THE GAZETTE THE BOYERTOWN AREA HISTORICAL SOCIETY M a y / Events May J u n e 2 0 1 5 Durango’s Paranormal Investigation 6 - Program Meeting 7 pm 9 - Popodickon Manor Program 8:30 pm 11 - Board of Directors Meeting 7 pm 23 - Haunted Walk 8:30 pm The Boyertown Area Historical Society sponsored a very successful paranormal investigation on Sunday, April 19 at Durango’s Restaurant in Boyertown. Our gratitude and thanks to K.A.S.P.E.R. (Kutztown Area Scientific Paranormal Evidence Research) for their very professional investigation uncovering the many spirits that inhabit this 168 year old building. We had a sellout of 19 participants who were very excited about communicating in several ways with “Willy,” “Maggie,” and the other manifestations June 3 - Program Meeting 7 pm 8 - Board of Directors Meeting 7 pm 27 - Haunted Walk 8:30 pm July 25 - Haunted Walk 8:30pm August 22 - Haunted Walk 8:30pm September 26 - Haunted Walk 8:30pm 18 & 19 - Oktoberfest October 7 - Program Meeting 7 pm 10 - Haunted Walk 8:30pm 24 - Haunted Walk 8:30pm that inhabit the historic building. Sandy and Pete Haberle, as always, were gracious and generous hosts, opening their facility to us, welcoming everyone, and making everyone feel comfortable. We appreciate their unwavering support for our activities. Board member Larry Hydock spent an enormous amount of time in arranging this event, making sure everything was taken care of, and seeing that all had a good time. Many thanks to K.A.S.P.E.R., Sandy, Pete, and Larry for a wonderful evening. We will be scheduling more investigations throughout the year, and will notify all of our members as plans are finalized. We hope you consider joining us in some of these activities; they are truly entertaining and eye-opening. November 4 - Program Meeting 7 pm Message from the President December 2 - Program Meeting 7 pm In This Issue: Facebook Update 2 Upcoming Events 2 Burdan’s Corner 3 Name Game, Part 3 4 Library Resources 4 Program Info 5 Haunted Walks 5 Membership News 6 Volunteer Request 6 Your Society is about to embark on what will be our third season of haunted activities, culminating with events centered on Halloween. I ask our members to support these activities. Mention the Walks, Train Rides, and Investigations to your family, friends, and countrymen. Our steadily increasing attendance proves we are on the right track, so to speak. Moving on to our volunteer situation, do not be discouraged should you arrive at the Society and the line to enlist extends down Chestnut Street — the opportunities are many. This time of year our tour activities can always use help with crowd control before the event, cicerones to conduct the tour, and whippers to keep the tour moving along. Although some time in the future, your Society is in the planning stages of hosting a Halloween event for children. This is a new event to be held at the Society, volunteers for planning/execution are needed. An HO scale layout of the Colebrookdale Railroad is being constructed for display in the museum. Should anyone wish to donate items of that scale for the model, it would be greatly appreciated. Please contact Lisa in the Society office concerning interest in any of the above. Last but not least I would like to remind everyone that Der Belsnickel Craft Show for 2015 will be held at Boyertown Junior High West on Madison Street in Boyertown. This is due to construction at the high school. Brian Quigley Facebook As a service to our members and friends, we are posting glimpses into the rich history of the Boyertown area on a daily basis on our Facebook page and web site. We have used the vast resources in our library to find an interesting event that happened in the Boyertown area on each day of the year. We are receiving international recognition for these posts and now have friends in England and South Africa as well as from coast to coast in the United States, including California, Nevada, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, and New York. They, like you, realize how fascinating the history of Boyertown actually is. These daily notices of what was happening in Boyertown’s history are read by more than 300 people every day. We have increased the number of people who “like” us to almost 900, and we have had up to 60 people share our post on their own Facebook page. Our most popular post was on January 13 (you guessed it - the Opera House fire) when 4,678 people read it. More than 2,000 people read our post on the Schmoyer Lumber Yard fire on Dec. 30 and Annie Funk’s death on the Titanic on April 20. Other popular posts with more than 1,000 hits were about the Carver Bakery fire on Feb. 3, Father Creamers’ death on Feb. 22, the opening of a local bank that would become National Penn Bank, and our April Fool’s Day joke. We write about the everyday lives of people in Charles J. Adams III At Popodickon Manor Join the Historical Society at Boyertown Events Join us on May 9 for a unique opportunity of fun and education at the mansion of the families of Thomas Potts and Thomas Rutter, the ironmasters of the Colebrookdale Furnace, the first iron furnace in Pennsylvania, that was built before 1735. Charles J. Adams, III is the noted author, TV and radio personality, historian, and unparalleled authority on ghosts and legends of paranormal activity in this area. The Boyertown Area Historical Society has tables at most of the community events, where we introduce people to the mission