Cabin Fever Setting In Hello Folks, Aunt Eunice checking in and praying you are well. As our enforced time at home continues, I find my patience is getting thin. There is an old verse that goes “Patience is a virtue, find it if you can, seldom in a woman and never in a man.” I […]
Patience is a Virtue, Recalling Wise Sayings of Childhood Read More »
Hello Folks, Aunt Eunice here today with some information on groundhogs, otherwise known as woodchucks. With Groundhog Day just around the corner I want to share some facts about the largest member of the ground squirrel family. Physical Characteristics It may surprise you to know that a groundhog can grow to 24 inches and weigh
Groundhog: Farmer’s Nemesis, Yet Beloved in February Read More »
A Chance to Reflect on the Good Things Hello, Folks, Aunt Eunice here. Halfway through November means Thanksgiving is on the horizon. As I make plans for the holiday, I can’t help but take some time to think back over the past year. I look at the good, the bad and the ugly and then
November, A Time for Thanks & Reflection with Loved Ones Read More »
It is often said that the past is a foreign country and when we look back at it, we will find many strange and unusual customs and traditions. This is particularly true with historic celebrations of Christmas. Traditionally in Germany, a character called the Belsnickel would visit children alongside Saint Nicholas. Many cultures have an
Belsnickel: German Christmas Brings a Sidekick for Santa Read More »
For many people, myself included, December marks Christmas Card season when our post boxes contain little envelopes with updates from friends and family rather than bills and junk mail. Like many of our modern Christmas traditions, Christmas cards can be traced back to the mid-1800s. With most historical events or occurrences, historians and archaeologists can
Christmas Cards: History & Tracing Origins to the 1800s Read More »
While it is only halfway through November we are starting to get things ready here on the farm for our last big event of the year-Old Time Christmas. This candlelit lantern tour explores the historic celebrations of Christmas during the 1800s, a live nativity, visits from the Belsnickel, and more. To help get ready for
Christmas Superstitions of the Pennsylvania Dutch Read More »
One of our favorite fall activities here on the farm is making some of the best traditional food around. At Harvest Festival, along with the craft demonstrations and games, we prepare heritage recipes for friends and family alike. For this blog post, I am taking a closer look at the processes involved in some of
Apple Butter Preparation & Cooking a Community Affair Read More »
It’s great when visitors are interested enough in history to ask questions that lead to amazing discussions with interpreters. This summer, we’ve had a lot of great questions that have helped expand our understanding of life during the 1800s. This week’s question was about “Widow’s Weeds” during the mid-to-late 1800s. “Widow’s Weeds” is an 18th
Widow’s Weeds: The Clothing Style of Surviving Spouses Read More »
Easter is right around the corner. Most of our Easter celebration comes from the Germans and traveled overseas with them to America. The Easter Bunny, Easter Eggs, and Easter candy all have their roots in German traditions. Like Santa Claus or the Christ Child, The Easter Bunny would traditionally come the night before the holiday
Easter, A Year of Pennsylvania German Holidays Read More »
One of the things I’ve always found interesting about the Pennsylvania Germans is their folk art such as hex signs on barns and frakturs. Scherenschnitte (pronounced something like Sharon-Sh-knit-a) is the German and Pennsylvania German tradition of cutting paper. Traditionally, these paper designs were done by folding the paper and cutting to make a continuous
Scherenschnitte, German Folk Art of Intricate Paper Cutting Read More »