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MORAVIANS WILL RESTORE 1776 ORGAN - HISTORICAL SOCIETY TO PAY FOR WORK ON TANNENBERG

Morning Call - Allentown, Pa.

Copyright Morning Call Oct 16, 1995

Priorities in a long-range plan, including restoration of the 1776 Tannenberg organ, were introduced to members and guests of the Moravian Historical Society Thursday at the annual meeting and vesper.

The 138th annual meeting held in Whitefield House Museum in Nazareth was followed by the vespers held in the Schoeneck Moravian Church, north of Nazareth.

Executive Director Susan Dreydoppel reported that the Tannenberg organ, one of only nine Tannenbergs still remaining, will be restored next summer at a cost of nearly $12,000. In addition to "restoring it to playable condition," one of the original pipes will be replaced.

The organ was built in Lititz, Lancaster County, by David Tannenberg (1728-1804), who also worked at one time at the historic Burnside house in Bethlehem, and at the Manor House in Nazareth. The organ was installed in the Single Brethren's House in Bethlehem, but brought to Whitefield House in 1922.

Emphasis was placed on the restoration and preservation of artifacts, including additional instruments in the society's collections, as well as paintings, among them the works of John Valentine Haidt.

Consideration also will be given to the hiring of a part-time secretary and for a director of volunteers. The plan also cites the increasing need for a part-time curator.

Dreydoppel noted that another item on the longe-range planning list -- that of reorganizing the former first-floor apartment rooms -- is nearly completed. The area has been converted into a research room, office for an intern or curator, kitchen and meeting room.

Elected to the Board of Managers were Darrell W. Crook, John Halbing and Glenn Hertzog, all of Nazareth, and John Jacob of Bethlehem. Shirley J. Clennon and Linda C. Crook, both of Nazareth, were elected treasurers.

The Rev. Charles W. Eichman of Bethlehem was re-elected president. Vice presidents are the Rev. Robert F. Engelbrecht, Dr. David A. Schattschneider and the Rev. Henry L. Williams, Bethlehem; Bishop Edwin A. Sawyer, Lititz and Jean K. Haupt, Nazareth. Emma D. Williams, Newfoundland, was re-elected secretary.

Renamed to the board were Berlie (Lou) Dishong, Evelyn Huth and Charles J. Peisch; Frederick Koehler, the Rev. J. Thomas Minor, Rose Nehring and Lorna Weil.

Mrs. Charles Eichman announced the sale of a Moravian flag -- a large white Moravian star centered on a background of blue canvas -- as a fund-raiser for the society. The flag can be hung outdoors or on a wall. It will be available at gift shops in Bethlehem and Nazareth.

Preparations are to be made for Putzfest, the Christmas exhibit of the museum to be on display Nov. 19 through Jan. 7. It will feature the Ruth and Dale Kelly family putz, Joe Morris putz and Jennie Trein putz.

"Migration and the Moravian Community in the 18th Century" was discussed by Dr. Aaron Fogleman, assistant professor of history at the University of South Alabama, Mobile, Ala., during the afternoon vespers, based partly on research he had done at the Moravian Archives in Bethlehem.

"The Moravians were the most successful immigrants in the 18th Century and probably into the 19th Century," he said. "They tended to be in very much better health when they arrived. When they made it to Bethlehem and Nazareth, they were in good shape and ready to go to work."

From travel journals, he was able to follow some of the experiences of 830 Moravian immigrants. The journals told of the difficult trip taken from Pennsylvania to North Carolina by a group consisting of 18 women and two men. He said it took them four weeks, during which they were given a rough time in Virginia through torrential downpours and a near kidnapping. "But they made it," he said. Twelve of the women were between ages 12-20. A relief wagon from Wachovia, N.C., came to help them reach their destination in 1776 and when they arrived they were greeted by a brass band.

Fogleman said that the German Moravians came for religious reasons. They started missionary movements in North Carolina "and they were successful. Lots of people didn't make it at all. A lot of people went broke before they got on their ships."

He explained that "the Moravians did everything for themselves. They had their own ships and their own crews. Among the ships listed in the diaries was the Irene, which made 14 to 15 crossings." The Irene brought Bethlehem's first "sea congregations" to the new world.

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