Winter 2014
Volume 11 • Issue 4
Published Quarterly
by LSTHS
Pennsylvania-German
Folk Medicine
A
ninth-generation Pennsylvania
Dutchman, Ned Heindel has
been a professor of chemistry
at Lehigh University for the past 49
years. He graduated from Lebanon
Valley College (BS, 1959) and the
University of Delaware (PhD, 1963).
His professional research at Lehigh
worked on a new drug discovery and
his avocational research was on the
ancient healing methods (Pow-Wow)
of the Pennsylvania Germans.
Ned’s maternal grandmother was
known for her cures of hiccups and
upset stomachs, while his mother and
father (as a youth) were pow-wowed
for Abnemmes (a result of malnutrition
primarily in children), Rotlafe (an inflammatory infection) and many other
childhood maladies.
The Nineteenth-Century Horse Doctor
by Ned Heindel and Robert Rapp.
Hexenkopf Rock is
located in Williams
Township, Northampton County, Pa.
ab
Professor Ned Heindel portrays an
Ole Pow-Wow Doctor.
Ned lives on and owns Hexenkopf
Mountain in Williams Township with
his wife Linda, a retired Moravian
College professor and Dean. Hexenkopf was famous in the 18th, 19th,
and early 20th centuries for its incorporation of healing rituals used by
nearby Pennsylvania German healers.
Through many interviews and decades of research, Ned has published a
dozen articles and two books on Pennsylvanian German Folk Medicine—
Hexenkopf: History, Healing and
Hexerei and The Nineteenth-Century
Horse Doctor, the latter co-authored
with Professor Emeritus Robert Rapp
of Albright College.
Ned’s slide presentation will include herbal, spiritual, occult, and manipulative cures for a host of diseases.
The presentation on Feb. 11, 2015
at 7 p.m. in Seidersville Hall is free.
Light refreshments will be served.
Page 2
Winterl 2014
Lower Saucon Township
Historical Society
Mission Statement:
The Lower Saucon Township
Historical Society seeks to preserve
and maintain the Lutz-Franklin
Schoolhouse as an example of 19th
century Pennsylvania architecture;
to utilize it as a place of public
education; to acquire, conserve
and archive artifacts, manuscripts,
photographs, recordings and
ephemera relevant to the history of
Lower Saucon Township, and to
make them available for research,
study and education.
LSTHS Executive Board
President: Sue Horiszny
Vice President: Jody Hijazi
Acting Treasurer: Frank Fabian
Secretary: Sally Murphy
LSTHS Offices
Lower Saucon Town Hall
3700 Old Philadelphia Pike
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
For questions or research, please
contact Joan Ruth, office manager
at 610-625-8771 on Tuesdays from
10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The Look Back Again
Published by the Lower Saucon
Township Historical Society, the
quarterly newsletter is distributed
to the current membership.
Ken Raniere, Design Editor
Karen Samuels, Support
Visit the LSTHS website
www.lutzfranklin.com
Webmaster: Danny Ruth
LSTHS
PO Box 176
Hellertown, PA 18055
Phone: 610-625-8771
Email: [email protected]
LSTHS is a 501(c)3
Non-profit Organization
New Images of America Book on Saucon Valley
On Main Street in Hellertown, a trolley travels past the Park Hotel and the
A&P Supermarket.
D
anny Ruth, Lee Weidnor and Karen Samuels are gathering photos,
postcards and other items for a follow-up book to Images of America,
Lower Saucon Township and will be used as a fundraiser for LSTHS.
They are in search of images that connect to Lower Saucon Township, the
Borough of Hellertown and the surrounding area. If you have any images or
ephemera to appear in the book, please contact them by email: lshistorical@
yahoo.com or by calling 610-625-8771. Your images can be scanned at your
home or in the office, thereby never leaving your possession.
Thanks for your help on this worthwhile project.
Tis the Season to buy a
Schoolhouse ornament!
W
ith the Christmas season upon us, LSTHS
offers this unique tree ornament which portrays the LutzFranklin Schoolhouse, hand
painted by Renee O’Donnell.
Each ornament is $10 and
may be ordered by email—
[email protected]
or by calling 610-625-8771.
