25 years ago

STRIKE ENDS: Armstrong World Industries and two striking unions reached tentative contract agreements to end a 12-day strike at the company’s Lancaster floor plant. (Nov. 17, 1984)

TIRE SLASHER: After a lull of nearly five months, the Lancaster Township tire slasher went on a rampage, damaging 40 tires on 13 vehicles in the area. It was the 10th time in two years that tires were flattened on cars parked in the residential neighborhood off Columbia Avenue. And as usual, frustrated police were unable to locate any witnesses who might have seen the vandal at work. (Nov. 17, 1984)

TRIVIA CHAMPS: Bill Eves, a Bell Telephone service representative, captained a four-man team to Lancaster’s “Trivial Pursuit” championship with a masterful command of trifling facts. He and teammates Tucker Williams, Thomas Jones and Roy Stryker, all of Lancaster, ended the contest by identifying the magazine that popularized the features, “Life’s Like That,” “Points to Ponder” and “Personal Glimpses.” The answer: Reader’s Digest. (Nov. 19, 1984)

50 years ago

DOG’S WORLD: Lancaster County had an all-time record of 34,217 licensed dogs. It was the equivalent of one canine in six of every 10 homes. (Nov. 17, 1959)

GAME SHOW: Bernard C. Linn of Landisville was back home after his second and final appearance on “The Price is Right” television show. The value of his winnings totaled $16,300. His prizes included a 54-foot boat with outboard motor, 14 pieces of luggage, a mobile home trailer with three bedrooms, a woman’s beaver coat, furnishings for a family room, a piano and carpeting for a full house. (Nov. 19, 1959) (more…)

25 years ago

SERGEANT DIES: A nine-year veteran of the Manheim Borough police force died after an accidental fire broke out in his police cruiser and filled it with smoke. A fellow officer found Sgt. Delbert Flowers, 32, in his unmarked car near the borough maintenance shed. (Nov. 9, 1984)

MALL SHOOTOUT: While more than two-dozen horrified people looked on, a gun battle broke out among several men in the Park City mall shortly after 10 p.m. on a Friday night. Three men were wounded, and one later died of his injuries. The man who fired the fatal shot was acquitted after pleading self defense. (Nov. 10, 12 and 13, 1984)

WATER TOWER: The East Hempfield Township Water Authority voted to place a new 3.5-million-gallon water tank in Getz’s Woods, despite objections of property owners in the area. Officials said the tank was needed to relieve water-pressure problems in the area. (Nov. 13, 1984)

HOSPITAL CUTS: St. Joseph Hospital announced that decreased revenues, fewer patients and increased competition were forcing it to lay off the equivalent of 60 employees. The hospital planned to lay off 44 to 46 full-time workers and reduce the hours of others. (Nov. 15, 1984)

50 years ago

CORNERSTONE: The Hellenic Orthodox Community was living proof of the old axiom, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” the Rt. Rev. Germanos Liamadis, Titular Bishop of Constantia, said during cornerstone-laying ceremonies for the new Church of the Annunciation on Hershey Avenue. Placed into the cornerstone were 1959 coins and a list of local, state and national church officials. After the mortaring by the bishop, each church member filed past and added a little mortar to the stone. (Nov. 9, 1959)

HEALTH PLAN: City police and firefighters asked for hospitalization coverage for their families in the 1960 budget. Only city employees were covered in the 1959 budget. (Nov. 10, 1959) (more…)

25 years ago

NEW PREZ: The Rev. Peter M. Schmiechen, 46, academic dean at Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Ill., was unanimously elected president of Lancaster Theological Seminary by the board of trustees. (Nov. 3, 1984)

PLANT STRIKE: About 1,500 local floor and tile workers struck Armstrong World Industries, halting operations at its Lancaster floor plant and East Hempfield Township distribution center. Union leaders of Local 285, United Rubber Workers, declared the strike following the workers’ “overwhelming” rejection of a company proposal to reduce medical benefits. The company’s contract offer called for a doubling of insurance premiums paid by employees, and for a yearly deductible of $100 for individuals and $200 for families. The offer also included a 5.04 percent wage increase. (Nov. 5, 1984)

REAGAN ROMPS: President Ronald Reagan scored the strongest victory in a presidential race here in more than half a century, winning 75.6 percent of all votes cast in Lancaster County as he defeated Democratic challenger Walter Mondale in a landslide re-election triumph nationwide. Reagan’s margin locally was the most substantial since Herbert Hoover’s defeat of Alfred Smith with 88 percent of the vote in 1928. (Nov. 7, 1984)

50 years ago

DEADLY TREE: A 17-year-old girl was killed and two sisters seriously injured at Hinkletown when a dead tree fell among a group of people waiting on a bank of the Conestoga Creek to watch a mass baptism on a Sunday morning. With brisk winds blowing, the 60-foot elm tree tore loose from the earth and fell without warning. (Nov. 2, 1959)

