The "Buchanan Park Reveals All" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just finished a visit to Franklin & Marshall College's North Museum and headed to the car.  As my grandson Caden and I made our way back to the car we passed Buchanan Park which is one of the half-dozen or so Lancaster, PA city parks which is located at the corner of Race and Buchanan Avenues.  

Monument in honor of James Buchanan,
President of the United States 1857-1861.

The park is a 22 acre site open to the public which has a children's playground, softball and field hockey field, tennis courts, a covered pavilion and lots of picnic tables.  It is a welcoming site for all who live in the north-west area of the city.  The manicured lawns and large rock outcroppings are a great place to relax and have a good time.  There are also several statues and monuments that dot the landscape and give the history of some of Lancaster's most famous residents.  Well, as we neared the car we noticed a few of the monuments and headed for a visit.  The tallest of the monuments featured a metal statue of Lancaster's James Buchanan who happened to be President of the United States from 1857-1861.  

This monument was to honor the Veterans of the Spanish
American War.  Click on any photo to enlarge it.

Had the camera going as we walked around the monument, reading the engraving on the stone base.  Close by was a large stone base that featured two canons and a statue of a soldier with a rifle.  This monument was erected in memory of volunteers from Lancaster County in the Spanish American War.  It was dedicated July 4, 1913 and the tablet that bore the message was cast from metal recovered from the U.S.S. Maine.  

Caden next to James Sheckard plaque.

Pretty neat reading about the monument and the history it featured.  Then there was a marble stone with a plaque that read: Dedicated to the memory of James Tilden Sheckard 1878-1947.  The Lancaster County boy who starred on the Baltimore Orioles, the Brooklyn Dodgers and the famous champion Chicago Cubs of 1906-1910 to become one of the great outfielders of all time.  Wow, pretty impressive credentials ….. and I never knew about him.  My grandson had to have his photo taken next to this stone with his Orioles hat upon his head.  The last stone we found was a memorial to Leo F. Hauck 1888-1950.  It read:  In an era of top middleweight and light heavyweight boxers, 1905-1920, Leo Hauck rose through them all to become uncrowned middleweight champion of the world.  

Plaque to honor Leo Hauck, boxing great.

Always a clean sportsman and a gentleman, he was a credit to the world of boxing and to his native town, Lancaster; he was an ideal pattern for the youth of America.  And again, I can't believe I have lived in the town of Lancaster for almost 70 years and never heard of him before.  My trip with my grandson has proven very enlightening.  But, perhaps the biggest find in our walk around the park was the old house that stood for ages near the tennis courts.  It is called The Liberty Bond House.  The plaque tells that it is the first official court house of Lancaster County.  The building was built by the Thaddeus Stevens High School students as a replica of the Colonial Era Court House.  

The Liberty Bond House.

It stood in Penn Square, in the center of the city, in front of the historical Watt & Shand Department Store.  Volunteers sold war bonds from the house during WWI and II.  After the second war it was moved to Buchanan Park.  I remember the building as dilapidated and often thought it held the lawn equipment needed to take care of the park.  During 2013-14 the Lancaster City/County took on the task of restoring the building to it's original condition.  They did a fantastic job.  Our little side trip through and around Buchanan proved to be very interesting.  I realize I probably enjoyed it more than my grandson, but he was nice enough to walk with me and never complained.  Grandkids ….. oh what a joy!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.