The "Homemade Musician Of Rohrerstowm" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting in front of the TV watching "Press Your Luck" and "Match Game."  What else is there to do except watch TV and read the newspaper or a book.  I already read quite a few books on my Kindle so TV watching was filling my time.  When the newspaper came I decided it was time to see what was going on in good ole' Lancaster County, PA.  There on the first page of the "Living Lancaster" section was a big photo of a guy by the name of Michael Luckenbill who was playing homemade bagpipes.  

Al Reist playing as he passed by me.

I can still remember close to ten years ago when our friends Jere and Sue visited Alexandria, Virginia with us for the early December "Scottish Walk" Parade which wound its way through the town and waterfront.  One of the bands in the parade was a group of bagpipers.  Boy did they sound great.   The melodic sound of the variety of pipes projects an eeriely resonating sound at times, but also a soothing sound.  Then as they slowly passed I yelled to Jere to look at one of the guys playing the bagpipes.  We both had him as a student in high school.  Guy by the name of Al Reist.  He had a twin and when I yelled "Art" we got no response so I yelled "Al" and he got a smile on his face, while still playing his bagpipe.  Found out a year or so after that he lived about a block from me and plays his bagpipes outside from time to time.  Wondered why I never heard him.  Well, it seems like Michael Luckenbill begins playing his bagpipes at 6:00 PM every evening to entertain the neighborhood.  

Mike Luckenbill on the bagpipes.

The former music teacher is trying to give his neighbors something other than TV and reading as enter- tainment during the COVID-19 pandemic.  And, it's all free!  And, he has been doing it already for over 100 evenings!!  The only thing on his porch is himself, his bagpipes and  an iPad on a stand with a list of songs and musical notes.  He doesn't overdo it with only 15 to 20 minute concerts every evening.  No one has asked him to do it and no one has complained.  He's just a bagpipe musician with a nack to entertain his neighbors and anyone else who may be wandering along at 6:00 PM.  The story in the newspaper said that Mike only began to play the bagpipes about 20 years ago after listening to another bagpiper play "Amazing Grace" at a bar.  At the time, Mike's Rock N' Roll Band had just played at a wake at the bar and was paid about $25.  Then the bagpiper played "Amazing Grace."  The guy had played about two minutes of the song and made $300 for his efforts.  Mike now pairs his bagpipe with a small guitar app that adds droning notes, creating a sometimes eerie sound.  He can play about 50 songs on his bagpipe from Irish classics to movie themes.  During his past few months of 6:00 concerts, a neighbor stopped one evening and told him a neighbor was having a birthday that day.  

A photo on Mike's website.

So...Mike added his rendition of "Happy Birthday" to his concert.  Mike has a website that you can visit and see how accomplished a musician he really is.  Check out: mdlmusic.webs.com and see his array of music genres that he has listed.  This guy is phenomenal.  He can wear a gorilla suit at one concert and play the harp at another concert.  What a teacher this guy must have been!  I'm going to have to hop in the car soon and take in his 6:00 PM concert some evening.  It was another extraordinary day in the life fo an ordinary guy.

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 "Past Memories...Long Gone...But Not Forgotten!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Exploring a few Lancaster Facebook pages and enjoying all the posts that people are entering that talk about and show some of the memories they have of Lancaster and it's history.  Old black and white photographs of a few former department stores and big box stores in Lancaster have been recently posted and I emailed a copy of one of them to my friend Jere who now lives in State College, Pennsylvania.  At one time, while going through college at Millersville State Teachers College, he worked at a discount store as a security guard in the nearby Manor Shopping Center known as Arlans.  

At the same time I was working at the Acme Supermarket at the opposite end of the shopping center as a stocker and check-out clerk.  Arlans was an American discount store chain that was founded in 1945 by the Palestine brothers in New Bedford, Massachusetts.  The chain peaked in size at 119 stores in 1970, by which time the company began experiencing heavy operating losses.  In 1971 they sold 16 stores to Target and ended up closing the rest.  Another big box store chain was known as Nichols.

