That is among comments shared by several readers of a Dairy Queen, at 2709 East Market Street, which opened much earlier compared to the present DQ, at 3020 East Market Street. It was the later DQ, which was showcased in my post last week about the sequence of four Dairy Queen stores opening near York.

In the introductory photo, Bury’s Ice Cream (at left) and Bury’s Restaurant (at right) operated in Springettsbury Township side-by-side from 1946 to 1958, at 2720 and 2710 East Market Street respectively. In 1959 Bury’s ice cream business moved into the vacated Stan’s Dairy Queen at 2709 East Market Street, and the 2720 East Market Street building became Bury’s Amusements, providing rides and concessions.

The relative locations of those businesses are annotated in the following THEN and NOW Aerial Photos showing the 2700-Block of East Market Street in Springettsbury Township. In 1951 Stan’s Dairy Queen opened at 2709 East Market Street. At that time Bury’s Restaurant operated at 2710 and Bury’s Ice Cream operated at 2720 East Market Street. Today the 2709 East Market Street lot was part of the parking lot at the northeast corner of East Market Street and Northern Way; i.e. a small part of the Panera Bread anchored store’s parking lot.

Stanley Nowicki gets a Dairy Queen franchise

Stanley H. Nowicki was born in Jersey City, NJ in 1921. He was a World War II Army Air Corps veteran. He later worked several years at Olmsted Air Force Base at Middletown before moving to York upon acquiring a Dairy Queen franchise from Warren Townsend. Mr. Nowicki’s notice of fictitious name filing is to operate the business as Stan’s Dairy Queen at 2709 East Market Street.

Grand Opening of Stan’s Dairy Queen

The Grand Opening on May 24, 1951 featured free cones on opening day from 2 to 10 P.M., plus entertainment from 8 to 11 P.M. by the “Bunk House Boys.” While operating the Dairy Queen, Stanley Nowicki, and his wife Jean, initially lived in York at 726 Madison Avenue and later at 16 Hill Street.

Gregg Poff shared this photo of Stan’s Dairy Queen from 1951. This business at 2709 East Market Street was on a lot leased from Henry Frank, who was also leasing most of his farm for use by the airport located behind the Dairy Queen.
Use this link to see the full photo Gregg Poff shared in Facebook group Randomly Historic York, Pa.

Hangars of Valley Airways Airport, and later known as York Whitehull Airport, are seen in the right side background of the photo. The airport behind Stan’s Dairy Queen leased 94-acres from Henry Frank, the owner of the land. The lease was not renewed in 1953, because the Pennsylvania Railroad was interested in acquiring the land for a future rail transfer freight yard. That purchase was executed on April 1, 1953; all except for a lone lot with the private hangar, owned by Henry’s brother John Frank. However the need for a future rail transfer yard was quickly negated by rapid growth in long distance trucking due to the construction of the Interstate Highway System.

The eastern part of the former airport property was sold by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1962, for a McCrory’s regional headquarters, with an attached 17-acre distribution center. Then in 1965 the western part of the former airport property was sold by the railroad to allow development of the York Mall, which opened in 1968 and now is primary anchored by a Walmart Supercenter.

The Flaming Hot Fudge Sundae at Stan’s Dairy Queen

There were two comments about the Flaming Hot Fudge Sundaes offered for a short time at Stan’s Dairy Queen. One remembered her hair catching fire for a brief instant before her Dad swatted it out with his hand. Another described a sugar cube put on top of a hot fudge sundae, which had several drops of something. It burst into a flame when ignited.

A Google search revealed the Dairy Queen Flaming Sundaes were topped with a sugar cube soaked in lemon extract and ignited for a dramatic effect. They were featured in a Dairy Queen ad in the July 1951 issue of The Saturday Evening Post.

Stan’s Dairy Queen decided to advertise these special sundaes for a Thanksgiving Day special in 1951, when a Fireman’s Hat was given to children with each purchase of a sundae.

Stan’s Dairy Queen shuts down about 1956

Was the occasional ice cream price war with Bury’s responsible for shutting down the Dairy Queen at 2709 East Market Street? Prior to 1957, Stanley Nowicki is listed as associated with Dairy Queen. From 1957 and onward, he is either listed as an office worker or as a salesman. Did Dairy Queen corporate attempt to find a new owner for this location?

Eventually Bury’s acquired the vacated Dairy Queen stand and by 1959 were offering Bury’s Soft Ice Cream at 2709 East Market Street. Their 2720 East Market Street building became Bury’s Amusements, providing rides and concessions.

The Soft-Serve Ice Cream Truck connection

A woman, who overheard the gentleman describing ice cream price-war clashes between Stan’s Dairy Queen and Bury’s Ice Cream, had a related question. “Do you know anything about the major mobile soft-serve ice cream business operating in the same general area? Were they a reason that Dairy Queen did not last along East Market Street?”

My post about the first Dairy Queen on the Queen Street hill losing its franchise at the start of its third year, and reopening as Tommy’s Snack Bar, introduced a side interest by Warren Thomas. At the time he was dabbling with putting soft ice cream machines in panel trucks to take ice cream sales directly to customers.

Warren Thomas was the initial Dairy Queen franchisee of the 1455 South Queen Street store. Did his mobile soft-serve ice cream truck idea create a conflict of interest that caused that franchise rift? Warren Thomas made plans to try out the concept in Havre de Grace, Maryland, under the business name Mobile Ice Cream, Inc.

However by 1956, Warren Thomas teamed up with the MISTER SOFTEE organization in Philadelphia to further his vision of putting soft ice cream stands on wheels. He was in charge of the Mason-Dixon Division, with responsibility for sales of franchises and distribution in his territory, which included: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

Warren G. Thomas, president of MISTER SOFTEE, Mason-Dixon Division, Inc., originally had his place of business at 110 South Beaver Street, in York. In 1959 he moved the place of business to 2816 East Market Street in Springettsbury Township, per York County Deed Book 48S, Page 607. On the THEN and NOW Aerial Photos shared earlier in the post, look at the right side; at 2816 East Market Street. That original 1920s residence still stands and now houses the offices of Sigafoose & Jackson Chiropractic.

The following ad in The Morning News, Wilmington, DE, promotes Mister Softee mobile soft ice cream franchises, by the Mason-Dixon Division, based at 2816 East Market Street.

Warren Thomas sold his interest in MISTER SOFTEE in 1965 and acquired Brewery Products, which then operated out of a small garage with six employees. In 1988, employing 43 workers, Brewery Products had expanded to a 69,150-square-foot facility at 1017 North Sherman Street.

Click on this LINK for a yorkblog.com Full View of the photos and illustrations in this post.

Links to related posts include:

Dairy Queen sequence near York, PA

Tommy’s Snack Bar on the Queen Street hill

Melvin’s Ice Cream Bar opened along Lincoln Highway East

The Cherry Top ice cream place on South Queen Street

The Amber Light drive-in on Queen Street featured Warner’s Ice Cream

My post about the sequence of four Dairy Queen store openings near York, Pennsylvania, resulted in many Dairy Queen memories, plus comments and questions about the association of Tommy’s Snack Bar with the Dairy Queen lot at 1455 South Queen Street. Some thought Mr. Thomas lost the franchise because each year his store’s offerings were to a greater extent different that those of the Dairy Queen standard. It turns out there might be another contributing reason.

Why did Warren Thomas have his Dairy Queen franchises tag pulled in the Spring of 1954? His Dairy Queen opened normally for the third year, on March 19, 1954. Most Dairy Queen businesses in the 1950s were walk-up locations, where in northern states, they only operated during the Spring, Summer and Fall.

