It was an ordinary day. Reading a sad story in my morning newspaper that was titled "A Bright Light," which was a story about a young man named Lucian Li who was a graduate of Manheim Township High School, my alma mater! The name "Lucian" in Latin means 'light shines' and Lucian's father, Eric Chen-Ta Li, wanted his son to be just that. Lucian was born on November 1. 2003 to Eric and Sarah Popdan Li in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Li went on to live up to his name, impressing coaches, teachers and even strangers whom crossed his path during his short lifetime. Then, on July 18, Lucian died as a result of an automobile accident in Chester County caused by a wrong-way driver. Former teachers, coaches and administrators told about Lucian and his outgoing personality and ability to relate to strangers as well as friends. "He was a bright light in a lot of people's lives," as stated by his high school football coach Mark Evans. Another of his high school teachers, Lance Wagner, said that, "He could have done anything." Lucian was known as a goober which is a slang term for goofy, and is used to describe Lucian in an obituary written by his mother. He was a standout athlete whose athletic career was somewhat limited due to concussions. He did run cross country where he was known for sprinting at the start of a race to get in the front of the pack before his teammates passed him as he began to tire. An article in the Lancaster Newspaper reported that legend had it that Lucian once did cartwheels for the majority of the race while trying to bring levity to those around him. His basketball team coach said he was great for the morale of the team. Lucian began playing lacrosse in sixth grade and later became a two-time Lancaster-Lebanon lacrosse first-team all-star at long-stick mid-fielder for the Manheim Township varsity squad. Lucian was bilingual in English and Chinese, studying biology at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. He talked about maybe working for UNICEF or Doctors Without Border. Chen-Ta Li said the family is taking some comfort in knowing his son's organs were donated, giving a second shot at life to others, including someone in New York who received his heart. The motorist who caused the accident died at the scene. In the wake of Lucian's death, his father created a GoFundMe with the intention of using the money to create a scholarship in his son's memory. The fundraiser has now surpassed $77,700 as of this past Friday. Lucian's legacy will live on in the scholarship, just as it will in the hearts and minds of others on whom he made an impact. I never knew Lucian, but years ago was part of the Manheim Township student body and later as a teacher and coach at MTHS. I too have children and grandchildren and can only imagine the pain that his family is going through. A few more prayers will be sent along to Lucian and his family. God Bless You All! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Monday, July 31, 2023
Sunday, July 30, 2023
The "Are Ants Harmful To The Garden?" Story
It was an ordinary day. Reading an article in my LNP that was titled "Are Ants Harmful To The Garden? Usually Not!" A sub-head continued with..."But they sometimes harm aphids and protect pests from predators, which can imperil the plant." The story was written by Associated Press writer Jessica Damiano. She began by writing...I replanted some of my containers last week, swapping out dead pansies for petunias, which will better withstand the heat as summer progresses. As I removed the spent plants from their pots, a swarm of ants immediately covered my bare arms. Seems that wasn't the first time that she disturbed an ant's nest in her garden. But, each time she disturbed the ants, they immediately covered her bare arms! I guess if I were an ant...I would do the same think, also. Well, when she did disturb the ants, each encounter ended with her racing into the house, removing her clothes as quickly as possible, placing then directly in the washing machine and hoping in the shower. It is not pleasant to stumble upon a colony of ants, but are the tiny little insects actually harmful to our plants? Myths abound as to that particular question. I've heard gardeners attest that peonies won't bloom without ants. That is simply not true! In reality, ants and peonies share a mutually beneficial relationship: Peony buds exude a nectar that attracts and feeds the ants, who in return protect the plant from insect pests. Now...this doesn't refer to carpenter ants, fire ants or leafcutter ants which can pose serious threats to structures, people, and plants. If you would notice leaves on a plant turning black and, upon inspection, find an army of ants on its stems and foliage, it's not the ants that are damaging the plant. They're innocent bystanders whose presence indicates that the plant is infested with aphids, the real threats in this scenario. After they suck the sap from the plant, aphids excrete a sweet, sticky substance called honeydew, on which black, sooty mold tends to grow. The ants are attracted to the honeydew and eat it without harming the plant. The common yellow ant actually "corral" aphids to a plant's root zone to protect the aphids from natural predators like ladybugs. That ensures the survival of the ants' literal sugar daddies, who provide a continuous supply of food but can imperil plant roots. Ants dabble in pollination, break down organic matter, eat the eggs of some harmful pests, and are a food source for birds, frogs and insects higher up the food chain. They also tunnel through the soil, creating air pockets that deliver oxygen to plant roots and improve drainage. That tunneling also moves seeds through the soil, which is necessary for the propagation of self-sowing plants, including wildflowers. Ants are like a sanitation crew. When there's a dead bird or mouse, they are among the first to reach the carcass, competing for resources with the filth flies, and that reduces the number of flies that carry disease and visit your potato salad. If you would happen to spot both aphids and ants on a plant, it's probably best to wash them off with a stream of hose water. That way you will be sure that the plants will survive. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Friday, July 28, 2023
The "The Era of Global Boiling Has Arrived! Will It Be The End Of All Of Us???"
It was an ordinary day. Just got back from the grocery store and finished putting the groceries away. Told my wife, Carol, that I was going to head across the drive to check and see if we got any mail before I began helping run the vacuum in our villa. Returned as fast as I could since it was so hot that the grass is beginning to break off when I walk on it. That, plus the bottom of my sneakers are beginning to get so soft from the driveway that I swear they are about to melt while on my feet. We don't have an outdoor thermometer, but I bet the temperature outside is close to 100 degrees and the temperature of the blacktop I was walking on has to be close to 120 degrees. And...that's with a layer of puffy white clouds in the sky. I guess the story I just read in my morning newspaper must be true! The morning headline by the Associated Press Science Writer, Seth Borenstein, read "Scientists calculate July will be the hottest month on record!" I can remember my dad telling me when I was a young boy how hot it was when he was a child during the summer months. Well...I can now tell my children that the summer months are the hottest that it has ever been. And, I have an article from the newspaper to prove my claim! A bit of information from the newspaper article read that July has been so hot thus far that scientists calculate that his month will be the hottest globally on record and likely the warmest human civilization has ever seen, even though there are several days left to sweat through. And, to top that off, the World Meteorological Organization and the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service on Thursday proclaimed July's heat is beyond record smashing. They said Earth's temperature has been temporarily passing over a key warming threshold: the Internationally accepted goal of limiting global warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures are 2.7 degrees warmer than pre-industrial times for a record 16 days this month, but the Paris climate accord aims to keep the 20- or 30-year global temperature average to 2.7 degrees. A few days of temporarily beating that threshold have happened before, but never in July. July has been so off-the-charts hot without waves blistering three continents - North America, Europe and Asia - that researchers said a record was inevitable. The U.S. Southwest's all-month heat wave is showing no signs of stopping while also pushing into most of the Midwest and East with more than 128 million Americans under some kind of heat advisory this past Thursday. It is almost certain that we will break the record for the warmest month on record. Scientist say that such shattering of heat records is a harbinger for future climate-altering changes as the planet warms. Those changes go beyond just prolonged heat waves and include more flooding, longer-burning wildfires and extreme weather events that put many people at risk. Climate Change is here. It is terrifying. And, it is just the beginning! The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived! The reason that setting new temperature records is such a big deal is that we are now being challenged to find ways to survive through temperatures hotter than any of us have ever experienced before. Soaring temperatures place ever increasing strains not just on power grids and infrastructure, but on human bodies that are not equipped to survive some of the extreme heat we are already experiencing. It's no accident that the hottest July on record has brought deadly heat waves to the U.S., Mexico, China and Southern Europe; smoke-causing wildfires and heavy floods world-wide, said Imperial College of London climate scientist Friederike Otto. Pay attention everyone!!! OR..... IT MAY BE THE END OF BOTH YOU AND I!!! And, in that case...it really doesn't matter where you heard it first!! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Thursday, July 27, 2023
