The "Love Is In The Air!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading new entries on "The Lancasterian" Facebook page when I came upon a really neat picture postcard that showed a panoramic view of Lake Luzerne, NY.  

The front of the picture postcard

As I searched a bit more I found that the picture was on the front side of a post card which carried a very interesting note from a girl named Beth.  She sent the post card to a Miss Marie Strantz who lived at 561 Love Lane Street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Her note was dated Sunday Eve., 3-13-'10.  She wrote: I rec'd your card return many thanks glad to hear from you.  I am still corresponding with H.M.  Can't say what the results will be.  Had you said something to him because he started to send cards to me.  I believe you did or he never would have come out some time.  Ans. sooner.  Send my love.  Beth.  

The opposite side of the picture postcard

So, who are the characters in this love affair?  First, I did a bit more snooping and found that Love Lane was in the Cabbage Hill area of the city of Lancaster.  Love Land was located to the south west of the center of the city, but had it's name changed to Fairview Avenue sometime around 1915.  The first houses along Love Lane appeared in the mid-1800s.  A fellow by the name of Jim did some searching in the 1875 atlas and found two properties owned by a Strant family along the middle part of Love Lane.  Could they have been the same as the Strantz family?  I found no one who had any idea why the street, or lane, was named as it was.  And no reason was given for it's change to Fairview Ave.  A former neighbor of mine, Gretchen, who lived in the Grandview Heights area of Lancaster when I lived there, did some searching on Ancestry and found that a Marie Strantz lived at 560 Love Lane with her parents and six siblings.  Her father was a soap maker and she was 17 years old in 1910 when she received the post card from her friend Beth.   Marie worked as a carder at the local cotton mill as did many others who lived in the Cabbage Hill area of Lancaster.  Gretchen also wrote that if she has the correct woman, Marie, she married a Mr. Edward Greenawalt and they had a son Wilmer who was born in 1924 and was killed August of 1944 in France.  Marie died at the age of 59 of a stroke and breast cancer.  Now, getting back to the post card...Beth, the writer of the post card, more than likely lived in Manheim, PA, since the card was postmarked Manheim.  Beth wanted to share the news about her correspondence with H.M. who had begun sending cards to her.  Beth wondered if Marie had said something to him that prompted the correspondence.  Was Beth a secret admirer of H.M?  Did Marie tell him of Beth's interest?  If only someone could have found just one more post card so we would have been able to answer a few of these questions.  Isn't history interesting and fun.?  Could this have been the story line of a TV soap opera?  Must have been, since one of the characters in the soap opera lived on Love Lane Street.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "Friends My Age, But Yet They're Not Old As I!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Same as most every other day of the year, except days when I am on vacation and have to do nothing but relax on the beach.  For the husband of one of my wife's friends, today is a very special day, since today he turns 19 years old.  So why would my wife have a friend whose husband is only 19 years old?  Well, it's because he is really 76 years old, but being born on February 29, he is officially 19 years old today.  How would you like to be born on February 29 and miss all those birthday parties and birthday gifts?  Now, my guess is that most parents wouldn't allow that to happen and celebrate birthdays once a year even though their child may've been born on Leap Day.  Leap Day falls every four years due to a few quirky calculations based on the length of time it takes the earth to orbit the sun.  Instead of taking 365 days, it takes 365 1/4 days each year to orbit the sun.  And, after 4 years time, there is one extra day in the equation which adds up to February being assigned an extra day.  And, why is it always February?  I have absolutely NO clue!  All I know is that if we didn't have February 29 every four years, we might eventually have winter in August and summer in December, or something crazy like that.  This Leap Year thing all started in 1582 when Pope Gregory XVIII introduced the Gregorian calendar.  His version of the calendar helped solve the problem of the shifting days and months.  The Gregorian calendar works like this: 

• Every year that can be evenly divided by 4 is a Leap Year EXCEPT:
• Years that can be evenly divided by 100 (centuries) are not leap years, But:
• Years that can be divided by 400 are Leap Years.

You understand all of this?  Really doesn't matter, since it'll never change in your lifetime.  I recently saw a bit of math that may help you understand what I have just written for you.  It goes like this:

This year is 2020.  But what about 2021?   2020 ÷ 4 = ______

Therefore, 2020 is or isn't a leap year?

2021 ÷ 4 = _____

2021 will or will not be a leap year because it isn't evenly divisible by 4.

Now that we have Leap Year all figured out, how about a Century.  We celebrated the last year of the century (100 years) and millennium (1,000 years) 20 years ago, in 2000.

