This Old House

Friday, September 11, 2009

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sandiya

Saturday, August 29, 2009

house of my dreams

This is the "Old House" that goes with yesterday's hibiscus located at 39 Elm Avenue in the Wollaston section. This colonial was built in 1900 and has had its luster restored over the last decade. It gleams with ownership pride on the outside and I imagine on the inside too. It is for sale . . . it's time for the owner's to move on in their lives. I wish them all the best and hope the new owners keep the shine on this one!
There she is. The ‘house of my dreams.’ Right? I mean, doesn’t it sound lovely- the whole buy-an-old-house-in-an-even-older-town, fixer-upper, quaint charm and high ceilings thing? And it is. Some days. Other days, I wonder if the insurance would be enough to pay the mortgage if it (ahem) accidentally burned to the ground.

We bought it 8 years ago this month. I said it would take a decade to fix it up they way I envisioned it, and it sure has. I guess we only have two years to add central air conditioning, fix the leaky old wraparound-rain-gutter thingy, and add that master bath.

Why a master bath? Well, when we first bought the house (for $185,000 because it was on the market for EIGHT YEARS since no one wanted its termite-munched house ass) it had ONE SHOWER on the first floor. The inspector said the only thing holding the toilet up was its pipe, and that was right before he fired up the furnace in the cellar and it shot flames all over the place. So we added a shower kit (complete with sunflower shower head and sucking-to-your-wet body round shower curtains) to the original clawfoot tub on the second floor and ripped out the first floor bath. There were 22 toothbrushes behind the sink when we ripped it out of the moldy wall. Ew.

The second floor bathroom, though, is on a landing in view of the front door. It has two little French doors that lead to it, which are constantly being opened by the children in the household to cut through to the laundry room. So, potentially, you could be either a.) stepping out of the shower or b.) dropping a deuce in full view of the guest who has just stepped through your front door.

“Hi, Guest! I’ll be right down to serve your iced tea as soon as I wipe my ass!”

This is why I want my own bathroom, with a door that not only locks, but includes a knob which sends an electric shock to any small hands that attempt entry.

Suffice it to say that the mortgage on the house is wayyyyyyyyy more than it’s original purchase price (the house ‘totaled itself’ years ago) so a new bathroom is not in the budget. And should our second mortgage be paying for a non-leaky roof instead of an inground pool? Absosmurfly, but we all love the freakin pool, dude. I don’t know what I’d do with four kids all summer if I didn’t have it.

I could regale you all day with stories of fixing up this old house, but I don’t want to bore you- plus, I kept notes and photos of the renovation and want to publish them as some sorta book (I have been thinking about putting a series of e-books or Kindles on Pajamas and Coffee in case any of you would like to read more of my random rantings. Would you guys pay like $5 to read ebooks by me? Cuzzzz, then I could save up and maybe one day take a crap in peace.)

Until then, here’s a list of additional miscellaneous mini-old-house stories:

