Shuffling through the snow

Rarely do I see pileated woodpeckers, those large red-headed birds that 'inspired' the cartoon Woody Woodpecker. While trying to find some snow and visit family, I drove to suburban Cleveland first and the Fairport Harbor lighthouse, then shuffled off to Buffalo to find more snow, visit more friends.

Now, both locations are known for their abundance of snow, and that was expected. While parking the car, the bass drum sound of a tree being beaten up by the large woodpecker echoed over the nearby creek. It cruised from tree to tree, stopping only occasionally to see who was watching.

Ghostly whistle concert ends at NY Wire

   With a nod of his head, Scott Ryan signaled that the air be shut off, and "Silent Night" came to a quiet end. A small group, mostly regular visitors who watch and listen to the steam whistle concert from inside New York Wire Company, applauded and yelled 'thank you' to Scott and his father, Donald.

New York Wire Company is closing next year, sending much of its work to China, and the whistle and the concert will die-- as will about 170 jobs at the plant. Don says plenty of new companies are willing to host the whistle concert, but it's not a signed deal. Tuesday morning's carols could be the end of a 120-year old tradition.

The Ryans have been playing the concert for two dozen years, and Don's been playing for 55 years. The whistle has been singing its eerie Christmas songs since 1889, but for the past four years or so--Don can't remember exactly-- it's been an air whistle concert. New York Wire's steam boiler died that year, and concert officials imported an air whistle concert. The factory has seen its better days, and a few bricks are crumbling just around the corner from the whistle. The door frame is rotted, and it's a chore opening the thick fire door.

It's the same kind of spooky sound that came from the roof-mounted whistle before but with a different source. The sound has been described as 'whiney', 'off-key', and 'ghostly'.  The Ryans move a lever back and forth to limit the amount of air to the whistle, and it creates the notes. A guide on the mechanism shows the Ryans where the general area should be for a particular note, and whoever is not playing that song 'directs' with a baton on the printed sheet music.

The music plays for about 20 minutes. It's piercing sound is heard throughout York city and beyond. That this little whistle could create so much sound and now so much energy in finding another home is remarkable.

The concert is not the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, but then, it's not supposed to be. It's a solid tradition that has been around for more than a century, and while it won't gently lull anyone to sleep, Yorkers love it. Like many traditions, we go along with it (some would say suffer through it), just because it's ours. 

It's like eating pork and sauerkraut for New Year's, or clams during a traditional family Labor Day clambake. You might not like either, but it's a tradition, so you eat. Once a year, and you learn to like it. 

 Because the whistle level isn't exact, sharps and flats are sometimes beaten to death and notes are almost always slurred because of the mechanics. The highest notes in 'Silent Night' stab right through the ear plugs that everyone inside is wearing.

Don played the first seven songs, and Scott played the finale, 'Silent Night'. People hung around for a bit afterward, trying to soak up the ambiance. One by one, they all wandered out the door for the last time.

Yes, the whistle might play again next year. But it won't be quiet the same as this skinny corridor at New York Wire.

Post graduation blues

Photographing any school graduation is not high on the favorites list for most photographers. In fact, it's doubtful that even most families enjoy suffering through endless hours of speeches (where's the restroom?) that few will remember past lunch time (did I lock the door to the house?), much less recall who said what next year (when is Rover's rabies shot due?).

I wonder how many graduates would prefer not going through all the pomp and circumstance and would rather just have the diploma mailed to them?

As I waited for something to happen at the York College graduation Wednesday (by the way, this isn't anything against YCP--all graduations would bore the daylights out of even a caffeine-crazed father), I was talking with the studio photographer from South Jersey who was prepping to shoot all the grads shaking hands with whoever they shake hands with. She was explaining her job, how digital is making life so much easier, that there will always be graduations and she'll always have a job.

Thank you for doing your job well, I said, and I meant it because I don't think I could handle her work. Now, Melissa Dernetz might not appreciate the photograph with her tongue sticking out today. But think about it-- years after your wedding, do you remember the hazy cliche photos of two hands and rings, or the one where you smooshed his/her face with wedding cake? 

My bet is that Melissa won't remember who she shook hands with in the studio photo, but she'll remember who she was giving a 'thumbs up' to.

