York Town Square

This is a rare photograph of West Manchester Township (Pa.)’s Highland Park before the turn of the 20th century. This would have been in the early years of electrified trolley service in York County, and the park was built to enhance weekend and off-peak ridership. Highland grew into a large amusement park, attracting people from Baltimore and throughout the region. A quarry now operates on the old park site. This photograph came from a rare 12-part collection: “Art Work of York,” W.H. Parish Publishing Co., 1893. Also of interest: Carrie Nation in York, Pa.: ‘I told them that they were maintaining a drunken men’s club’ and Smoketown a popular York County name a century ago and Growing off-peak trolley ridership in York County: Build a park.

A mixed bag of neat stuff … .
Steven Valinski has been back in York County Court system facing driving under the influence charges. That comes after he served a 20-year state prison sentence for the gruesome bondage-suffocation murder of a 39-year-old York woman in 1988.
Valinksi had cut off body parts and had sliced open her abdomen after her death… .

Former York County District Attorney Stan Rebert had sought the death penalty for the Red Lion man.
“Step aside Jack the Ripper and Freddie Krueger, there’s a new kid on the block,” Rebert said in his closing statement of the 1989 trial.
Valinski was convicted of third degree murder.
We’ve added Valinski to the York Town Square list of most notorious crimes in the past 25 years.
– Event opportunity: I’ll be speaking on famous and everyday visitors to Emigsville at an a free public event in early April in that Manchester Township community. With trolleys, trains and wagons traveling through there for centuries, many people have come and gone in that village. If you attend and read this blog, please make yourself known to me. This ongoing event usually draws large audiences.
– We’ve added a new category to this blog: The Pennsylvania Dutch. There, all Dutchy posts will be aggregated.
– Blog post of the day: Yorkblogger Joan Concilio has an interesting series “The ABCs of York County” going on York County institutions associated with each letter of the alphabet. Readers can vote on the winners. You’ll probably be surprised at the “institution” that won the “J.” Find out here. (There’s a big clue below.)
– Forum on the day: To vote on the the “K” institution, click here.
– To see all York Town posts from the start, click here.
Photo courtesy of Beth Reinhold’s and Terry Zellers’ collection.

For all winners, see “The ABCs or York.”