News and Views – July 4th Edition Quilts of Valor - The May general meeting featured speaker Ann Holte, who is a talented quilter, pattern designer, and student of old quilts. She also conducts quilt workshops at her Filaments Studio on West Main Street. The topic for the meeting was Quilts of Valor. Ann is a member of the Quilts of Honor Foundation. The Foundation’s mission is “to cover service members and veterans touched by war, with comforting and healing quilts.” She is also the co-author of the book, Quilts of Valor: A Fifty State Salute. A quilt, and its story, from each of the states is featured in the book. Ann also created quilt patterns for 16 quilts included in the book. The Quilts of Valor Foundation has 11,000 members. Since 2003 it has sewn and awarded over 217,000 quilts to veterans. Jo Gavin, a fellow member of the Quilts of Valor Foundation, made a special presentation of a red, white, and blue quilt to Vietnam War Veteran Daniel Dorsheimer. Jo stated the quilt was presented to Dan as a way to honor his service and as a thank you for that service. Dan who is a long time Hummelstown resident thanked the organization for bestowing this honor on him. He is active in the local American Legion Post 265 and has loaned military uniforms and memorabilia to the Society for displays. The tribute to him as part of the meeting was very fitting. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Historical Society Scholarships were awarded to Lower Dauphin students from the Class of 2019: Sydney Koons who will attend Bloomsburg University Katie McDonough who will attend Bloomsburg University The scholarships are funded by the Society’s annual raffle and donations. This year Michealann Dievendorf made a special donation of $1,000 for scholarship funding in memory of her dear friend Marian Sutter. --------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quilt Mystery Solved - The Hummelstown Sun in 1939 featured an article about a quilt which had been selected to be shown at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York. The quilt was sewn by local resident, Emma Hoerner. The Sun reported that the quilt was viewed by 842 local residents viewed the quilt at a special exhibit in town, before it was shipped to the Fair. Thanks to the Winters Heritage House Museum in Elizabethtown we now know what happened to that quilt. Their 28th Annual Show in May included the Hoerner Quilt as one of the 30 quilts displayed. The quilt’s applique design illustrated industrial progress in the country. The quilt was titled “Better Living in the World of Progress.” Flags, the Bible, a globe, George Washing, and different inventions like the phone, airplanes, and cars are appliqued on the quilt. The quilt stitching has more than 100 hand-sewn interlocking gears. Eighty years later, the quilt remains in good hands as a treasured heirloom by of Emma Hoerner’s descendants. The following Monthly General Meetings of the Society have been announced by Program Chairpersons Ann Kopp and Jean Seibert at 7:00 pm at the Parish House: o September 16 – First Ladies featuring Bess Truman, Mamie Eisenhower, Jackie Kennedy, and Lady Bird Johnson will be discussed by Marge and Walter Cook. 0 October 21 - Stephanie Hoover speaks on Halloween customs. o November 18 – Curtis Weber, Board Member and Civil War Re-Enactor will speak on Civil War Brigadier General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The All Lit Up Show opens at the History House in July, 2019 and runs through September, 2019. The Show features a nostalgic look at lights in Hummelstown homes. Desks lights, children’s lights, parlor lamps, homemade lights, as well as coal oil lamps and Aladdin lamps are featured. A silent auction is being conducted for several lights in the Show. The proceeds from the sale will be used for ongoing repairs to the Parish House. The Show at the History House at 32 West Main Street in July on Saturdays from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm and in August on Sundays from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Legacy lamps from the homes of these former town residents are among the featured lights: Melba Shultz Catherine Brehm Ruth Reinert Dorothy Menear Evelyn Jennings Helen Skinner Winifred Harrington Minerva Deimler
Lena Fasnacht Ruth Reigle Betty Smith Evelyn Deimler Winifred Walters Mabel Shelly Hazel Ferguson
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The Hummelstown Arts Festival is scheduled for Saturday, September 14 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The proceeds benefit art scholarships for Lower Dauphin students. The History House at the Historical Society will be open during the Festival which features the All Lit Up Show. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Student Volunteers from the Milton Hershey School once again will volunteer at the Historical Society as part of the Annual Community Service Day that the School sponsors. This is the third year that the students have participated. They come to weed, prune, and clean up the back yard of the History House. The purpose of the project is to share the vision of Milton and Catherine Hershey by having students volunteer at neighboring organizations. Pat and Melanie Knight are the house parents of the students who will volunteer the Society.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hummelstown School May Day was a topic suggested by Darlene Christofes for inclusion in this edition of News and Views. Darlene has always been an active and enthusiastic member of the Society along with her late husband Tom, who was a past president of the Society. Darlene is also an active member of the Hummelstown High School Alumni Society which is where her idea originated. The Preamble of the Program for the 1927 May Day Pageant noted: “The Annual May Fete of the Hummelstown Schools aims to introduce into the life of the child the great joy that comes from exercise and from the spectacle of beauty as depicted by the pageant. It is intended to inspire in the child loftier ideals of true living…. It follows the two Cardinal Rules of Education – Health and The Worthy Use of Leisure.” The 1927 May Day Queen was Florence Stephenson (Great Aunt of Jean Deimler Seibert) Advertisers in the 1927 Program included: George Fromm Dairy Ludwig’s Ice Cream and Candy Warwick Hotel Ruffs Drug Store Karmany Furniture Millers Grocery on the Square Fisler’s Ladies Wear Yeager’s West End Store Keystone Hotel The Bu-te Shoppe Holler’s Coal Hetrick’s Bakery Brightbill Homes Etters Clothing Engle General Store Mumfords Vapor Salts The Hummelstown Sun The Farmers Bank The 1926 May Day Pageant was held at the Hummelstown School Athletic Field. Each grade performed a dance scene related to the program’s theme. The dances were accompanied by Maude Taylor on piano, and Anna Ferrucci and Florence Ruff playing the violins. The sixth-grade boys performed a scene depicting Life of Native Americans. The seventh and eighth grade boys and girls performed the Arrival of European Settlers. Next, the fourth grade performed a dance about Early Life in the Colonies. In the next part of the pageant, different classes performed American dances including the Aesthetic Dance, Folk Dance, Come Let us Be Joyful,
