A few years ago I did a York Sunday News column on UFOs, finding quite a few newspaper articles on local sightings of what were first called “flying saucers.” I gleaned most of information from newspapers.com, which I access at the York County History Center Library and Archives. Since that
Bob Greer left a comment on my recent blog post about the engravings on a large rock at the edge of the Susquehanna River just upstream from Marietta. He identified the arch with the 2 ½ as a symbol of the Loyal Orange Institution/ Orange Order. He included a link
Why would a large rock at the edge of the Susquehanna River have numbers and letters carved on it? (I am not talking about the petroglyphs of birds and animals left by the Native Americans, such as those on Big Indian Rock and Little Indian Rock just below Safe Harbor
Remember last September when the devastating fires in California and Oregon caused hazy skies in Pennsylvania? Every now and then a powerful event, such as the very violent eruption of a volcano, can cause weather problems half way around the world. The present speed of our communications informs us almost
Some months ago I wrote about the Pennsylvania German Birth and Baptismal certificates (often known as Taufscheine or Fraktur) that were produced in the Hanover print shop of Wilhelm Daniel Lepper and Samuel Endredy Stettinius. These two printers established Hanover’s first newspaper Die Pennsylvanische Wochenschrift, in 1797 and issued their
A friend told me about a recent article by Lower Windsor Township resident Gene Schenck in the Columbia/Hellam/Wrightsville Merchandiser. It detailed how four local men, Jim Anspach of Columbia, Gene Smeltzer of Lower Windsor Township, Bill Dehoff of Windsor and Bruce Herbst of East Prospect have been working for some
What was the connection between the preforming Durang family, who spent some time in York during the early 19th century and our national anthem? I wrote a York Sunday News column on the subject in 2006. I just realized I never posted the column on this blog, which I started
The 2020 Journal of York County Heritage is here! Since this year marks the 100th anniversary of universal Woman Suffrage throughout the entire United States, the majority of articles in this year’s issue center around women. If you haven’t received your own copy of this year’s journal as a benefit
I just learned that there are spaces available for my PowerPoint presentation for OLLI next Wednesday, September 9, on the local fight for Woman Suffrage. It will be from 9 to 10:30 a.m. in the Terrace Room at Wisehaven. Registration is required through OLLI; no walk-ins. Click here for the
Do you ever wish you knew what your ancestors were like? After all, they were living, breathing souls just like you and me. Most of you probably know or knew your parents and all or many of your grandparents. Some even remember a great-grandparent or so. Just multiply those family