Winter Calendar

Winters Heritage House Museum

December
KEEP YOUR We are Elizabethtown history.

r
1—Story Hour

MEMBERSHIP
ACTIVE!
Memberships
are our primary resource for
maintaining the museum. Please take the
time to renew your annual membership, or consider
becoming a Nogging Brick member and auto-
contributing monthly. If you renew early we add the
membership year to your existing due date.
Membership Form NEW
Name: _________________________________________
Address: _______________________________________
8—Second Friday, open 5-8pm.
Also—Last day for regular hours
28—Carpool trip to Wheatland/Lanc. Hist.org
Leaves at 10am./returns 2pm
31—New Year’s Eve, 3pm-7pm
Member N e w s l e t t e
January
12—Story Hour
Month-long Hand-spinning Class Special
Published quarterly by the Elizabethtown Preservation Associates, Inc. Winter 2018
February
Month Long Family-style Hearth Cooking Class Special
Inside—
For up to 6 children and 2 adults.
9—Story Hour
Also —
21—Carpool trip to Winterthur  A Day in the Life of Dear Elizabeth
Leaves at 9am/returns at 4pm
 The Word on Winter Workings!
 Uniquely Elizabethtown Exhibit
Plugged-in E-town lecture DTBD  Our Valorous Volunteers!
March
 Museum Updates  Serious Store Shopping!
ReNEW 2—Story Hour  Committee Notes  Meet Mary Ann!
9—Museum resumes regular hours
W., Th., F., 9:30am-3pm, and by appointment.

Phone: ________________________________________ New Year’s Eve

with Letterkenny
Email: _________________________________________ Ireland

Membership level (circle one) Winters Heritage

Individual—$25 Patron — $100 House will again be
Family — $40 Sponsor — $250 helping Christ
Sustaining — $60 Benefactor — $500 Lutheran Church (two
Set me up as a Nogging Brick Membership at $_______/ Month doors up) with the
community’s New
Year’s Eve event.
Thank you for your support! The museum will be
open December 31st,
Check enclosed # _________ Amount : ____________ from 3-7pm as a warm
place to wait for the rising of the star at 7pm (midnight, Ireland).
Or Credit Card: __________________________________ As you visit, try some hearth-cooked foods, look over Ben
Wohlbowne’s Elizabethtown Architecture exhibit, and let the
Expiration: _____ children make a few fun crafts.

Please send this form to the address provided here. The museum At 6:50pm, head up to the church to watch the rising star finish off
does not have an on-site mailbox. 2017 and move into the new year, along with our sister city,
Letterkenny, Ireland!

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE MUSEUM!

