The "Philosophical Differences Don't Cut It With Me!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Trying to figure out why parents today don't want to get their children vaccinated for childhood diseases like mumps and measles.  When I was ready to begin school, my mom and dad had to take me to the doctor's office so I could get my smallpox vaccination.  It was given in the arm and was supposed to leave a small round scar on your arm.  I got the shot, but not the scar.  The school nurse had to call my doctor to make sure I actually had the shot.  My doctor told my mom that I must have had a natural immunity to the disease, therefore no scar.  Small pox was an infectious disease that killed about 30% of the people that developed it, but was finally eradicated in 1980.  Then on February 23 of 1954 a new vaccine was developed to stop people from getting Polio which was a devastating disease that caused muscle deterioration, paralysis and even death.  I was in elementary school at the time and can remember standing in line at school to get my polio shot.  When I eventually went to Jr. High School, one of my classmates had developed the disease before the vaccine had been discovered by Dr. Jonas Salk and he was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Well, today in the local newspaper was a story titled "Vaccination Gap."  It talked about the Pennsylvania State law requiring all students in public schools to be vaccinated unless they had a good reason.  Had to be vaccinated against mumps, measles, and Rubella, all diseases that haven't been totally eradicated from our population. Reasons to not have vaccinations were: medical grounds which required a doctor's approval, religious grounds and philosophical grounds.  If you didn't have a reason based on those three criterion, you couldn't enter school.  Make sense to you since it would keep the population safe from childhood diseases that could be debilitating as well as deathly.  School districts actually would give free shots if you couldn't afford to go to your doctor and get vaccinations.  The new report in the newspaper showed that 8.6% of Lancaster County students had exemptions!  What for?  Most were for philosophical reasons with about 1% each for religious and medical reasons.  Why don't parents want to get a vaccination for their child so they don't develop a contagious disease that could be deadly.  They have to know they are playing medical roulette when they opt out of the vaccinations.  Pennsylvania is one of 19 states that still allows philosophical exemptions as a reason for not getting the shots. Today more and more students are home-schooled which is the legal right for parents in PA.  But, when these students want to play sports and enter public school clubs and organizations, I believe they should have to be vaccinated.  Lancaster County has a very large Amish population and they have their own schools and I'm not sure if they believe in vaccinating their children, but they never interact in public school extracurricular activities, so they can do what they choose.  But, being that these childhood diseases haven't been totally eliminated, I can see any reason why they don't get the vaccine unless it may cause harm medically.  Now, these are my opinions and you can disagree all you want with me as long as you don't send you children to public schools with my grandchildren.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Peace In St. Martin" Comes To The 'Beach House'" Story

It was an ordinary day.  I just opened a parcel that had arrived from England that had been sent to me by Mair Pattersun.  Back in December of 2016 I wrote a story about two artists who had lived together for some time on the island of Saint Martin.  They were talented artists as well as musicians who lived and sold their artwork in the small town of Grand Case on the French side of St. Martin/Sint Maarten.  Carol and I bought three prints online from Frenchy Loeb and one print from Mair Pattersun in a gift shop at Club Orient which is located at the end of world renowned Orient Beach.  I posted on TravelTalkOnline (TTOL) that we would love to buy a few more prints from Mair, but didn't know how to reach her.  Wasn't long before I had an answer on TTOL with Mair's email address.  Contacted her and before long she sent me a few samples she thought Carol and I might enjoy.  We chose one of her prints and it is the parcel which I just opened.  The print is titled "Peace in St. Martin" and is painted with acrylics much the same as our other print we have from her titled "Parosols, Club O, St. Martin".  

"Peace in St. Martin" on the left with "Parasols, Club O,
St. Martin.  Click to enlarge

Mair uses acrylics most of the time since it dries more quickly than oils and you may not carry oil paints onto a plane unless they are in your checked in luggage.  She told me that the print we purchased was painted with a palette knife rather then brushes.  She also pointed out that when she paints, she uses a very limited palette with only cadmium red, ultramarine, turqoise, yellow, purple and white.  A limited palette was encouraged for artists when she went to ArtCollege in the UK.  As I opened the package I noticed what I thought to be packing material, but turned out to be a CD.  What a pleasant surprise it was to listen to music that Mair had written for the CD.  

Cover from our new CD.  Artwork and music by Mair.

