I changed my mind about my town (Philadelphia, Scranton: houses, neighborhoods)

[Sylvia S.]

I moved out of my town 13 years ago for the same reasons that the people moved from Williamsport. I grew up in York, PA. We moved around alot when I was a child so I got to live on every side of York. In the 1970's the mayor decided all the stores downtown should do away with there steam which was provided by the city, and covert to gas. they spent alot of money to buy new furnces. then the city decided they should make the sidewalks large enough to land airplanes on, which also did away with nearly all the on-street parking. they tore up the entire downtown, customers had to walk on wooden planks to get to the stores.

In a very short time our downtown became a ghost town. the only people down there were dope pushers. who were in half way houses for x cons. for years downtown York was a joke, We had a race riot in 1969, people were killed, buildings burnt down. We will never live that down. because our police force was involved in causing the riot.

Make a long story short, it became a hell hole. and in 1996 We gave up and moved to the country. We swore We would never move back, but strange thing happened the people who stayed in the city went to the city coucil
meetings and they complained about the noise and the drugs until they finally did something for the people who had to live in the city. York has come a long way. it's a nicer, cleaner, and at last a quieter place to live. The city is now going to the bad neighbhoods and tearing down entire blocks of house and building new expensive houses and selling them.

Don't give up on Williamsport. My Mother was born up there and I spent a lot of time up there. it's a pretty city with a lot of history. It would be a shame to see it go down the crapper, just because of the crime, if neighbors stick together you can run the bad people out and make it a better place for the citizens.

[ScranBarre]

Williamsport is actually well on its path to recovery. Its downtown is healthier than Scranton's or Wilkes-Barre's, in my humble opinion, with a Wegman's, Kohl's, performing arts center, movie theater, brew pub, and various mom-and-pop businesses all within an easy walk of many residential neighborhoods. I LOVED my visit for my photo tour last year, and I can't wait to go back to capture parts of the city that I missed. People in PA in general are just "Debbie Downers." They assume that just because THEY made p*ss-poor decisions in their lives that led them to be miserable that everyone ELSE must be miserable too!

Well guess what? As we near Christmas my grandmother is clinging to life, my great uncle is recovering from a liver transplant after nearly dying, I'm lonely, I don't get any fulfillment from my job and am about to graduate college with a degree for a field I've lost my passion for, my relationship with my parents remains strained, etc., etc. Do I blame this all on "the area?" Hell no! It's my own fault that this is all happening! I've never seen an area that was scapegoated as the sole culprit for everyone's own personal shortcomings.

[AmeriKenArtist]

I met the man in charge of the guns for the York riots. I lived in "Little Harlem" and sat on his front porch many mornings, on my way to school. It was how I survived. If I had not befriended the big guy, I would have been killed by the gang that stalked me each evening. After school, I had to sneak back to my room in the ghetto. One night they caught me. Ten of them. They came around a corner and surrounded me. I asked where Big Bubbah was. They asked how I knew him. I told them of my morning talks. Then they changed their tune and the ringleader said, "you wanna buy reefer?" I heard all of the stories about the riots from "Big Bubbah." I left York in 1971. Hope all is well......

[rockky]

Hummm.... My wedding was in mid July 1969....in York. We passed the National Guard, tanks, and machine guns on the way to the reception. Everyone had to head home early to comply with the curfew. I remember waiting alone, wearing my wedding gown, in front to the restaurant waiting for my husband to get the car and pick me up.

I'm sure there's some interesting reading about those times on line.

[AmeriKenArtist]

of my own experiences just after that difficult time. I will do some Googling of my own. Good idea!

[Gerania]

Sounds kind of like Camden at that time.

[Sylvia S.]

The city riot here in York, started on my birthday, July 17, 1969. We lived at 511 N. Beaver St. a block away from public housing project. when we moved there we noticed there was groups of young men who hung around on the street corners and believe it or not they were singing popular songs, we thought "how cute" we had no idea that the area had a street gang.

Summer came everything was fine: no problems, then on July 17, it was around midnight I slept in the front bedroom and I heard voices outside. I sat on the floor of the bay window and there was about 50 young black men out there with baseball bats. all talking in low tones, then I heard someone say. We'll meet at the parking lot on Philadelphia Street and some of the group went down Beaver street toward the bridge and some went down Jefferson Ave. I had a radio that picked up police calls and I turned it on. The policeman said We'll stop them at the bridge, I looked down in the direction of the bridge and I could see the flashing lights of the police cars.

