Written by Forrest Moyer on February 1, 2017
This month we’re featuring a photograph collection recently donated to the MHC: photos of the former Herald/Provident Bookstore in Souderton, mid 1950s-1990s. The oldest photos date back to the original Herald Bookstore on Main Street and its move in 1957 to the new Souderton Shopping Center at Bethlehem Pike and Route 113.
The store was later renamed Provident Bookstore and eventually sold out of Mennonite hands, becoming Berean Christian Stores and finally Lifeway Stores, before closing permanently in February 2016. Long-term
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Written by Joel Alderfer on January 25, 2017
Several quilts in our current “Riot of Color” exhibit have interesting family stories or anecdotes that add a human dimension to the artifacts. We’ll feature a number of these stories in this post. The exhibit includes thirty quilts, mainly from the Mennonite Heritage Center collection, selected for their color, condition and design content.
Wedding or Dowry Quilts
These are quilts that were made, according to the family stories, either as wedding gifts for a young couple or were
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Written by Steve Diehl on January 18, 2017
As a history teacher, I often felt somewhat uncomfortable with the person who told me, “Well, history is important…if we don’t know it, we are likely to repeat it.” It came across as a dismissal of the many more concrete reasons why historical study is beneficial. I was suspicious that this is what was said by those who really didn’t see any value in studying history–they just wanted to let me know they didn’t think I was wasting my life
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Written by Forrest Moyer on January 11, 2017
Christopher Sower’s printing house, Germantown, Pa.
As announced, one feature of this blog will be the republishing of articles from past issues of the MHEP Newsletter and Quarterly. One of the first significant articles published in the Newsletter, when it began in 1975, was a translation by John Ruth of Mennonite-related material published in Christopher Sower’s German newspaper, 1745-1760. We present it here again for your enjoyment and education. Editor’s notes are original to the Ruth article.
Christopher Sower‘s newspaper, Pensylvanische Berichte
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Written by Forrest Moyer on January 4, 2017
For several years, the MHC has featured an “Artifact of the Week” on our Facebook page, and a selection of recent acquisitions on our Library & Collections webpage. In 2017, we’ll combine those features into a monthly highlight here on the blog, where we will share the story of an interesting artifact or collection recently donated to the MHC.
This month we’re featuring a 1786 manuscript tunebook with not one, but TWO beautiful fraktur bookplates and a poetic inscription by the
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Written by Forrest Moyer on December 30, 2016
Sixteen years into the 21st century, the Mennonite Heritage Center is entering the blogosphere!
Here we will feature news and information about the collections and activities of the MHC, and historical articles–some drawn from past MHEP Newsletters and Quarterlies, others newly written.
The story is deep and rich, of Mennonites and their neighbors in the Perkiomen Valley and eastern Pennsylvania over 300 years. We hope you enjoy and learn from this blog. If something is of interest, add a comment or question
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