The "Did You Ever Eat An Earwax Flavored Jelly Belly?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Preparing for the Easter weekend when the family usually gathers for some time of relaxation, an Easter meal and reminiscing about the past.  Not sure how we are going to celebrate this year, but hopefully it will be better than last year when we were in the throes of a viral pandemic.  The one item that was missed the most last year was the annual easter-egg hunt when the grandkids take a bag with them and search for plastic Easter eggs that are hidden around our property which is just about an acre in size.  I should tell you the grandkids were so upset that we eventually did have the egg hunt in July when they arrived to celebrate our daughter's birthday which happens to fall on July 4.  It was much easier to gather since we could be outside instead of chancing having to be inside at Easter.  I should also tell you that our grandkids are young adults by now, but still don't want to give up the plastic egg hunt.  May be that the coins and bills that we put in quite a few of the eggs help.  But, they still love the jelly beans that are part of the egg hunt, also.  And...that is what my story is about today.  It was in 1869 that Gustav Goelitz opened a candy business in the town of Belleville, Illinois.  

The Gustav Goelitz Candy Company.  That's Mr. Goelitz with his foot on the barrel.

In 1976, the Jelly Belly was born.  Up until that time the traditional jelly bean had been made since 1965.  These candies were made with a clear center of pectin, covered with a hard sugar casing of different fruit flavors.  These original jelly beans weren't anything special except for the fact that President Ronald Reagan fancied them.  Then in 1976 David Klein, who was a candy distributor, approached Mr. Goelitz with the idea of making a fruit-flavored bean made with natural ingredients.  Wasn't long before Jelly Bellies were born.  The first eight flavors debuted in the summer of 1976 when Mr. Goelitz sold bags of a single flavor.  Each flavor was so intense that he insisted that it needed to be savored individually.  Production had to be increased and within a year there were 25 flavors of Jelly Bellies that were even sold in bags of mixed flavors.  Today, jelly beans are available in flavors from cherry to buttered popcorn to toasted marshmallow to one of my favorites, mango.

A few of the many Jelly Bellies that are made.

For the Harry Potter fans, there are even the flavors of black pepper, booger, dirt, earthworm, earwax, sausage and soap.  Lucky for me that I don't care for Mr. Potter.  I certainly hope the don't put them in any bags that I buy.  Well, I want to personally thank my Gustav Goelitz for making Jelly Bellies.  Without them our Easter egg hunt wouldn't be half as much fun.....no wait a minute.....my wife is telling me they don't matter.....it's the large bills that I stuff in the plastic Easter eggs that make the difference.  And, with the price of gasoline going up, they are anxious for this year's Easter egg hunt.  Geeze, I thought it was all about visiting Amah and Tampah's house at Easter for a fun time and a good meal.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "So, How Long Ago Was The Bicycle Invented?" Story

 It was an ordinary day.  Riding a bike on the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey.  Had borrowed one of my grandkids bikes for my ride to a site that I had wanted to visit and take a few photos for a story I was writing.  The bike had thin tires as well as a control for changing gears as I rode.  Nothing new to me since I have been riding bikes most of my lifetime.  Wrote before about my first bike with hand brakes when I was about 12 years old.  Forgot which hand controlled the rear brake and when I used the wrong one, I went over the handlebars when I braked to quickly.  Recently read a story about the very first bicycle that was introduced to kids in Germany in 1817.  People lined the side of the road as Karl Drais pushed his contraption along the street for the first time, using his feet to propel it because this first bike had wheels but no pedals.  

The first bike without pedals.

At the time the only transportation, besides walking, was riding the horse.  Can you imagine the look of everyone's eyes when they saw this bicycle going down the street for the first time.  Mr. Drais built his bicycle as a substitute for a horse since two years earlier, Mount Tarrigora, in Indonesia, erupted and the ash cloud dispersed around the world and lowered global temperatures.  Crops failed and in return animals were left without food and died of starvation.  Karl's bike looked very little like the bikes we ride today.  

A later model which has pedals on the front wheel.

It weighed about 50 pounds and featured two wooden wheels attached to a wooden frame.  Those riding would sit on what appeared to be an upholstered leather saddle which was nailed to a frame and steered with a set of wooden handlebars.  There was no multi-level gearshift, no pedals and no brakes.  Then along came the Sears, Roebuck and Co. as well as Montogomery Ward who both began to produce and and sell bicycles after WWI for children after adults got tired of pedaling from place to place.  

An advertisement for Schwinn bicycles.

Then Schwinn and Huffy took up the idea at the end of the 1940s into the '50s.  Mass production followed.  At first, children's bikes slightly mimicked automobiles, but it wasn't long before they started to look like rockets.  

My first Schwinn looked much like this one.

My first Schwinn, which I got in the early 50's from my Aunt Doris as a Christmas gift, had a center section with a button you pushed for the horn and which looked like a rocket with fake chrome streaks through it and chrome fenders.  Even had a headlight, but the rear red light was only a red reflector.  Then in the late 1950s I got my last bike which had thin tires, 10 speeds and a seat so narrow it hurt if I rode it for more than an hour.  

The Dora the Explorer bike.

In the 1990's, Huffy Co. began to make bikes based of popular characters such as Dora the Explorer and Thomas the Tank Engine.  Today, you can see all sorts of bikes on the roads and sidewalks of neighborhoods all over the world.  Learning to ride that bike was a rite-of-passage into adulthood.  A recent episode of "Sheldon" show him learning to ride a bike.  Brought back memories from when I was a kid as well as teaching my own kids to ride.  I eventually gave up riding when I turned 16 and bought my first car, a 1953 Henry "J".  Still remember it!  Only time I ride a bike anymore is when we travel to Ocean City, New Jersey during the summer with the family.  Still remember how to ride!  Oh...and by the way...if there is a New Jersey, there must have been an Old Jersey...but perhaps that will be another story for another day!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

My 1953 Henry "J" looked like this, only I painted it orange!

