The Penn State Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures will hold its fourth annual Pennsylvania German Day on Saturday, Oct. 22, on the University Park campus. The purpose of this event is to explore, showcase and celebrate the German heritage in Pennsylvania with lectures, field trips, and banquets. Alumni, faculty, friends, students and teachers are invited to attend.
This year's events are centered around the topic of Pennsylvania German textiles. The lecturers will be Janneken Smucker from the University of Delaware and Elaine Mercer of Belleville. Smucker is an expert in textile history who has worked as a curator and consultant on Amish quilts. Her publications include the co-authored book "Amish Crib Quilts from the Midwest: The Sara Miller Collection" (2003). Elaine Mercer, a native of California, previously lived in an Amish settlement in Conewango Valley, N.Y., and now lives in Belleville where she owns a bed and breakfast and sells Amish quilts through a mail-order catalog.
The program will include two lectures in the morning, lunch at Peachey's Restaurant near Belleville, and an afternoon visit to an Amish family in Big Valley with a practical quilting demonstration. The schedule follows:
-- 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.: "Amish Quilts: Creativity Supported by Rules and Traditions," Mercer, Foster Auditorium, Pattee Library.
-- 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.: "In the Dealer's Footsteps: A Hunt for Quilt Documentation in Amish Country," Smucker, Foster Auditorium, Pattee Library.
-- Noon: Bus departure from pickup at library entrance, Curtin Road.
-- 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.: Luncheon at Peachey's Restaurant, Belleville. Participants pay for their meals individually.
-- 2 to approximately 4:30 p.m.: Visit to an Amish family with quilting demonstration. Afternoon refreshments.
Advance registration is requested for the afternoon program. Program and registration information are available at http://german.la.psu.edu/newsevents/germanday05p2.html online. For information, call Adrian Wanner at (814) 865-5481 or ajw3@psu.edu.