* the foundation sill of the house had to be replaced because its termite-murdered ghost was haunting us: the kitchen was 8 inches lower on one side than the other. The only thing holding up the back of our house were the termites holding hands, plus what we fondly refer to as ’structural plaster.’
* the old (not 1881 quaint old, 1972 FUBAR UGLY old) kitchen featured a single light bulb’s illumination, actual icicles hanging from the faucet on cold mornings (we used the oven to heat the room), and bugs that should never be seen on the inside of the place where a person lives and were outnumbered only by the mice.
* the mauve and blue Country ducks/geese/pineapples/hearts were highlighted by the mauve and blue wall-to-wall carpeting and blue ruffled curtains throughout all three floors. And blue trim. I think in one room the air was 1982 Country blue.
* Things We’ve Removed: the color blue, 2 non-original walls put up when the house was 2 apartments in 1939, all wall-to-wall carpet, the godforsakenly ugly ‘popcorn plaster’ on all ceilings, drop acoustical tile ceilings (including bonus shower of unopened condoms and 80s porn), the ugly wallpaper from throughout, THE KITCHEN, the white asbestos tiles that covered the exterior of the house, and the termites (sorry, gluttons!)
* Things We’ve Added: original exterior paint colors, a shower to the 3rd floor bathroom, a new kitchen (including discovery of old brick fireplace behind the wall!), a 19th century copper gargoyle (better known as our Gaygoyle) because our house looks like the Addams family house and I am a Halloween maniac, 2 children to the 2 we had when we bought the five-bedroom house (one room for everybody if you include the 6th bedroom-converted-to-laundry room/my closet, where I hide when I am not hiding in my car from the kids), 3 working fireplaces on the 1st floor, a ton of freaking debt, and a partridge in a pear tree (they eat less than mice).
* Favorite finds: 1896 quarter, the original front door in the cellar (bye-bye, 90s Lowes’ door!), original 1881 wallpaper samples, old metal Snuff can, old bottles, old greeting cards, 1939 flashlight, a 1920s love letter and most of all, DOLLY, a lady who was born in our bedroom in 1917 and lives a block away- she’s given us original photographs, linens, vases, and my favorite: the infant dress her mother made her in the house when she was born (now framed in parlor). She gave it to us as a gift when my third daughter was born while we were living here.

It’s not all as charming as it sounds. We never did get to stripping and restoring that 3-level winding mahogany staircase with it’s George Bailey-loose newel post top. My husband hauls window unit air conditioners in and out of windows each summer which sucks donkey, it’s a money pit like that old 80s movie (whenever I take a bath in the claw foot tub I think I’m going to end up in the cellar like Shelley Long), it has more drafts than the Vietnam War, and the paint on the exterior is already peeling and we can’t afford a new paint job. Also it’s a smidge haunted, but I’ll save that story for another day.

But whenever I find myself in someone’s cookie cutter, vinyl-sided, I-can’t-find-your-house-because-it-looks-like-all-the-other-houses house, I find myself glad to be living in a home that, built 130 years ago, is solid, has 44 windows (some of which are over 8 feet high), has gorgeous slate mantels, the original polychromatic slate roof and tons and tons of that hard-to-define, easy-to-recognize CHARM that makes us love her no matter how much heart and wallet-ache she causes.
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Tuesday, August 18, 2009

