The "Time-Tested Wedding Traditions" Story

It was an ordinary day.  And...the ordinary days all seem to be the same as they drag on and on.  To relieve some of the boredom, I began to go through some of the cabinets in our wet bar in our living room.  One cabinet had a variety of yearbooks from the high school from which I graduated as well as a few from the high school from which my wife Carol graduated.  At the bottom of the pile was the big white album with gold lettering across it which read "Our Wedding."  Grabbed it and headed to the family room to share it with my wife.  It's been quite a few years since we leafed through it, and it's always fun to share our thoughts about it once again.  As we went through it, page by page, we spent time reliving some of our wedding over again.  Some of the photographs brought back old wedding and marriage sayings which are old-time wedding traditions.  

Carol in the church entrance before the wedding.

We talked about not seeing each other on our wedding day until, while standing at the front of St. James Episcopal with my best man, my brother Steve, seeing her coming down the aisle with her dad.  Her flowing long-sleeved gown filled most of the aisle and her dad looked so proud as she held his arm.  She said she was wearing something old and something new which was a saying that was necessary to bring good luck into your marriage.  

Our wedding party.  One the few color photos we have.

Her white gown was picked because white dresses were supposed to be virginal and pure.  Actually, I didn't realize you could buy a wedding dress in any color but white, but it wasn't until the mid-1800s that white became popular.  Carol told me you can still buy a colored wedding dress, even black!  Carol had a maid of honor (unmarried female), a matron of honor (married female) along with three bridesmaids.  

Carol after our wedding was over.

I had a best man, my brother Steve, and 4 ushers.  Having bridesmaids and ushers dated back to Ancient Rome when having a bridal party was required to be witnesses to vouch for the couple.  Actually in many cultures, bridesmaids acted as incognito bodyguards and all dressed the same as the bride to prevent kidnappers and thieves from taking off with the bride.  At the end of the wedding ceremony we exchanged wedding bands which we still have to this day.  Long ago, men didn't wear wedding rings.  

Our wedding bands which we still wear today.

It wasn't until the 1940s that men's wedding rings became socially acceptable and were seen as a romantic link between married couples.  I still wear the original ring that I got from my bride on our wedding day over 50 years ago.  Actually, my knuckle and finger have grown to the point where I can't remove it!  Someone will have to cut it off after I die.  

Thousands of computer chads fill the air.

Another custom of getting married is the tossing of the celebratory rice as the bride and groom leave the church after the wedding.  Years ago in Ancient Rome, wheat was the best signifier of fertility, with rice taking up its role in Europe in the Middle Ages.  Lentils, oats, peas and other grains were also popular.  At our wedding, guests threw little chads of paper from the computer printers back in the mid-1960s.  They were so small and hard to clean up that the church later banned throwing them.  

Our wedding cake.

At our reception, which was held at the church's Parish House, the women's club at the church prepared the food and the large wedding cake was beautiful.  Carol and I kept the top layer of the cake and put it in our freezer at our first home at Manor House Apartments.  On our first anniversary we thawed it out and had a piece to celebrate.  Don't remember it tasting as bad on our wedding day as it did on our anniversary.  Saving the top layer of the wedding cake was a tradition begun in the early 1900s, but it was said back then that it was to be eaten at the birth of a first child.  If we had waited for our first child to eat it, the cake might have killed both of us.  Wedding traditions are neat to talk about and look back on from time to time.  And the more wedding anniversaries we celebrate, the more fun it becomes.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Carol with her mom and dad, Grace and Charlie.

Me with my dad Paul, mom Dottie and brother (on right) Steve.

PS:  On June 17, 1967, Carol and I were married at St. James Episcopal Church in downtown historical Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  We recently celebrated 53 years of marriage!  We shared a box full of red roses and some greeting cards for our anniversary!

