Page 14 - SUSQUEHANNA TIMES
A former Briton
on the Bicentennial
by Paddy Schatz
It is thirty years to this
very day that I came to
America from England, a
young wife with an eight
month old baby also born
in England, but American
indeed because of his
American father. This son
has his own wife now and
lives in the South. When I
mentioned our anniversary,
saying that we are surely
both Yankees by this time,
he replied, ‘‘You are,
Mother, but I'm a Rebel!”
Someone asked me re-
cently if the American
Bicentennial makes me feel
awful, being British, and I
was quite astonished and
then amused, for such a
thing had not occurred to
me. First of all, I've always
thought of America as
being peopled from the
countries in which the love
of liberty is the strongest,
and, secondly, 1 certainly
wasn’t responsible in any
way for the War of
Independence.
I believe that red. white,
and blue is beautiful,
patriotic, and American,
but to me it is also English,
for those colors I grew up
with too. 1 get a feeling of
emotion and pride when 1
see the Stars and Stripes
flying, just as I did when
we flew the Union Jack.
When 1 was a child in
England, we celebrated
Empire Day, an Empire
which has since experi-
enced a succession of quiet
constitutional changes and
left England as it started—
little England, which
can easily be put into the
state of Pennsylvania. That
was a patriotic day, a fun
day, and a day to be
thankful; isn’t this how
America’s birthday anni-
versary should be too?
When 1 visit my home-
land, 1 miss Pennsylvania
and find myself thinking of
its beauty—the lovely coun-
tryside with fields of corn,
peaches, and pumpkins,
and the mountains and wild
geese in flight. My favorite
time here is Autumn, all
golden and mellow and
balmy, but I love snow too.
And when 1 remember
England, it is Spring with
the scent of flower gardens
and the constant greenness
and gentle serenity. Each
country holds so much for
me, how fortunate 1 am to
have enjoyed both of them.
No, this is not my native
land—it is my home.
Why
by Vera Cox W
Why not serve Liberty
Tea in celebration of the
Bicentennial?
In the 1760's and 1770’s,
an effective boycott of the
British East India Compa-
ny’s tea took place in the
colonies. The boycott was
noticed both in the market-
place and at the tea tables
of patriotic Americans. All
along the eastern area,
colonial ladies resolved not
to serve the imported tea
but they had to find
something in its place.
The herb, loosestrife,
was apparently the first to
be called Liberty Tea.
Patriotic households also
served tea made from dried
raspberry leaves. In spite
of the frequent use of the
raspberry leaves, one man
declared that the tea was
nothing more than vile, but
History
by Joanne Zink
Colonial Donegal Mills
Plantation is a restored
community dating from a
Penn Grant in 1736.
From a pioneer village to
a rural industrial area, the
story of the Plantation
reveals the way people
lived in the late 18th and
the 19th century.
In 1784, J. E. Kreybill, a
Swiss Mennonite, began to
build the community into a
successful and productive
mill site. The mansion
house at Donegal Mills is
especially significant since
it is only one of seven or
eight ever in the area.
not serve Liberty Tea?
heroic citizens proclaimed
it to be a delicate and
excellent beverage.
Next the colonists turned
to bergamot (bee balm) for
their Liberty Tea. This herb
had been introduced to the
colonists by the Indians.
Both the leaves and the
flowers produced a tea with
a minty flavor. Finally the
women started to use
sassafras root, lemon balm,
sage, boneset, pennyroyal,
strawberry leaves, ribwort,
mint, and rose leaves.
These were used either
fresh or dried.
Today a Liberty Tea may
be served that is made
from any of the sweet
herbs; alone or in combin-
ation. Both the teapot and
the vessel used to boil the
water should not be metal.
Cold water should be
brought to a quick boil and
then poured immediately
over the leaves in the
warmed pot. Put the lid on
the pot and steep for eight
to twelve minutes. Sweeten
as desired but often a
touch of honey smoothens,
blends, and enriches the
herb flavors.
Simple refreshments ra-
ther than rich pastries
would be suitable to com-
plete a Liberty Tea Party.
Sugar cookies flavored with
herb seeds, small open--
faced sandwiches garnished
with a very thin slice of
cucumber, nasturtium leaf,
or watercress would be
light. Another suggestion
would be to serve cookies
made from an eighteenth
century recipe that was
typical of both Lancaster
and Lebanon Counties. Leb
cakes are of German origin.
The recipe is as follows:
3 Ibs. yellow sugar
% 1b. (1%2 cups) lard
1 lump of butter the size of
an egg
June 23, 1976
1 qt. buttermilk
2 tbs. soda
1 tsp. hartzhorn (can be
purchased at some drug
stores)
1 tsp. salt
4 1bs. flour
2 eggs
Blend sugar and shorten-
ing. Add one egg. Combine
hartzhorn and soda in
buttermilk. Alternately add
milk, mix, and flour. Add
salt. Drop onto cookie tin,
brush with beaten egg.
