Just a girl writing in the blogging ring
I spotted this tractor being hauled down Carlisle Road on my way to college. I thought it was strange that they didn’t cut the tree out of the tractor. It did look pretty cool being pulled down the city streets. LOL The tree made it even more interesting. ~P.
I stopped in my tracks at Baughman’s Salvage Yard as I wandered around taking photos of vehicles in various states of decay. There was a beautiful, (eye of the beholder) vintage ambulance or emergency vehicle among the lines of rusted vehicles, with York, PA, barely visible.
Imagine the stories that came with a ride in this ambulance. The last date of inspection was 1999.
Thanks for visiting my blog! Click like and share with others. 🙂 ~P.
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Back in it’s hay day.
The following information is from a comment below by Jim, who also email the photo above, to me. Thanks Jim! ~P.
I believe it was a 1956 Chevy but I could be wrong on that. I had to buy parts for it back in the sixties and that year sticks in my mind. Before it was RED, it was white and some referred to it as the “Ice Cream” truck. It responded to all major fires and served hot coffee, soup and donuts to the FFs and those displaced from their houses. It was a “haven of heat” for those that fought fires that occurred in the winter. These were the days when ambulances did not respond routinely to calls and it also served as a medical/first aid/rehab unit.
Its responses were not limited to York City, it also was requested by many county FDs for major fires. It was one of the few (if not the only) city apparatus to have a “County” low band VHF radio installed. As stated before, It was owned and operated by the Lincoln Fire Company.
Two of its busiest years were 1968 and 1969 and anyone older than 10 at that time should remember what was happening in York.
It also stood by at the Kiwanis Lake Labor day celebration each year and provided first aid services to the crowds. These were the days before “EMTs” and a certified Red Cross person with Standard and Advanced first aid was the highest level of training available. Mouth to Mouth resuscitation was becoming popular as well as that ” new thing” called CPR.
Its death was due to several issues: Lack of Volunteers (the volunteers that joined the station wanted to fight fires, not serve coffee), county FDs establishing their own Canteen trucks with a much faster response time, expense of operation, the age of the vehicle, and IMHO-better fire suppression, better trained personnel, and better fire prevention in York City led to a reduction in the number of major fires, in which its services were needed. It took a while to make coffee, buy donuts and respond. Towards the end, it would be responding and the event would be over.
Some cool things I saw on the Internet. Funny how odd ball items can trigger a memory. Click the first thumbnail to open the memory-triggering photo gallery. ~P.
I love postcards…the older the better. Here is just a small selection of post cards I’ve found featuring York County, PA. Click on the first thumbnail to open gallery. Enjoy! ~P.
These vintage vehicles begged to be photographed. I couldn’t resist; the owners weren’t home, but I left my card in their door.
Click on the first thumbnail to open photo gallery. Enjoy!
Loved the look of this old Mack Truck!!
Enjoyed these old car photos? Check out my junkyard photo shoot here—–>http://girlboxer1970.com/2013/03/05/junkyards/
Thanks for stopping by my blog! ~P.
I was out late this afternoon snapping some photos as the sun was setting. I had my eyes on a few particular buildings, but I am easily distracted by anything that looks out of the ordinary. Some might say in York, that is everything.
Click on the first thumbnail to open the photo gallery.
Just a little slice of York through my camera lens. A big thank you to the complete stranger who told me I dropped a $20 bill walking across Jo-Jo-Ma’s Polish Sausage parking lot. He could have said nothing and in less than a minute, been twenty bucks richer.
Who says people aren’t honest?!
~P.
Saint Patrick Catholic Church 2013
The outside of this church is stunning! I would like to return to take photos of the inside.
The detail put into this church is amazing. For instance…fancy rain spouts!
Click on the first thumbnail to open the photo gallery. Enjoy! ~P.
A random decision to stop at Jo-Jo-Ma’s on Roosevelt Ave was a pleasant experience. The restaurant is a bustling place of patrons, picking up orders to go, or just sitting with friends, enjoying a meal and beer. Neither Dale or I knew a single person, but as we relaxed at our table, enjoying the rambunctious nature of the place, people we knew entered through the door. We also met Antonio, who said he was the previous owner of Jo-Jo-Ma’s and also had owned Soap-N-Suds laundromat. I have no idea if he was telling the truth or just messing with me, but either way, he was happy to chat.
