The cover of the program for the Pennsylvania German Society’s 61st Annual Meeting, Saturday, 20 October 1951, The Salem Reformed Church, West Main Street, Elizabethville, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.
The meeting was held in honor of Harvey Monroe Miller (1871-1939), who wrote under the nom de plume Solly Hulsbuck. A portrait of Miller appears on the program cover.
The program consisted of the following events:
9:45 a.m.
The memorial wreath-placing ceremony at the grave of Harvey Monroe Miller in recognition of his contribution to and interpretation of Pennsylvania German culture. Maple Grove Cemetery, Elizabethville.
10:00 a.m.
Business Session …………………… Henry S. Borneman, LL.D., President of the Pennsylvania German Society presiding
10:30 a.m.
Historical session …………………… Albert F. Buffington, Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State College presiding
The Prayer ……………………… the Rev. Earl Marks, B. D.,Pastor, The Salem Reformed Church, Elizabethville
Address: “Of Early Settlers and Settlements”,………. Allen Rebuck, B.S., The Pennsylvania State College
Some Pennsylvania German Spiritual Songs sung by Mrs. Isaac Boyer, Mrs. Lizzie Buffington, Lorene Buffington, Mrs. Faye Boyer Swab, Leon Buffington and Albert Buffington
Paper: “Solly Hulsbuck, the People’s Poet”,………… Walter E. Boyer, M. A., The Pennsylvania State College
12:30 p.m.
The Annual Dinner …………… Elizabethville High School
1:30 p.m.
Notes from the field by two of our youngest folklorists….. “Some Ghost Stories around Swoben Creek” — Raymond B. Bordner
“Social Gatherings on a Mahantongo Valley Farm” — Mark M. Kieffer
Some Folksongs of the Mahantongo Valley …………… William Brown
Closing Address …………… The Rev. Clarence Rahn, Harrison Park, Reading, Pennsylvania
Also included in the program were suggestions for touring:
Places you may want to visit before you start your homeward journey. The churches will be open in order that you may see both the interior and exterior.
The birthplace of Harvey M. Miller is in walking distance of Salem Church, being two blocks west on the south side of the street.
The Eisenhauer Homestead is the the first house on the left side of West Main Street as you leave town. It is a large red-brick building surrounded by evergreen trees. We suggest you drive slowly along the private driveway.
The St. John Lutheran Church, founded in 1780, is about 3 miles north of Elizabethville on the road to Berrysburg. From a distance you will see its tall spire surmounting the high two-story, brick structure. There are two roads leading to it from the highway.
The Hoffman’s Reformed Church, founded in 1771, is 7 miles from Elizabethville and 3 miles east of Berrysburg. After leaving the St. John’s Church return to the highway and drive north to Berrysburg. At the stop-sign in Berrysburg turn east and drive to the first macadam cross-road where you turn to the right. The church is a quarter mile from the cross-road. Many Revoloutionary soldiers are buries in the cemetery.
The colonial architecture of Simeon’s Church (1822) in Gratz is worth visiting. It is one block north from the town square on the road to Klingerstown.
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