So, do you have any idea why they tack the extra day every four years onto February instead of September or maybe June?  It's because it is already the shortest month and an extra day shouldn't make any difference they reasoned.  Now, why do some months have 30 days and some have 31?  Probably a story for another day!  It was an extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "The Many Generations Of Our Lifetime Come To Life! - Part I" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading newspaper opinion stories written by those who are part of what is now known as Generation Z (eal).  Fantastic opinions written by high school students.  Can't imagine being able to express myself as well as they did when I was in high school.  I asked my wife what age would be considered part of Generation Z and she said, "I think it would be after the turn of the century."  Good guess since Generation Z are those born after the year 2001.  We began a conversation about what generation we each were a part of and what each generation was known for in society.  Carol and I are only a few years apart in age, but part of two different recognizable generations.  I am a member of the Mature/Silent Generation while Carol is a member of the Baby Boomers Generation.  Today's story will give you a look at the six generations that include people who are still living.  I apologize to any who are reading this story who were born before 1901, since they aren't part of my story today.  See if you might fit into the description of each generation.  Please remember I was not the one who decided the traits of each generation, but I do believe what I have written to be true.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

GI Generation/The Greatest Generation - Features those born between 1901 and 1926.  They are children of the WWI generation and soldiers during WWII.  They were part of the Great Depression which led to strong models of teamwork to overcome the legendary Happy Days!  They saved the world and then built a nation.  They were community-minded and cherished civic duty.  They married for life with divorce and having children out of wedlock shunned upon.  They were fans of labor unions and were loyal to their jobs.  They saved so they could pay cash for what they wanted.  They were part of the age of radio and air flight.  Most never had modern conveniences such as refrigerators, electricity and air conditioning.

Mature/Silent Generation - Members of this generation were born between 1927 and 1945.  I was born at the end of the timeline; 1944.  We were part of the Korean and Vietnam War generation.  We went through a suffocating conformity, but were the founders of Rock 'n Roll, neat cars, television, suburbs, teenage jobs, Peace! and Playboy Magazine.  Grade school problems were centered around throwing spit balls, passing notes in class and chewing gum placed under the chairs.  We led the Civil Rights charge and helped recognize the fact that jobs just weren't for men.  Once you got a job, you kept it for life.  Marriage was usually for life, but divorce was slowly creeping into the picture.  We were avid readers, especially of newspapers.  Retirement meant to sit on a rocking chair and live your final days in peace.

Baby Boomer Generation - My wife fit into this age group of those born between 1946 and 1964.  They all wanted to save the world!  They were part of the Yuppie Generation which was the party-hardy and "me" generation.  They ushered in "free love" and "non-violent" protests which in turn triggered violence.  They believed in themselves and buy it now, pay for it later.  They were too busy for neighborly involvement, but wanted to reset or change common values for the good of all.  Women began to work outside the home, thereby changing the entire nation by having children raised in a two-income household.  They were the first TV generation as well as the first divorce generation. Homosexuality was accepted.  They tended to be more positive about authority and traditions.  They envisioned technology and innovation as requiring a learning process.  The Baby Boomers were one of the largest generations in history with 77 million people.  They were said to have introduced the word "retirement" to mean being able to enjoy life after the children had left home.

Generation X - The generation which included those born between 1965 and 1980. They were the "latch-key" kids who grew up street-smart, but isolated, since many had both parents working.  Their parents were at times career-driven or divorced.  This generation is considered entrepreneurial and very individualistic.  Government and big business mean little to them.  They feel misunderstood and cynical of major institutions which failed their parents.  They really want to make marriage work and to be there for their children.  They claim to not feel like a generation.  They were raised in the transition phase between written knowledge and digital knowledge.  Most remember school without computers.  They are more committed to self rather than an organization or specific career, averaging 7 career changes in their lifetime.  AIDS was part of their generation and individual rights prevailed over the common good.  They were raised by money conscious Baby Boomers and had to survive the Vietnam War.  Their school problems involved drug use and sex.  They married late and were quick to divorce.  The wanted what they wanted and now!  They carried the most credit card debt of most generations.  They did more TV watching, video gaming and movie going and were short on loyalty and commitment.  They were self-absorbed and suspicious of all organizations; very self-reliant.

Generation Y/Millennial - Born between 1981 and 2000.  They are also known as the 9/11 Generation, Echo Boomers and America's next great generation.  It is a sharp departure from Generation X.  They are being raised by caring and optimistic parents.  They seem to respect authority.  Crime rates seem to be falling as is teen pregnancy.  They do have to live with the thought of school violence and have lived all their life knowing that the world is not a safe place.  They tend to schedule everything and feel enormous academic pressure.  They feel their generation has high expectations for themselves.  Digital literacy is everywhere and they tend to know much more about the digital world than any previous generation.  Luckily, they are willing to share that knowledge with the older generations.  They envision the world as a 24/7 place and want fast and immediate processing.  They have been told over and over that they are special and they now expect the world to treat them that way.  They do not live to work, but prefer a more relaxed work environment with a lot of hand holding and accolades.

