The "Living In Lancaster Is The Best" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading Lancaster Newspaper's "The Scribbler" column which is written each week by columnist Jack Brubaker.  For me....my Lancaster Sunday News wouldn't be complete had it not included Jack's column in it.  I don't know what I will ever do when Jack decides to retire and stops writing his column.  "Please don't do that, Jack," just in case you might be reading this story today.  But...I will admit that I cut out his column every week and have saved quite a few year's worth, just in case I have to read them over again.  Well, this past Sunday's newspaper article featured a letter to Jack from SaraJane Munshower who lives in New Holland.  She told Jack that she returned to Pennsylvania after 46 years in Connecticut and is still acclimating to Lancaster County.  She was wondering about others who are moving from distances into the various retirement communities in this area.  She was asking Jack if he might do a column on "what everyone needs to know" about living in Lancaster County?  Well, I naturally was interested, since my wife and I now live in Woodcrest Villas, but were born and raised all our lives in good ole Lancaster, PA.  First off...Jack apologized for his late answer.  Said he was waiting for a lull in his writing.  Personally...I never thought he had a lull in his writing, but....  So, Jack devoted his latest column to "What Makes Lancaster County Unique."  And...I could hardly wait!  Started with.... Some of the most fertile farmland in the world distinguished Lancaster County from other places   The county still boasts 425,000 acres of limestone-rich farmland, a quarter of which has been preserved "forever."  Lancaster has more preserved farmland than any other county in the country, thanks to programs operated by the county's Agricultural Preserve Board and the private Lancaster Farmland Trust.  But, if we didn't have farmers to farm, preserved land would not be worth much.  The Amish provide an increasing percentage of our farmers - on preserved and non-preserved land.  The Amish are essential, devoted to maintaining the landscape of this county.  They also are primary driving forces of the area's work ethic.  Another natural feature that makes Lancaster County special is the Susquehanna River.  In addition to being a popular recreational resource, the Lower Susquehanna hosts more power plants - hydroelectric, nuclear and coal-driving - than any other comparable river section on Earth.  Good for power production, bad for the environment.  Beyond the natural landscape, Lancaster County is defined by its ethnic diversity.  From the beginning, Lancaster welcomed more diverse groups - English, Swiss, Scots, Scots-Irish, French, Welsh and the Africans whom some of the wealthier members of those other groups enslaved.  In more recent years, thousands of immigrants from Puerto Rico, Vietnam, Russia and other countries have settled here.  Many of these people - more than 5,000 - have been refugees resettled by churches, especially Mennonite churches.  Lancaster has resettled 20 times more refugees, per person, than the United States as a whole.  As diverse as Lancaster is ethnically, it is relatively monolithic politically.  Since the creation of the Republican Party in the 1850s, the county has never elected a Democratic member of Congress.  Lyndon Johnson is the only Democratic candidate who won Lancaster County's vote in a presidential election.  Outside Lancaster city and its immediate suburbs, Republicans rule almost everywhere.  The county is unusually devout.  A newspaper study four decades ago estimated that the county hosted 700 churches and synagogues.  That number would be much closer to 1,000 now.  Asked what part of the Bible Belt Lancaster County is, the late historian John W. Loose replied, "the buckle."  Thousands of military veterans live here besides thousands of pacifists and conscientious objectors - an unusual and little-noted juxtaposition.  One more thing.... Lancaster's people are charitable.  The chronicle of Philanthropy ranks Lancaster among the top third of the nation's counties in charitable giving.  A former director of the local United Way explained that "generosity is rooted in pride."  Lancaster people are proud of their community.  And, I may add that my wife and I have met so many welcoming and friendly people since we moved to Woodcrest Villa over a year ago.  That's just a small sample of what makes Lancaster....well, Lancaster.  And...thanks Jack for your column on Lancaster Being the "Best Place to Live."  My wife and I most certainly agree!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.