Virginia Reel, and The Balloon Dance. Finally, the famous May Pole Dance was performed by the high school girls. The May Day Pageant in 1928 told the story of The Pied Piper. The story is based on a Teutonic Legend. The Pied Piper had taken personal revenge against the Village of Hamelin when they did not pay him for the riddance of rats in the village. The revenge was that the children were charmed away by the Pied Piper. But in the end, and with payment, the children were returned and the village had a new outlook on life. The story was performed in two Acts, with multiple dances by students throughout the celebration. The day ended with the May Pole Dance that had 39 students participate! Interns Olivia Sharrow and Kira Wertz researched the May Day events from programs in the Society’s collection and wrote the article. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Hummelstown Area Time Line presents Hummelstown’s history from its earliest days to the most recent events. The Timeline will be available as a publication in the near future. Local events from the 1870’s include: 1876 - Bethel Church of God built a brick structure as a house of worship at the corner of South Railroad and West High Streets. The church was organized in 1874, and first met in the fire house. 1876 - The Molly Maguires was a secret society among Irish immigrants in Pennsylvania. After a series of violent conflicts, twenty members of the Molly Maguires were convicted of crimes. One member was arrested at Clifton Bridge, having traveled the canal from Pine Grove but followed by the Pinkertons, hired by coal operators to arrest the dissidents. 1875 – The Ober Terra Cotta Chimney Works at the west of town advertised pottery chimney tops and crocks available for purchase by the public. The clay for the fired pottery came from nearby pits. 1875 – The Ladies Aid Society of the Lutheran Church was organized and pledged “to work for the good of the church at home and abroad.” The name was changed to the Woman’s Home and Foreign Missionary in 1882, but the mission remained the same.
1875 - Five lime kilns operated along the Swatara Creek across from Hummelstown. Lime made from heating limestone to a high temperature was used by farmers to enhance their soil. 1874 – Hummelstown ordinances in this year addressed slaughter houses, the storage of gun powder, public vagrancy, drunkenness, and boys jumping on moving railroad cars. 1874 – A brick fire hall was built in Hummelstown with a jail on the second floor. 1874 – Hummelstown was incorporated as a Borough by the Pennsylvania Legislature. The first appointed Burgess was John Grove (1974), followed by C. A. Nissley (1876), and W. R. Hendricks (1878). 1874 – Dr. W. C. Baker graduated from the University of Michigan and set up his medical practice in a house he built at 20 South Hanover Street. Later, it was Dr. Wallace’s home and medical office. 1873 – The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was founded. Local chapter meetings were said to be well attended by town residents. 1873 – The Depression, known as the Great Panic of 1873, lasted until 1879 and had significant economic repercussions for the town and area. 1872 – The United Brethren Church established their summer Camp Meeting at Stoverdale on grounds donated by Mary and Edward Stover, Senior in memory of their son who died while a student in college. The Camp Meeting was under a canopy of oak, evergreen, spruce, and hickory trees. 1872 – The Stoverdale Church was built on the farm of Mary and Edward Stover, Senior as a memorial to their deceased son. As was the custom in early churches, ladies occupied the left side of the church, and the men the right side. 1871 – The Hummelstown Sun was founded by W. R. Hendricks and J. W. Sofer, who also published the Middletown Journal. (The Sun is the oldest business still in operation in Hummelstown.)
Recent individuals who donated items to the Society’s Collection include: O William Jackson donated the portable typewriter used by Cliff Hartwell while employed at The Hummelstown Sun Office. O The Wachter Family donated an original painting of the Hummelstown Square completed by Hummelstown native Helen Wachter. The painting will be featured in a future display of artists’ rendering of the Square. Lion’s Club memorabilia and a World War II Army Air Corp were also donated. O The Getz’s donated several Fromm Dairy Bottles. The bottles for home delivered milk and cream remind us what is old is new again. Today one can still receive groceries and milk delivered to your home by the larger grocery store chains. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to the following Society members who worked at the Historical Society’s stand at the Taste of Hummelstown. It is an annual event sponsored by the Hummelstown Business and Professional Association. Laynie Overby Chad Lister Linda Fenical Logan Grubb Conor Grubb ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Congratulations to Society Charter Member Patricia Swigart who was awarded the 2019 Olympus Award given by the Elegance of Hershey to a collector who has shown a lifetime dedication to the spirit of sharing magnificent automobiles with automobile enthusiasts around the world. It is the highest award an individual car collector can receive from other collectors. Funds from the Elegance Show are donated to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Antique Automobile Club of America’s Museum and Library. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Congratulations to Chad Lister who was recently appointed to the Hummelstown Borough Council. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thanks to the following Businesses for Their Membership Support of the Society:
Ann Holte’s Quilting and Filaments Studio The Law Firm of Caldwell and Kearns Chiquitta Fresh Express Hershey Community Archives Mark 1 Restoration Patrick Taylor Delivery Services Rhoads Gift Shop The Hershey Company The Warwick Hotel --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Happy July 4th to the Society’s Members, Family, Friends, and Business Supporters -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------