Amish, Chocolate and a State Capital

We are staying for several days in a central location in what is known as Amish country so that we can do several day trips. We visited Harrisburg the State Capital, Hershey the chocolate capital, Lancaster and Bird-in-Hand an Amish community.

Harrisburg is the site of the state archives and we spent two days researching their records.  I found some information on the Pennsylvania Civil War regiments, but overall, I was disappointed in the lack of modern features of the research department. The microfiche machines were very old – we had to use a hand crank to advance the microfiche and the digital machines were so slow to print, we resorted to taking pictures of the screen instead. I had a difficult time understanding how the indices were organized, they were in 3-inch binders and I wasted a lot of time looking at lists that weren’t useful. This has happened before with state archives – they don’t seem to be set up for genealogical use. I get better and more relevant information by visiting county archives.

The archives are part of the same square containing the state capital and so we walked over there after the archives closed at 4 pm. We had to dodge rain showers on our way. The capital is a National Historical Landmark and is absolutely beautiful. The front fountain and stairs/walkways were added much later. We were able to walk everywhere in the building, there is a strong ethic that the capital is open to the citizens of the state.

We drove through the historical part of Harrisburg which was interesting, but a bit run down and somewhat overcome by the modernizing of the city. On the outskirts of the city is the National Civil War Museum. We visited it on a very rainy Sunday. It has some very interesting exhibits and is not just a chronological discussion of the war. It was more a description of what it was like to be in the war from the perspective of the soldiers, government, people and other groups. I learned a lot from the exhibits, but I have to admit I skipped the exhibit about the medical practices of the day – way too graphic with their life size dioramas.

One major disappointment I had was Lancaster and I have to say it was all my fault.  I have always thought of Lancaster as a market town for the Amish, similar but larger than Shipshewanna, Indiana.  I was totally wrong.  Lancaster was a railroad center for the area at the time of the Civil War and it has grown during the Industrial era. It is not a particularly clean city; the historical section seems to be overcome by conversion to hip boutiques and restaurants and there is a large poor section. I did enjoy going through their Central Market though – we had a nice morning break there.

A total surprise was a visit to Lititz, a Moravian community. A very charming small village, the original occupants were refugees from Germany invited by William Penn to settle in the religious tolerant Pennsylvania. The village was closed for many decades meaning that only Moravians could live in the village and own businesses.  Eventually the village was opened, and there is an emphasis on coexisting peacefully with all people.  Lititz has more original buildings (from the 1700s) than Williamsburg.  There are lots of boutiques, quaint shops and cafes/restaurants. We got a personal tour of the Moravian museum and I was impressed with the sect’s focus on ministering to the poor. The Moravian religion predates the Protestant movement by many years.

A totally tourista stop for us was Hershey, Pennsylvania. Again, it was pouring down rain. We visited their entertainment center where there were activities, shows and a tour of the chocolate factory. The most fun thing we did was making our own chocolate bar. They had a great automated process which we initiated, personalized and walked along the assembly line watching our personalized chocolate bar come into being. I think I might have enjoyed being an Industrial Engineer had I known what that entailed.

Finally, a nice day! We used it to tour the real Amish country. We headed for Bird-in-Hand, a small community that caters to tourists with stores containing Amish/Mennonite crafts and Amish restaurants. We ate dinner at a very nice large restaurant that was like the Blue Gate restaurant we enjoy in Shipshewana. At one of the shops, the clerk told us about a road that is lined with Amish farms, so we drove through that area and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon and prosperous farms. The Amish in this area dress a little differently than the groups in Indiana.  The women’s caps are heart shaped in the back instead of being circular. And their dresses seem to have more pleats around the waist. Whereas bikes were used for transportation in addition to buggies, this area allows the use of adult sized scooters. I enjoyed the day immensely and hope we can go through this area again.

Our next stop is in west central Pennsylvania where Russ’ Hessian soldier 4 times great grandfather settled. I am hoping to find out more about this branch as well as the Kauffmans who came from the same county. Sure hoping the rain stops soon, the state is like 100% over average rainfall for the summer.

Pennsylvania's State Capital. One of the most beautiful buildings in the country.

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The dome was modeled after the one over St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Russ thought the flyer on this representative's door was hilarious.

These side halls are where the legislator offices are located.

An inside view of the dome.

Some of the beautiful bridges in Harrisburg.

The state archives are located in this multi-story building with no windows. Researchers are allowed only in the first floor.  All the rest of the floors are hermetically controlled and accessible only by archive employees. The round building on the left is the state museum.  We didn't get a chance to tour it.

The National Civil War Museum had fascinating pictures of the Civil War showcasing the involved and affected people.

