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Pennsylvania Folklife Magazine Pennsylvania Folklife Society Collection

Winter 1975 Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 24, No. 2 Hilda Adam Kring

Beulah S. Hostetler

Francis J. Puig

Monroe H. Fabian

Louis Winkler

See next page for additional authors

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Recommended Citation Kring, Hilda Adam; Hostetler, Beulah S.; Puig, Francis J.; Fabian, Monroe H.; Winkler, Louis; and James, Pamela, "Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 24, No. 2" (1975). Pennsylvania Folklife Magazine. 62. https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/62

This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Pennsylvania Folklife Society Collection at Digital Commons @ Ursinus College. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pennsylvania Folklife Magazine by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Ursinus College. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Authors Hilda Adam Kring, Beulah S. Hostetler, Francis J. Puig, Monroe H. Fabian, Louis Winkler, and Pamela James

This book is available at Digital Commons @ Ursinus College: https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/62 WINTER 1974-75

St. Walburga Contributors to this Issue

DR. HILDA ADAM KRING, Grove City, Pennsylvania, is professor of English at Grove City College. A native of Germany, she received her doctorate in Folklore and Folk­ life at the University of Pennsylvania. Her dissertation analyzed the culture of the Harmony Society , which settled Harmony and at Economy in Western Pennsylvania and New Harmony in Indiana. She is a specialist in the study of folk religion, both Catholic and Protestant, American and European.

BEULAH S. HOSTETLER, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, is a graduate student in Religious Thought at the Universi ty of Pennsylvania. She has done editorial work for the Men· nonite Publishing House (Herald Press) and more re cently has been associated with the Amish genetics project at Johns Hopkins University.

FRANCIS J. PUlG, Philadelphia, is a native of Cuba and a student in the museum curatorship program of the Ameri­ can Civilization Department at the University of Pennsyl­ vania. He spent the summer of 1974 working in the El Paso Museum of Art and has re ceived a Williamsburg Fellow­ ship for the 1975 Seminars at Colonial Williamsburg.

MONROE H. FABIAN, Washington , D.C., is a native of Northampton County, Pennsylvania. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, he served as art editor for the New Catholic Encyclopedia and is now Associate Curator of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. He is a specialist in the field of Pennsyl­ vania German fraktur and has written extensively on the subject.

DR. LOUIS WINKLER, State College, Pennsylvania, is Professor of Astronomy at the Pennsylvania State University. His article in this issue is one of a series on Pennsylvania German astronomy and as trology, supported in part by a grant from the American Philosophical Society.

PAMELA JAMES, Annapolis, Maryland, is working as a researcher in the Maryland Archives in Annapolis. She is a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where her work was done in the American Civilization Department. EDITOR: Dr. Don Yocler Winter 1974·1975 VOL. XXIV, NO .2 EDITORIAL COMMITTEE: Dr. Mac E. Barrick LeRoy Gensler Dr. H enry Classie Dr. John A. Hostetler David J. Hufford Contents Dr. Phil J ack Dr. Hilda A. Kring Dr. Maurice A. Mook Dr. Earl F. Robacker 2 The Cult of St. Walburga in Pennsylvania Dr. Alta Schrock HILDA ADAM KRING FOLK FESTIVAL DIRECTOR: Mark R. Eaby, Jr. FOLK FESTIVAL PUBLIC RELATIONS : 8 An Old Order River Brethren Love Feast Peg Zecher BEULAH S. HOSTETLER SUBSCRIPTIONS : D oris E. Stief 21 The Porches of Quaker Meeting Houses in PENNSYLVANIA FOLKLIFE, Chester and Delaware Counties Winter 1974-75, Vol. 24, No.2, pub­ lished five times a year by the Penn­ FRANCIS J. PUiG sylvania Folklife Society, Inc., Lan­ caster, Pennsylvania. $1.50 for single copies; Autumn, Winter, 31 John Daniel Eisenbrown, Frakturist Spring and Summer. $1.00 for Folk MONROE H. FABIAN Festival Supplement. Yearly sub­ scription $7.00. MSS AND PHOTOGRAPHS: 36 Pennsylvania Gennan Astronomy and Astrology The Editor will be glad to consider X: Christopher Witt's Device MSS and photographs sent with a view to publication. When unsuit­ LOUIS WINKLER able, and if accompanied by return postage, every care will be exercised toward their return, although no 40 The American Breakfast, Circa 1873-1973 responsibility for their safety is as­ PAMELA JAMES sumed. Editorial correspondence: Dr. Don Yoder, Logan Hall, Box 13, University of Pennsylvania, COVER: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19174. St. Walburga, 19th Century devotional picture from Wissembourg in Alsace, center of popular religious Folk Festival correspondence : College Blvd. and Vine, printmaking. Editor's Collection. Kutztown, Pennsylvania 19530. Folk Festival public relations: Folk-Cultural Questionnaire No. 37: Peg Zecher, 717 N. Swarthmore Ave., Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081. Grandparents in Traditional Culture (Inside back cover) Subscription, business correspondence : Box 1053, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Contents copyrighted. Contributors to this Issue

Entered as second class ma~ter at Lancaster, Pa. (Inside front cover) The Cult of St. Walburga in Pennsylvania

By HILDA ADAM KRING

"Deliver us from evil." These words from Christ's College, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, to serve as dietitian and own prayer often stand for one of the multitude cooks. From here the remarkable Mother Leonarda of illnesses which plague man. And many a man planned a convent-retreat complex at St. Emma's' in after going to a doctor turns with a fervent plea to nearby Greensburg. After Mother,. Leonarda's death the Divine Physician. Sometimes, feeling exceedingly in 1965, Mother Emmanuel continued to be a great humble, he may seek Him through an intercessor, an inspira tion for the shrine of St. Walburga. Unfor­ intercessor who appears to have been touched by God tunately her ' death in 1973 prevented her seeing its to help the sick. For some, such an intercessor is completion. Now Mother Agnes carries on the work. St. Walburga of Eichstatt who origin.ally came from T oday they h.ave for the retired nuns and novices a England to Germany as a missionary in 748 and as property of several hundred acres, a convent, a retreat­ a guiding light to the United States in 1852 when the house, a rectory, two chapels, and a shrine-a Wayside first Benedictine Sisters of St. Walburga came to Amer­ Chapel- in honor of St. Walburga, dedicated on May ic.a from Eichstatt in Bavaria to start a convent at 12, 1974. St. Marys in Elk County, Pennsylvania. Twenty-one The history of this shrine goes back to St. Walburga convents have sprung from this foundation.' But our in Eichstatt and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1903 immediate focus of St. Walburga returns to the Eich­ St. Walburga Abbey received a letter from the Reverend statt Mother House which in troubled 1931 sent Mother George Guenther who had announced one day in a Leonarda Fritz, O .S.B., with forty nuns to St. Vincent's Pittsburgh mission church that the new edifice to be 'St. J oseph's Convent, St. Marys, Elk Co., Pa.-18s2. St. built would be named after the first person who gave Benedict's Convent, Erie, Pa.- 18s6. St. Gertrude's Academy a substantial donation. R eceiving a thousand doll ars Ridgely, Md.-18s7. St. Benedict's Convent, St. J oseph: Minn.-18s7. St. Benedict's C onvent, Crookstone, Minn.- from a parishioner named Walburga, he had to turn 1858. St. Walburga's Academy, Covington, K y.-18s9. Sts. to the book of saints which led him to Eichstatt. Benedict and Scholastica's Convent, Chicago, IlI.- 1860. Mt. St. Scholastica's Academy, Atchison, Kan.- 1863. Convent Through the generosity of the parishioners, St. Wal­ of the Immaculate Conception, Ferdinand, Ind.-18.67. St. burga's in Pittsburgh rose enhanced with m agnificent Edith's Convent, Bristow, Va.-1868. St. Walburga's Con­ stained glass windows made in Munich, Germany. vent, Elizabeth, N. ].-1869. St. Mary's Convent, Pittsburgh, Pa.-1870. St. Scholas ti ca Convent, Ft. Smith, Ark.-1878. They tell of St. Walburga's life and death, and the St. Scholastica Convent, Shoal Creek, Ark.-1879. H oly Name, healing "oil" of her relics. For half a century St. Wal- St. Antonio, Fla.-1889. Villa Scholastica, D uluth, Minn.- 1892. Benedictine Convent, Lisle, 111.- 1895. Catholi c College, 'Mother Leonarda named the new co nvent St. Emma in Guthrie, Okla-1897. Sacred H eart Convent, Cullman, Ala.- honor of Emma Robertshaw, daughter of the Robertshaws 1902. Sacred H eart Convent, Garrison, N. D .-19l0. from whom she bought the property.

St. Walburga in ecclesiastical art. Originals in Eichstatt, Bavaria.

2 The outer part of this area i covered with pewter engraved with tulips and vine branches, coats-of-arms and the names of the persons responsible for the recon­ struction of the burial place after its plunder on Feb­ ruary 7, 1634. Fortunately for hagiology, the Thirty Year War thieves, although destroying some important parchments, were more impressed with the glitter than the bones.' The nuns from St. Walburga Abbey take the "oil" from the cups and pour it into small glass vials which are given to those. who ask and believe. Very much Benedictine Convent of St. Walburga, Eichsftitt, Ba varia. depends on faith and the pure intentions of the would­ be users. To be in the state of grace is an absolute necessity to be healed by the Divine Healer. So the burga Church of Lincoln and Campania Avenue held first step is a spiritual healing which is left to the Novena Devotions for the sick every Thursday evening individual. H e should do this through penance and at 7: 30. But by the late sixties the German-American Holy Communion; he may say the following prayers: Catholics had moved from the area. The parish was Merciful God, all our hope and confidence are dissolved and the church was sold to a Negro Baptist placed in Thee. Thou, who hast glorified St. Community. At that time the stained glass windows Walburga by miracles, grant that, by her merits were given as a gift to St. Emma's. At the request of 'St. Walburga Eichstatt Kloster und Pfarrkirche (Eichstatt: the sisters, Architect Francis Church designed a shrine Funk-Druck, 1967 ), p. 24. using these windows as walls of a star-shaped chapel.' It is a long time and way from May 1, 893, in Bavaria where Walburga received her first recognition to May 12, 1974, in Greensburg where a shrine was dedicated to her. The "oil" appearing as dewdrops on the bones of St. Walburga is not an oil, but water-crystal clear, odorless, tasteless. It is called "oil" only because the dew-like liquid takes a long time to drop and thus resembles oil and because of its healing power through God as it is stated in St. James 5: 14. Is allY man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. Walburga's "oil" has appeared on the bones of the saint every year (with few exceptions') since 893 which also is the year for her canonization. The "oil" "flows" from about October 12, the date of the translation of her remains from Heidenheim to Eichstatt, to February 25, the date of her death. Her remains encased in Eichstatt-area limestone lie under the high altar of the convent church. The stone coffin itself rests on a stone slab 0.5 meters in length and 0.5 meters in width. Silver grooves from the coffin on through the stone slab chan­ nel the "oil" to gold-plated cups. The side walls of the burial case are covered with gold-plated copper.

'This "star" could also be thought of as a crown in memory of St. Walburga's noble ancestry. She is often pictured wearing a crown. 'It is interesting to note that the "oil" did not flow at times when the nuns were under extensive duress. For example, the "oil" started flowing at the proper time after King Louis of Bavaria re-opened the convent for new members after they had been condemned to extinction. Altar at Eichsftitt Convent.

3 and through her intercession, we may be delivered from all afflictions of soul and body. Thou dost not cease, 0 Lord, to shower upon us Thy gifts of grace nor to show us the power of T hy love. Let me, too, experience the powerful supplication of Thy Saint before Thy throne of mercy. Grant that I may strive to imitate her wonderful example and that she may obtain for me my petition, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. St. Walburga, from whose relics God has al­ lowed a spring of heavenly medicine to flow for over 900 years, by which countless multitudes were to recover health ; thy tomb has become a foun­ tain of God's heali ng grace, whose waters we may drink with joy. There thousand have obtained what they had ceased to hope for from any human remedy : St. Walburga, who dost not cease to Mother Agnes. help the afflicted, look down upon me, also, in my necessity. And when thou hast helped me, I shall never cease to thank thee, praising the merciful compassion of Al mighty God. The "oil" can be taken from a spoon with a drop of water, but it should not be mixed with any other liquid. If it is applied externally to the eyes or to a wound, it should be applied with something that can . -'T..,t. • - --'~.... '" ~h.,~. ""'t. be burned. After the use of the "oil," a prayer should be said. For example: God, full of mercy and compassion, thou dost not cast away those who corn e to Thee with con­ fid ence and humility; grant, through the interces­ sion of St. Walburga, that we may partake of the fulness of Thy M ercies. H elp us, that, as we know Thee as a God rich in miracles, we may also love and adore Thee as a merciful Father. Amen. Then follow with the Lord's prayer. The account of the "oil" in the St. WaZbu rga Buch­ Zein mentions the fact that oil fl owing from blessed remains was bestowed not only on St. Walburga but also on St. Andrew of Amalfi, St. Theresa, St. Nicholas Way side Chapel in honor of St. Walburga, St. Emma 's of Bari, St. Elizabeth of Thuringia and others. St. Convent, Greensburg, Pennsy lvania. Elizabeth of Thuringia after leading a dedicated re­ ligious life died in the year 1231. When she died her body lay unburied for four days a nd gave forth a spiced perfume which refreshed all. After her body was laid in the tomb a t M arburg, oil was seen to flow from it." When the city of Myra in Asia minor fell into the hands of the Saracens, St. Nicholas' relics were removed to Bari in Italy. It is said that his body was uncorrupted and that it gave forth a sweet smelling essence known as "the manna of St. Nicholas" which had healing power.' While today is not the era of relics, St. Walburga's medieval Christianity found Biblical support for its doctrines. In Exodus 13:19 - And M oses took Joseph's bones with him ; because "Jacobus de Voragine, The Go lden L egend (New York : Arno Press, 1969 ), pp. 675-689. 'Christina Hole, Saints in Folklore (N ew York : Barrows and I Company, Inc., 1965 ), pp. 1- 16. -----~~ L _____ 4 he had adjured the children of Israel, saying: God shall visit you. Carry out my bones from hence with you. In Joshua 24 : 32 - And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought out of Egypt, they buried in Shec­ hem in that part of the fi eld which Jacob had bought of the sons of H amor the father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces of si lver; and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph. In 2 K ings 13 :21 - And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men ; and they cast the man in to the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man w.as let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet. In Acts 5:15 - Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. In Acts 19: 11-12 And God wrought special miracl es by the hands of Paul: So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, .and the ,diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them. From the many miracl es ascribed to St. Walburga it is apparent that St. Paul was not the only one favored by God to aid the sick. Who actually was this St. Walburga of the holy "oil?" H er story is as often told in representational art as it is in script. In Eich­ statt it is told by tapes tries found in the convent and by the hundreds of votive pictures adorning the walls of her burial crypt; at St. Emma's it is now told by the stained glass windows mentioned above. The first picture depicts Walburga's family. Born in 710 in Dorset, England to Richard (later St. Richard) and to Wuna (later Blessed ) she was destined for a most devout Christian life. Her uncle Boniface and her brothers Wunibald and Willibald, leaders in the medie­ val church and missionaries to Germany, were all to become saints. She also was related to s.aints Sola, Lioba and Thekla, all of whom served in bringing Christianity to Germany.

Memorial windows depicting life of St. Walburga, St. Emma's Convent, Greensburg.

5 Th s ond pi tur d pi ts Riha rd with his som Th t nth pi tu r brings h r to II id nheim in 76l m, king n f th ir thr pilgrimag s to th II Iy aft r th d a th of h r bro th r Wuniba ld who had L nd. Ri hard di d d urin th fir t pilgrimag , and b n abbot th r . Under h r di r ti on th first doubl was buried at Lu a in n rthern lLa ly. m nast ry was stablish d on Th ir a tiv- Th thi r I pi tur sh ws Wa lburga a t s h at III s in Iud d prayer, Chri ti an ati on for hildren, th 13 nedi tin Abb y f Winb rn wh r sh I a rn d a nd omfort to th poor and sick. La tin, spinning, w ving, a nd b di n hristian Th I v nth window d pi ts h r d ath 111 779. Sh living and th riptur s w r of prime imp rta n is surround d by h r nuns and h r brother Willibald, Th f urth pi tur xpl ains that Winborn was th th first bish p of Ei hsta tt. Bishop Philipp in his usua l d ubI m nas t ry, th nuns bing ntir Iy s p­ bi graphy of t. W alburga sta t s that a t h r funeral a r t d f r m th monks, th ugh usu ll y gOY rn d by a ll th candl s a nd lamps wer light d by an u nse n an Abb ss. Wa lburg b om s a nun. hand. Th fifth pi tur r It s h r far wilt Th tw Ifth pi tur shows th mira ulous fl ow of a nd h m. h IS a bout to foil w Li ba to "oil" d scrib d ab v . It should b not d that h r t th invita ti n f B nifa bring hristi n r ma in s stay d at H id nh im for 90 y a rs during ings. whi ch tim many pilgrims am Th n Bishop Otka r Th sixth pi tur t lis h r first mira I . Whn d i I d to nlarg th hur h. It s ms tha t some th y r 5S d th hann I a t rribl st rm a ros A - f th labor rs w r too arthy for th spirit of St. rding t Bish p Phili pp of Ei hsta tt ( 1307) sh W alburga wh app ar d 111 a dream to th bishop. pr y d, st d up a nd aIm d th s a. Aft r la nding, h ompla in d a nd pr diet d that one of the walls sh w nt by xcart fr m Amst rdam south rn would a v 111 . When this a tually ha pp n d, Otkar rmany. I id d to r m ve h r r ma ins to Ei hstatt to b · Th s v nth window shows h r w !com by th buri d in th ca th dral next to h r broth r Willibald. miss i nari s. Th f1i ia l r ption was at th J(reuzkirchlein (Little Th hth pi tur t lls of a n th r mira It ap­ hur h of th ross). But as th proe ss ion wanted p a rs th t t. W a lburga inspir d by C d w nt to to mov on, th h rs s r fu s d to go. in ee no induce­ th h m of a nobl ma n wh s dau ht r lay dying. m nt ould onvll1 th horses to mov , th y d id ·d ApI poor, W alburga was ab ut to b a ttack d r bury th r Ii s in th J(reuzkirchlein. Old ae ounts d gs a nd qu sti n d by a n angry nob I man and pa inting t stify to this fa t. repli d that th wh s nt h r would Whil some of th nuns of H id nheim deeid d to pr t t h r fr m all things. And furth r, if h w uld stay in Ei hstatt oth rs went on to Mohnh im. In time b Ii v that h r ncl r was th gr a t st f h al rs his th y wa nt d som of th r lies of St. W alburga. While d aught r w ulcl liv. Th n bl man r gnizing Wal­ this dism mb rin of saintly bodi s had always been bur a a k d forgiv n ss. W a lbur a stay d and prayed a ustom in th East rn bra n h of Christianity, the throu h th ni ht. Th hilcl r ov r d. W st had frown d upon it. But b ause th Second Th ninth pi tur sh ws h r in mission ry tra ininrr C uncil of Nieaea in 787 d r d that all hurehes by Li ba at Bis hofsh im. mu t hay r Ii sunder th altar, r sistan e had to give

