20—Lancaster Farming. Saturday. January 27. 1973
»»A
,v;
Homestead
In the Heisey Candlery
Of Waxes, Wicks & the Witness Tree
If there's an unusual candle
vou’rc looking for. Bill Heisey is
the man to see
William H Heisey. Mount Joy
Rl first started making candles
about 15 vears ago. and has now
expanded his hobby into a small
home business
Like most amateur cnadle
makers he began by using
‘ anvthmg around the house” for
molds
In the fall of 1969 he sent tor a
catalogue which contained dif
ferent molds and scents for
candle-making, and that’s when
he began making candles in
earnest
His first efforts, he said, still
invoked “making candles for
ourselves and for gifts ” At that
time he became interested in
making candle “clusters,” which
are arrangements of candles of
(he same shapes, but of various
heights and diameters He made
clusters for use in his church at
Christmas, and last year com
pleted seven arrangements
which were used with greens in
the church windows and
vestibules
Church members and friends
began buying candles from Bill,
and, as he says, “One thing led to
another, and soon I decided I’d
better get a Pennsylvania sales
license ”
His first candles were mostly
variations of round candles, but
then he began creating designs
and had his ideas converted into
usable molds by a local tinsmith
At Christmas he was asked to
show (he art of hand-dipping
candles as part of a candlelight
tour sponsored by the Mount Joy
Business and Professional
Women Various crafts were
demonstrated at Walnut Tree
Farm Mount Joy. as part of the
tour
Bill had never made hand-
A few of the unusual candles Bill Heisey
has created. A swiss cheese with mice is m
Notes
Pat Ertvay, Editor
dipped candles before, but
characteristically set about
learning the technique He had
seen a demonstration of hand
dipping at Pennsylvania Dutch
Days in Kutztown, and gathered
his equipment with that
demonstration in mind It meant
designing his own wheel on which
to hang the candles He in turn
mounted the wheel on a stool to
make it a suitable height
He explained, “The candles
had to be dipped for three
seconds each time, and the wax
should not be allowed to harden
between coats.” It’s a slow
process, but the results are well
worth the effort
Bill buys wax in bulk from
local petroleum dealer He ex
plained that there are different
kinds and grades of wax These
waxes have “different melting
points as well as a flash point,
when the wax will burst into
Bill Heisey removes a giant
candle from its mold. The
candle is six inches in
diameter and twelve inches
high, but he has even larger
molds.
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Standing at the stove in his basement where he prepares
his wax, Bill Heisey dips some of the hot wax into a mold.
flame.” As for developping
different colors and scents, he
said, “It takes common sense and
a feeling to know just the right
time to add the color and scent ”
He said he has found some colors
will fade if reheated after a day
or so, and some scents are not as
strong if heated too long. “These
factors are pretty important
when you’re making a batch of
several matching candles.”
Bill soon learned of an
organization for candle-makers:
the International Guild of Candle
Artisans. The Guild now has over
700 members, about 60 of whom
are from Pennsylvania.
Two years ago, Bill and
Margaret Heisey attended the
Guild’s yearly convention, and
talked enthusiastically of its
benefits Bill said,“The meeting
is a series of workshops which
the foreground, as well as a Christmas tree,
teach various candle-making
techniques.” Margaret added
that although the workshops can
only accomodate a limited
number of actual participants,
they do allow others to listen in to
I
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W ebo '
I’ve just been listening to a
ballad on a record which tells us
how “deep our roots are in the
soil ” And also that as long as our
“children are healthy and we
have enough food to feed them we
are wealthy.”
We probably agree with this
thinking but too often lose our
sense of values and feel that more
material things would make us
happier I’m reminded of a
German folk song which I danced
to in “Rural Youth” many years
ago
When my father and my mother
Go a-journeying to the fair;
Ach ja! Ach ja!
What if they have no money,
They’re as rich as any there
Ach ja! Ach ja!
So let’s all try a bit harder to
count our blessings more often
My family certainly know my
likes as evidenced by my
Christmas gifts.
One gave a book on “Early
M __ _ —* •• —•
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xxx
gain some valuable information.
One of the workshops she at
tended was in making candle
rings.
The Guild also publishes a
monthly magazine, with timely
articles on candle-making and
related subjects. Margaret says
the most valuable part of the
organization is meeting the
people from around the world and
getting so many good ideas from
them.
As in any business. Bill Heisey
felt his candle shop required a
name After a great deal of
thought, they chose the name,
“Witness Tree Can
dlery.” The name comes from
the famous witness oak tree
which stands at the Donegal
Presbyterian Church, where'
members of the congregation
pledged their loyalty to George
Washington and the colonies in
1777.
The Heiseys are active
members of the Donegal church,
and one of his most interesting
candles is a replica of the historic
church, made especially for the
church’s 250th anniversary
celebration two years ago. The
small wax church is complete
(Continued On Page 22)
I
V-.. * ’
Ida Risser
Country Furniture” and I don’t
tire of leafing through the pages
of pictures to see if my few things
are similar Then there are 16
pots of herbs which I’m trying to
start on the window sill. Another
repaired the stereo so I can listen
to records of my choice, as I don’t
like the popular songs on the
radio
There is a pretty blue wallet
which I haven’t used as yet and
last but not least a blender. So
far, it is almost untouched as I
haven’t found a need for it but
I’m still looking for uses and
ideas
XXX
Our children and the neigh
borhood children and their
parents have been ice skating on
the ponds in our meadow for the
past week
Philip was so busy picking
sticks off the ice for his Daddy to
start a brush fire, that he didn’t
notice a small hole in the ice and
skated into it. Net result - wet
trousers and muddy skates
--T* f
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