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What Pennsylvania city is known as the first capital of the United States, the birthplace of animal crackers, and a most popular chocolate candy?
It is York, also known as the White Rose City, the symbol of England’s House of York.
Did you guess the candy? Born in 1940 as the York Peppermint Patty, it is now part of the Hershey family, but is still as delicious as ever.
York is nestled in the Susquehanna River valley in the state’s south central area. It is close to Gettysburg, Hershey, and Lancaster. The region makes a most family-friendly destination and it is an easy day’s drive (about five and a half hours) from Buffalo.
The county was founded in 1749 after separating from Lancaster County. Called “America’s first fair,” the York Fair was originally held here in 1765, eleven years before the nation was founded.
For nine months, from late 1777 until mid 1778, York served as the country’s capital. It was also the birthplace of the Articles of Confederation and it was in this city that the name “the United States of America” was coined.
Motorcycle and Harley-Davidson fans make pilgrimages to York’s Harley factory where the company welcomes visitors to the showroom, gift shop, and for factory tours. The showroom area displays current production motorcycles and visitors are invited to take photos and sit on the bikes. I tried out each bike, imagining myself roaring down country roads. (Of course, it was never going to happen but it was fun to think about.)
There is even a small wooden motorcycle that young children can take apart and put back together in the Kids Corner.
Visitors can explore exhibits that detail the manufacturing and assembly processes of the factory.
The company began in 1903 in Milwaukee and this year marks the 100th anniversary of the factory tours. Children must be at least 12. Closed toe, low heal shoes or sneakers are required. The first tour of the morning at 8am is free. The longer classic tour is $10 per person and reservations are recommended.
Established as an assembly facility in 1973, the York facility assembles four different model lines and workers also perform a variety of manufacturing operations — making parts like frames, fuel tanks, and fenders.
The factory tour begins with an introductory video and continues on the factory floor. Harley-Davidson is a proud American company and the massive American flag hanging from the ceiling silently attests to that pride.
Our guide told us that all the bikes made in York are made from U.S. steel from Ohio. On May 8th history was made when the five millionth motorcycle rolled off the York assembly line and onto the road.
It was the first time on an active factory floor for most of us. We were cautioned to stay within the lines and not to touch anything. The automated orange carts on the factory floor always have the right of way and a system of red and green lights tell us when we can proceed.
There are 12 stations on the line and it takes one minute 10 seconds to one minute 20 seconds to perform a job. Every 90 minutes workers change stations.
“This helps our workers because they are not using the same muscles all the time but it is also good for our production because people are cross trained and can fill in during absences,” explained our guide.
We briefly watched robots performing vital welding jobs.
“Every part is always checked by humans,” our guide said. “We build our bikes as orders come in so everything is made to order. At the end, all completed bikes are driven on rollers for a mile or more to make sure everything is working smoothly.”
Out of the 250,000 bikes produced in York, about 30% are going overseas. We were surprised to learn that the number one foreign destination was Australia/New Zealand and number two is Japan.
The gleaming bikes in the showroom attest to Harley’s attention to the paint process that uses plastic resin and not wet paint. All painting takes place in a self-contained building within the factory. Workers involved in the paint process have a very short list of personal care products that can be used to reduce the chance of contamination. It takes 12 hours for the two-tone paint job and seven hours for one tone.
There are 1360 parts in a Harley motorcycle and it takes two and a half to three hours to build a bike.
Auditors pull several bikes off the line daily for intensive checks and in the good weather lucky workers ride the bikes outside over 25 miles.
“They actually get paid to ride our bikes,” our guide said with a laugh.
Our next stop was downtown York, home to the imposing Central Market. The red brick building has stood at North Beaver and Philadelphia Streets for more than 125 years. It is a good place to stop for a quick lunch or snack.
Around the corner is the Sunrise Soap Company, a fun, funky store where visitors can watch soap being made and make their own. Even the youngest members of the family can help make their own soap.
Ariel Linebaugh, a perky natural soap enthusiast, who is eager to tell the soap story to visitors, greeted us.
“We produce 700 to 1000 pounds of soap a week right here using all natural ingredients,” she told us. “When the soap is ready to be cut we use our 125 year old soap cutter. We ship our soap all over the world.”
It was time for us to make our own soap. We started with a cup of glycerin and then chose from a variety of fun molds. I picked dinosaurs, an octopus and pineapples. Then we selected coloring and glitter. Mixing everything together we poured our concoctions into the molds. They were then popped into the refrigerator and 30 minutes later they were ready to take home. My favorites were my purple dinosaurs.
There are a variety of other make-your-own products available including: shampoo bar, lip balm, scent your own lotion, and liquid shampoo or gel. Of course, there is a wide range of all natural soaps and lotions on the shelves or displayed in bathtubs ready for purchase.
The York area is known as the “snack food capital” and it was definitely time for some snacking. Snyder’s of Hanover offers free factory tours of their mammoth facility that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week only closing on Thanksgiving and Christmas. The company suggests that the tours are appropriate for children five and older.
Snyder’s bills itself as “America’s Pretzel Bakery Since 1909.” Last year the company was sold to Campbell’s for $4.9 million but the company has kept on its amazing production of 1.2 million pretzels an hour. We learned about this and other fun facts during our factory tour. We didn’t actually go into the factory but were able to observe everything through glass covered elevated hallways. As with the Harley tour, no photos are allowed.
Snyder’s makes 80% of all U.S. pretzels. They are sent to all 50 states and 54 foreign countries. The company uses 116 tons of salt a month and employs 550 people in the factory and 6,000 people overall.
The factory boasts 11 of the world’s largest natural gas ovens and mixer bowls that are the size of a compact car. The company has 15,092 solar panels on 26 acres.
The tour ends in the gift shop with a free bag of pretzels and shelves full of every kind of pretzel and other treats for sale.
Fire engine fans should make a stop at the Hanover Fire Department Museum in downtown Hanover. The museum is in the 1914 Eagle Fire Station and preserves the heritage of more than 200 years of area fire fighting. Visitors can pull an actual fire alarm box and climb on fire trucks — very popular with children.
Exhibits showcase fire vehicles including an 1882 Silsby Steamer and hand pulled pumps. Awards, badges, helmets, and many types of fire fighting tools are on display.
If your snacking favorites tend toward ice cream, the place to go is the family-owned Perrydell Farm. Self-guided tours are free and all ages are welcome. Depending upon when you arrive you could see cows being milked, calves being fed, or milk being bottled.
There is a good-sized lunch menu but what many visitors especially come to the farm for is the freshly made ice cream. Try the flavor or the month or one of the other 30 flavors. There are hand-dipped cones, shakes, floats, sundaes, splits and novelties.
Travel Tip of the Month: For more information on the York area visit: www.yorkpa.org or call 888-858-YORK or 717-852-6006.
Deborah Williams is a veteran travel writer who lives in Holland, NY. Her work has appeared in national and international publications. She is the recipient of the Society of American Travel Writers’ Lowell Thomas Gold Travel Writing Award. Learn more at www.deborahwilliams.com