Santacon rolls in to New York City

Santacon in New York City is over for this year, and many of the Santa, Rudolphs, Mrs. Claus, elves and angels are probably still nursing a hangover. Those of us who just watch the fun thank them for the entertainment. I can't imagine spending a day in NYC that's more fun.

About 20,000 people descend on NYC once a year in December for this annual event, bringing toys for Toys for Tots and bringing truckloads of canned food to the event.

Once they 'pay' their admission, Santas are free to roam.  Some walk as couples, some in small groups, but many wander the city streets in herds singing Christmas carols. Some even shepherd their own generator-powered boom box down the bumpy sidewalks, Christmas music blaring. That is, until the police stop that fun. Can't have a generator in the open city without a permit. Darn.

On Friday, December 21, Santacon comes to Harrisburg, when the celebration starts at 7 p.m. on the Capitol steps.

Most people would call the event a bar crawl, that is, wandering from bar to bar all day. But the official Santacon website insists that it is not, and every time someone says it is, a sugarplum fairy dies.  The website also conveniently shows different regions of Manhattan, a schedule of what time the Santas should be there, and the locations of the bars.  Convenient.

Still, I haven't seen any cases of violence or bad tempered Santas. The website is very clear about Santacon etiquette . Every single Santa I met has been friendly, happy, mannerly and excited to be there. That's not to say there aren't problems. Maybe that's toward the end of the day when Santa has one too many eggnogs. At least one website has suggested Santacon won't be allowed back next year. And that's too bad.

From the Santacon website-- Please remember that this is all about having fun. Most santas like to take their fun with a little alcohol which is fine. What is not fine, however, is getting completely -----faced to the point that santas end up being abusive or violent. Remember that there is no "bail fund" for incarcerated santas and if you cross the line you'll be on your own.

The York County Park system has changed over to LED-only lights at Christmas Magic, which translates into immense cost savings. But don't worry about a loss of color and imagination with the change.  

Christmas Magic is a marvelous combination of flashing lights, strings wrapped around trees, and lights that bring shapes of animals and people to a colorful 'life' at Rocky Ridge County Park in Springettsbury Township.

Cost for adults is $8, and children 4-12 is $6. The 1/2 mile walk is open 6-9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 5-9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday until December 31, except for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, when everything here is closed. 

 Weekends are very crowded, so it's best to visit during the week. 

This year's inside displays include a York County SPCA Holiday scene. Two handlers had their rescued dogs there, and a few wild animal trophies were shown as well. 

Also inside is the Susquehanna Valley Garden Railroad Society's larger G-gauge train display which mesmerized many of the kids who wandered through. 

The inside displays are all warmed by roaring fireplaces, so there's no need to be intimidated by the cold. 

Victorian Home Due for Rehabbing

This 1880's Victorian home is due for some big-time rehabilitation. Fortunately, before the house became vacant seven years ago, the owners put on a new roof, keeping the home dry inside.  Now, Bowen and Brown, the new owners, just have to rip, repair, paint and polish the place. It's going to take a lot of all that. The kitchen, for example, is a hideous electric yellow and bright blue. Brown suggested that they not keep the color scheme. Below is the story by Erin James.

