Brown Bag Lunch Lectures
Bring your lunch and join Dr. Allen Viehmeyer and guest lecturers the second Wednesday of each month for a closer look into the SLHC collections, local, and Schwenkfelder history. Lectures are repeated the following Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Unless indicated otherwise, lectures are held in the Heritage Center's Meeting Room on the First Floor.
- Christoph Hoffmann: Schwenkfelder Bookbinder
- With Archivist Hunt Schenkel
- November 9, 2011, noon
- Sunday's afternoon lecture program will feature Clyde Hoch speaking about his memoir, Tracks.
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This lecture will look at the life and work of SChwenkfelder bookbinder Christoph Hoffmann (1727-1804). Hoffmann has been described as probably "the most artful German binder of the eighteenth century." Archivist Hunt Schenkel will show how Hoffmann may have attained such significant skill through bindings and documents in the Heritage Center collection.
- Sunday Afternoon Lecture Series & Book Signing Clyde Hoch
- With local author and Vietnam Veteran, Sgt. Clyde Hoch
- November 13, 2011 2:00 p.m.; Free & Open to the Public
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Clyde Hoch, a native and current resident of Pennsburg, Pennsylvania was a Tank Commander and a Section Leader in Vietnam. Within days of graduateing from high school he joined the United States Marine Corps and spent his last tour of duty in Vietnam. Sgt. Hoch has written about his experiences in Vietnam in his memoir, Tracks. Sgt. Hoch will talk about his memoir and sign copies of his memoir.
- Schwenkfelder Places of Worship
- With Allen Viehmeyer
- December 14, 2011, noon
- Repeated Sunday, December 18, 2011 2:00 p.m.
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In Silesia the Schwenkfelders held religious services in their homes and continued that tradition in Pennsylvania. In 1790 a meetinghouse was constructed in Hosensack. Eventually five more were built, serving Schwenkfelders for several generations. This lecture presents the story of Schwenkfelder places for worship before 1900.
- Learning German in America before 1860
- With Allen Viehmeyer
- January 11, 2012, noon
- Repeated Sunday, January 15, 2012 2:00 p.m.
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How did immigrant German children learn to read and writing in their native language in North America? What textbooks were available for non Germans to learn this language? This illustrated lecture focuses on textbooks used to learn German in North America between 1683 and 1860.
- Eighteenth Century Schwenkfelder Libraries
- With Allen Viehmeyer
- February 8, 2012, noon
- Repeated Sunday, February 12, 2012 2:00 p.m.
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Several Schwenkfelder immigrants had rather extensive libraries. Find out who these Schwenkfelders were; what books they had, their selection of reading materials, and other odds and ends about Schwenkfelder reading habits in this illustrated lecture.
- Christopher Heydrick: Schwenkfelder Physician
- With Candace Perry
- March 14, 2012, noon
- Repeated Sunday, March 18, 2012 2:00 p.m.
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Christopher Heydrick (1770-1856), descendant of Balthasar Heydrick and Maria Hoffrichter, was perhaps the first Schwenkfelder to study at a university, graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1792 with a degree in medicine. In 1819 he moved to Mercer County where he spent the rest of his life. Come and learn more about this man’s interesting life and career.
- The Diaries of David Scholtz and his cousin Christopher Schultz
- With Allen Viehmeyer
- April 11, 2012, noon
- Repeated Sunday, April 15, 2012 2:00 p.m.
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The eye witness accounts by David Sholtze and his cousin Christopher Schultz are intriguing tales of the Atlantic crossings of the 1733 and 1734 Schwenkfelder immigrant groups. This illustrated lecture looks closely at the story behind their diary accounts and highlights other documents related to the voyage.