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Affiliates and Links of Interest

Affiliates

Old Time Plow Boys, Mertztown, PA  Old Time Plowboys PO Box 215, Mertztown, PA 19539. Email otplowboys6408@aol.com.  The Old Time Plowboys is a family oriented club, dedicated to the preservation of our agricultural heritage. We do this by holding annual shows where we display antique equipment, practices, and activities.

Reading Berks Guild of Craftsmen - We are a non-profit organization, whose activities are supported entirely by volunteer members.

Links of Interest (alphabetical)

Berks County Chapter of the American Society for Dowsers

email: berksdowsers@dejazzd.com

Berks Dowsers is a new group that periodically meets in Kutztown at the Freyberger One Room schoolhouse at the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center. Meeting dates will be posted.  Meetings are free, but donations are appreciated.  Meetings last around two hours and occasional guest speakers and site visits are available to participants. Dowsing tools will be available for sale.  Call or Email for further information.

 

Berks County Heritage Center, The
2201 Tulpehocken Road, Wyomissing, PA 19610 (610) 374-8839 is comprised of several different complexes: The Gruber Wagon Works, The C. Howard Hiester Canal Center, Wertz's (Red) Bridge, the Deppen Cemetery, Melcher's Grist Mill, the Salad and Herb Garden, and the Reeser Farm House.

Berks County Museum Council Reading, PA

Charles Kerchners website  A website devoted to information on the Pennsylvania Dutch/German culture

Conrad Weiser Homestead, Berks County, PA -
28 Weiser Lane
Womelsdorf, PA 19567 610-589-2934 info@conradweiserhomestead.org is a Pennsylvania state historic site located in Womelsdorf, Berks County, Pennsylvania, which interprets the life of Conrad Weiser. Weiser was an 18th century German immigrant who served as an Indian interpreter and helped coordinate Pennsylvania's Indian policy. He played a major role in the history of colonial Pennsylvania. The Conrad Weiser Homestead is located on Rt. 422, within easy driving distance of Philadelphia, Lancaster, Hershey and Harrisburg. Come and enjoy this rural countryside dotted with the surviving period stone houses and traditional farms. The Conrad Weiser Homestead includes period buildings, and a new orientation exhibit, on a 26-acre Olmsted-designed landscaped park.

 

Countryside Farm and Greenhouse Inc. Fleetwood, PA 439 Krause Road Fleetwood, PA 19522 (610 ) 683-8586. Countryside Farm and Greenhouse Inc. offers the unique distinction of being primarily a retail operation with an emphasis on service and an excellent variety of plants.  Not only have we constructed all of our greenhouses, but we raise all of our plant material from seeds or from plant cuttings.  We take great pride in keeping an organized and clean greenhouse.  We use a soilless sterilized material to produce exceptionally healthy plants.  The quality of our plants must be seen to compare with others. A strong support of many of our events.

Daniel Boone Homestead, Berks County, PA 400 Daniel Boone Road Birdsboro, PA 19508 610-582-4900 info@danielboonehomestead.org The Daniel Boone Homestead, located near Reading, Pennsylvania, is a state historic site which preserves a number of historic structures. The Homestead offers many historic programs and exhibits, preserves 579 acres of open space, and provides passive recreational areas.

Dennis Boyer's Once Upon a Hex 
A website devoted to the spirituality and magic of the Pennsylvania Germans (also known as the Pennsylvania Dutch)

Farm at Coventry  Pottstown, PA -  1333 Ridge Rd, Pottstown, PA 19465 (610) 469-9591 main (610) 469-9510 fax. Established in 1997 in rural Chester County, Pennsylvania, Farm at Coventry offers an abundant array of natural, hand-crafted herbal products available by mail order or through retail venues locally. Farm at Coventry grew organically out of a need to use the fruitful harvest of our gardens to make beautiful, healthful products to share with family and friends. We are continually striving to better our products to include the purest possible ingredients: certified organic and ethically wildcrafted herbs, raw, unfiltered, unbleached tropical butters, cold pressed oils and local beeswax and honey. All of our products are mindfully prepared in small handmade batches. No synthetic ingredients or preservatives are ever used.

