In 2004, a dedicated group of volunteers created the Andulhea Heritage Center to preserve and celebrate the local history of Rehrersburg and the surrounding area.
The Center now boasts more than 100 members, and they invite you to visit during their Christmas Open House celebrations, which are free and open to the public.
Every Saturday in December from 9am-1pm, and every Sunday in December from 1-4pm, volunteers share coffee, punch and homemade cookies with visitors of all ages.
“Our Christmas Open House events include a display of 35 to 40 decorated trees of varying sizes,” says Dolores Hill, vice president of the Andulhea Heritage Center. “The decorations are different every year. We have a scavenger hunt game with prizes. People look for items on or about the trees. The game keeps folks interested and looking closer at the trees.”
Each year, the volunteers choose a different theme for the ornaments on the trees. Past themes have included fabric, items from nature and holiday crafts from around the world. This year, the theme is paper.
Since January, volunteers have spent hundreds of hours crafting handmade Christmas tree ornaments out of paper, including many items made using traditional techniques, such as origami. Hundreds of handmade paper stars, icicles, animals, flowers, fans and kites cover the trees.
Hill said local artist Judie Ziegler leads the creative effort. “Judie is the driving force and inspiration for the whole Christmas event,” asserts Hill.
Event Has Underlying History
The volunteers host the Christmas Open Houses to encourage the public to visit the Center, check out the extensive library of historical books and documents, and learn more about the history of the area.
“The name Andulhea comes from the land owned by William Penn's son, Richard Penn,” says Hill. “Rehrersburg is in the center of his Andulhea Manor. The word Andulhea is pronounced 'an-dul-hay' and means ‘between two streams.’”
The two streams that define this region are the Tulpehocken/Schuylkill and the Swatara/Susquehanna watersheds. The land between the two streams includes the historic towns of Rehrersburg, Mount Aetna, Bethel, Frystown, Strausstown, New Schaefferstown, Shartlesville and Bernville, as well as Tulpehocken, Upper Tulpehocken, Jefferson and Penn townships.
“We hold meetings and workshops on local history with guest speakers,” says Sandra Kauffman, president of the Andulhea Heritage Center. “We hold an annual Quilt Show in the spring. Our library is open the last Saturday of each month from 10am to 1pm and by appointment. We have also created and published many books and calendars, which document and celebrate our history.”
The volunteers are currently working hard on a book about the history of Bethel, which will be published in 2014 as part of the Bethel bicentennial celebration.
“I have lived in Rehrersburg all my life,” says Hill, who taught fourth grade for 24 years in the Tulephocken School District. “I love the history of this area. There were Indian settlements here. The Tulpehocken Path was used by Conrad Weiser when he went from Womelsdorf to Sunbury to mediate with the Indians.
I enjoy sharing history with others, especially the youth, so that they know about their heritage.”
By FRANCINE M. SCOBORIA | photo by JOANNA BLESSING
