Pennsylvania is known for some of its historical landmarks in Philadelphia or its big industries in Pittsburgh, but has anyone heard of York?
Probably not.
Compared to its siblings, York County is fairly small. There are over 1.2 million inhabitants of Allegheny County and more than 1.5 million people living in Philadelphia County, but York only has around 434,972 residents.
York, Pennsylvania might be the runt of litter, but it still has its charm. How many of these signs relate to you?
1. You took a trip to Rutter’s Dairy in elementary school.
While the tour wasn’t comprehensive because we didn’t get to see the cows, it did finish with cookies and a carton of orange drink, the fastest route to a child’s heart.
2. Maple Donuts is always better than Dunkin.
Sorry, America. York County runs on Maple Donuts. The cardboard donuts outside always looked so appetizing.
3. Haar’s Drive-In was your family’s idea of a fun summer night.
For most people, drive-ins might be a blast from the past. York residents are blessed with a fully-functioning drive-in right in Dillsburg. Its movies have ranged from Dirty Dancing and Jaws to Finding Dory and Suicide Squad. Does anyone else remember the playground they had?
4. You won't eat any chips that are made outside of Pennsylvania.
Forget Lays and Pringles, we prefer Martin’s, Herr’s, and Middlesworth.
5. Food Truck Fridays are the highlight of your workweek.
Cheap food from 11-2 in Springettsbury Park, now all the way until October! It’s packed during the lunch hour.
6. Your first concert was at the York Fair.
Whether it be the Spice Girls or Big Time Rush, you saw them at the fair.
7. Hersheypark has lost its hype.
Anyone who doesn’t live in a surrounding county thinks that a theme park based on chocolate is amazing, but we all have been there more times than we can count. The free candy at the end of the tour in Chocolate World isn’t even worth it anymore.
8. You use ‘awhile’ at the end of sentences and don’t realize it’s wrong.
It’s Pennsylvania Dutch slang. It typically goes like this: “It’s not finished yet, but would you like to wait awhile?” Awhile what?
9. You live next to the governor.
It’s pretty cool to have a governor from your county, but even cooler if he’s from your small town. Bonus points if your band played at his inauguration (shoutout to my high school marching band!)
10. Going from miles of corn to city streets in the blink of an eye.
If you’re not paying attention, you might think that you just time travelled. You didn’t, of course, that’s just the change of scenery from the Susquehanna Trail to Route 30.
11. It angers you that nobody knows York’s history.
Did you know that it was the capital of the United States for over nine months? Or that it was the birthplace of the Articles of Confederation? You didn’t think that was Philadelphia, did you?
12. You never know how to explain where York is.
If you don’t live in York, it’s hard to explain where it is. Are we close to Philly? Not really. How about Pittsburgh? Nope, guess again. The middle of everything, aka the middle of nowhere? We have a winner.