The "A Visit From Friends" Story
It was an ordinary day. Standing in front of my home at Woodcrest Villas, helping a neighbor with her boxes of trash which seemed to be overwhelming to her. Just as I had finished helping her, my friends Hal and Jeff pulled into a parking space across from my front door. I knew they were coming and ushered them into my home for some friendship as well as information. Jeff and Hal were returning from a visit with another good friend, Barry, who taught Industrial Arts with the three of us for many years at Manheim Township School District in Neffsville, Pennsylvania. They stopped at Woodcrest Villas so Jeff could see what the villa that Carol and I have been living in for over half a year might be like. Seems he and his wife may also be interested in moving to a retirement home sometime in the future. Carol ushered both Jeff and Hal around our home and then we sat down for some refreshments before they had to leave. Hal and I have both been retired for some time now and thoroughly enjoy retirement living. Jeff was a student at Manheim Township in both my classes as well as Hal's classes. Jeff later began teaching at the Industrial Arts Department at Manheim Township after graduating from Millersville University. Each one of us had taught a variety of Industrial Arts classes when we taught at Manheim Township School District. I took Jeff around our villa so he could see the size of the rooms and how much of his furniture could be accommodated in a villa the size that Carol and I have. Not sure how soon he might want to move into a villa, but he now has an idea as to the size of one of the units that can be found at Woodcrest Villas. Wasn't long before Hal and Jeff departed and headed home. The longer Carol and I live at Woodcrest, the more visitors we entertain so they too can see what retirement living might be like. We are glad we made the move, but still miss features we had in our last home on Harrington Drive in Manheim Township. Over our married lifetime we had shared three homes together and we have fond memories of all three. Our main reason for our last and hopefully final move was due to maintenance and upkeep on our last home which was beginning to overwhelm us. At our villa we have the best employees to help us if and when we might need help with something. You will see how much that means when you reach retirement age. Maintenance is a phone call away when we need help! Fantastic help I must admit and we have told all our friends about how much we enjoy living our lives without all the chores needed to keep our house in good condition. We have never regretted our move to retirement living. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Wednesday, July 26, 2023
The "Sighting A Hudsonian Godwit at Middle Creek" Story
It was an ordinary day. Grabbed the morning newspaper and began searching the paper to see what might be happening in good 'ole Lancaster, Pennsylvania. There on page A7 was a bird I had never seen before. The rare bird was known as a Hudsonian godwit. Not sure if I had ever seen one before, but was getting a chance to see one now. And....It was the only one on Middle Creek! The newspaper said that the bird was last seen in the county in September of 2019 on the Conejohela Flats, a group of islands in the Susquehanna River near Washington Boro. Before that date, the last sighting of the bird was at Middle Creek nearly 40 years ago. Seems that every few years, one shows up somewhere in the state. The Hudsonian godwit is about 14 to 17 inches tall with long legs, neck and bill. They're a type of shorebird that feeds on mudflats, using their bill to pluck out invertebrates to eat. The Hudsonian godwit migrates from the tip of South America to the northern part of North America, and has one of the longest migrations. The bird that was seen at Middle Creek was said to perhaps be a failed breeder that's just heading back out a little earlier than normal. It was said that the Pennsylvania Game Commission deserves the credit for the bird being in the area and shows that they create an inviting habitat for birds of all types. Anyone caring to see the bird in Pennsylvania can visit the eBird website run by the Cornell lab of Ornithology at bird.org. Those that manage and take care of the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area should be complimented on the fantastic work they do to keep the wildlife in the Middle Creek area. If it wasn't for that group, the Hudsonian godwit wouldn't even be in the area. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Tuesday, July 25, 2023
The "A Heartbreaking Story In Today's Newspaper
It was an ordinary day. Saturday, July 22, 2023 and I just sat down to read my morning newspaper. Same usual stories on page one about farmer's 'grieving' after floods that we have been having in Lancaster County. Another story tells about Pennsylvania's jobless rate falling 3.8% in June and another story telling about local Lyme disease cases reaching a high. The biggest headline reads "ALL SET TO BEGIN" and tells the story of area schools announcing when their academic years will start. Oh, yeah....schools will begin in another month! As I turn the page I am hit with a few stories on page 3 that are both interesting as well as disturbing. One story reads "SOUNDS OF SUMMER" which is a story about Lancaster's nonprofit "Music for Everyone" which features monthly free concerts across the downtown area of Lancaster. The story gives a link to a site that will tell you where the concerts were and will be in the near future. A large photograph features the group "band 3" which performs at the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design's Art Park during the summer months. A few other stories also appear on page 3 that are rather disturbing. One headline reads: Defendant in shooting death waives hearing," and tells the story of a man who will face homicide and weapons charges in the May killing of an East Hempfield trailer park. The final story on page 3 is a rather unusual one. It tells the story of a "Wendy's" manager who is charged with theft. Seems that a young woman named Linda admitted to fabricating an employee and collecting his wages for herself. Haven't heard that one for years! Seems the "Wendy's" manager has been accused of stealing nearly $20,000 from her employer by fabricating a "ghost" employee who appeared to clock in and out for close to a year. Police said the lady worked as a general manager of the Wendy's in Manheim Township when the owners of the franchise called police to report fraud. The owners said the woman created an employee who never actually worked at the restaurant, and she was personally collecting that employee's wages. A forensic audit showed the ghost employee made $19,898.15 over 22 pay periods. The woman manually entered 128 shifts. Only the manager could have done that if it wasn't the actual employee. Manheim Township Police said that the person's name that was used by the women is a real person known to the woman. The woman admitted creating the work profile and giving him shifts he never worked. The money she had posted to her own account was used to care for her children. The woman was charged with one count of theft by deception. Her whereabouts are unknown and a number was listed that you could call if you had any information. How sad the story is to read. The woman is more than likely poor and needed the money to raise her children. I know...that's not a good reason to steal, but how heartbreaking to think that now that woman will not be around for her children when they need her the most. I'm so glad that story was the last story on the page, since I wasn't ready for any more stories such as that! It was another extraordinary story in the life of an ordinary guy.