The "Rock Climbing Family" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a story in the 2018 Lancaster Newspaper about a boy, no...make that a young man, by the name of Cameron Hörst.  Cameron happens be the son of one of my favorite students I had while teaching photography and graphic arts at Manheim Township High School by the name of  Eric Hörst.  Eric was a top notch student as well as a fantastic rock climber.   Eric began climbing in 1977 at the age of 13 with his older brother Kyle.  In high school, Eric was a member of the high school gymnastics team, specializing in the still rings.  In 1979 he teamed up with two other school-aged climbers, Jeff Batzer and Hugh Herr.  Eric and Jeff were avid climbers who climbed over 300 times in Pennsylvania and New York.  And then one day, in January of 1982, Jeff and Hugh headed to Mount Washington in New Hampshire to climb.  Luckily Eric had something else he had to do, so he missed the trip.  Batzer and Herr got lost in a snowstorm on Mount Washington and were finally saved after three days.  Frostbite robbed Batzer of his left lower leg and fingers of his right hand.  Herr lost both legs.  Eventually both resumed climbing using artificial limbs.  Batzer became a pastor due to his experience and Herr devoted his life to finding ways to help disabled become more mobile.  He founded the Hugh Herr Institute for Human Rehabilitation in Cambridge, Mass.  I still remember Eric telling me how lucky he was that he didn't go along.  Eric graduated from Penn State University in 1986 and has been an adjunct faculty and staff member at Millersville University since 1988.  Eric also became an on-line meteorologist at TV Channel 8 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  

Eric working at Millersville University

He was the founder of the Campus Weather Service and the Millersville Weather Information Center where he is now the director.  Today, along with his job at Millersville, he is an expert storm analyst and forecaster.  Eric has two sons of his own who are making a name for themselves in the sport of climbing.  Cameron was an outstanding athlete at Manheim Township High School where he was a three-year starter for the Blue Streaks football team.  But, climbing is still his love and during high school the left wall in the two-car garage of the Hörst family's home is covered in harnesses, ropes, helmets, backpacks, hiking shoes and climbing shoes.  A thick climbing rope and hanging rings dangle from a horizontal beam that cuts across the open ceiling above the living room in the home.  A weight room fills part of the basement while another room contains a treadmill for climbers.  It's here where Eric and his two sons train for rock climbing.  

Eric with sons Cameron and Jonathan and wife Lisa Ann.

Eric's wife, Lisa Ann, is also a former Penn State golfer and current LPGA golf pro who was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.  Seems that Cameron and his brother Jonathan have made tougher climbs than their dad in recent years.  In rock climbing, they are considered prodigies.  

Cameron during one of his climbs.

When Cameron was 14, he climbed a route graded 5.14b, which in layman's terms is among the highest grades for a climb. The following year Jonathan, 10 years old at the time, was proclaimed Climbing Magazine's "the youngest ever" to complete a 5.14 ascent.  They have climbed rock faces all across the world.  Cameron became a professional climber after graduating from high school.  Today, after one year of professional rock climbing, Cameron has been promoted by three climbing brands, La Sportiva, DMN and Maxim and a supplement company Physivantage.  

Eric on one of his climbs.

Cameron promotes these sponsors on social media and at various climbing clinics and festivals throughout the year.  He also has the support of his mom and dad in his endeavors.  Eric has published eight books on rock climbing and has a popular climbing-focused YouTube page.  Cameron had plans to travel to Spain in March, but the COVID-19 virus put his trip on hold.  When Eric was in my classes at Manheim Township, I knew he was going to do something impressive with his life and he most certainly did that.  What a success story for the entire Hörst family.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Are You In Need Of Some Help?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Driving through the area of Lancaster City known as Cabbage Hill on my way home.  A few months ago I wrote a few stories telling of the people and events that make Cabbage Hill so interesting an area in which to live.  Well, today is another example.  

An intersection near the Prayer Request Box in Lancaster, PA.

As I was heading East on West Vine Street, I came upon a black metal mailbox that had white, hand-painted letters on the sides that read: PRAYER REQUEST BOX.  The house is in great shape with a brick facade, light-brown wooden trim and a very interesting stained-glass front door.  A wrought-iron railing went across the small concrete porch and down the few steps to the pavement in front of the home.  I found that the Fisher family live in the home and it is Brittany and Bert Fisher who are responsible for the mailbox.  Inside the mailbox are note cards, pencil, Bible verses and brochures for the Journey Church in nearby Ronks, Pennsylvania.  That is where the Fisher's are members.  Brittany really cares about her neighbors and their spiritual lives.  So, when someone leaves a request for a prayer in her mailbox, she tries to offer a prayer for the person who left it.  Doesn't have to be signed, just has to have a request for a prayer.  According to a recent Lancaster Newspaper article, the majority of the requests deal with health issues.  One recent prayer request told of a person who was living with their father who was retired and in his 70s.  Seems the father had a medical problem, but the prayer request was also meant for the writer of the request who is the caregiver who also has medical problems.  They reported that they really need many prayers.  

The Prayer Request Box at 645 West Vine Street.