Warren G. Thomas was a rising star in the Dairy Queen organization

“Warren G. Thomas has been appointed Vice President in charge of merchandising and advertising for the Pennsylvania Division of Dairy Queen, Inc., per The York Dispatch of February 14, 1953. The article continues, “He has also revealed plans to move the state Dairy Queen office from Harrisburg to York in the near future. Thomas’ territory includes 60 stores throughout the state with about 20 more to be established in the Spring. At present he operates a Dairy Queen store at 1455 South Queen Street, and is also operator of an Atlantic Service Station at Queen and Jackson Streets.”

Not long afterwards, Warren Thomas began dabbling with putting soft ice cream machines in panel trucks to take ice cream sales directly to customers. Did Mr. Thomas have a major disagreement with Dairy Queen corporate management about such an idea, or was it a conflict of interest that caused the franchise rift? Warren Thomas made plans to try out the concept in Havre de Grace, Maryland, under the business name Mobile Ice Cream, Inc.

However by 1956, Warren Thomas teamed up with the MISTER SOFTEE organization in Philadelphia to further his vision of putting soft ice cream stands on wheels. He was in charge of the Mason-Dixon Division of MISTER SOFTEE, with responsibility for sales of franchises and distribution. The York Dispatch of February 26, 1958, reported on the growth of that division, with the appointment of additional sub-distributors:

“Warren G. Thomas, president of MISTER SOFTEE, with offices at 110 South Beaver Street, has announced the appointment of four sub-distributors in the Mason-Dixon Division. They are: Gene Sutherland, owner of United Dairies, Pittsburgh, who will be the distributor in 16 counties in western Pennsylvania; Michael Waligorski, owner of Plymouth Foods, Plymouth, Pa., who will be distributor in seven counties in northeastern Pennsylvania; A. W. Whitehouse and A. R. Caldwell, former owners of Tru-Ade Company, Chicago, now of Richmond, Va., will be the distributors in southern Virginia, and George V. Riley, Washington, D.C., formerly with Howard Johnson, will be the distributor in northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.”

Warren Thomas sold his interest in MISTER SOFTEE in 1965 and acquired Brewery Products, which then operated out of a small garage with six employees. In 1988, employing 43 workers, Brewery Products had expanded to a 69,150-square-foot facility at 1017 North Sherman Street.

Tommy’s Snack Bar is established May 17, 1954

The following May 17, 1954 Fictitious Name filing is for Tommy’s Snack Bar at 1455 South Queen Street, Spring Garden Township, York County, PA. The owners are Warren G. Thomas and Josephine M. Thomas, of 804 Glendale Road, Spring Garden Township.

From various newspapers articles and ads, it is evident that Warren Thomas leased out the operation of Tommy’s Snack Bar. One comment that proved correct was that during a year, or two, official Bury Hamburgers were sold at Tommy’s. Per the following article, one year was definitely 1955, when Joseph Bury, Jr. operated Tommy’s Snack Bar.

The illustration from 1956, at beginning of this post, indicates, that year, the proprietors are “Dot” and “Ernie.” In 1957, the following photo shows three of the employees: Marilyn Herman, Beulah Schenck and Joseph W. Cook.

In 1957, Warren G. Thomas sells Tommy’s Snack Bar to Warren E. Townsend (Deed 44S-447). For another decade Mr. Townsend continued to operate Tommy’s just as Mr. Thomas had done. One of his long time operators is Paul Warntz.

The following 1966 ad indicates the used equipment that is for sale at Tommy’s Snack Bar, 1455 South Queen Street, after Tommy’s final closure at end of the 1966 season.

On April 7, 1967 the new Dairy Queen at 1455 South Queen Street opens, with Wallace T. Townsend the manager. He is a son of Warren E. Townsend, who owned the franchise for that location. That year Wallace Townsend was elected a director of the Dairy Queen Association of Pennsylvania, Inc.

Wallace T. Townsend would go on to own and operate the Dairy Queen stores at 1938 West Market Street and 1455 South Queen Street in York County. He was also franchiser of Dairy Queen stores in Snyder and Lycoming counties.

Click on this LINK for a yorkblog.com Full View of the photos and illustrations in this post.

Links to related posts include:

Dairy Queen sequence near York, PA

Clash of Stan’s Dairy Queen with Bury’s Ice Cream

Melvin’s Ice Cream Bar opened along Lincoln Highway East

The Cherry Top ice cream place on South Queen Street

The Amber Light drive-in on Queen Street featured Warner’s Ice Cream

Meg wondered if the DQ in Springettsbury has any claim-to-fame compared to nearby Dairy Queens on South Queen Street and Roosevelt Avenue. A sendoff query was about the former DQ west of York, questioning if it was actually the first Dairy Queen in the state.

Dairy Queen at 1938 West Market Street – 1st in York County, 2nd in PA

In 1950, Warren E. Townsend acquired controlling interest in the earliest Dairy Queen franchises in York and Cumberland Counties. He is credited as opening the first two Dairy Queen stores in Pennsylvania.

Warren Townsend, and his wife Stella, operated the Shell Diner in Selinsgrove, PA for 15-years before opening their first Dairy Queen on August 4, 1950 at 1006 Market Street in Lemoyne, Cumberland County, PA. It became the first Dairy Queen in Pennsylvania. Townsend ended up selling that Dairy Queen to his store manager Lucian Dmochowski, along with his Cumberland County franchise rights.

Thereafter Warren Townsend focused on establishing and expanding the Dairy Queen footprint in York County. To start that ball rolling, on November 9, 1950, Warren and Stella Townsend purchased a lot at 1938 West Market Street, in West Manchester Township, York County, PA.

Townsend ended up in a race to open the second Dairy Queen in Pennsylvania with K. M. Reed, the holder of the franchise for Delaware County. The Dairy Queen at 1938 West Market Street opened on March 30, 1951, claiming the title of the second Dairy Queen in Pennsylvania and the first Dairy Queen in York County. It barely beat the April 5, 1951 opening of the Dairy Queen on the Chester Pike at Simpson Avenue in Eddystone, Delaware County, PA.

The introductory newspaper photo shows what the early Dairy Queen businesses looked like; they were walk-up ice cream stores. Warren Townsend rarely operated his stores, however his son Wallace became a Dairy Queen manager. Ernest Seebold was the early manager of the 1938 West Market Street store, and in 1957 Jim and Ruth Oberdick became the new managers, as announced in the July 20, 1957 York Dispatch ad. The Dairy Queen on this lot went out of business about 2003; making it about 52-years as a Dairy Queen location in York County.

The two Dairy Queen stores (1952-1954) and (1967 to present) at 1455 South Queen Street site

Warren G. Thomas acquired a Dairy Queen franchise from Warren Townsend and opened the Thomas Dairy Queen on the Queen Street Hill in Spring Garden Township on May 8, 1952.

The Grand Opening featured free cones on opening day from 4 to 10 P.M., plus entertainment from 7 to 10 P.M. per the following ad in The Gazette and Daily.

The following five paragraphs are an UPDATE from the original post:

The Dairy Queen on the Queen Street hill opened normally for the third year, on March 19, 1954. Most Dairy Queen businesses in the 1950s were walk-up locations, where in northern states, they only operated during the Spring, Summer and Fall.

However only a few weeks later the Dairy Queen franchises tag was pulled at this location. A new business, Tommy’s Snack Bar operated in the former Dairy Queen store from May 1954 until October 1966. More about the Dairy Queen going out of business in the Spring of 1954 and the history of Tommy’s Snack Bar is told in the post at this link.

On April 7, 1967 the new Dairy Queen at 1455 South Queen Street opens, with Wallace T. Townsend the manager. He is a son of Warren E. Townsend, who re-acquired the franchise for that location. That year Wallace Townsend was elected a director of the Dairy Queen Association of Pennsylvania, Inc.

Wallace T. Townsend would go on to own and operate the Dairy Queen stores at 1938 West Market Street and 1455 South Queen Street in York County. He was also franchiser of Dairy Queen stores in Snyder and Lycoming counties.

