Universal York

York County folk artist Lewis Miller illustrated his 1810 visit the Geiger farm in Windsor Township in 1810.

        Leafing through a recent issue of a magazine for tractor collectors called Antique Power, I found an article “Resurrecting a Pioneer Diesel” by Dave Gerlach. The photos show a gleaming orange farm tractor with a bold nameplate reading “Sheppard Diesel.” The article relates that in 1933,

A vineyard in the heart of the City of York? Less than three blocks from the square? During Prohibition? Who would have thought it? See below for my recent York Sunday News column on John K. Gross and his prize-winning grapes:

In a recent post I shared some of Gazette and Daily coverage of the October 1937 York Fair. There was a lot going on that year. For one thing, York countians took their gardens and orchards very seriously. The Gazette reported that there were 350 boxes, 50 bushel baskets and

Major American poet Lee Anderson resided the last thirty years of his life, his most productive years, living and working on his small farm at Potosi in south-central York County. He occasionally traveled from here to various parts of the United States and Great Britain from 1951-1968 recording the leading

York County historian of a century ago, George R. Prowell, was a prolific (and sometimes wordy) recorder of York County history. Some of the stories he wrote were passed on from others, perhaps with occasional errors creeping in. Still, Prowell’s writings are the only source for quite a few interesting

September wouldn’t seem like September if I didn’t do at least one post on the York Fair. Instead of starting with the file boxes of York Fair materials at the York County History Center and/or local newspapers of the past, this time I thought I would look at another source.

It is exciting when one piece of research ties back into a nother. I was reminded of this when looking at old and new almanacs and the listed moon signs, especially the lore of their influence on planting vegetables. I recently wrote about these almanacs, printed in York and throughout

Aren’t those fresh summer vegetables wonderful? Especially if they are locally grown, perhaps in your own back yard. By now, you have a good idea of how well your garden has fared. You know if you have more squash than you can use, or not enough tomatoes for your homemade

I never tire looking at the drawings of York folk artist Lewis Miller (1796-1882). His illustrations depicting town and rural life during the first half of the 19th century are so detailed. He wrote captions, most just a few sentences, but some quite lengthy, adding more insight into the daily