Goschenhoppen Historians Inc., The  - 
is one of the oldest existing Pennsylvania German communities in America. The Goschenhoppen Historians Inc., was founded in order to preserve the folk culture of the area's earliest immigrant settlers, known as the Pennsylvania Germans. Among the many activities in which the historians are engaged are: regular monthly meetings with planned programs, educational seminars, a collection of folklore and folk tunes from the last generation possessing knowledge of the 19th century culture, the development of youth organizations and youth appreciation of folk culture, continuing restoration of the Henry Antes House and property surrounding it, the establishment of a folk life museum; the creation of a country-store museum, the establishment of a library of prime source materials, the documentation of quilts, the teaching of the Pennsylvania German dialect, and the publishing of a monthly newsletter and of the Intelligencer, a newspaper for its festival.

Greater Reading Visitors Center 

201 Washington St (in the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts) Reading, PA 19601 610.375.4085 or 800.443.6610 Email: info@readingberkspa.com URL: www.readingberkspa.com  Greater Reading Convention & Visitors Bureau Corporate Offices 2525 N. 12th Street, Suite 101 Reading, PA 19605 - The Reading and Berks County Visitors Bureau guides refers travelers to the specific destinations and the information they are seeking. Whether it is accommodations, museums, attractions, tours, sports and recreation, shopping, meetings & conventions or group tours, our team is ready to assist you.

Hans Herr House and Museum  Lancaster, PA -  1849 Hans Herr Drive Willow Street 17584 (717) 464-4438 The 1719 Hans Herr House and Museum is part of  the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, which is itself a part of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. As a part of the Society, the Museum tells the larger story of Mennonite history and faith to the church and to the general public. The 1719 Hans Herr House and Museum, was created in the late 1960s as a result of the restoration of the 1719 House to its colonial-era appearance and the grant of the land surrounding the house to the Lancaster Conference Mennonite Historical Society.  The Museum, officially opened to the public in 1974, is administered as a non-profit educational facility by the Hans Herr House Foundation.

Historic Barn and Farm Foundation of Pennsylvania
Join us as we work with the National Barn Alliance and the Heritage Conservancy in saving historic barns. We greatly appreciate the Conservancy’s Board of Directors allowing us to partner with them, expediting the non-profit process by hosting us as an affiliate until the time we become a separate 501(c)(3) organization. Members are invited to attend the HBFF of PA’s annual meeting and will receive a quarterly newsletter, along with free admission to HBFF of PA lectures and workshops, plus access to the Foundation’s information repository and data.

 

Hiwwe wie Driwwe  
website of the Pennsylvania German and Palatine "hiwwe-wie-driwwe.de," founded by Michael Werner, where people can find Pennsylvania German columns, a dialect forum, a Pennsylvania German web class, a Pennsylvania German radio program and even Pennsylvania German video files.

Joe Tetz Horse Drawn Funeral Service
New Tripoli, PA - We provide horse drawn funeral service in many locations . At the farm there is a museum with many fine antique carriages and accessories on display.  In addition to the antique carriages on display, there is also a hearse custom built for the Heintzelman Funeral Home in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania.

Kutztown Area Historical Society
Kutztown, PA P.O. Box 307 Normal Avenue and Whiteoak Street Kutztown, PA 19530 (610) 683-7697 
The mission of the Kutztown Area Historical Society is to collect and preserve, in a museum environment, material culture artifacts relevant to the history of the greater Kutztown area.  We aim to maintain a non-circulating library of publications and manuscripts relating to local and regional history, and to encourage the local conservation of sites and structures of historical and cultural significance to the region.

Kutztown Pennsylvania German Festival Kutztown, PA P.O. Box 306 Kutztown, PA 19530 888-674-6136 dave@kutztownfestival.com - Folklife, farming and gardening, churches and weddings, PA-Dutch dialect and folklore, spinning and weaving, country cooks, blacksmiths, furniture, candles, and more...  Mouthwatering PA-Dutch Food! Tantalizing family style feasts, ox roasts, sausage sandwiches, pies, pastries and lots more! Non-stop entertainment. Live music and dancing, comedy, country auctions, parades and bands. Fiddling, storytelling and historical seminars and traditions.Witness a 19th century hanging or take part in an old-fashioned cake walk.

The best examples of Pennsylvania Dutch and early American folk art and crafts are found in the outstanding works of 200 of the nation’s most skilled artisans.