Generation Z/Boomlets - This generation is part of the current one and is for those born after 2001.  What can I say about them?  Well, in 2006 there were a record number of births in the USA with about half of them born Hispanic.  The most common name is now "Rodriguez" instead of "Smith".  This generation will more than likely be the largest in number than any in history.  There are actually two groups within this generation: Tweens and Toddler/Elementary school age.  Tweens are ages 8-12 and with an estimated 29 million by 2009 while toddlers are about 61% of children between 8-17 and have televisions in their rooms.  35% have video games (Now this I find unreal, since I suspect close to 75% probably have video games in their home).  4 million have their own cell phones and have never known a world without computers and cell phones.  They are said to have Eco-fatigue after hearing about the environment and the many ways to same it all their life.  Children now leave toys behind at a younger age.  Mattel Company knows that since in the 1990s the average age of a child in their target market was 10 years old while now it has dropped to the age of 3.  This generation is so savvy in electronics it makes me sick.  Some days I wish I was 10 again, since I would know so much more about the MacBook Air that I am typing on at present than I do not at the age of 75.  But hey, I'm still here to hit the keys and I actually can still type about 40 words a minute as I did in high school.

The "I Finally Solved One Of Life's Biggest Mysteries" Story

The plaque on the Bowman Technical School.

It was an ordinary day.  Surfin' the web, checking out a few of my favorite Facebook pages.  One of the pages, "Remember when....in Lancaster, PA", deals with events and happenings, both past and present, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  As I was checking out the photographs that had been posted by viewers, one photograph caught my eye.  It was a photo of a clock's face on a plaque that was on the exterior wall of Bowman Techincal School at the corner of North Duke and East Chestnut Streets in downtown Lancaster.  The poster, Cory, asked this question: Does anyone know why the clock on the plaque at the old Bowman building is set at 8:20?  A few years ago I wrote a story about my father, Paul, who attended the Bowman Technical School after returning home from his service time in the U.S. Army in the mid-1940s.  The school was one of the best on the east coast at the time and attracted students from all over the country.  My father graduated and went to work for Meiskey's Jewelry store in downtown Lancaster as a watchmaker, helping repair watches and selling watch parts.  He never once mentioned the time set on the plaque's clock, perhaps because he to had no idea there was a clock on the plaque.  And, maybe there wasn't even a plaque on the building when he was a student.  Anyway, another reader of the Facebook site wrote in part that: you'll see the 8:20 setting on some clocks or watches where the manufacturer's logo is at the bottom of the face above the 6.  Well, I just had to find out for myself about the time set on the plaque.  One theory stated that the hands were set to 8:20 since that was the time Lincoln died.  But, he was actually shot shortly after 10:00 pm and died at 7:30 the next morning.  Then another theory stated that the hands were set to that time since that was the time John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas, Texas.  Not so ... since that happened at 12:30 pm and he was pronounced dead 30 minutes later.  So there is no logical reason why it was set at 8:20.  

Advertisement showing the watch set to 10:10.

Then I read that most manufac- turers of watches and clocks set their watches, clocks and timepieces to approxi- mately 10:10 and you set the correct time when you buy the watch.  The theory behind that time was that it was the time that an atomic bomb was dropped on either Nagasaki or Hiroshima and the setting was in memory of the causalities.  But, that bomb was dropped at 11:02 a.m., so there goes that theory.  The real reason for the 10:10 position is AESTHETICS!  Now, that makes sense since: (1) the hands are not overlapping and are clearly visible, (2) the arrangement of the hands is symmetrical, (3) the manufacturer's logo is usually in the center of the face under the 12 and is framed by the hands, (4) additional elements of the face are usually placed near the 3, 6, or 9 and won't be obscured.  Now, I found the major reason that clocks are no longer set to 8:20 (which they really were at one time in history).  Another poster told that setting it to 8:20 made the face look like it was frowning.  So, they flipped the hands to 10:10 to make it look as if it was smiling.  Another mystery of the ages solved! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "What Happens To My Sundial?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  An hour shorter, but still an ordinary day.  I suppose you know by now that in the United States as well as many other parts of the earth, daylight saving time began today.  Ben Franklin, the American inventor and politician proposed a form of daylight time in 1784 to make daylight last an hour longer.  I assume he did realize that daybreak would also last longer and normal sunrise times would be altered too.  Franklin wrote an essay about the subject and sent it to the editor of The Journal of Paris, suggesting that Parisians could economize candle usage by getting people out of bed earlier in the morning, making use of natural morning light instead.  Then in 1895 New Zealander George Hudson also proposed the idea, but it wasn't until April 30, 1916 that the German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation of daylight saving time (DST).  It has been used by many other countries since then to help conserve energy.  But, daylight saving time does complicate international timekeeping as well as disrupts travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices and sleep patterns.  My computer and TV seem to have no trouble with it, but I'm not sure how it affects other countries and jurisdictions in the world as far as dates and timing.  Even when Franklin, publisher of "Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise", was American envoy to France, it was said by many, including me a minute ago, that he proposed the idea of DST, but it was meant more as a satire on economizing on candles.  He proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles by rising earlier to use morning sunlight and waking the public by ringing church bells and firing cannons at sunrise, since it was said that Europe didn't keep precise schedules as I guess he thought they should.  Didn't matter anyway since rail transport and communication networks soon afterward required a standardization of time.  Today at 1:59 am the clock jumped forward to 3:00 am DST making the day 23 hours long while in autumn the clock will backup from 1:59 am to 1:00 am, thus making the day 25 hours long.  The coordination and shifting of time schedules must be almost impossible throughout the world.  The European Union shifts all zones at the same instant, 1:00 am Greenwich Mean Time while North America shifts its time zones at different times; with Hawaii and most of Arizona not even observing DST.  Australia districts shift times on different dates.  

