Ask Joan: Summer reading and hiking edition
I hope everyone has been enjoying the lovely weather. Our family is, once again, taking part in York County Library System’s summer reading program, as well as the Go (Get Outdoors) York hiking program.
So far, we’ve read some cool books and found a new-to-us swimming hole in our hiking. Can’t ask for a better way to gear up to the official start of summer!
Meanwhile, I have some new reader questions, answers and comments to share with you today that I hope you’ll enjoy as much as we’re enjoying our reading and hikes.
What’s inside
1. Following up on Ahrens butcher bologna
2. Seeking details on an ice-cream treat
3. More photos of Mount Rose School sought
1.
Back when we kicked off 2017 with 17 reader questions, Robert Buck had asked if anyone knew where you might still be able to find Ahrens butcher bologna.
I did receive some good answers to that, which I’m sorry I didn’t share until now! Reader Shawn Toomey, the grandson of Paul E. Ahrens, said that the Ahrens butcher bologna is now made by Kessler’s Meats of Lemoyne. “My grandfather sold the recipe in the ’70s to Kessler’s and they have been making it ever since, but is still sold under the Ahrens Butcher Bologna name,” Shawn wrote, adding that he still has the original recipe as well! Another Ahrens relation, Chris Ahrens (grandson of E.F. Ahrens), noted a similar story.
I also heard from Rosaleen Rosado, whose husband worked for E.F. Ahrens from the mid-1960s until the company’s closure in 1972. “There he learned to process the Ahrens butcher bologna along with other products produced by Ahrens,” she wrote.
She continued, “In 1972 he began work with a company – Kessler’s Meat Provisions in Lemoyne. There he again processed Ahrens Butcher Bologna for the next 27 years before his retirement. Kessler’s still process the bologna under the label of Ahren’s.” Rosaleen said she doesn’t think the taste is the same, though, adding, “Every time that the company changes ‘hands’ the product will not taste the same. Sometimes the individual processor will add additional spices to enhance the flavor.”
And finally, reader Rick Fink notes, “Please let your reader Robert Buck know that Ahrens Butcher bologna is still available at Hake’s Grocery Store at the intersection of Bull Road and Canal Road in Conewago Township. It comes in a big long stick and they cut off or slice whatever you want.”
“They have both the small that is about 3 inches round and the larger that is the size of regular bologna. In my opinion it tastes the same as it did 45 years ago,” Rick noted.
Well, at least we are able to point Robert in the right direction of where to get close to the butcher bologna he was seeking!
2.
Reader Carolyn Caplinger remembers an ice cream bar from her childhood called a “Chop Chop,” and would like to find out if they are still sold anywhere.
I’ve written previously about an ice-cream treat called the Cho-Cho; wondering if those are the same, or if it’s possible there were two with such similar names!
If it is the Cho Cho you’re seeking, Carolyn, as of a last summer, a woman named Julie Sansary was making and selling them in the Reading area. I haven’t been able to figure out if it’s still a going concern, but if so, a short road trip might get you one!
3.
Earlier this year, a reader named David wrote and said he was hoping for pictures of both the inside and outside of the former Mount Rose School, which he attended on Mount Rose Avenue, and which was torn down many years ago.
This has been an ongoing question, as several readers have written about the school. I’m happy to say that reader Carole Haller shared interior and exterior photos, one of which I am sharing again today, but I have never seen any interior shots, so if anyone has one of those to share, certainly let me know!
Have questions or memories to share? Email me at joan@joanconcilio.com or write to Ask Joan, York Daily Record/Sunday News, 1891 Loucks Road, York PA 17408. We cannot accept any phone calls with questions or information.
