Readers Choose Top 10 Posts during March 2015; Thanks for all your Comments!
The past month was record breaking in hearing from my readers. I hope to see many of you during my April presentation at the Lancaster Family History Conference.
At the beginning of every month, I’m sharing with my readers the top 10 posts from the previous month. These are your favorites during March 2015:
York Mall; Remembering the Early Years
The first fully enclosed shopping mall in York County opened along East Market Street in Springettsbury Township on October 3, 1968. This post looks back at the sixty earliest stores in the York Mall. Thanks to my readers for providing additional memories; I’ll share them in future posts.
York Safe & Lock’s demise masterminded by Eliot Ness
For this 600th YorksPast post, I decided to try something different. I launched “Classics from YorksPast,” where I’m re-issuing posts that were very popular back in the days when my readership was one-tenth of what it is today. The launch turned out quiet well and nice to hear from some new readers who worked at Masell Manufacturing.
Reading the HEADLINES: An Index to ALL YorksPast posts
This link is on the menu bar and at the end of every post; providing a linked quick view of all the YorksPast Headlines. I continually get complimented on this feature; one reader summed it up, “It’s just like reading the headlines on various pages or sections of the newspaper.” She liked using my listing of headlines sorted into broad categories; especially the ability to virtually see all headlines in each section, all at one time.
This post contains reader’s comments about a previous Mystery One-Room Schoolhouse drawn by Cliff Satterthwaite. Several readers recognized the mystery schoolhouse as Battle Hill School; which was located along Battle Hill Road in Chanceford Township. Reader Eleanor Boggs Shoemaker of Felton provided extensive comments about “city slickers” from the Philadelphia area moving the Rose Tree Hunt Club to the wide-open countryside of York County in the mid 1950s for fox hunting and steeplechase racing. The Rose Tree Hunt Club used the old Battle Hill One-Room Schoolhouse until it burnt down in 1976.
#3 Martin Carriage Works; largest West York Factory in 1899
By 1899, the Martin Carriage Works in West York had grown to become the third largest factory employer in all of York County. Milton D. Martin established this company in 1888. This post takes the reader through company highlights until the successor Martin-Parry Corporation moved out of York County in 1946.
York WWII Veteran Remembers Okinawa
The book “Eighteen Years & 82 Days” is filled with memories of the Battle of Okinawa, however it also provides personal experiences of growing up in York during the Great Depression. Among the WWII battles Frank Renda, an armorer in the U.S. Marine Air Corps, took part in, the Battle of Okinawa was the most harrowing. This book makes for a great read; book purchasing & ordering information is provided.
I read that the Haines Shoe House, now selling bakery treats, had opened for the season under new ownership; so I stopped by for a Sunday afternoon snack on my way back from Lancaster. The parking lot was full. People were taking Shoe House tours, getting cones of Beck’s Ice Cream and purchasing treats from Mellie’s Makery. They also have a gift shop, featuring some neat Shoe House t-shirts. This post also explains why I feature the Shoe House in the YorksPast title graphic.
City Directories are excellent sources to discover where your ancestors lived, or where a business was located in the City of York. Using these directories, I’ve seen family histories, where people write, “my grandparents moved down the street in 1899.” However it is easy to get misled, because in some cases they did not move, instead the street address number changed for the same building. In my #1 post, of the top 10 February posts, I explored why, when and how street addresses changed in York.
#1 A. B. Farquhar, Largest York County Factory Employer in 1899
In 1899, the A. B. Farquhar Company in York was the largest factory employer in all of York County; a position they held continuously for the past fifteen years. Arthur B. Farquhar started working for the predecessor W. W. Dingee & Company in 1856 and become the sole proprietor of this firm in 1862. This post takes the reader through company highlights until the 1951 sale of A. B. Farquhar Company to the Oliver Corporation; becoming the ninth plant in their organization. Eventually Oliver started to consolidate York plant operations to their other plants. By the time White Motor Corporation acquired Oliver Corporation in 1960, all production had been moved out of the York plant; as a result, the York plant was not included in the acquisition by White. For a decade, these buildings suffered demolition by neglect. When the buildings had reached the state of becoming a nuisance, they were taken down about 1970.
#4 P. H. Glatfelter Paper Mill in Spring Grove; Over 150 Years of Paper Making
On December 23, 1863, Philip H. Glatfelter purchased the small Spring Forge Paper Mill at an orphan’s court sale; marking the start of the P. H. Glatfelter Company. By 1899, the P. H. Glatfelter Paper Mill in Spring Grove had grown to become the fourth largest factory employer in all of York County and they continue to be a very successful York County business.
