News – Page 6

The Largest Celebration in the History of Cabbage Hill

Jim Gerhart

August 1, 2019

The greatest expression of civic pride ever to take place on Cabbage Hill in the Eighth Ward of Lancaster occurred on June 15-16, 1923. On the evenings of those two days, a huge festival drew close to 10,000 people to Manor Street to celebrate the long-awaited completion of the paving of the street. More than $6,000 (about $84,000 in today’s dollars) was raised to benefit Rodney Park, a new city park on a triangle of land between Third, Rodney, and Crystal Streets.

The surface of Manor Street had been in terrible condition for many years. Finally, in early August 1922, work crews began the process of excavating the street so it could be paved with concrete. The city’s contractor, Swanger-Fackler Construction Company of Lebanon, was responsible for the overall project and the paving of most of the street, and Conestoga Traction Company was responsible for moving the trolley tracks from the edge of the street to the middle, and paving the street around the trolley tracks. The work proceeded slowly, as the crews ran into several unexpected complications as they excavated 150 years’ worth of old street surfaces.

When cold weather set in during the late fall and concrete could no longer be poured, work was halted for the winter, leaving some sections of the street torn up and virtually impassable. Fortunately, by the first week of April in the spring of 1923, the weather was good enough for the crews to get back to work. Progress was steady throughout April and May, and by late May the residents of the Eighth Ward were hopeful that the work would finally be completed by mid-June.

The Eighth Ward Community Association met on May 25, May 31, and June 7 to develop plans for a festival to celebrate the opening of the newly paved Manor Street. The festival was scheduled for June 15-16, 1923, and the Association decided to dedicate the proceeds of the festival to outfitting Rodney Park—acquired by the city just two months earlier—with playground equipment and a surrounding sidewalk for roller-skating.

Advertisement for festival in Examiner & New Era, June 15, 1923

In late May, the Association canvassed door to door in the Eighth Ward to gauge the level of interest and ask for donations to support the festival. The canvassing generated much enthusiasm and many donations; in fact, the level of interest was so high that the Association decided to expand the scope of the event from just a Manor Street opening to “A Cabbage Hill Celebration and Festival”. One of the leaders of the Association said that “this is the first time in the history of the city that such a celebration has been held” and that “it is for all the people”.

To plan the festival, twenty-six committees were established, with each committee having a chairman and three to five other men as members. The women had their own committees, most of which corresponded in topic with the men’s committees, and the two sets of committees worked together to prepare for the festival. Committee chairs were selected for their expertise in the area of the committee’s topic. For example, Christ Kunzler of Kunzler’s Meat Market was the chair of the Hot Frankfurter committee, and Leo Houck of boxing fame was the chair of the Sports committee.

The committees included: Program, Publicity, Music, Decorations, Amusement, Sports, Dancing, Candy, Prizes, Hot Frankfurters, Soft Drinks, Popcorn, Flowers, Ice Cream, Fruit, Truck, Ice, Printing, Cigars, Equipment, Lumber/Chairs/Tables, Public safety, Tags, Cakes, Novelties, and Fancy Work. Probably to many people’s chagrin, there was no Beer committee—at least not officially—because the 18^th Amendment (Prohibition) had gone into effect a few years earlier.

Advertisement for festival in Intelligence Journal, June 15, 1923

In the days leading up to the festival, several items were donated to be used as prizes. Congressman William Griest donated a new Ruud water heater that was put on display in the window of Louis Fellman’s hardware store (568 Manor Street) to help ratchet up interest. The Conestoga Traction Company donated a new Clark Jewel gas range, which was also displayed at Fellman’s store. The Friends of the Eighth Ward Community Association donated a $550 mahogany bedroom suite that was displayed at Hoffmeier’s furniture store on East King Street near the square.

Cash donations also were made. Christ Kunzler took up a collection of $87 at an Elks Club dinner held the week before the festival, and he also paid for the first hour of music by a band at the festival. Hamilton Watch Factory and Armstrong Linoleum Company each gave $50, as did the Fraim-Slaymaker Lock Company. The Select Council also presented a cash donation. In addition, the Intelligencer Journal and the Examiner-New Era newspapers would supply Rodney Park with a drinking fountain and a flagpole.

To the relief of all the committees, the paving of Manor Street was completed on time, and by the afternoon of Friday, June 15, the final preparations for the festival were underway. Two large banners were strung across the street at the ends of Manor Street—one at the crest of the hill near West King Street and one near South West End Avenue. American flags and bunting were displayed along the street and on many of the houses (Flag Day was the previous day), and colored electric lights were strung along and across Manor Street from West King Street to Fairview Avenue. Dozens of booths that had been built by the residents and decorated with flowers lined the street on both sides.

It was partly cloudy and about 80 degrees when the festival kicked off at 6:30 p.m. Friday evening. At that time, the leaders of the Eighth Ward Community Association, the American Legion Band, and some 500 school children of the Eighth Ward departed in a parade from the intersection of Manor and Dorwart Streets. They marched to City Hall, where they met Mayor Frank Musser and other city officials and escorted them back in the parade to the intersection of Manor and West King Streets, where a fence barrier had been erected across Manor Street.

At the barrier, the mayor was presented with a new axe, and with one stroke he broke through the ceremonial barrier, officially opening the newly paved street. Immediately after the barrier was broken, a chorus of children sang a welcoming song, and a switch was flipped, lighting all the colored electric lights along the street. The Star Spangled Banner was played, followed by a short speech by the mayor. At the end of the ceremony, the whole group of officials, school children, and the American Legion Band paraded the length of Manor Street to great cheering. The festival was officially underway.