Please recycle this newsletter by sharing it
Winters Heritage House Museum with your family, friends, or neighbors. (717) 367-4672
P.O. Box 14 Once you’re done, please place in your
Permit No. 1
Elizabethtown, PA 17022
Elizabethtown, PA 17022
PA
recycle bin. Elizabethtown, 47 East High St.,
Non-profit Org.
Museum Hours through March 9, 2018 are by chance or appointment. We are generally in on site Wednesday, Thursday and Paid P.O. Box 14
Friday from 9am to 3pm, but please call to be sure or to arrange another time to meet. Museum phone: 717 367-4672 US Postage Return Service Requested Winters Heritage House Museum
Shop Local in our Museum Store
Stop in for holiday shopping! We stock 100%
locally made gifts and USA products.
 Hand-blended teas from South Carolina
 Hand-thrown pottery mugs from Wisconsin
 Heritage house shirts from USA garments
designed by E-town Sporting Goods
 Herbs and spices from the museum garden
 Hand-dipped tapers from Keystone Candle
 Hand-forged iron by Stan Newcomer
 Quilts and hand-sewn items from the
Museum’s Quilt committee
 Handmade ornaments for your tree
 Hand-painted wine glasses
 Vintage jewelry
 Vintage teacups and teapots
 Locally authored books:
Baxter’s New Home, by Mark Pontz
Dear Woman of my Dreams, by Lois
Herr
Dear Coach, by Lois Herr
Elizabethtown, (Arcadia collection) by
J.P. Benowitz
Josefina the Miracle Donkey, by Pattie
Longenecker
Lancaster Landmarks, by Gerrry
Kershner
Laundry Liszt, (poetry) by P. Kline
Some Gave All, by Phil Clark
Saints and Symbolism, by Phil Clark
The True Leader, by Jamie Marsico
 Handmade exotic wood cutting boards
 Homemade soaps, ointments and lotions
 American Heritage Chocolate made in
Elizabethtown by Mars Snack Foods, Inc.
Our Wonderful Community
Volunteers
The Heritage House has been blessed with many
supportive community-minded volunteers over
the 30 years we have been operating. 2017 held a
very busy fall, with an event calendar that kept
our volunteers stepping. Thank you to everyone
who helped. Volunteers kept programs like these
running:
 October’s Second Friday found “Witches in
the Kitchen” for an evening. A very fun
evening enjoyed by many.
 The Bev Ulrich Third Grade Walking Tours
were a grand success, and fell during the
warmest, sunniest week October had to offer.
 November 1st, Mount Calvary 2nd grade
visited. They had a lively tour of the
buildings and learned how to process wool
into yarn.
 The 27th annual Elizabethtown Heritage
Craft Show ran November 10 & 11. We had
record visitation and featured over 30 local
artisans. The food bank donations were Charles Groff helps out
impressive, just in time for Thanksgiving! front.
 Our current exhibit, “Uniquely Elizabethtown; Our architectural
Treasures” opened November 17th, along with the ExtraOrdianry
Give event. The exhibit, assembled by EAHS Sophomore Ben
Wohlbowne, will be on display through New Year’s Eve.
In addition to these events, behind the scenes we have been honored with
help from several other dedicated volunteers.
 Kennedy Brennan of Elizabethtown College has been helping
coordinate a You Tube video that the museum can use for
promotional purposes as part of his senior communications project.
 Michael Barash has been coming by to help us with outdoor
maintenance work. He has scraped, painted and done some very
needed upkeep to the garage.
 Charles Groff and Hanh Menger
from Lancaster based “Independent
U”, come by two Fridays a month to
help us clean and keep up with
smaller tasks that otherwise build
up. Hanh is especially fond of
shredding old records for us.
Charles prefers the vacuum and
cobweb chaser. Both add smiles to
everyone’s day.
All in all, it has been a fun and busy
fall. We will be open by chance or
appointment December 9 through
March 9, 2018. Simply give us a
call if you would like to visit. We
Hanh Menger mans the shredder are often in the building.
Thank you for supporting the museum and library
during the Lancaster County Community
Foundation’s 2017 Extraordinary Give event!
It is wonderful to have such a supportive community!
Merry Christmas!
from the Winters Heritage
House and Seibert
Genealogy Library!
Will be Sadly Missed—Mary Karnes, Seibert Genealogy Librarian
We are sorry to note the passing of Mary Karnes, our long-time librarian, town historian, and
museum friend. Mary dedicated many years towards helping the museum.
Mary was the leader in creating and developing the Seibert Genealogy Library which has been
housed within the Heritage House Museum since the museum opened in 1991. The library was
originally located on the second floor of the 1860 nogging structure on the east end of the
museum. Many stories were told of summer heat and winter chill endured by the library staff.
After Esther Winters provided for the 1995 expansion, the library was moved to its current
location in the west end of the museum. When Mary retired from her head research librarian
position in June of 2015 the room was christened the Mary Karnes Room, in her honor.
Mary passed away peacefully in her sleep on Monday, November 20, 2017 She will be missed.
Uniquely Elizabethtown: Our Architectural Treasures
What makes Elizabethtown look like Elizabethtown? Drop in and
explore an exhibit assembled by EAHS sophomore, Ben Wohlbowne,
currently in place here in the Heritage House. The exhibit features
common, unique and curious features of Elizabethtown’s historic
structures.
Ben has a fascination for architecture and
