The "A New Buyer For An Historic Building?" Story

Preface:  A story appeared in the Lancaster Newspaper a few days ago that told of the purchase of the Stehli Silk Mill in Manheim Township.  They purchased the 10.8 acre property, which holds the historic Stehli Silk Mill, for $2.5 million.  They will invest $30 million into apartment units and retail store space within the old silk mill.  They plan to have the renewal of the property complete by 2020.  I wrote the following story before this information was available.

1908 postcard of the Stehil silk mill in Lancaster, PA

It was an ordinary day.  Just read that the Stehil silk mill at the corner of Martha and Marshall Avenues in Mannheim Township may have a new owner.  The once-magnificent  silk mill, listed on the national Register of Historic Places, has sat vacant for ages.  

1931 view of the plant on Martha Ave. 

Many of the windows in the block long building show shards of glass hanging from their cross-pieces and wood rotting in door frames that at one time was the longest building in America at 883 feet in length and second longest in the world.  The silk mill was built in 1897 by Stehli & Company, a Zurich, Switzerland based silk manufacturer.  

Many of the workers at the mill lived in nearby houses
in the Grandview Heights area.  The mill is in the distance.

Lancaster's famed architect, C. Emlen Urban designed the buildings that make up the complex.  The company chose to build their factory in Lancaster, Pennsyl- vania, since it was close to both New York City and Philadelphia, PA. and had a railroad line nearby to help with transportation needs.   The silk products, dress goods and other textiles could easily be sent to markets in the northeast from the location in Mannheim Township.  

The mill can be seen along Martha Ave.

When the building was totally finished in 1925, the mill had over 1,600 workers and over 250,000 square feet of floor space.  In its heyday it had 1,100 looms lit by the light from 2,500 windows. Most people living in the surrounding areas had a family member who worked their or knew someone who worked at the silk mill.  The mill closed in 1954 when competition from nylon and other synthetic fabrics overtook silk.  The following year nearby RCA Corporation bought the building for color television tube production.  In the late 1960s Carol and I purchased a house in Grandview Heights, three blocks from the silk mill turned TV tube manufacturer.  Then in 1973 RCA sold the property to a warehousing firm.  

Broken windows and boarded-up doors are the norm on the building.

It eventually became vacant and a neighbor- hood eyesore.  A new owner has been sought for years and recently Union Box Co. has signed a sales agreement to purchase the 11 acre site.  The Baltimore, Maryland company is hoping to construct 120 to 140 market-rate apartments plus a few stores.  

Barbed wire surrounds the building at present.

Market-rate housing is apartments that have no rent restric- tions.  The project would cost 30M and take three years to complete.  The proposed developer also has a building in Rhode Island, which used to be the Fruit of the loom mill, that he currently is converting into apartments.  

The building seems to be endless.

The silk mill has some issues, but the bones of the place are strong.  Manheim Township, where the property is located, is trying support the sale by giving the new owner a 10-year break on property taxes.  Maybe soon, the neighborhood can boast of a new, beautiful building that will be a showplace rather than an eyesore.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

1920 view of the interior silk looms.

Broken windows surround the building on all sides.

Beautiful architecture which is now an eyesore.

The "Is Your Skin Copyrighted?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Opened Facebook and there it was for all to see.  Steve Lowry's amazing artwork was displayed in full-color on his son's arm.  

Steve's finished creation done on
his son's arm.

Just beautiful!  Steve graduated from high school with my oldest son Derek and has become one of the best tattoo artists in south-eastern Pennsylvania.  While in my graphic arts class for two years in high school, I knew he would keep art in his life for a long time.  My youngest son Tad has been one of his biggest boosters with tattoos covering just about every inch of his body.  I have written a few stories telling of Tad's tattoos including the story of one tattoo that honors his grandmother which I had the chance to put the final "dot" in place on the creation done by Steve.  Tattoos are inked ornamental body art which has been in the news recently.  Seems that video game makers have been under scrutiny recently for producing video games that feature athletes that are covered with tattoos from head to foot.  

Tad's back done by Steve at Transcending Flesh.

And, it is the athlete's tattoos that are in question.  The tattoo artists that draw the ornamental body artwork claim that the video game companies needs their permission before their games can be sold to customers.  The athletes who sign off on having their images in the video games don't own the rights to the tattoos that are displayed on their bodies.  Tattoos have largely been considered as outside the realm of copyright laws for many years, but that may be changing.  Seems it is something similar to the lawsuit brought in 1973 by Hugo Zacchini who claimed that television did not have the right to broadcast his being shot out of a cannon on TV since people will not take the time to come to see him in person.  

Tad and Steve outside his studio in downtown Lancaster, PA

He said it was costing him money.  Case went to the Supreme Court and he won!  Seems the same thing is happening once again with tattoo artists.  Can video game makers display athletes covered with their artwork and not be reimbursed for their use.  Infringement of a copyright occurs when someone displays a copyrighted piece without permission of the author or artist.  