Monday, July 24, 2023
The "A Tribute To Musician Tony Bennett" Story
It was an ordinary day. Saturday, July 22, 2023 and the headline on page A11 of my Lancaster Newspaper read "Masterful musician dies at 96." Wow!! If you haven't heard or read about it by now, that masterful musician was no one other than Tony Bennett. Tony was the eminent and timeless stylist whose devotion to classic American songs and knack for creating new standards such as "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" graced a decades long career that brought him admirers from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga, died Friday, July 21. He was the last of the great saloon singers of the mid-20th century who said that his lifelong ambition was to create "a hit catalog rather than hit records." He released more than 70 albums, bringing him 10 competitive Grammies, all but two after he reached his 60s, and enjoyed deep and lasting affection from fans and fellow artists. Tony was said to be...A tenor who sings like a baritone! Lancaster County fans of the late singer had to travel to see him perform, but occasionally he performed nearby. In 1955, at the beginning of his career, he performed at the Ephrata Legion Park. An advertisement in the morning Intelligencer Journal listed the August 14 concert as "rain or shine". At that show, Tony shared the stage with Claude Thornhill and his orchestra. Ever hear of Mr. Thornhill? It was decades before he returned to the area. He did perform in the 1980s and 1990s at the Valley Forge Music Fair which was a venue in Devon, Chester County. In 1987, just as he was making a comeback, he played two shows at the Hersheypark Amphitheater as part of the park's Fourth of July celebrations. In September of 2008, in his 80s and still going strong, Bennett performed at the Whitaker Center in nearby Harrisburg. He did return to Lancaster County in 2011, performing at the American Music Theater on June 25. Prior to that show, the Lancaster newspaper interviewed Bennett about his lengthy career and his dual creative passions of singing and painting. "There are a lot of similar principles between singing and painting," he said. "You need to know what to leave in and what to leave out, balance and tone. But I had gotten some very good advice from Duke Ellington, who told me it was better to do two creative things than just one, so I really began to work on my painting very seriously." Tony returned a few more times to the America Music Theatre in subsequent years, mostly in 2018. He did release one final album in 2021 titled "Love for Sale," which featured duets with Lady Gaga on the title track, "Night and Day," and other Porter songs. Tony would go on to win Grammys for his tributes to vocalists Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington. He also won Grammys for his collaborations with other singers: "Playin' with My Friends" and "Bennett Sings the Blues. What a life he lived! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Sunday, July 23, 2023
The "Can Anyone Be That Good?" Story
It was an ordinary day. Reading my Sunday News with one of my cats lounging on my chair with me. Made my way through the multitude of Sunday News sections until I came to my favorite...the "Sports" section. The lead story immediately caught my eye! It read "Kurtz eyes top spot in '24 draft". Story was about a young man by the name of Nick Kurtz who has been picked by Baseball America to be picked as the No. 1 pick in this year's Major League Baseball draft. Wow! Someone from Lancaster is going to get a big payday in the near future. As I began to read the article, I realized that Nick is the son of my daughter Brynn's friend, Marie, whom she went to high school with a few years ago. Marie went on vacation with us a few times when she and Brynn were in their pre-teens and early teens. And now...her son...might be picked as the #1 Major League Baseball pick in the country!! How neat is that! As I continued on in the story I read that Nick's baseball coach in high school was a fellow named Matt Kirchoff. Matt Kirchoff!!! Hey, I coached Matt when he was a young boy playing Little League Baseball with my son Tad! As I continued on in the lead story, I began to feel that perhaps I had something to do with this young man being such a good baseball player. Maybe he held his bat the way that I had taught Matt and whom might have passed that on to Nick! Nick was an all-Lancaster-Lebanon League Section One selection for the Manheim Township Blue Streaks as a high school freshman. His brother, Brandon, was an assistant coach at Township and his dad Jeff, pitched at William Paterson University in New Jersey. Matt Kirchoff said in the newspaper article that "When he'd get in the batting cage, you could see the power. At the same time, he's always been a tireless worker." After Nick's freshman year at MT, he transferred to the Baylor School, a boarding high school in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This past year, as a college sophomore at Wake Forest College, he hit .353 with a .527 on-base percentage and a .784 slugging percentage. When he was a freshman in 2022 he led the Atlantic Coast Conference in batting average (.422) and on-base percentage and .784 slugging average. Nick is a 6 foot 5 inch, 235 pound left-handed hitter and thrower and considered a very good defensive first baseman. But his defense is second behind his great offense! The website Prospects Live calls him "A mountain of a human being, the offensive profile is scary good!" I never had the chance to meet or coach Nick, but, as the Lancaster Newspaper finished their story about Nick, they wrote...It's easy, and tantalizing, to imagine what's coming next. Move over Babe! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Friday, July 21, 2023
The "Playing The Game Of Pool!" Story
It was an ordinary day. Just finished my lunch and watching the noon news on WGAL-TV. Told my wife I was heading up to the VIVA Center to play a couple games of pool with a few of the new friends I have made since moving to Woodcrest Villa in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She wished me "Good Luck" as I grabbed my "pool glove" and headed out the door. The VIVA Center is few blocks from our Villa, so I can walk the distance without too much trouble. I began playing pool when I was about 12 years old and my Aunt Doris had just married a fellow who happened to have a full-sized pool table in his basement. Uncle Paul was a fantastic pool player who enjoyed showing me how to play the game. That was over 60 years ago, but I can still recall some of the tips that he gave to me when we visited his home on West Chestnut Street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Woodcrest has a few beautiful pool tables on the second floor of the VIVA Center which look to be fairly new, since they have been taken good care of by those that use them on a daily basis. When I first began to play pool at Woodcrest I met a few gentlemen who had been playing for quite some time based on how good they were at putting the ball into one of the six pockets on the felt tables. I introduced myself and before long I began to feel like one of the guys who play on a daily basis. Both gentlemen, Ned and Jerry, were good with all phases of the game and gave me quite a few tips, even as I watched them play against one another. We would play game after game after game of eight-ball, with the winner of each game taking on the fellow who happened to be sitting out the previous game. If you aren't acquainted with the game of pool, eight-ball is played with one white "cue ball" and 15 numbered balls - including one black "8-ball." One player is trying to pocket the solid-colored balls ("solids," numbered 1-7) while the other player tries to knock in the striped balls ("stripes," numbered 9-15). A player cannot sink the 8-ball until he or she has pocketed all of the appropriate balls (stripes or solids). The first player to pocket the 8-ball wins the game. Took me a few days of losing games before I began to win a game or two each day I played. I must admit that the main reason I did beat either Ned or Jerry was because they were giving me tips during every game I played against them. Perhaps the day will come when I actually win a game without any helpful hints from my opponents. I can tell I am beginning to get better at playing 8-ball, but will require a few more months of playing the game before I can feel that I won a game without any help from my opponents. Thanks guys for all the help you have given me as I begin to understand the game of pool once again. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Thursday, July 20, 2023
The "How Ben Beat The Counterfeiters" Story
It was an ordinary day. Reading an article in my local newspaper that was written by David Hamilton and was titled "How Ben Beat The Counterfeiters." The story told how one of our founding fathers, Ben Franklin, laid security groundwork in printing the US paper dollar. If you have been reading this blog for the past eight years, you might remember that I taught Industrial Arts at Manheim Township High School with my main courses being in the Graphic Arts and Printing. I realize that Ben was so busy as an inventor, publisher, diplomat and U.S. founding father that it's easy to lose track of his accomplishments. Well, if you haven't heard, Ben was an early designer of paper money to try and stop the constant threat of counterfeiting. He was an early innovator of printing techniques that used colored threads, watermarks and imprints of natural objects such as leaves to make it harder for others to create knockoffs of his paper bills. A team at the University of Notre Dame has shed light on his methods using advanced scanning techniques that reveal some of Franklin's methods in greater detail. His research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and describes data gathered with techniques such as spectroscopy and florescence tests which use light to identify elements such as carbon, calcium and potassium in test samples. The reason for doing all this research was to learn about the materials that Franklin used and his network of printers and how they served to distinguish their bills from cheaper copies. The researchers examined why Franklin used watermarks in printing bills to stop others from copying them. Franklin also used "nature printing" which was a technique by which he transferred the detailed vein patterns of tree leaves to printing plates. Franklin made it as hard as possible to copy his own methods when he used paper with dyed threads in his techniques. Eventually, the Revolutionary War brought on such a surge of counterfeiting that the U.S. Government shunned paper bills for decades in favor of coinage. It wasn't until the Civil War in 1861 that the federal government first authorized the printing of dollar bills called "greenbacks." The features of those bills were colored threads. These bills remain in use today, but in a more modern form. Today's currency features "a security thread" which is a vertical band embedded in bills worth $5 and more that fluoresces under ultraviolet light. Did you know that? Give it a try sometime so you can see it for yourself. Pretty neat how Ben beat the counterfeiters! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Wednesday, July 19, 2023
