This is a Christmas story, but it has nothing to do with Santa Claus or Gene Shepherd or Mariah Carey. It’s a Christmas weather story.
Dec. 25, 1964, was the warmest Christmas ever recorded in Lancaster. The thermometer temporarily unfroze and topped out at 69 degrees that afternoon, according to Kyle Elliott of Millersville University’s Weather Information Center.
Geese began flying north. Snowbirds stopped flying south. The topsy-turvy weather made everybody giddy.
Near the end of that hot flash, a storm came out of nowhere and dumped cool water on the Scribbler’s parents’ home in Bird-in-Hand.
Skies were partly blue, then there was a short, sharp shower — and thunder! — then skies cleared and it began to get colder.
The Scribbler ran outside in short sleeves and danced in the rain. No singing. Just dancing. It sounds nutty now, but this flash thunderstorm actually occurred on Christmas Day nearly six decades ago.
The warm shower occurred not only in Bird-in-Hand but in Millersville, where 0.001 of an inch of rain fell on the roof of the Millersville University Weather Information Center.
By then, Santa had returned to the North Pole, where it remained a tad south of 69 degrees.
Fairly old trees
Len Eiserer has news of another Lancaster tree with roots in a world fair. A Norway spruce standing in front of the Connell Mansion in Ephrata is believed to have been spawned by seedlings from the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition.
Nearly 10 million people attended that exposition. Moore and Rebecca Connell returned to Ephrata with a spruce seedling.
The Historical Society of the Cocalico Valley, located in the Connell Mansion at 269 W. Main St., today owns the 147-year-old tree.
Three years ago, Eiserer contributed an item to this column about three Bald cypress trees at 223 Linestown Road in Willow Street. The trees have grown from cypress seedlings given away at the Chicago 1893 Columbian Exposition’s Louisiana Pavilion.
David Stull owns the 130-year-old Bald cypress trees. The property owners in 1893 were John and Christiana Herstock. They brought back the seedlings.
Eiserer observes that another Bald cypress grows at the Station House Tavern on the Fruitville Pike. It’s about the size of the Herstock cypress, so he believes it also may have grown from a seedling carried home from the Chicago Fair.
He would like to hear from readers who know of other Bald cypress or Norway spruce trees, which are not native to Lancaster County. Measured at 4.5 feet above the ground, a spruce seeded from Philadelphia would have a trunk circumference around 78 to 79 inches. A cypress seeded from Chicago would have a trunk circumference around 75 to 100 inches.
The Millersville tree lover also is interested in other county trees associated with historical persons or events.
Contact him at eiserer@aol.com.
Millersville Orchestra
Frances Peachey is searching for a photo of the Millersville Orchestra taken between 1800 and 1890.
Neither Millersville University nor LancasterHistory has such a photo. Peachey also has contacted descendants of orchestra members.
Peachey, of East Lampeter Township, is looking specifically for a picture of Frank D. Baldwin. He played first cornet from 1880–90. His 1893 obituary says he was a member of the orchestra.
Peachey can be reached at peacheycorner1@comcast.net.
Jack Brubaker, retired from LNP | LancasterOnline staff, writes “The Scribbler’’ column every Sunday. He welcomes comments and contributions at scribblerlnp@gmail.com.
