York Town Square

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York City has a long association with alligators. Yes, alligators. Linked in with neat York County history stuff, June 22, 2012

Other good stuff, below: Agnes/Electric Map/Huguenots

No, this isn’t the alligator that resided at Penn Park. This one was found several years ago in York’s Poorhouse Run, someone’s runaway pet. This isn’t the first alligator sighting in York City over the years. Universal York’s June Lloyd writes about the Penn Park alligator – or is it alligators – reported in the fountain or a special pool in Penn Park in 1898 and in the 1930s. At the time of the Rebecca Fountain dedication, a newspaper reported: “An alligator, thirteen feet long, will be one of the additions.” Also of interest: Can anyone locate Penn Park’s Rebecca at the Well?

Neat stuff from all over … .

Today is the 40th anniversary of the height of Tropical Storm Agnes’ wrath, the day the York Daily Record reported: ‘5 dead, missing.’

The York Daily Record observed the anniversary with the article: Tropical Storm Agnes remains in a league of her own.

“It was quite an ordeal,” Jim Ream of Glen Rock said. “I wouldn’t want to go through another one.”


Remember the map?:
The old Electric Map at the old Gettysburg Visitors Center, in storage today, has been cleared for sale. Check out the Hanover Evening Sun’s report.

Singers sought for Welsh tour: People who enjoy singing are invited to join Cor Cymraeg Rehoboth on a concert tour of Wales, set for July 1-9, 2013, according to a news release. Those interested in appearing with the performance choir affiliated with Delta’s Welsh church should attend the first tour rehearsal 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, June 23. That rehearsal and others to prepare for next summer’s tour will be held at Capel Cymraeg Rehoboth, the Welsh church, located at Atom Road and Pendyrus Street, Delta, in southeastern York County. For information about the tour and rehearsals, call 717-456-7379 or 410-452-5240.

Learn about the Huguenots: Lancaster County area is home to a second wave of European settlers—French Protestant families – Huguenots. On July 14, from 8 a.m. to noon, a historic tour will visit homes and cemeteries in Paradise and Strasburg Townships related to those early immigrants, according to a Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society release. The sites will have personal interest for families with connections to Ferree, LeFevre, Witmer, Hershey, Herr and Carpenter surnames. Many of those Huguenot names are common in York County, too. For tickets information, contact www.lmhs.org. The tour will depart from Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, 2215 Millstream Road, Lancaster, along Lincoln Highway East.

Forum of the day: Girl Scout campfires and sheep jumping over the moon were two themes in a cupcake wars – cupcake contest – as a fundraiser for the Paul Smith Library: http://bitly.com/MAIydc. Cupcakes, a staple of York County kitchen for years are regaining popularity in York County. Are you surprised by the relatively recent popularity of cupcakes? And while we’re at it, who was Paul Smith of Shrewsbury’s Paul Smith Library fame? For the answer, check out: Often forgotten: Achievements of people named on building facades.