A Schoolhouse Wedding - Lower Saucon Township Historical Society

Summer 2016
Volume 13 • Issue 2
Published Quarterly
by LSTHS
A Schoolhouse Wedding
A Lutz-Franklin First
Guests of the Kingston-Gebhard wedding party on the front porch of the
Lutz-Franklin Schoolhouse.
O
by Kennedy Morgan
n May 14, 2016, at 4
p.m., a place that many
students from Saucon Valley
School District associate with a
third-grade field trip, earned a
much greater importance.
The Lutz-­Franklin Schoolhouse was chosen as the venue
for the marriage of Doug Kingston to Jessie Gebhard. This first
wedding was a monumental day
for the one-­room schoolhouse, the
community and the newlyweds.
Aside from its charm, beauty
and local significance, the
schoolhouse was chosen by the
happy couple as their venue for
sentimental reasons. Not only
did the groom’s paternal grandmother, Ella Kingston attend
school there from 1933 to 1940,
but also adjacent to the schoolhouse is Ella’s Garden, named
in her honor. This preserve is
a wonderful addition to the
schoolhouse grounds and will
forever commemorate Ella’s
relationship to the school.
Once the couple set the date,
the wedding took about ten
months to plan. This included
locating the perfect dress for Jessie to wear at her marriage to the
man of her dreams. When asked
about her dress, she gushed, “I
fell in love with it when I first
tried it on—it felt like the right
dress for the right day to marry
the right man!”
Ella’s Garden was beautifully complimented by the
black and white decorations of
the wedding, including white
roses and peonies that brought
spring colors into the ceremony.
These elements created a gorgeous atmosphere for a perfectly
romantic wedding in the natural
elegance of the schoolhouse.
Please see WEDDING page 3
Page 2
Summer 2016
Lower Saucon Township
Historical Society
The Amazing Sue Horiszny
Sue Horiszny with granddaughter,
Madison Hurysz at the schoolhouse
Mission Statement:
The Lower Saucon Township Historical
Society seeks to preserve and maintain
the Lutz-Franklin Schoolhouse as an
example of 19th-Century Pennsylvania
architecture; to utilize it as a place of
public education; to acquire, conserve
and archive artifacts, manuscripts,
photographs, recordings and ephemera
relevant to the history of Lower Saucon
Township, and to make them available
for research, study and education.
LSTHS Executive Board 2015-2016
President: Sandra Yerger
Vice President: Jody Hijazi
Treasurer: Frank Fabian
Board Secretary: Rita Ernst
Corresponding Secretary: Sally Murphy
Shelley Goldberg
Judy Heydt
Carol Ortwein
Josh Popichak
Fran Robb
Gwen Singer
Martha Sterling
Honorary Member: John Ortwein
LSTHS Offices
Lower Saucon Town Hall
3700 Old Philadelphia Pike
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
For questions or research, please contact
Joan Ruth, office manager at 610-6258771 on Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Look Back Again
Published by the Lower Saucon
Township Historical Society, the
quarterly newsletter is distributed
to the current membership.
Design Editor: Kenneth F. Raniere
Editorial Support: Karen M. Samuels
Visit the LSTHS website
www.lutzfranklin.com
Webmaster: Danny Ruth
LSTHS
PO Box 176, Hellertown, PA 18055
Phone: 610-625-8771
Email: lshistorical@yahoo.com
LSTHS is a 501(c)3
Non-profit Organization
B
efore Sue Horiszny moved
to Lower Saucon Township,
she was an elementary special
education teacher in Rochester,
N.Y. She also was a Learning Support teacher at Lower Nazareth
Elementary School for six years
before retiring in 2003. Sue became involved with the historical
society as an educator and soon became president, serving from 2008 to
2016. Under her guidance, the society
offered schoolhouse alumni gatherings, a follow-up Arcadia Publishing
Co. book, membership drives, several
fundraisers, yearly History Day and
Apple Festival events and contacting a
variety of instructive speakers.