will God indeed dwell on the earth

"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built! (1 Kings 8:27)
Sometime in the early 1970s, the president of AT&T called all his company managers into a large conference room for an emergency meeting.
Attendance was mandatory.
Speculation ran high as to what announcement would be made.
Perhaps a breakthrough in technology. Perhaps a downsizing of the company. When all were seated, the president went to the podium and said, "The telephone as we know it no longer exists."
Muffled laughter rippled through the room. They all knew he was joking. They had used telephones that morning. The president then said: "Anyone who does not believe what I just said can leave this room right now and pick up your final paycheck on the way out."
The room quickly quieted down. No one left.
Then they noticed that all the phones that had been in the room that morning, were gone.
The President said once again, “The telephone as we know it no longer exists, your job today is to invent one."
He then proceeded to break the managers up into small groups and they spent the rest of the afternoon designing a telephone from scratch. They asked themselves, what kind of features would we want in a new phone?
Some wanted one with no cord, one that could be carried in the car, or on the street.... and wouldn’t it be great to know when another call was coming in, or to be able to forward calls to another number, or to be able to transmit not just sound but documents, text and video!
About 60 new features distinguished the telephone invented by this impromptu gathering. Many of which we take for granted today, from call waiting to cell phones to text messaging, and the list has not yet been exhausted.
With this story in mind, imagine now as we enter the third millennium, that we come here to King Street church one Sunday morning and much to our shocked dismay, we find a vacant lot where our church once stood.
In the middle of the lot there is a little note tacked on a piece of tattered plaster. The note is written in Hebrew and the same note has been left on vacant lots all over the world where Christian churches once stood, from towering cathedrals to tiny one-room chapels. Translated, the note reads, "The church you have always known no longer exists; – the walls, the pews, the altar, the set in stone beliefs and assumptions. All of it is gone."
"How can this be?" We ask in abject puzzlement.
How can all that we have built be gone?
In the background, we hear God laughing and saying, "Given the world the way it is, with its devastating problems and amazing opportunities for joy, given what you know of how Jesus lived in the world, and how human beings are meant to honor the covenant made with God, the real question is, 'How can your churches NOT be gone?' "
Then God looks us straight in the eye and says, "The church you have always known no longer exists - Your job today is to build a new one.”
This scenario comes from the book “Dying Church, Living God” written by the late author and chaplain Chuck Meyer.
In his book Meyer addressed the problem of the continuing decline of our mainline Christian denominations. The term mainline refers to those Protestant denominations that were brought to or established in our country by our immigrant ancestors – the Episcopalians, the Lutherans, the Presbyterians, the Methodists, and the Congregationalists, who are the forbearers our own United Church of Christ.
Modern day prophets like Meyer paint a picture of the future that is not very pretty. The church as we know it is dying.
While evangelical and other non-denominational churches have grown over the past 20 years, mainline denominations like our own have shown a steady decline in membership. Although some mainline Christians have switched to non-denominational churches for theological reasons, an even greater number have chosen to leave the church all together.
According to a recent poll, 87% of Americans declare themselves to be religious, but less than 20% go to church on a weekly basis.
It has been said that in 50 to 100 years Christian churches in America will be like many of the churches in Europe today – kept open during the week as tourist attractions or museums, while they remain locked and empty on Sunday mornings.
There is no shortage of reasons given for the decline in church membership:Some cite the tendency for mainline churches to cling to language, music, and traditions that are out of step with the times and which no longer speak to the people of today.
Others blame the current cultural preference for individualistic forms of religion that emphasize self-help and prosperity messages, while downplaying the social justice and politicized teachings of the Gospels.
One obvious factor contributing to the decline, is the steady loss of young adults, many of whom say they are disillusioned with the hypocrisy of Christians who profess to love thy neighbor on Sunday, while doing everything they can to exclude their neighbor on Monday.
Mainline churches have not been blind to the downward trend in attendance, and there have been attempts to adapt to the current culture and attract new members.
Yet despite efforts to modernize worship services with rock bands and power point presentations, and the push to emulate mega churches by offering one-stop conveniences like coffee shops, fitness centers, and movie theatres; mainline membership rolls continue to shrink.
For doomsayers like Chuck Meyer, changing the design of our church buildings or our style of worship is tantamount to arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
It doesn’t matter how we change the scenery - the ship is still going down.
And there is nothing we can do to prevent it.
And the prophetic voices tell us that we shouldn’t try to prevent it.
Like the AT&T executives in our opening story,
We shouldn’t be asking ourselves, how do we save our old church, but rather we should be asking: “What kind of church will we build in its place?”
We have to wonder, if in the summer of 18 hundred and 30, the eight people who came together to form the First Christian Church of Danbury and Patterson looked at the empty patch of land on the corner of South King Street and asked themselves “What kind of church will we build?”
The church as they knew it no longer existed, as the sons and daughters of new world settlers or as immigrants themselves, they had left behind the church of old, and were now staring at virgin land that was ripe for change. Everything around them was new.
While churches and homes in their family’s native countries had stood for hundreds and in some cases thousands of years, most of the houses that dotted the countryside of the small farming settlement known as Danbury had stood for less than 75 years.
The United States of America itself was barely 60 years old.
There were only 24 states in the union.
The entire population was reinventing itself as it went along.
200 years before our church’s founding, our congregational forbearers, the Puritans left their home country because the Christian church as they imagined it to be looked quite different from the church as it was.
Even in the early stages of the Protestant Reformation, when people’s understanding of what it meant to be a church was experiencing a radical shift, there was no one set way to be a Protestant Christian as opposed to being a Catholic Christian.
What there was was a sense that the churches we had built were too defined to house the indefinable nature of God. The box we had built around God was too elaborate, too restrictive and reflected our own image rather than the unknowable image of God.
The people who founded our church 179 years ago had something in common with the Puritans, and the Protestant Reformers, and the first ragtag band of disciples who called themselves followers of Jesus Christ.