The prayer mailbox is a way for the Fisher's to offer help to others.  They lived in Brickerville for many years before moving to the city six years ago.  They did so believing that they were needed in the city to do God's work.  They also believe that God helped them find the house at 645 West Vine Street, since when they visited the home for the first time, the current owner's hit it off with Bert's grandson.  A call from the realtor, after they had left the home, told them that the owners had just taken it off the market, since they felt the Fisher's were the proper family to live there.  Bert and his wife are care team leaders at Journey Church and provide meals for people who are sick or who have had a baby or may need help moving.  The program is known as the "Hands and Feet of Jesus."  Many people use the black prayer box in front of their home to send "Thank You" notes to them for help they may have given them.  Mr. Fisher and his wife both lived in Lancaster County before their move to 645 West Vine Street.  They now feel that this is where they are supposed to be.  One neighbor placed a card in the box saying that they were praying for the Fishers.  And, the neighborhood, which is known as the "SoWe" neighborhood due to being in the South-West of downtown Lancaster, is a  beautiful place to live.  I will keep a note in the back of my head about this place I happened upon this morning.  Never know when a note in the box may help me!   It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Takin' Your Sweetheart To The Drive-In!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Going through an old box in the space above our garage when I came upon a small metal device.  Ah!  I thought I had thrown that away years ago.  It was a metal speaker about the size of a small box of candy.  But, did it bring back memories from over 50 years ago!  The device was a speaker that sat on the front window of my car when Carol and I had gone to the Comet Drive-In Theater one evening in the mid-1960s.  If my memory serves me right...the weather had turned nasty and a downpour finally arrived.  We decided it was time to head home, so I started the car and headed to the exit.  Only thing I didn't do was put the speaker back on the post in the spot where the car had been sitting.  Ripped the cord right off the post that held it.  Thought I would be in trouble if I returned it the next day, so I put it in the box above the garage and finally found it today.  The Comet Drive-In Theater was one of three drive-in movies that I can remember that filled the night sky with movie action.  The nation's first drive-in opened in 1933 in Camden, New Jersey, but the owner was way ahead of his time.  Never caught on due to the Great Depression and WWII.  But, after the war all our soldiers returned, started families and began living the lifestyle we now know as "the 50s."  

It was actually in 1949 that Mr. Harry Chertcoff planned to build a 1,000 car drive-in about four miles east of Lancaster along the Lincoln Highway.  Was going to cost him about a quarter of a million dollars.  But, it never happened.  Three more outdoor theaters were proposed in the next few years, but the only one that was ever built was that original one that Mr. Chertcoff proposed.  On May 23, 1950 the "Sky-Due" theater opended on Lincoln Highway East, at the site of what is now Tanger Outlets.  A full-page ad in the newspaper told of the opening with a playground for kids and a refreshment stand.  

Opening of the Sky-Vue

The first movie shown in the outdoor theatre was "The Green Grass of Wyoming."  There was heavy rain the first night, but that still didn't stop about 400 cars from parking in the theater to allegedly watch the movie.  By the early 1950s there were close to 1,000 drive-ins across the country.  Then in 1955, Chertcoff opened his second drive-in theater along what is not Route 283, near Flory's Mill and Cloister Drive.  Called it the "Comet" and it opened on June 22, 1955.  

Another full-page ad was posted in the local newspaper.  This time the movie was "Rhapsody" which starred Elizabeth Taylor.  Then in 1956 a Maryland-based partnership began to build a theater along Route 462 just east of Columbia.  It opened on August 9, 1956 with the movie "A Man Called Peter".  When baby-boomers reached their teen years, the number of drive-ins had grown to an all-time high in the USA of 4,063 in 1958.  A few years later I turned 16 and before long I had a 1958 Chevy Impala convertible which was a real hit at the drive-in.  

Put the top down on it and I could sit three in the front and four in the back.  Didn't make for a very romantic evening at the outdoor movies, but that was reserved for another evening the following week with my special girl.  In 1962 a battle raged in Lancaster over the long standing "Blue Laws" that forbid entertainment venues from operating on Sundays unless township residents voted to allow such operation.  Didn't bother the drive-in owners, since they probably factored in the fines in their ticket price for the Sunday movies.  

The screen of the Columbia Drive-In could be seen from
the road.  X-rated movies slowed the traffic.

Then in the early 1970s, the drive-in theater's popularity began to wane, so the owner of the Columbia Drive-In decided to show X-rated movies on his outdoor screen.  Thing about that was you could see the screen from the Route 30 Bypass.  Many would stop along side of the bypass to watch some of the movie with their binoculars.  A few accidents began to take place so the police put up signs that you couldn't park there.  Still slowed down the traffic along the highway!  It also upset the neighbors who might of had a view of the screen from their homes.  Some protested to the police department  and eventually the owner stopped showing the movies.  

