814-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 17. 2000
Grandpa’s Hobby To Benefit Lititz School
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
LITITZ (Lancaster Co.)
“Get a hobby,” Della Bollinger
told her husband Mark as he sat
watching her quilt hour after
hour.
After retirement, the former
truck driver and farm mechanic
kept busy during the day with
the 10,000 layers on their Lexing
ton farmette and driving a school
van for the public school district.
But evenings were, well, a bit
boring.
While he pondered his wife’s
advice, he examined a wooden
chicken coop. Curious, he won
dered if he could duplicate the
coop on a smaller scale.
With a minimal amount of
equipment, he made a wooden
coop and presented it to his wife.
Alter that, his hobby sort of got
out of hand, no doubt because of
his wife's other hobby.
“She cooks,” Bollinger said as
if that explained everything. It
turns out that his wife of 48 years
likes cooking for guests. In fact,
the Bollingers have had almost
every member of their church
congregation that numbers 600
as dinner guests.
When friends and relatives
saw the coop Bollinger had
made, they ordered one for
themselves.
Now more than 100 coops
later and several other projects
such as wooden hobby horses,
the 73-year-old Bollinger has
perfected his skills, purchased
School Benefit Auction Is June 23-24
LITITZ (Lancaster Co.) Li
titz Area Mennonite School, will
hold its 23rd annual Benefit Auc
tion on June 23 and 24. Friday
begins with a chicken BBQ din
ner served from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Meals may be eaten inside the
school or purchased for takeout
from the drive-thru.
Dinner is $5.25, which in
cludes a roll, chicken leg and
thigh, baked potato, cole slaw,
applesauce and drink. Chicken
only may be purchased for $2.
Children's meals are available
for $3.50. Hot dogs, ice cream
and baked goods also will be
available.
The Friday evening auction
will begin at 6 p.m. Winross
trucks and collectibles will be
sold throughout the evening
along with crafts, plants, lawn
and garden items, theme baskets,
and many more items.
Morning Star Ministries will
make balloon shapes for the chil
dren and a children’s auction
will begin at 7 p.m. Quilts, art
work, and the many other items
additional equipment, and hand
crafted a walnut Grandfather’s
clock.
He is donating the clock to
raise funds for the annual Lititz
Mennonite School Auction, June
23-24.
The Bollingers have a vested
interest in the school. Eleven of
their 20 grandchildren have at
tended the school. They appreci
ate the teaching their children re
ceive from the private school and
want to do their part in helping
the school.
The annual auction raises
funds to help with schooling
costs. In addition to typical auc
tion fare, the school depends on
quality items such as Bollinger’s
handcrafted clock to attract in
terest.
The stately Grandfather’s
clock features Hermle’s motivat
ing moon dial, and triple chime
movement that allows a choice of
Westminster, St. Michael’s or
Whittington chimes.
The clock works were pur
chased from Emperor Clock
works in Alabama, who make
tht chimes according to German
standards.
“This is not a kit, but it’s not
made from scratch either,” Boll
inger said with his typical dry
humor. “I consider a scratch is
something you do if you have an
itch.”
Bollinger said that his middle
son of six children had made the
same style clock as a gift for his
parents in the 19705.
“I got to thinking, and I
to be auctioned on Saturday will
be displayed Friday evening.
Saturday begins with an “All
You Can Eat” Country Buffet
Breakfast served from 6:30 a.m.
to 9:30 a.m. Enjoy eggs, pan
cakes, sausage, home fries, baked
oatmeal, fresh fruit, pastries, and
juice for $4.50. Meals for chil
dren 6-10 years are $2.50, and 5
and under are free.
The auction begins at 9 a.m.
with a wide variety of items in
cluding crafts, baskets, pottery,
Beanie Babies, wooden items,
lawn and garden items, plants,
and flowers.
At noon the art will be sold.