Some time in the late 1960s or 1970s the Dairy Queen at 1455 South Queen Street was upgraded to the year-round, peaked, red roof design such as seen in the following 2012 photo of Dairy Queen at 1455 South Queen Street. This DQ was extensively remodeled in 2018 as the boxy style of building, and remains in business as of 2026.

Dairy Queen at 3020 East Market Street – 53-years in the original building

Shortly after John W. Poff opened his OK Corral restaurant at 3014 East Market Street, he acquired the neighboring lot at 3020 East Market Street from Ralph Freed, for future business expansion along Market Street. That was Lot No. 1 in the plan of the Yorkshire development; and it had an older house, being leased to a tenant. In 1973 John Poff acquired a Dairy Queen franchise, torn down the house and replaced it with the present year-round, peaked, red roof design Dairy Queen building.

Prior to the opening, John Poff, and his wife Elizabeth, attended a Dairy Queen two-week training course in Minneapolis, MN. The grand opening on July 13, 1973 featured “Buy 1, Get 1 Free” all day, free balloons, free whistles, and free Dennis The Menace & Gang Iron-Ons. Soon after this Dairy Queen opened, their son Harold L. Poff became the manager.

The 2024 photo shows the Dairy Queen, located at 3020 East Market Street. As of 2026, this DQ is still in business and remains in its original building; now at 53-years and counting.

Dairy Queen at 1300 Roosevelt Avenue – Only Dairy Queen in York City limits

In 1983, Terry L. Brenneman and Joann Brenneman plus Dale M. Brenneman and Lois E. Brenneman obtained a Dairy Queen franchise for the business to be conducted at 1300 Roosevelt Avenue. The lot at that address was just inside the 14th Ward of York City. The business opened on April 14, 1984, with Joann Brenneman as the manager.

This was the first Dairy Queen in the area with a drive-in service window. This building was torn down in 2013, upon the opening of a new DQ at 1740 Roosevelt Avenue, in West Manchester Township, York County, PA.

Summarizing a claim-to-fame of each of these four York area Dairy Queen stores:

• Dairy Queen at 1938 West Market Street was the first Dairy Queen to open in York County, and the second to open in Pennsylvania.

• There were two Dairy Queen stores (1952-1954) and (1967 to present) at the 1455 South Queen Street site

• Longest operating Dairy Queen in its original building in York County is at 3020 East Market Street, presently at 53-years, and counting.

• Dairy Queen at 1300 Roosevelt Avenue was the only Dairy Queen within York City limits.

Click on this LINK for a yorkblog.com Full View of the photos and illustrations in this post.

Links to related posts include:

Tommy’s Snack Bar on the Queen Street hill

Clash of Stan’s Dairy Queen with Bury’s Ice Cream

Melvin’s Ice Cream Bar opened along Lincoln Highway East

The Cherry Top ice cream place on South Queen Street

The Amber Light drive-in on Queen Street featured Warner’s Ice Cream

The program “General Devers & the Sherman Tank” features Richard Robinson, Stephen Smith and Mike Siggins, and will focus on the Sherman Tank and its connections to York County.

Debut of the documentary film describing machining, inspection, assembly and testing of precision Ball-Race Turret Assemblies was held on July 15, 1943, for employees of Thomas Shipley, Inc. at their annual dinner at the Valencia ballroom. Samuel H. Shipley, president, was toastmaster. About 600 persons attended. At that event it was one of two motion pictures shown about the making of war products at the company’s plants. The two films were titled: “Rolling Out The Gudgeons” and “Rings Around The Axis.” The “Rings Around The Axis” film title is a play on the three large rings in the Sherman tank ball-race turret assembly, taking part in defeating The Axis powers.

At the left side of the introductory illustration, the location of Cross-Section A-A is pointed out. That cross-section is detailed in the following Sherman Tank turret race assembly detail.

As with most ball-race turrets, the individual component size usually references the diameter of the ball-race; in this case it is a 72-inch ball-race turret assembly, which has a 80.8-inch outside diameter and 69.2-inch inside diameter. This ball-race turret assembly allows a nominal 69-inch diameter turret basket, and thus the reason the Sherman Tank is often referenced as having a 69-inch diameter turret.

In this assembly, the OUTSIDE RING bolts to the Tank body. The RETAINER RING holds 1-1/4″ dia. BALL BEARINGS and the ball bearing spacers. The Turret bolts to the top of the INSIDE RING, and the Turret Basket bolts to the inside diameter of the INSIDE RING. A Drive Gear on a hydraulic pump in the 69-inch diameter Turret Basket meshes with the GEAR TEETH machined into the OUTSIDE RING to quickly rotate the turret.

About the Film Maker

In June 1943, Joseph F. De Frenes, of Philadelphia, produced two documentary 16mm films, with RCA sound, for Samuel H. Shipley. Each 15-minute film featured War materials production in Thomas Shipley, Inc. factories. Samuel H. Shipley renamed the company York-Shipley, Inc.; effective September 23, 1943.

Joseph F. De Frenes was born in Italy during 1884. According to a Kodak article, in which De Frenes is shown in 1947, he mixed his own sensitizing dyes for color motion pictures as early as 1910. Which he used to document the 1911 coronation of King George V of England. That became the first color movie shown on Broadway in New York City.

De Frenes is also credited as producing the world’s first industrial film, made for London and Northwestern Railway Company in about 1906. After coming to the United States in 1916, he primarily produced advertising films, instructional films, and documentaries. These were filmed across the United States, including the territories Hawaii and Panama Canal. In 1934, he settled in Philadelphia, where he operated De Frenes Company, producing films until retiring in 1963. Joseph De Frenes passed away in 1969.

Click on this LINK for a yorkblog.com Full View of the photos and illustrations in this post.

Links to related posts:

York-Shipley in the York Plan

Home Front gudgeons during WWII

York-Shipley connections

The Spring issue of Springettsbury Township News was received this past week. At Eastern Market on Friday, a gentleman approached me noting he saw the article announcing my presentation “Neighborhoods in Southwestern Springettsbury” planned for the April 8, 2026 History Night Event. He suggested I include a unique East York incident that he personally witnessed; the moving of the house at 2301 East Market Street.

While he described the house move, I recalled a YorksPast post of a month ago about Boy Scouts installing Lincoln Highway concrete posts in 1928. I asked if he remembered seeing such a marker in the vicinity of the 2301 East Market Street house when it was moved. His reply was, “No, that marker was along the north curb of East Market Street, between Russell and Royal Streets.”

Per an article in The Gazette and Daily on Friday August 31st, 1928 (page 14), Troop 36, was given the task of installing Concrete Post [82] at the East limits of East York; which I had always suspected was describing 2301 East Market Street, i.e. just east of Royal Street in Springettsbury Township.

The 2301 East Market Street site consists of lots 1 and 2 in the East York development plan of 1903; i.e. at the northeast corner of East Market and Royal Streets. In 1955 the house on that site was set on wheels, turned 90-deg. CW, and moved to a new foundation in lots 3, 4 and 5. The new address for that house became 15 North Royal Street. I now have an eyewitness that a Lincoln Highway concrete marker was along the north side curb of East Market Street, between Russell and Royal Streets.

About twenty percent of the initial lot buyers in the East-York development were women; either married, widowed, or single. Marianna W. Hess purchased lots 1 & 2 in 1910 and added lots 3, 4 & 5 in 1920 from John Longstreet’s Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Company. Marianna was the wife of George W. Hess, who operated a furniture factory and furniture dealership in York.

Creating supersized lots by purchasing one or more adjacent lots was nothing new in the East York development. Many considered John Longstreet’s lot sizes too small. For example Longstreet’s Section 2, bounded by Market, Russell, and Royal Streets contains 23 planned lots. Buyers combined lots, such that now only 12 properties fill that section.