In 1979, the Comet Drive-In showed its last movie on September 13.  Two days later the property was sold to a trucking company.  Two years later the Sky-Vue showed their last movie..."The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia."  That land is now the home to Lancaster Outlet City, the county's first outlet shopping mall.  In December of 1994 the Columbia announced they may close.  It wasn't until 2005 that the last drive-in movie was shown at the Columbia Theater.  But, along comes 2020 and once again three businesses in Lancaster are once again planning on beginning out-door movies.  But, for now, with the pandemic still causing problems, we will have to wait and see.  Just hope they buy a few extra speakers to hang on your car window for those careless people that are also forgetful.  It was another extaordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "And...How About The Middle Name!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  I was trying to remember how many of my friends didn't have a middle name.  Thought for quite some time and couldn't find a single one who didn't have a middle name.  Now, if you read my blog from time to time, you probably remember a story or two when I told you about all the trouble I have gotten into due to someone whose name is the same as mine, Larry W. Woods.  Its been more than once that the people in authority (police) have called my wife asking about one Larry W. Woods.  By now she knows how to handle the situation, since the other Larry W. Woods has a different middle name than I do.  What did people do years and years ago when people didn't have a middle name or middle initial.  The traditional middle name goes all the back to close to 3,000 years ago in Rome.  In Rome it wasn't uncommon for Roman men to sport three names known as the praenomen, nomen and cognomen.  The praenomen was the individual's personal name, such as Larry, whereas the nomen was the family name, such as Woods.  The cognomen was slightly different and was more of a nickname that was passed down from father to son.  This is different than how we use the three names today being that we use the nomen, or family name, as the last part of our name.  Using a middle name probably became a normal practice in the 13th center when the elite in Italy began using it.  By the 14th century, use of a longer name became popular across all social classes and made its way to the countryside, where it became even more prevalent.  Parents had to decide if they should use the name of a saint for their newborn or if they show bear the family name.  The former was thought to provide their child with protection in life.  So, they began to use both.  

Using a middle name began to spread.  Italy, Spain and France used middle names as well as England's upper class.  By the start of the 19th century, Europe was full of citizens with three names and colonists in the United States were doing the same.  Today it isn't unusual for us to use all three names from time to time.  We known William Brad Pitt as Brad Pitt; we known John William Ferrell as Will Farrell.  Your middle name is a portion of you personal name that is written between your given name and your surname.  Some keep it as a name while others prefer an initial.  I prefer an initial unless my wife happens to be talking to the police, then I prefer my middle name of William.  But, what do we do when the woman gets married and has a maiden name?  Does she now have four names?  My wife decided to drop her third name of Baker and take my name of Woods so she still retains three names, with her middle initial still being "A" for Ann.  I have a friend who I worked with who went by R. Dean Lemon.  Boy did that screw things up!  Seems he didn't like his given name of Ruel so he chose to be known as Dean.  Same goes for the Principal of the school where we both taught.  The principal's name was C. Wendell Hower.  I never called him anything except Mr. Hower, so I have no idea what the C. stands for anyway.  And, for my wife and I, I may have to be known as Larry William Woods in order to keep the police away from the house.  Seems Larry Wayne Woods enjoys using just his middle initial, since it takes the police away from him for some time until my wife can explain to then that they are looking in the wrong place for their man.  She's getting real good at doing that.  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 "Fishing Around For A Good Laugh!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just came back from the grocery store known as Stauffer's of Kissel Hill which is between the town of Lititz and city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  A full-service grocery store, which my wife and I enjoy visiting weekly to purchase home-made items we can't find in other stores.  Though we don't purchase many items, it gives my wife, Carol, and myself a chance to get out and mingle and talk with the neighbors.  Carol used to comment about how my parents would go one day to this store and the next day to another store and the following day to yet another store.  She would tell me she hopes we don't act like that when we get old.  Guess what?   Sound familiar to those over 65, retired and reading this?  

Well, why I really enjoy going to Stuaffer's is to pick up the latest copy of the free publication known as "The Fishwrapper."  The publication is a 16 page, 8 1/2"x11" newspaper printed on nice white paper which is published bi-weekly.  They tell you that their objective is to bring positive news, inspirational articles and information everyone can use.  It got's it name from a practice done long ago when folks wrapped their fish in newspaper and the term caught on and became a slant at the newspaper itself.  One reason I enjoy it is that it is printed in 12 point type, and at times 14 pt. type which makes it easy to read.  Poetry, jokes, comics, puzzles, brain twisters, words-of-wisdom and plenty of advertisements accompany the half-dozen inspirational stories in the newspaper.  Takes about half-an-hour to read every page!  I have never before written about the paper, but today that will change after reading a 1/4 page story called "Chair Philosophy." Just have to share it with you to see if you think it to be as hilarious as I did.  So, here goes...in about the same size it was published...

