Extraordinary Stories

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Sunday, March 31, 2019

The "The Tobacco Warehouse/Printing Company Comes Alive Once Again" Story

The Press Building at the corner of North Prince and West Lemon.
It was an ordinary day.  A bit windy and cold as I stood at the intersection of North Prince and West Lemon Streets in Lancaster, Pennsylvania taking photos of the newly finished luxury condominiums known as "The Press Building".  The five story building has been transformed into high-end condominiums after years of sitting empty.  
A fire in the early 20th century almost destroyed the building.
The building was built at the end of the the nineteenth century as a tobacco warehouse for the S.R. Moss & Company.  A fire, blamed on a weak electric pole, caused $800,000 to the warehouse and another $200,000 to the American Cigar Company which was located to the north of the warehouse.  Eventually the warehouse was purchased by P. Lorillard in 1920.  
The building as I remember it when it was Lancaster Press Company.
It was then purchased by R.R. Donnelly & Sons for their cartography div.
The five-story building was one of the most elaborate tobacco ware- houses in Lancaster County having recessed bays which were defined on the façade by rounded arches and on the side by corralled brick.  In the 1940s German prisoner's of war were used as workers in this building to process tobacco.  The building changed hands in the mid-1900s when the B.F. Good & Company Leaf Tobacco Company bought it to be their warehouse.  
The new entrance into the condos.
Then the building was changed into a printing company known as Lancaster Press for many years.  Eventually, in 1985 R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company purchased the building and used it as its cartography division which researched and made maps.  Printing operations filled the building for over 70 years.  Then in 2014 the vacant building was sold for $200,000 and was transformed into luxury condominiums.  Carol and I were going to make a visit to see what the upscale places looked like, but never got a chance before all the units were sold.  Photos of what the remodeling looked like were posted online.  I have posted a few to show you what an old, run-down building can look like after major renovations.  I'm sure that other cities have recycled unused buildings to create housing, but perhaps not as interesting as what has happened to the Lancaster Press Building.  I was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.



Entrance into their new restaurant.
View of Lancaster from a balcony.
Seating on the balconies.
Interior showing living and kitchen area. My wife loves the industrial look to the condo.


Bathroom redo.
Night-time view of the condos.

Saturday, March 30, 2019

The "I'll Take The One I Have, If I Have A Choice!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Had a call from my dermatologist telling me of my appointment for my Mohs surgery I need for the latest bit of skin cancer they found during my bi-yearly examination.  This surgery is needed to remove the squamous cell area I have on my left cheek near the bottom of my left ear.  I have had Mohs surgery several times before and the surgeon who performs the surgery for Dermatology Associates of Lancaster, Dr. Jeanette Hebel does a fantastic job.  Mohs surgery was developed by Frederick E. Moss, M.D. in the 1930s and involves the systematic removal and microscopic analysis of thin layers of tissue at the tumor site until the last traces of the cancer have been eliminated.  At times it can be very time consuming.  
The area where you have the cancer is numbed and a layer of skin is removed.  You wait in the waiting room until it can be analyzed in-house and if it yields more cancer cells, you return to the doctor's chair for the removal of another layer of cells.  Depending upon how deep the cells go, you may have a rather large area to be stitched.  I have had two such areas and if I don't tell you where they are on my face, you probably wouldn't know since Dr. Hebel is a real pro.  She can do wonders in stitching wounds so you will never see them.  Several years ago, during the start of my prostate cancer, I was given a gene test to see what type of treatment I would be given.  I was found to have the BRCA2 gene mutation which makes me more susceptible for breast cancer, prostate cancer and skin cancer.  So, when I visit my dermatologist I am examined extremely well.  Always have something taken off or frozen.  Now I tell you all of this since while reading my latest edition of Reader's Digest, I found some rather interesting information in an article titled "News From The World of Medicine."  One segment I found interesting had to do with my hearing loss.  Said that in a national survey of 6.6 million Americans who reported accidental injuries, those who experienced a lot of trouble hearing were roughly twice as likely to get hurt in an accident, especially during recreational activities.  Not quite sure what I should do except be more aware when I participate in recreational activities to be more careful. Another segment said that hot baths help your heart.  Great!  Wasn't more than 30 minutes later that I hopped in the tub filled with water over 105.8 degrees F, since that was said to be the magic number.  The next segment of the article had a headline of "Skin Cancers May Reduce Risk for Alzheimer's.  Wow!  Since I constantly am found with skin cancers, I am less susceptible to get Alzheimer's.  The article continued saying researchers have long been puzzled by the relationship between Alzheimer's and skin cancer.  People with basal cell or squamous cell carcinomas--two of the less deadly forms of the disease--have a lower rate of Alzheimer's.  Even if you might have malignant melanoma, as my mother had few times, you too have a 61% lower rate of developing Alzheimer's.  Researchers aren't sure whether the connection is neurological, biological or both, but the connection between the two diseases will lead to more in-depth research.  Interesting to know that since I have one type of cancer, which I find may be because I have the BRCA2 gene mutation, I may be be saved from having Alzheimer's.  Not sure what to believe, but for now I'll take the Mohs surgery over the other alternative.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