Howard W. Gray opened the Gulf Service Station at 2301 East Market Street on December 6, 1957. The photo of the station, in the ad, is from another Gulf Service Station opening.

The following photo shows Howard W. Gray’s Gulf Service Station at 2301 East Market Street in the East York section of Springettsbury Township. The top of former house on this site appears behind the service station. Moving the house in 1955 and creating the commercial lot for the 1957 service station was part of an arrangement by Mary MacIntosh Dry Cleaners, which opened in 1956, to have a Royal Street back-entrance between the service station and the house.

I wondered if a Springettsbury Township Police Polaroid might provide a photo of the Lincoln Highway marker. The following police Polaroid was taken August 17, 1965, facing west along East Market Street. It shows the pumps section of Gray’s Gulf Service Station and directly behind the lower GULF sign is Royal Street.

Below I’ve zoomed in on the section of the police Polaroid taken August 17, 1965, facing west along East Market Street. It focuses on the north curb of the street, between Royal Street and Russell Streets. The yellow arrow points to the possible Lincoln Highway concrete marker close to the curb in the grass patch between curb and sidewalk; although by no means conclusive proof.

Lincoln Highway concrete markers close to the road often fell victims to strikes by car or truck. If the marker is not in the 1965 photo, a vehicle hit is a possibility for its disappearance between 1955 and 1965.

The following 2026 Google Street View faces west along north side of East Market Street; from the Royal Street intersection. Due to road widening in the 1970s to accommodate Market Street turning lanes into Memory Lane and Haines Road, the grass patch between the curb and sidewalk was eliminated from about Russell Street eastward. That might be when PennDOT, or somebody else, removed the Lincoln Highway Concrete marker.

Click on this LINK for a yorkblog.com Full View of the photos in this post.

Links to related posts include:

Uncovering Stories of Lincoln Highway marker sites

Boy Scouts installed Lincoln Highway posts

Lincoln Highway marker at Big Hand Tourist Camp in Springettsbury

While Harold Smith served 3-years and 1-month in the Army Air Forces during WWII, the introductory illustration lists the four York area war production factories where his wife Esther worked. From 2018 to the present YorksPast posts have explored the first three of those Home Front plants. This post looks at gudgeons, one of the tank parts associated with the fourth Home Front plant.

In 2018, the H. J. Freezer Company, maker of Army and Navy apparel, was explored and the location of this plant was pinpointed in Spring Garden Township. In 2019, research looked into the General Electric plant on Boundary Avenue, which manufactured rocket igniters for bazookas.

In 2025, digging deeper into York-Shipley’s Pennsylvania Avenue plant resulted in the story of the final years of Trolley service in York, since one of the Trolley Car Barns was converted to create that war production facility for York-Shipley. Research into the fog machine produced at that plant resulted in a neat follow-up post. In January 2026, the research began into the fourth Home Front plant, by sharing York-Shipley’s York Plan report produced by the Manufacturers’ Association of York at war’s end, showing the range of products they produced for the war effort.

Applying rust preventative treatment to tank parts

Esther Smith applied rust preventative treatment to tank parts at York-Shipley’s Jessop Place plant during the last 2-months of WWII. Her memories of that job gave rise to various stages of gudgeon explorations.

Esther Smith recalled pallets and bins of several types of tank parts, manufactured at the various York-Shipley plant sites, arrived throughout the day in their area inside the Jessop Place plant. One worker was assigned to each of five identical rust proofing lines. Each line began with degreasing and ended with the parts in a box. When Esther worked at York-Shipley, women operated all these rust proofing lines, on both first and second shift.

There was one male supervisor that oversaw this rust proofing area. He gave directions and assigned the tank part each worker processed, which changed from day to day and sometimes during the shift. Occasionally all lines processed the same part.

Each line worker loaded parts into a fixture holding many parts, so that groups of parts could be processed at one time. After the parts were in the fixture, the worker used a line crane to lift the fixture, with parts, into a degreasing tank.

Following degreasing, workers were only allowed to touch the fixture, never the parts, until after the parts were coated. The next step was using the crane to lower the fixture, with parts, into the rust preventative solution. While that group of parts hangs over the rust proofing tank, the line worker starts packing parts, from a previous already processed group, into a wire bound wooden box. Esther recalled the coated parts had a waxy feel to them.

When the part count matches the number stenciled on the box, the lid is closed. That is the signal for a box runner to slide the box unto a handcart and set in its place the appropriate empty box already labeled with its quantity and contents. Esther thought the box runners must have been 15 or 16-years old, of course she worked there during the summer, so that is possible since schools were out.

While packing, the line worker glances at the parts hanging over the rust proofing tank. When parts stop dripping, the line worker moves that fixture, with parts, to a drying rack and finishes boxing remaining parts at the packing station. When done, that empty fixture is taken via line crane to the beginning of the line, and the processing steps repeat for that line worker.

Introduction to Gudgeons

Of the various tank parts Esther Smith rust proofed at York-Shipley she only remembered the name of one part. It was the gudgeon, maybe because it was such an unusual name, but also recalling her supervisor’s often repeated cautious saying, “Handle the gudgeons with care, they keep tank suspensions working for our boys.”

Soon after Esther Smith revealed those details, I discovered 24 gudgeons are typically used in each WWII era tank, where 12 serve as suspension wheel axles and 12 serve as pivots in suspension bogies. An interesting point made in my reference source, the heavy weight of the tank is held by only those 12 axle gudgeons.

In continuing my research this year, I was curious if the York County History Center had details about gudgeons. My search revealed a 16mm film, with sound, produced by York-Shipley early in WWII. It was entitled “Rolling Out The Gudgeons.” Adam Bentz, Director of Library and Archives, located a DVD that had been made from the film years ago. It also contained a companion film, “Rings Around The Axis,” about production of the ball race tank turret assemblies, which York-Shipley supplied to five tank manufacturers.

The following slide includes a scene of gudgeons being packed after rust proofing. It is from near the end of the 1943 film, “Rolling Out The Gudgeons.” This is not Esther Smith, however comment if you know this woman.

The film shows axle gudgeons being removed from the fixture sitting on the packing rack. They are then inserted into cardboard tubes, a few of which lie between the fixture and the wire bound box, before being placed in the box.

I noticed a patch on the shoulder of the woman in the photo. At the time the Jessop Place plant was known as Thomas Shipley, Inc.’s York Oil Burner facility. A Google search revealed the following type of patch likely worn by the woman in the photo.

Thomas Shipley, Inc. company name is changed to York-Shipley, Inc.

In 1926, Thomas Shipley, Inc. was established as a holding company for Tom’s stock in sales businesses associated with the York Manufacturing Company. To this holding company other companies, originated by Tom, were added: the Roosevelt Garage and Supply Company which became part of Roosevelt Oil Service, and a Canadian affiliate of the York Manufacturing Company, which Tom owned outright.

After Tom Shipley died in 1930, his brother William S. Shipley becomes the new President of the York Ice Machinery Company, leading the company through the rapid switch away from ice making into air conditioning products and then championing the York Plan during WWII.

Tom Shipley’s son Raymond T. Shipley left the company after the death of his father and started his own refrigeration company in New England, financed via Thomas Shipley, Inc. Samuel H. Shipley and Howard V. Shipley climbed up through company management at York, with Sam rising to the position of General Manager, once held by his father. When it became clear that Stewart Lauer was being groomed to replace their Uncle William S. Shipley, as president of the company, Samuel and Howard Shipley decided to resign their positions at the company and focus on growing the holdings of Thomas Shipley, Inc.

In 1938, the opportunity arose to buy the York Oil Burner Company from Ed Kraber and Bob Hoffman. Samuel and Howard Shipley sold some of the York stock within the Thomas Shipley, Inc. holding company to purchase the York Oil Burner Company. As a result of that purchase, Bob Hoffman had the capital to start York Barbell Company.