The CD is titled "Warm Blue Waters" and reminds me of new-age music since it exhibits the same qualities of artistic inspiration, relaxation and optimism that are the basis of new-age music.  Her keyboard renditions carry titles such as Re-Awakening, Always, Spirit of My Spirit and When Love Begins.  So soothing that I could easily doze off if needed.  She noted that she gets a chance to play on Agatha Christie's piano once a week between February and December.  As the music was playing Carol said, "Where did you get that CD?"  Told her it was a gift from Mair.  We both enjoyed the relaxing music.  Carol mentioned, "It's as if we were back in St. Martin."  Now I need to find a suitable mat and frame for our new addition to our Beach House.  It is going to find a place where our friends and family will get a chance to see it in the near future.  Many thanks to Mair for her wonderful talent and prints as well as her musical gift she sent to us.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - If you would like to purchase one of Mair's prints or CDs, email her at: mairpattersun@yahoo.com  

The "The Oldest Department Store In America!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Walking the streets of downtown Lancaster looking for a few interesting photos.  Memories of my childhood flood into my memory; visits to downtown Lancaster at Christmas to see Santa arrive by fire engine, buying peanuts in center square and taking them home to share with the family, taking my choir allowance given to all members of the St. James boy's choir and heading to Steinfeld's to buy exploding BBs as well as Mexican jumping beans,  going to Farmer's Supply to see the train yard during the Christmas holiday and heading to Hager's Department Store to stick my feet in the Xray unit to see the bones in my feet.  Hager's Department Store was one of a few big name stores in downtown Lancaster with Watt & Shand, M.T. Garvin & Co. and J.C. Penney being the others that come to mind.  Watt & Shand was perhaps the largest and most notable of all the stores, but Hager's, also known as Hager Brothers Department Store, was known as "the birthplace of the oldest department store in America."  Now that may or may not be true, but it sure makes for a great story.  

Hager's 1st Department Store in downtown Lancaster dated 1821. 

It was in 1821 that Christopher Hager opened his general store in the first block of West King Street.  When it eventually closed its doors in 1977 it was described as "the oldest department store in America operating continuously under the same family name, management and ownership."  So now you have your choice as to whether it is the oldest operating continuously under the same family OR being the birthplace of the oldest department store in America.  

This old poster shows many of the workers of Hager & Bros.
Across the top of the poster reads: The oldest department store
in the United States under the same family name and ownership.

Does it really matter?  I can remember shopping with my mom is all the department stores in downtown Lancaster during my childhood.  Hagers was designed by C. Emlen Urban whom I have written about several other times.  The building was built from 1910-1911 and replaced the original general store that was also in the first block of West King.  Urban's building was a five-story, three bay by five bay, steel frame structure covered in terra cotta in a French Renaissance Revival style.  It measured 63 feet by 101 feet.  A central warehouse section was built between 1860 and 1890 and a brick northern extension was built in 1923.  

C. Emlen Urban's Hager's Department Store
which was built 1910-11.  This is how the
building looks today with stores below and
condominiums on the upper four floors.

These three sections, known as the Hager Brothers Department Store was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.  Today the building is the site of The Shops at Hager on the lower floor and The Condominiums at Hager above that.  To the west of the store is a parking lot while to the east is Market Alley that runs alongside of Lancaster's historic Central Market.  Hager's was acquired in 1968 by the Watt & Shand Department Store and eventually closed in 1977 when it was transformed into shops and condos.  Watt & Shand eventually closed in 1992 and is now the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square, but still maintains the original facade of the original Watt & Shand building.  Lancaster, Pennsylvania is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States, thus the historic buildings that still line the streets of downtown Lancaster.  And, I have been a proud citizen of the city for many of those years.  Great place to take photos...for sure!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Closeup of some of he the detail on the Hager building.

