Last blast? Sponsor of annual New York Wire factory steam whistle concert says it might be so
Several York County folks try to imitate something that can’t be imitated – the New York Wire factory steam whistle. But all kidding aside, was the early Christmas Day 2009 concert the famed whistle’s last concert? Also of interest: All New York Wire whistle posts from the start and The world’s loudest music without amplification from a non-musical instrument and New York Wire’s musical factory steam whistle – by the numbers.
Sponsor Susquehanna Heritage Gateway Area has done an effective job of raising the question about whether this year’s New York Wire factory steam whistle concert will be the last one.
That would be a shame if it is. Combined with the Glen Rock Carol Singers annual stroll through the streets of that southern York County town, the factory whistle concert gives the county two odd, but lovable Christmas traditions.
Then, too, the whistle concert attracts many folks downtown and brings in some national exposure for York each year… .
The whistle’s presence atop a factory reminds folks of the craftsmen who made York County industries so effective for decades. I’ve said before that the whistle concert is a bit of a blue-collar First Night York, or New Year’s Revolution 2010, as its now called.
As Gateway’s Mark Platts says in a York Daily Record/Sunday News story (12/26/09), there’s a whole year to raise funds for the next concert.
And the community should come together to do so.
Here’s an option that could be explored if that doesn’t happen. The York County Heritage Trust’s Agricultural and Industrial Museum has a factory whistle hooked up to compressed air that it has blasted in the past.
Perhaps the adjustable-valve New York Wire whistle could be fitted to that compressed air line and the concert moved to that locale.
OK, that’s not as good as the real thing, but it’s a fallback.
Meanwhile, there’s another opportunity for folks to soak in some information on the whistle this holiday season.
Whistlemaster Don Ryan will gave a presentation at the Agricultural Museum on the factory whistle at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
TO HELP – Those wishing to make donations can make tax-deductible contributions to the “Steam Whistle Concert Fund,” c/o PeoplesBank, 48 E. Market St., York, PA 17401.
A sampling of other factory whistle posts:
– York County enthusiasts could find historical event, site to visit every day.
– World War II-era air raid siren discovered atop Yorktowne Hotel.
– Unusual valve gave steam whistle prominence in World War II.
– The world’s loudest music without amplification from a non-musical instrument
– The world’s loudest music without amplification from a non-musical instrument – encore
– All factory whistle posts from the start.
