{"id":230780,"date":"2026-06-29T10:21:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T10:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/230780\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T10:21:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T10:21:14","slug":"cherry-fair-celebrates-preserves-pennsylvania-german-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/230780\/","title":{"rendered":"Cherry Fair celebrates, preserves Pennsylvania German history"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the Cherry Fair, a Schaefferstown festival dating back to the 1700s, late 18th- and early 19th-century history is celebrated. Traditionally-made artisan items are displayed and sold, Revolutionary War encampments share their history, and era-accurate attire is worn by volunteers and guests alike.<\/p>\n

\"\"A volunteer bakes with traditional recipes and equipment. Items are baked in a \u201csquirrel tail\u201d bake oven.\"\"Volunteers with the modern German Regiment talk to one another alongside historic artifacts on display. The original German Regiment was commissioned July 8, 1776 and was made up mostly of German settlers in Pennsylvania and Maryland.\"\"Stephen Huber Horst of Huberhaus Pottery works on a redware bowl. Horst\u2019s great-great grandfather, a farmer in Montgomery County, made redware pottery from clay beneath the topsoil.\"\"Presenter Sam Leamer, of Coffee with a Colonial, talks to guests at the Cherry Fair. <\/p>\n

It also serves as a fundraiser for Historic Schaefferstown, benefiting the preservation and restoration of historic sites the Alexander Schaeffer Farm (the site of the fair), the Gemberling-Rex House, and the Brendle Museum.<\/p>\n

\"\"A variety of baked goods were available for sale Saturday.<\/p>\n

For the 2026 fair on Saturday, June 27, Historic Schaefferstown vice-president Brenda Morrow said, there were 726 attendees, not counting volunteers and vendors. Though lower than in some past years, Morrow said turnout was fair for the weather, with intermittent drizzle through the day.<\/p>\n

\"\"Skies were cloudy Saturday, with occasional rain throughout the day.<\/p>\n

There were over 50 artisans, presenters, and demonstrators, she said, and around 90 volunteers. The Cherry Fair, she said, celebrates the Pennsylvania-German heritage of Schaefferstown.<\/p>\n

\"\"An attendee tries out \u201ctin punching,\u201d a method for making household items popular during the colonial era.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea is that so many of us have a Pennsylvania German background and what\u2019s unique about this area is a lot of people that live here don\u2019t ever leave, so it\u2019s giving a picture of the culture that used to live here and reminding us of the importance of saving that,\u201d said Morrow. \u201cThis is a beautiful, beautiful farm and we\u2019d like to keep it that way and remind people of the importance of farming and community and all of those aspects of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"A wagon ride, popular among children, makes its way across the Alexander Schaeffer Farm.<\/p>\n

The nonprofit aims to restore buildings to their original condition, including authentic materials, and, where applicable, processes. President Lynn Wenger said this means improvements can seem slow to occur from the outside.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we try do first of all is we try to save as much of the original fabric of the building as we can,\u201d said Wenger. \u201cDetermining that takes a little time and effort and some knowledge. Then we decide what we\u2019re keeping, and what we\u2019re not. Then the idea is to reproduce, if we have to, an exact replica. In the house over here, some of the trim that you see if you walk through there has been reproduced from the original, so we wind up with something that looks authentic, and whenever possible we use hand tools.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Alexander Schaeffer Farm, the site of the Cherry Fair since the 1980s, contains an 18th Century National Historic Landmark house.<\/p>\n

\"\"The basement of the Alexander Schaeffer house, once a distillery. Restorative work in the basement was recently conducted.\"\"Photos showing the process for restorative work in the Alexander Schaeffer basement\/distillery area.<\/p>\n

President Lynn Wenger explained that, recently, there was plaster coming off the walls in the house. To restore it, he said, they combined clay with straw for the first coat, followed with a lime paint sourced from Lancaster County.<\/p>\n

\"\"Volunteer Jan Taylor poses in 18th Century attire inside the Alexander Schaeffer house.\"\"Volunteer Ruth demonstrates the use of a spinning wheel. The walls of this room were recently restored to their original finish.\"\"A room in the Alexander Schaeffer house awaiting restorative work.<\/p>\n

The nonprofit also recently completed major renovations at the Gemberling-Rex house, an 18th-century tavern on the National Register of Historic Homes. Oct. 3, Morrow said, they are hosting a tavern night using the building as a tavern for the first time in over a century.<\/p>\n

Historic Schaefferstown runs the museum, hosts workshops and welcomes speakers, and holds events throughout the year to educate about history and share historic sites with the public.<\/p>\n

For more information on Historic Schaefferstown<\/a>, visit the Brendle Museum any Tuesday from 1 to 4 p.m. or on the first Sunday of the month.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Cherry Fair Photo Reel<\/p>\n

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