Howard V. Shipley moved to Canada and became president of the refrigeration company started by his father. Samuel H. Shipley managed the holding company, Thomas Shipley, Inc., and the two operating companies, York Oil Burner Company and Roosevelt Oil Service.

During WWII, Samuel H. Shipley wanted to brand their products, made for the war effort, as proudly Made-in-York by Shipley. York-Shipley, Inc. was the new company name effective September 23, 1943.

After the name change, York Oil Burner Company, Inc. is a Subsidiary of York-Shipley, Inc. and is located at Jessop Place & Pa. R.R. Roosevelt Oil Service is a Division of York-Shipley, Inc. and is located along Grantley Road.

Where gudgeons are located and their use in tanks

Gudgeons are used as axles and pivots in suspension bogies of tanks. The following slide highlights where gudgeons are located and their use in a Sherman tank. During WWII, York-Shipley, Inc. produced gudgeons and axles for 36,000 tanks and tracklocking parts for 22,000 tanks. Those numbers come from the York-Shipley, Inc. report as part of York Plan reports produced by the Manufacturers’ Association of York at war’s end.

A better graphic, showing the gudgeons in 3-D, is the following exploded view of the lower part of a tank suspension bogie. The larger axle gudgeon (Part No. B208960) in the lower left is what is shown being packed by the woman in the film frame.

The gudgeons (Part No. 7410831), in the upper right, serve as suspension bogie pivots and are important for a smoother ride over rough terrain. Where when one wheel in the suspension bogie hits a bump, the bogie pivots, forcing the other wheel down to maintain track tension and keep the tank stable.

War Production in the Roosevelt Garage

I recalled seeing a photo of the Roosevelt Garage in the opening frames of both 16mm films: “Rolling Out The Gudgeons” and “Rings Around The Axis.” In using Newspapers .com and trade publications I discovered it was one of the plants producing some, or most, of the gudgeons and tank turret assemblies by Thomas Shipley, Inc. / York-Shipley, Inc.

The Roosevelt Garage at 161 Roosevelt Avenue was pressed into war production service when machinery was installed in March 1943 to increase production facilities of gudgeons and other tank parts. The following photo of the Roosevelt Garage is from page 240 of the 1946 publication “The Story of a Dynamic Community, York Pennsylvania,” published by York Chamber of Commerce. This building now serves as the home of Kottcamp Sheet Metal, using the address 145 Roosevelt Avenue.

On July 15, 1943, York Oil Burner employees of Thomas Shipley, Inc. held their annual dinner at the Valencia ballroom. Samuel H. Shipley, president, was toastmaster. About 600 persons attended. Two talking motion pictures showed the making of war products at the company’s plants. They were titled: “Rolling Out The Gudgeons” and “Rings Around The Axis.”

Also on page 240 of the 1946 publication “The Story of a Dynamic Community, York Pennsylvania,” published by York Chamber of Commerce, is the following internal photo. The structure and window style indicate it is a view inside the Roosevelt Garage at 161 Roosevelt Avenue. Racks of steel billets are seen around machinery, which are the size of the raw material needed to machine axle gudgeons via lathes and grinders. Women operated most of these machines in the film.

With President Truman’s announcement of Japan’s surrender on Tuesday August 14, 1945, all York-Shipley plants were closed the following day. When Esther Smith returned to work on August 16 she was informed because she was in the group with the lowest seniority, August 17 was her last day of work.

York-Shipley, at the beginning of the war had one plant and 75 employees. By VJ-Day, the corporation had expanded to 4 plants and 550 employees.

Click on this LINK for a yorkblog.com Full View of the photos and illustrations in this post.

Links to related posts:

York-Shipley in the York Plan

Film shows key Sherman Tank component being made in York

WWII Fog Machines by York-Shipley

Trolley Car Barn was a WWII York-Shipley factory

York-Shipley connections

GE plant in York produced rocket igniters

Esther Smith Christmas Portraits during WWII

Army and Navy apparel made by the H. J. Freezer Company

H. J. Freezer plant location in Spring Garden Township

Do any photos exist of Boy Scouts in York County, installing the concrete posts?

The introductory photo shows Boy Scouts in Ames Iowa, after installing a Lincoln Highway concrete post. Instructions for placing posts in the ground stressed four things. [1] Install the post in a three-feet deep hole; which leaves about 4-feet above ground. [2] Use a Plumb Line or Bubble Level to assure the post is truly vertical (the Ames photo shows a scout holding a Bubble Level against the post). [3] Orient the post with the Lincoln medallion directly facing the Lincoln Highway, with direction arrows on the sides pointing in the direction of the highway. [4] The fill around the post should be tamped down solidly every few inches to assure long-time and strong support.

Lincoln Highway Association’s 2026 National Conference is in York, PA

From June 22-26, 2026, the Lincoln Highway Association’s 2026 National Conference has the theme “Road to Independence.” Five days will feature tours, talks, music and celebration along America’s first coast-to-coast highway. Check out this link, to view an impressive itinerary and the details to register.

Lincoln Highway post (77) just east of Ducktown Road

Troop 32 in the York Council of Boy Scouts installed post (77) on September 1, 1928, at the “southeast corner opposite Stoner Station.” This Lincoln Highway marker still stands in York County, just east of Ducktown Road in Hellam Township. The Ducktown Road name replaced Stoner Station Road in the 1950s.

The upper photos in the following illustration show close-ups of the top of post (77). In newspaper articles across Pennsylvania, the posts where numbered consecutively along the Lincoln Highway from east to west, and a basic description was provided where each concrete marker would be, or was, installed. York County had post numbers 75 to 100 installed during 1928; today few remain. Road widening, installation of underground utilities, accidents and snow plows tend to be the major culprits. The utility pole, just as close to the road and a few feet west of Lincoln Highway post (77) might be its protector at this location?

The lower 2026 photos in the illustration show arrow side of the post, and the business set to have the Lincoln Highway marker in their front yard: Witmer Automation.

Witmer Automation

Since 1998, Witmer Automation has been a provider not only of components, but also of control system solutions. Their services include: Engineering Solutions, OEM Assembly, Tech Support, Custom Stock Levels, Resale Discounts, Blind Shipments to your customer, and Same Day Shipping (typical). A product focus is variable frequency drives.

From 2004 to the present their business has been located opposite the Haines Shoe House and sometime during 2026, they will move into a larger facility at 5520 Lincoln Highway. Witmer Automation can be reached via E-mail: sales@witmerautomation.com , Phone: 717-755-3239 , or Fax: 717-755-3229.

Why was the nearby road originally Stoner Station Road?

This area of Hellam Township just east of Hallam Borough had many Stoner family residents in the 1800s; as witnessed by the following section of the 1876 Atlas of Hellam Township. Stoner families in the area grew grain, while operating Lime Quarries and Ore Banks.

In the late 1860s, Christian S. Stoner establishes a significant Lime Quarry near the railroad between York and Wrightsville. He also built a row of worker houses for a few of the men hired to work at his quarry and lime kilns. About this time, Stoner Station is established, which consisted of laying a rail siding to the north side of the through track. The railroad provided a cinder station platform along the north side of the rail siding, and C. S. Stoner built a warehouse nearby. Stoner Station also had a coal trestle.

After Christian S. Stoner passed away on December 22, 1876, John Stoner and Latimer Stoner are the next to conduct business at Stoner Station. In October 1889, forty-four-acres of Stoner family land near Stoner’s Station is purchased for the Wrightsville Lime Co. It is the first land purchased for the Wrightsville Lime Company after it was established 5-months earlier by John E. Baker and his brother-in-law George S. Billmeyer; when they leased and began operating a quarry and lime-kilns in and north of Wrightsville.

The Lime Quarry at Stoner Station sat idle after the Wrightsville Lime Company incorporated as the J. E. Baker Company in 1904. The quarry appears to be leased by several individuals until acquired by John Emig, who operated it as Emig Lime Company; primarily selling lime to neighboring farmers.

