Ancestry Day celebrated at Baltzer Meyer Historical Society

Members of the Baltzer Meyer Historical Society opened their doors Sunday afternoon for the organization’s Ancestry Day.

From noon to 4 p.m. attendees had the opportunity to search the library for free, tour the Harrold No. 8 schoolhouse, view a demonstration of twining rugs and tour the historical society, which is located along Baltzer Meyer Pike in Hempfield, said Tom Harrold, the society’s president.

The event, usually held annually, was canceled the past two years because of the covid-19 pandemic.

“It is important that the community comes together to understand its history and its background,” Harrold said. “They also get to meet their neighbors and it’s a place where their ancestors’ articles can be preserved and presented to future generations. That is a lot of the key of what we do here, is presenting that to the area and the township and the city.”

At the historical society, attendees were able to peruse the library, which offers cemetery and obituary records. The historical society also had several artifacts on display including uniforms from World War I, paraphernalia from various presidential elections, board games and more.

Across the street, two tours took place at Harrold No. 8 schoolhouse, with guests learning the history of the building dating back to 1750.

In addition, a demonstration on how to make rag rugs took place and attendees had the opportunity to purchase excess books from the historical society.

The event attracted a handful of people to the society, including James West, who is the interim senior pastor at Harrold Zion Lutheran Church.

“We are celebrating our 250th anniversary about a year from today so I thought I would catch up on as much history as possible, make some connections,” West said.

John Millward, 66, of Middletown, is a member of Harrold Zion Lutheran Church and was a charter member of the Baltzer Meyer Historical Society.

According to Millward, his family was one of the original settlers in the area. He noted that he has moved twice in his life, but never more than a quarter mile away.

“I just find (history) so interesting and my family’s part of starting everything here, along with many many others,” Millward said.

Of the event, Harrold said, “We’re open for almost any question anybody has.”