Jim Hubley Told York County Stories So Well
I returned home to York a few days ago from a two-week vacation to find that someone I admired very much had passed away.
Jim Hubley’s knowledge of York County history was amazing. In his 93 years he personally observed many of the varied events he wrote about so well in his “Off the Record” column in the York Daily Record. He would, on a rare occasion, stop by the York County Heritage Trust Library/Archives to check some facts on the newspaper microfilm, but most of the time he didn’t have to. His memory was a vast storehouse of those exciting and sometime quirky events that make us the community that we are.
Nearly three years ago, when first discussing my writing a York Sunday News column, I indicated that I would prefer not to write about the most recent 100 years of York County history. My reason? Simply that Jim Hubley already covered the twentieth century so well.
If you get a chance, read his book: Off the Record by Jim Hubley, a compilation of some of his outstanding columns. It’s out of print, but you can borrow it through your public library.
Thanks Jim, for being such a great inspiration.
Click here to read Jim McClure’s York Town Square blog featuring Jim Hubley’s last column. And click here to read McClure’s tribute to Hubley.