In 2008, Sue developed educational programs for third and fourth
grade classes to “step back in time
to the year 1933.” For the past eight
years, elementary classes from all
over the Lehigh Valley have visited
the Lutz-Franklin Schoolhouse to experience a day in a one-room schoolhouse. We are fortunate that Sue will
continue in the role of directing our
student programs.
We sincerely thank Sue for her
years as president. It is a job that
requires more hours than most people
realize. Now Sue will concentrate on
her first love, educating children.
Pardon our error—
This photo in the Spring
newsletter has been
corrected to read:
Sue Horiszny, right,
stands with Susan Kirk
and Charlie Derr, who
donated the Fred Bees
watercolor in honor of
their grandmother—Ruth
Shimer Heater—a teacher
at Lutz-Franklin. Susan
Lutz was her greatgrandmother!
bb
Page 3
Summer 2016
SCHOOLHOUSE WEDDING
Continued from page 1
The iconic school bell, which
originally signaled the beginning of
each school day during the 1930’s,
played a crucial role in the ceremony. The first ringing of the bell
alerted guests to the schoolhouse
at the beginning of the wedding. A
close friend, Oscar, rang the bell the
moment the couple were officially
pronounced husband and wife and
marked the beginning of their new
lives together.
Hosting an event at the Lutz­
Franklin Schoolhouse required some
amazing preparations not initially
considered, therefore guidelines
had to be followed to preserve the
authenticity of the site. For example,
guests were asked not to wear highheeled shoes, which might damage
the old wooden floor. Also, the
traditional school desks were carefully removed to make room for the
wedding ceremony and guests. After
the wedding, the furniture was put
back in place and the schoolhouse
was returned to its original condition
as if school was in session.
According to the bride, “The
ceremony couldn’t have been more
perfect.”
Not only is the Lutz-­Franklin
Schoolhouse an historic monument, but also a place that holds
immense sentiment that influenced
the lives of this newly­married
couple. Their unique affection for
the schoolhouse illustrates how
places such as this hold a personal
connection and its historical value
must be preserved now—for the
appreciation of future generations.
Page 4
Summer 2016
Remembering Those Wonderful Prossers
Family portrait of the Prosser family with Harrison Prosser sitting low in the
front row. Top row: Elmer, Florence, Thomas, Sally, David Prosser. Bottom
row: William, Annie, Harrison, David, Joseph Prosser. c.1895.
I
by Karen M. Samuels
n 1888, Harrison Prosser
was born one of eight
children to David D.
and Annie Moll Prosser.
Harrison graduated from
Hellertown High School in
1906. In the early 1900s,
he maintained three full-
Myrtle and Harrison Prosser. 1972.
time jobs at the same
time. He established
Prosser’s Drug Store
in 1919 in Hellertown,
worked at Bethlehem Steel
Corporation and delivered
newspapers throughout the
Lehigh Valley. When he
first began his newspaper
delivery service, he
transported them by
wheelbarrow.
Harrison married
Myrtle M. Waltz on July
15, 1915. The couple lived
in an apartment above the
pharmacy at 834 Main St.
for most of their sixtythree years of marriage.
Harrison and Myrtle
did not have children,
however they considered
local colleges, churches
and medical institutions to
be their heirs.
Harrison’s knowledge
of pharmaceuticals led to
his wise stock investment
in Smith, Klein and French
Laboratories. His original
$3,000 investment in this
company had reportedly
grown to millions of dollars.
Harrison ran the
pharmacy until 1947, when
his nephew, Earl Prosser
had taken charge. In 1970,
Earl’s brother, William, and
son, Stanley took over the
pharmacy.
After he died in 1978,
followed by his wife, Myrtle
in 1982, Harrison had
created the Prosser Trust
from which millions of
dollars have been donated to
the local community.
Myrtle and Harrison Prosser
created the Prosser Trust.
Summer 2016
Page 5
A presentation by Doug Peters includes the magnificent electric trolley car (above) from
the Liberty Bell Route of the Interurban Division of the Lehigh Valley Transit Company.
