Each Monday, our digital team takes a look at last week’s top stories on LancasterOnline.
We look at news, sports, business, life, culture and local history.
Here are the most-read stories between Monday, Nov. 25, and Sunday, Dec. 1.
1. This Columbia teen helped restore a classic car made by the company his great-great-grandfather founded
Ty Tucker of Columbia has something in common with William Clay Ford Jr.: Great-great-grandfathers who launched their own car companies.
Everything else is different, though. Bill Ford Jr. lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. There is no corporate stock left for Ty Tucker to have inherited. And there is no record that Bill Ford Jr., chairman and former CEO of the Ford Motor Co., has ever restored a classic Ford.
At 19, Ty Tucker has worked on the restoration of two Tucker 48s, the latest after he joined the auto restoration program at Pennsylvania College of Technology.
“When I signed up (for PennTech), it was joked about,” Ty Tucker said. “’Hey, maybe it would be cool to get a Tucker there.’ Two weeks before school started is when it got here. It was very last-minute.”
2. Why is Lancaster no longer near the top of U.S. News Best Places to Retire list?
The Lancaster County area has bounced around the top 10 in U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Places to Retire list for at least the past five years, ranking first as recently as two years ago. So, how could it tumble to 72nd this year?
Turns out U.S. News & World Report has made such significant changes to its ranking criteria this year; the results no longer compare to past efforts. And local retirement home executives are not particularly worried.
3. Actor William H. Macy dined at Kyma Seafood Grill in Stevens
Emmy Award-winning actor William H. Macy dined at a Stevens restaurant last Wednesday night, and took a photo with the staff afterwards.
Kyma Seafood Grill, at 1640 N. Reading Road in Stevens, posted about the experience to its Facebook page.
"What a surprise we had this evening," the post says. "We had the pleasure of serving William H. Macy. We hope he had a fantastic meal and could not be more thankful for his generosity towards our staff!"
4. 'He loved doing it': Georgia man who played Santa Claus at Park City Center for 16 years dies at 82
For 16 years, Charles Brack made the more than 800-mile trip from his Georgia home to Lancaster County to spend 12-hour days as Santa Claus at Park City Center.
“After years of him not being home for Christmas, I got tired of it,” Brack’s wife, Jeannie, said of his trips, which took him away from home from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24.
On Nov. 2, Brack slipped on the stairs in his home and hit his head on the garage floor. His wife called 911, but given her background in the nursing profession, she suspected the worst.
“By the time I got to him, he was not breathing,” she said. “He had no heartbeat, had not even wiggled.
JOHN WALK | Features Writer5. Lampeter-Strasburg rallies in second half, upends Thomas Jefferson to advance to PIAA Class 4A championship
Things weren’t looking so great for Lampeter-Strasburg’s football team at halftime last Friday afternoon.
The Pioneers trailed Pittsburgh-area juggernaut Thomas Jefferson by 13 points, and L-S had run all of 16 plays and gained a grand total of 12 yards in the game’s first 24 minutes.
That’s when Dominic Brown and Christian Nolt approached Caileb Howse back in the locker room, and challenged their teammate — the Pioneers’ electric, dual-threat quarterback — to punch it into gear, and get L-S’s offense moving.
Howse got the message. Loud and clear.
JEFF REINHART | Sports Writer