Friday, March 29, 2019

The "There's An Old Saying That Goes Like This...!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading an email sent to me from The Brickerville House Restaurant and The Silver Springs Restaurant.  I get emails from both of these local restaurants once a week where they advertise their menu items and post something unusual to their message.  This month's message was rather unusual and caught my attention.  They listed well-known sayings you hear from time to time and told what they really mean.  Sayings such as "The third degree" and "Resting on your laurels" were listed with the meaning of each one.  I learned so much from the email and thought I would pass it on to you so you too may know why and from where these statements or sayings originated and their backgrounds.  Follow along as I share a few sayings with you.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.


"Turn a blind eye"

This phrase is often used to refer to a willful refusal to acknow- ledge a particular reality.  The saying dates back to 1801 during the Battle of Copenhagen.  Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson was a naval officer who's ships were pitted against a large Danis-Norwegian fleet.  His very conservative superior officer "flagged" a message to him to withdraw from battle.  Nelson had only one eye and he supposedly brought his telescope to his bad eye and proclaimed to his shipmates, "I really don't see the signal."  This gave him an alleged reason to continue to fight and he went on to score a decisive victory.  To this day the phrase "turn a blind eye" is credited to Horatio Nelson.


"Running amok"

This saying is commonly used to describe wild or erratic behavior, but at one time was a medical term.  The word amok was derived from "Amuco" which is a band of Javanese and Malay warriors who were known for their liking of indiscriminate violence and who had a morbid fascination for Westerners.  The saying began in the 18th and 19th centuries, when European visitors to Malaysia learned of a peculiar mental affliction that caused otherwise normal tribesmen to go on brutal and seemingly random killing sprees.  In 1772 Captain James Cook noted that "to run amok is to ... hurry from the house and kill the person that attempts to impede his passage."  It was once thought to be the result of being under the spell of evil spirits and today is still a diagnosable mental condition.


"The Third Degree"

This saying is commonly used for long and arduous interro- gations.  It can be argued that the phrase relates to the various degrees of murder in the criminal code.  But, another argument says that a NY City Policeman describes his hard-nosed questioning style as "the third degree".  But, the most likely reason for the saying is the one derived from the Freemasons fraternal organization whose members underwent rigorous questioning and examinations before becoming "third degree" members or "master masons." 


"White elephant"

A white elephant is said to be a possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost is out of proportion to its usefulness.  It goes back to when elephants were considered highly sacred creatures in Thailand, but were also considered a subtle form of punishment.  Legend has it that if an underling or rival angered a Siamese king, the king might present the unfortunate man with the gift of a white elephant.  Even though it seemed to be a reward, the creature was so expensive to feed and house and care for that it sent the recipient into financial ruin.  Today the term is said refer to any burdensome possession.


"Resting on your laurels"

This saying dates back to the leaders and athletic stars of Ancient Greece.  During Hellenic times, laurel leaves were considered tied to Apollo, the god of music, prophecy and poetry.  Apollo was usually depicted with a crown of laurel leaves which led to its importance.  Victorious athletes became a symbol of status and achievement.  Eventually the Romans presented wreaths to generals who won important battles.  These Greeks and Romans were thus able to "rest on their laurels, by basking in the glory of past achievements. 