In the late 1920s, Medusa Portland Cement Company acquired the quarry and used the railroad to ship material excavated to their plant west of York. These shipments, through about 1938, were the final major freight shipments from Stoner Station. Passenger rail service between York and Wrightsville ceased in 1954, and freight service on this line ceased in 1971. Although with the few times freight service was provided past the 1950s, it is doubtful any trains were stopping at Stoner Station.

How did Ducktown Road get its name?

The following 1957 aerial photo shows the area around Stoner Station as rail service neared an end. With the demise of Stoner Station in the mid-1950s, residents along Stoner Station Road advocated for a road name change. I’ve been told there were two farms raising ducks along the road, and someone, as a joke, suggested Ducktown Road. However, the name kind of grew on the residents along the road, and it became the official road name.

Location of Stoner Station in terms of present surroundings

The following Google Earth view overlooks the east side of Ducktown Road in the vicinity where the former STONER STATION was located along former Wrightsville Railroad. The entrance to Stoner Station from Ducktown Road and the former road bridge spanning the railroad tracks are adjacent to both sides of the more recent house at 301 Ducktown Road.

Boy Scout Troops involved in placing the York County concrete markers

To help with the discovery of Boy Scout photos or stories, associated with the September 1st, 1928 project marking the Lincoln Highway, the following article provides the Boy Scout troops that did the work. This article refers to the 20 troops in the York Council of Boy Scouts. Additional concrete posts in western York County were installed by 7 troops in the Conewago Council of Boy Scouts; whose territory encompassed Hanover and that vicinity of western York County.

An article in The Gazette and Daily on Friday August 31st, 1928 (page 14) reported on the placement of the “New Markers for Lincoln Highway.” The sub-title proclaimed “Will Be Erected On Saturday Along Its 3,000-Mile Route;” i.e. on Saturday September 1st.

Quoting the entire article: “Special markers will be placed along the route of the Lincoln Highway from Wrightsville to the Adams County line by twenty York County Boy Scout troops on Saturday, when markers will be placed simultaneously along the entire 3,000-mile route of this highway by boy scouts, it was announced yesterday.”

“E. K. Longstreet, division engineer of State Highway Department, and Chief Scout Executive, Ray F. Zaner, of the local council, will start from Wrightsville tomorrow morning at 11 o’clock and will traverse the length of the highway in this county to designate the location of the markers.”

“The markers are of two kinds. One is a concrete post on which is a medallion of Abraham Lincoln. The posts stand about four feet high (above ground level and are buried about three feet deep) and will be placed at the side of the road. The form of the (sign) marker to be placed in York County is a metal sign. The posts and signs will be delivered to the designated places by trucks on Friday.”

“The points at which markers will be placed and the troops which will place them are as follows:” (additional location details per Original Locations of the Markers and Signs of the Lincoln Highway 1928, as prepared by Gael Hoag, Field Secretary)

“Troop 26, on state post in front of Hotel Wilson, Wrightsville, and opposite rear door of Grace Evangelical Church, Wrightsville;” (Sign on state post and Concrete Post [75] at Church)

“Troop 32, opposite end of Round Top Road, and Southeast corner opposite Stoner Station;” (Concrete Posts [76 & 77]) The former Round Top Road is now Blessing Lane. The former Stoner’s Station Road is now Ducktown Road, and Concrete Post 77 still stands across the Lincoln Highway from Kreutz Creek Library in Hellam Township.

“Troop 15, replacing wood post opposite A. R. Gross store, Hallam, and near West corner of Dr. Crandall’s resort;” (Concrete Posts [78, 79 & 80]; with [79] between the two listed in news article, with it on South side between curb and walk near west limits of Hallam)

“Troop 17, at new viaduct over R. R. and at end of road to Big Hand Tourist Camp, 1/4-mile West;” (Concrete Post [81] defined as at end of road to Big Hand Tourist Camp, 1/4-mile west of new viaduct over Railroad)

“Troop 36, East limits of York;” (Concrete Post [82]) Suspect this is East limits of East York; i.e. just east of Market and Royal Streets in Springettsbury Township.

“Troop 2, replacing old one at Market and Ogontz Streets, York;” (Concrete Post [83]) A Concrete Lincoln Highway Post was at northeast corner of Market and Ogontz Streets up until about ten years ago.

“Troop 11, Northwest corner of Harrison and Market Streets, York;” (Concrete Post [84])

“Troop 8, Southeast corner Market and Albemarle Streets, York;” (Sign)

“Troop 14, Northwest corner Market and Tremont Streets, York;” (Sign)

“Troop 3, Southeast corner Market and Sherman Streets, York;” (Sign)

“Troop 10, Market, front of 526;” (Sign)

“Troop 1, Southeast corner Queen and Market Streets;” (Sign)

“Troop 7, Northwest corner Carlisle and Market Streets;” (Sign)

“Troop 6, replacing wood post R. R. X corner of Fair Grounds;” (Concrete Post [85])

“Troop 5, replacing wood post opposite Vedder Oil Station;” (Concrete Post [86])

“Troop 13, Northeast corner Clinton and West Market Street;” (Concrete Post [87])

“Troop 42, replacing and back of wood post opposite 2403 West Market Street;” (Concrete Post [88])

“Troop 12, replacing wood post top of hill, East of Top of Hill refreshment stand;” (Concrete Post [89])

“Troop 9, opposite concrete road to New Salem;” (Concrete Post [90])

“Troop 19, 150 feet East of Hanover Road. This is territory of H. P. Weidner.” (Concrete Post [91])

I believe that is a newspaper typo for H. S. Weidner, who is the Boy Scout executive of the Conewago Council; whose territory encompasses Hanover and that vicinity of western York County. He is in charge of seven Boy Scout troops placing the remaining concrete posts [91 to 100] to reach the Adams County line.

Click on this LINK for a yorkblog.com Full View of the photos in this post.

Links to related posts include:

House move reveals Lincoln Highway marker

100th Anniversary Lincoln Highway Auto Tour

Lincoln Highway Centennial Auto Tour at Haines Shoe House

Uncovering Stories of Lincoln Highway marker sites

Earliest Lincoln Highway Garage was in Wrightsville

Bill Myers indicated his grandfather occasionally reminisced about working at the Jessop Place plant just after the war. It seemed whenever they had a production problem Sam Shipley would bring up what they did to solve manufacturing issues with the Sherman Tank ball race turrets.

Mr. Myers wondered why I did not mention ball race turrets for tanks in my previous post. I did not because I was primarily focusing on gudgeons, because those were the roughly 10-pound steel parts Mom remembered rust proofing; maybe because of the supervisor’s often repeated cautious saying, “Handle the gudgeons with care, they keep tank suspensions working for our boys.”

Bill asked if I was aware of a York-Shipley page on the History Center’s virtual exhibit web site. I referred to it prior to my post on the fog machines. The following is a screen shot of that page. The York-Shipley page is viewable within the York Plan Story Map virtual exhibit. All of the York County History Center’s virtual exhibits are viewable at this link.

Mr. Myers wondered why there is no mention of ball race turrets for tanks in the text. He added maybe it is one of the 10-parts for the M-3 army tank, however with the M-4 Sherman tank’s importance that turret ring should have been included. I told Bill the text on virtual exhibit pages condenses several pages of the war effort products and descriptions into one summary paragraph. Years ago, for the three companies where my Mom, Esther Smith, worked during WWII, I made a copy of all the related pages from the York Plan reports, and assured Bill I would do a post with the full details.

The following ten paragraphs contain the complete report for York-Shipley, Inc. as part of York Plan reports produced by the Manufacturers’ Association of York at war’s end. (York County History Center, Manuscript File # 887).