The " A Trip To The Library" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just got back from taking photographs at the Landis Run Intermediate School Library in the Manheim Township School District that I will use in their school yearbook.  The school opened eight years ago and the latest yearbook is the 8th edition of the book which I have done for them.  Neat library that has shelves filled with books for all ages to read as well as research books and the traditional encyclopedias and naturally a few dictionaries.  I'm sure there are some schools that can't afford their own library, but my guess is there are more school with libraries than those without them.  I have paid many visits to the Lancaster Library which is located on North Duke Street in the center of the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  My children grew up making trips to the Lancaster Library to listen to volunteers read to them as well as checking out a book to take home to read.  My parents did the same for my brother and myself when I too was a child at one time.   So, when did the idea of libraries in the United States first begin?  Well, the first completely tax-supported public library in the United States was in Peterborough, New Hampshire which was founded at a town meeting on April 9, 1833.  Then in 1866, Andrew Carnegie opened his first public library in his adopted hometown of Allegheny, Pennsylvania.  That was followed on March 18, 1889 by the Carnegie Free Library of Braddock, Pennsylvania.  

The Braddock, Pennsylvania Library

Mr. Carnegie eventually opened 1,679 libraries across the United States.  He also built additional libraries around the world.  These libraries were in communities both small and large and opened up a world of learning, entertainment and possibilities to millions of patrons.  Carnegie was a Scottish-American immigrant who made his fortune in the railroad and steel industries.  Before the end of his life he donated nearly 90% of his fortune to various causes.  It was during the second half of the 19th century that the idea of "free" libraries began to spread.  

Mr. Andrew Carnegie

Mr. Carnegie, who was born in 1835, immigrated to America as a boy after industrialization forced his father out of the textile business.  The family settled in the suburbs of Pittsburgh where Andrew got a job as a messenger boy.  It was there that he met Colonel James Anderson who allowed young Andrew to visit his personal library on Saturdays.  

He would allow Andrew to borrow books which opened an entirely new world to Carnegie.  It was at this time that Carnegie vowed that if he ever became wealthy, he would provide the generosity to others.  Over the next 50 years Carnegie built his fortune though methods which at times were scrutinized since he was said to pay the lowest wage he could.  In 1892 his workers at his Homestead Steel Mill struck over low wages and better working conditions.  The strike led to a violent gun battle which required the militia to restore peace.  It was said that Carnegie built his fortune on the backs of poor workers.  One newspaper editorial read..."Ten thousand Carnegie public libraries would not compensate for the evils resulting from the Homestead lockout."  Did his thousands of libraries really make up for his low wages?  His libraries were housed in beautiful buildings with big windows and ample light.  In 1909 Carnegie devised a plan to award grants for library construction for communities in need.  There were three conditions; (1) the municipalities  had to own the property where the library would be built, (2) the property had to be large enough for future expansion and (3) the grant recipients had to pay 10% of the gift for building maintenance.  He even wrote a book on Library Building and sent it to communities who desired a grant from him.  He liked stairs in his libraries since it represented climbing towards wisdom.  By the time Mr. Carnegie issued his last library grant in 1919, most states had a least one Carnegie library with many still being in use today.  Could the library in your community be one of the original 1,679 libraries that he donated to cities and towns all over the United States?  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Favorite UNESCO World Heritage Sites" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Was recently reading a story about UNESCO World Heritage Sites and discovered that 24 of the Heritage Sites are located in the United States and Puerto Rico and I have actually already visited a few of them.  Each site in the United States is special in its own way and each one is ranked based on quality of experience, accessibility, "wow" factor, popularity and significance in American history and culture.  So, which one is considered the best?  They are not ranked in any manner so I assume the decision is up to the visitor.  The following are the 24 sites that can be found in the US or in Puerto Rico.

1. Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Hawaii
2. Monumental Earthworks of Poverty Point, Louisiana
3. Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Illinois
4. Chaco Culture, New Mexico
5. Kluand/Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek, Alaska and Canada
6. Waterton Glacier International Peace Park, Montana and Canada
7. Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico
8. Taos Pueblo, New Mexico
9. La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site, Puerto Rico
10. Olympic National Park, Washington State
11. Mesa Verde National Park
12. Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia
13. Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky
14. San Antonia Missions, Texas
15. Statue of Liberty, New York
16. Redwood National and State Parks, California
17. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee and North Carolina
18. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
19. Yosemite National Park, California
20. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montano and Idaho

And, the following sites are places that my wife and I have been fortunate to visit during our lifetime and can see why they were all added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  

1. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii.  The view of the flaming lava and pitch-black volcanic field is spectacular and to be able to walk on the lava is exciting.  The park is located on the Big Island of Hawaii.  The park is truly stunning and where else can you watch lava flow to the sea and stand face to face with glowing volcanic craters.  You can also find native birds and a meat-eating caterpillar, lava-loving cricket and the world's rarest goose.  One of my favorite souvenirs from Hawaii is the small hand-made bird's nest that we bought near the park.

   

   Click on images to enlarge them.

2. Everglades National Park in Florida.  The Everglades National Park is a massive and critical breeding ground for wading bird in North America.  It covers 1.5 millions acres.  There are many places you can visit in the Everglades, but we managed to take an airboat ride which is probably the best way to see the park.  Most of the park is inaccessible and is patrolled by panthers, hordes of American alligators and countless snakes.  The region protects the largest mangrove swamp in the Western Hemisphere and all the endangered wildlife that call it home.  I must admit that the alligators that came next to our airboat looked as if they were trained when they begged for food.