New owners plan massive renovations to Linden Avenue mansion ERIN JAMES / The York Dispatch 505-5439 / @ydcityyorkdispatch.com Chris Bowen pushed open an old door to reveal walls bathed in sea green paint. "The Weird Room, we call it," Bowen said, his eyes moving to the alien-looking hut stuffed inside. For some reason, many years ago, someone got the brilliant idea to build four walls around the home's cellar doors and a roof above the staircase that descends below ground. It's just one of the many strange things Bowen and his partner, Virgil Brown, have found tucked into the mansion at 515 Linden Ave. in York City.     Eventually, the Weird Room will be transformed into the couple's pantry. But, first, Bowen and Brown need to strip nearly 80 years' worth of shoddy craftsmanship from the 3,600-square-foot property. Built in 1887, the house was once a grand Victorian home built for the vice president of a farm-equipment manufacturing company known as Hench and Drumgold. But, for most of its 125-year history, it has been home to tenants. For the past seven years, it's been vacant. Brown and Bowen believe the house was divided into three apartments some time in the 1920s or 1930s. Walls were erected to separate living quarters, staircases were blocked to provide privacy and porches were closed in to create closet space. The couple plans to restore 515 Linden Ave. to its former glory. They figure the work will take five or six years. And, then, they'll live there with their two labradoodles. "We have no intention of ever selling it," Bowen, 47, said. "This has been my dream house since I was a kid." Bowen and Brown will do most of the renovation work themselves. But they'll call on electricians, plumbers and other experts to step in when their do-it-yourself knowledge isn't enough. Already, they've begun knocking down walls and scraping layers of paper and paint from the walls. The house is nearly an exact replica of its neighbor next door at 505 Linden Ave. There, Jean and Jim Leaman spent years restoring the similarly deteriorated property to new life. The Leamans opened a bed and breakfast there in January 2009. Clearly the two homes were built by the same person or company, but the builder's identity remains a mystery. Bowen and Brown, who currently live in Lancaster, signed papers to become the owners of 515 Linden Ave. last week. They purchased the property for $83,500 from the city's Redevelopment Authority with a two-year lease option. In two years, after the property has been significantly renovated, they will secure their own financing through a bank. With the condition the house is in now, "No bank would touch it with a 10-foot pole," Bowen said. City officials had been trying since about 2005 to get 515 Linden Ave. and its neighbor at 505 Linden Ave. into the right hands, said Kevin Schreiber, the city's economic and community development director. Both properties had fallen into awful shape and were eventually condemned by the city. But it still took years to pluck them from back-and-forth bank ownerships, Schreiber said. While York has no shortage of blighted properties, not all have the potential of 515 Linden Ave., Schreiber said. There's a handful of others like that in the city. For example, he said, there's a brownstone building at 132 S. Beaver St. that's "screaming for the right owner." "We got after them to try to get them before they go past the point of no return," Schreiber said.

Rain kept some folks inside for Friday's Christmas Tree lighting festivities, but Santa Claus rolled in anyway, and York's Christmas season was officially opened.

The Nutcracker at the Strand

Nutcracker nuances: See the classic ballet in a new way

By MICHELLE DENISE NORTON / For The York Dispatch
854-1575, x458 / @yorkweekend

This weekend, Greater York Dance will present its 14th annual “Nutcracker.” And this year, artistic director Lori Pergament has changed and updated every scene, with new choreography in nearly every dance.

“I like to keep the performance fresh, not static,” Pergament says. “This is a big year of change.”

Even after so many years staging the ubiquitous Christmas ballet, Pergament has no trouble finding inspiration. She starts with watching each rehearsal and performance closely.

 The performances are at the Strand Theater in York December 8 at 7 p.m.  and Sunday, December 9 at 2 p.m.

“This year and every year, I sit in the back of the theater with the sound people, taking notes on what could be changed, what could be different, what I want to improve,” she says.

Pergament has the freedom to change the choreography because although the studio uses Tchaikovsky's traditional “Nutcracker,” they don't use the commonplace George Balanchine choreography. They use Pergament's, which evolves as she's inspired each year.

“I try to get to see other ‘Nutcrackers.'” She laughs. “And I try to ignore it completely for a few months so when we pull it out, it's fresh.”

Charlie's Army at the Salvation Army

York volunteers help give away Christmas Cheer By CHELSEA SHANK The York Dispatch 505-5432 / @ydhealth Updated:   12/06/2012 11:08:23 AM EST Sometimes it takes an army, and sometimes it takes two. Among the volunteers at the Salvation Army's assembly line for Christmas food boxes on Wednesday were the men who call themselves Charlie's Army. The self-proclaimed army of retired teachers, principals and superintendents have been volunteering at the Salvation Army for more than 15 years since Charlie Lehman recruited them. "Charlie was the superintendent at York Suburban, and I was the superintendent at Central York and he said you oughta get involved with this," said William Snyder. "Charlie got a lot of people involved with this." Paul Wolfgang, 82, a former principal at York Suburban, said that Lehman was known as Mr. Salvation Army. "He asked a bunch of us if we'd come in and volunteer in December and we said sure, so now we are known as Charlie's Army," said Wolfgang. "Charlie died three years ago, but we're still coming," Wolfgang said. "We were always taught, in all of our various denominations, to always give back to our community. Many of us were old Yorkers, and we believe in giving back to the community." Christmas Cheer: The men from Charlie's Army, along with volunteers from the Christian School of York, Target in West York and Penn Air Hydraulics, packed 2,000 Christmas food boxes at the Salvation Army on East King Street. This was the first year that groups from local businesses volunteered for the project, said George Lenkner, business manager for the Salvation Army.