Pennsylvania German Arts and Antiques

Welcome to My Blog about Pennsylvania Dutch Stuff

Hello from Lititz, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

I hope you will visit my pages here often, to see what's happening in the world of Pennsylvania German folk art, antiques, and folklife.

Come back again, soon.  I will leave the porch light on.

P.S. That fraktur above was made in 1799 by Mennonite farmer Hans Jacob Brubacher of Lancaster County, PA .

P.S. P.S. ...you can send email to me Here.

Clarke Hess

Berks County's Pennsylvania German Chorus

"That impromptu 1980 singalong in Robesonia was the genesis of what would become the Tulpehocken Sanger Chor, Berks County's pre-eminent Pennsylvania German chorus."

Read this article.

Popularity of "Amish Fiction"

"Wanda E. Brunstetter has written more than 45 books and six series. Her first Amish novel, 'A Merry Heart,' featured an embittered Amish schoolteacher and is the first book in her Brides of Lancaster County trilogy."

Read this article.

PA German Folk Art Exhibit in Latrobe, PA

"The exhibit was assembled by Casey Wertz of Latrobe, a senior history major and public history minor at Saint Vincent, who has worked at the gallery for the past two years."

Read this article.

The Nicodemus Center for Ceramic Studies

"The guild and Nicodemus Center also sponsor the annual Cumberland Valley Pottery Festival, a clay only celebration of the ceramic arts featuring 25 regional studio potters, held at Renfrew Park on the third Saturday of September."

Read this article.

Pennsylvania German Yuengling: "America's Oldest Brewery"

"Pottsville, Pennsylvania, is actually one of the most German places in the United States. Campaign posters show the names Staudinger and Hess, and if you need a doctor in this small town you can go and see Dr Altmuller. Yuengling beer, the area's biggest employer, could hardly be more German."

Read this article.

Himmels Brief: Letter from Heaven Insurance Policy

"Hanging framed copies of this 'Himmels Brief' (or Heaven’s Letter) on the wall protected a house and barn 'from fire and water. ... Anyone who carries this letter with him or has it in his house will not be struck by thunder and lightning.'"

Read this article.