They were a Louisiana owned business that opened their first store in 1914 in DeQuincy, Louisiana.  Nichols took pride in offering high quality merchandise at competitive prices with friendly, hometown customer service.  They had items such as sporting goods, housewares, clothing, gifts and home accessories.  In Lancaster, the Nichols store opened on July 31, 1960 on the corner of Manheim Pike and Dillerville Road.  On June 11, 1987 they announced they were going to expand by moving to the nearby Golden Triangle.  Then on July 31, 1987 they opened their store for shopping on Sundays.  Never did move, but declared bankruptcy in April of 1991.   City Line Business Center now occupies the area where Nichols once prospered.  

On November 14, 1966 Two Guys opened in the Lincoln Plaza Shopping Center which was at the intersection of Lincoln Highway and Rohrerstown Road.  It too was a big box store like Arlans and Nichols.  It closed on January 13, 1980.  

Advertisement in the Lancaster Newspaper.

Now, to get away from these big box stores, I offer you one of my all-time favorite stores in downtown Lancaster.  Place was called Steinfeldt's.  At first it was a tobacco shop but eventually became known as "The Store of 1000 Gifts." They had a large selection of souvenir postcards, mostly from the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  

This is the block that was destroyed years ago.  This is
one of the many postcards sold at Steinfeldt's

Today they are a very collectible item.  I loved it most for their novelty items they sold.  I would buy little tins of round silver pieces that look like the silver dragees that are used in cooking.  When you threw them they exploded upon impact!  Boy did they scare you if you didn't know they were being thrown at you.  

Mexican jumping beans.

I would buy them before I went to choir practices on Saturday mornings as a member of the boys choir at St. James Church and throw a few during choir practice.  My little angelic face was never suspected of doing that.  Also loved their Mexican jumping beans which were seed pods that had actual larva of a small moth in them.  It would jump when mildly heated.  Fun to hold in your closed hand to warm them and open your hand to see them jump perhaps a quarter inch in height.  They were non-toxic, but not meant to be eaten.  I'm positive a few of my friends tried to eat them, but I never did!  The store was demolished along with the remainder of two blocks of the downtown area when they began the big mistake of urban renewal.  To this day I believe they wish they had never destroyed the neat stores in the two blocks of North Queen Street.   There are quite a few other stores in Lancaster that are worthy mention, but for today, I have rambled on enough!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "A Snake In A Fish Body" Story

My dad and I are fishing along the Elk River, Maryland.

It was an ordinary day.  August of 1958 and I'm sitting on the dock of my Aunt Doris' Elk River cottage in Maryland with my dad.  I'm fishing while my dad is enjoying the view up and down the Elk River.  Then, something grabbed the worm and took off.  About five minutes later I pulled an ugly, slimey, snakelike American eel onto the dock.  Fish are tough enough to get off the hook, but an eel is almost impossible since they are hard to grab hold of to remove the hook.  

I'm removing a catfish from my line.

Add about twenty years to that and I am once again fishing on the Elk River with my friend Gary and our children.  One of us hooks a Channel Catfish which is about two feet in length and perhaps eight to ten pounds.  This time I remove the ugly looking fish with a deeply-forked caudal fin and remove it from the hook.  Place it in the water tank we have in the boat to take back to our cottage for Gary's wife to skin and eat.  Stories like this have been happening to many while fishing along the Chesapeake and Delaware Rivers for years.  But, today there is one additional fish that is causing quite a stir in rivers on Maryland's Eastern Shore.  Seems the fish known as the Snakehead, or to many as  "Frankenfish", has infiltrated the waters of the rivers and they are killing many other species or eating the food of other fish, forcing them to move to other locations.  

The Snakehead fish or "Frankenfish"

I have never caught a Snakehead, but they look really ugly with a mouthful of crooked teeth and a snarly look on their face.  There used to be plenty of perch, crappie and catfish in the rivers, but their population has declined since the snakehead, which grows to 3 feet long, either eats them, eats their food or muscles them out of their preferred habitat.  And, to top that, they are eating the eels as well as shad.  Disturbing studies have been done that is worrying fish management groups.  The river that flows along the western border of Lancaster County, the Susquehanna, does not have a problem with the snakefish...yet!  But, it may be only a matter of time.  So, how did these fish find their way into the waters of the rivers and streams that I have enjoyed since childhood?  