They looked at the house we had erected in God name, declared it to be inadequate, and asked “What will we build in its place?”
In our scripture reading today, Solomon looked out at the Temple that he had built to act as God’s dwelling place, and he said:
"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27)
The Temple that Solomon constructed in Jerusalem was not just a house of God, it was THE house of God. It took seven years to build. He used the finest of building materials: the cedars of Lebanon, cypress wood, gold, silver, bronze, and huge blocks of cut and dressed stone. He had master craftsmen carve into the walls of the Temple elaborate decorations of cherubim, palm trees, and flowers. He overlaid everything with gold – even the floor. It was a magnificent building, inside and out.
When all was ready, Solomon brought up the Ark of the Covenant, which had been residing in the Tabernacle, and installed it in the newly finished Temple, in the innermost sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim, carved of olivewood and covered with gold. As soon as the priests put the Ark in its place, a cloud filled the Temple and the glory of the LORD inhabited it.
This cloud that descended on the Temple is a sign of the presence of God. It is the same cloud that led the Israelites out of Egypt and protected them from the Egyptian army. It is the same cloud that descended on the top of Mount Sinai when God made a covenant with the Israelites and gave them the Law as a gift. This same cloud settled on the Tabernacle, that movable sanctuary, by which God was present with the Israelites throughout their wanderings in the wilderness.
In Solomon's prayer, Jerusalem is "the city that God has chosen.”
The Temple is the place of which God says, "My name shall be there.” Where passing foreigners will hear God’s name and be welcomed in. It is the place where heaven meets earth and where God's glory appears for all to see.
But it is important to note that Solomon's prayer does not confine God to the Temple. Solomon acknowledges that this "house" cannot contain God. Although the Temple was central to Israel's worship for many centuries, at the same time it was not essential. When the Temple of Jerusalem is destroyed, not once but twice, God is still present with God's people.*
The belief that God cannot be contained in a building still holds today.
How many times have we heard of churches destroyed by natural disasters or fire, yet the people still come together on Sunday mornings to worship – sitting on wooden planks under tarps, in rented trailers, or in space provided by other churches or the community.
Because most Christians know that the church is not found in the plaster or the cinder blocks, the church is found in the people.
Jesus said, “Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I will be.”
This is why we date our church’s founding back to 1830, when eight people came together and said “we are a church," while this actual building didn’t come to be until 16 years later.
So, we’re left with the realization, if WE are the church, then to stem the tide of those choosing to leave the church, it is not our buildings that must change, its not the language, or the music, or the sound system that must change.
WE must change. We as Christians must change.
We must change the way we act and move in our churches and in the world.
We must embrace the Good News of the gospel – that God’s radically inclusive love and saving Grace is given freely to all – and not just speak these words on Sunday but live them on Monday.
We need to throw open the windows, and prop open our doors, so that all will hear that God’s name is spoken in this place, and that everyone, everyone, is welcome in God’s house.
Now, despite the dire picture I painted earlier about the decline of mainline Christian denominations in this country, there is hope to be found.
I’ve spent the last year living in Boston, attending my first year of seminary. During my first year, I had to choose a local church and interview for the ministerial internship that I’ll be starting this fall. To research my options, I made it a point to attend a different UCC church in the Boston area every Sunday - to get a feel for how they worship, how they serve, how they see themselves as “church” in the world.
While I came across a few churches that were stagnant – in their preaching, in their outreach efforts, and in their growth – and a few that were obviously dying – due to an aging membership or changing demographics in their community, the majority of the churches I attended were alive and growing.
These are churches that have held onto many of their traditions and the language of old, but they were not afraid to try something new.
There was a new emphasis on inclusivity and a new interest in social justice issues that came not just from a handful of members on a committee but from the congregation as a whole.
There was a new emphasis on living the message of Jesus, seeing it not just as a guide to make us better people, but as an imperative to make a better world.
There was a new enthusiasm, a new excitement, about changing what it means to be a Christian in the world today.
And I saw this excitement, this enthusiasm, not just in the UCC churches I attended, but also in the faces and the words and actions of my fellow seminarians – who are Baptists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Methodists, Lutherans – both young and old.
These are the people who will be pastoring the churches of tomorrow.
These are the people who are members of the churches of today.
The churches that must no longer shut their doors to the world and spend all their time and money on themselves - building elaborate sanctuaries, preaching sermons that focus more on the prosperity or damnation of the individual then the teachings of the gospel, sitting in judgment of the world and its evils but doing nothing to lessen the effects of those evils.
For prophetic voices like Chuck Meyer, this is the church of old,
the church that must die, to allow a new church to grow in its place.
A church that feeds the hungry, helps the suffering, clothes the naked, strengthens the fainthearted.
A church that hears the gospel as a call to go out into the world and serve others, while at the same time maintaining a space to serve the needs of its members and the immediate community.
A church that builds a house to Worship God, but knows that God cannot be contained in four walls of plaster and stone.
The hopeful news is that King Street UCC is one of these churches.
We are a church that is proud of it’s history, and we know that the way to keep our church alive is not to let go of our past, but to continue to ask ourselves, “What does God want us to do in the here and now - to ensure a better future for all?”
If we were to show up here next Sunday and find nothing but an empty lot, we would be overwhelmingly sad for our loss,
especially those of you who have spent a lifetime in these pews.
Those of you who remember what our church looked like before the sanctuary was expanded in 1980, or before the education wing was added in 1967.
There are even some of you who were here to see the Martin Room built in 1955, and who remember a time when the little church on the corner of South King Street looked the same as it had a hundred years before.
If we were to come here one Sunday and find all of this gone, we would be sad beyond all words.
But with God’s hopeful note clutched in our fingers, and with what we know of how Jesus acted in the world fresh in our minds,
Like our forbearers who built this church we would gather up plaster and cinder block and wood and ask ourselves,
“What kind of church will we build in its place?”
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With home-improvement projects

