Society of the 28th Division, American Expeditionary Forces (MG-0028)
Description
Records of the Society which was formed to continue the traditions of the 28th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, which began in World War I. Includes membership lists, post minutes, correspondence, financial reports, convention programs, scrapbooks, and Divisional histories.
Lt. General Daniel B. Strickler Collection (MG-0029)
Description
General Strickler was a three star general who served in the Mexican Conflict, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Far East Command in Japan. He was born in Columbia, Pa., educated as a lawyer, and served as Pennsylvania's Republican Lieutenant Governor from 1947-1950. Collection includes military citations and certificates, correspondence when elected, speaking engagements, clubs and organizations, and photographs.
Admin/Biographical History
Daniel Bursk Strickler
Personal Life:
Daniel Bursk Strickler was born on 17 May 1897 in Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. His parents, Calvin Ruby Strickler and Harriet Bursk Strickler, raised him in Columbia. Strickler married Caroline Grace Bolton on 11 October 1924. Daniel and Caroline Strickler had two children, Nancy Cupper Strickler and Daniel Bursk Strickler, Jr. Daniel Bursk Strickler, Sr. died on 21 June 1992.
Military Career:
Daniel Strickler enlisted in the 4th Pennsylvania Infantry of the Army National Guard under the command of General Edward C. Shannon as a private on 31 January 1916. By April, Strickler was promoted to corporal and in July was assigned to the Mexican Border Conflict as a sergeant. He soon showed his value as a soldier and leader, and in April of 1917 was elected second lieutenant of Company C of the 4th Pennsylvania Infantry of the Army National Guard.
In September, Strickler was promoted once again to first lieutenant, at the same time that Company C became Company B of the 109th Machine Gun Battalion of the 28th Infantry Division of the United States Army. His company was deployed to France in September 1917 during World War I. Strickler served in five French campaigns including the Battle of Argonne Forest, which was when he received his Purple Heart. He obtained several commissions over the next eleven years including captain in 1918, major in 1922 and lieutenant colonel in 1928.
Just seven years after being promoted to colonel, Strickler was sent to France for a second time. He was in command of the 28th Division, Infantry Regiment during World War II. In 1942, he started command with the 109th Unit and then the 110th Unit of the 28th Division. In June of 1944, Strickler and his men landed at Omaha Beach. Strickler commanded troops during the Battle of the Bulge in the following December. He returned to the United States after three years of fighting.
Strickler was presented the honor of brigadier general in March of 1946 and on 24 December 1947, he was promoted to major general. Strickler remained in the Army and served in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953. Afterwards, he served as an advisor for the Army as a diplomat to Korea until his retirement in 1957. Strickler's final commission occurred on 8 February 1960 to lieutenant general. He had been honored many times and received military decorations for valor, heroism, and dedication including three stars.
Education:
Daniel Strickler attended Columbia area public schools until he graduated from Columbia High School in 1916. He was the captain of the track team, president of the junior and senior class, and a member of the baseball and basketball teams. Upon his return from World War I in 1918, Strickler enrolled at Cornell University Law School in Ithaca, New York. He took on many more responsibilities at this stage of his life. Not only did he receive his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree in 1922, but he was also a member of various organizations, clubs and teams during his three years at Cornell University. He was captain of the track team and a member of the Senior Honor Society. Strickler was also president of the following organizations: Senior Class, Student Council, Quill and Dagger Society and Alpha Kappa Chapter of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity.
Professional Career:
Daniel Strickler was admitted to the Bar of several courts during the 1920s including Supreme Court of Pennsylvania; Courts of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; Superior Court of Pennsylvania; United States District Court; and United States Supreme Court. He worked with several law firms after obtaining his degree and in 1930, between the births of his two children, he established his own law firm in Lancaster. His legal career was not much different from his military or educational careers. He was involved with various professional organizations such as Pennsylvania Bar Association, Lancaster Bar Association, The American Bar Association, the Blackstonian Club of Lancaster, and the Republican Club. Strickler served as Auditor for Lancaster County from 1927 to 1929 and on a Special Counsel for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 1928 to 1930. In 1931, Strickler was elected to the Pennsylvania Legislature to serve in the House of Representatives, thus jump-starting his political career.
Political Career:
The political career of Daniel Strickler brought him several new titles including auditor, special counsel member, representative, commissioner, solicitor, committeeman, delegate and lieutenant governor. He served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives during 1931 and 1932, General and Special Sessions. In 1931, Strickler served as the delegate for Pennsylvania at the National Young Republican Conference in Washington, DC. He was the temporary president of the Young Republican State Committee (YRSC) during 1931 as well. After his temporary appointment, he became an executive committee member of YRSC until 1936 and was also appointed as treasurer from 1934 until 1936.
