ROOTS & BRANCHES

Since Kutztown University in Berks County, Pennsylvania, is about as a close to the true geographic center of the so-called “PA Dutch” culture, it’s no wonder that the university became home to the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center some years ago.

And in addition to that center’s many other activities, it began biennial get-togethers more than a decade ago, which this year will be styled as a “Genealogy and Culture Conference” on Sept. 13-14.

Created around the theme of “Unity in Variety: Exploring Pennsylvania’s Unique Hybrid Culture,” the conference will feature a Friday bus tour and Saturday conference with four presentations.

The Sept. 13 bus tour will go to the Bryn Athyn Historic District in Bryn Athyn, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

This unique community is headquarters of the Swedenborgian faith in Pennsylvania, with a rich history and spectacular architecture.

The tour will include visits to the Bryn Athyn Cathedral, the New Church Archive, and Glencairn Museum.

The museum, which at one time was an American castle of a private home, currently has a collaborative exhibition with Kutztown’s heritage center.

This exhibition is titled “Hex Signs: Sacred and Celestial Symbolism in Pennsylvania Dutch Barn Stars.” While it uses the term “hex signs” in the title, the superb content of the exhibit debunks that tourism-generated name for the decorations on barns.

Patrick J. Donmoyer—director of the Kutztown heritage center and in many ways the heir of Don Yoder, the godfather of Pennsylvania German studies—has written a 48-page monograph (titled the same as the exhibit) that both further explains the exhibit as well as giving a great primer on PA Dutch culture and history.

In addition to this exhibit, there are several floors to religious-related artifacts to explore from cultures going back to ancient times.

Then on Sept. 14, the Genealogy and Culture Conference will have a lively lecture series focusing on the unique cultural hybridity of the Keystone State, and the diversity of our immigrant ancestors.

Among the four speakers for the conference will be Dr. Mark Louden of the University of Wisconsin, author of Pennsylvania Dutch: The Story of An American Language and Dr. William Woys Weaver of The Roughwood Heirloom Seed Collection, author of the newly released Heirloom Vegetable Gardening.

In addition to the presentations, there will be a number of vendors, including your “Roots & Branches” columnist, who will have autographed copies of his new Family Tree Historical Atlas of Germany for sale.

For further information on the heritage center and the conference, contact Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 22 Luckenbill Road, Kutztown, PA 19530; website: www.kutztown.edu/pgchc