York Town Square

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Quizzes & (fun) tests Archives

A lot of people think this iconic weightlifter – the lasting memory many people have of York, Pa. – is York Barbell founder Bob Hoffman. It’s not Hoffman. Weigh in, if you can ID him.

The town is no mystery. And the train is from Steam into History’s excursion service. That’s no mystery because it’s the only train running on those tracks nowadays. So here’s the mystery. How many times did Abraham Lincoln pass through Glen Rock, Pa.?

We appreciate those who responded to this History Mystery question. But there were so few who tried.This York, Pa., artist’s work has been reproduced in books around the world for his documentation of 19th-century American life. We do forget our people of accomplishment so easily. Perhaps a forthcoming book on a body of his work will bring his life, times and work back into public view.

Ever since this scene appeared in the York, Pa., Daily Record, I’ve thought about such countless gatherings, morning, noon and night across York County. This typifies a piece of York County – past and present.

A fun part of the History Mystery quizzes on York, Pa., Daily Record’s Facebook page is engaging with the readers. In the post above and below, I went into the ‘threads,’ as the lines of comments are called, and supply more information. Meeting the reader is part of the fun of social media.

The Vigilant Fire Co. No. 1, in the 200 block of West Market Street, is 40 years old this year. Those four decades make it the newest among York, Pa.’s, fire stations. The ‘before’ photo in this set in the ‘Picturing History’ series shows the Vigilant in the 1970s before it came down along with its social hall. The ‘after’ photo shows it today.

In York, Pa.’s, South Queen Street neighborhood sits a building with a rather elaborate marquee. York Sunday News columnist Gordon Freireich has noticed this for years. So he explored why this building, in South Queen Street’s 100 block, sported such a facade. You can find Gordon’s educated guess about why the building bears the marquee below. But for now, it’s fair to point out that he’s not certain

It’s interesting how quickly we forget those who have built this community. I regularly put up photographs of these achievers on YDR’s Facebook page. Sometimes, the people of accomplishment receive little recognition. You can tell by the low number of likes, comments and shares on Facebook. Still, it’s important for us to know these greats, so we’ll keep telling their stories on Facebook and on this blog.

Here’s another test of your York Smarts. But not all quizzes on the YDR’s Facebook page are History Mysteries. Some merely reflect on things that York countians have done – and are doing, such as in the example above. York countians have all kinds of interests and these ‘Days gone by posts’ reflect on that. Below, we return to History Mysteries … .

Last week, I posted five history mystery quizzes originally posed to YDR Facebook readers. This week, the first two – the one above and immediately below – were posted to my Facebook page. I put past posts on YDR Facebook and the daily posts on my page. Many also go on my Twitter stream. I hope you enjoy and engage by clicking on comments, likes and share. And remember, click on the “goog.le” link, if stumped.