Historic farm opens its doors, for a day - Reading Eagle
Devin Marderness, 9, of Wernersville plays on hay bales in the Old Dry Road Farm's barn during the annual Harvest and Acoustic Music Festival at the historic farm in Lower Heidelberg Township. The centuries-old operation opens its doors to the public just one day a year.
With the scent of crackling bonfires wafting through the farm's 200 acres, attendees spent the late morning and afternoon exploring both the history and the heritage of the 18th-century farmstead.
Throughout the year, Old Dry Road Farm is open only to school field trips and by appointment. Sunday's annual Harvest and Acoustic Music Festival marked the only day of the year when the farm is open to the public.
"We try to open it up and anybody who's not familiar with it, introduce them to the Old Dry Road Farm," Dick Schuster, president of the nonprofit farm, said. "I've talked to many people today who said they come through here each year. And others who live in Sinking Spring and Wernersville who told me they never knew the farm was here."
Those who came out to the festival Sunday enjoyed demonstrations and activities including butter churning, carriage rides, blacksmithing and outdoor cooking, in addition to the making of cider, candles and sauerkraut.
Live bluegrass music by Blue Mountain Junction entertained attendees on an open stage on the property.
And guests were free to roam the property, historic buildings and surrounding trails at the farm.
Among the buildings open to the public Sunday was the Dundore-Hottenstein Log Home, where Schuster spent much of the day educating those who passed through.
Originally built about 1842, the home was reconstructed at its present-day location in 1980.
Of the events at Sunday's festival, though, perhaps the highlight was a visit from several descendants of the home's original builders.
Through the Internet, they were able to discover their connection to the farm.
"The folks got in touch with us, and it turns out they were many generations removed from the Dundore family," Schuster explained. "To me it's been very exciting. You really put some history to it when you meet the descendants."
One of the Dundore descendents, Mary Wicklein made the trip to Berks County from her home in Wisconsin this week.
"It all started with email, and now we're here," she said of discovering her connection to the farmstead. "I never thought I'd be out here on vacation doing genealogy."
While in the area, Wicklein met for the first time with other Dundore descendents and relatives to whom she previously reached out her genealogy research online.
"It's really neat to come out here and stand on this porch and think that's the home of your sixth-great-grandparents and that's how it all began," she said. "Everything they went through to survive in this area at that time ever since I've started doing my ancestry and my genealogy, I just have a whole new appreciation of what people went through back then to arrive at where we are today."
Contact Becca Gregg: 610-371-5032 or bgregg@readingeagle.com.
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