Summaries of local news stories from the pages of the Intelligencer Journal and Lancaster New Era appear in this space each Monday. They are researched and compiled by staff member Tim Buckwalter. Full versions are available on microfilm at Lancaster Public Library, 125 N. Duke St.

25 years ago

SANTA ARRIVES: A 75-foot fire ladder carried Santa Claus from Penn Square to the roof of the Watt & Shand department store as a cheering crowd looked on. Santa was escorted up West King Street by 120 members of the Penn Manor High School marching band, which had performed the annual ritual for at least 18 years, according to its director. The jolly old elf was whisked to the top of the store by Lt. Tom Ganse of Lancaster Bureau of Fire. (Nov. 23, 1985)

SHORT STAYS: Outpatient business was booming at local health-care facilities. Hospitals and insurance companies were looking for ways to cut costs, and outpatient surgery, with its shortened stays and lower overhead expenses, seemed to be one way to do it. The same-day surgery process also was appealing to busy patients, many of whom preferred to avoid an overnight hospital stay if they could avoid it safely. (Nov. 23, 1985)

50 years ago

BRUSH WITH FAME: Pranksters turned James Buchanan white as a ghost. The scene of the crime was Buchanan Park, where the large bronze statue of the 15th president was coated in paint, presumably by fans of a visiting football team that played against Franklin & Marshall College. (Nov. 22, 1960)

OLD NAMEPLATE: Hidden from view for more than 165 years, an almost perfectly preserved nameplate from a stove manufactured in Lancaster County in 1755 was uncovered here. The plate carried the name and trademark of Jacob Huber, famed ironmaster at Brickerville who became the father-in-law of the storied "Baron" Henry William Stiegel.

The stoveplate was uncovered by heavy excavating equipment that was being used to dig a hole at the old Kauffman mansion house at Flory's Mill, just off the Route 230 bypass. (Nov. 25, 1960)

GOLD RUSH: Lititz experienced a "gold rush" as a result of a decision to replace the floor of the pavilion in Lititz Springs Park. Aware of the fact that the floor boards were widely separated, the park trustees reasoned that a number of coins and other objects had fallen through the floor during its 68 years of existence.

For a week, groups of citizens "mined" the soil under the pavilion, with a plan to auction the findings to benefit the park. They found an old one-cent piece the size of a half-dollar, more than 60 Indian-head pennies, silverware of all types, a number of rings, including a wedding band, and a coin from 1849. (Nov. 28, 1960)

75 years ago

ROLLING BLAZE: A truck driver drove up to the No. 4 Company engine house at 333 N. Queen St. with his vehicle ablaze and calmly announced, "There's your fire." Firefighters lost no time in extinguishing the flames.

The trucker had been driving through the city when smoke began pouring into the cabin. He stopped a pedestrian, received directions to the nearest firehouse and drove straight there. (Nov. 23, 1935)

MUSEUM SALE: The Danner Museum at Manheim, with its Stiegel glassware and furniture and books from the historic Ephrata Cloister, was sold to chocolate magnate Milton S. Hershey for about $50,000. The sale was announced by the trustees of the George H. Danner estate.

The collection was to be kept intact and placed in a separate unit at the Hershey Museum. Proceeds from the sale were to be placed in a fund for erecting a home for the aged in Manheim, as planned by Danner, who had died 18 years earlier. (Nov. 23, 1935)

MILL ACCIDENT: A 45-year-old man was crushed to death when his clothing caught in an upright shaft while he was fixing a belt on the hoist of a grist mill he operated near Strasburg. His badly mangled body was later discovered by two men who made a business call at the mill. (Nov. 25, 1935)

SEEKING PEACE: Describing efforts of students throughout the world to forward the peace movement, Miss Ann Graybill, a member of the traveling staff of Student Christian Movement, addressed members of Lancaster Lions Club.

"The youth of our world today is facing a world that is constantly preparing for war," she said. "In the light of this fact, there are many students who feel that they want some concrete method of raising their voices against war. They have been doing this in increasing numbers through the various student organizations formed to advance the cause of peace." (Nov. 27, 1935)

100 years ago

BOLD BURGLAR: A bold thief ransacked a home in the 900 block of East Orange Street using a stepladder found in the yard to gain access through a second-story window. Upon the homeowner's return, the burglar fled through a kitchen window, leaving silverware and other valuables piled on the dining room table. (Nov. 28, 1910)

CLEANED OUT: A woman employed to do cleaning at the Hamilton Club was arrested at her Howard Avenue home on charges that she stole silverware, linen and other articles from the downtown club. A number of the missing items allegedly were discovered by police at her home.

While at the station house, the suspect cut herself in what police described as a very poor attempt at suicide. Police said she had been arrested several times previously for larceny at hotels and private houses. (Nov. 28, 1910)