The "Creamed Peas & Eggs On Toast: School Lunches!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  My wife, Carol, was sitting across from me in our "Beach House" with her grocery shopping list and asked what I could eat for meals next week.  I told her I would love some of the old foods that we used to eat for lunches at Brecht Elementary School.  "I'm not making that creamed peas and eggs stuff again!" she told me.  So, where did that ever come from in the first place.  Well, it was back in the early 1950s that I entered Brecht Elementary School in Lancaster County.  I was a shy, skinny little kid, much like today.  The schools were beginning to feed the baby boomers and had to ramp up production in a big way.  In addition to traditional hot lunches, they began to serve cold lunches which might have included a variety of sandwiches, cottage cheese, pork and apple salads and ice cream.  By 1952 school lunches had become a $415 million business.  In some school districts, private companies began contracting with schools to supply them with school lunches.  But, in the Manheim Township School District, of which Brecht Elementary was a part of, they designed all the schools with a cafeteria that had a kitchen for food preparation.  

A lunchbox and canteen similar to the one I had as a child.

It was about this time that metal school lunchboxes with western themes, cartoon characters and even Barbie dolls painted on the outside were popular.  I remember having a Hopalong Cassidy lunchbox with a canteen inside of it to hold my drink.  If you were a "packer", you would bring your lunch to school so you didn't have to stand in line for your lunch.  Back then school lunches for children were rich protein heavy dishes like cheese meatloaf, sausage shortcake, ham and bean scallop and creamed peas and eggs on toast.  

Another, older style type of lunchbox.

It is during these years that I developed a craving for certain school lunches and during the summer months my mom would make a few of them to keep me in the same mindset as if I were eating in the school cafeteria.  Then along came the late 1950s and early 1960's and high school meals began to become ethnic with foods such as pizza, enchiladas and chili con carne.  Our high school cafeteria was a neat, almost square space with a glass see-through room in one corner where the faculty ate.  There were two lunch lines to speed up the food service.  Some kids brought their lunch in a brown bag, but most "bought" their lunch.  Some of my favorites were meatloaf and mashed potatoes and fish sticks with tartar sauce.  And, to my disappointment, the creamed peas and eggs on toast were cut from the menu.  Perhaps too much protein in that meal.  There were a multitude of cooks, or at least it seemed that way.  And, it seemed all they did was make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches which were one of the most popular lunchroom meals.  After I graduated in 1962, schools began to add fast food chain type meals such as fried chicken and hamburgers and fries.  In the late 1960's I returned to the Manheim Township High School as a teacher and ate in the same cafeteria for a few years before another new building was constructed and along with that a modern new cafeteria.  In the 1980s the federal lunch program was the big deal with nutritional guidelines that classified ketchup as a vegetable.  

Many of today's schools are filled with vending machines that
carry fast-foods as well as carbonated drinks.

Processed food creations seemed to rule the cafeteria with chicken nuggets, cheese- burgers and rectangular pizza slices on the menu daily.  Also remember chocolate pudding, Jell-0 and sliced fruit drenched in syrup on the daily lunch line.  Some children still brought their lunch, just like I did years before.  Those that brought their lunch had items such as Hand-Snacks, Fruit Roll-Ups and pouches of Capri Sun to drink.  Some kids even had Lunchables which were the thing to eat at lunch.  In the 1990s many schools allowed McDonald's, Little Caesar's, Chick-fil-A and others to set up shop at schools in return for lunch-room funding.  Those that still brought their lunch had items such as Dunkaroos, Gushers, Eddy Grahams and bottles of Squeeze-It.  Much the same as before, but with differnent names to the products.  Most were barely healthy foods.  At the start of the 2000s half of all U.S. schools offered fast food in their cafeterias and children bought sodas from vending machines in the cafeteria.  It has reinforced the obesity rate from the late 1990s.  In the past 10 years the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act was signed by President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama made kids' nutrition and fitness a priority with her Let's Move campaign.  Healthy eating gained cultural momentum.  

Schools from K-12 now have salad bars for lunch.