   

   The mouth of an alligator can be seen as we were riding in out airboat.

3. Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  This site is only about 80 miles from my home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  It's not the same "Wow" factor you get from a national park, but it oozes history.  It was in this same building that America's Founding Fathers debated, adopted and signed the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.  To think that you can stand in the same places in the building that our founding fathers stood is amazing.  The Georgian-style building is in the heart of the city and just one of the many other historical buildings.
   
    
4. Fallingwater in Pennsylvania.  This unbelievable building that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright is remarkable and is one of the newest sites to be added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  Fallingwater is one of eight separate buildings designed by Mr. Wright that were grouped together into one World Heritage Site.  Another one you may have heard of is the Guggenheim Museum in New York (Yes, it wasn't designed by George Costanza as he said on Seinfeld).
   
   
   
   I wish I could someday visit a few other sites.  If they are all as remarkable as the four I already have visited, they will most certainly be impressive.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Summary Of Native Americans Of Lancaster County" Story

 It was an ordinary day.  Trying to think what our country might have looked like before the first Europeans explored the "New World."   I'm sure it didn't resemble what our country looks like today.  There were no highways, no high-rise buildings and no automobiles.  For thousands of years before anyone arrived by boat and stepped foot on the "New World," North America was occupied by the various tribes of aboriginal people.  These inhabitants were mostly nomadic and moved from one location to another depending upon their food and shelter needs.  For about 2500 years, the area where I now live in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania was inhabited by a group of people known today as the "Shenks Ferry Native Americans."  They disappeared around 1500 A.D. and by the time the first Europeans arrived in the area, it was occupied by a variety of diverse groups.  As they moved from location to location, they took the name of the place where they settled.  As an example, those living along the Piscataway Creek were referred to as Piscatways" until they began to migrate and where then known as the "Conoy."  To go along with all the names of the different groups, or tribes, the various European settlers translated the Native American tribal names into their own vernacular.  The league of nations was called "Five Nations" by the English and "Iroquois" by the French.  So what exactly was the league of nations?  Well, those living in what at the time was New York and Canada, were the Onondagas, Oneidas, Mohawks, Cyugas and Senecas.  Sometime in the mid-1400s, the five groups formed a league of nations called the "Haudenosaunea" or "People of the Longhouse."  The Council of 50 chiefs governed the league, but each tribe maintained its own language and territory with none being superior than the other.  In 1722, refuges from the Tuscarora tribe joined the league and it was renamed "The Six Nations."  The head village of these tribes was at Onondaga which was just south of Syracuse, New York.  Along the eastern seaboard of New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania lived the Leni Lenape who were made up of groups of related clans with similar languages.  They spoke primarily Unami and Munsee and were considered matrilineal or gaining their lineage through their mother's kin.  When the English settled in the area, they named the river after the first governor of Virginia, Thomas West who was the third Baron De Le Warr.  The English called the river the Delaware.  In 1624 the Dutch founded their colony and named it "New Amsterdam."  The Lenape began selling furs to the Dutch.  The English colony of Pennsylvania was founded in 1682 by William Penn who made a treaty with the Lenape under the famous tree at Shackamaxon to live in peace as long as the river flows.  But, Penn's sons didn't follow their father's policy and began to take land from the Lenape.  During the French and Indian War, the Lenape sided with the French since they said they would return their land to them if they won.  After the French lost, the Lenape began to move west to the Ohio Valley.  Another tribe, the Shawnee originated in the Ohio Valley which at the time included Pennsylvania and Virginia.  In 1698, 60 Shawnee families from Georgia applied to the Susquehannocks for permission to settle hear the Pequea Creek in what today is Lancaster County.  They named their town Pequehan.  They remained there about 34 years until their chief abdicated and Lakundawanna was elected his successor and they emigrated to Ohio.  The Conoy originally settled along the Piscataway Creek near the Potomac River.  In 1704 William Penn welcomed them to his province and they moved along the Susquehanna at a place called Conejohela which today is known as Long Level in York County.  They later moved to the other side of the river along the Coney Creek and called their settlement Conoytown in what today is Donegal Township.  Finally, the Susquehannocks occupied a town with a stockaded fort on the Susquehanna River at the foot of Turkey Hill in what today is Manor Township.  They had close to 600 warriors.  In 1608, Captain John Smith left Jamestown and sailed up the Chesapeake Bay and eventually encountered a hunting party of Susquehannocks.  Smith said they were much larger and muscular than most native Americans.  Eventually, when skeletons were found along the river, their size was documented being much larger than most Native Americans.  In 1658 a group of English Quakers explored the wilderness along the Susquehanna River looking for a place to settle.  They met the Susquehannocks and asked to buy some of their land, but by this time the Susquehannoks were busy with a war against the Five Nations.  After losing the war they moved up river to Turkey Hill and became known as the Conestogoes which meant "place of the immersed pole."  Today it is Manor Township.  The Conestogoes dwindled until they were a small remnant of twenty people.  They were eventually exterminated by a band of Scots-Irish vigilantes in Lancaster in December of 1763.  I have written about the massacre in the past.  Type: "Indian Massacre in Lancaster" in the small white box, top left, to read that story.  I posted it Friday, June 7, 2013.   I often wonder what the eastern part of the United States might look like today had all these tribes and  explorers lived peacefully way back then.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Where Did The Barbershop Chorus/Quartet Get Their Hair Cut?" Story

 It was an ordinary day.  Looking at my latest edition of the Saturday Evening Post one more time before I find a place in the trashcan for it.  I have subscribed to the magazine for many years and have found many interesting stories on the pages of the magazine.  One of my favorites from this past issue was one titled "Barbershop Quartet."  Brought back fond memories of when my dad sang with the Red Rose Chorus of Lancaster, Pennsylvania and was also part of the Red Rose Quartet which sang at many private parties and events.  Dad was the bass who had the deep note parts of the songs they would sing.  My dad loved singing!  He was in the boy's choir at St. James Episcopal Church in the late 1920s into the early 1930s.  He then rejoined the men's choir after he married my mom.  Before long I too was in the boys choir at St. James and had the chance to sing with my dad.  

