Jamie and Domi’s YoCo Backstory

The situation

Historian Jamie Noerpel & Archivist Domi Miller are conversational. They’re fun. They’re passionate about local history. Without flinching, they take on challenging stories about York County’s past. Their base is the northeastern York County village of Newberrytown. That’s where they live. And they move to sites around YoCo to talk about their native county. They are the co-hosts of Hometown History.

Jamie, a teacher, holds a doctorate in American studies, blogs about local history and culture and operates this digital site, WitnessingYork.com. Domi, a federal court archivist, holds a master’s degree in library science and local history and moderates the Preserving the History of Newberrytown Facebook group. She is a re-enactor in the 87th Pennsylvania.

Here are some of the goals driving Jamie and Domi and “Hometown History,” complete with a YouTube channel and podcast.

• To introduce next generations of York County residents to York County history.
• In so doing, present the history of all people in a way that has weight and is winsome
• To test, refine and practice a conversational way of storytelling about history.

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In Season 3, Episode 1 of “Hometown History: Jamie and Domi’s YoCo Backstory,” Jamie and Domi explore the Goodridge Freedom Center in: William C. Goodridge: “One of the coolest guys you’d ever want to learn about.”

Description: The Goodridge Freedom Center is not on a corner in York. But it stands at the intersection of three major pre-Civil War moments. William C. Goodridge, formerly enslaved and later a successful York County businessman, called it home. Goodridge and his wife, Evalina, operated a station on the Underground Railroad there, an illegal act that could have brought federal prosecution. They provided studio space Glenalvin, their oldest son and a pioneering American photographer. The 123 E. Philadelphia Street townhouse, now the Goodridge Freedom Center, thus stands as a symbol of perseverance against great odds, a beacon for freedom seekers everywhere and a place of innovation and invention. Today, a newly minted Goodridge statue beckons visitors to come, sit, listen and learn.

Episode 1, was livestreamed in the Retro York and Preserving the History of Newberrytown Facebook groups at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 4. The show was streamed at the Goodridge Freedom Center. Because of space limitations, there will be no live audience.

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In Season 3, Episode 2, Jamie and Domi tell the story of the Four Chaplains and York Rabbi Alexander D. Goode titled: “The ship is sinking: Would you give up your life jacket? The Four Chaplains did.”

Description: It’s Feb. 3, 1943, 80 years ago. Midway through World War II. The torpedo strikes. The troop transport Dorchester goes black. Confusion reigns. But four chaplains become light in darkness. York rabbi and Chaplain Alexander D. Goode gives his gloves to a soldier. He has another pair, he says. Only he doesn’t. He’s not leaving the ship. Life jackets are gone. Goode and three fellow chaplains give their life jackets to panicked soldiers. The ship is going down. Soldiers on lifeboats look back. The Four Chaplains are singing and praying. In English, Latin, Hebrew. Their arms are locked. Hope amid despair. The Four Chaplains go under with 668 others. But 230 survive to tell about the chaplains’ valor, a lesson for the ages. And for us to consider: Will our valor shine when our courage is tested?

Episode 2, was livestreamed in the Retro York and Preserving the History of Newberrytown Facebook groups at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 1. The setting was Temple Beth Israel in York Township.

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In this Season 3 Extra of “Hometown History: Jamie and Domi’s YoCo Backstory,” Neil King Jr., who walked from Washington, D.C. to New York in 2021, is interviewed about his trek in “An American rambles through York County.”

Description: In the spring of 2021, King embarked on his journey in search of a slice of early America. York County was on his short list of stops. He did his homework and made it a destination. The former Wall Street Journal reporter passed through the county, up from Maryland and along the rail trail to York. He enjoyed conversation at York mayor Michael Helfrich’s fire pit, took in Ophelia Chambliss’ art exhibit featuring people who help shape community, toured the restoration of historically Black Lebanon Cemetery with Samantha Dorm, and squatted on an outcrop in the Susquehanna River with Paul Nevin to view early Native American rock carvings, called petroglyphs.