Another view of the Snakehead fish.

Originally the fish was brought into the country from Africa and Asia for sale in live fish  markets.  Some evidently escaped the markets and found their way into the waters of many rivers in the country.  And, they are prolific breeders with a female fish releasing up to 15,000 eggs in two years.  It can grow to about 3 feet in length and up to 18 pounds.  They can move over land for short distances by wriggling motions and live outside of water for several days.  It is a freshwater fish that cannot tolerate salinity in excess of 10 parts per million.  On the Susquehanna River, it is hoped the four hydroelectric dams will keep snakeheads from moving too far north.  Last year in Maryland there was a snakehead "derby" to try and lower the snakefish population.  And, just in case you may want to have one for your home aquarium,  they are illegal to own!  My fishing days are more than likely over so I am not affected by the fish that has plenty of teeth.  Can't imagine how hard it must be to get one of them off a hook.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "The Other LDub...Revisited...When Will It Ever End?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Just got home after a few hours of work at the gallery where I work matting and framing artwork for a former student of mine.  My wife told me to sit down so she can tell me something.  Uh, Oh!  She said the bank had just called and told her they weren't going to give us the home equity line of credit loan we had requested.  They did some checking and found we hadn't paid our state taxes for three years. "WHAT!" I said to her.  Her face had a serious look to it...for about 5 seconds until I saw the smile...almost laugh, when she said it had happened once again.  I knew instantly what she meant.  Story began over 30 years ago when I was at school running the printing press during summer break.  My youngest son answered the home phone and after a short time called down the stairs to my wife telling her dad had left his wallet at the Whirl-A-Sage, a questionable massage parlor in downtown Lancaster, PA.  When I got home my wife looked at me with a serious look on her face and asked if I had my wallet with me.  I pulled it out of my pocket and then she told me about the call.  Called back and told them it wasn't me!  A year or two later a collection agency called and said they were trying to collect $700 for a bill that was submitted to them for Larry W. Woods.  Seems I had spent five days in the Lancaster General Hospital psychiatric unit and hadn't paid the bill.  My wife took care of that problem for me when they checked the date of birth.  A few years after that the Sheriff from Willow Street, a nearby town, called and told Carol I needed to come in and settle an issue they were investigating.  Once again she took care of that, knowing by now exactly what to tell whomever called.  Not long after that we saw in the birth section of the newspaper that my wife and I had just had twins.  Wasn't long after that we began to get invitations in the mail to join the twins club.  Also started getting coupons for free baby material.  And then, one day a call came from a veterinarian in Elkton, Maryland who said my wife had passed a bad check and they found my name in a Pennsylvania phone book and called to tell me to send another check.  Starting to see how annoying this can become.  And then a call came once again from the Sheriff in Elkton telling me about a summons for my arrest due to a bad check passed at a home improvement store in Elkton.  We called the store and talked to a gentleman who said he waited on Larry Woods who said he had just returned from Iraq and wanted to pay for his materials with a check.  He wasn't supposed to take a check, but did so since he felt bad for me.  Check bounced and I was wanted by the Sheriff's office.  Seems the salesman pressed charges since he was made to pay the bill since company policy didn't allow him to take a check in the first place.  Asked for the full name of Larry W. Woods and when they said Larry Wayne Woods, Jr. I told them my middle name was William.  Date of birth wasn't the same either.  Today Carol told me it happened once more.  We weren't given the loan since Larry W. Woods had not paid three years of state taxes in Pennsylvania.  We knew right away who it was!  I called my financial advisor and he was upset the bank didn't ask for Social Security numbers or date of birth of the fellow that hadn't paid their taxes.  I then called the bank and asked them.  They had no good reason, but realized by now it wasn't me who had not paid their taxes, since my wife had spent quite q bit of time on the phone with them telling about all the problems we have had over the years.   They did require me to stop and sign a paper saying I wasn't that Larry W. Woods whom they had checked.  Wasn't going to do so, but thought it was the easiest thing to do to put an end to it.  So...what's next?  Only time will tell.  But, if you see my name on the front page of the paper telling about my arrest, don't worry.   I'll be writing about it since it really won't be me.  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 "Oh, The Stories We Can Tell...Over & Over!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting on the back porch of Jim's home in Manheim Township waiting for the drunken chicken to finish cooking.  Arrived about an hour ago with my longtime friend Jere for the annual Manheim Township Industrial Arts (IA) retired teacher's picnic.  We have been gathering for quite a few years now and enjoy telling the same stories over and over, year after year.  It was in 1967 that I joined the Industrial Arts staff at Manheim Township High School in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  Same school I had graduated from five years before.  At the time I was the new guy on the block, so to speak, with four other IA teachers already part of the department.  Before long I was one of the older guys with quite a few new teachers in the department.  

