The "The Tobacco Warehouse/Printing Company Comes Alive Once Again" Story

The Press Building at the corner of North Prince and West Lemon.

It was an ordinary day.  A bit windy and cold as I stood at the intersection of North Prince and West Lemon Streets in Lancaster, Pennsylvania taking photos of the newly finished luxury condominiums known as "The Press Building".  The five story building has been transformed into high-end condominiums after years of sitting empty.  

A fire in the early 20th century almost destroyed the building.

The building was built at the end of the the nineteenth century as a tobacco warehouse for the S.R. Moss & Company.  A fire, blamed on a weak electric pole, caused $800,000 to the warehouse and another $200,000 to the American Cigar Company which was located to the north of the warehouse.  Eventually the warehouse was purchased by P. Lorillard in 1920.  

The building as I remember it when it was Lancaster Press Company.
It was then purchased by R.R. Donnelly & Sons for their cartography div.

The five-story building was one of the most elaborate tobacco ware- houses in Lancaster County having recessed bays which were defined on the façade by rounded arches and on the side by corralled brick.  In the 1940s German prisoner's of war were used as workers in this building to process tobacco.  The building changed hands in the mid-1900s when the B.F. Good & Company Leaf Tobacco Company bought it to be their warehouse.  

The new entrance into the condos.

Then the building was changed into a printing company known as Lancaster Press for many years.  Eventually, in 1985 R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company purchased the building and used it as its cartography division which researched and made maps.  Printing operations filled the building for over 70 years.  Then in 2014 the vacant building was sold for $200,000 and was transformed into luxury condominiums.  Carol and I were going to make a visit to see what the upscale places looked like, but never got a chance before all the units were sold.  Photos of what the remodeling looked like were posted online.  I have posted a few to show you what an old, run-down building can look like after major renovations.  I'm sure that other cities have recycled unused buildings to create housing, but perhaps not as interesting as what has happened to the Lancaster Press Building.  I was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Entrance into their new restaurant.

View of Lancaster from a balcony.

Seating on the balconies.

Interior showing living and kitchen area. My wife loves the industrial look to the condo.

Bathroom redo.

Night-time view of the condos.

The "A Memorable Birthday Greeting" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Opened my email and read my birthday greetings from my Facebook page.  Very nice to here from so many people whom I hadn't seen or talked with for years, but who still found time to send me a birthday greeting.  One such person, Greg High, was a student of mine years ago.  He was a very courteous and respectful student who I enjoyed having in class.  He was part of a Lancaster family that was involved in the steel industry in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  

High Steel as it appeared in 1931 on West Lemon Street.

His late grandfather started the family business in 1931 when he founded High Welding.  Greg's father stayed with the family business and was the catalyst for decades of diversifi- cation, growth and philan- thropy.  Greg though, has now chosen to take a different direction and will make his two-year-old consulting business, GH Family Business Consulting Group, his full-time job.  I'm sure he will still have some influence in the family welding and steel business, but in a different capacity.  

Former student of mine, Gregory High.

My reason for telling you about Greg is that today, after reading my birthday greetings, I turned on the History Channel's "Project Impossible" and began to watch a show titled "Engineering America."  The show talked about a bridge that was being constructed to replace the New York Tappan Zee Bridge which spans the Hudson River in Tarrytown, New York, north of New York City.  

The new Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge in New York.

High Steel LLC is featured in the show since it is supplying much of the steel in the $3.98 billion Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.  The contract for the new bridge is the company's largest to date having supplied more than 50,000 tons of steel girders, cross frames and other structural elements for the bridge.  High was one of there fabricators on the project.  

A second High Welding on West James Street in Lancaster.

The show was amazing and as I watched I thought about Greg and his family and how proud he must be to have his family part of this massive project that was featured in the first edition of the new show on The History Channel.  After watching the hour-long show I "Googled" High Steel and read that they recently shipped the final two "superload" girders from its Williamsport plant to the new bridge in New York.  

