The Moravian Historical Society in the Morning Call Newspaper, 1984 to today

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Live lessons show Valley history ** Actors in Nazareth recall Moravians' aid to European refugees.

Morning Call - Allentown, Pa. Author: William J. Ford Of The Morning Call

Copyright Morning Call Jul 22, 2002

Twenty-year-old Sarah Dreydoppel of Nazareth found a way to relax Saturday afternoon: sew a pocket-sized sewing kit called a housewife.

Niel DeMarino, 37, of Long Valley, N.J., was busy baking cornbread and boiling stew over an open fire.

Dreydoppel and Marino were just two of about 20 re-enactors portraying European refugees on the grounds of the Whitefield House in Nazareth who were fleeing Indian raids.

Saturday's program, sponsored by the Moravian Historical Society, was the last of five history lessons held for nearly a month to promote the series "To Wipe Off the Tears: The Treaty of Easton and the Lehigh Valley 1755-1758," which detailed milestones during the French and Indian War.

Free lectures and re-enactments took place at historic sites in Northampton County. Re-enactors dressed in 18th-century clothing and washed laundry on wooden washboards above a small bucket of water.

The Whitefield House dates to the 1740s and was home to the Moravians who helped shelter refugees who lived along the Blue Mountains. American Indian tribes, including the first tribe to settle in Northampton County, Lenni Lenape or Delaware, were angry their land was being taken away by settlers.

Mark Turdo, the Moravian Historical Society's curator, said more than 2,000 people attended all five events. Turdo, 27, also is a re- enactor and wore a red jacket, blue pants and long white socks up to his knees.

While walking to the Whitefield House, he was stopped by Grace Moser of Tamaqua, who wanted to know how many refugees stayed at the house.

"About 300 stayed in the house, but I do believe about 441 came to the grounds," Turdo said as he pointed to the house.

"That's so interesting," Moser replied. "There's so much history here."

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