Included in the 2007 festival will be fine furniture, miniatures, pottery,clothing, musical instruments, hand-painted art, iron ornaments, weavings, brooms, baskets, florals, hex painting, jewelry, leather, cut paper art known as “scherenschnitte,” Pennsylvania German calligraphic writing called "fraktur", beeswax candles and more.

Landis Valley Museum, Lancaster, PA 2451 Kissel Hill Road,  Lancaster, PA 17601 (717) 569-0401; (717) 560-2147 Landis Valley Museum is a nationally significant living history museum that collects, conserves, exhibits, and interprets Pennsylvania German material, culture, history and heritage from 1740 through 1940.

Lehigh County Historical Society
432 W. Walnut Street, Allentown, PA 18102 (610) 435-1074 http://www.lchs.museum/ The Lehigh Valley Historical Society administers seven museum sites that date from Colonial America through the Industrial Revolution. 

Lower Macungie Township Historical Society
PO Box 3722, Wescosville, PA 18106 Email: LMTHS@macungie.org. The Lower Macungie Historical Society's Headquarters is at the Lower Macungie Township Building on Brookside Road, Macungie, Pennsylvania. It is open during Society meetings and by appointment only.

The history of Lower Macungie Township, in western Lehigh County, is being preserved today by a group of dedicated local residents who have seen much of the traditional township landscape disappear in recent years. We can still see many barns and old stone homes, often beautifully restored to suit our modern way of life. But the farmsteads themselves are in most cases are no longer active, and housing developments have taken over much of the farmland.

 The Lower Macungie Township Historical Society was formed in 1989, initially to save a log house built in about 1790 from demolition. The log house, in the village of Wescosville along busy Route 222, a former King's Highway, was moved a hundred yards west into a township park, where it is being maintained by the society. Plans are to restore the interior as funds become available. The society is developing an Historic Structures Inventory and conducts a public lecture series on local history in conjunction with the Macungie Historical Society and Kalmbach Memorial Park.

Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania
Physical Location: Mennonite Heritage Center 565 Yoder Road Harleysville, PA Mailing Address
Mennonite Heritage Center PO Box 82 Harleysville, PA 19438-0082 Phone (215) 256-3020 Fax (215) 256-3023 email: info@mhep.org website:http://mhep.org - Online home of the Mennonite Historians of Eastern Pennsylvania and the Mennonite Heritage Center. The Mennonite Heritage Center tells the story of Mennonite faith and life in southeastern Pennsylvania. Its architecture, with lines modeling the simplicity of traditional Pennsylvania Mennonite meetinghouses, points towards the spiritual center of Mennonite life. The building also suggests rural images of mill, barn and house, while exhibits show the movement toward a more urban society, giving contemporary expression to a deep-rooted heritage.

The Mennonite Heritage Center houses a permanent exhibit "Work and Hope," fraktur and changing exhibits, an historical library and archives, and a gift shop.

Pastorius House
The Pastorius Home Association, Inc. PO Box 66 Germansville, PA 18053 (610) 767-6981; (610) 264-3373 (Fax); Email: Berti4953@aol.com website:http://www.pastoriushaus.org The Pastorius Home Association, Inc. seeks to preserve the German language, heritage, and culture in America, to promote American history and culture among Germans.  Our goal is to operate the Pastorius Haus (Germany) and the Pastorius Center (USA), and encourage friendship between Americans and Germans through student and adult education, exchanges, travel, and tours.

Pennsylvania Artist Blacksmith Association   
P.O. Box 571, Willow Street, PA 17584 - is an organization devoted to the craft of blacksmithing and related metalworking. Founded in PABA is a regional chapter of the Artists- Blacksmith Association of North America (ABANA).  Members include both professional and amateur metalworkers from across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Dutch Hex Tour Association - Pennsylvania Dutch Country 1-800 HEX TOUR. A trip through Northern Berks County, the land of the "Fancy" Pennsylvania Dutch, will take you through fertile countryside where hundred year old Pennsylvania German barns are decorated with a unique folk art design, referred to as hex signs. Also called Barn art, the hex sign area includes all of Berks and Lehigh, and portions of seven adjacent counties. The heaviest concentrations are found in the area of Old Route 22-The Hex Tour Highway.

