Universal York

The York Gazette & Daily arrived the same day it was printed, via the U.S. mail, in rural York County when I was growing up. That was most certainly the main reason my parents, and many others like them who didn’t agree with the paper’s political views, subscribed to “the morning paper.” They liked their news fresh.
Being a voracious reader from the time I discovered the magic of reading, I remember sitting down with the paper every day and pretty much reading it from cover to cover. That’s a habit I still haven’t broken.
The Gazette & Daily made a liberal out of me, which I am sure my parents never foresaw. Perhaps more importantly, it also deserves credit for my early interest in history, which ultimately became my profession. I never missed the regular feature on what happened in the past–small fascinating snippets of the news of the same day from 25, 50 or more years before.
Since the York Gazette, the York Daily, and the Gazette & Daily, all predecessors of the York Daily Record , are easily accessible on microfilm at the York County Heritage Trust Library/Archives, this blog will be looking back to some of those bygone events, along with other tales from York County history and their connections to the larger world out there. Please let me know if you like the look back in time, and if there is anything else you would like to see. The universe is filled with intriguing York County stories from the past. We will do our best to snag them in orbit.
See below to find out the hot news from 50 and 90 years ago:

50 years ago: On October 16, 1957, two photos of huge pieces of concrete-laying equipment surrounded by men in suits and dress hats showed 85 members of the White Rose Motor and Keystone Automobile clubs on their tour of the Harrisburg-Baltimore expressway, then under construction. H. J. Williams Co., the contractor, organized the tour of the new highway in the Loganville and Strinestown areas. The Chamber of Commerce and Manufacturers’ Association were to be offered a tour in the next week. (Can we imagine the traffic congestion today without Route 83?)
90 years ago: On October 16, 1917, Cochran Brass Foundry of York announced they would build a large addition to their plant to have facilities to fulfill a contract just awarded by the U.S. Navy. The 200 tons of castings ordered would supply parts for submarines, gun mounts, air craft guns and machine guns. (The United States had entered World War I only six months before. Relying on York County industry for military equipment went big-time with the York Plan during World War II and carries on today with BAE Systems, Gichner Shelter Systems and others.)