St. Walburg. and ber holy oil divided. ond It WM then. in 083. t hoL l or the nr.t LI me the bon ea were fou nd bedewed with droOl or 1\ precloua liqUid Pnrt, of t he rellce were oUDln en8hrlned In the SOniC place. undu the olto.r. And tht chUrch soon become known f'$t.. W Blbural\ 18 one of about. thlrt.y nun" St WalburKll'a Ohurch Thtn dropo 0: the who /lalled frOm EnaloncJ to he Iv at. DonifACC liquid 6tarted to OOze from under her ahrlne. convert. the heMhen! In OennRny to the nod It WM (ound to [)06.,tM heoJlng propeltll" hrhlUIUl Il'nlth She WIUI at. UOnlfnce'. own through the Interct-Mlon of St WolburWI\. 110 nlcet' . IUl c! n atst.cr of 88 Wllllbnld nnd thnt. .soon crowds flocked to get some of It A Wynlbnld. who both worked In clooc co­ Benedlctlnc monnstery " rew oround St opernUon wllh 5t.. OonUn.ce In ttl(> mlMlon field" Wnlburgn's Shrine. nnd her rrllca o re now under of Oenllnny Her (nther. SL. ntchnrd. wM n the cnrc or the nuns. who "BthC1 the liquid and wenllhy SaKOO noble. who lefL hl lJ enrthly 1'>03~ fill it into tlnv nMIui It Is coiled the 011 01 8r M1 0I'l.1 nnd h hl wi fe nnd chHdrcn to nc ompnny I::U,.. Wnlburgn and fl ows contlnuou.sly durlnK his rldell t RO n I'. Wllllbnld nnd Wynlbl\ld, on n morc thnn lour months every yenr PeoDle all I>I1~rlmn8 c t.o 1l0mC!, nnd died on hilt waY there over the world have clnlmed to owe t heir curt' S~ Boniface, helped by St WllllboJd o.nd many to at Wnlburan. Ood glorifyllllC her earthly othcml, fo un(lt'd n number of monMterl('s In remolns to lhla doy with mony miracles Oenmlny. ThClI t'i werll to act os stronKholds for the fnlthhll "Irendy converted, nnd M power­ IlOUM!'! (or rDdlollnK OhrllJ lInnltv further Instructionl for uliog tbe holy oil St. Wnll>urp;1\ bM:Jullf\ Abbe"s of Ule monURtery founrled bV hrr brother Wynlbnld n~ lleldel\ ht'lm, In Olwnrln She WM chcrhlhtd by nil Lhe folk IIvlrlK nround tht' monn1tery for th(' cnre fn u6inK tilt' holy 011 ve ry m ueh dependH on ahC! LOOk o r the au lT erl""c. for her lovl' of the thc rnlth WId the pure intrnllon o r tholle who r. l or her W4"ntleneM nnd her lIb4"rnl\~y . ahC! ht\vt recoursc to It. died on February 2~th . '1'10 , niter bel n lt nbbua Wr must . or cour6C. be In the at(Lle of grat(' lor nbout. 215 ytnra. find WM burled nt Heiden­ nnd should. If po&,lble. ,,0 to COn ftMIOIl and Booklet of Dev tions IIsed ill lu~ , m 80me 100 yenra Inter he r bodv W(IJf Holy Communion . It Is olao usunl to rnnkl' a ex h umed nnd 80Icmnly t ronlt f,.rred to Elc h llUlLt nOVelll\ III honour of the Snlnt.. We 'mWlt r('ly novellas to t. Walburga. t. It WIllJ pln.ced In 1\ little church . OOd ahowlng upon St. W n1bur~fLs help entirely. nnd wllh a PnII" for ,.. 1 by 1\ mlnlch, IhAt t hltt w.., tht' ItPo tlill IIlm"('I( childlike confidence. trusUni In 00(1'6 bOundlrM Walburga's 71t1rcIL, Pitts­ h nd chOltCn 6omt' lime lnle r the relics we rt' lI1e rclell ond in the POw('r wh ich He hM con · bllrgh. way to demand. And in Eichstatt Bishop Erchambold Is any man sick among yOU? finally agreed to share some relics of St. Walburga. Let him bring in the priests of When on May 1, 893, they opened the grave, they the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the were astounded to see the bones covered with a delicate name of the Lord. mist. It was evident to them that St. Walburga was And sing the hymn Sister Mary Benedict wrote on truly one of the Lord's anointed. But according to February 21, 1974: Bishop Gundekar (1057-1075 ) the "flow of the oil" as it is known today did not come into realization until HYMN TO ST. WALBURGA October 12, 1042, at the dedication of the new St. Holy St. Walburga, Walburga church built on the spot of the old Kreuz­ Hear our humble plea, kirchlein. 8 As a result she was named not only the Ask our dearest Jesus Hear and answer thee. patron of Eichstatt, but also of Christian schools, churches, towns, gates, fountains, streets, squares. Hun­ You worked many favors dreds of girls were given her name. Everywhere cele­ For all those in need, Show your favor to us, brations and pilgrimages were engaged in on February For us intercede. 25, the day of her death; on May 1, the discovery of the "oil;" on August 4, her arrival in Germany; on Crossing o'er the Channel Calmed the angry storm, October 12, the day of the translation of her bones. Calm the storm within us, For nine hundred years St. Walburga has been honored Keep us all from harm. In Bavaria, Wiirttemberg, Hessen, Westphalia, the When the tempests rage Rhineland, and Brunswick. This devotion crossed int:J Help our faith be strong, Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Austria. And help us find peace And now it has come to western Pennsylvania. When things seem to go wrong. Because it is Pennsylvania where relics are not part Thank you St. Walburga of the folk-culture, Father Norbert at the dedication For your help in need, of St. Walburga's Shrine did not speak of the "oil." And once more we beg you But spiritual healing is understood in Pennsylvania; Strengthen us we plead. so in his glorious sermon about the beautiful Christian qualities of St. Walburga Father Norbert did weave BIBLIOGRAPHY Hole, Christina. Saints in Folklore. New York : Barrows the thought of possible miracles through her interces­ and Company, Inc. 1965. sion. Through the nine hundred years thousands of [Community] Heilige Walburga. Miinchen: Seyfried and Company. people have attested that her prayers have helped as [Community] 900 Jahre Abtei St. Walburga. Augsburg: they asked the Savior's mercy and healing hand. For Haas and Grabher. 1934. [Community] St. Walburga Buchlein. Eichstatt: St. Wal­ those who believe no explanation is necessary; for those burg. 1922. who doubt, let us reiterate from St. James 5: 14- [Community] St. Walburga Eichstiitt Kloster und Pfarrkirche. Eichstatt: Funk-Druck. 1967. 8900 Jahre Abtei St. Walburga (Augsburg: Haas and Grab­ Voragine, Jacobus de. The Golden L egend. New York: her, 1934) , p. 80. Arno Press. 1969.

rened upon His saints of granting us special Thy help in the name of my crucified SavIour, from any human remedy: St. Walburga, who favours-it they be (or HIs greater glory and the through the intercession ot Mary. the blessed d06t not. cease to help the a.Olicted. look down good Of our soul. Mother of God, and St. Walburga. Thou 9'o'Ut upon me, also, in my necessity. And when thou In uslng the holy oil we should therefore start help me, Thou wIlt relieve me In my distress. hast helped me, I shall never cease to thank Novena in honour of St. Walhurp by laying our petition before God in prayer and I shall always be grateful for the favour which thee, praising the merciful compo.sslon of fervently invoking the help of the Saint . Thou wilt grant me, and try to spend the rest Almighty Ood. of my life doing &ood to others fOr the sake of Convert us, God our Saviour. tLlld turn away The oil can be taken in a spoon with a drop Thy Inft.n.lte mercy. Thine anger from us. God, come to my a.sslst· DC fresh water. but It should not be m ixed with Prayers after applying the holy oil ance. Lord, make haste to help me. May the any other liquid. If it Is applied externally to I beg of Thee, my God, have mercy on me, accept my good resolutions, hear and answer most Just. most hlih, and 'moot adorable Will a wound or an atfUcted eye, It should be applied of God be in Bli things done. praised, and with a feather or somethl n~ similar, whlch can my petition, If it be for Thy honour and for the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be <3 times). magnlfled for ever. afterwards be burnt. good. of my soul. Pray for us, St. Walbura:a, that we may be JESUS, Son Of David, have mercy 00 me. We can stili confldently rely on St.. Walburga's Pray for us, St. Walburga, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. help. even U we should have no 011 at hand, made worthy of the ·pramlses ot Christ. God. full of mercy and oomoassion, Thou dost Pray for us, St. Walburga, that we may be for many miraculous cures have been obtained Merciful God, all our hODe and confidence not cast away those who come to Thee With made worthy ot the promises of Christ. by Just applying the little empty bottle in which confidence and humility; grant, through the St. WaIburga, I approach thee with childlike 3re placed in Thee. Thou, who hast glorifled intercession of St, Walburga, that we 'may par. the hOly 011 had. been stored. St. WaJburga by miracles, grant that, by her confidence; I humbly lay aU my wants before take of the fuJness Of Thy mercies. HelD us, mer its and through her Intercession, we may thee . . . It thou wert stUl 00 earth. it would that, as we know Thee as a God rich Ln miracles. be quite impossible that thou shouldst leaVe me be delivered from all a.ftl1ctions of soul and we may also love and adore Thee as a. merciful Prayen before applying the holy oil body Thou dost not cease, 0 Lord, to shower Father. Amen. without comfort; how much more now that thou lI,POn US Thy gifts of grace nor to show us the St Walburga, who mercifully leadest the sick not only clearly see5t all my wants tn God, but power of Thy Jove. Let me, too. experience the and helpless to Jesus, that He may heal them also. through God's help, art so powerful to Almighty and mercUul God, who allowest powerful supplication of Thy Saint before Thy all, lead me also to Him, who is thy divine assist all those who are in distress. Be to me a throne of mercy. Grant that I may strive to faithful and loving mother, and pray for me : trials and suffering to come UPOo us, that we Spouse, the Good Samaritan, and ask HIm to may harve recourse to Thee for help, I throw Imitate her wonderful example and that she deliver me from my suffering and from the for I shall never cease to have confidence, and myself with chJldlike confidence before the may obtain for me my oetltlon, through Jesus to hope that GOd will bestow a specJal blessing Christ our Lord. Amen. r.roubles that aftlIct my soul. Be my consoler on me and hes.r my prayer. throne of Thy mercy. 1 adore Thee to whom and my helper, for thou canst and wUt help me, lowe all that 1 have and all that I am . By St. WaJburga, fram whose relics Ood has I! It be God's WI1I. Full of confidence I ask Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be. St. the help of Thy RTace I am ready to suffer. for allowed a spring of heavenly medicine to fiow this favour of thee . . . and when thou hast Walburga, pray for us (3 Urnes). I know that Thou art a gentle and. loving Fa.ther tor over 900 years. by which countless multi· helped me, I shall never stop thanking thee. who ordalnest everything wisely and lovingly tudes were to recover health : thy 19mb has Amen, for the salvation of our souls. I know that it become a fountain of God's healing grace, whose May the most just, most high and mOISt ador· is Thy Holy Will that we should not despalr but waters we may drink with joy. There thousands able WUl of Ood be In aU things done, praised, seek refuge In Thee. I therefore humbly ask have obtained what they had ceased to hope for and magnlfted for ever. Amen.

7 An Old Order River Brethren Love Feast

By BEULAH S. HOSTETLER

INTRODUCTION who had extended to us the invitation. She greeted It was on a lovely Saturday morning In August of us cordially, then invited us to enter the barn where 1973 that we drove into the barnyard of Earnest the service was being held. Sauder's large farm near Silver Springs, in the south­ The open barn doors made a very wide entrance western part of Lancaster County. We had been invited way, probably twenty feet in width. One section of the to attend an Old Order River Brethren Love Feast. barn had been cl eared and prepared for the meeting. It was 9: 00 A.M. and congregational singing had al­ Across the far end of the barn were two long tables, ready begun. This service, as with most religious with women wearning crisp white caps and long dresses meetings in the group, was being held at the home of a uniform design seated on both sides of each table. of a member. The group has no churches or meeting­ To our right another table extended nearly the depth houses. In the winter worship services are held in the of the barn. Men were seated along both sides of this houses of members or occasionally in a school house, table. Their large black hats rested on straw bales and in the summer they are frequently held in barns. behind the table. The barn floor had been covered A few persons were walking through the yard, with worn, but clean, oriental-type rugs. Everything appa rently finishing some task that had been assigned seemed perfectl y ordered and arranged. to them for the benefit of the group. One of these In the central part of the barn were two groups of was the deacon's wife. It was she and her husband chairs which we learned had been provided for the

The Ernest Sauder farm, Silver Springs, Lancaster County, site of the Old Order River Brethren Love Feast analyzed in the article. 8

- guests. The presence of guests at River Brethren Love 9, 1969. This group includes fewer than 150 members, Feasts is an old custom. Phebe Gibbons, writing of and they reside in three states: O hio, Iowa, and Penn­ a visit to the group before 1882 says: "The River sylvania. Brethren allow all present to partake of the love-feast Preparations for the Love Feast begin on Friday or paschal supper. Some of them have said the paschal evening and three services are held on Saturday, cli­ supper is an expression of the love of God for all maxing in the serving of the Lord's supper, or Holy mankind, and love toward a ll men constrains them to communion, on Saturday evening. A service is held invite all to partake thereof. But from the Lord's as usual on Sunday morning, followed by the customary Supper they excl ude all strangers" .' Seated among the noon meal. guests were not only "outsiders," li ke ourselves, but also The group being described in this paper holds a Old Order Rive r Brethren belonging to sister groups. Love Feast three times annually: in Ma rch, June, and The Old Order River Brethren are a plain sect with August. The other groups hold a Love Feast once or members in Ohio, Iowa, and Pennsylvania. Although twice each year. Prior to the March Love Feast, which the sect is very small- probably fewer than 400 mem­ is held onl y in the Strickl er-Keller group, each family bers- it is divided into four distinct groups that hold is visited individually by the deacons. At this time each only limited fellowship with each other.' The group member is invited to share with the deacons any con­ described in this paper is the Strickl er-Kell er group, cerns which they may have about the life of the group. made up of two distinct groups which united on M arch At the M arch Council Meeting time is devoted to the discussion of these problems. It is at this time, and in 'Phebe Earle Gibbons, Pennsylvania Dutch and Other Es­ says ( Philadelphia : Lippincott, 1882) p. 135. M yron Dietz, this setting, that problems internal to the group such a member of the Old Order River Brethren and teacher of as dress regulations, are discussed. These concerns are M ennonite History at L ancaster Mennonite School, says the Old Order River Brethren do not use the term " paschal sup­ not preached to the public. per" with reference to the evening meal. ' Membership was give n as 340 in 1960. See Ira Landis, THE FORENOON SERVICE "The Origin of the Brethren in Christ Church and its Later Present at the morning service we were attending Divisions," The Mennonite Quarterly R eview, XXXIV ( 1960), 304. A. W. Climenhaga, History of the Bre thren in Christ were members from Ohio, Iowa, and Pennsylvania. Church (Nappanee, Indiana : E. V . Publishing H ouse, 1942) , Bishop John Sauder, a slight but eloquent man with says that the membership of the group never exceeded 500 persons. The various divisions are discussed below. completely white hair and beard, was leading the serv­ ice. He requested the singing of hymn number 285 from A Collection of Spiritual Hymn'S . .. Especially Designed for the U se of the Old Order River Brethren.' The words of the song anticipated the tone of the meeting. Bishop Sauder read the words of the hymn, then it was sung by the congregation: Come on, my partners in distress, My comrades in the wilderness, Who feel your sorrows still; Awhile forget your griefs and fears, And look beyond this vale of tears, To that celestial hill. Beyond the bounds of time and space, Look forward to that heav'nly place, The saints' secure abode; On faith's strong eagle pinions rise, And force your passage to the skies, And scale the mount of God. Who suffer with our Master here, Shall there before his face appear, And by his side sit down: To patient faith the prize is sure: And all that to that end endure The cross, shall wear the crown.

The singing of hymns was followed by the reading o'f Isaiah 53 and prayer. All present knelt for the

'A Collection of Spiritual Hymns . .. Especially Designed for the Use of the Old Order River Brethren, 1971 (No address: No publisher), p. 185.

9 prayer, turning to face their chairs as they did so. tail. J acob Engle (1 75 3-1832 ) was unquestionably Two brethren led in audible prayer. The first prayer prominent in the formation of the group. George R . was extemporaneous, and the second prayer was very Prowell' and Abraham H. Cassel' give very nearl y par­ brief, concluding with the Lord's Prayer. allel accounts of the early events, and both claim to I t was then time for the Experience Meeting, or the have had original documents as source material. sharing of personal testimonies by the members. This The group originated in Lancaster County, Penn­ is an important and distinctive feature of every Sunday sylvania, some time between 1773 and 1785. It appears service of the Old Order R iver Brethren, as well as of that by 1773 or 1775 Jacob Engle had become con­ the Love Feast. Both men and women, and members vinced that baptism by trine immersion was the only of all ages, participate in the Experience Meeting. A true form. Beginning about 1776 he and a small group distinctive pattern of procedure is followed. An individ­ of like-minded persons began to meet together for fel­ ual, while seated, reads the first line of a hymn and lowship, and continued to do so informally for several gives the number of the hymn. One ver e is sung by years. the group, then the individual a rises and gives his or In the setting of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in her testimonv. the latter half of the 18th Century, baptism by trine The testimonies given by members during this period immersion and crisis conversion-two of the chief tenets are quite different in emphasis and content from those of the River Brethren-were far from novel ideas. the writer has heard presented in modern fundamen­ The Seventh Day Baptists of the Ephrata Cloister, who talist-type groups. Modesty and humility are much in practised baptism by immersion, were at the height of evidence in these testimonies. There is stress on the their influence. The entire membership of the Church unworthiness of self and the need to give one's self to of the Brethren (Dunkards) had come to America J esus. There may be recognition of temptation and between 1719 and 1729. The Brethren practised bap­ there is frequent mention of the devil or the evil tism by immersion and had diverted a significant num­ one .. H ow a spiritual truth has been revealed to the ber of Mennonites to their group in Lancaster County individual may be shared. But in several hours of tes­ and elsewhere. An evangelical movement was active timonies on several different occasions the writer only throughout Pennsylvania and Virgin ia during this era. once heard ,a person recount benefits they had received It attracted Protestants from all groups and some M en­ other than spiritual peace. In this instance a person nonites and Dunkaros as well. Among the incidents completely prepared for surgery appears to have been recorded from the era is that of a preaching service healed just before being taken to the operating room. held at the Isaac Long barn near Landis Valley in H er accounting of the incident was so modest it was 1767. Martin Boehm, a Mennonite, preached a power­ necessary to ask her about it afterwaI1ds in order to ful evangelistic sermon, following which he was em­ understand what she was relating. What frequently braced by the R everend William Otterbein, a R eformed appears as near-boastfulness in testimony meetings was minister, with the words, "Wir Si11;d Briider". completely absent. Graphic personal details were seem­ In 1784 Martin Boehm conducted a remarkable re­ ingly avoided. The testimonies were often accompanied vival in Donegal Township. Both Prowell and Cassel by tears. claim to have documents written at the time of the The Experience M eeting was followed by a sermon, occasion and still surviving at the time of their writing and by a testimony to the sermon given by another which show that J acob Engle and five of his followers minister. The group then krtelt again for two prayers, attended some of these meetings. Four of those accom­ and after the prayers were finished, sang a hymn. Fol­ panying Engle were Hans (John) Engle, John Stern, lowing this the congregation was dismissed for the noon Samuel M eigs, and C. R. Rupp.8 The members of the meal, which all present were invited to share.' group are said by Prowell to have requested baptism from Otterbein, but because they had already been HISTORICAL BACKGROU ND baptized he refused to baptize them a second time. Circumstances surrounding the origin of the River They then went to George Miller of the Swa tara Brethren are somewhat obscure. Almost no primary Brethren Church. From him they requested baptism sources exist for the first century of the movement. by immersion, but stated that they did not wish to Secondary historical accounts vary considerably in de- become members of the Brethren Church. H e refused to administer baptism under these conditions, and it 'The complete order of service for the morning, afternoon, and evening sessions is outlined in Appendix 1. 'Carlton O. Wittlinger says, "Such sources for the period "George R . Prowell, History of York County (Chicago, 1907) , are limited to a manuscript confession of faith, two sentences I, 17 3. from the pen of a founder, and several entries in public 'Abraham H. Cassel, "Origin of the Brethren in Christ," records." Carlton O. Wittlinger, "The Origin of the Breth­ written in 1882. Exhibit I, A. W. Climenhaga, op. cit., pp. ren in Christ," The Mennon'ite Quarterly Review, XLVIII 337-339. ( 1974), 55. 8/bid.; also, George R . Prowell, op. cit. 10 women seated tio n of those dissatisfi ed ones went to the vicinity of Manheim, to confer with Elder C. Longenecker, TABLE I with a view of uniting with the Church of the I Brethren, but that Elder Longenecker told them I that the Brethren Church was not any more on the true foundation. Mr. Nissley had this informa­ I tion from the founders of the River Brethren I I Speaker Church. The delegation as above-said were Jacob I Engle, H ans Engle, C. Rupp, H ans Ster:n, a Mr. I H eiges, and Schaeffer . . . . Abraham Glbbel t?ld I the writer that H ans Stern, one of the delegatIOn of six, a s aforesaid, unhesitantingly told him, that I after they went home from Elder Longenecker, I they consulted and concluded that they would take Men Chairs for Guests I the advice, but none of them being baptized they I I Seated went across the Blue Ridge to Elder George Miller I in the Swatara Church; and asked him to baptize I them, but told him that they would then organize I for themselves, upon which he refused. They then I I began their church by one baptizing another and I I I I he then baptized the rest.'o I I I I C. A. W. Drury, in his History of the Church of the I I I I I United Brethren reports: I I I I I After the Isaac Long meeting, Mr. Boehm spent I more and more of his time preaching. He early appears as preaching regularly at three special pl aces. H e preached at Pequea [to "the Pequea brethren" of his own neighborhood], and at Don­ eg.al [to "the Conestoga brethren" in the Long neighborhood]. For the meetings at his own place, he fitted up the old house he had built, and was ENTRANCE occupied by his father. The congregations were all principally made up of Mennonites. The congre­ Arrangement of Barn for Love Feast. gations on the Susquehanna proved too conserva­ tive for Mr. Boehm's rapidly advancing apprehen­ sions and methods. His enlarged associations with others whose history was so different from that of is said that he suggested rather that they do as Alex­ the Mennonites created difficulties. There were also objections to his liberal views and practices ander Mack and his followers had done in 1708; baptize as to baptism. The congregation was made up of each other. This they subsequently did, drawing lots converted people ; but from some diversity in 'the to see who would be baptized first, and promising original elements of the congregation, as well as never to reveal who had received baptism first. Both from other causes, peculiarities were developed Prowell and Cassel give 1786 as the date for this and soon thereupon an aversion to change. While there was no ill feeling and no formal opposition, mutual baptism.' it was yet significant to Mr. Boehm that "he was The early connections of the group with Martin too far in advance" for his services to be accept­ Boehm and the United Brethren are suggested in sev­ able. This congregation some time afterwards, eral other sources. The Church of the Brethren com­ about 1776, became the mother congregation for mittee of 1915 reported, concerning the beginning of the denomination known as River Brethren. They seem to have no tradition of the fact given here, the United Brethren and the River Brethren: and they sometimes give themselves a Dunker They elected William Otterbein and Martin rather than a Mennonite origin." Boehm as superintendents or bishops; and agreed Ira Landis quotes accounts of the origins of the that each should act according to his own convic­ River Brethren from more than a dozen sources. He tions as to the mode of baptism. Now this meeting was said to have been held in Donegal Township, accepts Prowell's statement that the temporary organ­ and resulted in many conversions. But not all were ization took place in 1776 and the permanent organiza­ ready or willing to unite with this new denomina­ tion soon after 1784, following a revival conducted by tion, believing there is but one mode of baptism Martin Boehm in Donegal Township. He says: "Thus that is right, and that is trine immersion. Jacob Nissley, a minister of the River Brethren, who is 'OHistory of the Church of the Brethren of the Eastern dead for some time, told the writer, that a del ega- District of Pennsylvania, by the committee appointed (Lan­ caster, 1915) p. 386. 'Both Prowell and Cassel report their going to Miller. Cas­ "C. A. W. Drury, History of the Church of the United sel does not report the vjsit to Otterbein. Brethren (Dayton, 1924) p. 103.

