The "Thru Snow, Sleet And Freezing Rain Came …… Hallelujah!" Story

2015 Hallelujah Chorus Flash Mob.

It was an ordinary day.  Snowed a few hours last night with freezing rain coating the snow.  Awoke this morning to a real mess!  Carol asked if I was was still going.  "You bet, wouldn't miss it.  I have waited too long and may never get another chance."  So I trudged downstairs to grab a bite to eat and feed the cat.  When I returned upstairs to get dressed, Carol was almost ready to do.  

I didn't have the oratorio memorized
so I had to print myself a copy.

"I thought you were going to stay home," I said to her.  She replied, "Don't want to miss it.  I'll be ready in a few minutes."  So, half an hour later we put the garage door up and began our journey of crossing one more item off my "Bucket List".  For years I have watched videos and viewed newspaper photos of what is known as a Flash Mob which descended on Lancaster's historic Central Market a week or so before Christmas to participate in the singing of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus for the enjoyment of all the shoppers at market.  This all started six years ago when a fellow by the name of David Gelatt, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, decided that it would be fun to gather as many singers together and perform at market for the benefit of the shoppers at market, thus began the Hallelujah Flash mob.

Lancaster's Central Market on a bad weather day.  Wasn't more than
 twenty minutes later that the Flash Mob brought the place to life.

I had hoped to get a chance to participate as a singer for years, but it always fell on a date when I had other obligations.  This year I decided singing was my main objective and obligation and called a friend from the past, Sam, who I had seen singing in photos from past years, and asked the date of the Flash Mob.  Not long before I got an email with the time of the two rehearsals for the 6th Annual Flash Mob.  

My wife caught me at just the right moment.  

The first rehearsal had about two dozen of us, some with music and some who had the famous oratorio memorized, gather and go through each part and then sang as a group twice, the last being acapella or without any accompaniment.  I had the best time reliving my years long ago when I sang in the church choir  next to my dad and we did the entire Handel's Messiah.  

Final note brought everyone's hands in the air in celebration.
This photo Carol took at Building Character.

The highlight of the Messiah was always the Hallelujah Chorus.  The final rehearsal had about 30 in attendance and I once again totally enjoyed myself.  Did get to meet a few new people as well as see a few others friends from my past.  Well, Saturday morning arrived with snow, sleet and freezing rain.  We were told last night at rehearsal that we would do better than the postal carriers and show up no matter what.  

Yours truly in the background behind the decorated tree.

My lovely wife, who had agreed to come along for encourage- ment as well as to snap a few photos, didn't complain at any time about the weather. After arriving I helped Carol find a place to take a few photos and then began to mingle with the other participants.  At 8:55 AM I pulled out my Santa Hat and five minutes later the first note sounded over the markets intercom. And, for the next couple of minutes the market was filled with the sound of the Hallelujah Chorus.  After we completed our mission, many in the market house, as well as some in the Flash Mob, had tears of joy in their eyes.  I must admit I certainly did!  The experiences at market and the second venue, known as Building Character, were tremendous and well worth getting up and heading out into the bad weather.  Finally had the chance to cross this experience off my Bucket List, but do hope to have another go at it next year.  My only regret was that my dad wasn't standing next to me as we sang, but then again, maybe he was.  Life can be fabulous, at times! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

David (left) and friend Mark hold a piece of slate.  This piece of slate will be part of the new roof for Central Market during repairs to the old roof.  Everyone who sang had the chance to contribute to the building renovation by giving a donation and in turn signing their name on the slate.  Perhaps another 100 years from now our names will be found when another new roof may be needed.

Displaying the slate outside Central Market after we had sung.

Names as they appeared on the slate.  Really neat idea and a great way to raise funds for the new roof.

The 2016 Hallelujah Chorus Flash Mob.

The "Boss" David directing the Flash Mob.  Thanks to you for my great time!!

The "Gallery Row: Part II - Liz Hess Gallery" Story

The Liz Hess Gallery at 140 North Prince Street in Lancaster, PA.