Photo of the ceremonial breaking of a barrier to open the newly paver Manor Street on June 15, 1923. The barrier is in front of 412-414 Manor St. Mayor Frank Musser stands in front of the barrier to the left. The banner reads, “Welcome to the Manor Street Opening, Friday & Saturday, June 15 & 16, A Cabbage Hill Celebration and Festival”.

For the festival, Manor Street was divided into three segments, each with a distinct focus—dancing, boxing, and amusements. Four bands, including the American Legion Band, the Iroquois Band, and the City Band, participated over the two nights, and each one was stationed at a different segment. The segments were linked together by the strings of colored lights that extended along the entire stretch of the street, and by 33 booths that lined the streets between the segments, offering the Eighth Ward’s best food, drinks, clothing, novelties, and hand-made items for sale.

The block of Manor Street between Laurel Street and Fairview Avenue was set aside for street dancing, with the music supplied by the American Legion Band. Rousing Roaring Twenties music was no doubt on the program, and the young people of the Eighth Ward danced until the festival closed each night. At one point during the dancing, the lights briefly went out, and the newspaper slyly reported that this unexpected feature was much appreciated by the young revelers.

The intersection of Manor and Dorwart Streets was designated for exhibition boxing matches, and a ring was set up in the street. Each night, there were five, three-round exhibition matches arranged by Leo Houck, the Eighth Ward’s own boxing hero. One match was for the championship of the Fraim-Slaymaker Lock Company (Young Biddy vs. Willie Bloom) and another was for the 125-pound title of Manor Street (Battling Fuzzy vs. Kid Carney). The final, much anticipated match was Leo Houck, who had fought many of the world’s best boxers in the previous two decades, facing off against his long-time sparring partner, Jule Ritchie. Unfortunately, Ritchie was late and the feature bout had to be replaced with a quickly arranged one between two different boxers.

The intersection of Manor and Third Streets was set up for amusements. Eddie Fisher, a well-known local clown, was in charge of the program at this location. Each night, the YMCA provided a gymnastics and stunts exhibition, and Fisher and a troupe of clowns performed. A little farther down the hill, the Strand Theater in the 600 block of Manor Street provided a free showing of a silent movie, and Brinkman’s Metropolitan Four sang a selection of songs. On Saturday night the Strand hosted a public wedding of a couple from Columbia, officiated by a pastor from Marietta.

An unusual feature of the festival that must have served as a good ice breaker was the Miss Rodney Park contest. Each evening, in three different hour-long time slots, a secretly selected young woman was designated as Miss Rodney Park for that hour. She went out among the crowd incognito and the first person who approached her with “You are Miss Rodney Park”, would be the prize winner for that hour. No doubt many young women were approached by many young men, but Miss Rodney Park was only correctly identified three times.

By the time midnight rolled around on Saturday night and the festival was over, it was clear to everyone that it had been a much bigger success than anyone had imagined. The crowds had been huge (almost 10,000 over two nights), the booths were almost completely sold out of their merchandise, and every featured event on the program had been a big hit. Over the next couple of days, as cleanup took place, the Eighth Ward Community Association counted up the proceeds and decided on the distribution of prizes, which were then awarded on Tuesday night, June 19, at Fellman’s hardware store. The amount of money raised exceeded $6,000, and on the night of June 20, again at Fellman’s store, the Community Association met with the City Parks Committee to discuss how to best use the money for Rodney Park.

The Eighth Ward had done itself proud. For two nights, the residents had channeled their abundant civic pride into accomplishing the largest festival ever seen on Cabbage Hill. The people of other parts of Lancaster who had joined in the festivities left with “a lot of respect for the manner in which the Eighth Ward does things”, as one of the newspaper articles put it. It was hoped that the paving of the street and the successful festival might end the long held opinion that Cabbage Hill was not treated like a fully accepted part of the city. In fact, one of the newspaper articles stated that the reconstruction of the street was “the first thing worth while the Hill has ever gotten from a city administration”. At least for two nights, on June 15-16, 1923, Cabbage Hill had finally gotten its due.

The City of Lancaster and SoWe are committed to promoting the same kind of neighborhood pride that made the 1923 celebration such a success. The city has installed pedestrian-style streetlights along Manor Street and part of West King Street, and has started the process of planting trees along the street as well. And SoWe, with its many partners, is working on numerous initiatives to build neighborhood pride, including a cost-sharing program to improve building façades on Manor Street, especially those that once had storefronts. It is hoped that all these efforts will help rekindle some of the proud neighborhood spirit of the past.

Business Was Booming on Cabbage Hill a Century Ago

Jim Gerhart

July,2019

In 1919, things were generally looking up in the U.S.—World War I had just ended, unemployment was nearly negligible, and women finally were getting the right to vote. On the other hand, the Spanish flu pandemic made a comeback, and the Ku Klux Klan continued to stoke fear in many states. And, for better or worse, depending on your point of view, the 18^th Amendment (Prohibition) went into effect. In the midst of these national events, Cabbage Hill was beginning to recover from the anti-German sentiment brought on by the war. As part of that recovery, the Hill was definitely “open for business”.

Ever since its first neighborhood was established in 1762 on Manor and High Streets, Cabbage Hill has been home to enterprising residents who have operated their own local businesses. In the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries, these businesses provided necessary subsistence services that reflected the trade skills of its mostly German immigrants. Blacksmith, shoemaker, carpenter, and butcher shops were common local businesses.