The "An Alarming Experience" Story

It was an ordinary day.  3:00 am and my wife was tugging on my arm with the news that our house alarm is going off.  I finally realized what she was talking about after waking from my deep sleep.  What to do?  The story goes way back to 1996 when we moved to our Beach House on Harrington Drive.  Our daughter was still living with us at the time and she said she was scared to be in our large new house without us home.  So, we decided to get a security system.  Called ADT and before long we had sensors on all doors and glass break units on both floors.  After a year or two I had a need to call the company and found they were located in Georgia.  Decided to look for a local company and found Yarnell Security.  Great local company that is very user friendly.  A year or two later, after my daughter had married and moved out of our house, my parents were house and pet sitting while we were on vacation and somehow set off the alarm.  Didn't know what to do even though I had written exactly what to do on a piece of paper for them.  I found out later that the local police arrived within a few minutes and cautiously came to the back door.  Saw mom and dad and shut off the alarm for them using my directions.  Then they told them I needed to have my license to have a security system displayed by the alarm box.  What license?  I called and they said they would give me a week to get the license and have it displayed or I would be cited.  I know...ignorance of the law isn't an excuse.  Well, the alarm was still going off when I grabbed a baseball bat and headed down the steps.  Lights were turned on and all doors were locked.  By now the alarm company was calling asking if I needed help.  My wife said she would feel better if the police came, so the alarm company called them.  Two officers searched the house and found nothing, but while they were here they got a message saying a woman had called in the next block saying someone was walking around on her first floor.  Off they went.  The alarm company called and said the alarm says that the circuit leading to the garage was the culprit.  Then I saw that part of the unit had come loose, probably from closing and opening the door for over 20 years.  I corrected the problem, but the alarm company arrived the following day to check to see if it was OK.  The repairman found that the back door sensor wasn't the problem.  A connection in the basement panel had separated due to a break in the wire.  He fixed it and off he went.  We've talked about discontinuing the alarm, but feel safer knowing that someone is watching out for us and responds quickly if we don't call them within a minute of two.  Oh yeah, luckily I now have my license right next to the alarm, since the officers checked it out when they made their recent visit.  The sound of the alarm would scare just about anyone away, but I tend to sleep to soundly to hear it until someone is pounding on my arm.  And, pound she did.  It as another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Stuff That Goes Well With So Many Things" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Have a couple of containers in the fridge filled with a variety of left-over fruit so I checked out the pantry in hopes of locating a box of Jello so I could mix everything together and make a neat dessert that would go well with the container of Cool Whip I also found half used in the back of the fridge.  Yep, there in the pantry was a large box of lime Jello which would definitely go good with the pineapples, orange wedges, grapes and peaches.  What a combo that will taste excellent with the Cool Whip on top.  It'll make a great breakfast tomorrow provided I don't eat it all before I go to bed tonight.  I can still remember my mother making all types of desserts with Jello when I was a child.  Many associated Jello as being developed in the 1950s and 60s, but this gelatin dessert has been around since 1897.  Wasn't long after that recipes began surfacing in local newspapers.  I recently found a website that posted recipes from the past that included Jello as part of the ingredients.  I have chosen a few to pass along to you.  Give them a try and see what you think.  One or two of them I'm sure mom made for me years ago.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

A New Year's treat from 1903.  I'm guessing that the price of 10 cents might have been quite high.

Jello with Tapioca.  Sounds delicious.

Two Sundays in a row with Jello.  Must have been special for Sunday dinner.

This recipe took a prize in 1929.

Recipe from 1930.

Jello published some tips in 1931.

A recipe from 1931.  Perhaps the tips from the previous posting helped in preparing this treat.

And ... one more recipe from 1931.  Really pushing Jello in 1931.

Wondering if Spam could have been used for this instead of ham.

Very simple recipe from 1949.

Now this sounds pretty good with the use of apricot nectar.  This is from 1956.

Now this sounds like something my mom made.  Recipe from 1964 while I was still living at home.

This too looks vaguely familiar, but I was married in 1970 when this recipe was developed and my wife doesn't remember ever making it.

The "It's More Than Advertisements This Year" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Carol and I have just watched the Philadelphia Eagles completely dominate the Minnesota Vikings who were picked to beat the Eagles.  The Eagles beat the Vikings by outscoring them by 31 points which was the third most points ever in a National Conference Championship.  That goes back over 50 years.  I have been an Eagles fan for most of my life, with the exception of a few years when I liked the Baltimore Colts and Johnny Unitas.  As soon as the game ended Sunday evening Carol said, "Think we can get airline tickets and watch the game in St. Martin like we did in 2005?"  It was back in 2005 that the Eagles played the same team they will once again play, the New England Patriots.  We had arrived for vacation the day before the game in St. Martin and had gone to Le Chappel Restaurant for supper that evening.  When we got there we realized it was a sports bar and asked if they were going to broadcast the Super Bowl the next evening.  Response was "Yes", but in French.  Hey, as long as their jerseys didn't have French numbers on them I was fine.  We arrived the following evening at game time and were ushered to the front of the room where they had reserved tables for those that wanted to watch the game on the big screen TV.  

