Wagonload of rye to be threshed and thatched at the Goschenhoppen Folk Festival Courtesy Goschenhoppen Historians
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Goschenhoppen Historians
In upper Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, lives one
of the oldest Pennsylvania German communities in existence. In
1963, observing that the forces of change were threatening to
obliterate the local German culture, folklife scholars and friends
decided to found a society that would protect German culture and
traditions, finally incorporating in 1965 as the Goschenhoppen
Historians. They are chartered to collect, preserve, and present to
the public the folk culture and history of the Goschenhoppen folk
region and surrounding areas of southeastern Pennsylvania. The
Goschenhoppen region includes parts of Bucks, Berks, and Lehigh
Counties, and can be roughly identified as the valley of the
Perkiomen Creek north of Schwenksville. The precise meaning and
derivation of the term "Goschenhoppen" has been lost, but it is
thought to have come for "Goshenhof," a German placename. The name
"Goschenhoppen," however, has long been associated with the region,
and it appears in public records as early as 1728.
Rather than just preserving and protecting historic
structures, records, and artifacts, the Goschenhoppen Historians
have devoted themselves to the European model of folk culture
research, which studies the region's language and dialects, folk
beliefs and practices, material culture, and geographic, historic
and religious influences. By spring 1964, the Goschenhoppen
Folklife Museum and Library had been established in the village of
Vernfield, moving in 1971 to a building which is an outstanding
example of late Victorian village lodge-hall architecture in Green
Lane, Pennsylvania. The folklife museum presents the Goschenhoppen
area prior to 1870, with exhibits of agricultural tools and
implements; an 18th-century weaver's shop; a turner's shop; a flax
exhibit; and decorative arts exhibit. Local material culture, folk
beliefs and customs are illustrated by permanent exhibits in a
room-like settings.
Kammer (bedroom),
Küche (kitchen), and
Stube (parlor) rooms have been set up to
reflect representative activities of the period, for example, a
quilting frame with an in-process quilt and children's toys on the
floor underneath appear in the
Stube exhibit. Docents act
as interpreters. The Goschenhoppen Folklife Library holds local
English and German newspapers, account books, tradesmen's records,
mid-19th century insurance company records, as well as books,
magazines and pamphlets on Pennsylvania German folk culture.
Since 1963, monthly meetings of the Goschenhopper
Historians have featured programs on various aspects of
Pennsylvania folk culture, on the history of the area, and other
folklife topics. Between 1960 and 1980, members of the group
engaged in oral history interviews with folklife informants whose
native language and culture were essential Goschenhoppen; the
interviews continue to this day with elders in the community,
though the contemporary interviewees are less likely to recall the
dialect, old folk beliefs and folk songs than the previous
generation.
Yet another Goschenhoppen Historian initiative was
the sponsoring of a quilt-documentation project. Taped interviews
with traditional quilters, over 1800 color transparencies and 1500
black-and-white photographs resulted. The Historians published a
book,
Lest I Shall Be Forgotten, which summarized the
outcomes of the project. Another long-term preservation project of
the Historians is the restoration of the Henry Antes house in
Frederick, upper Montgomery County, thought to be the headquarters
of General George Washington during the Pottsgrove Encampment in
1777.
The first annual Goschenhoppen Folk Festival was held
in 1967 at the Old Goschenhoppen Union Church in the small town of
Woxall. The festival, described as "living history," has featured
demonstrations of traditional German crafts by volunteers in
authentic period clothing, stage programs, and preparation and
sales of traditional foods. It has since moved to the New
Goschenhoppen Park in East Greenville, where it attracts about
8,500 attendees annually. The Goschenhoppen Historian insist upon
total authenticity; no souvenirs, hotdogs, hamburgers nor soft
drinks are sold.
The project is documented by an extensive article in
the Spring 1996 edition of
Pennsylvania Folklife, and two
videotapes: "The Road Least Traveled..." on the Goschenhoppen
Museum and '97 Folk Festival; and "Experience Yesterday Today," on
the Goschenhoppen Historians Folk Festival.
Originally submitted by: Patrick J. Toomey, Representative (15th District).
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