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NAZARETH EXHIBIT OFFERS DIVERSE PIECES OF HISTORY

Morning Call - Allentown, Pa. Author: RICH HARRY, Special to The Morning Call

Copyright Morning Call Dec 21, 1992

When she looked over the museum collection at the Moravian Historical Society sometime after she was hired three years ago, Executive Director Susan Dreydoppel stumbled upon all sorts of things.

Unexpected things.

Weird things.

What-in-the-world-are-they-doing-in-Nazareth things.

A frayed piece of transatlantic telegraph cable placed in the waters off Newfoundland in 1858.

A chunk of wood from the gallows where abolitionist John Brown was hanged in 1859 for his treasonous attack on the federal armory in Harpers Ferry.

And could it really be? Could the circular wisp of white attached to the brooch with the shiny copper metal frame really be hair from George Washington's head?

You bet it could be. But the problem with the hair, as well as with the cable and the gallows wood and lots of other stuff at the museum, is this: None of it really has much to do with Moravian Church history. And Moravian history, it should be duly noted, is what the Moravian Historical Society is about.

"They have no Moravian connection, or little Moravian connection, but we found these things intriguing," Dreydoppel says. "And when we put the items all together, we found that we had enough for an exhibit."

The title is "Pieces of American History," which opened Nov. 15 at the historical society's Whitefield House, 214 E. Center St., Nazareth. The exhibit is open 1-4 p.m. daily through Oct. 17, 1993.

The items were taken out of storage or from the museum's permanent collection upstairs. "Some are in the permanent collection, but there is so much stuff in the collection that some pieces are easily missed," says Dreydoppel. "Some people on our board asked where we found all this stuff. Some of it has been upstairs all along."

Most artifacts in the new exhibit on the downstairs floor are associated with people, places and events that figure prominently in American history: a piece of black cloth that was draped over the coffin that held the remains of Abraham Lincoln, walking sticks carved from floorboards in Independence Hall and a booklet titled "If Bethlehem is Raided" designed to calm townsfolk during World War II.

"We hope this exhibit will be particularly popular among high school groups," Dreydoppel says while pointing out such things as a reproduction of the Gettysburg Address, a portrait of the young William Penn and posters that urged patriotic acts among U.S. citizens during World Wars I and II.

"The exhibit has things students are all studying about; things we've all studied about," Dreydoppel says. "They've all read about these things in their textbooks, but may not have seen them in person."

The exhibit is arranged chronologically. Samples from early America: Indian moccasins, trade beads, a peace pipe, what is believed to be one of the last baskets made by the Delaware tribe, and a coat worn by the Seneca Chief Red Jacket (curiously, this particular coat isn't red but deerskin tan). From the American Revolution era: ribbons commemorating the contributions of the Gen. Marquis de Lafayette; reproductions of two books printed on Ben Franklin's press. From the Civil War: a canteen, a block of unbitten hardtack, a Union battle flag and a piece of jewelry carved from a section of the ironclad warship Merrimack. From the world wars: a Red Cross poster, a military helmet and a first-aid kit. From Vietnam: color photographs, a personal letter announcing a birth, and a diary.

Items came to the historical society from a variety of sources: a former intern whose step-father served in Vietnam; a historical society in upstate New York; a soldier in the First Pennsylvania Regiment who presumably witnessed John Brown's execution; a former student at Nazareth Hall academy who later captained a ship that helped install the transatlantic cable; and a local Civil War group given the Lincoln coffin cloth by the son of a Pennsylvania Railroad official.

"We have to go on what's in our records," Dreydoppel says of the veracity of items like a piece of wood said to have come off of one of John Paul Jones' warships, or another piece of wood that frames a three shilling note that supposedly was part of John Hancock's writing desk. "Really, there was no reason for someone to have tried passing off a piece of wood from their woodpile."

Some artifacts have a Moravian connection, others a local connection. Flags with blue and gold stars -- each star representing a member of the congregation who had served in the world wars -- were made and donated to the museum by members of Schoeneck Moravian Church.

There's a letter written by President Martin Van Buren asking the principal about his niece's academic work at a girls' seminary in Bethlehem.

Hanging from one wall is a red-and-gold replica banner given to a Polish count during the Revolutionary War by women who lived in the Single Sisters House in Bethlehem. The count apparently had guarded the house against rowdy Continental Army soldiers stationed in Bethlehem. The banner moved Longfellow to write an inaccurately titled poem, "Hym of the Moravian Nuns of Bethlehem." A copy is part of the exhibit.

Having another local connection is Washington's hair. The first president apparently had gotten a trim during a visit to the Sun Inn in Bethlehem.

The most popular item in the exhibit? So far it appears to be Washington's hair. "If you can't have his teeth," says Dreydoppel, "you might as well have his hair."

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