of the Society, our museum and library, and our activities, such as our Historic Haunted Walks around town, our paranormal investigations, Haunted Train rides, and monthly programs. The group will be exploring the grounds of the manor, which contains two burial sites, in search of graves, especially that of the great Chief Popodickon. We will also be looking for other spirits in these very historic grounds. You can join in the excitement with us. Call (610) 3670630 or email [email protected] for details. At that time, we sell Haunted Boyertown, Walking Historic Boyertown, M.J. Schneider’s twovolume opus on the Boyertown Opera House fire, the DVD created by WFMZ, Channel 69 News for the 100th anniversary of the Opera House fire, the Historical Society’s Cookbook, and various items of local interest. Look for us at the Sidewalk Expo in June, Duryea Day on the Saturday before Labor Day, and Oktoberfest in September. 2 the area, the funny, tragic, heartwarming things that they have done and have had happened to them. We also highlight the many Boyertown heroes. It is a taste of small town America. We have received many “thank you” messages, comments from people who look forward to reading our posts with their morning coffee, who are really enjoying our tidbits on Boyertown history, and who have said they are more interesting than the daily newspaper. We love to hear, “I have lived in Boyertown all my life, and I never knew that!” If you have not perused our Facebook page or web site, give it a try, and “like” us to help us meet our goal of 1,000 Facebook likes before summer. Coming Out of Hibernation On Saturday, April 18th, the Society and Haunted Boyertown had tables at the “Hibernation” event in Boyertown. Thank you to the following volunteers who assisted at our tables as well as in the museum. Carl and Margaret Harner, Larry Hydock , Annette Truman, Louise Griffiths, Loretta & Liesl Wolf, and Lindsay Dierolf. The lovely spring day brought many people out to our town and many visitors into our museum. The Museum was open from 11 am to 2 pm and we had 55 visitors in that time. Many who expressed interest into returning and a new membership was received from our opening. Thank you ALL who made this day possible! Burdan’s Corner By Betty Burdan The Elam C. Rhoads Legacy Almost everyone who lives in or around Boyertown has heard of Dr. Thomas J. B. Rhoads, but how many have heard of Elam C. Rhoads? He didn’t own an opera house or any buildings in Boyertown for that matter. Elam was a farmer. In 1861 he purchased 70 acres of farmland from Mary Stauffer, widow of Jacob Stauffer. The land was in Colebrookdale Township and later partly in Boyertown borough. Elam C. Rhoads, born November 23, 1821, died on January 10, 1887, was buried at the Fairview Cemetery. There, a 9-foot high monument declares, “Elam C. Rhoads, The Philanthropist and Friend of the Poor.” His obituary in the Pottstown paper called him a miser. The Reading papers called him an eccentric bachelor. Whatever anyone called him, he did have an interest in the welfare of the poor and needy in Boyertown. His friends, Thomas J. B. Rhoads and Lewis Worman, were his executors. His will was read at a public gathering in the Rhoads Opera House, where a crowd of curious locals waited to hear who Elam remembered. He remembered St. John’s Lutheran Church, leaving them $2,000 and 2 tracts of land totaling 33 acres located west of Second Street. He remembered the Reformed Church in Boyertown, giving them $3,000 and a tract of 19 acres west of Second Street. Part of St. John’s land between Second and Third Streets was placed in the hands of the Fairview Cemetery Company to build a new church for St. John’s if needed. It said that if any of these heirs chose to sell their land the proceeds were to be used for the benefit of an orphans’ home. Elam remembered the Union Cemetery, the Fairview Cemeteries and the Old Burying Ground in Boyertown. The Union Cemetery and Fairview each received $1,500. The Old Burying Ground was to have $75 annually for its care and upkeep. In addition he left a total over $16,900 in designated sums, plus a share of the residue of the estate, to Elizabeth Weaver, Henry B. and Reuben B. Rhoads, Angeline Erb, Mahala McCormick, D. M. A. Rhoads, Verdilla Rhoads, Isaac Reinert, Rebecca, Caroline and Julian Worman, Henry Mutter, Jacob Rhoads, Daniel Carl, Elizabeth Weaver, and Catharine Smith. Only his estranged brother Jacob was not remembered kindly. Jacob received only $1.00. Although it was reported that Elam never married, he left $500, plus a share of the residue, to each his father-in-law, John Bechtel, and brothers-in-law, George Bethel, and Hezekiah Bucher. It is unknown how they became his in-laws, but in 1870, Elam had a housekeeper named Mary Bechtel, who may have later become his wife. A short lived marriage at that, as she could not be found in the 1880 census. In 1896 a committee considered and rejected St. John’s tract for an orphan’s home. For a time the land of the churches was used as community gardens, with lots of 60’ x 100’ rented at a small fee, after the caretakers cultivated and fertilized them. The school leased a portion for a football field and practice. It was suggested as the site of a permanent memorial and park honoring the town’s veterans, but that never materialized. The new church was never built and by 1947 the Fairview Cemetery directors felt caring for their tract was too