From April to December of 1932, Strickler became the commissioner of the police department of Lancaster City as a special temporary appointment. During this time, he was in charge of cleaning up the police department and taking a stand against corruption and crime. He was a strong prohibitionist and cleaned up the city. Upon selection, he became the solicitor for Lancaster County, the York-Lancaster Inter-County Bridge Commission, and the Lancaster Municipal Airport from 1933 to 1941. He also served as the Republican County Committeeman for the 1st Precinct, 6th Ward, in Lancaster City until 1941. In 1946, Strickler was elected lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, which he fulfilled from 1947 until 1950 when he resigned to serve in the Korean War.
System of Arrangement
Boxes 1-6 are organized by subject. Scrapbooks are organized by volume
Book 1: Daniel B. Strickler Scrapbook, Military Records, November 1918-February 1933
Book 2: Daniel B. Strickler Scrapbook, [1919-1922]
Book 3: Daniel B. Strickler Scrapbook, October 1923-January 1947
Book 4: Daniel B. Strickler Scrapbook, April 1932-November 1933
Book 5: Daniel B. Strickler Scrapbook, February 1942-September 1975
Book 6: Daniel B. Strickler Scrapbook, March 1945-January 1947
Book 7: Daniel B. Strickler Scrapbook, January 1947-May 1948
Book 8: Daniel B. Strickler Scrapbook, January 1947-October 1950
Book 9: Daniel B. Strickler Scrapbook, January 1958-March 1958
This collection contains the papers of Lloyd Mifflin, including diaries, his poetry, typescripts, galleys with marginal notes, Mifflin family material, and a scrapbook of newspaper clippings. Lloyd Mifflin was a poet and painter from Columbia, Pa. He is best known as a writer of sonnets, publishing over 500.
Admin/Biographical History
Lloyd Mifflin (1846-1921), artist of landscape and portraiture, was also "America's greatest sonneteer." He was born and lived much of his life in Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania where he was free to wander the banks of the Susquehanna River and its tributaries.
His father, J. Houston Mifflin, of English Quaker descent, was Lloyd's first teacher in drawing and sketching. His mother, Elizabeth A. Heise, came from German heritage. She was born in Columbia and died when Lloyd was very young. His father, a kind and patient man, noted that Lloyd was a rather weak child and provided equestrian and water sports to improve his health.
Lloyd was taught in the public schools in Columbia, including the Washington Classical Institute. The Mifflin family supported local education by bequeathing two houses from their estate, the cottage known as "Norwood" and the grand house, "Cloverton," as well as the estate itself. The school district annually planted a flower on his birthday, September 15, and read one of his sonnets, "A Picture of My Mother."
At the age of 14, Lloyd undertook drawing and sketching with his father. He also had Thomas Moran as an instructor in painting and worked with Isaac Williams of Philadelphia for a short time. In 1869, he traveled to Europe where he studied with Henry Herzog at Dusseldorf, Germany. His adventures also took him to Italy, France, England, and Scotland. He returned to Columbia from Europe and continued painting scenes from along the Susquehanna-from Cooperstown, NY to the Chesapeake Bay. As did most other painters of the time, he earned money from portraiture.
In his paintings, he captured the natural with refined color and light, which yielded firm and balanced forms. He preferred to capture the peacefulness of a woodland path or other quiet spots, rather than the noise of an industrial area. Later in his life he liked seasonal paintings, since they gave him a chance to probe deeper into a philosophical spirit.
Mifflin turned to poetry at the age of 51. According to what he wrote in The Hills, his first volume of poetry (1896), he claimed that the fumes of the paint made him sick. In his lifetime he filled twelve books of verse with two hundred poems and more than six hundred sonnets. He wrote more sonnets than William Shakespeare, John Milton, and William Wordworth. John Keats, however, was his favorite. He preferred Keats for his expression regarding the love of beauty, both real and ideal; his forms were always poised and dignified. During this time he also taught himself the art of etching, using this technique to illustrate The Hills.
Mifflin stressed a strong love of beauty in his poetry as he did in his painting. His imagination and beautiful sense of harmony characterize his verse. The main source of his ambition, inspiration and consolation are clearly seen in The Invocation.
He devoted his greatest efforts to the category of the sonnet, considering it the most distinguished and exalted of all forms of English poetry. He enjoyed the structure, the metrical and rhythmic beauty, the plan of metrical rhyme and diction. Mifflin found it much like a musical composition.
Sonnets bipartite in structure usually have a combination of eight lines followed by six. The rhyme schemes and diction include many metaphors and an extensive vocabulary. His one hundred and fifty nature sonnets emphasize the descriptive, not the intuitional. To sample his poetic styles, one should turn to his three hundred and fifty collected sonnets, published in 1905 with a second edition in 1907. A large number came from earlier books.
