40 years ago, men walked on moon and race riot victims wheeled into York emergency room
The July 21, 1969, edition of The Gazette and Daily told about man’s walk on the moon and rioting in York, Pa., a pretty interesting news day. Background posts: Background posts: Meeting of riot victims brought racial accord, Mayor: ‘We’re going to clean up this site’ and York Charrette or charade?
In the minds of some in York County, the moment of Neil Armstrong’s and Buzz Aldrin’s moonwalk in 1969 will always be aligned with the escalation of rioting in York.
Editors at the Gazette and Daily had to balance coverage of the moon walk with the march of shooting victims into the York Hospital emergency room. This was the product of what has become known as the race riots of 1968-69.
One of the shooting victims was 29-year-old Jacob W. Hose Jr., known today as former York County Sheriff Bill Hose… .
Hose, wearing a bullet-proof vest, took a bullet above the heart. The armor-piercing bullet penetrated a quarter-inch thick metal plate in the tank-like vehicle he was riding in. It did not penetrate the vest, but bruised Hose’s chest.
The next day’s newspaper would also be loaded with news.
That night, Lillie Belle Allen, a black woman visiting York, was killed in an attack by a white gang.