Daylight saving time has caused controversy since it began.  Winston Churchill was all for it since it enlarged "the opportunities for the pursuit of health and happiness" for the people of England.  Traditionally, retail stores, sports and tourism love DST while agriculture and evening entertainment have opposed it.  And, did you know that on February 9, 1942, during "War Time" in the United States, a year-round daylight saving time began.  It was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and was to help conserve energy.  Then in 1986 another bill was passed to make daylight saving time run from the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October.  In 2007 it was changed and set daylight saving time from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.  Wonder what will happen when the current administration takes charge of the clocks.  I'm sure it will be an amazing and great event.  My only question throughout all these time changes is: What do I do about my hand-made sundial that my friend John S. made for me years ago?  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Time And Time Again: Part II - The Monumental Clock" Story

Entrance to the National Clock and Watch Museum in Columbia, PA

It was an ordinary day.  Looking at the display of pocket watches that were made for railroad transporta- tion in the early 1900s when someone tapped me on the shoulder and told me that he was beginning a talk on the Engle clock in a few minutes. If I cared to join him and the other two museum guests, I should be at the Monument Clock display around the next corner of the museum.   Today I am in the National Clock and Watch Museum in nearby Columbia, Pennsylvania.  

Mr. Stephen Decatur Engle

The museum is an unbelievable collection of time pieces in history and is recognized as the largest and most comprehensive horological collection in North America.  And, all this in the tiny Susquehanna River borough, or town, of Wright's Ferry, now known as Columbia, which was founded in 1726 by Colonial English Quakers and sits between the cities of Lancaster and York.  Well, I headed to the Monumental Clock display and met the other two museum visitors, a husband and wife, and the museum guide began his talk about the Engle clock.  During the last quarter of the 19th century a novel and short lived style of clock grew in favor with the American public.

Stephen Engle's Monumental Clock

 The monumental clock was meant to do more than tell time, it was meant to entertain.  During 1875 and 1900 about two dozen clocks toured the United States and Europe and amazed and entertained the public.  The first known American-made clock was built by Stephen Decatur Engle in Hazleton, Pennsylvania.  It was completed around 1878 after twenty years of off-and-on construction.  Mr. Engle, more an inventor than showman, turned over the clock to Philadelphia entrepreneurs Captain and Mrs. Jacob Reid for exhibiting it.  The pair billed the clock as "The Eighth Wonder of the World."  The clock was exhibited throughout the eastern United States, charging anywhere from 15 to 25 cents to view it.  

The clock as it appears in the museum.

It toured for the next 70 years and then disappeared from public view after being shown at the 1951 Ohio State Fair.  Eventually it was found in 1988 and was transferred to Columbia for restoration.  As the three of us sat in front of it, we were amazed with the size of the clock.  Stands 11 feet high, is 8 feet wide and 3 feet deep.  I contains three towers with the side towers holding organ movements.  There are 48 moving figures, a tellurian that illustrates the positions of the moon, constellations and zodiac relative to the rotating earth.  The clock also displays the day of the week, month of the year, phase of the moon and current tides.  Some of the moving figures include Jesus Christ, the twelve Apostles, the three Marys, Satan, Father Time, the three Ages of Man, Death, Justice Orpheus and Linus.  On the hour, a skeleton representing Death strikes a bone against a skull attached to the column of the clock.  

This is an advertisement for the clock.
It is a colored lithograph on paper.

Every fifteen minutes, Father Time strikes a bell with a scythe and turns his sandglass while the central figures of Youth, Middle Age, and Old Age revolve in the arch above the clock dial.  Oh yeah, Mr Engle made an image of himself as the figure that represents Middle Age.  At 40 minutes past the hour, a group of revolutionary soldiers and Molly Pitcher appear on the top left tower while a barrel organ plays "patriotic tunes."  At five minutes before the hour, the three Marys come out of the central tower as a procession of the Apostles takes place accompanied by hymns.  When Judas Iscariot finally appears and revolves past Jesus, a devil figure appears from another door.  On the very top of the entire clock is a sentry soldier marching back and forth at all times.  The three of us watched and watched as our guide made one thing after another move.  

Our tour guide preparing to turn the clock's hands to
show us that will happen at 2:40.

Hard to see everything in one go-around, so he did it again.  Then we were asked to follow him behind the clock as he opened the rear doors and showed us the movements from the rear.  Unbelievable!!  The clock's main movement was not working, but he was still able to show us just about everything by manually moving the hands on the clock.  The clock was recently restored by a professional who had to rebuild many of the parts as well as refurbish the characters and just about everything that moved.  The "Eighth Wonder of the World" is worth the price of admission to the museum.  Well, back to the rest of my tour.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Click on photos to enlarge them.  

