The "Remember Where You Were On December 31, 1999" Story

It was an ordinary day.  December 31, 1999 and the world is about to come to an end...at least according to a neighbor of mine.  Grocery and department stores reported bottled water, flashlight batteries and canned goods were in short supply.  Some of my neighbors reported buying oil lamps and kerosene heaters.  

A few Y2K (Year 2000) checklists recom- mended taking a few extra hundred bucks out of the bank in case computers and money machines stopped working.  But, the final day of the year was reported to be very calm in banks, hardware stores and pharmacies where the lines were endless earlier in the week.  Managers of many stores in Lancaster reported cautious concern, but not true panic.  The Y2K craze and panic didn't seem to bother most residents of traditionally laid-back Lancaster County.  Actually, there was more important news in the evening paper in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  One of the members of my wife's favorite Rock n' Roll band, The Beatles, was stabbed as reported by the Lancaster New Era.  

Front page of the New Era on December 31, 1999.

The headline was bigger for this event than the fact that we were about to enter a new millennium.  I can still remember from my 9th grade class in Latin that the word millennium is derived from the Latin mille, thousand, and annus, year.  And that is about all I remember from that class that I took in the late 1950s.  Y2K caused many fears about the possibility that the switch from '99 to '00 might cause cliches in computer systems that weren't updated to account for the change.  Was the world going to end?  Would the power grid go down?  Would banks somehow delete your life savings?  Would planes drop from the sky?  The city of Seattle canceled its entire New Years Eve celebration because of fears of a terrorist attack linked to the new millennium.  As far as my neighbor is concerned, he felt it was necessary to have a neighborhood meeting to talk about what might happen when the clock strikes midnight on December 31, 1999.  He put in a very large propane gas tank for heating and cooking, took most of his cash and turned it in for gold bullion and purchased a heavy safe in which to store the gold.  Also asked all who attended the meeting if they had a gun and if they would use it if necessary.  He suspected that many of those living in the city of Lancaster might come into the suburbs to try and loot.  I believe a few may have agreed with him, but very few were as alarmed as he was.  We all now know that nothing at all happened when the clock struck 12:01.  I must admit that I did stay up just to see what may have happened.  Was I disappointed?  Nah!  Now, I don't think I want to be around in 2099 when it happens again.  That could be a real disaster!  Banks might lose my account and planes might fall on the roof of my house.  And, my Latin teacher will come back to life once again and haunt me!  Still seems pretty silly...right!  And, it was back in 1999, also!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "A Few Of My Favorite Gifts: Sub-Head - And We Laughed And Laughed" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Christmas morning 2019.  Our friends from State College had just arrived and we ushered them into our living room to exchange presents.  Jere and Sue, classmates of mine from the Manheim Township High School class of 1962, had plans to come to Lancaster to visit with Jere's sister and family and called to see if they could stop to exchange a few gifts the following day.  At this point I must digress and bring you up to date with my past.  Year was in the late 1940s, Christmas day, and my parents and brother and I went to visit my grandmother and aunt (on my father's side) to exchange Christmas gifts.  Aunt Doris surprised me with a new Schwinn bicycle!  Loved Aunt Doris!  Fast forward with me now to mid to late 1950s and I came down the stairs Christmas morning in our home on North Queen Street to find my parents had bought me a new 3-speed bike with hand brakes.  Wasn't more than a few hours later that I took my bike for a ride and stopped at the local candy store, "Eli's", to show Eli my new bike.  He was as amazed as I was about the bike.  Told me to be careful going home on it.  Well, I had to stop quickly at an intersection and mistakenly pulled on the right-hand brake and flew over the front of the bike.  Scratched the handlebar, but was able to hide it so my parents didn't see the scratch.  My next memorable Christmas gift was a 120-bass accordion that mom and dad got me when I was about 14 years old.  Heavy for a skinny young boy, but I loved playing it.  My teacher was a guy by the name of Mickey Sinopoli who had the coolest name and could play the neatest songs on the accordion.  I wanted to be just like him, but after my Spring concert and barely being able to hold the accordion to play "Lady of Spain" for the audience, I quit the accordion.  Along came 1960 and my parents bought me a set of spun-aluminum hubcaps, known as Moon hubcaps, for Christmas for my 1953 Henry J automobile. Didn't take long to get to the car to pop them in place.  I was once again in heaven due to a fabulous Christmas gift.  Well, today wasn't quite as memorable as the days I have just described, but it certainly made me laugh a bit more, for you see I opened a gift from Jere And Sue which was a framed caricature of myself riding a bicycle once again.  The story behind it goes like this.....  This past September, Carol and I traveled with Jere and Sue to the island of Antigua.  During one of our many talks during our evening meal I told them a story that happened during my youth.  At the time I had raised guinea pigs to sell (now that's another story I believe I already told) for a few years and had an arrangement with the nearby Acme Supermarket to save lettuce trimmings for me to feed to my guinea pigs, which numbered close to 75 at the time.  Once or twice a week I would hook a little red wagon to my three-speed bike and head up North Market Street in my sandals to pick up the lettuce.  As I rode my bike I would pull out a cigarette I had taken from my parent's pack of cigs and puffed on it.  Made me look older, so it did!  At least to me, it did.  It was then that one of the others asked what kind of cigarettes I smoked when I was riding my bike.  "I smoked Newports," was my answer, since that's what my mom smoked.  That just about got us thrown out of the place from all the laughter.  One day my mom told me she and dad had something to talk to me about.  Uh, Oh!  I thought they had found my "Playboy" magazine I had between the mattress and box spring.  "We found a few cigarettes in your room and we're concerned about you smoking," Mom told me.  "You know that Grandpap smokes a pipe and we thing it best if you have to smoke, you should smoke a pipe."  Fine with me.  