Dad's and their children singing in the St. James Church Choir.
My dad and myself are in the right, rear of the photograph.  Early 1950s photo.

He tried more than once to get me into the Barbershoppers, but I didn't feel I could afford the time required for both practice and shows.  I did rejoin the men's choir at St. James after I married and had my three children sing in the choir with both myself and my dad.  Well, the Norman Rockwell drawing titled "Barbershop Quartet" had four gentlemen wearing shirts with the stiff, detachable collars of the era.  The rear singer sports the "curtains" hair style of the turn of the century.  Also featured was the pink-sheeted "Police Gazette" in the hand of the singer who is getting his hair trimmed.  The Gazette was probably the best known tabloid paper at the time in the United States.  It was known to have lurid stories of murders, massacres, scandals and sporting events that would never appear in a respected publication.  It was mostly found in barbershops where women and children would not see it.  When parents began to bring their children to the barber to have their hair trimmed, the publication began to disappear.  And...the publication that replaced it in in most barbershops was..."The Saturday Evening Post."  Somehow, many began to relate barbershop singing, be it the quartet or the chorus, with getting your hair cut.  

A real Barbershop Quartet! By Norman Rockwell

Perhaps many waiting their turn to have their hair cut in the barber shop might have joined in a song or two and that was how the barbershop quartet or chorus began.  I have never read about that happening, but then again, I have never read that it didn't begin in that fashion.  One way or another, I do love the attached piece of artwork by Mr. Norman Rockwell.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

A small group of members of the Red Rose Chorus.
My father is in rear row, second from the right with glasses.

 

The "Andrew Baker Mansion In Ephrata, Pennsylvania" Story

 It was an ordinary day.  Just got back from the small town of Ephrata, Pennsylvania where I made a trip to take a couple photographs of The Andrew Baker Mansion which sits at 18 West Main Street in the center of town.  Ephrata was at one time referred to as a village and was a key stop for the Reading and Columbia Railroads.  A petition for a change to incorporate Ephrata into a borough was presented on April 20, 1891.  Following many debates, the village was finally incorporated on August 22, 1891.  The population at the time was about 2,200 people while today there are close to 14,000 residents in the town.  I have written close to two dozen stories about the town and its residents over the lifetime of my blog, but I recently discovered, while reading a bit more about the town, that there is a beautiful house in the center of town known as the Andrew Baker Mansion.  

The mansion known as the Andrew Baker Mansion at 18 W. Main St.

The mansion was built for Andrew and Mary Ann Longenecker Baker and was designed by Jacob H. Banzhof. The Bakers were also the owners of the neighboring Eagle Hotel in Ephrata which was also built in 1891, shortly after the town was incorporated.  The mansion was said to be located at 18 West Main Street near the center of town.  That's when my wife and I decided to take a drive through Ephrata to see if we could find the home.  

The Eagle Hotel that at one time was on the square in Ephrata, PA.
Today it is referred to as the Wissler Building.

Pretty tough to miss a place large enough to be considered a mansion we thought.  We entered the town from the West and before long were a block from the center of town.  To the right the addresses were even numbers so we knew we were about to see our target within seconds.  I pulled into a parking space and there to my right was 20 West Main.  Grabbed my camera and hopped out of the car to take a few photographs.  I had read about the mansion a few days before and realized that I was looking for a home made with green serpentine stone.  

This is the mansion at 18 West Main Street.  Needs some help!

Had to do some reading before I found that green serpentine stone is rather rare and found in only four states; Pennsylvania, Maryland, Oregon and California.  Also found that the mansion had a concave mansard roof with singles of slate arranged in multicolored geometric patterns.  I also found that Andrew Baker owned a coal and lumber business in Ephrata and said he was a 1892 promoter of the Ephrata Light Company in hopes of bringing electricity to the town.  One final note I read was that the mansion was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.  

These two plaques are displayed on the exterior of the mansion.

But, what I was prepared to see never materialized.  Yeah, the home was at 18 West Main Street and was large, but I wasn't impressed.  The house is in desperate need of repairs and seemed to be occupied by a few commercial businesses.  The outdoor signs and advertisements ruined the historic look of what at one time must have been a beautiful building.  I did see the historical signs on the front of the house, but it was no different than the sign on the house at 20 West Main Street.  

Loczted at 20 W. Main St. is this very nice home.
Perhaps in better shape than the one next to it at 18 W. Main.  

