November and December are red letter months in Elizabethtown. During that time of the year, the Winters Heritage House Museum holds its annual craft fair and decorates for the holidays. Meanwhile, The Train Guys set up shop at the Elizabethtown Public Library, with proceeds benefitting the library.
Saving a Block of History
Back in the 1980s, speculation centered on the fate of several buildings that stood along East High Street. The buildings were significant because of their age (18th century) and the fact that they represented German and Scots-Irish log-construction methods. Despite their historical significance, it appeared the buildings would not survive.
Concerned citizens formed Elizabethtown Preservation Associates. “That original group was very passionate,” says the museum’s director, Teresa St. Angelo. Thanks to a successful Capital Campaign, the buildings were ultimately saved and restored, becoming the Winters Heritage House Museum, a center for research, education and community.
Forty years ago, the historic properties along East High Street were in danger of being razed. Community concern led to the founding of Elizabethtown Preservation Associates.
The museum is named in honor of Esther Winters, who was a dedicated volunteer and benefactor. “She loved this place,” says Teresa. Winters and her husband, William, were the owners of Central Rexall Drugs, where she served as the pharmacist from 1959 until December 2000. Both were graduates of Elizabethtown College and were very active in the community. Esther passed away in 2003 (at the age of 99) and asked that memorial contributions be sent to the museum. She also donated a neighboring property, the H.U. Coble House, to the museum. Items from her life and the pharmacy are on display in the house. “She was an interesting woman,” says Teresa, noting the couple resided above the store all their life and that Esther did not receive her pharmacist’s degree until she was in her 50s.
Next door, volunteers created a period look in the kitchen of a building that dates to the 18th century.
The museum is also home to the Seibert Genealogy Library and Resource Center, which was founded by another woman, Ruth Seibert. The Center enables museum members and guests to research all aspects of Elizabethtown’s history, as well as their own family history.
“The history here is fascinating,” says Teresa, who moved from New Jersey to Elizabethtown to retire. “I fell in love with Winters House and became a volunteer. Being a history major, it was right up my alley! When they needed a new director, they asked me to take it on.” One recent project the museum oversaw was revitalizing a mural that artist Wayne Fettro had painted on a building owned by Groff’s Meats. The elements had taken their toll on the mural, which tells the story of the Scots-Irish leaving Donegal in Northern Ireland and settling in what became the Donegal townships in Lancaster County. Several local artists (Nancy Landis, Susan Wheelersburg and Cecile Madonna) took part in restoring/recreating the mural, which was unveiled in September 2024.
As Teresa discovered, operating a nonprofit is challenging, especially from an economic perspective. Maintaining buildings that are more than 250 years old is not for the faint of heart. Events help to ease the burden, as do invaluable donations of furnishings and other items. “The spinning wheel we have dates to the 1700s and was donated,” Teresa reports. “We have wonderful volunteers,” says Teresa of people who provide the museum with community spirit. The museum gives back to the community in various ways. For example, the gardening group donates produce to the local food bank.
The dining room of the Coble House was equally as festive.
Last month, Winters House hosted its inaugural Historic Lantern Tour that entailed costumed guides, historic figures and storytellers who were stationed along a one-mile route. Afterwards, tour goers were invited to the Coble House for Victorian-inspired refreshments and dancing.
This month marks the 35th anniversary of the museum’s Heritage Craft Show. “Everything is removed from the buildings to make room for the vendors,” Teresa explains. The juried show, which will be held November 14 and 15, will feature 25+ vendors whose work reflects time-honored skills and crafts. “Everything has to be handmade,” Teresa notes. Participating vendors will be displaying wooden items, jams and jellies, felted soap, furniture, crafts, quilted items, table linens, jewelry, paper products, stained glass and more. Food will also be available. “It’s our major fundraiser,” Teresa points out.
Rosalind DeLuca Womack and her daughter, Angel, transformed a meeting room in the museum into a general store during last year’s Holidays Through the Ages event.
After the show, the museum takes a week off and then goes into holiday mode. Volunteers take charge of turning the rooms of the buildings into historical renditions of Christmas. When we visited last year, the theme of the display was Holidays Through the Ages. Volunteers, scouts and the museum’s quilting and gardening groups transformed rooms into festively decorated time capsules. The museum stays decorated through the holidays for visitors to enjoy.
In spring, the museum hosts a Quilt Show, which celebrated its 34th year in May 2024.
Teresa is excited by the direction Elizabethtown is taking as a community and credits business owners Clint and Tony Gibble for energizing the downtown area. “Our businesses are working so well together. It’s great to be a part of it. We love taking part in SecondFridays; the museum hosts arts & craft projects that evening.”
Girl scouts decorated a tree for last year’s event.
Looking even further into the future, Teresa is excited for 2027. “That will be Elizabethtown’s 200th anniversary,” she says of 1827, the year the town was incorporated.
Winters Heritage House Museum is located at 47 East High Street in Elizabethtown. Hours for the Heritage Craft Show are Friday, 4-8 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Information: Wintersheritagehouse.org.
The Train Guys: Helping to Keep a Library on Track
More than 25 years ago, a group of model railroad enthusiasts set up a Christmas display that launched an annual event that continues to benefit the Elizabethtown Public Library. Each year, an average of 3,000 visitors tour the display, helping to generate more than $10,000 in donations during the month of December.
The roots of the display extend back to the 1980s, when several of the town’s churches held Christmas bazaars that always included model train displays. “The bazaars kind of fizzled out,” says Craig Coble, whose love of model trains began during childhood and continues unabated to this day. Townspeople missed the train displays. That’s when someone suggested the men who created the displays pool their talents and create one display. “Then, someone suggested the display could serve as a fundraiser for the new library,” Craig recalls. “It wasn’t a hard sell,” says Mike Myers, another collector who serves as a greeter when the display is open to visitors. The consolidated group’s first effort took place in a vacant Ben Franklin store in the late ’90s. Then, it moved to the bank building that would eventually be razed and replaced by the library.
