SCHWENKFELDER LIBRARY & HERITAGE CENTER
105 Seminary Street, Pennsburg, PA 18073
Phone 215-679-3103; Fax 215-679-8175
info@schwenkfelder.com
www.schwenkfelder.com
January 12, 2009
Contact: David W. Luz
215-679-3103, phone
215-679-8175, fax
Pennsylvania German Readings at the Heritage Center
PENNSBURG, Pa. - The Friends of the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center
invite the public to a PA German dialect program on Sunday, January 25, 2009, at
2:00 pm at the Heritage Center. This was re-scheduled from Sunday, January 11,
due to snow conditions. The program, entirely spoken in the PA German dialect,
is offered at no charge. Refreshments will be served.
Ron Treichler has prepared readings, including poems and amusing stories told in
the PA German dialect. Readers in addition to Ron Treichler include Evan Snyder,
Betty Krauss, Barbara Heist, and Sam Kriebel. A number of printed resources are
being used including material published by Clarence Rahn, John Birmelin, Joseph
H. Light, Naomi S. Miller, Charles More, Albert F. Buffington, Howard W.
Kriebel, Ezra Grumbine, Solly Hulsbuck, and others.
The PA German or PA Dutch dialect was once spoken fluently throughout much of
rural Southeast Pennsylvania including the Upper Perkiomen Valley community. By
the mid-twentieth century, the "dialect" was becoming a rapidly disappearing
language, a trend accelerating into the twenty-first century. This program helps
to preserve this once common language for future generations.
The Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center was founded in 1884 as an informal
collection in a private home to assure the preservation of the Schwenkfelders'
cultural identity. Today the Heritage Center, a not-for-profit organization, is
still preserving, interpreting, and documenting the history of this German
Protestant group, along with the history of the Upper Perkiomen Valley. The
Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and
Fridays from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm; Thursdays 9:00 am to 8:00 pm; Saturdays 10:00
am to 3:00 pm; and Sundays 1:00 to 4:00 pm. The Heritage Center is closed to the
public on Mondays. For additional information call 215-679-3103 or visit our
website www.schwenkfelder.com. ######
David W. Luz
Executive Director
Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center
105 Seminary Street
Pennsburg, PA 18073
Tel. 215-679-3103
Fax 215-679-8175
email: info@schwenkfelder.com
www.schwenkfelder.com