As a poet, Mifflin was an idealist and respected the ideal of Greek mythological beauty. In the Echoes of the Greek Idylls and Slopes of Helicon, we find no roughness of spirit. There was a conscience of a spiritual presence. His religious sonnets were grounded in the faith of a personal God which related more to his aesthetic feelings than to traditional Christianity. Themes of life and death occur in many sonnets. His poetry inspired faith, hope and deep emotion. These sonnets were more descriptive than philosophical.
Mifflin's personal ambition was to excel; he wanted to write the perfect sonnet. Like the classical Greeks, he hoped his poetry would obtain an immortality. Mifflin thought the world had largely ignored him, even though his poetry received high praise. At his life's end he changed his opinion and credited his readers with more accolades than he had earlier thought. Perhaps he was too hard on himself. Lloyd Mifflin carried the name "Hermit of the hills" who walked the 'world as one entranced' and 'in life's turbid wave', dropped ' the crown-jewel of his melody.'"
E. Hershey Sneath. America's Greatest Sonneteer. The Clover Press (Geo. D. Hall): Columbia, PA.,1928.
This collection contains a history of the tobacco industry in Lancaster County during the first half of the twentieth century, as compiled by Milton H. Ranck, based on his experience and that of his father, Jacob L. Ranck.
This collection contains materials of Johnny Hauck, a boxing historian and brother of Leo Houck (1888-1950), a championship boxer. Consists of personal papers, newspaper clippings, correspondence, drawings, and material on boxing matches and associations.
The Judge Joseph Wissler Collection documents his fifty-five year career as a lawyer and judge. He recorded and categorized criminal court cases in a handwritten volume. Two scrapbooks contain his certificate of admittance to the Lancaster County Courts, letters, photographs, and newspaper clippings about criminal cases.
Admin/Biographical History
Joseph Buch Wissler was born in Clay Township, Lancaster County on 7 August 1892. Wissler attended Lititz High School and later graduated from Franklin and Marshall College. He earned his law degree from Harvard University. Wissler became a member of the Lancaster Bar Association, of which he was president in 1964 and 1965. He returned to practicing law as a local attorney after holding the position of District Attorney of Pennsylvania from 1924 to 1928. In 1941, Wissler was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and served in that position for twenty-nine years. Judge Wissler served in the law profession for over fifty-five years. Phi Beta Kappa of Franklin and Marshall College made Judge Wissler an honorary member in 1950 and the college presented him with an honorary Doctor of Laws in 1952. He was also a member of the Lancaster Tucquan Club from 1949 to 1969.
This collection contains information and materials relating to Milton Thomas Garvin, his department store and the Garvin Lecture Series. The scrapbooks were complied by him through the years of 1899-1936. Other items in this collection include letters to family and business partners, several pamphlets from the Garvin Lecture Series, M. T. Garvin & Co. store information, receipts, invoices, banquet programs, and a sampling of financial records from the store.
Admin/Biographical History
Milton Thomas Garvin was born in Fulton Township around 1860. In 1874, at the age of fourteen, Garvin quit school and moved to Lancaster City. He worked various odd jobs before he was hired to work as an errand boy for R. E. Fahnestock's dry goods store in December of 1874.
At the age of sixteen, Fahnestock promoted Garvin to a salesman for the store. He continued to work there through his adolescent years and was promoted to manager at the age of twenty-one, when Fahnestock was in failing health. Garvin assumed that responsibility for twelve years and then bought the store when Fahnestock was ready to retire. Garvin renamed the store M. T. Garvin & Co.
Over the next ten years, Garvin bought the rest of the building and several surrounding buildings to expand his store to a four story and three lot property. He prospered in business and was a philanthropist throughout Lancaster County.
Other than a prominent businessman, Garvin served as a board member, trustee, director or president of the following organizations: The Shippen School for Girls, Lancaster General Hospital, Lancaster Chamber of Commerce, Meadville Theological Seminary, A. Herr Smith and Mechanics' Libraries, Lancaster Charity Society, Joseph Priestly Conference, and People's Octoraro Meeting House.
Of primary interest are premium list books from the Lancaster Fair. The books contain entry categories and prizes offered for winners, general rules and regulations, many advertisements, and photographs of the fairgrounds and acts performing at some of the fairs. There are also Fair Association stock certificates and pamphlets, exhibit entry blanks, promotional fliers, and premium lists from other fairs.