GUN CLASSES: In a sweeping new effort to curtail firearms accidents throughout the Commonwealth, special classes on gun safety were being formed in schools for the first time. The classroom approach, an initiative of the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the National Rifle Association, was being introduced in a number of Lancaster County schools. (Nov. 3, 1959)

FARM WILLED: Cane’s Point, the beautiful Pequea Township farm of the late H.W. Prentis Jr., was to become a recreation center for Armstrong Cork Co. employees under terms of the industrialist’s will. Prentis, who had died a week earlier, had served as the company’s president and, later, chairman of the board. The will stipulated that if the company rejected the offer, the farm — off Millersville Road — would be given to the Lancaster County Commissioners for use as a public park. Armstrong directors later declined the offer, saying it would be too costly to convert the farm to recreational use. The county commissioners then tabled the matter, but before they could act, the will was declared invalid because it was executed within 30 days of Prentis’ death. The farm (pictured above in 1966) was auctioned for $51,100 to T.R. McComsey in April 1960. It later  became the Circle M Ranch recreation area, and is known today as Outdoor World Circle M Campground. (Nov. 5, 1959, and March 28, 1960) (more…)

25 years ago

PPO PROTEST: Lancaster General Hospital’s plan for a “preferred provider organization” was a “grab for more patients” that would limit choices in health care, the medical staff president of St. Joseph Hospital charged. “It deprives our patients of choice of where they want to go and it deprives us of choice as to where we might want to take care of them,” said Dr. Ronald M. Legum. (Oct. 27, 1984)

‘BIG BOY’ STOLEN: A thief stole a 6-foot-tall “Big Boy” statue from the rear parking lot of Elby’s Big Boy Family Restaurant, 1683 Oregon Pike, during the Sunday lunch rush. It was one of two statues that had been taken down after the “Big Boy” trademark was relinquished. The restaurant was soon to be known only as “Elby’s,” and the statues were to be trucked to corporate headquarters in West Virginia. (Oct. 29, 1984)

REAGAN AT MU: An estimated 8,000 Lancaster County residents cheered Republican President Ronald Reagan at an election rally at Millersville University as he declared the successful rebirth of “the second American Revolution.” “America is back,” Reagan told enthusiastic supporters at the event, held a week before the election. “It’s powerful in its renewed spirit, its growing economy, its ability to defend itself and secure the peace, and its ability to build a better future.” The following week, Reagan won a second term by defeating Democrat Walter Mondale in a landslide. (Oct. 30, 1984)

50 years ago

CITY PLAN: The Lancaster City Planning Commission unveiled a plan to revitalize the downtown with $50 million in new buildings and improved parking facilities by 1980. The planners stressed that the city was paying for the plan, but the “cold cash” for the work had to  come from downtown merchants, property owners, outside interests and federal urban-renewal funds. The plan proposed a traffic-free shopping mall for King Street, from Duke to Prince, and on Queen Street, from Vine to Chestnut; a new courthouse and municipal building; an executive office tower across from the Post Office on Chestnut Street, complete with top-floor restaurants overlooking the city; and a convention hall or civic center at the southwest corner of North Queen and Walnut streets. (Oct. 28, 1959)

BEATNIKS: A wave of junior beatniks — complete with mussed hair and scraggly beards — was preparing to cavort about Lancaster for Halloween. The beatnik motif was expected to be among the most popular holiday get-ups for the small fry and adults. Also popular were imitations of TV and comic-strip characters, including “Mavericks” and “Bat Mastersons.” (Oct. 28, 1959)

PRENTIS DIES: Henning W. Prentis Jr., chairman of the board of the Armstrong Cork Co. and a former president of the National Association of Manufacturers, died at Lancaster General Hospital at age 75. He had been stricken ill after returning from a horseback ride on his farm at Millersville. Prentis had been Armstrong chairman since 1950 and served as company president from 1934 to 1950. (Oct. 29, 1959) (more…)

25 years ago

FREE FOOD: Thousands of county residents lined up for free cheese, butter, honey, rice and corn meal supplied by the U.S. Government, which had purchased it from farmers through federal subsidy programs. “The need is tremendous,” said Jeff Wibberley, director of operations for the Community Action Program of Lancaster County, which was giving food to 10,000 people at two city sites and six elsewhere in the county. The need was so great that many even clamored for 373 blocks of cheddar cheese that was unavailable because it was rotten with mold. “Many, many people wanted the spoiled cheese,” Wibberley said. “But we couldn’t take the liability.” The surplus products were purchased by the government from farmers who received subsidies. (Oct. 20, 1984)