During the late 19^thcentury, Cabbage Hill businesses continued to evolve with the times, and businesses such as bakeries, barber shops, tailor shops, cigar factories, and grocery stores were common. A community of immigrants that often felt somewhat separate from the main part of Lancaster, the Hill seemed to have at least one of every type of business, allowing it to get along without depending too much on the rest of the city.

In the early years of the 20^th century, continuing technological change led to another gradual shift in the types of businesses on the Hill, but the businesses still offered nearly every possible desired service no more than a couple blocks away. The businesses continued to provide what the residents needed and wanted, but they also embraced new technologies. For example, one might find a car repair shop around the corner from a blacksmith shop, or a new movie theater on the same block as an old beer saloon.

The year 1919 was typical of this evolving business environment on the Hill, as the following paragraphs will show. But first, let me define what I mean by “the Hill”. For this discussion, I focused on what many consider the historic core of Cabbage Hill, that is, the area bounded by Manor on the northwest, West Strawberry on the northeast, Fremont on the southeast, and Laurel on the southwest. Defined this way, the Hill contains seven main streets running northeast-southwest, and four main streets crossing those seven in a northwest-southeast direction, resulting in 21 blocks and 28 intersections.

The 1919 directory for Lancaster City advertised 125 businesses in the 21 blocks of the Hill. They ranged from the small scale (a nurse operating from her house) to the large scale (Follmer-Clogg Silk Mill). Most of the businesses (32) were on Manor, but High, West Vine, St. Joseph, and Poplar each had about 15 businesses. Fifty-eight of the 125 businesses were located on a corner of one of the 28 intersections. Nearly every business was owner-operated, and nearly every business owner lived in or next to his/her place of business.

All the major types of businesses were found in multiple locations on the Hill. Amazingly, there were 28 grocery stores (see map), more than one per block on average. The Hill also had six hotels, six meat markets, five bakeries, five shoemaker shops, five tailor shops, five dressmaker shops, and five barber shops. Additionally, there were seven contractors and eight nurses offering their services on the Hill.

As a sign of the changing times, there was a car repair shop (Crawford Garage, on New Dorwart) and a movie theater that showed early silent moving pictures (The Manor, on Manor). Twenty-five other types of businesses—ranging from a jewelry shop to plumber shops to cigar stores to saloons—were represented at least at one, and at as many as four, locations. No doubt the owners of the two saloons (Joseph Fritsch’s, on High, and Charles Kirchner’s, on Poplar) were wondering how the new Prohibition law might affect them.

Also of interest are the types of businesses that were absent from the Hill in 1919. Despite there being 70 physicians in Lancaster, there was only one doctor’s office (Lewis Shear, on Manor). There were 86 lawyers in Lancaster, but no lawyer’s offices were located on the Hill. There were no banks, insurance-agent’s offices, dentist’s offices, real-estate offices, optician’s offices, photography studios, or restaurants. Clearly, Cabbage Hill was very much a working-class neighborhood. The businesses on the Hill served the basic, day-to-day needs of its residents, who had to go into Lancaster proper on occasion to avail themselves of the professional services found there.

The plethora of businesses on the Hill, and the fact that business owners were also residents, helped make the Hill a dynamic and pleasant place to live in 1919. Starting in the second half of the 20^th century, for a variety of reasons, the number of businesses on the Hill declined dramatically. Today, there are only six groceries, and only about a dozen other businesses with advertising signage, and most of the businesses on the Hill today are no longer owned and operated by Hill residents or located in their houses.

SoWe hopes to reverse that trend. One of SoWe’s goals is to improve support for southwest Lancaster’s entrepreneurs and small business owners, which among other approaches involves revitalizing abandoned business locations and opening up old storefronts. If SoWe is successful, perhaps the Hill can recapture some of the favorable business environment that allowed the neighborhood to be so “open for business” 100 years ago.

If you know of a historic Cabbage Hill business that may have an interesting history, and think that its history might make a good topic for a future post on this blog, please contact me at SoWeCommunicate@sowelancaster.org, and I will look into it.

For those of you who like the details…….here’s the list of 125 businesses on the Hill 100 years ago, alphabetically by street name:

East Filbert Street

304-6 Jerome Yecker Baker

Fremont Street

413 Mary Brodhecker Nurse

446 Michael Schaller Cleaner

447 Matthias Kraft Tailor

458 George Smith Grocer

478 William Murr Grocer

532 John Morrison Drayman

High Street

413 Joseph Kohler, Jr. Barber

413 Freda Kohler Florist

415 Barbara Brehm Ladies’ tailor

416 William Bonasch Painter

425 Samuel Rawhauser Contractor

440 Harry Morrison Upholsterer

450 Joseph Fritsch Saloon

464 Lavina Emerine Dressmaker

501 Ludwig Stoeckl Grocer

502 Leo Huegel Grocer

511 Harry Bear Barber

558 Merle Gorrecht Glen Hotel

627 Anna Baechle Music teacher

669 Charles Krimmel Contractor

705 Abraham Ansel Grocer

Lafayette Street

422 Harry Benn Grocer

446-48 Samuel Bitner Glassware

456 Henry Miller Coffee roaster

629 Catharine Mohr Dressmaker

Laurel Street

— Follmer, Clogg & Co. Silk mill

116-18 Fritsch & Son Cigarmakers

121 Albert Benn Grocer

302 Jacob Gilles Grocer

Manor Street

423 Phares Hertzler Shoemaker

427 Frank Simpson Plumber

428 Louis Shipman Music teacher

432 Jacob Hartman Used furniture

434 John Gill Contractor

446 Louis Kiphorn Contractor

464-66 John Stumpf Stumpf’s Hotel

471 Henry Kieffer Confectioner

503 Frederick Oakley Grocer

504-6 Barnet Miller Dry goods

514 John Kieffer Jeweler

519 Jacob Otthofer Meat market

528 Jacob Schwendt Bottler

550 Daniel Brown Produce

560 William Paulsen Baker

561 Albert Fawber Grocer

568-72 Louis Fellman Hardware

601 Lewis Shear Druggist/physician

603 Harry Schmidt Gilder

604 Henry Breiter Cigars

609 The Manor Movie theatre

610 Daniel Engle Baker

616 David Harnish Painter

622 Dominick Viscuso Shoemaker

623-25 Harry Goodhart Confectioner

628 Frank Kirchner Grocer

652 Christian Kunzler Meat market

653-57 Thomas Goodhart White Horse Hotel

659 Charles Bair Barber

661 Anthony Lichty Blacksmith

681 William Fox Confectioner

703-5 Ambrose Kirchner Grocer

New Dorwart Street

9 Crawford Garage Car service

19 George Hauser Plumber

23 L & P S Ansel Grocers

— Philip Fellman Sheet metal

45 Harry Helfrich Grocer

118 Theresa Fisher Dressmaker

120 Philip Fisher Barber

301 Hyman Cohn Grocer

Poplar Street

476 Charles Kirchner Saloon

501 Joseph Taub Shoemaker

505 Sarah Hodgen Nurse

512 Fred Shroad Tailor

514 Edward Stumpf Plumber

532 Paul Meyers Tailor

539 Charles Trees Baker

546 Reuben Shear Grocer

616 Charles Koller Grocer

630 Rosa Baechle Nurse

634 George Draude Painter

648 Anna Gross Nurse

667 John Wuerdinger Cooper

702` Julius Hoffman Grocer

St. Joseph Street

406 Minnie Knodel Grocer

409 Anna Hahn Nurse

423 George Gerth Confectioner

463 Herbert Henkel Plumber

503 Philip Kirchner Grocer

509-11 Charles Falk Butcher

510 Daniel Marks Cigars

539 August Krimmel Carpenter

544 Philipina Ganse Nurse

549 Peter Rietschy Grocer

551 Adam Burger Meat market

552-54 Henry Pfaeffle Eighth Ward Hotel

601 George Carroll Barber

602 American Stores, Inc. Grocery

651 John Studer Drayman

706 Benedicto Cicero Shoemaker

West King Street

351 Amos Musser Grocer

353 David Wiker Wiker’s Hotel

401 Clarence Ergood Grocer

402 Harry Meily Furniture

West Strawberry Street

100 David Stauffer Butcher

101 Wilson Stauffer Grocer

128 Edward Kirchner New Centennial Hotel

204 Peter Stratos Grocer

209 Otto Paving & Constr. Contractor

215 Katherine Otto Grocer

238 Christian Vollmer Shoemaker

West Vine Street

306 George Gesell, Jr. Contractor

404 Rosa Hergenrother Nurse

459 Elmer Scheid Music teacher

467 John Beilman Baker

— Philip Kirchner Slaughterhouse

503 John Bernhard Cigarmaker

503 Mary Bernhard Nurse

534 Burkhart Schlereth Tailor

543 Henry Benner Cigarmaker

611 Rosa Keller Dressmaker

629 Rolandus Goda Paperhanger

630 Katherine Bartholomae Dressmaker

666 George Kirchner Player pianos

796 Amelia Strosser Grocer

An Old Lithograph Captures Cabbage Hill on the Cusp of Development

Jim Gerhart

Sometimes an image inadvertently captures a scene just before it changes forever, locking in all the little details that will never be the same again. A lithograph of Lancaster as seen from the southwest in 1852 is just such an image. It was drawn with such attention to detail that it is almost as good as a photograph. But in one way, it is even better than a photograph because a photographer in 1852 would not have had the specialized equipment to take an almost 180-degree panoramic photograph.

The lithograph is entitled “View of Lancaster, Pa.” It was drawn by Charles R. Parsons in 1852 and published by James T. Palmatary in January 1853. Parsons was an English immigrant who apprenticed under George Endicott in New York City, and “View of Lancaster, Pa.”, done when he was thirty-one, was one of the first works of his long and distinguished career. Palmatary, also an English immigrant, was a famous lithographer in the mid-nineteenth century, who published many innovative lithographs of birds-eye views of major American cities. Parsons and Palmatary executed their work well, as an article in the Lancaster Intelligencer of January 18, 1853, advertised their 18×34-inch product as being “drawn from nature” and having a “rich and life-like appearance”.

**“View of Lancaster, Pa.”, drawn by Charles R. Parsons in 1852 and published by James T. Palmatary in 1853.**

The “View” shown in the lithograph extends from Manor and High Streets (Bethelstown) on the left (northwest) to Woodward Hill Cemetery on the right (southeast). It shows Lancaster as it appeared in 1852 to an artist sitting on a hill with an unobstructed view of the city. It quite faithfully reproduces churches, schools, factories, public buildings, and other landmarks of 1852 Lancaster with exacting precision. It includes some landmarks that had only recently been added to the city’s skyline, such as Fulton Hall (1852), Woodward Hill Cemetery (1852), Conestoga Steam Cotton Mills (1847), St. Joseph’s Catholic Church (1849), and even the new County Courthouse (1852) shown under construction in the scene.