the exhibit is a clear reflection of that
interest. Cornices, turrets, keystones and
federal chimneys all come into play
throughout the three room exhibit.
Interactive displays encourage the visitor
to think about keystone construction, the
purpose of star bolts, and the practical
function of prism glass. The exhibit will
be in place until New Year’s Eve.
Ben Wohlbowne , a 10th
grade student at EAHS, is
the energy behind the If you plan to visit after December 8th, please call ahead to be certain
we are in the building or to make an appointment. 717 367-4672
Elizabethtown Architecture
exhibit.
Winter Happenings at Winters Heritage Dear Elizabeth more able than a wagon. Lately Barnabas the crossing at Harris Ferry by evening with
House has been moving guns and ammunition for the packhorses, then leave them in the care
Our Historic Advice Column the purpose of those protecting our fur of the next guard, he plans he shall return
The spirit of our town founder, - trade. Should this conflict become more more quickly alone than he did going.
Winter Hours—We are open by chance and
Appointment from December through early March. Elizabeth Hughes, residing here from troubling, I will be not surprised. Often the plan thus laid is run amok by
What that means; call ahead, though likely we are on site 1750 to 1760, offers her advice to our interfering circumstances, and I truly do not
Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays between 9am and generation. With the horses to feed and prepare, I was expect to see my husband for several more
3pm. up before daybreak assisting in that effort. days. I therefore needed little concern
If you have any advice needs from or a The menfolk doing most of the preparations myself with preparing a meal, but decided
Research—This winter could be the time for you to history question for Elizabeth, please for travel, while I helped haul water and instead to bake the week’s breads and pies
move ahead on researching your family tree, uncovering send them to Dear Elizabeth, c/o then making a good meal of venison and though a day early for that routine.
the history of the house you live in, or just learning fun Winters Heritage House Museum cornmeal biscuits.
email; The days being still warm, we had stowed
things about Elizabethtown from days past. The
Winters-HH@ElizabethtownHistory.org
museum’s winter schedule is “by appointment”, but that Barnabas was eager to get along towards the remainder of the venison in the well and
said we generally maintain our Wednesday, Thursday, Paxtang, though his drover (the fellow I pulled that up and prepared several meat
A winter scene of the Heritage House by Pat Drybred moving the mules) was less so and wanted pies while the oven fire burned. I had set
Friday routine. Just please call ahead to be certain we are
to linger over the meal. Barnabas had me dough to rise at breakfast and Ellen helped
here. With a little heads up, we are happy to meet you here at other times, as well.
wrap the remainders in parchment and cloth me punch it down and set it again so now it
and tie it with a twine for them to eat later was ready to bake. Once warmed, the oven
Class Specials—We are offering month-long specials on two of our classes this winter These are fun for adults, children, on the road. His partner finally noted this goes for hours, so Ellen and I set our caps
or families. gesture and gathered the horses and then towards keeping it busy. Samuel did well
Hand-Spinning; This January, learn to select, prepare, and hand-spin wool into yarn. Classes operate on an they departed just once the sun was fully keeping the baby entertained.
individual or with-a-friend basis, and are arranged to suit your schedule. Classes run 60 to 90 minutes once a week, and up.
Ellen needed to return before the early
you can schedule as many as you like. $25/hour per single person or $45/hour per two people.
After the men left, I washed several aprons sunset so left with only a loaf of bread,
Hearth Cooking; February is the perfect time to sample cooking over a fire with our friends and family-friendly Dear Elizabeth, and small handcloths I use for general though I promised her a pie next visit,
hearth cooking class. This class is for 4 to 6 people of your choosing and feeds up to 8, allowing you to invite a few friends cleaning and hung them outside on the which I and the children plan to take to her
Perhaps you could share with us what a
to dine on your culinary talents! There is a required minimum of 2 adults per group. Call to set a time for this class that railing to dry in the air. I refreshed the farm in several days. All other baking was
typical day is like in your time era.
suits your family’s or friends’ busy schedules. Total fee varies per group size and menu. Please call to hear more! kitchen and sorted dry beans from our then completed by my ownsome. The pies
David Charles garden until noon. The beans needed will feed a few for the upcoming week and
Carpool Trips — December 28 we are carpooling to Wheatland and Lancaster History.org for the day, leaving at Elizabethtown released from their dried hulls and dry- the venison is otherwise used so my
10am and returning by 2pm. See Wheatland in its holiday garb! stored in a crock. My oldest son, Samuel, worries it will spoil are allayed.
February 21 we are off to Winterthur in Delaware at 9am and hope to return by 4pm. A 15 person now 6 years of age and a bit sullen that he