TAMPA - With home-improvement projects at an all-time high, do-it-yourselfers can get expert advice when the crew from the PBS television series "Ask This Old House" makes a "house call" to Tampa in September.

The crew will be taping a special episode Sept. 21 to 23 in Tampa, and local homeowners will be involved, according to officials at PBS outlet WEDU, Channel 3.

Members of the "Ask This Old House" crew will offer "behind the scenes" stories and memorable moments from the show, along with lessons learned and favorite projects.

Homeowners are invited to submit questions at www.wedu.org/askthisoldhouse.

The crew will make a free appearance from 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 22 at The Home Depot, 1712 N. Dale Mabry Highway.

Fans in attendance will also participate in the "what is it" challenge, have a chance to ask home-maintenance questions, receive giveaways from the show (while supplies last) and have the chance to win autographed "Ask This Old House" merchandise as part of WEDU fundraiser.

From the questions submitted online, one needy homeowner's project will be chosen by the "Ask This Old House" team for the special episode, which will air next season.

WEDU is also hosting an online auction to give a fan an opportunity [for two] to visit the local taping, have lunch and take photos with the crew, and more. For details or to bid (beginning Aug. 31), go to

The "Ask This Old House" team travels to homeowners' doorsteps and personally tackles viewers' home-improvement problems.

In addition to making "house calls," host Kevin O'Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, landscape contractor Roger Cook and various guest experts walk viewers through home-improvement techniques and review the latest products.

"Ask This Old House" airs at 11:30 a.m. Saturday on WEDU, preceded at 11 a.m. by "This Old House," America's premier home-improvement series on television.
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Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Some of you may have noticed I have been MIA these last two weeks. I just bought my first place and decided to take some time off to paint everything and get the place ready, to pack, move and unpack, getting everything all settled in. going to work for the first time from my new condo tomorrow morning I feel a little like a school kid getting ready to go to my first day at a new school.

