Barefoot on a York County porch: Linked in with neat history stuff – March 17, 2011
Gary E. Heiland of York County, Pa., who has provided so many neat family pictures which caption of times has come through again. Here, he shows family members probably in the late 1920s or early 1930s, sans shoes. “It must have been summer as no on is wearing shoes,” he wrote. “I thought the clothes were interesting too.” Indeed, it was common for York County youngsters in those days to go without shoes. Mahlon Haines, the Shoe Wizard, told the Saturday Evening Post that by Easter, shoes came off until the fall rolled around. “Almost everyone went barefoot in the summertime unless we did something or went somewhere that absolutely required shoes,” a resident of the day told the magazine. Also of interest: Hallam’s New Year’s shoe drop: Brings York County’s Haines Shoe House to new heights and Heiland collection: Working on the train gang and Heiland collection: Simple life in York County not that simple.
Neat stuff from all over … .
Nancy Devers Shaw, the niece of General Jacob L. Devers, and her husband, Colonel Harry Shaw, will present the York County Heritage Trust Library and Archives with a collection of papers about General Jacob Devers at 11 a.m., Friday, March 18.
According to a trust news release, the collection was gathered by Nancy’s father, Frank Devers. Colonel Shaw believes that the collection of newspaper and magazine articles assembled during World War II by his father-in-law provides a “genuine public portrait of a remarkable military leader.”
“Despite pressure to place them elsewhere,” the release states, “General Devers chose to present his official papers, his 4-star helmet and other artifacts to the Historical Society of York County in the 1960s. Researchers from across the United States and beyond now have the ability to utilize this significant collection at the York County Heritage Trust. In 2005, the family of General Thomas Griess, a Devers biographer, placed his 30-year collection of research in the care of the York County Heritage Trust to accompany Devers’ papers.” …
Four-star General Jacob L. Devers, son of Philip and Ella Kate Loucks Devers, was born in 1887 on West York Avenue, now known as Roosevelt Avenue, in York, the release stated. The 1905 York High grad lived up to his school prophecy “General Jacob Devers.” In 1909 he graduated from West Point, ranked 39th in a class of 103, seven places higher than classmate George Patton.
The release gave this additional piece of history:
“Over the summer of 1941, Devers became the youngest general at age 53. During World War II, he helped develop the M-4 Sherman Tank and the 105 mm self-propelled Howitzer. Amongst other accomplishments, Devers also commanded the Sixth Army Group in Europe and helped plan and organize the invasion of southern France following Normandy. He died on October 15, 1979, at the age of 92 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
For additional information on General Devers or the Shaws’ donation, please contact Lila Fourhman-Shaull, director of library & archives, at lfourhman-shaull@yorkheritage.
Link of the day: Gordon Freireich writes about a sister – er, cousin hotel – the Yorktowne in the South.
Recommended story: The York Daily Record/Sunday News is peeling off Census story right and left, many of which can be found on its Census 2010 site. The most recent story to look up: Location drives population growth north of York
Forum of the day: This is an older Exchange thread but relevant now that Trinity United Methodist Church in York is on the demolition block: Once beautiful buildings now in ruins or long torn down for no good reason .
Archives
– All York Town Square posts from the start. Then use “find” function on browser to search for keywords.
– Of course, you can always search for York Town Square posts on Google. For example, when you search for yorktownsquare and Jacob Loucks Devers and you get this.– All Linked In/Neat Stuff posts from the start.
