York County in the 1960s: A lot happened that history must not forget
The anniversary of the 1969 York race riots just passed, a defining moment 55 years ago that has shaped York County to this day.
Much has been written about the racial turmoil in the 1960s, and with good reason. The violence that killed and maimed nonetheless caused a needed disruption that set York County on a better, albeit uneven, course of reform and reconciliation that continues today.
The community has progressed in race relations though clearly not all the issues surrounding racial discrimination are solved. For example, York County’s white population’s income exceeds that needed to buy a median home by about $2,000 in 2021. In contrast, Blacks and Latinos are under by $15,000 or more.
It’s a good time to ask what else happened in York County in the 1960s other than racial turmoil.
Indeed, that decade was a time of great change all around York County.
Drawing on the pages of my recently published “Never to be Forgotten,” we’ll give several short items and end with a deeper dive into a largely unsung achievement in the 1960s: York’s expansion of its borders through annexation.
More: A timeline of events that help tell York County’s story
Towns fight retail loss
The decade opens with the building of the plazas in each angle of York’s square to create an outdoor mall, with planters and greenery. That pedestrian-friendly strategy continued with the sidewalk expansion, serpentine Market Street construction and the Cherry Lane buildout in the 1970s.
In those years, downtown planners were battling retail and population loss to the growing suburbs. There was a near frantic quest for parking space for shoppers, which meant demolition of Hannah Penn Junior High, Children’s Home of York, City Market and other landmarks to service growing auto use.
At decade’s end, the York Mall opened, adding to angst over retail loss. Similarly, the North Hanover Mall greeted visitors as a shopping center and soon was converted to a popular covered mall in southwestern York County.
At the same time, a fledgling building preservation movement began with the saving of the Golden Plough Tavern on York’s West Market Street in the early 1960s and the Billmeyer Mansion on East Market about a decade later.
Changes in education
The reign of the Eichelberger School as a public high school ended with the opening of the new Hanover High School. Eichelberger later housed middle school students. A.W. Eichelberger funded the Dempwolf-designed private boys’ academy in 1896, and it became a public school in 1901.
In York, 435 students enrolled in the expanded York County Area Vocational-Technical School as it opened at several temporary locations. The York City School District had introduced vocational technical training in 1914, and the newest initiative expanded its courses to the county. A new high school building in York Township housed 1,796 students when it opened in 1980. Today, the school is known as the York County School of Technology.
And two schools in York, originally constructed as racially segregated buildings, were demolished: Smallwood and Aquilla Howard.
Move strengthens Memorial
Twenty-four, 40-foot tractor-trailers moved Memorial Hospital equipment from West York to its South Belmont Street location on York’s east side. Ambulances transported 27 patients and two newborn babies. The only loss in the elaborate cross-town move in 1962 was the relocation of a number of bricks when a moving van struck the new building.
Memorial Hospital had started in The Avenues, and Dr. Edmund K. Meisenhelder opened his hospital practice in larger quarters in the former West Side Sanitarium, in West York. In 1945, it became known as West Side Osteopathic Hospital. Today, the hospital is northwest of York, UPMC Memorial.
Names in the news
Early in the decade, Anna Ramage became the first woman to serve as director of the York Chamber of Commerce. Bob Maynard started his newspaper career with The Gazette and Daily, the beginning of a trajectory in journalism that would culminate with his achievement as the first Black man to serve as publisher of a major metropolitan newspaper.
Dave Bupp and Buddy King performed with the Del-Chords and the Magnificent Men, the most popular rock groups with York County ties until four York High graduates playing as Live first performed about 15 years later. Linda Woodward, York High class of 1967, was elected as the school’s first Black homecoming queen, and a graduation ceremony was held at the York Fairgrounds.
The first of McSherrystown’s Mike and Anna Brady’s sons joined the Marines. More than 30 years later, son No. 7 was honorably discharged from the corps. Gen. C.C. Krulak, Marine Corps commandant, congratulated Anna Brady for her years of personal commitment and sacrifice. “After 33 years of standing watch, you now stand relieved,” he wrote. Her seven sons collectively gave 74 years of service to their country.
John Wesley Dahr rescued a fallen comrade in the mud and swamps of Vietnam in 1967. He was fighting in Operation Cedar Falls, the largest ground operation of the Vietnam War then raging in Southeast Asia. His unit was caught in a firefight, and he braved danger in rescuing the wounded soldier. He stood to call for help as he attempted to rescue another fallen soldier when he was shot and killed.
When he went out on patrol in Operation Cedar Falls, he had about 25 days left in his tour. Dillsburg’s square hosts a memorial in his honor.
Lakes aid supply in drought
A mid-decade drought brought public/private partnerships in the construction of Lake Marburg and Lake Redman reservoirs.
Codorus State Park in southwestern York County and William H. Kain County Park in the Jacobus area are connected with those two lakes.