Here is a snapshot of where I’ve been these last two weeks… and before you ask: yes, the paints are low VOC; yes, the new bathroom has a low-flow showerhead! In addition, there are a few changes I will make in the near future to appeal to my own sense of architectural integrity. My unit is in a 1918 building and I found that I just couldn’t quite stomach the cheap, ‘paneled’ hollow core doors. I spent all day yesterday at Community Forklift and found some beautiful vintage salvaged solid wood doors, white porcelain and brass doorknobs, and vintage door hardware. I will be stripping them (CitriStrip), painting them and installing the new hardware. I discovered that every door in my new place had different dimensions, but that a couple of hours combing the salvage warehouse will yield anything!

I am so excted to own my first home and so glad I took the time to get it fixed up right! It has been exhausting to say the least. I literally laid on the floor for two days straight painting baseboards and learned that I can actually freehand them quite nicely (I think arch school prepared me for endless hours of tedious tasks!). The entire place was painted in shades of brown and tan, even the baseboards and door trim. In addition, everything was painted matte, which sucked all the light out of the rooms. The new colors inlcude Perennial, Lemongrass, Mexicali Turquoise, Paris Rain, April Showers and Super White. All paint was Benjamin Moore Aura, Low VOC, self-priming. The yellow was tricky, but overall I love all the colors.

I will post more photos when I get the doors done, hang all my artwork and when I eventually purchase more furniture. In the meantime, I’m back at work starting 08/03!

This Old House... A Visit to the Cloister

This is another tourist destination that is near where I live.

One of America's earliest religious communities, the Ephrata Cloister was founded in 1732 by German settlers seeking spiritual goals rather than earthly rewards. Gathered in unique European style buildings, the community consisted of celibate Brothers and Sisters, and a married congregation of families.

At the zenith of the community in the 1740s and 1750s, about 300 members worked and worshiped at the Cloister. Today, the National Historic Landmark is open for tours, special programs, and on-going research opportunities.

The Visitor Center is the place to begin your exploration of Ephrata Cloister. View the introductory exhibit and video, purchase tickets, and learn about special events. In this modern building you will also find restrooms, a water fountain, and help with information about the Lancaster County region.

Conrad Beissel’s House could be among several of the surviving buildings at the site. Between his arrival here in 1732 and his death in 1768 he moved about six times. In the late 1740s the Brotherhood built Conrad Beissel a home located between Bethania (Brothers’ House) and Saron (Sisters’ House). Here he could study and write in private, hold gatherings, and welcome guests.
*Original structure.

Saron, the Sisters' House, was constructed in 1743 for Householder couples who left their homes to live as celibate Brothers and Sisters. It was a brief experiment and when the husbands and wives returned to their farms, the building was remodeled to accommodate the Sisterhood who called themselves the Roses of Sharon. Each of the building's three main floors contains a kitchen, a room for eating, two common workrooms, and about 12 sleeping chambers, one chamber for each sister. For nearly 15 years Mother Maria Eicher directed the Sisters' daily duties and maintained their independence from the Brotherhood. After the death of the last Sister in 1813, the building was divided into apartments and rented to church members.
*Original structure.

The Saal, the Meetinghouse, is a Fachwerk or half-timbered building constructed in 1741 as a worship hall for Householders. When the Sisterhood moved into the adjoining building, they took control of this Meetinghouse. Here, Sisters worshiped each midnight while the Brothers gathered in their own Saal. The entire congregation used the Meetinghouse on Mount Zion for Saturday worship. The services in each of the Meetinghouses included scripture reading, lessons, and music. Special fellowship gatherings, called Love Feasts, celebrated the coming of Christ with feet washing, a meal, and the Eucharist with bread and wine. As the Solitary population shrank in the 1770s, the Householders took a more active part in daily work. They probably added the stone kitchen to the rear of the building as a place to prepare their Love Feast meals.
*Original structure.