Some schools, such as Manheim Township's K-12 schools, began to feed students with meals that would have seemed downright strange two decades before.  Salad bars fill even the elementary schools of many school districts.  But, there are still those that refuse to buy school lunches and carry their lunch to school with them.  This year, with the COVID virus still a huge concern, my graandson, who is in 10th grade, carries his lunch to school and eats with a few friends on the bleachers in the gym in order to distance himself from the cafeteria crowd.  Actually the cafeteria is rather bare since every open area of the school is used for eating lunch.  Perhaps the lunchbox might come back into existence once again.  Hey, I wish I still have my Hopalong Cassidy lunchbox. I just might have sold it to the highest bidder. Just maybe!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Simply...The Yellow School Bus" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Looking out the window next to my lounge chair, watching the big yellow school bus make one of its runs since school ended this past March.  Bus looked to be only half full, since many parents have opted to have their children stay at home and accomplish their education online.  Needless to say, many are still frightened and worried that their children may be exposed to the COVID-19 virus.  

School bus from 1943.  Tough to tell the color in a black & white photo.

The bus seemed to be filled with happy young faces looking out the bus window, some looking my way as they passed.  Ever since I can remember, America's school buses have been yellow.  The color makes it recognizable to all and perhaps causes some to be more digilent as they pass the bus or approach it coming in the opposite direction.  

A 1955 Steelcraft school bus.

The man who put the idea in people's minds was Frank W. Cyr who was an educator and author from Nebraska.  He did research in ten states to help design a standardized bus and color for school transportation.    It was in 1939, during a meeting at Columbia University, that Cyr aimed to reinvent the fine art of getting to school.  Up until that time children got to school in a variety of ways.  

A 1957 Chevrolet School Bus.

Some traveled in wooden wheat wagons while others road in the back of pick-up trucks with floorboards covered with cow manure.  Mr. Cyr first received a degree in agriculture, then worked for years as a teacher and school superintendent.  During this time he finally decided to address the issue of getting to and going home from public schools.  He knew the economic benefits of public transportation to and from school was a no brainer.  He invited state educators from across the country, engineers from Chevrolet, International Harvester, Dodge and Ford as well as paint experts from DuPont and Pittsburgh Paint to a teachers college to set bus safety standards.  During one point in his meeting he hung up no less than fifty color strips.  After days of meetings and looking at these strips, they attendees were asked to suggest a color for the school bus.  One said red, white and blue to help instill national pride in students.  Eventually the iconic school bus shade of lead-chromate yellow was selected.  Today it is called National School Bus Glossy Yellow.  The color seems to have a psychological effect on those that see the buses.  

School buses as we visualize them today.

An Ophthal- mologist revealed that the color is "right smack in the middle" of the peak wave- lengths that stimulate the photoreceptor cells, known as cones, our eyes use to perceive red and green.  By stimulating two cones, the bus is easy to spot.  Today the colorful vehicle is involved in less that 1% of annual road casualties.  

Smaller sized buses fo transporting fewer children are easier to drive.

Seems that if there is fog or any kind of bad weather, drivers will still be able to see the yellow school buses.  And, if you take notice, large road-building and other outdoor machines are yellow to keep others from accidentally running into them.  Color has always been an important factor in our daily driving.  Traffic lights are red, yellow and green in all US states as well as every country and island my wife and I have visited during our lifetime.  To see a school bus in any other color would be tough to imagine, much the same as seeing a traffic light in any colors but red, yellow and green would be tough to imagine.  

The more modern flat-front school bus.  Easier for the driver
to see when all students are away from the front of the bus.

And, I did read that there is a national routine that school bus driver's are supposed to adhere to; after all kids have de-boarded, drivers must walk the length of the bus to ensure that no one has been left behind.  Hey, I find it easy to fall asleep when riding in a car, so why not tired students at the end of a day.  Once the bus is all clear, the driver is supposed to put a sign in the back window to indicate that the bus is empty.  Have you ever seen these signs?  Quite a bit of effort has gone into the design, color and size of school buses.  But, it is to protect the lives of our children as they head to and from school during the school year.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Squeezing A Few Runs Does It For The Champs!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Second of two days of watching my grandson's baseball team play in a tournament at "In The Net," which is a huge sports complex located at 798 Airport Road in Palmyra, Pennsylvania.  All summer I was unable to attend any baseball games due to the COVID virus, until two Sunday's ago when I was able to take in a double-header which featured the Landisville Vipers and the Mason-Dixon Ruffnecks, which I wrote about on Friday September 4.  The Vipers are actually a group of young men whose high school junior varsity season was eliminated by the virus, but took it upon themselves to form their own team and play in a few fall tournaments.  They were assisted by their parents as well as one mother, Annie Rieker, who helped in collecting money and contacting "In The Net" so that the team could play in this past week-end's tournament.  

