McCall’s Ferry (Holtwood) Power Plant Under Construction, ca.1907. Electric power was on the front page 100 years ago. The Merchants Electric Light, Heat, and Power Company distributed hydroelectricity generated by the York Haven Water and Power Company, which utilized giant Kaplan turbines. These turbines were manufactured in York by the
We didn’t know how bad smoking was for our health 90 years ago, when cigar factories were springing up everywhere. In York County, we knew cigars were very good for our economy. For well over 150 years, processing tobacco into cigars kept many York Countians gainfully employed. Lewis Miller illustrated
A few days ago I wrote about York County’s continuing love affair with the oyster. Many people will tell you that with good oysters you need good beer. Breweries abounded over the years in York, as evidenced by the following 1857 advertisement from the Gazette. One hundred fifty years ago,
One hundred and fifty years ago York Countians loved to have their photograph taken. The art of practical photography was less than 20 years old, but there were at least two outstanding photographers in York. We seem to hear most often about Glenalvin Goodridge, perhaps because his father William is
We know York Countians have had a long love affair with the oyster. Start digging near the site of any old tavern, such as the Golden Plough, and you are likely to turn up remnants of long-ago oyster shells. Crushed oyster shells might be far under the streets you travel
York Mayor Ephraim Hugentugler had his hands full in the fall of 1917. He hauled many locals into his police court for furnishing liquor to soldiers stationed at the temporary training camp at Gettysburg. The soldiers also got themselves arrested for drunkenness or being disorderly, a charge that sometimes meant
One hundred fifty years ago Yorkers were just as eager to spend their money on snack and drinks as they are today, as shown in a sampling of ads from the Gazette: Christian Pfahler caught your eye with the large letters “L. I. P.” You had to read further to
One hundred years ago, in the fall of 1907, the Gazette ran the following article: “A horse and dog hospital and a horse ambulance are new things promised for York. The York Rendering Works, of which E. A. Dempwolf is manager, is trying to interest local members of the Society
One hundred twenty-five years ago people were a lot more passionate about their politics. A November 1882 Gazette article recounts a “DEMOCRATIC DEMONSTRATION AT RED LION.” Imagine the following spectacle today:
Ninety years ago York Mayor Hugentugler presided over a frequently lively police court: One case involved a “near murder” with a hatchet on the 500 block of Vander Avenue. The York Gazette reported the husband