LDub as a young boy drawn by Mike

Well, by now my story I was telling the other three at our table in the restaurant in Antigua was creating a few more laughs.  I then described how I would ride my bike and wagon to the supermarket with a pipe in my mouth, puffing away as I rode up N. Market Street.  Well, to finish my Christmas story about neat gifts, today I opened a gift from Jere and Sue and found a caricature of myself riding a bicycle with a pipe in my mouth and a cigarette behind my ear and wearing sandals.  Seems Jere's nephew Mike is an artist and does great caricature drawings so Sue called him and gave him my description and he drew one of my gifts that I was given by Jere and Sue.  The laughing was once again out-of-control.   I know...you had to be there to appreciate it!  So, I would be amiss if I didn't add this gift as one of the Christmas gifts that I will remember for the rest of my life.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Travel In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Through The Ages" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Watching a few airplanes land at the Lancaster Airport.  I'm always amazed as to how easy it looks when the plane lands and both wheels hit at the exact same instant.  I know it is the skilled pilots that make it look easy, but it is still fun to watch the planes land.  I was recently talking with our friends Jere and Sue about a fellow high school classmate who was a pilot for Allegheny Airlines for many years.  Jere said, "Wow, how long ago was that?"  Well, the company operated out of Pittsburgh, PA from 1952 to 1979 and was the forerunner of US Airways which eventually merged into American Airlines.  Our friend Dave became a pilot after we all graduated from high school in 1962.  But, flying was perhaps the last step of my story today, since I have found a few photos to share showing land transportation throughout history.  Nothing spectacular, just the same routine transportation that has probably been a part of just about every city in the United States. Started with pathways that connected the Susquehannock Indians whose main village was Conestoga in what is now Manor Township, Lancaster County.  The village thrived from about 1690 to 1740 and was the center of trade with settlers as early as 1696 when William Penn, James Logan and four colonial governors of Pennsylvania visited Conestoga.  Today the hamlet of Indiantown is probably the actual site of the original Conestoga.  From Conestoga there were about six or seven paths that led in different directions.  

