History Unlocked-December 2017, Christmas Traditions
Christmas Time Traditions By: Karen Kendus, Concord Township Historical Society The end of the year offers a multitude of family get-togethers and holidays to celebrate. For my family, we celebrate Christmas, and find every reason there is to get together. Just this week, the women of my husband’s family (now including me) have started to review schedules to find a day for our annual cookie baking tradition. My maternal extended family recently picked Pollyanna assignments so we could start shopping nice and early. Meal assignments for the Christmas and Christmas Eve feasts were handed out around Thanksgiving when we were all together, and plans for picking up our Christmas tree at local tree farms were all set. I am still fascinated by how deep holiday traditions go and all the unlikely sources from whence those traditions came. Surprisingly, the term “Pollyanna” as it relates to gift giving is not well known. It seems to be a regional term used by those in Pennsylvania. One could find the term, occasionally, in newspapers between 1914 and 1947, but then it largely disappears. Some credit it to the “glad game” found in Eleanor Hodgman Porter’s 1913 book Pollyanna, though this appears to be a loose correlation. There are other names for this, including Secret Santa, with variations on the rules, and appear to be popular within church groups, large families, or office colleagues. It seemed to be a way to allow for everyone to receive a gift, usually with a capped value, and exchanged during the holiday season. For my family’s Pollyanna, we split the children and the adults. Each group had their own Pollyanna exchange and names were chosen before Black Friday. Usually, a wish list (with items within the cost limit) was to accompany the picking, and everyone was to keep their person secret until after Christmas dinner, when we handed out the presents. My first memory of this was smaller. There were only 7 cousins, and 10 adults. Now that my cousins and I are grown, (and some have children of their own), we have expanded to 19 cousins and still 10 adults. Indeed, the actual exchanging of gifts is perfectly chaotic. Many Americans have a Christmas tree. My family has always had a Christmas tree. And every year was pretty much the same. We would find a tree, either at a lot or, (more recently), at a local tree farm, bring it home, cut it down (because it was always too tall), and set it up in the living room. There are still brown streaks on the ceiling where we stood the tree up when it was too tall. One can track where we had our tree in previous years based on those marks. My mother would sit with the container of ornaments and hand out one at a time to each of us. Decorating the tree took an entire evening, and by the end, no one could see the boughs anymore. My dad took care of the lights, and we each took turns being lifted up to place the star on top. Christmas trees were a German tradition, probably started by the German Lutherans. The earliest known record of a decorated Christmas tree is 1605 in Strasbourg, Germany. Old World Germans decorated their trees with stars, angels, toys, nuts, and candies. Later, they added tinsel and lighted candles. The first record of a Christmas tree in the United States, around 1820, was found in the diary of a Lancaster man. However, Christmas trees were quite prevalent in the United States by this time. Santa Claus has his own legends and started out differently than the man we know today. He was likely based on a monk, St. Nicholas, born around 280 A.D. in modern-day Turkey. He did not make it into American popular culture until the end of the 18th century with the Dutch settlers in New York. Santa Claus evolved from St. Nicholas’ shortened Dutch name, Sinter Klaas. Washington Irving is credited with growing St. Nicholas’ popularity by added him to his book, The History of New York in 1809 (though much of what St. Nicholas did in that book, and the traditions surrounding it, are believed to be made up by Irving). Irving did not portray him quite the same way as we know him now. That is credited to Clement Clarke Moore who wrote a poem about a visit from St. Nicholas for his daughters in 1822. He contributed to the jolly elf image, with a “portly figure” and supernatural ability to come down the chimney. A political cartoonist in 1881 used Moore’s poem to draw a likeness of the man Moore described, and this image is what we all think of when we think of Santa Claus. Food is a tradition in every holiday and language I think. Even for those holidays that include fasting, also include a time for food. Around Christmas, both my family and my husband’s family have cookie baking traditions. I am relatively new to my husband’s family’s traditions, but am loving it all the same. Every year, the women of my mother-in-law’s family, (my mother-in-law, her sister, her niece, my sister-in-law, and the children as well) meet to bake sand tarts. I had never heard of sand tarts before meeting my husband, but I quickly fell in love. They are thin, crispy sugar cookies that are sweet and light. It’s tricky to roll them out thin enough, and then get them on the pan without ripping them. We use cookie cutters to make them into all sorts of shapes, and they are decorated and baked for only a few minutes. Delicious. Sand tarts probably originated with the Pennsylvania Dutch. The origin of the name sand tart is believed to be from “sand hearts” or “saints’ hearts” since they were originally cut into heart shapes. It is a wonderful day of baking and bonding and I look forward to it every year. My family also has a cookie tradition,
History Unlocked – November 2017, Food and Plenty of the Lenni Lenape
Food and Plenty of the Lenni Lenape By: Karen Dingle Kendus, Concord Township Historical Society Ahh, Fall. School and club sports have been well under way since the last pieces of summer. School is in full swing, complete with midterms and homework. And Halloween, along with all the sugar addictions and stomachaches, has finally passed us. Most of us have slid comfortably into our busy routines, and are looking forward to some vacation and family time, right around the corner. As the days grow shorter, adults everywhere are mobilizing Grandma’s famous recipes for the feasts of modern Thanksgiving. As a lover of history, my mind invariably goes to those who came before us, and what they were thankful for. More than that, what did they eat and how did they prepare for the coming darkness and cold. After all, Thanksgiving is a final breath of plenty before we are thrust into the cold harsh winter months. We are no longer filling our pantries with foods that will keep us throughout the winter, or making sure we chop enough wood to keep us warm through the spring thaw. Modern conveniences have contributed to our ability to have our cake and eat it too. As a matter of fact, my main goal at this time of year is to make sure I don’t spend all my money on Christmas presents, thereby retaining enough money to buy food at the grocery store in the coming cold and dark months. So it is no wonder that I find fascination in how the original inhabitants of Concord Township managed to survive on just what the land could give them. Concord Township was home to the Lenni Lenape or Delaware tribes. The Lenape consisted of three tribes, (or two, based on more recent research claiming that one tribe has a dialect so disparate, they cannot really be considered Lenape) based on the languages spoken in each group. Their land included all of what is now New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, southeastern New York State, northern Delaware and a small section of southeastern Connecticut. Those living in what is today Concord Township spoke the Unami dialect, separating them slightly from those living north of Philadelphia. Most Lenape lived in small bands of 25 to 50 people, while only a few lived in large villages of 200-300 inhabitants. The Lenape had three clans: Wolf, Turtle and Turkey. Descendants traced their linage through their mothers. Sons had to marry a woman from another clan, and any children from that union would belong to the mother’s clan. Tightknit communities such as these believed in sharing food, much like Thanksgiving today. The most important planted crops were corn (“maize”), beans and squash, known as “The Three Sisters.” Corn on the cob was boiled, baked, or fried in bear grease. To make tortillas, women of the tribe would remove the kernels from the cob, ground them into a paste, and then shape them into patties. The patties were then wrapped in leaves to be baked or boiled. Corn also went into soup, bread, or pudding. Beans were boiled or fried. Some went into soups. Many were added to meat dishes. Squash could be boiled or baked whole. Soups included an array of wild herbs for flavoring. Meat dishes included greens. Berries were plentiful in this area of Pennsylvania, and while eaten by themselves, they were also sometimes added to breads and puddings. Men and boys hunted while the women tended to their gardens. Pennsylvania had an array of wildlife including deer, bear, and rabbit. Animals were used for their meat, skins, and sinew. Bear fat was melted, purified, and stored in skin bags to be used for cooking later. Birds were also hunted, along with their eggs. Feathers were used for making colorful robes and mantles. In some areas, especially closer to the Delaware River, fishing was an option, and fish were also part of the diets of the Lenape. It is difficult to imagine, but much of this food was useless if not properly processed and stored. There were no refrigerators or freezers. While storing excess for the winter months was crucial, there were also cases, in which the overabundance of produce had to be prepared and stored so the produce did not spoil. So the Lenape used preservation methods for conservation. Women tied ears of corn in bundles, and hung them from the ceilings of the houses to dry. Corn kernels and beans were stored in skin or woven bags. Pumpkins and other squash were cut into rings and hung up to dry in the sun. For winter storage, some women dug deep wide holes in the earth and lined them with mats or grasses to keep out mice and dirt. They would then store dried meat, dried fish, nuts, and other dried edibles. Nuts were collected in October and November. Fish and meat could be dried, either in the sun or smoked over a fire. Dried meat could last a long time. When it was time to cook these preserved items, the dried vegetables and squash could be soaked in water until soft enough to eat, and the meat and fish could be eaten alone or added to stews and soups. While historians are skeptical that today’s Thanksgiving was the same as that which was celebrated in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621, it is true that many of us still use November and Thanksgiving as a time for reflection and thanks. As the 2017 harvest draws to a close and family members from all over the country converge on family homes for quality time together, may you and yours be healthy and happy in the days to come! References Unknown Author. 