cumbersome. Fairview, St. John’s and Good Shepherd all voted to sell their land and turn the proceeds over to the Topton Orphans’ Home. The National Bank of Boyertown served as Trustee for the sales. On December 18, 1948, the Good Shepherd Tract was sold to Albert S. Leidy, who then sold it to the Boyertown Rod and Gun Club. St. John’s tracts were sold to Paul O. Engle, Harvey and Sarah Ritter and J. Clifford Levengood, in all they realized $30,850 for the sale of Elam’s land with the proceeds going to the Topton Orphans’ Home. In addition to the three lots mentioned, Elam also owned 22 acres that fell within borough limits. The executors were directed to sell it all by the end of one year. They sub-divided it into building lots that extended from Third Street to Philadelphia Avenue and from Madison Street to South Franklin Street. In the end there were 100 lots sold on 52 deeds. They were sold to individuals to build homes on and to speculators who would sell them to third parties to build homes. By the end of 1887 all the lots were gone. Part of Elam’s land was added to the 3 former Tung-Sol holdings, who provide much employment for the Boyertown area. Part of the land became what is now the Boyertown Park, which provides much enjoyment to the locals. The rest of his legacy makes up a sizable chunk of the southeast corner of Boyertown, providing hearth and home to many, most of whom have probably never heard of Elam C. Rhoads. Name Games: Part 3 By Lindsay Dierolf As promised this is the third segment in my series about name variations. This segment deals with first names. Researchers sometimes notice unusual names or the use of alternate names in old records. Again, these variations can be caused by the differences in languages used by those who created the original record. Transcribed records allow for misspellings due to inability to decipher the originals or simply human error. Sometimes a name was interchanged with its English language counterpart. The name name is Egidius, found in an early baptism, and interpreted as Gideon. The name Cherry shows up in an early church record. Taken at face value it would be a very unusual name for the time period (mid 1700s), but if the researcher considers that the person may have been speaking with a heavy German accent it makes more sense. The letter J is often pronounced as a hard “ch” sound. In this case, substituting a J as the first letter in A common male substitution is Cherry, transforms it to Jerry, a John (English) for Johannes, which shortened form of Jeremiah. was used in various European countries. A more unusual male Salome, taken from the Bible and used frequently by the early settlers, was often recorded as Sarah in official records. Veronica is a name often spelled phonetically based on its pronunciation. It shows up in records as Phronica. One of the more unusual names I have seen is Cungunda. It is an old German language feminine name. To date I have not determined an English variation. Library Resources By Lindsay Dierolf In the past few years television shows portraying the process of genealogical research have become increasingly popular. You may have seen “Who Do You Think You Are?,” “Genealogy Road Show,” or “Finding Your Roots.” All three shows are interesting and well formatted. The process of research is drastically abbreviated to allow for television scheduling, but the variety of resources is very well depicted. Local historical societies play a vital role and feature prominently in many episodes. questions can be answered. As a member, you have free access to the Boyertown Area Historical Society library. The library houses a great variety of materials which can be used for genealogy (family history) research, or local history research. Some of the more important and commonly used records are the Federal census and local church records. The census was taken every 10 years and helps to locate your family during specific time periods. The church records are a good source for tracking down specific events in a person’s life. If you have ever been curious Baptisms, confirmations, marriages about who your ancestors were or where they came from there is an and burial records indicate not only excellent local resource where those the date an event occurred, but can 4 also produce clues to other family members of the ancestor being researched. These are only two of the many resources available; these will be covered further in the next Gazette. If you are intrigued, come in during regular library hours and ask for Lindsay to get started on your own genealogy adventure! Programs Wednesday, May 6th MAY PROGRAM Wednesday, June 3rd JUNE PROGRAM Darius Puff, retired Chief of Police of the Boyertown Police Department, will present a program at 7 pm on May 6 at our museum. His entertaining presentation on the topic the Lenni Lenape people and their culture will discuss their early lives and the changes their society went through in the 18th Century. Chief Puff illustrates his talk with artifacts, furs and traditional storytelling. Durango’s Paranormal Investigation Results. Peter Overcast, head of an amazing team of investigators from the group known as K.A.S.P.E.R., will be discussing what we found during the April 19th event at 7 pm, June 3. A sought after speaker, Chief Puff has given programs to many historical societies, civic groups, scout troops, at state and county historic sites, schools and colleges. K.A.S.P.E.R