SUNDAY SHOPPING: A proposal to open Park City shopping center at 10 a.m. on the Sunday before Christmas stirred considerable debate among the mall’s merchants. The normal Sunday hours were noon to 5 p.m., although some of the larger department stores opened at 11 a.m. The controversy quickly widened, with church leaders opposing the 10 a.m. opening and a retired businesswoman launching a petition drive against it. The mall’s merchants’ association later dropped the plan. (Oct. 24 and 25, 1984)

50 years ago

LAVISH SCHOOLS? A special state Senate investigating committee charged that school construction in Pennsylvania tended toward lavishness. But Sen. George N. Wade, the Camp Hill lawmaker heading the committee, said his panel learned of no examples of lavishness in school construction in Lancaster County. Wade said he wanted his committee to pass a bill by Lancaster County Rep. Edwin D. Eshelman. The bill would require the Department of Public Instruction to prepare a number of uniform building plans for use by all school districts in the state. (Oct. 21, 1959)

MOMS IN CLASS: Nearly 60 Lancaster Township mothers took over teaching jobs part-time for a week so that the township’s elementary school teachers could meet other parents and talk about their children. It was all part of a program to get teachers and mothers better acquainted and to improve instruction of the children. (Oct. 22, 1959) (more…)

25 years ago

TMI STUDY: A citizens’ advisory panel on the Three Mile Island cleanup decided to study how the 1979 nuclear accident may have affected the health of area residents. The panel, set up by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was chaired by Lancaster Mayor Arthur E. Morris. (Oct. 12, 1984)

TRAIN TRAGEDY: A 48-year-old paving contractor was killed when an Amtrak train smashed into his car at a railroad crossing in Landisville. The accident happened on a Sunday afternoon on Oak Lane, just north of Main Street. The railroad crossing was not guarded with gates or flashing lights. (Oct. 15, 1984)

VILLAGE PLAN: St. Anne’s Home near Columbia was preparing to break ground for the first phase of a retirement village that was expected to lead, eventually, to 179 cottages and apartment units. St. Anne’s Village, as the project was called, was the first Catholic-affiliated retirement community in the church’s Harrisburg Diocese. The complex was to be located on a 30-acre tract just east of the nursing home, between Mountville and Columbia. (Oct. 16, 1984)

50 years ago

SOLID CITY: Downtown Lancaster had no reason to worry about losing business to suburban shopping centers, as long as it kept on its toes, according to a study by the City Planning Commission. “In the city,” the report stated, “retail sales have been rising continually to an all-time high in spite of the appearance of suburban shopping centers and increased congestion in the downtown.” (Oct. 13, 1959)

CUBS & ROSES: The Chicago Cubs agreed to sign a full working agreement with the Lancaster Red Roses baseball team. Local officials viewed the move as necessary to keep the local team in the Eastern League. Under the terms of a full agreement, the Cubs would train all local players at their spring base in Mesa, Ariz., and would also pay transportation expenses of any player coming to, or going from, the Lancaster team through the season. (Oct. 14, 1959) (more…)

25 years ago

DIRECTOR: Richard Burley, 46, of Tyrone, was named director of the Lancaster County Vocational Technical School System. Burley was hired to replace Ralph M. Layman, who planned to retire at the end of 1984. (Oct. 5, 1984)

NEW PARK: Manheim was preparing to dedicate its new park at the corner of South Main Street (Route 72) and East High Street, just off the town’s Market Square. Every tree, bench and light standard in the Manheim Central Community Park was placed in memory of a friend or relative. The entire $50,000 project was funded solely by the borough’s residents, businesses and civic organizations. (Oct. 9, 1984)

CAN’T SUE: The U.S. Supreme Court barred 14 Americans held hostage by Iran for more than 14 months from suing the Iranian government in U.S. courts. One of the plaintiffs in the case was Duane “Sam” Gillette (left), a former Columbia R1 Navy man. The former hostages were among 52 Americans held captive after the U.S. Embassy in Tehran was stormed by supporters of the Ayatollah Khomeini (right) on Nov. 4, 1979. They were freed in January 1981. (Oct. 9, 1984)

TROLLEY BUSES: James J. Lutz, executive director of the Red Rose Transit Authority, said the authority was considering the purchase of several small, trolley-like buses as part of a five-year capital-improvement program. (Oct. 9. 1984)

MILL BURNS: More than 75 firefighters battled a six-hour fire that wrecked historic Flory’s Mill, near Route 283 in Manheim Township, apparently ending operations in one of the few active flour mills in Lancaster County. Although the two giant mills escaped major damage, owner Tom Flory said fire destroyed all the accessories he needed to make flour. (Oct. 10, 1984)

MARKET PLAN: Consultants hired to study Southern Market’s future recommended that the Saturday farmers’ market be relocated and the 96-year-old structure converted to a new use as a visitors’ plaza, community recreational facility or headquarters for Lancaster police. The consultants found strong support for a Saturday market, however, and suggested it might be held in Central Market, which was open only on Tuesdays and Fridays. (Oct. 11, 1984)

