YorksPast

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Readers Choose Top 10 Posts during February 2017

Near the beginning of every month, I’m sharing with my readers the top 10 posts from the previous month.

This single graphic, features illustrations from all top 10 posts; however giving greater space to the higher ranked posts.

SYNOPSIS and LINK to Each FEBRUARY TOP TEN POST

These are your favorites during February 2017:

1—Pennsylvania’s first Gino’s was in Springettsbury.  Share in the discovery of the deed where the owners of the property at 2500 East Market Street, in Springettsbury Township, leased that plot of land to “Gino’s No. 1 of Pennsylvania, Inc.” Additional research does indicate Pennsylvania’s first Gino’s Drive-In Restaurant was opened in the spring of 1961 directly across from the York County Shopping Center. This popular fast-food drive-in featured 15-cent hamburgers, 10-cent golden French fries and starting in 1962 also offered Kentucky Fried Chicken; all of this nearly a decade before the first McDonald’s was built in York County.

2—Wm Tally House cafeteria at York Mall.  A friend of Joan Lutz claimed the William Tally House cafeteria at the York Mall was connected with McCrory’s Stores. Joan doubted that was true, however asked if I’d look into it when she submitted a photo of the Wm Tally House logo from a cup. Read about the connection between William Tally House and McCrory’s plus some York Mall memories.

3—Baltimore Colts at Central High and more Gino’s.  While attending Central York High School, Baltimore Colts players participated in an exhibition basketball game in our school gym. Our 1968 yearbook contains two photos from that basketball game; one showing John Mackey and Johnny Unitas on the bench. For the 1967 season, in a landslide, Unitas was voted the Most Valuable Player in the National Football League. Nine years earlier, Unitas led another team of world champion Baltimore Colts players in an exhibition basketball game at Central High School. Proceeds from that game were used by the Central High Booster Club to purchase a score board on the Central High football field. Additional Baltimore Colts connections plus Gino’s full-page Grand Opening ad are revealed in this post.

4—Karl Ort is York’s Aviation Pioneer.  For half-a-century Karl S. Ort operated a successful York County business selling aviation merchandise, aircraft parts and war surplus materials. Nevertheless, Karl Ort became York’s aviation pioneer years before that business. He was a WWI trained pilot that barnstormed up and down the eastern seaboard. Learn about Karl’s string of flying related concerns that established his aviation career.

5—Haines Park transforms into a Trailer Park.  Discover the transformation of the track at Haines Park into a mobile home park. House trailers sat along the outside edge of the half-mile track from 1953 until about 1966. This trailer park was located in the area of the present intersection of Northern Way and Eastern Boulevard in Springettsbury Township. In terms of a present landmark structure, the AAA building sits where the track infield existed.

6—Karl Ort’s aerial photo of East York.  York native Karl Ort’s flight training during WWI led to a string of flying related concerns. Between 1922 and 1930, one such interest was aerial photography. An extensive collection of Karl Ort’s aerial photographs is housed in the Archives of the York County History Center. This post examines Karl Ort’s aerial photo of John H. Longstreet’s East York development; straddling East Market Street in Springettsbury Township.

7—Readers Choose Top 10 Posts during January 2017.  Near the beginning of every month, I share with my readers the top 10 posts from the previous month. This post contains a synopsis and link to each January Top 10 Post.

8—York High built on site of Old Vault.  In September of 1927 a new high school building opened in York, Pennsylvania. On that occasion, local aviator Karl Ort took an aerial photo that appeared in The York-High Weekly. William Penn Senior High School was built opposite Penn Park on the north side of West College Avenue, between South Beaver Street and Park Avenue. Just about where the entrance to the auditorium was located in the new high school building, a large covered vault had existed. The vault was approximately 75-feet long by 35-feet wide and was one-story high; how old and what was it used for?

9—Bri-Mar track just off Lincoln Highway.  Bri-Mar track was located just south of the Lincoln Highway near a York County mobile home park. This track was built in 1951 and existed until about 1990. Learn about the track and the horsewoman responsible for its construction; she was a celebrated international rider from Copenhagen, Denmark.

10—Buildings 61-70 in West Region of Springettsbury Township.  This is the 23rd post in a series where I match 1860 dwellings, identified on Shearer’s 1860 Map of York County, to the families resided in them; utilizing the 1860 United States Census. This post examines 1860 buildings at the southern end of Pleasureville and focuses on one of the inhabitants; Dr. George Conn, a prominent Nineteenth Century cancer doctor.

This chart tracks the level of my YorksPast readership. Thank you to the multitude of readers that e-mail me with comments, suggestions and finds; you’re created a wonderful backlog of subjects for me to post. Your continued feedback is very much appreciated.

Links to the Top 10 Posts for the 16 most recent months:

Reading the Headlines: A Quick Index to All YorksPast Posts