York County’s Maize Quest unveils scary but pettable farm critters
Neat stuff/Linked in: Friedensall’s renovations/Civil War photos
Hugh McPherson owns Maize Quest in southeastern York County, Pa., and that gives him standing to mount ‘tire-saurus’ This scary ‘ride’ on this Fawn Grove-area farm and a similarly vulcanized sea serpent are among the 30 attractions at the park. The farm-turned-amusement park is an example of a formula used by farmers for centuries to generate revenue from non-traditional sources on their properties. An age-old example – perhaps this is a traditional souce, come to think of it – is the operation of stills to turn excess grain into spirits. Also of interest: With all those stills, the York County hillbillies?
This York Daily Record/Sunday News file photo shows an earlier version of the Maize Quest from about a decade ago.
Neat stuff from all over … .
Bob Kirby guided the Gettysburg National Military Park through the battle’s 150th anniversary.
Now, he says he’s retiring at the end of the year. So he’ll see the park through the second big leg of the 150th – the big anniversary of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
Friedensaal’s rededication: Friedensaal Evangelical Lutheran Church near Seven Valleys rededicated its sanctuary over the weekend. OK, it’s known as the White Church, as opposed to the nearby Yellow Church, and Friedensaal means “Hall of Peace.”
Strickler family query: A rep from York County’s venerable Strickler family wrote: “I have a Strickler relative who lived near McCall Station in York County. Any idea where it is/was?”
I could not find McCall station on any of the railroads in York County. Perhaps it’s confused with McCall’s Ferry. But I put that out to the group here. Please comment below if you know.
Civil War photos: A Scott Mingus’ Facebook post reminded me that he has a superb photo gallery on a site that covers York County in the Civil War. Scott also has put up a YouTube video about his most recent book on Confederate Gen. Extra Billy Smith.
As York Town Square readers might have noticed, I like to document area coffeehouses where I hang out. Often, I’m writing blog posts. Here’s one whose coffee tastes almost as good at home as in the store, and that’s saying a lot. In fact, Kauffman’s has my vote as the best coffee around, and that comes from a Dunkin’ Donut fan.
