York Town Square

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Living historian to recreate Abe Lincoln’s trip to Gettysburg via Hanover Junction

Linked in/Neat stuff: Mailman’s/Tossing pumpkins
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Civil War fans have another major Gettysburg 150 moment coming on Nov. 19 – the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. Abraham Lincoln stayed in the Wills House, partly seen at left in this five-year-old photo from atop the Gettysburg Hotel. Of course, the president passed through Hanover Junction and Hanover traveling to and from Gettysburg. The excursion train Steam into History will observe part of the president’s journey from New Freedom to Hanover Junction and back with the appearance of living historian James Hayney. Its website states: ‘As a living historian he will capture the spirit of Lincoln and have you believe he is the real deal.’ Mr. Lincoln will appear on the train for four days in November.  Also of interest:  Medal of Honor and Gettysburg hero Lt. Alonzo Cushing: ‘He certainly deserved the medal’ and Did Lincoln see this clock when passing through Hanover Junction?

York County has a piece of Abraham Lincoln’s visit to Gettysburg.

To get to Gettysburg, he had to pass through York County.

Do you think York countians generally know this – that Abe was here?

Other neat stuff from all over … .

Many people around York County remember Mailman’s, and a recent ydr.com story about Stanley Mailman’s granddaughter’s own retail business brought back such memories.

That story about Whitney Morgan carried this brief history of Mailman’s:

“Stanley Mailman owned Master’s discount store on Edgar Street from 1957 to 1963.

“He also ran Mailman’s in Queensgate Shopping Center, Morgan-Mailman’s in Hanover and Lancaster, and Savemart in Lancaster from 1963 into the early 1990s.

“The Queensgate store originally was a business agreement between him and the Grumbacher family, which sold apparel and accessories from the Mailman’s store.

“Eventually, the two broke off, and the Grumbachers opened The Bon-Ton Department Store next door.

“Competition eventually nudged Mailman’s into Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation in the early 1990s.

“Today, Stanley Mailman’s granddaughter owns Collage, a gift store in Spring Garden Township.

For years, we’ve enjoyed York County veteran Bill Schmeer‘s insights  received via an occasional email.

‘Our war was the Korean War:”
So his views about his Hazleton High School, Pa., class reunion are more of such.

Here’s a recent email from Bill to friends on an email list:

“This may hold a surprise for some of you, it did for me. I am about to attend my 65th, and probably last, high school class reunion. At our age 82-83, about half of the class is deceased. Our war was the Korean War and I know at least two classmates who were killed in that mire. I was very surprised when I saw that another classmate (David Garth Fisher)  was killed in Vietnam. I knew he was deceased, but I never knew any details. This, as they say, brings some closure.”

York has lucked out: This piece – by another J. McClure, as in son Joe – appeared on PennLive.com. It tells about problems with landfills in Harrisburg before problems with the incinerator, that has brought Harrisburg to its financial knees. York County, fortunately, has experienced no such issues of that complexity in trash disposal in the past 50 years.

Using farmland and agricultural products for purposes other than sustenance took on another look this past week when Discovery Channel personality Jim “Fat Jimmy” Fuller tossed pumpkins in Chanceford Township.