Recently in Small-town life Category

Dover (Pa.) Township property owners moved their sheep from a pen near the Conewago Creek amid fears of the creek flooding, leaving only this barred rock hen, a rooster and a few other birds in the yard. These remnants of Tropical Storm Cindy in 2005 interrupted York County's dry spell by dumping 2.1 inches of rain on York County. In contrast, not far from this scene, in the drought of 1822, farmers raised turnips on the bed of the Conewago. Also of interest: York County's 'uncommon,' deadly snowfall of 1772: 'The poor animals struck through' and For years, York countians have eyed amazing, destructive Susquehanna River ice jams and Tropical Storm Agnes savaged York County with more than 15 inches of rain.

Another in a short series of meteorological events, tied to this winter's big snows... .

No weather events had stumped York County more than the water and fire of 1822.

Simply, nature did an about face in the course of six months, as the following excerpt from "Never to be Forgotten," indicates:

York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News photographer Jason Plotkins went high, atop the West King Street parking garage, to get this view of this weekend's Nor'easter. That's the old Central School and York City Hall is at right. Also of interest: The York/Adams day that birthed memories of falling stars and silkworms and Dense 'The Shrewsbury' meteorite named after York County town where it was found and In 1889, 'Bona Fide Earthquake' rattled York County.

The great snow of 1772 that caused the near extermination of York County's deer herd at the hands of greedy hunters was not the only unusual meterological event of years past.

Some of the events are well known:

The celebrated high water and ice jams of 1832 knocked out the first Columbia-Wrightsville bridge spanning the Susquehanna River. A windstorm - actually a cyclone - took out a successor bridge in 1896.

But less heralded acts of nature are found in the history books, specifically John Gibson's "History of York County," published in 1886.

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:

Catherine Meyer, known as the "Mother of Red Lion," was a successful community leader whose contributions were recognized publicly before women generally achieved such. Also of interest: Ma & Pa rabbit trains passing through Red Lion: 'I hope they thoroughly hosed out the cars.' and Red Lion, then and now: 'Welcome to a popular page on our web site' and Every day, York County struts its diverse architectural stuff and Penn State student renovates Red Lion Victorian-era house.

Catharine Meyer was a late-19th century/early-20th century Red Lion business woman and landowner.

She was one of York County's most publicly successful women in those days before women could even vote.

Interestingly, she was not included in the American Association of University Women's "Legacies" project in the 1980s. That project profiled prominent 19th- and 20th-century York County women.

Not all deserving people could be included in the booklet, to be sure. And the book tended to be York centric.

There's even uncertainty about how to spell her name - whether her first name is "Catherine" or "Catharine... ."

York countian Elmer Q. Gleim: At 93, he continues his prolific writings. Also of interest: Mother Codorus has long served as leading light in obscure Dunkard Valley and People of varying religious groups founded York County - 13/31 iconic images and All God and York County posts from the start.

Dianne Bowders e-mailed a short biography on her father Elmer Q. Gleim, introduced to Yorktownsquare.com readers in a recent post. That post tied Dianne's precise captions of her photo work capturing historic scenes around York County, Pa., to her father's teaching of that rich history over the years.

Dianne's short bio, titled 'A Brethren Treasure,' is so insightful that I've included it below, with a partial list of Elmer Gleim's work.

It's fortunate that Dianne's has compiled such a history of her historian father's work:

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... .

When the York County Heritage Trust recently debuted its 'Then and Now' exhibit, the York, Pa., Daily Record/Sunday News, in keeping with this spirit, asked for old photos from readers to post on our 'Your Photos' section of www.ydr.com. Bob Keller of Springettsbury was among those who responded with 'Yorktowne Service Stores counter coffee dispenser.' Bob Keller's submission was relevant: That business was featured in the exhibit. (See additional image from 'Your photos' below. Also of interest: 'The Commons' plays host to wonderful vintage photos and Fed photogs captured wonderful WWII images and Bank adds murals to York County's walls

A mixed bag of neat stuff:

After reading his obituary story, I added a little more to my York Town Square post on indefatigable volunteer Bob Senft when I turned it into a recent York Sunday News column:

I had spent many hours with Bob Senft working his story into my book on York County and World War II, ("In the Thick of the Fight.")

I didn't really expect to learn everything about this everyman with an array of everyday interests.

Still, I paused in reading the York Daily Record/Sunday
News obituary story about Bob's life.

The story said he was a pool aficionado... .

York County, Pa., resident Dianne Bowders is posting delightful photographs of scenes around her home county on ydr.com's Your Photo site. And she provides detailed caption information, such as the following for this scene from York's Quaker Meeting House. "Light streams through the windows of the Society of Friend's Meetinghouse located on West Philadelphia Street. Quaker meeting begins when one is led by the Spirit, or the Light, to speak. This older, east section of the building was constructed by William Willis in 1766, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The west room was built in 1783 to accommodate the women's meeting." Also of interest: Postcards tell story of York County community and My Capture photo book available (containing additional photos by Dianne Bowders) and York County book 'All in One Room' ready for readers.

I've enjoyed Dianne Bowders' photos of York County's landscape and historic sites for many months and have further noticed the detail of her captions.

Turns out she gets her historical knowledge from her father, Elmer Q. Gleim, a retired public school history teacher and Church of the Brethren minister. The 93-year-old is noted for his historical work on his denomination and genealogy of German families.

In an e-mail, she gives some insight into her father's influence on her work: ... .

Hog maw, a Pennsylvania Dutch food staple, is the lining of a pig's stomach, usually packed with sausage, potatoes, onions and others ingredients. One York County, Pa., church, Dover Township's Mount Royal United Methodist, has become well known for its hog maw - and oysters - fund-raising dinners. Also of interest: How about a little hog maw with your oyster stew? and Rite of fall in York, Pa.: 'Feast on oysters - fried, stewed or nude' and Mix 'You know you're a Yorker, if' with oysters. You get... .

A recent observation by a reader of the re-printed York Hospital "Benefit" Cookbook remarked that no recipe for hog maw was listed in its 240 pages.

That comment was printed in the York Daily Record/Sunday News and drew several remarks - and two hog maw recipes from readers.

One reader could not understand why anyone would be reticent to eat parts of a pig's stomach, which immediately brings to mind Granny's comments about sow's belly on TV "The Beverly Hillbillies." ...

Northern York County Regional Police Chief Carl Segatti investigates a fatal crash, in this York Daily Record/Sunday News file shot. Segatti is longtime chief of this veteran regional police department. Also of interest: A list of traumatic, painful incidents that rocked York County and Errant pickup driver knocked on-duty fire policeman out of his shoes and Beauty of York County's Susquehanna Trail shrouds its dangers.

York County's government might be denied by law to fund a countywide police department. That's in contrast to the vision of its founding fathers, who so earnestly sought police protection that they successfully split from Lancaster County in 1749, in part, so they could have their own force.

But the county has been a leader in the regionalization of police departments, an across-the-grain development in a county - and state - that has been slow to adopt such shared services or mergers of municipal and school governments.

In fact, its Northern York County Regional Police Department was an early responder after an act was passed in 1972 that permitted municipalties to delegate individual police powers to a regional department... .

Here's a neat story from Red Lion, Pa. Mark Wagman, a Penn State Harrisburg student, recently restored this home, built in the Victorian era. Its porch overlooks Red Lion square. And its for sale. Read more at Renovated Victorian attracts attention and see related photograph below. Also of interest: Ma & Pa rabbit trains passing through Red Lion: 'I hope they thoroughly hosed out the cars.' and Red Lion, then and now: 'Welcome to a popular page on our web site' and Every day, York County struts its diverse architectural stuff.

A mixed bag of neat stuff ... .

Fellow Yorkblogger Joan Concilio always has neat stuff on her site, Only in York County.

She found a booklet on the Susquehanna Trail that I had referred to in a previous post on this blog, York Town Square..

Here's an excerpt from that booklet, a bit overblown, but it captures your attention:

This map with overlay, courtesy of 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania, shows the various police departments covering York County today. York County separated from Lancaster County in 1749, in part, because of the need for law enforcement west of the Susquehanna River. York vs. Lancaster, Pa: The American War of the Roses still rages and The day west bankers looked forward to tax time and York, Cumberland counties longtime companions.

Who says things never change in Pa.?

And sometimes in the wrong direction.

York County was founded in 1749, in part, because settlers living on the west bank of the Susquehanna River sought sheriff's protection.

Indeed, the remote parts of future York County - and that was most of it - were known to be places of refuge for "idle and dissolute Persons" who stole stuff and committed other crimes.

Fast forward to today... .

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):

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 ... .

The Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad station is seen in Red Lion in this 1904 photograph. This photo, with a current photo below, is part of a "Then and Now" photo feature on Red Lion's Web site.Visitors are greeted with: 'Welcome to a popular page on our web site.' Also of interest: Old Baltimore tunnel an intriguing reminder of the 'Ma' in Ma & Pa Railroad and Ma & Pa rabbit trains: 'I hope they thoroughly hosed out the cars.' and York County railroading: 'Something that gets into your blood.'

The Red Lion Area Historical Society is doing all kinds of neat historical stuff.

They're in charge of transforming an old blue caboose to a rehabbed red caboose.

They displayed how to hand roll cigars on New Year's Eve.

Members sponsor a monthly lecture on some aspect of Red Lion or county history.

The organization is renovating the old Ma & Pa Railroad Station in Red Lion.

And they're clearly participating in a then and now presentation on the borough's Web page.

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:

Darryl Engler, music director for the Glen Rock Carolers, appears in this York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News photograph at work on Christmas Day, 2005. The carolers strolled the streets of the southern York County borough of Glen Rock in the early hours of Christmas morning again this year. Background posts: Legendary Glen Rock Carolers to publish history and Glen Rock singers salute English caroling custom and Books about Glen Rock abound, and there's a lot of history to write about.

The Glen Rock Carolers, dressed in their top hats and capes, sang on the town's streets again this year.

And they're slated to make a rare daytime performance in conjunction with Glen Rock's 150th anniversary celebration in June.

But perhaps the most flattering gesture toward the venerable group came this year from just south of the Mason-Dixon Line... .

Two York County, Pa., icons come together, as children enjoy Loganville-based Carmen's Ice Cream outside Hellam Township's Haines Shoe House, in this 2008 York Daily Record/Sunday News photograph. The Shoe House will figure in New Year's festivities this year when a large shoe will drop at midnight in nearby Hallam borough. (See the shoe being made below.) Also of interest: Route 30 Roadside Giant sprouts as tourism lure and Landmark Modernaire Motel built in Lincoln Highway's heyday and Lincoln Highway Communities: 'I know I'll be back'.

Let's see.

York has its rose. Dillsburg has a pickle. Red Lion a cigar. Mechanicsburg a wrench. Harrisburg a strawberry. Hershey a kiss, a Hershey Kiss, that is.

Now Hallam borough - not to be confused with Hellam, the township - is going to let a shoe drop. That's an 8-foot, 125-pound shoe.

Perhaps the oversized shoe is appropriate, for it is borrowed from a nearby oversized shoe-shaped house, the well-known Haines Shoe House... .