This Extra, was livestreamed in the Retro York and Preserving the History of Newberrytown Facebook groups at 6 p.m., Wednesday, March 8. Hometown History interviewed Neil King Jr. at the Center for Community Engagement in York in this event co-sponsored with the center.

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In Season 3, Episode 3 of “Hometown History: Jamie and Domi’s YoCo Backstory,” Jamie and Domi explore road signs of all kinds: “Signs of the times: Learning York County history through markers.”

Description: Signs about York County history are everywhere. Yes, everywhere a sign. And contra to the 5 Man Electrical Band’s 1970s protest anthem, history signs don’t block out the scenery. And no, they don’t break your mind. They help us to understand the landscape. They inform you about the people, places and moments that have shaped our county,  past and present. We are blessed with Keystone markers, part of the Good Road program from a century ago. And those prestigious blue-and-gold Pennsylvania markers. The Haines Shoe House will unveil one this summer. Wayside markers that serve as outdoor storyboards. Hanover just installed a score of those. And ghost signs that point to a history that is fast fading. Hometown History’s March episode will cover local history markers and how they help make sense of our surroundings. Yes, everywhere a history sign. And might there be more.

Episode 4, was livestreamed in the Retro York and Preserving the History of Newberrytown Facebook groups at 7 p.m., Tuesday, May 24. It was streamed from Newberrytown and featured Jamie’s 2 1/2-month-old son, Otto. Details: ‘Signs of the Times.”

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In Season 3, Episode 4 of “Hometown History: Jamie and Domi’s YoCo Backstory,” Jamie and Domi talk about stories along York’s Penn Street corridor in: “A walk to ponder and wonder: Taking in Penn Street’s challenges and promise.”

Description: In the mid-1700s, the neighborhood west of the Codorus was tagged Bottstown. Mr. Bott wanted his town to compete with York, over there to the east. But York got the head start, annexed Bott’s town in the 1880s and, over time, drew much of the city’s investment and attention. Now there’s a plan that features the best things about Penn Street, an important street in these neighborhoods on the Codorus’ west bank. The plan takes into account the Penn Street corridor’s challenges. And searches for its promise. Jamie and Domi will tell stories about Penn Street that cover both.

Episode 4 was livestreamed in the Retro York and Preserving the History of Newberrytown Facebook groups at 6 p.m., Tuesday, June 20, before a live audience at Penn Market, York.

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In Season 3, Episode 5 of “Hometown History: Jamie and Domi’s YoCo Backstory,” Jamie and Domi talk about the Haines Shoe House in: “The Shoe House story: From heel to toe.”

The description: Mahon Haines built the Shoe House, York County’s famed roadside attraction, to promote his chain of shoe stores and attract Lincoln Highway motorists off the busy road. “He began on a shoe string,” the Saturday Evening Post said, “which he tied into a long string of shoe stores.” The 75-year-old Shoe has served as a honeymoon place, an ice cream parlor and many other things. Today, it’s been re-laced into a work boot-shaped Vrbo vacation rental venue. Hometown History’s Jamie and Domi talk about this intriguing place, inside and out, in Episode 3.5.

Episode 5 was livestreamed livestreamed in the Retro York and Preserving the History of Newberrytown Facebook groups at 6 p.m., Wednesday, July 19. This was an online-only event.

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In Season 3, Episode 6 of “Hometown History: Jamie and Domi’s YoCo Backstory,” Jamie and Domi talk about the Native Americans in the region in: “Susquehannocks no giants but stand tall in York County history.”

Description: “At some remote time in the past, perhaps more than twelve thousand years ago, a single human being became the first person to see the Susquehanna River, the late York County-based archaeologist Barry Kent wrote. “He did not call it Susquehanna, nor did he stand in awe of its size and beauty. His people and their ancestors had seen and crossed many rivers of this new land.” So begins the story of what would one day become York County. Other American Indian groups would follow. Hometown History’s Jamie Noerpel and Dominish Marie Miller will tell some stories about Native Americans in York County, how they worked, lived and played.

Episode 6 was streamed live from Zimmerman Center for Heritage in Long Level, the center for Native American studies in York County. The public sat in on this free presentation at 6:30 p.m., Aug. 22. Jamie and Domi also produced two other short videos on the Native American topic: An HH Extra with Native American Raine Dawn and Susquehanna Heritage’s Abby Teaford and Carlisle’s Native American Boarding School.