11 the da tes would be about 1776 and 1785, which gives sources examined, except Climenhaga, cl early attribute them time to move from a Mennonite background, the initial leadership of the group to J acob Engle. as generally admitted, through the United Brethren Tha t Engle came fro m a l\1ennonite family ha now transition which is reported in both D rury and Prowell." been conclusively established." C. O. Wittlinger recognizes Engle's leadership in the DIVIS IONS I THE R IVER BRETHRE CH RCH group (he uses the spell ing Engel), and the fact that For a time th Rive r Brethren prospered, and grew only M ennonite origins can be documented for the quitc rapidly. By the late 1830's ten ions werc develop­ earl y members. H e recognizes the influence of M a rtin ing within the group between progre sive a nd orthodox Boehm in the formula tions of the religious convictions faction. By 1842 or 1843 J acob trick Ier, J r. (1 778- of the River Brethren, but is reluctant to recognize any 1859) became the leader of an orthodox faction. M ost structural connection with Boehm.. Wittlinger refers of the River Brethren of York County chose to ide to the viewpoint that the Brethren were u nder the with Strickl r, as did Bi hop hri ti an H oover ( 1793- administra tion of Boehm but rejects this idea. H e also 1867 ) of Franklin County and his followers, a nd a refers to the possibili ty that the e grou ps were "con­ small group ,of foll owers of Christi an M usser ( 1803- venticl es". In the flu x of the ti mes, it seems entirely 1892 ) in La ncaster County." It appears that this group po sible that Boehm may have preached regularl y to was a fa tion withi n the main body until about 1855. these groups, as the above sources suggest, without his T hi group call ed it elf the O ld Ord r R iver Brethren, necessaril y having had any so rt of offi cial administra tive after the 1855 division but was known popula rl y by responsibility for them. Wittlinger says: the name "Yorkers" as well. F rom the beginning the T his gradual and sponta neous emergence of the Brethren movement under M a rtin Boehm's in­ group was small , a nd is aid never to have numbered flu ence fits the general picture of the fo unding more than fi ve or six hundred members. of the Brethren given by the most reli able earl y A three-way spli t occurred in the main body about historian of the group. This author states: 1855. River Brethren were moving to the frontier in Between sixty and seventy years ago, awakened Dauphin County. I t wa not po sible under frontier perso ns of Mennonites, Lutherans, German R e­ formed, Brethren or T aeufer, "whose hearts were conditions to build spacious houses and barns. M eeting clo ely joined together- had a ommon interest, in the homes fo r worship thus became more d iffi cul t. not only in regard to the general cause of religion, This frontier group, led by M a tthias Brinser ( 1795- but in each other's edifi cation," and they met in 1889 ), in February of 1853 unani mously voted to erect the capacity of a social devo ut band, from house a meeti nghouse to supply this need. T his move was to house, to make prayer and supplicati on for the continued influence of God's spirit-out of these objected to by the brethren in Lancaster County. T hey, social circles, was organized the Religious Asso­ too, held a meeting, and a letter dated M ay 16, 1853, . ciati on, now [1840s] commonl y known as the gives the signatures of 26 brethren who say they RIVER BRETHREN." unanimously oppose the constru ction of the meeting­ These incidents, recorded in various sources, suggest hou e." After reading the letter Brinser is reported that the group became distinct and autonomous through to have remarked, "Sie fressen einmal was sie now a successive series of events. Bryan Wilson" poin ts out kutzen." (They will sometime ea t what they now that although one of the basic characteristics of the vo mi t.) Brinser and his group fail ed to yield to the sect is its exclusiveness this characteristic may be re­ wishes of the majority and were excommunicated in versed in its initial stages. At tha t time they may stress 1855. The group was first call ed "Brinsers" or "Brins­ unity of spirit and disregard organiza tional bonds. The eri tes," but soon chose the name "United Zion's Chil­ earl y River Brethren seem to have ma ni fes ted this char­ dren." T hey accepted a close working relation with a acteristic, and it helps to account for the difficul ty in group called by the name of Grumbines.'· establishing a beginning da te for the group. The view proposed by A. W. Climenhaga, who wrote " See H arold S. Bender, tr., "A Swiss M ennonite D ocument of 1754 Bearing on the Background of the O rigi n of the The H istory of the Brethren in Christ Church, does Brethren in C hrist Church," The M ennonite Q uart erly R eview, not stand up agains t examination. H e held that the XXXIV ( 1960) , 308-309. " It is difficult to piece together the events of this schism. initial members of the River Brethren had not belonged Wilmur J . Eshl eman, " The R iver Brethren D enomination," to any church prior to their mutual bapti m, and that L ancaster County H istorical Society, LII ( 1948 ), 188-189, says they d id not have a n individual founder. All of the that J acob Strickl er, Jr., was excommunicated for his defense of orthodoxy. Laban T . Brechbill, H istory of the Old Order River Bre thren (No address: Brechbill and Strickl er, 1972 ) llIra LandIS, op. cit., p. 302. It should be noted that tech­ p. 35, holds that our knowl edge of events is unclear, and nically the U nited Brethren did not exist at this time. that it may have taken as many as ten years to precipitate " C. O . Wittlinger, op. cit ., p. 62. A Familiar Friend, the division. M artin Schrag says simply that the orthodox " History of the R iver Brethren," History of All the R eligious fa ction "wi thdrew". D e.nominations in the United States (Harrisburg, Pa. : J ohn "Wilmur J. Eshleman, op. cit., pp. 190-1 9 1. Wmebrenner, 1848 ) p. 553. '·Charles D . Spotts, ed ., Denominations Originating in L an­ "Bryan Wilson, R eligious S ec ts ( ew York : M cGraw Hill, caster County, Pennsylvania (Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Frank­ 1970). lin and Marshall Coll ege Library, 1963), pp. 20-23. 12 The progressive wing for a time simply retained the M yers (1886- ) lead the segment of the group name "River Brethren." When they were required to that chose to continue to drive horses and carriages. register during the Civil War, they selected the name A union of two separate Old Order River Brethren "Brethren in Christ"." This segment included by far groups took place on M arch 9, 1969. At that time the largest number of members following the three-way the Kell er and trickI er groups formalized a union at split. Prowell reports that in 1880 there were 80 min­ the home of orman R. Bricker (1922- ). The isters, 100 congregations, and about 9,000 members." names of the ministers present, the re olution read, and the names of members present are recorded in Laban DIVISIONS AMONG THE OLD ORDER RIVER BRETHREN T. Brechbill's H istory of the Old O rder R iver Brethren. The Old Order River Brethren constituted a single Members from Ohio, Iowa, and Pennsylvania were group for approximately the first 75 years. Following present at this meeting. This group has experienced 1921 they experienced a series of splits, as illustrated considerable growth since its u nion. In May, 1971, in Figure 2. Published information concerning these the group baptized fourteen converts in Lancaster divisions is scanty. In 1921, following the death of County and nine in Franklin County. Bishop Jacob S. Hostetter (1832- 1920 ), the group T HEOLOGICAL E MPHASIS AND TYPOLOGY divided. " No information is given on the details of The only surviving document from the first century the division, but Simon H. Musser (1878- ) be­ of the R iver Brethren is a confession of faith, dating came the leader of one group, and apparently Maurice probably from 1780. Martin H . Schrag has made a M. Siegrist (1886- 1945 ), became the leader of the detailed analysis of this confession." H e shows first other group, which is now known as the Horse and of all the influences of Halle Pietism on the confession. Carriage group. Shortly after this initial division T obias Secondly, he says, the confession emphasizes the church Musser (1884-1930), with his son-in-law Charles as a disciplined, gathered community and in this respect Weidman (1884-1954), withdrew from the Simon reflects Dunkar,d-Mennonite influence. H . Musser group and were later taken in by the On our first visit to an Old Order River Brethren group led by Siegrist." Between 1919 and 1929 auto­ service on a Sunday morning I was deeply impressed mobiles became an issue, and a number of members with the apparent influences of Pietism on the religious were expelled for owning automobiles. They joined forms and expression of the group. The testimonies together to form the K eller group. D aniel M. H aw­ and songs of the Sunday Morning Experience Meeting baker, Jr. (1893- ) became the minister of the centered in the believer's personal experience of the group. The group apparently derives its name from reality of J esus as Saviour, frien,d, and intermediary. H awbaker's ordination by Jacob W. Keller (1862- Little mention was made of God. The unworthiness 1934)." of the individual testifying was stressed. Some of the In 1948 another group separated from the Simon songs spoke of Jesus in quite intimate terms, and the H. Musser group. This time the separation was led wounds of J esus were frequently m entioned in the by John M. Strick ler (1885- ) and his son-in-law, hymns, for example : Abraham K. Kneisly (1905- ) ." The Simon H. Musser group drove automobiles beginning in the Stretch'd on the cross, the Saviour dies, Hark! his expiring groans arise : 1950's, but restricted the type of automobile to station See, from his hands, his feet, his side, wagons pain ted black." Runs down the sacred crimson tide. In 1960 dissension ofer the ownership of automobil es But life attends the deathful sound, led to a division in the H orse and Carriage group. And flows from every bleeding wound; Jacob L. H orst (1885-) , following a vision, con­ The vital stream, how free it flows, cluded that automobil es were not wrong, and he and To cleanse and save his rebel foes! his foll owers formed a separate group.'· Bishop Daniel Can I survey this scene of woe, M. Meyers (1891- ) and Bishop Christian E. Where mingling grief and wonder flow, And yet my heart unmoved remain, "This name was officially adopted by a coun cil meeting in Lancaster, Pa., 1863. See Laban T. Brechbill, op. cit., p. 37. Insensible to love or pain? " George R . Prowell, op. cit., p. 143. Prowell does not give a source for his statistics. Perhaps this was total population Come, dearest Lord, thy grace impart, rather than members, for Martin Schrag gives the number To warn this cold, this stupid heart, of members in that year as 3,618. M artin H. Schrag, The Till all its powers and passions move Brethren in Christ Attitude T oward the W orld. Unpublished In melting grief and ardent love." Ph. D. Dissertation (T emple Universi ty, 1967 ) p. 78. "Laban T. Brechbill, op. cit., p. 63. 2T~ee qhapter III, Martin Schrag, op. cit., P\). 24-54, for "Ibid., p . 65. a dIS CUSS IOn of the extant texts of the confession and for an "Ibid., p . 69. analysis of the confession itself. Two versions of the confession "Ibid., pp. 65-69. are reproduced in Schrag's dissertation: Appendix A 310- "Ibid., p. 69. Brechbill says the fifth decade of the twen­ 316, and Appendix B, 317-322. ' tieth century but an informant told the writer "about 1953". 2sA Collection of Spritual Hymns, op. cit., No. 116, p. 74. "'Ibid., PI). 54-56. 28Martin Schrag, op. cit., pp. 112-113.

13 M an ga e their testimonie with a depth of emotion chraa argue that the chief i ue in the three-way that is not frequentl seen in public meetina toda . split of the 1850' and the twentieth-century plits of Yet the meeting was in e ery way r trained. \ e Ie an the Old Order was the degree of accommodation to H olines, , hich , a accepted b the prmrre iye wing the world that i acceptable. Personality cia he within of the movement, ' as not accepted b the Old Order the leadership al 0 eem to ha e been an important River Brethren."" factor. In addition, I would h 'poth size that n I chraa h po the izes that durina the earl period com'ersion wa not a factor in any of the e plit for the empha i on the church a a gathered di ciplined the imple ea on that it wa ne er called into que tion ommunity 0 ershadO\ ed the empha is on cri i con­ b ' an of tlle faction . ersion. Hi main reason for tlus hypo the is i their Altllough the Rive r Brethren can be hO\ n to ha e rejection of revi al meeting and their lack of organ­ stemmed organicall y from the fcnnonite certain of ization for e a ngeli tic outreach. Thi iewpoint ap­ their practice re emble more clo el tho of the Church pears to me to confuse the i ue. R e ivai meetin!!S were of the Brethren, with, hom the apparentl never had primaril a technique, deyeloped in a parti ular setting an organic connection. fost obviou , of cour e, i their to bring about certain ends. Halle Pieti m was not mode of bap£i m, which foll ow that of the Church of dependent on revival meeting to bring about cri i tlle Brethren not the 1ennonite . The Old Order con er IOn and neither were the Ri" er Brethren. Ri er Brethren con ider bapti m by trine immer ion Cri i conversion i tronal empha ized b tlle Old Order Ri er Brethren. Howe er, tlle u e of protracted meetings or revival meetina a a technique to brina about conversion i unacceptable. Brechbill ay: Bi hop Jacob Engle wa acquainted with revi als or e' anaeli tic meetina and has the credit of attending orne conducted b R ev. Otterbein and Rev. Boehm ; althouah he did not practice thi method to timulate member hip. either do any (1773 - 1784) formatio!'l of Gr oup of his followers at the time of thi writina practi e Jacob "b e (1753 - 1832) , Le der that method to attract repentance and conver ion.'· Preaching repentance and confronting the audience with two eternal alternative is something tllat Brech­ bill considers nece sary in the regular preaching ervice. He sa s: Tho e who heard and became concerned about (1843 - b45) Jacob t i ckler the sal ation of their oul could tllen, a of today (1855) censored for defel e of orthodoxy any time fall upon their knee and pl ead with J e us to forgive them and make their de ires known by Follo\,'er of Jacob t r ickler explaining, hat had taken place, ith them. \ hen (J>e c=e kl.own as Q.!S rder those new voices began to peak' very silent i the rt i ver Br ethren Q!: Yorkers) audience and all ears are pricked to hear the re­ marks. This may be lmown a the cri i metllod neverthele s it is the true method and still practiced by the O .O .R.Rn The neces ity of a crisis conversion experience and ilJon husser bapti m by trine immersion are according to the Gr oup tatement of members tlle two distincti e emphases (1963) of the Old Order Ri er Bretluen as an Anabapti t Jacob nor t t r i c..;l r group. As an Anabaptist aroup the are al 0 Biblici t Gro p People who stress voluntary church membership, adult bapti m, obedience to the ew T e tament commandments, the separation of church and tate, non-resistance non­ swearing of oaths and non-conformity to the world. (Marc h , 1909) Strickler­ All of these teachings attempt to find e.xpre sion in il. el l er and through a gathered di ciplined church. Brechbill, Gr ol.ps Un ite the group's chief historian stres es repeatedly the _'obi as lI', sser urou l e::!ve s group's emphasis on Pauline theology. Si ..... o ::"Iu ser Gr o , Joi ns otner bro

"'Laban T. Brechbill, op. cit., pp. 20-21. "Ibid. Divisions in the River Brethren 01Urch.

14 to be the proper mode. The Church of the Brethren and were led to assume responsibility for one also baptizes in this manner, whereas Mennonites bap­ another in all areas of life whether they were tize by pouring. religious, economic, or social. The climax of agape or ko inonia was the love feast including The Love Feast is also practiced by both the Old feet-washing and the Lord's Supper.:" Order River Brethren and the Church of the Brethren, The above in its essential features seems to be an bu t not by the Mennonites. I ra Landis points out that accurate description of the Old Order River Brethren although the beard but no moustache was an essential today as well. requirement for male membership among the River Currently the group discussed in this paper accepts Brethren from the start, beards were never worn by modern transportation, members are employed in a Lancaster County Mennonite men." The River Breth­ variety of occupations, they may go to high school or ren also followed the Church of the Brethren pattern college if they choose to do so, and the English lan­ of voting for ministers rather than selecti ng them by guage is used in both church and farr1ily life. The lot, as was the custom among the Mennonites. boundaries of the group seem to be maintained by pat­ I n terms of sect typology the Old Order River terns of dress, by recognition of crisis conversion and Brethren are probably a combination of an Introver­ baptism by trine immersion as essential, and by an sionist sect and a Conversionist sect." The boundary­ intimate bond of face-to-face fellowship that is climaxed maintaining mechanism of the group seems to be con­ three times each year at the Love Feast. siderably different from that of other Anabaptist plain sects, particula rl y the Amish and the Hutterites. Ac­ C OSTUME cording to the sect typology delineated by Wilson the One quickly becomes aware of the costume of the Old Order River Brethren can best be described as Old Order River Brethren. It is similar to that worn a Conversionist sect. The group can be entered only by other plain groups in Pennsylvania, yet distinctive. by a second birth, by "dying" to the world and being Brechbill in several places describes the costume. In "reborn" into the fellowshi p of Christ. This is ac­ every instance these descriptions are associated with companied by emphasis on obedience to the command­ the relating of a conversion experience, for example: ments of God, and of J esus. The second birth is con­ Some time after their marriage they repented sidered desirable for all men, but only through this and undertook to live a life that God is pleased individual process can the community be entered, or with. Out of this Florence did not crop her hair, emulated. but did accept the head covering and put on plain The Old Order River Brethren, unlike many 19th attire. H er dress above the waist consisted of a close fitting jacket-like waist or bodice, covered and 20th Century American communities, have no with a three pointed cape. H er skirt had fulness intention of serving as a model for the larger world. and its length patterned as of the old sisters near They are, rather, a part of that sectarian communi tar­ the ankles, nor did it have any floral or other ian movement which developed in America in the designs, but was plain. Then George, he too de­ 17 th and 18th Centuries. The earliest religious com­ sired to let his light shine, by discontinuing the use of the razor, also allowing his hai r to be munities in America were founded by persons who polled even with the lower terminal of the ear. despaired of finding salvation in the social order. These H e desired the broad rim hat ; the necktie was communities were rel igious in nature, and their inter­ discarded, the plain shirt was also accepted. His pretation of religious experience was in practice in­ coat a nd ves t were of the plain frock style with separabl e from its expression in a setting of community broad fall trousers. Many people say such activities are not necessary, it is just a formalism. We as­ or Gemeinschaft. sume that preacher George G. Myers would reveal Schrag says of the River Brethren in the 19th Cen­ the fact it is the formalism that God has involved tury: in his commandments and statutes." The Brethren in that century believed that the Figures 3 and 4 illustrate the typical indoor costume. central purpose in God's redemptive activity was Brechbill also describes the outdoor, or travel, costume. the creation of a new society consisting of con­ verted, committed, sharing and disciplined people Their travel attire consisted of a cape bonnet, call ed out of the world. The concepts of the new shawls, plain hightop shoes, and probably home birth and discipleship were shaped by this under­ knit woolen gloves or mittens when cold. This standing. The locus of existence was the redeemed constitutes the highest virtue, simplicity and humil­ life in the brotherhood where harmony, love, and ity among womanhood. This virtue is still prac­ mutuality were to be living realities. The Brethren ticed by the Old Order River Brethren in 1970. sought the mind of Christ for their common life It was with men as with women, they were all dressed the same, a deacon or minister could not

"Ira Landis, op. cit., p. 303. Myron Dietz has challenged "Martin H. Schrag, "The Brethren in Christ Attitude the statement that beards were never worn by M ennonite Toward the World," Research Note, The Mennonite Quar­ men of Lancaster County. terly Review, XLVIII (1974), 112. "Bryan Wilson, op . cit. "Laban T. Brechbill, op cit., p. 75.