Some of the Stewartstown (Pa.) Railroad's rolling stock sits in the yard, background, as Don Matthews, a railroad director, is seen inside the station. Two historic preservation groups are among the groups with a stake in the now-closed, short-line railroad's future. The Stewartstown Railroad, which opened in 1885, hauled mainly agricultural goods on a line that parallelled the Mason-Dixon Line in southern York County. For much of its tenure, it ran from New Park westward where it met up with the old Northern Central Railway, later Pennsylvania Railroad, at New Freedom. Background posts: Stewartstown Railroad: 'Truly a unique entity in the state, and possibly, the nation' and 'Yesteryears' southern York County sites and All Stewartstown-related posts from the start.

The headlines on the York Sunday News story about the Stewartstown Railroad's future summarized its plight in less than 30 words: "Stewartstown Railroad's future derailed? / Supporters are trying to get it back up and running, but it could be put up for auction if it can't repay a debt soon."

It's one of those disputes that you just know could be worked out if you could just get all the interested parties in one room.

That's particularly so because two historical groups are involved, and one of those groups, the Bucks County Historical Society, is the beneficiary.

One wishes one could just say, "Huddle up."

I'll try: "Huddle up."

In that Sunday News story, writer Jeff Frantz provides about as clear of an explanation as is possible considering the complexity of the topic involving this farmers railroad:

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 Stewartstown Railroad station is shown on a cleanup day in this York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News file photo. The southeastern York County railroad ended excursion service several years ago, and its future is uncertain. Its tracks remain passable for motor cars. (See additional railroad information and another photograph below.) Also of interest: With Main Street in Stewartstown covered, historical group compiling photos of side streets and Hello, York, Stewartstown, Pa., no longer calling and Miata, pool suggest changes in small-town Stewartstown.

Doug Winemiller is knowledgable about many things historical in the Stewartstown area and elsewhere in southeastern York County.

He responded with some additional information after reading my recent column about that scenic region of York County. That column featured comments on Centre Presbyterian Church in New Park, the former World War II prisoner of war camp in Stewartstown, the old movie theater in Stewartstown, Wallace-Cross Mill near Cross Roads and the restored village at Muddy Creek forks.

Doug's observations will interest readers, as will his comments on a particular passion, the Stewartstown Railroad.

Here is his excerpted e-mail:

Workers raise a beam as they build a barn in remote Washington Township in northwestern York County, north of East Berlin. A York Daily Record/Sunday News story (12/12/09) captured the barnraising, a replacement for a century-plus-old bank barn that burned after a lightning strike last summer. (For an additional photo by Daily Record photogapher Bil Bowden, see below.) How many Amish have crossed the Norman Wood Bridge from Lancaster to York County? and Horse, buggy, one-room school make York County comeback and Amishman: 'We are making a commitment to forgive' and Widely circulated Amish newspaper: 'Awhile ago Steve was up at Sam Peachey's for some lumber'

Ella Jane Hess responded to my recent column about a tour around southeastern York County with some insightful information.

She focused on my comments about the Conservative Brethren Church near Winterstown.

Here are excerpts from her letter:

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:

Jeannette Harvey is a 90-something former teacher in York County, Pa. The Hametown resident's long life reaches back to a night in 1928 when she observed three men heading toward Winterstown. They turned out to be the trio who slayed powwoww practitioner and suspect witch Nelson Rehmeyer in what became known as the Hex Murder Trial. Also of interest: Hames made in Shrewsbury Township's Hametown fueled early American horsepower and The Susquehanna Trail: 'Greatest highway in Eastern America' and Trees commemorate World War I vets.

At one time, powwow doctors were easily found in many York County town.

Some believe Nelson Rehmeyer, victim of the Hex Murder, was just such a practitioner. But others believe he was a witch and that led to his death at the hands of three young assailants.

Are powwow doctors around today?

The Nelson Rehmeyer's Hex murder house in North Hopewell Township, Pa., stands today in rural York County. A couple of years ago, township regulations thwarted efforts to convert the house into a museum. The famous 1928 murder of Nelson Rehmeyer was a case of the Pennsylvania Dutch healing practice of powwowing that went fatally amok. Other posts of interest: What happened to Hex Murder defendants, convicted in York County 80 years ago? Part I and Part II and Der Belsnickel of the Pennsylvania Dutch: 'He looked scary and carried a sack of presents' and What is the Pennsylvania German (Pennsylfaanisch Deitsch) dialect all about?

An often-forgotten piece of the Hex Murder case is that people alive today knew one or more of the three defendants who killed powwow practitioner and suspected witch Nelson Rehmeyer in his southeastern York County home.

Three defendants were convicted in the slaying of Rehmeyer, a farmer in remote North Hopewell Township, only eight decades ago.

As I wrote in my World War II book "In the Thick of the Fight," this case involving superstition and white magic and the casting of spells and the like occurred only a decade before York County manufacturing prowess reached its zenith in World War II. So, you had York countians serving as internationally known forward-thinkers on the military defense front at the same time that another set of residents were practicing medieval healing arts.

That's York County. So simple, but so complex.

The following York Daily Record/Sunday News story (6/20/07) explores one resident who had contact with one of the Hex Murder defendants:

This is Hex Murder defendant John Curry's portrait of 7-year-old York countian Buddy Marrese. Curry charged $50 for the painting that entailed five or six Saturday sittings in his Thomasville home in 1960, according to Springettsbury Township's Mary Jo Marrese, Buddy's mother. Curry became a painter of sorts after his release from prison after his conviction in the death of Nelson Rehmeyer in 1928. Also of interest: What happened to Hex Murder defendants, convicted in York County 80 years ago? Part I and Hex headache cure: 'Tame thou flesh and bone' and Relative: Evil in Hex murder came from outside.

The Hex Murder defendants received prison sentences 80 years ago.

How did they re-enter the world again?

Well, one of the trio and the youngest, John Curry, took up painting.

His legacy is the most prominent of the three defendants.

His artwork hangs in area homes, as the following story appearing in the following York Daily Record/Sunday News (6/20/07) attests:

Norma Grace Strawbridge is shown in this York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News file photo with portraits of herself, bottom, and her sister Lois. John Curry, one of three defendants convicted in the 1929 Hex Murder trials, painted the portraits about 1946. Also of interest: Genealogical society speaker to provide tips for 'Finding Lydia's Bottom' and Descendant of powwow doctor: 'Powwowing was done for good' and Little-known facts about Hex murder trial emerge.

Yorkblogger June Lloyd tells a riveting story about a man who kept a hand-drawn charm copied from 'Long Lost Friend' for good luck when he hunting. It was found rolled up in the stock of a shotgun.

That reference to the book that was a text for the Pennsylvania Dutch custom of powwowing serves as a reminder that the highest-profile example of that white magic healing practice observed an anniversary this year.

The three defendants in York County's Hex Murder cases were convicted and sentenced 80 years ago.

Which leads to the question: What happened to those defendants who killed suspected witch Nelson Rehmeyer? ...

The Wallace-Cross Mill Historic site, near Cross Roads, Pa., has been restored to interpret its operation in the 1950s. Then, the mill ran 24 hours a day, seven days a week. (See photo of nearby Muddy Creek Forks below.) Also of interest: With Main Street in Stewartstown covered, historical group compiling photos of side streets and Two York County institutions meet up in Chanceford Township and Get around to seeing southeastern York County's ornate Round Hill church.

A previous post explained that southeastern York County is tailor-made for a Sunday afternoon drive.

A tour through that area on a Saturday morning works, too.

But there's only one thing missing on a Sunday morning:

Signs.

Wayside markers to point out the wonderful historical and architectural features of that area.

Such a sign explains the Wallace-Cross Mill, a county park. But tourists would otherwise have to read up on many other sites in advance to know their significance.

I brought some of the sign issue out in the following, which will appear as a York Sunday News column on Dec. 6:

Dale Moyer of Dover Township displays part of his toy collection during a show-and-tell at a Pennsylvania Dutch Heritage Group meeting in 2008. The group meets at Providence Place Retirement Community in Dover Township. Also of interest: Gift to York countian and Pennsylvania Dutchman Millard Gladfelter: 'Gladdie, who wears wonderful good after 25 years' and York County fraktur expert inventories local art: 'I make house calls' and Fasnachts are a York County delicacy. But how are Fasnachts different from donuts?.

Guder Mariye!

That is, good morning!

In Pennsylvania Dutch.

Here's an amazing number.

In 2007, an estimated 250,000 Americans could still fluently speak Pennsylvania German, often called Pennsylvania Dutch.

And others beside the Amish are counted in that number... .

The talk is about hunting and road maintenance at Jim Mack's Ice Cream shop in Hellam Township in this 2004 York Daily Record/Sunday News file photo. Six shops in York County bear the Mack's name, synonymous with ice cream and good conversation. Also of interest: York's Shady Dell's in bad shape: 'It still has a pool table and ice cream bar ...' and Baltimore screamed for York County ice cream and About Avalong Dairy and Melvin's Drive-In: 'I am some what familiar with the history of the area'.

Mack's and ice cream.

In York County, they go together like Bricker's and french fries, Smittie's and pretzels and Bury's and burgers.

One of the Mack's, the original ice cream shop in Spry, York Township, is moving a couple of hundred yards to a former Burger King.

No longer will Little Leaguers be able to lick their cones and pump their arms to evoke the trucks stopped at the nearby light to blow their horns.

So the original Mack's is moving, to gain more elbow room and expand its menus from hog maw and other Pennsylvania Dutch standards to steak and seafood.

We hereby offer some Mack's facts, gleaned from a Weekly Record story (8/14/07) on area ice cream parlors:

Before today's west-end Hannah Penn Middle School was built, this school, also Hannah Penn, stood across from Penn Park. And before this York, Pa., school became a junior high, it was York High, replaced by today's William Penn High School in the 1920s. This building has been demolished, and its footprint serves as a parking lot for St. Patrick's Church. Others in a series of school namesakes: Who was Hannah Penn of York City middle school fame? and Who was Edgar Fahs Smith? and Who was Phineas Davis? and Namesakes of Devers and Goode schools often confused.

In March 2008, Yorkblogger Paul Kuehnel posted a video of an archaeological dig at Coulsontown, the Welsh miners village being restored in southeastern York County.

Just this month, a former a member of a family with Coulsontown roots commented on Paul's Greenmesh blog post.

"Funny how people "unearth" these videos," Paul wrote me in an e-mail. "Nice memory blip of Coulsontown."

The commenter, identified as Kandi Creamer, wrote: ...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Spring Grove, Pa.'s, Ford dealership - then owned by Pierce Stambaugh - was a mainstay in its downtown in this 1934 photograph. Marley Gross Ford, which occupied that site for decades, just recently closed its doors. Also of interest: 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?.

There goes another small-town or old-time automobile dealership.

This time, it's Marley Gross Ford in Spring Grove.

The passing of these dealerships is corresponding with the growth of businesses that handle numerous brands in several towns or even across state lines. Apple Automotive Group is an example of that.

