Georg R. Sheets

Sheets was also a supporter of the William C. Goodridge Freedom Center and Underground Railroad Museum, in historical downtown York, PA. He helped plan and present the museum's opening in May 2016 and gave a talk there on June 2, 2017 for which his publication company, Showcase Now, produced a pamphlet titled, Eyewitness to the Goodridge Story in York.

Sheets resigned from York College in 1980 in order to research and write his first book, To the Setting of the Sun: The Story of York, which was published in 1981 with a Foreword by Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh. Setting sold out of its first printing of 6,000 copies in a month and was immediately submitted for a second printing. The photo editor of the book was Jerry Sweitzer, who was also responsible for the "Partners in progress" section at the back of the book, where members of the York Chamber of Commerce agreed to pay to have their history included. The book was sponsored by the Historical Society of York as well as the Chamber of Commerce. It was printed on P.H. Glatfelter paper at Maple Press, in York. It is 8 1/2 inches by 11 1/2 inches and three quarters of an inch thick. Illustrations include watercolors, pen and ink drawings, photographs, engravings, newspaper clippings, and signs, with a section of color plates in addition to black and white illustrations throughout. A revised and updated edition was put out in November 2002 by the American Historical Press under the title York County: To the Setting of the Sun : An Illustrated History ( .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:linear-gradient(transparent,transparent),url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}ISBN 978-1892724328).

In 2002, the Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee turned to Sheets to document the work of artist Violet Oakley at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg. Similarly, at other times, Asbury United (First) Methodist Church, the York County Bar Association, and PeoplesBank hired him to put their organizational histories into book form.

In 2000, he contributed the historical portion to The Grand Review: The Civil War Continues to Shape America, a book on the glorious two-day parade in Washington, D.C. that marked the end of the Civil War, May 23 & 24, 1865. The softcover book has about 140 illustrations over 132 pages and was published by Bold Print, Inc. of York, PA. It was nominated for the Pulitzer prize.

Georg Sheets was curator of the John Harris/Simon Cameron Mansion Museum and Galleries of the Historical Society of Dauphin County in the 1990s. During his time there, they presented an exhibit called "Simon Cameron: In the Eye of the Civil War" which presented personal effects, including letters, of the former Senator from Pennsylvania and Lincoln's Ambassador to Russia.

On his return to York, Sheets worked as a public relations consultant for businesses and individuals until 1975, when he was hired to be Director of Public Relations by President Ray A. Miller of York College of Pennsylvania. Before that he had been public relations director of York Little Theater (now The Belmont Theatre). By this time he was well known for his work with the deaf and hard of hearing. He developed and taught the first sign language course at York College, was a member of the International Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, and arranged for tours for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at the Historical Society of York County. Sheets worked as the publicity director at York College from 1975 to 1980.

Sheets served as President and then Past President of the York Twinning Association, which connects residents of York to residents of its sister cities Arles, France (since 1954) and Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany (since 1981). He was also a Board Member of the York Little Theater, the Strand-Capital Performing Arts Center, and the York Cerebral Palsy Home. Sheets further served as the Vice President of both the York County Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the York Arts Council, in the 1970s. In 1982 he was co-chair, with Annette Guilfoyle, of the Victorian Heritage Festival.

Georg Richard Sheets (April 16, 1947 – February 24, 2020) was an American historian, author, and editor, best known for his documentation of the history of York County, Pennsylvania and of the American Civil War. Sheets started his career as a journalist, and was commissioned to write several works on local, state, and organizational history in York and Harrisburg. He contributed substantially to research on William C. Goodridge and family that led to the establishment of the William C. Goodridge Freedom Center and Underground Railroad Museum.

Sheets was born in 1947 in Preston County, West Virginia.

During his research for Setting, Sheets learned of the national historical importance of William C. Goodridge. His editor in California put him in touch with historian John Jezierski, of Saginaw, Michigan; Some of Sheets' research was contributory to Jezierski's substantial work on Goodridge photography, called Enterprising Images: The Goodridge Brothers, African American Photographers, 1847–1922. Sheets spent much of the next ten years researching the Goodridge Family, including two interviews with Emily O. Goodridge's great-granddaughter Catherine Grey Hurley. Sheets' research resulted in a small booklet published by The Library Shop at Martin Library with financial support from the Glatfelter Insurance Company, in June 1990.