It was an ordinary day.  Standing outside the Liz Hess Gallery looking at the painting titled "King of Kings" which is on display at the gallery.  As I'm looking at the remarkable painting I finally noticed it; Liz's signature red umbrella!  There to the far right is the red umbrella being held by a visitor to the manger.  Walked into the gallery and immediately found the original painting that sits on display, waiting for a new owner.

"King of Kings" can belong to you for the highest bid.
Click on the print to view larger size.

"King of Kings" was commissioned by Global Disciples to be created as a Christmas card to be sent to the organiza- tin's contri- butors, staff and clients.  The painting depicts the Nativity scene with royalty from different cultures and religions bowing before the manger.  If you were from a different faith other than Christianity, you would instantly realize something special was happening in her acrylic painting of the manger.  The lion and lamb surround the manger with a celestial star directly above them.  All bowing to the Christ child are kings, queens, princes, priests and a pope while in the background is a servant holding Liz's traditional red umbrella.  People from all religions are meant to be in attendance at this special birth even though Liz didn't mean to offend anyone's religion.  It just all fits together!  

Small prints and cards are for sale which feature "King of Kings".

The traditional Christian creche is missing, but as I said, it just all seems right!  In early November the painting was finished and put on display.  You can visit it at 140 North Prince Street in downtown Lancaster, PA.  The gallery sits along Gallery Row in the prestigious 100 block of N. Prince.  Liz sells prints and cards of the painting with 50% of all sales going to support Global Diciples.  

A small 3-D box hangs on the wall of the gallery showing
many of Liz's paintings.  This box was made for Liz by
one of her good friends.

The 30 by 40 inch original, which hangs in the gallery, and which I had the chance to view, can be seen online at www.lizhess.com where you can click on "originals" to view the painting.  Liz has the original up for bid with a minimum price tag of $5,500.  The winning amount will be donated to Global Disciples.  The bidding for the painting will end at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, December 21, 2016.  

One of many of Liz's works that feature her signature red
umbrella.  Check out her website to see more samples.

To place a bid you can call the gallery at (717) 390-7222 or toll free at (866) 752-1121.  The photo I have included in this story was from her website and doesn't give you the same feeling as standing next to the original, viewing it in person.  Just remarkable is all I can say!!  In an interview for the local newspaper, Liz stated that "There have only been two or three times in my life as an artist where I have felt the divine burst of energy as I paint and this would be one."  I apologize for not viewing it earlier in the Christmas season and giving my readers a chance to view it and possible bid on it.  Remember, you have until next Wednesday to submit a bid (of $5,500 or more) if you care to be the owner of this painting.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

The "Gallery Row: Part I - The Exhbitors" Story

My altered Polaroid print featuring PCA&D.

It was an ordinary day.  Parked my car in front of Pennsylvania College of Art & Design (PCA&D) on North Prince Street in the heart of downtown Lancaster, PA and headed south on Prince St. to visit a few of the fabulous art galleries located on what is known as Gallery Row, the 100 block of North Prince Street.  Lancaster celebrates First Friday once a month and Gallery Row is one of the prime locations for many of those who visit downtown on First Friday.  

Wall across from PCA&D telling visitors
the location of Gallery Row in Lancaster.

The city is a nationally recognized art center with PCA&D anchoring the thriving and eclectic art district.  Historic shops, art galleries, small eateries and many restored homes line the 100 block of N. Prince where the largest concentration of galleries reside in the city.  PCA&D features a Main Gallery which has not only student art, but regionally and nationally known artists and designers.  As I walked south, I did some window shopping at galleries known as as Mio Studio, City Folk Gallery, Freiman Stoltzfus, Liz Hess Gallery, Red Raven, Artisans Gallery and Christine David Fine Art Gallery.  Most offered samples in their windows of what you may find in their gallery.  A brief description of a few will follow while tomorrow I will concentrate on the Liz Hess Gallery and the magnificent painting that she is offering at silent auction with the proceeds supporting Global Disciples.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

A changeable billboard gives information about special events and artists in the many galleries along Gallery Row.