Steve working on Tad's leg with a tattoo to remember his grandmother.

An artist's work, be it written,  drawn or sung and is protected by copyright the instant it is written, draw or sung.  A notice of copyright, or the "c" enclosed in a circle, is not required for that protection.  But, the artist cannot sue someone unless the copyright has been registered with the U.S. Copyright Office and the artist has five years from the completion of that work to apply for the protection.  Once copyrighted, the artist's protection lasts for 70 years after the death of the artist.  But, there is also a different twist on all of this.  Seems that some tattoo artists may be infringing on others with the artwork they are doing on their customer's body.  

Tad's arm before the color had been added.
This tattoo honors his grandfather and namesake.

With more and more people receiving tattoos, the artist must obtain permission before they ink it onto their customer.  My son has the image of a ice hockey goalie on his chest.  That goalie is wearing an Edmonton Oiler jersey.  That Edmonton logo on that jersey more than likely carries a copyright.  Now what?  I don't know and I'll bet Steve didn't even think of it when he did the artwork.  Now, can Steve obtain a copyright for that artwork that is now on my son's chest?  Under current law, some tattoos could infringe on copyrights, but which tattoos?  Steve's son's tattoo which he just finished is beautiful and carries the images of eagles.  Nothing in the tattoo stands out as having a copyright so Steve is safe.  

A  young man I met in Hawaii had an
arm filled with a design by the artist.

He in turn could obtain a copyright on the artwork that he just finished on his son's arm.  Therefore, since I put it online in this story, am I violating copyright laws?  In my case, I called Steve and asked if he would mind if I posted a picture of it.  His answer you might guess was positive since you have just looked at the artwork.  Seems like a vicious cycle, but it will never end.  Everyone wants credit for what they do and want compensation for it.  Has always been that way and will never change.  I guess it is up to the courts in the United States to decide what is right and what is wrong.  And, how do they decide?  I don't think they have any idea at times!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "Dying To Stay In Business" Story

Newspaper feature on the 1st day of every year.

It was an ordinary day.  Sunday, January 1, 2017 and I'm looking at one of my favorite yearly features that my Lancaster Sunday News offers in their newspaper on January 1st every year.  Section is titled BusinessReview: These Lancaster County Businesses Have Been Dedicated to Serving You Since ...  Small 2"x2" boxes tell the history of Lancaster businesses since Lancaster began operating as a city in 1818.  I enjoy viewing all the boxes, or ads, which list in numerical order the dates that the businesses in Lancaster were established.  

Bachman Funeral Home in Strasburg, Pennsylvania.

For years The Bachman Funeral Home, Inc. in Strasburg, Pennsyl- vania has been one of the oldest surviving businesses in Lancaster County.  Today it was listed as the oldest business, still in business, having been established in 1769.  Eight generations of Bachmans have been providing funeral services for Lancaster County since that date.  

Bachman's neat hearse.

The funeral home is located at 7 South Decatur Street, a house from the square in Strasburg.  Beautiful brick house with a sweeping porch across the front of the home and three dormers on the slate roof.  Above every window is a keystone, the architectural signature of Pennsylvania.  The funeral home is a family owned and operated business for over 246 years.  

This is Groff's Funeral Home as I first knew it at 234 W. Orange.

Another business listed 16th on the page is Groff Funeral & Cremation Services located at 528 W. Orange Street and established in 1896.  For years the Fred Groff Funeral Home was located at 234 West Orange Street, but was sold and yet kept the same name.  

The Groff Family Funeral I Cremation Services at 528 W. Orange.

Part of the original Groff family then opened The Groffs Family Funeral & Cremation Services Inc. at 528 W. Orange.  The later business, which I consider the original business, was my choice when both my father and mother died.  In 1794 the newspaper that I am reading was established and is shown in my paper as the second oldest business in Lancaster County.  It is also the 7th oldest newspaper in the United States.  

LPN offices on West King Street.

It was first known as the Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster's morning Democratic paper, then joined The Lancaster New Era, the Republican newspaper, in 2009 and finally rebranded and renamed LNP in 2014.  Three of the earliest established businesses in Lancaster County were newspaper publications.  Speaks well for the written word in Lancaster County.  Also in the top 30 longest lasting businesses in Lancaster County are two glass companies.  Lancaster Glass, first at No. 5 & 6 South Queen Street and now on Ross Street in the city, and Howell's Glass Company at 114 South Queen were both established by 1924.  The youngest business listed in today's paper is called Escape Room having been founded in 2015.  The four pages listed over 150 businesses that call Lancaster County home.  Neat feature which I will most certainly browse next year on January 1, 2018.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The original Lancaster Paint and Glass Co. in downtown Lancaster.

Howells as it appears today on South Queen Street.