Hometown History: Jamie And Domi's Yoco Backstory

"At some remote time in the past, perhaps more than twelve thousand years ago, a single human being became the first person to see the Susquehanna River, the late York County-based archaeologist Barry Kent wrote. “He did not call it Susquehanna, nor did he stand in awe of its size and beauty. His people and their ancestors had seen and crossed many rivers of this new land.” So begins the story of...

Addressing the century-old impact of American Indian boarding schools to understand traumas of the past.

Mahon Haines built the Shoe House, York County's famed roadside attraction, to promote his chain of shoe stores and attract Lincoln Highway motorists off the busy road. "He began on a shoe string," the Saturday Evening Post said, "which he tied into a long string of shoe stores." The 75-year-old Shoe has served as a honeymoon place, an ice cream parlor and many other things. Today, it’s been re-la...

Haines Shoe House is a one-of-a-kind roadside attraction in Pennsylvania, and Tom Davidson wanted to put an exclamation point on that. So he successfully applied for a state historical marker for the Shoe House. In an interview with Hometown History’s Jamie Noerpel and Dominish Marie Miller, he talks about how he did it and his long time interest in the Shoe House and the Lincoln Highway.

Mahon Haines built the Shoe House, York County's famed roadside attraction, to promote his chain of shoe stores and attract Lincoln Highway motorists off the busy road. "He began on a shoe string," the Saturday Evening Post said, "which he tied into a long string of shoe stores." The 75-year-old Shoe has served as a honeymoon place, an ice cream parlor and many other things. Today, it’s been re-la...

What started as unsanctioned artwork, or even vandalism, now is a public art gallery located on Penn Street. In this Hometown History SHORT, Domi and Jamie discuss the cultural importance of this ever-changing art space.

he mid-1700s, the neighborhood west of the Codorus was tagged Bottstown. Mr. Bott wanted his town to compete with York, over there to the east. But York got the head start, annexed Bott’s town in the 1880s and, over time, drew much of the city’s investment and attention. Now there’s a plan that features the best things about Penn Street, an important street in these neighborhoods on the Codorus’ w...

Signs about York County history are everywhere. Yes, everywhere a sign. And contra to the 5 Man Electrical Band’s 1970s protest anthem, history signs don’t block out the scenery. And no, they don’t break your mind. They help us to understand the landscape. They inform you about the people, places and moments that have shaped our county, past and present. We are blessed with Keystone markers, part...

Signs about York County history are everywhere. Yes, everywhere a sign. And contra to the 5 Man Electrical Band’s 1970s protest anthem, history signs don’t block out the scenery. And no, they don’t break your mind. They help us to understand the landscape. They inform you about the people, places and moments that have shaped our county, past and present. We are blessed with Keystone markers, part...

Veteran journalist Neil King Jr. wrote a memoir, “American Ramble: A Walk of Memory and Renewal,” about his 330-mile walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City. King discusses his journey with Jamie Noerpel and Dominish Miller. In the spring of 2021, King embarked on his journey in search of a slice of early America. York County was on his short list of stops. He did his homework and made it a d...

Season 3, episode 2 EXTRA Interview with Lou Lavetan (Leader in the Four Chaplains Memorial) and Paul Schiffbauer Jr. (Marketing consultant with a deep interest in the story of the Four Chaplains). It’s Feb. 3, 1943, 80 years ago. Midway through World War II. The torpedo strikes. The troop transport Dorchester goes black. Confusion reigns. But four chaplains become light in darkness. York rabbi an...

It’s Feb. 3, 1943, 80 years ago. Midway through World War II. The torpedo strikes. The troop transport Dorchester goes black. Confusion reigns. But four chaplains become light in darkness. York rabbi and Chaplain Alexander D. Goode gives his gloves to a soldier. He has another pair, he says. Only he doesn’t. He’s not leaving the ship. Life jackets are gone. Goode and three fellow chaplains give th...

Season 3, episode 2 MAINBAR The ship is sinking: Would you give up your life jacket? The Four Chaplains did It’s Feb. 3, 1943, 80 years ago. Midway through World War II. The torpedo strikes. The troop transport Dorchester goes black. Confusion reigns. But four chaplains become light in darkness. York rabbi and Chaplain Alexander D. Goode gives his gloves to a soldier. He has another pair, he says....