Dear David,
minimum is required for group discount. not be permitted to accompany his father, After clearing the kitchen again and eating
I shall list for you here my day’s duties.
Please call to let us know you are joining us for either day. Group admission rate/possible gas money collection. was happy enough to help me in this easy the scraps left from the baking, the children
It is early December, 1753, and Barnabas chore. These we will later soak and add to and I were hardly hungry, so felt well fed.
Plugged in E-town Lectures—Our winter lecture series is set for season #2. Details are currently being organized, but stews and soups. A few of each variety I set I banked the fire and with Samuel’s help,
call for updates. The series will resume in February. and I live at the Sign of the Bear, the only
significant structure yet in these parts. The aside for next spring’s garden. fed the stock and drew water for morning
place serves as our home and as an so I wouldn’t have to do that in the chill
Committee Notes assembly location for trade to points west. Our neighbor Ellen walked over from the dark tomorrow. I do not care to be alone,
needed basis. They help with original research and support our
library, newsletter, and exhibits. Conveniently located a day’s journey from east farm then and we talked and enjoyed a but must admit it is refreshing to have no
Herb Garden—Meets Spring through fall on a varied schedule
for gardening purposes. They held an Heirloom Seed Swap last both Lancaster to our east, and a crossing visit. She was glad to spy my washing after man’s boots to drop great hunks of mud
April that was well-received by the community, and filled the Hearth Cooking — This group meets as needed and helps at her walk through the thick woods, meaning about the clean floor. I did some sewing
events with hearth-cooked foods and demonstrations. They run point of the Susquehanna, to our west, we
museum store shelves with chemical-free herbs, spices and skin that she knew me to be home. She was until the light was too gone. The children
hearth cooking classes, and always welcome those interested in regularly see travelers, as well.
products. If you like to garden or want to learn, call for more delivering us some extra goatsmilk, though and I did all bundle together into the large
details. helping and learning.
This morning, I was up at early light along I think truly, she being close to her time, bed, to keep away the chill of the bedroom.
Quilt Committee –Meets 2nd and 3rd Monday evenings each Textile Group— This group meets the 3rd Wednesday of the wanted some stories on motherhood. She
month. They include many textile-oriented talents; Hand- with Barnabas and a fellow who is in
month. This group supports the museum through wonderful hand Today was most different in that we had no
spinning, weaving, knitting , crochet, tatting, etc. Bring your Barnabas’ employ. He is to lead a train of feels the baby should arrive near the new
-quilted and sewn products that fill the store and annual craft year day. She enjoys playing with my visitors beyond Ellen. We commonly
show. They are a welcoming crew to beginners as well as talents to share or your interest in learning! packhorses out towards Paxtang, with
youngest, baby Daniel, and keeps young receive folks to stay a night or so, but the
experts. Barnabas as guard, crossing the
Museum Docents—These folks continue to learn and share their season being cooler, most travel is reduced
knowledge of Elizabethtown and enthusiasm for the Heritage Susquehanna at Harris Ferry, and west from Samuel in giggles.
Story Hour—Runs October through May on the 2nd Fridays. this time of year.
House with visiting adults, children, and families. They are the there. The travel in this area is possible
This program benefits pre-school children and their parents. It Barnabas is to be away this day and return Yours Truly,
helps develop social skills. Each session includes a story related backbone of the annual Third Grade Walking Tours. We are over narrow trails through thick forest,
to colonial life, a snack and a craft or special activity. always looking for more docents. A love for discovering history often rocky or muddy, and packhorse trains possibly mid-day tomorrow dependent
and sharing it with others are the only pre-requisites. upon the travel conditions. If he can make Elizabeth
are common ways to move goods, being
Library Research Committee—This group meets on an as-
We are Elizabethtown History
In 2018, the Winters Heritage House will be entering its 27th
year of operation. That, of course is only a short note on the
two log buildings’ current role in the community. The Scots-
Irish house has been holding its spot here for 228 years. The
log structure, initially situated on the square, was relocated to
47 East High Street just post the revolutionary war, in the
1790s. The Pennsylvania German log house that sits beside it
was purchased and donated in 1995 by benefactor Esther
Winters, becoming a part of the museum in that year. The
logs that form that house were felled circa 1760, and it too
was moved to its current location from an earlier spot near
the fairgrounds. That move occurred around 1812. At that
time there were only about 30 structures in Elizabethtown.
Both of these structures have been silent witness to the
developing town around them. They are not reproductions,
or modern relocations from nearby, they are the real thing in