15 b distinguish d by his dr ss. It onsisted of a and wh re and when it was w rn. Distincti v costume broad rimm d high rown hat, swallow ta il d oat is a co mmon feature of b th folk and sectarian groups. and v st, I ~oadfa ll trous r ~ with long I gs, and D n Yoder points ut: "Folk ostum is thc visible v .ry o~~ n hlghtop boots, wIth a cap over oat in winter. outward badg of folk-group identity, wo rn onsciou I; Unlik the Amish, and unlik some of the arly to xpr ss that id nti ty ... .In ev ry as the costume plain groups in Pennsylvani a, the a pron, dr ss, a nd is distinct and id ntifi able; it id enti fi s th wearer to ap ar of on kind and olor of mat rial, although th outsid c world as well as to his own ommunity; it Di tz says th arli r custom was to hav the dress and is I r scribed by the ommunity and its form is di tatcd apron of di ff r nt mat ri als. Th mat ri al may be a by community tradition.'''' sy nth ti or a natural fabric of varying w ight, but Litt! can be said about th sp ifi history of the is a solid color, not patt rn d. A small , simple woven costume. It has almost c rtain ly und rgone adapta ti ons d sign a ppar ntly is ace ptabl . M d ium blues, gr ns, in the course of the group's history. M n wear a stylc and I rowns w r most omm n. Earli r in th ntury of clothing id nti al with that worn by the O ld Order gr y was th pr dominant olor. Th ap is made of T rman Baptists. T he style of ap and dress worn whi t , opa IU materia l. ho sand st kings ar always by the women is very similar to that shown on a numbcr bla k. T h I ngth of wom n's kirts vary, from a few of photographs of M ennonit worn n circa 1880.'° T he In h s abo v th ankl for yo ung r wom n to as long fro k oat was also worn commonly among M nnonites as th sh tops for old r w men. T he numb r of in the late 18th and 19th Centuries." Don Yod r points pI a ts in th mutze, and its izc, vary with the individ­ out that the overcoat with a ape for mcn was a very ual. Somc of the worn n w ar p I ats around thc skirt, stylish garment around 1820." oth rs wear them gathcred. T hesc simil ari ties with cos tumes worn both by othcr T h ap ribb ns a re ti d snugly u nder thc hin, sectarian groups and society in general suggest that ther has been adap tation of the ostume through time. In ontrast to th Ami h, who ti the strings against th hi n, then let the bowcd ribbon drop loosely to As with the Mennoni tes, the Brcthr n in Christ began the ncck. passing resolutions concerning d ress around 1870 but Both m nand wom n w ar th ir hair with a ccnt r thi s docs not su pply one with any fi rm evidence fo r an part. Br hbill attri bu tes a symboli m to this, saying carli r p ri od. T here are no writtcn records of rcsolu­ this shows the dividing of g od from viI : "In the tions fo r the earlier period. lattcr d ays his rather thick, sli ghtly gray hair was parted For th members of the Old Order River Brethren, in th cent r of th h ad. T his how d the dividing the w a ring of the costume is very closely associated of good from vil. "" M en's hair i not shingl d, but with the reli gious experience of the members of the group. T he costume of the Brethren not onl y expresses poll ed, or ut straight at the back at a length even with th lobe of the ear. modesty and sepa ration from the world ; it also sym­ boli zes ob dience to the commands of God. Brechbill , T he beard is onsidered very important for men, the for example, writes: mustache is optional T o wear the b ard is to retain th image of God. Bre hbill says of the beard : "As They became converted, - that is discontinued to. do things that Jesus does not a pprove, and do to the beard ; from the d

" See Peter L. Berger, The Sacred Canopy (New York: '

H appy souls, approach the table, Taste the soul-reviving food; Nothing half so sweet and pl easant As the Saviour's fl esh and blood. It is finish'd! Christ has born the heavy load. Tune your hearts anew, ye seraphs, Join to sing the pleasing theme; All on earth and all in heaven, J9in to praise Immanuel's name­ It is finish'd! Glory to the bleeding Lamb! The communion sermon described intimately the cross, the wounds of Christ, and the process of dying on the cross. The minister described how the wounds in the hands must have festered, reminding the hearers of how painful the festering of a tiny sliver can be­ but here the festering was from rusty nails and must

..-"\ f ~ Costume of the Men.

ceremony was finished. Bishop Sauder spoke as the service continued. He reminded each member that at the time of their baptism they had promised on bended knee that if they saw a fault in another member they would go and bring it to that person, first alone, and if he failed to "hear" them they would go again to him with several witnesses. When the feetwashing ceremony was completed Preacher George Meyers was called upon to introduce the communion ceremony. This he did by reading Hymn No. 273, which was then sung by the congrega­ tion. Hark! the voice of love and mercy Sounds aloud from Calvary; See it rends the rocks asunder, Shakes the earth and vails the sky! I t is finish'd; Hear the dying Saviour cry.

It is finish'd! 0 what pleasure Do these charming words afford; Heav'nly blessings without measure Flow to us from Christ the Lord. I t is finish'd! Saints, the dying words record. Costume of the Women. 18 have bcen incomparably greater. From the contamina­ speaking. The pattern continued until all had partic­ tion in these wounds, bl ood poiso n would have set in. ipated. While the cup was being passed songs were He described the crown of thorns, with the thorns rep­ sung : H ymn number 139 from the 1926 hymnal; "Go resenting the curse of the earth. In dying on a cross, to Dark Gethsemane" from memory, and the familiar he said, the weight of the body on the arms caused chorale, "0 Sacred H ead, Now Wounded." This was the ches t to co ll apse and every breath required a con­ followed by a li ned hymn, "H e that D rinks Shall Live scious effort. For every breath it was necessary for the Forever." Following the serving of the cup everyone victim to raise himself by his wou nded feet so that the again knelt for two prayers, the second of which was lungs could expand and receive the air. H e described , The Lord's Prayer. This marked the cl ose of the service. with the help of bodily motions, how it was necessary A joyous atmosphere followed the conclusion of the for Jesus to raise himself by his wounded feet for each service. A spell seemed to have been broken, and breath he took. Then he call ed attention to how blood warmth radiated everywhere. and water gushed forth when Jesus' side was pierced. Turner and Wilson have noted that any analysis of He said that in his work with poultry and animals he the culture of a people shou ld include some translation has learned that after death the blood separates into of the meaning of the symbols used in that culture." water and a thick, red, blood-substance. Because blood The Lord's Supper as it is observed by the River Breth­ and water came out of J esus' side he must already have ren is symbolic not only of the death of Christ and its been dead for some time when the soldiers pierced his soteriological effect for the believer: equall y it em­ side, for then water and thick chunks of blood came out. phasizes the brotherhood, peace, and the gathered com­ When the sermon was finished all those seated around munity. Washing each other's feet symbolizes the will­ the tabl es arose, and the "Kiss of Unity" was passed ingness to assume a servant role in relation to fellow from one member to another around each table, giving members. Each is the servant of the other. One not an appearance again very much like the Moravian only washes the feet of a fellow member ; he also has practice pictured in Sessler." Following the Kiss of his own feet washed. H e is willing to be served as well Unity they remained standing and sang the familiar as to serve. AI! participate in the ceremony, no one is so ng, "Blest Be the Tie that Binds." The young women omitted. AI! are on an equal basis. held hands around their table during the singing, but The Kiss of Unity symbolizes oneness, love, and the other tables did not join hands. The members brotherhood. Equality is also demonstrated in the man­ remained standing, and a prayer of thanksgiving was ner of serving the bread and the wine. Each member offered for the communion bread. Wafers of unleav­ present receives the bread and the cup from a fellow ened bread, about 9" by 2", which had been baked by member and administers the bread and the cup to a members of the group the night before, were then dis­ fellow member. tributed by ministers and deacons to perhaps every The discipline of the gathered church is represented eighth person around the tables. Each person who re­ in "close communion": only those belonging to the ceived the bread quietly and solemnly broke off a piece, particular group and willing to uphold its discipline turned to the person next to him, and giving him the in full are allowed to participate. The "gathered" portion, said: "Beloved brother (sister), this bread aspect is emphasized by the fact that every member which we break is the communion of the body of our is expected to be present and to share in the Lord's Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." The wafer was then Supper. Only the most extenuating circumstance would passed to the person who had just received his individ­ make an absence excusable. The possibility of an of­ ual portion, and he spoke the same words as he served fense against the group by

19 BIBLIOGRAPHY Church and I t Later Divisions," The M ennonite Quarterly A Collection 0/ Spiritual H ymns Adapted to the Various Review, XXXIV ( 1960), pp. 290-307. Kinds 0/ Christian Worship, and Especially D esigned for the Prowell , George R . History of Y ork County (Chicago, Use 0/ the Old Order River Brethren . Compiled According 190 7), Vol. I , 143. to the Directions of General Conference, 1971. No address: R upp, I rael D . H istory of All the R eligious Denomina­ no publisher. tions of the United States. J ohn Winebrenner, Harrisburg, Pa., 1848. Bender, Harold S. "A Swiss Mennonite Document of 1754 Schrag, Martin Homer. The Brethren in Christ Attitude Bearing on the Background of the Origin of the Brethren in T oward the World. Unpublished Ph. D. Dissertation, T emple Christ Church," The M ennonite Quarterly Review, XXXIV niversity, 1967. (1960), 308-309. Schrag Martin H omer. " The Brethren in Christ Attitude Brechbill, L aban T . History of the Old Order River T owa rd ;he 'World'," R e ea rch ;"\ otes, The M ennonite Quar­ Brethren, ed. by M yron S. Dietz . N. P.: Brechbill and Strick­ terly R eview, XLVIII ( 1974 ), 11 2-1 14. ler, 1972. 240. Smith, C. Henry. R c\'iew of A. \Y. Climenhaga, H istory Brumbaugh, M . G. A H istory of the German Baptist of the Brethren in Ch,ist Church, The M ennonite Quarterly Brethren in Europe and America. M t. Morris, Illinois, 1899. R eview, XX ( 194 6), 142-143. Cassel, Abraham H . "Origin of the Brethren in Christ," Spotts, Charles D ., editor, Denominations Originating in written in 1882. Exhibit I, A. W. Climenhaga, H istory 0/ Lancaster Count)'. La ncaster, Pcnn ylvania: Franklin and the Brethren in Christ Church, pp. 33 7-339. Nappanee, In­ M arshall oll ege Libra ry, 1963. diana: E. V. Publishing H ouse, 1942. Turner, Victor \ 'Y. The R itual Process. tructure and Climenhaga, A. W. History of the Bret hren in Christ Anti-Structure. Chicago: Aldine Publi hing Co., 1969. Church. Nappanee, Indiana: E. V. Publishing H ouse, 1942. Wilso n, Brya'n. R eligious S ects. New York: McGraw- Drury, C. A. W . History 0/ the Church of the United H ill , 1970. Brethren. Dayton, Ohio, 1924. Wittlinger, Carlton . "The Origin of the Brethren in Eshleman, Wilmur J. "The River Brethren Denomination;' Christ," The M ennonite Quarterly R eview, XLVIII ( 1974), Lancaster County Historical S ociety, LII, No. 7. L ancaster, 55-73. Pa. , 1948. Yoder, Don. "Folk Costume," in Folklore and Fol klife, Gibbons, Phebe Earle, Pennsylvania Dutch and Other Es­ ed. Richard M . Dorson. Chi ago : Uni\'ersity of Chicago says. Philad elphia: Lippincott, 1882. Press, 19 72, pp. 295-325. Gingerich, Melvin . Mennonite Attire Through the Cen­ "Love Feasts," The Dutchman, VII (Spring, turies. Brei nigsville, Pa. : The Pennsylvania German Society, 1956 ), 34 - ~ 1970. ---, -- R eview of M elvin Gingeri ch, M ennonite Hostetter, C. N. "The Story of J acob Engle and the Attire Through Four Centuries (T he Pennsylvania German Establishment of the Brethren in Christ Church," Internal ociety: Breinigsvill e, Pa., 1970 ) Quaker History: The Bul­ Affairs M onthly Bulletin, Vol. 23, o. 2. letin of the Friends H istorical Association, LXI : I (Spring, Landis, Ira D . "The Origin of the Brethren in Christ 1972 ), 52-55.

APPE DIX I Noon M eal. R eady soon after dismissal. Song, followed by Outline of Events prayer. Served in garage L ove Feas t, Saturday, August 18, 1973 M enu (Apparently not traditional ) H eld at Eugene Sauder's farm. Scall oped potatoes and ham Bread: brown and white, buttered and plain M orning S ervice, 9: 00 a. m. to II: 00 a. m. pepper cabbage (We arrived after the first or second hymn). apple sauce Service moderated by Bishop J ohn D. Sauder red beets H ymn # 285 selected by Sa uder. Read by him, then sung sli ced tomatoes by congregati on. fres h peeled peaches Isaiah 53 read by Bishop Sa uder assorted cooki es Hymn: "Nothing Between M y Soul and My Saviour," coffee sung from memory. Afternoon S ervice, 1 :00 p .m. to 4 :00 p.m. Prayer. All knelt, turning to face their chairs as they did Service Moderated by Bishop J ohn D . Sauder so. First a lengthy, extemporaneous prayer is led by H ymn #23 v. 1, 5. Bishop Sauder, then he call ed upon another minister S cripture R eading: H ebrews 12 : 22-24 to lead the second prayer. Second prayer is brief, closes Call s on D eacon J ohn Strickl er to open meeting with the Lord's prayer: Lined hymn. J ohn 12: 15. Experience M eeting Prayer. Two prayers. Second prayer brief and ends Bishop Sauder begins Experience Meeting with hymn with Lord's Prayer. #344. This is foll owed by other members giving S econd Speaker: Abram . Kneisley. the number of a hymn, rea.ding a verse of the hymn H ymn # 171 ( 1926 hymnbook ) "K eep Your (which is subsequently sung) and giving their testi­ Covenant with J es us" . monies. Scripture from Ephesians. Paul 's teaching on the unity # 317, v. 1 (Male) of the Spirit in the bond of Peace. # 62 (Male) M ain Sermon by George M yers, on the suffering of Christ. # 10, v. 1 (Female) H ym n # 11 4. All verses . # 194, v. 1 (Female) Scri pture reading: J ohn 19, entire chapter. # 190, v. 2 & 3 (M ale ) T estimony to Sermon by Joseph H . Brechbill. # 358, v. 5 (Female) H ymn # 125. All verses. # 702, v. 1 (Female) Experience M eeting # 126 (Male) # 842 (Male) 10: 15 a. m. : Sermon by Norman Bricker #605 v. 5, 6 (Female) # 196 selected by Bricker #238 (Female) I Cor. 11: 1-16. This passage is always used for the #36 1 (M ale) morning sermon at the Love Feast. Sermon adheres #30 v. 4 (Female) quite closely to an exegesis of the passage. Cross ref­ #98 v. 5 (M ale) erence to Genesis where R ebecca veils herself to meet # 651 Selected by Bishop Sauder as the closi ng. her mas ter. Evening M eal: T estimony to Sermon by George G. M yers . M enu: Wieners and buns Prayer. Kneeling. First prayer by Bishop Sauder. left over cold slaw, beets, applesauce, sliced Second prayer brief, ending with L ord's Prayer. tomatoes, peaches, assorted cookies, coffee. Song (lined ). Followed by a single prayer. Evening Service: Dismissal. Began at 6:30. I s fully described in paper. 20 The Porches of Quaker Meeting Houses in Chester and Delaware Counties

By FRANCIS J. PUIG

Nothing has ever been written which deals with on meeting houses today were built, almost without the porches on Quaker meeting houses, ye t these porches exception, in the second half of the 19th Century. By are almost universall y associated with them. In this the same means I can show that these porches were paper I will show, primarily by a comparison of photo­ preceded, in many cases, by smaller pedimental porticos graphs and architectural dates of meeting houses found added around mid-19th Century, or that before these in the Matlack Collections of the Historical Society of there were only hoods over the doors. Of course there Pennsylvania, that the large porches or verandas found are exceptions to this theory; occasionally a small por-

Nineteenth-Century Engraving of Merion Meeting House, built 1698, showing hood over door. Matlack Collection, Historical Society of .Pennsylvania.

21 -----....

Darby Meeting House, erected 1789. Ph otograph from Matlack Collection showing 19th-Century porch.

tico wa s added late in the 19th Century, or meeting has been extremely simple and devoid of superfluous houses without porches or hoods seem to have existed decora tion. when almost all others had them. In Chester and D elaware Counties, the addition of Before there can be discussion on any aspect of porches seems to have been influenced to a great extent Quaker architecture it is necessary to understand by trends in architectural tas te exhibited by society in Quaker philosophy. In a manner very similar to the the 19th Century, but despite this, the porches were Puritans of M assachusetts, "the Quakers believed in still built very simply. Even "Victorian" porches have the universal a nd direct revelation of God to each few "Victorian" characteristics What apparently al­ illdividual and that this "inward light" or "Spirit of lowed these outside influences to infi ltrate the Quaker Christ" could be best found and cultiva ted by silence community was the loss of Quaker power and control and meditation without the distraction of barriers by in Pennsylvania after the American Revolution, but outward or worldfy things which they believed to be though direct control was lost, even as early as the non essential. . . ," As a result, all Quaker architecture end of the Seven Years Wa r between France and Eng­ from the founding of the society until the present day land, from 1756 to 1763, Quaker influence remained strong in Philadelphia long after.' It is this that I 'Horace M. Lippincott, Quaker Meetinghouses and a L'ittle Humor (Jenkintown: Old York Rbad Publishing Co., 1952) , 'Frank Cousins and Phil M . Riley, Colonial Architecture p. 17. of Philadelphia (Boston ; Little, Brown, and Co., 1920), p. 7. 22 believe prevented a radical change in architectura l have only hoods on the main facad e. Those with styles. Speaking of the period after the American porches or porticos generally appear to have had them Revolu tion, the authors of Colonial Architecture of added at a later date. Philadelphia state that the "staid and sober Quakers Meeting houses of the first type, with hoods only, and gay 'World's People,' were ever being drawn more which are illustr.ated in this paper and which are all closely together. The early severity of the Quakers in either Chester or Delaware Counties in Pennsylva nia, had been greatly tempered by increasing worldly in­ are Merion, H averford Orthodox, Providence, Old K en­ fl uences about them.'" These influences, however, can nett, and Concord. Several of these are shown before not have completely destroyed the Quaker dislike of and after the addition of porches. superfluity, but merely left their mark, for today's Merion Meeting H ouse (see photograph) dates to Quaker meeting houses are nearly as "simple" and 1698 and is one of the oldest meeting houses in Penn­ undecorated as they were in the early 18th Century. sylvania. It has changed surprisi ngly little after more Porches on Quaker meeting houses were not Amer­ than 250 years . However, "in 1829-1830 the M eeting­ ican innovations. In England, Colthouse Meeting house was 'repaired.' The rough stone work was cov­ ( 1688 ) and Swarthmore Meeting H ouse (1688 ) had ered by a thick coat of plaster or rough cast . . .". The "porches" and these were among the e.arliest meeting ·Thomas Allen Glenn, M erion and the Welsh Tract (Norris­ houses.' The porches on both these structures and on town, 1896), p . 374. most other English meeting houses of the same period are of stone and resemble Gothic 'portals' more than the porches we are used to in this country. "The majority of the North Country meeting houses have deep projecting porches bearing a strong resemblance to the local farmhouse porch. In the south, King's Lynn (1700 ) and Lewes (1 784) are exceptions in having timber porches .''' Significantly, these meeting houses are more likely to be mistaken for private dwellings than for centers for Quaker worship. In Philadelphia and surrounding counties as well as the rest of America, the meeting houses erected in the 17th Century .also looked more like private dwel­ lings than meeting houses. Following Quaker philos­ ophy, there was a conscious avoidance of anything that looked like the architecture of the churches. In fact, George Fox, the founder of the Quaker society, "re­ ferred to them (church buildings ) in a disparaging way as 'steeple houses,' and the trend towards a dis­ tinctive appe.arance of meeting houses would surely have drawn censure."· None of the American meeting houses have porches of the type found in England and porches of any type were generally the exception in all Philadelphia ar­ chitecture of the early period.' Much more common and almost universal were the hoods which can still be found on many surviving meeting houses which date up to the "middle" of the 19th Century. Around this time there seems to have been a classical influence resulting in small pedimental porticos supported by columns. With certain exceptions, the majority of houses built prior to the "middle" of the 19th Century

'Ibid., p . 12. 'Hubert Lidbetter, The Friends Meeting House (York: The Ebor Pres, 19.61 ), p. 15. 'Ibid., p. 17. "Edwin B. Bronner, "Quaker Landmarks in Early Philadel­ phia," Historic Philadelphia, Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, XLIII: 1, 21l. Detail of front hood at Providence Meeting House. 'Cousins and Riley, p.. 119. Author's photograph, 1974.