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In Season 3, Episode 7 of “Hometown History: Jamie and Domi’s YoCo Backstory,” Jamie and Domi talk about Penn Park’s past, present and future in: “York’s Penn Park: Longtime green space awaits discovery.”

Description: From its founding in 1816, Penn Park served as a place that freedmen and women could disembark from their journey to free soil and take the first steps in building new lives. Later, this public common served as a gathering place for civil rights vigils and protests. Shouts and cries still echo across the green expanse of Penn Park. Long and short, this green space has served as a coming together place since its founding. For years in the 1800s, a resident lived in its expanse – freedman Charles Granger, known as Squire Braxton. At times, Penn Park has been indispensable. Other moments, it’s been neglected. Today, the question must be asked: Will Penn Park be rediscovered? In recent years, there have been improvements, and just recently, it gained new pavilions. And more is planned. Jamie and Domi’s Hometown History will tell about the park’s past. And look to its future.”

Episode 7 was streamed live from Zion United Church of Christ, across from Penn Park. The presentation was open to the public and livestreamed in the Retro York and Preserving the History of Newberrytown Facebook groups.

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In Season 3, Episode 8 of “Hometown History: Jamie and Domi’s YoCo Backstory,” Jamie and Domi talk about “Farming in York County: Telling stories about the land.”

Description: We might really need a doctor, a lawyer and a policeman once in a lifetime, the sage says. But every day, you need a farmer. Three times, at least,
Indeed, farming is more than keeping your eyes on the row. Always has been. Farm families have multiple crops to plant. Runs to the mill to take. Machinery to fix. Home remedies to make. Animals to birth. Gardens to weed. And then crops to harvest. If Mother Nature cooperates.
Hometown History’s Jamie Noerpel and Dominish Marie Miller tell stories from the land in York County — about agriculture and farms, rural and urban, of large acreage and Amish sizes. They tell about farmers and their families, with respect. And the recognition, as author Wendell Berry says, “We have neglected the truth that a good farmer is a craftsman of the highest order, a kind of artist.”

Episode 8 was streamed live at 5:30 p.m., Oct. 18, from Pheasant Run Greenhouse Farm in Southern York County in the Retro York and Preserving the History of Newberrytown Facebook groups.

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In Season 3, Episode 9 of “Hometown History: Jamie and Domi’s YoCo Backstory,” Jamie and Domi talk about “Champs and Foes” as part of York County History Storytellers Night.

Description: Domi and Jamie talk from a barn, the restored barn at Wyndridge, that is. Farming was, and in some ways still is, an essential part of York County history. Barns were the lifeblood to the traditional, PA Dutch family: They housed the livestock, their food, and equipment throughout the entire year. No where else in the world is the bank barn a characteristic of the region’s architecture as much as Pennsylvania. And per the format of History Storytellers Night, they find a champ and a foe in our grand barns.

Episode 9 was recorded for YouTube as part of the History Night program from Wyndridge Farm near Dallastown.

The Witness

Hometown History: Season 1, show notes.

HH: Season 2, show notes.

HH: Youtube channel

HH: Podcast

The questions

One of Jamie and Domi’s goals is to engage the next generation. They’ve found that, if local Facebook audiences are any indication, at least half are above 50 years in age. To fuel local history interest in those south of 50, these videos, with podcast, are meant to reach a broader audience, interesting people of all ages in York County history. However, this is just the first step. How else can we get our kids and grandkids into history?

Related links and sources: Episode 1: James McClure’s William C. Goodridge: “One of the coolest guys you’d ever want to learn about.” Episode 2: James McClure’s “York County’s Four Chaplains Memorial keeps story of World War II heroism alive.” Episode 3: Heart of Hanover Trails is one of York County’s newest sign programs. Episode 7: Penn Park has long been in the middle of things. Episode 8: Stories from Ken Rexroth, a York County Farmer: My first book – Wandering in York County (yorkblog.com). Episode 9: How did Wyndridge Farm get its name? (ydr.com)