1907 York news, trivial and tragic
Here is what was happening in York County in 1907, according to the York Daily of June 13.
News from Dallastown: “The mail from York due here at 7:30 o’clock on account of a freight wreck at Waterville did not reach here until 2 o’clock this morning. [Another item on the same page described the multi-car pileup at Waterville, between Delta and Baltimore on the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad.] This pouch is carried through to Red Lion on the 5:40 train from York which does not run in here and returned on the train over an hour later. In other words Red Lion and Yoe get the same mail an hour sooner than do the people here, much to the inconvenience of the business men and the people in general.”
Miss Annie Reider of Hanover Street, Glen Rock attended the York Collegiate Institute commencement exercises; her brother Bert I. Reider was graduating.
It was reported from Airville: “Chester Girvin and Ernest Miller, each aged about 13 years, were driving a horse hitched to a spring wagon Monday afternoon, when the horse became frightened at the rattling noise which the wagon made. The animal became uncontrollable and commenced to kick, striking Chester Girvin on one of his hands and one leg, bruising him considerably. The boys were rescued by William Stokes and the Rev. Samuel Ham.”
The Red Lion reporter thought the unseasonable cold weather for June was causing the leaves of trees, especially maples, to turn yellow and fall. Yoe area growers were having their worst strawberry season ever, with the insides of the berries being as hard as pineapple cores.
Delta residents were probably glad to know that: “Melvin Ayers has greatly improved his property by building an addition to his house and filling in an old foundation in an adjoining lot and enclosing it for a chicken yard.”
A more sobering item recounts a serious industrial accident:
BOY’S ARM MANGLED
His had caught in the cogs of a machine upon which he was working, Denton Yingling, a North York youth, had his left arm terribly mangled at the Nes chain works shortly before 4 o’clock Tuesday afternoon. Although the member will be permanently crippled it is thought at the hospital that amputation may be avoided.
Yingling’s hand was caught and being unable to withdraw it his arm was slowly drawn in until the shoulder was reached. His cries brought other employees to his assistance, the machine was stopped, and the arm released. The injured man was hurriedly removed to the hospital.
It was found that the arm was broken in several places and the muscles badly torn and mangled.
I was curious about the age of this factory worker, since he is referred to as boy, youth and man. I haven’t found more about him yet, but I am guessing he might have been a teenager. I did find a Denton Yingling (1890-1972) from northern Maryland. It could possibly be the same young man living and working in York in 1907.
Look into the many hundreds of rolls of newspaper microfilm at the York County History Center. You might be surprised to see what your relatives were doing. Some of the local newspapers are now on the subscription site, Newspapers.com. The YCHC Library/Archives subscribes to that service, and YCHC patrons can use it there. Not nearly all of the York papers are on that site, but the ones that are can be searched online.