Winter 2014
Page 3
Photo courtesy “Images of America - South Bethlehem”
LSTHS Speaker’s Series
Lehigh University’s Taylor Stadium (pictured above over a century
ago) where the famous Lehigh–Lafayette football rivalry began. On Nov. 12, Ilhan Citak (right) gave a talk on the rivalry’s 150th year.
A Message
from our President
Greetings—
We were pleased to see so many members come out and support our historical
society’s activities and events during the
year.
LSTHS Speaker’s Series included six
very interesting presentations—three of
the talks were topics on Saucon Valley
History. The other three presentations included Hess’ Department Store, Lehigh –
Lafayette’s 150th-year football tradition,
and the history of the Slinky and other
toys from the past.
Five events were held at the schoolhouse, which included History Day in
April, the one-room schoolhouse alumni
gathering in June, and a membership
picnic in July.
The first Saturday in October was
our annual Apple Festival—and the first
Saturday in December, the Holiday Open
House.
Beatles’ Night was a successful fundraising event held in spring. We also
raised funds through our paper recycling
program, and a bake sale was held in
Seidersville Hall during election days.
For community service, we participated in the township’s Adopt-A-Road
program.
Major repairs were made to LutzFranklin Schoolhouse—during the winter,
a rotted beam was replaced in the bell
tower to provide needed support to the
structure. This summer the windows,
door, porch and bell tower were painted.
The education program experienced a
successful spring—265 third-graders visited the schoolhouse to learn about school
life during the1930s. The schoolhouse
docents also presented the curriculum
to sixteen future teachers from DeSales
University.
The LSTHS Archive Room continues
to grow. We appreciate all the donations
of books, pictures and memorabilia that
have been donated to our collection. We
can always use more help on Tuesdays.
Thank you for your membership
throughout 2014. We look forward to
your continued support and hope to see
you at our meetings and schoolhouse
events in 2015.
Happy Holidays!
—Sue Horiszny,
President
Page 4
Winter 2014
What we can learn from Sanborn Maps
by Karen M. Samuels
T
he number of commercial, residential and industrial buildings in the
United States grew rapidly during
the mid nineteenth century. A major fire
often wiped out the resources of the local
insurance companies within a city. Larger
insurance companies, which covered
several cities, had more resources to
counter disasters. However those companies required information on buildings that
were far away from the company office.
The need arose for mapmakers to record
the vital information required to assess
risk. Along with this need a new printing
technique called lithography came into use
around 1850 to accelerate the printing of
maps.
Daniel Alfred Sanborn was born in
1827 in Somerville, Maine to David A.
and Hannah (Adams) Sanborn, owners
of a prosperous brick manufacturing company. Daniel was trained as a surveyor
but found he had a gift for creating large
detailed city maps. In 1866, the Aetna
Insurance Company hired Sanborn to draw
insurance maps for several cities in Tennessee. The next year, Sanborn established
his own business, the D. A. Sanborn National Insurance Diagram Bureau in New
York City and quickly set the standard for
insurance maps. By 1868, he had already
mapped fifty U.S. cities and towns. The
company was so well managed that it
became the primary American publisher
of fire insurance maps for nearly 100
years. The company produced maps for
over 12,000 U.S. cities and towns. They
absorbed many other mapping companies
through the years, adding those acquired
company’s maps to their inventory.
Sanborn had his surveyors in all the
states—as many as three hundred employees in the field. Their names never
appeared on their maps but the job offered
travel to far-away cities. Employees estimated that twenty-five percent of the men
found their future wives on the road. Some
Sanborn Map No. 5 dated 1915, features “Cross Road” (now High St.) which intersects with Main Street (Route 412) in Hellertown, Pa.
mapmakers became well-known for other
projects. Sanborn surveyor Daniel Carter
Beard was as naturalist, illustrator, author
of books for boys, and one of the founders
of the Boy Scouts of America. More than
four hundred employees were needed at
the production-end of the New York, Chicago and San Francisco plants. Large cities
were re-surveyed every six months during
the 1920s. Usually a surveyor would check
for new construction in a city the size of
Bethlehem every two years. Bethlehem
needed more attention than usual because
of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, which
was the second largest steelmaker in the
U.S.
The Library of Congress holds 623,000
Sanborn maps. Nothing more clearly illustrates the history of a city than a series
of maps plotted over the years. A surveyor
visited a city and prepared a drawing,
measured to a scale of fifty feet to the inch
of the size, indicated the shape, construction material and use of each building.