"Read the riot act"

Did your parents ever get mad at you and threaten to "read the riot act" to you?  In 18th-century England the Riot Act was a real document that was read to angry mobs.  It began in 1715 when the British Government was given the authority to label any group of 12 people or more as a threat to the peace and were read the Riot Act.  You had to disperse after one hour or go to the jail.  Even though we have no idea what is in the Riot Act, we still are threatened with it, or threaten others that we will read the Riot Act to them.  But, does anyone ever listen to you?


"Die Hard"

This refers to someone with a strong dedication to a particular set of beliefs.  It at one time was a tern that had a literal meaning.  In the early 1700s, the expression described condemned men who struggled the longest when they were executed by hanging.  Then in the Battle of Albuera of 1811, during the Napoleonic War, in the midst of the fight a wounded British officer urged his unit forward by bellowing "Stand your ground and die hard...making the enemy pay dear for each of us!"  The officer's regiment suffered 75% casualties during battle and went on to earn the nickname "the Die Hards."

My final phrase is one I have never heard before.  
"Crocodile Tears"
Modern English speakers use the phrase "crocodile tears" to describe a display of superficial or false sorrow, but the saying actually derives from a medieval belief that crocodiles shed tears of sadness while they killed and consumed their prey.  Weeping reptiles can be found in Shakespeare, and "crocodile tears" became an idiom as early as the 16th century.

Thursday, March 28, 2019

The "A Funeral In Which The Pallbearers Need To Stand In Place for 500 years." Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just opened the mail and found my Reminisce and Smithsonian magazines had arrived.  Began leafing through the Smithsonian when I came to a page that had half-way down on the right-hand side of the page the word Meltdown in 24 point bold type.  Drew my attention so I immediately began reading and realized the story dealt with the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear reactor in nearby Middletown, Pennsylvania.  
Three Mile Island as seen the summer of 2018. Click to enlarge.
A short interview with the Mayor of Middletown followed which asked questions such as: How did he learn of the partial meltdown in one of the reactors?; when did the people who evacuated come back?; and How do locals feel about Three Mile Island today, as it considers closing this coming September?  It's been 40 years since the accident at Three Mile Island's Unit 2 reactor which had been in operation for only 90 days.  The accident began at 4 a.m. March 28, 1979 and was caused by a combination of human error, design deficiencies and equipment failures.  
A closer view of the cooling towers.
The accident caused a partial meltdown of the reactor core.  Didn't take long before everyone within 50 miles of TMI knew of the accident. Many residents immediately packed their bags and got as far away from the island on the Susquehanna River as they could.  Carol and I, along with our three children lived 29.8 miles from the plant.  What should we do?  It was a tense few days as we talked about packing our bags and heading away from our home in Lancaster.   March 28 was our oldest son's, Derek, 8th birthday and we had a party planned for him and about half a dozen of his friends at our home.  Should we have it?  Should we postpone it?  We decided to have the party and partway through the party we called the father of one of the boys whose father was a doctor and happened to work in radiology at the local hospital.  We asked him if it would be safe to allow the boys to play in the back yard.  
President Jimmy Carter and Pennsylvania Governor Dick
Thornburgh visit TMI after the reactor's partial meltdown.
President Carter in in the light-colored suit with Thornburgh
in the dark-colored suit behind him.
He assured us that the equipment that the hospital had on the roof was registering a normal amount of radiation in Lancaster.  Days passed and we continued to talk about what to do.  Pennsyl- 