stands for Kutztown Area Scientific Paranormal Evidence Research. Founded in May of 2010, Peter’s team has lead many investigations in the area with great success. They were part of last year’s highly successful program at The Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles. Haunted Boyertown’s Paranormal Investigations always yield some great results but our investigations at Durango’s are always extra special. Perhaps because of its proximity to the location of the 1908 Opera House Tragedy. We’ll be looking at what they found and some of the ways and the equipment they used to achieved there results. Should be a very interesting, entertaining and informative program. Maybe we can give you goose bumps. Admission is free to Society Members and students. Non-Member admission is a nominal fee of $5.00 to differ some of the cost it takes to keep our Society going. There’s another great reason to become a member. Our program’s are a terrific way to learn about the Boyertown areas past. Don’t miss out. Light refreshments will be served following the presentation. Haunted Walks Haunted and Historical Walks Around Boyertown, “…one of the most haunted small towns in America…” Charles J Adams, III, the renowned writer of ghost occurrences, with more than 35 books on that topic to his credit, after researching and collecting material on ghosts in the Boyertown area, has made the declaration that Boyertown is “one of the most haunted small towns in America…” You can read it at your leisure by purchasing a copy of Haunted Boyertown for $15.00, knowing that all profits on the sale of the book are currently being given to the Boyertown Area Historical Society. An immediate alternative is to join in a Haunted and Historical Walk Around Boyertown. In addition to some of the stories from that book you will hear information gleaned by the Society’s researchers. Charles Adams alludes to the role of the Rhoads Opera House fire in Boyertown in 1908, and the gruesome and ghastly deaths of 170 innocent victims in a matter of minutes, as one of the reasons for so much spiritual activity in the area. WFMZTV has captured the history and tragedy on this event in an excellent DVD that is available for sale for $20 from the Society. Another factor which Adams, and other experts, cite as having an important influence on spiritual development in Boyertown is the existence of magnetic iron ore deposits in, around and under the borough of Boyertown. The Society’s Haunted and Historical Walks Around Boyertown are given on the fourth Saturday of the months of 5 May through September and on the third and the fifth Saturdays in October. That’s May 23, June 27, July 25, Aug 22, Sep 26, Oct 17 & 31. The walks begin at 8:30 PM at the Society Museum at 43 S. Chestnut St. in Boyertown. They are all open to the public. There are currently two walks available, one on East Philadelphia Avenue and the other on Reading Avenue, which are being updated as new stories pour in. The low admission prices are $12 for the general public and $10 for members and students. For people on the walk, the Opera House Fire DVD from WFMZ can be purchased at discounted prices of $15, while copies of Haunted Boyertown can be purchased for $12. Carl J Harner Membership News Have you renewed your membership for 2015? If you received your membership renewal letter via email, you can go to our web site, boyertownhistory.org., click on Membership, click on the membership link to access and download a 2015 application. Return your completed application to us by mailing it to: The Boyertown Area Historical Society, 43 S. Chestnut St., Boyertown, PA 19512. Please mark “Membership” on the envelope. If you prefer, you can drop it off in person during Library hours, Tuesday, 5 pm to 9 pm or Wednesday, 9 am to 4 pm. We hope that you will continue to support us both monetarily, and by attending our monthly programs and other activities. The following have renewed their memberships for 2015: Paul & Jacquelyn Wagner, Dolly Adams, Phyllis Bauman, Richard Frecon, Linda Bauer, Gwendolyn Carnes, Koreen Mace, Larry We welcome the following & Dawn Hydock, Courtney Pinder & Eric Bolton. and new members: Betty Long. Robert Gerhart, Vernon Thank you for supporting Schwanger (The Sound the Boyertown Area Proposition), Thomas & Cynthia Pinder, and Patricia Historical Society. Kujat. We also want to thank our many Lifetime members for their continued support. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED We need your help! If you are able to help us out please call Lisa Frantz at (610) 367-5255 or email [email protected] The Boyertown Area Historical Society 43 South Chestnut Street Boyertown, PA 19512 (610) 367-5255 Web Site: boyertownhistory.org General Email: [email protected] Library Hours Email - [email protected] Tuesdays 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm Wednesdays 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Office Hours Email - [email protected] Wednesdays & Thursdays 9:00 am to 1:30 pm 2015 Board of Directors Officers Brian Quigley - President Roger Lehmann - Vice President Sandy Mest - Secretary Loretta Wolf - Treasurer Mary Markley - Assistant Treasurer 2015 Board Members James Bodiford Lynne Gilbert Carl J. Harner Margaret Harner Larry Hydock Hilda Hynes Barbara Johnson John Lea Lindsay Dierolf -Collections Director Lisa Frantz - Office Manager 6
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