The number of stories, roof type, doors,
windows, stairs, skylights, elevators,
Winter 2014
Page 5
t
Sanborn Map No. 3 dated 1915, shows Water St. with an insert of
Charles Stevers’ saw mill on the former Michael Heller Homestead.
Sanborn Map
No. 4 features the
Heller-Wagner
Grist Mill on Walnut
St. In 1915, owner
George A. Keck
used it as a feed
mill.
ab
by hand, using waxed paper stencils. A
special “paster corps” constantly updated
the maps over the years.
The year D.A. Sanborn died in 1883,
the company began its first systematic
registration of maps. By the 1960’s,
the fire insurance industry underwent a
number of changes and the use of fire
insurance maps ended. During slow
times, Sanborn company always found
ways to diversify. They made military
maps during World War II when little new
building construction occurred. Today,
the old maps are still indispensible for
city planners, historians, utility companies
and Federal Census takers, to name a few.
The Sanborn Map Company, in cooperation with the Proquest Information and
Learning Company, has made all of its
fire-insurance maps available on-line for
a fee. Today, the Sanborn Co. utilizes new
technology in its mapmaking business,
which includes geographic information
systems.
School days, school days,
Good old golden rule days!
This 1950s view inside Mrs. Leggett’s
Lower Saucon Township one-room
schoolhouse shows stationary wooden
desks and seats that were synonymous
with classrooms during that period.
Students’ books were stored under the
polished desktops and the seats flipped
up when not in use. Today, these desks
and seats are collectable items that
sometimes fetch a hefty price.
ab
sprinkler systems, firewalls and occupancy
were noted. Exterior information such as
property boundaries, streets, transportation
terminals, fire alarms, water mains and
hydrants were also included. Signs and
symbols were developed to differentiate
such details of construction features. These
symbols were identified on a key included
on the map. Meanwhile, draftsmen back
at the office transferred the surveyor’s
plan onto lithographic stones for printing.
Women employees added the color coding
Page 6
Winter 2014
Looking Back on the Park Hotel
An early 1900s postcard of the Park Hotel on Main Street Hellertown.
Park Hotel
Originally called the Hellertown Hotel, the Park Hotel was built near the intersection
of Main and Water Streets, in Hellertown, in the 1870s. The location was on the west
side of the 700 block where Murray Motors is located today. In 1976, over a hundred
years later, it would be demolished. Check out these news clippings about the hotel
over the years.
The Allentown Democrat announced that
Abe Stever bought
the hotel in 1900.
The Allentown Democrat published the
story of Samuel Bleyer celebrating his
69th birthday. Bleyer was the proprietor
of the Park Hotel from 1888 to 1891.
An ad in The Allentown Democrat
newspaper, published November 7, 1883.
The Allentown Leader newspaper published
this item on thieves at the hotel.
Winter 2014
Page 7
LSTHS Memberships 2014
Members of the LSTHS and our local community should
take pride in what we have accomplished as we grow
in recognition and reputation for both the restoration
of the Lutz-Franklin Schoolhouse and educational
programs.
September —
Jim and Nancy Birdsall, Timothy and Jacque Lynn
Sell, Gwen Singer, Ken Zinis, Thomas Clauser, Ken
and Christine Sem, Randy and Pat Weaver, Norma
Benedek in memory of George Kish, Patti Smith
(NEW), and an anonymous donation of $2,000.
October —
Raymond and Jean Shook, June Ravier, Peggy
Laubach, Carmella Pheiff, Judy and Barry Ihle,
John Cope, Shelley Goldberg, Joan James Paulus,
Linda Muschlitz, Nancy Sauder, and Douglas Hein.
November —
This 1946 photo shows voters casting their ballots. On Election Day this past
November, LSTHS sold out their baked goods early in the day to voters waiting in line at Seidersville Hall.
Winner of the Basket Raffle at Apple Fest 2014: Chris Sem
Winners of the Apple Baking Contest:
First Place - Toni Fernandez-Karasik
Second Place - Karen Fritchman
Third Place - Judy Heydt
CONGRATULATIONS, WINNERS!