Carol and I watching the Super Bowl in St. Martin in 2005.

The restaurant also managed to get a USA cable connection so the game would be in English.  Carol and I were the only Eagles fans, but we still had a fantastic time with a good meal and football favors.  That was until the Eagles lost 24-21.  The 20 or so Patriots fans naturally had to rub it in.  Made for a very memorable vacation nonetheless.  As for repeating the same thing this year...that's not going to happen.  By that I mean we won't be heading back to St. Martin for the game and the Eagles aren't going to be on the losing end of the score.   I do wish that the Eagles quarterback, Carson Wentz, had not been injured, but I was a big fan of Nick Foles when he played for the Eagles a few years ago.  He was surrounded by great players and coaches, but they just didn't believe in themselves as this year's team does.  There were many years that Carol and I watched the Super Bowl just to see the advertisements, but this year we'll have to plan on having food on our snack trays when the game begins so we don't miss a moment of TV that evening.  The Super Bowl is the National Football League's championship game.  At first it was between the National Football League and the American Football League, but when they merged it became the championship between the two conferences.  This year is the 52nd time the Super Bowl has been held.  I pulled up a site to check on the price for tickets and the first one I found included airfare, hotel, game ticket, pregame party, unlimited open bar and premium tailgate fare; priced at $5,935.00 per person.  

The 52 Super Bowl: New England vs. Philadelphia

Geez, we might as well go to St. Martin to watch the game since it would be less that that!  The very first Super Bowl game in 1967 had tickets for $12.00.  Each participant on the winning team gets a ring valued at $5,000 with adjustments if you want more gold in the ring or bigger diamonds.  Losing team members also get rings, but they may not cost more than one-half the winner's rings.  The winning team receives the Lombardi Trophy which is worth $25,000 and made of sterling silver.  Vince Lombardi, coach of the Green Bay Packers, won the very first Super Bowl.  Most times the Super Bowl is the most watched broadcast of the year on American TV.  For years the most watched TV show in history had been the last episode of M*A*S*H, but the record was broken in 2010 by the Super Bowl.  Today 9 of the top 10 spots for most watched show on TV is the Super Bowl.  And, for your information, 72 footballs are used for the Super Bowl (all checked for proper inflation I hope).   I hope the Eagles can continue to be the underdog in their search for their 1st Super Bowl win.  They've been the underdog throughout the playoffs this year, so one more underdog roll may make them winners.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "My Yearbook Photographer Was The Son Of A Photographic Legend" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Talking to a few friends about a young man who was on my high school yearbook staff years ago.  I became the adviser to the yearbook in the late 1960s and a student by the name of "Chip" Errigo was one of my staff photographers.  Little did I know at the time that his father was a world renowned professional photographer.  

Frank S. Errigo

As I opened the morning newspaper a few days ago I saw the name of Frank S. Errigo at the top of a three column obituary.  After reading the entire obituary I finally realized that the young boy who I got to know as "Chip" was actually the son of Frank S. Errigo.  Frank died due to a brief bout with the flu at the age of 97.  At first I wondered if the Frank "Chip" Errigo who I knew was a relative, but then I checked the school records and realized I had Frank's son on my yearbook staff.  A few highlights of the deceased Mr. Errigo life should give you an idea as to just how influential this person was during his lifetime.

• He attended Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1940 at the age of 20.
• He served in the European Theatre as a WWII combat photographer who followed General Patton across Sicily and participated in the Landing at Anzio, the Battle of Monte Cassino and the Liberation of Rome.  
• Mr. Errigo was a photo-journalist from 1941 to 2000 and was one of the two most respected and prolific color photographers of WWII.  
• His purchased his first camera, a 35mm used Leica, in 1936 at the age of 16.  Along with the camera he purchased developing supplies and a book that taught him the basics of his craft.  Two years after he was a skilled amateur photographer with a remarkable eye for light and composition. 
• Just after his 20th birthday he traveled to nearby Harrisburg, PA to tell an Army recruiter of his desire to shoot photographs.  He was enrolled with 22 other photographers, all professional, in the Army War Photo School in Washington D.C.  It was at this point that he was introduced to medium and large format cameras as well as another young photographer by the name of Ardean Miller III who had worked for Eastman Kodak before the war.  
• He graduated at the top of his class in 1941 and was assigned the rank of Technical Sergeant.  Shortly he was shooting self-directed publicity assignments for the Pentagon.  From 1941 to 1945 he traveled the country shooting color promotional photographs on his 4x5 Graflex, color photos of the same scene with his 8x10 Deardorff camera and in color on his trusty Leica of young GIs preparing for war in combat.  He then would do it all over again in black and white just to be sure he had it right. 
• He studied 16mm cinematography under Darryl F. Zanuck.
• During the next three years he distinguished himself while shooting Kodachrome rated at ASA 8.  He took vivid images for posters of GIs which are considered some of the most remarkable images of the 1940's ever made.  Over 600 of these images survive today.  
• In 1943 Mr. Errigo was given an assignment to lead a color team which went to Casablanca, Algiers, Caserta, Sicily and then to Rome.  He earned 4 battle stars for his work.  He carried his 8x10 Deardorff and tripod through the surf under fire at Anzio.  
• He, along with his friend Ardean, who was assigned to General Eisenhower in England, Germany and France, sent back photographs to the USA that were posted in National Geographic, Collier's, Liberty, Victory and Saturday Evening Post to name a few.  
• Following the Liberation of Rome in June of 1944, Errigo had a private audience with Pope Pius XII.  At the time he was 24 years old and proceeded to take the first color images of a Pontiff.
• Shortly after the war ended he was the staff photographer for President Harry Truman from 1945 to 1952.  
• He joined the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1952 where he had the chance to take photos of Emmett Kelly and the Ringling Brothers clowns, Roy Rogers and Trigger, Joe DiMaggio's Yankees vs. Connie Mack's Athletics and Rin Tin Tin.
• He used a strobe light to take a photo of an ice hockey puck so he could "freeze" it in midair.  The first person ever to do such a feat.
• He worked at Armstrong Cork (Armstrong Industries) for 30 years pioneering breakthroughs in room set photography.
• In 1994 President Bill Clinton asked Frank Errigo to accompany him to Anzio to take photographs of the ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Liberation fo Rome and the landing at Anzio. 

Book by Frank S. Errigo

What I have just listed is only part of his obituary.  Over half a column was devoted to publications where you could see his work as well as half a column of awards he won in his lifetime.  At his death he was a member of the Press Photographer's Association, a member of St. John Neumann Parish in Manheim Township, Lancaster County, a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus and a member of the Italian Cultural Society of Lancaster.  And...I had the honor of having his son Frank "Chip" Errigo, Jr. as a photographer for my yearbook staff.  Small world, isn't it.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Historic Local Sports News: Part III - 100 Years Of Columbia Basketball" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Once again talking with my brother about his senior year when he set the all-time record for most points in a basketball game at Manheim Township High School.  Steve loved basketball, but didn't like the JV basketball coach, so he didn't go out for high school basketball until he was a senior.  What a team they had in 1967.  Steve scored 43 points in an overtime win against a team from Cherry Hill, NJ during a tournament they played that year.  High School basketball is very competitive in Lancaster County with one team in particular having some of the most die-hard fans in the area.   To the west of Lancaster County lies the mighty Susquehanna River and the town that lies along the river is known as basketball territory.  The town of Columbia has about 10,000 people who all live within a mile of one another.  So, they all live within a mile of a basketball court somewhere in the community.  

Dr. James Naismith who invented basketball.

This blue-collar town takes its basketball seriously.  Seems to always be Columbia against the world!  Not long after Dr. James Naismith invented the game of basketball in Springfield, Massacusetts during the winter of 1891, the Columbia High School program began.  This is their 100th year and basketball history runs deep in town and the name most synonymous with Columbia basketball is Elmer Kreiser.  This legend won 17 team titles and compiled a 205-37 record during the years he coached.  Heck, they named the gym after him!  Many tell stories of Kreiser and how "he was bigger than life."  Recently Columbia High School celebrated their 100th anniversary with a ceremony between a girls and boys doubleheader.  More than 150 former basketball players returned for the ceremony.  But, they weren't just players, but leading scorers, members of state championship teams and winners of numerous sectional, district and regional titles.  

The '56 Columbia High School team which was recently inducted
into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame.  Coach Elmer Kreiser
can be seen in the back row of the photograph.

The team won state titles in 1958 and 1987 as well as district titles in '56, '58, '60, '65, '66, '90 and '94. as well as Lancaster-Lebanon League titles in '54, '56, '58, '60, '63, '89 and '90.  Mark Wisler, one of the best players in Lancaster County is the all-time leading scorer in Lancaster-Lebanon League history with 2,837 points.  Others in attendance for the 100th was state champ coach Gary Sutton as well as notable coaches Rick Bentley and Steve Wisler, brother of Mike.  But, tElmer Kreiser, who died in 1992, was still the star of the 100th anniversary.  Coach Sutton told of dedicating the 1987 state championship game to Kreiser who said at the time he wouldn't take the dedication, but after the team won the game he agreed to it.  Elmer's son Karl was a player in the '70s as well as a coach when the team played in the '94 Eastern finals.  But, the one player whom I remember the most from when I was in high school was a fellow named Danny Monk.  Danny seemed to always lead his team to wins over Manheim Township.  He played all four years I was in high school.  Many rumors were passed around that he was placed in the "special education" program so he didn't have to study as much and could devote all his time to basketball.  We all swore he had to be in his mid-20s when he played against us.  Well, today Columbia High School has a Danny Monk Memorial Award which all Columbia players strive to receive.  Lancaster County has had many great basketball players in the past, but no program can come close to the program known as the Columbia High School Crimson Tide.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "Historic Local Sports News: Part II - Play Ball With The Red Roses" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Talking to my brother, Steve, who just called me from "The Green Dragon" which is an antique mart, farmer's market and livestock/everything else auction.  He was returning my call asking if he wanted to head to "Woody's" for a crabcake sandwich and a bowl of crab bisque.  "Nah, I'm too busy waiting for a box or two of "stuff" I want to bid on," he told me.  He is what you would call an honest to goodness "picker".  Loves to go to local auction houses and buy "stuff" that he puts on eBay and sells for double the price he paid for them.  

Front of the 1943 baseball program for
the Lancaster Red Roses.

Over the years I have written about items he has given to me, since he thought I might enjoy them.  He also loves to go online and bid for items.  One of his favorite sites is auctionzip.com.  He told me to go on the site and see if I could get the 1943 Red Roses season program that was currently up for bid.  Knew I would love to have something like it, since I often went to see the Red Roses which played at Stumpf Field which was a few blocks from our childhood home.  I am five years older than Steve and very seldom took him along when I went to see a game.  I did place a few bids on the program, but gave up when it became more expensive than I wanted to spend.  Just one more thing that my kids would probably toss when I die.  

Rear of the program.

Neat program that was signed by third baseman George Kell who ended up playing major league ball for ten years and earn a spot in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  The 1943 program featured player photos, biographies of each player and several autographs.  Another autograph was from future major league shortstop Billy Demars who after retiring from playing became a coach for almost twenty years.  For those of you who may be Philadelphia Phillies fans such as me, you may remember him as a coach on the 1980 World Champion Phils.  The auction website showed a few of the interior pages as well as the rear of the program which featured an advertisement from RCA Victor Division of Radio Corporation of America which was located in Lancaster.  On the bottom of the ad it read: "It's Great to WORK FOR U.S.A. AT RCA.  Well, I did have fun watching the bidding and bid as high as $10.00, but gave up watching and have no idea how much the program sold for.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

A few more photos showing interior pages of the program.  I found this spread interesting since it featured an advertisement for Hamilton Watch Company which is also located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

The "Historic Local Sports News: Part I - Stumpf Field" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Right there on page 1 of the Lancaster newspaper's sports section was the story telling of the sale of Lancaster, Pennsylvania's first professional baseball stadium.  

Ed Stumpf's Field as it appeared in 1965.

Same ballpark I have written about in the past telling of all the fun I had as a young boy living a few blocks from the park and having the chance to get into many a summer game for just the cost of a ball hit over the fence during pre-game practice.  The ballpark was located along a major north-south route, aka the Fruitville Pike, and many a foul ball landed on the road during the summer.  Always wondered how many cars received balls through the windshield during the lifetime of the ballpark.  

Stumpf field's third base bleachers.

Stumpf Field was built in 1938 with open bleachers on the 1st and 3rd base lines as well as a covered set of bleachers behind home plate.  The field was built as the home of the Lancaster Red Roses who played on the field from 1938 to 1961 while members of the Double A Eastern League.  My hero, Willie Mays, played at Stumpf Field before heading to the New York Giants in 1950.  I might have only been 6 years old at the time, but my dad assured me he was going to be a great player.  

Red Roses team in the year I was born. Names unavailable.

One of the really unusual things about the stadium was the placement of home plate.  It faced toward the setting sun and many a night the game was delayed for almost half an hour as the sun set in left-center field.  The fence was 350 feet from home plate to all fields with an 8 foot wooden wall.  After the Red Roses folded in 1961, I can remember a few football games played there when I was a senior in high school at nearby Manheim Township High School.  

View of the field today from the third base bleachers.

Eventually the field served as home of the Millersville University Marauders baseball team until their new stadium was completed in 2007.  Softball games fill the ballpark now.  And now, on the 80th anniversary of the ballpark, it is for sale!  The ballfield at 1350 Fruitville Pike was offered for sale last week for $5,000,000.  What cost perhaps a few thousand dollars in 1938 is going to bring big money for the 11.4-acre property which is zoned for industrial use.  It's been many years since I watched a ballgame at Stumpf Field.  My oldest son played a Midget tournament game on the field in the late 1980's.  Probably the last time I attended a game there, but I did stop from time to time just to sit in the bleachers, trying to remember the glory days of the park when I was a young boy watching greats Willie Mays, Brooks Robinson, Robin Roberts, and Juan Marichal grow into major league ballplayers right in front of my eyes.  Boy, I'm going to miss the place!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The field and 11.4 acres of land was purchased years ago by Lancaster Malleable after the team disbanded in 1961.  They used the land for extra parking for their business nearby. 

View of what used to be Lancaster County's minor league baseball stadium, Stumpf Field.

   

The "Buying Groceries Over 50 Years Ago" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Perusing one of my favorite Facebook pages, "Remember When in Lancaster."  Neat place to meet other residents of Lancaster, Pennsylvania as well as having a chance reunion with someone from the past.  

Topics vary from everything such as urban renewal to who makes the best chicken pot pie.  Every now and then I will ask for help with a topic I may want to write a story about and can't remember as much as I wish I could.  Within an hour or so I usually have the answers and help I was after.  The other day someone posted a series of advertisements that were from over 50 years ago.  I realize that many who read my stories are no where near that age, so I thought you may enjoy seeing what a jar of coffee or a box of saltines may have cost in 1966.  Check out the six pages of advertisements from our local newspaper in Lancaster and see what I had to pay for something to eat when I was in my early 20s and getting ready to marry the girl of my dreams!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Advertisement from the Sanitary Super Market.  Click on ads to enlarge.

Advertisement from the Surfine Food Stores.

Advertisement for the Acme Supermarkets.  I worked at the Acme for many years during high school and college.  I actually went to an Acme School in Philadelphia where they taught us how to run a cash register and how to pack a paper bag of groceries.  Two day school where they paid for our room and all meals.  I can't think of any store chain that does that today.

A coffee cup for 9 cents?  I realize you did have to spend $5 and that was quite a bit of money in 1966.  Thriftway Markets was another grocery line in Lancaster, PA.

Five ears of corn for 39 cents at IGA Grocery Store.  The IGA stood for Independent Grocery Alliance.

This advertisement is from a retail drug store in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  They were in center city Lancaster at 1 East King Street.  For 25 cents you could buy a box of Q-Tips, box of alum. foil and even two light bulbs

The "Annie Is One Of My Favorites" Story

Annie Leibowvitz by Frederick Brown.

It was an ordinary day.  Reading an online story from "The Seattle Times" which was written by Tyrone Beason.  Story titled "Portrait Of A Decade" which was a story about legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz.  I taught high school photography for over three decades and during those years I have been able to share the life's stories of many famous photographers with my students.  Louis Daguerre, Edward Muybridge, W. Eugene Smith, Edward Weston, Annie Leibovitz, Ansel Adams, Carolyn Jones and Jerry Driendl are a few that my classes had a chance to study during the year-long course.  Now, if you don't recognize all of the names, perhaps you never had me as a teacher.  And, if you don't recognize the last two, it's because they were students of mine that have made a career, and a rather successful career, from being a professional photographer.  Neither one of them learned more than the basic skills and history from me, but nonetheless, I still think I had some influence in them choosing the career path that they did.  Well, the story written about Annie Leibovitz was very interesting and I learned more about her than I had already known.  Annie was born in 1949 in Waterbury, Connecticut.  She studied painting at San Francisco Art Institute during the day and studied photography during the evening.  

Cover of Rolling Stone Magazine.

In 1970 she began doing photographs for Rolling Stone Magazine.  Three years later she became their chief photographer and ended creating some of the most iconic photos of my lifetime.  By the time she left the magazine she had shot over 142 covers.  She joined the staff at Vanity Fair in 1983 and then the staff at Vogue in 1998.  Her photographs reveal her witty, painterly and often mythic images.  It was on December 8, 1980 that she was at The Dakota apartment building in New York trying to persuade ex-Beatle John Lennon and his musician wife, Yoko Ono, to pose nude together for a Rolling Stone story.  Lennon was willing, but Ono declined.  While he was naked he crawled next to his fully clothed wife while they were both on the floor, wrapped his arms and legs around her and gave her a kiss.  Leibovitz happened to capture the moment with her Polaroid camera.  Five hours later Lennon was dead, shot outside the building by an angry fan.  The Polaroid photograph is considered Rolling Stone's greatest cover photo.  She has won so many awards that there isn't enough space here to list them.  In 1991 she was asked to display 200 of her works at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington Gallery in Washington, D.C. being the first woman ever to be so honored.  To this day she still is in great demand for photo assignments.  Annie at one time had a close relationship with writer and essayist Susan Sontag until Susan's death in 2004.  Leibovitz has three daughters.  Her first one was born October 2001 when she was 52 years old.  She also has twin girls who were born to a surrogate mother in May of 2005.  Despite being raised in a Jewish home, she no longer practices Judaism, but does say, "I'm not a practicing Jew, but I feel very Jewish."  There has been so many new and exciting events in Annie's life since I stopped teaching almost 20 years ago, so my wish is that my former students have followed her progress and can say they studied in high school how she began her career years ago.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Some of my favorites follow.  I do prefer the black and white photos, but still enjoy a few of her color images.

Bruce Springsteen

David Bowie

Elton John

Muhammad Ali

  

The "Is It Time To Worry Yet?" Story

1996 photograph of the ice along the Susquehanna River.

It was an ordinary day.  Taking photos of the large ice chunks along the shores of the Susque- hanna River in Wrights- ville, York County, Pennsyl- vania.  It was back in 1996 that the ice looked much like it does today and after a few days of thaw and then heavy rains, the small town of Marietta, a few hundred feet upriver and on the other side of the river in Lancaster County, flooded.  

Photo from today.

It was the third worst flood in the history of the Susque- hanna River which is the 16th largest river in the United States.  I was teaching high school at the time and one of our custodians, Dennis, lived in Marietta and his first floor was under water.  The faculty, staff and administration all made donations and the money was presented to Dennis to help with his recovery.  He still lives in the same house and I'm wondering what is going through his mind today as he sees the ice building up along the shoreline.  

Photo of the miniature lighthouse at the
Lake Clark Marina a few years ago.

Carol and I drove along the water's edge looking for a spot to pull over and take a few photos.  Pulled into a parking lot on the side of the road away from the water and stopped in front of the Lake Clarke Marina.  A young fellow exited the marina and as he was walking past my car I asked him a few questions about the river and the ice.  He said in 1996 he and his workers had to quickly move all the equipment from the marina to higher ground before the river covered most of the marina.  That had to be at least 30 feet higher than where we were standing. He said the river rose over 8 feet an hour for a few hours in 1996.  

My photo from today of the same lighthouse.

He also told me he isn't too worried...yet!  There has been ice on the river almost every year with some being worse than others, but this year seems like more.  If we get another real deep freeze for a long period of time as we did two weeks ago, then he will begin to worry.  

Check out the sign along water's edge. Click to enlarge.

My photos will show you the extent of the river ice.  After taking a few photos, we headed back to the Lancaster County side of the river to the town of Columbia, PA. to take a few photos from that side of the river.  This past summer I visited the same location and wrote about the new Columbia Crossing River Trails Center.  We stopped at the same spot and I found that the river was already in the parking lot of the center.  Again, pretty scary!  A few more photos of the river and the old Route 30 bridge and Carol and I were ready to head home.  We both said that we're glad we don't live near the river this time of year, though it is a beautiful area during the warmer days of the year.  Here's hoping the river will recede and not cause damage as it did 22 years ago.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Another view of the ice on the river. 

Not sure if the water is totally covering this building, or if it is just a roof sitting on the ground.

Looking toward the water on the York, PA side.  This is a small park which is filled with water.  The area where the water is located used to be part of a canal system that ran from Wrightsville, PA to Havre de Grace, Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay.

This photo is from 1996 while the next one is from my trip today.  Both were taken on the Columbia, PA side of the river.