Mio Studio is to the far north end of Gallery Row, across from PCA&D.  They carry a selection of handmade one-of-a-kind jewelry and fine art.  Featured jewelry artists are Mayra Orma Muniz and Erica Millner who bring the art of San Juan Puerto Rico to the shop on Gallery Row.  

Farther south on Prince St. is City Folk Gallery which represents highly respected regional and national artists working in a variety of media.  Imaginative sculpture and decorative objects for the home share space with French and American antiques in this gallery.

Freiman Stoltzfus Gallery features work of an artist who is a native of Lancaster, PA.  Mr. Freiman was born into an Amish-Mennonite family and developed a love of travel and adventure.  He studied at the National Academy as well as Art Students League, both in New York City.  His work reflects his Amish heritage with originals, printed works, stationery, signed books and Christmas ornaments during Christmas season.   

The Red Raven offers a diverse array of artistic styles with work of local and regional artists, including Luigi Rist and CX Carlson.

Artisans Gallery is tucked along the side of another gallery and features regional and international artists working in a variety of media, including photography, oil, watercolor, jewelry and sculpture.

At the far end south end of Gallery Row stands Christiane David Gallery.  Christiane is a Belgium born artist who features an eclectic array of watercolors, acrylic and oil paintings.  Color is everywhere in her work.  Christiane received the 2006 Empire Who's Who Registry of Executives and Professionals in art. 

The "Reliving The Good Years One More Time" Story

Plaque displayed in a showcase near the Manheim
Township High School gymnasium which featured
photos of members of the Class of 2009 Hall of Fame.
The 1972 Rifle Team is featured on the plaque.

It was an ordinary day.  Just finished running a couple of cases of #10 envelopes and a case of 28 lb. paper through the AB Dick printing press in the high school print shop for the Manheim Township School District Office.  After cleaning the press, and myself, I thought I would head to the high school athletic office to ask the secretary for a list I needed to help identify the students from the Manheim Township Middle School who were on athletic teams that I planned to place their photo in the Middle School Yearbook.  Just before I entered the gymnasium I saw the showcase that displayed photos of individuals and teams who had been inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame (HOF) at the high school.  

State Championship banners displayed
on the wall of the gymnasium.

Yep, there was a photo of the members of the 1972 High School Rifle team that had won the 1972 State Championship and had been picked for entry into the HOF in 2009.  Only eight of the dozen or so members were able to attend the HOF football game ceremony.  Some had moved from the area during the past 37 years as well as one member had died.  We all had a great time that evening and our photo is displayed in the showcase outside the gymnasium.  I managed to snap a photo with my phone and headed once again toward the office.  On the upper level of the gymnasium are a series of showcases that display all the trophies won since the school district began.  I found the case that contained the rifle trophies and after attempting to take another photo, knew I needed to have it open due to reflection from the glass.  

Trophy case displaying trophies won
by the high school rifle team.

Then I turned and looked at the large banners on the gym walls that listed all individuals and teams that have won State Championships.  There, on one wall were the three banners; one for the 1972 Rifle Team and two for the 2011 and 2012 Golf Teams.  Pretty neat to know I was responsible for one of those banners.  I found my way to the athletic office, got my information I needed and asked if someone could open the display case for me to take a photo of the trophies.  Earliest one was from 1937-38, two years after Manheim Township entered a team in the county rifle league.  There on the bottom shelf was the 1972 team Lancaster County League trophy as well as a District trophy and State trophy.  Sitting in front of them was a plaque that was awarded to the 1972 team as Lancaster Newspapers Team of the Year.  I still get chills when I think back to the five years I coached the rifle team and how we won the state title.  Not bad coaching job for someone who had fired a real gun probably half a dozen times in his entire life.  I'll tell you, I never tire of reliving the happy times in my life and those five years were some of the best!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

Lancaster Newspaper awarded the rifle team the Team of the Year award.