One of the exhibits was about the prisons on both side. The prison shown here, Andersonville, was one of the worst Confederated prisons. Overcrowded and filthy, many soldiers died there from disease.  One of Russ' 3rd great grandfathers, Amos Hill, was here for six months.  He survived but suffered with the effects of several diseases the rest of his life.

Even though I didn't particularly like Lancaster, this was a beautiful mural in one of the poorer sections.

Started in 1730, this is the country's oldest continuously operated public market. We enjoyed a morning break here.

We had to laugh when we read the information about this covered bridge.  It was built by two Kauffman brothers (a surname from Russ' mother's side of the family) so that it would be easy to get to their distillery.  The Kauffmans in Russ' family were Brethren and tee-totalers.

The main street of Lititz, a Moravian village. The inn is named after the Sutter of California gold fame.  He lived the last nine years of his life in Lititz.

Very detailed papercuttings displayed in a private home on the main street.

A very tempting display in a bakery. We were enticed enough to go inside and have a pastry and beverage.  Plus they had good wifi.

One of the original homes.  Almost all are privately owned.

An amazing piece of word working.  Over 5,000 pieces of wood were used to decorate this clock. This was in the Moravian museum and was donated by a local member.  He actually donated two clocks, the other was just as ornate.

This building is on the campus of the oldest girl's boarding school in the country.  Founded in 1746 by the Moravian church.

Russ loves his pretzels. We enjoyed the bag we bought for a couple weeks as we traveled to points west.

First geese flock we have seen on our travels. This was on a farm outside Lititz on our way to a Mennonite quilt shop.

Russ with his chocolate buddies. We were very proud of ourselves - outside of the customized candy bars that we each designed, we did not buy any of the candy offered in the store.

A simple process description for the making of our candy bars. We participated in each of the steps.  Lots of fun and very educational.

Lots of choices of what we wanted in the middle of our candy bar. Both Russ and I chose mini chocolate chips (can't have too much chocolate, right?)

The top is added.

Sprinkles are added, if desired and then the candy bar is cooled down.  That was about a 10 minute process.  There were windows at places so you could see your bar moving down the line.

In the mean-time, the cover we designed had been printing out and, after the bar was finished, workers put the cover on and presented us with our unique candy bars.

An entertaining ride, geared to children, took you through the process of making a Hershey bar.

A vat of chocolate being prepared.

Even though it is the end of summer, beautiful flowers were everywhere in Bird-in-Hand.

A small petting zoo featured a miniature pony, goats, and funky looking chickens.

Some Amish moms returning home with their purchases and some sleepy children in the back.

The Amish and Mennonite farms in this area of Pennsylvania were very prosperous.  The crops looked very healthy, better than some areas we had seen where the crops had been flooded out.

An ingenous clothing line. The left end was a very tall pole with a wheel mounted on the top.  The washer could stand on the porch, often under the porch roof, protected from the weather. They could pin the clothes on the line and by pulling the bottom of the line, move the clothes out to dry.  The clothes were high enough that they wouldn't get knocked down by playing children or animals.

A beautiful flower garden with grape vines.

A Mennonite graveyard. The sites are very close together.

Not the best picture, but shows the rain we were getting at the campground. We had just arrived home.  Russ jumped out of the car to put out the awning so the steps wouldn't be getting rained on when we entered.  I opted to stay in the truck for about 15 minutes to let the worst of the rain ease up. 

Gettysburg

We arrived in Gettysburg just before the Labor Day weekend. Our original plan was to travel clockwise around Pennsylvania and our next stop leaving Philly would have been Amish country, but every campground I checked was fully booked.  So, we moved further west from the populated areas of New Jersey and Maryland and found a nice space in an RV resort near Gettysburg. We will jog back to Amish country next.

At least it didn’t rain here, but it was four days of hot and humid weather.  I guess that was better for touring the battlefield.  We spent several hours at the visitor center viewing the exhibits.  While there was, of course, a focus on the events of the three-day battle, many exhibits provided insight into other war related topics like the role that bugle corps played and how Gettysburg, the town, was impacted.  An excellent video providing an overview of the battle, what led to it and the aftermath, gave us a good background prior to going out to the battlefield. And there was a panoramic painting depicting Pickett’s Charge.

We decided to take a car audio tour, rather than a bus or personal guide tour. That way we could go at our own pace.  The CD led us chronologically through the 3-day battle to the key battle spots. It provided background information in a companion book.  By the time we finished the tour, I thought we had covered the major areas of the battle.  It also made me realize to fully understand the battle would take years and years of study. 