These pathways eventually became roads such as U.S. Route 222, PA Route 741 and current routes to Philadel- phia, Willow Street, Strasburg and Gap.  The eastern-most route led to Chester, PA and was known as the Conestoga Path.  Naturally, walking, horseback riding and small utility wagons were the earliest means of transportation along these paths.  Then, in the mid-to-late 18th century, Conestoga Wagons, with their distinct curved floors and canvas covers arched over wooden hoops became a common sight on these pathways.  They carried farm products and goods from cities to rural communities in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio and Virginia.  The wagon got its name being it was made in towns along the Susquehanna River where Native Americans using the Iroquois language lived.  "Conestoga" is the word to describe "people of the "cabin pole", thus the Conestoga Wagon.  

The Susquehanna Canal in Columbia can be seen here.

These wagons eventually turned into stage coaches and other types of animal-drawn means of transpor- tation.  Also during this time was water and canal transpor-
tation with boats and barges that carried goods along a variety of canals.  The Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal to Baltimore was opened in 1840 on the west side of the Susquehanna that had canal boats going north to south near Columbia, Pennsylvania.  

Early railroad train crossing the Conestoga River in Lancaster.

The first railroad to pass through Lancaster County was the Philadel- phia and Columbia Railroad that opened on March 31, 1834.  It was constructed by the state as part of the Main Line of Public Works, a rail and canal system to connect Philadelphia to Pittsburgh.  

Lancaster trolley line.

The principal trolley company in Lancaster County was the Conestoga Traction Company that started in the early 1900s and continued into the late 1940s.  The first vehicle, or automobile, was built in 1769 by Frenchman Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, with the first American car built by Oliver Evans in 1805.  Henry Ford launched his motor company in 1901 with the sale of the mass-produced Model T.  They naturally were found all over Lancaster County.  Well, I'm sure I must have missed some type of travel in Lancaster, but I believe my story today will give you a fairly good look at travel in Lancaster through the ages.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of any ordinary guy.

The Strasburg Railroad passes a young Amish boy in this photograph.  Click to enlarge.

A Lancastrian shows off his 1940s Cadilac

Two Amish boys demonstrate their transportation with this gas-powered wagon.

The "From The Fountain Of Youth To The Discovery Of History," Story

It was an ordinary day.  Talking with Carol about a trip we took after our first year of marriage in 1967 to Florida.  We spent two weeks traveling along the east coast and finally arriving in Florida.  After a few days of exploring Florida we landed in St. Augustine.  The city was beautiful and we actually had a chance to drink the water of The Fountain of Youth.  Because of that you are now able to read these stories today.

This sketch is what I assume is the church in St. Augustine

While in St. Augustine we made a visit to an old church called the church of St. Augustine, Nuestra Senora de Los Remedios which was  originally founded in 1572.  We thought that our church in Lancaster, PA, St. James Episcopal, which was founded in 1744 was old, but it was nothing in comparison to St. Augustine.  The city of St. Augustine has existed for more than 450 years when it was founded by Spanish conquistador Pedro Menendez de Aviles in 1565.  That is 42 years before the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia was founded and 55 years before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts.  

This is part of a skeleton found

Therefore, St. Augustine is our nation's oldest city.  The parish church known as St. Augustine was destroyed three times; 1586 during a raid by Sir Francis Drake, 1599 by a fire and hurricane and in 1702 when the  British burned it to the ground.  The exact location of the original church was not discovered until 2010.  During construction in the city' historic downtown, a trench was discovered and a wall that marked the rear of the church.  Then in October of 2017 Hurricane Matthew damaged much of the city.  

The wine shop archeologists looking for remains

A wine shop on St. Augustine's plaza was damaged and was in the process of being renovated when, during examin- ation of the soil under the shop, human remains were found.  During the first week of digging, archaeologists discovered an adult skeleton and an adult skull.  One was a white European woman and a man of African ancestry.  Outside the wine shop was found a leg bone and another skull from two other graves.  Then they found a few children.  Pottery fragments found with the skeletons date the burials between 1572 ad 1586, a few years after St. Augustine was founded.  It is now believed that the burials came from the floor of the Church of Nuestra Señora de la Remedios, the parish church built in St. Augustine shortly after the colony was established in 1565.  

