Presentation will explore county connections between York and Lancaster

Lancaster is known as the Red Rose City and York as the White Rose City, but the pair have more in common than just the iconic flower. "York and Lancaster are sister counties and sister cities," said Dominish Miller. "The only thing that separates them is the Susquehanna River."

"There are a lot of similar things with each of our counties," stated Cory Van Brookhoven. "The Lincoln Highway, the Susquehanna River, Moravian heritage, (and more). This will all be discussed at the program."

The program Van Brookhoven was referring to will be a presentation given by both Miller and Van Brookhoven at the New Holland Area Historical Society (NHAHS) meeting on Thursday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m. at Garden Spot Village, 433 S. Kinzer Ave., New Holland.

Miller pointed out that both the city of York and the city of Lancaster were founded in the 1700s and that both briefly served as the United States' capital. She went on to note that she and Van Brookhoven each choose some of their favorite topics to present when they speak together on the neighboring counties. "We go back and forth during our talk," said Miller. "Naturally, we know more about our own county/city but have done extensive research on both."

"We do it a little different each time," explained Van Brookhoven. "We break it down by topic, taking turns by subject."

Miller said that to make the presentation more audience-friendly, the two use a conversational style, and they bring in current events. "We don't just give the audience a history lesson," she said. "We also cover things that are happening in Lancaster and York today, like the Fire & Ice Festival in Lititz and the Sasquatch 5K in Mount Wolf."

Miller also called York the "Snack Food Capital of the World," while Van Brookhoven broadened that area to cover central Pennsylvania. "We not only discuss the history connection, but we also talk about snacks and chocolate," he said.

Van Brookhoven is the full-time president of the Lititz Historical Foundation, which is located at 137-145 E. Main St., Lititz. The Lititz native volunteered with the foundation for many years prior to taking the position. His initial interest in Lititz history came from his late grandfather, "Sketch" Mearig, a lifelong collector of Lititz items as well as the town historian. "I got the bug about 25 years ago from him, as well as from my mother (Mearig's daughter)," he explained. Van Brookhoven has a degree in video and television broadcast from Kutztown University, and he has been involved with local history and tourism since 2008.

Miller is the Third Circuit Court of Appeals librarian for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. She is the founder of Preserving the History of Newberrytown, and the author of three books pertaining to that subject. She is also a volunteer library assistant at the Red Land Community Library and a Civil War re-enactor with the 87th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry (PVI), portraying a private in the 87th Pennsylvania Company C.

The program is free and open to the public. More information about NHAHS may be found at https://nhhistorical.com or by searching for "New Holland Area Historical Society" on Facebook.