Pennsylvania German Friends - The Pennsylvania German Friends (Pennsilfaanisch Deitsch Freind) holds regular meetings on the third Thursday of most months at St Peter's Lutheran Church, 1933 Hanover Avenue, Allentown. The gatherings are free and open to the public.  Various aspects of the heritage and dialect of the Pennsylvania Dutch people in the Lehigh Valley are highlighted. The ability to converse in the dialect is not necessary, although some familiarity is helpful. For further information, call 610-264-2979.

Pennsylvania German Groundhog Lodges  
For More Information on the Ground Hog lodges contact Lee W. Haas, Haaptmann (610) 767-5878.Since its inception, the Grossdaadi Grundsow Lodge has created a Pennsylvania German flag, conducted classes for the Learning of the Pennsylvania German dialect, and is currently assisting, in cooperation with numerous fersommlings, the development of the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center and Museum on the campus of Kutztown University.

These groups, in search of ways to honor, preserve, protect, and perpetuate their besieged ethnic heritage, decided that a ground hog lodge would be a marvelous instrument to help them meet their goals.

 

Pennsylvania German Society, The - Kutztown, PA    Mailing address: P.O. Box 244 19530-0244   - is a nonprofit, educational organization devoted to the study of the Pennsylvania German people and their 300-year history in America. The society is for anyone interested in helping to preserve, advance, and disseminate knowledge of the culture of the Pennsylvania Germans.

 

 

Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm    1000 Turkey Hill Rd., Stroudsburg, PA 18360 or email farm@quietvalley.org – Is a non-profit, educational corporation dedicated to the preservation and presentation of Pennsylvania's agricultural heritage.  At Quiet Valley history comes to life on our 19th century farmstead. Quiet Valley conducts school and special tours from Labor Day until June 20 and is open to the general public from June 20 to Labor Day. Period-dressed "family" members reenact the life of the original Pennsylvania German farming family who lived on the farm 1780 to 1913. The farm also hosts a number of special events throughout the year.

Reading Public Museum

Reading, PA- 500 Museum Road, Reading, PA 19611 Telephone: 610-371-5850 - Fax: 610-371-5632. -is a private, non-profit foundation. With the Foundation's leadership and partnership with the County of Berks, Reading School District, and the City of Reading, there has been a rededication to the Museum's Mission. As a result of this restructuring, the Reading Public Museum is enjoying a renewed vitality. The Museum has a rich tradition of using the collections for teaching and research. Every year, thousands of elementary and secondary school students from Berks County's eighteen school districts visit the Museum. Recently, the Museum has extended its outreach to include both school and college students and other interested visitors from within a fifty mile radius of our location. The Reading Public Museum is now a regional resource providing an artistic and educational venue serving South Central and Southeastern Pennsylvania. Today, the Reading Public Museum together with its Planetarium provides educational and cultural programs which reach hundreds of thousands of people annually.

Rough and Tumble Engineers Historical Association Kinzers, PA  - (717) 442-4249 - is a unique museum when Rough and Tumble is not having a show, you can still find its members on the grounds - working and fixing something up so that it can be used.  Some of our members 'remember when' the piece of machinery they are restoring was used daily - a wonderful improvement over doing the same job by hand. Some of our members are younger and love Rough and Tumble as a place to come and get involved in reliving the history of the Good Old Days.

Three Sisters Center for the Healing Arts  -

visit their website at Three Sisters Center for the Healing Arts or phone Jesse 484-336-4611 and Susan at 610-469-9591 or email: thr3sisters@aol.com . In an effort to preserve this part of the American heritage before it disappears completely, the Three Sisters Center for the Healing Arts holds classes throughout southeastern Pennsylvania including the one room school house mentioned above. You can contact them to schedule a demonstration or a workshop, or you can travel to the area and experience it for yourself. Not only does the group focus on the healing and herbal traditions of the German and Swiss immigrants to that area, it tries to keep the spiritual side of the Braucha's art intact.

Toad Creek Music
For  all of your PA German Music and Folklore needs.

Troxell-Steckel House & Farm  - 4229 Reliance St. Egypt, PA The region's only authentically complete Pennsylvania-German farm house, built in 1756, resembles its medieval ancestors and gives a captivating glimpse of the area's farm history. Hours: May –September, Sat. and Sun., 1-4 p.m.

 

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