Excerpts and summaries of news stories from the former Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster New Era and Sunday News that focus on the events in the county’s past that are noteworthy, newsworthy or just strange.
25 years ago
August 1998 saw a long-standing topic return to the front page of the New Era: Bringing baseball back to Lancaster.
Then-mayor Charlie Smithgall had favorable things to say about a plan brought by former mayor Richard Scott, who had also tried to arrange for the return of baseball to the Red Rose City in 1990. That effort was derailed by Reading and Harrisburg, both of which had Double-A teams. Those cities were opposed to another competing team moving into such a small area.
In 1998, Scott was advocating for a Single-A team or a semi-pro team, likely to join the Atlantic Conference.
Scott, through his “Bring Back Baseball” committee, was proposing the construction of a stadium on the underutilized Sunnyside peninsula, adjacent to the proposed Barnes Hall juvenile detention facility.
(The effort to bring baseball back to Lancaster eventually was successful, as the Barnstormers are proof. The Sunnyside stadium plan was abandoned in favor of the site where Clipper Magazine Stadium now stands.)
In the headlines:
Piece of Titanic brought to surface
Holocaust survivors to receive $1.2 billion
‘Space Ghost’ reanimates the all-too-familiar talk show genre
Check out the Aug. 13, 1998, Intelligencer Journal here.
50 years ago
In August 1973, a fire at Lancaster Malleable Castings closed the plant for several days and sent a firefighter to the hospital.
The blaze caused an estimated $100,000 in damage – that’s nearly $700,000 today – but was confined to a small area of the factory. Nevertheless, the damage was sufficient to shut the plant down for at least several days while cleanup and repairs were undertaken.
Only one employee was in the building when the fire started.
Firefighter William Sherriff was overcome by smoke while battling the blaze and was taken to Lancaster General Hospital where he was treated and released.
In the headlines:
Nixon must release tapes, Cox argues
Beef shortage may create shark market
Bombing of Cambodia to end in two days
Check out the Aug. 13, 1973, Lancaster New Era here.
75 years ago
Lancaster County residents in the summer of 1948 saw clear evidence of the success of wildlife conservation efforts when the stately American egret returned to area waterways.
The long-legged birds with their snow-white feathers were hunted nearly to extinction at the beginning of the 20th century due to the desirability of their plumage.
Nationwide conservation efforts were employed to save the species. Those efforts were complemented by a local project – the creation of the White Oak Bird Sanctuary in Penn Township.
The sanctuary, with its marshlands, wooded areas and Chickies Creek, provided a natural stopover for migrating water birds. Local birdwatchers reported as many as 60 egrets gathering at twilight in the sanctuary, fishing the waters for frogs and minnows.
In the headlines:
Russian teacher leaps three stories to escape from N.Y. consulate
Truman orders study for airline financial relief
Hiccough victim offered cures
Check out the Aug. 13, 1948, Intelligencer Journal here.
100 years ago
An airplane crashed into the yard of a Manheim home on Aug. 11, 1923, injuring the pilot and a passenger.
Ammon Kreider of Lebanon, 35, was piloting the aircraft when an unknown malfunction caused him to lose control while flying over Manheim with Robert Young, 25, as his passenger.
The plane took several dizzying turns then “like a bird with a broken wing dropped helplessly to the ground,” narrowly missing the home of P.S. Hostetter on West High Street before crashing into Hostetter’s garden.
Kreider suffered only cuts and bruises, but Young was more seriously injured, with severe lacerations, broken bones and internal injuries.
In the headlines:
German food riots continue
Seven railroaders die in crash near Pueblo