And yet another High Welding along the Old Harrisburg Pike.

Each girder was twelve feet deep and 120 feet long and weighed about 90 tons.  The girders were hauled by High Transit, High Steel's sister company.  Seems that High Steel had fabricated 190 of these girders for the project with fabrication taking place at the Williamsport and Lancaster plants.  Fabrication began in 2014 and only recently was completed.  Four years to make all the needed girders for the bridge.  The story said that the contract value was more than $120 million, the largest in High Steel's 86-year history.  

Placing a High Steel girder on the new New York bridge.

High Steel met every engineering and delivery milestone in the contract "with outstanding quality."  As I read the story online about High Steel I was amazed.  Their success stories include the production of steel framing members for athletic, museum and educational facilities, crane girders for industrial facilities, plate girders for train stations and power plants and box beams for an airport expansion.  For years I have driven past their factory off of the Route 30 Bypass, not realizing the magnitude of what the company can do.  This all started in 1931 when Sanford and Benjamin High purchased King Welding Company in Lancaster and changed the name to High Welding Company.  

Transporting one of their large steel beams.

In 1958 they purchased automated welding equipment. About ten years later they built a second plant.  In 1971 they changed their name to High Steel Structures, Inc.  Many other highlights are listed online with the final entry being in 2015 when the original founder, the late Sanford H. High was inducted into the ARTBA Foundations's Transportation Development Hall of Fame.  All this because he had a dream and bought the tiny business on West Lemon Street in downtown Lancaster, PA.  I'm sure Greg is proud of his heritage just as I am proud of what he has become in his life.  Getting a birthday greeting from such a fine young man made my birthday something special this year.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "Baron Henrich Wilhelm Stiegel: His Stories - Part I" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Traveling north along Main Street, known to many as SR72, in the town of Manheim.  My first knowledge of this street was when my best friend Bill moved to Manheim after second grade.  Boy did I miss him!  But, that is not the gist of my story today; the town of Manheim is the real story.  The town got its name from a guy by the name of Baron Henrich Wilheim Stiegel, known to those who live in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania as Baron Henry William Stiegel.  Actually the title of Baron is disputed by many, since he never signed his name that way.  On August 31, 1750 Stiegel, his widowed mother and brother Anthony arrived from Cologne, Germany on the ship "Nancy" in Philadelphia.  Henry found his first job working for the Stedman brothers who were successful merchants in Philadelphia.  Two years later he became associated with Jacob Huber, an ironmaster in a Northern Lancaster County furnace, as a clerk.  Mr. Huber's furnace was built in 1750 in Brickerville, PA where he made cast iron from ore that came from the nearby Cornwall mines.   While working with Huber, he became acquainted with Mr. Huber's daughter Elizabeth and shortly after married her.  Steigel's wife had two daughters, Elizabeth and Barbara.  In 1757 Steigel purchased Huber's furnace property which at the time was one of the largest and oldest furnaces in the New World.  He tore the old furnace down and built a new one which he named after his wife Elizabeth.  Elizabeth Township, where the furnace was located, was named after the furnace.  He eventually moved his family from Philadelphia, where they had been living, to a large house that was near Elizabeth Furnace.  The following year his wife died leaving him with two small children, but the following year he married Elizabeth Holtz from Philadelphia and she bore him a son in 1760.  Steigel began to make stoves at Elizabeth Furnace and by 1760 the furnace was hugely successful with 75 men employed and 25 tenant houses nearby for some of them to live.  The furnace lands covered 900 acres, much of it wooded.  Then in 1762, his old friends, the Stedmans, and he bought 729 acres on the north bank of the Chickies Creek.  By the end of the year he has surveyed his tract and divided it into lots with streets and alleys.  The town of Manheim was born.  

Drawing of Stiegel's house at Market Square and East High St.

Stiegel and his wife were the first to build  a house on the northeast corner of Market Square and East High Street.  He realized that his town would not grow unless it had some industries, so in 1765 he began to build a glass factory on the northwest corner of Stiegel and Charlotte Streets.  The factory took three years to build and it was so large that a four-horse team could turn around in it and come out the same entrance.  

