A school named Airy Hill: Linked in with neat York County, Pa., history stuff – Oct. 21, 2010
York countian Gary Heiland’s photograph shows Airy Hill School located on Davidsburg Road between Pickett Road and Bermudian Church Road. The square structure at the left corner of the front porch is a shed where wood for the pot belly stove was stored, Gary wrote. Background posts: Solo teachers in York County one-room schools assigned lots of assistants, 18th-century mines gave Ore Valley its name and Can you identify this mystery school, believed to be in York County?
Neat stuff from all over ….
Yorkblogger June Lloyd has pinpointed the first chipmaker in the York area who operated almost 100 years ago, in 1911.
Here’s here lead to her York Sunday News column about this longtime York County product, popular around here because of plentiful potatoes and lard: … .
Utz? Martin’s? Workplaces and families are divided into two camps by these chips, and rarely will you find someone who loves them both.
Potato chips have been a part of York County’s agricultural and manufacturing history for at least a hundred years. The first chip manufacturer found in York city directories is Jacob W. Strine, who made his chips at 574 West Clark Avenue in 1911.
The popular story is that potato chips were created in 1853 by chef George Crum in Saratoga, N.Y., in response to a diner’s complaint that his sliced potatoes were too thick. Accounts say that until the late 1800s the crispy potato slices were served as a side dish with a meal. Then individuals started frying them in their kitchens or small factories and distributing them to grocery stores, where they were scooped out of tins. Wax paper bags came into use in the 1920s, keeping the chips fresher and making them easier to sell to the customers.
Read the rest of June’s column: Who doesn’t love a good potato chip?
In case you missed: Yorkblogger Gordon Freireich, also a York Sunday News columnist brought readers back to York’s Penn Park with his recent: Recalling autumn in Penn Park.
Upcoming event: Buffy Andrews is seeking signed, donated copies of local history books for a benefit auction. In case you’d like to donate, check out details at Buffy’s Write Zone.
Recommended forum, Only York: People are weighing in about a York County delicacy on Yorkblogger Joan Concilio’s post: Sticky buns: Reintroducing you to my love of recipes
Students pose outside the Center Square School in Roundtown early in the 20th century.The one-room school in Manchester Township has been in the news recently, as its owner, Grace Lutheran Church, seeks to raise funds for its upkeep.
Also:
– All York Town Square posts from the start. (Key word search by using “find” on browser.)