This change is not necessarily bad. It's just different... .

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... .

York Hospital started sprawling along the hillside south of York, Pa., from its earliest days after its move from West College Avenue in 1930. That move marked its 50th year of operation. Now, the hospital's parent is reaching into Harrisburg. This week, officials at WellSpan said they would explore a merger with PinnacleHealth of Harrisburg. This photograph comes from longtime York Hospital surgeon Ray Kehm's book "The Birth of a Surgeon." Also of interest: Doctor wrote about oxygen use to aid 'average country practitioners' and Spanish flu epidemic in York: 'People died one right after the other' and Civil War hospital: A master's thesis waiting to be written and West Side Sanitarium, later West Side Osteopathic and later Memorial Hospital born in The Avenues in York.

"One winter day in December 1879, a man named Small acted upon a not-so-small idea and began the serious planning that would before long culminate in a hospital for York, Pennsylvania."

So began the preface of Florence La Rose Ames' "That Sovereign Knowledge," a history of York Hospital's first 100 years.

A hospital was needed in post-Civil War York County... .

York County, Pa., Civil War author Scott Mingus has added another book to his growing list of titles: "The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign, June-July 1863." This 315-page book covers this famous Confederate brigade during the during the Gettysburg Campaign, including its two-day stay in the York area. For locations to purchase the book, contact Mingus at scottmingus@yahoo.com. Civil War book: 'When flames brilliantly illuminated the sky over the Susquehanna River' and Books probing York County in the Civil War come in strong, sudden onslaught and The Four YorkBloggers write.

In his recently published "Louisiana Tigers," Scott Mingus tells the wonderful story of Gen. Jubal Early meeting the widow Zinn in western York County's Big Mount.

"Are you goin' to destroy us, are you going to take all that we've got?" she asked Early.

Early replied: "No madam, and to give you the best protection possible, I will stay with you, with my staff, and no one shall trouble you."

Early then visited one of his brigade commanders, John B. Gordon, at nearby Farmers.

When he returned at about 9 p.m., Mrs. Zinn had saved a supper of 15 varieties of food - meats, vegetables, coffee and milk... .

Dwight Nadig captured the ceiling in the Farquhar Park gazebo in York, Pa. This photograph was published in the just-released "Capture York," a 128-page picture book of York County. Pediment Publishing and InYork.com published this work of 173 local photographers, who submitted 3,392 photos. Web users cast 165,126 votes for their favorite photos, which ended up in the book. For details, visit Capture York. Also of interest: York County book 'All in One Room' available for readers and The Four YorkBloggers write and York Daily Record's 'Remember' oral history series recalls many topics that touched York County.

Remember S & H Green Stamps issued by Sperry & Hutchinson?

The York Daily Record/Sunday News' "Remember" oral history series explored readers recollections of those days when stamps were in great demand.

Which raised the question.

If you still have S&H Green Stamps, are they worth anything?

"Remember" gave this answer:

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... .

Joseph N. Gallagher of York, Pa., found this Gazette Almanac in his grandfather's belongings. His grandfather was the late Rev. Norman Ort, founder and minister of West York's Four Square Gospel Church. Also of interest: York County newspaper gets new wardrobe, some nips and tucks and 1874 York Daily: Is it worth anything? and Newspaper's founding date hard to pin down.

Joe Gallagher found a prize among the stuff his late grandfather Norman Ort left behind: a Handy Almanac Encyclopedia and Year Book, dated 1916.

The guts of the 142-page softcover book contained national information for those relatively quiet moment before the deadly years of American involvement in World War I and the Spanish influenza epidemic.

The cover, inside title page and back cover were custom printed to tout The Gazette of York, Pa., then operating out of its 35-37 E. King St. plant.

There's a story there... .

Ophelia Chambliss' art has been widely exhibited at York, Pa.'s, Crispus Attucks Community Center, the York County (Pa.) Heritage Trust and elsewhere around York County. Here, her art is available for all to see in Murals of York-fashion outside York County borders - in Harrisburg. The mural, titled "Mending Hearts, Minds and Communities" is part of neighborhood revitalization and community projects. The wall space was donated by Christina and Bluett Jones on the side of their gallery (Gallery Blu) at 1633 North Third St. This is the debut mural for the Susquicentennial Commission's "Painting the Town" project, as part of Harrisburg's 150th anniversary celebration in 2010. Also of interest: Civil rights heroes stand out at Bradley exhibit and Linked in with neat York County history stuff - Oct. 15, 2009 and If you want to see the Murals of York up close ... .

From the mailbag and Web: A mixed bag of links to a bit of everything around York County:

A tiny group of Episcopalians converged on a tiny chapel in the tiny Adams County town of York Springs.

"They prayed and meditated on Scripture in a one-room brick chapel on Main Street -- the parent church for Episcopalians west of the Susquehanna," York Daily Record/Sunday News reporter Melissa Nann Burke, wrote. "A rotting sign out front reads: 'Christ Church Episcopal, Colonial English Parish founded 1746.'"

The congregation dates back to the 1740s, and the structure standing today in York Springs dates to the 1830s. Read more at Episcopalians take pilgrimage to past.

- More neat stuff below. -

Springettsbury Township's (Pa.) Avalong Dairy house, aka Meadowbrook mansion, aka Christmas Tree Hill has long captured the imagination of motorists traveling on Whiteford Road. At one time, it served as the office of the dairy. Also of interest: Before Geno's made news in Philly, Gino's headlined in York and Druck Valley, Glades area offers beautiful scenery for Sunday afternoon drive and York-area full of memory-spawning landmarks

As a kid, York, Pa.'s, R. Stephen Bancroft would ride his bike up to Avalong Dairy Farm from his home in East York and help with the cows and play in the barn.

As a teen, he delivered office supplies - for his father's business, H.G. Bancroft, Inc. - to the back door of the house.

"So I am some what familiar with the history of the area," he wrote to York Town Square in an e-mail.

He provided insight into that popular Whiteford Road/Mount Zion Road corner plus some information on Melvin's Drive-In, another nostalgia-inducing landmark for many York countians: ... .

The Yorktowne Hotel, left, is one of the projects Emigsville's now-closed HAFA Construction listed on resume of work performed on historic buildings. Here, the Yorktowne is seen, next to the old York County Courthouse, from the roof of the new York County Judicial Center in this 2004 York Daily Record/Sunday News file photo. That's York County employee George Meshew, in foreground atop the judicial center, pointing out that the seven-story judicial center is higher than the Yorktowne, if you don't count the hotel's flag pole. Also of interest: Roundtown in Manchester Township, York County, Pa.? Where did that come from? and 'Skyscrapers' have shaped York's skyline since 1850 and Ten years ago, Emigsville's mighty oak fell.

A York County business, known for its historic preservation, is closing its doors.

Emigsville's HAFA Construction auctioned off its assets earlier this week.

"It was a bittersweet day for all of us," Douglas Kauffman said. He was not personally involved in the family business but his older brother, mother and uncle were its mainstays.

Here are excerpts from an e-mail from Douglas, which also explain the origin of the company's name:

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:

The Meadowbrook Mansion looms in the background as folks and their mounts mug for the camera. That area of Springettsbury Township, Pa., has seen farms and businesses come and go for decades. Also of interest: From top dog and hot dogs to dogfight and dog days in York County, Pa., Before Geno's made news in Philly, Gino's headlined in York and Mother Goose teaches York County history lessons.

The Whiteford (Arsenal) Road/Springettsbury Township intersection has been a site for change over the years.

In a recent e-mail, longtime area resident JoAnne Everhart traced some of those changes.

She started with memories from recent York Town Square posts on local miniature golf courses, specifically "Little Duffer" in York Township.

Then she told of another course on the northwest corner near the memorable Avalong Restaurant. A stop at the drive-in inevitably followed the putt-putt game.

Here are excerpts from her e-mail:

A Pennsylvania National Guard helicopter takes off from a field near the then-York Township, Pa., municipal building and York Area Regional Police Department in 2004. Helicopters flown by the Guard's Counter Drug Program help police spot marijuana plants. This is not the first time that aircraft flew from land in that vicinity. Other posts of interest: First York Airport's administration building stands today and Just try to resist studying this memory-tugging photograph and U.S. 30 Drag-O-Way, Part III: 'We would watch the dragsters on trailers head for Thomasville'.

Gwen Ferree Wise was curious about Spry's old Kelsey Airstrip, located at the present site of the York Area Regional Police Department and township park.

She could not immediately remember an airport operating from that site.

This photograph ran in the York Sunday News right after New Year's Day in 2000, and its caption noted that the last of the Bury's 11 York-area restaurants closed in 1986. In a sense, Joe Bury's popular hamburger stands out-McDonalded McDonald's for years. Background post: New McStore going up in highly trafficked spot and York countians are proud of the York Fair, and there's a lot to be proud about and York-area full of memory-spawning landmarks.

Let's just say the contest between York Fair's two known Bury hamburger vendors was settled by the strength of an onion slice.

It's the annual York Fair faceoff pitting the Bury's burger from Johnny Eagle's stand versus the offering from the Bury's Famous Hamburger booth.

Many people have York Fair traditions, and mine has become sampling the burgers from the two stands and deciding which is better that particular day ... .

The 1901 book 'York and York County' included this photo of the vaulted basement of Cresap's Fort or Dritt Mansion. The restored Long Level structure perched along the Susquehanna River south of Wrightsville, Pa., today is headquarters for Susquehanna Gateway Heritage Area, the former Lancaster-York Heritage Region. It's a National Register of Historic Places site. Also of interest: Where exactly is the York/Lancaster border? and Native Americans help clean up Dritt family cemetery in new York County park and Gettysburg-area National Register homestead gives snapshot of pressures facing farms.

The Leinhardt Brothers Furniture Warehouse in West York was formerly home of the Ashley and Bailey Company Silk Mill and was also known as the Franklin Silk Mill.

And noted York architect John A. Dempwolf did, indeed, design the York Silk Manufacturing Co. in East York.

Recent posts on those two landmark York-area buildings have raised such questions.

People in York County like their old buildings.

So, here's a resource to find out more about them and other historic structures in York County and beyond... .

A mud slide caused this train accident on the Ma & Pa Railroad at the Ben Roy Station between Red Lion and York. Also of interest: Collector searching for Western Maryland Railroad memorabilia and Old Baltimore tunnel an intriguing reminder of the 'Ma' in Ma & Pa Railroad and What it was like aboard the Stewartstown Railroad.

Hundreds of miles of railroad lines operated in York County since tracks from Baltimore reached York in 1838.

Thousands of trains have rolled along those tracks.

Sometimes, they stopped rolling.

They halted with a crash.

So, history has recorded the deadly Good Friday, 1920, train wreck near Glen Rock... .

These patriotic pre-World War II York (Pa.) Fair days were hopeful after a rough summer of battling a polio outbreak. Fairgoers needed this respite. Just two months later, Pearl Harbor changed everything. Also of interest: This York Fair mural is fading from sight and Good old days at the York Fair were at least old and JFK received grand applause at York Fair visit.