This is Jesus who appeared and his first Disciple preparing to walk in front of him.

This photograph shows Judas Iscariot as he passes Jesus and the Devil has appeared in the upper right-hand window.

This shows the clock's face with Father Time above the 12 as well as the skeleton striking the skull with a bone to signify death.

Looking at some of the mechanism that runs the clock and it's many pieces.

One of the barrel organs is pointed out.  Looks much like a cylinder on a player piano.

A view of Molly Pitcher and the soldiers from inside the clock as they prepare to exit onto the front of the clock. 

This photo shows the skeleton, representing death, strikes a bone in hand against a skull.

The "A Path By Any Name Is Still A Path" Story

Sign in Lancaster County Park

It was an ordinary day.  Heading south on Prince Street towards the small town of Willow Street.  After passing the Meadia Heights Golf Club on SR222 South, I turned left onto Golf Road.  Wasn't long before I passed the clubhouse and headed toward Lancaster County  Central Park.  As I rounded a sweeping right turn, there on the hill in front of me, to the right, was the sign.  Big green sign declared: "Great Indian Warrior Trading Path."  Seems that Lancaster County, Pennsylvania was part of the path that led thousands of colonial Americans south to settle in Virginia and the Carolina's.  The bright green plaque says the road was the most heavily traveled road in Colonial America that linked areas from the Great Lakes to Augusta, Georgia.  

Drawing showing The Great Wagon Road

The path, or road, was laid on ancient animal and Native American trading and warrior routes.  The plaque doesn't say that Golf Road was the actual path, but that it was in the vicinity of what was alleged to be the path.  Nearby, in 1979, archaeologists unearthed Native American graves that led people to believe that this possibly was the actual path that transported people from north to south.  The pathway actually was called the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road and passed by Philadelphia, Lancaster, York and Gettysburg.  The path was also known as the Great Wagon Road.  Many a Conestoga Wagon traveled on the road during the eighteenth century as new immigrants traveled along the road searching for more plentiful and cheaper land.  Many Mennonites found their way to Virgina's Shenandoah Valley while Pennsylvania Moravians settled in Salem, North Carolina.  Fifteen years ago it was decided by the National Society Daughters of the American Colonists that one marker would be erected in each state along the Great Wagon Road.  Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Clark were responsible for the signs and it was decided, since Mrs. Clark's ancestors used the road to get from Lancaster to Virginia, that the sign in Pennsylvania would be in Lancaster.  Since Native Indian remains and artifacts were found on the archaeological dig in Lancaster County Park, it would be a great location to mark the Great Indian Warrior Trading Path.  No one will ever know if the plaque is actually located on the original path, but it's as good a place as any other place along the alleged trail.  It was documented that the trail ran on an Indian path through nearby Willow Street and Conestoga Indian Town to Washington Boro.  The trial was developed through Indian Treaties among the Governors of New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia as well as 19 chiefs of Iroquois League of Five Nations in 1685 and 1722 according to the plaque.  What at one time were dirt trails traveled by ancient behomoths, Native American Indians and wagon trains are now asphalt covered roads that carry vehicles that were only visions in the minds of those travelers.  And now I can add my name to the list of travelers who perhaps at one time wandered this trading path in search of the American Dream.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.   

The "Forgetful Disease" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Can't find what I did with my glasses.  I know I took them off a few seconds ago so I could begin typing this story, but can't remember where I put them.  Now, for many, it's no big deal when you can't remember something, but for others it can be devastating.  For me ... well I seem to be able to always find my glasses, but … I often wonder.  I'm sure most of you have heard of dementia.  Just in case, it is a general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life.  Memory loss is one example of dementia with Alzheimer's being the most common type of dementia.  When my mother and father reached their mid-80s I could see they were more forgetful, but not to the point that it totally interfered with their daily life.  Dad's memory remained fairly strong until his death at age 87 while mom tended to repeat herself many times, not realizing she was doing it.  She did enjoy doing word search until she died at the age of 90.  Recently, in the local paper, there was a story about a fellow who, at the age of 57, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.  

A visual from Harry Urban's website.

He knew he had it, but knew he couldn't stop it from happening.  He knows what his future will hold, but doesn't know if he will ever realize it when it happens.  Harry Urban has several Forget Me Not groups on Facebook as well as talking at nursing homes with people who also have dementia.  Every couple of months he goes to the local hospital where he addresses those who are just now finding out they have Alzheimer's.  He writes a blog that you can visit here: http://www.mythoughtsondementia.com/index.html.  (I found the link may not work at times, but you can copy and paste it to reach the blog)

As for me,  I think often what it would be like to experience dementia.  It only drives me harder to keep my mind active and participate in as many new and exciting experiences as possible.  I find laughter is the cure for so many things in life and try to practice it often.  Today I was making a visit to our local library and as I walked into the building came face to face with a slim children's activity book titled "The Unforgettable Adventures of Grandma's Cape."  

Cover of Activity Book written by Joel Kroft
and illustrated by student Gabrielle Hoffman.

