Chiques Rock Outfitters Prepares for 150th Anniversary of Bridge Burning

Sunday, May 5:
As in weeks past, Jim Cox and the Chiques Rock Outfitters Crew continued stocking braziers with firewood to prepare for the 150th anniversary of the burning of the Civil War-era bridge that once spanned the Susquehanna between Columbia and Wrightsville.  The braziers sit atop the piers that supported the bridge.

The crew loaded the firewood onto a boat at Columbia River Park.

The fully laden boat was then piloted to the next pier in line to be worked on.

Once there, the wood was unloaded.

(Note the workman standing atop the pier.)

Each brazier (one per pier) was checked and positioned.

Then began the laborious process of hauling the wood to the top of the pier, using buckets and a rope.

One man hauled up the wood as the other loaded the brazier.

Here's an example of what a fully loaded brazier looks like.

Here are several piers with braziers already loaded.
(Click on the photo for an enlarged view.)

45th Pennsylvania Company K at Locust Street Park

 Members of 45th Pennsylvania Company K occupied Locust Street Park on Saturday.  The group of re-enactors was selling donated goods to raise funds for insurance and other operating costs.

Meanwhile, down at the river shore, the confederates had already landed . . .

Jimmy Sheckard, Columbia's Major League Baseball Player

Jimmy Sheckard

Columbia's only major league baseball player, Jimmy Sheckard, was honored at a memorial dedication on Saturday, May 4, at 4 p.m. at Glatfelter Field.

The event was sponsored by the Susquehanna Valley chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, along with the Glatfelter Field Foundation and the Columbia Boys Athletic Association. The event was followed by the Susquehanna Valley chapter's annual awards and installation banquet at the Susquehanna Fire Company, 10th and Manor.

A stone and bronze monument measuring 3 x 5 feet was dedicated to Sheckard. It features his image and lists his baseball accomplishments. A list of financial donors appears on the back.

The program included remarks by Mike Kuhn and Phil Glatfelter of the Glatfelter Field Foundation, Ray McCarty of the Columbia Boys Athletic Association, Jay Lutz, grandson of Charles E. Herr who was a boyhood friend of Sheckard, Bob Herman of the Susquehanna Valley chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, Chryst, a friend of Sheckard, and Gregg Dubbs, local baseball historian. Bill Kloidt was master of ceremonies. Several members of the Sheckard family helped unveil the monument. As Sheckard was also a barbershop-style singer, the Lazy Daze Barbershop Quartet performed during the ceremony.

A baseball card depicting Sheckard's major league accomplishments was given to those attending the ceremony.

 Master of Ceremonies Bill Kloidt led the dedication.

 Members of the Sheckard family and others attended.

Kevin Kraft Sr. gave the invocation.

 A color guard stood by.

 Jamie Hess led the pledge of allegiance.

 Aspiring major leaguers listened to the proceedings.

 District Justice Bob Herman offered remarks.

Barbershop quartet "Lazy Daze" sang several songs, including "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."

 J. Freeland Chryst, a friend of Jimmy Sheckard, reminisced.

The audience listened to several speakers. 

The monument was unveiled by members of the Sheckard family.

Several were in attendance.

Other attendees gathered.

The monument

Back of the monument

One last attendee

Lancaster County animal cruelty investigator re-hired

WPMT FOX43
Lancaster County now has its animal cruelty investigator back.

In January, budget cuts forced the Humane League of Lancaster County to lay off its longtime Humane Society police officer, Keith Mohler.

Now, the Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania SPCA has stepped in to help, hiring Mohler to continue animal cruelty investigations in Lancaster County.

MORE HERE:
http://fox43.com/2013/05/03/lancaster-county-animal-cruelty-investigator-re-hired/

Fourth body in two weeks pulled from Susquehanna River

Another body has been pulled out of the Susquehanna River, the fourth one to be found in just over two weeks.

Lancaster County Coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni said he was notified late Saturday morning that a body had been pulled from the river.

MORE HERE:
http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/845612_Fourth-body-in-two-weeks-pulled-from-Susquehanna-River.html

Wrightsville Presbyterian Church celebrates 185 years

LANCASTERONLINE
To some in the Columbia/Wrightsville area, it's known as the church whose old building got hit by a Confederate cannonball 150 years ago, at the height of the Civil War.
But Pastor Christine Blackford wants Wrightsville Presbyterian Church to be known better as "a congregation that wants to respond to people who are in need."
And the many who have been and continue to be blessed by the church's outreach on both sides of the Susquehanna River surely agree.
The Wrightsville church, which draws a third or so of its congregants from the Lancaster County side of the river, celebrates its 185th anniversary this weekend.

MORE HERE:
http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/845477_Wrightsville-Presbyterian-Church-celebrates-185-years.html

Gruesome death in Columbia PA

GO HERE:
http://paoddities.blogspot.com/search/label/Lancaster%20County?m=0