Caden Woods makes a throw across the
diamond to 1st base.  Click on images to enlarge.

The uniforms were designed and ordered by the players.  They convinced their JV coach, Tylor Bair, to coach the team this past weekend and he was happy to comply with their request.  Most of the 14 teams that entered the Under-16 (years of age) tournament were All-Star teams from other leagues, with the Vipers being just one of two teams entered that were school teams.  Saturday was a pleasant day and the Vipers played their first tournament game at 8:30 AM.  Two games were scheduled for each time slot, since there are two regulation sized baseball diamonds at "In The Net."  Seedings, or team assignments, for the second day of the tournament were based on how you did in two games on Saturday.  

Coach Bair and two of his players.

The Vipers didn't fare well, losing both games they played on Saturday and were seeded 12 out of 14 based on runs scored and runs allowed.  So, in order to win the tournament, they would have to win every one of their four games on Sunday.  Sunday became a long day of baseball for both the team and their followers which included my wife and myself as well as many team followers.  

Pete Fiore heading to second base.

Another 8:30 AM game began with the Vipers playing the #3 seeded Shenandoah Sluggers whom had defeated them the day before by a large amount of runs.  These young Viper's players worked too hard to go home after the first game of the day, so they decided to turn their fortune around and begin to win.  

Aiden Rodenberger.

This time the Vipers turned the table on the Sluggers, whom had half-a-dozen players that were larger than the Vipers biggest player.  As everyone knows, size doesn't matter in baseball and the Vipers soundly defeated the Shenandoah Sluggers, 12-4.  Two hours later they were playing a team known as POD Nationals whom had won their earlier game.  

Players resting in the shade between games on Sunday. Photo by Mike Costa

The Vipers pitching was strong and they defeated the Nationals 12-0 with Ethan Green doing the pitching.  By now Carol and I had watched four games of baseball in two days, but there was still more to come.  If the Vipers could win the next game, they would qualify for the finals and possibly win the Championship.  

Cody Fatta makes a throw to 1st.

What were the chances of winning against teams that were a collection of the best players from cities and towns?  Well, at 4:30 PM, the Vipers took the field against the Baseball Anthracites, batting first, since they were the lower ranked of the two teams. These guys, who played the entire game with a chip on their shoulders, shut-out the Anthracites 6-0.  They now had to take on The Steelsharks Baseball Team who were seeded #1 at the start of the day.  And, to top that off, the Vipers were the "Away" team which means batting first again.  The Vipers scored first with the score going back and forth during the game.  My grandson, Caden Woods, came in to quell an uprising in the bottom of the 5th and shut the Steelsharks down with three strikeouts.  

Ethan Smith

The Vipers didn't score in the 6th, but the Steelsharks did manage a run off of Caden in their half of the inning.  In the top of the 7th and final inning, the Vipers needed three runs to tie the game and four to go ahead.  First up was Ethan Smith who hit a hard ground ball and reached first on an error by the third baseman.  

Michael Rieker taking a high throw.

Caden came to the plate and singled between short and third with Smith advancing to second. Then Hunter Williams hit a ground ball and reached on an error by the shortstop.  Smith and Woods advanced to third and second.  Matt McCullough laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to score Smith and move Caden and Hunter up a base, but was out at first for the first out of the inning.  For those not knowing what a squeeze bunt might be, it is one of the most exciting plays in baseball.  

Marcus Riveria waits on the ball.

The runner on third base heads to home as soon as the pitcher begins to throw the ball.  The runner is counting on the batter to bunt the ball so he can score.  The batter cannot miss the ball or the runner will be out at home.  The coach  doesn't give the signal to the batter to bunt if he isn't confident he will get his bat on the ball!  

Preparing to bunt.

Matt pulled off a perfect squeeze bunt.  Woods is now on third and Pete Fiore at the plate, the coach calls for another squeeze bunt.  Woods is halfway home when Pete laid down the perfect bunt, scoring Woods, but being thrown out at 1st base.  But, before long the Vipers had scored two more and went ahead by a run.  In the bottom of the 7th inning, Caden walked the first batter bringing in Logan Harelson to pitch.