An e-mailer, an exec with a local firm and proud of the York Fair, asked the York Daily Record/Sunday News to ask for special York Fair memories.

I wrote back saying we have done just that, and they're available with audio clips by clicking here.

And we've created a thread on the York Daily Record/Sunday News' bulletin board, The Exchange, for you to share your memories.

And the posts on the blog All's Fair includes many historical memories of the fair.

That's all past stuff... .

Hundreds viewed this item recently at the Dover (Pa.) Firemen's Fair on Canal Road in Dover borough. But no one could identify its purpose. (See additional photo below.) Background posts: Is this a York County farm truck or is it just a wagon with a motor? and The Acme Tongue Carrier of Hanover, Pa.: Are there any around today? and York County group preserving Pennsylvania Dutch language, heritage.

There's a mystery machine in Dover, and folks at the Great Dover Historical Society are looking for someone who can crack the case... .

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... .

The original part of the Friends' meeting house in Warrington Township, Pa., was erected in 1769. The Northern York County congregation doubled the building's size in 1782. It's one of three such Quaker-built structures standing today across York County's northern tier. Background posts: Of Pennsylvania's conscientious objectors: The 'other side' of the Civil War and Quaker horticulturalist Jonathan Jessop was 19th-century York County Renaissance man and Gladys Rawlins, 'Black History Profiles.'

"Welcome to those attending our meeting for the first time," the church bulletin said.

Well, it wasn't exactly a bulletin, but a half-page explanation of what transpires at the Warrington Friends Monthly Meeting at this northwestern York County building.

And it wasn't exactly a church either. It was a meeting house, or meeting, home of the Warrington Friends Monthly Meeting. That would be a Quaker Meeting, a lovely stone structure visible to all amid beautiful scenery on Route 74 between Wellsville and Dillsburg.

The term "Meeting" is used by Friends to designate their place of worship as well as the worship service itself," the explanation or statement said.

For those who wonder what Quakers do in their service, here's the order of the Warrington service:

-

This scene comes from one of York County, Pa.'s, best-known miniature golf courses, Putter's Paradise in Manchester Township. Putt-Putt golf courses have been around York County for decades and not all of them have been outdoors. Also of interest: Bucolic Outdoor Country Club started in busy York neighborhood and On Eisenhower's York County golf round: He turned in a 'commendable score' and Why is Hanover Country Club in Abbottstown?.

Reader Walter B. Ziegler has identified a miniature golf course that was here prior to the 1940s when York Township's Lil Duffer is known to have been operating.

But the putt-putt course that Walter Ziegler pointed out had a roof... .

Thousand of worshippers have heard sermons in this outdoor pavilion, the tabernacle, at Penn Grove Campground in southwestern York County. The camp meeting was a rite of summer for thousands of York countians. Also of interest: Mining a rich vein of southwestern York County's religious history, Part I, Part II and Abe Lincoln, Gwyneth Paltrow passed through Porters Sideling and Billy Graham: 'I do remember him being here and what a thrill it was'.

Roy Flinchbaugh is one of a host of York countians who attended Penn Grove Campgrounds in Smith Station, Heidelberg Township.

Fond memories of those days prompted him to reflect on the camp in the 1930s, after reading my recent York Sunday News column on that topic:

" When I was growing up my parents took me up to Penn Grove Camp almost every Sunday evening in the summer... .

The village of Spry in York Township, Pa., is the home of Goodwill Fire Company, which supplied the ladder truck so that Almar the Professional Idiot could demonstrate his escape from a straight jacket. Almar kicked off the Dallastown Halloween Parade about a decade ago and was captured in this York Daily Record file photo. (See additional photos below.) Background posts: 19th-century mines gave Ore Valley its name and York County one-room schools: 'That's when things were good' and Forgotten York Valley Inn may be rediscovered.

Bonnie Stiles has provided family information that confirms details in a previous York Town Square post about the toll gate that operated at Leader Heights Road and South Queen Street in Spry.

The gate pivoted up and down on the west side of Queen Street, across the street from present-day Tollgate Village.

"When my paternal great-grandmother (Estella Mae Markey Sechrist) was alive she told me she used to run the 'toll gate' on S. Queen Street," Bonnie Stiles wrote.

"Apparently her husband, my great-grandfather (Norman Sechrist) ran a wagon from Red Lion to York every day. They claim he had something to do with tobacco."

Those were the days, less than 100 years ago, when toll roads still radiated from York... .

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... .

The Spring Grove (Pa.) Public School, left, was dedicated in 1898 and enlarged in 1921, right, as seen in this photo from "The Spring Grove Years." Who are the two luminaries in those round fixtures, photo at right, on this Dempwolf building's side, on either side of the arched entryway? Background posts: John Luther Long: Miss Saigon's York County connection and Each month, three free history presentations offered to York countians and York countians major makers of Kentucky, make that Pennsylvania, long rifles.

Recent posts have reviewed various sung and unsung sites in the Spring Grove-Hanover- McSherrytown area. (See Mining a rich vein of southwestern York County's religious history, Part 1 and Part 2.)

But the tour of southwestern York County that spawned those posts touched on non-religious questions as well.

Here are three: ... .

St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Hanover, Pa. also serves as a mini-museum. One exhibit is this beautiful 19th-century altar. Other posts of interest: Abe Lincoln, Gwyneth Paltrow passed through Porters Sideling and Dutch vs. English? York County debate still perking in 1920s and People of varying religious groups founded York County.

"The 10-mile line between York County's Spring Grove and Adams County's Edgegrove bears a rich vein of history."

That's how my last York Town Square post about a long tour of southwestern York County sites began.

Here are some specifics about that visit in question-and-answer format, which showed great diversity in the religious sites visited: ... .

The United Brethren Church built two-story cabins when it opened the Heidelberg Township (Pa.) campground in 1896 for churchgoers to stay overnight or weekly. Penn Grove Campground later operated as Camp Pamaveda and is known today at Penn Grove Retreat. All but one of the wooden structures, sometimes called tents, have been torn down, and campers to this southwestern York County facility now sleep in newer cinderblock cabins. The corner of the tabernacle, an open air pavilion for worship services, is seen at right. The campground was a stop on a recent tour of religious sites in York and Adams counties. Other posts of interest: Abe Lincoln, Gwyneth Paltrow passed through Porters Sideling and Conewago Chapel steeple worker wondered if he'd ever get up there: Now, 'Here I am' and Pamadeva. Get it? Pennsylvania. Maryland. Delaware. Virginia..

The 10-mile line between York County's Spring Grove and Adams County's Edgegrove bears a rich vein of history.

Spend five hours mining that vein with three knowledgeable students of history, and you come away with a clarity about how much you don't know about this fascinating region.

Actually, those students are longtime teachers about York County's history: Jim Rudisill, Luther Sowers and June Lloyd.

On a recent Saturday, Rudisill served as tour guide, equipped with his 14-stop itinerary neatly handwritten on lined notebook paper... .

A teen tries to guide her putt past the horse statue at Putter's Paradise in Manchester (Pa.) Township. An e-mailer to York Town Square wondered when miniature golf arrived in York County. (See additional York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News file photo below.) Other posts of interest: York-area full of memory-spawning landmarks and Playland plays nostalgic note for York countians and Western York County home owner seeks info on old toll house.

"A crazy question popped into my head today dealing with entertainment in York County," an e-mailer wrote.

"When did miniature golf come to York and what were some of the early popular venues?"

Dates like that are tough to track down.

So I asked history enthusiasts at the York Daily Record/Sunday News Exchange bulletin board.

I received two responses:

The last line in this multi-deck newspaper headline tells of the days of cockfighting in the York and Adams counties area. Michael Vick's activities indicate that the sport of animal fighting hasn't gone away. Other posts of interest: Famous York County cockpit painting might not be about cockfighting and A short test of your York black history knowledge - Part II, Exhibit captures decades-long flow of wide Susquehanna and Artist Jeff Koons came back to York for a show.

So says The York Dispatch in May 1902, quoting an 85-year-old resident.

Animal fighting was against the law then, too, but a tavern a few miles from Hanover along the the York/Adams border put a work-around in place.

Here's how it worked, according to the newspaper article: ... .

Jann Rentzel Lehman is looking for information - particularly pictures - about her great-grandfather's York County, Pa., business.

Here's her query:

I was wondering if you could locate any information on my great grandfather, Jacob Rentzel's Farm Implements and Phosphate Feed Business at 15 South Main St. in Manchester.

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:

Ammon Stolzfus, 37, of Quarryville, Pa., picks up the latest issue of Cruise Letter, a newsletter made 'By Cruisers For Cruisers,' outside the Markets at Shrewsbury in southern York County. In this 2007 York (Pa.) Daily Record/Sunday News file photo, Stolzfus was working at the outside booth for Penn Dutch Kitchen during Friday Cruise Nights. When asked if he ever checks out the cars himself, he told the newspaper there's never any time. 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'

The Amish, commonly associated with the east bank of the Susquehanna River in Lancaster County, are seen more and more in southeastern York County. They also can be seen at the Markets at Shrewsbury, a house of vendors along the Susquehanna Trail in Hametown, Shrewsbury Township.

The so-called Pennsylvania Dutch church people - German Reformed and Lutherans - mostly pioneered in York County. The Amish, different from the church people in their practice of baptizing adults among other doctrinal distinctions, settled among similar believers in Lancaster County.

So, many York countians, even Pennsylvania Dutchmen, are not that familiar with the Amish... .

Earlier this year, native York countian Judy Druck Routson released a book on her family. The Drucks were early on the scene in York County, Pa. Springettsbury Township's Druck Valley borrows its named from the family. Background posts: York County villages bear memorable names and About phone pole playground at Rocky Ridge: 'Children's heads got caught in between the logs' and Long Level and Pleasureville fielded bands?.

When you think about Druck Valley, you think of Rock Ridge County Park.

And when you think about Rocky Ridge, you think of the nearby region colorfully known as "The Glades."

More on that region in a second.

First, what of the settlers in that part of present-day Springettsbury Township?

Ball Mason jars, around for 125 years, can be used for many things. In this Kansas City Star photo, tea lights flicker in the jars. In fruit- and vegetable-rich York County, Pa., the jars remain staples for canning, their use for decades. Background posts: 21st-century Victory Gardens might morph into Stimulus Gardens and 20 questions and answers to prove your York County WWII smarts and Pennsylvania Dutch-speaking York County residents often conversed with German POWs and Jamaican fruit pickers worked York County orchards in World War II .

Five brothers named Ball started production of fruit jars in 1884, with John Mason's 1858 invention in mind.

Three years later, they moved their plant to Muncie, Ind., and their Ball Mason jars became a standard part of American homes.

This 125th anniversary of the jar brings to mind time of a government snafu when canning was most needed - the days of World War II... .

George Shumway's book on the Schreyer family of Hanover, Pa., shows York countians as major makers of 18th-century rifles. The book is available at York County libraries. Background posts: Springetts collector attracts 'Antiques Roadshow's' Kenos and Northwestern York County flag expert: 'I was interested in my nation's heritage' and York Hospital doc: Expert on antique surgical saws, antiquated procedure of bloodletting.

