This is my favorite time of year. One big reason is the abundance of locally grown fruits and vegetables. My mother was a very active gardener nearly all her life. One on my first memories is awakening at a very young age and going out to find her in the
In my April York Sunday News column, which I posted a few weeks ago, I shared my shock at how many children were included in the migrant workers that came to help harvest York County crops in the late 1940s. An August 1948 Gazette and Daily article and accompanying full
I started working on my April York Sunday News column, which you can read below, about two months ago. We were just starting to hear more about COVID-19 then. By the time it was finished and published in the paper a couple of weeks ago, it became even more relevant.
Over the years I heard of the “Hermit of the Hellam Hills,” and came across a couple late 19th century newspaper articles that mentioned Joel Strong, the hermit. When I started digging in the files at the York County History Center and perusing newspapers.com (available to use at the YCHC
York County folk artist Lewis Miller illustrated his 1810 visit the Geiger farm in Windsor Township in 1810.
Pennsylvania German food is captured in Lewis Miller’s drawing and text on early 20th century York tavern life.
A few weeks ago I posted the tale of Spoonie Gohn’s supposed encounters with Slaymaker’s ghost at Margaretta Furnace. I had initially shared that story with the attendees at the York Daily Record annual Unraveling York County History night in early December. Margaretta Furnace with the grand mansion house and
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
Only a few months until the 2017 York Fair. Although the animals and other exhibits are under roof, it still is very much an outdoor fair, with many activities at the mercy of the weather. For many years the fair was held in October, about a month before the present
From the time the first humans walked the productive soil of what is now York County, Pa., food has been grown, preserved and happily eaten here. Here a few examples from our history: One of my recent York Sunday News columns told about York County’s very successful participation in the