A full set of teeth can be seen in this photograph

It was said that the mission churches across Florida buried everybody in the church floor.  It  was  considered consecrated ground.  The skeletal remains may have come from the location of what at one time was the original church in the city.  The church that Carol and I had visited in 1968 wasn't the original  church, but the location chosen to rebuild the church after it had been burned to the ground by the British in 1702.  Perhaps the discovery of the skeletal remains will help in locating the original location of St, Augustine, Nuestra Senora de Los Remedios.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The President Is Almost Older Than Dirt" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading the free publication "The Fishwrapper" which is published every couple of weeks and found in restaurants and local supermarkets in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  It is published by Little Mountain Printing and features a few true stories as well as a few fiction, some with a religious tilt to them.  It usually is about 20 pages with a few advertisements in both color and black and white, but most of the rest of the publication is black and white.  I love to pick up a copy every other week when we shop at a local supermarket and check out the variety of stories.  

"The President"

One that caught my eye in the December 10 edition was titled "3200 Years In One Photograph."  Story about a giant sequoia tree that is growing in Nevada's Sequoia National Park that is called "The President."  The tree is allegedly 3,200 years old, has 2 billion leaves and stands 247 feet tall.  Now, that folks is a big tree!  You would have to get pretty far away from it and use a wide angle camera lens, holding it vertically to take the photograph of the tree.  But, the photograph in The Fishwrapper was created by "National Geographic" photographers taking 126 photographs at different levels of the tree and morphing them together into one great photograph.  The photographers had to climb the tree with pulleys and levers to take thousands of photographs.  When you look at the black and white photo in he publication, you will notice a large black dot in the foreground that happens to be an image of a man.  Tough to image just how large this beautiful tree might be.  

The red dot in the first photograph is actually this man
seen here next to the trunk of the tree.

But, it is only the second tallest giant sequoia tree in the world as measur- ed by the volume of its trunk and third largest in trunk circum- ference.  "The President" contains about 54,000 cubic feet of wood and bark.  It is considered a snow tree, since it has adapted for long winters in the Sierra Nevada.  But, it's also a fire tree with thick bark that protects it from burning in lightning-caused fires.  Tough to believe that this tree was growing in the Sequoia National Park during the height of ancient Greece's civilization and 1200 years old when Jesus lived while Rome was well into its rule of most of the western world and points beyond.  Now, that's unbelievable!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "Lancaster Newspapers Names New Executive Editor!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  On the front page of the morning newspaper was a familiar face looking back at me...with the words EXECUTIVE EDITOR under his name.  Guy by the name of Tom Murse  was just elevated to the position of executive editor of the LNP/LancasterOnline.  Even though I was familiar with Tom's face, I didn't know him as well as I did his dad and brother.  It was back in the mid-1980s that I first met, or should I say, cursed out, Tom's younger brother Jeff.  Jeff was playing for an opposing team in Little League baseball against my youngest son Tad's team.  I was the coach of the team and when, in the bottom of the last inning of a crucial game, left-hander Jeff came to bat with the game tied.  I looked at my co-manager Wayne and wondered if I should have my pitcher walk him.  Then I reasoned, this isn't the World Series.  This isn't the game of a lifetime.  Let the kid bat.  He's only 9 years old for God's sake.  Should have walked him!  He took a mighty swing and hit the ball further than I probably could have.  Hit it close to 250 feet down the right field line.  My right fielder was reaching the ball when he crossed the plate.  We lost when we didn't score in the bottom of the inning.  Certain plays you witness in your lifetime as a coach never leave forget, and this was one of them.  The following year Wayne and I had the privilege of coaching the 11-12 year old traveling team and one of our first choices in the draft of boys was Jeff Murse.  Over the years he was the force that led us to 6 straight Lancaster County Championship games in different age groups.  And what's neat is his dad helped with the team in each of those years.  Tom was one of the nicest guys you would ever want to meet.  He never once questioned how we used his son or where we played him in the field.  Of course, he was one of the best pitchers in the league.  I got to know Tom over the next six years and found he ran a press for Lancaster Newspapers.  He even allowed me visit with him one time so I could see for myself how the press operated.  Great guy with a great family.  