Bake at 400 degrees about
8 to 10 minutes. (This
recipe yields a basket of
Leb cakes.)
The recipe is used
through the courtesy of the
Historic Shaefferstown, Inc.
the 90-acre farm which is
being restored to its origin-
al condition as an 18th
century Swiss Weinbauern
farmstead.
of Donegal Mills Plantation
Possibly the only one left
with a monumental temple
front of the Ionic Order.
The Kreybill family ex-
panded the acreage of the
Plantation and the site
included five business. It
was the focal point of five
roads and was a busy
bustling community.
In the latter part of the
19th century, the site was
divided with the miller’s
house and mill staying in
the Mennonite tradition
until 1925 when the mill
was then known as Mari-
etta Mills or Nissley’s Mill.
The mansion was owned in
the later 19th century by
the Watsons, prominent
members of the Donegal
Presbyterians pursued their mission
by Rev. Robert C. Murphy
Even in the midst of war,
Presbyterians were con-
cerned with the mission of
the Church of Jesus Christ
on the frontiers, i.e. the
South and West. The
Synod of New York and
Philadelphia, meeting in
Philadelphia in 1779, just
after the British evacuated
the city, received a peti-
tion:
**21 May 1779) An
application by a member of
Hanover Presbytery (a
league of Churches) pray-
ing that some missionaries
might be sent into the state
of Virginia to preach the
gospel, and especially that
a few ministers of genius,
prudence, and address,
might spend some consid-
erable time in attempting
tc form that people into
regular congregations,
under the discipline and
government of the Presby-
tian Church...” (Records,
pp.484f)
The concern of the
Synods of New York and
Philadelphia, was, already
in this countries’ young
life, A REPEAT OF HIS-
TORY, with a connection to
Donegal Presbyterian
Church.
**The first pastor of
Donegal, "The Rev. James
Anderson was born in
Scotland, November 17th,
1678; he was ordained by
Irvine Presbytery, Novem-
ber 17th, 1708; he arrived”
in this country April 22nd,
1709; he settled in New-
castle; he was called to
supply a church in the city
of New York, where he re-
mained until 1726; he was
called, September 24th, to
Donegal on the Susque-
hanna and accepted it; he
was installed the last Wed-
nesday in August, 1727.
The Donegal Presbytery
was organized and held its
first meeting at Donegal
(Presbyterian Church), Oct.
11th, 1732, and consisted
of Messrs. Anderson,
Boyd, - Orr, Thompson of
Chestnut Level, and he
proposed to Donegal Pres-
bytery to employ an
itinerant in Virginia. In
1738, Anderson was sent to
Virginia, bearing a letter to
the government of Virginia
soliciting its favor in behalf
of our interests. The Synod
provided supplies for his
pulpit and allowed for his
expenses in a manner
suitable to his design.
Anderson performed his
mission satisfactorily.”
(Ziegler’s History of Done-
gal Presbyterian Church)
Presbyterian Church.
The plantation is now an
American Heritage story.
The tour includes the man-
sion, miller’s house, mill,
bake house, gardens,
hatchery, and nature trail.
An archaelogical excava-
tion has begun at the
plantation under the super-
vision of Dr. Sam Cassel-
berry, chairman of the De-
partment of Anthropology
and Sociology at Millers-
ville State College. At
present the excavation is
conducted four days a
week. The purpose is to
determine where all of the
buildings and other char-
acteristics of the site were
in order that the commun-
ity can be restored to the
fullest possible extent.
Mother Seuss
by Sally Hess
At the beginning of the
colonial era, most child-
ren’s stories emphasized
moral and religious pre-
cepts, and by 1719, ‘‘Mo-
ther Goose Melodies’ had
been printed in Boston.
American children have
loved those stories and
fables ever since. In the
twentieth century the stor-
ies of Dr. Seuss are
popular with young chil-
dren, and like the Mother
Goose rhymes, they contain
rhythm, rhyme, humor,
and and element of non-
sense.
Therefore, the room for
the Colonial Language Arts
class during the Grandview
Living History Week, was
known as ‘““Ye Old Colonial
House of Mother Seuss:
1776-1976.” The primary
objective of the class was
to expose today’s children
to the children’s literature
of colonial times and -
through this exposure—
prompt the composition of
their own contemporary
rhymes based upon the
rhythm and rhyme of
Mother Goose. The frame-
work of the Mother Goose
rhymes plus the added
humor and nonsense
unique to the Dr. Seuss
stories, aided children in
creating their own original
‘“Mother Seuss Rhymes.”’
A few examples are as
follows:
Cary, Cary quite scarey
How does your skeleton
jangle?
With dried up bones and
ice cream cones
And the skulls all a-jangle.
by Andrea Markley
Sam Can could eat no pan
His wife could cat no lid
And so they kissed each
other
And cooked a little kid.
by Sarah Harnish
To be printed in Grand-
view’s Living History Week
book.
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