their real context. What makes them even more special is
that they are not grand. They are ordinary. They are not
Wheatland or Rockford Plantation or Winterthur. They are
the sort of log homes that ordinary people lived in long ago.
The sort of place where you and I would probably have
grown up.
Often, ordinary things get lost to us, and we don’t appreciate
them until they are gone. Just a few years prior to the
Heritage House’s salvation from an impending date with a
bulldozer, the town lost the historic Black Horse Hotel (later
1700s) to a fire (now a parking lot for Elizabethtown First
Church of God) and another early log structure to demolition.
The latter building was only revealed as a log structure post
wrecking ball. It sat across from Brother’s Pizza, and
everyone driving through town had a good look at the
irreversible damage. Sensitivities to the heritage that was
slipping away were high. Thank goodness for the alert and
community-minded individuals from the Elizabethtown
Historical Society that noticed these buildings, also slated for
demolition, were perhaps worthy of a second look. They
quickly established the Elizabethtown Preservation
Associates, the umbrella of the Winters Heritage House
Museum. Thank goodness for the Elizabethtown community
who took these buildings on and cared for them since then.
Today, the Seibert Genealogy Library, housed within the
German log, maintains deeds, records and maps from the
1700s to now, and has information on over 250 local
families. We hold over 30 GBs of digital image and
document data. We work side-by-side with the local
historical society, making your research both thorough and
verifiable.
The museum offers classes in sustainable and traditional
skills such as gardening, quilting, hand-spinning and hearth
cooking, and holds programs for children, families, adults
and the community.
The Winters Heritage House owes its existence to the town, it
links the town to its past, and in its simple, ordinary, yet
extraordinary way, it maintains our town’s essence. A step
into these buildings is as close a visit to Colonial
Elizabethtown as you can get, and we hope you drop by
sometime soon to enjoy that view and hear some tales of long
ago.
Thank you for your continued support and for seeing the
value in these ordinary treasures.
We are Elizabethtown history.
Meet our New Staff Member! Irish Words of Wisdom:
As Director of the Winters Heritage House Museum, I am happy  No matter how many
to announce that we have hired Mary Ann Swartz as Museum rooms you have in your
Manager. Mary Ann brings an abundance of community-interest
house, you can only sleep
and a love for Elizabethtown history. She most recently worked at
the Elizabethtown Historical Society, so is well versed in the
in one bed.
everyday tasks of a volunteer-run organization
 An empty sack cannot stand.
and history-based non-profit. Mary Ann
starts in December and will bring additional  A kind word never broke anyone’s
support to museum and library activities.
mouth.
Please drop by to meet Mary Ann.
 The hands are there for friendship.
Nancy Landis The heart is there for love.
Director, /WHHM
Bev Ulrich 3rd Grade Walking Tours
This year’s EASD third grade students enjoyed a beautiful week of October sunshine as they toured historic sites and
murals throughout downtown Elizabethtown. Each day, three to four classrooms of students took turns visiting two
downtown murals by Wayne Fettro, the Historical Society’s schoolhouse, and Christ Lutheran Church. Afternoons, they
toured through the Heritage House rooms and garden and visited the mural by the museum parking lot. They learned
about an Elizabethtown shoe factory, they saw how a spinning wheel works, and found out what “Pennsylvania” means.
While our host of docents was able to cover all the stops, the museum is in need of several more people. This year we
could have used a few more hands. The Walking Tour generally runs for four days during the
third week of October. It is a challenge to fill each location with someone to present
information to the children. Some docents work just a day
or two, some do the entire 4-day stretch.
If you enjoy children and history and would like to help us
with this program, now is an excellent time to see what all
is involved and explore the activities involved. Please
contact us! It’s a wonderful program that we seem to enjoy
as much as the students!
Left, Donna Bucher explains hand-spinning.
Right, Tom Mulleavy discusses factory piece work.
Museum Contact Information
Stretch Away Stress Winters Heritage House Museum and the Seibert
Genealogy Library reside at:
Dahn Yoga Master, Elizabeth Mosher, leads Yoga Classes in 47 East High Street, Elizabethtown, PA 17022
the museum’s community building (33 East High St.) every Mailing Address; P.O. Box 14, Elizabethtown , PA 17022
Wednesday from 10:30am to 11:30am. After a brief Museum Email; Winters-HH@ElizabethtownHistory.org
Director’s Email: Nancy@ElizabethtownHIstory.org
December break, classes will resume on January 17.
Museum phone: 717 367-4672
Proceeds support the museum. Website: www.ElizabethtownHistory.org
Winter Hours: by Chance or Appointment through early
For more information, call March 2018. Please call to determine availability.
Elizabeth, at 571-481-8095
or email ekmosher@gmail.com Please note: Several typos have been left in this newsletter
on purpose as a fun Seek-and-Find activity. Enjoy!