Take a trolley ride back in time
O
Doug Peters, trolley enthusiast.
n Oct. 12, 2016 in
Seidersville Hall, Doug
Peters will present a
program showing travel by trolley
from Allentown to Bethlehem to
Hellertown. Photographs in his
presentation will show the line from
South Bethlehem to Center Valley
with additional photos of the Liberty
Bell Interurban Trolley operation
from Allentown to Philadelphia.
Doug Peters is a lifelong resident
of the Lehigh Valley. His early years
in Allentown introduced him to
the Lehigh Valley Transit Co. and
rail transportation. Doug earned
a chemical engineering degree at
Drexel University, when he became
interested in trolley operations in the
Philadelphia area.
From 1989 to 1993, Doug Peters
and Dave Biles hosted a WLVT
“First Monday” segment entitled,
“Looking Back with Doug and Dave.”
The program featured photos and
information about former operations
of trolley cars in the Lehigh Valley.
Doug is the author of three books
titled, Lehigh Valley Transit, Lehigh
River Valley Trackside with Randolph
Kulp, and Red Arrow Lines, which
include color photographs and related
information.
Doug is active in organizations
pertaining to rail transportation,
including Railways to Yesterday,
an operating trolley museum, and
the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the
National Railway Historical Society.
Books published by the Railway
Historical Society will be available
for purchase.
Doug has photographed trolley
systems and visited museums
throughout North America. He also
enjoys building and operating scale
model trolleys.
He is retired from Western
Electric/AT&T/Lucent in Allentown
and lives with his wife, Sandra in
Emmaus, PA.
Redington Revisited
Redington reminds us of yet another town
that played an impressive role in the local
economy that is now “lost.”
On April 27, Ned Heindel gave an
amazing presentation titled, “Redington:
A History of Commerce and Kids.”
For those who missed Heindel’s
presentation, Danny Ruth has a video
tape version on a DVD and is available at
the LSTHS office at Seidersville Hall.
The photo, left, shows students in front of
the Redington schoolhouse. 1916.
Page 6
Summer 2016
Beatles Night
H
This nostalgic fundraiser at the Silver Creek
Country Club was a great success! Thank
you to all the volunteers and guests for
making the event a night to remember!
H
H
H
H
H
H
H
H
Thanks to all who “elected” to make
our Bake Sale a success! We also wish
to thank our members who baked and
contributed a wide variety of tasty treats!
Summer 2016
Page 7
LSTHS Memberships 2016
Members of the LSTHS and our local
community should take pride in what we
have accomplished as we grow in recognition
and reputation for both the restoration of the
Lutz-Franklin Schoolhouse and educational
programs.
The Society is proud to recognize
those who generously contributed
to repointing the Schoolhouse:
Marble Champs • $10 - $99
Elaine Donnelly
Mark Eckert
John Fischel
Judy and Barry Ihle
Richard and Elaine Kantor
Joe and Cheryl Kazan
Christina Krasnai
Charles and Marie Luthar
Laura Ray
James and Robin Rotherham
Michael Skertic
Robert and Martha Sterling
Lee Weidner
Melody Weisman
Jeanne Workman
March – John Weiss, Virginia Bloss,
Michael and Sharon Karabin, Charles and
Carol Lee, Michael and Gillian Skertic,
Arthur Oplinger, Doris Bonstein, Justin
and Erica Simmons, Edward Petkavich,
Eleanor Lavage, Jane Weddigen, Anthony
Chavar, Richard and Nancy Eckert, Leon
and Priscilla DeLeon, Claudia Wolbach,
Carol and Neil Ortwein, Scott and Jacqueline Rivera, John and Cynthia Ringhoffer.
Eraser Clappers • $100 - $249
Dave Eckert
Elwood and Beverly Eyer
Ron and Sue Horiszny
David and Janet Keshl
Alan Kunsman Roofing and Siding
Ed Petkavich
April – Alton and Eleanor Knauss, Pearl
Bodor, Josh Popichak, Sharon Jezick,
Jeanne Workman, Charles and Elizabeth
Derr, Elaine Donnelly and a donation in
memory of Jack Donnelly, Suzanne Daage
– NEW.