Team photograph.

Logan struck out the first batter before allowing a single which advanced the tying run to third base.  Logan bore down and struck out the next two batters to end the game.  The Landisville Vipers became the unlikely Champions of the tournament.  They have now entered a mini-season league sponsored by the "In The Net."  Games over the next few weeks will determine the winner of this tournament.  Can the Vipers win another.  Stay tuned!!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The entire Vipers family poses for a photograph.

Medals for the winning team members. Photo by Mike Costa.

The "Love Is In The Air!" Story

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

The front of the picture postcard

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

The opposite side of the picture postcard

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

The "Why Your Body Does Strange Things!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting with my fingers on the keyboard of my MacBook Air and reading the headline on a link that I found a day or two ago that tries to explains why we sneeze, have goosebumps, yawn,...there I did it again.  When I read or even type the word yawn...did it again.  I just can't seem to not yawn when I see or even type the word.  The story I was reading was titled, "Weird Things Your Body Does, Explained."  So, why did I yawn...  Well, when your body is running low on oxygen, a yawn is triggered to force a deep inhale and exhale.  This increases oxygen levels in the bloodstream, and the yawn itself raises your heartbeat to pump the oxygen-rich blood throughout the body.  

Does this guy make you want to yawn?  It does me!

But, that's not the only reason we yawn.  Instead of oxygen intake, researchers now believe that the primary function of yawning is regulating temperature.  The brain is the most energy-hungry organ in the body, using about 40% of your total metabolic energy.  All that work means that your brain tends to run hot and needs a way to cool down.  Therefore, the brain used yawning like a computer uses fans.  When the cold air is brought in through the mouth, the muscles in your jaw and around your skull contract and stretch, which increases blood circulation in the area.  The air cools the blood, and the increase in heart rate pumps the cooler blood to your brain. A cooler brain is a more alert brain.  If the surrounding air is cooler, yawning will be more effective.  You tend to yawn more in cooler temperatures.  Yawning can also be triggered by other events like anxiety, hunger or even a change of activity.  Any time your brain needs some extra focus, it may trigger a yawn.  But, for me...it seems like reading or typing the word triggers a yawn....there it goes again.  So what about sneezing.  The primary purpose of a sneeze is to remove irritants from the nasal passage.  Things such as dust, dirt, pollen or even smoke can trigger a sneeze.  Are you the type of person who when they sneeze, it comes in pairs or more.  Some people have a specific number of sneezes that they produce each time.  If you have to sneeze more that once, than your sneeze isn't as powerful as a single-sneezer's sneeze.  Is this making you yawn yet?  Actually sneezing is one way that we fight the spread of bacteria when we're sick.  The body's natural reaction to infection is to produce mucus in an effort to trap the bacteria.  Once trapped, it's time to get rid of it and the sneeze will occur.  Good way to distribute the bacteria to everyone close to you.  Another reason some people sneeze is when they look into a bright light.  This is called a photic sneeze reflex and it is an inherited genetic trait.  The theory is that certain stimulation of the optical nerve causes the same sensation in your brain as irritation in the nose, but the true cause still eludes researchers.  And finally, why do you blink.  Did you know that you blink on average about 12 ties per minute.  That's 10,000 per day and 4.2 million times a year.  It's a wonder that we don't wear out our eyelids with time!  The most obvious reason we bling is to lubricate our eyes.  Every time you blink, small "tears" are puled across the surface of your eyes to keep them lubricated and prevent the spread of bacteria.  Blinking also clears dust and particles that are continuously getting into your eyes.  Your eyes can close in 0.1 seconds after stimulus is detected.  Sometimes the stimulus is a bright light or even blowing sand which produces a corneal reflex that is designed to prevent as much debris as possible from entering and damaging the eye.  Well, that's enough information for one story.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "Roses Are Red...But So Are Barns" Story

The Red Barn...An Ionic Color!