An eccentric philosophy professor gave a one-question final exam after a semester dealing with a broad array of topics.  The class was already seated and ready to go when the professor picked up his chair, plopped it on his desk, and wrote on the board: "Using everything we have learned this semester, prove that this chair does not exist."  Fingers flew, erasers erased, notebooks were filled in curious fashion.  Some students wrote over 30 pages in one hour attempting to refute the existence of the chair.  One member to the class, however, was up and finished in less than a minute.  Weeks later when the grades were posted, the rest of the group wondered how he could have gotten an "A" when he had barely written anything at all.  His answer consisted of two words: "What Chair?"

I read it to my wife and her comment was...that's something you would have written.  My response to her was...Thank You!  I rest my case.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Veteran's Day 2019: A Hometown Hero" Story

Harold Billow as he appeared in 1943 in uniform.

It was an ordinary day.  Driving through the small town known as Mount Joy which is a bit over 10 miles to the east of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  I have visited the town in the past to buy ice hockey supplies, to eat with friends and to watch my grandson play baseball.  But, today I am on another type of visit...to take photographs of the front of the home of Harold Billow who is the last remaining survivor of the WWII Malmedy Massacre which took place on December 17, 1944, at the Baugnez Crossroads in Belgium.  His front yard is home to 87 small American flags to honor the men who died due to the massacre which was part of the Battle of the Buldge.  

Harold Billow in uniform.

The 96 year-old veteran of the war has placed the flags on his front lawn for many years in memory of his friends who served with him during that tragic event in 1944.  As I drove down Main Street in Mt. Joy, I passed telephone pole after telephone poll that carried a banner honoring a serviceman who lived in Mt. Joy and before long I saw the banner honoring Harold Billow with his photo from the 1940s on one side and his current photo on the other side.  Harold's story is hard to read at times and the fact that he survived the Malmedy Massacre is remarkable.  In December of 1944, he was a 21-year-old Private with Battery B, 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion.  He was riding in a convoy of jeeps and trucks en route to the Belgian town of St. Vith.  

Map showing location of massacre.
Click on image to enlarge it.

It was a day after the Germans launched their attack known in history as the Battle of the Bulge.  The Germans had hopes of driving a wedge through the Allied armies advancing eastward toward Germany.  As his convoy was moving out of Malmedy it reached the crossroad village of Baugnez shortly after noon.  As they turned south onto N23, they were suddenly attacked by tanks and half-tracks of Kampfgruppe Peiper which was a tough SS unit led by Lt. Col. Jochen Peiper.  Some Americans in the lead vehicles got away, but the rest were trapped and the men, about 130 of them, were gathered as prisoners by the SS troopers.  They were disarmed, told to put their hands in the air and herded into a field on the east side of the N23 behind the Café Bodarwe which sits in the intersection in Baugnez.  There they stood together, waiting and helpless.  

Remains of soldiers on the snow-covered field of Malmedy.

Billow remembered two Germans setting up two machine guns atop a tank.  Then an officer rolled up in a staff car, stood and drew his pistol.  "He shot a guy to the right of me," Billow said.  "Then he shot a guy to my left."  The officer yelled a command to the two Germans on the tank and "they opened up fire where the rest of us guys were standing.  They were trying to kill everybody because they weren't to take any prisoners," Billow said.  More Germans joined in the killing spree, firing machine guns and small arms into the mass of prisoners.  Wounded men were shown no mercy.  Billow saw a medic  bandage a wounded man and then both were shot in the head.  When the firing began, some men, like Robert "Sketch" Mearig, one of several Lancaster County soldiers in the 285th ran to safety, but many, like Billow, simply dropped face down in the the snow and played dead.  Some got away with it while others did not.  "The Germans went through the field and everybody who showed any sign of life, they point blank shot them through the head," Billow recalled.  

Howard and Vera Billow on their wedding day.