Latest image of Elizabeth Furnace.

At the time it was the only glass factory in the country and he brought skilled glass blowers from Europe to work in the factory.  They made vases, sugar and finger bowls, salts, flasks, pitchers, tumblers, wine glasses, toys and various other products in a variety of colors.  In 1769 the Stedmans sold their shares in Manheim to Isaac Cox who in turn sold them to Baron Stiegel.  By 1770 he was the sole owner of the town of Manheim.  Soon after he moved his family from the Elizabeth Furnace site to his new mansion in the center of Manheim.  Follow along tomorrow while I tell you the tale of his demise.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "It's A Wrap" Story

Grebinger Gallery's white panel van.

It was an ordinary day.  Watching Paul shrinkwrap ... a big white panel van in the parking lot of Grebinger Gallery in Neffsville, Pennsyl- vania.  I work part-time for Keith, the owner of Grebinger Gallery where we mat and frame artwork of just about any size and style.  Keith was a former student and yearbook photographer of mine at nearby Manheim Township High School.  

Paul adds a strip of burgandy vinyl to the bottom of the van.

When I retired from teaching I asked him if he needed any help at his fledgling gallery and frame shop and I have been with him for the past 18 years.  His large Chevrolet Express panel van is used for deliveries as well as transporting his framed artwork to shows and exhibits in the nearby area.  Recently he and his wife Cindy decided that the van might do more than just make deliveries if it could be wrapped with an ad for the gallery.  And, that's what Paul is doing in the parking lot of the gallery.  Company that is doing the job is called Signarama of Lancaster, PA and is a local company that is backed by the support of the world's largest, full service sign manufacturer: Signarama of the United Franchise Group.  

Using his heat torch to adhere and shrink wrap the vinyl.

The company has a wide range of designing and production capabilities including illuminated exterior signs, banners, auto wraps, window graphics and much more!  Paul first moved the van under a few trees before he began his wrap.  I asked him if it was necessary to be done in shade and he said, "Yes, since I sweat a lot and I'm not happy when I'm sweating."  The truck wrap is done on a vinyl material that when heated will adhere to the truck.  The customer must submit either a sample of what they want or send it by email to the company which is located at 1748 Columbia Ave. in Lancaster.  The printer that prints the wraps is a 60" inkjet printer that uses UV ink to prevent the ink from fading.  At times it may be necessary to splice sections together if the wrap is larger that the 60 inches.  He showed me how he wraps the vinyl on the van and then I asked him what his largest job was in the past few years.  His largest was a job at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.  

The final result sitting in front of the gallery in Neffsville.

He did a large wall in the college hockey rink that was in the snack area and at the one end of the rink did a large sign that was 22 feet high and 132 feet long.  Featured pictures of some of the all-star hockey players from the college as well as the name of the mascot of the college:  "Home of the Bantams."  My work day was over and Paul was still busy working on the vinyl wrap when I left.  Knew the van would look totally different when I arrived for work the next day.  Check out the few photos I took of the start of the wrap and what the truck looked like when finished.  Neat job!  It was another extraordinary in the life of an ordinary guy.  

The "Great Eastern Wizard" Story

Original entrance into Lititz Springs Park.

It was an ordinary day.  Recently read about a colorful guy by the name of Millard "Milford" Linville Dellinger who lived in the little town of Lititz, Pennsylvania and who loved to entertain.  Dellinger was born in nearby York, PA in 1853 and eventually found his way to Lititz at the age of 45.  About twenty years prior to his moving to Lititz, a hotel bearing the name of Park House had been constructed at 20 North Spruce Street, at the edge of the Lititz Springs Park.  The hotel had been built as a place where visitors to the park could board overnight as well as enjoy a good meal.  

An artist's sketch of the Park House Hotel in Lititz, PA.