23 primary change with which we are concerned, in any graphic Collection which date to between 1928 and event, is the replacement of the front hood with a 1933 show that thi structure has only hoods over the small pedimental portico. Most likely it dates to the doors. time of the repairs. ew Garden Meeting H ouse, also in the Matlack Haverford Orthodox Meeting House is located on Collection, Volume VIII, was erected in 1743 and Buck Lane in Haverford and was built in 1837 with the north end was added in or abou t 1790. There wa hoods over the doors. Today it has a large porch on li ttle change to it until 1887. As can be een from the the front facade which is the result of a renovation photographs in the coll ecti on, before 1887 the house in 1894. had two doors with hoods on the main facade and only Providence M eeting House is located on Providence a pent roof at the gable end . After 1887 it has a large Road near Baltimore Pike at Media and was built in porch and a porch cochere added to the front and 1815. There are two hoods on the front facade and southern gabl e of the house. Both are su pported by a porch of the shed or lean-to type along the southern square brick columns which sit upon a stuccoed wall. end that is adjacent to the carriage sheds (see photo­ Today the columns no long r rest on the wall, but graphs) . extend to the ground. Old K ennett, on Route # 1 near K ennett Square, Birmingham Hicksite Meeting H ouse was built in was built in 1710. H ere the main entrance has a hood 1736, but from the photographs avail able in the Mat­ with double doors under it, one for men and one for lack Collection" it appears that it has had an addition women. To the side there is a door under a small built to it. There are a total of three doors in the front "provisional" porch where can still be seen the beams facade. Two of these are together as they are at Old which once supported a hood, projecting from the K ennett, with one hood fl anked by one window on wa]]., illustrating that the porch was a later addition either side. There is another door and window, how­ and that originally there were only hoods over the ever, which seems to be the res ult of an addition or doors. an enl argement of the original building and this ad­ Concord Hicksite M eeting House was erected in 1728 dition also has a porch on its gabl e end which extends and enlarged in 1778. " . . . the house was burned into part of the front elevation of the building so as J anuary 27, 1788 and rebuilt to appear much as at to per:m it passengers to be dropped off under its pro­ the present time, but the porches were added in 1872."· tection in inclement weather. Curiously the porch "with the neat brick floor on a Around the middle of the 19th Century the worldly level with the ground which bends around three sides of influences of which I spoke before seem to be among the building was built by the Orthodox, and they also the reasons behind the adoption of restrained classical modernized the benches within making them much and "Victorian" motifs. Even in England, "classicism more comfortable." had its effect when with a tardy adoption of the more Other meeting houses in Chester and Delaware Coun­ classical type of a rchitecture in the larger urban meet­ ties which either have or had hoods are M arlborough ing houses, the portico became a feature."" Simplicity Hicksite and New Garden. And again, when alter­ was still sought after, however. Tottenham ( 1833), ations were made in the .19th Century they included because it has the "embellishments" of a doorway with an enlargement of the hood to a pedimental portico fluted pilasters and Ionic capitals, is duly noted as an or a full blown porch. exception to the unwritten rule of simplicity in Lid­ better's The Friends M eeting House." Abington Meeting House, in J enkintown, Mont­ gomery County, was built in 1699-1700 with additions In America, at this time, the firm of Town and Davis to it in 1786-1787, but though it is outside of the area ( 1829-1844) which designed m any buildings in a 'clas­ of study it is interesting because it is one of the very sical' style most certainly had a great influence. But few meeting houses for which I have been able to find so did their contemporaries working in Philadelphia. documentation for the addition of the porch. H ere In 1824 Strickland designed the Second Bank of the "there can still be seen the marks of the hoods that United States, in 1833 Thomas U. Walter designed were over the doors until 1863 when a committee was Girard College and also in that year the residence appointed to erect a 'shed' to be attached to the front of Nicholas Biddle, Andalusia, had the addition of of the Meeting House. '''· its famous classical portico. During this period, " . .. the very fabric of mid-19th Century life experienced Photographs available of Marlborough Meeting so sudde nan expansion in every direction as to out- House (1801) in Volume V of the Matlack Photo- "Matlack Photographic Collection of Quaker M eeting Houses ·Matlack Manuscript Notebooks of Quaker Meeting Houses in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Volume V. in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. "Lidbetter, p. 19. "'Lippincott, p. 17. "Ibid., p. 19. 24 mode a building idiom almost overnight."" "The sud­ den advent of industrialism, with all its implications, such as mass production, speed, centralization, and prosperity could not leave the old spheres of architec­ ture unscathed."" It is at about this time that I find meeting houses first showing up with porticos in Chester and Delaware Counties in Pennsylvania. Among these are Goshen Orthodox, Unionville, Parkersville, London Grove, Springfield, West Chester Hicksite, and Bir­ mingham and Middletown Hicksite Meeting Houses. I should reiterate that I have not found information or proof supporting the building of porches or even porticos on meeting houses before the 19th Century. Goshen Orthodox M eeting House, built in 1849, is a "small, one story green serpentine building. . . an Concord Meeting House (1728) before alterations of "Roger H ale Newton, T own and Davis (New York: Colum­ 1872. Note hoods over men's and woman's doors. bia University Press, 1942 ), p . 313. Matlack Collection. " Ibid. , p. 313.

Victorian porches on domestic architecture served as precedent for the porches added to Pennsylvania's Quaker meeting houses in the 19th Ce'!tury.

25 unusual feature on the front are two individual porches but is not the one which is standing as a back porch with brick floors and two supporting pillars. Another to the present large building, for where the original door on the north side opens under another small porch appears to have stood, there is a driveway. The porch."" These "porches," however, are really porticos. porch which is at the back of the structure today has Also on the south side there is a shed-type porch sup­ a decided Victorian flavor and was probably added ported by columns, "unto which Friends could step after the construction of the present meeting house in from their carriage." 1868, but because of its style, probably before the Unionville has the pedimental porticos over the doors Neo-Classical porch on the front was added in 1909. of the front facade." This house was built in 1845 in Birmingham Orthodox is still another meeting house East Marlborough Township in Chester County. Both in the Matlack Collection with porticos. It was built of the porticos on the front facade of the house are in 1845 and in appearance it is very similar to Goshen supported by simple iron columns and the tympanum Orthodox, but only a bit larger." of each pediment is not solid as in most others. Instead In a photograph dated 1900 and found in H enry there is an attractive yet simple design composed of Graham Ashmead's Genealogical and Personal M emoirs three wooden boards radiating from the center of the of Chester and Delaware Counties," Middletown Hick­ base of the tympanum. On the western end we find site M eeting H ouse (1700 ) is shown with two porticos the very same design on a hood supported by brackets on the front facade, but in the Matlack Collection, a of wood. later photograph shows it without the two porticos. Parkersvill e Meeting H ouse was built in 1837 and In their places are windows and at the gable end there burned down in 1917.'8 Views of it at the time of its is a large new porch. destruction show it with a large wooden porch on the With only one or two exceptions, these few houses front facade, but even earlier photographs in the M at­ with the pedimental porticos, and others which I have lack Collections show it had two pedimental porticos not mentioned, were built around the middle of the over the two doors on the main facade before it had 19th Century. In studying these examples one realizes the porch. that the "porch adding" period came just a few years A 1902 photograph, by Gilbert Cope, of London later and extended into the early years of the 20th Grove Hicksite Meeting H ouse, built in 1818, shows Century. H ouses with the larger porches, I believe, it with two small porticos over the front facade doors. were the outgrowth primarily of the architecture ex­ There is also one larger porch at the gable end which pounded by architects such as Alexander J ackson Davis in a later photograph has been enlarged and curves (1803-1892) in his later years, and Andrew Jackson around the corner to encompass one of the front Downing (1815-1852 ) . It is especially Downing who porticos." I believe was extremely important to American ar­ Springfield Meeting H ouse was built in 1851 and chitecture from 1850 on because of his book, The also has the two front entrances with pedimental por­ A rchitecture of Country H ouses, which was first pub­ ticos supported by square columns.'" lished in 1850 and by the Civil War: had already West Chester Hicksite Meeting House is another gone through nine printings! "In it Downing set forth structure with pedimental porticos, but it was not his philosophy of what seemed to him the ideal Amer­ built until 1868. "In 1868 the western half of the ican way of life and prescribed the most appropriate building was torn down leaving the eastern half stand­ and satisfactory houses a nd furnishings in which he ing as a rear addition to the larger new building (the felt his fellow Americans should best live it.'''· Downing, present M eeting House) which was then erected. It however, was much more of a popularizer than an in­ had the separate portico over each front door as the novator. "In The Architecture of Country Houses, for older pictures show. These were replaced by the pres­ instance, he relied heavily on the ideas of other ar­ ent large porch in the latter part of 1909.'''' chitects and writers, reproducing many designs by the The earlier meeting house mentioned above was former and quoting liberally from the other.'''' In his built in 181 3 of fieldstone. This older building had book there are three villa designs of A. J. Davis, one a large porch at the time of its destruction which is of Richard Upjohn, several designs from Gervase Whee­ visible in the photograph in the Matlack Collection, ler and designs of others dealing with architecture and also furniture. I should note that about two-thirds of '·Helen W. Shortlidge, Chester County Collections, Number XIX (April 1939), 437. the designs in the book are of cottages and farmhouses, "Matlack Photographic Coll ection of Quaker Mee ting " M atl ack Manuscript Notebooks, op. cit. Houses in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. VII. "Gilb ert Cope and H enry Graham Ashmead, Genealogical '8Ibid., Volume VII. and Personal M emoirs of Chester and Delaware Counties (New "Ibid., Volume VII. York : Lewis Publishing Co., 1904), II, 111. '"Matlack Manuscript Notebook of Quaker Meeting Houses "J. Stewart Johnso n, introduction, in Andrew Jackson in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Downing, The Architecture of Country Houses (New York: "Miscellaneous Papers of the Matlack Quaker Collection, Dover Publications Inc., 1969 ), p. vii. part II, envelope 15. " Ibid., pp. vii - viii. 26 Portico on Radnor Meeting House. Au­ thor's photograph, 1974.

Goshen Orthodox Meeting House (1849), with porticos. Author's photograph, 1974.

27 not villas, and that in almost every design a porch that "many carriages drawing up to the entrance in or "veranda' is considered essential. stormy weather needed a haven to deposit their oc­ Upon first thinking of Downing as an inAu ence on cupants. And as a place to go sip and barter after Quaker archi tecture one might well think that the type meeting the porch or veranda was indispensable." " of architecture he proposed was completely contradic­ New Garden M eeting House ( 1743, enl arged in tory to Quaker philosophy, but if one can help oneself 1790), in Chester County, was mentioned before. H ere from interjecting 20th Century values on those of the the porch and porch cochere were added to a facade 19th Century, one will find that they are not. Porches with hoods in 1887.'° then were important living space and symbolic of an The large porch on Parkerville M eeting H ouse dates ideal that had infiltrated all lifestyles. T o Downing to after 1837 when the house was built, but it is not and his contemporaries, "verandas" and certain other original. Originally it had two porticos on the front architectural details "are the most valu able general facade, and this is evidenced in the M atl ack Collec­ truths in Domestic Architecture.'"'' When speaking of tion." Later photographs dated 1917 show it with the a certain house, Downing remarked that the "absence larger wooden porch. of all veranda, arcade, or covered walk-without' which London Grove had its porches added around the no country house is tolerable in the United States," is turn of the century. As late as 1902 it still had thc a marked defect." It is statements such as these, which two front porticos supported by columns." Photographs are plentiful throughout his book, a book easily read after this show that the southeastern porch on the facade and understood by all, and the many drawings and has been enl arged and comes around the corner to in­ architectural illustrations avail able in the periodicals corporate the porch on the eastern entrance which is and inexpensive prints of the time, that we must keep by the drive. in mind when we consider meeting houses built after West Chester Hicksite has already been discussed in 1850. detail. H ere I believe the porch quite definitely dates I have located and studied eighteen Quaker meeting to the period between 1868 and 1909 and the other houses iT! Delaware and Chester Counties with large large neo-classical porch to 1909. porches. Of these, I have been abl e to attach approx­ West Chester Orthodox was onl y recently demolished. im ate or exact dates to the porches of fifteen. The It, like M alvern, was built of Serpentine. It was con­ other five, I a lso believe, had their porches added in structed in 1844, but "the porch in front was a much the late 19th Century, but I have not ye t been abl e more recent addition. . ."" This would set it in the to date them. The ones which have been dated to second half of the century, at least. this period and a little later are H averford O rthodox, Concord Meeting H ouse had its porches erected in Media Orthodox, New Garden Hicksite, Parkersville 1872." Before this time there were only hoods on the Orthodox, London Grove Hicksite, West Chester Hick­ structure built in 1728 and enl arged in 1778. site and Orthodox H ouses, Concord, Darby, Vall ey, D arby, on the north side of M ain Street above T enth Malvern, West Grove Orthodox, and Middletown Hick­ Street, in D arby, was built in 1889 and as a result we site. can date the p o"rch to that period. Haverford Orthodox Meeting H ouse, located on V all ey Meeting H ouse was built in 1871 and has a Buck Lane in H averford; had two remodelings. One very large porch around the south and east end of the was in 1894 and the other in 1904. 28 Because of the house." H ere even the architecture shows a "Victorian" dating on an early photograph in the M atlack Col­ influence, for on the front facade there is a small gable lection taken "before the remodeling in 1894," and on the roof li ne which is not structural to the support by the appearance of the porch in subsequent pho­ of the roof, but merely acts in much the arn e way that tographs, we can conclud~ that the present large porch a dormer might. This gabl e is a type found often in was added a t this time. Downing's The Architecture of Country H ouses. Media Orthodox Meeting H ouse, at the junction of M alvern Meeting House was built in 1880 and is Third Street with North Street, was built in 1875. situated at Woodland Avenue and Roberts Lane, in The porch on the side dates to this time. It appears M alvern. I t too has a large porch original to the house. originally to have extended around the front also, but was removed and replaced by a classical entrance at " Lippincott, p. 30. 'OMatlack Photographic Collection of Quaker Mee ting a later date. H ouses in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. VIII. Of the porch added to Abington Meeting House " Ibid., Vol. VIII. " Ib id., Vol. VIII. in 1863, Lippincott states in his Quaker M eeting H ouses " Miscell aneous Papers of the Matlack Collection in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Part II, envelope 15. '"Downing, p. 32. " Matlack Manuscript Notebooks of Q uaker Meeting Houses "Ibid., p. 281. in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. '"Matlack Manuscript Notebooks on Quaker Meeting Houses, " Matlack Photographic Collection of Quaker Meeting Houses in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Vol. V. 28 West Glester Hicksite Meeting House (1868). Author's photograph, 1974. Side Porch at West Glester (1974 ).

West Glester Hicksite Meet­ ing House (1868) before al­ terations of 1909. Note por­ ticos over men's and women's doors. Matlack Collection.

Details under side porch (1974). - ----~ """"--~-­------

29 West Grove Orthodox Meeting H ouse was originally built in 1786, but it was torn down and rebuilt in 1903. At this time the building was greatly enlarged and a large porch was al30 added which is in some respects similar to H averford Orthodox. It also has extensions under which a coach can dnve and let off passengers.'· Middletown Hicksite Meeting House appears to have had its porch added after 1900. It has been discussed previously. Other Meeting Houses with porches, but to which I cannot attach d ates, are Middletown Orthodox, Wil­ Ha verford Orthodox Meeting House 1837. listown, Newtown Square, Old H averford, Radnor and Marshall ton. Willistown Meeting House: we know had alterations in the 19th Century. "Some changes were made in the latter part of the last century when the gall ery was removed and the small window panes were replaced by larger ones."" Unfortunately the porch is not men­ tioned. This very large building is on Goshen Road near the village of Whitehorse. At Newtown Square (1791 ) we can get some idea of the .age of the porch by comparing it to Haverford Orthodox (1894) and West Grove (1903), both of which have very similar porches. Old H averford and Radnor are two very old struc­ tures, 1700 and 1715 respectively. We know that Hav­ erford, in 1800, was "modernized somewhat in its out­ Haverford Orthodox Meeting House today. Author's side appearance, by changing the pitch of the roof and photograph, 1974. in substituting wooden sash in the windows for those of lead."" The reason for the change of the roof was to match it to an addition in that same year. "Victorian" styles. It is very possible that similar studies Marshallton is very interesting. As you can see from of domestic architecture would yield the same "periods" its photographs, the building originally had pent roofs for the addition of porches. at the gable ends on .a level with the roofline. The fact that the pent roofs still exist above the present flimsy BIBLIOGRAPHY Ashmead, H enry G. and Cope, Gilbert, Genealogical and porches is proof that the porches were a later addition. Personal Memoirs of Chester and Delaware Counties (New Also above the doors at M.arshallton can be seen patch­ York: Lewis Publishing Co., 1904 ). Bronner, Edwin B. "Quaker Landmarks in Early Philadel­ work in the cement between the stones which is not phia," in Historic Philadelphia, Transactions of the American original. I believe that this patchwork is evidence that Philosophical Society, Volume XLIII: 1. Cousins, Frank and Riley, Phil, Colonial Architecture of at one time there were hoods over the doors such as Philadelphia (Boston : Little, Brown, and Co., 1920 ) . there is .at the eastern end of the building. Downing, Andrew Jackson, The Architecture of Country Houses (New York: Dover Publications Inc., 1969 ). Marshallton Meeting House brings me to the con­ Glenn, Thomas Allen, Merion and the Welsh Tract (Norris­ clusion of this paper. From the information I have town, 1896). Lapp, Dorothy B., " Churches of Willistown Township," in given, one can see that there has been a definite trend Chester County Col/ections, Number II (November, 1936 ), in the addition of porches to Quaker meeting houses. 61. Lidbetter, Hubert, The Friends Meeting H ouse (York: The First came the hoods over the doors; second came the Ebor Press, 1961 ) . small porticos, and these seem to have been added Lippincott, Horace Mather, Quaker Meetinghouses and a Little Humor (Jenkintown: Old York Road Publishing Co., mainly around the middle of the 19th Century, and 1952 ) . lastly came the larger porches which I believe were Matlack, Chalkley T., Manuscript otebooks of Quaker Meeting Houses in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. influenced by the architectural styles prevalent during Presented to the society between 1921 and 1939. the second half of the 19th Century, especially the Matlack, Chalkley T., Miscellaneous Papers on Quaker Meeting Houses in the Collections of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. "'Ibid., Vol. VIII. Matlack, Chalkley T., Photographic Collection of Quaker "Dorothy B. Lapp, "Churches of WiIlistown Township," Meeting Houses in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Chester County Col/ections, Number 11 ( ovember 1936),61. Compiled between 1929 and 1933. "Matlack Manuscript Notebooks of Quaker Meeting Houses Shortlidge, Helen W., Chester County Col/ections, Number in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. XIX (April, 1939), 437. 30 John Daniel Eisenbrown~ F ral{ turist

By MONROE H. FABIAN

Whi le researching the life and work of the Penn­ piece by Spangenberg. At fi rst glance, the right hand sylvania German schoolteacher and fraktur artist John portion did have the overall effect of his work, but was Spangenberg for a previous issue of this magazine ("The most certainly by a different hand. A careful reading Easton Bible Artist Identified," Winter 1972-1 973) my of the lower portion of the inscription at the bottom attention was call ed to a two page fraktur bookplate of the left hand page of the bookplate, which had once in the collection of the Library Company of Philadel­ ornamented a Bible owned by Johann H einrich Wind, phia (Fig. 1). It was suggested that this might be a showed that it was fully signed. The first line of the

·B1BL1A·

Figure 1a . Bible bookplate written by John Daniel Eisen brown for Johann Heinrich Wind sometime after November 4, 1818. Library Company of Philadelphia. 31 Figure 1b. Detail of the inscripn'on in tlte bottom margin of the Wind bookplate. (Ph oto by Stephanie Munsing).