One afternoon we walked through Gettysburg proper.  The town played an important role during the battle as well as after when it hosted Abraham Lincoln at the dedication of the Soldiers National Cemetery when he gave his famous speech. Many of the buildings existed during the timeframe of the battle. Residents of those homes experienced three days of sheer terror as Confederate sharpshooters took over the town and used the rooftops to pick off soldiers. Amazingly, only one resident, Jennie Wade, was killed by a bullet. Most residents hid themselves in the basements and tried to not venture out. After the battle, they were left with the carnage to clean up, and the stench that lingered for months. One woman is credited with digging over 80 graves for the soldiers. On weekends, docents dress in clothing of the day and stand outside the homes, playing the role of the Civil War resident and talking about their experiences and answering questions.

It was very warm that afternoon, so we cooled off for a while in a train museum. Pretty much a garage museum containing the collection of two members of the town, it at least got us out of the sun for a half hour or so. We also took advantage of an ice cream shop that was having a brisk business in the late afternoon.

One item I had never considered before was the impact on the environment.  Of course, the fields of corn and wheat were cut down and trampled by the soldiers. The streams in the area were polluted by the blood that was shed. But I had never thought about the trees.  The sheer volume of bullets that were flying peppered the trees with lead bullets. Many were shattered by the cannon fire.  Currently about 100-200 trees currently in the battlefield are considered “witnesses” to the battle because they are over 150 years old. The National Park System tries to keep these trees safe, but they are very old.

I was able to do a couple of hours genealogy work at the Visitor Center.  There were terminals available for people to look up ancestors in military databases.  Russ and I have 7 ancestors (so far) that fought in the Civil War.  I was able to confirm that none of them were in the Gettysburg battle.

It is very difficult for me to wrap my head around the numbers: 51,000 soldiers killed, wounded or captured, including 5,000 killed in one hour (Pickett’s Charge). A sobering visit for us.

Our next stop will, hopefully, be happier – going to Amish country.

This is one of the scenes depicted on the cyclorama painting in the Visitor Center.  The painting was restored in 2005 and was originally completed in the 1880s.  It is 22 feet tall and about 380 feet long.  Along the bottom of the painting are life  sized fences, boulders, and other items continued from the painting to give an impression that the painting has moved out into real space.

One of the scenes of the charge.

A display of coronets, cymbals and drums described the role of the bugle corps and how they aided in setting the pulse of the groups they were leading. Drummer boys were as young at 9 years old.

There was a display of original flags carried by some of the fighting groups.  This one is from South Carolina and showcases the palmetto tree. 

Uniforms were displayed for both sides.  This shows the standard uniform and equipment for a Union Calvary soldier.

Russ stopped to have a chat with his buddy. Lincoln felt that his speech had been a terrible failure at the time he gave it.  It took a while for it to become the icon it currently is.

Markers placed along the roads depict where the Union/Confederate armies were.  Different shapes showed where artillery batteries, regiments, headquarters and divisions were positioned.

The Wheat Field exchanged hands several times and was the scene of some of the heaviest fighting.

A costumed Union interpreter helped explain the battle events of the area to Russ.

The Mississippi Memorial.  There are hundred of statues and memorials all over the battle field, honoring states, regiments and leaders of both sides.

The Devil's Den.  This proved to be a bad place for artillery batteries for the Union. Confederate soldiers overtook the area. Sharpshooters used the area to fire at Union soldiers below them. When photographers were allowed to the area several weeks later, they discovered that many of the fallen soldiers in this area had not yet been buried.  The photos depicted the horrors of war in the newspapers of the time.

The Eternal Light Peace Memorial. Designed to be a reminder of the reconciliation between the Southern and Northern soldiers, it was dedicated in 1938 by FDR on the 75th anniversary of the battle. The flame burns 24 hours a day. The stone on the base is from Maine and the column is from Alabama.

This hill was important to the two armies because of the view it commanded.

The Pennsylvania Memorial was dedicated in 1910. The plaques that surround the base list the 34,500 Pennsylvania soldiers that were present at Gettysburg.

Father William Corby.  An exact copy of this statue is on the University of Notre Dame campus. He was the chaplain of the 88th NY regiments, part of the Irish Brigade. 

A Gettysburg church that survived the battle.

The Lutheran Theological Seminary. On the first day of battle, General Buford used the cupola to direct the Union troops. By the end of the day, the town and seminary were being overtaken by the Confederates and he had to abandon the building. The Confederates used the building for a hospital.

Sachs covered bridge was built in 1852. It was restored in 1996. Part of the Confederate Army crossed this bridge on its retreat from Gettysburg. Our campground was less than a mile from here.

That's Russ channeling Wilson from Home Improvement at the Train Museum.

Photos of the Civil War time period and a revolver recovered from the battlefield were part of the Train Museum's exhibits.

A nicely done display of train whistles.

Some of the buildings in Gettysburg that survived the battle.

The campground was completely sold out on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the Labor Day weekend.  When we came back from our adventures on Monday, the place was practically empty.  That's us in the background.