The "Ready For A Visit To St. Martin/Sint Maarten To Catch Some Rays & Visit With Friends" Story
It was an ordinary day. My dear wife and myself were recently counting all our blessings we have accumulated during our marriage. We have three wonderful children with three fantastic grandchildren and quite a few loving pets along the way. We also have had the chance to travel to many locations in the world. A few of our favorite beach locations have been the Chesapeake Bay Area, the Jersey Shore, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. We also have enjoyed trips to Virgin Gorda and Tortola in the British Virgin Islands as well as our most favorite vacation spot...St. Martin/Sint Maarten. St. Martin is the French side of the island while Sint Maarten is the Dutch side of the island. Carol and I have made over a dozen trips to St. Martin/Sint Maarten during our married life and we haven't yet crossed it off our travel list for the near future. We love the island because of the beautiful beaches, fantastic food and the super friendly people that live on the island. The Capitol of French St. Martin is Marigot while the Capitol of Dutch Sint Maarten is Philipsburg. We have made many friends during the many visits we have taken to the island. We have been renting from a fantastic young woman named Magali who lives in the Orient Bay Area. She knows the size and location of the places we enjoy staying on our trips. We have been renting locations in the Orient beach area for over a dozen or more years. But, one of our favorite island destinations each vacation is a trip to the Dutch side to visit with long time friend Barbara Cannegeiter who is originally from the Williamsport area of Pennsylvania. We always make sure we get to visit with Barbara on each trip we make to the island so we can get a chance to talk with her as well as visit with Anna, her pet macaw, and her two dogs Scarlett and Amber. We always enjoy giving her the news from the States as well as getting her island news. Due to Covid, we haven't made any trips to St. Martin for over three years now. We are hoping to get a chance in the near future for one more visit. Our favorite past-time while on the island is visiting with old friends as well as making visits to Orient Beach where the sun always seems to shine and bathing suits are optional! A vacation to French St. Martin is never complete without a trip to the beaches where you never have to worry about tan lines. Carol and I are hoping we will get at least one more trip to St. Martin/Sint Maarten to visit with friends and get our vacation overall tan. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Tuesday, July 18, 2023
The "Ever Feel Like The Day Can't Get Any Worse?" Story
It was an ordinary day. Told my dear wife that I was going to take a drive to downtown Lancaster to take a few photographs of the place where my dad went to school to learn his trade of being a watch maker. I recently posted a story about Bowman Technical School which was in downtown Lancaster at the corner of East Chestnut and North Duke Streets. My dad was a student at the school after he had returned home from serving his country in the United States Army. He learned just about anything and everything needed to repair any type of watch or time-piece that existed at the time. After learning his trade, he managed to get a job about a block away from Bowman Technical School at a watch and jewelry store on West Chestnut, about two blocks from center-city Lancaster. Store was known as Meiskey's. I can still remember my dad taking me with him to Meiskey's on week-ends to show me what he did and to have me help him do packaging of customers items that had been sent to Meiskey's for repair or cleaning. Well, I decided to make a visit to the new Bowman's to see if it was still the same as it was back in the 1950s and 1960s. A story had been published a week ago in the LNP newspaper telling about the new opening of Bowman's and I just had to see the interior of the building. Found a parking space and parked my car. Hopped out of my car and began the half-block walk to the corner of West Chestnut and North Duke. As I reached for the front door, I realized the place was dark! Sign on the front door told me, and anyone else who may have wanted to see the new store, that the business will not open for another few weeks. After all the stories and photographs published in the newspaper about the new Bowman's Jewelry Store opening this week, and now this! I know it will open sometime in the future, but I was as anxious as anyone to see what the interior of the place looked like and if I might have known anyone who worked there. Oh, well! I guess I can wait another week or two. Headed back to the car and decided to stop at the horse barn which is on the property of Lancaster's Long's Park on the Harrisburg Pike. It's on my way home anyway...so it's not out of the way. Thought I would take a photograph or two of the horses that are housed at the Lancaster Police horse barn that is part of Lancaster's Longs Park which is half-way between my new home at Woodcrest Villas and downtown Lancaster. Wound my way through the park, parked my car once again, and headed to the barn. When I went to enter the area where the horses are kept, I rang the bell and was told no one can have access to the horses anymore. Well, I seemed to have struck-out today, so I got back in my car and headed back home. My wife asked me why I'm home so early and the result is this story that I am sharing with you today. Needless to say...there are no photos to share with you showing the interior of the new store or photos of the horses. At least I got to use my laptop and exercise my fingers! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Monday, July 17, 2023
Living The Good Life Story
It was an ordinary day. By now my wife and I have been living at Woodcrest Villa for nine months. Hard to believe! Seems like my wife, Carol, and I just moved to Woodcrest a few weeks ago. I began writing today's story while sitting in my recliner, watching some crazy TV show, and enjoying my wife and two cats. I turned to Carol and said, "How long have we been living here?" She looked off, into our backyard, and finally said, "Close to nine months!" "No way," I said to her! She replied...."We were here for Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc., etc., etc." Wow! It is hard to believe that we will call Woodcrest Villa our home for a year in the very near future. Hard to believe we have gained so many new friends in just a year! At times I think back to living in our previous home on Harrington Drive. We called our last home, "The Beach House" since it always reminded us of living along the New Jersey shore. But, that was almost a years ago! Do I miss our old home? .............Ah!....Ah!....Nah! Had to think a bit about it, since there were so many things that I loved about our last home. But.....I don't miss painting the all-wood exterior; mowing the almost one acre grass yard every week during the spring, summer and fall; coating the large driveway from time to time; repairing the all wood walkway that ran almost the entire way around the house with a large deck in the rear of the house; raking the leaves in the fall from the dozen or so trees that covered the property; repairing our mailbox every so often since it had been hit a few times during our stay at the house; making repairs and cleaning our fish pond during half the year....and that's only the items on the exterior of the home. As I sit in front of my MacBook Air, typing this story, I am trying to think about what I HAVE TO DO when I finish my story for today. NOTHING! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!! Yeah, I can straighten up the coffee table a bit in case someone might come to visit, or I could hold one of our two cats: The Gray Lady or Snickerdoodle on my lap for a bit, or I could fold the blanket that sits on the back of our sofa, or I could.......there really isn't anything that I HAVE TO DO if I don't want to do it! So, what do I do all day long? Well, I am working on a stained glass piece I have on a table in the garage that I have been working on, but doesn't have to be done by any date. I can play pool with my new friends and Carol can play card games with her friends if we want to, but don't have to if we don't feel like it. Carol and I went to go to the grocery store today and will make another trip tomorrow for items that the first store doesn't sell. I guess we should run the vacuum to pick up the cat hair, but we really don't have to do that. Our biggest chore is making phone calls to our family and friends and answering the phone if we happen to wait too long before we call our family. Oh yeah.... I do have to clean the kitty litter pan once a day and Carol has to run the vacuum every so often and make a meal or two each day, unless we decide to go out to eat. And...my biggest job is sitting in my recliner, typing a story for my blog! Our grass is mowed for us, our trees and shrubs are trimmed for us, our snow is shoveled for us in the winter and the leaves are raked for us in the fall. Some day you'll get to the point where my wife and I have reached. We love life! We have a great family! We have great friends! We can do what we like to do! What else is there besides taking care of each other? Yeah...I'm sure I have missed something, but I have tomorrow to do that! Anyway... it was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy! PS - We enjoyed a great rock concert last evening with friends even though we missed seeing the Phillies win one. And, I missed typing another story for my blog due to having so much fun doing nothing yesterday.
