The "The Manor" Story

 Preface:  Today's story is published using the font known as "Georgia."  I am still struggling with the new formatt that Blogger is using.  Many who use the blog site have written comments about what they don't like about the new formatt.  I still have some problems, but I am getting better...or so I hope I am.  I used "Trebucket" type font since I began writing this blog in 2009, but the "Trebucket" font no longer looks the same with this new formatt.  How that can be I don't know, but it is.  So I switched to a font known as "Verdana."  Not sure I like that, so I have switched one more time to "Georgia."  I like a font style with serifs, since I find it easier to read.  Hope you are not having problems with access to the stories.  Now all I have to do is figure how to add a label to the story every day.  Still at a loss as to how to do that.

 It was an ordinary day.  Driving past Armstrong Manor on my way to work at Grebinger Gallery in nearby Neffsville, Pennsylvania.  

Map showing location of The Manor

I have driven past the mansion thousands of times in the past.  First it was as a student at Manheim Township Jr. High School and then Senior High School.  My school bus would pass the place twice a day on trips from my home in the last block of North Queen Street to the Jr.-Sr. High School in Neffsville.  I eventually took a teaching job at Manheim Township High School and once again drove past the mansion for just about 35 more years.  Not once did I drive in the lane to the mansion known to me for just about my entire life as Armstrong Manor.  After I retired from teaching at MTHS I continued to drive past the mansion on my trips to Grebinger Gallery as well as trips to the High School where I did the in-house printing as well as the school yearbooks for the Middle School and the Intermediate School.  Well, a few days ago I worked my way back the drive toward what today is known as "The Manor" and is owned by Rodgers & Associates, a financial planning firm.  

What was known as Armstrong Manor at one time.

The property is beautiful with mature trees and shrubs as well as a beautifully manicured lawn.  From the Lititz Pine (Rt. 501) you can see a row of what appear to be motel rooms.  I found out recently that they were placed there in 1966 by the Armstrong Cork Company to provide lodging for visiting employees and customers of Armstrong Cork Company.  I did some searching online as well as using the Archives of Lancaster Newspaper to try and find information about the place that I have finally taken photographs of a few days ago.  All my life, the area around Armstrong Manor has always been known to me as Bloomingdale.  Carol and my traveling friend, Sue, lived in Bloomingdale when she moved to the area in 1959.  

A closer look at The Manor.

I never realized that the area was a farming area until I read a few stories about it.  It seems that the neighborhood known as Bloomingdale grew up around Armstrong Manor.  Originally Armstrong Manor was a farmhouse built in 1866 on a farm known as Bloomingdale.  The property operated as a farm until 1920 when Armstrong Cork Company purchased the Manor to host sales trainees during their 6-month training program at the company's two local manufacturing plants.  The Manor would also provide space for visiting employees and customers to meet.  At one time the grounds even had volleyball courts, horseshoe pits and croquet courses.  "The Manor" as it became known, was meant to have corporate leaders enhancing teamwork, brainstorming, getting to know each other and forming camaraderie.  

The Manor from the rear showing the individual rooms.

It was a unique location...it was comfortable, a beautiful location for relaxation, a great place to meet other people who worked for Armstrong and it had outstanding food!  Eventually a golf course known as "Overlook" was built across SR501 from Armstrong Manor.  The original mansion, or farmhouse, was built by David Locher who was a prosperous local businessman.  He operated a few tanneries on South Prince Street before taking up farming as a trade.  Mr. Locher's farm, Bloomingdale, was a 120 acre farm which had a large herd of blooded Jersey cattle which was the admiration of farming communities for miles around.  He also had a fine stable of four-in-hand Hambletonian breed horses.  In 1848 he married Clememtina Matilda Evans, the daughter of Lancaster merchant Robert Evans.  One of their three sons, Grove Locher, eventually purchased  the Bloomingdale Farm for $21,000 on April 9, 1906.  The farm was devoted to general agriculture operations.  

The sign along Route 501 (Lititz Pike)

Then, on May 29, 1920, Armstrong Cork Company purchased the mansion from Mr. Locher for $26,930.  Sadly,  on April 9, 1933, Grove Locher took his own life with a .22 caliber revolver due to money woes.  Mr. Charles Armstrong felt that a suitable location was needed for proper housing for young men entering the Armstrong sales force.  Most men were hired right out of college and not accustomed to living on their own.  He found what he was looking for in Bloomingdale.  In 1966 Armstrong Manor was enlarged with two-story hotel-style rooms as well as a reception/lounge area.  The remainder of the mansion was remolded and a commercial kitchen was installed.  In November of 2010, Armstrong announced its plan to close Armstrong Manor by the end of the year.  Rodgers & Associates purchased the property in December of 2011.  Today Armstrong Manor is simply "The Manor" and is still as elegant as it was when I first went by the place when I entered Jr. High in 1955.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.