But even more noteworthy for the history of Cabbage Hill is what is captured in the foreground of the “View”—a nearly empty landscape that had no inkling it was about to experience a virtual frenzy of development leading to the densely built and populated neighborhood we see today. Open pastures separated by fences and tree-lined farm lanes dominate the foreground of the lithograph. There are only two buildings seen on the central part of what would soon be called Cabbage Hill—St. Joseph’s Church in the left rear foreground and a house in the left middle foreground.

The topography of the Hill, which is difficult to fully grasp today amid all the houses, is clearly depicted. One can see that Cabbage Hill is really two hills separated by a valley. The hill in the foreground where Charles Parsons stood to draw the “View” is the southern hill and the hill where St. Joseph’s Church stands is the northern hill. The valley traversing the scene from left to right is the valley in which a tributary of Hoffman’s Run flowed on its way to a larger stream along South Water Street.

Several features that are important to the history of Cabbage Hill are captured in the scene. On the far left, several rows of houses trail away from the city toward the edge of the drawing. This is the only part of today’s Cabbage Hill that was developed in 1852. It is the neighborhood of Bethelstown along the first two blocks of High and Manor Streets that was laid out by Samuel Bethel, Jr. in 1762, and that had just begun to finally take off in the late 1840s. In the right center of the drawing are the three large buildings of the Conestoga Steam Cotton Mills on South Prince Street. In the late 1840s, these three mills and St. Joseph’s Church played key roles in attracting the new residents that were about to lead to the explosive growth of Cabbage Hill.

New streets and future streets can be identified on the lithograph. St Joseph Street can be seen as not much more than a fence-lined farm lane emanating from the left side of St. Joseph’s Church and heading down to the tributary stream in the valley, where some thirty years later, New Dorwart Street would be constructed after the stream was drained into a large sewer beneath the street. To the right of St. Joseph Street, another fence-lined and tree-lined lane—Poplar Street—follows the same slope down to the valley bottom (are the trees lining this lane by any chance poplar trees?). Less well defined to the left of St. Joseph Street is another parallel fence line that looks like it might be the future site of West Vine Street. A similar fence line to the right of Poplar Street could be the future Fremont Street, as it seems to be leading to the house in the left foreground, which stands on Fremont Street today.

**Enlargement of the left side of “View of Lancaster, Pa.”, showing important features of Cabbage Hill in 1852.**

That house, partially hidden from Parsons’ view by the southern hill, and nestled on the lower slope above the valley floor, was the summer cottage of Catherine “Kitty” Yeates, daughter of Jasper Yeates, prominent lawyer and judge of late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Lancaster. The house, known as Green Cottage, was built about 1820 as Miss Yeates’ summer cottage, and was the first house other than small farmhouses in the central part of Cabbage Hill. The artist even captured the slight change in angle of the gambrel roof that can only be seen in today’s roof upon close inspection. The house was later owned by Alexander J. Gerz and used as a hotel, and it still stands today at 613 Fremont Street, adapted for use as apartments.

The buildings in the “View” are drawn with such accuracy that one can use their positions relative to each other to locate the general area where Charles R. Parsons positioned himself to make the drawing. The spot where Parsons set up his easel was the hilltop near where Frank’s Garage is located in the 600 block of Union Street. Only from that location does the alignment of the Yeates cottage with St. Joseph’s Church match the alignment in the “View”. And only there do the relationships among the buildings of the Conestoga Steam Cotton Mills (now Water Street Rescue Mission , Carter & MacRae Elementary School, and the office of the School District of Lancaster), agree with the relationships in the lithograph

Fortunately, a high-quality original of this lithograph survives in the Wheatland Collection at LancasterHistory. It currently hangs in what appears to be its original frame in the rear stair hall at Wheatland. It provides a rare glimpse of a moment in time, fortuitously captured more than 165 years ago, just before the central part of Cabbage Hill blossomed with development.

Maintenance Tips with the Happyhandyman – Water, part 1

One of the more challenging aspects of being a homeowner is knowing when it is time to call in a professional to take care of a maintenance issue or renovation project. Professional tradesman are expensive, so often people will do as much as they can on their own before resorting to calling an expert. That’s ok! There is a great sense of satisfaction in completing a project on your own, as well as an opportunity for great economic savings to be had. But it is important to know your limits. If you find that you are approaching your personal skill or knowledge limit, do not hesitate – call a professional before you’re knee deep in an emergency situation!

I hope for this blog entry to be the first in a recurring series of tips to help homeowners avoid getting sunk in over their head in a repair or project. I am a licensed Master Plumber with the City of Lancaster, and I’ve been working in the construction and remodel industry for over fourteen years. I’ve seen my fair share of disasters and made many mistakes, so I’d like to start passing on some of what I’ve learned. I love my little neighborhood in SoWe, but the age of the housing stock here is a constant challenge. Old houses can be beautiful and warm and inviting, but they require a careful and thoughtful touch when it come to maintenance. This post will actually be part 1 of two or three entries on managing the various elements of water in your home. I am a plumber after all, so it feels natural to begin with what I know best.