Tom Murse (Lancaster Newspapers)

And now his oldest son Tom, a journalist with 22 years of experience as a reporter and editor, from one of the best families in the county, has been given the responsi- bility of executive editor of the entire newspaper.  He had been a managing editor since 2014 and the digital editor the past few years, but he is now totally in charge of the LNP paper as well as The Caucus, LNP Media Groups award-winning investigative newspaper, which is based in Pennsylvania's capitol of Harrisburg.  The article tells of Tom as a child and watching his dad arrive home after a day of running the newspaper on the press.  In one hand was a crisp, folded newspaper while in the other hand was the ink-blotched lunch pail he carried to work with him every day.  Tom marveled at the idea that at the instant the ink hit paper, those pages conveyed information and ideas that would immediately become the shared knowledge of an entire community.  Everything from the births to the deaths was news, some joyful while others depressing.  And...this is what Tom will continue to do today, just as it has been done for the past 225 years in Lancaster.  It had been reported that most local newspapers would die in the next five years...but, young Tom, as a reporter and editor, proved the Lancaster community loves its news.  Hey, I can hardly wait to get up each morning and head to the foot of my driveway to get my morning newspaper.  Tom tells that change is constant and we will adapt while we get better.  In this article he assured his readers that the reporters, editors, artists and photographers will continue to put out the finest, most comprehensive and impartial news report in the community.  And, I have no doubt, coming from the family that he does, that he will do an excellent job as the Executive Editor of the Lancaster Newspaper.  The task is large, but the new administrator is passionate about his job.  I feel safe knowing my newspaper will be with me 'til the end.  My end...not the newspaper's end!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "Christmas: The Evolution of Celebrating" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading how Christmas has been celebrated over the ages.  For many Christians, Christmas is a time of both worship as well as celebration of the birth of the baby Jesus.  

The way we celebrate Christmas has evolved over time and how we celebrate the holiday is somewhat different than how it was celebrated in the past.  In the early 1800's in America, most people didn't observe Christmas.  It was felt that it was too closely associated with its pagan roots from Europe.  Those that did celebrate did so with modest decorations that were perhaps placed on the family table.  Some decorated trees with popcorn garlands and baked cookies.  In the mid to late 1800s people began to select small trees for placing festive more ornate and intricate decorations, mostly made by hand.  More traditional events started with the arrival of the first Christmas cards.  R.H. Pease introduced the first Christmas cards in the 1850s while Louis Prang turned then into a tradition in the 1870s.

Santa was created by Thomas Nast in 1863 when
he drew this image in Harper's Magazine.

 Santa Claus was created by Harper's Weekly Magazine's illustrator Thomas Nast in 1863 who also made Santa and his elves at home in the North Pole.  Wasn't long before gift giving became a tradition at Christmas time.  Little did Thomas know the magnitude of celebration that his creation would make in the future.  In 1892 Russian Pyotr Tchaikovsky wrote the Nutcracker which wasn't a huge success in America until the late 1960s.  The Nutcracker made decorating with little wooden soldiers a whimsical Christmas tradition.   In the early 1900s people began to decorate much larger live trees that would perhaps reach the ceilings in their homes.  Christmas wreaths made from evergreen tree branches began to decorate the front doors of homes.  By the late 1920s candy canes became not only a Christmas treat, but also a decoration for the family tree.  In the mid to late 1900s people began to cut down live trees for decorating and before long artificial trees began to replace the live version.  My wife showed me photos of her family tree that was made of shiny aluminum.  Lights were added to the Christmas trees in the late 1940s.  Before that time candles were used to add illumination to the Christmas tree, though they were quite dangerous.  Today the Christmas tree is covered with technology people in the 1800s didn't even dream about.  LED lighting that can perform a variety of tasks gives the tree a different look.   At times music can be added with timed lighting exhibitions bouncing around the tree.  Each family celebrating Christmas with an illuminated tree has their own traditions and decorates their tree to bring memories to life once a year.  My wife, Carol, and I wish each and every person who celebrates Christmas as a religious holiday, a Merry Christmas.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

What were people thinking when the aluminum tree was developed.