Paragraph [3] includes the 60-inch diameter ball race gun turret ring manufactured for the General Grant M-3 Army tank, which is the M-3 British variant tank made by Baldwin Locomotive Works. Paragraphs [6 and 7] include the 72-inch diameter ball race turret assembly for the General Sherman M-4 Army tank, which York-Shipley supplied to five different tank manufacturers.

YORK-SHIPLEY, INC.

Peace time: Produced oil burners.

War effort:

[1] “Many and tough were the engineering problems which came to the drawing boards of the Research and Development Department of York-Shipley, Inc., in connection with war production. A smokeless oil burner, eliminating blue haze for aircraft service ships, which would not betray the ship’s position to the enemy, was a typical problem. Another was a boiler-burner unit, of a ‘traveling power plant’, built into a box car to furnish emergency electrical power to cities where the municipal plants had been bombed, a number of which were built for the Russians. The Navy allotted but a few days for perfection of a rough design for a fog-generating machine to be installed on landing barges and all kinds of small cargo vessels. York-Shipley was one of the three companies in the country, which rushed production of this type of equipment in preparation got D-Day and the crossing of the Rhine.”

[2] “Akin to the normal peacetime production of domestic, industrial and marine oil-heating equipment, was the designing of special oil heating units for many war-time applications. Typical projects were the perfecting of the 40-pound portable pre-heaters for Naval aircraft, and the oil-burning units used in the Army laundry and de-lousing trucks. Marine boiler-burners were adapted and produced for use on tugs, small cargo ships, Coast Guard boats, rescue ships and mine sweepers, and barracks from Africa to Iceland, and from England to Bermuda, were warmed by ‘York-Heat’.”

[3] “Under the first sub-contract given out by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, York-Shipley, Inc., was assigned ten parts to produce for the General Grant M-3 Army tank. These included the four-piece, ball race turret ring, 60-inches in diameter, which enabled the gun turret to make a complete 360-degree turn. Parts for the rear track-locking assembly were also manufactured.”

[4] “After fulfilling this contract, similar parts were made for the Pressed Steel Car Company, the Pullman Standard Car Manufacturing Company, and the Wilson Foundry and Machine Company. From 1941 until the end of the war, York-Shipley produced gudgeons and axles for 36,000 tanks and track-locking parts for 22,000 tanks, major portion of all those produced in the country.”

[5] “After the defeat of Rommel’s Army in Africa in the spring of 1943, General Montgomery wrote, ‘General Grant M-3 tanks were the first we had which carried a big gun capable of smashing the German tanks at long range’.”

[6] “Following the General Grant, came the General Sherman M-4 tank, carrying even heavier armament and calling for a 72-inch ball race turret assembly, flame-hardened, machined to a very close tolerance and highly polished, permitting it to move easily under a 6,000-pound turret-and-gun assembly. York-Shipley made suggestions for improvements of this unit, which were accepted by Army Ordnance before production was begun.”

[7] “Work on the General Shermans proved to be the most difficult war-time assignment handled by York-Shipley. Much of the work was done through sub-contracts made with 30 different plants in 25 cities and 3 states. York-Shipley furnished gauges, tools and experienced operators and supervisors, and thus were able to bring equipment with a replacement value of 1.5 million dollars into use. Some of the eighty-four-inch boring mills used on this job were more than 100 years old. The completed parts for the ball turret race assemblies for 5,000 General Sherman tanks were put together and tested in the York-Shipley plant and then shipped to five different tank manufacturers.”

[8] “The skill and experience thus gained were next put to use in the perfection and manufacture of roller race assemblies for 30 and 50 caliber gun mounts to be installed by the Navy on landing barges and PT boats, and in designing steel-and-aluminum ball race assemblies for gun-mounts on trucks, half-tracks and tractors. Turret rings were also manufactured for the Martins Ferry, Ohio and Blaw-Knox Bofors plant for use on 40-mm guns.”

[9] “Valves for the Big Inch Pipeline, which kept essential crude oil moving from the oil fields of Texas to the refineries were also manufactured by York-Shipley.”

[10] “York-Shipley, at the beginning of the war had one plant and 75 employees. By VJ-Day, the corporation had expanded to 4 plants and 550 employees. On June 5, 1944, the Army-Navy ‘E’ Award was bestowed, and two stars were later added for continued achievement.”

York-Shipley’s Jessop Place plant

The Jessop Place plant was the headquarters location of York-Shipley ever since their acquisition of York Oil Burner Company in 1938. At that time the company was known as Thomas Shipley, Inc.; until the 1943 name change to York-Shipley.

Prior to WWII, the Jessop Place plant housed oil burner manufacturing, the research and development (R&D) department, and the administrative offices. Even before the United States entered WWII, the Jessop Place plant was switched to 100% production of war related materials and the R&D department focused on war materials innovations. During the war years, three additional plants were established in York, where oil burners and related modified products were manufactured for the armed forces.

In the following illustration, the location of York-Shipley’s Jessop Place plant is indicated via the 1955 photo of the plant’s north side and an annotated 1947 aerial photo showing the viewpoint for that photo. The oldest parts of that plant, at the north side, no longer stand. Some buildings from the south side of the York-Shipley plant are among the complex of buildings presently housing IRS Industrial Recovery Services at 365 West Cottage Place.

Roosevelt Oil Service

During WWII, York-Shipley operated two manufacturing divisions; the War Materials Division and the Oil Heating Division. Their third division began as Roosevelt Garage and Supply Company, established in 1929 by Thomas Shipley along Roosevelt Avenue as a convenient place for York Ice Machinery Corporation employees to fill their gasoline tanks and service their automobiles. It was renamed Roosevelt Oil Service in 1938.

At the beginning of the war, Roosevelt Oil Service was headquartered at 161 Roosevelt Avenue. During the war, this division of York-Shipley supplied their Esso Gas Stations in York City while continuing to supply fuel oil to customers heating their homes and businesses with oil-burners. That division was also responsible for servicing oil-burners.

The Roosevelt Oil Service was headquartered at 601 West Philadelphia Street by war’s end, with their fuel oil bulk plant located along Grantley Road. With that discovery, the York-Shipley page on the York County History Center’s virtual exhibit makes sense; by showing a photo of fuel oil tanks along Grantley Road and the York-Shipley location marker on the map at 601 West Philadelphia Street.

The following photo, from a 1968 publication, shows employees and products in front of the main production factory of York-Shipley, Inc. at 693 North Hills Road. Prior to consolidating their facilities here in 1946, they operated at four scattered war production plants throughout York City. Products manufactured at the North Hills plant spanned a full range of oil-fired and gas-fired residential heating units to large industrial boilers. Soon after this photo was taken, the Shipley-Humble Oil Division was spun off as a separate company in 1969. That is the entity that continues to operate today as Shipley Energy in York County.

Click on this LINK for a yorkblog.com Full View of the photos and illustrations in this post.

Links to related posts:

Home Front gudgeons during WWII

Film shows key Sherman Tank component being made in York

WWII Fog Machines by York-Shipley

Trolley Car Barn was a WWII York-Shipley factory

York-Shipley connections

GE plant in York produced rocket igniters

Esther Smith Christmas Portraits during WWII

Army and Navy apparel made by the H. J. Freezer Company

H. J. Freezer plant location in Spring Garden Township

Esther Smith was emphatic about being involved in the assembly of a fog machine and that it was not a smoke generator. Supposedly York-Shipley engineers worked with a university, and that collaboration resulted in a unique design, which was the reason York-Shipley was awarded the manufacturing contracts. She described a fire hydrant shaped machine with a domed top containing three small nozzles, and that it was connected in multiple ways to a pull start gasoline engine.

An Internet search resulted in the discovery of photos of a York-Hession Model H-106 Fog Generating Machine displayed at last years World War II Weekend event at the Reading Regional Airport in Reading, PA. That annual event was hosted by The Mid-Atlantic Air Museum from June 6 through 8, 2025. The nameplate provided the name and model, with it being manufactured by York-Shipley in York, PA.

