ROAD OF REMEMBRANCE Memorial in Paradise Township, York County
Earlier this month I was driving around York County to seek out Then & Now views to match some old postcards. As is often the case, I ended up finding something unexpected. This post preempts my exploration for the Lincoln View Motel & Restaurant along the Lincoln Highway; which will be posted on Monday.
I happened upon this ROAD OF REMEMBRANCE Memorial one-mile to the west of the Lincoln View location in Paradise Township. I’ve often seen the ROAD OF REMEMBRANCE Memorial in the center of 8th Street in Wrightsville and I remembered reading there were markers at both ends of the Lincoln Highway in York County.
I always assumed the western marker was closer to Abbottstown, maybe somewhere near the creek that serves as the boundary between York and Adams Counties. The marker is actually about one-half mile east of Abbottstown on the south side of the Lincoln Highway.
On Memorial Day, May 30th, 1922 both monuments were dedicated; Wrightsville at 10:30 in the morning and the marker near Abbottstown at 4:30 that afternoon. The only difference in the plaques is in the ending of the second line; the Wrightsville plaque says “Westward” and the plaque near Abbottstown says “Eastward.”
June Lloyd wrote an extensive post describing the fundraising effort to plant the 1,500 memorial trees along the Lincoln Highway in York County prior to the 1922 dedication. Even though the trees were planted with eventual road widening in mind; the planners did not foresee the ultimate width of the Lincoln Highway, which took most of the trees. Few of these memorial trees remain.
“Lest We Forget,” Why not plant all 1,500 trees again?
Continue reading for more about the ROAD OF REMEMBRANCE.
This photo of the May 30th, 1922 dedication ceremony in Wrightsville appeared on the front page of the June 1st, 1922 issue of the York Gazette. The same photo later appeared in the July 1922 issue of American Forestry with caption identifying several of the people involved in the dedication.
Using the numbers placed within the photograph, these individuals are identified: 1—Mrs. James G. Glessner, President Woman’s Club of York; 2—Miss Betty Cannon; 3—Hon. A. B. Farquhar; 4—Mrs. Ralph S. Cannon; 5—Charles Lathrop Pack, President American Forestry Association; 6—Mrs. J. B. Hamme, President Lincoln Highway Memorial and Tribute Tree Association; 7—Major R. Y. Stuart, Commissioner of Forestry of Pennsylvania; 8—Mrs. A. H. Hayward; 9—H. C. Ulmer.
It was under the supervision of The Woman’s Club of York that funds were raised to have the memorial trees planted. Mr. Pack read a letter from The White House, where First Lady Florence Kling Harding congratulated The Women’s Club of York on their wonderful work on the Road of Remembrance. Hon. A. B. Farquhar, who heard President Abraham Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg Address in 1863, recited that speech at the dedications.
The two-page article in the July 1922 issue of American Forestry noted; “York County is one of the pioneers in memorial tree planting on such a scale.” This photo shows the location of the ROAD OF REMEMBRANCE Memorial in Paradise Township; it is on the south side of the Lincoln Highway, just west of the 81 Diner. I’ve also pinpointed the location on the following Bing.com aerial photo/map.
To finish out the Lincoln Highways’ Centennial Year, I’ll continue to write Lincoln Highway associated posts throughout December. Previous related posts include:
- Lincoln Highway Centennial Auto Tour at Haines Shoe House
- Susquehanna Trail WWI Memorial Sycamores
- Searching for Photo of WWI Veteran George B. Hoffman for submission to U.S.S. President Lincoln memorial site
- Yorker George B. Hoffman killed with sinking of U.S.S. President Lincoln
- Walking the Lincoln Highway from Coast-to-Coast
- York was in danger of losing the Lincoln Highway during 1914
- Haines Shoe House will be a June 23rd Lunch Stop on 100th Anniversary Lincoln Highway Auto Tour
- 20 York Businesses that Built the Haines Shoe House
- Mystery Ice Cream Bar along the Lincoln Highway
- Melvin’s Drive-In, Lincoln Highway Ice Cream Bar; I-83 Opens
- St. Joseph reports on John F. Kennedy in York, PA
- Lincoln Woods Inn; Mystery of the Medallions
- LoPiccolo’s in Violet Hill connection to The Woods in Springettsbury Township
- 1906 York Automobile Owners form York Motor Club; their Club House still stands
- Motels & Restaurants named via the Lincoln Highway; Lincoln View in Paradise Township, York County
- 23¢ per gallon at York’s Only Gasoline Shopping Center
