguing exhibit at the Agricultural and Industrial Museum in York.

My eyes always go to the administration building, a low brick structure.

The building has fascinated me since I read about it and this early airport in John F. M. Wolfe's "Profile of Aviation, York County, Pennsylvania, 1925-1998."

The large hangar (see photo by clicking on background post above) was dismantled after the airport closed later in the 1930s.

But, Wolfe wrote, the administration building is now a private residence, located at 7th Avenue and Haines Road... .

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: ... .

The Stewartstown Railroad, operational in 1885, helped businesses in villages along its path get their products to market in the way that an interstate helps grow businesses around its interchanges. Hungerford, south of Shrewsbury, was one such town. The railroad, operating as an excursion line, closed in 2004.Background posts: Often forgotten: Achievements of people named on building facades and Amanda Berry Smith: 'God's image carved in ebony'.

But it could have enjoyed a connection with the Northern Central Railway in its downtown... .

Carrie Nation visited York County for a week-long campaign against drinking and smoking in 1907. She addressed a large gathering at Highland Park in West York. Her address might have taken place in the park theater, pictured above. The park, located at the south end of Highland Avenue, was demolished early in the 20th century. Background posts: Growing off-peak trolley ridership: Build a park and Church's story links up with U.S. religious history.

York resident F.H. Hartley recalled years after Carrie Nation's visit to West Manchester Township's Highland Park in 1907 that a young man stoutly stood in front of her puffing on a cigarette.

He blew smoke directly at the reformer.

At one point, she turned to him and said: "Young fellow, if you keep on smoking those things, you'll have as little brains in your head as you have moisture now."

Perhaps the young man's hard-headed presence that day at Highland Park was appropriate.

The park is gone, covered by rock quarry... .

Harry Flinchbaugh of Red Lion's Flinchbaugh Cigars was a hands-on owner. His factory, along with scores of other cigarmakers, helped Red Lion and other York County communities prosper in the first part of the 20th century. Red Lion may have claim to the top cigarmaking community. "Red Lion: The First 100 Years" notes that the peak number of factories in the borough between 1880 and 1930 was 150. (York County Heritage Trust photo.) Background posts: Cigarmaking Red Lion on top of York County and Red Lion's Ebert Furniture: From bedroom suites to gunstocks.

York County has long put forth products that attract so-called sin taxes.

We have brewed beer in York, distilled whiskey in Foustown and rolled tobacco in Red Lion and scores of other locations throughout the county... .

The first piece of pottery was produced by a Susquehanna-Pfaltzgraff forebear in the early 1800s. Here, Rick Heiner of North Codorus Township works on the last job fired in 2005 in the 200-foot tunnel kiln behind him. According to the York Daily Record/Sunday News, The kiln fired the vast majority of Pfaltzgraff products in recent decades. Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff sold the Pfaltzgraff brand name, intellectual property and retail stores to Lifetime Brands of New York in 2005. The new owner would outsource its pottery-making, and the Thomasville plant closed as a pottery-making operation. Background posts: Original WSBA station hands mic to demolition team and Hidden Loucks School reflects past way of York County life.

The recent York Town Square post Foustown now a ghost town: Raid there once netted 300 barrels of quality firewater told of a hamlet near Glen Rock that grew up around a distillery.

That settlement should not be confused with Foustown in Manchester Township that grew up around pottery... .

Work is under way on the roof and dome of the old Helb Mansion carriage house, now occupied by Pace Resources, parent of engineering and architectural firm Buchart Horn-/BASCO Associates. The carriage house, 40 S. Richland Ave., has remained standing despite demolition of its accompanying mansion long ago. (Additional picture from the York Daily Record/Sunday News below.) Background posts (involving Buchart-Horn): Yo, Yoe never was Yohe and
Original WSBA station hands mic to demolition team.

Pace Resources is involved in a high-profile rehab project on its unsung headquarters, built in the old Helb Mansion carriage house.