A Weaver’s House contained work for all members of the Ephrata community. Flax, source of linen, was planted by the Brothers, and everyone helped to harvest and clean the fiber. Both Brothers and Sisters spun linen thread, while the weaving of cloth was a male occupation. Seamstresses and tailors among the community sewed the white monastic robes.
*Original structure

The Academy was opened by the Householders in 1837 as a private school for their children and those of the area. The tradition of teaching school at Ephrata dates back to the mid-1700s when Brother Obed (Ludwig Hocker) conducted lessons for neighborhood children. Most of the teaching focused on reading, writing, and arithmetic. In the early 1840s, the enterprising teacher Joseph Wiggins also offered chemistry, measuring, surveying, and astronomy. In the mid-1800s, the building became a public school serving several generations of students until it closed in 1926.
*Original structure

God’s Acre is the burial ground for Conrad Beissel, other Solitary, and Householders, although not every grave retains its marker. The earliest marked grave is 1767 and the last burial took place here in 1961, after which the graveyard has not been used. The surrounding stone wall is a 1950s reconstruction of the original.

The Bake House and kitchen was likely a busy place when in operation. In 18th-century Ephrata, each person ate about a pound of bread a day, and loaves of bread weighed about four pounds each. After mixing the ingredients in large wooden boxes, dough was left to rise for several hours, then divided into loaves and set to rise in rye straw baskets. Meanwhile, a fire burned inside the dome shaped oven, heating the brick. When the oven temperature was correct, the coal and ash from the fire were scraped out, and the bread placed inside using long handled peels. Brother Amos (Jan Mayle) served as the community’s baker for many years, and visitors reported that he made a delicious bread.

Above the bakery is an area that served several purposes during the 18th-century. It may have been a work space or even a storage area. It could have also been a place to distribute food or clothing to individuals in need of charity. Among those cared for by the community, were several widows such as Christina Hohn, who moved into the community after the death of her husband. Other non-celibate residents of the site included poor individuals, and, for brief periods, newly arrived Householders who had not yet established their own homes. By the late 1790s, this area may have been used as a residence by the few remaining Solitary.
*Original structure

The Saron Bake Oven was constructed in the early 1820s, likely to serve the needs of the few residents renting space in Saron during the later years of the community.
*Original structure

The Physician’s House probably contained a cupboard holding a few books and homemade herbal remedies, along with a bed for the comfort of the sick. Brother Gideon (Christian Eckstein) and later Samuel Eckerlin both called themselves “practitioners in physic,” or doctors. Their training was minimal, and their cures may or may not have helped those in distress. Visitors to the community in the 18th-century said the members were thin and pale, but also seemed healthy. Like most early settlers in America, the residents of the Cloister had poor sanitation and did not bathe often. Many more necessaries or outhouses would have stood throughout the community.
*Original structure

Kedar, the first communal dormitory built at Ephrata Cloister, may have stood at this site. The building, which originally housed both Brothers and Sisters, was built in 1735. Betweeen 1737 and 1741, a Prayer House was connected to Kedar. By 1746, the building became a residence for widows and widowers. Kedar was torn down about 1800. Archaeology conducted at this site in the 1990s has offered the only clues to the size of this important early building.

Bethania, the Brothers’ House, was built in 1746 and stood until 1908. The impressive four story building had kitchens, eating areas, work rooms, and sleeping chambers much like the Saron (Sisters’ House). Archaeological evidence also suggests that the Brotherhood printing operation was carried on inside Bethania. After finishing its construction, the Brotherhood found they had gathered enough materials to construct an adjoining Saal (Meetinghouse), which was demolished about 1855. The front door of this Saal faced the Cocalico Creek. A small structure, perhaps a workshop, stood between the Saal and the creek.