Billow laid in the snow for what seemed like forever.  "I was thinking, 'I hope I survive so I can get back and tell people what they did to us,'" he recalled.  Another Lancaster County man, James Mattera, said, "Come on guys, let's get out of here," and a number of men jumped up and ran.  Billow was one of those who ran.  He still remembers the German bullets chewing up the ground around him as he fled.   They ran into the nearby café, but quickly left when they realized the Germans saw them enter.  He ran west and was later picked up by American soldiers of an engineering battalion.  Many of the other men in the café weren't as lucky, since the Germans set the café on fire and killed the soldiers when they fled the flames.  87 Americans died in the Malmedy Massacre including two Lancaster County men, Luke Swartz and George Steffy.  

On the reverse side of the banner shows
Harold Billow today.  His service to our country
was from 1943 to 1947 in the U.S. Army.

Billow recalled Swartz telling Ernie Bechtold, who had been his neighbor back home, "Ernie, something terrible is going to happen today."  Bechtold told Swartz, "not to talk so dumb.  Swartz died, shot in the head, but Bechtold survived.  Many who did escape traveled to Nuremburg after the war to testify in the war crimes trials of Germans who took part in the killings. I'm positive that Mr. Billow will never forget the horror and killing that took place that day, December 17, 1944.  And, that is why every 4th of July, Memorial Day and Veteran's Day, the front lawn of Billow's home at 206 Fairview St. in Mt Joy is festooned with 87 flags.  " There is a flag to represent each guy who fell that day," Harold W. Billow says!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Rule Of Age 10!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Googling "Rules of life" to see what may appear on my desktop.  Some rather interesting, but perhaps strange, topics appeared on the page after page of results.  Topics such as: The Age 55 Rule, The 10 Rules of Change, 10 Rules for Writing Numbers and Numerals, Ten Basic Rules of Netiquette or Internet Etiquette, The Rule of #1,  The Giver "Rules" Flashcards, The New Rules of War, 10 Rules Of The Playground, The Rule of 72 and one that I found most intriguing...The Rule of Age 10.  Naturally had to click on the last rule I have listed and came to a page that featured a story that was posted in Reader's Digest's The Genius Section.  "The Rule of Age 10" has a subtitle of Want to find the key to happiness?  Think about what excited you most when you were in fifth grade-and do it now.  My first line of attack was to call my good friend Jere whom I have known since 1st grade and ask who we had as a fifth-grade teacher.  Seems it was Mrs. Ryder, the mom of one of our classmates.  

The 1st grade class at M.J. Brecht Elementary School in 1950.
Jere is front row right and I am top row left.  Marilyn in in white
dress, front row center. Click on image to enalarge.

I tried and tried to think of what interested me in 5th grade and I couldn't think of a darn thing, except the neighbor girl named Marilyn.  So, I then tried to think of what I may have done during summer vacations on either side of 5th grade and then..Bingo, it hit me!  It was the Christmas before I entered 5th grade that my Aunt Doris bought me an Army Pup tent as a gift.  The following summer I set it up in the back yard, used my small printing outfit I had received for my birthday that September and I was in the printing business.  Lancaster Press sat next to our backyard and the workers would throw their used slugs (metal lines of type cast on a Linotype machine) in a bucket by the back door.  It was very convenient to my yard and I would "borrow" a few of them, ink them with my large ink pad and press them on the sheets of paper I had taken from my dad's desk.  Presto...I was printing!  Little did I know how much that influenced me, since I later went to Millersville State Teacher's College where I became a teacher in the Graphic Arts, or printing.  Little did I realize that my entire life was influenced by that summer when I was about 10 years old.  Called my friend Jere once again and asked him what he did that summer, besides get into trouble with me.  

Jere and I standing in front of our old elementary school
a few years ago.  Our 1st grade classroom was bottom right.

He recalled heading to the Railway Express Station near our homes every day to be with his father who worked there.  His mom worked elsewhere so Jere had to go with his dad to the train station for the day.  No big deal, since he loved the train station.  At times I would join him to watch the trains or grab a coke from the cooler at the Railway Express office.  Jere eventually went to Millersville and began his teaching career with me at the same school we graduated from a few years earlier.  But, he worked part-time at the Historic Strasburg Railroad as a fireman on one of their historic steam engines.  