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a few online stories when I came across one called, "The Reason Barns are Painted Red Goes all the way Back to the Cosmos."  Caught my eye immediately, especially since it was illustrated by quite a few photographs of red barns from all over the United States.  So, do you know why barns are painted red?  Someone actually did a study on the question and finally came up with an answer in 2013.  He wrote a story for Google and explained how a red barn was far more than just a building with a paint color on it.  The whole deal is actually a gateway to the workings of the cosmos.  Engineer Yonatan Zunger began his quest for an answer as a result of an episode of a long-forgotten sitcom titles "Head of the Class."  The TV show dates back to the late 1980s.  From the big hair to the clunky IBM terminals in the classroom, there's not doubt that the show was close to 40 years ago.  The show was about gifted students and during one particular show, it was asked why red barns are a commonplace sight.  The show says that red paint was cheaper.  And Mr. Zunger found that to be absolutely true.  But, is that the only reason why barns were painted red?  To make red paint, manufacturers need rust, or the iron-oxide compound red ochre.  

Red is good for anytime of the year.

They get it from the ground where a star had collapsed at one time or another.  The story I was reading said that dying stars become bogged down with heavy elements which cause them to die.  Stars are created when dust and gas clouds mix together in a galactic cocktail which is propelled by gravity.  Fusion happens which balances inward and outward pressure, holding the end result in the skies as a ball of light which we call a star.  When the star gets weighted down by iron, it can no longer take it, dies and explodes.  The material falls to earth and embeds itself at ground level.  A payload of red ochre means big bucks for paint producers who are profiting from dead stars.  And that's why red paint is cheap for barns.  But, what happens when the iron strikes buildings or heaven forbid, people?  In my search for more information, I came across a story in the Smithsonian Magazine that asked the same question...why are barns red.  They too said it had to do with the chemistry of dying stars.  They also told of the study that Mr. Zunger had done and that the simple compound known as red ochre - Fe2O3 - the compound of iron and oxygen that absorbs yellow, green and blue light and appears as red.  It's what makes red paint red and is cheap since it is plentiful.  So, if you are in need of a new color for your house, consider red since it evidently is much cheaper than most other colors. Now, I still need to find out why people aren't struck by these falling parts of a star.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "When Baseball Was Free Of Problems...Allegedly!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a story titled "The Thrill Of Baseball" which was fist published as an editorial in The Saturday Evening Post on October 13, 1908.  In 1908, the game of baseball was so different than it is today.  There were no cheating scandals, players were smaller in stature, there were no drugs and only whites played the game of professional baseball.  

Jackie Robinson was the first African American major
league baseball (MLB) player.  Jackie Robinson is credited
with breaking MLB's color barrier in 1947.  However, back in
1881 in the American Associaton, a major league at the time,
 Moses Walker and his brother Welday Walker played for the
Toledo Blue Stockings.

The superior edition of the game, which is played today, has made many needed changes to make the game more interesting, dynamic and available to all good players no matter what color, race, or religion they may worship.  But, with the updated version of the game are some unwanted items such as drugs and cheating, but it sadly is a part of our universal society today.  The song, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", was a big hit in the early days of the game and the following editorial was part of the Saturday Evening Post.  I have printed it as it appeared so you can see how important the game of baseball was at the time.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

     In an imperfect and fretful world, we have one institution which is practically above reproach and beyond criticism.  There is no movement afoot to uplift it, like the stage, or to abolish it, like marriage.  No one claims that it is vulgar, like the newspaper, or that it assassinates genius, like the magazines.  It rouses no class passions, and, while it has magnates, they go unhung with our approval.
     This one comparatively perfect flower of our sadly defective civilization is, of course, baseball - the only important institution that the United States regards with a  practically universal, uncritical, unadulterated affection.  The fact doesn't fit any theory, for baseball is somewhat of a trust and monopoly and is operated with an eye to the gate receipts.  
     The strength of baseball is simply that it gets results.  Politics bores, the newspaper irritates, the drama frequently, at best, leaves you in doubt as to whether you have had a pleasant evening, a cold in the head takes the perfume from the rose of matrimony.  But there is no doubt, no bar, no discount upon the thrill of the double play, or the deep joy of the three-bagger.
     "Our One Perfect Institution, " Editorial, October 31, 1908.

The "Baseball Is Alive And Well Once Again!" Story

It was an ordinary day. "Game Day" Lancaster County style!  It's been almost a year since I have been able to have my baseball fix.  But, sure enough, we got the call from my son and daughter-in-law telling us that Grandson Caden was going to play on a team  that was going to play at "In The Net" which is located in Palmyra, Pennsylvania.  Neat complex that has a few full-sized baseball fields.  Games were scheduled for this past Saturday and Sunday with at least two games each day.  Well, rain canceled the tournament's first day so they decided to cancel the tournament.  