inscription reads in translation, "Bought on 4th Nov: con-J ohn D anial Eisenbrown." Our schoolmaster, 1818, in Philadelphia." The last three lines: "Made, evidently in an overzealous effort to show off his com- (written) by the onetime schoolmaster in Upper Sau- mand of English, had actually spelled his own name incorrectly-Danial for Daniel. H ere was information concerning an unrecorded fraktur artist, but since the information was not pertinent to the John Spangenberg project, it was noted and fil ed away. Upper Saucon T ownship is in Lehigh County and so, some time later, while on a weekend visit to Allen­ town, I decided to see if any of the Eisenbrown family still lived in the area. I resorted to one of the more valuable tools of the genealogist-a local telephone book. Turning the pages, I saw the listing, "Eisen­ brown, Paul D." A track record for a researcher seek­ ing his man may have been set at this point, for within a matter of seconds I was speaking with the great­ grandson of our newly discovered frakturist, John D aniel Eisenbrown. A short conversation with Paul Eisenbrown made it obvious that he was interested in, and well informed concerning the history of his family, but neither he, nor any relative he consulted, had ever heard of their ancestor having created any pieces of fraktur. My bit of information and my questions about the life and work of his great-grandfather prompted Paul Eisen­ brown to do further research in family records and as time passed we conversed and compared notes as he made new discoveries. The first discovery was that there was indeed another piece of fraktur in family hands, a nd as a type it may be unique, for it is a birthday greeting (Fig. 2) written on 16 April 181 7 for Charlotta Barbara Wolf of Egypt, who was to become the wife of John Daniel Eisenbrown Figure 3. John Daniel Eisenbrown, Hafer Studio copy three years later. At the bottom the artist has lettered photo of a dague" eotype of about 1850. his name in correctly spelled German, "Johan Daniel

32 Figure 2. Fraktur birth­ day greeting written for Charlotte Barbara Wolf by John Daniel Eisen­ brown, April 16, 1817.

Eisenbraun." The birthday greeting w.as truly an excit­ the case, but perhaps this article will bring to light ing find, but what came later was even better. During examples in other private collections and in institutions. another of my visits to Paul Eisenbrown, he pulled A third and final piece (Fig. 4) discovered in family from a manila folder his l.atest discovery among family ownership during Paul Eisenbrown's diligent search papers-an actual likeness of our fraktur artist (Fig. 3). for information is a page removed from a family Bible The picture was a cabinet photo printed by the Hafer that must have been in use around 1832 or .after when Studio of Reading, probably about 1900. It reproduced it lists-in a handwriting matching that of the marginal a now lost daguerreotype of John D.aniel Eisenbrown note on the piece made for Johan Wind-the birth of which may have been made as early as 1850 judging William Jonas Eisenbrown and the death of his mother, by the costume and hair style. How rare, indeed, to Charlotta, six days later. The lettering is a str.aight see a portrait of one of our Pennsylvania German forward style and the piece thus lacks any of the dec­ artists of the first century of our nation's history. oration seen on the other two. At this point it was hoped that more of John D.aniel Paul Eisenbrown's interest in his family's history and Eisenbrown's elaborately decorated fraktur would come his research which took him to local historical societies, out of family records. Unfortunately, this has not been church cemeteries, newspaper "morgues" and published

33 Jfamili.e~, .,..i*tIt~. illepurtcn. ~tbu\'tcn.

Figure 4. Family Register page from the Eisenbrown family Bible. 34 local histori es has provided us with a rather full account of John George and Anna Maria (Bauer ) Wolf of Zion of an earl y 19th Century teenage German schoolmaster Hill , pringfield Township, Bucks County, where she who matured into a notable busi nessman in his adopted was born 16 April 1798 . John George Wolf is said to country, and all the credit for the biographical informa­ have been a wood carver and turner specializing in tion printed here must be given to him. This knowl­ making spinning wheels. In 1824 John Daniel took a ~ d ge adds just a li ttle more substance to a comprehen­ position as organist, choir director and schoolteacher si ble picture of life in the German areas of Pennsylvania at Egypt Church. Five years later J ohn D aniel, pos­ in the 19th Century. si bl y after being trained in carving by his father-in-law, John Da niel Eisenbrown is believed to have been moved to Kutztown where he maintained a tombstone­ born in or near the vill age of Adelberg, Wi.irttemberg, cutting establishment until 1834. Two years earlier on 2 December 1795. H e may have arrived in Phil­ Charlotta Eisenbrown had died aft er the birth of their adelphia a s early as 1811 and was most certainly al­ ninth child. ready in Egypt in 1817 and in Upper Saucon T ownship A few years later John Daniel married M argaret before 1818 when he executed the Bible bookplate for T roxell, born in Egypt 12 August 1812, a d aughter of Henrich Wind. The Wind fa mily was associated with Christian and Barbara (Horn) Troxell. This union Friedens Lutheran Church in what is now Friedensville was blessed with eight children. The second and third and it is quite possible that Eisenbrown was the school­ died in infancy and were buried in Zion Reformed master for that congregation. On 22 O ctober 1820, Church cemetery in Allentown, where the Eisenbrowns John D aniel married Charlotta Barbara Wolf, daughter had moved from Kutztown. Beginning in 1844 J ohn D aniel Eisenbrown operated a tombstone-cutting firm in Minersvill e until he re­ moved again to Allentown in 1855 where he established the same sort of business with his son Penrose Frederick Eisenbrown. The business was situated on the northwest corner of Ninth a nd H amilton Streets-the present site of a prestigious department store. In 1859 Penrose went off to Minersville and later to Pottsville to operate a branch of the family business again in those towns while his Father continued to manage the Allentown firm until his death. H aving acquired considerable experience in the cemetery memorial fi eld, Penrose Frederick went to R eading in 1874, where he estab­ lished the business on a much larger scale. Today, nearly a century and a half after his father, John Daniel, founded the family business in Kutztown, it is still operating in Reading and is under the owner­ ship of the founder's great-great-grandson, Penrose Frederick Eisenbrown, III. Did John Daniel Eisenbrown continue writing frak­ tur in his later years, or were the family Bible annota­ tions his last efforts at this schoolmaster's art? Only additional discoveries of his work could tell us more about that aspect of his life story. But the little that we know of him as an artist with a pen makes him of more interest to us than he must have been to his con­ temporaries who looked at him doubtless only as a respectable citizen and a purveyor of a utilitarian craft. The Allentown Daily Chronicle of 16 March 1874 noted his passing with that calm that is reserved for those who have led ordinary lives: "JOHN D. EISENBROWN, an aged man, residing on Tenth Street, died last night, aged over seventy­ eight years. Deceased was a stone-cutter by trade and was wel~ known in this city. So~e time ag~ he fell and SInce then had been bedrIdden with a Figure 5. Tombstone of Charlotte Eisenbrown (1798-1832). broken thigh, which never was perfectly cured."

3S Pennsylvania German Astronomy and Astrology X: Christopher Witt's Device

By LOUIS WINKLER

INTRODUCTION unique instrument which requires about as much talent The physician and mys tic Christopher Witt and his to u e as is .required to use an almanac. astronomical-astrological device have been discus ed The H orologiu m A chaz was constructed in 1578 by briefly in Articles III and VI, respectively, of this Christoph Schissler of Augsburg, Germany. By the seri es. The device (Figure 1), which is sometimes late 17th Century the device came into the possession referred to as the H orologium A chaz, is mentioned in of Johann J acob Zimmermann.' H e was the spiritual virtuall y every book on sundials. It has a number of ']. F. Sachse, " H orologium A chaz," Proceedings of the ra ther unusual features incorporated in it and is a American Phililoso phical Society, XXXIV (1 895 ), 21-26.

Bottom of basin (American Philoso­ phical Society).

36 Horologium Achaz (Courtesy of American Philosophical Society). leader of the Pietists who migrated to America in 1696 relief while the bottom of the base has additional and settled in the Wissahickon area. Just before the engravIngs. group dep.arted from Germany, Zimmermann died and DESCRIPTION AND USE OF BASIN the device was acquired by Johannes K elpius. K elpius, The overall diameter of the basin is 12" and it is who became the new spiritual leader, is also described 1- %" deep. The Latin inscription on the bottom of as an astronomer. The group, however, disba nded in the basin (Figure 2) shows that the device was fab­ 1708 when K elpius died and the device was passed ricated by Christoph Schissler of Augsburg in 1578. on to another group member, Christopher Witt. Schissler was a master artisan who worked with metal The first description of the device, a brief one, is and constructed devices which were of astronomical given by Uffenbach of Ulm, in the early 17th Century. or astrological nature. While Uffenbach indicated that the device was too Much of the nature of the basin has been described imprecise for his use, the Librarian at the University by Bobinger.' When the basin is oriented properly, of Oxford valued the instrument and its use. Ulm is the shadow of a centrally located vertical gnomon or further related to the device through Johann Fabricius, pointer (which is missing) could be used to indicate who presided over the University there and was also a variety of useful information. Readings can be made a tutor of Kelpius. very much the way they are for an ordinary sundial. Witt became the last individual to own the device With the simplified half of the basin (Figures 1 and because it was passed on to the American Philosophical 3) toward the north, Civilian and Italian time of day Society upon his death in 1765. At the time that the can be read.' Civilian hour numbers start at noon or Society acquired the device, the basin and base were midnight and go to twelve, while Italian hour numbers in separate pieces. In 1895 Sachse' joined the two start .at sunset and go to twenty-four. Use of the basin finely wrought alloy pieces with three cylindrical rods. as a sundial by the Pietists is quite possible since I t is surmised that the basin and base were originally mechanical timepieces were not yet mass-produced by connected with a mythological figure. The basin has the mid-18th Century. The described sundial aspect engravings on both sides and the fi gure on the rim can is somewhat unusual because it gives the hour as a be moved around. The top of the base has figures in 'M. Bobinger, Christoph Schissler der Aeltere und der Jun­ 'Memoirs of Zachari as von Uffenbach published at UIm, gere (Augsburg, Brigg, 1954), p. 117. I, 252 ; II, 542; III, 101 , 102. 'I t is difficult to photograph the basin because it reflects 'Op cit. light somewhat like the mirror objective in reflecting telescopes.

37 function of the time of year in terms of birth signs This is a reference to the Biblical miracle which reads: rather than the signs in which the sun appears." Behold, I will bring again in the shadow of the With the more complex half toward the north the degrees, which is gone down in the sun-dial of Civilian time and information regarding the position Ahaz (sic) ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degree it was gone of houses can be read wi th the gnomon. H ouses are down." twelve divisions' of the ecliptic (in addition to the Many historians and astronomers have speculated as signs ) which are of importance in astrology. Each of to the meaning of this Biblical statement. Ahaz was. the houses governs various aspects of life and the the eleventh king of Judah and he erected a sundial positions of the sun, moon and planets (seven ruling in the eighth century B.C. The Biblical statement is "planets") in these houses determine which aspect of the old es t known definitive reference to a sundial. life is governed and how. This feature of the H orol­ A use of the basin with a liquid however would not ogium A chaz makes it a most usefu l astrological in­ exactly reproduce the miracle of Isaiah. The indicated strument. Information regarding the number and posi­ time of day with the li quid would be advanced before, tion of the houses can not be obtained from almanacs and retardeq aft er noon, by variable amounts, relative and often requires much laborious computation. The to the indicated time without the liquid. H owever, the determination of the information concerning houses portion of the basin used as a refractive su ndial appears corresponding to a specific time and geographic site, to be the oldest extant one of this type. often involves most of the effort of an astrologer in The bottom of the base also has two panels with casting horoscopes. The Pietists are known to have fi gures which refer to the Bible: In the figure on the cast horoscopes to determine times of appropriateness. left, King H ezekiah is depicted sick in bed while the The complex half of the basin emphasizes the astrol­ prophet Isaiah points to a vertical sundial. The other ogical nature of the device since it includes an ordinary panel refers to the passage which reads: table for the seven ruling "planets" (i.e., reading of For Isaiah had said, let them take a lump of fi gs the table does not depend on the gnomon shadow). and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shaII According to astrological tradition these bodies rule recover. in hourly sequence for each day of the week. On H ere, King H ezekiah is depicted having his leg treated Sunday each hour is ruled by each of the "planets" by a n attendant with fi gs. according to the sequence Sun, Venus, M ercury, M oon, "Book of Isaiah, 38 : 8. Saturn, Jupiter, M ars, Sun, etc. The ruling sequence °Book of Isaiah, 38 : 8, for the figure on the left and Book then continues with the moon at the beginning on of Isaiah, 38 : 21 , for the figure on the right. Monday, M a rs on Tuesday, Mercury on Wednesday, Jupiter on Thursday, Venus on Friday, and Saturn Surface of basin (Brigg Verlag, Augsburg). on Saturday. In view of the a strological nature of the basin it seems quite appropriate that Witt should have come into possession of the device. Witt was also known as a H exenmeister.

BIBLICAL . REFERENCES Perhaps the most remarkable feature of the device is the use of the basin with water to simulate the Biblical miracle of Isaiah. The Latin inscription on the bottom (Figure 4) reqds : This semi-circular shell explains the miracle of the 38th chapter of Isaiah. For if you fill it to the brim with water, the shadow of the sun is borne backward ten or twenty degrees. Moreover it indicates any common hour of the day, with what is called hours of the planets.

"This difference has been increasing over the last two millen­ nia. For example, the sun appears to be in the constellation of Aquarius between February 20 and March 20 but the birth sign of Aquarius corresponds to the interval between January 21 to February 20. The difference is caused by a slow motion of the spin axis of the earth call ed precession. 'A common way to designate houses is to make uniform divisions starting with the point defined by the intersection of a given observer's eastern horizon and the ecliptic. The ecliptic is the apparent path of the sun which runs through the signs of the zodiac. 38 in almanacs and thus required some calculations or additional tables. The utility of the solar azimuth as a function of the time of year and day appears to be primarily of academic value. Solar azimuths at sunrise and sunset could be helpful in locating the ecliptic for other purposes. CONCLUSIONS Photographs of the device show it in a variety of configurations. I n some photographs there is no string but a gnomon where the string is fastened to the basin in Figure 1. I n other photographs there is no string and no pointer. The foregoing analysis of the basin show that the operation of the device does not depend on the string, eccentric gnomon, or even the figure on the rim. Unfortunately examinations of Schissler's other works and works of others around the time that Schissler flourished, offer no clue as to the nature of the figure.'· When one considers the missing compass needle and mythological figure (s) between the basin and base, and the unexplained moveable nature of the figure on the rim, it can be seen that the Horologium A chaz is far from being res tored. A relatively small size for the device results in modest Bottom of base (Brigg Verlag, Augsburg). precision for any readings. This is further suggested by the fact that the device is to be utilized over a wide latitude ra nge. (It is strange that there are four dif­ ferent latitude ranges specified on the basin and base DESCRIPTION AND USE OF BASE covering 12 0 ) . The small size of the device also results At one time the top of the base contained a compass in some arrangement problems with the engravings. Not which could be used to orient the basin. The mag­ all of the zodiacal figures are depicted and different netized needle is the only missing part of the compass. abbreviations of the same words are used. The figures in relief around the compass are mytholog­ The principal practical utility of the device includes ical in nature and appear to be only decorative. use as a clock, for casting horoscopes, and determining An inspection of the Latin inscriptions on the bottom ruling bodies. The only information obtained with the of the base show that the phrase H orologii A chaz, is device that overlaps the almanac, is time of sunrise and used in six different places. This is the source of the sunset. name of the device, Horologium Achaz. Consequently the device is not much of a substitute Very little has ever been given regarding the- use for an almanac. A role as an almanac substitute arises of the graphs (see Figure 4 ) on the bottom of the base. since the first German style and German language On the lower half Civilian and Italian time are specified almanac was only published in America in 1730." How­ as they are in the basin. On the upper half Civilian ever, although the device is often referred to as a sun­ and Planetary time are specified. Planetary hour num­ dial, it is much more than that. bers start at sunrise or sunset and go to twelve. On The general condition of the four-century-old device the periphery of the base, the direction of the sun in is fairly good," and it suggests that the device was not a given observer's plane (i.e., azimuth) is given in heavily used. Since the device has three ._ Biblical ref­ degrees. erences and the Pietists combined astronomy and astrol­ Solar azimuth, time of year, and time of day are ogy into their religion extensively it is likely that the related, and their relationship can be found by drawing H orologium A chaz was primarily their religious relic. an imaginary line from the center of the base to an I t certainly is a unique horological device as well as azimuth value. Given two of the three (solar azimuth, museum piece relating to the early development of time of year, and time of day ) quantities, the third America. can be read off the graphs. Thus a likely way to utilize "'Bobinger, op cit., and M . Bobinger Alt-Augsburger Kom­ the device is to read the time of year and day as in­ pa~smacher (Augsburg, Hans RosIer, 1966) . dicated with the basin and its gnomon, and then draw "E. F. Robacker, Pennsyluania German Literature (Philadel­ the appropriate line on the base and read solar azimuth. phia: University of Pennsylvania Pre~s, 1943) .. 12That is the bottom of the base IS not particularly worn Solar azimuth is not a quantity which could be found and there is no large collection of dents. 39 The American Breal{fast~ Circa 1373-1973