Friends for 70 years, Jere and Larry

Jere also constructed one of the neatest HO railroad systems you'll ever see.  All because he was influenced by the railroad when he was about 10 years old.  Wow!  Seems that the writer of the story in The Reader's Digest, called "The Rule of Age 10", researched many others and sure enough it was the "Ah, Ha" moments at the age of 10 that influenced hundreds of people's future employment, be it a full time job such as mine or a part-time occupation such as Jere's.  The author of the story, Bruce Grierson, wrote that the trend was so striking that after he had finished his writing, he started telling everyone who was floundering in midlife, "Try to remember what you were all about when you were 10. If you kept a diary, dig it out.  If you're still in contact with friends from that era, call them up.  Ask them who you were.  It is 10 years of age when you graduate from being just anyone to visualizing what you may enjoy to do with your life.  You may not realize that, but it seems to be true.  You will experience the biggest surge of intellectual horsepower in your lifetime.  So, as a parent of a child about 10 years old, make sure you turn on the high beams in your child's life and reveal the road ahead.  It may really be what they will become in the future.  That is if you believe what you just read.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "A Tattoo Showing Life's Struggles" Story

My daughter, Brynn, with her XXIII tattoo on her wrist.

It was an ordinary day.  Looking at a photograph of my grand- daughter's wrist on which she just received a tattoo.  It was this past July 7th that I posted a story about my daughter, Brynn, receiving a tattoo on her left wrist which pictured the Roman numeral for the number 23 (XXIII).  Seems that number had a very special meaning to her in that both her daughters were born on the 23rd day of the  month and daughter Courtney was diagnosed with Type I diabetes on the 23rd. 

Granddaughter Courtney

Well, my granddaughter, Courtney, decided she too would love to have a tattoo on her wrist that had a special meaning.  But, she had to have the permission of her parents to do so.  Courtney was diagnosed with diabetes when she was eight years old and has had to endure all the ups and downs that come from this disease.  She has battled on a daily basis the disease that at present has no cure.  She talked to her mom and dad about having a tattoo and they agreed, by way of a written contract, if she could keep her diabetes under strict control for three months, she could get her tattoo. Well, the contract was signed and after three months Courtney won the battle, thus gaining the OK to have her tattoo.  

"I am Greater than my Highs and my Lows."

Her design was to be placed on her right wrist and show the mathematical symbols for: I am greater than my highs and lows, with reference to her blood sugar readings she has to check many times a day.  She emailed me a photo of the tattoo after she had it placed on her wrist, telling that it hurt more than she thought it would, but realizing she couldn't stop with the design part way through.  I hope and pray that someday our medical scientists will discover or create a cure for diabetes and Courtney will be able to live a normal life like the rest of her family.  What she has had to endure for the past nine years shouldn't be part of anyone's life, let alone a young girl's life.  But, perhaps now, when she has a bad day, she can look at her wrist and realize that she will get past her highs or lows and be a stronger person for it.  It was another extaordinary day in the life of a ordinary guy.

The "King Of The Wild Frontier" Story

Davey Crockett

It was an ordinary day.  Listening to the "YouTube" video "Davey, Davey Crockett... King of the Wild Frontier!"    I had to play it a second time so I could sing along, since I hadn't heard the song since I was a youngster back in the early 50s.  Didn't realize it had six verses!  Wait a minute!  My wife is yelling from upstairs..."Are you OK?" "Yes, dear!" I yelled back.  So, why am I singing the Davey Crockett ballad?  A few minutes ago I was checking out the "Lancastrian" Facebook page and saw a rather interesting addition to the site.  Fellow posted a newspaper story telling the city of Lancaster that Davy Crockett came here 148 years ago.  Yep, the real Davey Crockett.  Davey Crockett was one of my childhood heroes who was portrayed by Fess Parker in the five 1954 Walt Disney television serials.   The TV show created a big demand for frontier-themed children's toys as well as coonskin hats that were selling at a rate of 5,000 per day.  Fess Parker was born on August 16, 1924 and died a bit over nine years ago on March 18, 2010.  He was a big guy (6'6" tall) who all my friends loved when he was portraying Davey Crockett.  I'm not sure I actually knew who the real Davey Crockett was until a few hours ago when I "Googled" him on my desktop computer.  

Drawing of him as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

 Brief description of him told me he was born on August 17, 1786 in what is now eastern Tennessee, but at the time was the state of Franklin, a territory that had declared its independence from North Carolina.  He entered school at the age of 13 and attended four days before he ambushed the class bully after school and gave him a severe beating.  He avoided school until his father found out and was going to give him a whipping for his misdeeds.  

U.S. Postage stamp made to honor him.

 Davey decided it best to strike out on his own so he left home with a group of cattle drovers and spent two-and-a-half years traveling as a teamster, farmhand and hat maker's apprentice.  He finally returned home in 1802, but his family didn't recognize him.  At the age of 27 he joined the state militia to fight the "Red Sticks", a faction of Creek Indians who'd attacked American settlers at Fort Mims, Alabama.  