When people talk about Kentucky long rifles around here, they usually qualify them as Pennsylvania long rifles.

For example, when Denver, Pa.'s Dan Morphy Auctions sent a news release about a sale of a collection of long rifles set for today, it called them "Pennsylvania-made pre- and post-Revolutionary War era long rifles."

The release later put "Kentucky" in quotes.

And the auction house gave further explanation:

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... .

Anna Olmeda of Dover recently discovered this KKK certificate in the back of a framed photograph. Background posts: Criticism of Geno's leads to 'commie' claim and Leonard Pitts speaking in York, Pa.: Sometimes, history hurts and York, Pa.: 'It's a midsize city with an interesting history'.

Signs of the Ku Klux Klan's presence in early 20th-century York County are pretty common around here.

The various chapters held regular picnics, cross burnings and parades in small towns throughout the county. So, this secret society left a public trail.

A reminder of those days came recently when Dover Township's Anna Olmeda found a certificate in an old picture frame granting Claude A. Slyder, presumably from York County, membership in the Klan... .

The Brogue General Store has served as a community meeting place for years. Here's a gathering from 2004. Background posts: One-room school days fascinate York County history students and High-ranking military brothers spent time in York County and Wildflowers at Shenk's Ferry glen sprouting despite centuries of encroaching civilization.

Fellow blogger June Lloyd is a native of The Brogue.

The former York County Heritage Trust archivist knows much about her home area - and is offering a well-grounded explanation for the origin of the southeastern York County village's name... .

In this York (Pa.) Daily Record file photo from 2005, June Grove is seen in Brogue's St. Luke Cemetery. Her ancestors are buried there along with Revolutionary War veterans George Keener, 1757-1841, John Stermer, 1760-1855, Henry Tome, 1754-1846. Background posts: 'Painting pastor's' work survives devastating southeastern York County blaze and On York County parks, Susquehannocks and carved river rocks and How many Amish have crossed the bridge from Lancaster to York County?.

Information in a post on fellow blogger Joan Concilio's Only in York County site gives a possible explanation for why the Chanceford Township village of Brogue is often called The Brogue.

The short answer is that it was a shortened version of someone saying "I'm going over to the Brogue Hotel," a landmark there for years.

But where did the village name of Brogue come from?

June Grove knows more about the Chancefords (which includes Lower Chanceford Township) than anyone... .

In a March 10, 1995, story, The York Daily Record tells about the then-upcoming "The Brady Bunch Movie," written by former York countian Laurice Elehwany. Background posts: Cameron Mitchell, Craig Sheffer, Dixie Chick born here and Artist Jeff Koons came back to York for a show and Add another to list of entertainers with York links.

"Until she was 13, Laurice Elehwany lived a few miles outside Spring Grove. She swam in Lake Pahagaco. She ate cotton candy at the York Fair. She directed her neighborhood friends in skits she devised. And she watched 'The Brady Bunch' on TV. Today 30-year-old Elehwany lives in Hollywood and writes screenplays. She achieved her first success three years ago with 'My Girl.' Now she can also lay claim to the current hit 'The Brady Bunch Movie.' "

That's how a York Daily Record story in 1995 introduced local-girl-made-good Laurice Elehwany.

The recent Jefferson Carnival reminded me of Elehwany, successful in Hollywood but almost forgotten around York County.

She small-town setting in "My Girl" was based on her memories of Jefferson borough in southwestern York County, according to the Daily Record... .

A fun thread under way on The Exchange, a York Daily Record/Sunday News community bulletin board, is exploring topics relating to Springwood Park and Pool and Camp Betty Washington.

The conversation is exploring the old Springwood pool, which operated along Springwood Road between Chapel Church Road, and Yoe and the old Camp Betty Washington Pool. That complex was operated along the road of the same name, about a half mile south of the Mount Rose intersection in Spring Garden Township.

The camp was started and used by York's St. John the Baptist Episcopal congregation from the 1920s to 1940, which generally overlapped with the heyday of the Springwood Park... .

York Township's Springwood Park and pool complex is seen in this undated York County Heritage Trust photo. Background: York Township's Springwood Park dance hall: 'We would pack the place' and York Town Square commenter asks about much-remembered Springwood Pool's ownership and Springwood Pool and its sloping sides: 'I remember so well how cold it was'.

A couple of callers have contributed information about the long-closed Springwood Park and pool that operated along Springwood Road in York Township.

John Fishel noticed on an 1876 atlas that the park was listed as the Ma & Pa Railroad's Springwood Picnic Station.

A York Township history indicates that the park operated from the 1920s to 1954, but that might have been the park when it was built out for large crowds... .

This aerial view from 1937 gives a view of York Township's Ore Valley. Springwood Park is seen in the left, center part of the photograph. See description below to locate it. Background: York Township's Springwood Park dance hall: 'We would pack the place' and York Town Square commenter asks about much-remembered Springwood Pool's ownership and Springwood Pool and its sloping sides: 'I remember so well how cold it was'.

This is a post designed to be fun.

You can't see much of Springwood Park, an old recreational site off Springwood Road in York Township. But it's fun to look try to locate it:

- Locate that cluster of houses at 6 o'clock, just at the edge of the photo. That's Yoe.

- Follow the road, Springwood Road, running to about 9 o'clock out of Yoe until you come to an angled intersection. That's Chapel Church Road connecting Springwood and Cape Horn. (Still does.)

- Now backtrack just a short distance along Springwood toward Yoe until you see a bulge in the road. That's Springwood Park with the pool on one side and the dance hall on the other... .

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? ... .

This is one of only two photographs of old Springwood Park in York County Heritage Trust image files. (See second photo below). A York Township history places the park on the railroad bend north of Relay and Yoe. But see the existing house along Springwood Road, with the distinctive windows, in the post Springwood Pool and its sloping sides: 'I remember so well how cold it was' to gets its exact location. (But drive carefully because that stretch of road is wicked.) Background posts: 19th-century mines gave Ore Valley its name and Yo! More support for Yoe vs. Yohe and So, you want learn about your house's history?.

The post "York Town Square commenter asks about much-remembered Springwood Pool's ownership " brings forth more information about York Township's Springwood Park.

But there's not a lot on the official record about that now-abandoned spot.

The book "York Township celebrates 250 years of history" is the best resource.

It at least tells about the dance hall in the photo above:

York Township's Springwood Pool sustained considerable damage in the flood of 1933. The pool, reachable via the Ma & Pa Railroad, was located along Springwood Road, between Yoe and Chapel Church Road. Background posts: Old Ma & Pa Railroad trestle may again carry passengers - on bicyles - some day and 19th-century mines gave Ore Valley its name and One-room schools: 'That's when things were good'.

The post - Springwood Pool and its sloping sides: 'I remember so well how cold it was' - raised questions in reader Lynda Stoddard's mind about the old pool's ownership.

"... (W)e were told our grandparents at one time owned the park, 1920 or 1930 and there was a story passed around about a shooting, which we have never been able to find anything out about, could have been a rumor ...," she commented.

She has pictures of the park, along Springwood Road, provided by her grandparents.

A York Township history says this about the ownership:

Red Lion's new year is traditionally ushered in with the raising of a huge cigar, reminding folks of the area's past might as a cigar manufacturer. The fiberglass cigar, held by a lion character, weighs 100 pounds and is 8 feet, 3 inches long. The borough's cigarmaking history is certain to be a topic of discussion in a tour of its streets on Tuesday, June 30. (See photos below of Red Lion's cigarmaking culture of the past.) Background posts: It couldn't happen in York County? Women were trampled in Depression-era labor unrest and York County cigars: 'They contained a vast amount of nicotine' and Red Lion's Ebert Furniture: From bedroom suites to gunstocks.

A guided walking tour through Red Lion, sponsored by the Kaltreider-Benfer Library, is set for 6:30 p.m. June 30... .

Nancy Bivens, a former York countian, is looking for a county locale that created many childhood memories.

She e-mailed:

"The place was owned by Tom and Roxanne Johnson (Johnston) not sure which spelling is correct. It was named Tow Bow Motel (again not sure of the spelling)... .

York County native Samuel Jordan is known as the father of modern education in Iran. He was ordained into the ministry in southeastern York County, and went overseas as a missionary. He is buried in Centre Presbyterian Church's cemetery, New Park. Background posts: Three Rhodes Scholars call York County their boyhood home and Fawn Township's magnificent Centre Presbyterian Church worthy of a looksee and Church's story links up with U.S. religious history.

All roads do lead to York.

This road includes New Park, in southeast York County; Persia, now Iran; and University of California, Irvine branch.

And it involves a minister named Samuel Martin Jordan.

The tie that binds these places comes from an e-mail written by Stewartstown's Kathryn Jordan. Samuel Jordan is Kathryn's late husband's uncle - Uncle Mart.

Here are the links:

This old post office represents the past in Franklintown, on the former main way between Baltimore and Harrisburg. (For a view of the new, see photo below.) To locate this small, changing borough, Warrington, Carroll, Washington and Franklin townships all meet east of town. Background posts: Franklintown second cousin to neighboring Dillsburg and Birthday borough Dillsburg: 'Seems to be York County's wild child' and Flag expert: 'I was interested in my nation's heritage'.

Northwestern York County's tiny Franklintown borough has been in the news because of earthquakes in those parts.

But the town regularly made it in national headlines from 1982 to 1994 when its books contained a law that all residents had to own guns.

Townsmen even appeared on Donohue to talk about their ordinance.

Today, towns statewide are considering adopting law that lost and stolen firearms are to be reported to police within 72 hours.

That's controversial, but not as much so as the never-enforced, mostly symbolic Franklintown law... .

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

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

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

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

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

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

In this 2000 photo, Spring Grove players workout in their former football stadium, with the Glatfelter paper plant looming large. The team now plays in new digs - Papermakers Stadium - located near the new high school. (See related photo below.) Background posts: Private, public interests built Lake Marburg for manufacturing, recreation and Worker saved key historical surveys from Glatfelter pulping machine and White Woman of the Genessee captured 250 years ago in York County.

Glatfelters have been making news around York County for, well, more than 250 years.

Perhaps the most prominent Glatfelter is the Spring Grove papermaker. And just in the past few days, that Glatfelter was in the headlines because of a wonderful piece of land the company donated in Adams County and an air tank that ruptured (no one was injured) at its mill.

When Harry Potter climbs back into the news, it's certain to bring back ties of the Glatfelter as the maker of the pages that people so devotedly turn.

But the descendants of Casper Glattfelter - Glatfelters, Gladfelters, Glotfeltys, Clodfelters and Clotfelters - are known for more than papermaking... .

This roadside giant went up at Shatzer's Fruit Market in Franklin County's Hamilton Township this week. It's an example of roadside architecture, evident for years along the Lincoln Highway and Route 30, to attract attention to stops for motorists. Background posts: Mahlon Haines got in trouble at Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge and Old Lincoln Highway pulled 'Americans out of the mud' and Landmark Modernaire Motel built in Lincoln Highway's heyday.