Former Industrial Art teachers are: front (l-r) Barry Walton,
Dean Lemon, Jere Herr, top: Jim Campbell, Jeff Lefever,
Larry Woods, Hal Hopper.  All members of the old IA Club.
Click to enlarge.

One of the older teachers, Dean, who was my department head for many years, was also at the picnic today and one former student, who eventually became a teacher in the district, Jeff, is also waiting for the meal to begin.  My friend Jere was a classmate of mine at Manheim Township, having started in 1st grade with me and graduating from the school the same year.  He went in the Navy and after serving, returned to college and eventually became a teacher at the high school.  Barry had taught almost as long as I had at the high school and took over Dean's job as department head when Dean retired.  The final two guys sitting around the table at present are Hal who came a few years after I did and Jim who is the youngster of the group who still teaches at the high school.  He plans to retire in another year, but he has said that before.  A great bunch of guys who enjoy meeting every year and telling tales about our time together teaching the students of Manheim Township skills in woodworking, metal working, graphic arts and mechanical drawing.  Many former students have returned to tell us of their success in life due to the knowledge they gained in the Industrial Arts courses they took in school.  We used to be a much larger group, but over the past few years have lost some of our treasured friends.  Tough knowing that maybe next year one of us will no longer be able to enjoy a meal together.  Dean has to travel from Herndon, Pennsylvania to come to our picnics while Jere has to drive down from State College for the reunion.  Neither would miss seeing the guys just one more time.  The food and drink is great, but the friendship is a treasure.  After the meal we began story time with the usual ... remember when so and so cut his finger off on the table saw, or remember when so and so caught this guy in the back room with another teacher, or ... well it goes on and on.  Same stories every year, but they still must be told so we can all laugh and wait for our turn to tell our story.  I swear some of the stories change just a bit each year in order to outdo the person telling his story in front of you.  When the stories wound down we headed to visit Jim's new shop he was building at his new home in Manheim Township.  He and Hal have been setting up all the equipment and getting it ready for Jim's retirement someday.  Great equipment and plenty of space for working.  As the evening wound down we all departed, asking who will have the picnic next time.  You know there will be one ... but will everyone be there?  We are not getting younger, but what time we still have left will have to be spent, at least one day of it, with all the old shop guys.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Join The Tradition" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Carol and I are visiting with friends Jere and Just Sue in State College for the weekend.  Saturday, and our mission today was a trip to the 145th Annual Centre County Grange Fair in Centre Hall, Pennsylvania.  We have made several journeys from Lancaster to State College for this event, but never tire of the excitement, good times and plenty of good food during fair week.  Picked up a brochure and read that the fair takes you out of the day to day bustle, to a time when life moved at a slower pace.  And...that's exactly what it did for the four of us on this beautiful day in late August, 2019.  Sitting a short distance away are 2,500 canvas tents and RVs which seem to spring up overnight the day before the fair opened a little over a week ago.  Families and friends reunite at these homes-away-from home reunions and tend to develop lasting relationships with campsite neighbors.  The four of us are just a minuscule number of the close to a quarter million visitors to the fair every year.  Food, equine events, carnival rides, farm animals, music festivals, motorsports, 4H contests, exhibit competitions and naming of the annual Queen are all parts of the Grange Fair.  To try and take in all of that on one afternoon is impossible, so we just wandered around the 264 acres of mass confusion and humanity for the afternoon.  I enjoyed snapping a few photographs to share with you of this year's Grange Fair.  Hope you enjoy them!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

This cute little girl was interested in my camera.
Click on images to enlarge them. 

Cattle are naturally part of the farm scene at any Grange Fair.

