Category Archives: Columns

Exploring York County dive bars and a column on the ‘pie party’

Posted on November 9, 2012 | Leave a comment

Another day on the job.

Remember that time I ate pie and made new friends in a rural neighborhood? 

That column finally made it in the paper. I used Dickey’s fruit pie recipe as a breakout.

Hyperlocal fun!

You can check it out here. Continue reading →

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Posted in Adventures, Columns, Digital First, ideaLab, Journalism, Mobile Reporting, Reporting, Social Media, Twitter, York Daily Record

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That time I visited a place where no one knew what the York Daily Record was … and it’s OK

Posted on October 12, 2012 | 2 Comments

Fruit cup + toast + computer + Hootsuite = love.

I got some good feedback from my column today, which focused on my travels Thursday through northern York County, a place that doesn’t get much attention from our paper.

So far, it inspired one couple to invite me to their a “pie party” next week in the rural farmlands of northern York county. More on that later.

I just wanted to add a few tidbits of awesomeness from yesterday, despite the annoying fact that no one intentionally stopped by to share a story idea.

But hey, it happens sometimes — even when you promote the crap out of yourself. Continue reading →

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Posted in Columns, Community Outreach, Digital First, ideaLab, Journalism, Meet-ups, Mobile Reporting, Reporting, Social Media, York Daily Record

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If you tell them, they will come: Visit to Panera ‘office hours’ in York yields hyperlocal business column

Posted on August 14, 2012 | 1 Comment

Meet Jeanne Walton, a cool lacrosse mom and eighth grade science teacher who stopped by Panera to visit me Tuesday.

OK.

So it’s not a mall teeming with cockroaches or a trip to check out kinky gadgets in the adult store.

But I did end up with a column every sports mom or dad can relate to today when Jeanne Walton stopped by to see me at Panera in West Manchester Township.

The story goes a little something like this:

Kid plays sport.

Kid does really well at sport and qualifies for national tournament.

Parents rejoice — until they see the price tag.

Continue reading →

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Posted in Blog Posts, Business, Columns, Community Outreach, Digital First, ideaLab, Journalism, Meet-ups, Mobile Reporting, Reporting, Social Media, York Daily Record

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COLUMN: Executive glamour shots and the art of the business card photo

Posted on March 4, 2012 | 2 Comments

Originally published on the Money & More cover of the York Daily Record/Sunday News on Sunday, February 26, 2012.

By LAUREN BOYER 
Daily Record/Sunday News

I love business cards.

I'm not so sure about business card photos.

On occasion, I’ve been known to distribute mine at bars, parties and other venues that would probably make my editors cringe.

It sows seeds for potential stories, I convince myself.

That. And I’m just vain.

In 2012, it’s much more practical to enter a colleague’s contact information into a smartphone. Save the rainforest.

But I’m hooked on that ecstasy – a high only achieved in the millisecond where you slip someone that rectangular piece of cardstock that says, with a hint of arrogance, “Hey, I work here.” Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Business Trend, Columns, York Daily Record

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Just another Wednesday in a Codorus Township

Posted on December 27, 2011 | 1 Comment

Originally published on the Money & More page of the York Daily Record/Sunday News on Tuesday, December 27, 2011.

By LAUREN BOYER 
Daily Record/Sunday News

Earl Thoman, 91, checks out a deer rack at the Wednesday morning meeting in his Codorus Township woodworking shop. © 2011 York Daily Record/Sunday News -- Lauren Boyer

In the midst of the Christmas rush, I found myself face-to-face with the opposite as I traveled down Route 616 toward Seven Valleys with just the radio, my iPad and a travel mug full of hot chocolate.

It was Wednesday. A week earlier, I’d gotten a call from 81-year-old William Garman. He remembered a column I wrote in October about a meet-and-greet with bluegrass legend Del McCoury’s brother and other characters who frequent the Papertown Restaurant and Dairy Bar in his town of Spring Grove.

Garman, a P.H. Glatfelter Company retiree, invited me to his Codorus Township hangout – though he hinted at its unconventional appearance.

By the time I got to Shaffers Church Road, the sparse signs of civilization began to speak for themselves. Continue reading →

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Posted in Columns, Feature, York Daily Record

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COLUMN: Confessions of a former Hershey Park mascot

Posted on October 23, 2011 | 3 Comments

Originally published in the Business Section of the York Daily Record/Sunday News on Sunday, May 15, 2011.

By LAUREN BOYER 
Daily Record/Sunday News

People sometimes tell me I’m a character. But they don’t know the half of it.

It was my first job title.

For my first job, I spent two summers dressed as a candy bar at Hersheypark.

For two years, I signed autographs and frolicked around Hersheypark as a life-size mock-up of the Hershey Kiss, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, and, yes, sometimes the York Peppermint Pattie.

It’s sort of creepy, if you think about it.
Continue reading →

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Posted in Columns, Feature, York Daily Record

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COLUMN: Anybody want to rent my mom?

Posted on October 23, 2011 | 1 Comment

Originally published in the Business Section of the York Daily Record/Sunday News on Sunday, June 26, 2011.

By LAUREN BOYER 
Daily Record/Sunday News

In this harsh economy, I’ve considered ways to supplement my lucrative

This is my mom and I -- two Penn State graduates -- after I was honored as Penn State College of Communications student marshal for commencement December 2009.

reporter wages.

I looked into part-time jobs. I thought about freelance writing. That’s when I stumbled upon the mother of all  business opportunities:

Momstitution. I’m going to rent out my mom, Ann. She’s awesome.

Hear me out.
Continue reading →

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Posted in Columns, Feature, York Daily Record

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COLUMN: Mae on tap for 43 years and counting

Posted on October 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

Originally published in the Business Section of the York Daily Record/Sunday News on Sunday, March 20, 2011.

By LAUREN BOYER 
Daily Record/Sunday News

Maybe it was the DARE program or my parents’ stern warnings about alcoholism, but something seemed disconcerting about watching people crack

At 4'11" Mae Kreiger, age 86, is dwarfed by the taps at the White Rose. © 2011 York Daily Record/Sunday News -- Paul Kuehnel

open beers before the crack of dawn.

Reluctantly, I crawled out of bed, half-dreading the chilly, four-block trek between my house and Stogies, the White Rose Bar & Grill smoking lounge.

But I wanted to meet her.  Mae Kreiger, that is. She’s the 86-year-old bartender who unlocks the place at 5:30 a.m. weekdays, welcoming third-shift workers and those seeking a little something extra in their morning coffee.

Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Columns, Feature, York Daily Record

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