The company occupies another often-overlooked historic structure in the west part of York. In the mid-1990s, the company consolidated its engineering and architectural offices in the old York Corporation-Borg-Warner manufacturing site on West Philadelphia Street and Roosevelt Avenue... .

The William Foust distillery outside Glen Rock was a village in itself. Only a smokestack, deteriorating superstructure and houses remain of this once-bustling company town in an undulating part of York County that serves as a reminder of one of the county's chief cash crops. Background posts: With all those stills, the York County hillbillies?, York County rail trail extension to follow canal towpath and 'You cannot stay stressed here for long'.

William Helb of Railroad was a patriarch in a family that operated the best-known brewery in York County.

Not far away from Railroad in a valley outside Glen Rock, William Foust went for a harder drink. He operated a whiskey distillery in a village that is now a ghost town... .

Theodore Helb's brownstone and marble house at West Market Street and Richland Avenue in West York has given way to a gas station. Rehab work is under way to the mansion's historic carriage house (see photograph below) owned by Pace Resources Inc. The carriage house is one of York's grandest remaining such structures, a forerunner to detached garages on properties today. Background posts: Exploring ornate Springdale, sunken ballroom and all, Good stuff found in 'Codorus Valley Chronicles'

The story of the Helb mansion and nearby carriage house (a post on the renovation of its dome with solid copper is forthcoming) starts in the tiny southern York County borough of Railroad.

Railroad, whose name matches its primary reason for existence, was formed in 1871.

The borough served many years before and after its incorporation as a depot for Shrewsbury on the Northern Central Railroad.

It boasted industries of its own, including a tannery, grist mill, brewery, brandy distillery and a furniture company.

Frederick Helb, the borough's first chief burgess, was a force behind several of these interests. The Helb name was particularly connected with brewing and bottling... .

Loganville's landmark Brown's Orchards & Farm Market started as a roadside stand, seen here in 1956, and has since expanded into a 29,000-square-foot market. Background posts: Glatfelter, Farquhar, Shipley: Insights from local greats and Horn Farm: 'A very special living history memorial to those hardy ancestors'.

Many Susquehanna Trail motorists traveling through Loganville see Brown's Orchards & Farm Market atop the hill and can't wait to turn into its lot.

They might not know that the market started like so many other tiny roadside markets that dot York County's countryside... .

Joan Concilio's Only in York County blog uncovered a site seeking - and providing - information on Red Lion's Ebert Furniture Company, longtime manufacturers in York County. In this photo from "Red Lion, the First 100 Years," (1980) the former Ebert South Franklin Street plant, left, is occupied by Zell Company. Background posts: Bank adds murals to York County's walls and Cigarmaking Red Lion on top of York County.

Blogger Joan Concilio writes about a Web site, THE EBERT FURNITURE FACTORY 1854-1959, that brings together collectors of the Red Lion made furniture.

According to the Ebert site, the furniture company moved its factory from Philadelphia to Red Lion in 1917... .

This 1979 photo of Three Mile Island shows steam rising from the unit that was damaged two weeks later by a near meltdown. Today, the steam plumes are reversed. The damaged unit's stacks sit silent. This iconic picture was taken by veteran photographer ( but new blogger) Bil Bowden soon after he started at the York Daily Record/Sunday News. For a warmup, see Bowden photos on this blog, York Town Square: A far different view of York County, Simple photograph helps frame York County and No light at the end of this (abandoned) turnpike tunnel.

For years, York Daily Record/Sunday News readers have enjoyed Bil Bowden's photographs.

Now, his blog Bil's Eye-View, part of the yorkblog.com suite of bloggers, will feature some of his best hit photos from almost three decades of shooting in York County and beyond.. .

This photo shows the aftermath of the explosion at the York Roller Mills in 1908. "For years, the explosion was the chief topic of conversation where more than two people gathered," a newspaper reported years later. Background posts: Agnes, by the tragic numbers and The night the furnace 'blew'.

Both the Confederates and Yankees sustained more than 300 casualties in the Battle of Hanover on June 30, 1863.