Beautiful ball field in the middle of corn fields.

So, the coaches of the Lancaster team, known as Team Vipers 16U (ages 16 and under) arranged for a double-header with another team know as the Mason Dixon Ruffnecks. The games were to be played on a field in Glen Rock, Pennsylvania.  We got directions to Codorus Township Park in Glen Rock and off we went on early Sunday afternoon.  The park was located close to the Maryland border and took close to 45 minutes to find our way through all the country roads in southern York, Pennsylvania.  

Looking through the stalks of field corn at the game.

Beautiful park that as soon as I saw the field I swore it looked like the field in the movie "Field of Dreams."  The field was surrounded by corn fields and a few foul balls during the game ended along the edge of the corn field.  But, to me it didn't matter where the game was played or by whom, it was a ball game!  The teams were evenly matched with the first game going back and forth with the home team, The Ruffnecks, winning.  

Fans sitting along the edge of the corn field.

My grandson had a chance to play 1st base, 3rd base and Right Field.  Had a hit and a couple of good plays in the field.  Games at this age last 7 innings and the game ended in about 2 hours.  You could tell that both teams hadn't played much baseball together as well as playing for a few months.  Didn't matter though since I was getting to watch baseball.  

Caden hitting one to the outfield to drive in two runs.

Oh yeah, I already mentioned that, didn't I.  I took a few strolls around the edge of the cornfield and even stepped inside the corn stalks for a photo or two.  Second game began a half-hour after the first one ended and it was another evenly matched game.  Caden had the chance to pitch 2 innings at the end of the game and put the Ruffnecks down one, two, three in the 5th inning, but did give up a run in the 6th inning.  

Caden delivering a pitch.

The team entered the 7th inning with a lead, but the Ruffnecks tied the game in the top of the 7th and the Vipers couldn't score in the 7th.  Game was called at that point with the final score a tie.  Caden drove in three runs in the game and did a great job pitching.  And, I had the best time watching my favorite sport.  Tomorrow we will travel to "In The Net" to compete against teams from all over the North East in another  thrilling tournament.  One of the teams that The Vipers will face on Saturday is ranked 51st in Pennsylvania.  Now, I don't know if that's 51st out of 52 or out of 100.  Doesn't matter, since it's baseball and any team can win on any given day!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Watching Caden pitch from the cornfield above home plate.

 

The "It's Finally Over...Almost: Part II - Almost The End!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Finished my story yesterday after having won the State Championship with my rifle team.  I lasted as the coach one more year after that and had to retire due to hearing loss.  I should have known better, but no one else in the league wore ear protection so I never did either.  And, I'm still paying the price for it.  After my first year at Manheim Township as a teacher I was asked by Ed Blazer, the school yearbook advisor, if I was interested in helping him do the yearbook.  

My classroom at the high school when I retired.  At the
time it was Room 308, but changed when the school enlarged.

Sure, why not! It paid a stipend and I had a new son and a new home at the time, and we were trying to live on a teacher's salary.  I thoroughly enjoyed working on the yearbook, doing the layouts and helping with the photography for the book.  After my first year, 1967-1968, Ed told me he no longer wanted to work with the yearbook, so I was asked to take over the reigns.  I asked Jim Gallagher, the art teacher, if he was interested in helping with the yearbook.  We were a pair until I retired from teaching, 33 years after I began.  After retirement Fromm teaching, I continued with the summer in-house printing for the school district, but did ask another teacher, Mike Zell, if he wanted to help me with the printing.  Mike was an elementary teacher who lived with his wife and three girls a block from our home on Janet Ave. and who happened to be the teacher of our three children in elementary school.  

I can't imagine the number of sheets of paper that went through the
 two presses in this photo when I taught and did the summer printing.