By PAMELA JAMES

Breakfast is, without a doubt, the most controversial sidered an advantage which wi ll offset this difficulty meal of the day. It has been written that "it is a meal to some extent. about which there are more attitudes, more likes and I dislikes, than any other. Some like breakfast large and The majority of the American population lived on varied. Some like the same every day. Some like it farms in th~ third quarter of the 19th Century,' and light and indeed some do not eat it at aIL'" These although many left the farm for the city with the attitudes are as varied as the many different physical, industrial boom, small farming was still practiced on psychological, economic, and ethnic characteristics of a wide scale before World War II. Today there are the individuals who make up the American people. It many conflicting opinions among doctors and nutri­ is here our purpose to consider the breakfast habits of tionists about the importance of breakfast. Some be­ several groups whose members, although distinctive ill lieve it is essential while others say that it is entirely some respects, are all of European origin and most of a matter of individual need. Our farmer ancestors, whom are presently living in southeastern Pennsylvania. however, had no doubts about the importance of this The discussion first involves the breakfast of farmers meal. As M eta Given explained to her audience of living from the 1860's until the 1940's. It then turns housewives in the 1940's, to the suburbs and cities (primarily Philadelphia) of Eighty years ago, 80 per cent of the population the period between 1900 and 1940. The information lived on farms ; and in those days there were few for both of these subjects comes from a variety of mate­ of the labor-saving devices which all of us take for granted in this age of electricity and Diesel ria ls, including cookbooks, magazine articles, waitressi ng engines. M en and women, boys and girls, all guides and several published first-hand accounts. By worked with their hands and it made them hungry. far the most detail is provided by the answers to a They lived in colder, dra ughtier houses too, and breakfast questionnaire distribu ted in three areas of needed food to keep them warm as well as to make southeastern Pennsylvania- rural/small town Gettys­ energy" burg, suburban Swarthmore and Media, and urban On many farms the family rose at dawn or earlier to Philadelphia.' The last section deals with the years spend an hour at chores before sitting down to break­ from circa 1940 until the present. For this, the ques­ fast. This meal was usually very substantial, one which tionnaires yielded the breakfast pattern of the inform­ today's more sedentary American might regard as com­ ants today. There were more m agazine articles avail­ plete enough to be a holiday dinner, in some cases. One able about this period, and also more cookbooks, which such meal is described in Farmer Boy, a book written are compared to what these individual families arc by Laura Ingalls Wilder about her husband's childhood actually eating. in northern New York State where his father owned The material in this paper was not compiled from a prosperous farm. This particular meal was served a large quantity of sources. I received between fifteen on.a cold winter morning in 1868. It is probably typical and twenty answers to my questionnaire from each of of the winter breakfast Mrs. Wilder served to her hus­ the three areas mentioned above. Other sources were band, two sons, and two daughters. about fourteen magazine articles, nine cookbooks, two Almanzo opened his eyes again, and the candle waitress guides, and two accounts of 19th Century farm was sputtering on the bureau. Royal was dressing. His breath froze white in the air. The candlelight breakfasts. Because of this limited number, my results was dim, as though the darkness were trying to put are not statistically representative. However, the very it out. randomness of the selection of sources must be con- Suddenly Royal was gone, the candle was not there, and Mother was calling from the foot of the 'Sue Tribus, The Wonderful World of Breakfast (New York: stairs : London House and M axwell, 1964) , p. 1. "Almanzo! What's the matter? Be you sick? 'Gettysburg-members of the Adams County Historical It's five o'clock!" Society, mostly older people; Swarthmore/ Media-members of Trinity Church, Swarthmore, and family friends, mostly famili es with children sti l1 at home; Philadelphia-some ' M eta Given, The M odern Family Cookbook (Chicago: employees of the University of Pennsylvania, people living in ]. G. Ferguson, 1943), p. 19. the Northeast, and others. 'Given, p. 19. 40 He crawled out, shivering. He pulled on his A woman from York Springs described a simil.ar trousers and waist, and ran downstairs to button early morning routine on the farm she and her husband up by the kitchen stove. Father and Royal had worked from 1942 until 1959: gone to the barns. Al manza took the milk-pails and hurried out. The night seemed very large and still, We had three children . . . . Our son helped and the stars sparkled like frost in the black sky. outside in the morning before going to school .... For quite awhile breakfast was together when the When the chores were done and he came back with Father and Royal to the warm kitchen, break­ barn chores were finished. fast was almost ready. H ow good it smelled ! A variation on this apparently typical morning rou­ Mother was frying pancakes, and the big blue tine was explained by a retired school psychologist. platter, keeping hot on the stove's hearth, was full H er maternal grandparents farmed near Gettysburg of plump brown sausage cakes in their brown gravy. and they ate two breakfasts. The first one, which was Almanza washed as quickly as he could, and combed his hair. As soon as Mother finished strain­ eaten around 5: 00 A.M., "before doing the barn work, ing the milk, they all sat down and Father asked milking the cows, watering horses, and feeding chickens the blessing for breakfast. and pigs," consisted of coffee, rolls, hot cereal, or There was oatmeal with plenty of thick cream freshly made cornmeal mush. The second meal eaten and maple sugar. There were fried potatoes, and at 10 :00 included fruit (not citrus but canned or dried the golden buckwheat cakes, as rn.a ny as Almanza wanted to eat, with sausages and gravy or with other ), eggs with bacon or ham or sausage and coffee. butter and maple sy rup. There were preserves and Pancakes with sausage, liver pudding and hominy grits, jams and jellies and doughnuts. But best of all and fried cornmeal mush were other breakfast foods. Almanza liked the spicy apple pie, with its thick, Another Gettysburg informant wrote that "farmers had rich juice and its crumbly crust. H e ate the two a second breakfast brought to them in the fields at big wedges of the pie.' mid-morning, usually fruit or berry pies and something Quite a large meal for a nine-year-old boy. to drink." Answers to my questionnaires, all from people now The reason for eating the large breakfast described living in the Gettysburg area, confirm the practice of by the a bove accounts was, of course, to supply the working before eating a large breakfast. One woman energy needed to do a full morning's physical work. wrote that her grandparents, farming in Connecticut, This fact was mentioned by several informants. One got "up early to light the wood stove and attend the man who lived in K ansas during the 1880's and 1890's farm chores. By the time we as [presumably visiting] wrote about his childhood in what he described as a kids would go downstairs the house was warm and "farm family and poor": breakfast was ready." A retired school counselor wrote Breakfast was as important as a ny other meal. a more detailed account of her grandparents' home Father and older boys who worked hard would circ.a 1860-1927. They were farmers and had a large have eggs or a slice of meat in addition to what family. the children had. The younger children would The family did the chores at the barn before have oatmeal, milk, bread and butter and maybe breakfast was served . . (The men did the barn something from the garden. Hot cakes and molas­ work and the women did the cooking and the ses was occasionally served. . . . housework-house was cleaned, beds were made) . Breakfast important because of hard work and There were plates of fried or scrambled eggs, long hours; served not later than 7: 00 A.M. country home-cured ham, bacon, fried potatoes This is corroborated by another informant: (sometimes bu t rarely, waffles, hot cakes, biscuits). When I was a child, our breakfasts were larger Toast was rarely made, but there were always and heavier in calories. We would have hot breads pies and cake to finish off the meal and alI with butter, honey, or jelly. Living on a farm, it kinds of homemade jellies and fruits. I remem­ was considered that one could not work well with­ ber my father saying that his father said, "Use out a I.arge breakfast. plenty of butter but not too much moI.asses, be­ We now come to a consideration . of the specific cause we have to buy molasses!!" Della T. Lutes wrote of her family's "Breakfast, Old foods eaten at these farm breakfasts. The information Style" in a 1935 Atlantic Monthly. Said she: in the following chart was compiled from eighteen My memories go back to a childhood in South­ questionnaires which d ealt with farm life and the pub­ ern Michigan fifty years ago [1887], when men lished material of D ella Lutes and Mrs. Wilder. In worked from sun to sun, and women longer. . . . all, these sources supplied menus, usually several, for My father came to the breaking of his night's the morning meal eaten in twenty homes from 1868 fast after a preliminary hour's wrestling with until 1959. Most of the menus, though, came from the chores, and he went from the table to a day's work in which fi elds had to be ploughed, seed 'D ell a T. Lutes, "Breakfast, Old Style," Atlantic M onthly, sown, hay cut, grain reaped, corn husked. To September, 1935, p. 347. men like him, breakfast meant meat and potatoes­ 'One man who grew up near Gettysburg mentioned that scrapple was also call ed "ponhaws." H e added : " M y mother the chief staples around which the meal revolved." made her own scrapple after that made during butchering 'Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farmer Boy (New York: Harper was all used by cooking pudding (made by cooking ground & Bros., 1933), pp. 3~-3 8 . pork scraps) with cornmeal." 41 first three decades or so of this century. The chart the kitchen and everyone a te together. One man wrote below lists most of the foods mentioned, including the that his mother believed in togetherness at breakfast number of times they were designated as a p art of a so she only had to cook one meal. Another said that family's breakfast. "yes!!" his parents considered it important for the fam­ Cereal Foods Protein Foods ily to be together for the morning meal. H e added, "1 hot cereal 14 eggs 11 remember once when one member didn't show up!!" bread 11 sausage 9 Another thing mentioned in most comments on rural potatoes 11 fried ham 9 life was that most of the foods eaten for breakfast as pancakes 9 bacon 8 fried mush 6 scrapple' 7 well as other meals were produced on the farm. For pie 6 salt mackerel 3 example, one man wrote: hominy grits 4 meat/ liver pudding 2 Please note-the onl y food above mentioned that buckwheat cakes 3 dried beef & gravy 1 was purchased at a store were oatmeal and fried bread fried pork 1 perhaps cornmeal. Everything else came from (French toast) 3 garden, cows, chicken house, a nd butchered hogs doughnuts 2 and steers- the meat being preserved in brine dry cereal 2 (salt) in barrels-true for all meals. cake 1 [circa 1900- 191 0, Kansas] cookies 1 waffles 1 A woman who grew up near Coatesville, Pennsylvania, made a similar comment: As evidenced by the chart, pork products, eggs, cooked cereals, bread, and potatoes formed the back­ Also, none of our food was processed as it is today, everything we ate was fresh. We had our bone of the country breakfast. Each meal usually in­ own chickens, pigs, cows, made our own butter, cluded at least one protein food, often two or more. grew our own vegetables, killed our own meat, Sometimes two or more cereal products were served made our own bread. together. Cooked cereal appeared often with several This passage by a woman who lived on a farm near protein foods and another cereal product, perhaps bread. Gettysburg as a child sums up all that has been said Coffee, cocoa or hot chocolate, and milk were mentioned so far rather well: by nearly all the informants. The place of fruit on the Breakfasts were different when I was a child. breakfast menu is very interesting here. Only five fam­ The meal was much larger than now because of ilies apparently served it with any regularity. All of the hard work on the farm. We all worked hard these, though, were canned or dried fruits. No one not only in the house and garden but at the barn and in the fi elds. I ate more as a child and wasn't seems to have eaten citrus fruits regularly as we do now. allowed to skip breakfast. A typical breakfast was This was probably because these were more difficult fresh or canned fruit . . . fried ham, shoulder, or to obtain than they are today. sausage, fried potatoes, home baked bread and A question about breakfast foods that were considered butter, fruit pie and coffee for the adults, milk for the children. Another breakfast (in the winter festive on my questionnaire yielded at least one unusual time) was scrapple and mush instead of fried item. The egg played a major role in Easter Sunday potatoes and ham. breakfasts, in some cases. Four people mentioned this: Almost all the foods we ate were home grown Our fa milies never made a special day any different or prepared at home on the farm. Butter and milk than any other except at Easter time my husband from our herd of Guernsey cows. Wheat flour and ate hard-boiled eggs. cornmeal from grains we grew. Pork from the hogs At Easter I remember eating two eggs instead of we raised and butchered. Fruits were home can­ one ... ned for pies. Potatoes were grown on our farm. Nothing unusual or festive except that eggs for Mother prepared breakfast until we girls were everybody was a must on Easter Sunday morning. old enough to help. We ate in the big farm kitchen. East Sunday we ate eggs, fried, boiled, or hard Everyone ate at the same time because Mother cooked. didn't have time to prepare more than one break­ fast. Also in answer to this question, I found that one Altogether, then, breakfast on the farm was a family family only had oranges at Christmas time. For another, gathering for the purpose of eating the large meal, homemade doughnuts were a special treat and for a usually of home produced foods, necessary to start the third pancakes were usually only encountered on Sun­ day's work with energy. days. This last restriction was not a common one, pan­ cakes appeared often on other informants' weekday II menus. In contrast to the farmers' breakfast was the morning In reference to the manners accompanying breakfast, meal of the urban and suburban dwellers of the first most of the replies about farmers' habits were similar. four decades of this century. It was not so much the The mother and daughters prepared breakfast while food that was different, for it generally varied from the men did the chores outside. Breakfast was eaten in country fare more in quantity than in kind. It was 42 rather the a ttitudes about and the customs involved Another book for waitresses was published in 1917. in eating breakfast tha t were in real contrast to the It gave directions for the proper order in which to farmers' ways. serve the breakfast foods: fruit first, then coffee, cereal In her 1935 article on the "old style" breakfast, Della (also passing rolls, toast or bread), eggs or "other such Lutes listed the foods which she considered to be the dishes," and last waffles or griddle cakes if they had "standarized American breakfast:" orange juice, cereal, been requested. In these menus, dry cereal could easily toast, and coffee." This is identical to the "basic break­ replace the more traditional cooked type. It did not fast pattern" of orange juice, cereal-and-milk, buttered replace the heartier dishes as the core of the breakfast, toast, and coffee recommended by the Cereal Institute, though. Inc.' The introduction of what we call "dry" or "cold" A cookbook published by Sarah Field Splint in 1926 cereal, called "prepared cereal foods," circa 1906, had has breakfast menus in the back, fourteen each for a great influence on the American breakfast. Cold spring-summer and autumn-winter. Fruit or fruit juice cereal was never mentioned as a breakfast food in the (usuall y the former), coffee or cocoa, and some sort of sources quoted in the previous section, except on the bread (toast, muffins, waffles or griddle cakes) were much more recent farms and even then it usually was listed for every meal, summer and winter. Hot or cold not the main dish. Farmers ate hot, cooked cereal, cereal was included in almost every menu. Some form of es pecially in winter, that would stick with them through protei n, nearly always either eggs or bacon but occasion­ the morning. all y sausage or lamb kidneys, was also listed for most An article printed in 1906 in The Independent/o a meals. Following is a typical menu from each season. New York newspaper, listed three advantages to these Spring-Summer" Blueberries new cereals: 1) they can be made to vary enough Hominy in form and flavor that "all tastes can be suited;" Shirred Eggs Bran Muffins 2) the cardboard box they are packaged in is very con­ Coffee Cocoa venient; and 3) none or very little preparation is re­ Autumn-Winter" Stewed Prunes quired before they are eaten. The author was writing Wheatena Scrambled Eggs a trifle sarcastically, however, as this comment will Toast Marmalade Coffee Cocoa show: "It is not so much that the new foods are better than the old as that people have been persuaded There were also those who never adopted the new to eat them." And also, "now that these new forms ready-prepared cereals at a ll , or at least not on a of cereals have become deservedly popular it will do regul ar basis. A number of these people turned up no harm to admit that they were mostly introduced in those who answered my questionnaire. We also find under false pretenses." The only way the cereal com­ among the urban and suburban group that individual panies could convince people to buy their product was virtually nonexistent among the farmers, the person to exaggerate its food valu ~. The author does think who eats a very light breakfast or none at all. these cereals make good breakfast foods, p articularly So far in this section, we have looked only at what if nothing else is eaten because then overeating would was published about breakfast from 1900 till 1940. not be possible. His point is simply that these cereals Information about what certain families ate, obtained are no better nutritionally than "the more or less from the questionnaires, gives a picture of what the indigestible and time-consuming products on which average family may have been eating for breakfast at we used to feed." this time. Below is a chart like the one on page five Many people, however, continued to eat a breakfast which lists the foods mentioned by twenty-three inform­ quite similar to the hearty farm one. In a book en­ ants as regularly eaten breakfast foods. titled T he Up-to-Date Waitress, Janet McKenzie Hill Protein Foods Cereal Foods included a menu which she said "fairly represents an eggs 16 cooked cereal 20 bacon 11 toast/bread 14 American breakfast" of 1927. It reads as follows: sausage 7 pancakes 5 grapes ham 5 cold cereal 5 cream of wheat cream sugar salt mackerel" 5 waffles 3 hamburg steak in cakes baked potatoes scrapple 3 biscuits 3 cold bread hot muffins creamed dry beef 3 homemade rolls, butter marmalade chops 3 coffeecakes 2 coffee milk, hot and coldll "Sarah Field Splint, The Art of Cooking and S erving (Cin­ 'Lutes, p. 347. cinnati: Procter and Gamble, 1926), p. 222. °Gerald Carso n, Comflake Crusade (New York: Rinehart "Splint, p. 227. and Co., Inc., 1957), p. 8. 14A retired schoolteacher now living in Gettysburg wrote ,oThe Independent, "Breakfast Foods," December 27, 1906, this: "Sometimes in the winter months our Sunday breakfast pp. 1577-1578. was mackerel done with browned butter. This was bought by "Janet McK enzie Hill, The Up-to-Date Waitress (Boston : a tub or small bucketful- very salty and had to be soaked Little, Brown, and Co.,. 192 7), p. 37. in water for at least 24 hours."

43 kippered herring 2 fried potatoes 2 to and dry cereal was sometimes mentioned as being creamed sweetbreads 2 French toast 1 more common today. One small town man wrote : stewed chicken 1 fried mush 1 We seldom had juices when I was a child. Instead cheese 1 liver 1 we ate prunes or other stewed fruit, probably peaches or apples. Our cereals were com flakes, As mentioned above, these foods are not of them­ puffed wheat, shredded wheat, and "Grape Nuts." selves very different from those the farmers ate. Eggs In winter we a te oatmeal or cream of wheat. There and bacon are again at the top of the protein list and were no vitamin tablets then. cooked cereal still leads its list. However, the great On the whole, these people felt that breakfast was variety found in the farm menu is not present here. about the same for them. The information here was gathered from about five Others wrote that there have been definite changes more families than was that on the first chart, but the in their morning meal. A Philadelphia woman wrote variety in breads is not as great and a smaller percentage that when she was young in the 1920's, more breakfas t of the families are eating the more unusual meats. Dry fo ods were homemade. cereal seems to have been .an important item to only We had cooked oatmeal, very often pa ncakes, fried several of these families, though. Four of them served ham, eggs, toast, etc. M other prepared steak, freshly squeezed orange juice often. Many of them chops, fried potatoes, and even fish for my Dad and Grandfather. Any child who had time and carne served some type of fruit with breakfast, but it was down for breakfast could have this sort of a break­ not often a citrus. It is to be expected that these food~ fas t. Sundays- sausage a nd hot cakes. are similar to the farmers' foods discussed before be­ This woman now serves cold cereal a nd some toaster cause we a re speaking of approximately the same time products such as pop-ups to her family. period. It must be remembered, however, that these Another city woman, who felt tha t breakfast had fi l?ures are not based on a large enough percentage of changed, also expressed a dislike for this meal. the population to be truly representative. Nonetheless, No breakfa t does not differ. I think I tend to some excerpts from the questionnaires, if not representa­ prepare breakfast for my family as it was given tive, are a t least fairly enlightening. to me in my childhood . No my meals are not larger. I probably eat the same as I did as a child, One woman from Swarthmore wrote a description I never liked to eat breakfast foods and I stiil of her Lansdowne grandparents' circa 1912 breakfast. don't. However, I still feel breakfast is important They would eat stewed chicken, or creamed to my family regardless of my own eating habits. sweetbreads, often two hot breads, muffins/toast I n regard to the question of whether or not break­ or hotcakes and toast. Creamed dried beei and waffles for Sunday. Stewed beef kidney, and eggs fasts were different on weekends during their youth, on the side. Eaten the breakfast room, prepared the answers were divided between two opposite. Most by the maid. Sometimes popovers. people said there was no real difference, except perhaps Breakfasts of a Swarthmore family in the 1930's are on Sundays and holidays when they had pancakes or described as follows: scrambled eggs and sausage or other foods they did not In my childhood, weekday breakfasts were scram­ have during the week. For those who regularly ate bled eggs, occasionally scrapple or creamed dried these foods, there was little or no cha nge on holidays beef; often homemade biscuits. Usually weekends and weekends. Creamed swee tbreads and steak with were more elaborate, with ham or sausage, and fresh fruit rather than juice. A festive breakfast fried pota toes were also mentioned as having been suit­ was broiled kidneys, or steak with fried potatoes. able for festive occasions. The meals described above contain certain items not Several people mentioned that weekend breakfasts commonly eaten for breakfast today. Children of today were small er than those during the week, either because may find this meal eaten in Wisconsin circa 1933 more they were hurrying off to church or because everyone familiar except, perhaps, oatmeal in the summer. did not get up at the same time. One such answer was: When I was a boy my aunt and uncle . . . usually My husband had the same breakfast weekdays had bacon, eggs, toast, jam, oatmeal, juice (they and weekends- juice or grapefruit, toast, bacon made their own toma to juice: delicious), and and egg, milk. The child ren had juice, some type coffee, in the kitchen ; sometimes, especially in of bread or cereal, or eggs, ba con, or sausage. Week­ summer, there was dry cereal instead of oatmeal. ends were about the same, though they weren't ... In summer oatmeal was often all we had for apt to be as hearty, as everyone would come down breakfast; or sometimes, if we got up early and at different times and our cook couldn' t be ex­ worked hard, we had a second breakfast of eggs, pected to cook a hot meal for everyone. Holidays, bacon, and toast. Pancakes or blueberry pancakes especially Christmas, were generally more hurried, . . . were frequently served . . . . as everyone had other interests. Asked to say whether or not their childhood break­ This response was not as common as the other two­ fasts differed greatly from those they eat today, many breakfast the same and breakfast larger. informants replied that they did not. They often said One last point is the question of who fixed the break­ that they drink more orange juice now than they used fast and where it was eaten. Among the twenty-three 44 families used to compile the information fo r the second Breakfast is an important meal fo r the child, and food chart, seventcen mothers prepared breakfast. I n he should never be allowed to hurry off without the other six, there was either a cook or a maid who it in the morning. I t mu t be remembered that breakfast, even when the child declares that he cooked this meal. In all of these latter homes, break­ is not hungry for it, must be depend~ d on ~o fas t was eaten in the dining room. Four of the famil ies supply at least one-quarter of the day s calOriC in which the mother cooked, ate in the dining room, requirement and of its vitamin and mineral values. whil e the other thirteen ate in the kitchen. This was If it is omitted, the dietary lack must be made predictable for, if your family had a maid to serve up at the other meals, or nutrition will su ffer.'" A good breakfast fo r a good start." the meal, you obviously ate in a room apart from Nobody-man, woman or child, active or sed en­ the kitchen. Whether or not the other families ate tary-can afford to go without breakfast, or settle in the kitchen or the dining room was a matter of for a too skimpy one. Indeed, many doctors and either preference or convenience. nutri tion experts feel that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. You've just arisen I n comparing the information presented above about from your longest fast ; the day's activities lie bef?re farm families and "non-fa rm" families, there are a you, with all their various calls upon your energIes. number of differences that set these breakfast habits You need a reserve supply of those energies; a nd apart. The greatest of these, though, would seem to breakfast will give them to you. Children will be be the time factor. Very few non-fa rm families got more alert and attentive in school, workers will attack their jobs with more vigor, and weight­ up before dark (around 5 : 00 A.M .) . Breakfast between watchers will fi nd it much easier to stick to their 7 : 00 and 9: 00, depending on the occupation of the diets, if they start the day with a good breakfast.'· head of the family and of its other members, was M any cookbooks printed within the last thirty years much more common among them. have had menus included within them . It is thus pos­ sible to see what the experts advised America n families III to have for breakfast. M agazine articles since 1950 In these days of large machine-operated farms and have often included menus also. The firs t edition of mechanized factories, the percentage of the population Betty Crocker's Pic ture Cook Book presents the most engaged in hard physical activity to earn a livelihood concise outline of this advice: " is less than it was even thirty years ago. In the years For an adequate meal: fruit since 1940, the American breakfast has suffered a cereal and milk definite loss in status. Not only do less people eat bread a nd butter large breakfasts, but more and more people a re eating For complete or what one 1902 journalist termed " two damns and a abundant meals : fruit cereal and milk cup of coffee.'''' "Time-conscious, weight-conscious egg or meat Americans .. . have pulled the platter right out from bread a nd butter under the traditional morning meal," wrote one man This basic pattern is followed in the other three in 1958. Further on in his article, this man wrote that cookbooks of the period considered here, a lthough it in earlier American society people did not "skimp" on is varied a great deal. If bread is taken to include meals and plumpness was a "symbol of prosperity." " pancakes, waffies, rolls, etc.; fruit to mean fresh fruit One seventy-seven year old woman wrote, in response or juice; cereal to mean either hot or cold cereal; and to my questionnaire, that "breakfast was larger then egg or meat to be any of a virtuall y endless number (in her childhood ) than it is today. I don't believe of dishes, then this outline is echoed not only in other people considered that it was more important to eat a cookbooks, but in the magazine a rticles of the 1950's large breakfast. It just was the custom. I ate more and 60's as well. because I was expected to." M eta Given's M odern Family Coo kbook contains A perusal of several cookbooks published in the breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus for the entire year. 1940's and 50's shows two things. First, the concern U sed as the textbook in a cooking class for non-home with nutrition that had begun earlier in the century economics majors at Hood College, Frederick, M ary­ was now a major concern of family cookbook authors. land, in 1945, this book was probably widely used in Breakfast was stressed as an important meal in four homes of the 1940's. Seven p.atterns are used in the of these books as these excerpts show: 366 breakfast menus. Each of these includes fruit It's smart to start your family out right in the morn m• g. 11 (often citrus), coffee and milk, and some form of bread (toast, muffins, pancakes, etc.). Added to these l5L iving A ge, "The Breakfas t State of Mind ," June 7, 1902, 18G ive n, p. 23 l. p. 63 7. " Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book (New York: McGraw­ "Edward K arpoff, "Breakfast - Mos t Neglected Meal," Hill Book Co., Inc., 19 50), p. 33. Science Digest, J uly, 1958, pp. 1, 2. '·The General Foods K itchens Cookbook (New York: R an­ 11 Better H omes and Gardens Cook Boo k (Des Moines: dom House, Inc. , 1959) , p. 75 . Mered ith Publi shing Co .., 1951 ), p. 1, Chapter 2. " Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, p . 33.