The roof appeared to be in need of repairs as was the entire outside of the home.  I took a few photos of both properties and hopped back in the car.  Told my wife, "That is so sad to see the condition of what at one time must have been the most beautiful home in town.  The house next to it looks to be in better condition than the Baker Mansion."  I started the car and headed back home, disappointed in what I expected to be one of the finest homes in the town of Ephrata.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

This photograph shows some of the architectural features of the Andrew Baker Mansion. 
You can also see the green serpentine stone used on the front of the mansion 

The "Remembering Her Roots" Story

 The title across the top of the newspaper read "AUTHOR 'RETURNS' TO KING ELEMENTARY FOR VIRTUAL READING." The story in the Parenting/Schools section of my local newspaper told of a young woman who was sharing her first book with students at her alma mater.  Latoya Dawkins grew up in the south end of the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  

Latoya Dawkins, Lancaster native and author

Her story tells about her deep appreciation for literature while growing up in the 7th Ward, or mostly poor section of the city of Lancaster.  She also tells about her personal struggles when she and her late husband navigated infertility.  Because of those struggles, she and her husband had created the Latoya and Joe Dawkins Miracle Child Foundation, also know as "Our Miracle Child," which worked to raise fertility awareness and secure grants for couples battling infertility without insurance or resources for treatment.  Throughout all her busy times she still found the time to write her first book titled, "On My Way: Howie and the Light."  

Latoya Dawkins new book

She released her new book this past January 7, the birth date of her late husband.  She wanted to write the story for the young children of underrepresented communities like the 7th Ward of Lancaster that prepared her for a harrowing world.  Her Black identity was the driving force behind her story's characters.  She can still remember her mother insisting that for every white doll she received, she also would receive a black doll.  She also remembers that she was the first person in her community to have a Black Cabbage Patch Doll, probably due to her mother's insistence.   Latoya is now going to give a virtual reading of "On My Way: Howie and the Light" at her alma mater.  She recently responded to a few questions from the Lancaster Newspaper where she was asked about her book as well as her life.  She is hoping that those who read it will understand that even though storms will come, you are never alone.  The light is always there, just like her late husband and she found their light in the midst of storms because of upbringing, community, family, courage and perseverance in spite of fear and insecurity.  She said that they were taught to love their skin, the skin they were in.  She told the newspaper that she was concerned about access to quality educational opportunities as well as access to health care and employment opportunities in a community such as the area from where she grew up.  She told about how her mother told her as she headed out the door on her way to school every day to "Learn something."  It was her mother's challenge to her every day and she still remembers that.  She reports that 42 years later she still remembers that and she is still learning something new every day.  She was also asked what it would have meant to her as an elementary student to see a Black female author who attended the same school as her.  She responded "It would have made a huge difference."  Had she been introduced to black authors in her formative years, she would have had a better bridge between the academy and canon and her black community.  Perhaps her Zoom reading of her new book will have an influence on a few of those who witness her reading.  I'm sure she would have remembered if someone such as herself had done the same thing when she was in elementary school.  She receives my applause for taking the time and effort to return to her roots to try and promote the importance of education to those that feel they have been left behind.  Who better to share their experiences than she?  Maybe her success will influence a few of the students in the school where she attended years ago.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Search May Never End!" Story

 It was an ordinary day.  Leafing through my latest AARP magazine when I turned the page and saw a fellow dressed in a wet suit with what appeared to be a pair of air tanks on his back.  The 30 point type under his photograph read: "A Dive Into a Painful Past."  As I began reading I realized the story was about a gentleman named Ken Stewart who was a retired customer engineer who began a search for underwater traces of the slave trade.  I couldn't stop reading until I had read the entire article as well as Googled his Tennessee-based nonprofit organization known as Diving With A Purpose (DWP).

Logo for the group "Diving With A Purpose."

 Ken was one of the  two founders of the organization along with the late Brenda Lanzendorf, who was the park archeologist for Biscayne National Park.  Most of the initial members were African-American, though present-day participants are very diverse.  Ken's interest into diving for slave ships began when he first explored a slave ship in 2004.  The ship was the Henrietta Marie which had run aground off the coast of Florida in 1700.

Ken Stewart, co-founder of Diving With a Purpose.

 He said, "I was overwhelmed with emotion: I could feel the souls of the Africans who had been held captive on the ship.  I decided to form a nonprofit, Diving With a Purpose, to teach veterans and young divers how to identify and document underwater shipwrecks."  Later that year, he and Brenda founded DWP.  During the past four years DWP and the National Park Service have been surveying the Biscayne National Park, searching for the Spanish slave ship known as the Guerrero.  The Guerrero was an infamous slave ship that had wrecked in December of 1827 on a reef in North Key Largo.  The ship had been kidnapped by Cuban pirates and was on it's way to Havana to sell the slaves.  When the ship went down it carried 561 Africans who were chained and bound to the ship.  41 of the slaves went down with the ship.  Almost 200 years later the wreck has yet to be positively identified.  Brenda had told Stewart and the trainees of the DWP ship that she would show them where the Guerrero was, but she unfortunately took it to her grave when she died in 2009.

Members of DWP diving for slave ships.

 Ken said, "I don't know if she did know or not, but to this day, we have not found it.  Ken and his members of DWP have last tried to find the ship in 2018 and have still not located it.  People all over the world have come to participate in DWP's training program, hoping to dive on a slave ship.  Ken said, "Only six have been found or known, and two are still in the Keys.  One is the Henrietta Marie, 35 miles off of Key West, and the other, we think is the Guerrero, wherever it is.  Stewart never learned the details about slavery or the African diaspora during high school.  When he eventually did, he knew he just had to find remnants from that horrible period in history and will continue to search until he can answer those questions.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "An Advertisement For The Ages" Story

 It was an ordinary day.  Looking at a few photographs of automobiles from the early 1910s.  Cars with names such as the Peugeot, Stutz, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes, Locomobile and even the Cadillac which featured the Model 30 which was one of Cadillac's first long-production models which were manufactured well into WWI.  The car had an exceptionally long production life and was upgraded from year to year.  But, what made the Cadillac one of the best automobiles was their advertisements they placed in publications.  One advertisement was titled "THE PENALTY of LEADERSHIP" and  was placed in the Saturday Evening Post.  The advertisement ran first on January 2, 1915.  Whose idea it was to do this was a genius it seems.  It made Cadillac one of the best known cars at the time.  The advertisement read:

