Hometown History: Jamie And Domi's Yoco Backstory

Farms and farmers have faced adversity from York County’s beginning. It kind of goes with the fields and the capriciousness of nature. In this SHORT, Jamie and Domi explore the ruinous practices of our ancestors. Watch our main episode (Season 2, Episode 4) where we look more into the Horn Farm in Hellam Township which has faced similar challenges. Most recently, lightning severely damaged its his...

The year was 1872, the “Greatest Show on Earth’s “Figi Cannibal” took sick in his hotel and died. He was buried in Potter’s Field. Twenty-five years later, individuals buried in this pauper’s cemetery were exhumed. One story has it that the “Cannibal’s” body was discovered missing and would never be moved to its new burial site on a remote hilltop in North York. And it’s interesting that he died t...

All in one room: These small schools taught big lessons S2, E1: About York County’s love affair with one-room schools - Those were the days when everyone in class drank from the same cup. When the teacher smacked the hands of southpaws, trying to ensure they learned the “right” way. When an orange that came at Christmas was as coveted as a cell phone today. Talk about one-room schools with former...

It is said that quilts have served as a creative outlet for otherwise voiceless women. The same could be said about all the colorful, useful and necessary fabrics women crafted with their hands from the Susquehanna region’s earliest days. In this five minute deep of Hometown History, Jamie Kinsley and Domi Miller give voice to women who created - who create - for aesthetics or need. Season 2, 2022...

Jamie and Domi interview Sara Bixler, owner and operator of Red Stone Glen Fiber Arts Center, to discuss the role fabrics and fibers play in community. Watch our full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlSo7zjCuQo&list=PLtbDp4leDwa1JZVq8wkIKUqp9esXET-CK&index=3 It is said that quilts have served as a creative outlet for otherwise voiceless women. The same could be said about all the col...

It is said that quilts have served as a creative outlet for otherwise voiceless women. The same could be said about all the colorful, useful and necessary fabrics women crafted with their hands from the Susquehanna region’s earliest days. In this edition of Hometown History, Jamie Kinsley and Domi Miller give voice to women who created - who create - for aesthetics or need. They are using the York...

With weird weather events happening all over the world, an excursion through York County's floods suggests that weather has been a foe many times in history. York County is a well-watered place. Which means it has seen prosperity in agriculture and industry. Which means when the weather is severe the threat of flood is real. Actually, it's not a threat. It has happened regularly since we’ve starte...

In the 1880s, horses — maybe in protest of their tail hair being loomed into sofas — powered a change in the making of horse cloth textiles. Horse power pulled everything around York County in those years. Wagons to factories and railroads. Carriages from houses to opera. Trolleys carrying people and goods. These horses empowered flies. And that caused master weaver John W. Eisenhart to refit his...

In 1972, eastern York County didn't have a library - the same year Tropical Storm Agnes wreaked havoc in Pennsylvania. The FEMA trailer meant to provide relief to those in Williamsport would eventually make its way down to Hellam to serve as a library, but not before it smacked into a low bridge and later flooding during the opening ceremony. Other perils almost stopped this library, but our resil...

Jamie and Domi talk about the day when York County stepped on the head of the snakeheads … of the Chinese gangster variety. These venomous smugglers specialized in trafficking human cargo across the sea into America and other countries. Their impact in 1993 touched York County and its prison when INS detained 154 smuggled Chinese people crammed aboard the Golden Venture that ran aground in June 19...

Jamie Noerpel, a historian, and Dominish Marie Miller, an archivist, talk about pain and trauma endured in two wars - the Civil War and World War II - and how veterans and civilians dealt with the lingering impact of war. Season 1, 2021: Episode 1 - The Baptist Farm and Underground Railroad: https://www.witnessingyork.com/mapping-meaning/farming-by-day-underground-railroad-by-night/ Episode 2 - Tr...

Susquehanna Trail myths S1, E6 extra: This road, part of a Roaring 20s “Susquehanna Trail” marketing campaign connecting Niagara Falls and Washington, D.C., entered York County at New Cumberland/Fairview Township and exited at the Mason-Dixon Line. Just as the Lincoln Highway created an early 1900s east/west transportation artery, the Susquehanna Trail provided a 1920s north/south corridor. It rep...

