Kick-Off of Civil War 150th Anniversary on YorksPast; 7-Years of Planning for the 100th and The York Water Company
I was reviewing my collection of items from 1962 and 1963. The collection contains a good many things relating to the 100th Anniversary Celebration of The Battle of Gettysburg, so I thought I’d focus on comparing the upcoming 150th to the 100th Anniversary Celebration within selected YorksPast posts; over the next few months. In doing so I’ll occasionally bump up my posts from 5-days-a-week to 6-days-a-week.
I was pleasantly surprised with one item in Saturday’s mail. The 2012 Annual Report of The York Water Company showed the whole Lewis Miller sketch, in a front-page foldout, depicting the June 28th 1863 entry of the Rebels into York. In fact much of their annual report is devoted to local history from 150 years ago; primarily focusing on York Water Company and Civil War events in York County. The York Water Company was 47 years old when York was invaded; they pointed out a fire hydrant can be seen in Lewis Miller’s sketch.
The 2012 Annual Report of The York Water Company will definitely be a keeper. With their stock dividend yield near 3%, one can’t go wrong compared to current low CD rates. With a national record of 197 consecutive years of issuing dividends, I feel I can’t go wrong owning stock in The York Water Company.
Links to related posts include:
Other posts in this series include:
- Looking Back on the 100th Anniversary Commemoration of The Battle of Gettysburg; Part 1
- Looking Back on the 100th Anniversary Commemoration of The Battle of Wrightsville; Part 1
- Prelude to Gettysburg, 2,000 Troops Participate in 1963 Re-enactment of the Battle of Hanover
Planning for the program of “A Nation United on the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg July 1-3, 1963” began more than seven years prior to the observance. The 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address Commission was created by an Act of the Pennsylvania General Assembly on April 20th 1956 and signed into law the same day by Governor George M. Leader.
The Act charged the nine-member Commission with planning a “proper and fitting recognition and observance” of the centennial of those two significant historic events. Two hard-working individuals soon replaced the committee-of-nine. Lieutenant General Milton G. Baker (Ret.) was chairman. Lieutenant General Edward J. Stackpole (Ret.) was vice chairman.
The following shows part of the inside front cover of the Official Program for the 100th Anniversary Celebration. Scanning this 20-page program is a challenge; it was printed on thin paperstock.
The federal program for Civil War Centennial observances was defined by Public Law 85-305 (71 Stat. 626); a joint resolution which passed Congress on September 7th 1957. The federal government’s role was designating special committees for the purpose of cooperating with state and local committees in sponsoring such activities.
Reading the Headlines: A Quick Index to All YorksPast Posts