Painting of him in the "Battle of the Alamo".

 He was part of the volunteers who were under the command of future president Andrew Jackson during the battle of Creek Village of Tallus- hatchee where 200 Red Sticks were slaughtered.  Crockett then served as a sergeant during Jackson's War of 1812 campaign in Spanish Florida.  He became a professional hunter stalking black bears in the woods of Tennessee.  Davey was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1826 where he gained fame for his folksy persona and advocacy for the poor.  

Posting in "The Lancastrian".
Click to enlarge.

 Four years later he began a feud with President Andrew Jackson over his Indian Removal Act.  He grew bored of politics and shortly became a national celebrity for his larger-then-life exploits as a frontiersman.  A very popular play titled "The Lion of the West" first was performed in 1831 and was allegedly about him, even thought the title character's name was Nimrod Wildfire.  Before long, tales of his larger-then-life exploits began appearing in almanacs, biographies and newspaper articles.  Perhaps the article I had read leading to my singing along with the "YouTube" rendition of "Davey Crockett" was one such article that was written about him.  Crockett was assumed killed in the Battle of the Alamo, but in 1975 a new account of his death surfaced saying he was captured by the Mexicans and executed on orders of Santa Anna.  His death secured his place as an American hero, but his famous coonskin cap was what all the young boys in the country wanted to wear to honor him.  I just loved mine.  Too bad I have no idea what happened to it, but I suspect my mom took care of it since she never liked the thing.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Fess Parker who played Davey Crockett in the movies.

I was one of these young boys years ago.

Poster from one of Walt Disney's movies.

Another photo of the coonskin hero.

Click on link to listen to the YouTube video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAVN_n0PljQ 
PS - Listen to the song and see "if it ain't a catchy toon" after listening to it an hour or so!  A few comments that follow were comments on the YouTube site.

1. Davey Crockett made America safe for men to wear dead animals on their heads.  God bless you, sir!
2. I was just a kid maybe 10 or so when this Song and TV series came out.  I loved it and believed it was a good influence on me.  History is distorted everyday on the news but when I was a kid I wanted to be like Davy Crockett.  You have to remember what Walt Disney was about too!  :)
3. This was back when America was the greatest nation on earth. I sure miss this.
4. I'm 20 and Davy Crockett is my all time favorite Disney movie.  I had a coonskin hat and a Red Ryder thanks to this man.  I will make sure that my kids have the same.
5. Davy Crockett was the first movie I ever saw when I was eight in 1956. I loved it and still do. The song is also great, I listen to it all the time. That's from the good old day's when there were plenty of good westerns with good songs on TV. ie: Have Gun Will Travel, Rawhide, Tombstone Territory.
6. Davy Crockett is a distant cousin of mine, and let me tell you, everyone in my family killed a bear when we’re three.
7. Part of my heritage.  When I was a kid I looked forward to the tv episodes.  Truly an American icon.
8. names brandon crockett, i too am 6'6 haha love it when people ask me if they can call me davy...OF COURSE YOU CAN HAHA
8. i played and sang davy crocket in a sketch in callan, co. kilkenny, ireland circa 1958. even wore a type of coonskin cap. legend.
9. I wonder what my Davy Crockett lunch box would be worth today?  66 years old and I still remember it. R.I.P. Mr. Parker, we still remember you.
10. My Grandad always sang this to me and called me Davy Crockett :) Always think of him when I hear this!!
11. 74 years old and can still grin a bear to death!  (written by your's truly)

And...just in case you want to sing along to the catchy tune...

Born on a mountain in Tennessee

Greenest state in the land of the free

Raised in the woods so's he knew every tree

He kilt him a bear when he was only three

Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier!

Fought single-handed through the Injun War

Till the Creeks was whipped an' peace was in store

An' while he was a-handling' this risky chore

Made himself a legend for evermore

Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier!

He give his word an' he give his hand, 

that his Injun friends could keep their land 

An' the rest of his life he took the stand, 

that justice was due every redskin band 

Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier!

He went off to Congress an' served a spell

Fixing' up the Government an' laws as well

Took over Washington so I've heard tell

An' patched up a crack in the Liberty Bell

Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier!

When he come home, his politicking' done

Why, the big western march had just begun

So he packed his gear an' his trusty gun

An' lit out a-grinning' to follow the sun

Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier!

His land is biggest, his land is best

From grassy plains to the mountain crest

He's ahead of us all and meeting' the test

And a-following' his legend right into the West

Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier!