The holiday season is upon us. It is ironic that I am sending out a column discussing a German Christmas Market on Thanksgiving Day. Nonetheless Elizabeth and I did indeed spend a lovely Sunday afternoon in mid-November at Harmony’s annual Weihnachtsmarkt. Harmony is a delightful village any time of year; it is particularly special on this occasion.
Harmony was established on Connoquenessing Creek in 1804 by the Harmony Society, a sect of pietist Lutherans who had fled Germany to avoid religious persecution and purchased 4,000 acres of land in southern Butler County. By 1814 they had constructed a prosperous village of perhaps five hundred souls with a grist mill, a fulling mill, an oil mill, a hemp mill, a meeting house, an inn, a brick yard, a tannery, and a brewery, all surrounded by extensive farms, vineyards, and sheep pasture. At this point, seeking more land, the Society sold its assets to Abraham Ziegler, a Mennonite, for $100,000 and moved to southern Indiana where they established New Harmony on 27,000 acres of Hoosier land.
Numerous other settlers, largely of German extraction, moved into the abandoned village and continued the development of manufacturing enterprises based primarily on the agricultural produce of the region – a flour mill, a woolen mill, a planing mill, a wagon and carriage shop, and a machine shop. Inns, taverns, and hotels were added, all this at a time when Bridgeville consisted of half a dozen houses. Today the center square of the village and eleven of its original buildings, four of which date back before 1812, are preserved as an Historic District.
The primary focus of the event we attended was, of course, a large collection of vendors selling a wide variety of products, mostly craft-based. I continue to be surprised that so many craftsmen (and women) appear to be able to make a living producing hand-made treasures in their homes. One gentleman was selling a large number of knives that he had “forged”; I was tempted to purchase a large kitchen knife, until I checked the price. He also had a big collection of hunting knives, in handsome leather belt holsters, somewhat like the “Bowie” knife I had when I was a Boy Scout. I wonder what happened to it?
Many of the vendors were selling edibles to take home – honey, jelly and jams, hot sauce, jerky, fudge, cheese, olive oil, and chocolates. They all seemed to be doing a good business, probably because they were “small ticket” items. There were also edibles available for immediate consumption – I took advantage of roasted chestnuts, a bratwurst sandwich, and mulled wine, all of which I consumed while sitting in the music tent, enjoying a two-person polka band. One of the advantages of my deteriorating physical condition is that Elizabeth forces me to sit down and rest frequently. The only polka I recognized was “Die Lichtensteiner Polka”; not to worry, somehow all polkas are enjoyable to hear (which isn’t the case with most musical genres).
As always, I had to stop and watch an old crone spinning sheep’s wool into yarn. She really was picturesque, could have been a character actress in fairy tale movies. She certainly made spinning look easy, although it is obvious to me that the ability to pull out just the right amount of wool from the clump in her hand, at precisely the right speed, requires hand/eye coordination that I lack. All the lovely woven woolen items for sale are things I can’t use – shawls and ladies’ sweaters. I wonder what they would have to charge for hand knit men’s socks.
Two booths brought back nostalgic memories of my wife, who was an expert craftsperson herself. The first booth was selling (leaded) stained glass pieces. In addition to the usual collection of sun-catchers, they had several rectangular candle chimneys, one of Nan’s specialties. The other one was selling quite attractive thrown pottery. Remembering all the steps that go into producing a finished mug or pot – potter’s wheel, pre-firing, glazing, and final firing – one wonders how a home craftsman can possibly compete with mass production. Very little of Nan’s stained glass and pottery phases still exists, and each one is priceless to us.
Several vendors were marketing wood working products, another of my favorite crafts. One gentleman had a wide selection of kitchen items – spoons, stirrers, and ladles – that I photographed and sent to my nephew Jonathan Maddy as inspiration for his pursuit of that craft. The grain in the bowl of the spoons was particularly attractive. Even more attractive were the edge grain cutting boards that another wood worker was selling. Another vendor was showing lovely wooden bowls.
One lady was selling examples of “Scherenschnitte” (scissor cuts, for those of you who are not fluent in German) and cutting out silhouettes on site. I was tempted to buy a kit and try my hand. Next to her a vendor was selling kits to make slender conical Christmas tree ornaments by coloring inside the lines and folding properly. I fondly remember hand painting wooden ornaments for our first (after we were married) Christmas tree. Fortunately we still have them.
As we were about to leave, I watched a mature man in lederhosen and a Tyrolian hat dancing the schuhplatter in the music tent. I had a Gemutlichkeit moment — here, in this tiny village, once a year, it was perfectly acceptable for him to celebrate his German heritage. Perhaps if we complement our present obsession with diversity with a commitment to tolerance and forgiveness, it will eventually enable a little bit of each culture to survive.