The "As Times Goes By" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Searching through file after file of photos I have accumulated of the city of Lancaster, PA since I began writing my blog in 2009.  I have used many photos to illustrate my stories of historical buildings and historical events over the years, but from time to time come across additional photos of places I have already written about and rather than discard them, I put them in a file on my desktop.  Happened to open the file the other night and had the best time looking at all the photos I have collected and never used.  So ... today's story features some of these photographs that otherwise would have been discarded.  If you have not been a reader for years, you may appreciate some of the following.  A very brief description accompanies each photo.  If you care to read about the building or event that the photo illustrates, type the name of the photo into the small white bar at the top left of my blog when you first open it.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.  PS - Please click on photos to enlarge them.

Penn Square in Lancaster, PA sometime in the early 1870s.  Notice the absence of motorized vehicles.  The Soldiers and Sailors Monument was not constructed in the center of the square until 1874 and therefore cannot be seen in this photograph.

Lancaster's first U.S. Post Office built in 1789 on North Duke Street.

Wheatland, home of Lancaster's United States President James Buchanan was built in the early 1830s.

Lancaster County's first Courthouse which was built in the 1850s.

This is Fulton Hall which later was renamed Fulton Theatre.  It is in downtown Lancaster and still hosts stage shows and concerts.  Was built in the 1850s.

Lancaster's downtown Train Station.  It was built in the 1860's. It is no longer in this location, having been moved the north of the city.

The Stevens House built in the 1880's was one of Lancaster's first rooming houses.

This is City Hall which was built in the 1890s and served as our Nation's Capitol at one time.

The YWCA located at the corner of North Lime and East Orange Streets and was built in the early 1900s.

This F.W. Woolworth Department Store is flying many Red Cross Flags.  The building was Woolworth's first department store and was built between 1914 and 1918.  Not sure about the reason for the flags, but could be during WWI.

This event is taking place on the steps of the Lancaster County Courthouse on November 11, 1918 to celebrate the Armistice.

This photograph dated 1925 displays Lancaster's Police Department standing on the same steps as the previous photograph. Additions had been added to either side of the courthouse before this photo was taken.

This photo, taken recently from perhaps the roof of Lancaster's Convention Center, gives you a good view of Lancaster's first skyscraper, The Griest Building.  In the center foreground is what was once City Hall.  Dead center in the photo can be seen Lancaster's Historical Farmer's Market which is the oldest Farmer's Market in the United States.

The "Housing For Skinny People!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Driving around the city of Lancaster searching for a few houses that I had heard about that were over 100 years old and less than 10 feet wide.  Seems simple, right?  Now, the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania has a storied history.  It originally was called Hickory Town and eventually renamed after the English city of Lancaster by native John Wright.  Lancaster actually was part of the 1681 Penn's Woods Charter of William Penn, and was laid out by James Hamilton in 1734.  It was incorporated as a borough in 1742 and incorporated as a city in 1818.  So you see, looking for a few houses that are more than 100 years old was a big task.  Well, as I scoured the 7.413 square miles of buildings in the city, I came across a few other pretty neat places that I thought I'd share with you.  I may have briefly posted something in the past about a few of these, but I will list them once again along with photos of them from now as well as in the past.  And then, at the end of my story, I'll show you some of the 10 feet wide homes I found.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

416 S. Queen St. which was known as the Shiffler House.  It was the Shiffler Fire Company from 1854 to 1886.  I have found minutes, constitution and by-laws from the fire company as well as an invitation to the annual ball that they held.  At the time there were a few other private fire companies in the city of Lancaster such as the Humane Fire Co., Washington Fire Co., American Fire Engine and Hose Company and the Friendship Fire Company.  Most ended service in or around 1882 when the first paid City Fire Department came into existence.

This is what the building looks like today.  Remarkable shape for the age of the building which is now a private residence.