And about five people lost their lives in the waters of Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972.

Paul Gamboa-Taylor pleaded guilty to killing five people with a ball-peen hammer and knife in his York home in the early 1990s.

But the York Rolling Mills explosion 100 years ago in August was the worst industrial accident on record... .

Steve McKee's "My Father's Heart, A Son's Story" is a multi-faceted book that is more than a memoir about heart disease. It explores the complex relationship between father and son and the painful aftermath of a loved one's death. And it's a story about growing up in the York area in the 1960s. McKee, a York Catholic graduate, will sign his book at 7 p.m., March 13, at Borders on Whiteford Road in York. Background posts: East Yorker David Levin became exemplary elder and Upcoming events should attract York/Adams history buffs.

I had the good fortune of reading part of "My Father's Heart" manuscript, specifically the sections that touch on York and its history.

Author Steve McKee and I have a lot in common. Pretty much the same age. Grew up in the same years. Both newsmen. Steve is an editor at the Wall Street Journal.

In reading the manuscript, I thought how this work mirrors a chapter in David Levin's "Exemplary Elders," a story about growing up in the 1920s and 1930s. Levin thrived as a Jewish boy in Lutheran old East York. About three decades later, McKee moved to nearby Haines Acres, a Roman Catholic outsider in a Protestant community... .

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... .

Taken from microfilm, this is the first edition of The Pennsylvania Gazette published in York Town - York County's first newspaper. The weekly newspaper published from December 1777 to June 1778 before packing up and moving back east when the British evacuated Philadelphia. After the press left York Town, nine years passed before another newspaper was printed in the county. Bartgis and Roberts began publishing The Pennsylvania Chronicle and York Weekly Advertising in 1787. Solomon Meyer began publishing Die York Gazette in 1796, the first German-language newspaper in York and the first time two newspapers were published at the same time. The Pennsylvania Gazette was circulated to information-hungry readers throughout the 13 states. Background posts: Newspaper's founding date h ard to pin down and Journalism goes back to the future.

A request from a local student for information on the York Daily Record/Sunday News and its predecessors reminds me of favorite quotes attached to newspaper patriarch Solomon Meyer.

Meyer, started Die York Gazette in 1796, a German-language newspaper that the Daily Record lists as its earliest ancester.

Meyer had a weakness that undermined many great men - a love for power and politics. His anti-Federalist views gained him a military patronage post... .

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?...

This flag at York Corporation's West York plant shows that 24 Gold-Star employees lost their lives in World War II through V-E Day, May 1945. At that point, 1,148 had served in the military. Robert W. Zercher, branded a terrorist by his Nazi executioners, was one of those 24. Background posts: Zercher, I, Zercher, II, Zercher, III and Zercher, IIII.

Swiss resident John Meurs has picked up on York Town Square posts about York County resident and downed World War II airman Robert W. Zercher.

Meurs provided additional details about the capture of Zercher and another airman by the SS in Apeldoorn, Holland, and their subsequent execution along with members of the Dutch resistance. Their bodies were displayed around the Dutch city with signs saying "Terrorist."

Meurs wrote: ...

In this 2004 photo, George Leader hands an ornamental chicken to Paul Masenheimer, who painted his nursing home - Providence Place - in York County's Dover Township. Leader bought the chicken to place outside the nursing home and to serve as a reminder of the link between chickens and the Leader family. His father was a renowned chicken breeder, and Leader began his career running a chicken hatchery. Background posts: Author muscles way into York's weightlifting, bodybuilding world and Gov. George Leader cleared dam plan.

York County Register of Wills Bradley C. Jacobs, a Dover-area native, pointed to several achievers to add to those that I pointed out in my column, Dover home to many achievers.

He particularly pointed to George Leader, the only Pennsylvania governor to come from York County. Leader grew up in York Township - Leader Heights. But after serving in World War II, Leader operated a chicken hatchery in Dover Township. That was his day job as he launched a political career... .

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... ."

