Cemeteries, Sightseeing, Churches, and Family

A few weeks ago, my father, Mark, and I took a 300 mile day trip around central Pennsylvania. We had a full schedule of activities planned, including visits to historic sites, family churches, and a number of cemeteries. We also needed to clean up around the gravestones at the Hagenbuch Homestead, something that has become a meaningful tradition in recent years.

We began our day with a stop at the Jane E. DeLong Community Hall in Washingtonville, PA. I had never been inside the building, and we were graciously offered a tour of it by historian John Marr. The former church had been purchased, renovated, and donated to the town by Frank DeLong (b. 1864) in 1928. Frank, a successful businessman, named the hall in honor of his mother, Jane. He had made his money improving popular items like the bobby pin and the hook and eye. Most notably, he added a small hump to the hook portion of the hook and eye, preventing the fastener from accidentally disconnecting.

The Jane E. Delong Memorial Hall in Washingtonville, PA

The basement of the building houses a small museum filled with vintage books, sculptures, artwork, and other historic artifacts. Here, my father pointed to an upright piano and remembered as a young boy playing it for his mother, Irene (Faus) Hagenbuch (b. 1920), at one of her Garden Club meetings. Upstairs is the hall, which has ample seating, a stage, and a balcony. DeLong was known for his generosity. At his annual Christmas party, he would present local children with gifts: an orange, a box of candy, a candy cane, and a pencil. Standing in the hall, my father recounted one event where he, along with several other boys, used pea shooters from the balcony!

We left Washingtonville and headed east. The route took us across Montour County and into Columbia County. We traveled through rolling fields, over babbling creeks, and along forested hills. We also passed numerous small enclaves including Jerseytown where the Hilner side of my family lived, Millville where my father watched fireworks as a child, and Lightstreet where many Hagenbuchs once resided. After a 40 minute drive, we arrived at Hidlay Lutheran Church.

The cemetery at Hidlay Lutheran Church is full of Hagenbuchs

Hidlay will be the location of the 76th Hagenbuch reunion on June 15, 2024. Be sure to RSVP if you haven’t done so already! As we pulled into the gravel lot, we noticed several cars parked there and a woman standing nearby. We went over to talk to her and introduce ourselves. We quickly realized we were talking to a cousin—Linda Harris! The Hagenbuchs and Harrises intermarried and both families have relatives buried at Hidlay. Linda was there with some of her kin for an interment. We talked for a bit and invited them to the reunion.

My father and I then walked part of the cemetery to locate relatives’ graves. Details about these fascinating individuals will be discussed as part of the graveyard tour during the reunion. We ducked inside the church sanctuary to learn about the space and finally headed over to the fellowship hall. I was surprised to learn that the hall was actually the former Hidlay School, a building I thought no longer existed. We sat at a table and enjoyed our packed lunch before heading off to our next stop.

We turned south, crossed the north branch of the Susquehanna River, and started into the mountains. We had some unfinished business from our June trip last year—finding the grave of James “Jimmy” Hagenbuch (b. 1922, d. 1944) who died on the second day of the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France. Jimmy is buried in St. Canisius Cemetery, Mahanoy City, PA. Yet, when my father and I went looking for his grave in 2023, we were unable to locate it.

Grave of James “Jimmy” Hagenbuch in St. Canisius Cemetery, Mahanoy City, PA

Since that time, I reached out to local historian Paul Coombe. Paul went out to the cemetery and found the grave for us, going as far as to provide a map noting its exact location. Jimmy was buried in a plot next to his maternal aunt, Margaret Mulvey (b. 1908, d. 1996), in an area my father and I had scoured last year. Our theory is that Jimmy’s flat stone may have been covered with a layer of grass clippings, hiding it from view. Regardless, this time around we placed an American flag beside the stone, honoring Jimmy’s sacrifice during World War II.

Leaving the cemetery, we continued south towards Berks County and the Hagenbuch Homestead. Our mission was to clean up the family cemetery there which holds some of our earliest ancestors. Descending out of the Blue Mountains, we reached Eckville, PA. Here we picked up what was once known as the Allemaengel Road. Some stretches of the route have been abandoned and are now private property, but we tried to follow it the best we could.

New Bethel Church in Kempton, PA

Just before reaching the homestead, we detoured for a quick stop at New Bethel Church. The Hagenbuchs were some of the first worshipers there and the New Bethel Church cemetery holds a number of family graves. Our goal, however, was to go inside the building and find an old record book from the 1700s. Unfortunately, the church was closed and so we left.

As we approached the cemetery at the Hagenbuch Homestead, we realized that we had our work cut out for us. It was entirely overgrown and had several large branches lying on top of the stones. I grabbed a long-handled sickle, a tool my father grew up calling a corn cutter, and began to work. Bit by bit, I hacked back the tall grass and woody bushes. I lifted the branches and removed them from the cemetery area. After a good half of an hour, things were looking much better. My father and I posed for a picture beside the stone of Jacob Hagenbuch (b. 1777, d. 1842).

Andrew and Mark Hagenbuch behind the gravestone of Jacob Hagenbuch (b. 1777, d. 1842) at the family homestead, 2024

Clouds were gathering on the horizon and rain was expected. We bid adieu to the families of Andreas (b. 1715), Michael (b. 1746), and Jacob (b. 1777). The previous day we had made reservations at a nearby restaurant—a local favorite—the Deitsch Eck. We arrived a bit early to a packed house. Thankfully, they were able to seat us immediately, and we sat down to an enjoyable supper of scrapple bites, corn chowder, potato filling, sausages, sweet potato fries, and salad with hot bacon dressing. Best of all everything was reasonably priced, a real highlight in this day and age!

It had been a long but successful day. My father and I traveled for nearly twelve hours, sightseeing, visiting cemeteries, and stopping at churches. Along the way, we bonded, shared stories, and discussed an array of topics about history, health, and even politics. Yet, no particular subject could take our minds or our hearts from what really mattered that day: a love of family.