I made a wrong turn onto Shot Gun Lane.

It happened three Friday nights ago when my GPS wasn't registering some of the wooded, winding, and occasionally unpaved roads on the rural border between Washington and Warrington townships.

I was looking for a party - a pie party - at the home of Jim Dickey, also known as "Mr. Jim."

To recap, I'm looking for suggestions of York County communities to visit in seldom covered communities. I want to hear your stories, ones that might otherwise go untold.

The 71-year-old, a military retiree, answered my plea for ideas by inviting me to his neighborhood gathering to learn more about an initiative called "Good News University" and, of course, to sample his homemade pies.

Pies. My job is tough sometimes.

When I finally found the Dickey home, I parked my car in darkness on the road's shoulder and walked toward the brightly beaming house, a beacon in a community where neighbors are far apart - but, as it turns out, very close together.

The pie party tradition started 15 years ago with an annual garage sale featuring 45 families. That's how neighbors became friends.

Then, Dickey concocted the "pie party," held sporadically to keep everyone in touch.

No booze. Just round crusts filled with baked deliciousness. "Pie is easy to make," Dickey said. "I can make a pie in 10 minutes."

At this particular pie party, Dickey and his wife, Mary Ann, greeted me and introduced me to their neighbors, who stood around a dining room table covered in circular desserts of key lime, strawberry rhubarb, blueberry and more.

He even gave me his recipe.

"At my age," he said, "there are no secrets."

The Dickeys once operated Pointer Specialties, a business that sold canine products across the world, including their patented "tummy saver" vest used to protect the chest and abdomen of hunting dogs from the abrasive brush.

They have since sold the business, but kept the converted chicken coop they once used as an office.

That's where we went next.

The poultry once housed in the small wooden structure have since been replaced by tens of wooden duck decoys, which line the walls of the space - ground zero for another of Dickey's big ideas.

Since 2005, the space has served as a makeshift summer class for neighborhood teens, who would gather voluntarily to learn about topics such as the stock market, compound interest, and the importance of saving for the future.

A box of lesson plans sat in the corner.

Dickey named the initiative "Good News University," and recruited speakers - often friends from his military days - to give the advice he never learned as a child.

"He would try to educate us in some of the lessons learned - things he wished he would have done at our age," said Kirk Shoemaker, who graduated from Northern High School in 2006.

He had a message for his former teacher: "You know, Mr. Jim, thanks for doing that."

Shoemaker, 25, is a lieutenant in the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division and just finished a six-month tour of Afghanistan.

That day, he had driven six hours from Fort Bragg, N.C., to attend the neighborhood get-together - something he doesn't miss for the world. "I'm sure in small town America things like this still exist," he said, "but probably no where else in York."

Lauren Boyer is a mobile reporter with the York Daily Record/Sunday News. She wants to hear your stories. Where is she hanging out today? Check Facebook.com/YorkDailyRecord, call 717-654-0675 or email lboyer@ydr.com.

WHERE SHOULD WE VISIT NEXT? Do you have a favorite coffee shop, diner or meeting spot?

Reporter Lauren Boyer is looking for places to visit and meet interesting people.

To pitch a suggestion, email lboyer@ydr.com or call 717-654-0675.

DICKEY'S FRUIT PIE RECIPE (taken word-for-word from Jim Dickey)

(For all berry, cherry, pear, apple and peach pies)

1. 5 CUPS OF BERRIES - heap it up baby

2. 1 cup of brown sugar (3/4 cup if honey is used)

3. 1 ¾ tablespoons of corn starch (or flour equivalent)

4. ¼ teaspoon almond extract

5. ¼ teaspoon nutmeg (a good shake works for me)

6. ¼ teaspoon cinnamon (another good shake or two)

7. pinch of salt (all pies call for this - why?)

8. BIG squirt of KEY lime juice (any lime juice works)

9. Dot top with butter

10. Paint crust with milk and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar

11. Bake 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes them 350 degrees Fahrenheit until pie bubbles near the middle (40-70 minutes)


*Add more corn starch if needed (You have to play with the corn starch deal)

*I use the rolled up pie crusts. A lot faster - I'm lazy

*ADD the almond extract, nutmeg and cinnamon to taste

*Key lime juice gives a special taste. Go to Walmart

*Mix 2:1 berries/cherries/apples with each other or cranberries for some creativity