The cover of "The River and the Ridge," (Gateway Press, 2003) shows a Peach Bottom slate quarry pit that opened about 1900. The book's jacket states: 'The cable hoist was used to move blocks of good slate and waste slate out of the quarry. The logs protected the steam pump that was used to move water out of the quarry. The bell-ringer's shanty at upper left was usually occupied by a young boy. He sent signals to the cable hoist engineer because the engineer could not see over the edge of the pit.' Background posts: Coroner responds to quarry calls and
Pinchgut vs. The Gut and Black soldiers from York County served in 'Glory' unit - Part I.

Anytime someone asks about the Delta area, (see Wanted: One slate-roofed privy from Delta, Pa., I immediately refer him or her to the massive local history of that area, "The River and The Ridge."

The book is among the best histories written about a township or section of York County. (See post on another well-done history: West Manchester book contains valuable gold coins... .

A single, heavy beam supports roof joists inside a Welsh quarrymen's cottage in Coulsontown, near Delta. Welsh immigrants brought this construction technique to the region when they arrived to work in southeastern York County's slate quarries. If anyone is aware of an outhouse in the Delta area with a slate roof, please comment below. Background posts: Time almost forgot Welsh miner's hamlet of Coulsontown, 100 years later, Delta clock keeps on ticking and Gettysburg fighting heard about 60 miles away.

Seattle's David Williams, wingate@seanet.com, is a natural history writer working on a book about building stone.

He's writing a chapter on slate and its many uses - roofing, billiard tables, gravestones and blackboards.

And on outhouses... .

Katharine Beecher Candies has moved its decades-old manufacturing operations from Manchester to Cumberland County. The owner and namesake was one of the top businesswomen in York County in the 20th century, and her accomplishments will be part of an upcoming course of county history. Background posts: Katharine Beecher: 'Legacies,' Part I and York author's works adapted to the big screen: 'Legacies,' Part Last.

Question 1: This York countian's sculpture brought $23.6 million at auction in New York.

Question 2: This woman was so sweet her candy circulated to all parts of the world.

Question 3: This York countian met a friend 3 different times on 3 different beaches in the South Pacific in World War II. Who was the York countian and who was the friend?

I used these three questions (answers below) to introduce a course I will be teaching on famous people from York County ... .

This central hallway in the Sheppard Mansion is the first thing visitors see in entering this downtown Hanover landmark. Notice the Oriental rugs and mahogany stairway. Background posts: Why is Hanover Country Club in Abbottstown? and Wiki profiles eight with national status bearing Hanover roots.

Hanover Shoe Co., the venerable maker of footware since 1899, actually opened their first retail store in York.

H.D. Sheppard and C.N. Myers started Hanover Shoe Co. with the notion that they would make footwear and then market it through their own retail stores... .

This artwork was the header for a York Corporation poster detailing employees serving in the military in World War II - and those who died. This was distributed in "Shop News," a newsletter for employees at home and in the military. The right part of the header stats that 991 men and women had served to date. The six stars indicated that six employees had died in uniform. Background posts: Zercher, I, Zercher II , Zercher III and 'Little Johnny' called for Allies in World War II.

York's factories kept employees up to date about those who were serving in uniform in World War II and those who had died.

No one did it better than York Corporation, previously known as York Ice Machinery and later as Borg-Warner, York International and Johnson Controls York.

But Yorkco could not keep up with a fast-moving war... .

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: ...

York County's Sgt. Robert W. Zercher, a gunner for a B-17 Flying Fortress in World War II, survived a crash landing but could not escape the cruelty of his German captors. For a full account about this downed airman, with appropriate kudos to researchers Jim Marsteller and Annette Tyson, helping to locate it, see below. Background posts: World War II in York County, by the numbers, York County historical war deaths top 1,000 and York County's World War II sacrifices .... part last.

More information has surfaced on Robert W. Kercher, the downed airman from York County executed by the Nazis in October 1944.

A bare-bones story of how the Nazis then posted a sign saying "Terrorist" on Kerchner's body was related in a previous York Town Square post... .

