Universal York

I love old newspapers. Together with letters and diaries, newspapers really make the people who lived here before us come alive. Two news briefs from the York County Heritage Trust microfilm of the July 26, 1893 York Gazette caught my eye.
First, huge camp meetings were very popular, both as spiritual and social events:

Free People’s Meeting

The camp meeting of the Free People will commence on the 15th of August in Isaac Barnhart’s grove, about one-half mile north of Yoe, and about one and a half miles south of Freysville. It will continue for eight days. All Christian people are cordially invited to come and take part in these meetings.

Isaac Barnhart lived at Cape Horn (the intersection of Windsor and Lombard roads outside of Red Lion). Jan Barnhart, the president of the Red Lion Area Historical
Society and a relative of Isaac’s, tells me that Isaac’s house was torn down to build the M&T bank on Lombard road, so the camp meeting would have been on that property. He also says that the Barnharts were United Brethren and attended St. Paul’s (Chapel) Church (now United Methodist) nearby and that Free People would have applied to the United Brethren being less structured than some denominations.
The other item, totally unrelated to the camp meeting, still has me still scratching my head. It reads:

Given a Glass

H. D. Rupp, the hatter, has presented to the police a substantial drinking glass which now reposes by the side of the water cooler at headquarters. The police return thanks, as the headquarters was in need of such a present.

The item refers to York City police headquarters. I’m glad to hear they had a water cooler, but didn’t the budget allow for a glass? Maybe they had a tin cup and Mr. Rupp’s glass was just classier or thought to be more sanitary. Hope they didn’t break it soon.