Pennsylvania German Arts and Antiques

Lester Breininger's Pottery Tradition Continues Onward

 
Image: Prices4Antiques.com

"Lester Breininger, the potter who revitalized Pennsylvania German redware, wasn't signing his work at the 42nd annual sale due to the onset of Alzheimer's disease. The porch sale marked the end of an era for Pennsylvania Dutch crafts because it was the final one, as several employees are leaving to set up their own business and carry on the redware tradition."

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100-Year-Old Berks County Farmer: James Reinhart

"Reinhart is of an easily recognizable type: Pennsylvania-German thrifty, hardworking, self-sufficient. never wanting to owe anyone anything."

"'They worked to live,' Bitler said of the Reinharts. 'What they grew, they lived off of. They sold eggs, beef, grain; used mules early on; cut and raked hay by hand. Never got stuff from the government; no subsidies.'"

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Amish Opening Bed and Breakfasts in Lancaster County

"Riehl, whose guesthouse has two bedrooms and a kitchen, advertises Beacon Hollow Farm through the Pennsylvania Dutch Convention and Visitors Bureau. The business is also listed on a website, afarmstay.com."

"'They come from all over the world,' he said. 'The other night, we had a couple from Italy. We have had some from the Middle East; almost from every country in southeastern Asia.'"

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Lebanon County House Granted Landmark Status

"The Alexander Schaeffer House in Schaefferstown, Heidelberg Township, is a rare intact example of a colonial-era building in the Pennsylvania German architectural tradition, according to the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service."

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Goschenhoppen Explained in the BerksMont News

"Goschenhoppen is not a religion. It is the name of a folk-region. Eighteenth century maps use the name, with various spellings, for the area of northern Philadelphia County (Montgomery County today) in the Upper Perkiomen Valley. The Diary of David Schultze (a Schwenkfelder farmer and surveyor who lived in the Upper Perkiomen Valley in the mid-eighteenth century) frequently refers to his home area as “Goschenhoppen.”  Numerous spellings exist, but the Historians use the more Germanic spelling of the name."

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Paint-Decorated Boxes from Lebanon County

"Although they are both transplants to Lebanon County, Jan Taylor and Eleanor Sweeney have developed a deep appreciation for Pennsylvania German culture."

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