Star, 'Hex'Signs Make Comeback In Berks County
LOU ANN GOOD
Food And Family
Features Editor
KUTZTOWN (Berks
Co.) Colorful stars and
art forms are brightening
bams again in Berks and
Lehigh counties.
The designs often re
ferred to as hex signs are
making a comeback,
thanks to the historical ef
forts of the Pennsylvania
Heritage Center at Kutz
town University and the
Dutch Hex Tour Associa
tion.
According to David Va
luska, director of the Penn
sylvania German Cultural
Heritage Center, Old
Route 22 has been known
for decades as the “Hex
Highway” in recogni
tion of the array of color
ful barns stars painted on
the barns along the highway.
The designs are cherished for
inserting colorful beauty on the
large wooden bams. But many of
these are fading or the bams have
been destroyed. In fact, Valuska
estimates that half of the bams
have disappeared since 1988.
A master hex sign painter is commissioned to repaint
the stars in hues of reds, blues, yellows, and whites.
In recent years, these designs
appeared most often in quilt de
signs but at one time, the designs
were prominently painted on wood
ep .barns,,
Lancaster Fa^mg
This is one of the bams located along “hex highway.” The
publishes an informative map guide of the “hex highway” to
hex signs. For a free copy, call (800) HEX-Tour.
“This is tragic, because the
bam star is one of a very small
number of art forms that are
unique to Pennsylvania Ger
mans,” said Dave Fooks, coordi
nator of a bam star endowment
fund.
Only a few master hex sign
painters skilled in this unique art
form have been commissioned to
repaint the neat, precise, and col
orful designs which are disappear
. in&from the countryside, .
Fooks said that bam hex sym
bols originated in Berks County.
Prior to the 1830 s, bams were
left unpainted because of the
high price of paint. As paint be
came more affordable, the Penn
sylvania Germans began to deco
rate their bams much like they
decorated their homes. However
the Amish and Mennonites did
not paint designs on their bams
because their religion forbids
anything fancy or decorative.
Many artists became special
ized in bam decorating, which
reached its peak in the early 20th
century.
Some historians believe the
bam stars were painted on bams
merely for beauty. But others
maintain that the signs had hid
den meanings, such as to keep
evil spirits at bay or to bring good
luck.
Some of the meanings associat
ed with the symbols include fer
tility, the distelfmk bird of happi
ness and good fortune,
friendship, love and friendship,
abundance and good will, faith,
hope, and charity.
German and Swiss immi
grants, collectively known as the
Pennsylvania Dutch, developed a
rich folk art tradition of colorful
quilts, needlework, and painted
decorative furniture unique to
Dutch Country.
But the tradition of painting
the “hex signs” are bams did not
begin until the mid-19th century.
I I '
During the early and mid-1800s,
many wooden barns had colorful
designs such as these painted on
them.
Pennsylvania Dutch Hex Tour Association
show the location of prominent bars with
The geometric patterns and
symbolism of bam decorations
traces its roots to medieval Eu
rope.
Although controversy over the
original meaning continues, all
agree that the designs add attrac
tive interest to the area and are
An endowment fund is expected to raise $15,000 to re
paint designs which have faded on the barns.
m M
i !
iJ .
I i
: i
to show the location of
prominent bams with hex signs
and the symbolic meaning attri
buted to them. For a free copy,
call (800) HEX-Tour.
The tour takes most of the day
if visitors enjoy attractions along
the way.
ri'f|Sy
‘ i '
Berks Countians boasts that the
popularity of painting hex signs on
the barns originated in their coun
ty.
happy to see the art de
signs maintained.
Eric Claypoole, mas
ter hex painter, recently
repainted a barn sign lo
cated on Crystal Cave
Road near Kutztown.
Its location offers visual
exposure to tens of
thousands of visitors
who tour Crystal Cave
annually.
More than 60 signs
have been repainted.
Matching grants are
provided to owners of
barns with hex signs
that are visually promi
nent to the motoring
public.
The Pennsj Ivania
Dutch Hex Tour Asso
ciation publishes an
informative map guide
of the “hex highway”