One of our local retirement communities partnered with the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design to produce a children's activity book geared to teach them about an issue that could perhaps affect one or more of their grandparents.  The activity book tells the story of a child's relationship with a grandparent and how it changes because of the "forgetting disease."  Grandparents are held in such high regard and a life-changing disease such as Alzheimer's can be hard for a young child to understand.  The activity book is meant to help with understanding the disease for the child.  

One of the inside sections.  Click on to enlarge.

The author of the booklet was Joel Kroft and senior Gabrielle Hoffman was chosen as the illustrator.  The story deals with Grandma who at times forgets about her cookies in the oven and often looks scared and sad.  She had to go to see some doctors and the little boy in the story asked her if she wanted his cape.  That made her smile.  The booklet tells children how the brain can be changed by dementia and how they can help Grandma cope.  Neat book for children ... and I found that I enjoyed it also.  None of us know if or when we may at some time be diagnosed with a debilitating disease such as Alzhemer's, so we just have to live our lives to the fullest while we can.  I know I'm trying to take my own advice!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.   
     

The "Memories Are Forever??" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Carol had just packed the final Christmas decorations in the plastic tubs and placed them at the top of the basement steps for me to take to the basement and place with the other tubs.  For years we kept our Christmas decoration in the cedar closet next to our bedroom, but this year we thought it best to take them to the basement and save the extra effort it takes to place them in the upstairs closet.  As I picked up the final tub she asked me, "What will be ever do with all the decorations when we finally decide to downsize?

Artwork hanging inside the entrance.

 Matter of fact, what will do with all the photos and artwork we have hanging on the walls?  And, what about all those photo albums you made of our vacations we have taken since you retired from teaching."  You know, I have been thinking the same thing for the last couple of years, but figure we will find an outlet for all the items we have collected over our lifetime.  All the old photographs we have stored in boxes will be passed down to the kids.  Carol's jewelry will go to our daughter and daughter-in-law.  Many of my tools will find their way into my two son's garages.  But, that still leaves the decorations, photos, paintings, and other memorabilia we have collected together for almost 50 years.  

Photo albums of past trips Carol and I have taken.

I have 19 vacation albums that will probably be throw in the trash, since they mean nothing to our children.  Who's going to want the two coffee table's filled with sea shells or the eleven drawer antique cabinet filled with sea shells?  I actually walked around the house and found we have displayed 144 pieces of art and photography and that doesn't count the small framed photos sitting on tables and cabinets.  

Cabinet filled with old family photos.

I can remember a few years ago throwing box after box of "stuff" from my mother and father in the trash, since no one wanted any of it and it wasn't worth a cent to anyone but them.  The thing that worries me the most is what will our family and friends remember about Carol and me when we are no longer here?  How many boxes of "stuff" will see the dumpster when we die?  You know, that's one of the main reasons that I started this blog over six years ago.  I have been trying to document my life and the life of my family with stories from the past.  Sure, not all of my stories deal with my family and our journey through life together, but many have and hopefully these stories will be a link for my future generations to visit with Carol and me in the past.  

One of many collections of sea shells we have in the house.

Do you have plans that will help your family and friends remember you in the future?  With each generation, memories of the past slowly drift away.  Shouldn't you be creating a visual or digital record of your life and the lives of all around you so that generations that will follow you will have those stories to remember you.  It doesn't really matter how old you may be right now, since none of us know how long we may have.  Now if I only knew which family member to give all those seashells, pictures and Christmas ornaments I'd feel so much better.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary life.  

The "BFF Reunited" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting on the rear patio of one of my wife Carol's best friends from high school, Betty Ann and her husband Jay, talking about years past and reminiscing about some of the best times in our lives.  Carol grew up in the city of Lancaster, PA until the early 1950's  when her dad designed a new house for his family, bought land in southern Lancaster County known as Martic Forge from Betty Ann's father and had his home built along the Pequea Creek.  In 1953, right after Carol had finished Kindergarten, the Baker family moved into their new home on a nameless lane near the Pennsylvania Railroad trestle bridge in Martic Forge.  Carol and her mom and dad moved from a row home in the west end of the city to a single home with plenty of land along a crushed stone lane with the meandering Pequea Creek at the foot of the property directly to the front of their lovely new home.  Carol entered Martic Elementary School as a first grader not knowing  anyone in her class.  

Early photo of friends Betty Ann and Carol
taken in Margate, NJ while on vacation together.