When the library became reality, the group was game to keep their fundraiser chugging on. The library agreed and provided them with some space in the basement of the building. The next year, they asked for additional space. “We just kept asking for more,” Craig recalls. Now, the display fills the entirety of the expansive room, providing space to operate 15 trains on wide-radius tracks. It also spills into the adjacent hallway, where a circus and amusement park theme entertains those waiting in line.
“The library staff kept referring to us as ‘the train guys,’” Craig recalls, “so that became our name.” Currently, the group is composed of 40 members, with 25 or so being actively involved. Craig, Mike and another member, Ken Stehman, add that additional volunteers include wives, children and grandchildren. “They range in age from 6 to well into their 90s,” Craig reports of members and volunteers. Ken is a rarity. He didn’t grow up with trains but when a fellow carpooler regaled him with stories about The Train Guys, he decided to lend his support after retiring from teaching.
A Lifelong Hobby
Mention model trains and Craig and Mike can wax on poetically about their hobby. “We’re just a lot of guys with a lot of toys,” Craig says. Model trains became a phenomenon in Germany in the 1830s. The earliest models, designed as wind-up toys, were made from wood and then metal. Craftsmen, including those in America, kept improving on the appearance and functionality of model trains throughout the 19th century. By the 20th century, steam-driven trains that were remarkably detailed in design captured the imaginations of men and boys alike. Electric-powered trains would take the hobby to another level. The period between the world wars is considered to be the Golden Age of model railroads.
Following World War II, model railroading became a national obsession from a hobby perspective. Over the decades, rail travel had captured America’s fancy, as it represented progress and modern living. Rail transportation had revolutionized American lifestyles. Railroad companies had become industrial powerhouses and thus held the promise of good jobs and careers. “Back then, boys wanted to become railroad conductors,” Craig says.
The power of advertising helped to make products from Lionel and American Flyer even more alluring. Retail outlets such as furniture, hardware, toy and auto supply stores sold model trains and all the accessories with which a boy could build a fantasy world. During the ’50s and ’60s, it was almost uncommon to visit a home at Christmas time and not see a train chugging its way around the tree.
Show Time!
The display begins to take shape in mid-October, utilizing elements that are owned by The Train Guys, items that have been donated and equipment that is on loan. “We just come in and do our thing,” Craig says of the operation he equates to clockwork. “Everyone knows what they’re doing. It takes about six weeks to get it all set up.” Ken, a former industrial arts educator, is in charge at the outset, as he knows exactly where to position the tables. From there, tracks are laid and the decorative elements that help to tell a story are put into place. The age of the model trains ranges from 100+ years to modern day (G-grade trains that comprise a garden railway set-up).
As you make your way around the display, history comes alive through businesses that once defined the town and events that took place there. “A. Buch’s Sons was a farm implement company that was absorbed into Sperry New Holland,” Craig explains of the significance of one scene. “Their wheelbarrows are highly collectible.” A baseball game being contested on Klein Chocolate Company Athletic Field recalls memories of the day Babe Ruth played in a game there. “That’s what’s neat about the display,” Craig notes. “It’s a teaching tool. It not only tells the story of toy trains, but of railroading in general. It also provides a look at the history of manufacturing. And it shares the history of Elizabethtown.”
Incredibly, kids (of all ages) are mesmerized by what they see. Buttons that are stationed throughout the display add an interactive element – such as a fire – to scenes. “Those buttons have gotten a workout!” Craig reports. Mike adds that it’s not unusual for families to visit several times during the schedule. He can also count on the nostalgia factor kicking in among older visitors waiting in line. (Cue memories of visiting Farmer’s Supply on East King Street in Lancaster to see the large set-up.) “It’s also not unusual to see three generations – father, son and grandson – taking in the display,” he says.
The Fundraising Aspect
Initially, fundraising efforts were based on admission (a suggested donation of $2 per person is requested). “People will throw a $20 bill into the box,” Mike relates. “There’s also a guy who always arrives with a check for $100.” Then, members got the idea to conduct sales of excess equipment to augment the admission donations. That led to the introduction of custom rail cars that relate to local businesses. The threesome laugh at the memory of having one designed for Groff’s Meats. “They wanted pigs inside their car, so we bought up all the miniature pigs we could find,” Craig recalls. A silent auction also joined the proceedings. “We also sell raffle tickets for a new train set,” he adds. Private tours for school groups, daycare centers and even birthdays generate more revenue. The latest addition is sponsorships, which provide businesses with to-scale billboards that dot the display. “That’s been well supported,” Craig says. The Train Guys are grateful that the library values their contributions not only from a monetary perspective but also from the viewpoint that it generates traffic for the library long after the display is disassembled.
The Train Guys give back to the community in other ways. On opening night (December 2), first responders are treated to free admission. On December 6, 13 and 20, The Train Guys will once again partner with train enthusiasts from Masonic Village to provide shuttle service between the two locations, enabling visitors to take in what Craig considers to be “the best and biggest display on the East Coast.”
The Elizabethtown Library is located at 10 S. Market Street. Dates/hours for the train display are December 2, 4, 11, 12 and 18, 6-8 p.m. On December 6, 13, 20 and 27, the hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Note: On December 6, the Holiday Parade begins at 4 p.m. December 12 is also Second Friday. It’s suggested that you arrive with sufficient time (at least 30 minutes) to view the display; doors close promptly at the given closing hour. Information: Facebook.com/EtownTrainGuys
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