2013. “Foods Eaten By the Lenape Indians.” Official Web Site of the Delaware Tribe of Indians. <http://delawaretribe.org/blog/2013/06/27/foods-eaten-by-the-lenape-indians/>. Accessed: October 23, 2017. Unknown Author. 2014. “Who Were the Lenape?” Lenape Lifeways. <http://www.lenapelifeways.org/lenape1.htm>. Accessed: October 23, 2017. Unknown Author. 2017. “Native Americans: Introduction to the Lenni Lenape, or Delaware Indians.” Penn Treaty
History Unlocked – October 2017, Halloween!
Halloween! By: Karen Dingle Kendus, Concord Township Historical Society I have always loved Halloween. Since I was born early Halloween morning, my parents always made sure we did Halloween completely. Our old farmhouse was decked out in decorations, and my creative parents would make a different costume every year. And they would dress up too. Halloween was not just for children in our house. Every birthday party was a costume party, and everyone dressed up. My parents skinned grapes for “eyeballs” and boiled spaghetti for “entrails.” As I got older, and trick or treating was no longer appropriate, my best friend’s parents held their annual Halloween party for children and parents alike. Halloween has always been a secular holiday in our house and with our friends. Most Americans, by now, have few religious or superstitious ties to Halloween. Origins of the American celebration extend back at least 2000 years to what is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, where the Celtic people lived. The Celts celebrated Samhain, which marked the end of summer and harvest, and then beginning of winter or the “darker half” of the year. They dressed in animal heads and skins and burned crops and animals at the town bonfire as a sacrifice to Celtic deities. Druids, (Celtic priests), used the thin space between living and dead to make predictions of future events, which the Celtic people relied on. At the end of the celebration, the townsfolk would relight their hearth fires with the fire of the blessed bonfire to protect them in the coming winter months. Religion, as we know it, did not enter the realm of Halloween until the Romans conquered Celtic lands around 43 AD. The Romans brought two of their own festivals with them. The first, Feralia, was celebrated in late October and commemorated the passing of the dead. The second, Pomona, was to celebrate the goddess of fruit and trees. Goddess Pomona’s symbol was the apple, and historians believe this might have been the origin of “bobbing” for apples, which is a pastime Americans have today. The two Roman festivals combined with Samhain, but many of the activities remained the same, including the bonfire. Sometime between 731 and 71 AD, Pope Gregory III All Martyrs Day from May 13th to November 1st and added all saints (not just martyrs) to the day, creating All Saints’ Day. Historians believe this was an attempt to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related but church- sanctioned holiday. Halloween in the New England colonies were not widely celebrated because of the rigid Protestant belief system, but elements of Halloween were popular in Maryland and more southern colonies. In locations where Halloween traditions took hold, many were combined with Native American customs, celebrating the harvest and sharing stories of the dead. Colonial Halloween celebrations also featured the telling of ghost stories and making mischief. Halloween did not take hold across the country until after an influx of immigrants around the mid-19th century, especially from Ireland. They popularized the celebration of Halloween and American started to dress up and go house to house asking for food or money. By the mid-20th century, town leaders promoted Halloween has a children’s holiday, and families across town handed out candy to prevent mischief by the neighborhood children. Trick or treating, as we know it today, was born. Today, Americans spend $6 billion annually on Halloween costumes, candy, food, and festivities. Halloween this year falls on a Tuesday, but Concord Township has a Harvest Festival and Halloween parade scheduled for Saturday, October 28th at the Park and Recreation Building, 40 Bethel Road. In good old Halloween tradition, come out and enjoy the community festivities, harvest celebrations, and costumes! References The History Channel. 2017. Bet You Didn’t Know: Halloween; http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween, Accessed: 8/28/2017.