45 are different combinations of eggs, sausage, bacon, had previously spent a number of pages explaining and cereal, as follows." this." In articles and books written specifically about fruit, cereal bread, coffee/milk...... 168 days breakfast, a more oblique approach is employed to fruit, eggs ,b read, coffee/ milk...... 75 " convince the American mother of the importance of , 43 " fruit, bread, coffee/ milk ...... eating breakfast. The authors have recognized that a fruit, cereal, bacon/ sausage, coffee/milk .... 26 " fruit, cereal, eggs, bacon/ sausage, sub tantial breakfast of "fruit; bread or cereal; egg, coffee/milk ._. ______25 " meat, fish . . . ; and milk" which one 1959 cookbook fruit, bread, bacon/ sausage, coffee/ milk .... 23 " calls the "ideal breakfast," i not agreeable to everyone. fruit, eggs, bacon, bread, coffee/milk ______6 " Greater variety in breakfast foods is even now being Obviously, cereal was con idered to be a major break­ u rged as nutritionists and food experts continue the fast foo d and possibly a source of protein by the person battle to have us eat the morning meal. who made up these menus. It is possible that the cooked An article of this nature from Family H ealth was cereals such as whole wheat cereal and rolled oats men­ reprinted in R eader's Digest just this month [December tioned in this book did furnish some protein as they 1973]. Entitled "Eat a Breakfast that's Right for You," were wholegrain products. The restriction of meat it begins by tearing down the myth of the "classic choice to bacon and sausage seems unusual to me, American breakfast of orange juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, although the Better H omes and Gardens Cookbook put and toast, all washed down with milk."" This is prob­ out at the same time similarly limited its five breakfast ably more than most people need for breakfast, the menus. author says, and it is "not the right mix" of foods Magazine articles in the years between 1950 and either. H e continues, discussing each food in this 1970 reflect a continuing effort to interest the American "classic," then going on to say that "our three meals public in eating a good breakfast. Menus and recipes a day are not the universal rule, and the first m eal were published in many women's magazines. These of the day, in particular, is extremely variable. How often had captions which contained advice on famil y well adults function with or without breakfast seems to breakfasts. One such article, call ed "Good Morning be a matter of what they are used to.'''· In spite of Breakfas ts," published in Parents' Magazine in 1965, this a pparently radical a pproach to breakfast, the con­ i ~ a good example of this." Its subtitle is "Menu sug­ clusion of the article shows the author to be a break­ gestions and recipes for 30 balanced breakfasts for fast believer. Thus, he begins his last paragraph, "one sleepy heads, clockwatchers, breakfast skippers, and those last point in favor of breakfast . " who love breakfast." The reader is told that "grown­ In the January 1971 issue of Sunset is an article ups need an adequate eye-opening breakfast just as about "The Quiet Revolution at Breakfast time." Its much as school children." The caption above a menu emphasis is neatly summed up in what its author terms including scrambled eggs in bologna cups su gge st~ a "declaration of enlightenment": "1 always hated that some people ,don't like breakfast because it is breakfast until I realized 1 could eat the foods 1 like.'''' dull. Bologna cups are advanced as sure to interest This looser policy, too, though, is an attempt to get those uninterested in breakfast. Other sayings are : Americans who aren't interested in traditional breakfast "Tomorrow is too late for children to make up for foods to eat something else. skipped breakfast . . . . ;" and here is a menu that Summing up these published concerns is this state­ will "convince any sleepyhead" that it is worthwhile ment: "There can't be a man, woman or child in to get up earlier. In their efforts to come up with America today, who doesn't know how important it is something to interest people at breakfast time, authors to start the day with a reasonably satisfactory meal. of articles such as this one seem to have made one Still, fewer and fewer people eat breakfast." But is great mistake. Almost a ll of their recipes require a this gloomy observation, pronounced in so m any articles, little more time than pouring cereal and milk into a really true? bowl. The response on my questionnaires indicates Of the approximately fifty-five replies to my ques­ that people feel rushed during weekday breakfasts more tionnaire that 1 have received, there were only three frequently than they did in the past. None of my people who admitted to being confirmed breakfast skip­ informants said they made anything fancy in the morn­ pers. The other fifty-two all eat and many seem to enjoy ings, such as the recipes offered in many magazines. the morning meal. A few examples may hearten those In the family cookbooks published in the 1960's, concerned about the demise of the American breakfast. there appears to be a trend away from lecturing the housewife on nutrition. It is mentioned only briefly "Betty Crocker's Cookbook ( ew York : Golden Press, 1969 ). if at all, even in second editions of cookbooks which "J ean Mayer, "Eat a Breakfast That's Right for You," Reader's Digest, December, 1973, p. 189. " Given, M odern Family Cookboo k, pp. 29-227. "'Mayer, p. 193. " Blanche M. Stover, "Good Morning Breakfasts," Parents' ""A Quiet Revolution at Breakfast Time," Sunset, January, M agazine, September, 1965, pp. 74-77, 107 . 1971. p. 58. 46 A Philadelphia woman with fi ve children wrote, Informants with children at home (31 people) Yes, we consider breakfast an important meal Protein Foods Cereal Foods because of the nutritional value. Everyone does eggs 24 cold cereal 21 eat breakfast, although two of the children eat very bacon 14 toast 21 little on weekdays .... . sausage 8 cooked cereal 9 We all have juice or fruit, cereal or toast and hot scrapple 2 pancakes 6 chocolate, tea or coffee. Another menu would ham 2 French toast 4 be juice, scrambled eggs, toast, milk or coffee or cottage cheese 2 waffl es 3 juice, toaster pop-ups, milk or coffee. toa ter products 2 A Swarthmore woman with four children: buns 2 Yes, we consider breakfast important, because we grits 1 need energy in the morning in school and work. The most important thing to note about this chart Everyone eats breakfas t regularly except me. I don't because of lack of time. I cook breakfast is the difference between it and the charts for breakfasts for everyone else, and they go to work. . . . of earlier days . . There is not nearly as much variety We eat eggs, bacon, sausage, scrapple, waffles, soup, in foods here. The first three or four items in each list hamburgers, Welsh rarebit (cheese sauce on toast ) ; above are the same as those on the other charts, though. bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches. Sunday Breakfast meats today seem to be limited almost entire­ breakfast is usually sausage and eggs, juice, toast, or biscuits, jam, coffee, tea, or milk. A weekday ly to pork products, whereas before beef was eaten for breakfast at least one day a week might be chicken breakfast more often. In their answers, people men­ gumbo soup, crackers and peanut butter, milk or tioned more frequently than in the earlier period that tea. We do eat a larger meal on Saturday and they felt rushed at breakfast time. Perhaps this ac­ Sunday, because everyone has more time. A special counts for the lack of variety at this meal. Most people meal on holidays might include ham and eggs, danish pastry, or broiled lamb kidneys, or chicken eat breakfast in the kitchen as was true before and, livers wrapped in bacon, cranberry juice for Christ­ an interesting fact, no one mentioned having a maid mas, hominy grits, or fried potatoes, in addition or cook although four people had had one earlier. to eggs. The three people I mentioned above who admitted A Gettysburg college professor: Breakfas t is an essential meal . . .. Everyone eats to not often eating breakfast sent in three of the most breakfast .. .. Usually breakfast consists of two interesting replies I received. They were from two boiled eggs, two slices of bacon, a slice of toast with brothers, ages twenty-four and twenty-three, and the jam, a glass' of grapefruit juice, and a cup of coffee twenty-four year old wife of the older brother On a . . . . On weekends I usually eat less since I get small number of other questionnaires despairing parents up later and am less active before dinner mentioned that some of their children did not eat One city mother commented on breakfast for her breakfast although encouraged to do so. From personal youngsters. experience, I know that a number of college students I consider breakfast essential for growing children. Because children are on- the most part extremely do not eat breakfast, but whether this is just a phase active and burn more energy than adults, they need out of which they will pass or it is a permanent con­ a more balanced diet than adults .... I am the dition I do not know. However, the married brother, only one who does n't eat breakfast. A good break­ a coll ege student living in Philadelphia with his wife, fast consists of meat, bread, eggs, and juice or milk. has written that "we don't consider breakfast essential This seems a more wholesome breakfast than the cereals and commercially packaged goods offered or important because we seldom eat breakfast and, in most stores. since nothing horrible happens, it can't be essential I usually prepare eggs, bacon, grits, toast and or important." His wife adds that breakfast is not juice. This is the most common breakfast in my important for her because she has "been abl e to live home .... without it most of my 24 years." The other brother The following chart contains material from fifty-one wrote something in his reply that may possibly account questionnaires from all of the areas, rural, suburban, for his and his brother's lack of interest in breakfast. and urban. I have divided the results between those "A story": families with children still at home and those without For years in my childhood my brother and I had rather than between the three areas because the dif­ waffles and syrup on Sundays, and while we were ferent locations did not have as much effect on the eating my mother would tell my father all the answers as the difference in age did. things my brother and I did. H e did not see us Older informants (20 people) on the week because he was on nightwork. So on Sunday mornings my mom would tell my father Protein Foods Cereal Food< all of this while we were eating, and it was sheer eggs 9 cold cereal 14 torment, because my father and mother would be bacon 3 toast 13 yelling out loud. We could not enjoy our break­ cottage cheese 1 cooked cereal 4 fast; this went on for years. egg custard 1 doughnuts 2 jello 1 muffins 2 The married couple also made it plain that although 47 they could do without breakfast, the ma In reason they 6. H ow did the food served at breakfast in your childhood differ from what you eat today? Were there more home­ do not eat it every day is lack of ti me. They do eat made foods? Desc ribe everal typical breakfast menus. a morning meal on the weekends. D id your family eat d ifferently on weekend mornings? Describe a ny breakfast foods that may have been con­ These three appear, from my survey, to be the sidered unusual or fes tive. exception rather than the rule today. Although our 7. Who prepared breakfast in your home? W here did your family eat thi meal ? D id everyone eat together ? D id breakfasts now are much smaller than they were in your parents consider it important for the family to be the fi rst half of this century, this is largely the result together at breakfast? of the negligible amount of physical labor most people YOUR GRANDPARENTS, ETC. 8. D o you remember any stories or incidents that would engage in every day. The lack of variety in our break­ ill ustrate the breakfast customs tha t ex isted earlier in fast menus is something that can be overcome. Al­ this century? Explain. 9. What was breakfast like in the homes of your grand­ though fre h and homemade foods a re impractical for parents, other relatives, or neighbors? D escribe the foods many people today, articles are now being written to served, where the meal was eaten, who prepared it, etc. 10. For each home you have d iscussed above, please list the encourage Americans to vary their fairly standard con­ following information: cept of breakfast foods. In any case, the response to Location - city and state Rural, suburban, or urban a rea? my questionnaires has shown tha t breakfast is not the Occupation of the head of the household dying meal many people seem to think it. It is a very standardized meal in most homes, but the fact is it BIBLIOGRAPHY is still an important meal in most American homes. COOKBOO KS Better H omes and Gardens Cook Book. R evised Edition. Des M oines : M eredith Publishing Co., 1951. QUESTION AIRE - BREAKFAST Betty Crocker's Cookbook. ew York : Golden Press (Wes t- To the informant: ern Publi shing Co., Inc., 1969. This questionnaire is a part of the research for a paper I Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book. New York : M cGraw­ '!om writing for a course in the Folklore a nd Folklife D epart­ H ill Book Co., Inc., 1950. ment at the University of Pennsylvania. My topic is the Amer­ The General Foo ds Kitchens Cookbook. New York: Ran­ ican breakfast, including what people eat for breakfast and dom H ouse, Inc., 1959. the customs involved in preparing and serving it. I think Given, M eta. The M odern Family Cookbook. Chicago: there has been a change during the last 100 years in wha t and J. G. Ferguson and Associa tes, 1943. how Americans eat breakfast. For my paper, I would like to Splint, Sarah Field. The Art of Cooking and S erving. d etermine the truth of this, as well as what the actual changes Cincinnati: Procter and Gamble, 1926. have been. I am distributing these ques tionnaires in three Tribus, Sue. The W onderfu l W orld of Breakfast. ew areas in Pennsylvania, one urban, one suburban, and one York: London H ouse and M axwell , 19,64, rural, so that I can compare the changes that have taken OTH ER BOOK S place in these areas. It would be helpful if you could use as much d etail as pos­ Ca rso n, Gerald. Cornf/ake Crusade. ew York: Rinehart sible in answering the questions. Please include your name and Co" Inc., 195 7, and address so that I can contact you for further information Hill, J anet M cK enzie. The Uji-to-Date W aitress. Bos ton: if necessary. If you know of a nyone who might have relevant Little, Brown, and Co., 19 27. information of interes t, please include their names and ad­ Wadhams, Ca roline R eed . Sim ple Directions for the W ait- dresses also, and I wiIl contact them if possible. Please send ress or Parlor M aid. ew York : Longmans, Green, and Co., your replies to me at the address below. Tha nk yo u very much 19 17. for your help. Wilder, L aura Ingall s. Fa rmer Boy. ew York: H arper & Bros., 1933. Pamela J ames University of Pennsylvania ARTI CLES ( in chronological order ) Folklore 550 - Dr. Don Yoder L iving A ge. "The Breakfast State of Mind," J une 7, 1902. October 1973 The Independent. " Breakfast Foods," D ecember 27, 1906 . 60Z Manchester Avenue Lutes, D ell a T. "Breakfast, Old Style." Atlantic M onthly, Media, Pennsylva nia 19063 September, 193 5, pp. 347-353. K arpoff, Edward. "Breakfast - M ost eglected M eal." YOUR HOME TODAY (Condensed from the N ew Y ork T imes Magazine) . S cience I. Do you and your family consider breakfast an essential Digest, July, 1958, pp. 1-5. or an important meal? Why? Does everyone in your " Summer Breakfast: Time for a Change in the Program." family eat breakfast? What do you think constitutes V ogue, May, 1958, p . 190. a good breakfast? Why? Sharpe, H elen S. "Say Good M orning with a Good Break­ 2. Wha t foods do you usually eat for breakfast? D escribe fast." Parents' M agazine, September, 1961 , p . 101. two or more breakfast menus most common in your S cience N ews L etter. "Need of Good Breakfast for Children home. D o you eat differently during the week than you Stressed," August II , 1962, p . 92. do on weekends? Is breakfast a larger m eal on Sa turday H amm, M arie R oberson. " M emorable Breakfasts." Parents' and/ or Sunday mornings? Do you have a special meal M agazine, September, 1965, pp. 71 , 73. on holidays? Stover, Bl anche M . "Good M orning Breakfasts." Parents' 3. Who prepares breakfast in your family? Do individuals Magazine, September, 1965, pp. 74-77, 107. prepare their own food? D oes everyone eat the same "Better Breakfast Ideas." Better H om es and Gardens, 1969- thing for breakfast? 1971. 4. Where does your family ea t breakfast? Does the whole " A Quiet Revoluti on at Breakfast Time. " Sunse t, The family eat together? Is breakfast a " sociable" meal, are M agazine of W estern Living, J anua ry, 1971 , p. 58. people talkative, irritable, etc. ? Does any of this vary M ayer, J ean. "Eat a Breakfast Tha t's Right for You." on weekends? (Condensed from Family Health ) . R eader's Digest, D ecember, 1973, pp. 189-193. YOUR CHILDHOOD HOME 5. Did breakfast differ in your childhood home from those QUESTIO NNAIRES that you have in your own home? Was your meal then Distributed in Philadelphia, Swarthmore/Media, and Gettys­ larger than it is today? . If so, were large breakfasts burg, Pennsylvania, October and ovember, 1973. Between considered important? Why? If you ate less as a child 15 and 20 answers from each area . Copy included. See foot­ than you do now, explain the reasons for this. note #2. 48 Folk-Cultural Questionnaire No. 37: GRANDPARENTS IN TRADITIONAL CULTURE

In her recent autobiography, Blackberry Winter, Margaret 6. Age Differentiation. In what ways did old people, Mead has pointed up the importance of grandparents to the grandparents, differentiate themselves from younger people? growing child. This questionnaire elicits information from What elements of dress do you associate with your grand­ our readers on the subject of grandparents in general and parents that were different from the dress of your paren ts? their role in the family. In doing so we hope to enlighten Were there older speech patterns which the grandparents ourselves on the place which old age has had in our cultures continued which differed from the common speech of your in the past. own family? l. Your Own Grandparents. Describe your own grand­ 7. Work and Old Age. What types of work did you asso­ parents, giving personal characteristics of personality and ciate with your grandparents? Did older persons "retire" interests. In what ways were they different from your in any sense such as people do today? Did your grandparents parents? Why do you remember them? teach you any patterns of working, doing, making? 2. Residence of Grandparents. Where did your two sets 8. The Grandparents' World. What was the geographical of grandparents live? Did either of them live with your extent of your grandparents' world? How far had they been parents, in the same house or in an adjoining house on the away from home during their lives? Some of the men, for same property, or nearby? instance, in several 19th Century generations, participated 3. The Generation Gap in the Family. Some social in the Civil War. If this was the case with your grandfathers, scientists have pointed out the fact that children normally what do you consider to have been the effect of this experi­ reject some of their parents' values. Was this true in any ence on their later lives? Also , how far back in time did sense in your own family? Was there significant tension or your grandparents' consciousness of family history go? disagreement between your parents and grandparents? Did they ever , for example, tell you of things that happened to their grandparents, a five-generation span from you? 4. The Grandparent as Te{lcher. In most cases grand­ parents served the useful function of being guardians of 9. Reminiscences of Grandparents. Most grandparents tradition, which they taught in various ways to their young tell "stories" in reminiscence or memorat form. If you grandchildren. In peasant cultures this role was based on remember any of your grandparents' favorite (and oft-re­ good reasons - the parents were often too busy with the peated) reminiscences of their own past, please write them sun-up to sun-down tasks of everyday living to "teach" out carefully for us. Some were also specialists in ghost their own children. We will appreciate your own memories stories, witch stories, and other tales, many of which were of this teaching function of the grandparent in your own localized by the teller. What types of stories did your grand­ childhood. What sorts of things did you learn from your parents specialize in telling? grandparents which you did not learn from your parents? 10 . Songs, Jests, and Other Lore. Grandparents are also Also were they more permissive with young children, i.e., remembered for songs they sang, jokes they (constantly) did they allow children to do things, eat things, etc., which told,-and other bits and pieces of traditional lore. We will were forbidden at home? be glad to have these written out for the archives. 5. Attitudes to Old Age. Today in our youth-oriented Send your replies to: culture, old age is downgraded and where possible, camou­ Dr. Don Yoder flaged. In what ways was old age treated differently in the Logan Hall Box 13 past? What value do you consider the former reverence for University of Pennsylvania old age to hav~ had? Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19174 JUNE 28, 29, 30 · JULY 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 1975

For The Folk Festival Brochure Write To: PENNSYL" ANIA FOLKLIFE SOCIETY College Blvd. and Vine, Kutztown, Pennsylvania 19530

An invitation to become a subscriber to the Society's periodical PENNSYLVANIA FOLKLlFE, now in its twenty-third year, published five times annually, in Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer, plus a colorful Folk Festival supplement. Each issue appears in a colored cover, with 48 pages of text, and is profusely illustrated. Subjects covered include: architecture, cookery, costume, customs of the year, folk art and antiques, folk dancing, folk medicine, folk literature, folk religion, folk speech, home-making lore, recrea­ tion, superstitions, traditional farm and craft practices, transporta­ tion lore and numerous others. The purpose of the Pennsylvania Folklife Society, a non-profit corporation, is three-fold : collecting and displaying the lore of the Dutch Country and Pennsylvania; studying and archiving it; and making it available to the public.