Saturday, July 15, 2023
The "Rare Bird Sighted At Middle Creek" Story
It was an ordinary day. Was reading in my daily newspaper about a fairly rare bird being sighted in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania area known as the limpkin. The limpkin that was sighted was seen at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area along Kleinfeltersville Road in Clay Township. Wasn't long before word got out and the bird drew a large crowd to the area. The limpkin is a large heron-like bird that reminds you of a gangly ibis. The limpkin is brown with white spots and streaks, densest on the head and neck. It's long yellowish bill is slightly curved. The bird is usually found in marshes or swamps, often with trees and shrubs, but also regularly seen at the edges of ponds in otherwise highly managed city parks. The limpkin feeds almost entirely on apple snails.
The birds are usually found by themselves or in pairs. Very seldom are they found in a large group. They have a very distinctive voice which is a loud, creaky wail, often heard as an eerie jungle sound effect that you might hear in movie films. For those who made it to Middle Creek, they were rewarded to see this rare bird which might be the first to ever be seen in Pennsylvania. "It's the type of bird that you never would expect to see in your area." Mr. Ted Nichols, President of the Lancaster Bird Club said, "It's just really a good moment for birding." Mr. Nichols said, "It was sort of like Christmas morning." In the United States, limpkins have typically lived in Florida. Since around 2016, the states bordering Florida have seen an uptake in sightings, as the bird species have moved north. I guess the one at Middle Creek got lost! This particular bird found a jackpot of a location with an extensive shoreline, multiple water impoundments and plenty of snails with no other predators. Mr. Nichols believes the bird will stay here for some time since it found a jackpot of a location for food choices. But, then again, birds do crazy things, just like people. So, if you want to see the bird, you better get to Middle Creek before the bird decides to change his address. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Friday, July 14, 2023
The "Key Moment In Hamilton Watch Co. History" Story
It was an ordinary day. Reading about the key moments in the Hamilton Watch Company history. Gonna take me a few days to read all the entries since there are more than 67,000 references to the Hamilton Watch Co. in the LNP/LancasterOnline archives. Now, I must admit that many are wedding announcements or obituaries for employees, but Hamilton wasn't just a company of local renown, since it grew into a global brand, bringing numerous innovations to the world of timekeeping. Hamilton products were used by railroads, in the military, and worn on the wrists of celebrities such as Elvis Presley who wore a Hamilton Ventura in "Blue Hawaii." If you have been reading my blog, you may have seen the story about the old Bowman Watch Company in downtown Lancaster being purchased by local Brent L. Miller Jewelers & Goldsmiths. The store, which has been vacant for ages, will now become a Hamilton Watch Co. store that will open on July 13 of this year. Hamilton will once again return to Lancaster where it was founded in 1892. An article in the local newspaper said that a special exhibition of historical pieces will be on display alongside Hamilton's watch collections. I'm sure my Dad, who graduated from the Bowman Watch Company school in the same building, will be watching the opening from high above! The story that was in my local newspaper published a few key moments in Hamilton Watch Co. history. I'll give you a short rundown of the five moments so you can see the importance that the store had in Lancaster County.
#1 - "The Founding," Hamilton Watch Co. was formed in November 1892 from the purchase and merger of two bankrupt watch manufacturers. The Keystone Standard Watch Co. of Lancaster provided the factory building along Columbia Ave., and a watch company in Aurora, Illinois, provided the machinery, which was shipped to Lancaster in January 1893. The stockholders of the new company chose the name "Columbian Watch Co." but, that was a trademark held by another company, so they opted for "Hamilton Watch" in honor of James Hamilton, a notable local figure who was the original owner of the tract of land where the watch factory was originally located.
#2 - "The Watch of Railroad Accuracy." In the final years of the 19th century, the pocket watches made at the new Hamilton factory became the standard for railroad timekeeping, a fact which provided a slogan for the company.
#3 - "Building a community." In the 1920s, as the Hamilton Watch Co. was growing, the firm was encountering a problem: the hiring of 200 new employees coincided with a housing shortage in Lancaster. They solved the problem with building affordable homes for employees within walking distance of the factory. The housing was located across Columbia Ave. from the factory.
#4 - "War effort." In early 1941, prior to the United States officially entering WWII, Hamilton Watch Co. was already developing new products that might be of use to the war effort. For example, an article about the company's annual report lists marine chronometers and navigational torpedo watches among the new items being designed. Hamilton began getting military contracts the next year, and eventually curtailed production of all consumer products to focus on supplying military products.
#5 - "Going electric." In 1957, Hamilton made timekeeping history, when the company introduced the world's first electric wristwatch after 10 years of research development and testing. The battery powered watch, Hamilton engineers predicted, would eventually replace the manual and automatic watches of that era. Hamilton's first electric watch would retail for $175 (about $1,900 today) in gold case, with a less fancy model in the works for about half that price. When I graduated from High School in 1962, my father and mother gave me a Hamilton electric watch as a graduation present. I still have it, but it no longer works.
Hamilton continued to make timepieces at its Lancaster plant throughout the 1950s and 1960s. In 1969, the first steps toward a complete relocation to Switzerland began, with the moving of watch manufacturing overseas. Company offices would remain at the Columbia Ave. location until 1980. The site of the former factory now houses the Clock Towers luxury condominiums and the New School Montessori Academy. Hamilton Watch has a long and vital history in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I'm anxious to see the new store open in downtown Lancaster in the near future. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
By now the new Hamilton Store has opened at Duke and Chestnut Streets. I'm anxious to make a visit and take a few photos to share with you. My local newspaper has posted a story and a few photographs. Place looks great. I'm headed there sometime soon. LDub
Thursday, July 13, 2023
The "Time Is On My Side" Story
It was an ordinary day. Spent some time working on my stained glass windows that I love to make and also spent the afternoon at the Viva Center playing pool with a few new friends I have made in the past couple of weeks after my wife, Carol, and I moved to Woodcrest Villa which is a retirement community on the western side of the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I recently saw that a local bookmobile would be arriving at Woodcrest for those that would like to check-out a book or two for reading. You can visit their bookmobile and check out a few books which are to be retuned at a specific time which they would mark in the rear of the book. There is no charge for the service, as long as you return it on the time marked in the book. I recently read that someone borrowed a book titled "An Elementary Treatise on Electricity" from a public library in a town in Massachusetts. The book had recently been returned, but a bit late. The book was nearly 120 years overdue! The library director, Olivia Melo said that, "This is definitely the longest overdue book that we've gotten back. We do get some books back after, you know, 10, 15 years. But!!" That certainly is a record to get a book back over a century late. I'm surprised that the town in Massachusetts had a public library 120 years ago. The book, published in 1881 and written by a prominent Scottish physicist, was an early scientific text laying out electrical theories. It was likely either last checked out on February 14, 1904 or February 14, 1905. The faded stamp makes it difficult to be certain. A prior checkout stamp clearly read Dec. 10, 1903. So...to break that record I would have to go to the bookmobile that is to arrive this week and check out a book and wait until 2145 before I return it! I told my wife that I just might try it to see if they would miss it until 2145. She laughed and said, "You'd wouldn't even be here in 2145 to return it. You'd probably be playing pool and miss the bookmobile when it arrived! Yeah! She's probably right. I do love playing pool! I'll just skip the bookmobile! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Wednesday, July 12, 2023
Seble Zqusquam Deserves Every Thing She Has! Story
