Still May 28 Another item from Melinda Morgan’s basement was a set of family history pages from a large Bible, which are also reproduced in the 2006 reunion book. Just the five torn-out pages, no sign of the Bible itself. I found the pages quite remarkable, especially when compared with…
Sunday, May 26 Mostly a travel day. As previously mentioned, I revisited the Mohler Church of the Brethren near Harrisburg, PA for Sunday worship. The congregation was small, mostly elderly. Hymns were sung without accompaniment, and the preaching was simple and sincere, if rather underprepared. After church, I drove back…
No, folks, “1777” isn’t the address, it’s the date the cemetery was established. On the grounds of the cemetery stands the Methodist Meeting House. The oldest existing building in the Wyoming valley, it was built in 1808. It is tastefully restored, and registered as a National Historic Place. Predating even…
Saturday, May 25 Leaving the Pennsylvania Dutch country, I drove a few hours further north, to Luzerne County, and the Susquehanna river valley named Wyoming.I have already written extensively about this place, drawing on considerable literature from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Densely populated today, the valley was inhabited only…
Day of the Brethren, part 2 Still May 24. Eighty miles northeast from Sams Creek, in Lancaster County, PA, is the Mohler Church of the Brethren, outside the town of Ephrata. As explained in this Wikipedia article, Lancaster County was at the center of “Pensylvania Dutch” (German-American) communities, including many…
Friday, May 24 After a second brief, unproductive visit to the Frederick County Historical Society, and another drive through the area of Michael Myers’ farm, I drove about 20 miles east to Carroll County, Maryland, and the Sams Creek Church of the Brethren, located in a rural area near the…