A Mystery: Where is this Church?

I was at a flea market in Delaware, browsing a vendor who had a number of photographs. I came across a group of photographs from World War II, primarily dealing with a person’s life as a member of the army air corp. None of the pictures had locations or identification of people. I selected this photograph of a church amid the destruction of war to buy. If you can identify the church in the picture, I would love to have more information.

The Old Woman and the Shoe…

While it is visible from US30, the Haines Shoe House is a little hard to find. It is located at 197 Shoe House Road in York, Pennsylvania. The iconic large shoe is not too far from the old Lincoln Highway, the former Route 30 that still has many independent hotels and Americana shops. Originally built in 1948 as an advertising gimmick for Mahlon Haines, the owner of over twenty shoe stores in Pennsylvania and Maryland, rooms in the house could be rented so that people could “live like a king” for a week. Today, the Haines Shoe House is a bakery and sweet shop.

Unfortunately, the shop was closed when we stopped by. But check back for updates on our visit. In the meantime: A 2015 York Daily Record article and a 2015 Harrisburg Patriot article. 

Gap, Pennsylvania

Just off US Route 30, on Pennsylvania Route 41, is the community of Gap. Named after a break in the Appalachian Mountain Chain, town historians recount the visit of William Penn to the area in 1701. The houses in the community are nestled into the hillside and, like many towns, some of the major services have migrated to larger cities.

Among the remaining businesses in town are the Gap Diner and the Town Clock Cheese Shoppe. The Diner serves Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine, as well as regular diner fare. Lunch at the Gap Diner can be an interesting cultural experience: We were in one afternoon when a young man, who I assume was home from college, was introducing his girlfriend to his Pennsylvania Dutch grandparents. The girl was clearly nervous and the grandparents seemed to struggle with making conversation. The Town Clock Cheese Shoppe is a fourth-generation business that sells a wide variety of tempting cheeses. It is a great place for nostalgia, interesting stories and a quick snack to take on the road. Bill told us one funny story about the time he was driving his delivery truck. He notice that the potholes ahead appeared to be moving. He got out to look and saw a baby black kitten alone and afraid down inside one of the potholes. He took it home and for the rest of his life never wanted to leave Bill’s side. 

Borders: Pennsylvania-Delaware

A border is an interesting phenomenon. The demarcation between two units is most often designed to keep something in, or something out. It is a human construction that divides two spaces. Yet, animals, plants, pollution and weather pay no attention to the attempts of people to keep things separate. We think of borders has geographical barriers that mark a transition from one place to another. But a border can be mental or psychological.

Sometimes geographic borders are so old that the transition through it has a minimal mental effect. The border between Pennsylvania and Delaware has become nearly meaningless in many ways, save for taxes and liquor laws. The border between the two states on Highway 41, near Hockessin, still has a concrete marker that appears to be decades old. Given that there is a big blue tourist sign that towers over the older sign, I suspect most motorists do not see this demarcation that dates from the early days of motoring.