Ask Joan: Yardwork edition
My Sunday afternoon was spent planting in the garden, doing some light weeding and making the ritual pilgrimage to the Delco Lowe’s along with, apparently, 98% of the rest of West Manchester Township. Maybe I saw you there!
What’s inside
1. A Gino’s employee reunion
2. Former hotels/boarding houses in York
3. Very important ice cream question
1. I heard thru Keith on the Gino’s Facebook site that there may be, or may have been, a reunion of past Gino’s workers of the York stores. Have you heard anything about that?
– Steve McIlvain
I’m so glad Steve asked this, because I am always glad to share the word about this. Jim Staub is trying to organize this; anyone who worked at one of the York County Gino’s locations is asked to contact him at jim.ginos@gmail.com. (You can read more about Gino’s and its ties to York’s history here, here, here and here!
2. During the late 1920s or 1930s my great-great-aunt owned two hotel/boarding places in downtown York. Both were on Market street, I believe; one near the railroad tracks at Pershing and the other opposite the Sam & Tony’s restaurant, Any idea of the names or when destroyed?
– Diane Folkenroth
Diane, I’m not sure I have any answers for you, but I did find some things that could be related, and I’m hoping other readers will be able to provide more concrete details.
Almost directly across from Sam & Tony’s is a building with “Hotel Codorus” painted on the side. That hotel was renovated by Dorgan & Zuck and, if I read it correctly, is now home to the offices of Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects in York. You can see it on Jim McClure’s York Town Square blog as it looked in the 1933 flood; today’s appearance is, to say the least, greatly improved.
While that seems like the most probable start, I did find reference to some others. Also on York Town Square, I read about a finishing school for girls that, anecdotally, was believed to have turned into a boarding home later on; this sat on the Codorus Creek, not too far from the Susquehanna Commerce Center, so while it might not be the right one, it’s at least close!
I also found reference on Jim’s blog to a “Mrs. Large’s boarding house,” which would have been on East Market Street; it sounds like yours were both on West Market, so that might not be one of them. I’m sure there was a time when there were many such hotels/boarding homes in the city.
Obviously, your best bet might be to search deeds and records via the York County History Center, but maybe this provides some more leads to take into such a search, and maybe some of this blog’s readers will have ideas on other possibilities!
3. This last question is from me. Because I like ice cream, a lot. Does anyone know if the Bruster’s in Delco is going to reopen this season? It’s almost a tradition to stop for some ice cream after spending my entire month’s budget at Lowe’s, as I mentioned above, but, alas, still closed; my husband even documented our disappointment by taking this sign photo.
If you have any insight into their opening – or non-opening – I’d love to know. We do enjoy heading to Sherry’s, Handel’s and other local ice-cream joints, but this is definitely the closest one.
Got any questions? Ask Joan using the form at right. I’ll attempt to answer them in a future “Ask Joan” column on this blog. I’m already getting a big volume, so it might take me a while, but I hope to be able to answer as many as possible!