vania's Governor Dick Thornburgh and then-President Jimmy Carter were photographed four days after the accident taking a tour of the reactor's control room as a publicity photo to show the plant's neighbors that it was safe to remain in their homes.  Since that time in history the Unit 2 reactor has remained empty.  
TMI technicians enter the containment building that housed
the disabled reactor.  Couldn't pay me enough to go in there! 
And now, it looks as if the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant will close because of the cost and safety associated with keeping it open.  What will happen to all that radioactive fuel that produced all that electricity for years?  It was back in 1982 that the U.S. Government promised to have a safe national repository for nuclear fuel by 1998.  But, no repository had been built.  Nuclear plants have been forced to build above-ground miniature fortresses and to arrange to maintain them indefinitely, even after all workers have been dismissed.  When TMI closes, it will not be cleaned-up, because there is no where for the nuclear waste to go.  There will still be a high-level of radioactive waste sitting in the middle of the Susquehanna Island with someone overlooking it forever.  Eric Epstein, a member of the TMI Alert nuclear watchdog group said, "This is a funeral in which the pallbearers need to stand in place for 500 years."  The dismantled nuclear plant will have to be guarded for my lifetime and my great-grand children's lifetime and for many years after that.  Environmental monitoring will continue forever.  
Another photograph I took this past summer.
The estimated cost to decommission the plant so far is $1.27 billion!  And...it will never end!!  My home in Lancaster should be safe, but I doubt that you will find many new homes being built on the hills overlooking TMI.  How would you like to be the owner of the land around TMI.  Gonna be worthless if it hasn't been for years already!  Carol and I got up enough courage this past summer and made our way to TMI to take photographs for a story I posted on my blog.  I'll tell you, it was scary seeing the steam emanating from the cooling towers.  I know the steam is not dangerous, but the perception that it looks like it is spewing death from those concrete circular stacks is scary.  I got my photos and drove away from the place as quickly as possible.  It took me almost 40 years to gain the courage to get close enough for photos, and it will probably be the last time I will ever get that close again.  Living 29.8 miles away is close enough. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.


PS - For just about 20 years now, tons of Cold War-era waste from decades of bomb-making and nuclear research across the U.S. has been stashed in the salt caverns that make up the underground facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Seems that what was promised in 1982 finally was built.  The state of New Mexico wasn't happy about having all the waste in their neck-of-the-woods, but some argued that New Mexico had a moral obligation given its legacy of uranium mining and its role in the development of the atomic bomb.  The problem for them now is keeping the 18-wheelers away from the big cities while delivering the atomic waste to Albuquerque.  Isn't life full of adventures?
This photograph shows a tunnel inside the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant No 2 in New Mexico.  It is 150 feet below the surface.  I'm just glad that's not me driving the golf cart into the tunnel!