This is the Sehner-Ellicott-von Hess House at 123 North Prince Street in downtown Lancaster.  It was built in 1787 by German builder Gottlieb Sehner.  It was here that Andrew Ellicott, commissioned by U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, taught Meriwether Lewis surveying techniques for the Lewis & Clark Expedition (1803-1806) of western territories.

This is a current photo I took.  The house was restored from 1978 to 1981 by the Louise Steinman von Hess Foundation and now houses the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County.

This is a postcard showing 533 S. Prince Street.  The house was built in 1873 because of a bet.  It was built in 10 hours by 100 workers.  Turned out great. 

This is what the house looks like today.

This residence at 213 Church Street was built in 1890, also in 10 hours.  The house is in "Olde Town Lancaster" and is 10 feet wide. Under the Hamilton Plan of the 1740s, standard lots in Lancaster were 64 feet wide.  At times there were spaces between houses as well as alleyways.  Could be this home, and the two that follow, filled one of those open spaces.

This house at 428 E. Orange St. is also less than 10 feet wide.  Certainly would be easy to heat and cool, but might be tough to turn furniture around inside of it.

This is 216 1/2 West Walnut Street in the city.  It is the narrowest house at 8 feet, 9 inches wide. It was built in 1840. 

   

The "First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare" Story

Security guard stands next to the showcase that contains the First Folio.

It was an ordinary day.  Standing in front of the showcase with my camera over my shoulder.  Saw it was a good time to take a photo so I pulled the camera off my shoulder, took off my glasses and began to pull my camera towards my face.  Decided I needed both my hands to hold the camera still, due to the low light in the room, so I began to put my glasses on the top of the showcase.  In a very loud voice I heard, "Sir, don't dare put those glasses on the showcase.  You'll set off the alarm."  Guess I should have known better, since the showcase was holding a multi-million dollar document known as the First Folio.  

The First Folio on display at Elizabethtown College.

It was printed in 1623 and is one of 240 First Folio's known to exist today.  The original copies numbered 750, but time has dropped that number with many of the books being passed down through the ages within families.  Oh yeah, I guess I should tell you what the First Folio is in case you've never heard of it.  The First Folio is a collection of 38 of William Shakespeare's plays, 18 of which had never been printed to that point.  That 18 included Macbeth, The Tempest, As You Like It, Julius Caesar and the Twelfth Night which may have never been known to future generations if not for two of Shakespeare's fellow partners in the Lord Chamberlain's Men acting company, John Heminge (or Heminges) and Henry Condell, who assembled the 36 works together in the years after Shakespeare's death in 1616 and created the First Folio.  The First Folio that is on display is at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania which is about twenty minutes from my home in Lancaster.  

The First Folio is opened to the famous lines ...
to be or not to be, that is the Question.

The First Folio that is on display at the Elizabeth College High Library is from the Folger Shakespeare Library, established by Henry and Emily Folger in Washington, DC.  The Folger's collection included 82 First Folios, the largest group in the world.  The Folger Library chose one college in each state to display the First Folio and Elizabethtown, who is known for their collection of Shakespeare material, was chosen in Pennsylvania.  

The title page of the Geneva Bible.

I entered the library and followed the signs to the second floor where I was given a guest pass to wear around my neck with directions to the room where the First Folio was displayed.  The room was nearly empty and I had plenty of time to view the First Folio as well as a copy of the Geneva Bible which is part of Elizabethtown's rare books collection.  The Geneva translation into English dates from the second half of the 16th century and is historically important since Shakespeare would have had access to it.  Really neat to view both pieces of history and realize that many of Shakespeare's words and phrases are still in use today.  Phrases such as: to much of a good thing, out of the jaws of death, into thin air, time-honored, seen better days, budge an inch, be it as it may, foul-mouthed, forgone conclusion and even not a mouse stirring are all attributed to William Shakespeare.  I'm just glad I didn't place my glasses on the showcase that contained the First Folio and have to be ushered out of the library before I had the chance to visit history in person.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The High Library at Elizabethtown College

I followed the marked path to the library.