There’s been a lot of discussion (and frustration!) in Lancaster lately about the water meter replacements that have been ongoing for the past year or so. While I understand and empathize with many of the aggravations that people are enduring, I feel that there are at least a few things that folks can do to prepare for their eventual appointment to have their meter replaced. These tips should also be generally useful to any homeowner though; they aren’t only relevant for the current replacement task.

First, and most importantly, know where your water meter is located! For some of you this may seem silly, but you might be shocked at how many times I’ve gone into a home to find that the homeowner doesn’t actually have a good sense as to where their meter is. This is an important piece of information that everyone who lives in a home needs to know. If ever you were to have an emergency situation in which a water supply line breaks or bursts, you absolutely need to know where to go to make the water stop! The water meter is most commonly located in the basement, coming through the street facing (or front) wall. Here is a photo of my own meter, if you’re unclear on what they look like:

On a water meter, there is always a shut off valve on the street side of the meter. This is usually a turning handle, like the one in this picture, or sometimes a newer “ball valve” which is a lever that only requires a quarter turn to shut off. Often there is another shut off valve on the other side of the meter (mine is not pictured, it’s a little further down along the water line). These are the valves that the service technician will need to use in order to replace your meter, and their usability is your responsibility!

This detail has been frustrating to many people. When a technician arrives at your house to find that the shutoff valve or valves are inoperable, they cannot do their job. These valves are a functional part of a homeowners property, and it is the homeowner’s responsibility to make sure that they stay in good working order. This is actually just good sense practice that many homeowners never think about. If you have not checked to make sure your shutoff valves are functioning properly, you should do so ASAP. In the event of an emergency, they are your only recourse to stop water from flooding your house! I would recommend checking them at least once a year, because age and lack of use can and will cause deterioration.

If you find that there is a problem with your shutoff valves, I recommend you call a licensed plumber. This is not a DIY project that can be taken on lightly. It is a critical and often sensitive maintenance issue, and if a mistake is made it can have catastrophic consequences.

I hope this information is helpful. For my next entry, I’ll be discussing everyone’s favorite plumbing fixture, toilets! There are many simple and inexpensive ways to deal with a troublesome toilet, and I hope you’ll read along and discover some easy ways to save on maintenance costs and avoid high water bills. Thanks for reading.

Who’s Who on the Hill: Vicente Ramos

by Melissa Hess

Questions and photographs are from an interview Melissa Hess conducted with Vicente Ramos, SoWe Resident and Board Member in 2016

Q: How long have you lived in the neighborhood and why did you decide to move here?

A: I have been involved in this neighborhood since 2001 when we purchased a home on West Strawberry Street for my mother. Before that she lived with my wife and I. We found out about the house through some friends. I learned that even though two women can love each other, they don’t always fit in one kitchen. My mother raised 12 children and she always loved to cook so she was thrilled to have her own place and her own kitchen. A few years later we purchased the house across the street which has a side lot where we plant all kinds of flowers and vegetables. Just a couple years ago we bought a third house on West Strawberry Street which I manage and rent out. We work with Water Street Rescue Mission to provide a transitional living community for people coming out of homelessness.

Q: What do you “do” (profession, hobby, etc)?

A: I work in the financial services industry and and at a property management company. I am also chairperson of a non-profit organization called Care Force. Right now I am selling a variety of flowers and vegetables at my home to raise money for a service trip to Honduras through Care Force. Every year I take a group of volunteers overseas with the organization. On the service trips we provide medical services to people in need and also bring children’s clothing and other basic hygiene supplies to give away. All of the flowers that I sell to fundraise for the service trip are donated from Esbenshade’s Garden Center. Soon I will have pumpkins and mums for sale which are also donated from a farm in the area.

Q: What is a favorite memory or moment you recall from living on The Hill?

A: My favorite memory is when we bought the house for my mom and I saw how she was so happy to have her own place that she could call home.

Q: If you could change or improve something about the neighborhood, what would it be?

A: I would encourage people to keep the streets and sidewalks clean. I feel that we are making a difference in the neighborhood by making the outside of our home look beautiful. People tell me that they slow down when they pass by to check out all the plants and flowers in front of our house. I hear comments like “we love your place and the way it looks.”

When Did Cabbage Hill Get Its Name, and Under What Circumstances?

Jim Gerhart, May 2019

Tradition has it that Cabbage Hill was named because of the smell from the making of sauerkraut that permeated the air above the Eighth Ward, whose residents were mostly of German descent. But when did the name enter common usage? And was the name intended to be complimentary or derogatory?

The first written reference to Cabbage Hill that I can find (so far) was in the October 11, 1871 edition of the Lancaster Intelligencer, and the subject of the article may provide a clue as to the circumstances under which the name came about. The name, Cabbage Hill, appeared in an article entitled, “RADICAL MEETING IN THE EIGHTH WARD”, which was a lunch meeting that took place at Samuel Erisman’s saloon at the corner of West Strawberry and West Vine Streets on October 11, 1871. The sentence in the article that contains the reference to Cabbage Hill is, “The Radical politicians, scared almost out of their boots, by the outpouring of the Democracy of Cabbage Hill, on Tuesday evening, determined to get up a counter demonstration to undo the damage which had been done to the cause of Reed, plunder and usury.”