William C. Goodridge, formerly enslaved and later a successful York County businessman, called York home. Goodridge and his wife, Evalina, operated a station on the Underground Railroad there, an illegal act that could have brought federal prosecution. They provided studio space for Glenalvin, their oldest son and a pioneering American photographer. The 123 E. Philadelphia Street townhouse, now th...

Jamie Noerpel and Dominish Miller interview William C. Goodridge, formerly enslaved and later a successful York County businessman. Goodridge and his wife, Evalina, operated a station on the Underground Railroad there, an illegal act that could have brought federal prosecution. They provided studio space for Glenalvin, their oldest son and a pioneering American photographer. The 123 E. Philadelphi...

The Goodridge Freedom Center is not on a corner in York. But it stands at the intersection of three major pre-Civil War moments. William C. Goodridge, formerly enslaved and later a successful York County businessman, called it home. Goodridge and his wife, Evalina, operated a station on the Underground Railroad there, an illegal act that could have brought federal prosecution. They provided studio...

When the second Bridge across the Susquehanna River burned in June 1863, many Wrightsville buildings and homes caught fire. The Confederate Army and people from the town formed a bucket brigade. They needed to stop the fire and save the town. Mary Jane Magee Rewalt lived in a home close to the impending fire, and ended up serving the enemy breakfast the next day. Season 2, 2022 Episode 2.1 - All i...

Hometown History's Jamie Noerpel and Dominish Marie Miller tell a story about a pioneering Hanover newspaperwoman - Mary Shaw Leader. Season 2, 2022 Episode 2.1 - All in One Room: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgo8fAxhO68 https://www.witnessingyork.com/mapping-meaning/one-room-schools-york-county-pa/ Episode 2.2 - Stitching Secret Messages: https://youtu.be/ZlSo7zjCuQo https://www.witnessingyork...

For centuries in York County, when some deceased people could not be identified, had no family or no financial means, they would be interred in City Cemetery. Until the late 1800s, York’s potter’s field, as it was called, lay at South George Street and West College Avenue. When that land - buoyed in value by a rejuvenated Penn Park - was claimed for a new York High, the remains of individuals in p...

The Hanover Area, by intention or not, has long fashioned itself as an outsider in York County. Indeed, some in that southwestern region sought to form their own county in the early 1800s. In the Civil War era, Hanover on again operated against the grain. Hanoverians voted Republican in a sea of Democratic, anti-Lincoln townships. When the Confederates came calling the first time, in late June 186...

Jamie and Domi talk with York County Economic Alliance project manager Kim Hogeman about how the Yorktowne restoration project came together, including Kim's top 5 favorite historical elements. Season 2, 2022 2.1 - All in One Room: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgo8fAxhO68 2.2 - Stitching Secret Messages: https://youtu.be/ZlSo7zjCuQo 2.3 - Bridging the Susquehanna: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Jamie and Domi interview Scott Mingus, Civil War expert, on the railroads in York County, particularly the Northern Central Railway. He discusses the Lincoln funeral train, the significance of Hanover Junction, and other little known facts connection the railroad and Civil War history. In partnership with the York County Economic Alliance. Season 2, 2022 Episode 2.1 - All in One Room: https://www....

In 2018, three men in their thirties were drinking beer in a downtown York bar. Reminiscing about their childhoods in York County, they thought back to the gardens their families cultivated. “Why not start gardening again?” one of the men asked. “But instead of for our own consumption, let’s give back to York County.” Together, the trio started Sprout of Hope, a nonprofit community garden that don...

Some at the 1935 Halloween opening likely remember when this treat of Martin Library reading was delayed, even in better economic times. About 30 years earlier, some York readers pursued the building of a columned Carnegie Library, a gift from steelmaker Andrew Carnegie. But some leaders kept the purse strings tight, not wanting to pay for the books and other library resources that would spark min...

Hometown History Extra: The past and present come together in this interview. Jamie and Domi talk with former New York Wire employee Walt Bausman about his years in the shop. And they talk to New York Wire Works marketing manager Meredith Wolfe about the return of makers to the complex. 2.1 - All in One Room: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgo8fAxhO68 https://www.witnessingyork.com/mapping-meanin...