The "Lancaster's Popular Female Santa" Story

It was an ordinary day.  The year was 1969 and Eileen Bernhardt was donning her Santa Claus suit.  She began her career as Santa at the Manor Shopping Center on the west end of the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  She did so out of desperation, since her husband had been laid off from his welder job and they were in need of funds.  She applied for work at the Manpower Temporary Agency and before long she was told of the need for a Santa at the shopping center.  She really wasn't sure about being Santa, but it would pay the bills.  So, for the next 32 years she began a career as the "Jolly Ole Man in Red."  

Children wait to talk to Santa.  Photo by Hertzler

She listened to Christ- mas wish after Christ- mas wish, jotting down infor- mation about each child on a giant yellow scroll of paper that at times would stretch several hundred feet in length.  Over those 32 years she estimated she held perhaps 100,000 wide-eyed children on her knee.  During those years she was featured in the local newspaper more times than she could remember as well as being featured in "Woman's Day" and "Family Circle."  She appeared on national TV in 1974 when she appeared on "What's My Line" that was hosted by John Daly.  

Eileen Berhardt appeared
on "What's My Line.  

She stumped the panel with her rather unusual vocation.  Then in 1981 she got the bad news that the Manor Shopping Center couldn't afford a Santa anymore.  Well, the calls and mail poured in telling the center they just had to have Eileen back playing Santa.  Newspaper stories were followed by newspaper editorials.  But, it just didn't happen.  That was until a bidding war began for Eileen's services as Santa.  Lancaster's biggest downtown retailer, Watt & Shand, wanted her as did several malls and shopping centers.  She decided to go to the Willow Valley Mall which was near the Willow Valley restaurant and shopping center.  That would be her home for the next 20 years.  Then in 2001 she ran out of yellow paper and had to hang up her red-and-white hat.  Her time as Santa was monumental.  She would shave her eyebrows and meticulously apply individual white hairs to create Santa's brows.  

Santa writing a child's wish on paper.
Photo by Heisey

She would shampoo Santa's beard, which was crafted from wigs, every night.  She became well acquainted with children's toys of the era so she would know what they were talking about when they approached her.  The idea of writing each child's name on her "list" was well accepted by the children who visited with her.  She reported that the giant roll of paper was actually a roll of teletype paper donated by a local radio station.  Some of the money she received as Santa each year was used to buy gifts for needy children who would sit in her lap.  She would get their addresses and surprise them on Christmas Eve with a visit to their homes.  In 1982 she was picked as the Best Santa in Lancaster County by a survey published in the Lancaster Newspaper.  When Eileen retired as Santa in 2001 the newspaper paid tribute to her with a story.  And, Willow Valley hosted a banquet in her honor.  Ellen died on June 18, 2008 at the age of 80.  She had portrayed Santa Claus for 32 years, more than half her adult life.  She was a tireless worker and loved by each and every child that ever sat on her knee.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "2019 RLPS Gingerbread Display" Story

The RLPS-OPOLY Gingerbread display.

It was an ordinary day.  Making a visit to the Reese, Lower, Patrick & Scott Architects office in Lancaster, Pennsylvania to view the annual Gingerbread house exhibit they have been creating for the past 24 years.  The theme for this year's show was RLPS-OPOLY and their large assembly room looked like a huge Monopoly board with gingerbread displays covering the majority of the spaces around the board.  The employees of the architectural firm all produce something for the display which must have items on display that are editable.  Judges view the display when it has been completed and pick the best gingerbread exhibit.   The gingerbread display that was judged the best this year was "St. James Place" that had a dollar price on the original Monopoly board of $180.  The gingerbread church was great with a bride and groom standing in front of the church and a car with a "Just Married" sign on it.  A whole lot of sugar involved in making this treat.  I have included a few of my favorites so you could see the quality of workmanship that is done every year by the employees of RLPS. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The winning Gingerbread display, St. James Place.