A saloon eventually was added to the hotel.  Lititz Spring Park was established in 1778 and was under the control of the Aufseher Collegium, or the Moravian Church.  The park was developed at the time so musicians of the congregation could indulge, late into the night, in merry making at the "Big Spring".  Seems there was a Spring Head that was located at the far west end of the park which had a water flow created by three springs that flowed from underground caves.  

The "Head" of the Lititz Springs Park.

The water flowed gracefully eastward and was known as the Lititz Run Stream.  This stream ran through the park as it does today.  In 1856 sandstone from the nearby Furnace Hills was transported by horse and cart to the park to keep the stream flowing in a controlled manner through the park. Over the stream was constructed an Arched Bridge from the same sandstone.  Well, when Dellinger came to Lititz he bought the Park House Hotel.  Visitors to the park could rent a room at the Park House for the night, paying between $.50 to $1.00, and enjoy their day at the park and not have to worry about finding their way home after a night of merry making.  

The original Arched Bridge over the
stream that ran between sandstone
walls.

Seems that Dellinger supplemented his income by selling Victrola talking machines and 78rpm records from the music room of the hotel.  Mr. Dellinger was not only a hotelier, but had a hobby of magic, hypnotism, and fortune telling.  A few years before he moved to Lititz, he performed his first magic show at Red Front Park in nearby Manheim, PA. where he amazed his audience with his tricks and sleight of hand.  Known as "Professor M.L. Dellinger, the Great Eastern Wizard", he gained a large following in the area with his performances.  He eventually ran a mail order business where customers could write to him at his "Magic Temple" in Lititz.  A 1905  advertisement read thus:  The Magic Temple — Having spent many years in research and study of the occult sciences, and the reading of character as indicated by the physical characteristics of the head, face, hand and handwriting, I am prepared to give lessons in sleight-of-hand, hypnotism and the study of character as revealed by the head, face, hand and handwriting.  

The Arched Bridge after being rebuilt.  It looks very close
to this shape and condition today.

An energetic young man who has inclinations for occult science and its mysteries can secure employ- ment as an assistant, or may buy my entire parapher- nalia at a reasonable price, as old age demands my retirement. Call on or address:  M.L. Dellinger, Dealer in all kinds of Magic and Conjuring, Apparatus, Toys and Novelties,  Lititz, Penna.  Millard eventually gave up the hotel business and performing in the 1920's and moved to 226 S. Broad Street in Lititz and became a laborer at the Express Printing Company.  

The Park House Hotel can be seen in the distance, standing
a few hundred feet from the water's edge.

As far as the Park House Hotel, it no longer was a boarding house by the late 1930s, but did become an auction house until it was demolished in 1957.  Today, a smaller version of the hotel can be seen across from the entrance to the park on North Broad Street.  Mr. Dellinger's wife Rebecca gained notoriety by being the first woman in Lititz to cast a vote in the 1920 presidential election between Warrne G. Harding and James A. Cox.  Seven years later she died and Dellinger eventually took to performing once again.  In 1931 the local newspaper reported:  Up To His Old Tricks — That M. Linville Dellinger, who many years ago astonished the folks in these and other parts with his feats of magic, has not lost any of his deftness as was demonstrated Sunday a week ago when he entertained a large group of relatives and friends at Pleasureville in York County with his tricks.

Looking at the hotel from the west.  It can be seen on the right.

Mr. Dellinger left here Thursday to visit in that section, and on Sunday he was the recipient of a birthday dinner given by his niece, Mrs. Geo. Hess at Pleasureville in honor of his 78th anniversary. Following the dinner, the party repaired to the town park where an impromptu program was staged with Mr. Dellinger entertaining the guests for more than an hour.  It is unclear how much longer he performed, but he did live to the age of 97.  You may try to Google Dellinger's "Magic Temple", but you will more than likely be disappointed.  The story of the "Great Eastern Wizard" is now folk history and the story of this Mr. Dellinger and his magic act is being passed down from generation to generation.  He is one of the legends of Lititz, Pennsylvania.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.