50 years ago

CIVIL DEFENSE: A new civil defense plan for Lancaster County called for local residents to “dig in” and go underground in case of an enemy attack. The reason, officials said, was the possibility of atomic fallout. The previous plan had called for evacuation. Officials explained that after an atomic attack, Lancaster might be virtually unharmed. But if the city were to be evacuated, the moving population might run into wind-borne fallout and disaster. (Oct. 5, 1959) (more…)

25 years ago

SCHOOL SALE: The 98-year-old North Star School, one of the last two publicly owned one-room schoolhouses in Lancaster County, was being put up for sale at public auction. The Lampeter-Strasburg School District had closed the school in 1983 due to declining enrollment. Students were transferred to the Walnut Run School, which was the last one-room public school in L-S and was believed to be last one in the county. (Oct. 2, 1984) (Note: Walnut Run closed in 1994. At that time, it was believed to be the last one-room public school in the state. It is now a museum.)

AVIAN FLU: Gov. Dick Thornburgh lifted an 11-month-old avian influenza quarantine in Lancaster and four other counties, erasing the most visible reminder of the mysterious disease that had crippled the huge poultry industry here. The action gave the county’s farmers a clean bill of health and enabled them to transport and trade in poultry products without restriction. (Oct. 4, 1984)

50 years ago

DETOUR: About 400 East Lampeter Township school children had to get off their school buses, walk across a small bridge and wait for the buses to pick them up on the other side. That was because the bus routes crossed two bridges with load limits less than the total weight of a bus full of school children. The bridges were on Witmer Road and East Brook Road, both just south of Old Philadelphia Pike. (Sept. 29, 1959)

FLUORIDE: In a 3-2 vote, City Council approved fluoridation of the city’s water supply. The vote followed an hour-long debate during which 22 laymen, doctors and public health officials spoke for and against the move. Proponents said the overwhelming weight of evidence was on their side — that fluoridation was a perfectly safe, efficient and effective way to reduce tooth decay. Opponents said it was dangerous, would discolor teeth, and that fluoridation was undemocratic because it imposed the will of the minority on the majority. (Sept. 29, 1959) (more…)

25 years ago

SINGING PRAISES: U.S. Rep. Robert S. Walker basked in the warm praises of three fellow members of the “Conservative Opportunity Society” at a reception and rally at the Brunswick Motor Inn in downtown Lancaster. Reps. Newt Gingrich of Georgia, Vin Weber of Minnesota and Connie M. Mack III of Florida told the crowd that the lawmakers were in the forefront of a bold new conservative movement that was reaching out to Americans through C-SPAN, which was broadcasting gavel-to-gavel coverage of the House of Representatives. (Sept. 22, 1984)

BOWIE SIGNS: Sam Bowie, a 7-foot-1 native of Lebanon, became the third-highest-paid rookie in National Basketball Association history when he reached a contract agreement with the Portland Trail Blazers. Terms of the six-year deal were not revealed, but the Oregonian newspaper reported that it totaled $5 million. Only Akeem Abdul Olajuwan and Ralph Sampson, his Houston Rockets teammate, had heftier rookie contracts, at $6.3 million and $5.3 million respectively. (Sept. 26, 1984)

NEVER GIVE UP: Actress Patricia Neal brought her “never-give-up” message to about 60 residents of the Whitehall-Leader Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Abbeyville Road. Neal, 58, leaned on a cane with her left hand. The use of her right leg was impaired by a series of strokes nearly 20 years earlier. “I had three massive strokes. I wasn’t expected to live., but I did,” she said. “And here I am.” (Sept. 26, 1984)

50 years ago

CROSSWALK: The crosswalk on North Queen Street at Penn Square was being painted with a red luminous paint for a double purpose — to publicize the Lancaster County United Campaign and as an experiment in traffic safety. The red crosswalk was being decorated with white circles containing United Campaign symbols. The city’s traffic engineer said that if the painting proved effective for traffic safety, similar work might be done at other intersections. (Sept. 22, 1959)

ESCAPE: A short-term prisoner escaped from Lancaster County Prison by piling three benches end on end to scale a 25-foot wall. The 24-year-old inmate was serving 3 to 6 months for clipping off the 1959 registration tab from another motorist’s auto license. The day after his escape, the inmate showed up at the prison’s front gate, dressed as a woman, and turned himself in. “I picked a disguise as a female because my mother always dressed me in ladies’ clothing for Halloween,” the inmate reportedly told the warden. (Sept. 24 and 26, 1959) (more…)

The event, celebrating Fulton’s 1807 trip up the Hudson River on the steamboat “Clermont,” will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will  include music, food, reenactments, poetry, speeches and steam contraptions of all kinds, weather permitting.

 More information is available by clicking here.