Across the creek from Carol lived another girl her age who she would only get to know when they both entered Penn Manor Junior High, since the creek divided the two eventual friends into different school areas.  Sometime in her early teens Carol's dad brought a new family member home .... "Blackie," a part quarter-horse and part Tennessee Walker, whom she claimed for herself.  Seems her friend Betty Ann also had a rather large light-colored horse named Belle and the two friends gained a newly found friendship that lasted years.  On school days they would ride the bus home, saddle their horses and meet at a pre-determined location for a ride through the orchards, fields and fertile farmland of southern Lancaster County.  Belle was famous for eating peaches from the trees and spitting the pits out while Blackie was known for stealing cigarettes from the blacksmith who put shoes on him and eating them.  On Saturdays or Sundays the two friends would pack lunch and spend the afternoons riding the same hills over again.  Carol had a transistor radio with a strap she could attach to her saddle so they could listen to rock and roll music as they rode.  Summer saw Carol and Betty Ann riding and spending more time together.  The two learned life lessons together with all the responsibilities associated with having a horse.  Carol's dad had built a barn with two stalls, but never got another horse for himself and Carol was responsible for all the chores associated with raising her horse.  

Betty Ann and Carol a few weeks ago.

After high school Carol and Betty Ann both married and needed time to raise their families and sort of lost touch with each other.  Then a few months ago they both got letters in the mail about their class' 50th reunion.  Neither cared to go to the reunion so they got in touch with each other, had lunch together and Carol and I were invited to Betty Ann and Jay's new Carriage House for burgers and roasting ears.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but as soon as we arrived it was as if we had just visited with them recently.  Had a great evening talking about the last half-century.  Times change, but good friends never fade.  Carol and Betty Ann are making plans to travel around all the hills and valleys where they used to ride their horses.  Just like old times!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "Gone Forever" Story

Original sign for Penn Welding Co.

It was an ordinary day.  Looking at an old fuzzy photo which shows the side of a building in the 900 block of North Prince St. in Lancaster, PA.  On the wall is painted in black five foot high letters PENN WELDING CO.  The location is exactly one block from my childhood home on nearby North Queen St.  The sign had been there for as long as I had lived there.  Matter of fact it was painted on a silver background on the red brick wall in 1939 and was visible to drivers entering the city of Lancaster from the north by way of Fruitville Pike and Prince St.  My childhood friend Jerry lived about 150 yards from the sign on Manheim Ave.  He recently called and asked if I could take a photo of the wall and make it into a photo four inches wide and three inches high.  Needed it for a building he was constructing for his HO train layout.  He now lives in State College, PA, but is recreating his childhood neighborhood with houses and the nearby Lancaster Train Station where his dad worked at the Railway Express Station.  

Where the original sign once was is now a red wall.

I drove to the location shortly after the call and after driving around the block a few times couldn't find the sign.  I knew exactly where it was, but I'll be darn …. it wasn't there anymore.  Relayed the bad news to Jerry and decided I would re-create the sign for him on my computer so he could finish his train project.  Emailed him the result and he was good to go.  Wasn't more than a few days later that I saw a photo of the building with the sign on it published in the Lancaster Newspaper.  Seems that the new owner of the building painted over the sign with brick-red paint.  Thanks a lot!  The old welding business known as High Welding was started by Ben and Sanford High in 1931 on Lemon Street in the city.  In 1937 Ben purchased the Prince Street site and founded Penn Welding while Sanford continued operating High Welding which eventually became known as High Steel.  From 1938 until 1990 Ben High welded just about everything and anything in his shop.  I can remember watching the sparks fly many a day when I lived nearby.  Ben died 20 years ago and now the only memory of him and his company is also gone.  Sad day, but time goes on!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Story of Grandview Heights: The Beginning" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Pulled the book titled From The Beginning - A History of Manheim Township off my book shelf and began looking through it to find the origins of a place called Grandview Heights.  The book was written by a good friend, C. Nat Netscher and the layout and design was done by Larry W. Woods.  Wow, that's me!  Yep, back in 2003 Nat called and asked if I was interested in working with him on the book that tells the story of the locale where we live.  Soon we were busy with meeting after meeting working on the book.  My story today begins with the emergence of Lancaster County in 1729.  It was at that time that a new county was carved out of Chester County and given the name of Lancaster after Lancashire, a county in England.  The new county was divided into seventeen townships, three of which eventually became part of Dauphin and Lebanon counties.  Of the fourteen that remained, Manheim Township, named after a city in Germany, was to the north of Lancaster and was reconfigured through annexation several times during the 1940's and 1950's by it's larger neighbor, Lancaster City.  Throughout the 1700's the township grew, mostly with farmers and mechanics from Germany.  Religion was a big part of their life and in 1767 a "Great Meeting" was held in the barn of Isaac Long near Landis Valley.  At this time a new congregation, the first born on American soil and called the United Brethren in Christ, was begun.  Years later it was decided to establish twelve urban villages throughout the township with each village holding services for it's residents.  

An aerial photograph showing the layout of Grandview Heights.  The building on the bottom left is the  Pleasure Road School which is now apartments. Click on photos to enlarge.  

One of the villages was called Grandview Heights.  In 1925 Samuel R. Slaymaker cleared the way for the village when he purchased four hundred acres of farmland from the McGrann and Rohrer families.  

Some of the earliest equipment was pulled with horses.

Wasn't long before surveyors, engineers and landscape architects had completed their designs and began construction of the village.  In April of 1927, steam shovels began the chore of building the streets, water mains and sewer lines.  

Asphalt laying equipment is in use in this photo.

