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
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.
York County folk artist Lewis Miller illustrated his 1810 visit the Geiger farm in Windsor Township in 1810.
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
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
Even small newspaper items and advertisements can give clues on life in the past, such as these ads from the May 7, 1857 York County Star and Wrightsville Advertiser, These two are for Wrightsville businesses, Reuben Simpson’s barber shop and Daniel T. Lehman’s restaurant, but other ads in this issue
In my last post I shared a 1909 clipping about the new Pocket Monthly magazine, which was listed as a York, Pa. publication with printing done at the Wrightsville Star newspaper office. None of the five surviving issues lists a particular person as publisher. The contents page gives addresses for
I was intrigued by the strong advertising and testimonials lauding H. M. Crider’s 1881 fruit-picker (see previous post), so I stopped by York County Heritage Trust’s Agricultural and Industrial Museum to see one of these wonderful inventions in person. It does look like a good idea—strong metal tines or fingers
The Crider brothers are perhaps best known for their late 19th century marriage certificate forms, especially the ones with cutouts for individual photos of the couple, and, sometimes, also of the officiating minister. (More on the certificates later.) This time I’m sharing an ad for H.M. Crider’s 1881 “Patent Adjustable