An overall view showing the money tray and part of the RLPS-OPLY board.

Oriental Ave 

Vermont Ave. 

The Jail on the corner of the board.

One of the utility blocks

Another favorite, Virginia Ave. 

One of the couple of Railroads.

Celebrating the incoming New Year. 

Interesting block.

Another neat utility. 

This young girl was using her cell phone to take a few photographs. 

North Carolina block with the Wright Bros. plane.

Naturally enjoyed the Pennsylvania block with Betsy Ross and Benjamin Frankliin.

Closer view of Betsy Ross to show you how they make figures from sugar 

The most expensive piece of property, Boardwalk.

The "Celebrating Christmas: LDubs House All Aglow!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just finished putting up our holiday lights for the upcoming Christmas celebration.  Since we moved into our "Beach House" in the mid-1990s we have decorated with a variety of outdoor lights as well as a beautiful tree and indoor lighting.  We don't cover our house with lights or have a specific theme for our lights as many of our neighbors do, but our house still looks great inside and out when Christmas arrives.  I must admit we bought an indoor artificial tree years ago which stands about eight feet tall.  We switched to the artificial tree, since the year before we bought a really expensive large tree from a fellow teacher who had a tree stand and who delivered it to our house later the same day, but happened to put it in front of the garage door and when I backed the car out I ran over it and snapped a few important branches off.   Now, our tree looks great every year we take it out of the extremely big box.  Our outdoor decorations now consist of a strand of lighted icicles over the garage door, a decorated sled on the front porch and a herd of lighted deer amongst the seven English walnut trees to the side of our house.  I must admit, they look great!  Inside the house, Carol loves her small artificial tree that she decorates in the kitchen/family room as well as the eight foot one in the living room.  We have so any beautiful ornaments that we have collected over the years.  Many are beach related while others have special sentimental value.  I have featured many favorite ornaments over the past years of writing my blog and if you type "ornaments" in the white box at the top left of this story, you can view some of them.  Even thought our children and grandchildren are no longer youngsters, we still hang their hand-made stockings from the evergreen-wrapped railing on the second floor directly inside our front door.  To give you a better idea as to how we decorate for the Christmas holiday, check out the following photographs.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The second floor landing has greens and all the family stockings.

On the front porch sits our old sled that is decorated with greens and lights.

This small artificial small tree is in the family room by the back door.

Our large eight foot decorated tree in our living room.

The "The Tide Is Coming" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading an email from a friend who happens to live on the island known as Sint Maarten/St. Martin.  My wife and I met Barbara and her husband Diederick for the first time in 2014 while on vacation.  Barbara grew up in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, about 120 miles from my home in Lancaster.  Since that time, Carol and I have made yearly, sometimes by-yearly trips to the island for rest and relaxation and try and visit with Barbara and Dee.  He have made other friends due to Barbara and love to visit their beautiful home and witness Dee's gardening efforts and adventures.  While looking at a Facebook page the other day I found a post that had come from Barbara's blog from a few years ago.  The post had a story titled "What does 'the tide is coming' mean.  Have you ever heard that saying?  The following is parts of the original posting that Barbara made years ago and recently posted to her Facebook page.  I asked for permission to reprint the following and Barbara was more than willing to share it once again.  Perfect story for the Christmas season.

What does 'the tide is coming' mean?

The gardener (my hubby) told me this morning that his mother used to always say that.

Growing up in Philipsburg, he always though she meant a high tide was coming.

He would get a little scared because he didn't know how far the sea would come up.

He also knew though that she would always say that around Christmas and that because "the tide was

coming."  It was time to clean the house, change the curtains, etc.

People in the Caribbean traditionally do "spring housecleaning" at Christmas time.

He could never quite figure out what she meant.

We started trying to figure out where that expression came from. Since his mother was from Anguilla, we

figured it was a British expression.

Then the gardener said it was a time to clean the house and make it neat.  He said she tidied up.

Aha!