A modern-day Roadside Giant has been birthed along Route 30 near Chambersburg.

Students at the Franklin County Career and Technology Center assembled an super-sized replica of a 1921 Selden apple truck, complete with crates of produce on the bed, according to the Chambersburg Public Opinion.

It's dimensions?

Eleven feet tall and 26 feet long.

Such oversized structures have been part of old-road architecture for years.

York County's Shoe House, near both Route 30 and the old Lincoln Highway, is a York/Adams example.

This tourist attractions are fighting to stay standing... .

The grassy Center Square in Jefferson has been a gathering place for years. That monument in the background is a rare statue in York County devoted to those who served in World War I. A historical marker will be dedicated at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 27. The Codorus Valley Area Historical Society is sponsoring the dedication that will observe this Civil War event, set for Center Square. Scott Mingus will be the guest speaker. Background posts: Washington Township, Jefferson Borough, Madison Avenue. How about an Obama Street in York County? and Abe Lincoln stopped at Hanover station:"We want to preserve history ... so it doesn't disappear' and Abandoned Codorus railroad not just any abandoned railroad.

When a new Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission marker observing Confederate and Union troop movement through Jefferson is dedicated later this month, it will mark just one of many times the southwestern York County borough and its square have made history.

Squares, by definition, are places where townspeople gather and do good things or dumb things - or places where outside forces do things to a community.

But not all town squares are equal.

And Jefferson's Center Square is more than equal, among many in York/Adams.

For example: ... .

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

Wonder what's going on there?

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

This York Daily Record/Sunday News graphic represents the location of the series of earthquakes that have been felt in northeastern York County in the past year. So far, the impact of the earthquakes have not been as severe as "A BIG GROUND SWELL" that shook York County in March 1889. Background posts: Northern York area strawberry part of Neapolitan county and Photographer tramps to far reaches of York County and Franklintown second cousin to neighboring Dillsburg.

Recent Dillsburg-area earthquakes have been mere rumblings compared to the most memorable quake to hit York County - in 1889.

The multi-deck headline in the York Gazette on March 9, 1889, tells the story:

"A BIG GROUND SWELL"

"York Shaken by a Bona Fide Earthquake"

"A Tall Local Sensation"

"Bricks Fall From Chimneys And Dishes Rattle"

"BUILDINGS VIBRATE"

"Pianos Emit Weird and Mysterious Sounds"

"The SHAKE AT OTHER POINTS"

"Windows Rattled at Gettysburg - Lancaster and Old Berks Feel the Shock - Baltimore Touched"

"OTHER POINTS FEEL THE TREMOR."

The Gazette reported that the streets were deserted, but as soon as it was felt, men, women and children rushed shrieking into the street... .

When you see something with June Grove's name on it, you know the research is sound.

So, her latest work is certain to move York County historical enterprise ahead.

Columnist Lori Badders wrote about Grove's latest work in the Weekly Record, circulating in the southern part of York County.

Grove's research is concentrated in that area.

Badders wrote:

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

It's a simple equation.

Old schoolhouse + sweat equity = Lovely private residence.

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

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

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

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

This map from York County Heritage Trust archives shows a branch of the main trolley line between York and York Haven ran from Manchester to Mount Wolf. Bradley Rentzel writes in his "History of Mount Wolf" that the trolley line ran from 1903 to 1937. The Mount Wolf depot sat next to the Market Street bridge near the Northern Central Railway-Pennsylvania Railroad crossing. Background posts: Wolf Man. Wolfchester. No, the Village of Mount Wolf and Caeserville, named after ex-slave, flourished as lumber center and When York County undertakers served as woodworkers ... and vice versa.

For years, newspapers were delivered to York County's hinterlands via trolley car.

In particular, I remember reading Bradley Rentzel's account about their delivery to Mount Wolf.

"The first trolley car arrives at 5:30 a.m. from York with one or two workmen who head for the Wire Cloth plant," Rentzel wrote in "History of Mount Wolf." "A paper carrier picks up a bundle of papers, The York Gazette, which he immediately starts distributing. The first stop is at the Henry B. Hoff home."

What I never connected, until recently, was how the trolley got to Mount Wolf. The main line ran through Manchester, some distance away.

Then I noticed a map of the trolley system in York County, and a brief perusal showed a trolley spur exiting the main line at Manchester and terminating in Mount Wolf... .

Bryan Bennett looks demonstrates how to pan for gold in York County's Conewago Township earlier this year. Modern-day prospectors are seeking a permit to dredge the Conewago Creek for gold. (See photo of dredge below.) Background posts: Conewago crossing near Manchester hot spot for years and Old York County Boy Scout camp still teaching lessons and Does Washington Township's 'The Pickets' link with Civil War?.

York County sent forth a bunch of exuberant prospectors to seek California gold in 1849.

Well, their heirs are at work 150 years later, panning in Conewago Creek.

They're finding some flakes and recently asked the state for approval to use a small dredge to uncover more... .

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

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

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

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

This story from the York Daily Record on May 31, 1992, tells about a York County junkman's find of evidence in the murder case of Susan Reinert in 1979. One of the defendants in this dramatic case, Jay C. Smith, died last week. Background posts: West York ritualistic suicide forgotten by many, but investigators remember anand Longtime district justice: 'You can wait for my book' and Witman murder among York County's most notorious crimes.

The crime story made headlines in Pennsylvania for years.

Joseph Wambaugh extended the case's international reach with his portrayal in the 1987 book "Echoes in the Darkness."

The case spawned a TV mini-series.

And a York County man played a role in the case.

"Jay C. Smith, 80, the former Upper Merion High School principal convicted of a teacher's shocking 1979 murder, then freed from death row by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 1992, died Tuesday," the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Smith was implicated in the murders of Upper Merion teacher Susan Reinert and her two children and sent to death row.

And the find of the York County junkman helped free him... .

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

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

Whatever happened to the restoration efforts?

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

June Lloyd wrote the book on a form of fraktur used to illustrate York County, Pa., birth and baptismal certificates in the 1700s and 1800s. A sample is found on the her book's cover. "Faith and Family" is available at the York County Heritage Trust. Background posts: PS Harrisburg grad school: 'Set my feet even more firmly on the path into the world of Fraktur' and The Four YorkBloggers write and Nature had its way with short-lived York Furnace Bridge in southeastern York County

Former York County Heritage Trust Archivist June Lloyd is looking for folks who have early American birth and baptismal certificates.

She compiling a database of these works of fraktur, known as taufscheine.

June told an audience at the Heritage Trust's Second Saturday program over the weekend that she has records of 1,500 such certificates and regularly adds to that total as she learns of them.

The following is a sampling of the points she made on this Pennsylvania Dutch (German) practice of commissioning such art to mark these important passages:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gov. George M. Leader signs plans on March 19, 1958, for constructing the dam which formed the lake that became the centerpiece of Gifford Pinchot State Park in northern York County. Legislative aid and brother Henry B. Leader looks on. The location was chosen, according to The Gazette and Daily where this photograph was taken, because it was equidistant between York and Harrisburg. Background posts: Gov. George Leader cleared dam plan and Historians, journalists draw on work of forebears and Central Pennsylvania histories make smart part of summer reading stack.

York County - specifically Newberry Township - was home to the first Pinchot road, a highway program designed in the early 1930s "to get the farmer out of the mud."

That was the start of construction of some 20,000 miles of roads in Pennsylvania designed to aid farmers and to create jobs during the growing Great Depression.

That program took then-Gov. Gifford Pinchot's name, as did the nearby state park that grew under the administration of York County native George Leader.

York County farmers might have felt some conflict at the time of the road program in 1931... .

John G. Coulson's "Hanover Raiders, Minor League Baseball in Hanover, Pennsylvania" tells about the life and times and players in the Blue Ridge League. His work nicely adds to the repository of the names of major league players who hailed from or played in York and Adams counties. Background posts: Before the York Revs came the Hanover Raiders and Big league baseball fans from everywhere remember Gene Crumling and York County sports a miniature Cooperstown.

At the moment of the Atlantic League York Revolution's home opener for season No. 3, it's a good time to review former major leaguers with York roots as well as those who were here for a cup of coffee.

Atlanta Braves superscout Paul Snyder is from York County. So is Greg Gross. And Jim Spencer. And Gene Cumling. And Ken Raffensberger.

Robert Rohrbaugh might be the region's next major leaguer.

York Town Square just profiled Eddie Plank, the great southpaw 300-game winner.

Just when you think you exhausted the pool of York/Adams countians with Major League Baseball ties (click here for another long and impressive list) who were born here or lived here, you run across another batch... .

The Gazette and Daily reported a raid of a bawdy house in the Conewago Heights area between Manchester and York Haven in 1918. Preparing for the raid was the easy part. Bringing the proprietors into custody proved to be much more difficult and dangerous. Background posts: Conewago crossing near Manchester hot spot for years - Part I and Conewago crossing - Part II and Conewago crossing - Part III.

The Conewago crossing near Manchester has seen Confederate raiders and contented sunbathers.

Conewago Inn-goers have long sipped prized turtle soup. A 750-pound snapping turtle, carved with a chainsaw, posing in that area can evoke a thought about how many bowls of soup his real-life counterpart would have produced.

For years, children licked ice cream cones from Elm Beach's concession stand. Cold Springs Park played host to picnickers by the thousands.

Trolleys ran near there. Trains too.

And the crossing has long served as the symbolic boundary between York-oriented folks and Harrisburg-leaning commuters.

It's an example how so much has happened at a single point in York County. Multiply that point by thousands and you have a rich history.

And as the following story shows, crime is not just a city problem. For years, newspaper headlines have related rural misdeeds - often with dangerous implications - even in recreational areas such as the Conewago crossing.

The crossing was abuzz after a police raid on a house of ill repute - the "Liberty Bell" - in the spring of 1919... .

Glenn Grove of Delta is a member the Welsh choir Cor Rehoboth and a tour guide of Welsh burial markers made of slate. Here, he walks through the Slateville Presbyterian Church cemetery. 'Er Cof' is Welsh for 'In Memory.' Background posts: Stone structures tell York countians how their ancestors lived and Delta-Peach Bottom slate shingles: 'Nothing works as good as this' and Old York County town jails: 'They're kind of hidden history'.

Those intrigued by the Welsh in southeastern York County will have a chance this weekend - May 2-3 - to worship and sing with these actual and spiritual sons and daughters of slateworkers.

Homecoming this weekend will be centered in and around the Rehoboth Welsh Chapel.

"Twice a year a Gymanfa Ganu, or Welsh singing festival, is held - on the first Sunday in May and the second Sunday in October," the Delta Welsh Heritage Web site states.

"Visitors come from all over North America." ...

Eddie Plank, a Gettysburg native, won more than 300 games in his Major League Baseball career, the first lefthander to do so. Plank ended his career with 327 victories. He entered the majors in 1901 and retired in 1917. He became a hall-of-famer in 1946. Background posts: Story answers much about great athlete Hinkey Haines, including origin of his nickname and Southpaw could be next York/Adams major leaguer and Baseball's Methuselah played for White Roses.