The Penalty of Leadership

“In every field of human endeavor, he that is first must perpetually live in the white glare of publicity. Whether the leadership be vested in a man or in a manufactured product, emulation and envy are ever at work. In art, in music, in industry, the reward and punishment are always the same. The reward is widespread recognition; the punishment, fierce denial and detraction. When a man’s work becomes a standard for the whole world, it also becomes a target for the shafts of the envious few. If his work is mediocre, he will be left severely alone—if he achieves a masterpiece, it will set a million tongue a-wagging. Jealousy does not protrude its forked tongue at the artist who produces a commonplace painting. Whatsoever you write, or paint, or play, or sing, or build, no one will strive to surpass or to slander you unless your work be stamped with the seal of genius. Long, long after a great work or a good work has been done, those who are disappointed or envious, continue to cry out that it cannot be done. Spiteful little voices in the domain of art were raised against our own Whistler as a mountebank, long after the big would have acclaimed him its greatest artistic genius. Multitudes flocked to Bayreuth to worship at the musical shrine of Wagner, while the little group of those whom he dethroned and displaced argued angrily that he was no musician at all. The little world continued to protest that Fulton could never build a steamboat, while the big world flocked to the river banks to see his boat steam by. The leader is assailed because he is the leader, and the effort to equal him is merely added proof of that leadership. Failing to equal or excel, the follower seeks to depreciate and to destroy—but only confirms once more the superiority of that which he strives to supplant. There is nothing new in this. It is as old as the world and as old as human passions—envy, fear, greed, ambition, and the desire to surpass. And it all avails nothing. If the leader truly leads, he remains—the leader. Master-poet, master-painter, master-workman, each in his turn is assailed, and each holds his laurels through the ages. That which is good or great makes itself known, no matter how loud the clamor of denial. That which deserves to live—lives.”

The copy didn't mention Cadillac by name, or the V-8, or automobiles.  The advertisement ran one time with no photo or illustration and wide margins of white space around it.  It appeared in the Saturday Evening Post on January 2, 1915.  It was the work of a genius.  When it was found it was an ad from Cadillac, Cadillac was swamped with requests for reprints and Cadillac Salesmen carried copies to give away to prospects.  Sales exploded.   Salesmen asked people to test drive a new Cadillac and "May the Best Car Win!"  Can you think of any other car advertisement in the past couple of years that would have had the same impression as this advertisement did?  For its time...it will forever be known as the greatest advertisement of it's era.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Those Oldies But Goodies Remind Me Of You" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Saturday afternoon and I'm getting ready to turn on my radio to WIXQ 91.7 to listen to the Millersville University's "Oldies But Goodies" show.  Show has been on the air since 1979 and is strictly dedicated to songs that were hits between 1955 and 1962.  You know...when "Rock & Roll" was King of the airways.  If you live anywhere near Lancaster, Pennsylvania,  tune in WIXQ and listen to Doc and Mama Roc spin some of my favorite oldies, but goodies.  So, just who are the duo who call themselves Doc and Mama Roc?  They are a married couple (58 years and going strong) whose real names are Ralph and Judy Anttonen who are retired educators.  Their story begins in 1958 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.  Ralph says that he met Judy when they were seniors in high school and attended a Friday night YMCA dance.  At the time he was known as a "Jock," since he was like the guy in the movie "Hoosiers" who had a basketball under his arm at all times.  Girls caused him to head to the sidelines, or the wall of the YMCA gym...as close to the wall as he could stand!  But, one night he got up the courage to ask Judy to dance.  He put it this way: "There she was, here I am, and I'm going to ask that girl to dance."  Within a week they were "going steady."  They were married in 1962 when Ralph was a junior at Boston's Tufts University.  At the time Judy was able to support them since she worked for the government as a stenographer with top-secret clearances.  Wasn't long before they arrived in Millersville, Pennsylvania where Ralph was hired as a faculty member and Judy became a special education teacher.  At the time it was the early seventies and they didn't find their way to the airwaves until the end of the decade.  Ralph was responsible for the Millersville's WIXQ radio station for decades.  Then one time, during a DJ Williams show on the radio when Williams called himself the "Duke of Soul", Anttonen said, "Well, then I'm the Dock of Rock."  He later subtracted the "K" and Doc and Mamma Rock were born, two decades into their marriage.  