It was an ordinary day. Reading about a woman named Seble Zqusquam who was in an automobile accident on May 18 where she and her son were in her son's car that was totaled. They both luckily escaped the accident without a scratch. She relied on her son to get her to work every day, and now she might have to ask a friend to help get her to work. What was she to do? Well, she didn't have to wait long for the answer to her question to herself. The following day she found that she had won a bright red 2023 Hyundai Elantra! The woman was originally from Ethiopia and she and her family moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania 12 years ago to be with other family members whom had already lived in Lancaster County. She has worked at a business known as Magnolias, an assisted living facility for older adults for over five years. During those five years, she has never missed a day of work due to sickness or taken a day of vacation. Magnolias has a work program that encourages employees to improve their attendance with the chance of winning a car. For each week that an employee maintains perfect attendance, their name is put into a drawing. Once a year a winner is selected among the 16 Magnolias facilities in the area. Seble says she loves to come to work to see the residents whom she loves. "I feel good because I love the residents. I don't want to work at another place," she always says. The dining director of Magnolias has worked with her since assuming her position three months ago. She was struck by just how dedicated Seble was to her job. She always comes in early and if it's her day off and they need another helper, she always come in to help. Even after the morning of her car accident she came to work. Well, that day happened to be the day of the CAR drawing which was to take place. But, she wasn't hopeful of winning the car since 41 other employees also had perfect attendance. It wasn't until the red Elantra appeared in the parking lot that she decided to stay in the lot a bit longer. They pulled out a golden ticket...with her number and name on it. She had won the car! She immediately caller her husband who thought she was joking! Wasn't long before she thought she should get back to work. Her new car would be waiting for her when her job was done for the day. The company's management has noticed a change in attendance due to the "winning a car" ever year. This year there were 42 people with perfect attendance. Seble says she loves her job and feels a great sense of fulfillment from getting to serve others. She has been pushing her five adult children to go back to school and get a college degree. Each one has now received a degree with one doing research at Harvard. She loves her work at Magnolias. Every day at 5:00 AM she wakes up to another day of enjoyment (work). Her enthusiasm about education has now taken a different turn. She now has to figure out how to use her new car she just won. It is filled with advanced computerized controls and it has taken time to learn all the buttons. And...she loves the bright red paint! Congratulations to one courageous woman who has raised a fantastic family and has taught them lessons that all mothers should teach their children. I for one congratulate her for winning her new car. She certainly deserved it. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Tuesday, July 11, 2023
The "My Dad Is Watching From Heaven! Story
It was an ordinary day. Standing in front of the old Bowman Technical School which was located on the corner of North Duke and East Chestnut Streets in downtown Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Had my camera in hand and was trying to take a few photographs of the building that looks much the same as it did when my dad was a student at the school in the early 1940s. Seems that time has been standing still at the former watch making school years after the last student jeweler, watchmaker and clockmaker learned the trade. I walked up the front steps and looked into the front window of the old school. I imagined a chalkboard still hanging in front of a classroom while a rooftop observatory, where students could check the accuracy of their timepieces against stars, might still remain. Seems that the building's long dormancy may be coming to end. Local Brent L. Miller Jewelers & Goldsmiths recently purchased the 147 N. Duke Street property where Brent graduated from in 1976. The same school from where my dad graduated. There have been many times that I have stopped in front of the place and looked in the windows. My church, St. James Episcopal, is at the opposite corner of the block on N. Duke Street and when I was a member of the boys choir, my friends and I would often look in the windows of the property to see what they might have been working on at the time. I'm so glad that Brent L. Miller bought the property and will save it from another type of business. The buiding's previous owner, Dr. Stephen Diamantoni, a former student of mine at Manheim Township High School, had received plenty of offers to do all types of things with the building, but Steve rejected those offers because he didn't want the preservation of the interior to change to something other than watchmaking. He was hoping to find someone to preserve the history of the building. Bowman traces its history to 1877 when Ezra Bowman opened a retail store with a clock shop. Bowman learned the trade from a Swiss watchmaker his father hired as a tutor. At that time in the United States, learning the watchmaking trade didn't happen very often. Mr. Bowman began giving instruction when he began taking on students at his shop on E. King Street. He had learned the trade from a Swiss watchmaker his father had hired to teach it to his son. The growth of the school at Duke and Chestnut began in 1912 where nearly 100 students could be accommodated. Bowman's retail shop, which often hired the school's graduates, operated out of the first floor of the school building. Bowman offered three courses to its students: watchmaking, engraving and jewelry work. The courses took 18 months to complete. I'm not sure which courses my dad took, but he could fix just about any watch or clock after he had graduated from the school. When Dr. Diamantoni purchased the building, Brent Miller asked if he could buy the antique jewelry cases that are still in the building in downtown Lancaster. Luckily, the doctor refused to take them from the building. Now, with the purchase of the downtown building, Mr. Miller will have the jewelry cases to go along with the entire building he has just purchased. After taking a few recent exterior photographs, I talked with a fellow who was standing in front of the store at Duke and Chestnut. He said he worked there and was helping in fixing up the interior of the building. He said they had hopes of not changing anything on the first floor of the building. It's historical setting will remain intact. Let's hope he knew what he was talking about. I managed to step inside the front door to take a look at the beautiful old time store. I didn't take any photographs since I felt that would be too intrusive, but the interior is just amazing. As I stood there looking at all the cabinets and interior ornaments, I could almost see my father standing behind one of the cabinets helping one of the customers. Thanks dad for all the stories you told of your time while going to Bowman's Technical School. My memories have been enhanced while standing there, looking around the first floor of the beautiful building. I only hope they can preserve all the times past! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
The "Senior Roller Skating At The Castle In Lancaster Township" Story
It was an ordinary day. Reading a story written by Jack Brubaker, Lancaster newspaper's "The Scribbler," about a fellow who is 95 years old who still attends the roller skating sessions that are held at The Castle Roller Skating rink on Elm Street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Mr. Jack Brown was one of the last soldiers trained in the Army's glider program. Today he still glides, but on roller skates at The Castle Roller Skating Rink on Elm Ave. in Lancaster Township. You did read that correctly when I wrote he was 95 years old! Jack Brown does skate behind a wheelchair and wears a hard hat for safety. But, that still doesn't change that he is 95 years old! I told my wife that I have something to look forward to in the future. I am 17 years younger than Mr. Brown and there is no way I would try and roller skate. Of course, I would never have tried to roller skate 50 years ago, since I have no ability to roller skate. The roller-skating rink says that Jack is a sturdy man with an iron grip and a full head of white hair and a flourishing mustache. Mr. Brown was born in North Carolina and grew up in Maryland. Today he lives on the Robert Fulton Highway near the Maryland border. Over his long lifetime he worked as a carpenter and a superintendent of a power plant construction. He was drafted into the Army in 1946, two years after I was born and he had graduated from high school. Jack also worked as a carpenter and a superintendent of the construction of a power plant. He learned how to parachute as well as fly a glider while in the service. Gliders at that time were light, disposable aircraft towed by airplanes to a site where they were cut loose from the plane and glided to a stop loaded with soldiers and heavy military equipment. While on a training run, one of the engines of the airplane towing Brown's glider caught fire. The airplane pilot released the glider and landed safely. The glider, cruising solo along the Chattahoochee River on the Alabama-Georgia border, followed the water and landed safely on a dry flood plane. Mr. Brown left the service in 1947 and moved to Maryland where he worked in a power plant along the river. He also made a pair of water skis and claimed to be the first one to waterski on the Susquehanna River. He and his wife moved to southern Lancaster, Pennsylvania where his wife died in 2015 and he had a heart attack three months later. He had successful surgery and was told to exercise regularly. That's when he chose roller-skating. He was good at skating forward and backward! He married his second wife in 2016 and now lives in a home he built himself. He claims he has always been on the edge. He has a list of headings for stories about his adventures that he would like to write. Hopefully he will survive his roller skating sessions. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Monday, July 10, 2023
"The River Birch: A Whole New Experience In Tree Growth" Story
It was an ordinary day. Walking around the neighborhood, looking at all the beautiful shrubs, flowers and trees. My new neighborhood at Woodcrest Villa is covered with so many beautiful flowers and trees just in bloom and with beautifully mowed lawns. And...I'm not responsible for any of it. It is so nice not to have to plant and keep a lawn in good shape as well as help take care of the shrubs, trees, and flowerbeds around our villa. My wife has planted a few of her favorite flowers in the flowerbeds that surround our new home at Woodcrest. There are a variety of trees that cover our entire neighborhood and make it look beautiful. One of types of trees that my wife and I never had in any of our previous homes is the River Birch.
