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MUSEUM TO EXHIBIT SCHOOL LIFE - MORAVIAN GROUP OPENS SHOW

Morning Call - Allentown, Pa. Author: LORNA WEIL, The Morning Call

Copyright Morning Call Apr 24, 1989

In its first major exhibit in many years, the Moravian Historical Society has opened the newly restored rooms of the Whitefield House Museum in Nazareth with an exhibit on "Nazareth Hall Academy, 1759- 1929."

The exhibit details the life of the Boarding School for Boys through photographs, paintings and artifacts. Following a preview showing for members yesterday, the exhibit will be open to the public from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, beginning this week through June 23.

The museum will also be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 10 in connection with the Nazareth Heritage Arts and Crafts Show on the lawn. There is no admission charge.

Each first-floor room depicts another phase in the 170 years the school operated in Nazareth. These rooms, formerly occupied by a retired Moravian minister, have been repainted and modernized with track lighting for display purposes.

The earliest room focuses on a portrait of Count Nicholas von Zinzendorf by early American Moravian artist John Valentine Haidt. This was done around 1757, apparently from memory. Zinzendorf felt very strongly that members of the community - both boys and girls - should be educated "because an educated mind was less likely to fall into evil ways," says museum curator Beth Pearce.

The Manor House, which became permanent quarters for Moravian Hall in 1759, was built 1755-56, during the French and Indian War. At the time, it was believed that Zinzendorf would make it his home. It was designed after his Berthelsdorf, Saxony, home. But Zinzendorf never lived in it.

On display are several views of the Manor House depicting building changes through the years. There is also a drawing by Ben Walbert, Allentown restoration architect, showing the Manor House as it would have looked in 1799 with the steeple that had been built on it in 1785. Watercolors and lithographs show other changes, including a new belfry and dormers.

Memorabilia in the second room concentrates on the hall as the place of worship for the congregation and on the Single Sisters and their service to the school. The Single Sisters choir, next door to the Manor House, provided such services as cooking, laundry and helping with the sick room, for which they were paid.

The exhibit will include "Doubting Thomas," one of the six large paintings depicting the life of Christ done by Haidt, who set up a studio in the Manor House in 1757. The paintings were restored in 1950.

There is also a Bible printed in Nuremberg in 1733, an early communion chalice and communion paten (small plate), lovefeast mugs, a wedding wine glass, and an oil portrait of Catherine Huber, who was overseer of the nursery when it was in the Whitefield House 1748-49. Many of the boys, once they reached age 5, would go to Nazareth Hall for schooling, remaining there until age 14 or 15.

"The aim of early Moravian education was the development of the whole individual, the cultivation of the soul, mind and body," Pearce explains. This is emphasized in another room that includes a copy of a tuition circular listing courses and their costs. This applied to the time of the Rev. Levin T. Reichel, principal from 1849-53, when the Manor House served as a boarding school for boys and a classical seminary.

Pearce says, "Teachers exhibited a true Christian character, created a thoroughly Christian home life, and maintained a high level of moral conduct among the pupils. While religion was an important part of the education, the Moravian Church never forced its doctrine on the students."

On display will be a secretary, probably used by the principal. There will also be examination pieces. Examination days were a big production for which students exhibited the best of their work. On the same day, there would be musical recitals, dramas and dialogues on such subjects as natural history or historical events.

The military room will show eight dress uniforms, most of which have been donated by families. There will also be a baseball shirt of the 1910 period, along with sports photographs and information on student activities.

Military drill was introduced as part of the physical culture routine in 1862, Pearce says. "The Rev. E.H. Reichel, principal, felt that drill and organized companies would assist in maintaining discipline among the pupils. Church authorities never tried to reverse or dissolve the military aspect."

On display in the hall will be a tent used for bivouac between 1910-20 when encampments were held across Center Street from the Hall. With the exception of items on loan from Old Salem, N.C., everything on display came from the Whitefield collection. Some of the items are being shown for the first time.

In its 170 years, more than 5,000 boys entered the Hall from all over the United States, from Canada, the Caribbean, South America and Europe. Low enrollment and financial problems closed its doors in July 1929.

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