Would love to be a judge for one of these competitions!

At first I thought these were strawberries, but found they were peppers.

Winners in the Gourds category. 

Plenty of flowers to enjoy.  Even those that didn't win were fun to view.

I'm not sure if this woman had real or artificial flowers.

16 year old Anna took second place in the painting category.

12 year old Audrey made this dish collage and won 1st place. 

My wife enjoyed this display the most!

How can anyone not pick this poor soul for first place?

Cheyanne Storm won first place with this photograph.

Jane from Spring Mills won a first place with this Amish Buggy photograph.

Joy from Centre Hall took 1st place in the Domestic Animal colored photograph category.
I, too, really enjoyed this photograph.  Good choice for 1st place!

Amish enjoy visits to the Grange Fair.

A very unique chess set made by Jean of State College which won a first place ribbon.

Chris from Pleasant Gap made this beautiful leather gun belt and holster.

Sue taking a selfie of her and Jere while my wife looks on.  We are sitting in
a tractor-pulled wagon which serves as transportation around the fairgrounds.

A sea of automobiles, campers and tents at the Grange Fair in Centre Hall, Pennsylvania.

There were commercial stands where you could buy items.  These are small angels
with a few flags that would glow after hit by the sun.

Not sure what this chicken is doing in this photograph.  Perhaps the chicken dance.

One of the many aisles with tent homes along both sides.  Vacation for many!

The "Famous People You May Know Who Are From Lancaster, PA" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading an online article that lists the 30 most interesting, athletic, musical, historic, patriotic, influential, diplomatic and entertaining people who were either born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania or who lived in Lancaster for some of their life.  As I went through the list I recognized just about everyone and thought of a few myself that weren't on the list or a few that maybe shouldn't have been placed on the list.  Always going to be that way with any "best of" list.  Can you name a few people from your town or city who deserve to be recognized for the contributions that gave to society?  The following is my condensed list based on how I feel about the person mentioned in the online list.  See if you recognize a few of those born or raised in the city of Lancaster, PA.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

#1 - Jonathan Groff.  One of my cousin Sue's best friends is the mother of Jonathan Groff.   Jon grew up in Ronks and graduated from Conestoga Valley High School in 2003.  His list of accomplishments would be "Glee", voice-over role in Frozen as King George III, Broadway show "Hamilton" and lead role in Netflix drama "Mindhunter." 

#2 - Thaddeus Stevens.  Though he was born in Vermont in 1792, he moved to Lancaster in 1842 where he set up his law practice in a place that aligned with his anti-Mason and pro-Whig views.  He was a member of Congress and a fierce abolitionist.  He died in 1868 and is buried in Shreiner's Cemetery in downtown Lancaster.  I have written quite a few stories that are centered on his life.

#3 - John Darrenkamp.  John is a bass opera singer who was a leading artist with the New York Metropolitan Opera company.  He was born in nearby Mount Joy and began his career in 1957.  Today he serves as artistic director for Opera Lancaster and is also a member of St. James Episcopal church choir.  Fun to sing with someone who is so famous.

#4 - Milton Hershey.  Known as the Chocolate King, he was born in Derry Township in 1857 and apprenticed with a confectioner in Lancaster at the age of 14.  He opened his first candy factory in Lancaster known as Lancaster Caramel Company in 1883.  He sold that company in 1890 and began the town which bears his name.

#5 - Matt Nagy.  Matt was named head coach of the Chicago Bears in January 2018.  He was a star quarterback for Manheim Central High School as well as the University of Delaware where he was an All-American.  After college he played six seasons in the Arena Football League before coming to the Philadelphia Eagles as a coach intern.  He spent five seasons under head coach Andy Reid and finally got his chance last year.  And, what a job he is doing in Chicago.

#6 -  Taylor Kinney.  Actor and model who was born in Neffsville, Pa. and graduated from Lancaster Mennonite High School in 2000.  He was in The Vampire Diaries and Chicago Fire but received his most attention for his 2015 engagement to singer Lady Gaga.  The two were spotted several times in the nearby Lititz area.