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| The bark of the River Birch tree |
Sunday, July 9, 2023
The Bald Eagle Story
It was an ordinary day. Trying to decide what type of story I should write today to share with my readers. Decided to write about something I have written about in the past, but is such an amazing topic that I thought I would write about it one more time. The topic which I chose was the bald eagle which as you might be aware is a bird of prey that is found in North America. The bald eagle is what is known as an opportunistic feeder which lives
mainly on fish which it swoops down upon and snatches from the water with its talons. It builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species which can be as large as up to 13 feet deep, 8.2 feet wide and 1 metric ton in weight. Bald eagles are not really bald. Their name is derived from an older meaning of the word "white headed." The adult is mainly brown with a white head and tail. The sexes are identical in plumage, but females are about 25% larger than males. The yellow beak is large and hooked. The plumage of the immature, or younger bird, is brown. The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States of America and appears on its seal. In the late 20th century it was on the brink of extinction in the contiguous United States. Populations have since recovered and the species' status was upgraded from "endangered" to "threatened" in 1950, and removed from the list altogether in 2007. The bald eagle is placed in the genus Haliaeetus (meaning sea eagle), and gets both its common and specific scientific names from the distinctive appearance of the adult's head.
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| The amazing Bald Eagle |
The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States of America. The bald eagle appears on most official seals of the U.S. government, including the presidential seal, the presidential flag and in the logos of many U.S. federal agencies. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Friday, July 7, 2023
The "Dancin' The Night Away...And A Few Fireworks To Top It Off!" Story
It was an ordinary day. Thursday evening and my wife, Carol, and I are out on a date at Woodcrest Villa where we live! We had parked the car and headed into Gamber Auditorium for a show that was put on by The Kracker Beez, a local rock band that featured tunes from the 60's and 70's! The show was listed as a "Summer Solstice Swingin' Sixties Celebration." It was meant to be held on the Plaza which is on the upper outdoor level, but due to bad air quality, was transferred into the Auditorium. We entered and found folding chairs as well as free non-alcoholic drinks and snacks. Before long the band began and the excitement elevated a notch or two (if at all possible). The band was great with a lead guitarist, a bass guitarist and a female drummer. All three were great vocalists! They were on the elevated stage and easy to hear and see. Real easy! And...I certainly wouldn't have needed my hearing aides! Brought back memories from high school when my friends and I would take in a rock concert somewhere in the local area. Quite a few people headed to the open space next to the stage to dance. Once again, it reminded me of high school where the girls dominated the dance floor. After an hour-and-a-half you could see that many in attendance were beginning to dance slower, or look for a place to sit. Before long the band thanked the crowd and packed up their guitars and drums. Everyone seemed to have had a great time! Can hardly wait until they return! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Thursday, July 6, 2023
The "Cash Against Trash" Story
It was an ordinary day. Reading a story in one of my favorite magazines, "The Saturday Evening Post." Story was only about a quarter of a page in size, but it was worth every single inch of space it covered. Story was titled "Cash Against Trash" and was a story about a young man by the name of Cash Daniels who lived in Chattanooga, Tennesse. He decided to volunteer and join in a project to help clean up his neighborhood. He was 7 years old at the time when he went on a family beach trip and saw all the trash along the shoreline. He knew the trash could cause harm to all the animals along the shoreline and thought he would do something to help. Since that time he has been keeping his neighborhood clean for the past 6 years. He began collecting trash from his neighborhood when he was 7 and as of this date has collected 15,000 pounds of trash from the nearby Tennessee River. I have visited many rivers and streams during my lifetime in my own neighborhood along the Susquehanna River in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and have seen the trash that can accumulate along the shores of a river the size of the Susquehanna. The harm that it can cause the river animals and fish is tremendous. For Cash to have collected the amount of trash he has so far in his life is unbelievable! He said at one point that "I knew this trash could cause these animals, that I loved so much, to suffer and probably die. When I came home to Tennessee from a vacation, I heard that the Tennessee River was the most polluted river in the world. I knew I had to do something!" Cash has written a book titled "One Small Piece," which is about how one person can change the world. No matter your age, size or ability, you can make a difference in your own way," he wrote. Mr. Cash Daniels is one fine young man. The world is all the better because of this young man. If everyone would have his attitude and perseverance we too might be able to clean up the shores of all the streams, rivers and oceans in this world. How about pitching in and doing your share. I'm sure Mr. Cash Daniels would be proud of you just as we are proud of him. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Wednesday, July 5, 2023
The "George & Martha Loved Ice Cream" Story
It was an ordinary day. Reading that George and Martha Washington were early fans of ice cream. Often wondered why I thought he was a good President...and now I know. Ice cream has always been a quintessential summer treat for generations in llmy family. Back in the 18th century, the treat brought to America by the French was a rich man's dessert. Seems you can't make ice cream without three key ingredients, ice, salt and sugar, and most Colonial families simply couldn't afford to make it. Ice retired a separate icehouse in which to store chunks of ice cut on a nearby river or creek in winter. Sugar and salt were expensive commodities imports from the Caribbean. Colonial home cooks would also have to own at least one cow whose milk the family didn't need to sell to make cream and have the free time required to make the dessert. Mr. George Washington was a wealthy man with a sizable enslaved community manning the house and gardens, thus having workers to make his favorite treat of ice cream. The large number of "ice pots" used for holding ice cream in Mount Vernon's inventory records are testament to George and Martha's love for the stuff. Their estate also had two tin ice cream molds, two "iceries compleat," and a dozen "ice plates." so dear was the dessert that Washington is said to have spent $200 in 1790 - nearly $5,000 in today[s dollars - to satisfy his insatiable craving for the cool and creamy treat. The couple also had their first "cream machine for ice" in May of 1784, six years before the first ice cream parlor opened in New York City. Historians believe the Washingtons were introduced to the icy delicacy before the Revolutionary War by Norborne Berkeley, the Colonial governor of Virginia, who served ti to guests at his brick palace in Williamsburg. Martha was famous for serving ice cream at her weekly receptions at their estate on the Potomac River. The Washington's grew apricots, peaches, plums and seven types of apples, eight varieties of cherries and 18 types of pears to serve with their ice cream. To this day you can still find beds of strawberries at Mount Vernon that Washington used to make his ice cream. As I read a bit more, I found the recipe for Washiington's Mount Vernon strawberry ice cream. I'm sure there must be a few other Presidents who loved ice cream as much as George did, but I haven't bother to research that since it really doesn't matter anyway. It as another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
Tuesday, July 4, 2023
The "'Four Freedoms" Painting by Norman Rockwell" Story
It was an ordinary day. Reading my "Saturday Evening Post" when I came across a story about Norman Rockwell's "Four Freedoms" painting. The 1943 painting traced its inspiration back to the 1941 State of the Union address by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in which he outlined four democratic values that he considered essential to preserve: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear. Mr. Rockwell's paintings appeared in the 1943 "Saturday Evening Post" and shortly after began a sixteen-city Four Freedoms War Bond Show tour to publicize the Second War Loan Drive. The U.S. Treasury Department, realizing their potential to generate revenue through the sale of war bonds and to boost public morale, partnered with the "Saturday Evening Post" to sponsor the tour. Mr. Rockwell appeared at Hecht's Department Store in downtown Washington, DC where he met with celebrities and signed autographs, but found he didn't care to travel with the exhibit that was meant to raise money for the war effort. The tour of the paintings started in Washington, DC and gradually worked its way around points west. From June 16 to 26, 1943, the exhibition was on view at New York's Rockefeller Center, and overall, became the rallying point of a massive national outpouring of patriotic enthusiasm. I would have loved to have a "Four Freedoms" painting, but my guess is that it is fairly expensive and perhaps hard to find. I hope you can see the painting that I have illustrated in my story today. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - And, a Happy 4th to You!