Jamie and Domi interview Samantha Dorm of the Friends of Lebanon Cemetery. This group led the cleanup, restoration and identification of those buried in this historically Black cemetery. These volunteers have been leaders in regional cemetery restoration. They provide a prime example for others involved in do-it-yourself or informal urbanism, community-driven movements locally and nationally to id...

Halloweeners pushed through the brand new, heavy wooden doors of Martin Library in full costume in 1935. Trick or treating was a thing that night. The tricky launch of a new library at the height of the Great Depression had been successful. And what a treat it was, this new winsome space filled with books as a diversion in this times of need. The Depression was a crusher, to be sure. But for Marti...

Susquehanna Trail: This Old Road Keeps Rolling On S1, E6: This road, part of a Roaring 20s “Susquehanna Trail” marketing campaign connecting Niagara Falls and Washington, D.C., entered York County at New Cumberland/Fairview Township and exited at the Mason-Dixon Line. Just as the Lincoln Highway created an early 1900s east/west transportation artery, the Susquehanna Trail provided a 1920s north/so...

Unlike York City, the residents of Wrightsville put up a fight when the Confederates marched through their town. They opted to burn their own bridge, the one across the Susquehanna River, rather than let the enemy cross. Codie Eash, Director of Education and Museum Operations at Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center in Gettysburg, discusses the significance of the burning of the Wrightsville...

Jamie and Domi interview Samantha Dorm of the Friends of Lebanon Cemetery. This group led the cleanup, restoration and identification of those buried in this historically Black cemetery. These volunteers have been leaders in regional cemetery restoration. They provide a prime example for others involved in do-it-yourself or informal urbanism, community-driven movements locally and nationally to id...

A Hill to Die on: How we bury our loved ones – and the unloved In S1, E4, Jamie Kinsley (left) and Dominish Miller (right) discuss how we bury our loved ones - and the unloved. Three cemeteries sit atop a hill north of York. As you head north, you find that those laid to rest in Prospect Hill, York City and Lebanon cemeteries range from York area residents who could pay for burial, to those who we...

Millers’ Tales: 360 mills spun in well-watered York County In S1, E5, Jamie Kinsley and Dominish Miller discuss the 360 mills that spun in 1876 on York County’s creek. These wood, stone and brick mills point to a well-watered county that supported one of the mightiest farm economies in America for decades, centuries. To process, say, wheat into flour, farmers would bring their grain to water-power...

We’re in the Hanover Area Arts Guild, and it is fitting to talk about the arts community here and across the York/Adams communities. Andrew Smith lives in Adams County’s Midway, near Hanover, and works in - and with - the arts communities in York, Hanover and Gettysburg. He operates a digital site that covers the York/Adams arts scene: Culture On The Line. EXTRAS: Codie Eash, Civil War expert: Sac...

In the days following the Civil War’s Battle of Gettysburg, a violent moment was the talk of farmhouses around Warrington Township in northern York County. SHORTS: Early farmers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T675G-JlT-I&list=PLtbDp4leDwa1JZVq8wkIKUqp9esXET-CK&index=10 Keenheel quilt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBQLIBmvCLk&list=PLtbDp4leDwa1JZVq8wkIKUqp9esXET-CK&index=5 Golden Venture: http...

Many look back on the Yorktowne Hotel, thinking about weddings and dances in the grand ballroom, special anniversary nights or meeting celebrities in the lobby on their way from performances at the Appell Center or the Valencia. And there’s immense meaning spawned in that tall building, with its 77-foot signature rooftop flagpole. For sure, not everyone had access to those Yorktowne memories and t...

The Yorktowne's past and present come together in this interview. Jamie and Domi talk with former Yorktowne employee Judy Wimmer about her years of work behind the scenes. And they talk to the current general manager Michael Blum about the changes you'll see with the new renovations. Season 2, 2022 2.1 - All in One Room: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgo8fAxhO68 https://www.witnessingyork.com/ma...

Walk with us along the York County Heritage Rail Trail, following the path of the 19th-century Northern Central Railway. Let’s start at the Maryland line and particularly take in the towns along the way - New Freedom, Railroad, Glen Rock, Seven Valleys and York. These are towns that are finding renewed energy from rail trail users like us. We stop, talk, shop and appreciate these old towns. And im...

Sandra Stockton, former York resident and author of 480 Codorus Street, joined Jamie and Domi to talk about her first hand experiences during Tropical Storm Agnes.