History Unlocked – September 2017, Early Education in PA
The Early Education of Pennsylvania By: Karen Dingle Kendus, Concord Township Historical Society My mother became a teacher as a second career, after I was already a teenager. She is going into her 15th year and could not be happier with her career choice. She takes each new technology in stride, and learns it completely. Her living room has been covered in textbooks, teacher books, activity manuals, and lab experiments for the past month while she was prepping her lesson plans and writing curriculum. My mother is a biology teacher, but that was not an original offering of early colonial schools in Pennsylvania. As a matter of fact, there are very few similarities between today’s public education and William Penn’s idea of education when he acquired Pennsylvania. Obvious differences are the technology involved. Students now are submitting their work through Google Docs and researching reports on their smart devices. However, even the subject matter, duration of the school day, and the fact that education was not free separates early schools from current education. William Penn did not know if pursuit of knowledge was worthwhile, but he felt strongly enough about education to give the governor power to erect and order all public schools for the teaching of reading, writing, religion and arithmetic in his Two Frames of Government (1682-1683). This first call for public education met resistance by other sectarian groups who worried that the Society of Friends, who controlled the Assembly, would use the schools to propagate the Quaker faith. As a compromise, a law was passed that allowed all religious societies, assemblies, and congregations of Protestant faith to erect schools. Quaker schools did not progress very rapidly until 1778 when the Quarterly and Monthly Meetings created an Education Committee. With help from the Education Committee, by 1782, the Society of Friends established subscription schools. Subscription schools required that one person in the community donate land for a schoolhouse if enough neighbors were willing to contribute funds for the construction. The Subscription collected would apply to the master’s salary and go toward the tuition of poor Friends children. Original subscribers and any subsequent donors would have the use of the school for the education of their children and their children’s children. While this was considered “public education,” these schools were only open to those who could afford to pay the fee. Additional subscription schools were built by nondenominational groups as well. The curriculum for early schools consisted mostly of religion and spelling. The earliest textbook was most likely the hornbook, which had the alphabet and the Lord’s Prayer in it. If arithmetic, called cyphering or “casting accounts,” was offered, it was only taught by the master and through oral lessons. Paper was too scarce to use for arithmetic. Spellers came into wider use in the early 18th century. Noah Webster’s American Spelling Book was a standard text after the Revolution. John Comly’s Speller was also popular in this area probably because he taught at the Westtown School. Grammar became part of the curriculum at the end of the 18th century but was not universally taught, as it was not seen as useful. Schoolhouses in southeastern Pennsylvania were architecturally distinct. The early schoolhouses were built in an octagonal shape, with the idea that they were easier to heat. In practical terms, the schoolhouses offered more space for blackboards and exhibits, areas for separate study, and had an acoustic design that lessened noise. Teachers appreciated the practical uses of octagonal schoolhouses. Of all the issues facing the Education Committee, one of the most difficult was the lack of qualified instructors. Unfortunately, society did not have a positive view of teachers. They were seen as being of low quality and incapable of doing anything else. And society’s view of teachers was not the only deterrent. Teachers had low salaries, taught large classes for short sessions, and teaching was not a fulfilling profession. All this being said, if one had the money for a tutor or to attend one of the few quality schools, a worthwhile education was possible. In 1764, one could take English, history, Roman history, poetry, Latin and English grammar, and Bible and geography at the Union School (near Chadds Ford). These and the subscription schools were students’ only options until 1834 when Pennsylvania passed a law mandating a system of public education. As the 2017-2018 school year begins, it is worthwhile to see how far we have come. Teachers have become an integral part of society and are well-respected as scholars. Students attend school for the better part of a day, for most of the year. It took many years for society to value education and it remains free for all, as well as compulsory, today. Enjoy the new beginnings! References Ashmead, Henry Graham. 1884. History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: L.H. Everts & Co. pp. 488. Case, Robert P. 1983. Prosperity and Progress: Concord Township Pennsylvania, 1683-1983. Chester, Pa.: John Spencer, Inc. pp. 66-68.