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Monday, July 3, 2023
The "Living In A Better World Can Happen If You Help Make It Happen!" Story
It was an ordinary day. July 2, 1944 and a group of neighbors in a Lancaster, Pennsylvania neighborhood decided to clear weeds from a vacant lot on North Broad Street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This was the beginning of a story that was featured in my local daily newspaper. It was not written whether that vacant lot belonged to anyone or not. Story just stated that the neighbors decided to clear the lot. And...the reason to clear the lot was to build a neighborhood playground for the neighborhood children. Sounds like a great idea, doesn't it? Try that today and see what happens. Anyway...the project began when a group of five men, all neighbors, decided to clear weeds from the vacant lot. Four years later, the plot had blossomed into a well-equipped playground. The project began when five neighbors, all fathers of small children, worked together to clear weeds and junk from the vacant lot. Once that work was done, they decided to turn the lot into a playground, built cooperatively by the neighbors, with material costs to be divided among the men based on how many children each man had. They planted grass, shrubs and a shade tree. They built a fire-pit from brick found on the property and poured concrete for a sandbox. They bought food and made picnic tables and see-saws. Each summer, one or two new items were added. The project, which the men described as a "neighborhood cooperative," wasn't quite finished, since they wanted to build a sliding board in the summer of 1949. My children, all three of them, would have loved to have had a chance to play on that playground when they were children. And, to have their dad build everything would have made it more "special" to them. Hey...I would have thought the same thing if that had been my dad. But...who owned the lot? Who was responsible for collecting the money to buy the items to build it? Can you imagine a group of neighborhood fathers doing the same thing today? If only people could work together as these gentlemen did in the 1940s. Perhaps someday neighbors will get the same idea that these gentlemen did back in the 1940s and create a neighborhood playground for their children. Wouldn't you love to read a similar story in your newspaper? Maybe, just maybe, it could happen once again. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
The "Famous Faces From Lancaster, Pennsylvania - Part II - Story
It was an ordinary day. The next two tier of famous faces are people who had strong support to make the list of famous residents in Lancaster County. The next list begins with a newsmaker (literally), a renowned architect, a groundbreaking female athlete and a prominent Black businessman. Follow along and see how many of this list of well-known Lancastrians you may recognize.
Tier Level I
John Frederick and James Hale Steinman: The Steinman brothers seeded private foundations to provide grants that would give back to the community, which paved the way for today's Steinman Foundation. The many contributions that were given by the Steinman brothers helped the Lancaster community in which they lived. The brothers many contributions to their community included publishing Lancaster Newspapers Inc. which is the predecessor of LNP Media Group. They also supported the founding of WGAL Television and working philanthropically with Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster General Hospital and the Lancaster Boys Club and more.
C. Emlen Urban: Mr. Urban was a prolific Lancaster architect who had a tangible and lasting impact on development still seen in Lancaster's Griest Building, Southern Market House and the Watt & Shand Building which today is the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square and Lancaster County Convention Center. He was born in 1863 in Conestoga Township and was an 1880 graduate of Lancaster Boys High School.
Mimi Senkowski Griffin: Griffin was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014. She was ESPN's top women's basketball analyst from 1983-89 and worked for CBS from 1985-91. In 1990 she became the first female color analyst on a men's NCAA tournament game. Mimi scored 1,168 points in her scholastic basketball career, and as a senior in 1974 helped Lancaster Catholic win a State Championship.
William Whipper & Stephen Smith: Abolitionist Whipper, and another Black businessman, Stephen Smith, were running Smith and Whipper Lumber Merchants in Columbia, Pa. by the 1830s. The men use railroad cars to transport their lumber and to secretly hide and transport freedom-seeking, formerly enslaved people to safer areas in and around Philadelphia on what was known as the Underground Railroad.
This tier of historic supporters provided everything from transportation to aide in hiding people. The following will give you the final list of famous people and faces who were picked by readers of the Lancaster Newspaper who were famous residents of Lancaster County during their lifetime.
Tier Level II
Those listed in this final list were Lancastrians who received some support from residents of Lancaster who considered them as outstanding residents of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The list is rather lengthy so I have just listed their names and a short note as to why they were picked as an historic supporter of Lancaster.
Madeline Anderson - First American Black woman to direct a TV documentary.
Romayne Bridgett - Renowned musician, performer and teacher who earned numerous prizes in National and International vocal competitions.
Robert Fulton - Developed the steamboat and designed a submarine for Napoleon.
Leon "Buddy" Glover - Was the Lancaster School District's first Black Principal.
Taylor Kinney - Actor and model and an investor in Zoetropolis Cinema Stillhouse.
William Chester Ruth - At 41 years old opened black-smith shop in Gap as a free Black man and given credit for four patented inventions.
Bruce Sutter - Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher and Donegal High School graduate who played for the Chicago Cubs.
Roy Clair and Gene Clair - Founded the company that would become Clair Global, an anchor of what is now Rock Lititz.
Jim Furyk - Professional golfer who graduated from Manheim Township High School in 1988 and began his profession career in 1992. He was also the high school baseball catcher who caught for my son Derek.
Jonathan Groff - An actor and 2003 Conestoga Valley HS graduate who appeared in "Frozen", "Hamilton", and "Merrily We Roll Along."
Johnny Weir - Spent his early years in Quarryville, PA. Was a 3-time US national champion in men's figure skating in the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics.
The Albatwitch of Chickies Rock - Local urban legend humanoid creature.
The Belsnickel - Pennsylvania version of Santa Claus
Michael Tait - Founded Lititz's Tait Towers, a live event provider of staging.
Kristen Wiig - American actress, comedian, writer and producer.
August Burns Red - Five member band from Manheim who was nominated for Best Metal Performance Grammy.
Matt Nagy - Led Manheim Central Barons to PIAA Class AAA playoffs in 1994 and now coaches Kansas City Chiefs.
Evelyn Ay Sempier - Crowned Miss America in 1954
Simon Cameron - Succeeded Buchanan as U.S. Senator for PA in 1845 under Abraham Lincoln
John Darrenkamp - Bass opera singer who sang with the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1957
Tom Herr - Hempfield grad who played 13 years in the majors and was in three World Series. Was Lancaster Barnstormers 1st manager.
Dan Kreider - Manheim Central grad who played fullback for 10 seasons in the NFL. He was on the Pittsburgh Steelers when they won Super Bowl XL.
Brad Rutter - Manheim Township graduate who was the top money winner on "Jeopardy."
Don Wert - Came out of New Providence to play 9 seasons of professional baseball. Played for the Detroit Tigers in World Series in 1968 when they won the Series.
Wally Walker - Led the Univesity of Virginia to 1st ACC basketball championship in 1976.
Jennifer Gareis - 1988 McCaskey grad known for her television roles on soap operas "The Young & the Restless" and "The Bold and the Beautiful."
It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.