The “Radical politicians” who met in Erisman’s saloon were members of a wing of the Republican party that before and during the Civil War, had advocated strongly for the total defeat of the secessionists and the end of slavery, and after the Civil War, had urged harsh punishment for the Confederate states. The “Democracy of Cabbage Hill” was the German population of the Eighth Ward, who were part of a wing of the northern Democratic party that strongly opposed the need for the Civil War and called for a truce and peace with the Confederacy. The Republican party dubbed the northern Democratic wing “Copperheads”, a name meant to disparage them by comparing them to the treacherous poisonous snake. Interestingly, another name for the German Democrats of the Eighth Ward, in an article in Father Abraham from October 23, 1868, was “Sauer Kraut Gorillas”, clearly not a compliment.

The lunch meeting of the Radical Republicans in Erisman’s saloon was apparently an attempt to upstage a very well attended meeting the previous evening of the Democrats of the Eighth Ward. An election was approaching, and the office of Mayor of Lancaster was on the ballot. The Republican Mayor whose tenure was just about to end was William Atlee, and the next Republican candidate for Mayor was George Reed. Both Atlee and Reed were at the lunch meeting at the saloon, trying to drum up votes among the residents of the Eighth Ward. To encourage attendance, a sauerkraut meal and free beer were on the menu. Unfortunately for the Mayor and Mayor-hopeful, the meeting was poorly attended, and somebody forgot to make the sauerkraut, and after a few beers and a speech by the current Mayor that was “a weak defense of his administration”, it was clear that Eighth Ward voters were going to favor the Democratic candidate for Mayor (Frederick Pyfer) in the upcoming election.

So it appears that the name of Cabbage Hill was in common usage by October 1871. Also, we can surmise that the Eighth Ward was probably not called Cabbage Hill before the mid-1850s because it was not until then that the central part of the Eighth Ward began to be populated. My guess is that the name, Cabbage Hill, came into usage sometime in the 1860s, but I have no further evidence to back that up.

As for the circumstances under which the name came into common usage, it is possible that it came about as a result of the political differences accentuated by the Civil War and its aftermath. When considered in the context of another name from the same era, Sauer Kraut Gorillas, the name, Cabbage Hill, seems likely to have been a derogatory label bestowed by the Radical Republicans of Lancaster on the members of their rival party in the German Eighth Ward. I am going to keep my eyes open for additional information on this topic. In the meantime, if anyone knows of an earlier usage of the name, Cabbage Hill, or about the circumstances under which it originated, please get in touch with me at SoWeCommunicate@sowelancaster.org I will update this story with any new information in the next entry for this blog. Let’s see if together we can answer these long-asked questions about the origin of “Cabbage Hill”.

Who’s Who on the Hill

I’m Melissa Hess, a photographer and stay-at-home mom who has been living with my family on the 600 block of Saint Joseph Street for the past 7 years.

A few years ago I started forming an idea about how to tell the visual stories of the people and places in Cabbage Hill, a historic neighborhood in South West Lancaster City where my husband and I bought our first home in the spring of 2012. Supposedly the name comes from the large German immigrant population that grew cabbage on their land here in the early 1900’s. Though today there are not many original “Hillians” left, the narrow one way streets lined with brick row homes and angular intersections still remain a part of this unique neighborhood.

My main motivation for this personal photography project is to give a face to the diverse population of people who live here and bring a positive light to the good things I see happening in our neighborhood. Despite being pictured in several LNP articles as one of the city’s “aging and increasingly distressed neighborhoods”, I think there are a lot of treasures to be found in this historic part of town.

First, it is probably one of the most culturally diverse areas of the city. My neighbors are a mix of people; blacks, Latinos, “Hillians” who have lived here their whole lives, urban Mennonites and recently resettled refugees from Somalia, Iraq and Nepal to name a few.

Soon after we moved here my husband and I started the Cabbage Hill Supper Club in order to get to know more folks in the neighborhood through potlucks hosted in neighbors’ homes. It has been a great way to build community.

There are non-profits such as the Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership (LHOP), Boys and Girls Club and Habitat for Humanity who are doing great work in our neighborhood. There is also the newly formed SoWe neighborhood organization that has various committees that residents can become involved in from housing to parks and recreation to education. LHOP and local partners have refurbished and sold several formerly blight houses to first-time home buyers and with a grant from Wells Fargo they plan to continue this work. Since we moved here, I know of more than a dozen families who have purchased their first home in Cabbage Hill.

There are churches who are invested in the neighborhood, hosting block parties, teaching ESL classes to refugees, and providing a space to hold community meetings. There are businesses who contribute to the neighborhood such as Two Dudes Painting Company who have beautified the area with several murals over the years. Most recently Two Dudes organized a mini mural project where a dozen or more artists (including myself) designed and painted murals around the neighborhood.

In the coming months and beyond, I plan to create a series of blog posts called “Who’s Who on the Hill” featuring photo essays of local residents and businesses who are making a difference in the community. To kick off this project, I’ve decided to share some images that I’ve taken around the neighborhood over the years. I wanted to capture the images of Cabbage Hill that stand out to me as unique and beautiful, whether it be interesting architecture or the way light falls through the colorful autumn trees. Stay tuned for the first “Who’s Who on the Hill” post. If you live in the neighborhood, feel free to nominate someone to feature in this series or send me your ideas. I want to spread the SoWe pride! You can email me at: melissa.engle@gmail.com

History on the Hill

Cabbage Hill has a long history as one of Lancaster’s most vibrant and enterprising neighborhoods. Quaint houses, hilly streets, a diverse population, and many neighborhood businesses are some of its attractions. But as we walk or drive around the Hill, it is easy to miss the amazing amount of rich history right before our eyes. Just beneath the surface of what we see are a couple of centuries’ worth of fascinating stories about the people, buildings, and businesses that once existed here.

