The ABC’s of

Bethlehem

Originally created and Distributed by the Women of Historic Bethlehem, Inc.

Illustrations byMrs. Richard L. Ament, Jr.Mrs. Joseph L. Conneen

Lettering byMiss Alma M. Musselman

Story byMrs. Robert Wynne

The ABC’s of

Bethlehem

Third Grade 2009James Buchanan Elementary School

Bethlehem, PA

A is for Atlantic Ocean

across which the Moravians sailed when they came to the New World. Their boats were small and the waves were large, so they were very happy when they sighted land and knew they had crossed to America.

B is for Bethlehem

the name of the town they founded in the new world. They came over land in wagons from the port of Philadelphia to their new home. Although Bethlehem and Philadelphia seem very close to us, in those days it was a long and difficult trip.

C is for candle

the symbol of Bethlehem. The Moravians still use candles made of beeswax for their Christmas Eve Services just as their forefathers did on Christmas Eve 1741, the night they named their town.

D is for danger

which the early settlers faced from Indians, elements, and wild animals. The Moravians were soon able to make friends with most of the Indians, but they had to struggle with the weather and the animals as they carved their small town from the wilderness.

e is for easterand the Easter Dawn Service. For many , many years the Moravians have celebrated Easter with and Early Morning Service. Hymns, trombones, joyous psalms, and a walk to see the sunrise in God’s Acre (The Community Cemetery)- with these things the congregation joins together to proclaim , “The Lord Is Risen! The Lord Is Risen Indeed!”

f is for first house

built by the settlers in Bethlehem, a small log house that used to stand very near the center of town. As Bethlehem grew larger the first house was torn down, but you can still see what it looked like. A replica of the first house now stands near Bethlehem’s Rose Garden.

G is for Gemein haus This is the oldest log building still standing in the whole country. Today you can’t see the logs from the outside because they have all been covered up, but from the inside of the Gemein Haus there are places where you can peek through and see that the walls really are made of logs.

h is for horse

that pulled the cart carrying food grown in the fields and the goods made by people on the little town. Everything the Moravians needed to live in the early community of Bethlehem was grown or made right there. Do you think that you could drive this horse and wagon?

I is for indians both friends and enemies. Many Indians became Moravians and lived in the village with the settlers. Some Indians, however were enemies and shot arrows at those in the village. This picture shows a very famous Moravian, Rev. Zeisberger, preaching to the Indians.

J is for joiner who was a very important member of the community. He made all the special woodwork for the buildings the settlers constructed. He made the doors, the windows, the cabinets, and the stairways. He had to be very careful and patient so that everything fit properly.

K is for kiln a big oven in which the Moravians made their own pottery dishes. They dug special clay from the ground and shaped dishes and pots from it. Then they painted them with special paint and baked them in the kiln to make them hard. Wouldn’t it be fun to make your very own cereal bowl?

L is for lovefeast

a special gathering of all members of the community for worship and refreshment. If you could have gone to an early lovefeast , you would have seen that the women were dressed alike except for the colored ribbons on their hats. The young girls wore red ribbons; unmarried women, pink; married women, blue; and widows, white.

M is for mill and monocacy Creek

The building in this picture is the grist mill where the settlers ground their grain into flour and meal. The water from the creek provided the power to turn the great stones which crushed the corn and wheat. Do you think you would like to eat bread made from wheat you grew

yourself?

N is for nitschmannthe first Moravian Bishop in the New World. He is considered the official founder of Bethlehem. He bought the land where the Monocacy Creek joins the Lehigh River over 250 years ago and bought the first settlers to it. It is not very surprising to see things named in honor of Bishop David Nitschmann. Do you know of any?

o is for old chapelthe first building the settlers had for a church. Before they built the old chapel, the people of Bethlehem held their church services on the second floor of the Community House (Gemein Haus). How proud they must have been when they could build their lovely stone church!

P is for Polly Heckewelder

Her father was a Moravian Missionary who left Bethlehem to Ohio to convert the Indians. Polly was born in Ohio, but she went to school in Bethlehem. There were no trains then so she must have come on horseback, a long way for a little girl. You can get Polly Heckewelder Dolls right here in Bethlehem dressed just as she must have been when she came here to school.

Q is for quilt

The women and girls of the town saved scraps of material and then sewed them together in pretty patterns. When these brightly patterned quilt tops were finished, the women met to do the quilting at gatherings called “Bees”. Many pleasant winter hours were spent sewing and chattering, and the finished quilts made warm and lovely bed coverings.

r is for religionthe center of the early community of Bethlehem. The settlers came to the New World so that they could have their own church and worship in their own way. Even the very small children went to church with their parents. They shared in the music and prayer just as they shared in the productive life of the community.

s is for smithywhere the blacksmith worked with his bellows and fire, anvil and grate, heavy hammer. He made things out of metal for the community. What great noise and clatter there must have been as the blacksmith made the horseshoes and bridles, bits, hinges and plows needed by the settlers.

T is for trombones

great horns played to mark special occasions such as Easter and Christmas. There is even a story that on Christmas Morning in 1755 the sound of the trombones scared away a group of Indians about to attack Bethlehem.

u is for unitas fratrumThat is the name for the very early Moravian Church which was founded in 1457. Do you realize that that was over 500 years ago? Unitas Fratrum means Brethren’s Unity. The picture shows the seal of the Moravian Church. Can you figure out what the Latin words around the lamb say?

V is for vegetable gardensThere were many people in Bethlehem to be fed so the gardens were quite big. There was a Single Sister’s Garden, Several Community Gardens, a Doctor’s Garden, an Herb Garden, a Vineyard, and Small Family Gardens as well. Would you like to weed all those? If you had been one of the children of the early settlement, you would have helped care for the gardens.

W is for warterworks

Built in 1762 it was first pumped municipal water system in the American colonies. An undershot waterwheel powered three pumps which forced water uphill through pipes made from hollowed out logs. This water was pumped to a tower where the Central Moravian Church now stands.

X marks the spotwhere you might have stood to look at the early community. This map shows the center of the little town. Bethlehem doesn’t seem to look exactly like this today, but most of these buildings are still here and in use. If you look carefully at the old buildings and listen to the stories about them, you can discover for yourself what life was like in Bethlehem over 200 years ago.

Y is for the young ladies seminary

the oldest girls’ boarding school in the country that is still running today. It started in 1742. Young ladies came to live at the school and learn to read and write, sew and paint, play music and do arithmetic. They came from near and far away. Many of them were daughters of missionaries like Polly Heckewelder. Some of them came from as far away as The West Indies!That was really a long and hard trip in those days.

Z is for zinzendorfCount Nicholas Von Zinzendorf He gave refuge to Moravians in Europe and helped to send the first Moravian settlers to America. It was Zinzendorf who gave the new community its name. He and his daughter , Benigna, came to the new town in the New World in 1741 for the settlers’ first Christmas. At that first Christmas Eve Service he named the town Bethlehem.

The End