Other museums were discovered that have these fog machines in their collections. In the montage at the beginning of this post, that York-Hession Model H-106 Fog Machine is in the collections of the National Museum of Military Vehicles in Dubois, Wyoming.

Esther Smith’s Home Front workplaces

Side-by-side timelines for Esther and Harold Smith served as an introductory slide for five home front topics where four sections only contain one slide, such as an introductory slide locating the York-Shipley plant in a former trolley car barn, that I wrote about last month in the post at this Link.

The following slide is from a 2024 presentation where the GE Plant is the featured topic. The title of that presentation in York Home Front: WWII Briefings of May 11, 2024 is: “Not just a stick of gum! York’s GE plant and the Bazooka.”

It was through my model rocketry hobby, in my early teens during the 1960s, that I learned about Mom producing rocket igniters for the Bazooka. Most model rockets at that time were electrically fired using batteries, just like the initial bazookas.

Our model rocket group was constantly replacing batteries when Mom suggested we try to find a surplus Bazooka rocket igniter that was made in York during the war, since it did not require batteries. Mom started describing how the magneto worked in that igniter and that if we found one at an Army surplus store, she knew how to take it apart and lower the output current for our group to use to ignite model rocket engines.

An ensuing discussion revealed the four locations and what Mom did in producing items at those York plants for the WWII war effort. Years later, just after Dad passed away, I revisited those discussions with Mom and got additional details.

York-Hession Model H-106 Fog Generating Machine

The fog machine, at the 2025 World War II Weekend in Reading, was displayed with a 55-gallon barrel marked US Navy Fog Oil likely to signify specialty distilled fog oil was required with the machine to create a persistent fog. If the prescribed oil was used, the fog machine repeatedly operated producing desired fog clouds. However if other oils were used, the fog was not as thick and some oils even caused various nozzles to clog.

There was a room inside York-Shipley’s Pennsylvania Avenue Plant where the fog machines were tested. When Esther Smith worked at that plant, that room was also being used to check if various other oils worked satisfactorily. Mom stated she could still hear the man in charge of that test room, exclaiming in disgust, “If you have a gasoline engine, why would you put other fluids in it and expect it to work. Then why doesn’t the Navy just train everybody to only use the assigned fog oil, rather than testing all Army and Navy oils, because most of them ruin our fog machines.”

The following photo shows the central section of General Operating Instructions plate attached to the York-Hession Model H-106 Combustion Fog Generating Machine manufactured by York-Shipley, Inc. At the bottom are the phrases: “Designed by Columbia University and N.D.R.C.” and “Patents Applied For.” Those phrases resulted in searches into a Hession connection at Columbia University. National Defense Research Committee (N.D.R.C.) records revealed John W. Hession, Jr. was an independent researcher working at Columbia University on fog generating technology.

Another find was an Operating Instructions and Parts List for the York-Hession Model H-106 Fog Generating Machine. It was discovered on a WW2 relics and archaeology Facebook post of August 25, 2023; asking what the machine and manual is worth. Bryce Judy noted “Inside the book it says it was a naval contract and that all documents are classified, etc. etc., dated April 1944.”

A patent search revealed the United States Patent issued to John W. Hession, Jr. for a mechanical aerosol generator served as the core design element in the York-Hession Model H-106 Combustion Fog Generating Machine. This patent was applied for on May 24, 1944, however due to its classified nature during and following WWII, the patent application was held by the Patent Office and was not granted until 1952.

Quoting the first paragraph of Patent No. 2,607,743 granted to John W. Hession, Jr.: “My invention relates to a machine for the generation of an aerosol composed of any one of various materials and its distribution into the atmosphere in the form of a cloud useful for a number of purposes, such as the concealment of ships at sea, or troops on land or sea, or protective operations of the various kinds.” The patent includes eight claims related to why the machine will produce a persistent fog.

York-Shipley engineers collaborated with John Hession, Jr. to quickly convert his conceptual fog machine into a refined design suitable for manufacturing. Resulting in the York-Hession Model H-106 Combustion Fog Generating Machine. York Shipley, Inc. held four major Navy contracts, totaling approximately $900,000, for the development and production of these fog generators.

Working at York-Shipley’s Jessop Place plant

Towards the end of May 1945, Esther Smith was informed, June 5 would be her last day at the Pennsylvania Avenue plant working on fog machines. However a need existed for individuals on the rust proofing line at York Shipley’s Jessop Place plant; where Mom started work on June 6, 1945.

The location of York-Shipley’s Jessop Place plant is indicated via following 1955 photo of the plant’s north side and an annotated 1947 aerial photo showing the viewpoint for that photo. The oldest parts of that plant, at the north side, no longer stand. Some buildings from the south side of the York-Shipley plant are among the complex of buildings presently housing IRS Industrial Recovery Services at 365 West Cottage Place.

Esther Smith worked in the department applying a waxy rust preventative coating, likely Cosmoline, to tank parts produced at the Jessop Place plant. York-Shipley was a subcontractor for army tank manufacturers; producing items such as axles, gudgeons, and track-locking parts.

The Jessop Place plant was also involved in making roller race assemblies for .30 and .50 caliber gun mounts installed on Navy landing barges and PT boats. Plus, they manufactured turret rings for plants producing Bofors 40mm guns. More details about the range of war materials produced at the Jessop Place plant is at this link .

With President Truman’s announcement of Japan’s surrender on Tuesday August 14, 1945, all York-Shipley plants were closed the following day. When Mom returned to work on August 16 she was informed because she was in the group with the lowest seniority, August 17 was her last day of work.

Click on this LINK for a yorkblog.com Full View of the photos and illustrations in this post.

Links to related posts:

York-Shipley in the York Plan

Home Front gudgeons during WWII

Trolley Car Barn was a WWII York-Shipley factory

York-Shipley connections

GE plant in York produced rocket igniters

Esther Smith Christmas Portraits during WWII

Army and Navy apparel made by the H. J. Freezer Company

H. J. Freezer plant location in Spring Garden Township

Newspapers.com was used to confirm this business, managed by Lloyd C. Bucher, was located at 3706 Lincoln Highway East during Christmas of 1954. Heading east from Locust Grove Road in Stonybrook the street numbering starts at 3700 and being an even number, the business was on the south side of the Lincoln Highway.

In September 1955, Frank R. Keller and Paul D. Mills were the new owners operating Keller’s Mobile Home Sales on the same lot at 3706 Lincoln Highway East.

The location of the Mobile Home sales lot at 3706 Lincoln Highway East appears to be located on part of the site of the Big Hand Tourist Camp. That camp opened in October 1925, just east of Locust Grove Road, along the south side of the Lincoln Highway. The camp entrance would have been near the former Turkey Hill Minit Market. That store opened in 1969. In 2005 Turkey Hill moved to a bigger convenience store at 3690 East Market Street.

The York County Tax Assessment site has the address of the former Turkey Hill Minit Market lot listed as 3710 East Market Street. From 1969 to 2005, Turkey Hill used the address for that store as 3730 East Market Street. Tobacco Lux, the most recent occupant of that store uses the address 3760 East Market Street. It is confusing why this lot has these address variations.

In 1956, Keller’s Mobile Homes moves to 3606 East Market Street. Hoss’s Steak & Sea House now occupies part of that lot.

Miss Cornette Kohr, Miss Greater York for 1956, was involved in displaying Keller’s Mobile Homes at the 1956 York Fair from September 11 through 15.

Click on this LINK for a yorkblog.com Full View of the photos and illustrations in this post.

Links to related posts:

The Big Hand Tourist Camp in Stony Brook

Uncovering Stories of Lincoln Highway marker sites

A Lincoln Highway marker was at Dr. Crandall’s