The art will include for the first
time a Thomas Kinkade canvas
print evening majesty. Other art
ists and their work include Debra
Smith, The General Sutter; Rich
ard Bollinger, Day’s End; Diane
Stewart, Quilts and Clematis;
Andy Smith, Country Life; Gen
tle December Snow by John
Showalter 11, and many more.
Special features will be sold at
12:30 p.m. These include a hand-
Strawberry Shortcake takes center stage at the fifth
annual Berry Festival, Kitchen Kettle Village, June 16-17.
The festival features numerous berry-related activities,
live music, and entertainment. Kitchen Kettle is located
on Rt. 340 Intercourse, 10 miles east of Lancaster.
thought my son would probably
like that clock for himself some
day,” Bollinger said.
Last summer Bollinger made
his first Grandfather's clock. It
turned out so well, his son sug
gested he make one for the bene-
fit auction.
The clock has a brass plate
with the ingraved words, “Hand
crafted Mark F. Bollinger +N2
2000.
Recently the Bollingers re
duced their chicken layer opera
tion from 10,000 to 5,000. Boll
inger transformed one of the
chicken houses into a woodwork
ing shop.
“We are getting too old to
carry eggs up and down the
steps,” Bollinger said of the deci
sion to transform the former two
story chicken house into a shop.
He works in the shop during
the day, and at night, he returns
to watching his wife quilt.
“We’re back at square one,”
he said.
Except this time, his wife has
put him to work measuring and
cutting threads needed to finish
the quilts she does for a quilt bro
ker.
This fall, both will have some
thing unusual to keep them busy.
They plan to travel to Wales in
the fall to visit their daughter,
who is in mission work in that
country.
When they return to the states,
Bollinger may build another
grandfather’s clock.
“It depends on how well this
one sells,” he said.
made Grandfather’s clock
and a hand-made hobby
horse. The quilts and wall
hangings will be auctioned at
1 p.m. with beautiful designs
such as Bargello, Lone Star,
Pieced Pineapple, Broken
Star, and Double Wedding
Ring.
LAMS has designed a very
colorful and unique afghan
that will also be available at
the auction for $45.
Children’s activities will
begin at 9:30 a.m. with train
rides, moonwalk, face paint
ing and other games. Food
available throughout the day
will include hot sandwiches,
French fries, fruit and salad
bar, soft ice cream, and
baked goods.
The school is located at
1050 East Newport Rd. in Li
titz. For more information or
to donate an item for the
auction, call the school at
(717)626-9551.
Mark Bollinger points out the detail in the handcrafted
clock he built for the Lititz Mennonite School Benefit
Auction.
Lititz Area Mennonite School will sell collectible afghans
for $45 each during its upcoming benefit auction, June 23-
24.
Heritage Day At Hans Herr House
WILLOW STREET (Lancas
ter Co.) The Hans Herr House
will hold Heritage Day on Au
gust 5. This farm festival, now in
its 21st year, will feature activi
ties from the 18th to early 20th
centuries, and demonstrations of
rural life and crafts.
Visitors to Heritage Day will
be able to see the 1719 Hen-
House and grounds, including
the 1835 Shaub House across the
road. Beautifully-restored early
farm equipment will be dis
played for the first time in the
newly completed exhibit build
ing. Craft demonstrations will
include blacksmithing, hearth
and bake oven cooking, linen
processing, fabric dyeing, pot
tery making, threshing, and
more. There are wagon rides,
childrens’ activities, and work
shops scheduled throughout the
day. Sandwiches, roasted com,
ice cream, rhubarb punch, pies,
hot dogs and other refreshments
available for purchase will en
sure that no one leaves Heritage
Day hungry.
Admission to Heritage Day is
$5 for adults, $1 for children
ages 7-12. Ages 6 and under are
free.
The Hans Herr House is locat
ed at 1849 Hans Herr Drive,
Willow Street, PA just five miles
south of Lancaster off Rts. US
222 and PA 741 between the vil
lages of Willow Street and Lam
peter. For more information call
(717)464-4438.