The first houses were completed in late 1928.  The house that Carol and I purchased after getting married was one of the first built.  While working on renovations in the bathroom of 925 Janet Ave., I found the date 1929 stamped on the back of the medicine cabinet.  

On the bottom of the photo at about 7:00 you can see the new Schaeffer School Building.  The road above it is McGrann Boulevard.  Follow that one block, turn left and you will see a few houses in the center of the block.  Our house is the first one in line. 

On an aerial photo of the area dated the same year, you can see two sets of semi-detached homes in the 900 block of Janet Ave.  One of those home was the one we had purchased.  

Close to the center of the photo is a house with an awning on the front porch.  Our house is directly to the left of that house with the chimney free-standing along the side of the roof.

The Grandview Heights Corporation had an office building at the intersection of McGrann Boulevard and Janet Avenue.  It was removed when housing was place on the location.  The CD that I talked about in yesterday's story has over 100 images showing the construction of the homes in Grandview Heights.  

This was the playground and park for Grandview Heights.  It was about a half-block from my house at the intersection of Janet Avenue and Cameron Avenue.

 What a great way to see the development and housing structures of Grandview Heights.  The road that borders to the north in the Heights, Pleasure Road, had a school that was built in 1859, long before Grandview Heights was started.  The school, known as the Pleasure Road School was to educate the children of the nearby  village of Rossmere.  The school was razed in 1906 and replaced with a new and larger school.  That school building was closed in 1937, but still remains on Pleasure Road and is now known as the Schoolhouse apartments.  

The new Nathan C. Schaeffer School on Pleasure Road.  Our children walked about a block and a half to reach school each day.  They all spent hours in the summer playing in the playground behind the school.  That was back in the 1970's and you didn't have to worry about your children playing away from home.

On March 8, 1937 the students of the old Pleasure Road School marched down the street and into a new and modern school named the Nathan C. Schaeffer Elementary School.  It was named in honor of Mr. Schaeffer who was a former state superintendent of schools.  All three of my children walked the block from our house to Schaeffer school throughout their elementary years in school.  

This was the row of homes across from the school on Pleasure Road.  They were some of the first homes built in Grandview Heights.

My good friend, Mike, who has worked with me on in-house school printing for the Manheim Township School District for over 40 years now, was a teacher in the school and had my children in class.  Grandview Heights remains one of the premier places to live in Lancaster County.  It's tree-lined streets and well-kept homes reminds one of towns depicted in TV shows such as Leave It To Beaver.  Carol and I lived in the Heights for 29 years and only after becoming empty-nesters did we venture to another part of Manheim Township.  

The trolley came from Lancaster City and through Grandview Heights on Fountain Avenue which is the western most street in the Heights.

Life in the Heights is still welcoming for those who call it home.  The last couple of years a few new homes have been added to the east of the Heights on a farm that was sold for development.  It is still called Grandview Heights in that area, but will take years to be a real part of the Grandview Heights community.  My parents worked hard to earn their home in the Heights and Carol and I raised our family in the Heights.  Wouldn't have done anything different if we'd have had a chance to do it all over again.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.   PS - Tomorrow's final story will show you more of the photos depicted on the CD Mike gave to me with current photos so you can see the changes, if any, from back in the late 1920's and 1930's till the 2000's.

The "The Lady Has Returned" Story

The copper Lady Justice in Lancaster, PA

It was an ordinary guy.  Standing in front of Lady Justice, the iconic symbol of justice, in the first block of North Duke Street in Lancaster, PA.  The Lady looks gorgeous once again, standing behind the chain-link fence and holding her scales in her left hand and sword in her right hand. She is one of a few statues of Lady justice, mounted on a courthouse, that is not blindfolded.  The nine-foot-tall copper statue had been standing atop the Lancaster County Courthouse for 85 years and had deteriorated and turned green from oxidation due to the elements during those years.  Hey, haven't we all.  It was back in early October that she was removed from the courthouse dome and sent to Philadelphia for restoration.  

An early postcard showing the Lancaster County Courthouse
with the dome and Lady Justice atop it.  I'm not sure of the
date of the postcard so the statue may be wood or copper.

She had stood atop the dome since the removal of the original Lady Justice in 1929.  The original wooden statue had been in place on the top of the dome since the courthouse had been erected in 1854.  After returning from Philadelphia a few days ago, she was placed in a chain-link area until the dome restoration is completed sometime in the near future.  

Scaffolding surrounds the courthouse dome.

The dome had suffered water damage and also was in need of repair.  The dome still is surrounded by a skeleton of scaffolding which should be removed in a few months.  The courthouse main entrance is located at 43 E. King Street and is constructed of  beautiful cut stone. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and has a linage of fine architects over the years including Lancaster's own C. Emlen Urban who designed many of downtown Lancaster's other buildings.  I'm anxious to see Lady Justice take her stand once again looking down on Lancaster and yielding her scale and sword once again.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The historical sign sits next to Lady Justice inside her chain-link surroundings.

A Civil War re-enactor takes a photo of Lady Justice.