York Town Square

Part of the USAToday Network

York County, Pa.’s U.S. 30 Drag-O-Way, Part IV: ‘It kept me out of trouble’


Bill ‘Grumpy’ Jenkins and his Camaro appear at the York U.S. 30 Drag-O-Way, sometimes dragway, in the heyday. The dragway operated at York Airport for about 20 years, closing in 1979. But many people remember those weekends today. Background posts: U.S. Drag-O-Way, Part I, U.S. Drag-O-Way, Part II and U.S. Drag-O-Way, Part III Wheels of York.

The York U.S. 30 Dragway is the latest in a multi-year series of oral histories about York County’s past.
More than 30 of these histories – with audio clips, video, still photos and stories – appear on the “Remember” section of ydr.com.
That a pile of information that will be accessible to future generations. Here’s a prediction. If you wade into those stories, you’ll get lost in the past. But you’ll understand today’s York County a bit better.
The initial posting featured the Blizzards of 1993 and 1996
The recent package brought forth memories of the U.S. 30 Dragway, operating in the 1960s and 1970s at the York Airport.
It featured the memories of Brian Morgan (see video below), who grew up working at the airport… .


Springettsbury Township’s Jeff Knaub’s memories are typical of those who responded:

· I used to go up to U.S. 30 every Saturday when I was younger. I used to race. I had a ’69 Chevelle. I had a lot of good memories, especially when Supernationals were up there. It kept me out of trouble. Then we used to, after races . . . come in through York with the white numbers on our cars and go through the circuit. When Supernationals were running, we used to have a lot of fun up there, watching streakers and people having fun.

Here is a listing of past oral history topics, accessible at “Remember”
Teachers of York County
The evolution of TV programming
The Gulf War
Going to the butcher shop
John Lennon
Doctors making house calls
Visits from the milkman
First cars
The Korean War
First pets
Equal rights for women
The Olympics Remember: The Y2K melee
Paranormal experiences in York County
S&H Green Stamps
Woodstock
Moon landing
Tropical Storm Agnes
Cigar-factory memories
The invasion of Iraq
High school dances
The Golden Venture saga
The 2008 election
‘Old’ technology
The Vietnam War
The Great Depression
The York Fair
Phone booths and pay phones
1969 racial riots
Drive-in theaters
World War II
Panic at TMI
First dates
Blizzards of 1993 and 1996
Description from the YDR:
The Remember series is a monthly feature that challenges readers to remember poignant moments in personal, local and national history. Each month, we’re asking readers to share their memories on different topics. From those who call, we’ll select one to video, and post audio files of the other memories here. We’ll also publish several of the responses in the newspaper.

Brian Morgan talks about the U.S. 30 Dragway at the York Airport.
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 York Airport, you get this.