It was an ordinary day. Reading the "Living" section of my Lancaster Sunday News. Always a fun section to read since it features events from 25 years ago, 50 years ago, 75 years ago as well as 100 years ago. Past events from this day in the past featured stories about snakes, a school being struck by lightning and a massive hole being blasted into the ground in downtown Lancaster. 25 years ago today one of Lancaster's Elementary Schools was struck by a bolt of lightening that blasted a hole in the building during a heavy storm that brought torrential rain and large hail. Luckily, only the chimney was damaged and a few dozen bricks were knocked off the structure, leaving a large hole through which water entered, soaking the school's attic, gymnasium and fire stairs. The school was closed until all repairs could be made. 50 years ago today Lancaster County featured it's first-ever snake hunt which was attended by about 30 reptile enthusiasts turning up at Eagle Acres Campground near Martic Forge. The event was sponsored by the Penn Manor Sertoma Club and served as a fundraiser for the local Recreation Center. The snakes somehow avoided the hunt, since only a dozen or so were ever found that day. A few were taken to the Serpent Shop which was a reptile store in New Providence while the rest were released back into the woods. A Snake Hunt Queen was named. 12-year-old Tricia Meyer won the honor after having her name drawn from a hat. 75 years ago a massive hole was blasted into the ground of downtown Lancaster as part of a construction project in May of 1948. The new H.L. Green store at the southeast corner of Queen and Orange Streets saw several tons of dynamite used for the excavation. 3,375 tons of rock were hauled from the site. It's a wonder that Lancaster downtown still remained after that happened! The New Era newspaper featured a lottery of sorts in May of 1923. It featured a lottery tied to the serial numbers of dollar bills. A representative of the newspaper spent a week shopping at various retailers all over the city and county. Some of the dollar bills that were spent were "lucky" bills with serial numbers listed in the newspaper. Lucky bills could be exchanged at the newspaper office for prizes of $5 to $25. One special dollar was redeemable for a $100 prize. That would be a prize of $1,765 in today's dollars. My guess is that these special dates were greeted by all living in Lancaster at the time, since Lancaster didn't feature the shopping areas that they feature today. Center city was a very popular site during those special years in Lancaster City's downtown. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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