The Cocalico Creek and the Spring offered a constant source of cool fresh water, attracting animals and people alike. A number of Native American tools found at Ephrata suggest this land was a prime hunting spot for the first human inhabitants of the region. When Conrad Beissel arrived in 1732, he chose to live near the spring. Anna and Maria Eicher, the first Sisters, lived in a small house across the creek on land later owned by their father, Householder Daniel Eicher. New members were received into the community with the rite of baptism, performed in the creek. About a mile downstream the Brotherhood ran a water-powered saw mill, grain mill, paper mill, fulling mill, and oil mill. Eventually, the Brothers also built a second paper mill about 500 yards upstream from this spot.

The Carpenter’s House is typical of the earliest homes in Ephrata and may be one of the oldest surviving structures on the site. Conrad Beissel originally sought to lead the life of a hermit in a cabin similar to this one. Even after the large dormitories were constructed for the Brothers and Sisters, some Solitary members chose to live by themselves, or in smaller groups, outside the communal houses. Members of the Brotherhood, such as Brother Sealthiel (Sigmund Landert) and Brother Kenan (Jacob Funk), were skilled carpenters who not only built structures but produced furniture for the community’s use.
*Original structure

The Amphitheater was constructed in the 1970s for outdoor drama and is used today for special programs.

Hours
Visitors are welcome to explore the Ephrata Cloister Monday through Saturday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m, and on Sundays from noon to 5:00 p.m. The Ephrata Cloister is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays in January and February, and on Easter, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving and the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.

Tour Schedule
Tours are available daily. The historic site includes a self-guided exhibit in the Visitor Center and seven historic buildings which can be viewed before or after the guided tour. The Saron (Sisters’ House) and Saal (Meetinghouse) are only available for viewing on the guided tour. Tours begin with a 15 minute orientation video and last approximately one hour. Plan to spend at least 1 ½ hours at the historic site.

Admission
Adults (ages 12-64) $9.00, Senior Citizens (ages 65 and above) and motor clubs (such as AAA) $8.00, Youth (ages 3-11) $6.00, Children under age 3 are free. The Ephrata Cloister accepts cash, personal checks, traveler’s checks, Master Card, Visa, Discover, and American Express.

Amenities
Visitors will find picnic tables, ample free parking, and The Museum Store at Ephrata Cloister. Check the Calendar of Events for special programs which may require advance reservations or additional fees.

Walking
The guided tour of the Ephrata Cloister is about 2 city blocks in length.

Special Assistance
Individuals in need of special assistance or accommodations are encouraged to a call the number below in advance to discuss their needs. Most of the historic structures have some limits for wheel chair accessibility. PA TDD relay service is available at 1-800-654-5984.

Non-English speaking visitors: Interpretive brochures are available in German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Russian. A German-speaking guide is available on a limited schedule. Please call for more information.

Contacting the Ephrata Cloister
Telephone: (717) 733-6600
Fax: (717) 733-4364
info@ephratacloister.org

Location

The Ephrata Cloister is located at 632 West Main Street in Ephrata, Pennsylvania.

From the Pennsylvania Turnpike: take exit 286 (old exit 21) to Route 222 South. Exit at the Ephrata exit on to Route 322 West. Turn right off the exit and travel on 322 West (Main Street) for 2.5 miles. The entrance to the Ephrata Cloister is on the left side of the street.

From Lancaster: take Route 222 North to the Ephrata exit, Route 322 west. Turn left off the exit and travel on 322 West (Main Street) for 2.5 miles. The entrance to the Ephrata Cloister is on the left side of the street.

Photography
Photography for personal use only is permitted on the grounds of the Ephrata Cloister, subject to the following limitations:
-No photography requiring flash or additional lighting sources is permitted inside
any structure.
-No video or audio recording devices are permitted on the guided tour.
-No tripods or other camera support devices are permitted in the buildings.
-Use of the historic site as a backdrop for wedding, graduation, or family photos,
or other such photos requires an admission fee to the grounds, regardless
of weather or not you take advantage of the tour or other programs offered
during business hours. Pre-arrangements for such photographs are encouraged.

All commercial photography or video taping requires advance approval.

Members of the media are encouraged to notify the site in advance of your visit.

Does this sound like a place you would visit? Or does it sound too boring?