Wednesday, March 27, 2019

The "Sympathy For My Brethren In Bonds" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Weather outside is miserable so I decided to grab my MacBook Air and check my email.  Third one was from St. James Episcopal Church in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Email told about the services for the week and daily readings we might want to view.  Then came the weekly short-story titled "Celebrating The Saints" which is always interesting.  But, today it was rather unique as the story began with:  This week we give thanks for and celebrate the life of Frederick Douglass, Prophetic Witness.  Wow, it was just yesterday that I wrote a story for my blog about Thaddeus Stevens who was an abolitionist who lived in Lancaster for many years.  The story about Mr. Douglass was both interesting and brought to life much that I had wrote yesterday.  Mr. Douglas was born a slave, but the exact date of his birth is unknown.  It was thought that he was probably born in 1817.  His mother was a negro slave and his father a white man.   His birthplace was on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, in the Tuckahoe district.  He was raised as a slave on the plantation of Col. Edward Lloyd until he was ten years old when he was sent to one of Col. Lloyd's relatives in Baltimore where he was employed in a shipyard.  At that time he was known as Frederick Bailey. At the age of 14 he experienced a conversion to Christ in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.  
A young Frederick Douglass
While under the bonds of slavery he learned his letters from carpenter's marks on planks and timbers in the shipyard.  He listened to his owner's wife read the Bible and asked her to teach him to read it himself.  While working in the shipyard he continued to pick up all the information he could to satisfy his thirst for knowledge.  While working there he heard of the abolitionists and began a plan to escape to the North. On September 3, 1838 he escaped to New York, eventually landing in New Bedford.  At this time he changed his name to Frederick Douglass.  He supported himself for a few years by day labor on the wharves and in workshops.  
The Frederick Douglass House in Washington, D.C.
During that time he met his first wife.  In 1941 he attended an anti-slavery convention where he was asked to speak.  He made a favorable impression and became the agent of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society and spent a few years traveling through New England giving lectures against slavery.  In 1845 he left for England where he spoke about slavery in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.  His friends feared he might be captured and taken back to the United States and forced back into slavery so they raised money to pay his former master for his freedom.  Upon his return to New York he founded "Frederick Douglass's Paper", a weekly journal in Rochester, N.Y.  He later changed the name to "The North Star" and continued publishing it for several years.  He escaped to Canada after the attack on Harper's Ferry, fearing he would be captured.  After time in Quebec he returned to England for over half-a-year and then returned to Rochester to continue working on his newspaper.  
The Civil War Recruitment Poster in 1863
Click on images to enlarge
When the Civil War began, Mr. Douglass urged President Lincoln to employ the use of colored troops.  Douglass then became active in enlisting men to fill the Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Massachusetts regiments.  After slavery had been abolished he took to the lecture circuit.  He was an imposing man who was over 200 pounds and 6 feet in height.  His complexion was slightly dark-skinned and he had a great shock of white hair.  As a speaker he kept it simple with simple English and few gestures.  In 1870 be became the editor of "The New National Era" in Washington, D.C.  A year later President Grant appointed him Asst. Secretary to the commission to San Domingo.  This was the first of many government appointments he fulfilled.  He wrote several books about his time in bondage.  He was married twice with his second wife being Miss Pitts, a white woman who was a clerk in the New York Recorder's office where he was the Recorder.  
An older Frederick Douglass
He was one of the most distinguished looking men wherever he went.  He was courteous, gentle bearing and liked by both white and black citizens.  On February 20, 1895 Frederick Douglass dropped dead at 7:00 pm in the hallway of his home on Anacostia Heights.  The newspaper told the story of his death in over a dozen paragraphs.  He was in good health, seventy-eight years old and had come from a speaking engagement.  The obituary told the story like this:  He was a chatting with his wife in the hallway of his home.  He grew very enthusiastic in his explanation of one of the events of the day, when he fell upon his knees, with hands clasped.  Mrs. Douglass, thinking this was part of his description, was not alarmed, but as she looked he sank lower and lower, and finally lay stretched upon the floor, breathing his last.  Realizing he was ill, she raised his head, and then understood that he was dying.  The end of the article in the St. James story told that Douglass was highly critical of churches that did not disassociate themselves from slavery, and he was a strong advocate of racial integration.  He disavowed black separatism and wanted to be counted as equal among his white peers.  When he met Abraham Lincoln in the White House, he noted that the President treated him as a kindred spirit without one trace of condescension.  My story today has some of the same tones to it as my story about Stevens.  Both men, one white, one black were more similar than contrasting.  Both were heroes in their own time!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.



The tombstone or monument for Frederick Douglass in Mt. Hope Cemetery, Rochester, NY.
This looks very similar to the monument erected in the cemetery in Lancaster for Thaddeus Stevens.