A Gettysburg restaurant recently has themed native son and baseball Hall-of-Famer Eddie Plank.

"Gettysburg is a town that lives on the dead, their legends, speeches and actions.
Most restaurants, gift shops and museums have themes that deal with the borough's famous battlefield and presidential history," blogger Pat Abdalla wrote under the headline, Finding a niche with Eddie Plank.

"Restaurant owner Bill Wills, however, has found a different niche in Gettysburg's history: Eddie Plank, a legendary baseball player who was born and lived in the town."

This attention on Plank brings to mind a review of an article in "National Pastime" on Plank.

That York Sunday News article (7/25/04) debunked some myths about Plank, the first southpaw to win more than 300 games in the majors... .

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

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

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

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

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

He thought it would be interesting, Argento wrote.

Argento told about one such interesting incident:

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: ... .

This view in Manchester Township is taken from a development, crosses farmland and runs into more development. Farmland preservation is taking hold, although non-farm use of land surpassed agricultural use 25 years ago. (See additional photo below.) Background posts: A York County story: Sprawl leaves problems in its wake and Demolished Red Lion Grange Hall still tells tale of changing York County and From Meadowbrook Mansion to York County farmhouse and All farm & fields posts from the start.

YorkCounts correctly believes farmland preservation is a key quality-of-life indicator in York County.

"York Countians value open space as a matter of principle and honor farmland in concert with our heritage," the coalition stated in its recent report. "Preserving farmland means protecting not only the agricultural sector of the economy, which is still vibrant in York County, but also the very look and feel of the place where we live."

Fortunately, YorkCounts' stats show a trend line of acres of York County farmland gaining protection faster than population is growing... .

The demolished building in foreground is the bath house for Springwood Park near Yoe in the aftermath of the Flood of 1933. According to the booklet 'Picture Memories, York Flood 1933,' Mill Creek's waters carried the structure 100 feet off its foundation, and it broke into two sections when it struck a telephone pole. Half of it is in the swimming pool, at left. Nothing is left of Springwood Park, but the still-standing house, right, helps locate it. The house is identifiable today by its distinctive second-story windows. Background posts: Old Ma & Pa Railroad trestle may again carry passengers - on bicyles - some day and 19th-century mines gave Ore Valley its name and One-room schools: 'That's when things were good'.

The pool's sloping sides and cold, cold water make it memorable.

That was the 125-foot by 75-foot Springwood Pool along the road by the same name in York Township, between Chapel Church Road and Yoe.

It operated from the 1920s until 1954... .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

One of the original rails remains on the old Stewartstown Railroad bed. Background posts: Stewartstown Railroad: 'Truly a unique entity in the state, and possibly, the nation' and 'Yesteryears' southern York County sites and All Stewartstown-related posts from the start.

Doug Winemiller is one of the leading preservationists working to get the Stewartstown Railroad operating again.

In past e-mails, he's noted that many of the original rails are still in place on the line, a shortline that hauled agricultural products between Stewartstown and points east with the Northern Central Railroad at New Freedom.

He included a photo to prove his point... .

In this 2000 York Daily Record file photo, a Dover Area High School student demonstrates the Empathy Belly. The 37-pound unit is designed to simulate a pregnancy, a preventative method to educate about teen pregnancy used in area schools. Background posts: High school graduation, YorkCounts quality-of-life indicator: Rising after a low start and York County quality-of-life groups seeking to regain magic cooperation of York Plan and Who will lead the York area in the future?.

Although York County's teen birth stats are falling, York City's figures have been at or near the top of Pennsylvania's list for years.

In 2006, for example, about 22 percent of the city's births were to teen mothers, top in the state, according to Pennsylvania Coalition to Prevent Teen Pregnancy figures.

This sobering topic came up again when YorkCounts addressed the topic in a recent report.

The teen birth situation got so bad in the early 1990s that the pregnancy prevention officials implemented a plan that added a smile to a serious problem.

It was called the Great York County Sex Out, and it attracted international attention... .

Dr. Philip A. Hoover's 1994 book is full of insight about 20th-century life in York County. Background: Tobacco usage, YorkCounts quality-of-life indicator: Rooted in York County's past and High school graduation, YorkCounts indicator: Rising after a low start and York County group preserving Pennsylvania Dutch language, heritage.

Teen pregnancy is a problem in York County, although the rate is falling, according to a recent YorkCounts report.

But it's long been a problem in York County. And the rate was fueled from the three corners of York County.

Here's the quick skinny, as found in my recent York Sunday News column (3/29/09):

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A vast amount of work.

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

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

First, tobacco usage in York County:

Propaganda posters, as they were then called, helped sell patriotic ideas during World War II. This poster promotes Victory Gardens, but the posters ranged from loose lips sink ships to recycling themes. (See additional poster below.) Background posts: 20 questions and answers to prove your York County WWII smarts and Pennsylvania Dutch-speaking York County residents often conversed with German POWs and Jamaican fruit pickers worked York County orchards in World War II .

Victory Gardens, 21st-century style, may make a comeback as Americans cope with the recession this summer.

The gardens represented an important part of military strategy in World War II. The idea was that if homefront Americans could grow enough to feed themselves, the government could concentrate on feeding the troops.

This excerpt from my "In the Thick of the Fight" describes the World War II-era gardening boom:

A meteor shower amazed - and frightened - York countians in 1833. But it left behind nothing like the meteorite found in 1907 in the Shrewsbury area. Here, the Perseid Meteor Shower shower visit the skies in a photograph published in the York Daily Record/Sunday News in 2004. 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.

Dillsburg is experiencing more than its share of earthquakes recently.

According to one count, about 325 tremors were reported in the Dillsburg area between Oct. 3 and early February.

But such natural phenomenons are not new in York County.

A natural event - the Leonid meteor shower - scared thousands in 1833... .

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: ...

Candidate Barack Obama took a tour of the Voith Siemens Hydro Power Plant in York in September 2008. In visiting York County, Obama stepped on soil familiar to his family. Background posts: Exhibit features artifacts detailing presidential visits to York County and In 2008, 8 top candidates or their families campaigned in York County and When York County rolled up its red carpet to people of color.

President William McKinley and Richard Nixon have family links to York County. That information has been out there for years.

But "Trust Talk," newsletter of the York County Heritage Trust, broke new ground in exploring local links to the family of Barack Obama - and former president Lyndon Johnson.

According to the newsletter, Both Obama and Johnson descend from Philip Ament, a York County native... .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Former Hanoverian Ann Roth's photograph is seen next to a sketch from 'The English Patient.' She earned an Oscar for her costume work in that film. The Hanover (Pa.) Area Historical Society will display some of Roth's sketches in March at the Warehime-Myers Mansion in Hanover. Background posts: York County continuing ed classes offered for matures who love to learn and Cameron Mitchell, Craig Sheffer, Dixie Chick born here and Young Alan Alda performed along the Codorus? Researcher checking that out.

The Hanover Area Historical Society is exhibiting sketches by famed costume designer Ann Roth this month.

In so doing, the society is taking a step the 20-something historical groups throughout York County should emulate: Embrace popular culture as part of the historical enterprise.

Communities throughout York County have produced dozens of celebrities... .

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... .

Fastnachts (fost-nokts) await transport to customers at the Stewartstown Senior Center today, Fastnaught Day. (See additional York Daily Record/Sunday News photos below.) Background posts: Classes offer rare op to learn Pennsylvania Dutch - Part II and PS Harrisburg grad school: 'Set my feet even more firmly on the path into the world of Fraktur' and Noted Pennsylvania German art historian will be missed.

In a York Daily Record/Sunday News story today (2/24/09), writer Barb Krebs answered two basic questions about Fastnachts:

Question 1: What is a Fastnacht, in the first place?

Answer: A Fastnacht is a yeast-raised potato pastry that is deep fried like a doughnut. The name fastnacht is German for "fast night," and the tradition of making them began with the Pennsylvania Dutch as a way to use up the lard, sugar, fat and butter that are forbidden during Lent.

Question 2: What makes a fastnacht different from a regular doughnut? ...

Ken Stough, left, instructor for the Pennsylvania Dutch language classes, talks with Butch Reigart during a class at Providence Place near Dover. Reigart, formerly of York County, is teaching an upcoming Lancaster-based Pennsylvania German course. Background posts: Der Belsnickel of the Pennsylvania Dutch: 'He looked scary and carried a sack of presents' and Classes offer rare op to learn Pennsylvania Dutch and York County group preserving Pennsylvania Dutch language, heritage.

People are fascinated with Pennsylvania Dutch language, a dialect of German spoken for decades - centuries - in York County and other parts of Pennsylvania.

Today, the dialect is most prevalent among the Mennonite and Amish, the latter a growing population group in southeastern York County.

According to a news release, the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society is offering 10-week classes in the Pennsylvania Dutch language and culture... .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I asked around about that... .

Advertisements such as these were common in York County newspapers of the 1920s. Background posts: Criticism of Geno's leads to 'commie' claim and Leonard Pitts speaking in York, Pa.: Sometimes, history hurts and York, Pa.: 'It's a midsize city with an interesting history'.

In recent years, the Ku Klux Klan has tried to sound mainstream - against abortion, drugs and pornography, for example.

But such stabs for legitimacy are not new.

Terry Koller from Dover Township phoned about a family member - his mother - who received such a taste of the Klan operating in the mainstream. And that was early in the 20th century... .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Too bad it's not coming to York County.

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

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

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

In 1949, the Rev. Dr. C. Guy Stambach works on a painting that now hangs in Dallastown's Bethlehem United Methodist Church. A similar painting survived a devastating fire at Shenberger's Chapel, another United Methodist congregation, in Chanceford Township in southeastern York County. (See below for Paul Kuehnel's video and still photos on the fire and the painting.) Background posts: Church's landmark: 'A man named Beech carving a beech tree, it seemed too perfect' and People of varying religious groups founded York County and York's worst blaze struck 150 years ago.

In inspecting their burned out church, chagrined Shenbarger Chapel members are marveling that a painting behind the pulpit survived the blaze.

The painting of Jesus is one of many brought to area churches via the hand of pastor/artist C. Guy Stambaugh.

Coincidentally, the York Daily Record/Sunday News (1/30/09) had run a feature on the Rev. Stambaugh just last week... .

This is a closeup of the Shenbarger chancel painting that survived the blaze.

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... .

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

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

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

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

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

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... .

This old photo captures the presence of hooded Klansmen in Shrewsbury, a regular sight in small towns across York County, Pa., in the first half of the 20th century. Background posts: Meeting of riot victims brought hope for racial accord and York's 221 E. Princess St. home to telling ironies and York Charrette or charade?.

For years, I've checked in on a small stained-glass window at a northwestern York County church.

Lettering in a lower pane indicates that the Ku Klux Klan sponsored it in the KKK's local heyday in the first third of the 20th century.

Late last year, I stopped by, and it appeared that the lettering had been obliterated... .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Georg Sheets' 'York County: To the Setting of the Sun' includes this Bill Schintz photograph of Jimmy Carter's visit to Lewisberry in 1974. (To see a list of other visits by presidents or presidental candidates, click here.) Background post: Former York countian has hand on Lincoln dollar, too and Abe Lincoln stopped at Hanover station:"We want to preserve history ... so it doesn't disappear' and York-area woodcarver made life-size JFK statue. But where is it now?.

Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter visited Lewisberry in northern York County in 1974.

York photographer Bill Schintz recalls Carter attended a rally at a barn... .

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 page from The Gazette and Daily tells about President Franklin D. Roosevelt's appearance on his train's platform on its way through York in late May 1934. (To see a list of other presidential visits, click here.) Background posts: York-area woodcarver made life-size JFK statue. But where is it now? and Teddy Roosevelt in York: 'I know York county farmers are prosperous. Their barns are bigger than their houses' and Headline: 'Beards on Parade at Gettysburg (Battle) Field' .

President Franklin D. Roosevelt traveled through York County by train at least two times in the 1930s.

He waved from his private car but did not appear on the platform as he headed through Hanover to give his own Gettysburg Address at the Adams County battlefield on May 30, 1934. Crowds also lined the tracks in Menges Mills and Spring Grove to catch a glimpse of the president.

But on his way back through York, he stood on his train car's platform, waving to a crowd estimated at 10,000 to 15,000 people. The train did not stop... .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Indeed, the interstate helped redefine the neighborhood.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Red Lion cigarmaker Harry L. Haines represented York County in U.S. Congress for most of the 1930s. Background posts: 34 years ago, Congressman Goodling replaced Congressman Goodling, Who were these congressional visitors to York Town, anyway? and Sixty years ago, Dem upset GOP incumbent for York County congressional seat.

Hinkey Haines' athletic successes sometimes overshadowed his accomplished father Harry Haines.

Harry was a cigarmaker - owner of three factories - and a successful amateur athlete around the region. He was mayor of Red Lion in the 1920s.

And he was York County's Democratic congressman in most of the Depression era.

In fact, those were the days when congressional races were, indeed, races... .

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

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

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

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

Grace Tarbet, Ruth Miller, Thelma Nerlinger are on duty transferring calls at York Telephone and Telegraph's Stewartstown exchange in this photograph from The Gazette and Daily. On June 18, 1961, their long tenures ended when an automatic exchange was installed. Background posts: Miata, pool suggest changes in small-town Stewartstown, Fawn Township's magnificent Centre Presbyterian Church worthy of a looksee and Few know it, but digital computing's first pioneer George Stibitz was born in York, Pa.

Those days when an operator transferred local calls ended in York County in the early 1960s.

Stewartstown was the next-to-last exchange to convert to automatic dial service in June 1961, with Fawn Grove slated later in that year.

"No longer will a Stewartstown subscriber be able to ask an operator for the special accommodation of routing a call to some nearby place where that subscriber would be visiting," The Gazette and Daily reported.

Nine operators lost their jobs in that switchover... .

This photograph shows the Codorus Creek near Richland Avenue before Depression-era flood-control efforts changed its appearance. (Courtesy of York County Heritage Trust.) Background posts: Destructive flood of 1933 struck York County 75 years ago, It couldn't happen in York County? Women were trampled in Depression-era labor unrest and Bad economy turned York Safe and Lock toward lucrative defense work .

In a previous post Great Depression not only pinched in York County, it punched, I take a poke at the notion that the county somehow escaped the very tough times of the 1930s.

That assertion has come down over the years because no bank in York failed during the Depression.

No banks apparently failed in the city.

But using Charles Bloomfield's Millersville University master's research, I point out that 17 of York County's 46 banks either failed or reorganized.

This discussion caused Warren Miller of Hanover to inquire about which banks did, indeed, fail... .

Here's a hint to answer part of York County Smarts quiz, Part IV: This former York County legislator made history when she became the first woman elected to the General Assembly in the 1960s. (See additional photo below). York County smarts quiz, Part I, Part II, Part III.

Since its beginning, Pennsylvania has accomplished awesome results in the civilized arts -- more so than other areas of the United States of comparable size.

So says Philip Klein in his "History of Pennsylvania."

"Every region generates some creative people," he and co-author Ari Hogenboom wrote, "but Pennsylvania produced them by the hundreds."

Why?

Credit it to a diverse population, William Penn's quest for liberty and a varied, resource-rich geographic landscape.

Benjamin Franklin is Klein's Exhibit A of a Pennsylvania who showed original thought coupled with practical experiment.

All this could help explain why York countians have long made their mark on the state and national landscape... .

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

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

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

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

The Rosie the Riveter image could suggest to some that women worked outside the home for the first time in World War II. Actually, the Great Depression brought women into the work force in droves, paving the way for their wartime role as a key cog in the Arsenal of Democracy. Women aiding their families made up one-third of York's workers at the height of the Depression in 1933. Here, a woman runs a machine in this undated photo, courtesy of the York County Heritage Trust. Background posts: The real big York County house that little false teeth built, York County expert Dan Meckley: 'I refuse to be politically correct' and Valencia Ballroom became cool place during Depression.

Let's be clear.

Depressions, like recessions, are not desirable.

But history shows that good can come out of bad.

That was true of Joseph in the Bible when Potipher's wife set him up.

It is true in the Great Depression in York County, when many community institutions that delight today cropped up from damaged economic soil.

Can a fraction of this happen again during the current downturn?

The following adaptation from my book "Never to be Forgotten," show the devastation and renewal spawned by the Depression.

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

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

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

This trolley in York's Continental Square is shown in the last year that such electrified cars ran in York County. York County's trolley system was already shaky entering into the Great Depression and did not make it through the 1930s. Background posts: York-area picture book not your typical coffee table publication, Smoketown a popular York County name in a century ago, and It couldn't happen in York County? Women were trampled in Depression-era labor unrest.

York County is probably no different than many heritage-minded places in trying to separate out areas in which it is historically different or even world famous.

In a previous post, Did York's Thanksgiving proclamation indeed create America's first Thanksgiving?, I explored one such claim.

I tried to give context to the claim that the first national thanksgiving occurred in York during Continental Congress' visit here. The summary point on this one is that no national consensus exists that recognized this local claim.

Just by way of contrast, a consensus can be found that the first battle of the American Revolution occurred in the Lexington-Concord outside Boston.

In a York Sunday News column (12/7/08), I dealt with another local notion: The Great Depression pinched but drew no blood in York County... .

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

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

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

And it wasn't deadly.

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

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

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

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

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

These distinguished gentlemen served as the board of directors of Delta's Peoples National Bank in 1930. The Depression was hard on banks in York County, too, as several rural banks failed. Charles Arthur Bloomfield gave this scorecard for bank failures in York County during the Depression: eight failures and nine reorganizations. Background posts: Events in 1777 helped tip Revolution toward patriots, Easter stories of sacrifice & selflessness and Bad economy turned York Safe and Lock toward lucrative defense work.

Tough economic times are taking some of the excitement away from today's Thanksgiving festivities.

Some of those facing the tough end of the economy might feel that there's no way out.

History helps show us that we've faced gloomy times before as a nation and have come out the other end generally for the better.

Consider the points made in this Thanksgiving Day editorial (11/26/08) in which I reflected on a moment when the world seemed to be piling on:

.

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

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

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

Re-enactor Byron Wildasin was among members of the 16th Pennsylvania, Co. G, to support renovations to Hanover's Lincoln monument. The markers tells about the president's stop in that southwestern York County town on his way to deliver the Gettysburg Address. Background posts: York newspaper about Gettysburg Address: 'Mr. Lincoln made a joke or two ...', Historical marker may soon point to Jefferson square's famous visitors and Abandoned Codorus railroad not just any abandoned railroad.

Abraham Lincoln's links to York County are many and too often overlooked.

His train, sans Lincoln, passed through here on his way to the White House after his election. (He had taken another train to D.C. because for security reasons.)

Four years later, his funeral train, with Lincoln, stopped in York on its nation-wide tour.

In between, he changed trains at Hanover Junction, south of York, on his way too and from Gettysburg to deliver his famous address.

And along his way to and from Gettysburg, he passed through York County's countryside, steaming through Jefferson, Smith Station before pausing in Hanover... .

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

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

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

This strange site greeted motorists and other observers recently in southeastern York County. Background posts: Black soldiers from York County served in 'Glory' unit , Pentagram, 666 markings desecrate church and Stewartstown's historic rail station: 'Hopefully, we get things going soon' .

New Park's Jim Marsteller, has provided another visual treat.

Using his trusty Nikon, he captured a old prop plan on a flatbed truck.

"Not real sure where this plane is going, but have a good idea," Marsteller wrote in an e-mail... .

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

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

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

Butch Reigart of Columbia, Lancaster County, portrays der Belsnickel. The character was prototype of Santa Claus, abeit with a paradoxical well-intentioned mean streak. Background posts: York County group preserving Pennsylvania Dutch language, heritage, PS Harrisburg grad school: 'Set my feet even more firmly on the path into the world of Fraktur' and Hex book: How powwow doctors plied their craft.

"It was always fund on Christmas to have a visit of the 'Belsnickels.' They burst into the scene all dressed up and scattered popcorn and candy on the floor for us kids to get. If any of the older folks tried to pick it up, the Belsnickels would hit them over the back with a whip... ."

That quote from a York countians found in Georg Sheets' "Facts and Folklore of York County, Pennsylvania," pretty well sums up the carrot-and-stick approach of der Belsnickel, a forerunner to a much kinder and gentler Santa Claus... .

Wrightsville's Gene Crumling only had a cup of coffee in the major leagues, but fans from all over still remember the former catcher. Background posts: Before the York Revs came the Hanover Raiders, York County sports a miniature Cooperstown and Old York lefty remembered young Brooks Robinson .

Former major leaguer Gene Crumling has regained the limelight twice since September.

The 86-year-old normally lives in obscurity around York County.

He threw out the first pitch in the York Revolution's first playoff game in September - representing the county as the oldest living former major leaguer.

Then the Wrightsville High School grad made the York Daily Record/Sunday News' front page in a profile to preview Eastern York High School's greatest athletes, part of a 22-part newspaper series on York County's prep performers.

Crumling had 12 at-bats catching for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1945... .

East Prospect's Tracy Winter shows off an antique toy truck at a meeting of the Pennsylvania Dutch Heritage Group. The group meets from 1 to 3 p.m. on the third Saturday of each month at Providence Place, 3377 Fox Run Road, Dover Township. For details, call 266-2910. Background posts: Pennsylvania Dutch-speaking York County residents often conversed with German POWs, Classes offer rare op to learn Pennsylvania Dutch and 'Persons should not be too modest'.

Q. What does the Pennsylvania Dutch phrase "Guder mariye" mean?

A. Good morning.

Q. And Wie bischt du heit?

A. How are you today?

Q. Ich bin zimmlich gut.

A. I am pretty good.

Q. Sitz dich anne un bleib e weil.

A. Set yourself (to there) and stay a while.

The Pennsylvania Dutch dialect and its related traditions are kept alive once at month in York County when the Pennsylvania Dutch Heritage Group meets in Dover... .

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

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

That's a good thing.

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

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