Bob Reineberg is servicing customers of the now-closed Rapid Shoe Repair of York. Reineberg, whose family is synonymous with shoes in York, is doing this as a favor to the former owner of the South George Street store. Background posts: 'It's something you can't experience at a store in the mall' and Landmark Futer Bros. building in new hands.

The close of Rapid Shoe Repair at 201 S. George Street represents more than just another closed downtown retail business.

Times are changing.

At one time, people would have had their shoes repaired. Today, they just throw them away or park them on a shelf... .

Founder A.B. Farquhar (in portrait) appears to be overseeing the sale of his 95-year-old company in 1951. William J. Fisher, seated, Farquhar president, and his son, Edward H. Fisher, sold the company to Oliver Corporation. Farquhar executives cited the difficulty of independent medium-sized companies trying to do business through depressions, wars and war threats. Other York County companies also started selling to large, out-of-town interests in those years. Interestingly, the trend today is not only to sell to larger, out-of-town companies but then some of that work is moved not only out of town but out of the country. Background posts: York County agrarianism vs. industrialization, Part I and York's western gate: One image says so much.

Around York, community service organizations are concerned about where leadership - and funding - will come from after a group of aging philanthropists who have made things happen for years pass on.

In a York Sunday News column, I explored options and even named names, taking a long historical detour along the way... .

York City Firefighters work to save the art deco facade of the AAA building on East Market Street in York. Fire was confined to the overhang of the structure in this 2000 fire. The bright neon facade and rotating sign is a York landmark. Most recently, Peoples Bank occupied this now vacant architecturally significant building. (See view of full facade below.) Background posts: Coca-Cola out in Springetts... self-storage space is real thing and York's housing stock not that revolutionary.

York Sunday News columnist Gordon Freireich provided a reminder in a recent piece about the many art deco buildings dot York-area streetscapes.

He pegged his column on the announced renovation of the Coca-Cola building along East Market Street. The uncovered entrance area gives away its art deco design under its siding... .

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... .

Theresa Maciejewski's Capital Self Storage is building storage units in the former Coca-Cola Bottling Company building in Springettsbury Township. Background posts: Plaid facade linked to Springetts cleaner's roots and Bottle-shaped autos rolled around York County.

The landmark Coca-Cola building along East Market Street (Route 462) in Springettsbury Township will get some new fizz this summer.

Capital Self Storage is renovating the familiar structure with its art deco logo on its side and is installing storage units.

Uses of buildings suggest changes in how industries operate and people live today...

The lobby of the Arthur Hufnagel Public Library of Glen Rock plays host to an unsung, off-the-beaten-path museum. Local collectors John 'Otts' Hufnagel, Terry McFatridge and Roger Butz and historian Don Swartz created an exhibit that displays letters, bills of sale, calendars and items from former businesses. 'I really like these old pictures of Glen Rock. I grew up in New Freedom so I don't remember a lot of these buildings, but I think it's neat to look at them and figure out where they were,' Lee Cook said. Cook, at left, and Jay Miller look at the display in 2005. Background posts: Former York County CCC camp now on map and The unsolved mystery of locomotive No. 1689.

Everyone in Glen Rock knew Willis Rohrbaugh.

The handyman at the Glen Rock post office carried bags from the train station to the post office starting in 1955.

Sometimes the train didn't even stop but slowed enough for someone to throw the mailbags in Willis' direction. And occasionally, two trains would stop at once, giving Willis double the work.

When the Sears & Roebuck catalog came in, he would haul up to 12 bags at once.

All this for $15 a week... .

Reed Quickel of York Township enjoys Christmas carols played by the steam whistle at the New York Wire Co. in 2004. The songs came from the customary daytime practice session prior to the early Christmas Day factory steam whistle concert. As a point of interest, notice that the famed whistle is not located on the highest tower at the company. Background posts: A-Bomb: 'We must guard its secret wisely,' and Musical factory whistle drowns out N.Y. Wire's WWII feats.