A freshman first
York Junior College moved from its landmark York building to this site on the former Out Door Country Club golf course just before the start of the 1960s, and its longtime building at Duke Street and College Avenue was later demolished.
The freshman class of 1968 was the first to enroll in the four-year York College of Pennsylvania. York College, thus, became the first four-year postsecondary school in York County.
Cable TV enters picture
Cable television comes to York when Susquehanna Cable Co. receives a franchise to build a system.
Susquehanna Cable, a division of Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff Co., operated cable systems in several states. In 2006, Comcast buys Susquehanna Communications' cable TV business.
Power plant hailed as efficient
Nobel Prize-winning scientist Glenn T. Seaborg gives the dedicatory address at a ceremony marking the opening of Peach Bottom Atomic Power station in 1967.
“I think we stand a much better chance of being able to meet the requirements of an expanding world population and the rising expectations for higher standards of living,” he said. He described southwestern York County’s Peach Bottom as the world's most efficient nuclear power station with the highest steam temperature in such a plant.
Annexation approved after challenges
York, looking to expand its small footprint in search of a big tax boost, gains Manchester Township’s nod and York County Court’s approval to annex land north of the city in 1967.
The city’s annexation plan showed the challenges to the city in expanding its limited boundaries, which today measure about 5.3 square miles. After the City Council approved the plan in 1965, Mayor John L. Snyder vetoed it. Snyder consistently opposed attempts to add land because he believed the city would bear any costs of water, sewer and road improvements.
The council overcame the veto but ran into a court challenge from Manchester Township, which feared loss of revenue. The annexation was settled in court and became city land. The 287-acre parcel was loosely bounded on the south by Loucks Road (today’s Route 30), on the east by the Colony Park apartments, on the west by Roosevelt Avenue extended and Brandywine Lane and Greenbriar Road on the north.
The York County Industrial Park covers at least part of the annexed land today.
Annexation remained a touchy item, in part because of fears over township revenue loss and because the city did not seem a desirable place to live. In 1969, The York Dispatch said as much in an editorial: “Business is hurting with vacant storefronts and lack of pedestrian traffic. Taxes are rising and people are afraid to go into the streets at night. Under these circumstances, how many municipalities — how many people — would like to live under city rules?”
In 1984, city Economic Development Director Al Hydeman Jr. criticized news accounts that the city was considering annexing surrounding boroughs and townships. He wrote that he rather supported the sharing of services. That proved to be an easier path than annexation among York County’s 72 municipalities, particularly in the sharing of police, ambulance and fire services.
Northern York County Regional Police, based in Dover Township, became a pioneering regional police department in Pennsylvania. Soon after an act was passed in 1972 that permitted municipalities to delegate individual police powers to a regional department, the Northern Regional group formed in late September 1972, with Dover Township, Dover borough, Wellsville, Manchester Township and Paradise Township taking a piece of the action.
Boroughs reject merger
Borough councils in the sister towns of Manchester and Mount Wolf voted to put a merger of the municipalities on the ballot. Voters from the two municipalities, however, soundly defeated the merger.
One stumbling block was the name. Wolfchester, Mount Chester, Gemini, Petite Cities and Twin Cities, Near York, New York and Aenda are rejected. If the vote had passed, the municipality would have been called Northeastern Heights.
Sources: 2021 American Community Survey (housing); YDR files, James McClure’s “Never to be Forgotten.”
Upcoming events
York County 275th anniversary
Aug. 17 at WellSpan Park in York: A block party is set for 2 to 6 p.m., and a pregame parade will be held. The York Revolution will play against the Hagerstown Boxcars that evening, which will end with a fireworks display sponsored by America250PA. James McClure will sign copies of his new book, “Never to be Forgotten,” published in conjunction with the anniversary.
Aug. 18 at the Appell Center for the Performing Arts: At 4 p.m., McClure, interviewed by radio host Gary Sutton, will discuss York County's 275 years of history, including “exploring fascinating stories, little-known facts and pivotal moments” that have shaped the county's identity. The public also is invited to participate in a community mural painting project, led by local artist Ophelia Chambliss. The event runs from 3 to 6 p.m. McClure will sign copies of his book.
Aug. 19 at the York County Administrative Center: At 10 a.m., a ceremony at 28 E. Market St. will include a reading of the county charter and unveiling the design of a 275th commemorative plaque. It will kick off a series of upcoming anniversaries over the next few years. To see the events, visit www.york365.com and click on “History & Heritage” and then “History Made Here.”
How to buy the book
“Never to be Forgotten: A History of York County, Pa.” is available for sale on Amazon, the History Center’s digital bookshop, Brown's Orchards & Farm Market and at the York County History Center Museum.
Jim McClure is a retired editor of the York Daily Record and has authored or co-authored nine books on York County history. Reach him at jimmcclure21@outlook.com.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: York County PA in 1960s: A lot happened that history must not forget