Lancaster County Agricultural Fairs, 1909-1914 scrapbook contains a variety of information pertaining to the Lancaster County Agricultural Fair. There are copies of letters that I. C. Arnold typed and sent out to notify the public about the annual fair, including letters to teachers and businesses. Photographs are scattered within the book. The book is also filled with admission tickets, stand-holder tickets, and exhibitor tickets. There are several pages that show the layout of the fairgrounds and where different exhibits and rides were located. An item of interest is a facsimile of a confederate fifty-dollar bill.
Admin/Biographical History
The Lancaster County Agricultural Fair was held annually starting in 1888 and was sponsored by the Lancaster County Agricultural Fair Association. The fair lasted for one week and was open to the public for four days. For the first ten years the fair was held at McGrann's Park. In 1909, Lancaster County Agricultural Fair moved to the newly constructed Lancaster Fair Grounds. The new fair complex consisted of fifty-five acres and contained 5,500 bleacher seats, cattle sheds for over 400 exhibits, 225 stables for racing and show horses, a poultry exhibition building for 3,000 exhibits, and two exhibit buildings for the horticulture, agriculture and fancy work exhibits. The animals and exhibits were on display during the fair and there were rides, food stands and other amusements available for the public.
Fair entries were judged in one of eight fair departments: Cattle; Sheep and Swine; Horses, Ponies and Mules; Poultry, Pigeons and Pet Stock; Farm and Dairy Machinery, Implements, Carriages and Vehicles; Agriculture and Horticulture; Home and Dairy; and Ladies' Fancy Work. The Cattle Department had three different classes of dairy breeds, beef breeds and overall. The Sheep and Swine Department was split in two classes between the sheep and the swine and each class held many divisions for breed classifications. The Department of Horses, Ponies and Mules was split between show animals and work animals used for pulling carts and machinery. Poultry, Pigeons and Pet Stock were judged as one category winning gold, silver, bronze and runner up medals. Items used for farming and dairy divided the fifth department and then carriages and vehicles shared their own category.
The Department of Agriculture and Horticulture was split into many different categories including grains, seed and flour; wheat; vegetables; potatoes; tobacco; apples; pear, plums and quinces; peaches; grapes; fall strawberries; nuts; wines, cider, etc.; flowers; floral designs; and the boy's corn growing contest. The categories of the Home and Dairy Department are bread and butter; cakes and pies; preserves and pickles; confections; and soaps and hams. The final department, Ladies' Fancy Work, included craft work such as knitting, crochet work, infant's clothing, lace and tatting work, Irish crochet, embroidery, cross stitch, silk embroidery, outline embroidery, punch work, drawn work, stencil work, beadwork, raffia work and the juvenile department. The annual Lancaster County Agricultural Fair's last year was in 1933.
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-146
Other Number
MG-146
Classification
MG0146
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Collection was processed and finding aid prepared in 1998; the scrapbook was cataloged by CB, 2007-2008. Added to database 5 August 2021.
Lancaster County Agricultural Fairs scrapbook was cataloged and preserved with funding from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 2007-2008. ME60112.
Ladies' Auxiliary of St. Joseph Hospital (Lancaster, Pa.) Records
Description
This collection contains records for the Ladies' Auxiliary and Junior Auxiliary of St. Joseph Hospital in Lancaster, PA from 1881-2002. One volume contains the names of volunteers and the hours they logged from 1967-1992. Newsletters, programs, and newspaper articles provide information about the many community activities and fundraising events of the organization.
Admin/Biographical History
St. Joseph Hospital (1883-2000) started in a moderate-sized building on College Avenue that was purchased by the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, Philadelphia Foundation. The Ladies' Auxiliary began in 1903 to promote the community's health and welfare, engage in fundraising activities, and promote good relations between the hospital and community. The Junior Auxiliary was made up of volunteers who had limited time available, participated in fundraising activities, and met in the evening at five general meetings per year.
Preferred Citation: Ladies' Auxiliary of St. Joseph Hospital (Lancaster) Records (MG0473), Box #, Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Persons wishing to publish any material from this collection must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-473
Other Number
MG-473
Classification
MG0473
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Processed and finding aid prepared by DC, 2009. Added to database 7 September 2021.
The Scouts of America Collection contains items related to scouting in Lancaster County, PA. The Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Explorer Post are represented with annual reports, ephemera, and newsletters that contain financial data and information about troop locations and activities.
Scrapbook of Explorer Scouts of Post 325, Troop 25 (MG0434_Box105)
Explorer Scouts Post 325 Troop 25 Album (A-60-01-001 to A-60-01-200)
Notes
Preferred Citation: Scouts of America Collection (MG0140), Folder #, LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
No restrictions.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory. Persons wishing to publish any material from this collection must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants of copyright or other use restrictions.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-140
Other Number
MG-140
Classification
MG0140
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Processed and finding aid prepared in 1998-1999. Added to database 9 September 2021.