The young men scattered across and down all the side streets and alleys, some of them made it through and I heard the radio say they were fighting with the Newberry Street Boys ( a white gang ) at the parking lot at the bridge on Philadelpia Street, In the days that followed tensions ran high, then the black lady whose car stalled on the rail road tracks at N. Newberry Street and Gay Ave. was shot to death in an ambush. it caused an riot with the black residents of town, they were angry at the way the investigation was being handled, our police force was bias in those days. only a fool would deny it. the NSB's and other white gangs tried to intiminate the black residents and the police seemed to do little. In the southern end of York which at that time was mostly black had entire rolls of buildings torched by other gangs.

The National Guard rumbled up and down passed our house in army tanks, on the paved street it was quite noisy. I have home movies of one of the soldiers who pointed his gun at me. for fun I guess. one night as we talked to our next door neighbor who was a black lady, and a shot went right between us and lodged in our porch. also on our block there were fire bombs thrown into peoples back door and under porches. If you were at work and you didn't get off till 11PM, the curfew made it impossible for you to get back on your own street, they litterally closed off our block. It was a scary time to live in the city of York and our greatest embarrassment. I had to sleep on the floor for fear of being hit by a stray bullet. thanks for reading my blog.

[WatsonWest]

Originally Posted by AmeriKenArtist

I met the man in charge of the guns for the York riots. I lived in "Little Harlem" and sat on his front porch many mornings, on my way to school. It was how I survived. If I had not befriended the big guy, I would have been killed by the gang that stalked me each evening. After school, I had to sneak back to my room in the ghetto. One night they caught me. Ten of them. They came around a corner and surrounded me. I asked where Big Bubbah was. They asked how I knew him. I told them of my morning talks. Then they changed their tune and the ringleader said, "you wanna buy reefer?" I heard all of the stories about the riots from "Big Bubbah." I left York in 1971. Hope all is well......

Wow, I had no idea. I've heard plenty of stories about York but not these. All I can say is that I'm glad you moved in '71.

[rockky]

Please keep in mind that this was a very bad time for the city of York. It was a very bad time for many cities across America.

I have no idea what was ever proved, but it was strongly suggested that influences outside of York itself created the crisis which lasted for a couple of weeks. There were horribly tragic, unnecessary deaths. Lilly Bell Allan and Henry Shad (spellings?)....a woman visiting the area and a police officer.

There were several 'gangs' at the time. The Girarders, The Swampers, and The Newberry Street Boys. It's almost laughable to think of these groups now. They were nothing like the gang activity you hear of today. They were misdirected street thugs who were used.

Also, the seated Mayor of York was indicted 30+ years after the riots. He was police chief in 1969. Seems he was giving guns to the gangs. ???? I don't recall how it all ended. Guess I'd better hit Goggle and see what I can find.

I grew up in the burbs and moved to another area of the county right after the wedding. I kept trying to drive back to my parents home (I still called it 'home'), but my mom kept insisting I couldn't get in. She could hear random guns shots. Didn't make much difference. I was in a hick area way south in the county, and they were shootings happening there as well. Not race related....unions, domestic, etc.

From the locations Sylvia has mentioned, she was geographically right in the midst of the Lilly Bell Allan shooting.

I had friends from Philadelphia here for the wedding. The police placed them on the floor of a cruiser in order to get them back to the bus station for their return to Philly.

So very long ago. It was a shameful blight on York's history. This is what a couple of weeks of madness can do.

It's no easier to make sense of this than to try to explain the Kent State shootings to my kids when they were 15 or 16. They just looked at me like I must be nuts. Things like "this" just couldn't be real.

Adding: Sylvia's first post was about how York has improved and offering encouragement for others to hang in and be part of the solution. Good for her!!!!

[nkotb]

Williamsport -- this city has alot of great little places tucked away. For dinner and lodging.
The Peter Herdic House is exceptional --- www.herdichouse.com Scranbarre you would love it, old
victorian with lots of history and charm. My only disappointment - everything was well carried off in period except the owners, not that professional. Don't let that stop you, its a great dining experience, salads served last, typical European. And, very romantic !!!!!