Coal Stove Stokers • $500 - $999
Spirk Brothers
Teacher’s Pet • $1000+
Anonymous
Margaret “Peggy” Fluck Memorial Fund
May – Deborah Hartwell, Arthur and Lois
Lechner, Rita Ernst, Louis and Dorothy
Seeds, Ann Marie Gonsalves.
Office Hours
Thank You . . .
. . . for all of your help to all of the
bakers and workers at the Primary
Election day Bake Sale on April 26.
Our office hours will remain 10 a.m. to 2
p.m. through the summer. We stated our
OLD summer hours in the last newsletter.
Wherever you are this season . . .
You can receive your newsletter
electronically! Just send us an
e-mail at lshistorical@yahoo.com
and we will send the newsletter to
your e-mail address.
Please send us your current e-mail addresses if you would like to receive notices
of meetings, events, etc. Send your email address to: lshistorical@yahoo.com.
Support the Society and become a member.
Make checks payable to “L.S.T.H.S.” Return this form with your payment to:
Lower Saucon Township Historical Society
P.O. Box 176 Hellertown, PA 18055
Please print your name as it should appear on your membership card Circle: Mr. & Mrs. Mr. Mrs. Ms. Miss Dr.
Name: __________________________________________________
Address: ________________________________________________
City: ___________________________ State: _____ Zip: ________
Phone: ____________________ Email: _______________________
Check Membership Level:
____ Individual $15
____ Family $25
____ Junior (student) $5
____ Lifetime $250
____ Corporate $350 ____ Other donation
LSTHS is a 501(c)3 Non-profit Organization
Please indicate if you’d be interested in
helping us in any of the following areas:
____ Artifacts
Special Events ____
____ Schoolhouse Docent
Baking ____
____ Membership
Fundraising ____
____ Grant Writing
Public Relations ____
____ Programs/Presentations
____ Other, specify ____________________
____ I attended a One-Room School
Meetings take place on the 2nd Wednesday
of the month at Seidersville Hall
(next to the Lower Saucon Town Hall) on
Old Philadelphia Pike, 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Stop by and join us!
Lower Saucon Township Historical Society
P. O. Box 176 • Hellertown, PA 18055
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. POSTAGE
P A I D
Permit No. 730
Lehigh Valley, PA
Return Service Requested
Keep up to date and visit us at
www.lutzfranklin.com
email— lshistorical@yahoo.com
or call— 610-625-8771
Lutz-Franklin
Schoolhouse
Directions
to the Lutz-Franklin Schoolhouse:
From I-78 Take exit 67 (Hellertown/Bethlehem), turn left on Rt. 412/ Main St. Go 1
block and turn left at traffic light onto Cherry
Lane. Follow 4 blocks to end and turn left
on Easton Road. Go 2.1 miles & turn left
on Countryside Lane. Go 1.3 miles to the
schoolhouse.
Lower Saucon Township Historical Society
b Calendar of Events ~ 2016 b
A reminder—
Monthly meetings start at 7 p.m. at Seidersville Hall, 3700
Old Philadelphia Pike. Guests are always welcome and light
refreshments are served.
Board Meetings • Wednesdays at 6 p.m. —
July 13, Sept. 14, Oct. 12, Nov. 9.
No meetings in August or December.
Sat., Aug. 20 • Community Day! Come visit us!
Sat., Oct. 1 • Our annual Apple Festival will take place at the
Schoolhouse from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. rain or shine.
Setting for
A Schoolhouse Wedding
Story on page 1
Wed., Oct. 12 • Seidersville Hall, 7 p.m.
Doug Peters will present a program describing traveling
by trolley from Allentown to Bethlehem to Hellertown, with
pictures of the line from South Bethlehem to Center Valley
and additional photos of the Liberty Bell interurban trolley
operation from Allentown to Philadelphia. Books published by
the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the National Railway Historical
Society will be available for purchase.
Wed., Nov. 9 • Seidersville Hall, 7 p.m.
Ilhan Citak returns to tell us what is new at the Lehigh
University Special Collections Library.