#7 - Barney Ewell.  Graduated from Lancaster McCaskey High School in 1936.  He is the only Lancastrian to ever win an Olympic gold medal when he was part of he 1949 400 meter relay.  He also won two silver medals for the 100 and 200 meter dash.

#8 - Bruce Sutter.  Bruce went to high school at Donegal H.S.  He was born in 1953 and was known for his split-finger fastball.  Spent most of his professional baseball career with the Chicago Cubs.  He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.

#9 - Jennifer Gareis.  Jennifer was a 1988 graduate of J.P. McCaskey High School and a 1993 graduate of Franklin and Marshall College.  She is best known for her roles on "The Bold and the Beautiful and "Young & the Restless.  She placed in the top 6 in the 1994 Miss USA pageant and appeared in "Miss Congeniality", "Veronica Mars", "Private Parts", and "Comedy Bang! Bang!" 

#10 - James Buchanan.  The 15th President of the United States.  His longtime home, Wheatland, is now part of the Lancaster County Historical Society at 1120 Marietta Ave. in Lancaster, PA

#11 - Tom Herr.  Tom graduated from Hempfield High School and played 13 seasons in the majors, 10 with the St. Louis Cardinals.  He was in three World Series and won the 1982 series agains the Milwaukee Brewers.  In 1985 he was an All-Star and finished fifth in the National League Most Valuable Player.  He more recently was the first manager for the newly formed Lancaster Barnstormers in 2006 where he led the team to the Atlantic League Championship.

#12 - Eveyln Ay Sempier.  Evelyn was crowned Miss America in 1954.  She was born in nearby Ephrata and won the Miss Pennsylvania title in 1953.  

#13 - Kristen Wiig.  Her family moved to Lancaster when she was three and she attended Nitrauer Elementary in Manheim Township where I taught school.  Kristen is an actress, comedian, writer and producer who is best remembered for her time on "Saturday Night Live".  

#14 - Charles Demuth.  Charles was one of five Lancaster artists represented in an exhibit at the State Museum celebrating Pennsylvania artists.  He was born in 1883 on Lime Street in downtown Lancaster.  His work is celebrated at the Demuth Museum in Lancaster.

#15 - Don Wert.  Another professional baseball player from Lancaster County who played  on the World Series championship 1968 Detroit Tigers.  It is said his career ended the same year when he was hit in the head by a pitch and he spent two nights in the hospital.  He wasn't the same player after that time.

#16 - Johnny Weir.  He grew up in nearby Quarryville, PA.  He was an Olympic figure skater who was a three-time national champion in men's figure skating.  He was a skating commentator for NBC at the 2014 Olympics and 2018 Winter Games in South Korea.  

#17 - Richard "Dick"Winters.  Dick rose to worldwide fame as leader of the Band of Brothers during WWII.  His courageous leadership through combat was the focus of a best selling book and an HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers".  He was a born in Lancaster on January 21, 1918.  He eventually moved to nearby Ephrata, PA.

#18 - Dan Kreider.  Dan graduated from Manheim Central High School and went on to play fullback for 10 seasons in the NFL.  He was a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers that won Super Bowl XL.

#19 - Doug Dennison.  Doug graduated from Lancaster McCaskey High School and starred for them in football.  He graduated from Kutztown State Teachers College where he played football and then played for the Dallas Cowboys where he went to two Super Bowls, winning one.

#20 - Robert Fulton.  Robert was born in 1765 in nearby Little Britain Township.  He is most famous for developing and marketing the steamboat, but he was also a well-known artist as well as designer of the submarine.  

#21 - Wally Walker.  Wally played basketball for Penn Manor High School and went on to play for the University of Virginia and then the Cleveland Cavaliers.  He led Virginia to their first ACC basketball championship in 1976 and was named the tournament MVP.  

#22 - Gene Garber.  Gene was a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals, Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves.  He was the Braves all time leader in saves with 141.

#23 - Jim Furyk.  I had Jim when he was a student at Manheim Township High School in Lancaster County, PA.  He was a great baseball player who caught for my oldest son, Derek, when they played Little League Baseball.  After graduating from MTHS and college, he began a career in professional golf.  To date he has earned 28 professional victories, 18 of which have been on he PGA Tour.  In 2010 he was the PGA Tour Player of the Year.