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

The "A Sunday Morning Visiting History In Lancaster County: Part III" Story

Sign telling me I made the correct turn.
It was an ordinary day.  Just left the town of Gap in Lancaster County, PA heading east on Rt. 41 as I listen to the directions my car is giving me in my search for the town of Christiana, Pa so I can take a photo of the monument that stands in the center of town.  Wasn't long before I made a right off of Rt. 41 and in about 30 seconds I was next to the monument.  The town, or according to my computer, the borough is the least populated in Lancaster County.  
The monument telling about the
Christiana Riot
The present-day borough was at one time known as Nobleville, having been named after pioneer settler Christian Noble.  Neat little town that has so many different directional signs that at times I find I am driving in one big circle.  Does make the place look larger!  Perhaps you may recall that on April 27, 2017, I wrote a story titled "Was This The Breaking Point?"  Story about the Christiana Riot in 1851.  A quick synopsis of my story would be:  On September 11, 1851, Christiana was the site of the Battle of Christiana in which the local residents defended, with firearms, a fugitive slave, killing the slaveowner.  The two main characters in the riot were resident William Parker and Edward Gorsuch, a Maryland farmer who had lost four slaves when they fled over the Mason-Dizon Line into Pennsylvania and nearby Christiani.  
Side 1
Gorsuch lost his life when killed on Parker's farm in Christiani.  The farm was well known as a stop on the Underground Railroad.  Southerners demanded the hanging of those responsible, who were accused of treason and making war on the United States, but after the first defendant was acquitted, the government dropped the case.  The trial was the first nationally covered challenge to the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.  Well, the monument that I am standing in front of was the result of that riot.  The riot just may have been the harbinger to the Civil War.  The monument has inscriptions on all four sides which sort of tell the story the riot.  
Side 2
One side says: KILLED, EDWARD GORSUCH, HE DIED FOR LAW, WOUNDED, DICKINSON GORSUCH, FATHER AND SON OF BALTIMORE CO., MD. JOSHUA GORSUCH.  Another side says: IN COMMEMORATON OF THE CHRISTIANA RIOT, SEPTEMBER 11, 1851 AND THE TREASON TRIALS, SEPT. 29-DEC.17, 1851.  A third side says: TRIED, NOV. 24-DEC. 11, 1851, CASTNER HANWAY, NOT GUILTY, HE SUFFERED FOR FREEDOM, and the final side lists all the local people who supported William Parker in his quest for freedom of slaves.  As you read the 38 names you will find one Peter Woods who was arrested for treason during the riot.  
Side 3
Having the same last name of Woods, I did some searching and found a photograph of Peter and his family.  I showed my wife and we are pretty certain I am not related to Peter.  A nearby brass marker on stone is dedicated to the memory of William Parker whose  house was frequently used to hide runaway slaves.  It declares: A leader in the Fight for the Freedom of his people and declares him to be "Bold as a Lion."  The marker was erected by the Rotary Club of Octorara and the Christiana Historical Society.  I did try to find the actual site of the Christiana Riot which was said to have been 700 yards South of the monument, but I was unsuccessful.  I ended my tour of Christiana with a stop to take photos of the train station, local Masonic Lodge and street signs honoring those who were in various wars in the past.  Neal little town...or I mean borough.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Side 4 (click to enlarge)
William Parker's house where the conflict took place.
An artist's rendering of the riot.
A brass plaque next to the monument.
Train Station
Masonic Lodge
One of many pole signs listing Hometown Heroes.
Photo of the Woods family.  Peter is center, front row.

Monday, March 25, 2019

The "A Sunday Morning Visiting History In Lancaster County: Part II" Story

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
road sign honoring William Chester Ruth.
It was an ordinary day.  Stopped along Route 30 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to take a photo of  a Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission road sign honoring William Chester Ruth.  The sign is just east of the intersection of Rts. 30 and 41 in the town known as Gap.  According to the metal sign, William Ruth was an African American inventor, business owner and community leader in Chester County, Pennsylvania.  His father at one time was a slave, but was liberated during the Civil War when the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment occupied Savannah Georgia in 1865.  
William Chester Ruth showing the design used for
one of his many inventions.
William's mother was born free in Fredericks- burg, Virginia.  Ruth was born on July 19, 1882 and was one of twelve children born on the family farm in Chester County.  His background did not include formal schooling, but he learned farming and blacksmithing from his father.  He married Gertrude Miller on June 6, 1906 and they had one son, Joseph.  In 1917 they moved to Gap, PA and six years later opened Ruth's Ironworks Shop where he did metal work and repairs, primarily for Pennsylvania German farmers.  
William Chester Ruth working with helpers on one
 of his inventions.  Here they are running a metal lathe.
At the time he was the only African American in the area to have his own manufac- turing business.  From 1924 to 1950 he designed and patented numerous agricultural devices.  His first invention was the Combination Baler-Feeder.  He sold over 5,000 of these machines across the United States.  He next invented the farm elevator used to transport hay to silos.  In 1928 he invented an 87-part automatic tie for a hay baler.  It took two years to obtain a patent for this machine due to its complexity.  He sold over 5,000 of the automatic tie machines to farmers in the Great Plain's states as well as Canada.  Next he invented the Mechanical Cinder Spreader and sold 150 of them to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.  Oh, did I mention he had no formal schooling as a child!  At age 60 the U.S. government commissioned him to design and manufacture secret wartime devices for airplanes and bomb sites during World War II.  A few of his inventions were later used in the design of the Trident Missile in the 1950s.  But, he was not only an inventor, but a spiritual leader at the Church of Christ in Ercildoun, PA near his home.  
A family photo of his brother and sister.
Ercildoun is a hamlet of about 100 residents that was founded by Quakers and was an early center of the abolitionist movement.  The entire hamlet is listed as a historic district on the National Regiater of Historic Places.   On April 3, 1971, at the age of 89, William Chester Ruth died in an automobile accident in Lancaster.  My main intent when I left my home today was to visit The Gap Clock Tower, but I came upon so much more during my morning excursion.  Tomorrow I will show you one more thing I discovered this Sunday morning.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Sunday, March 24, 2019

The "A Sunday Morning Visiting History In Lancaster County: Part I" Story

The Gap Clock Tower in Gap, Pennsylvania.
It was an ordinary day.  Stepped out my car and looked around the small town known as Gap in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  I realize it was mid-morning on a Sunday, but I saw absolutely no one.  Gap is a community in Salisbury Township with a ZIP code of 17527 that was named after the gap in the Appalachian Mountains.  The last census showed they have 1,931 people who call Gap their hometown.  And, evidently they are either in church, on vacation or still in bed this morning.  Route 30 passes through the town with ending points for Rts. 772, 741, 897 and 41.  So, at times the place gets busy with heavy truck traffic.  
On the front wall of the tower are
these two plaques.  Click to enlarge.
When Carol and I travel to the Jersey Shore every summer we pass through Gap in order to begin our trip on Rt. 41 which takes us toward Wilmington, Delaware.  There seems to be one big attraction in Gap which is known a the Gap Town Clock.  The clock tower was built in 1892  by the Gap Clock Tower Association and is a Lancaster County Historic Preservation Trust Site.  In 1953 the clock tower was restored to the condition it is in today.  The clock's face showed the correct time and has for ages showed the time to passing multitudes along Newport Road.  William Penn passed the area where the clock now stands on his way to Lancaster County in 1701.  I walked around the structure which appears to be covered in painted clapboard from top to bottom with a door on one side, windows on two sides and a bell tower rising above the four-sided clock face.  
Nearby is this monument dedicated to those who
 served and died for our country during WWI and WWII.
Next to the front door is a plaque dedicated to Violet E. Baker who was responsible for the preservation and maintenance of the Gap Town Clock for more than half-a-century.  Above the plaque is the circular Historical Preservation Trust Site plaque #66.  Standing next to the front door is a granite stone with more information telling the history of the Gap Clock Tower.  For years Carol and I have passed the clock many times each year and have never stopped to take a closer look at it.  It definitely is a unique piece of history in the United States, but one that doesn't draw the crowds like other historical sites.  
A plaque on a piece of granite near the clock tower.
There isn't much to tell about the clock and town except that Issac Taylor erected the first house in Gap and the area around Gap had a copper mine and what at the time was the only nickel mine in the United States.  A stretch of railroad line passes through the town which is otherwise non-descript.   There was, during the mid-19th century, a gang of men known as The Gap Gang who raided and robbed citizens who traveled what at the time was called the Lancaster Philadelphia Turnpike.  They would kidnap free blacks and escaped slaves, selling them back to slave traders.   I can tell you that I did stop a short distance from the tower to take a photograph of an historical marker which will be part of my story tomorrow.  I'm glad I made my stop today so I can say I walked in the footsteps of William Penn, but then again I see no reason why he might have left his carriage when he passed through in 1701.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
The view of the Gap Clock Tower.
The time is always correct when I pass!


The final two photographs were taken years ago.  Not sure if they were pre-1953 when renovations were done on the tower.  The old car on the bottom black and white photograph may be pre-1953.