Only in York County

I’ve mentioned before that scrapbooking is one of my favorite hobbies, and that I spend an awful lot of time on it. Most recently, I went to a three-day scrapbooker retreat in Gettysburg with my best friend since eighth grade, Nina Myers. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted by two wonderful Ask Joan readers, Peg Shiley and Barb Jones, sisters who I had met at a previous scrapbooking event. It turned out that they were assigned to sit with Nina and me, and by the end of the weekend I had gained two new friends AND a treasure trove of topics for potential future columns!

Today, I’d like to start out by sharing some of those ideas, and then dive into a couple more recent reader letters.

What’s inside

1. Memories from new friends
2. What was clothing store’s name?
3. We also need a restaurant name

1. Memories from new friends

As I mentioned, I spent a large part of our scrapbooking weekend getting to Peg and Barb, who grew up (along with a sister and brother) in the Pleasureville area. It was amazing to hear all the cool stuff they remembered!

We talked a good bit about dances that used to be held for teens, and how often they walked or rode their bikes long distances to get where they needed to go. (I did the same, since I didn’t drive until right around when I graduated from high school, so I could relate!)

One of the coolest things they mentioned, which we have not talked about in detail, is the former Boys’ Club pool near Kiwanis Lake, which, since 2008, has been the YMCA’s Graham Aquatic Center. They recalled when it was an outdoor pool, and they talked about a feature in the center where you could climb up on it and maybe even dive off. I do recall swimming at the “Boys’ Club” with a friend during my high school years, but don’t remember that very clearly; of course, as I was not much of a swimmer, my trips to the pool mostly included reading books with my feet dangling in the water, so I’m not your best source there! I included a photo with today’s column showing the pool in 1924 that has something like that visible in the center, so at least I was able to get something of a mental picture of it, though I’m sure it changed over the years. In any case, I’d love to hear more about the pool and what everyone remembers about it.

Peg and Barb and I also talked about many other things, including Scouting and first cars. Those are two topics we’ve touched on in the past, but I want to give an open invitation to anyone reading – I’d LOVE to hear memories on these topics specifically. I was a Girl Scout from elementary school through most of high school, and still occasionally see my former leaders around town. (And best friend Nina, who I mentioned above? We originally met in Scouts, I’m almost positive!)

As far as cars go, I got to share the story of my first car, a 1989 Nissan Sentra that was so light I (weighing maybe 100 pounds at the time) could push it by myself. That, it turns out, was good, because it had some alternator issues that ended with me calling another longtime friend, Dan Bupp, to fetch me from the middle of the turn into Delco Plaza. My mom has great memories of a Mustang Fastback she loved in the ’60s, and I always like hearing about that. And I’d love to hear your car memories as well!

2. What was clothing store’s name?

I had a desperate email this week from Jeff Beaverson, who wrote, “In the ’60s and ’70s there was a high-end men’s clothing store in the Colonial Shopping Center (below the York Hospital). Please tell me its name? It is driving us in the Glen Rock Garage Meeting Club crazy!”

Well, first of all, I had never heard of the Glen Rock Garage Meeting Club, so now I want to know more about that! (It sounds like a group of people who might share first-car memories like I asked for above, right…?)

As for the store, the one name I could come up with on South George Street was Grieman Bros. men’s clothing store, though I do not know if it was far enough south of downtown to be in that shopping center. So that’s my best guess, but I’d love to hear more from readers who can provide more clarity!

3. We also need a restaurant name

Also in the category of “driving crazy,” I had a letter last month from Linda Lehman, who wrote, “In the 1960s there was a drive-in on East Market Street, York, around where Dairy Queen, Rita’s is now. It had a sandwich called the Big 55. Can’t recall the name of the restaurant. Driving us crazy! Does anyone remember this?”

Can anyone help Linda? This isn’t one I can place, but I would like to know as well.