The tide is coming means to tidy up?

So now I am googling tidy up.

I find that tidy comes from an Old English word "tid", which means time.

So did "the tide is coming" mean it is time to tidy up?

That didn't quite fit either.

More research and, lo and behold, we figured it out.

The Christmas season.  She would always say the tide is coming at Christmas time.

Christmas season.

Christmas time.

Christmastide.

Shortened to the tide is coming.

Christmastide is another name for the Christmas season.  It is the festival season from Christmas Eve till

after New Year's Day or especially in England till Epiphany.

A tide is an obsolete or archaic term for time, period or season, such as Eastertide or Yuletide.

Did you ever hear the expression "the tide is coming"?

Perfect little explanation to help you understand where the word, or term Christmastide originated.  Hope you have a loving and merry holiday season no matter what religion you may hold true to your heart or believe; from my home to your home!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Ephrata, Pennsylvania Claims The Best Cookie Baker!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Driving north on Rt. 272 toward the town of Ephrata, Pennsylvania.  My quest today is to buy a few decorated cookies to place in the stockings of my grandchildren for Christmas.  Not just any cookies, but cookies made by the award winning "Cookie Lady" known as Laura Merkel.  This all came about when Carol and I were talking about something different to put in our granddaughter's stockings and I suggested I make a visit to "Laura the Cookie Lady" who has a store at 30 E. Main Street in Ephrata.

Laura's store at 30 East Main Street

Turned right off 272N onto State Street.  Not long before I had to stop at the light where State intersects Main.  Turned right and began looking for Laura's store.  Pulled into a parking space and walked  about 50 feet and then I saw it.  The sign read "Sold Out".  Seems the store opened at 11:00 a.m. that morning and 20 minutes later Laura had emptied her display cases of every cookie she and her helpers had baked for the day.  Laura has gained quite a bit of notoriety in this "neck of the woods" since she was on television's Food Network "Christmas Cookie Challenge".  Not only was she on the show, but she won the $10,000 that goes with being known as the best cookie maker in the United States.  Found out that the show was actually filmed last February in Los Angeles, but didn't air until the end of November.

Laura can be seen in the center of the photo with fellow bakers Megan
Savely to the left and Maisha Cottman on the right.  She won $10,000.

For 10 months Laura had to keep her win a secret from the town of Ephrata as well as the world.  She went up against four other cookie bakers from around the United States.  She baked an espresso-chocolate cookie that got high marks for taste and texture from the judges in the first round.  In the second and final round, she baked an oatmeal-kiwi-white chocolate Christmas tree cookie tart with cream cheese buttercream icing.

Laura holding one of her boxes she fills with cookies.

Carol and I enjoyed the show and were pulling for her the entire time.  When I left to head to Ephrata, Carol told me to get a couple of those cookies for Christmas gifts.  Well, the sign told me I wasn't going to get the treats today, but it didn't stop me from pounding on the door to arouse whomever might have been inside the bakery.  A fellow opened the front door and I asked if I could talk with Laura for a story I wanted to write for my blog.  He told me to follow him and in about 30 seconds I saw Laura behind the counter in her cookie store.  The place was bare of cookies, but not bare of smiles from Laura when I introduced myself and explained why I was there.

Laura's award winning entry.

She apologized about the lack of cookies, but told me the line when she opened was about a block long.  Everything was gone in about 20 minutes!  She told me to get in line tomorrow early if I want any.  She also told me that since her big win on the TV show she can't keep cookies in her cases very long.  Laura is a Long Island native who now lives in the small town known as Ephrata.  The neat little town is an agricultural community with the historical site Ephrata Cloisters and the nearby Green Dragon Farmer's Market.  Many Old Order Amish and Mennonites live in the surrounding villages.  The town now is the home to the best cookie baker in the country.  Congratulations to Laura and I only hope that sometime soon I will get a chance to try one of her award-winning cookies.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Laura's empty counters. 

Wish I could have gotten a few of these cookies. 

Or...maybe one of these. 

Another creative design.

Laura's logo for her business.