The William Paulsen family posed in front of their house and bakery at 560 Manor Street in the summer of 1902. (From private collection of Suzanne Stalling)

I am a retired geologist who was born and raised in Lancaster, and I have always been interested in history. For the past fifteen years, I have been researching selected topics of Lancaster’s history, with a recent emphasis on Cabbage Hill. Much of my research has been focused on my Hill ancestors, with surnames such as Paulsen, Krentz, Scherer, Kautz, and Frey. In the last few years, I have started researching other aspects of the Hill’s history, including Christ Lutheran Church, Bethelstown (the first neighborhood on the Hill), and early businesses on Manor Street. Some of my research has been published in The Journal of Lancaster County’s Historical Society.

The 400 block of Manor Street near West King Street during the grand opening of the newly paved street in June 1923. (From Author’s Private Collection)

Under the auspices of SoWe, the Southwest Lancaster Revitalization Project, I will be using this blog space to share some of my research findings, and to explore with you some of the hidden history of the Hill. I will periodically update this blog with what I hope you will find are interesting tidbits of Hill history. Several members of SoWe committees are as interested in Hill history as I am, and they will be bringing their historical knowledge to bear by suggesting research topics and providing input to this blog.

The Plow Tavern (1745-1924) on the northeast corner of the intersection of Charlotte and West King St in the early 1920’s. (From archival collection of LancasterHistory.org)

I also want to try to answer any questions you may have about Hill people, buildings, and businesses of the past, by researching things that interest you and reporting back on them in this blog. If you have always wondered about an unusual building, or are curious about how a well-known family name became established on the Hill, or are interested in what kinds of businesses have operated in a particular corner store, bring it to my attention by commenting on this blog or emailing SoWeCommunicate@SoWeLancaster.org and we can try to find the answers together.

I look forward to sharing and discovering with you many fascinating historical details and stories of…..History on the Hill.

Jim Gerhart

SoWe Block Liaison Program

Have you heard about the SoWe Block Liaison Program? This program is a simple, low-key method in which active community members can become a resource for their blocks. Recently, SoWe assigned its first two Block Liaisons, Rosalind Dickinson and Jill Roach.

Rosalind, a 10-year resident of the 600 block of Poplar St., chose to become a block liaison because of her love of the uniqueness of her neighborhood and the closeness of the community. She is eager to do the work of bringing people together and connecting people to resources and information to build an even better SoWe. Rosalind also was recently honored as the recipient of Lancaster’s Neighbor of the Month award for January 2019!

Jill has many of the same motivations as Rosalind; she loves the cooperative spirit of many of her neighbors and really wants to find new and creative ways to bring people together. She loves the diversity of the SoWe neighborhood. Jill has been living in the neighborhood on the 700 block of Saint Joseph St. for 7 years.

Hopefully the fact that the first two Block Liaisons share common motivations is a good clue as to what we’re hoping to find from other potential block liaisons – we’re looking for individuals who love the neighborhood and want to be good neighbors. If you’re interested in serving in this meaningful way and becoming a Block Liaison, contact Jake Thorsen at jthorsen@lhop.org.

Mayor Sorace Presents at SoWe Lead’s January Meeting

At Monday night’s SoWe Lead board meeting we had the honor and pleasure of being addressed by our mayor, Danene Sorace. It has been encouraging to see that after a year in office, Mayor Sorace is sticking to her promise and making neighborhoods a priority. We weren’t the first neighborhood group she addressed in the last couple weeks, and we weren’t to be the last.

Mayor Sorace spent about 45 minutes outlining her Strategic Plan for Lancaster in 2019. Truth be told, she barely scratched the surface of the many issues she plans to begin or continue to prioritize. In short, the plan has four points of focus: strong neighborhoods, safe streets, secure incomes, and sound government. There is a broad scope of work being looked at and planned, from finding ways to make pedestrians safe while walking to intentionally focusing on diversity in hiring – these are just two of the many initiatives Mayor Sorace briefly described to us. You can read and listen to more about the Strategic Plan at https://www.lancasterblockbyblock.com/.

Once the mayor finished speaking the board held a somewhat abbreviated meeting. Gene Duncan and Martha Montes were reelected as Chair and Secretary of the board, and Willonda McCloud was elected to the vice chair position, replacing Emerson Sampaio who recently decided not to pursue another term. Several discussions were had on items of noteworthy concern and highlight. A big point of interest was the recent decision by the South Central Transit Authority to scrap their proposed Plan of bus route changes. The board felt it important to continue to follow any new developments from the SCTA and to continue to advocate on behalf of the Southwest Lancaster communities.

Finally, I’d be lax if I failed to mention one other discussion item from the meeting – an event being planned by myself and the members of the SoWe Communications Committee. On April 3 at 6:00 pm we plan to host a community forum on the topic of housing and displacement. This forum arose from an increasing awareness of a concern amongst neighborhood residents about the effects of gentrification here in the SoWe community. It is a priority of the Board to remain connected with the residents whom we are all here to serve, and so the hope is for this forum to provide another point of contact and communication with the community. There will be a panel of 5-6 individuals with professional and/or personal experience with the effects of displacement whose goal will be to provoke meaningful discussion about those issues. I’m eager to share more about this as details begin to take shape.

You can watch and listen to the full meeting in two parts, both posted on the SoWe Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/SoWeLancaster/