The origins of Springettsbury Township Park stretches back centuries. In 1793, Jacob Strickler established a 44-acre farm straddling present Mount Zion Road; with the farm fields worked by Strickler descendants, continuously for over 100-years. Dr. Louis V. Williams conveyed those same 44-acres to Springettsbury Township in 1966, at the conclusion of a 10-year installment payment plan. Three years later, the farm fields were transformed into the initial nucleus of Springettsbury Township Park.
Joe Spagnolo shared some fascinating early history about the 1960s Wagner’s Diner, located along the Lincoln Highway, east of Hellam. A 1963 publication contains a photo of the downstairs bar, with the caption: “Wagner’s Saloon, run by John Wagner in Hellam, Pa., is the home of the country’s first Noggin Club.” These clubs quickly spread across North America. They owed their name and popularity to characteristics of Noggin beer mugs, produced with the proprietary, aluminum-based alloy metal, Armetale, developed in 1963 by Ralph P. (Bud) Wilton, Jr.
A log house in Goldsboro was carefully dismantled about 25-years ago and stored in a barn. The owners of the dismantled log house for the past 13-years, Ted Pesano and his wife, were planning to reassemble the house as their residence, however circumstances have changed. The marked pieces and drawings, for reassembly, are now for sale. Their hope is that the log house can stay in York County.
During 1926, five hospitals were in York, PA; from the most beds to the least: York Hospital, 125 beds; West Side Sanitarium, 42 beds; York County Almshouse Hospital, 28 beds; Polyclinic Hospital, 10 beds; and Church View Sanatorium, 6 beds. The building, in Doctors Row at 409 West Market Street, was the site of Church View Sanitarium; containing an operating room primarily utilized by Dr. Samuel E. Ensminger from June of 1916 into the 1920s. Learn how that Sanatorium had an impact on the establishment of the Polyclinic Hospital in York.
Lydia Eloise Williams furthered her education, got married to Reginald Hall, and become internationally known as a pioneer in nursing theory with her Care-Cure-Core method; following twenty-two formative years in York County, Pennsylvania, where her upbringing and nursing degree in 1927 undoubtedly providing the solid foundation for that pioneering nursing theory work, while in New York.
The expansion of the Springettsbury Township municipal complex closer to the southeast corner of Mount Zion Road and Pleasant Valley Road is imminent. A fire in the existing Police Station a year ago was the final straw in a string of significant issues within what is the original municipal building for Springettsbury Township. A year-long planning effort during 2020 will likely result in a groundbreaking during the first half of 2021.
Dr. Louis V. Williams was a Christmas baby, born December 25, 1884. His farm, along Mount Zion Road, in Springettsbury Township became the township complex that we enjoy today. Prior to his death in 1968, he created a trust, the Springettsbury Township Library Fund, which continues to fund library services in the township. The photo of Dr. Williams is from his 1911 graduation from The College of Physicians and Surgeons in Baltimore, Maryland.
Sam Leitz submitted a site plan of a proposed building slated to succeed Bendix and Fincor at 3750 East Market Street in Springettsbury Township. Sam questioned: “Is this the so called Amazon Hub planned for Stony Brook, which is creating a buzz on Facebook?” Sam searched the Internet after hearing the Amazon rumor. He did not find anything to back up the rumor, until he discovered the site plan.
Friday November 18, 1955, marked the grand opening of New Eastern Market at 201 Memory Lane in Springettsbury Township. On Friday, November 13, 2020, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., the 65th Anniversary of this market house will be celebrated with drawings for prizes throughout the day.
Jim Hansen of Helena, Montana, inquired about a product I was not immediately aware of in the A. B. Farquhar Company history. However, research reveals conveyors have a notable place in the Farquhar story and were some of the final products manufactured at the massive Farquhar complex of factory buildings in downtown York.