Please send us your current e-mail addresses if you would like to receive notices of
meetings, events, etc. Send your email address to: [email protected].
Support the Society and become a member.
Make checks payable to “L.S.T.H.S.” Return this form with your payment to:
Lower Saucon Township Historical Society
P.O. Box 176 Hellertown, PA 18055
Please print your name as it should appear on your membership card Circle: Mr. & Mrs. Mr. Mrs. Ms. Miss Dr.
Name: __________________________________________________
Address: ________________________________________________
City: ___________________________ State: _____ Zip: ________
Phone: ____________________ Email: _______________________
Check Membership Level:
____ Individual $15
____ Family $25
____ Junior (student) $5
____ Lifetime $250
____ Corporate $350 ____ Other donation
LSTHS is a 501(c)3 Non-profit Organization
Kenneth and Phyllis Niewoehner, Jo-Ann Heil,
Bill and Donna Bergstresser, James and Margaret
Sturm with a donation in memory of Peter Wasser and Descendants and the Bergstresser Family
Tree, Bonnie Barron with a donation in memory of
her father, Paul Dimmig—the first police chief of
Lower Saucon Township, David and Monica Willard (NEW) and Francesca and Ilhan Citak (NEW).
Going to a warmer climate this winter?
You can receive your newsletter electronically!
Just send us an e-mail at lshistorical@yahoo.
com and we will send the newsletter to your
e-mail address.
Please indicate if you’d be interested in
helping us in any of the following areas:
____ Artifacts
Special Events ____
____ Schoolhouse docent
Baking ____
____ Membership
Fundraising ____
____ Grant Writing
Public Relations ____
____ Programs/Presentations
____ Other, specify ____________________
____ I attended a One-Room School
Meetings take place on the 2nd Wednesday
of the month at Seidersville Hall
(next to the Lower Saucon Town Hall) on
Old Philadelphia Pike, 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Stop by and join us!
Lower Saucon Township Historical Society
P. O. Box 176 • Hellertown, PA 18055
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. POSTAGE
P A I D
Permit No. 730
Lehigh Valley, PA
Return Service Requested
Keep up to date and visit us at
www.lutzfranklin.com
or email— [email protected]
or call— 610-625-8771
Lutz-Franklin
Schoolhouse
Directions
to the Lutz-Franklin Schoolhouse:
From I-78 Take exit 67 (Hellertown/Bethlehem), turn left on Rt. 412/ Main St. Go 1
block and turn left at traffic light onto Cherry
Lane. Follow 4 blocks to end and turn left
on Easton Road. Go 2.1 miles & turn left
on Countryside Lane. Go 1.3 miles to the
schoolhouse.
Lower Saucon Township Historical Society
b
Calendar of Events
b
A reminder—
Monthly meetings start at 7 p.m. at
Seidersville Hall, 3700 Old Philadelphia
Pike. Guests are always welcome and
light refreshments are served.
Dates we will be closed are November
25, December 2, December 23 and
December 30.
Dec. 6, 2014 Holiday Open House
will be held at the Lutz-Franklin
Schoolhouse from 1 to 3 p.m.
Rosemarie Kovacs will play seasonal
songs. Children can make a pinecone
bird feeder along with other holiday
crafts. Light refreshments will be served.
Jan. 14, 2015 Barbeque Dinner at
6 p.m. in Seidersville Hall, followed
by a presentation of “LSTHS year in
Review.” Dinner is $12 per person
and reservations need to be made by
January 7, 2015. For reservations call:
610-825-8771. Please leave a message
or email: [email protected]
Feb. 11, 2015 As the “Ole Pow-Wow
Doctor,” Ned Heindel will entertain us with
his talk on “Pennsylvania German Folk
Medicine.” Ned’s presentation will be in
Seidersville Hall, 3700 Old Philadelphia
Pike at 7 p.m. Guests are welcome; light
refreshments will be served.
Board meetings are at 6 p.m. —
December 10, 2014; in 2015—
February 11, March 11, April 8,
May 13, June 10.
Mark these dates on your 2015
calendar:
May 2
History Day at the Schoolhouse,
10 a.m.– 3 p.m.
June 6
Schoolhouse Alumni Get Together,
1 p.m.– 3 p.m.
July 8
Schoolhouse Picnic, rain or shine,
5 p.m. until dark.