What was the connection between the preforming Durang family, who spent some time in York during the early 19th century and our national anthem? I wrote a York Sunday News column on the subject in 2006. I just realized I never posted the column on this blog, which I started
I try to get to at least a few performances at the Belmont Theatre (formerly York Little Theatre) each year. They always do a great job. Click this link for my York Sunday News column on the history of the theater, which dates back to 1933. Besides the talented local
Over the years I have shared many posts showing local connections to President Lincoln and his assassination. They ranged from York native Edman Spangler, accused but not convicted of conspiracy in the plot, and assassin John Wilkes Booth, who allegedly attended school in York as a young man, to Harry
Remember the pressure of final exams? Putting pencil to paper doesn’t seem so bad when compared to oral exams conducted in public and advertised in the newspaper, as seen by the clipping below from an early York paper: York. April 22, 1789 There will be a public examination of the
Since inception in 1933, members of York Little Theatre have put on just about any Broadway play you can think of. The early sixties were break out years for musicals, with the first YLT musical Knickerbocker Holiday, soon followed by Can Can, Pajama Game and Damn Yankees. For years YLT
I was really pleased to see a packed house for Ken Ludwig’s Leading Ladies, his play set in York, Pa., at York Little Theatre on Sunday. It signals a great turn-around for the theater that was struggling not very long ago. The well-acted comedy continues tonight through Sunday. It was
Spengler/Spangler house, c. 1904 As I promised in my recent post on York and the Lincoln Conspiracy, below is more on the Sherwood School, where John Wilkes Booth was reportedly sent by his family for a time, probably as a teenager. It is said to have been housed in the
Spangler house–reportedly the site of the Sherwood-Bland school There are two that I know of, and they are intertwined. One is Ned (Edmund, Edman, Edward) Spangler, the son of a former York County sheriff, who was the stage carpenter accused of trying to help John Wilkes Booth escape Ford’s Theater.
Elaine Ryan/Sister Mary Clare St. Joseph’s Convent outside of Columbia is closing. The convent building has been sold, with plans to turn it into affordable housing for either single mothers or seniors. The Sisters there, members of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ community, must move to another building
As I have pointed out before, York Countians have always been fond of entertainment. Theater, circus, movies–they have always been well received, with top national and international stars appearing here. Then there were the amateur theatricals, always presented with enthusiasm, but not always with the best of talent. The item