His summers were filled with working on the nearby school playground, but he welcomed the chance to be in an air-conditioned area instead of working outside all summer in the heat.  Took all but a few days to show Mike how to run the press and operate the paper cutter.  It was in 1990 that the President of our Teacher's Association approached me and asked if I would mind if the association nominated me for a Salute to Teachers Award in Lancaster County.  Wow!  Before long I was headed to Harrisburg, PA with my Principal, Mr. Hower and my Department Head, Dean Lemon to accept the award of "Educator of the Year."  Also receiving the award were Donald Kraybill, professor at Elizabethtown College and Kenneth Shields, professor at Millersville University.  

1990 article in the newspaper.

Quite an Honor!  When I retired from teaching in 1999 I was still the yearbook adviser as well as the in-house printer.  I was asked to  remain the in-house printer, but the high school principal said he preferred to have an active teacher as the head of the yearbook.  I agreed.  But, the following day the Principal of the Manheim Township Middle School called and asked me to do his yearbook.  "Name your price," he said.  Well, I have been the advisor to the Middle School book until last year when I retired from that position.  

Going to donate my trusty paper cutter
to a museum in Lancaster, PA.

But, eight years ago Manheim Township School District opened a new building named the "Landis Run Intermediate School" which housed grades 5 and 6.  The principal was on the phone when the school opened and asked if I would do their yearbook.  "Sure, why not," was my response.  So, I was now the yearbook advisor for the Middle School and the Intermediate School.  Well, as I wrote before, last year I gave up the Middle School yearbook and I recently talked with Mike and we both have now decided to retire from our summer printing positions.  But, I have not yet given up my job as the advisor for the Landis Run yearbook yet!  I have been part of the Manheim Township School district since I began as a 1st grader at Milton J. Brecht Elementary School in 1950.  There were only 4 years during college that I have not been a part of MT.  How much longer can I remain?  As long as I can walk through the door of the Landis Run school I guess!  My blood bleeds blue and white, being that they are the school colors.  But, for now I am getting my camera ready for another year of candids at the Intermediate School. Will be a challenging year, to say the least.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The "It's Finally Over...Almost: Part I - The Beginning" Story

Manheim Township High School

It was an ordinary day.  Thinking back to my high school days when my math teacher was a gentleman whose body was twisted enough that it required two canes to maneuver around his classroom.  Mr. Lewis was one of my favorite teachers at Manheim Township High School and gave me the notion that maybe I could be a math teacher like him after I graduated from high school. So, I applied to nearby Millersville State Teacher's College in Millersville, Pennsylvania.  

Millersville's Old Main as it appeared in mid-1900s

A month or so later I received a call from the college asking if I could visit the college and meet with someone in the admission's office.  You bet!  I was so excited that day back in early 1962 that I can still remember dressing up for my interview. They sat me down and after a moment or two told me that my college board scores weren't high enough for their math curriculum.  But...would I be interested in their Industrial Arts program?  "What would I do in that program," I asked.  "You could become a shop teacher, and they are in great demand."  So, I became a shop teacher, after three-and-a-half years of studies and student teaching.  Seems shop teachers were in such demand that I didn't even have to graduate to begin teaching.  So, this squirrelly looking guy with the big black glasses began teaching at York Eastern High School in York, Pennsylvania.  I taught Wood Shop during the second-half of what should have been my senior year at Millersville.  I was in heaven!  I was a teacher...just like Mr. Lewis.  But, after a month or two it became apparent I didn't want to drive almost 40 minutes to get to school each day, so I asked my brother Steve, who happened to be a high school senior at Manheim Township at the time, if he would ask his basketball coach, Mr. Eheman, whom I had as a shop teacher when I attended high school and who happened to be the chairman of the Industrial Arts department at the High School, if he had any job openings for the next school year.  I was still living at home at the time and the following day my brother came home from basketball practice and said, "You got the job!"  Did I mention that Industrial Arts teachers were in great demand?  The following week I met the Superintendent of the school and signed my contract for the 1966-67 school year.  

Showing two of my students how to set type.

I began teaching wood shop and metal shop my first year, then talked Mr. Ehheman into letting me use a small classroom to teach graphic arts.  It was a special time in my life, especially since my girlfriend, Carol, and I had plans to get married on June 17 of 1967.  The following year I had a few graphic arts classes and a wood class.  That summer in 1968 I also began to do all the in-house printing for the district.  Stationery, envelopes, event tickets, etc. were all needed and I was the one to print them.  

I'm showing a student how to use the new offset press.