While I am far from fluent in Spanish, I could pick-up on conversations while we were eating. One gentleman left, but before exiting, he surprised his friends when he “compró tres jarras de cerveza para sus amigos!” or in English…hooked his buddies up with three pitchers of beer! That brought a rousing cheer and everyone was happy singing along with the jukebox, eating, drinking and being merry.
Live without fear…York has many restaurants worth stopping in for a taste of their home-cooking!
Oh, and their fried chicken is the bomb! ~P.
We loved the chicken stromboli!!!
How cool is that stone fireplace?
As the sun sets and we were still safe after dark.
I’ll admit it, I’ve never been to Penn Commons in my life. That changed last night. I’ve heard the stories of people being robbed, attacked, shot, etc. in the park area, but I’m a risk-taker. Interestingly, when I approached the Soldiers & Sailors monument with my camera in hand, the group of young men sitting nearby quietly walked or rode their bikes away from the lens. 😉
The Soldiers & Sailors monument is a striking sculpture in the round, the bronze work done by Bureau Brother’s Bronze Founders.
“In 1898 the towering Soldiers & Sailors statue, designed by the noted York-based Dempwolf architectural firm, was dedicated.
To this day, it remains the most visible York-area commemoration to those who served in the Civil War.”
In the parks glory days.
“Shortly after the erection and dedication of the Solders and Sailors Monument June 15, 1898, the Order of Elks erected a rockery at a cost of $2,200. Vandals beheaded the elk in 1987, and, after receiving an estimate of $18,000 to repair it, the City of York decided to remove it.”
What a shame this had to be removed. If it is still hidden away, perhaps it could be restored and placed back in the park, on top of a high, nearly impossible to climb, column,
CREEPY WELCOME
2013
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After exhausting every angle of the monument, I noticed a tiny stone house nearby and in shambles. Dale and I began taking guesses at what this house could have been used for. “It has a chimney so someone must have stayed inside.” Dale pointed out. It did have a chimney and did look like a miniature, well-made house. I guessed it was the park’s caretaker house, so tiny, it must have been prison-like to sit inside. Dale and I were both wrong.
“This blocky building in York, Pa.’s, Penn Park is weather beaten or, well, just beaten up. But when the Penn-Coates Memorial appeared on the cover of its dedication brochure on Sept. 25, 1926, it was a welcome sight. “The Common … was secured by gift from John Penn and John R. Coates, who, by their deed dated June 11, 1816 granted … the inhabitants of the Borough of York a certain tract or lot of land containing about 20 acres … and now used as a public common,” according to the dedication pamphlet. John Penn was the last proprietary governor of Pennsylvania and John Coates was his agent.”
“The grant also included two lots for a Potter’s Field, a burial ground for the indigent of the community. That land along College Avenue eventually became the location of the original Hannah Penn Junior High School and is now the parking lot and playground for St. Patrick’s Catholic Church. The brochure says the concept for the building came from a group of men who did not like the “small shanty used by Patrolman Charles F. Carr” that was in the park. “It was often remarked by the Penn Commoners that the cop should have better quarters than the humble shanty.” The Penn Common Community Association was formed to fund and build a new police station and rest area for the public. The $20,000 to build and furnish the structure was secured by public subscription.”
“The upper room of the building is for use as a public rest room and reading room. The police doing duty on the Common have desk and telephone in the rest room. A washstand and first aid equipment are there. The basement is equipped with a public convenience to be used under certain restrictions to be enforced by the policeman in charge.” (Back then “rest room” would have been just that, a place to rest. “Public convenience” would have been what today is called a “restroom.”) The columns and the plaques are no longer on the building.”
Circa: 1926
Penn-Coates Memorial 2013
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Is there any hope this building might be restored to its former glory before it crumbles? ~P.
References Jim McClure http://www.Yorkblog.com
Changes are taking place in York City everyday, some for good and some not so good. It saddens me to see the beautiful architecture rot away.
Click on the first thumbnail to see the changes in York! Thanks for stopping by my blog…~P.
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