Doc & Momma Rock

I can remember listening to the twosome many a Saturday evening over the past many years and just loved their choices they played over the airways.  This past January 23 they hosted their first show of 2021 at the University's radio station.  It included favorites such as "Twisting the Night Away" by Sam Cooke, "Only the Lonely" by my favorite Roy Orbison and several hits by Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon such as "Palisades Park" and "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans."  Now, if you aren't in at least your 50s, you probably aren't familiar with those songs.  They change the songs weekly between the time period of the emergence of Elvis and the start of the lads from Liverpool.  Now, I should tell you that you won't hear a Beatles song on their show, but probably will hear plenty of Chuck Berry.  Remember, they play songs from the 50s and 60s.  You might think that after three hours every Saturday you would get tired of the same songs all the time, but they do find plenty of oldies for their playlists every week.  Songs such as "True Love Ways" (Buddy Holly), "Sea of Love" (Phil Philips), "Young Love" (Sonny James), "April Love" (Pat Boone), "I Love How You Love Me" (The Paris Sisters), "Only Love Can Break a Heart)" (Gene Pitney), "Never My Love" ( The Association), "What the World Needs Now is Love" (Burt Bacharach, "Puppy Love" ( Paul Anka), "Can't Help Falling in Love with You" (Elvis), "My Love" (Petula Clark), "When I Fall in Love" (The Lettermen) are all on the playlist from time to time.  Are you singing a few of those by now?  Hey...where else can you hear these songs anymore unless you have them on an oldies CD.  And...who would have thought you would find them on a Lancaster radio station?  Throughout 2020, with both being retired, they continued to host the show every Saturday evening.  Then at the end of the year they both contracted COVID-19 and Judy was in urgent care due to her asthma.  They are both near their 80s, but still compete in the Senior Games with both having numerous medals in swimming and running.  And, Judy is now running with a knee replacement.  Their listening audience is now aging along with them, but remains fiercely loyal.  Ralph has been a Millersville mainstay and has become as much a pillar in the community as the college itself.  Their online "time capsule" is still listened to by many.  Recently someone asked them to play "My Way" by Frank Sinatra.  Now, that just wasn't going to happen, since it wasn't in their time period, but they did find a copy sung by Elvis which they were nice enough to play.  If you want to listen to the show, you can tune them in on Saturdays at 4:00 PM on  91.7 WIXQ.  If you can find the show you will love the "Doc of Rock and Momma Rock" show.  That's if you are a lover of Rock & Roll music.  And who that lived through the era isn't a lover of Rock & Roll?  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "Transitioning The Stevens House To 10 Prince Apartments" Story

 It was an ordinary day.  October 24, 2016 and I had just posted a story about The Hoar House which was the restaurant at the time at The Stevens House in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  

The original Stevens House

Never got to write much about the actual Stevens House Hotel, so my story today will give you a bit more information about the hotel.  The original Stevens House at the corner of West King and East Prince Streets opened in 1874.  It was primarily designed by Christopher Hager as a reasonably priced place to stay for traveling salesmen who had stopped at his store a half-block to the East of the Stevens House.  

Thaddeus Stevens

The hotel was named in honor of Thaddeus Stevens who was a member of the United States House of Representative from Lancaster, Pennsylvania and one of the leaders of the Republican Party during the 1860s. When the hotel was first built, both King and Prince Streets were dirt roads.  The original building, with all its angles and pop-outs survived until 1963-64.  Many liked the "widow's peak" kind of look and the caps at the tops of the built-out sections.  The hotel was demolished to make way for a new, taller and more modern biding.  The new Stevens House opened in 1965 with a price of $1.2 million.  Then last year the second Stevens House was acquired by Daniel Berger who paid $8.65 million for the hotel to turn it into long-term condominiums.  

The original Stevens House Dining Room

The new owner now calls the building 10 Prince Apartments.  Each of the 76 units will have a new look with a new heating and cooling system and new appliances through a complete renovation over the next 3 or so years.  The nine-story building will also have a new fitness center and lounge.  

Another look at the original Stevens House

The vacant restaurant is also going to open once it has a new owner and liquor license.  There are also 14 commercial spaces available.  The new condos have laminate flooring with ceramic tile and carpet instead of vinyl floors.  Walls are now gray instead of white.  The original Stevens House will have a totally new look and name, but to me it will still be The Stevens House.  Check out the photographs and see what you think from the original building to the new and improved building.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Another look at the original Stevens House

Renovations and painting have been done in this photo.

The new 10 Prince Apartments

Final two photos show the new 10 Prince Apartments

The "John Preston Hill - Hall Of Fame Player In Any League" Story

 It was an ordinary day.  Leafing through a few sports books I have and found a baseball player by the name of John Preston "Pete" Hill whom I had known very little about until I began to read a bit more.  "Pete" Hill was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in July of 2011.  Now, the story about this gentleman had my full attention since I had never heard his name before, but yet he made it into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  As I read his story I became aware that he was an outfielder and manager for the Negro Leagues, playing at first for the Pittsburgh Keystones.  And...this guy was a fantastic player.  He was born on October 12, 1882 in Culpeper County, Virginia to Rubin W. Hill and Elizabeth Seale Hill.  He had two older brothers, Jerome and Walter.  The Hill family later relocated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He began his professional career at he age of 17 with the Pittsburgh Keystones which was one of the many all-black teams that existed before the first Negro Baseball League was founded in 1920.  

Pete Hill batting left-handed.

He remained with the team for two years before he joined the Cuban X-Giants and played for them in 1901 and 1902.  He then signed with the Philadelphia Giants who were owned by newspaperman H. Walter Schlichter and managed by Sol White.  He played left field and batted in the bottom third of the lineup during his first year.  He was that good that he eventually. took over center field and batted third in the order.  He played for the Giants until 1907.  

Pete Hill in his Detroit uniform.

He then moved once again to the Cuban Baseball League with Habana until 1912 when he returned to the United States and signed with the Brooklyn Royal Giants and then the Chicago American Giants when these teams were independent before the Negro Leagues in 1920.  When the Negro League was established in the 1920's he played for the Detroit Stars, Milwaukee Bears and Baltimore Black Sox.  He retired as a player in 1925 at the age of 43 and moved to Buffalo, New York where he was a porter on the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad.  In 1906 he married Gertrude Lawson and had a son born in 1910 named Kenneth Hill.  John Preston "Pete" Hill died on December 14, 1951 from coronary thrombosis in Buffalo, New York.  

His plaque at the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

He was buried in the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Alsop, Illinois.  In 1952, Hill was named the fourth-best all-time outfielder in Negro League history.  Then in 2006 he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  He was considered one of the top three all-time best players in the Negro League.  If only he'd of had the chance to play in the United States major leagues, he might have a name that is more recognizable to baseball fans all over the world.  