I used a hand-operated platen press with type that I had set by hand and locked in a chase to place on the press.  The following year the school district allowed me to hire one of my students to help me, since they were beginning to give me much more to print.  A new, small offset press was also purchased for my Graphic Arts class. A year or two later I talked Mr. Ehemann into allowing me to start a class in photography and it was approved.  I was in heaven!  We used the Industrial Arts "smoking room" as the darkroom, which didn't sit well with a few teachers who now had to use a storage trailer outside to smoke.  It was close to this time that my friend from elementary school, Jere, joined me as an Industrial Arts teacher at Manheim Township, our Alma Mater.  We lived a few blocks away from each other most of our lives and he had married his high school sweetheart, Sue, who graduated with both of us. He spent a few years in the Navy before starting classes at Millersville.   A year or two later I made the mistake of adding, just as a joke, a few hundred gallons of fuel oil to to be delivered to my home address, to my yearly high school requisition.  I was called into the office and Mr. Hower, the very large High School Principal, didn't think it to be funny, since the secretaries had to spend time typing all the purchase orders and he had to sign them.  I apologized, but knew it wasn't the end of it.  The end came the following year when I was called into the office and Mr. Hower told me that I would be the new rifle coach.  I looked at him and said, "But I don't know how to shoot a rifle!"  

State Champions!

Didn't matter...  seems it was my punishment from the previous year.  But, I found I didn't really have to know much about the rifles, as long as I knew the personalities of each boy and girl who came out for the team.  And, to my amazement, as well as many others I must admit, my rifle team eventually won the Pennsylvania State Championship.  It was the first team State Championship Manheim Township had ever won in any sport!  Follow along with me tomorrow as I take you with me on more of my teaching journey.  It was 
another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The Lancaster Newspaper named our Rifle Team, "Team of The Year"
These were the five best shooters on the team.  Click to enlarge.

The "A Hero With Ink & Needle" Story

Tattoo artist Eric Catalano

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a story in "Reader's Digest" telling about a tattoo artist by the name of Eric Catalano who helps injured and scarred patients gain confidence and pride once again.  What caught my eye was the set of photographs that showed the left hand of a fellow who had lost parts of two fingers and had the tips of those fingers tattooed with fingernails that were so realistic that most people thought they were really his fingernails.  

Fingers before (left) and right with tattoos.

Most people, including Eric's co-workers who had heard he was going to try and tattoo fingernails on a person who had his fingertips cut off by the fan belt of an automobile, made everyone in his studio laugh...until they saw the final result.  Eric worked in the automobile financing business until he decided to begin tattooing for a profession and began working at his External Tattoo Studio in Hecker, Illinois.  After more people saw the results of his fingernail tattoos, Eric decided to enter the field of paramedical tattooing.  He now is getting people from all over the world seek out his tattooing expertise so they can try and return to a normal life after having a life altering accident.  One woman had been bitten by a puppy in 2014 and had undergone several surgeries to correct a scar on her lip.  Nothing helped until Eric did his wizardry and camouflaged the scar on her lip with a tattoo.  

My son's tattooed arm showing his grandfather
with his initials and date of birth and death
done by tattoo artist Steve Lowry.

A few years ago I went with my youngest son to visit Trancending Flesh Tattoo Studio in center-city Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Tad wanted to have his Grandmother's initials tattooed on his leg inside a wreath of flowers.  The owner of the studio, Steve Lowry, who was a student of mine in my graphic arts course.  I could tell he was a talented graphic artist and he put that artistry to good use at his tattoo shop.  Steve has done several tattoos on Tad as well as a tattoo on my daughter's wrist which reads XXIII for the date she was married and the dates both her children were born.  He also has completed a tattoo on my oldest granddaughter that reads: "I am greater than my highs and lows" which relates to her Diabetes readings.  

Steve working on my daughter's arm.

He too is using his skill to help his customers share their life with others.  One of the most common tattoos that Eric now does for his customers is tattooing nipples on women who have had breast surgery.  Each Wednesday in his shop is known as Wellness Wednesday where he does medical tattoos for customers, who come from miles around, for no charge.  He doesn't make any money off these customers, but after seeing the emotions of these customers after he has done his artistry, he is well paid.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Steve and Tad outside Steve's Studio

My daughter's tattoo reading: "23"

My granddaughter's tattoo reading: I am Greater than my Ups and Downs.