His plaque at the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York.

In the Cuban League he led the league in batting average (.365) in 1910-11.  Mr. Cumbeland Posey, owner of he Homestead Grays and famous black baseball player, manager and executive, once called Hill "The most consistent hitter of his time."  In 1909 Jimmy Smith, a famous sportswriter of his time, put Hill on his 1909 "All-American Team."  He did spend his 1919 season as both a player and manager for the Detroit Stars.  He was 36 years old at the time and besides coaching, he batted .388 to lead the team.  His final position in professional baseball was as the field manager of the 1924-25 Baltimore Black Sox.  Any player who can be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, no matter what league they played in, must have been something special to watch play baseball.  I only wish I would have known of him and would have had the chance to watch him play.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "One Of Lancaster County's Oldest Residences" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a few of the many pages of notes and documents I have printed that tell about one of Lancaster's oldest houses.  The Landis House was built in 1728 on a tract of land along what today is known as the Oregon Pike.  One of the pages of notes yielded a few photos which upon closer examination startled me.  The fellow I was staring at looked to be a fellow I had graduated with from high school 59 years ago.  The more I looked at the photograph, the more I was sure it was Hal Landis.

Hal Landis and his wife.  Hal was a member of my graduation class from High School.

 Don't know why I hadn't put 2 and 2 together earlier, but it suddenly made sense that the Hal Landis I graduated with could be the Harold Landis in the photograph I was viewing.  The historic Landis House sat east of Neffsville and south of Oregon along what is known as the Oregon Pike.  The story all started about 1721 when 62 year old John Jacob Snavely came to Manheim Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  By 1735 his son, John Snavely, owned close to one thousand acres.  Years before he had built a log cabin, but in 1728 the family built a stone house which eventually became a refuge to Swiss immigrants who stayed until they had secured land for themselves.

The original Landis House on Oregon Pike.

 Close to the house ran a small stream later known as Landis Run.  Then in 1751 Anna Snavely, John's daughter, married Benjamin Weaver Landis and they settled at what would become known as the 1728 Snavely-Landis Stone House.  

The original 1728 Landis House (formerly the Snavely-Landis House)

Only two other homes in Lancaster County are older with the 1719 Hans Herr House in Willow Street and the 1725 Witmer/Landis House on the Old Philadelphia House being older.  Eventually the house became known as just the Landis House.  The Snavely-Landis graveyard sits to the South-East of the home, near the Westminster Presbyterian Church memorial garden where a stone memorial lists all the names of the early known graves.  

A headstone features members of the Landis family.  Click on images to enlarge them.

Features of the Landis House, with a street address of 2201 Oregon Pike, include a fireplace in the living room, an attic smokehouse, a large arched ceiling cellar, a narrow staircase, a Bible cabinet built into the two-foot stone wall, a built-in jelly cupboard and pegs in the wall to hang clothing.  A date stone is on the front of the home on which is chiseled H I S 1728.  The "I" frequently stood for "J", thus the stone would be Hans Jacob Snavely, the builder of the home.  

The date stone on the front of the 1728 Landis Home.  Notice the 1728 H I S  on the stone.

An exterior layer of stucco was placed on the house years ago.  The homestead was an important place in early days.  Tax lists credited Benjamin Landis with 900 acres which eventually was broken into separate allotments for his children.  In 1875 most of this land was in the Landis name, but as of the early 1030s, barely 500 acres were owned by Landis families.  

The. front door as it appears today

The home was known to be a place for early immigrants to reside until they were able to locate permanently.  It was also said that closeby was a cooper shop, blacksmith shop, barns, sheds and other outbuildings occupied by numerous servants and visitors.  Close to the Landis home sits the Landis Valley Farm Museum which is an agricultural museum which tells the story of Lancaster County's rich agricultural history.  One of the most prominent residents was Benjamin Landis who was born in 1730 and who purchased property that eventually became a tract of more than 1,000 acres of rich agricultural land which ran from Roseville to Oregon and upon his death was divided among his seven descendants.  On Sunday, January 20, 1974, a large barn along the Oregon Pike near the Landis House was destroyed by fire.  Loses to the barn and contents was estimated at $100,000.  Cause of the fire was children playing with matches in a "fort" of hay and straw in the barn.  Luckily the Landis House wasn't harmed in the flames.  The 1728 Landis House, which by now is the oldest house of continuous occupancy in Lancaster County, has been part of the Landis family for the past 10 generations, but in September of 1976 was turned into a restaurant.  The current owners of the house, Albert F. and Harold Landis, supervised the restoration of the home into a restaurant.  The restaurant served breakfast, lunch and dinner.  But, the change didn't last long, since a story in the January 10, 1982 Sunday News told of the Landis House as being the new quarters for the Lancaster Office of the Provident Mutual Life Insurance Company of Philadelphia.  

Another view of the front door.  This is the entrance into the house
as well as the restaurant entrance and today's businesses that are in the home.

The two-story structure, which by now is situated on about five acres of ground, has several Landis heirs who still own stock in the firm.  Several months later the firm changed its name to 1728 Landis House, Inc.  At the time it was said that the building's stucco would be removed and the original stone walls would be repainted.  By now The Landis House is listed on the Lancaster County Preservation Trust and on the Pennsylvania Inventory of Historic Places.  

The plaque showing the Lancaster County
Historic Preservation Trust Site sign.

In 1983 Lancaster County Commissioners approved a least agreement with 1728 Landis House, Inc. for rental of 1,200 square feet of office space for an office for District Justice Horton.  The house will now be protected from demolition in the future, no matter what business may move in to the property in the future.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.